Winter Gardens – “Anthropocene” This fantastic synth wave/shoegaze single is such a tease. I want a full-length album from this UK outfit!
Andy Bell – Pinball WandererShimmering dream pop plus some groovy Madchester-sounding tunes from Ride’s Andy Bell. Includes a heavenly cover of The Passions’ “I’m In Love with a German Film Star” featuring Dot Allison and Michael Rother. It’s on one of my favorite labels-Sonic Cathedral.
Saint Etienne – The NightSomehow, I missed this chill album when it came out in December of last year. It’s a shift for the band, moving to a more ambient, atmospheric vibe.
Travels With Brindle | Photo by Vintage Girl Studios
Travels With Brindle – No. 1 In HeavenStarring Travels With Brindle This fully-licensed Sparks covers album takes the original Giorgio Moroder-produced disco gems and gives them a lovely, twee second life. Recommended for fans of The Magnetic Fields.
Various Artists – Los Angeles RisingNick Cave, PJ Harvey, Jarvis Cocker, and others have donated previously unreleased tracks for this fundraising compilation to aid those affected by the Los Angeles fires.
Die Feen – Dinner & Drinks & DessertsAddictive dark wave with a touch of new wave on Die Feen’s latest two tracks.
SPC ECO – Hello The prolific Dean Garcia (Curve) and his daughter, Rose Berlin, have manifested another electronic opus with gorgeous layered synths.
Chalk – Conditions IIII am obsessed with Chalk. As I said in my “Favorite Music of 2024” list, Chalk would’ve fit in perfectly on Wax Tracks in the ‘90s. They’ve released another EP of thrumming industrial rock. I’m dying to see them live.
In no particular order, I present my favorite albums of 2019! For a mix of my favorite tracks, check out my playlist over at Spotify.
SPC ECO – Fifteen Dean Garcia of Curve’s current electro/gloom pop outfit. Spooky, ethereal stuff.
Melanie Sandford – Wonderland If you’re nostalgic for the heyday of ’90s Boston girl power, this album is for you.
Ladytron – Ladytron It took me a while to enjoy this album after the clusterfuck that was PledgeMusic. I lost money. Ladytron lost money. Ken Andrews lost money. Once I got past that sting, I found myself reveling in another synth-pop masterpiece from these Liverpudlians.
Wallows – Nothing Happens Sunny alt-rock from California. The best band with actors in it since Phantom Planet.
Piroshka – Brickbat Piroshka is a ’90s dream come true: Miki Berenyi (Lush), Justin Welch (Elastica), KJ McKillop (Moose), and Mick Conroy (Modern English) make up this supergroup.
Billie Eilish – When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? I’m dumbfounded by how much I love this album. My musical taste doesn’t usually stray so far into the mainstream. She’s worth all of the hype.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – GhosteenAnother glorious, haunting release from The Bad Seeds.
Ex:Re – Ex:Re Ex:Re (pronounced ex-ray) is Elena Tonra of Daughter. I cannot express how much I love this album. It reaches every part of my being in a way I haven’t felt since Lisa Germano’s Happiness. This was the album I played the most this past year.
Sleater-Kinney – The Center Won’t Hold It received mixed reviews, but I dug this album. The Center Won’t Hold feels like the trio was into Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile when they created it. Conversely, Ex Hex’s It’s Real was the best Sleater-Kinney album of the year that wasn’t by Sleater-Kinney.
Letters to Cleo – OK Christmas A truly excellent EP of Christmas tunes! (Disclaimer: I moonlight as their hometown merch girl.)
Greg Hawkes of The Cars, Diane Dupuis, Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz, and Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo in November 2019. Photo by Amy Lordan
Harry Styles – Fine LineGo listen to “She” and tell me that you don’t like it.
Morrissey – California Son I feel so much conflict in my soul over Morrissey! Up until 2019, he’d been my church; my untouchable favorite! But then he wore that For Britain badge on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and he crushed my spirit. I’d love to chalk it up to Moz being contrary and “Morrissey being Morrissey,” but I just don’t know if I can. Can one separate an artist from the artist’s politics in order to still love their music? California Son, a slightly uneven covers album, didn’t help settle this quandary.
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Watchmen (Music from the HBO Series) Ah, sweet score work from this Oscar-winning duo. Thanks for making me forget about my Morrissey heartbreak. Initially, I felt weird about watching Watchmen because I interviewed Alan Moore in 2016 and he was an absolute delight. But once I heard these two were on board, I was all in.
White Lies – Five Interpol, if they were British. There’s no hiding that White Lies was heavily influenced by Joy Division, but I am still a sucker for their brooding yet poppy tunes.
The Chemical Brothers – No GeographyMy dance party album of the year.
For the past few years, I’ve taken on the FiftyFifty challenge to watch 50 films and read 50 books. In 2016, I fared better with the films, watching 104 movies that I had never seen before. This list doesn’t include repeat viewings of favorites like Highlander, Mad Max: Fury Road, Donnie Darko, or all things Edgar Wright.
With much remorse, I write that I only read 22 books! But I read loads of comic books, which suck up most of my reading time. I blame my fantastic Local Comic Book Shop (LCBS), The Outer Limits.
But, this post ain’t about reading!
I kept track of my movie watching on Pinterest. It was more fun when Pinterest let anyone browse boards. Now, you can only see a wee bit of a board before you’re prompted to login or create an account. For 2017, I’ll be tracking my films on Letterboxd.
My #FiftyFiftyMe Films board can be found on Pinterest
In 2016, I watched 103 movies. I also tried my darndest to watch 52 films by female directors, inspired by A Year with Women. It was hard to find female-directed movies that I hadn’t seen before. I fell short with only 22 films viewed.
I’m glad that I tried to spend A Year with Women, because I stumbled upon Maya Deren. Her short films from the 1940s were revelations! As I was mesmerized by Deren’s Ritual of Transfigured Time, I caught a glimpse of a woman and thought, “Is that Anaïs Nin? No. Yes? Yes!!! It is!” Then I completely geeked out because Nin is one of my favorite writers and I had never seen her in a moving picture before!
Check out my Year with Women Pinterest board
If you are a fan of avant-garde cinema, I recommend checking out Deren’s films. She was ahead of her time. I hope that someday, her films will get the Criterion treatment. Currently, Maya Deren: Experimental Films is out of print but many of her films are available to view through Amazon and YouTube. I borrowed the DVD from my Local Public Library (LPL).
My absolute favorite film of 2016 is One More Time with Feeling. This 3D documentary, shot in black and white, chronicles the creation of Skeleton Tree by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. When I saw this movie, I felt a communal sadness in the movie theatre. I’ve never experienced something like that before.
One More Time with Feeling is a study of the musician’s creative process, but also a poignant and tasteful look at how grief affects a family. The DVD is scheduled for release on March 3. That gives me something to look forward to in 2017.
Once upon a time, I worked in the music industry. Newbury Comics, WFNX, Harborlights, Paradise Rock Club, Warner/Electra/Atlantic, Maverick Records, and last, but not least, Ryko Distribution. Remember Rykodisc? Their CDs had green jewel cases? Those guys. In the past few years, I have dipped my toe back in a wee bit as a merch girl for friends’ bands.
So, obviously, you should take great stock in my Top Ten List. No one else is writing Top Ten Lists at this time of year! Also, I am sarcastic.
Of course, as soon as I publish this list, I’ll realize that I’ve forgotten an album or two. On December 23, I hope that I will be impressed with Not the Actual Events EP by Nine Inch Nails. On the Nine Inch Nails website, there’s a quote from Trent Reznor:
“IT’S AN UNFRIENDLY, FAIRLY IMPENETRABLE RECORD THAT WE NEEDED TO MAKE.”
That sounds pretty, pretty, pretty delicious to me.
Pop Culture Omnivore 