Rhino released the full concert on YouTube, so do yourself a fever and watch it whlie it’s still available. Ronstadt filmed this concert for HBO around the time she released Mad Love.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2
Many of the tracks on this second edition of live recordings from the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville come from Weathervanes, probably Isbell’s best album since Southeastern. So I’m inclined to rank it favorably over the first volume.
Various Artists, Club Epic
This compilation of remixes has some top notch hits from the ’80s: “Fantastic Voyage” by Lakeside, “Saturday Love” by Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal, “Lover Girl” by Teena Marie, to name a few. I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing these songs.
Painkiller, Samsara
Mick Harris has traded live drums for electronics on this album reuniting the former Napalm Death drummer with bassist Bill Laswell and saxophonist John Zorn. It’s no less frenetic and still mixes well with the wild abandon for which Painkiller is known.
Ray Chen, Player One
I can’t confess to being any sort of video game soundtrack listener, so those tracks which bookend this album are pretty much adornment for the Erich Korngold Violin Concerto, the crunchiest piece of repertoire I’ve heard Chen tackle so far.
Tim McGraw, Standing Room Only
I don’t mind that Tim McGraw engages in a bit of gay-baiting, and he doesn’t move in the same creative circles of Jason Isbell or Sturgill Simpson. But I have to admit Standing Room Only sounds like an album that could imagine a Venn diagram where McGraw, Isbell and Simpson intersect.
Marshall Crenshaw, Field Day
I hadn’t explored much of Crenshaw’s early albums till a number of them showed up at the thrift store. Now I understand how the press was flummoxed that Crenshaw just never stormed the charts.
In the past, I would try to write about every album I encountered. These days, I listen to a lot of stuff, but I’ll only post an entry if something sparks a memory.
As these statistics demonstrate, I’m leaving a lot out of this blog.
First and last purchases of the year
The first and last purchases of the year are determined by the date of order. Pre-ordered items not yet shipped have already been taken into account.
First purchase: The Flaming Lips, Clouds Taste Metallic on CD.
First purchase of a 2024 release: Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope on CD.
Last purchase of a 2024 release: Soundtrack, BLEACH THE BLOOD WARFARE, Part II on CD
Last purchase: Various Artists, Rave New World on CD.
Purchases by format
Format
New releases
Reissues
Catalog
Total
7-inch
2
3
0
5
10-inch
1
1
0
2
12-inch
0
3
0
3
Blu-Ray
1
0
0
1
CD Single
0
0
0
0
CD
45
9
250
304
CD-R
0
0
1
1
Downloads
14
3
10
27
Vinyl
24
37
136
197
Total items bought
87
56
397
540
Definitions
New release
Initial release within the calendar year.
Reissue
Originally released prior to the calendar year but reissued within the calendar year.
Catalog
Initial release prior to the calendar year.
Top catalog release years
Year
Number of items purchased
Year-over-year change
2023
32
New!
1983
18
New!
1993
16
New!
2004
15
New!
1986
15
New!
1992
14
-1
2021
13
New!
2002
13
-4
2001
13
New!
1990
13
New!
1987
13
New!
1982
13
New!
Top artists
Artist
Number of items purchased
Nakamori Akina
10
SYML
8
Taylor Swift
7
Simulacrum
6
Olivia Rodrigo
5
Marshall Crenshaw
5
Sleater-Kinney
5
10,000 Maniacs
4
MONO
4
Sinead O’Connor
4
The American Analog Set
4
U2
4
Single titles purchased in multiple formats are counted individually.
Notes
Hungry Ear Records had a number of vintage Nakamori Akina records that I couldn’t pass up.
Most of the Taylor Swift purchases are used vinyl. The Tortured Poets Department is my second lowest-rated album of 2024. I managed to play it three times before moving onto more interesting releases by Shiina Ringo, Beyonce, Charli XCX and Chappell Roan.
My lowest-rated album is Beethoven Blues by Jon Batiste.
I would eventually like to get all the Simulacrum albums.
Women have so thoroughly dominated 2024 that I almost wanted to ban men entirely from this year-end list. But then sungazer and Johnny Blue Skies had to go and record some year-end worthy stuff, so it’s not a shut out.
Beyoncé, Act II: Cowboy Carter
Is Cowboy Carter a country album? No, it’s the sound of country music paying for its lack of vision.
Shiina Ringo, Hojoya
Collaborating with other women artists has really rejuvenated Shiina Ringo. The last few albums have felt like formalities. This album feels truly new.
Charli XCX, brat
I first criticized brat for drawing upon too little material for the entire length of an album. Over time, I would discover that criticism was actually its strength.
Tiffany Poon, Diaries: Schumann
Tifanny Poon is not like most YouTubers. Her vlogs often feel like miniature art films, with scenic shots underpinned by her performances. And you see her contend with the music on her recital programs, the piano given a voice (through subtitles) in how the performance turns out. The care with which she champions Schumann’s music comes through on her first album as an adult concert performer.
Perfume, Nebula Romance: Zenpen
Perfume albums are often just compilations of the last half dozen singles, and Nebula Romance: Zenpen isn’t too different in that regard. But as the trio approaches 25 years of performing, this album feels much more organic. Producer Nakata Yasutaka lightens his touch, letting the voices of Kashiyuka, A-chan and Nocchi to come through. It’s also part one of two albums, with the second expected in 2025.
Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope
After a successful return on 2015’s No Cities to Love, Sleater-Kinney wandered a bit on the subsequent albums. Little Rope course corrects just enough to remind listeners why they loved this band in the first place.
Kim Gordon, The Collective
Give Kim Gordon the damn Grammy.
Cocco, Beatrice
Similar to Onitsuka Chihiro, Cocco’s first albums cast a long shadow over everything that came after. She’s occasionally met the expectations set by that body work, and sometimes she hasn’t. Beatrice definitely does. Cocco’s most recent work is far sunnier than her early albums, but Beatrice shows some of storm and stress piping below the surface.
sungazer, Against the Fall of Night
The songs on this album are all in a 4/4 time signature, but how those four beats are divided up is the real question.
Johnny Blue Skies, PASSAGE DU DESIR
Sturgill Simpson the brand is dead. But I have no doubt Johnny Blue Skies will be no less chameleonic, starting with this album steeped in a 1970s Gram Parsons vibe.
More favorites:
Ray Chen, Player One
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Live from the Ryman, Vol. 2
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