Love It & List It
The only pop culture on which I invest enough time (and passion) indulging new releases each year to produce a respectable best of list is music. I sent the annual list to Gary, my boss, at two a.m. yesterday. As the man who paid me for time invested in accumulating my annual list — we spun several new releases on shuffle together every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday this year (his #1, not that he’ll ever make a list, would probably be Joanne Shaw Taylor’s blues covers album) — it felt right to notify him first.
I listen to a seemingly impossible number of new releases each year — four hundred and nine thus far in 2021 per the TextEdit file that houses a list of all that I’ve played — and spent the duration of last decade determining the sixty that highlighted ten years of listening (later digging through a variety of websites to compile similar lists for the 1990s and 2000s). Ecstatic that I accomplished the goal, I’ve set out to do it again. Below is my list for this year along with last year’s top ten since I somehow wasn’t feeling myself enough twelve months ago to indulge my aural obsessions here on the blog. (Couldn’t resist tossing in a third list for good measure.) Notes are included both to jog my memory for the decennial investigation planned eight years from now (bold move, huh?) and perhaps to convince you to stream one of these sonic standouts.
2021
DJ Sprinkles, Gayest Tits & Greyest Shits: 1998–2017 12-Inches & One-Offs (self-released)
This is a dense collection of tracks (one hundred and fifty-five minutes worth!) by one of the best electronic artists alive. Early contender for the funniest name of a retrospective this decade (maybe century). Unavailable to stream or download, you must buy a physical copy on CD only.
Duran Duran, Future Past (BMG/Tape Modern)
Had a chat with a diehard D2 fan the weekend this was released; he called it their best since Seven and the Ragged Tiger(and was overjoyed to not pick up a vinyl copy since we’d already sold out of stock at The Outlet)!
Steve Gunn, Other You (Matador)
Certain albums earn repeat spins solely for the way their guitar tones are recorded. This is one of them.
Colin Hay, I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself (Compass)
A terrific covers collection by Men at Work’s lead singer. Never knew Del Amitri’s “Driving with the Brakes On” but it gave me a new respect for them.
Japanese Breakfast, Jubilee (Dead Oceans)
This would be my #1 choice. Gifted a copy to the Korean lady who owns the Asian market in town. She has yet to reveal her opinion while I purchase kimchi.
James McMurtry, The Horses and the Hounds (New West)
My favorite album by him. Something about the specificity of these lyrics given the current state of the world felt reassuring when it didn’t leave my car CD player for a month.
St. Vincent, Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista)
Continues her hot streak along with the self-titled album and Masseduction. “The Melting of the Sun” got the repeat button treatment in the car more than maybe any other track from 2021.
Joe Strummer, Assembly (Dark Horse)
This is a compilation — which is why there are eleven albums on here — but it does have three new (live) recordings. Brilliant sequencing.
Faye Webster, I Know I’m Funny haha (Secretly Canadian)
Kudos to her for including the stickers seen on her face on the album cover in the vinyl packaging extras. Best rainy-day album of the year, a vital category.
Steven Wilson, The Future Bites (Caroline International)
Almost too short, it has one of the snarkiest critiques of Late-Stage Capitalism around (“Personal Shopper”).
Wild Up, Julius Eastman Vol. 1: Femenine (New Amsterdam)
Repetitious minimalism with sleigh bells and occasional horns! I have been searching for years for a piece comparable to Music for 18 Musicians (both in quality and nonstop replay value). Time will tell if my ears crave it as much, but thus far it’s The One.
2020
Bonny Light Horseman, s/t (37d03d)
Chicano Batman, Invisible People (ATO)
Dan Deacon, Mystic Familiar (Domino)
The Killers, Imploding the Mirage (Island)
Kylie Minogue, Disco (Darenote/BMG)
Nathan Salsburg, Landwerk (No Quarter)
Shabason, Krgovich & Harris, Philadelphia (Idée Fixe)
Chris Stapleton, Starting Over (Mercury Nashville)
Taylor Swift, Folklore (Republic)
Jessie Ware, What’s Your Pleasure? (PMR/Virgin EMI) — My #1
Twelve Best New-to-Me Albums Discovered This Decade (So Far)
David Crosby, If I Could Only Remember My Name (Atlantic 1971)
Death, Symbolic (Roadrunner 1995) — My go-to lawnmowing album
The Field, From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt 2007) — Listened to this dozens of times, often several in a row, while editing my movie essay behemoth
Flim & the BB’s, Tricycle (DMP 1983) — Worth a listen solely due to its history!
Annie Lennox, Diva (RCA 1992)
Patti Smith Group, Easter (Arista 1978)
Prefab Sprout, Jordan: The Comeback (Kitchenware 1990) — My #1
Ryuichi Sakamoto, BTTB (Sony Classical 1999)
Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil (Blue Note 1966)
The Slits, Cut (Island 1979)
Al Stewart, Time Passages (Arista 1978) — The title track is one of the greatest earworms ever written
Johnnie Taylor, Wanted One Soul Singer (Stax 1967)