2024: Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs

 (generally, the best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2024, or new to me. 2024 was such a bumper crop of good new music, that this year's list is 100% newly released songs.)

5. Kim Deal - Coast

from "Nobody Loves You More"
4AD, 11/2024

A new Kim Deal solo album. I haven't heard the whole album yet, but I want to. This song was released in advance of the new album, and it's really good.

I believe "Nobody Loves You More" was the last thing Steve Albini worked on before his untimely passing this past May. Albini's sound always surprises me because it's not always harsh noise-rock. He recorded Low and Bedhead, for goodness sakes. This recording has horns! But it clearly sounds really good.

This song was apparently inspired by a bad cover of Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville". Like him or hate him, you have to admit, that song is a vibe. This song is also a vibe-- not the same vibe as Margaritaville, maybe a mirror image.

Now, if somebody could just tell me what "Someone must've checked the WAM" means...

 

4. The Decemberists - Oh No!

 

From "As It Ever Was, So It Shall Be Again"
YABB Records, 06/2024

The Decemberists return with this fun ... uhh ... tango? foxtrot? whiskey? I'm not so up on my dance beats. Anyway, this song is certainly Decemberists. You almost need a thesaurus to decode the lyrics, but it's just a lot of fun. The new album is great, and there are several classic classic songs on there. This is one of them.

3. Mary Timony - Untame the Tiger

 

Title track of the album "Untame the Tiger"
Merge Records 02/2024

Sometimes the simple ones are the best. This song starts with 100 seconds of Mary Timony's usual alternate-tuning guitar playing a typically atmospheric, off-kilter Mary Timony melody. All of a sudden, the drums kick in with a 4/4 beat and the song turns into a simple, catchy I-IV-V pop song. The chorus is instrumental-- just a guitar hook. Super simple, and it works. Reminds me of "Hey Ya!".

2. Jack White - Archbishop Harold Holmes

From "No Name"
Third Man Records, 08/2024

Jack White should write a Broadway show. He's got the patter-song down cold. This stomper is from his new album No Name, which, in my (not very expert) opinion, is the best Jack White material since Get Behind Me Satan back in 2008. This whole album rocks hard, and this rapid-fire song is the best on there.

  1. Sunny Day Real Estate - Novum Vetus

From Diary Live at London Bridge Studios
Sub Pop Records 05/2024

I sure didn't expect a new Sunny Day song in 2024. This album is... meh. Diary is a classic. Rerecording Diary produced an inferior copy. But THIS SONG. 

So, this song was apparently started (or written) during the How It Feels sessions (circa '98), and it would fit well on that album. Live, it stretched out and breathed, and was a highlight of the show. This song is epic, sweeping, and beautiful. Doesn't overstay its 7 minutes. Long live Sunny Day. They have released 2 songs since 2000, but each song is worth 12 years of wait.

P.S. -- apparently, Novum Vetus rhymes with Diabeetus.

2023: Top 5 New Albums

Here we are with my annual tradition of top-5 albums.

A reminder about methodology: Top 5 albums were released in 2022 or 2023 (I sometimes don't buy music fast enough, OK?) . Then I rank 5 best new-to-me albums I encountered in the past year, and 5 miscellaneous songs that don't fit in the first two top-5 lists.

5. Built to Spill - When the Wind Forgets Your Name

Sub Pop, 09/2022

This was heavily promoted when it came out. I saw targeted facebook ads, silly youtube spots, etc. It's Built to Spill's 12th-ish album. Took me a bit to pick it up (I'd say the cover art is a bit off-putting). It's ... okay. It's the okayest Built to Spill album. They haven't made a bad album (although I don't really dig their Daniel Johnston collab too much). It's just that lately, every album seems a bit... less. 

In the mid-2000s, Built to Spill had settled into a stable 5-piece lineup: Martsch/Roth/Nelson/Netson/Plouf. Their live shows sounded fantastic. Live versions of old songs seemed perfect. Doug Martsch teased that the 5 of them had written songs as a group and they were great, but they were working through Doug Martsch solo compositions, and the next album would be a group effort. Then, the next one wasn't (more old songs), but the next one... and these songs never materialized. (I also remember similar rumors in the early 2000s about a 4th Halo Benders album. 

Then, lineup changes, pandemic, politics... and only Doug remains. I have a friend who insists the new 3-piece lineup of Built to Spill is the tightest, best yet. I skipped the show, so I couldn't say.

I will say that an OK Built to Spill album beats out some other bands at their peak. That's the amount of love I have for Built to Spill. (And I always think Idahoans, not Koreans, when someone mentions BTS.)

 

 

4. Brainiac - The Predator Nominate EP

 

Touch and Go Records, 05/2022

Tim Taylor died in 1997, leaving behind a band that was so far ahead of its time, we could dig up a cassette demo 25 years later and it would sound fresh. This is not peak Brainiac, it's about 8 not-fleshed-out song ideas, but it's great. For a while there, the Brainiac documentary was free to watch on Youtube. Sadly, no longer, although you may have luck on Tubi or Pluto for free.

3. Eyelids - A Colossal Waste of Light

 

Jealous Butcher Records, 03/2023

Portland's own Eyelids are on a hot streak. All their music is fantastic. Their live shows rip. They collaborate with everyone across the indie world (This album has Peter Buck from R.E.M. recording and playing on it). I can't say enough great things about Eyelids. They've shown up in this list before.

Why is this album not #1? Maybe because they set such a high bar with their previous albums? Maybe because two of the best songs on this album were released on a 7" a year before, so I'm less excited about them? I don't know. Prediction for 2023, though: their 2-LP singles collection "No Jigsaw" is due out in March, and I bet it's tops.

2. Casey Neill and the Norway Rats - Sending Up Flares

Fluff and Gravy Records, 09/2023

Casey Neill apparently started his career playing irish folk music. Any stray into indie pop was purely coincidental. Now, Casey Neill is a veteran, has an established combo filled with talented Portlanders (including a Decemberist), and makes world weary, Springsteenian (is that a word?) catchy musical stories about interesting characters. This is a solid album and good listen start to finish. My only complaint is that it doesn't have "Siphoners" on it, which has been stuck in my head since 2018.

1. The Van Pelt - Artisans and Merchants

 

La Castanya Records, 03/2023

WARNING: not as good as The Van Pelt's two classic 1990s albums. Somehow, those two albums have remained timeless. "Talk Rock" still sounds as vital in the 2020s as it did back then.

BUT... this is still pretty cool stuff from those same kids, now very much adults. There's some fun 90s reminiscence underpinning "Punk House" and "Grid", and there's something so catchy about shouting "Incredible Kegstands!" along with the music. But there's also some growth. Several songs ("We Gotta Leave", "Love Is Brutal") shed the talk-rock entirely for mellow, lightly-sung, less high-strung narrative. And it's great. take a listen.

2023: Top 5 New Discoveries

(5 favorite albums from 2021 or prior that I discovered this year)

5. Sugar - Copper Blue

Rykodisc, 09/1992

2023: The year Alex re-discovers the 90s! No, I remember reading about Copper Blue when it came out in some magazine or other (Probably Spin. Let's call it Spin.), but in the 90s, you couldn't just hear the music you wanted to, particularly if US radio refused to play it. This was 1992 album of the year for the N.M.E. in England. Anyway, I saw this CD's bluish case in the record store a time or two, but never shelled out the $$ to hear it. I wish I had. This is top-notch 90s pop. Maybe not as anthemic as Husker Du's "New Day Rising", but smoother and more radio friendly. Which again, makes me wonder why they didn't play this on the radio.

 

4. Smashing Pumpkins - Adore

   

Virgin Records, 06/1998

OK don't kill me. For some unusual personal circumstances, I had never heard this album until 2023. Pre-Adore, I was a Smashing Pumpkins fan. I didn't pony up the insane amount for "The Aeroplane Flies High", but if you have a friend who does, skip Pistachio Medley and the A-sides, it makes an insanely good 100-minute cassette.

I have even heard Ava Adore on the radio, but for reasons, I didn't get Adore when it was released. Soon, the general opinion was that it was OK, not great, and the world moved on from Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan slowly morphed into Uncle Fester, and eventually broke up the band.

...And a few years later, I heard "Zeitgeist" when it came out, and that was bad; so I just never felt the need to revisit Adore.

Turns out, it's a pretty good album. I also heard Machina for the first time this year. It's a good-but-not-quite-great album. Maybe 2024 will bring Machina II and Judas Ø to my ears. who knows?

3. The Breeders - All Nerve

   

4AD Records, 03/2018

Good morning!

More 90s. Yay for the Breeders. Everything the Breeders do sounds good, but one of the problems with their later-period albums was that most of the songs sounded like half-a-song-idea that wasn't really fleshed out. This album fixes that. These are good songs that deserve to be spun alongside Last Splash and Safari and Pod.

2. The Cranberries - Something Else

 

BMG, 03/2017

An irish band, rereleasing mellower versions of their old catalog. Sound familiar? It could be argued that this record, which came out in 2017, was the Cranberries running out of ideas. It's 10 chamber-pop rerecordings of songs from their first 4 albums plus 3 new chamber-pop songs that fit right in. In hindsight, given the problems that Dolores O'Riordan was having, it's a miracle we get to hear these anyway. I find myself a bit saddened with the realization that I will never get to see the Cranberries live. 

So why is this album so good, and U2's Songs of Surrender so bad? (trust me, it's not good) For one, personal taste. Also, Dolores and the Cranberries seem genuinely into these versions. The songs are road-worn and comfortable. The new songs fit in pretty well, and the string section floats effortlessly through the whole thing. There was love and care and effort in the recording. The U2 project was mostly the Edge during the pandemic, going stir-crazy and recording mellow keyboard versions of songs that didn't need reinventing, with little input from the rest of the band.

Anyway, if you're a Cranberries fan, check this album out. It's growing on me each time I listen to it.

  1. Shellac - The End of Radio

 

Touch and Go Records, 06/2019

Radio One! Play the drums!

 A 12-track, 2-LP collection of two Peel Sessions Shellac did in 1994 and 2004. These have been floating around for some time (particularly the 1994 session), but in this format, they sound FANTASTIC. Shellac has always been about good sound, and in some ways, their music sounds like what the platonic ideal of what rock and roll guitar, bass, drums, and vocals should sound like. A bit dirty, a bit angry, but perfect.

This record encompasses all there is to love about Shellac. This is now Shellac's best album. These songs sound fantastic. Live, they stretch out and breathe. Sure, you could argue with the tracklisting. We don't need Canada twice. It really could use Copper and Wingwalker (and Didn't We Deserve, if you like punishment). But this record is perfect sound. Hear it on LP. It's stunning.

(buy on LP from Touch and Go Records here)

2023: Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs

 (The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2023, or new to me.)

5. Royal Blood - Boilermaker

from "Typhoons"

Warner, 04/2021

I was dragged to a Royal Blood show and had a great time. I didn't really know this band beforehand, but I'll be paying closer attention now. Recommended if you like your stripes white, your keys black, and your duo-jets flat.

 

4. Jason Isbell - Death Wish

 

From "Weathervanes"
Southeastern Records, 06/2023

Less capital-C Country, and more ... uhh.. Springsteenian (there's that word again!) storytelling from mister Isbell. I'm assuming that by 2023 almost everybody knows who Jason Isbell is. He seems like a champion of the downtrodden and underrepresented in real life, too... which makes him cooler than 30-50 feral hogs in my book.

3. They Might Be Giants - Alphabet of Nations [Extended Version]

 

From the deluxe edition (only) of "No!"
Idlewild Recordings 6/2012

I didn't think this song had a chance against the other good songs in this list... until I played it loud. These guys are REALLY selling it. They're into it. just listen. Technically, this is a re-recording, as the song also appears (in a shorter, more muted version) on 2004's "Here Come the ABCs", but John and John are so EXUBERANT! Really singing the hell out of this one. They sound excited about Oman and Pakistan, and, heck. Maybe they're right. We should all be so excited. I think my next vacation will be to West Xylophone.

2. Jimmy Eat World - Firestarter

From the "Last Christmas" 7"
Better Looking Records, 12/2001

Recorded in the Bleed American sessions, yes, it's THAT Firestarter. In hindsight, this doesn't seem long enough after The Prodigy came out for a cover. I don't have enough of the original song in my head-- It's just that creepy-eyed english bloke with the bad haircut shouting "Twisted Firestarter" and some keyboard sound effects, and the dude brushing the bugs out of his hair:

Yeah, that's it. 

Anyway, this is a cool cover, because it sounds like peak Jimmy Eat World. And I love whatever noise/drone is going on in the background. Adds to the tension of the song.

  1. Landing - Awake

From the Awake / Gravitational X Digital Single

Vast Arc Hues, 10/2023

A one-off single from Landing late in the year, and one of the catchiest songs they've ever written. This one just hits all the right notes for me. I don't know if it works for anybody else, but this I dig. It conjures sunshine, driving with the windows down, and this drifting out of the car windows.

2022: Top 5 New Albums

I'm now 10 years into doing this. Why stop now?

5. Pony Camp

 

self-released,10/28/2022

So, I believe the story goes something like this (although I could be wrong) -- Early in the pandemic, The Lowest Pair (aka Kendl Winter and Palmer Lee) went up into the mountains to camp and work on some songs with some friends-- a perfectly healthy, pandemic-friendly activity. Yet, because so many others had the same idea, the only place they could get to camp was a HORSE CAMP. And thus was their project named. As they were working on their HORSE CAMP songs, Kendl was also working on an electronic side-project with one of those friends, Adam Roszkewicz, and since it was a side project, it became PONY camp. At least that's what I think it is.

Anyway, it's fun to hear Kendl's songs outside of their normal banjo-tastic trappings. It's strange and fun to hear autotune on her vocals (Passwords), but I'd say this was one of those projects that works a little better on paper than it does in real life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy this tape, but it's not as good as a Lowest Pair album.

 

4. Codeine - Dessau

   

The Numero Group, 09/02/2022

So, this should have been Codeine's 2nd album, "The White Birch". In fact, the artwork on the cover is named "The White Birch", which is the namesake and should have been the album cover for "The White Birch". Confusing enough?

Anyway, well through the sessions for this album, bassist Stephen Immerwahr kept hearing high-frequency noise (which may or may not actually be there) on the tracks, and scrapped the album for good.

Most of these songs ended up on "Barely Real" or "The White Birch". But this is the missing link. I love listening to the power of these songs.

3. The Lowest Pair and Small Town Therapy - Horse Camp

   

self-released 10/26/2022 

Like I said earlier, HORSE CAMP. Anyways, this is Palmer and Kendl with a full band -- generally guit/fiddle/mandolin/banjo that doesn't sound too far out from what Lowest Pair usually sounds like.

In fact, that's my best and worst thing I can say about this record. It's good. It doesn't sound too far from what a Lowest Pair record should sound like (which is amazing, don't get me wrong), but there's nothing too ambitious or different here. In fact, I would steer newcomers to the Lowest Pair to Perfect Plan or 36 cents. Nevertheless, this is a fine addition to the canon.

2. Afghan Whigs - How Do You Burn?

 

Royal Cream, 09/09/2022

Dulli's hair is going gray (so's mine!) and we're all getting older. Yet, this is a fun new Afghan Whigs album. There are lots of good and listenable songs on here. This is apparently Mark Lanegan's last recorded output, but he's unfortunately relegated to blink-and-you-miss-em background vocals, so no Gutter Twins II here. Also notable is "Domino and Jimmy", featuring Marcy Mays (lead singer of Scrawl, probably best known for her wicked vocals on Afghan Whigs' "My Curse" from 1993). This one's a fun duet. Check out some of the other bangers on this album like "Jyja" and "A Line of Shots".

1. Pohgoh - Du und Ich

 

Spartan Records 11/4/2022

Spartan Records has been on a roll the last few years. And Pohgoh? Breaking up in '97 only to release super amazing records 20 years later? Oh yes.

So this is Pohgoh's 3rd album. Solid rock and roll, great dynamics, perfect sound forever. And I love Susie's lyrics. She sings the things that are important to her-- not typical rock-and-roll, but a slice of her life and all the more important for it. A few of the songs are about her struggles with MS, but so many of the songs are about things we all go through--"Now I Know", quitting a job. "Heavy", struggles with self-image. She may say "Words are Harder", but somehow they sound effortless. Thanks, Pohgoh.

2022: Top 5 New Discoveries

(5 favorite albums from 2020 or prior that I discovered this year)

5. Cocteau Twins - Blue Bell Knoll

 

4AD Records, 09/1988

Ahh, a Cocteau Twins record. Early this year, I found myself planning a trip to the wilds of Southern Utah, and falling down a wikipedia rabbit hole, I discovered that the Cocteau Twins named an album after someplace I was visiting. So, with a very valid excuse, I tracked down this album and bought it as a soundtrack to a very fun road trip. 

I can't say enough good things about this classic Cocteau Twins album. Pretty melodies, alien words, silly song titles like "A Kissed-out Red Floatboat", and "For Phoebe Still a Baby". I need to pick up more classic Cocteau Twins, and this time I don't need a roadtrip as an excuse.

 

4. Codeine - Barely Real

   

Sub Pop Records, 11/1992

This is my year for Codeine. I was unaware this brilliant 6-song EP even existed. This has some powerful tunes. It may even be my favorite Codeine release. (don't hold me to that, I love them all)

3. Cat Power - Speaking for Trees

   

Matador Records

CD/DVD released 10/2004 

So, I remember when this came out. I remember reading reviews of it, and it sounded boring: One long (loooooooong) static shot of Chan Marshall playing outdoors. Nothing else.

I stumbled into this on Youtube, looking for something to listen to during my workday. I loved it. I realized that the visual isn't the point. This is great music. And the music is only half of it. The music is overwhelmed by the sound of high summer-- the insects and the wind. 

 This is from the same era of the one and only time I saw Cat Power live. She cycles through some of her songs, some covers, and mashes some covers and some of her songs together. She plays the same series of songs over as many as 3 or 4 times.

There's also a second audio CD with an 18 minute version of Willie, which got cut down to song-length for her next album The Greatest.

This is a fun listen, and this is peak Cat Power.

2. Verse en Coma - Rialto

 

Robotic Empire, 2008

It took me one listen through one song to order this EP. (It's available on 10"/CD on Bandcamp for a reasonable price). This is driving, intense, lyrical music. Many of the songs reference the Olympic Peninsula in the lyrics (which is my favorite place in the world). Soaring choruses, driving guitars. I love this so very much.

So these guys were apparently also in City of Caterpillar. I checked out their stuff this year and also liked it, but maybe not quite as much as I love this Verse en Coma record.

  1. Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom

 

Slash/Warner Bros Records, 09/1994

It strikes me as odd that I've gone so long without hearing this album. I own "Irresistible Bliss", their 1996 follow up. I was just under the mistaken impression that I only needed one Soul Coughing album in my life. This album is the epitome of cool. Most of the time I don't even know what's going on with all the samples/upright bass/jazz drumming/nonsense words, but I know it's cooler than I'll ever be. My good friend David has been a Soul Coughing freak for years, yet somehow I let this one slip until now. That has been corrected.

2022: Top 5 Miscellaneous Songs

(The best five songs not on the other two lists. Either new in 2022, or new to me.)

5. Sparta - Until the Kingdom Comes

 

from Sparta's self-titled fifth album

Dine Alone, 10/2022

A dearly-missed friend turned me on to Sparta a few years ago. Jim Ward is a former member of At the Drive In, and he makes melodic, driving post-hardcore music. Jim recently (like 2019?) took back up the Sparta mantle, and this is the result.

I would no longer classify this as post-hardcore (not that labels really matter anyway), but this is BIG music. This occupies the same strata as big rock albums. It's a Weezer Blue. It's an Achtung Baby. This is Music for the Masses in the best way possible. Have a listen and see for yourself.

 

4. Typhoon - No One Will Dance

   

From the "Underground Complex No.1" EP
Roll Call Records, 04/2022 

It must be hard to be a member of Typhoon. Even middling indie success probably won't pay the bills when split 13 ways. I've been following Typhoon for at least 15 years, and they peaked at 13 members once or twice. Now I think they're down to 6 or 7 and that's sort of sad. Less is sometimes more, but not at a Typhoon concert.  Typhoon's power has always been derived from the number of kids on stage pouring their hearts into the music.

In more recent years, as their numbers have dwindled, the bright sparks on Typhoon's records have come fewer and farther between. Nevertheless, there are some great songs on this EP, and this song is one of them. Also, I got to see them in Monmouth, Oregon for a one-off show this December, and several former bandmembers guested. The player count was temporarily up to 8, and the show was quite good. 

They didn't play this song at the show, which was a shame. I love the moment in this song where Kyle sings the line "a song that no one will dance to...", and the rhythm immediately switches to an amorphous waltz time that is... impossible to dance to. Perfect.

3. The Decemberists - Better Not Wake the Baby

   

From the album "What a Terrible World, What a Wonderful World"
Capitol Records, 01/2015

2022 was Year of the Decemberists in our house. Our 13-year-old decided that The Decemberists were his favorite band. As a result, we added several Decemberists albums to the collection, and saw them in concert.

This song is 1:44 of classic Decemberists. Folky instrumentation, catchy tune, slightly old-fashioned and wordy sounding, with some borderline-ridiculous lyrics. Light, fun, and silly. Yeah, sounds a bit like The Wellerman, but who's counting?

2. The Arcade Fire - The Lightning I/II

 

From the album "We"
Columbia Records, 05/2022

I'm a sucker for two-parter songs. This is a fun one. A great performance on SNL this year, too. I'm not a big Arcade Fire guy, but this song is a banger.

To mention the current unsavory allegations against Win Butler-- we're certainly in an age where we can separate art from the artist. That being said, I think this sort of allegation would be better proven or disproven in a court of law. As it stands, I tend to disbelieve anything Pitchfork publishes, especially about bands that Pitchfork singlehandedly put on a pedestal.

  1. Tom Jones and The Cardigans - Burning Down the House

 

From Sir Tom Jones' "Reload" album
Gut/V2 Records, 09/1999

Wh..what just happened? Was that The Cardigans, fresh off their international superhit Lovefool, doing a classic Talking Heads cover with Sir Tom Jones (AKA "Theme Song Guy!")?

This would've been a fun, interesting cover with the Cardigans OR Tom Jones. Getting both at the same time feels like.. cheating. It's like somebody pushed up up down down left right left right BA start, and reality gave us Tom Jones, the Cardigans, and Talking Heads.