Well its been another year.....and decade. For some reason, since the 90's, decades have become less important to me and seem to have melted together.
Music from the 70s, 80s and 90s had a very distinctive sound. But music from the 00's and 10's....while there are differences aren't nearly as distinct. I think the internet and social media have a lot to do with it
Anyway, it wasn't until last month I realized we were leaving a decade behind.....so I've thrown together my faves of the 10's and also of 2019. The best of 2019 is in a certain order , however; the best of the decade are not since there are 600 songs. Enjoy.
Well if I thought time was in short supply last year, this year took the cake. Its been a rough year but I managed to still put together a solid list of my favorite songs from 2018. 2019 will be a very different and changing year as I will be moving to a different state for the first time in my life. Hope this collection of hits can continue me through all of the change.
It was tough to trim songs off this list so I ended up with almost double than what I had last year....partly due to laziness, partly due to there being a lot of good songs.
Strung together but in no particular order, here are my 170 favorite songs from 2018.
Since I didn't have a digital camera most of 2018, I shot mostly on film (except the first picture). I didn't shoot a ton but here are some favorite concert photos of 2018 as well:
These were my favorite albums from 2016....the famous year that killed everyone apparently.
The Albums of 2016
15.Robbing Millions - Robbing Millions
Caught wind of this one late in the year. It also came out late in the year so that was one reason. Really dug it. I'm looking forward to more from this band.
Summary of the album: Like being in a world where the earth's gravity projects you into space instead of keeping you on the surface.
Album Gems: Eight Is the Figure That I Like the Most, Dreams Like Photographs, You Fall From Your Chair
14.Kero Kero Bonito- Bonito Generation
This is by far the most 'poppy' sounding album on this list. Its not something that I usually gravitate to but I couldn't help myself....its a really catchy album
Summary of the album: Super Mario Bros sitting down at their house watching bizarre Japanese sitcoms on a big screen tube TV.
Album Gems: Picture This, Big City and Hey Parents
13.Mild High Club - Skiptracing
Toured with Tame Impala by no surprise. Very laid back psychedelic rock which I started to get more and more into by years end. The album's title track was one of my favorites of the year.
Summary of the album: Its like getting stuck in a weird 60's psychedelic painting and you get a job as a janitor next to the giant walking head to pay the bills.
Album Gems: Skiptracing, Homage, Tesselation
12.Vinyl Williams - Brunei
Made the list the last time he put out an album in 2014. Came back with another really solid album, perhaps even stronger than the previous. Airy psych-pop at its best.
Summary of the album: Levitating in a glitchy film strip full of grid paper and block shaped people that has been soaked in acid.
Album Gems: L'Quasar, Celestial Gold, Riddles Of The Sphinx
11.Wild Nothing - Life of Pause
They never seem to put out anything bad do they? Although they haven't put out anything that stands up to their debut album Gemini, they still can't lose.
Summary of the album: The griddle is a guitar and the notes are syrup soaked sweet pancakes of indie pop.
Album Gems: To Know You, Love Underneath My Thumb, Reichpop
10.Beverly - The Blue Swell
An album with a great blend of 80's and 90's music. I really can't stop myself from listening to this kind of music. I don't think I find this music, it seems to find me.
Summary of the album: Punky Brewster becomes friends with Vicky from Small Wonder.
Album Gems: Bulldozer, Crooked Cop, Victoria
9.Black Marble - It's Immaterial
New discover and great discovery. Dark 80's pop that I found late in the year that will continue to get regular reps to begin this year.
Summary of the album: Just how it sounds....you listen to this album, then you stare a black marble for an extended period of time, then you listen to this album again then you don't stare at a black marble again....pretty simple.
Album Gems: Frisk, Iron Lung, Woods
8.DIIV - Is the Is Are
It seemed like a lot longer than 4 years between their debut and their sophomore effort, but this new album showed they took a next step. Extremely catchy guitar hooks that create some of the best songs of the year.
Summary of the album: Hurried summary of this album.....its good.
Album Gems: Under the Sun, Out of Mind, Dopamine
7.Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - A Man Alive
Its been 9 years since I've discovered Thao and listened to their outstanding song " Bag of Hammers". They have continued to put out consistently good albums but I'd say this is as good as I've seen since their debut.
Summary of the album: Sort of like Johnny Cash but only if he was a girl that lived now and had a band called 'The Get Down Stay Down" and didn't sound like Johnny Cash at all.
Album Gems: Slash/Burn, The Evening, Nobody Dies
6.Teen - Love Yes
Love this album. Was annoyed I couldn't catch them when they played in Utah twice. I must say its definitely more accessible and fun then their previous albums. I had kind of lost track of them since their 2012 effort and I'm glad I'm back on the train.
Summary of the album: Its like the theme music to a hit sitcom starring a robot Alien named Jeff.
Album Gems: Tokyo, Free Time, All About Us
5.Deerhoof - The Magic
I don't think I had listened to a Deerhoof album in 10 years but I caught wind they were coming to town so I checked out their new album and was blown away. So much energy. Their drummer is one of the more entertaining and amazing drummers I've ever seen live. They are molded their oddness into a more accessible form for this album and it paid big dividends.
Summary of the album: Imagine your arms as your head and your stomach and as your feet.
Album Gems: The Devil and his Anarchic Surrealist Retinue, Debut, Life is Suffering
4.Flyying Colours - Mindfullness
Last year's album didn't make my top 20 surprisingly for some reason. If I had to re-do it then I would have included that album and bumped it up fairly high. I didn't make that mistake for their quick turn around album this year.
Summary of the album: Iffire was made into liquefied taco meat to make forest fires more celebrated.
Album Gems: Morning Stoner, Long Holiday, This Is What You Wanted
3.Weaves - Weaves
In the same vain as Deerhoof in my mind. Very creative rock/garage punk rock. Tons of energy, tons of fun......tons.
Summary of the album: Its a showdown between Freddy Kruegar and Jason Vorhees and.....oh wait that's already been done.
Album Gems: Birds & Bees, One More, Tick
2.Sego - Once Was Lost Now Just Hanging Around As promised from last year's list.....this album and band are back on the list. They "killed it" as so many people like to say to bands after their live sets. A band that is hard to pin down their sound so you stop and just listen and enjoy.
Summary of the album: When you're stepping on the ant pile and you think you killed a lot of them. You lift up your foot to find you killed 15 and 200 million still remain.
Album Gems: Obscene Dream, The Fringe, Wicket Youth
1.Charlie Hilton - Palana The solo project of Blouse's lead singer with the same name. I must say her solo project might have surpassed her main project which is saying a lot. I'd say that she will outgrow Blouse and put out more of her solo project and Blouse will become no more.....which is kind of shame but you can't complain what was born out of the ashes of it. I went back to this album over and over again. Stayed on my phone the whole year without getting subbed out. That's pretty big in my book.
Summary of the album: Terminators don wigs and scruffy facial hair and start playing soft 70's hits in an attempt to gain the humans trust so they can conquer them.
Album Gems: Pony, Palana, Snow
Honorable Mentions:
Angel Olson - Intern
Preoccupations - Preoccupations
Whitney - Light Upon the Lake
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Frankie Cosmos - Next Thing
Hinds - Leave Me Alone
Public Access TV - Never Enough
Here is the link to the playlist of albums that made the list and those that didn't. Its in the correct order 1-15 but is random after that.
Every year I get suckered into adding songs or albums from other "Top Songs" lists but I've tried to stay away from what they liked and go off of what I listened to frequently.
This year was much harder to listen to new music. I found myself listening to a lot of vaporwave music from the last 6 years. So if I could put together a list of the songs I listened to most, it would be from the genre and time. But toward the end of the year I had a surge of new music come my way and I was able to put together a pretty solid list.
Strung together but in no particular order here are my 101 favorite from 2016, enjoy.
A couple of notes, I will no longer add an 8 tracks link as it costs money to have an account now and most people won't be able to listen to the music.
Well, I posted my post summer depressed mix last week on Spotify. Didn't have time to post it on 8 tracks or on here. However, I came prepared this week as school is back in session and all the college students are back clogging the streets, restaurants and movie theaters and annoying everyone in their path. This weeks mix is a bit more upbeat then the previous introduction. Its full of some great new indie pop from friends like SWIMM and Sego to more indie heavy weights like Panda Bear and Of Montreal.
Friday means that tomorrow is Saturday which means that its the weekend which means a lot of people have time off to relax which means there will be more music to listen to. Here are a few selections that will enhance your weekend experience.
Its been a while since my last post, but I threw together a mix that I hope you'll enjoy it. A little sun splashed Indie pop to enjoy the last of the summer weather before the cooler fall weather comes.
Another Friday is here. Let us sit together in the grass and enjoy a good mix. Its in the high 60's here, I can't complain about that.....but the train passing by with its horn blaring is loud....I can complain about that.
I first heard about this band from the recommendation of my brother Spencer a few years ago. But I'd kind of lost track of them since they hadn't put out a new album in such a long time.
I went to SXSW this year and saw their name at some bigger shows and decided to check them out. They were one of the highlights from the festival and definitely stuck out from the 30 something shows that I was able to see during that week. This is a shot I was able to grab during a show of theirs.
The albums best song "Domino" starts out with driving synth chords and flute that gives a happy tone to the song. I wouldn't have thought a flute would be so effective in a song, but they use it wisely and don't go crazy with it. To see the flute live is awesome. Their next best song, "Bullet Train" also features the flute but is carried by Chris Lynch's falsetto vocals and a steady diet of crisp drum play and bouncy bass lines.
I hope to see them the next time they come through Salt Lake.
Their new album "Dunes" came out a couple months ago. Check it out.
Painted Palms
I discovered these guys as I have been preparing to go to SXSW tomorrow. I've created a list of every show that I'd like to go to. I've been researching what bands will be playing, what time and where. Nevertheless, its become a very time consuming process. During this time, I noticed Painted Palms on a number of showcases and decided to check them out. I've really enjoyed what I've heard from their new album that came out earlier this year. This psych-pop duo from San Francisco gives a summery, warm performance, unlike the time of year it came out. It melts the ice and snow away and allows the flowers to bloom a little. I wanted to post my favorite track, "Too High" but I can't find it, so here's the softer and fluffier "Carousel"
