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," by Charli XCX (2024 was all about "waiter vibes") and "Payback" by Aaron Frazer (who loves a good chase?)

Your thoughts?

(743)

That Wonderful Year in Music... 2018

In trying times, music is an outlet. From a progressive and cultural standpoint, if 2016 was a gauntlet, then 2017 and '18 were just as bad if not worse. Popular music turns into a reflection of our struggles, both a source of relief and catharsis. Some of us won't readily admit it, but we needed music this year. Even if it was white noise to drown out a phalanx of bad news, 2018 was a good year to get engaged in new artists and new albums. All of my top picks, however are established musicians whose work soared to dizzying heights.

NOTE: I acknowledge that my jazz top ten is unfairly devoid of Wayne Shorter's 3-CD set Emanon. In spite of gushing reviews and positive word of mouth, the album is not on Spotify, and I have not had the opportunity to buy the box set online. Hopefully, Emanon will the best 2018 recording that I first listened to in '19.

BEST ALBUMS

1. 7, Beach House. My top pick in 2012 sort of slipped under the radar with 2015's almost-as-stellar Depression Cherry, but their seventh album is by no means a resurgence. Rather, its a new direction; the core duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally have put out their most collaborative, unpredictable, and extroverted work yet. Multiple listens helps you peel away the fascinating layers of their shoegaze-adjacent sound.
2. Hell-On, Neko Case. Music as feminist catharsis. Since her last solo effort, we've heard two so-so New Pornographers albums and an otherwise winning collaboration with Laura Veirs and k.d. lang that didn't use her to best effect. Hell-On reminds us how relevant and urgent Case is as a standalone singer-songwriter. Her voice is warm and engaging, emotional without getting histrionic, and the production is both atmospheric and detailed.
3. Freedom's Goblin, Ty Segall. As loopy as he is prolific, Segall's decade-long saunter through fuzz-rock freak-outs and funky deconstructions reached an apex on Goblin, his first of three (!) solo releases this year. Everything has built up to this, it seems; a master's thesis of noisy, malevolent guitar that bounces around every era of rock n' roll. Come for the distinct tuneful sensibility fully realized, stay for the Fred Armisen cameo.
4. Care For Me, Saba
5. Twin Fantasy (Face to Face), Car Seat Headrest

6. Daytona (EP), Pusha T
7. Transangelic Exodus, Ezra Furman
8. Be The Cowboy, Mitski
9. Dirty Computer, Janelle Monae
10. Everything is Love, Beyonce & Jay-Z (The Carters)

11. I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life, TuNe-YaRdS
12. All Nerve, The Breeders
13. In a Poem Unlimited, U.S. Girls
14. Wide Awake!, Parquet Courts
15. Tell Me How You Really Feel, Courtney Barnett

16. Some Rap Songs, Earl Sweatshirt
17. Post-, Jeff Rosenstock
18. Blue Madonna, BORNS
19. Lush, Snail Mail
20. God's Favorite Customer, Father John Misty


BEST JAZZ ALBUMS

1. Heaven and Earth, Kamasi Washington. Of course Kamasi is on top of this list again. He's built a reputation for releasing albums that are gloriously busy, take an entire afternoon to digest, and thoroughly important. His second full-length (emphasis on full) is the first recorded in Trump's America, where racism has lept from subtext to context and uncertainty is everywhere. He doesn't spare a second or waste a note, and for that we must keep basking in Kamasi's genius.
2. The Window, Cecile McLorin Salvant
3. Contra La Indecision, Bobo Stenson Trio
4. Seymour Reads the Constitution! Brad Mehldau Trio
5. Music IS, Bill Frisell
6. Love Stone, JD Allen
7. Pay for It on the Other Side, Pete McCann
8. Full Tilt, Adam Shulman Sextet
9. On the Brink of a Lovely Song, Christina Von Bulow
10. Full Circle, Eddie Palmieri

Honorable Mention: Dans Ma Main, Jean-Michel Blais.


BEST METAL ALBUM: The Sciences, Sleep. The first new release from Sleep in nearly 20 years was well worth the wait. Its six tracks of all-killer, no-filler sludge metal with a 420 bent, a proggy romp on par with their 1999 opus Dopesmoker.
Honorable Mention: Stranger Fruit, Zeal & Ardor.

BEST SINGLES (in no order)

"Already Gone," Brett Dennan
"The Joke," Brandi Carlile
"Lottery," Jade Bird
"Get Out," CHVRCHES
"Tailor Made," The Lemontwigs
"Fever Pitch," Rainbow Kitten Surprise
"Lift Yourself," Kanye West
"A Lifeboat," Kacy and Clayton
"There's a Light," Jonathan Wilson
"Not in Love, We're Just High," Unknown Mortal Orchestra

"Still I Rise," Soraia
"Casanova," Rayland Parker
"Words I Heard," Julia Holter
"Feed the Fire," Dawes
"Fade to Black," Born Ruffians
"Bells & Circles," Underworld feat. Iggy Pop
"Sicko Mode," Travis Scott
"Severed," The Decemberists
"Connected By Love," Jack White
"Body Behavior," Ty Segall & White Fence

BEST VIDEOS

1. "This is America," Childish Gambino. Everyone and their aunt has watched this clip. There's nothing I can add that hasn't already been said. Wow.
2. "MALAMENTE (Cap.1: Augurio)," Rosalía. The Catalan answer to Beyonce (and maybe M.I.A.) crafted a modern visual stunner for her distinct blend of flamenco and hip-hop. Even if the lyrics are difficult to comprehend, the mashup of imagery is mesmorizing.
3. "APE***T," The Carters. There's nothing subtle about this. Then again, Bey and Hova aren't introverts. This flaming hot take on blackness in Western colonialism, layered in meticulous chereography, launched a thousand think pieces and sure to ignite quite a few more dissertations.
4. "thank u, next," Ariana Grande. What I said about Gambino's video mostly applies here. This is both a fun romp and a statement of artistic maturity.
5. "Pa'lante," Hungry for the Riff-Raff. Washington's response to Hurricane Maria and the devastation of Puerto Rico was a joke. Music can cleanse the soul, though food, shelter, and clean water would be nice, too.
6. "Everybody Wants to Be Famous," Superorganism. Being YouTube famous is not all that its cracked up to be. Let a 19-year-old college kid from Maine (and her 30-something band mates) explain why.
7. "Oh Baby," LCD Soundsystem. Thanks to the miniseries "Castle Rock" (among other projects) 2018 was a renaissance for legendary actress Sissy Spacek. This sci-fi collab with David Strathairn and director Rian Johnson was another strong performance, albeit far more below the radar.
8. "Send Me," No Age. Welcome to corporate hell!
9. "Walk It Talk It," Migos feat. Drake. Offset et al. bridge a gap between '70s soul and 2010s trap that we didn't know existed.
10. "Hard World," YACHT. Inspired by the rotating Happy Foot/Sad Foot on Sunset Boulevard (and its ensuing superstition), you assume these bipedal neighbors couldn't have more disparate days until an appreciated moment of levity at the end.

Honorable Mentions: "Stereo L," Daniel Avery. It plays and sounds like a gibberish version of the old school "Doctor Who" opening theme. Hypnotic. "PYNK," Janelle Monae. The video looks like a lost collaboration between Georgia O'Keeffe and Robert Heinlein, by way of Prince.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear from you.

(609)

That Wonderful Year in Music... 2017

Trying times often make for great art. For us right-brainers, 2017 was a time to flourish: a strong year for cinema, another year of "peak TV," and from my vantage point a strong year for music. It was perhaps the strongest year of the decade for hip-hop, female-identifying singer-songwriters, and pretty much any rock musician who wished they were alive in 1976. In short, there was a healthy heaping of essential music these last 12 months, enough to satisfy any discerning appetite:

BEST ALBUMS:
1. DAMN., Kendrick Lamar. Kung-Fu Kenny's third straight masterpiece is the rare album that builds up to its best track. It looks like a back-to-basics effort yet really isn't: Lamar is going from extrovert to introvert, commencing an intense journey into his own psyche as he embraces fame and the incessant scrutiny that comes with it. (The success of To Pimp a Butterfly weighs heavily.) He's exhausted from fighting for social justice; he's only one man. The winding origin story "DUCKWORTH" sums everything up, an allegory and a plot twist that brings this sojourn full circle.
2. Masseduction, St. Vincent. The queen of art-rock has put another jewel in her crown. The whole album is a candy-coated electro-rock fever dream, reiterating the inevitability of bad decisions in the pursuit of decadence. In a year of frustration, Annie Clark's protagonists uncover the peaks and valleys of escapism as a coping mechanism, the blurry gray line between pleasure and pain, and the acceptance of cold reality.
3. Turn Out The Lights, Julien Baker. For full disclosure, I'm late to the Julien Baker party. I didn't hear her 2015 debut, the sparse and mesmerizing Sprained Ankle, until this past October. Lucky for me, her sophomore effort was nipping at my heels. At first, Lights feels like an extension of Ankle; Baker's voice is cracked but steady, the themes of addiction, suicide, and religion are present, and the songs are fragile yet haunting. The difference is that she's a little older (she just turned 22), a lot wiser, and she's finally confronting the ghosts that followed her into adulthood and sobriety.
4. Pure Comedy, Father John Misty
5. CTRL, SZA
6. Big Fish Theory, Vince Staples
7. Process, Sampha
8. Melodrama, Lorde
9. A Deeper Understanding, The War on Drugs
10. American Dream, LCD Soundsystem.  I see why James Murphy named their (now premature) farewell concert movie "Shut Up and Play the Hits." We all knew LCD wasn't totally done, but the decision to reunite and reinvent the band was a risk that paid off. The sprawling, seven-minute "Call the Police" is a candidate for song of the year, while "Black Screen" is a moving homage to David Bowie. Murphy has become the oldhead that gripes about other oldheads, but he still obsesses over what's cool.

11. Drunk, Thundercat
12. Semper Femina, Laura Marling
13. A Hairshirt of Purpose, Pile
14. 4:44, Jay-Z
15. Guppy, Charly Bliss. The year's most "fun" record is a 1990s alternative/power-pop throwback. A charming debut, the chirpy vocals of Eva Hendricks blends well with her bandmates' distorted guitars, mixing the shambolic with the sugary. It is no coincidence that Charly Bliss opened for Veruca Salt during their reunion tour this past year; they are worthy proteges.
16. I Dare You, The xx
17. This Old Dog, Mac Demarco
18. Pleasure, Feist
19. Waiting on a Song, Dan Auerbach
20. Hang, Foxygen. My last two picks on this list are interchangable. Where Auerbach's solo record exchanges fuzzy blues-rock for a warm 1970s AOR sound, Foxygen's sound has morphed into something evoking Honky Chateau-era Elton John, Atlantic Crossing-era Rod Stewart, and (above all else) glam-rock. Where Waiting is a fully realized mellow-rock affair (one song was co-written by John Prine) Foxygen's theatrical and often bonkers fourth album is at 32 1/2 minutes too concise and left me wanting more.

BEST JAZZ ALBUMS:
1. Fly or Die, Jaimie Branch. Not to be confused with the mid-2000s N.E.R.D. album of the same name, Branch's first album is an impressive, to-hell-and-back artistic statement. Her trumpet playing is free and abstract, and her crackerjack band (cellist Tomeka Reid, bassist Jason Ajemian, and drummer Chad Taylor) doesn't ground her so much as enable her serendipity. Branch has been a known commodity since 2007 or so, a creative and singular talent with a heavy AACM influence. This long-awaited release is a portent of equally impressive recordings to come.
2. La Saboteuse, Yazz Ahmed
3. Loneliness Road, Jamie Saft with Iggy Pop (yes, really)
4. Harmony of Difference, Kamasi Washington
5. Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds, Nicole Mitchell
6. Far From Over, Vijay Iyer Sextet
7. Voices in the Void, Dr. Mint
8. This is Beautiful Because We Are Beautiful People, Toxic
9. Flowers - Beautiful Life Vol. 2, Jimmy Greene
10. Cherry/Sakura, David Murray/Aki Takase

Honorable Mention: Make Noise, Jeremy Pelt.

BEST METAL ALBUM: Nightmare Logic, Power Trip. Speaking of throwbacks, this was a breakout year for the 80s-obsessed Dallas quintet. Logic augments the formula of their 2013 debut album: all-meat, axe-swinging hardcore/thrash fusion that isn't annoyingly self-serious.
Honorable Mentions: Forever, Code Orange; Dead Cross, Dead Cross.

BEST SINGLES:

"Restart," BNQT
"Human," Rag n' Bone Man
"Pressed for Time (Cross My Mind)," Mick Jenkins feat. Goldlink
"In Cold Blood," Alt-J
"Feel It Still," Portugal, The Man
"Three Rings," Grizzly Bear
"Alaska," Maggie Rogers
"No Roots," Alice Merton
"Don't Delete the Kisses," Wolf Alice
"Run," Foo Fighters
"Gold," Manchester Orchestra
"Turning the Screw," Generationals
"This Is It," Lo Moon
"Astronaut (Something About Your Love)," Mansionair
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness," The National


BEST VIDEOS:
1. "The Gate," Bjork. Nearly thirty years into a bold and never-not-challenging career, the Icelandic goddess and her frequent collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang keep pushing the envelope. The painstaking precision (complete with fragmented digital fairies) of this ambitious clip is a possible preview of what to expect in music videos in 2027.
2. "Wyclef Jean," Young Thug. The director of the video explains how an elaborate clip idea, based on an ode to the ex-Fugee, went completely off the rails after Thug flaked out of the shoot.
3. "The Story of O.J." Jay-Z. "I'm not black, I'm O.J." Uh, okay.
4. "Them Changes," Thundercat. Tormented samurais!
5. "Green Light," Lorde. The song is banger in its own right, but even if the dancing-in-the-streets thing is beyond cliche, Lorde makes it look fun.
6. "Up All Night," Beck. A young woman goes into Joan of Arc mode at one helluva college party.
7. "Waiting on a Song," Dan Auerbach. A Dazed and Confused homage about four 70s-era teenagers, some strong weed, and the bonds of friendship.
8. "New Rules," Dua Lipa. The #1 video based on YouTube views on this list, this pop empowerment anthem is carefully choreographed to show dancers as a unilateral voice of reason.
9. "Swell Does the Skull," Aldous Harding. Evoking Joan Baez, the clip is just a minimalist as the song: a naturally lit room, a guitar, and a voice. The guilt and yearning are palpable.
10. "Saturnz Barz," Gorillaz. Interactive videos are almost a genre unto itself, but special credit goes to this haunted house clip, where you can adjust the mise en scene as a spirit (Popcaan) hurtles the band into orbit.

Honorable Mentions: "Los Ageless," St. Vincent; "HUMBLE," Kendrick Lamar.

Best Video of 2016 That Easily Applies to 2017: "Nobody Speak," DJ Shadow feat. Run the Jewels. This is Trump's America, so I guess this is our generation's "Dr. Strangelove."

Your thoughts?

(573)

That Wonderful Year in Music... 2014

If I could summarize 2014 as a year in music, the first word that comes to mind is "abundance." This was a very rich year for alternative and hip-hop, maybe the best since 2010. I intentionally heightened the number of new releases I listened to compared to last year, and I still feel like I didn't cover enough ground. Worse yet, it made the process of whittling down the best albums list to 20 a even tougher task than usual.

BEST ALBUMS:

1. St. Vincent, St. Vincent. Not to be confused with the recent Bill Murray movie of the same name, the genius of Annie Clark saw its audience increase tenfold with her fifth studio effort. Her 2012 collaboration with David Byrne Love This Giant confirmed she was the heir apparant of the former Talking Heads frontman, as her accessible art-rock is a rare breed. The sound is more pop than her previous work, yet Clark's razor-sharp wit seems even more vicious underneath the candy-coated production.
2. Run the Jewels 2, Run the Jewels (Killer Mike and El-P). Not a single beat is wasted on this unlikeliest of sequels. The first Run the Jewels, released in mid-2013, was a pleasant lark, but no one anticipated a sequel that was so immediate, yet fluid and filthy. Killer Mike and El-P are established hip-hop MCs on their own, but together they destroy worlds.
3. Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs. To anyone who dismisses indie-rock as millennial prattling, I want you to meet Adam Granduciel. The Philly-based musician, who co-founded TWOD in the mid-2000s with Kurt Vile, then kept the band going after Vile went solo four years ago, has fully matured as a songwriter on Drugs' captivating third album. This is 21st century blue-collar, and the callbacks to Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen are both earnest and justified.
4. Burn Your Fire For No Witness, Angel Olsen
5. Salad Days, Mac Demarco
6. Pinata, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib
7. Benji, Sun Kil Moon
8. Manipulator, Ty Segall
9. Here and Nowhere Else, Cloud Nothings
10. Are We There, Sharon Van Etten. Over in Brooklyn, an old pal and hired hand of Neko Case's is turning into a formidable singer-songwriter in her own right. Two years after Tramp and the AAA radio hit "Serpents" first made people aware of Van Etten, There makes the case that she's no fluke. This woman has suffered for her art, yet beneath each confession is a parable.

11. My Krazy Life, YG
12. Oxymoron, Schoolboy Q
13. Atlas, Real Estate
14. Nikki Nack, TuNe-YaRdS
15. Morning Phase, Beck. On the surface, Beck's first studio album in six years is a kindred spirit and sequel to 2002's Sea Change. At heart, this thoughtful disc has more in common with 1998's Mutations; the sound is relaxed, but the lyrics are more melancholy than sorrowful. Anyone expecting a return to his goofier, funkier side should keep waiting; this exercise into Nick Drake-type country-rock might be his most intriguing reinvention yet.
16. They Want My Soul, Spoon
17. Sukierae, Tweedy
18. Lazaretto, Jack White
19. Turn Blue, The Black Keys
20. Sun Structures, Temples. One of the most fun listens of '14 came from this quartet of '60s-obsessed British lads. The leadoff single "Shelter Song" sounds like a long-lost track from Nuggets. Their obsession with making everything sound like 1967 might have gotten in the way of giving these up-and-comers any personality, but Structures is so trippy and energetic that it almost doesn't matter.

Best Import: The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, Courtney Barnett. Not so much a debut album but a pairing of two EPs released in her native Australia in 2012-13, Barnett made ripples in American indie-rock circles in 2014. If Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement and Jicks fame) had a long-lost Aussie niece, she'd sound a lot like Barnett; her stoner-slacker deadpan adds wit to "Avant Gardener" and "History Eraser," two songs that play like compelling short fiction. Her first proper full-length is due out in early 2015, and fingers crossed it'll make next year's Top 20.

Best Jazz Album: Last Dance, Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden. The second release culled from a 2007 session between these two old friends, this collection of tunes feels more like a cohesive album than 2010's equally atmospheric Jasmine. The peculiar, curious intro to Monk's "Round Midnight" reveals an affection for the melody I don't think I've heard in any other rendition. (Also, RIP Charlie Haden, bass virtuoso.)
Honorable Mention: Kin, Pat Matheny Unity Group.

BEST SINGLES:

"Coming of Age," Foster the People
"Supernova," Ray Lamontagne
"This is a Game," Nick Waterhouse
"Don't Wanna," Howler
"Fall in Love," Phantogram
"Hot and Cold," Ex Hex
"Uptight Downtown," La Roux
"American Horror," Speedy Ortiz
"Violent Shiver," Benjamin Booker
"War on the East Coast," The New Pornographers
"From Eden," Hozier
"Left Hand Free," Alt-J

BEST VIDEOS:

1. "Take Me To Church," Hozier. This video first dropped just under the wire late last year, but "Church" (the single and the clip) both blew up in mid-2014. The lyrics about suicide and Catholic guilt meshes eerily well against the haunting hate crime of the video.
2. "Chandalier," Sia. It's all about that dance.
3. "Seasons (Waiting on You)," Future Islands. A viral hit twice over: this rodeo-centric, documentary style clip gain just as much attention as their operatic performance on the Late Show last March.
4. "Fever," The Black Keys. Hey, remember tele-evangelists?
5. "Babylon," SZA. Speaking of overt religious themes, this R&B singer decides the only way she can absolve herself is by self-baptism in a pond.
6. "Crime," Real Estate. This was a breakout year for former MADtv cast member Andy Daly, who plays the "auteur" director of the most clusterfucky video ever made. You know before you hear the song that it's going to be chaos.
7. "Water Fountain," tUnE-yArDs. A recreation of a typical Tuesday evening at Merrill Garbus' house.
8. "Thirst," Every Time I Die. Imagine an episode of "Broad City" taken over by two speed-metal dickbags from the Great Plains, and that's pretty much this video.
9. "Low Key," Tweedy. Shot in and around Chicago, this father/son Wilco spinoff is desperate to sell some records. Look for appearances from Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter, and in one of her last film appearances, veteran Windy City stage actress Molly Glynn.
10. "7/11," Beyoncé. In accordance with the Federal Beyoncé Act of 2013, all music video best-of lists must include at least one clip from Bey. This on-the-fly, yet slickly edited home movie should meet the quota.

Honorable Mention: "The Writing's On the Wall," OK Go. This group has had so many inventive videos, I'm ready to cry uncle. Also, the subtle horror of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space."

Your thoughts?

That Wonderful Year in Music... 1994

I promised a different decade, and I give you another decade...

I wonder what can be said about 1994 that hasn't already been recycled, rehashed and stewed into cliche. That it was the year Kurt Cobain --and to some degree, the grunge movement-- entered eternal life? That gangsta rap went mainstream? That emo broke out? When punk made its big comeback after lying low for nearly a decade? That a certain legendary music festival was revisited upon its 25th anniversary, only to be morphed into a highly commercial, money-making opportunity? Whether you look back at 15 years ago with glee or mild misgivings, you can't doubt the quality of music that came out that year.

BEST ALBUMS
1. Grace, Jeff Buckley. In a year that was top-heavy on strong debut efforts and breakthrough CDs, Buckley's first (and sadly, his only proper) disc takes the cake. His cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is the track everybody remembers, but his textured dabbles in jazz, folk, and alt-rock make Grace a ponderance at what could've been a long and healthy career as the Gen-X Van Morrison.
2. Ill Communication, Beastie Boys. Muscular, vigorous, and perhaps their most introspective piece of work, the Boys' follow-up to Check Your Head follows the same blueprint as its predecessor yet soars a tad higher. Singles like "Sure Shot" and "Root Down" hold their own against funky experimental pieces such as "Flute Loop" and "Bodhisattva Vow."
3. The Holy Bible, Manic Street Preachers. Incidiary for the sake of being incidiary, MSP's third album is their most political, visceral, and focused. Nothing is spared of guitarist Richey James' vitriol, from abortion to anorexia to the perception to the shallowness of American pop culture. Unfortunately, James' rants might've worked too well; shortly after the album's release he suddenly disappeared, either a victim of those he railed against or his myriad personal problems. (The remaining trio soldiers on to this day.)

4. Weezer (aka The Blue Album), Weezer

5. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement

6. Dookie, Green Day

7. Vitalogy, Pearl Jam

8. The Downward Spiral, Nine Inch Nails

9. Superunknown, Soundgarden

10. MTV Unplugged In New York, Nirvana. CD releases of the popular MTV concert series were a dime a dozen in the mid-90s, yet the Seattle trio's 1993 performance is on a completely different wavelength. Emotionally naked and seering, the whole show plays out like Kurt Cobain's farewell message from beyond the grave. It's impossible to listen to the closing cover of Leadbelly's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" and not feel haunted.

Honorable Mentions: Bee Thousand, Guided By Voices; Illmatic, Nas; Definitely Maybe, Oasis; Smash, The Offspring.

BEST SINGLES
"You Wreck Me," Tom Petty

"Cornflake Girl," Tori Amos

"What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" R.E.M.

"She Don't Use Jelly," The Flaming Lips

"Seether," Veruca Salt

"I Alone," Live

"Bull in the Heather," Sonic Youth

"Fade Into You," Mazzy Star

"Whatta Man," Salt-N-Pepa

"Nuttin' But Love," Heavy D & The Boyz

BEST VIDEOS
1. "Sabotage," Beastie Boys. Maybe the best music video ever?

2. "Closer," Nine Inch Nails. Very creepy, somewhat disturbing... and kinda hypnotic.

3. "Buddy Holly," Weezer. Innovative usage of digital green-screen technology transplants Rivers Cuomo and company in a typical episode of "Happy Days." Did Spike Jonze have a banner year or what?

4. "Gin n' Juice," Snoop Doggy Dogg. Home Boy Alone!

5. "Basket Case," Green Day. A surreal, color-saturated trip through a mental institution. No need for critical thought here; it's just a fun clip.

Your thoughts?