Blackout
Britney Spears · 2007
Blackout is Britney Spears’ fifth studio album and the only one she executive-produced. Recording began earnestly in 2006. It was released in October 2007.
Celebrity
Fame as an industry, with its own labour conditions.
- 10
- in music
- 10:47
- average
- 108 min
- in total
- 59
- across the network
All briefs
Aladdin Sane
David Bowie · 1973
Aladdin Sane is David Bowie’s sixth studio album, co-produced with Ken Scott and recorded between December 1972 and January 1973 in London and New York City during breaks in the Ziggy Stardust Tour. It features the full Spiders from Mars lineup—Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, and Mick Woodmansey—alongside jazz-influenced pianist Mike Garson, two saxophonists, and three backing vocalists. Most songs were written on the road in the US and reflect Bowie’s ambivalent perceptions of America, resulting in a harder, edgier rock sound than his prior glam work. Lyrics explore duality: the rewards of stardom versus the toll of touring, and recurring motifs of urban decay, drugs, sex, violence, and death. The album includes a Rolling Stones cover, 'Let's Spend the Night Together', and Bowie framed its title as both a pun—'A Lad Insane'—and the conceptual extension 'Ziggy Stardust goes to America'. 'The Jean Genie' was the first track recorded, on 6 October 1972 in New York, with Bowie producing that session himself. It was Bowie’s final album with the complete Spiders from Mars lineup.
Bad
Michael Jackson · 1987
Bad is Michael Jackson’s seventh studio album, released 31 August 1987. It was his final collaboration with Quincy Jones. Jackson composed and co-produced all but two tracks. The album used digital synthesizers—including FM synthesis, the Fairlight CMI, and the Synclavier PSMT—layered to create new sounds. It incorporated guitars, organs, drums, bass, percussion, saxophones, washboards, and digital guitars. Recording occurred across two workflows: Jackson’s 'B team' developed demos at his Hayvenhurst home studio from 1985–1986; the 'A team' (Jones and engineer Bruce Swedien) completed tracks at Westlake Studios. Sessions were extremely intense, with the team often working for days without rest. Bad was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You', 'Bad', 'The Way You Make Me Feel', 'Man in the Mirror', and 'Dirty Diana'. 'Smooth Criminal' reached number seven. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and remained there for six weeks.
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers · 1991
Blood Sugar Sex Magik was recorded over 30 days in seclusion at Houdini’s former Los Angeles mansion, where the band installed a full studio; Frusciante, Kiedis, and Flea each occupied private rooms and pursued individual creative work between sessions; Kiedis recorded all vocals in his room; the album was written more rapidly than its predecessor and marked a stylistic shift—reducing heavy metal guitar riffs and foregrounding Frusciante’s melodic songwriting—under Rick Rubin’s production guidance, which included collaborative input on drum beats, guitar melodies, and lyrics; the setting and process fostered lyrical completion and structural refinement, moving away from pure jam-based composition toward more deliberate song forms while retaining funk-punk roots and integrating new textures and emotional range.
On the Beach
Neil Young · 1974
On the Beach is a 1974 Neil Young album recorded mostly at Sunset Sound in Hollywood in late March and early April, with 'Walk On' and 'For the Turnstiles' cut earlier at his ranch. David Briggs missed most sessions due to illness; Ben Keith led recruitment of Rusty Kershaw, members of the Band, Crazy Horse, and CSNY. Honey slides shaped a melancholy, depressed atmosphere. Rusty Kershaw rejected rehearsal, favouring first-take immediacy. The album features varied instrumentation and shared production. Its second side — 'On the Beach', 'Motion Pictures', and 'Ambulance Blues' — lands with cumulative weight. It explores the collapse of 1960s folk ideals, the downside of success, and the underbelly of the Californian lifestyle. It sold poorly on release but later became a critical favourite.
Finally Famous
Big Sean · 2011
Finally Famous is a technically polished, sample-driven debut that delivers on radio-ready craft but avoids risk or revelation.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West · 2010
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a maximalist hip-hop record made in three simultaneous rooms at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, following Kanye West’s 2009 MTV VMA incident. It features contributions from Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and Gil Scott Heron. Released in November 2010, it received widespread critical acclaim and was accompanied by a 35-minute film. Its sound is dense, layered, and rigorously collaborative — built on discipline, not spontaneity.
Recovery
Eminem · 2010
Recovery is a 2010 hip-hop album recorded from 2009 to 2010. It replaced the abandoned Relapse 2 project after Eminem scrapped most of its material and started over with new producers. It was announced via Twitter on April 14, 2010, and released on June 18.
The Eminem Show
Eminem · 2002
The Eminem Show is a 2002 hip-hop album released in May 2002. It was Eminem’s fourth studio album and his first self-produced major release, made while filming 8 Mile and certified Diamond by the RIAA.
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
David Bowie · 1972
Recorded fast at Trident Studios with Mick Ronson's guitar doing much of the heavy lifting, Ziggy Stardust turns a loosely stitched science-fiction plot into cover for songwriting about sex, stardom and ruin that the early-seventies charts would not otherwise have carried under Bowie's own name.