Skip to main content

Catching Up: 2013 - 2018

Once upon a time one of my favorite things to do on this blog was to unveil my end-of-the-year top ten. It started off as a complicated affair with multiple categories. As time went on it simplified, later becoming not a top ten but a modest list of albums I was happy to have spent my money on. As my attention moved away from the blog, I stopped the tradition altogether. I haven't posted - or even made - a year-end list since 2012. I also used to post the artwork and tracklist for my annual year-end mix, and I have also been remiss in that for the past six years.

So, in an attempt to make up for lost time, here's are some freshly-prepared year-end lists and a cataloging of the mixes I made each year.

2013
Jimmy Eat World - Damage
Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

mix:
1) Jimmy Eat World - "I Will Steal You Back"
2) Ra Ra Riot - "That Much"
3) Divine Fits - "Chained to Love"
4) Regina Spektor - "You've Got Time"
5) Noah and the Whale - "Silver and Gold"
6) Tegan and Sara - "I'm Not Your Hero"
7) P.O.S. - "Weird Friends"
8) Phoenix - "Trying to be Cool"
9) They Might Be Giants - "You're On Fire"
10) Elvis Costello and the Roots - "Wake Me Up"
11) Vampire Weekend - "Unbelievers"
12) Pearl Jam - "Getaway"
13) Arcade Fire - "Afterlife"

*

2014
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, and War
Jenny Lewis - Voyager
New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Prince - Art Official Cage
Sloan - Commonwealth
U2 - Songs of Innocence

mix:
1) Prince - "Art Official Cage"
2) Kylie Minogue - "I Was Gonna Cancel"
3) Robbie Williams - "The Pilot"
4) Spoon - "They Want My Soul"
5) Broken Bells - "Perfect World"
6) U2 - "California (There Is No End to Love)
7) Dan Wilson - "When It Pleases You"
8) Jenny Lewis - "Head Underwater"
9) Bryan Ferry - "Loop Di Li"
10) Rufus Wainwright - "WWIII"
11) Prince and 3rdeyegirl - "Anotherlove"
12) Sloan - "You've Got a Lot on Your Mind"
13) Sloan - "Three Sisters"
14) Kaiser Chiefs - "Coming Home"

*

2015
Carroll - Carroll
Carly Rae Jepsen - E-mo-tion
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Chasing Yesterday
James Taylor - Before This World
They Might Be Giants - Glean
Tropical Depression - Tropical Depression

mix:
1) The Bird and the Bee - "Will You Dance?"
2) Belle and Sebastian - "The Party Line"
3) They Might Be Giants - "Unpronounceable"
4) Ben Folds - "Capable of Anything"
5) Death Cab for Cutie - "Little Wanderer"
6) Jim Adkins - "I Will Go"
7) Rhett Miller and Black Prairie - "Jules"
8) The Decemberists - "Cavalry Captain"
9) Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - "Riverman"
10) Carroll - "Bad Water"
11) Tropical Depression - "Tucson"
12) John Hermanson - "Healing"
13) Adam Levy - "Atoms Never Die"
14) Motion City Soundtrack - "I Can Feel You"

*

2016
David Bowie - Blackstar
Carroll - As Far As Gardens Go
The Honeydogs - Love and Cannibalism
Jimmy Eat World - Integrity Blues
The Monkees - Good Times!
Ra Ra Riot - Need Your Light
Tegan and Sara - Love You to Death
Tropical Depression - Islands
The Twilight Hours - Black Beauty
Weezer - Weezer (white album)

mix:
1) Kaiser Chiefs - "We Stay Together"
2) Prince - "Groovy Potential"
3) Tropical Depression - "Big Talk"
4) Mayer Hawthorne - "Love Like That"
5) Tegan and Sara - "Faint of Heart"
6) The Twilight Hours - "Lost in a Rain Cloud"
7) The Twilight Hours - "Sioux City Swinger"
8) Gloss Coats - "Man Made"
9) Jimmy Eat World - "Sure and Certain"
10) The Monkees - "Me and Magdalena"
11) Tuns - "Back Among Friends"
12) The Honeydogs - "Devices"
13) David Bowie - "Lazarus"
14) Weezer - "Endless Bummer"


*

2017
New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions
Spoon - Hot Thoughts
The Suburbs - Hey Muse
U2- Songs of Experience
Weezer - Pacific Daydream

mix:
1) Spoon - "Hot Thoughts"
2) The Suburbs - "Hey Muse!"
3) Nobody Kid - "Soundtrack of Endless Summer"
4) Hippo Campus - "Baseball"
5) Robbie Williams - "Numb"
6) The New Pornographers - "Whiteout Conditions"
7) Tears for Fears - "I Love You But I'm Lost"
8) Haim - "Right Now" (live)
9) Ryan Adams - "Doomsday"
10) John Mayer - "Helpless"
11) Mudcrutch - "Dreams of Flying"
12) Romantica - "St. Paul City Lights"
13) U2 - "The Little Things That Give You Away"

*

2018
Death Cab For Cutie - Thank You for Today
Intl Falls - Intl Falls
Josh Rouse - Love in the Modern Age
Sloan - 12
Storyhill - Stages
Caitlyn Smith - Starfire

mix:
1) Jimmy Eat World - "Love Never"
2) Sloan - "Spin Our Wheels"
3) The Get Up Kids - "Maybe"
4) Josh Rouse - "Businessman"
5) Paul Simon - "Can't Run But"
6) Death Cab for Cutie - "Near/Far"
7) Rhett Miller - "Close Most of the Time"
8) Caitlyn Smith - "Scenes from a Corner Booth at Closing Time on a Tuesday"
9) Trampled By Turtles - "We All Get Lonely"
10) Romantica - "Love in the Winter"
11) Totally Awesome Summer - "Nude Scene"
12) Paul McCartney - "Fuh You"
13) Justin Courtney Pierre - "Anchor"
14) Sherwood Forest - "Glow"
15) Frank Turner - "Be More Kind"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REO Speedwagon: R.E.O. Speedwagon (1971)

REO Speedwagon got its start in the late 1960s on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. The band grew out of a friendship between a students Neal Doughty (piano/keyboard) and Alan Gratzer (drums). Joining up with a couple of other musicians, they took the name R.E.O. Speedwagon. It wasn't long before they started getting gigs at parties and bars, doing covers of the hits of the day. The band cycled through several players in its first three years, with Gratzer and Doughty as the only constants. One-by-one they added the members that would form the first "official" lineup: singer Terry Luttrell in early 1968, bassist Gregg Philbin later that summer, and guitarist Gary Richrath at the end of 1970. Richrath was a native of Peoria, 90 miles northwest of Champaign, and had essentially stalked the band until they let him join. It was a good move, as he not only an accomplished guitarist, but also a songwriter. With Richrath the band ascended to the n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stuck, or Obsession Cessastion

You may have noticed that things have slowed down around here. I had the summer off from teaching, and I spent it with my 7 month-old son. I gave myself permission to make this blog less of a priority. Well, "less of a priority" is putting it lightly. Initially, I considered an abrupt retirement. But then I reconsidered. Maybe the proximity to Brett Favre is causing this. If you're a long time reader, this is probably not all that surprising to you. Since 2007, it has become an annual ritual for me to soul-search about my waning interest in music. First I blamed an inability to express myself and a lack of quality music . Then in 2008 I cited new technology and the death of the album . Last year I wrote about how my changing life priorities hindered my ability to seek out new music. I've done a lot of thinking about it this summer and in truth I believe this was all just dancing around the issue, a slow realization of something I didn't want to admit to myse...
7 comments
Read more

Rock Bottom: The Beach Boys

The one constant in every established artist's oeuvre is the bad album , the one that's reviled by both fans and critics. Those unlovable albums are the ones this feature, Rock Bottom , is concerned with. Here's how it works: I've consulted three sources, the AllMusic Guide and Rolling Stone (for the critical point-of-view) and Amazon.com (for the fan perspective*). The album with the lowest combined rating from both sources is the one I'll consider the worst. I may not always agree with the choice, and my reviews will reflect that. I'll also offer a considered alternative. Finally, there are some limits. The following types of albums don't count: 1) b-sides or remix compilations, 2) live albums, 3) albums recorded when the band was missing a vital member, and 4) forays into a different genres (i.e. classical). *A note about Amazon.com. I consider this the fan perspective, because most people who choose to review albums on this site are adoring fans of ...
1 comment
Read more