2020 - Year in Music

There were five songs that really blew me away this year. I'm not going to do a Top 5 or any Top list, ranking them doesn't really mean anything as they all really hit me in that wonderfully incomparable way a song should.

Carla J. Easton's - 'Never Knew You' - a glorious POP tune and a great video, complete with fancy gowns and animal head masks. Carla's album Weirdo is my POP album of the year.

 

 

Steve Kilbey's 'Josephine' is gorgeous and I've loved hearing it ever since it debuted during his Monday evening Instagram sessions. Lovely lyrics, and the feeling is enormous. There's some great stuff on the 11 Women album. 

 

Sam Barton's 'We painted our faces and gave false names', wow, this blew me away the first time I heard it on the Flashback Records compilation, later released on Sam's Acid Apple Satin Walls album. It reminded me of that next level that music took me to as a teenager when you realize just how important all this is. A wonderful track that I listened to over and over many a time this year.

Illuminati Hotties' 'Freequent Letdown'. First off, best band name I've heard in years. And this tune is just so joyous and catchy. Top pop.

AC/DC's 'Through The Mists Of Time'. A great timeless rock song. This also blew me away the first time I heard the album. My childhood best friend messaged me reminding me that they were putting out a new one and he absolutely loves the whole record, saying how it was such a great thing to have happen this year of all years. While the rest of it just sounds like latter day AC/DC to me, 'Through The Mists Of Time' really stands out. I found myself putting it on a few days after I gave the album a listen, and then just kept coming back to it, until eventually it found its way on the stereo almost every time I had music playing. I love it. It's my favourite thing they've done with Brian Johnson since 'Thunderstruck', and ranks up there with my favourites of the second incarnation of the band. My affection for this tune had me listening to them a lot more, realizing that Powerage definitely ranks in my Top 5 Albums of All-Time, and I then watched all the documentaries available about them in less than a week.

La Roux's 'Automatic Driver' deserves an honourable mention as I've listened to this tune a ton and it's just the type of pop song I love.

Two tunes that definitely deserve a mention as I listened to them a ton and love them, despite them only being currently listenable on YouTube are Jordan Benik's, now going under the name Trading Queens.

And High On Stress' 'Work Release'. If you like The Replacements...

I discovered a bunch of great artists this year. High On Stress being a big one. As well as Anton Barbeau, Hedvig Mollestad, and Emma Tricca.

Mr. Barbeau has many a fine tune, usually in the English eccentric meets his California homeland style, but it was this one that he wrote for and dueted with Allyson Seconds on that has been on my stereo the most.

All of Hedvig Mollestad's records are worth checking out though it is her 2013 album with her trio, All Of Them Witches,  that I put on the most, always accompanied by a big 'YES!' at its awesomeness.

Hedvig Mollestad Trio · All Them Witches

I don't remember how I first heard Emma Tricca, but I'm so glad I did. This tune is pure loveliness.

As for older songs and artists I discovered this year, a French Instagram friend hipped me to the beauty of Nino Ferrer's 'Le Sud'.

Mat Colegate posted Judee Sill's 'The Kiss' on FB one night which lead me down an extraordinary rabbithole, with 'Jesus Was A Cross Maker' coming to the fore as my fave.

Ms. Sill reminds me a bit of Dory Previn, who I love and was listening to a lot especially at the beginning of the year when I was driving out to California. Her 'Going Home' I believe is my song for 2020, even though it was a year I wasn't really sure what I could consider 'home'.

I have another Album of the Year - A Love Supreme Electric. Henry Kaiser, John Hanrahan, Mike Watt, Wayne Peet, and Vinny Golia. I fell in love with this from its opening notes. It is what it says, an electric version of Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Meditations. The music is ENORMOUS and really takes you very far indeed.

It was my pleasure to talk to a lot of the artists mentioned above on the Etcetera ETC With Young Southpaw podcast - Henry Kaiser, Steve Kilbey, Anton Barbeau, Nick from High On Stress, Hedvig Mollestad, and Carla J. Easton. As well as a bunch of other great guests like Greg Proops from 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?', Mat Osman from Suede, Mark Monnone from The Lucksmiths, author John Higgs, and many others. You can listen to those here. 

Maybe I'll get around to posting about all the books I read and films I watched this year in another post. But it's worth noting that P. G. Wodehouse audiobooks and Letterkenny really kept me going this year. 

Happy New Year all!

Week In Music: June 14-21 2020

I keep hearing so much great stuff, thought I'd revive this blog to share it. A weekly post of all the great artists and tunes I've discovered or revisited during the week

First up is Judee Sill. Wow! Her songs are so lovely. John Andrew Fredrick of The Black Watch posted 'The Kiss' the other night and I was hooked. Sent me down a rabbithole and I've now heard all her recordings and can recommend the entire catalogue. Boston bassist extraordinaire Eric Donohue hipped me to her BBC Recordings which are just her solo and they are wonderful.

 

I heard 'The Kiss' first and then shortly after, perhaps her most popular song, 'Jesus Was A Cross Maker' which I've probably listened to five times a day since.





John Andrew Fredrick has been posting some great stuff on his FB page lately. His own band, The Black Watch, is definitely worth checking out, and there's 19 albums to dive into. New one, Brilliant Failures, is really good, and I interviewed JAF in my guise as Young Southpaw for it earlier this spring. A really fun, interesting conversation. Here's my favourite The Black Watch song, 'Terrific', a shimmering indiepop gem:





But as I was saying, JAF has posted some great stuff lately, including Prince's 'Starfish And Coffee' which has been stuck in my head a lot and I'm greatly thankful for that. What a tune!





As is 'Baltimore', which I've been listening to a ton lately with everything going on:





It was jazz great Eric Dolphy's birthday yesterday. His bass clarinet version of 'God Bless The Child' is one of the my favourite pieces of music:





Balcony Festival 6 happened yesterday, an 'online music festival in aid of The Mental Health Foundation'. My favourite band David Devant & His Spirit Wife headlined and Lily from Fightmilk played four acoustic songs, including 'Over', I song I truly love. That was great. And every time I hear their new single it gets stuck in my head and I'm glad of it:




I've started rewatching all of Letterkenny again. What a fantastic show. It's hilarious and they really take the time to get the writing and the soundtrack right. Discovered White Reaper that way, and 'Last Fourth Of July' is my favourite song I've heard this year, it's in my head constantly. Like a perfect cross between later My Chemical Romance, The Ramones, & The Misfits.





And another great discovery is The Foots, three piece Australian band from the 90's, on Lost And Lonesome Records. Two Foots reissues now on Bandcamp and some really good tunes on them, including my fave 'Fickle':





Lost And Lonesome is Mark Monnone from The Lucksmith's long-standing record label. Back in February when I set out to drive from Connecticut to Los Angeles that first day in the car I listened to the entire Lucksmiths discography. It was great, they had so many excellent songs. I was really glad, and also sad, to be at their last London gig back in 2009. On that same drive I started listening to Dory Previn again, and I've kept thinking this year it would be a good idea to document the songs that are with me at certain times, hence reupping this blog, especially with Judee Sill reminding me of Dory Previn. Whose 'Going Home' soundtracked so much of the rest of that cross-country car ride: