Gang of Four, 77-81, March 12 (vinyl), April 23 (CD)
I don’t need this boxed set. I already have Entertainment! and Solid Gold on vinyl. But I want this boxed set because of the ephemera that goes along with it, including an actual cassette tape of demos. I’m glad I still have my TASCAM 424 to play it.
MONO, Beyond the Past: Live in London with Platinum Anniversary Orchestra, March 19
I don’t think I ever got around to listening to Holy Ground: Live in NYC with the Wordless Music Orchestra. (NOTE: I’m listening to it now as I write this entry.) As much as the orchestra is important to MONO’s studio recordings, it’s not terribly important in a live setting. I have seen the band enough times not to miss it. Still — I’d love to see them perform with one.
Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, Thanks for Coming, May 7
I’m usually skeptical when Hollywood actors form bands, but Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under, Dexter) played the title role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is enough cred for me. Also, I’m definitely the target market for the trio’s post-new wave sound. I liked the self-titled EP enough, but I’m curious to see what they can do over the length of a full album. Thanks for Coming is already available on digital platforms.
Vinyl
PJ Harvey, Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, Feb. 26
Yeah. This reissue is the one for which I’ve been waiting. I’m even going to get the accompanying disc of demos released separately. Next target: Let England Shake.
Bad Brains, Bad Brains, April 22
Because … Bad Brains.
Death Cab for Cutie, The Georgia EP, July 30
Death Cab for Cutie made this covers EP available for one day on Bandcamp to raise money for Fair Fight. With Senators Warnock and Ossoff now sworn in, the band is making it available on vinyl.
MONO, Hymn to the Immortal Wind (Anniversary Edition), June 14
I’m not usually a sucker for fancy packaging, but the limited edition vinyl reissue looks gorgeous. Also, this album really is MONO’s best.
John Luther Adams, Become Desert (Seattle Symphony, Ludovic Morlot), June 14
I’m not sure a recording will capture the surprise when a men’s chorus emerges from the texture of the orchestra — behind you. Perhaps in surround sound?
Renée Fleming, Lieder, June 14
An album of Brahms, Schumann and Mahler. I’ll pass.
The B-52’s, Cosmic Thing (Expanded Edition), June 28
It took a while for me to warm up to the B-52’s rougher early work because my first exposure to the band was the slick and polished Cosmic Thing.
Torche, Admission, July 12
I have three of the band’s four albums, which gives me enough familiarity with their work to look forward this upcoming release.
The Flaming Lips, King’s Mouth, July 19
Oh, so this was an actual new album? When I spotted it on Record Store Day, I assumed it was another one of their oddball projects.
NUMBER GIRL, Kanden no Kioku, July 24
A new live album! Or rather, raiding the archive to capitalize on the reunion.
Vinyl
Midnight Oil, Armistice Day: Live at the Domain Sydney, June 14
Oh, man, was I ever glad to catch Midnight Oil live on The Great Circle tour.
Solange, When I Get Home, late June
Solage’s Blonde to the Endless that was A Seat at the Table. How’s that for a difficult analogy?
Everything But the Girl, Amplified Heart, July 5
I’m surprised this album hadn’t been reissued on vinyl before now. Could we get a repress of Walking Wounded too?
NUMBER GIRL, SCHOOL GIRL DISTORTIONAL ADDICT, Aug. 7 NUMBER GIRL, SAPPUKEI, Aug. 7 NUMBER GIRL, NUM-HEAVYMETALLIC, Aug. 7
The Jet Set Records vinyl reissues in 2015 were pretty much sold out before they hit the stores, so jump on these pre-orders if you want to hear NUMBER GIRL in glorious analog.
A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.
As I mentioned in the original entry for the 2001 list, 75 percent of the year was actually really decent, especially where music was concerned. The Favorite 10 from that year remains unchanged.
AJICO, Fukamidori
fra-foa, Chuu no Fuchi
Quruli, Team Rock
eX-Girl, Back to the Mono Kero
ACO, Material
the brilliant green, Los Angeles
Cocco, Sangrose
Res, How I Do
Utada Hikaru, Distance
Onitsuka Chihiro, Insomnia
Other favorites from the year:
Hajime Chitose, Kotonoha
MONO, Under the Pipal Tree
Fugazi, The Argument
Low, Things We Lost in the Fire
Death Cab for Cutie, The Photo Album
bloodthirsty butchers, Yamane
Kicell, Yume
Shea Seger, The May Street Project
Rufus Wainwright, Poses
Semisonic, All About Chemistry
Missy Elliott, Miss E … So Addictive
Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
The Shins, Oh, Inverted World!
soulsberry, The end of vacation
Sigur Rós, Agætis Byrjun
Guided By Voices, Isolation Drills
Like 2002 and 2003, the extended list for 2001 overruns with quality stuff, and I’ve only added to it.
I got Gillian Welch’s Hell Among the Yearlings as part of a gift bag from a Waterloo Records holiday party. I didn’t get around to listening to it till about 15 years later, and I had to play catch-up.
I’ve known about Low for years, but I didn’t hear them till MONO shared a bill with them in concert.
The annual Friends of the Library Book Sale hooked me up with Fugazi’s End Hits for $1, so I sought out The Argument to round out my collection. I vaguely remember the news of Fugazi’s hiatus upsetting my Waterloo coworkers. I hadn’t yet jumped on the bandwagon.
![[Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/KeithJarrettTheKlnConce194139_f.jpg)
![[PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/PJHarveyStoriesFromTheC16632_f.jpg)
![[XTC - Go 2]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/XTCGo21985258805_f.jpg)
![[U2 - U2-3]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/U2U232019227569_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Prince - Originals]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PrinceOriginals2019214382NIB1_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Shiina Ringo - MoRA]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MoRA2008212167LD72_f-288x300.jpg)
![[Eluvium - Pianoworks]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/EluviumPianoworks2019207534M705_f-300x300.jpg)
![[John Luther Adams - Become Desert]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/JohnLutherAdamsBecomeDesert-300x300.jpg)
![[MONO - Nowhere Now Here]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/monoNowhereNowHere201920278414IR_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Fugazi - The Argument]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/FugaziTheArgument2001185734_f-300x300.jpg)