Norah Jones emerged in the early 2000s as a breath of fresh air, blending a sophisticated cocktail of jazz, folk, country, and pop. Her style is anchored by her sultry, "smoky" mezzo-soprano voice and a minimalist approach to the piano that favors emotional resonance over technical flash. Her debut album, Come Away with Me, famously steered away from the polished, high-energy teen pop dominating the era, opting instead for an intimate, "coffeehouse" aesthetic. This signature sound—mellow, acoustic, and deeply rhythmic—created a bridge between traditional standards and modern songwriting, making her music feel both timeless and contemporary.

Beyond her individual hits, Jones’s influence lies in her role as a catalyst for the "sophisticated pop" revival. By sweeping the 2003 Grammys, she proved there was a massive global appetite for understated, genre-blurring music, paving the way for artists like Adele, Sara Bareilles, and Melody Gardot. Her career has been defined by a refusal to stay boxed in; she has collaborated with everyone from Ray Charles to Foo Fighters, showcasing a versatility that helped de-stigmatize "jazz" for a younger generation. Today, she remains a blueprint for how a musician can maintain commercial success while prioritizing artistic subtlety and genre fluidity

The “Coltrane of Hip-Hop”, J Dilla was a visionary producer and rapper from Detroit whose revolutionary approach to rhythm fundamentally altered the DNA of hip-hop and modern music. His signature "drunk" or "lazy" drum style was created by intentionally disabling the quantization feature on his Akai MPC3000, placing beats slightly off-grid. This technique replaced the rigid, robotic loops of early electronic music with a loose, humanized swing that felt alive and organic. 

Passing away at the age of 32 from a rare blood disease, leaving behind a legacy that influenced producers for generations to come.

1990 PRELIMINARY RESULTS:

Thank you to all who participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project. If you are still determining what that is, we acted like the PFHOF had its first class in January 1946.

We have completed the first 43 years.

For “1990,” a Preliminary Vote with close to 100 players whose playing career ended by 1984. We also follow the structure in which players have 20 years of eligibility, and if they do not make it into the Hall, they are relegated to the Senior Pool.

Each voter was asked to select 25 names from the preliminary list, and the top 25 vote-getters were named Semi-Finalists.

A week later, the voters will be asked to select 15 names from the 25 Semi-Finalists and then choose five from the remaining 15. We will continue this process every week until we catch up to the current year.

Please note that a significant change occurred “years ago,” allowing voters to submit fewer than the allotted spots. 

34 Votes took place.

This is for the “Modern Era”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates they have been removed from future ballots

This is for the Senior Era

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

This is for the “Coaches/Contributors”

Bold indicates they advanced to the Semi-Finals:

*Indicates that they will be removed from the ballot permanently.

In a separate vote, you voted 20-14 to activate the senior with the most votes for induction.

Next week, we will announce the Semi-Finalists for the 1990 Pro Football Hall of Fame Revisited Project.

Portland, Oregon, gave us the Decemberists, an American indie band that blended folk-rock and a busker feel into the rock-and-roll landscape.

Premier storytellers, the Decemberists, led by Colin Meloy, used their multi-instrumental sound to transcend time and place and echo progressive rock acts of the 1970s.  Their success helped other folk-rock adjacent acts carve out a successful musical path, and they gained a sizable audience while doing so.