There are certain days in the history of popular music that fans will remember forever. Sept. 24, 1991—Nirvana’s Nevermind, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The Kanye West vs. 50 Cent chart battle of 2007. More indie-oriented fans can point to March 22, 2024, when Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood and Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future both lit up Pitchfork’s scoreboard.
Friday was just a such a day. On the one hand, indie-turned-mainstream icon Phoebe Bridgers released her third solo album—the searching, overwhelming Lost Weekend. On the other hand, College GameDay’s Pat McAfee dropped his solo debut—the, well, polarizing The Diary of a Polarizing Figure.