31 songs from 2019: hits keep hitting
A solid dozen new faces this year, and another eight making their second appearance. Buckle up for some new stuff.
Read MoreThe 31s
31 songs from 2018: don’t boo, vote
2018 sees the return of several favorite and familiar artists: Elvis Costello, the Decemberists, Editors, Neko Case, Richard Thompson, and Metric.
Read More31 songs from 2017: heavy losses
2016 was no easy year and to say 2017 is somehow better would really miss the mark. So many musicians lost across so many ages and all lost too soon: Grandaddy, Steely Dan, Husker Du, Smithereens, Tom Petty, Glen Campbell. These are the musicians of my youth, my adulthood, and my life. With their passing come new artists rising to comfort a saddened world and recharge a weary soul.
Read More31 songs from 2016: ashes to ashes
2016, musically, will forever be my worst. Music from the 31 list covers some tremendous acts, new and familiar. But I lost David Bowie; we all did. Not only was he my musical touchstone, spanning an entire adult life, he inspired me to listen to new artists and genres. He made it glorious to be weird and inspired unrepentant self-expression. Bowie’s influence went far beyond music yet remained anchored to the epochs defined by his albums: Ziggy, the thin white duke, a harlequin. With his passing it feels like time, itself, has been set adrift.
We have no real choice but to live. And to live means celebrating the things that make us alive. Bowie always embraced new sounds and new visions. I will honor his memory with each new song and share them with you.
Read More31 songs from David Bowie: in memoriam
The world knew Bowie but every fan – from dilettante to diehard – has their own unique experience. Having hung on every new Bowie release for decades, picking 31 songs was not easy. I won’t claim my take is definitive as none are. Instead I hope to show the diversity of his genius in a way that inspires deeper exploration.
Read More31 songs from 2015: turn it up louder
2015 energies were focused on my first, feature-length music documentary Turn It Up Louder. Happily the world did not come to a halt while I was holed up in the editing suite. This year brought a bounty of new and exciting albums that I enjoyed while cutting the movie.
Read More31 songs from 2014: nearly all Nerina
Nerina Pallot played a large part of my 2014 world: she, and her fans, were the subjects of my under-development documentary on what makes music personal. Nerina, herself, undertook an amazing feat: releasing an EP a month for the entire year (see supplemental playlist). With so much music from her the 31 list could easily have been swamped. But it was not.
Read More31 songs from 2013: perfect day
2013 was a pretty normal year. We reviewed around ninety albums, distilling the following 31 list.
What wasn’t normal was the passing of Lou Reed. I was a latecomer to Reed’s brilliance, later learning how deep his influence truly was. Today I wonder what it would have been like to visit Warhol’s Factory and watched the Velvet Underground. Or to have been at the table when Reed, Bowie, and Iggy Pop would hold court. Even a simple coffee with he and wife Laurie Anderson would have been unbelievably amazing. Not that any of that would have happened, and I’m grateful for his music from which I have been given so much.
Read More31 songs from 2012: dirty dozen
2012 saw a long contenders list: 104 albums! Musicians across the spectrum seem to be very active, from punk legends PiL to NYC phenomena The Rapture to new wave master Joe Jackson. Picking just 31 from this list was not an easy task.
Read More31 songs from 2011: Kate is back (again)
2011 sees the return of classic artists from my youth (Duran Duran, Kate Bush) alongside amazing new artists bursting onto the scene (St. Vincent, Everything Everything).
It’s years like this where music is more important than ever. My father, after a long and happy life, passed in October. He loved music, even if not always the music I loved. He played trumpet and cheered my sister on as she pursued music. Through him I came to appreciate the great vocalists of his time like Dean Martin and Mel Torme, and some new masters like Diana Krull.
More than anything, I’ll remember listening to Radio Bahrain in the 1980s when I was visiting him and my stepmom in Saudi Arabia. They’d take me to a small nearby fishing village and indulge my musical interests, spending many hours waiting for me to finish shopping for bootleg cassettes. My musical horizons grew exponentially, and I think that made him happy. It certainly made a big impact on my wellbeing.
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