That Wonderful Year in Music... 2024

 

Sonically, 2024 was Jekyll and Hyde. The first half of the year wasn't that inspiring, but a string of strong releases in the late summer and well into fall more than made up for the drab. It seems like 80% of Spotify had Taylor Swift as their most-listened to artist, but only because we felt an obligation to finish the overlong, often dreary The Tortured Poets Department. Chappell Roan seemed to captivate the other 20%, but besides the #1 smash single "Good Luck, Babe" her breakthrough album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was a slow-cooking 2023 release. Regardless, this was a big year for new faces and familiar names alike, punctuated by a legacy act that not only dropped their first album in 16 years, but maybe their best in 3 1/2 decades. The lack of consensus I've seen from other critics' lists indicate this was another deep year.

BEST POP/ROCK ALBUMS

1. Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman. Indie rock's best young hope resides in, and writes music, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He's no country singer --in fact, his singing is decidedly plainspoken-- but he lets his growling guitar and keen lyrics carry the load. Already an established sideman, Lenderman's fourth solo album could very well establish him as the Gen-Z Neil Young.

2. Cartoon Darkness, Amyl & The Sniffers.  It's been awhile since since a punk band has been as uninhibited and cathartic as Amy Taylor and her Australian mates. Darkness sounds like a middle finger bouncing up and down, whether it's Taylor raging against internalized sexism or world events in general. She channels Wendy O. Williams and Patti Smith alike, as if she was a long-lost Down Under granddaughter. 

3. Prelude to Ecstasy, The Last Dinner Party. This year's best debut album was previewed in late '23, but advance singles like "Nothing Matters" weren't just a tease. Prelude is a baroque-pop romp, flitting between Florence Welch's musicality and early Roxy Music glam, with lead singer Abby Morris' syllabic daring-do leading the way. The British press insinuated nepotism when they opened for the Stones, but there really is substance under all the hairpin-turn whimsy.

4. GNX, Kendrick Lamar
5. Cowboy Carter, Beyonce
6. Behold, Parsnip
7. Tangk, Idles
8. All Born Screaming, St. Vincent
9. Bright Future, Adrienne Lenker
10. A Dream Is All We Know, Lemon Twigs

11. Bite Down, Rosali
12. Poetry, Dehd
13. Almighty So 2, Chief Keef
14. Only God Was Above Us, Vampire Weekend
15. Songs of a Lost World, The Cure
16. Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii
17. Mahashmashana, Father John Misty
18. Here In The Pitch, Jessica Pratt
19. Wall of Eyes, The Smile
20. The Collective, Kim Gordon

Best EP: SABLE, Bon Iver

Best Rock Album of '23 That I Didn't Hear Until '24: Everything Harmony, The Lemon Twigs. The spirit of Van Dyke Parks and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys is alive and well and residing in Long Island. Their follow-up (see #10) evokes The Monkees and Big Star, which is even more delicious to my ears.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS

1. Compassion, Vijay Iyer, Linda May Han Oh, Tyshawn Sorey. This was an especially strong year for new jazz releases, and this emotionally resonant COVID memorial stood out. On the surface, it's a standard ECM release; Manfred Eicher co-produced the only way Eicher knows how. The album stars with a nearly minute-long Sorey drum fill, before Iyer and Oh lead a pseudo-processional. Iyer owes much of his piano prowess to Chick Corea, and the late great is referenced on this lyrical, intimate release, which caps with some outstanding improvisation by the whole trio.

2. Fearless Movement, Kamasi Washington
3. Milton + Esperanza, Milton Nascimento & Esperanza Spalding
4. Speak To Me, Julian Lage
5. self-titled, The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis
6. The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, Charles Lloyd
7. To Whom I Love, Summer Camargo
8. Technically Acceptable, Ethan Iverson
9. Nublues, Joel Ross
10. Alternate Summer, Tom Harrell

Honorable Mention: Sunday Morning Put-On, Andrew Bird

Best Jazz Reissue: Ain’t No Sunshine: Live in Seattle, Jack McDuff

BEST SINGLES

"OMG," Suki Waterhouse
"Fox Hunt," Sierra Ferrell
"Bittersweet," Gunna
"Mustang," Kings of Leon
"Get Numb To It," Friko
"That You Are," Hozier feat. Beduoine
"Euphoria," Kendrick Lamar
"Don't Forget Me," Maggie Rogers
"Annihilation," Wilco
"Tunnel Vision," Magdalena Bay
"Hey Wait," Unfamiliar Things
"More For Me," TOVI
"Lonsdale Slipons," The Bug Club
"Facts," Amyl & The Sniffers
"Magnetic," Tunde Adebimpe

BEST VIDEOS

1. "Not Like Us," Kendrick Lamar. Kenny from Compton gave us *two* all-time great diss tracks this year, but unlike "Euphoria" (see above) he gave us a visual, claws-out, incontrovertible takedown of Drake. 

2. "Please Please Please," Sabrina Carpenter. I guess Barry Keoghan was an embarrassing boyfriend on *and* off screen.

3. "Death & Romance," Magdalena Bay. A little bit "Wizard of Oz," a little bit "Starman," a dash of Windows 95, and a lot of "huh?"

4. "CHIHIRO," Billie Eilish. A dreamlike sprint through endless hallways, then a mad dash in a pasture than turns into a brawl, playing out like a subconscious attempt at closure with a lover who's long, long gone.

5. "Tennessee," Kevin Abstract featuring Lil Nas X. Grimy and animalistic, this video is less about the Volunteer State (or Arrested Development) and more alluding to the closeted playwright. Two of rap's most swaggering LGBTQ+ figures lord over a group of shirtless men in the deep south. 

Honorable Mention: "360," Charli XCX. 2024 was all about "waiter vibes."

Your thoughts?

(743)

A Random Note, December 2024

After all the headaches this year, things seem to have stabilized. The drama in my one school district is settled; I'd elaborate, but even I don't fully understand what happened. My new roommate is settled, and the cat I inherited is getting along (read: tolerating) another cat in the household. My aunt's estate still has some paperwork to be settled, including 2024 taxes. On a national level, the GOP still has control of the House, but by another slim majority; at least any dangerous MAGA legislation will potentially get defanged right at the gate. 

I'm keeping this post short. This week, I want to relax a bit, but also catch up on my to-do list.

In a few days, my annual music recap. Happy holidays.

(742)

My 20th Annual Thanks/No Thanks List

Happy Thanksgiving. Regular readers and good friends know I've had a challenging year. For a blog that used to be weekly, you would think I'd have enough strife to write more regularly, but I haven't had the time and energy. Considering that this blog turns 20 next Spring, you'd think retrospection would come easily, too.

For my newer readers, every November since 2005 I've been writing a concise "thanks/no thanks" missive. Gratitude is something our society struggles with, and sometimes even I need to step back for a second and count my blessings.

What am I thankful for? What's left of my living family (my sister, and some scattered cousins) and friends that regularly check in. I feel a little less isolated when people reach out. I'm grateful that my 2014 Ford Focus hasn't fallen apart, though I'm closer to the end with that car than the beginning. I'm having drama with one of my school districts, so I'm thankful for my backup district giving me ample sub work. The Royals' playoff run this year, only their third in 35 years, was a much-needed distraction. Last but not least, you, the reader.

What am I not thankful for? Well... read most of my posts from the last year. There's a lot to catch up on.

(741)

Mourning in America

Glad tidings to those of you who stuck around!

It wasn't just the electoral college-- he won the popular vote, too. Apparently, serious character issues, naked bigotry, and old age doesn't faze 51% of American voters. Trump galvanized the uninformed in 2016, and did so even more in 2024. In hindsight, now I see why Trump's Nuremberg-like rallies devolved into open mics and impromptu dance parties: he knew he had it in the bag.

Why did Kamala Harris lose? Exit polls suggest she lost support from Black men and especially Latino men, and never found footing with white men. Even though the economy improved under Biden and inflation gradually stagnated, it was hard to ignore the administration's overly patient approach to immigration, as well as a clumsy response to the Israeli-Hamas war. Progressives grew frustrated with Secretary of State Blinken (Biden's point man in the Middle East) in a no-win situation, but there's even more disappointment in Attorney General Merrick Garland. The administration's crown jewel, a sprawling infrastructure improvement program, will probably be left to rot. 

I had hoped that we were turning a chapter in American history. Instead, the worldwide pattern of totalitarianism has found footing where the international sport of soccer never quite has: the United States. In lieu of Messi, we have messy. I don't know what the next four years behold. On one hand, Trump is so notoriously distracted that he seldom follows through on threats and promises; on the other hand, he now has a legion of lapdogs that can do that for him. 

I've let the news settle in my head for over a week now, but it still feels noxious. To no one's surprise, most of Trump's cabinet appointments have been almost exclusively yes-men and bootlickers. If your instinct is to resist, keep resisting. The battle is lost, but the fight isn't over. 

(740)

The Teeter-Totter of Democracy

I'll be succinct:

I've been writing this blog for almost 20 years. This is my 10th election cycle, presidential, midterm or otherwise. I have always believed in the democratic process and the distinctly American necessity of voting. Since my first impassioned plea in 2006, my biannual pep talk has steadily grown more partisan, and not by choice. Even then, the necessity of voting in elections --primaries, midterms, or in the general-- remains pivotal. I voted early this year, but with days to go, I'm still on pins and needles.

To paraphrase one wise writer: Donald Trump is a poor man's idea of a rich man, a moron's idea of a smart man, and a failure's idea of a successful man. Nothing about him has changed since 2015, give or take some old age memory loss. I don't need to reiterate all the awful things he's said and done, and that he's never truly been qualified for the job. His ardent supporters couldn't care less; this election cycle has become less about this antics and more about a blind, confounding hatred for his opponent. The "death of democracy" talk is not blown out of proportion. 

Holy f***, vote for Kamala.

If you disagree, we don't have to communicate or interact ever again. Vote for Kamala.

To everyone else, I'll see you in November.

(739)

Apples and Oranges

The two recent debates were an intriguing contrast. The presidential showdown was what I expected; Vice President Harris knew exactly how to prod Donald Trump, and he took the bait. The vice presidential debate, however was so contrasting in energy that it almost felt like a relic from decades past. JD Vance was poised the whole way but couldn't help but lie to augment his argument (again, *almost* a throwback); Tim Walz looked a little out of place at first, but held his own the rest of the way. 

With three-plus weeks until the election, the contrasts go well beyond how the candidates present themselves on TV. The Trump misinformation machine is in high gear, accelerated by Vance, who isn't afraid to make crap up if it supports his argument. Joe Biden is making the most of a lame-duck presidency, and the Harris/Walz campaign (for better or worse) is an avatar for staying the course. 

As I write this, the presidency, US House, *and* US Senate are all up for grabs. Polls suggest Democrats hold a razor-thin lead in all three, and the aftermath of 2016 should remind everyone nothing is guaranteed. The anxiety is palpable. 

(738)