Top 25 Albums of 2019

in

My favorite albums of 2019 are here! As happened with the Top 100 Songs of 2019, there really wasn’t a clear cut winner for me. I almost wanted to give it to Vampire Weekend for being so damn consistent, but their album was too long with a few weak tracks that kept them out of the #1 ranking.

After some debate, I realized the album that I enjoyed the most was PUP’s Morbid Stuff. It’s one of those great rock albums, and PUP is such a fun and loud band that loves being loud. They’re the musical man child of Japandroids and New Found Glory. Their live shows must be nuts.

As for the remainder of albums, there’s a number of notables, including my favorite newcomer (for me), Rex Orange County, a singer/songwriter without a great voice or much notable traits that I can point to other than the fact that he sounds like his own. It’s not always about some amazing voice or guitar licks, sometimes it’s just being yourself that makes music so great.

Read More

Monday Mixtape, Vol. 127

in

This week’s mixtape is for all the lovers of singer/songwriters, the rambling poets exhaling smoke, folk, and lullabies in the wind.

Every one of these artists I’ve only recently discovered (and Townes Van Zandt has been making music since the 70s! Guess I got some work to do for him), and it’s like they all hit me in a slow motion hurricane. These are all beautiful songs in their own right, but the songs all move at a soft, steady pace. This is music to burn a fire to. Let the embers and colors float amongst the darkness and close your eyes. Escape to the sounds of the crackling fire, like a record player, play the night away.

And let yourself fall asleep…