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.
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.
The 2009 list went through a revision, and subsequent discoveries from the year weren’t moving enough to dislodge anything.
… And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, The Century of Self
LEO Imai, LASER RAIN
Van Tomiko, Van.
Alarm Will Sound, a/rhythmia
Onitsuka Chihiro, DOROTHY
Shiina Ringo, Sanmon Gossip
Tomosaka Rie, Toridori.
mono, Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Wendy & Lisa, White Flags of Winter Chimneys
Sacha Sacket, Hermitage
Other favorites from the year:
Office, Mecca
Kronos Quartet, Floodplain
The Bad Plus joined by Wendy Lewis, For All I Care
Utada, This Is the One
In explaining the dearth of new releases on this list, I mentioned that I spent more time listening to catalog music, but like 2012 and 2011, I haven’t picked any more titles from 2009 in the 9 years that have passed.
It makes me think it wasn’t a terribly interesting time for discovery.
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.
The 2014 list has already gone through one revision, and this version expands it slightly.
D’Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah
John Luther Adams, Become Ocean
Sturgill Simpson, Metamodern Sounds of Country Music
Royal Wood, The Burning Bright
The Bad Plus, The Rite of Spring
Meredith Monk, Piano Songs
Inventions, Inventions
MONO, Rays of Darkness
Shiina Ringo, Gyakuyunyuu ~Kouwankyoku~
BADBADNOTGOOD, III
Other favorites from the year:
Juanes, Loco de Amor
The Drums, Encyclopedia
Cocco, Plan C
Shaprece, Molting EP
Huck Hodge, Life Is Endless Like Our Field of Vision
Taylor Swift, 1989
Sam Amidon, Lily-O
U2, Songs of Innocence
The year started with Juanes topping the list. He’s now been bumped off the Favorite 10 in favor of BADBADNOTGOOD. Despite that change, the Favorite 10 is pretty solid. The remaining list, however, has expanded to include The Drums and Taylor Swift.
You read that right.
I’ve been curious about 1989 for a while, but I felt no desire to stream it. Yet, a thrift store copy selling for $2 was more incentive to check it out. I wonder why that is? I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.
The Drums’ Encyclopedia didn’t start out as a favorite, but when I stopped expecting it to be a carbon copy of the self-titled debut, its strengths became apparent. That said, it’s really a strange album.
The last addition to the list is an album by Huck Hodge, a University of Washington music composition professor from whom I took a number of classes. I actually heard most of this album in class, so it made sense to own a copy of it.
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.
The 2016 list has actually undergone a revision, so this list consolidates the two entries, with some slight changes.
Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
Henryk Górecki, Symphony No. 4
MONO, Requiem for Hell
Solange, A Seat at the Table
A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service
Perfume, COSMIC EXPLORER
Drive By Truckers, American Band
Shaprece, COALS
Cocco, Adan Ballet
Colvin & Earle, Colvin & Earle
Other favorites from the year:
Utada Hikaru, Fantôme
Ty Herndon, House on Fire
Eluvium, False Readings On
Santigold, 99 Cents
Explosions in the Sky, The Wilderness
Blood Orange, Freetown Sound
Colin Stetson, Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki’s Third Symphony
John Adams, Scheherazade.2
The 10 favorites remain the same, while Utada Hikaru and Ty Herndon get bumped down. ANONHI, Pixies and De La Soul get bumped off completely.
I included Pixies because Head Carrier was an improvement over Indie Cindy, but it wasn’t stellar enough to hold onto its position. Albums by ANONHI and De La Sol were good, but over time, they couldn’t hold onto to their status as favorites.
As I mentioned before, lists from this decade probably won’t see much shifting, as my focus continues to move to exploring catalog. Most of the 2016 releases I bought after the year had passed were vinyl issues.
A Bruce Springsteen compilation accompanying the release of his autobiography did set me on a course to explore his earlier albums.
![[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)
![[Alarm Will Sound - a/rhythmia]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AlarmWillSoundarhythmia522852FED_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Huck Hodge - Life Is Endless Like Our Field of Vision]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/HuckHodgeLifeIsEndlessL191855G0EF_f.jpg)
![[Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/SturgillSimpsonSailorsGu144472NGPT_f-300x300.jpg)