2024 Had The Music

Hello! It's been a while. 

So for some housekeeping, here first is my 2023 list because I didn't get around to posting it other than a Stereogum comment. This year I also had a preemptive Stereogum comment with a premature list that I have since revised. So if I'd given myself time, perhaps I would've also edited this one accordingly. But it's still a good list for what was a good year I think. 

2023: 

1 Sufjan Stevens - Javelin 

 2 Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume 

 3 Jess Williamson - Time Ain't Accidental 

 4 Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy 

 5 Snooper - Super Snooper 

 6 Blonde Redhead - Sit Down for Dinner 

 7 JPEG Mafia/Danny Brown - Scaring the Hoes 

 8 Jessie Ware - That! Feels! Good! 

 9 Death Goals - A Garden of Dead Flowers 

 10 Doki Doki - Doki Doki 

 11 Belle & Sebastian - Late Developers 

 12 Esther Rose - Safe to Run 

 13 Indigo De Souza - All of This Will End 

 14 Alex Lahey - The Answer Is Always Yes 

 15 Margo Cilker - Valley of Heart's Delight 

 16 Chris Farren - Doom Singer 

 17 Anjimile - The King 

 18 Jeff Rosenstock - HELLMODE 

 19 Bat Boy - Fun Machine 

 20 Danny Brown - Quaranta 

 21 Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions 

 22 Light Beams - Wild Life 

 23 Ratboys - The Window 

 24 Vangas - Vangas 

 25 Fucked Up - One Day 

 26 Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, Jacknife Lee - Los Angeles 

 27 Algiers - Shook 

 28 US Girls - Bless This Mess 

 Yeah that's some good stuff but what about 2024? Well yeah, that's the main reason I'm posting this in late December 2024. 

Honorable Mentions:

There were a lot of honorably mentionable albums that could have been on this other list perhaps if I'd given them more of a chance or if they'd hit me at a slightly different angle or at a different time of day/year/life. Night Palace by Mount Eerie was lovely and super long and intimidating but enjoyable too. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds took on the challenge of creating an uplifting album out of tragedy on Wild God but I wasn't feeling it as intimately as the last few. Escape Forever by Soft Kill. BLUE LIPS by ScHoolboy Q. Wussy is a band I should've discovered earlier but Cincinnati Ohio became a favorite in December. Shannon and The Clams were a lot of fun and also interesting and also sad with The Moon Is In The Wrong Place. Big For You by Zsela. Sky Hundred by Parannoul. We Belong by Sinkane was surprising to me just in that I came upon it randomly and it banged so hard. Alan Sparhawk broke my heart with a 1 minute song on White Roses, My God. Hex Dealer by Lip Critic was fun and I feel like I should've liked it more. Tara Jane O'Neil doesn't miss and The Cool Cloud of Okayness was more than just okay. Couch Slut rocked pretty hard on You Could Do It Tonight. I'm very excited about any future Perennial albums after Art History continued to expand on their sound. Eazy Peazy by Man/Woman/Chainsaw. Karate made a super engaging reunion album in Make It Fit. Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii. St. Vincent had a bit of a "return to form" (i.e. she is rocking again, playing guitar like I love) with All Born Screaming. Dark Times by Vince Staples. Petrichor by 070 Shake was exactly what I hoped for with its genre hopping. WeirdOs by O. The return of Les Savy Fav was also what I hoped for on OUI, LSF. Love them. Jim White had a banner year and his album with Marisa Anderson called Swallowtail was a highlight. My Method Actor by Nilufer Yanya. Wow did you hear that Xiu Xiu album 13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips it rocked! Fearless Movement by Kamasi Washington. Kenny Segal & K-The-I??? just crashed into my life in December with Genuine Dexterity and it probably should've made the list. Comatose by Candy Apple was some great Denver hardcore I just discovered when I did some year end browsing. And I just discovered local Denver band Fainting Dreams when they played a sweet festival with Nina Nastasia; Those Left Untouched by the Light is absolutely gorgeous. Okay, that was a lot and here's a lot more.

Okay now the main event that all couple of you that read this are here for!

It's the Top 28 Albums of 2024 According to Me!

Bandcamp links provided where available. Support people who make cool music, now more than ever!

28. Gustaf - Package Pt. 2 - This super fun post punk band continued to be super fun and engaging. I dunno, it hits just like their previous album.

27. Finom - Not God - I just discovered them recently and the dual vocals and guitar licks are super catchy and just great. I'm doing a great job describing stuff aren't I.

26. Hamish Hawk - A Firmer Hand - Reminds me of the classic post punk dudes plus some homoeroticism, it's a lovely time.

25. This is Lorelei - Box for Buddy, Box for Star - This album is like if the evolution of folk music stemmed from The Charm of the Highway Strip by Magnetic Fields. It's that great sound, with a good dose of Merritt-esque wit, and some heartbreak thrown in as well.

24. Ekko Astral - Pink Balloons - Those drums, that intensity. The attitude. Kind of silly but intense?

23. Party Dozen - Crime in Australia - It may not be quite as hard hitting as The Real Work but almost. And that is made up for in groove. Vibes. It feels like a soundtrack to an old school Guy Ritchie movie (complementary...I haven't kept up with his career but his first couple had that cool factor and that's what I'm talking about). Crimes. Do Crimes. Go to a dozen parties. 

22. Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven - The punk hits hard, the pop hits hard, the feelings hit the hardest. This is a great album that hits a lot of different sounds and feels disorienting but in a way that only makes me want more.

21. Kendrick Lamar - GNX - I guess the only justification I have to put here is why it's so far down my list. I firmly believe he is the best rapper of the past 20+ years and I know that's a pretty cold take. My favorite thing Kendrick did this year was "Euphoria." Since then it's basically been a victory lap. It's a fun album but it really has me yearning for Mr Morale in its challenging of the audience and oneself. I look forward to the next one.

20. The Smile - Cutouts (note: Bandcamp link is for physical vinyl and doesn't include digital download for some reason. Second most polarizing thing The Smile did this year.) - I was always an Amnesiac > Kid A type of kid. Whatever that means. When these guys put out an album and then put out another album of outtakes from that first one, I like the outtakes better. I really don't know what that means or if it means anything. I like the songs on this one after Wall of Eyes did not really land for me. There are a few songs I love on Eyes but the concentration of bangers on Cutouts is high and it didn't really take any effort on my part for it to turn out that way.

19. Charli xcx - BRAT - I never even tried with her before. But the last couple years I've opened up a little bit to the pop music that's actually popular because it's gotten quite good in many instances. Then a combination of her bringing in Robyn for a remix and Stereogum getting all obsessive led me to giving Brat a chance. There's a certain vulnerability and honesty to this album that really pulled me in and opened me up to the bangers. Isn't it supposed to go the opposite way? Anyway, it's a great combo of two things.

18. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More - We haven't gotten a Breeders album in a bit but we got solo Kim Deal. Which makes it more personal. And it was the last time she worked with Steve Albini which makes it more personal. Her vocals are in the same sweet spot for me that always makes me feel good in a way that only she can. It's just a work of beauty that makes me feel good and sad but mostly good.

17. Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA - It's just thrilling. The beats and the places it ventures. It almost seems like the rapping is beside the point even though it's great too and has some highly entertaining bits. This is compositions serving a higher purpose.

16. Font - Strange Burden - Reminds me of Liars when they'd go full dance punk. For a full "album" (that is almost an EP however that is defined). It takes me back to that dance club from 20 years ago but somehow doesn't feel out of time. Play it loud. Get in someone's face.

15. Ab-Soul - Soul Burger - I never listened much to Ab-Soul before but for some reason this one hit me right in the right spot. I can't really describe why other than to say it just feels so satisfying. It has a song that references Digable Planets and that's the vibe that it's working with for me.

14. ShrapKnel - Nobody Planning to Leave - I don't remember how I discovered this one; I'd never heard of Curly Castro or Controller 7 before. They haven't gotten a ton of press. They did get Open Mike Eagle on a track so it could've stemmed from that. Anyway, these guys bring such a vibe. It feels like The People Under The Stairs in its adoration for the old school hip hop that came before and an inventiveness that looks forward. This album is just really good and I'm excited to see what else these guys come up with.

13. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood - I became a huge fan with Saint Cloud, as maybe the first "going country" thing that an artist pulled off in a way that worked to go straight to my heart. Then there was Plains with Jess Williamson, who you may see very high on my 2023 list. So this was bound to be a favorite. And it was my second most listened to album behind only my #1 album that you will see below. So why down here in the double digits? It's a great album that I feel got overly praised/hyped. Slightly. I mean, it's still up here in a very busy year. It's super pleasant and it's got some great love songs. Everyone loves "Right Back to It" but I'm team "365" which is one of my favorite Waxahatchee songs yet, if not my favorite. 

12. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future - It's just got the songs. Just a bunch of perfect songs. I only recently got into Big Thief for it's kind of silly but authentic fun beautiful messy songs. This solo stuff is so minimalist so all we've got are the songs. And they are immaculate.

11. Father John Misty - Mahashmashana - The way this kicks off is kind of funny. Huge sweeping sounds. A 9+ minute epic that feels even bigger than that. I am a defender of Chloe and the Next 20th Century because of how it emphasized his great vocals and beautiful lyrics. But here, he's back to swinging for the fences and it's a full album of that in different ways. Saxophone solos. No songs under 4 minutes, only a couple under 5. All showstoppers. It's ridiculous and amazing. And those vocals and lyrics are still right up front.

10. Beings - There Is A Garden - I'm not sure how to categorize this. I consider it jazz I guess because of its inventive instrumentals but it's got this skronkiness but it's got these great pop vocal parts but it's so many things. Legendary drummer Jim White was involved in a lot of great projects this year from a supergroup with Steven Malkmus to solo material to something on my honorable mentions list to a reunion with The Dirty Three, but this feels like the best use of his talents. He holds this odd project together while the real star is probably Zoh Ambra on vocals and sax who makes all these exciting elements just pop. To say nothing about Steve Gunn and Shahzad Ismaily (whom I know nothing about but am interested in discovering further) who add some very interesting textures to the mix. People on Bandcamp compare this to the Velvet Underground and I'll allow it. 

9. Clothing - From Memory - Another project that's some people I'd never heard of before (Dawn of Midi and Mobius Band/Cookies) but once I started digging into it I'm finding a lot to love about both of them. I did end up also buying the Cookies album on vinyl. I was first piqued by the presence of Amber Coffman and L'Rain. Coffman in particular who you may remember as one of the main vocalists for Dirty Projectors in their prime. My favorite DP songs featured her extensively, and this album features her extensively. It's some great beat makers and that voice. And L'Rain and Elliott Skinner and Anna Wise. There's something to be said for an album with only four guest vocalists where all the tracks have guest vocalists. There's something to this. Off kilter, gorgeous, catchy, danceable. 

8. Foushee - Pointy Heights - I was compelled to check this out by the album artwork that included some black and white checkerboard flooring. And the single "War" had a very ska beat to it. It ended up hitting really well with its combination of ska beats and joy and great vocals and some very relatable lyrics. A drink of coffee and we'll be 100 bux. This is beautifully produced by Steve Lacy and I think I like it more than his solo album. It was on a major label I believe but I feel like it was super slept on so here is me trying to wake you up. Check out this awesome album!

7. Bacchae - Next Time - You know, when Stereogum first described it, I wasn't so sure about it. They compared vocalist Katie McD to musical theater in how she enunciated her words. But I checked it out anyway because it was a complimentary review and the other elements and political parts seemed to be something I'd like. Songs like "Dead Man" about the dehumanization of corporate living. The DC-ness of it all. And that was right on. The only thing I'd like to add is that the vocals remind me more of Jello Biafra in  the prime Dead Kennedys era. I remember him being described as an opera singer doing punk music and there is a theatricality there but it works in a similar way. It's a real pity this band broke up this year. I hope they continue the DC tradition of starting up new projects from their ashes that end up being equally compelling because there is a lot going on with this album. I adore it.

6. Heems & Lapgan - LAFANDAR - I can't even properly explain how entertaining this album is. How is such a silly album so high on my list? It's just Heems talking shit. He put out another album this year that was more serious but this one here is just so much fun. What else is there to it? There are great guest vocal turns from some notables like Open Mike Eagle and Kool Keith and Quelle Chris and they all work because they all adapt to the silly smart wordplay style that Heems brings. And I feel a real beautiful cultural unity when he rhymes Vinyasa with Piazza, Rasta, pasta, and kielbasa.

5. Shellac - To All Trains - In a year full of musician deaths that I took personally, Steve Albini's stands out. Shellac was an amazing band with three amazing musicians playing off each other, and starting in 2007 I just felt lucky we were getting any new music from them, as it was more of a side project for all of them. It was a combination of great wit and great musicianship and impeccable production. This final album fits that lineage. How the beat cuts him off when he's screaming "we'll be pirates!" or his delivery of "pow! you're pregnant!" it's maybe the most entertaining Shellac album this side of "Prayer to God." I don't know if he knew the end was near when he recorded the perfect send-off in "I Don't Fear Hell" but it is the perfect capper in its context and humor. It's exactly what I'd want to hear from him if he were literally speaking from beyond the grave. Requiescat. 

4. Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk - Another highly praised album that I absolutely bought into when I gave it a chance myself. The people were right on this one. It's kind of like if Goldfrapp or Kylie Minogue sang for The Go! Team? But maybe even more hard in its forays into experimental blasts, kind of like prime Sleigh Bells. So you know, a lot of the best stuff of the late '00s/early '10s but in a way that still feels fresh in '24. If you haven't given the a chance yet, here's another person in the chorus urging you to give it a go.

3. Sprints - Letter to Self - I have a good amount of punk rock fronted by women in my list which makes me happy. This album came out January 5, the first Friday of 2024. And it kicked so much ass that it immediately made its way to my shortlist for the year and I took it off some playlists for a while because it was not in question. Then I came back to it in late November after a long break and it knocked pretty much everything down a peg in my list. It's catchy and has range and rage. The fuzz and the vocals. The beat. The builds. This is why I want to share music with people. Listen to THIS.

2. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World - I always loved and respected The Cure. Disintegration is a contender for best album ever. But I was still awestruck at what they pulled off here. This is just beautiful, sorrowful, pointed music. Almost every song has lyrics referencing "the end." It came out right before the election and it stands as a beautiful piece of music on its own, but after the election, it was my piece of the world I could hold onto. This beautiful sorrowful pointed composition was my reassurance that someone understands things. As tough as it gets going forward, we're not alone. We have the most beautiful man Robert Smith in our corner and that feels good. Whatever happens, we have these 8 perfect anthems to help us remain human as we mourn what is ending.

1. Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past Is Still Alive - Speaking of perfect anthems, Alynda Segarra has created a full album of perfect anthems for those who fight hard just to survive, those who thrive, and those who did not make it. They're singing for the weirdos and the junkies and the lovers and the barrel of freaks and those who are just trying to get out in one piece. Truth bombs ranging from the poetic ("No one will remember us like I will remember us") to the literal begging for survival ("test your drugs, remember Narcan. There's a war on the people, what don't you understand?") they know when and where to drop what. This record feels simultaneously like a survival guide and a place to meet in the not too distant future when maybe we can smile again.

An Ear For An Era: 1989

Another decade gone. I apologize for this entry, I finished the year up almost a week ago so it won't be particularly fresh. Probably lots of vague liking of things in the extras section this time.

Since I neglected the old guard last time, I'll start with them this time.

Bob Dylan is back! He ever left! I hear Oh Mercy is one of his best albums and was his best in a long time upon its release. I believe it. It's quite great. I don't remember too much of it this much later, but I do know that "Most of the Time" holds a personal place in my heart and it's such a great sad song that puts more meaning into the word "most" than I've heard before.

Elvis Costello took things into an interesting direction with Spike. I'm not sure what the title means but that's kind of how I feel about the album: favorites and least favorites. My opinion spikes in either direction when I listen to it. It starts off really strong with some dark clownish songs, lynching songs, and looks at ugliness. In addition to a truly great pop song co-written with Paul McCartney "Veronica," which just breaks my heart. And some great ballads scattered about. Then there are some attempts at funk that I just don't feel at all. They just don't sound natural. And I really don't like "Baby Plays Around," which just seems beneath Costello's considerable lyrical abilities. But when it's on, this album is really on. When Margaret Thatcher died recently of course it brought to mind "Tramp The Dirt Down," a great song about the great pain that she brought to England.

I'll randomly stick Weird Al right here. The UHF Soundtrack And Other Stuff has a lot of stuff on it. I think it might have been the first Weird Al album I got on CD instead of tape, which made it one of the first ones into this digital music collection. It also means I brought it on a lot of car trips with my family and made them listen to it a lot. I know I got my sister to like it because of her love of hamsters and gerbils with "Attack of the Radioactive Hamsters from a Planet Near Mars." I remember my dad wondering about the polka song on this one because it's all Rolling Stones songs. And "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" was an obvious good choice for road trips because it's about a road trip. Everything I've said so far was not from the movie. All "other stuff." I loved that movie though and the bits such as "Spatula City" and "Gandhi II" were classic bits. I actually saw the movie years after getting the album so I didn't know what was going to show up in the actual movie. Sorry Rachel, no radioactive hamsters in the movie.

How about that new wave? We're down to very few artists in the genre but the remaining ones are the ones that are still considered highly influential.

Depeche Mode's Violator is probably their biggest album. I would assume so. Because it has what are probably their biggest hits. "Enjoy The Silence" is great and everyone knows it. "Personal Jesus" has been covered a lot and such. Just the darkness of the whole album is great and proves that new wave still had plenty to say.

Disintigration is the best album ever! So says Kyle from South Park as well as The Impossibles on an EP. It might actually be the best album The Cure put out. Not my personal favorite (I'm unapologetically pro-pop-version-of-The-Cure) but I still find a lot of value in this album, particularly upon repeat listens. "Last Dance" holds another personal spot in my heart, "Pictures of You" is another great pop song contained in a 7 1/2 minute goth jam, and it's just one big embrace of the darkness with lots of extended instrumental breaks. Music!

My only Public Image Ltd album is one I got back in my punk rock days because I'd finally heard about this other band from Johnny Rotten. It's called 9 and it really speaks to how few albums I used to have. I remembered the album fairly well even though I know when I got it I was a bit underwhelmed by it. I appreciate it a bit more now but I bet there are better PIL albums out there. But just remembering it so vividly made me realize that I knew it better than most albums I now profess to like. A piece of me misses limiting my musical scope so much that I'd give everything enough time to marinate and form attachments to me rather than the way too many albums I now own that I could never keep up with.

Of course post punk/punk/college rock/whatever were pushing things forward from the new wave and Fugazi is where I'll awkwardly start this conversation. The second half of 13 Songs, the Margin Walker EP, shows them already expanding to two guitars, keeping the energy high, and just being Fugazi. I also have a recording of a concert from 1989 and they had already developed such a strong cohesiveness together, like a living organism just playing off instinct and working together, it's just natural.

So punk. And pop-punk, before it was a dirty word. The Lookout! brand of pop punk was in full effect as The Mr. T. Experience put out the EP Big Black Bugs Bleed Blue Blood. I first got this album because it was such a good value of so many songs for the regular price of a CD. 31 Songs! But it turns out that was mostly bonus content and originally BBBBBB was just an EP. I got way into the two or three MTX albums I had in high school. Catchy pop music that I could get away with liking because it was punk rock. And you know, better than the actual pop music on the radio!

On the grittier, gutterier side of punk was Crimpshrine, whose Duct Tape Soup also brings me back. Listening to it this time I realized that there is something strangely romantic about this band. Political and dirty sounding and not trying to appease any commercial viability yet some part of them embraced some traditional values, particularly in the field of romance. Particularly "Closed Doors, Closed Minds," which argues that romance and love are giving, not taking away, that they shouldn't be taken as a threat, etc. The more I listen to it the more concern I have about what it's really getting at. There's reasons women would take such actions with offense and they kind of gloss over any concerns. It's weird. And then "Pretty Mess," which used to be one of my favorite songs, I am now realizing that it sounds like a man loves this woman in a way that he wants to help fix/rescue her in some ultimate male fantasy. Weird because Jeff Ott turned out to be one of the most PC personalities in punk rock. But that's Fifteen, not Crimpshrine.

And of course Operation Ivy. Finally I talk about OPIV! Here is my story of first hearing this band. My brother had that early Green Day album where they covered "Knowledge" but I all I knew is that I didn't know nothing about the origin of that song. Then some time passed. I got more into ska punk and whatnot and heard their name dropped all the time as an influence on every damn band I listened to (and I knew of a tribute album as well). I talked about this mythical band with my friends because this was before the Internet made it super easy to hear about a band and hear their music immediately. Finally one day we were at Wherehouse Music (or as we called it because of its unfortunate spelling "whorehouse music") and they had those listening station things and my friend Dustin finally decided to check out this Operation Ivy band and while I was listening to Five Iron Frenzy or some such thing he took a listen to them. And he had a reaction similar to my initial reaction: These are cheap recordings! It sounds like crap! And they don't have horns! What kind of ska band doesn't have horns?? I think he might have gotten it anyway and given it enough time because for whatever reason I ended up getting it as well and became pretty obsessed with it. Mostly for the punk side of the equation probably. Today it makes me laugh that I thought the recording quality sounded crappy because that's what punk is supposed to sound like. In fact, it was probably just a couple years after that that I started complaining about stuff sounding "overproduced." But anyway, the music. The energy is what did it for me. No wonder that's the name of the album. And we liked that Tim from Rancid had this other band. We loved the message of Unity and all that. And it really got me into punk rock and its ethos and this song kind of explained everything to me about why I liked the music that I liked and didn't like the radio stuff:

Operation Ivy "Artificial Life"

Ok speaking of life changing music, Pixies. Doolittle. Need I say more? I'm gonna. Their other truly great album. Maybe my favorite? As it stands, I think I'm ready to call it for Doolittle. The energy is just up there. The screaming is there. "Monkey Gone To Heaven" is one of the weirdest universally loved songs out there. Kim's bass really comes across as well. And "Wave of Mutilation," can't deny that one is a classic. I remember meeting this cool girl in high school and knowing each other was cool because we were the only two in our group of friends that seemed to know the words to "Hey" and we felt the need to go through the whole first verse to show off how bizarre this thing was that we both had memorized. I think Doolittle was my first Pixies album and when I got it I told my buddy what albums I had gotten and we were both impressed at me because it was the first time I had gone to the record store and come home with a couple albums, neither of which could be described as punk or ska. This is the album to branch out to, and it really showed me the possibilities of music beyond my narrow perception. This could therefore be considered the album that set it off for me. Got me exploring the vast world of music. This could be the album that is to blame for me having over 40,000 songs on my hard drive, which is the reason I felt it necessary to do this project in the first place. Doolittle! Oh, and it's also cool because the whole thing kicks off with this song is about Luis Buñuel and surrealism.

Pixies "Debaser"

There were also some B sides from this year that were quite good, most notably Kim song "Into the White" and a sweet "UK Surf" version of "Wave of Mutilation." All very fantastic.

And to show off the influence as much as possible, my iPod decided to follow this up immediately with Bleach by Nirvana. I don't have enough to say about this to justify not putting it down there but I do like that "About A Girl" song but it's not as good as real Pixies songs.

And finally on to hip hop! 1989 was a breath of fresh air after all the politically charged angry hip hop I came across from 1988. Mostly because of De La Soul, whose 3 Feet High And Rising sounds like a game changer. Positivity, the D.A.I.S.Y. age, tons of internal rhymes and intelligence and goofiness and three rappers playing off each other so flawlessly, it just all works. And according to my hip hop head friend, it's one of their lesser albums! (confession: I only had this album for a long time, until the giveaway thing they did).

By comparison, Young MC seemed pretty old school for 1989. His style was pretty similar to the earlier 80s stuff. He could rap really fast (which today is heard all over the place, but in this context it was pretty damn impressive) and of course "Bust A Move" is a jam.

And The Beastie Boys just destroyed on Paul's Boutique. Such a dense album! So much to pick up on that even doing this I made myself listen to it twice. Just to pick up on more of it. And now I already forget what I was going to say about it. It's...good...and the Dust Brothers just like, did such an awesome job and it had rapping that was all good and stuff.

Extras Section:

• Allroy's Revenge seems like a good step up for All. More energetic, kinda starting to develop their own identity outside The Descendents.
• Stone Roses are good ok?
• Lou Reed's New York is another classic.
• Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire." Reminds me of car trips and trying to sing along.
• "Like A Prayer" might be my favorite Madonna song.
• Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 is one hot pop album that reminds me of Justin Timberlake (not because of the super bowl thing but it does seem very appropriate that they were singing together) in its high energy, unapologetically pop music that still has an edge and is meant to be played loud. Yeah!
• Yo La Tengo really hit their signature sound with President Yo La Tengo, which includes a trademark 10+ minute jam.
• Math rock is alive!!! Slint put out Tweez which is not quite Spiderland but it's definitely laying the foundation to one of my favorite obscure genres of hardcore/post rock/whatever.
• The Vandals put out a country album called Slippery When Ill and then years later put out a version of mostly the same songs called The Vandals Sing Really Bad Original Country Tunes. I got it because I like their Christmas album but didn't really care for these country tunes. I thought it'd be funny but a lot of it is just kind of offensive. I just can't tell if these guys are being satirical sometimes. Or at least the level of satire. I can't find the line but they seem to cross it.

Next Time:

Onto the 90s! That "college rock" will give way to grunge which will give way to terrible music which won't be represented here. Stuff will happen. Specifically for 1990 here's what will happen:

The Breeders, Fugazi keeps destroying it, Jawbreaker, lots more Mr T Experience, Pixies try and follow up Doolittle (and don't do too bad a job at it!), Social Distortion, a very popular Sonic Youth album, a very popular They Might Be Giants album, and Treepeople (pre-Built to Spill!). I actually don't have all that much mustic from 1990 but 1991 is going to be nuts.

An Ear For An Era: 1987

Those '7 years, man. Always a big deal it seems. The culmination of a decade and the promise of the following decade. I didn't think 1987 would be that way, but here it is. "College" rock and hip hop were in a very '7 way in 1987.

But let's get the boring mainstream stuff out of the way first.

One of the biggest album of all of the 80s was Guns N Roses' Appetite for Destruction. This happened to come on when my metalhead friend was in the car and he had to laugh a bit about it. So quaint in the metal scheme of things. I don't really care for most of the album but the hits are pretty undeniable. Welcome to the Jungle. Paradise City. Sweet Child O Mine.

And then U2. Boring. I like their singles ok kind of, but yeah. The Joshua Tree came on and it was all boring and stuff. Were they interesting ever? Was it all lost by 1987?

Just like in 1982, there were giant albums from the two pop giants. Michael Jackson put out Bad, which had a good number of hits itself (but there's no following Thriller), including one of my favorites "Man in the Mirror." Prince put out Sign 'O' The Times, a massive double album that I only have in vinyl format. But I have a couple singles, including my favorite "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man."

Ok now to get to the interesting stuff. Not that Prince & MJ were ever not interesting. But looking to the future was hip hop, which was rapidly growing up. Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded came up and I was like "KRS One already??" because he has this flow about him, it's astonishing and so fast and beyond all the hip hop previously encountered in this project. It's like, an actual flow! The only problematic things are "The P is Free" (which kind of seems like it glorifies taking advantage of people's crack addictions in a very misogynistic way) and the whole bridge wars thing. When I read about the bridge wars to put some of these songs into context, it turns out it was really stupid because BDP kept saying "I can't believe you think hip hop started in Queens! You're so wrong!" and then Queens was saying "we didn't say that" and then BDP said "I can't believe you said hip hop started in Queens!" etc. I like Scott La Rock's DJing in a 1980s hip hop manner. He was pushing things forward.

But then I heard something that felt even more forward. An album that must have been one of the most influential albums for all the great early 90s golden era hip hop that I'm looking forward to exploring, I'm of course talking about Paid in Full by Eric B. & Rakim. Rakim's vocals just have this sound to them, something that just feels good. The laid back flow way beyond everything else. And Eric B. was sampling different things, soul things. In jazzy ways to complement Rakim's flow.

Eric B. & Rakim "As The Rhyme Goes On"

Ok now for my wheelhouse. I put "college" rock up there meaning indie rock as it was referred at the time. But I also consider all the post hardcore (mostly DC) developments to be a part of this even though I have no idea if Dag Nasty was played on college radio stations. But Wig Out At Denko's is some sort of indie classic. To me it sounds like a somewhat more technically advanced Descendents. The energy is similar and I think that's what I like about it. We're also approaching Fugazi but one of the essential pitstops on the way to that is Embrace, Ian's short-lived emo project. I only have a few songs off their album but "No More Pain" is kind of the quintessential example of early emo to play for people that don't get it. Guy Picciotto's band of this era was Happy Go Licky, who didn't officially record anything in a studio but a live show was recorded.

You know, I talked about the Descendents above so here is an awkward segue into The Descendents' (original) swan song, All. Kind of their most mature album, say an Enjoy! without (as many) fart jokes. Not that it took itself particularly seriously. Yes, there are some of their better pop songs on here ("Coolidge," "Clean Sheets," "Pep Talk") but there are their most experimental pieces as well. Jokey experimental pieces. Like "Van" about doing stuff in a van. "Impressions" about a journey. "Ice Man" about a crazy Ice Man that cometh! The almost 7 minute "Schizophrenia." And the manifesto.

The Descendents "All-O-Gistics"

Qua quaaaaaaaaaaa qua qua...

And Dinosaur Jr! You're Living All Over Me! Can we get more classic college rock than that? And by that I mean they are both classic and they are influenced by classic rock. But with such youth and vigor, because that's how it was back then. Those dudes were young once, it turns out.

In the same vein of people that are now old but have been doing great work forever...Yo La Tengo. New Wave Hot Dogs is the earliest instance of YLT I have in my collection and it's quite good. Lots of the atmospheric things they are now known for can be seen here, just in smaller bursts. None of their patented long songs just yet.

I was missing a good chunk of Sonic Youth records between their self-titled debut and Sister, because now they are suddenly at the top of their game. Melodic when they needed to be, insane when they needed to be, they were shaping the future man! The underground would never be the same. I'll share this track mostly because it's Ash Wednesday.

Sonic Youth "(I Got A) Catholic Block"

But the biggest college/alternative/indie/whatever album of all of 1987, the biggest deal at least, was an EP by an up and coming band called the Pixies. This blog will be obsessed with the Pixies for the next few entries and then they will disappear. So playful, such great screaming, such odd guitar licks, it was all there on their very first EP Come On Pilgrim. Even if all of that has disappeared on their recent EPs.

Pixies "I've Been Tired"

Should I put The Smiths down here? It looks like The Smiths broke up here, and this part is about the ends of journeys. 8 songs on that Louder Than Bombs collection are from 1987, the last hurrah. Including one of my favorite Smiths songs because it's pretty relatable, "Half a Person."

Another one of those bands were still around still doing very good work was The Cure, who put out one of their stronger efforts (in my opinion), Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. It's got some of my favorite hit songs of theirs ("Just Like Heaven" in particular), it's got a lot of Cure-sounding songs, and it has my favorite Cure song that doesn't sound so much like The Cure. Save this one for a special mixtape.

The Cure "Catch"

I guess that'll do it.

Also I may mention...

• Sinead O'Connor's The Lion And The Cobra played and it feels like a big influence on lots of the great female singer songwriters of the past 20ish years, such as Fiona Apple, Feist, Jesca Hoop, etc. that I dig because of how much creativity they push into a genre I would have otherwise assumed was just someone strumming a guitar.
• Fat Boys are very definitely a novelty act in 1987 with half-cover songs, a song with The Beach Boys, and a Chubby Checker featuring "The Twist (Yo, Twist!)"
• Operation Ivy had some undergroundish EPs in 1987 but I'll hold off talking about them until we at least get to the Hectic EP.
• One of Johnny Cash's lesser known lesser albums, Johnny Cash is Coming to Town, came up and I dig it because he covered an Elvis Costello song on it. And some cheesy love songs and other cheesy things.
• I also had the distinct pleasure of listening to the other half of The Pixies' "Purple Tape," which Come on Pilgrim was derived from. Mostly it's just interesting to hear early versions of songs that would make their major upcoming albums.
• R.E.M. was doing pretty good and starting to blow up thanks to their hit "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
• And just to clean up the last of the pre-Fugazi stuff in time for Fugazi, Rites of Spring had a 7" come out (even though they had been broken up a couple years) and it was fabulous.
• Big Black! Headache and Heartbeat!

What's Next??

1988 in punk/whatever: FUGAZI FUGAZI FUGAZI! Descendents turn into All! Big Black goes all out! An actual album by The Ex! Operation Ivy! Pogues! Shudder to Think! 

1988 in indie/whatever: Camper van Beethoven make their (here) debut! More Dinosaur Jr! Fishbone! Do My Bloody Valentine go here? One of the Two Best Pixies Albums! The Best Sonic Youth Album! 

1988 in singers or whatever: More Leonard Cohen! Traveling Wilburys! 

1988 in hippity hop: NWA! Ice T! (stuff's about to get profane!) Public Enemy! Slick Rick! Ultramagnetic MCs! 

...And another classic album from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

An Ear For An Era: 1985

I feel like I should have more to say about 1985 music. There were some all-time classics released, mostly ones that I don't have as much personal experience as would be required to do any justice to these albums. But aside from a handful, lots of it was forgettable. So this one's kind of short.

The first album that came up for 1985 was the classic Weird Al piece known as Dare to Be Stupid. One of my favorites by him, for reasons such as the Devo-inspired title track and the Kinks-and-Star-Wars-inspired "Yoda." Yesterday I was skiing in the trees and my dad once said "watch out for that tree," so for the rest of the day I had "George of the Jungle" stuck in my head. But the most memorable track on here was an early favorite for sure. Keep an eye on those background singers/dancers.

"Weird Al" Yankovic "One More Minute"

Talking Heads' Little Creatures is the first albums of theirs that I got once I got cool enough to seek them out. Opener "And She Was" might still be my favorite song of theirs. But I dig the whole thing, from "Creatures of Love" to "Stay Up Late" to "Road to Nowhere." Good travel music and such.

Minor Threat released their last music, the Salad Days EP. These three songs are pretty mellow relative to their earlier output, which I guess suggests the directions Ian MacKaye would head in his post-Minor Threat days. Speaking of stuff Iam MacKaye would go on to do, his future bandmate Guy Picciotto was making waves with Rites of Spring and thanks to him we now have lots of crappy emo music in this world. But in 1985, emo meant something very different. Not to go into a history lesson, but it's much less embarrassing to refer to this music as post hardcore or whatever than emo. End On End has nothing in common whatsoever with whatever '00s emo you have in mind when I use that word (over and over I admit). It's kind of mathy, kind of post rock, and it's very heavy. It's just the wail Guy Picciotto used here, it's otherworldly, it's coming from somewhere so deep and dark and pained.

Rites of Spring "Persistent Vision"

The Cure was also obviously a big influence on what would become fake "emo" or whatever stuff with all the mopin' around. The Head On The Door is one of their better albums in my opinion (I prefer their pop music). "Close To Me" is a top tier Cure pop single. And this album was full of pop with a darkness. I don't know. I like this song though.

The Cure "Screw"

I was a late adapter of The Jesus And Mary Chain's Psychocandy but when Stephin Merritt made all those great comments on it describing its production I knew I had to hear it. It is a huge influence on the indie pop to come. Not only Magnetic Fields, but Best Coast and Animal Collective and everyone in between. All the noise and distortion serving just to obscure the pop melodies just beneath. 

Tom Waits. Rain Dogs. The follow-up to Swordfishtrombones. More experimental jazz sorrow coolness. I can't come up with the right adjectives to describe this album. But duh. It's amazing.

Something completely different again: Remember a couple years ago when that hip hop track came out starring all sorts of giants of the genre? That was cool. And a very similar thing happened in 1985 when Fat Boys, Run-DMC, Sheila E, and Kurtis Blow got together for "Krush Groovin'." That is the jam right there.

Fishbone is red hot!! One of my favorite live shows ever is any time I ever saw Fishbone. They'll get the party going. Strangely I used to not like this song when it was played on the ska show on the college radio station KCSU when I was in high school.  But that has changed. I oddly don't have this full album but this song is worth showing a video for anyway. I need to go more obscure I think. Whatever, Fishbone is red hot!

Fishbone "Party At Ground Zero"

Other things.

• The Smiths. Have I mentioned them yet? I have the "Louder Than Bombs" (their quotation marks, not mine) collection and quite enjoy the song "Asleep." And obvious hit "How Soon Is Now" was also from 1985.
• Dead Kennedys got all serious and long songy in 1985 with Frankenchrist. No more short songs, they were now focused on creating creepy atmosphere.
• They Might Be Giants demo!
• If Kurtis Blow ruled the world...
• Prince just kept being awesome with Around The World In A Day. "Raspberry Beret" was the big hit but the whole album is catchy as hell.
• Brian Ferry's Boys and Girls is pretty awesome.
• Mekons were quite good.
• The Descendents' second album took a turn for the pop. I don't mind that at all, but some of the magic of the first album is gone. They're still good at the pop stuff though.
• Tears For Fears accomplished some strange feat of sounding so dated and 80s yet aging so well. "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," "Head Over Heels," "Mothers Talk," Songs From The Big Chair is just so inspiring to listen to.

Next Time...

I'll do better. Ha! I know I phoned it in this time. Sorry. At least I picked good clips to show you. But I'll have plenty to say about 1986 because The Beastie Boys! And Big Black! And my TWO FAVORITE Elvis Costello albums. And the actual debut of They Might Be Giants. And another classic from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

An Ear For An Era: 1979

That is going to do it for the 70s. That wasn't so bad, now was it?

Punk went postal, funk got poppier, pop got funkier, and I'm pretty sure a dance party with all 1979 music would be amazing.

Oh yeah, and something else has emerged. Something...else.

But we'll get to that in a minute. Let's talk about punk rock. I didn't realize how quickly things escalated here. I was aware that post punk was pretty much on the heels of the pop punk established by Ramones, but I didn't realize that hardcore punk was also champing at the bit at the same time. But here it was, the Dead Kennedys' early recordings. West Coast punk rock is here to burn everything up. To make The Ramones and Buzzcocks sound quaint. "California Uber Alles" was a single in 1979 and I also have some early live performances from the Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death compilation.  Here, a template is established that defines much of my high school music attention span and countless punk rock bands of the next 30 or so years.

The Dead Kennedys "Short Songs" (live)

The Cramps were also getting dirty and doing the horror-surf-punk thing so much better than The Misfits in my opinion. They epitomized this era of punk to me, just not caring about sounding polished, just banging their instruments together to create such energy...their cover of kindred spirits The Trashmen really stood out for me from their 1979 debut EP Gravest Hits.

The Cramps "Surfin' Bird"

So that was one side of punk rock that is really going to expand greatly as we get into the 80s. The other side was pushed forward by The Clash. Expansion, incorporation of ska, and oh yeah, the Most Important Album Of All Time. Right? London Calling was their masterpiece and I don't even know what to say here. I'm gonna blow it. It's all 3-5 star songs (I think the highest average rating for any album in my collection despite sprawling over 19 tracks). The ska part of this managed to make it more revolutionary than anything else, incorporating the Jamaican history of music and revolution into the revolutionary nature of punk in the late 70s, it just changed everything. This is what would be imitated for decades, get popular in the 90s in time for me to discover the ska punk genre at the peak time in my life (high school, feeling like an outcast) to show me what it means to rebel, to have something that drives that state of mind. When I finally discovered this album in particular it was a revelation. Everything else became irrelevant. Music follows an evolutionary path but this is such a high point that nothing has managed to effectively evolve from it (but I am looking forward to dissecting its kin on this very blog regardless). The energy, the words, the world it opened up, I know I've used this word a lot in this paragraph but it's what it is in the truest sense of the word (musically at least): Revolution.

The Clash "Revolution Rock"

Another band that did something very similar to The Clash but in its own unique was was Gang of Four. Their debut album Entertainment! establishes some other rhythmic identities that would be similarly imitated decades later. The main difference is the sparse arrangements. The funky rhythms though! There's actual skill and musicianship on the part of the drummer and bassist that was not particularly valued in punk rock at the time and it's pretty refreshing to have the energy, highly politicized lyrics and revolutionary spirit presented in such a groove.

Post-punk-but-soon-to-be-new-wave band The Cure made their debut with Boys Don't Cry in 1979 as well. It fits well with Gang of Four in that it's highly rhythmic (but much poppier) and has spare arrangements, particularly when contrasted with what the band would become in the 80s. Of course the title track was/is a giant hit among new wave fans, but the rest is pure post punk deconstruction.

David Bowie was back in 1979 to finish his "Berlin Trilogy" with Brian Eno with The Lodger. This album was very dark and very appropriate to listen to around Halloween time. I keep waiting for when Bowie becomes "difficult" but I'm not sure it's going to happen. Here he's dark but it's still easy to listen to.

David Bowie "Repetition"

Another artist with a fruitful relationship with Brian Eno was of course Talking Heads. Fear Of Music was their 1979 release. I have this one on vinyl and it's got a super cool texture on the sleeve. I missed out on More Songs About Buildings And Food (for which I apologize, I'm not sure how I neglected to pick it up every time I've been to record stores) so this is a giant leap from their debut. It's no longer just white people funk, it's got lots of different textures and rhythms and experiments. It retains the high level of energy and rhythm and benefits a lot from Eno's influence.

One more quick new wave hit! This is one that dominated my personal charts in the early aughts, mostly because they played it at all the cool dance clubs as a throwback smash. And I have memories of crazy nights centered on this particular jam.

B-52s "Rock Lobster"

I'm pretty sure that's the extent of the B-52s that will EVER appear on this blog. So I hope you enjoyed it.

Hey you know how I talked about The Clash and ska and such? I finally have some official Two Tone era ska! Just a couple songs from Madness. "My Girl" is a favorite mostly because Mike Park has a cover of it that I quite enjoy. I sang it in karaoke once on my birthday. And then this one, it's honest-to-goodness ska!

Madness "(They Call It) Madness"

Lots more ska coming your way soon!

Now let's talk about Elvis Costello & The Attractions, shall we? I'm pretty sure I'll have something to say about him in most years as we get through the 80s, into the 90s, etc. Armed Forces was his best album at the time of release. I know lots of fans consider it his best overall, but I have some others I prefer later down the line. But it establishes The Attractions as more than just a rockin' band to back up Elvis' great lyrics and singing. They are a force here, incorporating more intimately with Mr. Costello as a functional unit. And his writing hits a high point, showing a fearlessness, his vocals have that sneer that I always associate with him. Listen to this song, the "she'll be the one" part toward the end is one of my favorite sections of any Elvis Costello song, an early climax on the album, putting it on a high that carries through the album before exploding onto the closing track "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding." You know that song is amazing but here's the song I tried to tell you to listen to in the last sentence but got off track. Here:

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Big Boys"

Okay now's a good time as any to transition over to pop music. Now I'm not sure how it happened but I started warming up more and more to disco as this went on. I think a lot of it is due to the fact that I minimized how much is in my collection so I can't get sick of it. But some of these artists really stepped it up artistically as the decade wore on, and I also like this track because Feist did a cover of it and I really love her version. But here's the original:

Bee Gees "Love You Inside Out"

Okay now that's out of the way. Let's move on to the king of pop, who really asserted himself in 1979 with Off The Wall. Considered by many critics and snobs to be Michael Jackson's best album, I think I have to agree. Incorporating elements of disco and funk, along with some ballads, into a new signature sound that can be described simply as pop, this album is pure fire, front to back. The pop of the 80s, the one existing outside the world of new wave, is in full force from the opening track "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough." Of course that is the most well known song on that album and for a good reason. But there is absolutely no filler in this fire, it's a hot burning flame that is completely solid. My metaphors are starting to get confused. But Quincy & Michael struck gold...flaming gold...with this one. Of course all these fire metaphors mean I have to share this song.

Michael Jackson "Burn This Disco Out"

Of course where there's a king, there is also a Prince! The other king of pop in the same exact era! His  self-titled album was apparently his second one so it ain't no debut. But it's our debut here so that counts for something. Lots of similar sounds to Off The Wall but more diverse. I do like when he whips out the guitar for some rock & roll incorporated soul-funk-pop like on the song "Bambi." But I also think his best is yet to come at this point. Did you know that when you wikipedia "Prince" it returns some stupid entry about royalty? I say we petition wikipedia to make him the default entry for the word prince!

According to wikipedia, Prince opened for Rick James on tour around this time. Rick James was super awesome in 1979 pushing the funk train forward with songs like this.

Rick James "High On Your Love Suite: One Mo Hit (Of Your Love)"

You know what genre Rick James really influenced and continues to influence to this day? It was funny, it actually came up early in the shuffle but I had to end this entry on it. That's right, The Sugarhill Gang had a certain song that exploded in popularity and taught the masses about a brand new genre of music. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. I didn't realize how dirty this song was considering how relatively clean hip hop seemed to be in its early days. But yeah. Game changer. That means the framework for everything I have coming up for the rest of this journey has now been established. It's all just a matter of evolution from here.

The Sugarhill Gang, "Rapper's Delight"

Other blah blah worth something

• Sun Ra's Strange Celestial Road was interesting, a good moody driving record.
• I wasn't sure where to put Pink Floyd's The Wall so it's delegated to here. Sorry. I know it's epic and deserves many paragraphs.
• Delta 5's "Mind Your Own Business" was yet another post punk funky gem.
• Just a couple years after changing the world, the only Ramones track I have from 1979 is "Rock 'N' Roll High School," a nice novelty song to go with the novelty movie they were in.
• I didn't realize I was missing a crucial Devo album from my digital collection! "Secret Agent Man" is the only evidence I have that Duty Now For The Future exists. Big omission there.
• In high school I picked up the album I Am by Earth Wind & Fire because we played a couple of their songs in marching band (my marching band was better than your marching band). We played "In The Stone" from this album and it was super fun. The album itself reminds me of Off The Wall but without the benefit of Michael Jackson. "Boogie Wonderland" would go well on that theoretical 1979 dance party though.
• Joy Division was quickly evolving from raw punk rock to smoothed out post punk dance suites like "Transmission."

Next Time...

Like, totally, you know? Whatever! The 80s means new wave and hardcore punk and early hip hop and stuff. 1980 specifically means Afrika Bambaataa & Kurtis Blow, Bad Manners, English Beat, and The Specials, Exclamation marked albums like Sandinista! and Get Happy!!, more Cramps, more Dead Kennedys, Devo, Talking Heads, Joy Division, and the end of John Lennon. And more!!