In the midst of studying for exams I've been working my way through Pitchfork Media's 500 best songs from 1977-2006. Whatever you think about Pitchfork and their power/editorial slant, this is a great collection of music and it's really interesting to hear the evolution of "popular" music over 30 years. You can see the lists here.

I've been meaning to make note of how awesome Jessica Williams is. She's a great pianist and writes some really solid tunes. Her album Songs for a New Century is in my top ten this year. It's all solo recordings, including a really nice prepared piano piece called "Toshiko." All the tunes are original except a version of Sonny Rollins'"A Blessing Disguise." It's really incredible how she can make a slow, Japanese inspired piece for prepared piano swing at just the right moments. She's beyond virtuosity at this point, with playing so confident and natural that it's easy to forget that she's got mad chops and isn't afraid to use them.

Her composing style has always been steeped in classical music, with improvisation flowing out of refined part writing. Here it's no different, with the funny, deceptively mature "Song for my Baby" moving seamlessly flowing from really nice voice leading to bouts of imaginative improvisation.

On top of this fantastic album, I've recently discovered Williams' website, which includes her fantastic music writing. She's got lots to say about pianos and composers and everything else. Including a much better discussion of Songs for a New Century than I've given here.