Front Burner 2021

 My 20 (or 21) Favorite Albums of 2021

We spent all of this year with the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, partially because we spent all of this year surrounded by many of the same selfish, ignorant people who refuse to get vaccinated, wear simple cloth masks in public, or even try to socially distance themselves from others. At least here in the midwest, it feels like half the population has gone mad and decided to ignore scientists and health professionals. It reminds me of the zombie movies where people make the dumbest moves despite all the evidence and then wonder why society is crumbling before their eyes. 

However, like last year, there was still plenty of good music released, it helped as a balm for the soul, and I'm here to tell you about what I felt was the best of it. As usual, this post is going to be limited to pop and rock, but I'll likely make a separate list of at least ten of my favorite jazz and other more instrumental albums. 

  

For various reasons I won't go into here, I'm avoiding reissues, compilations, live albums, and so on in my Top 10. Those ten slots are reserved strictly for new music recorded and originally released in 2021. Slots #11-21 are open to anything that was released this year.

Without further adieu, here are my 20 (well, 21) favorite albums of 2021, ranked from #21 to #1... 

21 • Inhaler — It Won't Always Be Like This

I'm sneaking in a 21st entry here because these are releases from 2021, of course. This album feels like the right fit for the 21st entry because I didn't discover it until the year was almost over. However, I'm playing the heck out of it right now and really enjoying it. The band is fronted by Elijah Hewson, son of a guy named Paul Hewson, otherwise known as Bono from U2.

  

20 • Sophia Kennedy — Monsters

The sense of experimentation on this album reminds me of many of the female artists (Kate Bush, Björk, Laurie Anderson, etc.) that I love so much. She has a background in film and film music and it shows. These songs are cinematic in the stories they tell and the way they tell them.

 

19 • Ryley Walker — Course In Fable

One of at least three great releases that Ryley was involved with this year. This one is probably the most accessible, but they're all worth your time if you are similarly attracted to this guy's many talents.

18 • Various — The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill and Gang of Four

Andy Gill was the co-founder and lead guitarist of one of my favorite post-punk bands of the late 70s and early 80s, Gang of Four. He died in February of 2020 and this tribute album started to take shape shortly afterward. It includes songs covered by artists from seven different countries and four continents, a testament to the breadth and scale of Andy Gill's influence.

17 • Ezra Furman — Sex Education: Songs from Season 3

Ezra's been providing music for the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education since its inception. The tunes are a combination of music from his back catalog and music written specifically for the show. Last year, his full album of music from the show was my #12 album of the year. This 5-song EP of songs from the third season of the show was an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

16 • The Fratellis — Half Drunk Under A Full Moon

This fun band from Glasgow, Scotland has had albums in the running for my year-end lists in the past, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time they've actually made it on to one. There are so many catchy tunes here, even my very pop-oriented wife took to this one when she heard it.

15 • Marianne Faithfull — The Montreux Years (live)

A glorious collection of 14 songs recorded during five performances at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1995 to 2009. This is a fantastic showcase for the inimitable talents of the one and only Marianne Faithfull. The track list reads like a best-of but the performances are delightfully unique and personal.

14 • Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit — Georgia Blue

An album of songs by artists from Georgia that run the gamut of musical styles. Some of the songs "work" better than others, but there are no clunkers here. The range of what's being covered here speaks to the band's talent and versatility. Quite a few musical guests helping them out, too.

13 • Cassandra Jenkins — An Overview of Phenomenal Nature

By far, the quietest album in my entire list this year. In fact, Cassandra's vocals here could best be described as "whispered" although they demand more attention than that might imply. I think it has a lot to do with Jenkins' style and her way with words.

12 • Art d'Ecco — In Standard Definition

The last thing I expected to discover in the year 2021 is a good glam rock album, and yet this is exactly that. I had never heard of Art d'Ecco until I heard a track from this in a mix, but it hit me right away. Turns out he has two previous albums out. According to its creator, this one is "a concept album about entertainment". He has since released a cover of The Jam's "That's Entertainment" that would have fit perfectly with these other great tunes.

11 • Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — The 1979 Legendary No Nukes Concert (live)

Springsteen was one of numerous artists who took part in a series of five concerts organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) founded by Jackson Browne, partially as a response to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in March of 1979. These concerts were all held at Madison Square Garden in NYC in September of 1979. A 3-LP compilation from these shows was released in November of that year and included only two tracks from the Springsteen show - both covers. Of course, 1979 was the pinnacle of what many Springsteen fans (including yours truly) feel were the greatest years of his career. To finally be able to hear a good recording of his entire concert is a definite treat.

 

stock promotional photo for the 2CD/DVD version

 

★ ★ ★  The Top 10  ★ ★ ★

As mentioned at the onset... reissues, compilations, live albums, and so on were intentionally excluded from my Top 10. The following ten slots are reserved strictly for new music strictly recorded and released in 2021. 

 

10 • St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

Annie Clark's father was recently released from prison. That appears to be ground zero for this album, heavily steeped in 70s imagery and sounds that presumably recall the music he introduced her to as a child. It took me a while to understand where the album was coming from (thanks again, Jason!) but now that I get it I love it.

9 • Kacey Musgraves — Star-Crossed

It's no secret that this is Kacey's breakup album. That fact alone started me building a wall in front of it. I'm not terribly surprised that she won me over in the end but, honestly, so much of this album makes me sad. I often just feel like I want to give her a big, sympathetic hug when I listen to it. Regardless, she examines what seems like every aspect of her relationship and its eventual demise, creating her own kind of concept album about the ins and outs of human connection.

8 • Olivia Rodrigo — SOUR

Olivia Rodrigo is 18 years old and, not surprisingly, writes songs about teenage relationships and teenage concerns. As someone who is 40 years older, this shouldn't interest me much. However, Rodrigo has insight that is well beyond her years and a sense of sincerity in her writing and singing that pulled me in and made me care. Add to that her powerful voice and impressive range, and I found myself loving this album more each time I listened to it.

7 • Del Amitri — Fatal Mistakes

My favorite Scottish pop band returns with their first studio album in 18 years and it does NOT disappoint. Justin Currie, in particular, is still a master at crafting pop songs with acerbic bite. He has released (excellent) solo albums in the interim, but it’s great to hear him back with guitarist Ian Hardie at his side.

6 • Desperate Journalist — Maximum Sorrow!

This band's second album, Grow Up, was my introduction to their post-punk sound. That one ended up in my Top 10 of 2017, coming in at a very similar position to this one if I remember correctly. Their last album didn't do as much for me but the singles released in advance of Maximum Sorrow! album had me very excited. When the album finally dropped, I was over the moon. I'd say, without reservation, that it has become my favorite album in their catalog.

5 • Gary Numan — Intruder

Numan has been a creative musical adventurer for over 40 years now. This latest album is dark and brooding and, while that has indeed been his trademark for a while now, he continues to manage to do it well without it sounding like a caricature of himself. He also manages to write albums full of genuine emotion (besides anger) and places them squarely within an industrial musical landscape. What this guy does he does really, really well.

4 • Dry Cleaning — New Long Leg

Imagine Laurie Anderson with a British accent fronting early Pretenders. The contrast between Florence Shaw's deadpan vocal delivery and the electric, post-punk sonics shouldn’t work, and yet somehow it does. And then some. It's a witty, weird, and wonderful record.

3 • The Tragically Hip — Saskadelphia

When The Tragically Hip were recording their third album, 1991’s brilliant 'Road Apples’, they wanted to make it a double album. The band's label balked, so they whittled it down to a single LP. This 6-song EP represents the first official release of some of the songs that got cut, clearly indicating that the label made a huge mistake. There isn’t even a mediocre track here, and it’s so great to hear more new music from a time in their career when they were absolutely on fire.

 

Saskadelphia - my #1 album in June

  

2 • Halsey — If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power

Halsey's 'Manic' ranked pretty highly for me (also #2) in 2020. Now, she goes into full collaboration mode with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and just blows the doors off the already high expectations I had. Reported to be an album influenced by her pregnancy and birth of her first child, none of that appears blatant to me. Instead, the Halsey/Reznor/Ross team creates the most lyrically and sonically interesting album of her career so far.

1 • James — All the Colours of You

The last five plus years have been pretty rough on all of us. This album touches on all the crap we’ve been through and, somehow, emerges hopeful and full of light. I’ve probably listened to this album more than any other this year because it leaves me the feeling that we're going to be okay every time I play it.

My #2 in June became my #1 by the end of the year

Enough words... Want to listen?

I've put together a Spotify playlist with a couple sample tracks from each of these albums. If you're interested in hearing some of this music, check this out!

 

 

You like jazz?

Hey! I listen to jazz as well, at least enough to warrant a separate list. 

Check out my Top 10 jazz albums of 2021 here. 

(TBA)

Looking for even more great music?

Since 2014, I have been contributing my Top 10 to Bret Helm's Life On This Planet blog. He and his partner Sarah do a fantastic job with it, supplementing their lists with those of numerous friends around the globe. Please click on the link below to take you over to this year's Best of 2021 blog post...

Life On This Planet - Best Albums of 2021

Pride of Cleveland

Among the musical artifacts that I've collected from my youth, growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland, I am proud to own a copy of this great compilation of local bands. 

Cover art by David Helton

The front cover art by David Helton featured the WMMS buzzard tending bar, while names of the bands appearing on the record were written as labels on some of the bottles. The back cover featured details about almost everything you would ever want to know about the songs and artists who made them.

click the photo to enlarge

Pride of Cleveland (BR-101-3) was the third release on the new (at the time) and short lived Buzzard Record & Filmworks label. Released in 1980, the LP was a 10-track compilation of Cleveland bands, most of whom were active in the local bar scene at the time. It represented an interesting and fairly well rounded mix of the Cleveland music scene by the end of the 70s.

From the lower left corner of the back of the record sleeve

 

The album itself was compiled to benefit the WMMS Music Scholarship Program at Cleveland State University, and anyone who was listening to the station at the time will recognize many of the names credited above. I remember being so excited to see this label on a record, believing that the Cleveland startup would one day blossom into a major label. Unfortunately, it never did, but I still think those Buzzard labels are cool!

Some closer details about the songs on each side. 

(You should be able to click on any photo here to enlarge it.)

It's not clear when the CD reissue of this was released, but it was likely in the late 80s when CDs started to completely overtake vinyl. The single card insert of the CD was simply the front and back of the original LP, shrunken down to CD size. The back of the CD indicated the addition of a "bonus track" from The Euclid Beach Band. Also worth noting is that the Love Affair track, "Mama Sez" was replaced with Wild Giraffes' "Burning Love" at track #9. If anyone knows any more detail about the story of this reissue, please post a comment below!

As far as I know, this CD was considered the fourth and final release on Buzzard Record & Filmworks, now a subsidiary of Esquire Records, who apparently decided not to continue with the Buzzard name.

The Rise and Fall of Rockpile

There once was a great band called Rockpile, who existed for years until they put out a record under their own name, after which they kind of fell apart. Having fallen in love with that record in high school, I was fascinated when I learned that the guys had been a fully functioning, recording band for four or five previous albums. I'll do my best to tell this tale quickly for those who don't already know the details.

Rockpile, from the inner gatefold of Seconds of Pleasure (1980)

Nick Lowe wrote the song, "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding", which was later a pretty big hit for Elvis Costello & The Attractions, when he was in a short-lived band called Brinsley Schwarz. Brinsley Schwarz broke up in 1975, and Lowe started working with Dave Edmunds on Edmunds' second album, Subtle As A Flying Mallet. 1975 was also the year that Stiff Records was born, and Lowe was the first artist ever signed to Stiff. 

 Edmunds, on the other hand, stiffed Stiff and signed with Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label in 1976 after Robert Plant was supposedly impressed with some of Edmunds' music. Edmunds had been working with a drummer named Terry Williams and, in 1977, brought in a rhythm guitarist / vocalist by the name of Billy Bremner. By Edmunds' fourth record, Tracks On Wax 4 (1978) the band that would come to be known as Rockpile had formed. 

Dave Edmunds - vocals and guitar

Nick Lowe - vocals and bass

Billy Bremner - vocals and guitar

Terry Williams - drums

The band then set up in London's Eden Studios to simultaneously record what would become two fairly popular albums from 1979; Nick Lowe's Labour of Lust and Dave Edmunds' Repeat When Necessary. Lowe also married Carlene Carter in 1979. (Carter is the daughter of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith, making her stepdaughter of the great Johnny Cash.) In fact, video footage from Nick & Carlene's wedding was used to make Lowe's promotional video for the single, "Cruel To Be Kind." 

(photographs are of records from my collection, flaws and all)

By 1980, the guys were recording Edmunds' album, Twangin' (to complete his contract with Swan Song) and were the core band used to record Carlene Carter's Musical Shapes. By this time, Rockpile had been a working, recording band for five years and as many albums without a single one being credited to that name! 

Dave Edmunds' Twangin'... (1980)

Carlene Carter's Musical Shapes (1980)

A close-up of that promo strip

In the fall of 1980, the guys finally released an album under the name Rockpile called, Seconds of Pleasure, a title that Edmunds jokes "is an indication of Nick's sex life". The album was released on Columbia -- not Stiff or Swan Song -- and came complete with initial U.S. tour dates printed on the back of the record sleeve. This would be the band's first tour as headliners. 

The boys are officially Rockpile now!

A rather unique variation on the Columbia label

 

Initial U.S. tour dates printed on the back of the album sleeve

By all accounts, the tour was going well. In February of 1981 (40 years ago as of this blog post) Rockpile was on the cover of both CREEM and Trouser Press magazines. The articles inside contained glowing reviews of the shows and interviews that revealed no signs of the trouble that lied just briefly ahead.

February 1981 issues of Trouser Press and CREEM

The start of the Trouser Press article (Feb. 1981)

The start of the CREEM article (Feb. 1981)

Rockpile did not make it to the end of 1981 as a band. They broke up about the time I graduated from high school. The most common story has to do with strained relationships between Dave Edmunds and Stiff Records' co-founder Jake Riviera, to whom Nick Lowe remained faithful. Whatever the reasons, though, they sure went out with a bang. They gave us one damn fine rock record and, if you look closely, six altogether. 

Although my own concert "career" started in the spring of 1979, I never managed to see Rockpile perform live. To this day it is one of my big concert regrets. Some of the shows are now legendary.

Still gets time on the turntable, 40 years on. Such a great record!

Talkin' Anesthesia Blues

Waking up from anesthesia is not, apparently, the time to wax philosophical. 

 

... or is it?

 

I should warn you that this post reveals at least one fact about me that (a) most people do not know, and (b) might alter some folks' opinions of me. If you know me and prefer to think of me exactly the way you know me at this very moment in time, please read no further.

 

 ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★  ★

 

I had to have a tooth extracted on Monday. It had been a problem for far too long, was party to a lingering infection, and was even the subject of a root canal a year or so ago. We don't know why, but the infection never fully went away. A recent flare-up moved the recommended treatment options to the extraction column. oh yay.

That extraction was Monday and, as it was the first tooth I ever had to have pulled, to say I was nervous about it would be an understatement. The part of this story that prompted a post here, though, is my experience after it was all over, coming off the anesthesia.

 

Everything that happened between waking up in the chair and sitting down in the passenger seat of my wife's car is pretty much a blur to me. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, she had to wait outside in the car. The dental assistant (nurse? -- I'm assuming she assisted with oral surgery) was the only person I remember talking to me, helping me ease out of the chair, and walking me out of the office by holding my arm. The dentist and anesthesiologist had hightailed it outta there by that time. My mask had already magically reappeared on my face before any of that. I have only the vaguest of memories talking to the assistant on the way out but, like trying to remember the details of a dream the next morning, I had no recollection of what was discussed by the time my brain was fully functional.

Much later in the day, when I started to think about the 30 minute drive back home, I realized that I could only remember bits and pieces of it. I decided to ask my wife about some of the details of that drive and our conversation, and relaying the story had us both cracking up.

Apparently, one of the first things that I said to my dear wife when I got in the car was, 

 

"I'm pretty sure I told that nurse that I used to do a lot of drugs, and that those drugs were more fun than this." 

 

I am left to simply imagine how the nurse reacted to this revelation. Although, if she's been assisting in dental surgeries for a while now, I'm sure she's heard some pretty doozy shit from the mouths of people coming off anesthesia.

The drug talk didn't end there, though. I recall making all these observations (a word that will gain relevance in a moment) about traffic. There seemed to be twice as many cars, twice as many lanes, and twice as many traffic lights as there were on the way TO the appointment just couple hours before! I must have realized that I was essentially seeing double because I started describing all these phenomena to my poor wife in at least partially excited detail... Excited that I was seeing it but also somehow excited that I knew it wasn't real. 

All this got me started talking more about the drugs of my youth. I said, 

 "Acid always made me feel like my observations and intellectual acuity were enhanced, but this drug makes me feel stupid. This is a stupid drug."

 

We both got a chuckle out of this for two reasons. (1) Here I am lamenting the lack of "observations" when it seemed ALL I WAS DOING was making observations the whole way home. (2) I called it a "stupid drug" but still somehow managed to put together a cogent and grammatically correct sentence using words like "intellectual acuity" while coming down from it. 

This led to a discussion (albeit VERY one-sided) about why some people seemed to be prone to bad acid trips while others (like me) felt every trip was a wildly entertaining adventure. To quote my wife at the end of the stories she was regaling, 

 

"There was a lot of talking."

 

I fully acknowledge that there are psychological and/or neurological reasons why someone might have a bad acid trip. Without knowing much of the science behind it, I suspect that people who are already anxious, stressed, or generally harboring dark thoughts tend to have bad acid trips. However, that bit I wrote above about being excited about my visions on the way home because I knew they weren't real sent me off on a diatribe about how this also related to acid trips. My feeling is that many people who had bad trips must have felt that what they were experiencing was real – and that has every potential to make it scary. I've always been thankful that, as psychedelic as things ever got for me, I always held on to at least some sense that what I was experiencing wasn’t real. 

 

All this from anesthesia! To wax philosophical or not? 

Front Burner 2020

My 20 Favorite Albums of 2020

What a year! I wish I could claim that it was only the worldwide COVID-19 viral pandemic that turned 2020 into a giant dumpster fire but, unfortunately, it was that and soooo much more. In earlier drafts of this post, I went off on various rants about it all, but you didn't come here for social or political commentary from me. You were there. You know what happened.

Thankfully, although this was a terrible year in so many ways, it was a pretty good year for music. I say thankfully because, the worse the times are, the more we need good music. As Bob Marley once said, 

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."

2020 has been filled with countless painful events and painful people. It's hard to fathom what we'd be feeling without our music and art as balms for our souls.

Established artists put out some great additions to their catalogs this year, while many newer artists really made their mark with strong debuts or sophomore efforts. Some albums were recorded partially or entirely in quarantine, collaborating with other musicians only by Zoom meetings and file sharing. The strangeness of the times was occasionally reflected in the music and lyrics, but just as often ignored or pushed aside for a more escapist take. Through it all, 20 recordings rose to the top for me and I'd like to share them with you. 

For various reasons I won't go into here, I'm avoiding reissues, compilations, live albums, and so on in my Top 10. Those ten slots are reserved strictly for new music recorded and originally released in 2020. Slots #11-20 are open to anything that was released this year.

Without further adieu, here are my 20 favorite albums of 2020, ranked from #20 to #1...

20 - David Gray • White Ladder 20th Anniversary box set

20 years ago, White Ladder was playing in the room when our daughter first came into this world. The full story there is one for another post. However, we had only ever owned the White Ladder CD, so when a box set was released with the album remastered for vinyl, a second LP with demos and outtakes, plus an extensive book with writings from David Gray, the lure was too great to resist. Although ranked at 20 coincide with the anniversary, this one could easily appear anywhere in this list.

(stock promotional photo)

19 - Fiona Apple • Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Sincere, angry, righteous, articulate, revealing and, at times, gloriously unpolished. Ever so uniquely Fiona Apple.

18 - Hayley Williams • Petals For Armor

Williams is? was? the lead singer of the band Paramore, although I knew very little of that band's music before hearing this textured and multi-faceted solo album. This feels like a very personal album yet ends up more relatable than not. It's making me wonder what I have missed by ignoring Paramore all these years.

17 - Waterboys • Good Luck, Seeker

This one doesn't quite measure up to last Year's Where the Action Is (my #3 album of 2019) but it's still really good. Perhaps surprisingly, the practically spoken-word songs are the real highlights here. Mike Scott is at his best when he unleashes his inner poet.

16 - Nadine Shah • Kitchen Sink

Nadine Shah first hit my radar with 2017's excellent Holiday Destination. This is the follow-up, her fourth album overall, and is impressively confident. Fans of PJ Harvey and Anna Calvi would love this. In fact, Shah's style has been compared to a blend of PJ Harvey and Nick Cave. It's sharp and dark but not at all depressing.

15 - Sturgill Simpson • Cuttin' Grass, Volumes 1 & 2

I know I'm sort of cheating here by not picking just one volume but they're both great! Simpson revisits his back catalog in authentic bluegrass and old-time style, and it works way better than that might sound on paper.

14 - Shopping • All or Nothing

Socially conscious, propulsive pop music. Recommended if you like the jerky, angular styles of bands like Gang of Four, Devo, and Talking Heads.

13 - Pylon • Pylon Box

Members of R.E.M. -- my favorite band from Athens, Georgia -- often credited the short-lived Pylon with being their favorite band from Athens. This set collects remastered versions of their two great albums plus singles, rarities, and live material. For a band that claimed to have never learned to play music, this is a fabulous collection of their unique brand of minimal post-punk. Pylon Box set is one of those, "everything you really need to know about..." kinds of releases.

12 - Ezra Furman • Sex Education soundtrack

An album of material written specifically for the TV series mixed with choice cuts from Furman's back catalog. It's a bit less raucous than last year's Twelve Nudes and less dramatic than Transangelic Exodus, which was my #8 album of 2018. It really hits a sweet spot for me, though. Honestly, this might be my favorite Ezra Furman album yet.

11 - David Bowie • I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)

Half way through his 1974 tour for Diamond Dogs, Bowie began recording music for what would become Young Americans. The visual theater of his original tour plans was replaced by a full-fledged soul / r&b revue as he became more enthusiastic about his new music and musical collaborators. Yet nothing from the second half of that tour has ever been officially released. (David Live and Cracked Actor both came from the first half of that tour.) This limited edition RSD release lets us hear this funky soul revue in all its glory. Recorded mostly in Detroit in late October 1974 and complete with gatefold cover art designed to replicate the original program for that portion of the tour.

Shots of my copy - front and back on top, inside the gatefold on bottom

Young Americans was also the first Bowie record I ever bought, back in the day, so his soul period has a very special place in my heart.

As mentioned at the onset... reissues, compilations, live albums, and so on were intentionally excluded from my Top 10. The following ten slots are reserved strictly for new music strictly recorded and released in 2020.

10 - Ozric Tentacles • Space for the Earth

The first new studio album in 5 years from this unique, psychedelic, all instrumental space-rock collective, inspired by the natural sights and sounds of coastal Scotland, as well as the notion that our pandemic lockdowns have finally provided the Earth space to breathe. I’ve been a fan of these guys since a good friend and musical compatriot turned me on to them in the early 90s. This is headphone music, and goes particularly well with cannabinoids.

9 - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit • Reunions

This guy has been a consistently great songwriter for years now. A former member of Drive-By Truckers (who also released not just one but two really good albums this year) Isbell & The 400 Unit have, in my eyes, eclipsed that band in many ways. There are so many excellent songs here. It’s the kind of album where, just when you think you have a favorite song, another one plays and you change your mind again.

8 - Elizabeth Cook • Aftermath

20 years after her debut appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, and 18 years after her first album, most people I know have still never heard of her. I came on board in 2007 with her album Balls (as in, “Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman!”) and have been a fan since. Although considered a country artist, her albums are often full of other flavors from blues, soul, bluegrass, folk, and rock. Aftermath was produced by Butch Walker who, among other artists, has produced records for Weezer and Green Day. Full of delightful surprises, this one.

7 - Doves • The Universal Want

This is the first album since Doves put the band on a back burner in 2009 to pursue individual interests, but the hiatus didn’t seem to mess with their mojo in the slightest. A fair portion (all?) of this album appears to have been recorded since COVID-19 changed everyone’s way of life. Some of that reveals itself in lyrics that are alternately fearful, defiant, and hopeful. That aspect really spoke to me and made this one of my favorites of 2020.

6 - Idles • Ultra Mono

I knew nothing of this band until this release, but the aggressive feel of the music and lyrics that were equal parts furious and caring grabbed me right away. Lead singer Joe Talbot is actually more of a lead talker, coming across more like someone organizing a protest than trying to carry a tune. It’s the perfect fit for socially conscious music that lives somewhere between punk and metal. This shit gets my blood pumping and my hand reaching to turn up the volume every time I hear it.

5 - The Beths • Jump Rope Gazers

I spent a lot of time listening to The Beths’ debut, Future Me Hates Me in 2018. It didn’t make it into my Top 10 but it definitely put the New Zealand band firmly on my radar. A few edges have been polished and the pace has occasionally been slowed here and there, but it all seems to work perfectly on this album. The near-perfect pop/rock album among my choices in this list. 

 

4 - Negativland • The World Will Decide

The members of Negativland are culture jammers, audio pranksters, found-sound manipulators. I discovered them just after high school, listening to college radio shows with a focus on experimental music, almost 40 years ago now. Sometimes what they do is just very creative audio collage, but they are at their best when they are trying to make statements about modern culture. Their unique form of audio art has gotten them sued and dropped from record labels, but still they persist. The World Will Decide is the second of two interconnected albums (the first being True False from 2019) that focus on the many blurred lines of our current reality and the effects of the technologies that surround us on a daily basis. Experimental, thought-provoking, yet still very entertaining.

 

True False (2019) / The World Will Decide (2020)

3 - The Psychedelic Furs • Made of Rain

Their first album of new music in 29 years! The last time I saw The Furs live in Milwaukee on a split bill with James (summer 2019) they played us a new song. Not only did it sound great but it was an exciting hint that we might be hearing more in the near future. That song was “The Boy That Invented Rock & Roll” and ended up the first song on this new album. Even though it has been almost three decades since the last Furs album, they sound as fresh and energetic as ever!

2 - Halsey • Manic 

I’m proud to say that, as a father of a now-20-year-old daughter (see entry #20 above) I’ve turned her on to a lot of music over the years, and have hopefully helped shape her musical tastes. I’m also proud that she is now off at college pursuing a music career. How fitting, then, that this said same daughter is fully responsible for introducing ME to Halsey through some of the stuff she was putting on mixes that we would play while driving around. I was immediately blown away by Halsey’s voice, but quickly realized there was more variety and creativity to her music than I ever expected.

1 - John Moreland • LP5

A good friend turned me on to John Moreland with his 2017 album, Big Bad Luv. I liked it a lot, although it didn’t make it into my Top 17 that year. Very early in 2020, a couple songs were released ahead of a follow-up album. I loved them! Very detailed but laid back at the same time. More instrumentally lush than the earlier guitar troubadour stuff I had heard. At the end of January, we had the opportunity to see Moreland play live in a very intimate venue near us. Both my wife and I were blown away. That concert turned out to be the last show I ever saw before COVID-19 started shutting everything down in March. LP5 was released on February 7 and has been played constantly around our house and in our cars all year long. I offer this as my favorite album of 2020 without any hesitation. The kind of music you tend to like even more with each listen.

LP5 on deck

 

Enough words... Want to listen?

I've put together a Spotify playlist with sample tracks from each of these albums. Well, except for the live Bowie thing because that's nowhere to be found on Spotify as of this entry. If you're interested in hearing some of this music, check this out!

 

You like jazz?

Hey! I listen to jazz as well, at least enough to warrant a separate list. 

Check out my Top 10 jazz albums of 2020 here.

Looking for even more great music?

Since 2014, I have been contributing my Top 10 to Bret Helm's Life On This Planet blog. He and his partner Sarah do a fantastic job with it, supplementing their lists with those of numerous friends around the globe. Please click on the link below to take you over to this year's Best of 2020 blog post...

Life On This Planet - The Best of 2020

My Favorite Jazz in 2020

I'm not a jazz connoisseur. The lifeblood of my listening day is, without a doubt, rock and pop, with various acoustic troubadours thrown around the edges. Music with words. However, I've also always been a music-first / lyrics-second kind of guy. Meaning that the first thing to grab me about the music I hear is usually not the words but the sound of the music. Good lyrics are just icing on the cake for me, most of the time.

This means that I've always had a soft spot for genres like jazz and electronic music. More jazz this year than electronic, for some reason. The changes in lifestyle brought on by the COVID-19 "shelter in place" restrictions/quarantines also gave me a bit more listening time that I might have had otherwise. Perhaps that was one silver lining?

In an effort to both document a good listening year (at least for me) as well as to share some of the cool stuff I've discovered, I present to you my Top 10 jazz albums list for 2020...

My Top 10 Favorite Jazz Albums of 2020

10 - Avishai Cohen • Big Vicious
 9 - Immanuel Wilkins • Omega
 8 - Nubya Garcia • Source
 7 - GoGo Penguin - GoGo Penguin
 6 - Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride & Brian Blade • RoundAgain
 5 - Get the Blessing • Rarer Teas
 4 - Tigran Hamasyan • The Call Within
 3 - John Law • Configuration
 2 - Moses Boyd • Dark Matter
 1 - Hubert Dupont, Antoine Berjeaut & Steve Argüelles • Trio Kosmos

A Spotify playlist of these albums, in ranked order, is included below. I'd like to suggest that you just shuffle play. I do that from a much larger playlist to see what will stick to my ribs, and it always seems to make for an interesting listening experience. I hope you hear something you like and, if you've got jazz favorites from this year that aren't on this list, tell me about them in the comments! My doors are always open. 

An Introduction to Single Malt Scotch

The world of scotch whisky can be intimidating. There are so many out there, and there is much more to the differences than just the distillery names. Anyone finding themselves in the scotch isle of a reasonably well stocked liquor store without knowing much about those differences would be understandably overwhelmed.

Part of the selection at the Albanach Whisky Bar, Edinburgh, Scotland

Since many friends know of my passion for this particular drink, I get asked for advice or recommendations. Once I started to feel like I was repeating myself, I decided to write up a "primer" of sorts for anyone who might be interested. This isn't meant to be the be-all and end-all advice on the subject, and I'm no scotch authority. I do, however, really enjoy single malt scotch and love to talk about it at almost any drop of a hat. If you have no interest in the subject, this blog post is not for you! If you're even just curious, though, please read on. After reading this, feel free to let me know if you have questions or comments. Just remember that this is not meant to be definitive. It's simply intended as helpful information for anyone curious about single malt scotch. 

In my opinion, single malt scotch is far superior (in many respects) to blended scotch. Blended scotch is just that, blended from two or more scotch varieties/distilleries. If you try a blend that you like, find out what major single malts went into it and at least one of those will turn out to be what you really like about the blend. They've just diluted that special single malt with other scotch! For this and other reasons, I'm not a big fan of blends. In my opinion, once you've had good single malt scotch, no blend can measure up. The one undeniable advantage with blends is that they are usually much less expensive than single malts.

A shot of our liquor hutch - December 2020

 The word "single" implies that the whisky (no "e") came from a single distillery. The word "malt" means that the whisky was distilled from malted barley. Factors that can influence the flavor include what water used in the distillation process, the kind of peat used in kilning the barley, the variety of barley itself, the type(s) of cask(s) in which the whisky was matured, and the length of maturation. To qualify as a single malt, the whisky has to mature for at least 3 years. Most, however, mature for at least 8 years, and the average is actually 12. Most scotch is matured in oak casks that formerly held bourbon. Some is "finished" (the last 3-12 months of its maturation) in more unique casks such as those formerly used for sherry or port. Scotch ages only in the cask, not in the bottle. Once it's bottled, it's done aging.

Lowland whiskies are generally good places to get on board with single malts, although they may not be as readily available in some markets. These are often fairly mild and delicate; interesting without being overwhelming to the senses. My favorite Lowland single malt comes from the Auchentoshan distillery. Glenkinchie is another name that I can easily recommend. I had the pleasure of visiting the Glenkinchie distillery just outside of Edinburgh the last time we visited Scotland.

Yours truly at the Glenkinchie Distillery, East Lothian, Scotland

Whisky map of Scotland, courtesy Wikipedia (click to enlarge)

My usual recommendations for getting started with scotch, though, are the Highland and Speyside malts. This is the largest region of Scotland and include the majority of its distilleries. The Speyside region is in the northeast Highlands and all whiskies labeled as such derive their water from the River Spey. The two most popular names in single malt scotch - Glenlivit and Glenfiddich - are both from the Speyside region. They are the most popular for good reason, but that doesn't mean that they're the "best". It would be difficult to name only one or two of my personal favorites from this region, so I'll try to boil it down to a few. These would have to be Balvenie, Macallan, and Glenfarclas. As far as Highland malts go, I am very partial to almost anything in the Glenmorangie line.

An exquisite 18 year old Macallan, a gift from my mother-in-law

A sampler of 200 ml bottles from various scotch regions -- a great (and relatively inexpensive) way to narrow down what region of whisky might be to your liking.

 

The rather unique Talisker, from the Isle of Skye

Things get more adventurous as you head toward the coastal regions and islands of Scotland. Those whiskies can often be strong and peaty and/or smokey. (Flavors and aromas imparted in the grain kilning process.) In the far north, only two distilleries exist on the Orkney Islands, Scapa and Highland Park. Both are excellent, although I would recommend Highland Park more strongly. Further down the west coast is Talisker from the Isle of Skye, which is about as close to a perfect single malt scotch as you may be able to find! Finally, the Isle of Islay is known for some of the most smoky and peaty scotch in existence. Again, these aren't necessarily the kinds of scotch you want to start with, but they are likely to become all-time favorites once you develop the palette for them. Without a doubt, my top recommendation here would be Lagavulin, followed closely by Ardbeg.

A glance at the Islay malts from the Albanach Whisky Bar, Edinburgh

An honorable mention should go to the Springbank distillery in the Campbeltown region. In fact, some would argue that "honorable mention" does not do that whisky justice. It's a gorgeous single malt, and you could do far worse than to pick up a bottle.

A gorgeous Claret-casked Springbank expression

Feel free to comment below about anything scotch-related that comes to mind, regardless of your level of experience with the stuff. If you've come to this from a link I posted on social media, you're welcome to comment there instead. As weird as it might sound, I love to talk about this stuff.

The Glencairn - an ideal whisky tasting glass

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Somehow, I have developed a real wanderlust for this stuff. When I find myself in a well-stocked liquor store, I will invariably gravitate toward single malts I've never tried before. You know how bird watchers have a "life list" of birds that they have seen? Here is my "life list" of single malts that I've had so far:

Highland:

Aberfeldy - aged 12 years

Ardmore “Peated” - age unknown

Balblair (v1997) - aged 10 years (?)

Cardhu - aged 12 years

Clynelish "Coastal Highland" - aged 14 years

Dalmore - aged 12 years

Dalmore / Signatory (v1990) - aged 18 years - bottle 662 of 803

Dalwhinnie - aged 15 years

Dalwhinnie (v2002) Distillers Edition - aged 15 years

Dufftown-Glenlivet / Cadenhead's "Cask Strength" - aged 15 years

Edradour - aged 10 years

Edradour "Caledonia" - aged 12 years

Glen Deveron (v1985) - aged 12 years

Glen Garioch - aged 8 years

Glen Garioch - aged 10 years

Glen Garioch - aged 12 years

Glenglassaugh “Revival” (the first expression distilled after the revival of the distillery in 2008) - age unknown, but likely 8 years

Glenglassaugh “Torfa” - “Richly Peated” - age unknown, but likely 8 years

Glengoyne - aged 10 years

Glengoyne - aged 12 years

Glengoyne "Scottish Oak" - aged 16 years

Glengoyne - aged 17 years

Glenkeith - aged 10 years

Glenmorangie - aged 10 years

Glenmorangie "Sherry Wood Finish" - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie "Port Wood Finish" - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie "Madeira Wood Finish" - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie "Burgundy Wood Finish" - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie “Nectar D’Or” (Sauturnes finish)- age unknown, 12?

Glenmorangie “Quinta Ruban” (Port finish) - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie "The Lasanta" - aged 12 years

Glenmorangie “Tùsail” Maris Otter Barley - age unknown

Glenmorangie “Quinta Ruban” (Port finish) - aged 14 years

Glenmorangie "Rare Malt" - aged 15 years

Glenmorangie "Rare Malt" - aged 18 years

Glenmorangie "Extremely Rare" - aged 18 years

Glen Ord - aged 12 years (750ml, 200ml)

Glentromie - aged 12 years

Oban - aged 14 years

Oban Distillers Edition (v1995) - aged 14 years

Old Fettercairn - aged 10 years

Old Pulteney - aged 12 years

Old Pulteney - aged 15 years

Old Pulteney - aged 17 years

Royal Brackla / Cawdor Estate - aged 12 years

Royal Lochnagar - aged 12 years

Royal Lochnagar / Signatory (v1991) - aged 16 years - bottle 365 of 762

The Speyside - aged 10 years (claims to be a Highland malt, distillery in Glasgow)

Tomatin - aged 12 years

Tomatin “Bourbon & Sherry Casks” - aged 12 years

Tomatin Dualchas “Bourbon & Virgin Oak Casks” age unknown

Tullibardine (v1993)

Speyside:

Aberlour - aged 10 years

Aberlour "a'bunadh" (Oloroso finish) - aged 10-15 years

Aberlour “Sherry Wood Finish” - aged 15 years

Aberlour “Double Cask Matured” - aged 16 years

Aberlour - aged 18 years

Aberlour - aged 21 years

Aultmore of the Foggie Moss - aged 12 years

Balvenie "Founders Reserve" - aged 10 years

Balvenie "DoubleWood" (Sherry finish) - aged 12 years

Balvenie “American Oak” - aged 12 years

Balvenie “Caribbean Cask” (Rum finish) - aged 14 years

Balvenie “Peat Week” (v2002) - aged 14 years

Balvenie “Peat Week” (v2003) - aged 14 years

Balvenie "Single Barrel" - aged 15 years

Balvenie “DoubleWood” (Sherry finish) - aged 17 years

Balvenie "Port Wood" (Port finish) - aged 21 years

BenRiach - aged 10 years

BenRiach - aged 20 years

Benromach / Glenlivet - aged 12 years

Benromach - aged 15 years

Cragganmore - aged 12 years

Cragganmore “Distillers Edition” (v1992) - aged unknown

Craigellachie- aged 13 years

Deerstalker "Balmenach" - aged 12 years

Glendronach (Sherry finish) - aged 15 years

Glenfarclas - aged 10 years

Glenfarclas - aged 12 years

Glenfarclas - aged 17 years

Glenfiddich "Special Reserve" - aged 12 years

Glenfiddich “Solera Vat” - aged 15 years

Glenfiddich “Small Batch Reserve” - aged 18 years

Glen Grant - aged 10 years

Glen Grant - aged 12 years

Glenlivet - aged 12 years

Glenlivet - "French Oak Reserve" - aged 15 years

Glenlivet - "Nadurra" - aged 16 years

Glen Moray "Classic" - age unknown 

Glen Moray Sherry cask finish - age unknown 

Glen Moray Chardonnay cask finish - age unknown 

Glen Moray Port cask finish - age unknown 

Glen Moray "Peated Single Malt" - age unknown 

Glen Moray - aged 12 years

Glen Moray - aged 16 years

Glenrothes (v1982) - aged 15 years

Glenrothes (v1992) - aged 12 years

Glenrothes "Select Reserve" - aged ...

Glenrothes (v1998) - aged 12 years (100 mL)

Glenrothes (v2001) - aged 12 years (100 mL)

King’s Falcon “Bourbon Cask Finish” - age unknown

Knockando - aged 12 years

Lismore - age unknown

Longmorn - aged 16 years

Macallan "Cask Strength" - age unknown

Macallan - aged 12 years

Macallan "Fine Oak" - aged 15 years

Macallan - aged 18 years

Macallan - aged 25 years

Mortlach “Wee Witchie” - aged 12 years

Singleton of Glendullan - aged 12 years

Singleton of Glendullan - aged 15 years

Speyburn - aged 10 years

Strathisla - aged 12 years

Stronachie (Benrinnes) - aged 12 years

Tamdhu - age unknown

Lowland: 

Auchentoshan "Select" - aged 8 years?

Auchentoshan - aged 10 years

Auchentoshan "Three Wood" - aged 12 years

Glenkinchie - aged 10 years

Glenkinchie Distillers Edition (v2000) - aged 14 years

Rosebank / Signatory "Cask Strength" (v1990) - aged 15 years - bottle 196 of 285

Campbeltown: 

Hazelburn "Triple Distilled" - aged 8 years 

Longrow - aged 10 years 

Springbank - aged 10 years

Springbank / Blackadder (v1991) - aged 10 years - one of 382 bottles

Springbank - aged 12 years

Springbank "Claret Casked" (v1997) - aged 12 years

Islands:

Ardbeg - aged 10 years - Islay

Ardbeg “Airigh Nam Beist” (v1990) - aged 16 years - Islay

Ardbeg “Corryvreckan” cask strength - age unknown - Islay

Ardbeg "Uigaedail" - vatted - Islay

Ardbeg - aged 17 years - Islay

Ardbeg “Limited Distillery Pack” - aged 10 years

Arran - aged 10 years - Arran

Arran "Robert Burns Edition" - age unknown - Arran

Arran - “Cask Strength” - aged 12 years - Arran

Bowmore "Legend" - aged 8 years? - Islay

Bowmore - aged 12 years - Islay

Bowmore - "Cask Strength" - Islay

Bowmore "Dawn" (Ruby Port casked) - Islay

Bowmore "Darkest" (Sherry casked) - aged 15 years - Islay 

Bowmore "Dusk" (Claret/Bordeaux casked) - Islay

Bowmore "Mariner" - aged 15 years - Islay

Bowmore - aged 17 years - Islay

Bowmore - aged 21 years - Islay

Bruichladdich - aged 10 years - Islay

Bruichladdich “Rocks” - age unknown - Islay

Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte 'Scottish Barley' - age unknown - Islay

Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte ‘Islay Barley’ - age unknown - Islay

Bunnahabhain - aged 12 years - Islay

Bunnahabhain - aged 18 years - Islay

Caol Ila - aged 12 years - Islay

Caol Ila - aged 18 years - Islay

Highland Park “Magnus” - age unknown 

Highland Park - aged 12 years - Orkney

Highland Park - aged 15 years - Orkney

Highland Park - aged 18 years - Orkney

Jura "Superstition" - age unknown - Jura

Jura - aged 10 years - Jura

Jura 'Diurach's Own' - aged 16 years - Jura

Jura - aged 18 years - Jura

Kilchoman "Machir Bay" (vatted malt) - aged 3-5 years - Islay

Kilchoman v2007 - aged 6 years - Islay

Lagavulin - aged 8 years - Islay

Lagavulin - aged 16 years - Islay

Lagavulin Distillers Edition v2000 - aged 16 years - Islay

Laphroaig Quarter Cask (Sherry finish) - age unknown - Islay

Laphroaig - aged 10 years - Islay

Laphroaig - aged 15 years - Islay

Laphroaig 'Cairdeas' Amontillado finish - aged 8 years - Islay

Ledaig “Sherry Finish” - aged 10 years? - Mull

Ledaig - aged 15 years - Mull

Ledaig - aged 20 years - Mull

Scapa - aged 12 years - Orkney

Scapa - aged 14 years - Orkney

Scapa - aged 16 years - Orkney

Talisker - aged 10 years - Skye

Talisker “Storm” (vatted Malt?) - age unknown - Skye

Talisker Distillers Edition - age unknown - Skye

Talisker - aged 18 years - Skye

Tobermory - aged 10 years - Mull

Torabhaig 2017 “Legacy Series / Inaugural Release” - age unknown - Skye

Mini Bottles: 

Aberlour 10

Arran 10

Arran 12 Cask Strangth

Arran 14

Balvenie 12, Doublewood

Balvenie 15, Single Barrel

Balvenie 21, Port Wood

Bowmore Legend

Bowmore 12

Bowmore 15, Mariner

Bowmore 17

Bowmore 21

Caol Ila 12 (200mL)

Clynelish 14 (200mL)

Cragganmore 12

Cragganmore 12 (200mL)

Edradour 10

Edradour 12 'Caledonia'

Glen Deveron 12

Glenfiddich "Special Reserve"

Glengoyne 10

Glengoyne 15

Glengoyne 18

Glenmorangie 12, Sherry Wood

Glenmorangie 12, Madeira Wood

Glenmorangie 12, Port Wood

Glenrothes "Select Reserve"

Glenrothes 1998

Glenrothes 2001

Highland Park 12

Lagavulin 16

Lagavulin 16 (200mL)

Longrow peated

Oban 14

Springbank 10

Talisker 

Talisker 10 (200mL)

*200mL bottles from ‘Classic Malts Collection’ boxed sets

Miscellaneous: 

Armorik Whisky Breton Single Malt - France

Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey - aged 10 years

Clontarf Classic, Reserve, and Single Malt Irish Whiskeys

Door County Distillery Single Malt Whisky

Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey (v1994)

North of Scotland Single Grain Malt - Scott's Independent bottlers (v1963)

Port Dundas (Glasgow) Single Grain Malt - aged 12 years

Port Dundas (Glasgow) Single Grain Malt - aged 18 years

 

In December of 2012, I started the text above as a "Note" on Facebook. As time went on, I edited various things, added a chart, and updated the 'life list' at the bottom. Fast forward to December of 2020 and Facebook has all but eliminated their "Notes" section, so I decided to copy this over to this blog, where perhaps it should have been all along. Of course, I have updated this numerous times since 2012.