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Favorite edition 2023: Year Half

[Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes]

Half way through the year, and I have to admit the favorite list isn’t looking too solid for the last six slots. I definitely like albums by SYML, Kelala, Eluvium and Jason Isbell. I like the first album by Everything But the Girl in 24 years, but it’s not my favorite of theirs. The remaining slots are up for grabs, although Kesha’s album has enough rawness to hold onto its spot.

Here’s how 2023 is shaping up so far:

  • SYML, The Day My Father Died: Brian Fennell has a gorgeous voice, and this album feels singular to that voice.
  • Kelela, Raven: This album needs a few listens before it burrows deep.
  • Eluvium, (whirring Marvels in) Consensus Reality: Probably the most epic album in the Eluvium discography.
  • Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Weathervanes: This could be Isbell’s best album since Southeastern. It’s raw.
  • Everything But the Girl, Fuse: Welcome back, Ben and Tracey.
  • Kesha, Gag Order: Drag them, girl.
  • Sufjan Stevens / Timo Andres / Conor Hanick, Reflections: I saw a number of reviews complaining about the fact this album is essentially modern classical music. Which, of course, is a selling point for me.
  • Danish String Quartet, Prism V: I wish the Danish had chosen a more modern Webern work in the way they had with Schnittke and Shostakovich, but it’s an impeccable pairing with Beethoven and Bach nonetheless.
  • Queens of the Stone Age, In Times New Roman…: This album actually reminds me a lot of … Like Clockwork, with which I also recently caught up.

Catalog

  • Thomas Frank, “Burn the Sails”: Thomas Frank is a productivity YouTuber, but this first foray into singing is really impressive.
  • Sudan Archives, Natural Brown Prom Queen: I overlooked this album in 2022.
  • Queens of the Stone Age, … Like Clockwork: I remember this album getting good reviews around the time it came out.
  • Luscious Jackson, Electric Honey: I reviewed this album back in 1999 but let it go for cash. I’m glad it’s back in the collection
  • Nena, ? (Fragezeichen): A number of tracks on this album served as a foundation for the multilingual album 99 Luftballons.
  • System of a Down, Toxicity: This band is pretty operatic, no?
  • Daryl Hall and John Oates, Private Eyes: There are way too many hits on this album for it not to be enjoyable.
  • Rosanne Cash, King’s Record Shop: This album holds up pretty well.

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Purchase log, 2023-07-18

[SYML - SYML]

I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.

Catalog

CD
  • SYML, SYML
  • The Cranberries, No Need to Argue
  • Tim McGraw, Reflected: Greatest Hits, Vol. II
  • UNKLE, Psyence Fiction
Vinyl
  • Bright Light Bright Light, Fun City
  • David Bowie, Toy
  • Eddie Murphy, Comedian
  • Idlewild, Interview Music
  • Inventions, Continuous Portrait
  • Mastodon, Medium Rarities
  • Sufjan Stevens / Timo Andres, The Decalogue
  • Various Artists, The Problem with Leisure: A Tribute to Andy Gill and Gang of Four
Files
  • Dry Cleaning, Sweet Princess EP
  • UNKLE, The Road, Part II (Lost Highway)

Reissues

CD
  • The Dream Syndicate, The Days of Wine and Roses (40th Anniversary Edition)
Vinyl
  • Enya, A Box of Dreams

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Purchase log picks, second quarter 2023

[Thomas Frank - Burn the Sails]

Thomas Frank featuring Airplane Mode, “Burn the Sails”

I don’t usually pay attention to singles, and Thomas Frank is more known for his YouTube videos about productivity and the web app Notion than for music. But Frank, who previously released guitar instrumentals, took singing lessons and applied them to this single. And it’s impressive. I hope he has the gumption for an EP, at least.

Eluvium, (whirring marvels in) Consensus Reality

The last few Eluvium albums felt like they could be interchangeable, but this one? Not so much. Matthew Cooper has expanded his sonic vocabulary to include bona fide string arrangements. This albums feels uncharacteristic of the Eluvium M.O., but in very welcome ways.

SYML, The Day My Father Died

When I was younger, I would spend more time with albums, playing them weeks on end, even the ones for which I felt ambivalence. I don’t do that any more. So it’s rare that an album dominates my media devices the way this album has. Brian Fennell has a gorgeous voice, but he also knows how to tailor his songs for his voice. And they’re really good songs. They kept playing in my head long after the playback stopped. I can’t remember the last time an artist did that for me.

Natalie Merchant, Keep Your Courage

I think Merchant took her own advice with this album title because I don’t think I’ve heard her so confident.

NUMBER GIRL, Mujo no Hi

I didn’t realize NUMBER GIRL’s influence would have enough staying power to bring the band back together for fans who never saw them live in the first place. It was weird enough coming across a video of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION covering “Toumei Shoujo,” which NUMBER GIRL played four times on this final concert of their reunion tour. And they sound every bit as fierce as they did nearly 20 years ago. Paint me a little disappointed that a new album didn’t result from this reunion, but I’m glad the newer generations of fans got to see NUMBER GIRL in their element.

Kesha, Gag Order

Good on Kesha. Drag them.

Danish String Quartet, Prism V

Danish String Quartet’s Prism series paired works of Beethoven and Bach with composers who came in their wake, ranging from Felix Mendelssohn to Alfred Schnittke. Do I totally buy the connections Danish sees between the two B’s and Bartok or Shostakovich? I like the fact the Danish even tried to forge one. The final installment of this series pairs an early string quartet by Anton Webern with Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, Op. 135. The Webern quartet is a post-Romantic work with an unstable tonality but still fairly lush compared to the austerity his later works took on. Here, the connection with Beethoven is much more apparent.

Sufjan Stevens / Timo Andres / Conor Hanick, Reflections

I read user reviews complaining this album as nothing but modern classical garbage, so I took a listen myself, and no, it’s not garbage. But it is definitely modern classical, perhaps even post-modern. I have a few of Stevens’ indie rock albums, and I find them unoffensive. But this side of Stevens? I can get behind it.

Jake Shears, Last Man Dancing

Shears’ solo debut left not a single impression with me. But this follow-up is — what is that term the youngs use today? Oh, yes: FIRE.

Sugababes, Angels with Dirty Faces

I remember not having enough savvy about pop music to give this album an ambivalent review when it came out. Now that I’ve had a number of decades to reflect on this album and its predecessor One Touch, I have to say it’s a solid work. And it’s an essential album for anyone who wants to get a sense of Sugababes at their finest.

The Donnas, Early Singles 1995-1999

I learned of the Donnas right on the cusp of their signing to Atlantic Records, so I was unaware of their punk bonafides, which these early singles definitively establish.

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Purchase log, 2023-05-30

[Tina Turner - Simply the Best]

I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.

New releases

CD
  • Danish String Quartet, Prism V
  • Kesha, Gag Order
  • Shiina Ringo, Watashi wa Neko no Me
  • Sufjan Stevens / Timo Andres / Conor Hanick, Reflections
Files
  • Eponymous 4, “Kousoku”

Catalog

CD
  • Tina Turner, Simply the Best

Reissues

Vinyl
  • Shiina Ringo, Muzai Moratorium
  • Shiina Ringo, Shouso Strip
  • Shiina Ringo, Karuki Zaamen Kuri no Hana
  • Shiina Ringo, Sanmon Gossip
  • Shiina Ringo, Hi Izuru Tokoro
  • Shiina Ringo, Hyakuyaku no Cho

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Favorite Edition 2020 Year Final

[Sam Sparro - Boombox Eternal]

Twenty years ago, I was on the receiving end of an economic slump. I’ve gone through two more slumps since then, and I’ve so far dodge the bullet in both cases.

It doesn’t mean I don’t feel skittish.

All that to say that my disposable income had not diminished this past year, despite the economic devastation SARS-CoV2 has wrought, and I’m thankful I can even compile a list.

  1. Sam Sparro, Boombox Eternal: I’m not sure why I feel nostalgic for a style of music I actually disliked when I was younger, but Sparro nailed it.
  2. My Very Own Familiar, Dear Listener: Lawnchairs for the Apocalypse: I may have a bit of a bias since a friend of mine is in this band.
  3. Timo Andres / Jeremy Denk / Brad Mehldau / Randy Newman, I Still Play: A fitting tribute to Nonesuch emeritus executive Bob Hurwitz, for whom the pieces on this album were commissioned.
  4. … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, X: The Godless Void and Other Stories: No signs of mellowing out even after 25 years.
  5. Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately: I thought it was going to be hard to top No Shape.
  6. Jason Isbell and 400 Unit, Reunions: Isbell has been on such a sustained winning streak that it seemed at some point he needed to stumble. He hasn’t.
  7. Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters: I’m not even a Fiona Apple fan, and I like this album.
  8. Kylie Minogue, DISCO: My first Kylie purchase since Aphrodite. I wasn’t on board for the last two albums.
  9. Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, The Beethoven Connection: I like this idea of exploring Beethoven-adjacent composers to puzzle out how they influenced Beethoven himself.
  10. Mr. Bungle, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo: Straight up hardcore.

Other favorites of the year:

  • Brooklyn Rider, Healing Modes
  • The Streets, None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive
  • Mandy Barnett, A Nashville Songbook
  • Jónsi, Shiver

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Favorite Edition 2020 Year Half

[Sam Sparro - Boombox Eternal]

I started running out of things to say just as the SARS-CoV2 spread in the US, and when the lockdown happened, I threw myself into recording a pair of cover albums. I wasn’t buying much music, nor listening to anyone other than myself. By the time I finished making the albums, stores were opening up, and my music buying eventually resumed.

But I still don’t have much to say.

That doesn’t mean I’ve run out of opinions. So here are my favorites of the year so far.

New releases

  • Sam Sparro, Boombox Eternal
  • Timo Andres / Brad Mehldau / Jeremy Denk / Randy Newman, I Still Play
  • Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
  • Jason Isbell and 400 Unit, Reunions
  • The Streets, None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive
  • Fiona Apple, Fetch the Bolt Cutters
  • … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, X: The Godless Void and Other Stories
  • The Chicks, Gaslighter

Catalog

  • Charlie Puth, Voicenotes
  • Robyn, Body Talk
  • Nakamori Akina, AKINA BOX 1982-1989
  • Various Artists, Studio One Rockers
  • The Damned, Machine Gun Etiquette
  • Les Rythmes Digitales, Darkdancer

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Purchase log picks, May 2020

[Various Artists - I Still Play]

My Very Own Familiar, Dear Listener: Lawnchairs for the Apocalypse

A friend of mine posted he was releasing an album recorded during the lockdown in Washington that started in March. This is that album, and it’s available only on YouTube. Also, it’s damn good.

Robyn, Body Talk

I’m disappointed in myself for not grabbing a copy of this album on vinyl on Record Store Day 2019.

Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately

I’m slowly coming around to Perfume Genius. I don’t know if I’ll explore the early albums, but these last two have appealed to me greatly.

Jason Isbell and 400 Unit, Reunions

I like this album more than The Nashville Sound, but I don’t like it as much as Here We Rest or Something More Than Free. But finding a bad Jason Isbell album is like trying to find a bad Emmylou Harris album.

Timo Andres / Jeremy Denk / Brad Mehldau / Randy Newman, I Still Play

I’m going to miss Bob Hurwitz’s leadership of Nonesuch Records. The label seems to be moving in a more Americana direction since his retirement, and while the partnership with New Amsterdam Records is tailor made, I can’t help but feel Nonesuch is outsourcing its A&R for modern classical music.

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Purchase log, 2020-05-26

[Perfume Genius - Set My Heart on Fire Immediately]

I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.

New releases

CD
  • Jason Isbell and 400 Unit, Reunions
  • Perfume Genius, Set My Heart on Fire Immediately
  • Timo Andres / Jeremy Denk / Brad Mehldau / Randy Newman, I Still Play

Reissues

Vinyl
  • Everything But the Girl, Temperamental

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