Category Archives: Music

4
Jan

The Best Songs of 2023

Below are my top 50 songs of the year, plus a bonus track that’s among the year’s best, but not really available anywhere. Check out the Spotify playlist here. Blur – “The Narcissist”boygenius – “Not Strong Enough”Brother Marshall and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged barbie, brian metolius, joshua ray walker, julie klausner, ken pomeroy, kyle gordon, righteous gemstones, steve martin | Leave a comment

3
Jan

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2023

1973 Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy Stevie Wonder – Innervisions Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On Sarah Vaughan – Live in Japan Bruce Springsteen – The Wild, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged death cab for cutie, liz phair, new order, pink floyd, postal service, vampire weekend | Leave a comment

9
Jan

Best Songs of 2022

Another year of not caring about new music has gone splendidly. Sure, I checked out some of the bigger albums (like Beyoncé’s Renaissance) but for the most part, I’m only listening to individual tracks. Were their some important and/or exhilarating … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 1975, alvvays, anxious, baby keem, bartees strange, bear and the beasts, black thought, blessed madonna, bootie brown, brandi carlile, braxe and falcon, brian metolius, carly rae jepsen, chat pile, danger mouse, dawes, destroyer, durand jones, ezra koenig, future islands, gorillaz, hot chip, jacob collier, jamie xx, jess williamson, jimmy eat world, john mayer, kae tempest, kendrick lamar, kevin abstract, lcd soundsystem, lizzo, lizzy mcalpine, lucy dacus, ludwig goransson, marcus mumford, mf doom, Mitski, mj lenderman, panda bear, perfume genius, phoebe bridgers, phoenix, plains, pusha t, righteous gemstones, sam dew, secret machines, seratones, smile, soccer mommy, spoon, steve lacy, suffers, tame impala, taylor swift, trombone shorty, trsh, wallice, waxahatchee, weyes blood, yeah yeah yeahs, yeule | Leave a comment

6
Jan

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2022

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And four years ago I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 24 hour party people, aretha franklin, beastie boys, big star, bill fay, broken social scene, bruce springsteen, coldplay, david bowie, dr dre, drive-by truckers, elvis costello, father john misty, fiona apple, flaming lips, frank ocean, fun, godspeed you black emperor, jam, japandroids, johnny cash, kendrick lamar, laurie anderson, linda thompson, lou reed, lyle lovett, marshall crenshaw, michael jackson, moby, mountain goats, neu, nick drake, nusrat fatel ali khan, pavement, prince, rem, richard thompson, rolling stones, sarah jaffe, sharon van etten, singles, steely dan, stevie wonder, tame impala, tom waits, wilco, xtc, yaz | Leave a comment

15
Jan

The Best Songs of 2021

I intentionally avoided a lot of new music this year. I checked out and enjoyed some albums by the likes of Silk Sonic and Lil Ugly Mane, but my focus was mostly on great music from the past. So for … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 1k phew, adele, angel olsen, arlo parks, arooj aftab, barney artist, big thief, bts, buck meek, Cardi B, caribou, caroline polachek, cassandra jenkins, charli xcx, Christine and the queens, clairo, courtney barnett, cristin milioti, deafheaven, fka twigs, fred again, gang of youths, headie one, idles, illuminati hotties, japanese breakfast, joe pug, john mayer, julien baker, kacey musgraves, kamasi washington, kanye west, keite young, khruangbin, knocks, lecrae, leon bridges, little simz, lizzo, lucius, lucy dacus, magdalena bay, mdou moctar, Mitski, moss kena, mr jukes, nolan potter, noname, olivia rodrigo, purple disco machine, remi wolf, robert aa lowe, royal blood, rxknephew, sarah jaffe, serpentwithfeet, sharon van etten, silk sonic, snail mail, sparks, spoon, st vincent, Tierra whack, tinashe, travis barker, turnstile, tyler the creator, vandoliers, vanilla and pepper, war on drugs, wax motif, weather station, willow, yuno | Leave a comment

24
Dec

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2021

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And three years ago I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged a tribe called quest, adele, avalanches, beyonce, book of mormon, brian eno, bright eyes, can, caretaker, carole king, daft punk, david bowie, david byrne, db's, death cab for cutie, decemberists, destroyer, elvis costello, fela kuti, fleet foxes, gang starr, garth brooks, jay-z, jimmy eat world, joni mitchell, josie and the pussycats, klf, kraftwerk, led zeppelin, lift to experience, lily tomlin, marvin gaye, massive attack, miles davis, mission of burma, my bloody valentine, orb, primal scream, rick james, rolling stones, roots, seryn, slint, st vincent, starsailor, strokes, talk talk, teenage fanclub, this heat, u2 | Leave a comment

20
Feb

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2020

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And two years ago I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged a tribe called quest, ac/dc, air, alanis morissette, almost famous, angelo badalamenti, annie lennox, arcade fire, b-52's, badly drawn boy, beach house, betty carter, bjork, black sabbath, blues brothers, brand nubian, bruce springsteen, cat stevens, ccr, clash, cocteau twins, coldplay, creedence clearwater revival, d'angelo, danger mouse, david bowie, death cab for cutie, dire straits, eli paperboy reed, elliott smith, elton john, elvis costello, eminem, eric b and rakim, feelies, frightened rabbit, fugazi, garth brooks, gaslight anthem, genesis, george harrison, george michael, ghostface killah, girl talk, godspeed you black emperor, goldie, goodie mob, gorillaz, gza, high fidelity, hold steady, jam, james brown, janelle monae, jawbreaker, joe cocker, john lennon, joni mitchell, joy division, kanye west, khaled, killing joke, kings of leon, kinks, klf, kronos quartet, lambchop, las, lcd soundsystem, lecrae, led zeppelin, leftfield, local natives, madonna, marah, matchbox 20, matchbox twenty, miles davis, modest mouse, mouse on mars, mumford and sons, national, now, now that's what i call music, o brother where art thou, oasis, outkast, passengers, pavement, pet shop boys, peter gabriel, pixies, police, prefab sprout, pretenders, primal scream, prince, public enemy, pulp, radiohead, raekwon, randy newman, ride, rocket summer, rockpile, roots, ryan adams, santana, sarah jaffe, selena, shutter island, simon and garfunkel, sinead o'connor, smashing pumpkins, soft boys, sparklehorse, squeeze, sr-71, sr71, stooges, sufjan stevens, talking heads, they might be giants, titus andronicus, tom waits, tricky, u2, van morrison, velvet underground, who, xtc, yo la tengo | Leave a comment

21
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Songs

While I felt like I had no time to keep up with new albums, the initial version of this list stretched to 80 songs. But I was still able to whittle it down to 50 tracks. You can hear them … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 1975, albert hammond jr, bartees strange, bear and the beasts, ben folds, ben hopkins, bob dylan, bon iver, brandy clark, bts, bumper, calvin harris, Cardi B, carly rae jepsen, chris stapleton, Christine and the queens, david ramirez, diet cig, dirty projectors, father john misty, fiona apple, haim, india jordan, jessie ware, John Prine, joshua ray walker, kelly lee owens, killers, lady gaga, leon bridges, lianne la havas, love regenerator, lupe fiasco, magnetic fields, margo price, megan thee stallion, naked and famous, nick hakim, noname, nrthrn, phoebe bridgers, rina sawayama, rmr, run the jewels, sault, struts, sufjan stevens, taylor swift, thundercat, Tierra whack, virgil abloh, weather station, worriers, x, yves tumor | Leave a comment

20
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Albums

10. The Chicks – Gaslighter It’s been 14 years since the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks released an album, but they’re still filled with righteous fury. Instead of shitty presidents, their targets are abusive exes and the people … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged against all logic, backxwash, beach slang, bear and the beasts, brandy clark, brian metolius, bruce springsteen, bumper, car seat headrest, carly rae jepsen, charli xcx, chicks, chris stapleton, clipping, cut copy, david ramirez, dirty projectors, dua lipa, elvis costello, fiona apple, fleet foxes, gorillaz, haim, harry potter, jason isbell, jeff rosenstock, jessie ware, killers, lady gaga, lecrae, margo price, perfume genius, phoebe bridgers, pinegrove, poolside, pretenders, rina sawayama, run the jewels, sault, soccer mommy, sparks, sturgill simpson, sufjan stevens, sweeping promises, tame impala, taylor swift, thundercat, waxahatchee, x, yves tumor | Leave a comment

30
Jun

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2019

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And last year I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 500 days of summer, aimee mann, animal collective, antlers, avett brothers, b-52's, backstreet boys, band, beastie boys, beatles, beck, blue nile, blur, bob dylan, bon iver, built to spill, buzzcocks, ccr, chic, clash, creedence clearwater revival, cure, dark was the night, dave edmunds, david bowie, david crowder band, de la soul, death cab for cutie, dirty projectors, dismemberment plan, dixie chicks, donna summer, dusty springfield, elvis costello, elvis presley, eminem, fantastic mr fox, fiona apple, flaming lips, florence and the machine, foo fighters, gang of four, genesis, george michael, go, graham parker, green day, grizzly bear, ian hunter, isaac hayes, janet jackson, japandroids, jeff buckley, jimmy eat world, joe jackson, johnny cash, joy division, julee cruise, kate bush, kid cudi, kinks, led zeppelin, lisa germano, madonna, magnetic fields, manic street preachers, massive attack, michael jackson, miles davis, moby, mos def, nas, neko case, nick cave, nick lowe, nine inch nails, nirvana, notorious big, oasis, outkast, pavement, peter gabriel, Phil Wickham, phoenix, pixies, portishead, prince, pulp fiction, rage against the machine, roberta flack, rolling stones, roots, roxy music, rushmore, sigur ros, sister sledge, sleater kinney, sly and the family stone, smash mouth, sparks, st vincent, stone roses, stooges, sunny day real estate, supertramp, talking heads, throbbing gristle, tom petty, tom waits, u2, velvet underground, weezer, wilco, xtc, xx, yeah yeah yeahs | Leave a comment