In 1991, when Brian Eno encountered a delay in the release of My Squelchy Life, which would've been his only solo vocal album since 1977's Before and After Science, he ditched most of it in favor of an inferior, instrumental-dominated disc, 1992's Nerve Net. For Another Day on Earth, the producer-provocateur returns not only to the vocal intimacy of My Squelchy Life but also to the music itself: The brooding prog-funk of Life's "Under" reappears here virtually untouched. It's a highlight of a low-key but often lovely disc that offers glimpses of the Eno that revolutionized art rock via his work with Roxy Music, David Bowie, Talking Heads and U2, and his similarly fine Seventies solo output. Whether coasting through the underdeveloped melody of "This" or snuggling up to the string-laden folk of "How Many Worlds," Eno brings a master's touch to both substandard material and fleshy little marvels that pick up where Before and After Science left off.

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”