Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs 2021

(The best five songs that didn't make the other lists. Not necessarily new, but new to me.)

5. Landing - Home

 

From the Landing 2021 Monthly Subscription Series (July 2021)
Also available on the Landing 2021 Monthly Subscription Series Cassette

Self-Released, 07/2021

Dick Baldwin was a regular member of Landing from 1998 through 2005. His guitar lines were always the looping, arpeggiated counterpart to Aaron Snow's washes and drones. His solo releases, Dragon and Magicorn are magical and worth tracking down in their obscurity. Apparently, Señor Dick has been growing as a songwriter since 2005, and came back and contributed this absolute gem to Landing's 2021 monthly series. 

Shout-out to Landing for soundtracking an epic summer road trip as well. We trained our kids to fall asleep to the sounds of 2004's Sphere at obscenely early hours (6 PM on a sunny day!) so we could wake up and hit Yellowstone before the crowds every morning. They were often asleep before "Fluency of Colors" was finished.

Landing appears with regularity on this year-end list, but this song is absolute peak Landing.  I've linked the short, poppy version, but the soaring 8 minute version is worth tracking down as well.

 

4. Men Without Hats - Head Above Water

   

From the album "Love in the Age of War"
Self-Released (?) 05/2012 

A washed-up 80s relic. I saw Men Without Hats on tour in (about) 2012 and they put on a heck of a show. Overheard at the show:  A:"I only know one of their songs" B: "EVERYBODY only knows one of their songs!"

I've had the privilege of knowing more than one of their songs-- I've had a tape (later CD) of Men Without Hats since I was a teenager, and they have SEVERAL jams, each one better than the next. The show was high energy, joyful, self-deprecating, and one of the funnest happenings I remember in our sleepy town of Salem, Oregon. 

I picked up this 2012 album ("Love in the Age of War") with pretty modest expectations. I mean, this album was obviously made 30 years past its sell-by date. Those expectations were completely exceeded. This album is all about appreciating what you are (and if what you are is a 1980s throwback, own it!) 

So, the whole album is a nice set of earworms, and this song is the earwormiest. Highly recommended for anyone who doesn't get driven berserk by The Safety Dance. 

 

3. Primal Scream - Come Together

From "Screamadelica"
Creation Records, 1991

I realize I'm a bit late to the party with Primal Scream, 30 years...but I got there. For those who don't know, Primal Scream were a baggy, vaguely dancy british band from the late 80s/early 90s, often mentioned in the same breath as The Stone Roses.

The story with this song-- Primal Scream recorded a song that sounded vaguely like this called "Come Together". Then, as they were putting this album together, they brought some remixers in, presumably for 12" dance remixes and whatnot. So, Andrew Weatherall remixed Come Together. Took out the melody, the lyrics, and just kept the groove. And it grooves for DAYS. So, this remixed version is the one on the album, and the original ended up as a B-side. Good choice.

I could play this one on a loop in my head for hours.

2. Fairport Convention - Meet on the Ledge

 

From the album "What We Did on Our Holidays"
Island Records, 01/1969

2021 was the year I finally checked out Fairport Convention. I've heard several bands covering them (including Meet on the Ledge), and I've gotten into Richard Thompson, who was the guitar player for Fairport for their first 5 albums. Speaking of their first 5 albums, I picked them up on Amazon for a steal. 

This song is just one of those perfect hippy-dippy 1960s sing-alongs (like The Weight!). I think I need to learn the chords and words so that I can sing along too.

Apparently, Fairport Convention has reached the level of fame, etc. (at least in Britain) that they play one show a year-- they put on a festival in their hometown, and lots of famous bands come play as well, and Fairport plays about two sets, one weekend per year. That's the kind of musical retirement I want. I want to skip the hard parts and go right to the one-awesome-show-per-year phase of my musical career.

 1. Mission of Burma - This Is Not a Photograph

 

From the "Signals, Calls, and Marches" EP
Ace of Hearts Records, 1981

I'm probably 15 or 20 years too late to recommend "Our Band Could Be Your Life" by Michael Azzerad. Let me echo everyone else and say "go read it." (that means you, Jen.)

Again, 2021 is the year I finally got to hear Signals, Calls, and Marches. It's just as crucial as everyone says.

This song is a post-punk banger. Start to finish. I love the little Martin Swope touches throughout, but really noticable about 1:03. I assume that's Martin Swope. I love the idea of having one band member whose sole job it is to deconstruct the band's sound. I want to be that, except my band is a duo, and it just ends up as a fight.

I don't have as many words to say about this song, but it's #1 because I like it the most. Short, and sweet, and direct. Who needs more than 2 minutes?

Top 5 New Albums 2020

Despite the weird year of 2020, here's my top lists for the year. Methodology is the same as it's been for the last few years. Surprisingly, there are very few live-on-zoom home-recorded releases on this year's list. Either that means I'm typically several months behind the curve anyways, or it means that not very much of the zoom stuff was any good. Anyway, keep 6 feet away and check out this year's list:

5. Eyelids - The Accidental Falls (Lyrics of Larry Beckett)

Jealous Butcher Records, 02/2020

Portland's Eyelids team up with former Tim Buckley lyricist Larry Beckett...

I don't understand the 60s. I don't listen to Tim Buckley. I don't understand why perfectly good bands in the 60s would keep somebody around just to write words. It seems so.. inefficient... insincere... not punk.

Anyway, while I'm nonplussed with Larry Beckett, and find his lyrics far more pretentious than Slusarenko/Moen, the words work OK, and this is a fine album. The songs are sublime pop songs that are re-re-re-listenable. So, I shouldn't complain about who's writing the words, right? It's great.

 

4. Pearl Jam - MTV Unplugged

Recorded 03/1992.
Sony Music, 11/2019

They reran this stuff all the time on MTV in 1993... but until now, it was never actually released on CD. So, this is the first time since about 1993 we get to hear this session. This is a reminder why Pearl Jam was so important in 1992. Despite the  nature of the performance, these 7 songs crackle with electricity. 

 

3. Hum - Inlet

Polyvinyl Records, 06/2020

The return of Hum.

This album is heavy-- in many senses of the word. (180g vinyl!)  Since I think 1997's Downward Is Heavenward is about as close to perfect as an album can be, of course this album can't be quite as good. But it makes an attempt. This one is more somber. Heavier on the DAD chords. Thick, like Disintegration is thick. Worth immersing yourself in with some good headphones.

2. The Lowest Pair - The Perfect Plan

 Delicata Records, 04/2020

The Lowest Pair have reappeared on this list with regularity since their debut album took the top spot back in 2014. I'm not sure there's much more I can say about them, except that this album is in their top two albums. This one's a little more polished-sounding. Great songs. Haunting. Definitely a classic. "We Are Bleeding" was the theme song for the great 2020 Quarantine.

 

1. Giants Chair - Prefabylon

Spartan Records, 12/2019

Sometime back in about 1996, I picked up Giants Chair's Purity and Control 7" from a distro kid at a show [bring back distro kids. they were the best!].

Fast forward to 2019. Over the course of 20+ years, I have downloaded the first two Giants Chair albums (1995 and 1996), plus picked up their split 7" with Boys Life... but I hadn't GOT it yet.

Videos kept popping up among my facebook circles of Giants Chair crowdsourcing their new album (first in over 20 years). I listened, I liked. I ordered the pretty red dot vinyl...

I put it on the turntable, and I GOT it. This is top-notch rock and roll. One of my favorite pure rock albums. Angular, driving, and intriguing.

...and I haven't stopped listening to it all year. During the quarantine, Giants Chair did some really clever acoustic renditions live from home that deconstruct these angular rock songs into angry, backwoods folk.

Also, they released a 2-song cassette of extra songs from the Prefabylon sessions, and it's really good too.

So I'm totally stoked about this band that I've been listening to for 24 years, yet finally GOT this year. Hope you have a similar experience.

Top 5 New Discoveries 2020

5. Death - ...For the Whole World to See

Drag City Records
Recorded 1975, Released 02/2009 

A Band Called Death is one of my favorite rockumentaries/documentaries of all time. If you haven't seen it, you need to. If you have, this entry is superfluous.

This band is the missing link between early 70s Detroit garage rock and the beginnings of punk in New York in the later 70s. These three brothers who never saw any fame, who sold less than 100 records, made sounds that prefigured everything to follow in rock and roll. 

I finally picked this up, and it's as good as I imagined. This is a great rock album with great rock tunes.

4. Indian Summer - Giving Birth to Thunder

The Numero Group, 09/2019

I wasn't sure whether this should belong in the new albums or new discoveries. It's a reissue of the band's discography, which was all recorded 1992-1993. One track was unreleased. I think it belongs in this list.

Indian Summer wore their heart on their sleeve and were simultaneously more vulnerable and more abrasive than other bands of their era. They seemed to have a song on every compilation, and the quality of the music was uneven. This compilation pulls all the disparate songs together into what sounds like a cohesive whole.

It's still a difficult listen. If you don't turn the volume up, you miss the quiet parts, and the loud parts come as unpleasant surprises. If you actively listen, though, it's rewarding.

3. Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors

RCA Records 10/1971

My family loves this record. It's my 4-year-old's favorite thing in the world. She asks to hear "Travelin' Man" and "Coat of Many Colors" whenever she gets in the car.

Me, I'm a fan of "The Early Morning Breeze" and several other songs as well.

The only reason this album isn't #1 is that some of the tracks feel like filler. I blame Porter Wagoner.  Dolly Parton is a heckuva songwriter. Plus, she cured Coronavirus. And she wrote the best song about it. Dolly Parton is a national treasure.

2. American Analog Set - Promise of Love

Tigerstyle Records, 06/2003

This year, I finally filled in the gaps in my American Analog Set collection. This album (along with Know By Heart) was their high water mark. These songs groove for days. I could write a lot of words about this album and this band, but the groove is the thing. Groove. 

 You can pick up a bunch of their old CDs direct from the band for decent prices.

1. Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds

Harvest Records, 06/1972

Growing up and getting into Pink Floyd, there were a series of albums (More, Ummagumma, Obscured, Relics) that were always in the bin at the record store, but any friend in the know said "don't worry about those. They're not very good". I think the band has gone on record saying much the same thing.

This year, I took the time to listen to a bunch of those also-rans, and discovered this one. Obscured By Clouds now ranks in my top 5 Pink Floyd albums, well above more proper releases. This is a great collection of eclectic stuff-- some atmospheric, some poppy, capturing the band right at their technical and songwriting zenith [Live at Pompeii-era]. This album came out 9 months after Meddle and 9 months before Dark Side of the Moon.

My favorite song, The Gold It's in the... sounds like Pink Floyd doing Big Star. Just the best 70s pop you can imagine.

Anyway, if you are into Pink Floyd (and it's okay if you're not), check this one out. Also check out Ummagumma and Saucerful of Secrets. All these are worth your time.

Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs 2020

(Five songs, new to me [but not necessarily new], that didn't end up on either of the other top 5 lists)

5. June of 44 - Post-Modern Hereditary Dance Steps

From the album "Revisionist: Adaptations & Future Histories In The Time Of Love And Survival"
Broken Clover Records, 08/2020

June of 44 return after 20 years of dormancy with a remix album. As remix albums go, this one was... alright, but the bright spot was this track-- an update with vocals of a tossed-off instrumental rocker from June of 44's final EP called Modern Hereditary Dance Steps. Here's hoping for more rock in 2021.

4. Jeff Rosenstock - Scram!

From the album "No Dream""
Polyvinyl Records 05/2020

So, I actually haven't heard this whole album. I have a couple of Jeff Rosenstock's albums (solo and with Antarctico Vespucci), and I'm not a huge fan. This song, on a sampler, however, with its 100-foot hooks and Weezer worship really caught my ear. The video is... well, in a few years we can show this video to our kids to remind them how embarrassing living in 2020 was.

3. This White Light - Vows

From the digital EP "Josh Homme / Pink Duck Session"
Self-Released, 12/2020

An LA supergroup of the kind that can only happen in LA-- this is Greg Anderson of Sunn O))) , Goatsnake, and Engine Kid, plus a drummer and bassist with similar heavy cred, featuring indie pop siren Jen Wood on vocals.

This EP was released because the band broke up, leaving precious few (3?) recorded songs. It's a shame.  They recorded this with Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age. Southern Lord Records had a contract waiting in the wings. In the alternate universe where the band didn't break up, this would be HUGE.

More music should sound like this-- well, not exactly like this, but Indiepop should rock way more, and Metal should be this beautiful.

PS. Highly recommended is Jen Wood's most recent solo album, Wilderness (although it would have sounded better with heavy guitars)

2. They Might Be Giants - The Mesopotamians

From the album "The Else"
Idlewild Records, 05/2007

I've been going through the later works of They Might Be Giants. To be honest, They have released about one good album's worth of material in the 21st century (and many many albums' worth of sorta-funny filler). This is one of the highlights. Somehow juxtaposing ancient history, being in a punk band, and 60s pop (a-la Hey Hey We're the Monkees)-- This song works on so many levels. Don't be a Mohenjo-Daron. Give it a listen.

1. Kristin Bell - The Next Right Thing

From the Frozen 2 Soundtrack
Walt Disney Records 11/2019

Indie cred? Begone. Decorum? Forget it.

This song slays me. Every single time.

I've been listening to so-called "Emo" music for 25 years, and this throws it all aside.

My kids, who listen to the Frozen 2 soundtrack on the regular, think this song is sort of a bummer. I think it's a masterpiece. There is so much despair, so much emotion, and just a trickle of hope

Tears. Every time.

Don't watch this video of Kristin Bell recording the song if you (like me) have (surprisingly?) leaky eyes.

Top 5 Albums 2019

5. Broken Hearts are Blue - Here Is Always Nowhere

Self-released, 12/2018

After leaving this planet with a 9 song album and over 20 years of silence (OK, OK, a remaster, a bonus track, whatever), Broken Hearts are Blue are suddenly back! With a 4-song EP that shows they still have emotional range, and can still write good rock tunes, this is one of the greatest disappearing/reappearing acts in music. More to come on this theme below.

 

4. American Football - American Football 3

Polyvinyl Records, 03/2019

Another Lazarus case, American Football has managed to release two decent albums since reforming a few years ago. Shout out to the instrumental 1997 demos they released this year. Those are good also.

3. Norman - Buzz and Fade

Hey Amigo Records, 11/2019

Norman are a great band from Portland / Corvallis, OR, and this is their 4th album. Their influences are as diverse as Maritime, Stereolab, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan. This is a great fun album that I found myself listening to over and over again. Unfortunately, the best song on the album is on the lathe-cut 7" included in the pre-release. It's called Obie Thruggs, and it's a stomper. It's not on the internet anywhere, and I haven't taken the time to rip it yet, but be on the lookout for that one.

Buy this album-- and ask if there are any of the lathe cut 7"s left.

2 Pedro the Lion - Phoenix

Polyvinyl Records, 01/2019

The rebirth of Pedro the Lion, yes. So this is band 3 out of 4 on this particular list that fit that category. I don't think of this as much as a reformation, though, as another of David Bazan's many recent projects and albums. This one is certainly Bazan's best since his fantastic Curse Your Branches album in 2009. You can read the articles, but I like that Bazan is writing about his childhood, as opposed to characters. There's a sweetness and personality in these songs that you don't hear a lot in various David Bazan / Pedro the Lion songs. Makes me long for Phoenix, even though I've never been there.

 

1. Maya Shore - We Knew Everyone

Self-Released, 08/2019

This is the one. Maya Shore were friends of mine from about '97 onwards in utah (see the Utah map on the cover? They knew everyone.) In about late 2000, Maya Shore released a powerful, yet understated album, and then disappeared into the haze of being adults. That CD has been in rotation at my house for 20 years. Now, 20 years later, Kelly is an airline pilot and lives in Florida. I don't know where Wade ended up, but from out of nowhere, this.

Such restraint, such longing. Not everything-all-at-once, but tugging on the heartstrings in just the right way. As if the intervening years were just an inhale, waiting for the next breath.

P.S. My favorite track is Park Bench am Bodensee. You should really just download the whole album.

Top 5 New Discoveries 2019

5. Silver Scooter - Orleans Parish

Peek-A-Boo Records, 1999

I picked up this album when I discovered that Peek-a-Boo records still has their catalog up at 90s prices, so I finally splurged on this album that's almost been in my collection for forever. It did not disappoint. There's something unusually polished and sweet about this album that belies Silver Scooter's super-whiny-emo reputation. This is just solid pop, start to finish.

4. Ethel Meserve - The Milton Abandonment

Tree Records, 1997

Yet another great 90s record. I've had half these songs on tape for 20+ years, and I finally tracked down a copy (they were going for $100 on amazon there for a while). Great, mathy, intense 90s goodness. I read somewhere they are doing a box set reissue? Sign me up.

3. Shudder to Think - Live From Home

Team Love Records, 2009

A 2009 reunion live record that somehow manages to hit ALL the Shudder to Think high notes. File under: Live albums that put the studio versions to shame.

2. Madder Rose - Panic On

Seed Records / Atlantic, 1994

I bought my very first indie 7" at Goodwill in about 1994 or so. I bought it because I vaguely had heard the band name Madder Rose, and the record was yellow vinyl, which blew my teenage mind.  I still have it. I managed to pick up this CD in the dollar bin this year, and it blew my non-teenage mind at the 90s pop goodness within. This is the lost cousin of Velocity Girl, Belly, and Juliana Hatfield. This CD brought 1994 right back to my speakers and I love it dearly. It's a gem from start to finish.

1. Red Stars Theory - Life in a Bubble Can Be Beautiful

Touch and Go Records, 1999

I saw Red Stars Theory and Modest Mouse in the basement of a Salt Lake City coffee house in late summer of '97. While Modest Mouse was fun, Red Stars Theory was the hit of the night, with their dense, swirly, violin-driven epics. I remember Seth Warren joining Modest Mouse for a few songs, including (then-unreleased) Jesus Christ Was an Only Child.

Unfortunately, (if I remember correctly) they didn't have merch at the show, and I tracked down an EP to find it disappointing. Their next album, But Sleep Came Slowly was a good-but-not-great listen.

I picked this up on a whim, because I had recently been re-listening to But Sleep... and enjoying it. This is the one. This is the album where they made good on the promises made at that basement show in '97. This is the band that made Modest Mouse look like second fiddle (violin pun). This album stretches out the depths hinted at in RST's first album, or some of the more jammy violin-led bits of The Moon and Antarctica.

Anyway, this is great stuff.

Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs 2019

(Five songs, new to me (but not necessarily new), that didn't qualify for either of the other top 5 lists)

5. The Minus 5 - Plascent Folk

From the album "Stroke Manor"
Yep Rock Records, 06/2019

After suffering from a massive stroke, music legend (who has worked with every band you like) Scott McCaughey set out to regain his mind and songwriting ability. This was a struggle for someone who at first had trouble stringing words together.

The result is quite amazing. Aside from having some of the best packaging I've ever seen on an LP, the songs are futuristic and forward-looking, with McCaughey experimenting with vocal effects, autotune, and other weirdness.

The winner from the album, though, is the opening track-- a lone pastoral strummer to start out an album of lo-fi rock. This song reminds me of Syd Barrett's solo LPs -- not just because of the unexpected tunesmithing, but because it's the sound of a shattered mind-- the words are all there, and they sound like they should make sense, but they just don't. Aw, give it a listen. It's fun.

4. Mineral - Aurora

From the 2-song EP / book "One Day When We are Young - Mineral at 25"
Self-Released, 01/2019

After being broken up for years and years, Mineral returns. (this would be exciting, except for this is the same story as 4 of 5 of my favorite new albums for this year.)

On the turntable, this is one of those songs that doesn't sound right at 33 or 45 RPM (turns out 45 is the right answer), but despite the unsettling beginning, Mineral reminds us what made them special as a band. Not just the emotive wailing vocals, but drums and bass that propel the song, and a guitar equally shimmery and squalling. This will only be disappointing if Mineral only leaves us with two more songs after a lifetime of waiting.

3. Weird Al Yankovic - The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota

From the album "UHF - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff"
Scotti Bros Records, 06/1989

To shore up my cred, I saw UHF in the theater (at Vancouver Mall cinemas, with Jon and Erik Phister) in 1989. I was 11, which is the ideal age to be a Weird Al fan. I didn't, however, get the UHF soundtrack, which, if I remember correctly, didn't see wide release, and this song wasn't actually in the movie.

Anyway, fast forward to spring 2019, and the Carmichael family is on a road trip. For reasons I don't understand, we had forgotten to pack our usual satchel full o' road trip CDs / Slim Whitman tapes, so we shared the goodness of youtube with my 8 and 9 year old kids (not quite at the 11-year old sweet spot, but approaching)

Lo and behold, from the speakers came this glorious huge majestic sphere of a song, capturing the joys and insanity of family road trips, all in a supersized, nearly 7-minute packaging. We had arrived. We bought a few souvenirs, and I've got a funny kind of feeling we'll be back next year.

2. Fred Thomas - House Show, Late December

From the album "Aftering"
Polyvinyl Records, 09/2018

Speaking of longish epics, this Fred Thomas track captures so much in familiar scenes and feelings. Fred used to be [in] Saturday Looks Good to Me and City Center.

1. Lil' Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus - Old Town Road [Remix]

single
Self-Released.
Original released 12/2018
Remix released 04/2019

If you had told me anytime between 1993 and 2018 that Billy Ray Cyrus would feature on my favorite song of the year, I would have punched you. I may still, but Lil' Nas X is dynamite. This song is amazing. Nine Inch Nails? Banjo? Country? Rap? Infinitely quotable lyrics? Oh yes.

God Bless Lil' Nas X.