This list is partly an appreciation, partly a primer for folks who may grow to appreciate P.D.Q. Bach given some options for staring points, and partly as way for me to process the loss of a truly gifted musician and humorist.
When I tally up my most-played artists of the last year, the vast majority of my Top 10 is basically indistinguishable from my Top 10 most-payed artists from 20 years ago. Is it my fault they insist on still putting out strong, fresh material?
If you’re a Dad Rock and ’90s Nostalgia aficionado, have I got 30 tunes for you to check out.
Diverse influences mix together to create genre-defying sounds, particularly laid-back grooves that conjure up carefree summer afternoons hanging with friends? That’s the Oakland sound in 2022.
I miiiiight have mentioned it before, but Bandcamp Fridays have been a great excuse for me to reconnect with local music over the last 22…
On the whole, I’d say these songs are a hopeful bunch, rooted in the possibility of muddling through somehow and reclaiming a semblance of fellowship, cohesion, progress, and well-being. Perhaps 2022 will deliver on that promise.
Being There still feels monumental 25 years later. It also announced the arrival of Wilco: The Band That Jams and Takes Risks. Risks like recording a double album, opening it with a 45-second drums-and-feedback freakout, and then spending the next 76 minutes alternating between ennui-filled ballads and surreal-nonsense-filled bangers.
What can one say about 2020 other than, “Good riddance”? I can think of one thing: There was some damn good music released this year. Is it because 2020 was a particularly fruitful year, with talented artists who had nothing else to do but write and record new music?
On the brights side, one of the nice things about being cooped up with your household and no one else for 3/4 of the year…
This year. This fucking year. But, on the bright side, it’s half over! And surely 2021 couldn’t be any worse, right? RIGHT? In times like…