Album Previews for 2021 Part 1: Set the Stage

 The first of several previews of music new to 2021, including:

 

Sault – Untitled (Rise) (2020)

XTC – English Settlement (1982)

Jose Aponte – From Here; From There (2020)

Zara McFarlane – Songs of an Unknown Tongue (2020)

Machine Listener- Metonym (2020)

The Brendan Eder Ensemble – To Mix With Time (2020)

Relevant Links:

The Chomsky review mentioned above

An link to 2021 Radio, and ever-expanding list.

My Log Does Not Judge: The Process Behind My Top 20

 A brief look at the process I used to curate my Top 20 of 2020 list.

My Top 20 albums for 2020 are:

1	Kate Davis - Trophy
2	Aiming for Enrike - Music for Working Out
3	Venetian Snares - Rosz Skilalg Altutt Szultett
4	Flaming Lips - American Head
5	Floating Points - Crush
6	MonoNeon - Living the Best Life....
7	Brittany Howard - Jaime
8	Cynic - Focus
9	Moor Mother - Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes
10	George Clanton & Nick Hexum
11	Lunatic Soul - Walking on a Flashlight Beam
12	Avery R. Young - Tubman
13	Kankyo Ongako -Japanese Ambient
14	The Sorcerers - In Search Of....
15	Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
16	Animals as Leaders - The Joy of Motion
17	Run the Jewels - RTJ4
18	FZ v. 3
19	Man Man - Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In Between
20	We are the City - RIP

And the "Earth-2" alternate Top 20 curated with the assistance of my longtime friend Snoopy looks like:

1	The Koreatown Oddity - Little Dominique's Nosebleed
2	Angel Olson - All Mirrors
3	Hildur Guðnadóttir - The Joker OST
4	Johann Johannson - IBM 1404: A User's Manual
5	The Aristocrats - You Know What....?
6	Afrikan Sciences - Centered
7	Mdou Moctar - Ilana, the Creator
8	Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
9	Lunatic Soul - Walking on a Flashlight Beam
10	Tears for Fears-Seeds of Love
11	Master Boot Record - Virtuaverse.OST
12	Floating Points - Crush
13	Brutus - Nest
14	DIIV - Deceiver
15	Sault - Untitled (Black Is)
16	Other Lives - For Their Love
17	The Black Monument Ensemble - Where Future Unfolds
18	Everything Everything - Fever Dream
19	Tiger Moth Tales - Storytellers pt. 1 & 2
20	Moor Mother - Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes

Top 20 of 2020 Part 2: #10-1

The Top 10 from my Top 20 of 2020 list.

Relevant Links:

Post on Floating Points Crush

Post on Venetian Snares Rossz Csillag Alatt Született 

Post on Kate Davis’ Trophy

Here's a Spotify playlist with representative tracks from the Top 20 of 2020

Top 20 of 2020 Part 1: #11-20

 The lower half of my annual Top 20 list!

Van Halen's Diamond Days Part 2: Van Halen II

Review and discussion on Van Halen’s 1979 sophomore album, Van Halen II

Relevant links

Previous post in this series on Van Halen I

A freestanding post on 5150 from last year

November Albums 2020: Drawing the Line

Overview of November Albums for 2020, including:

Miles Davis – In a Silent Way (1969)
Animals as Leaders – The Joy of Motion (2014)
The Hawkins – Silence is a Bomb (2020)
Lunatic Soul – Walking on a Flashlight Beam (2014)
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Joker OST (2019) 

The Ostinato Problem: Frank Zappa's You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore v. 4

Review and discussion over Frank Zappa’s 1991 release You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore vol. 4.

Relevant links:

This is the fourth entry in a series covering these releases.

Vol.1

Vol.2

Vol. 3

Mdou Moctar's Ilana (The Creator): From Silk Road to Cell Phones

Review and Discussion on Mdou Moctar’s Ilana (The Creator), with a focus on the cultural exchanges that surround his unique style. 

Relevant Links:

Hama’s Houmeissa

D’addario’s Guitar Power interview

Dana Jean Phoenix's Pixeldust: Yesterday Through Today

Review and Discussion on Dana Jean Phoenix’s 2018 album Pixeldust.

Relevant links

Mentioned link on nostalgia and FM-84

Van Halen's Diamond Days Part 1: Van Halen 1

Review and discussion on Van Halen’s 1978 debut. Thanks to special guest commentator Jose “Boobie” Estrada.

Relevant Links:

Previous review on 5150

Fall Album Roundup 2020 Part 2: Songs of Whimsey and Grit

Roundup of new listening for Fall 2020, including comments on:

Bad Brains- I Against I (1986)
Sault- Untitled (Black Is) (2020)
Johann Johannson- IBM 1404, A User’s Manual (2006)
Tiger Moth Tales – Storytellers Parts 1 & 2 (2016/2018)
Aiming for Enrike – Music for Working Out (2020)
The Flaming Lips – American Head (2020)

Relevant links
An older text post on Johann Johansson

Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew:" Jazz?

 Review and discussion on Miles Davis'1970 album Bitches Brew.

Here's a previous post on Kind of Blue.

Lunatic Soul's "Fractured:" Grand Designs and Melodic Lines

Review and discussion on Lunatic Soul’s 2017 album Fractured.

Relevant links

Best of 2017

Starting point of the Marillion series mentioned in the post

Göransson's "Black Panther:" Hegemony and Representation

Review and discussion on Ludwig Göransson’s 2018 score to Marvel’s Black Panther movie.

Relevant Links:

The Making of the Black Panther Soundtrack with Ludwig Goransson

Song Exploder Podcast ep. 131

Fall Overview 2020 Part 1: Breaking the Streak

Hot takes and overviews of recent albums in rotation, including:

The Rentals – Q36 (2020)
Brittany Howard – Jaime (2019)
Ash Walker – Aquamarine (2019)
Master Boot Record – Virtuaverse.OST (2020)
Mohamed Assani – Wayfinder (2020)
George Clanton & Nick Hexum – George Clanton & Nick Hexum (2020) 

Relevant links:

Previous post on Pinkerton

Previous post on Slide

Best of 2018

Living Colour: A Vivid Recollection

Review, discussion, and anecdotes surrounding Living Colour’s 1988 album Vivid.

Swimming With The Fish Part 4: Clutching at Straws

Review and discussion on Marillion’s 1987 album Clutching at Straws

Relevant Links

Part 1 – Script for a Jester’s Tear

Part 2 – Fugazi

Part 3 – Misplaced Childhood

Jan Hendrick Fennema’s channel

Fela Kuti's Zombie: Weapons of Power and Practice

Review and discussion on Fela Kuti’s 1977 album Zombie with special guest commentator Digital D.

Relevant links

A old text post on the Budos Band and Fela.

Zombie was a top 10 album for me in 2004

Digital D’s Soundcloud page

Summer Album Overview 2020: Shades of Black pt. 2

Another overview as summer 2020 draws to a close, including:

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain (1971)

Heroes are Gang Leaders – The Amiri Baraki Sessions (2019)

Moses Sumney – Græ (2020)

The Koreatown Oddity – Little Dominique’s Nosebleed (2020)

MonoNeon – Living The Best Life And The Worst Life At The Same Damn Time (2019)

Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On? (1971)

Previous post in the Shades of Black series

Link to Robert Johnson post

And below is the ever-growing 2020 Radio playlist

Summer Album Overview 2020: Shades of Black pt.1

Overview of my mid-year music stimulus package, including:

Run the Jewels – RTJ4 (2020)

Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble – Where Future Unfolds (2019)

Moor Mother – Analog Fluids of Sonic Black Holes (2019)

Afrikan Sciences – Centered (2019)

Shon Dervis – 16 (2018)

The Meters – Look-Ka Py Py (1970)

Relevant Links:

Review of Hama’s Houmeissa

The ever-growing 2020 Spotify Playlist

Fishbone's "In Your Face:" Echoes of Desegregation

Review and discussion on Fishbone’s 1986 album In Your Face through the lens of 70s and 80s school desegregation practices.

Relevant Links
Older post on Truth and Soul

Album Overview 2020: A Month In Summer

An overview of recent listening, with albums by

Mother Yeti – My Best Please (2020)

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith- The Mosaic of Transformation (2020)

Man Man – Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between (2020)

Frank Zappa – You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore v.4 (1988)

Carl Stone – Baroo (2019)

Markus Floats – Third Album (2020)

Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Planet:" Predicting Our Orbit

Review and discussion on Public Enemy's 1990 hip hop classic Fear of a Black Planet.

Breaking the Silence: The Life and Legacy of Robert Johnson

A look at the life and legacy of Robert Johnson through the lens of the 1997 compilation King of the Delta Blues.

Relevant Links:

Robert Johnson’s VEVO

Venetian Snares' Rossz Csillag Alatt Született: An Alchemy of Contrasts

Review and discussion on Venetian Snares’ 2003 album Rossz Csillag Alatt Született.

Relevant links: 

Previous post on Traditional Synthesizer Music

David Lynch’s short film Pozar

Two Things At Once: Frank Zappa's "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol.3"

Review and discussion of Frank Zappa’s You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3 (1989)

Relevant Links

The first post in this series

And the second

Album Overview Spring 2020: Quarantunes - The Sequel! (Part 2)

Overview of recent listening, including:

Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers (2003)

The Sorcerers – In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God (2020)

Gaijin Blues – Gaijin Blues II (2019)

Brendan Benson – Dear Life (2020)

Stephan Thelan – Fractal Guitar (2019)

Other Lives – For Their Love (2020)

Relevant Links:

Previous post on Fountains of Wayne

An older pair of text posts (1,2) on Brendan Benson

An older text post on Other Lives Tamer Animals

The ever-growing 2020 playlist:

Album Overview Spring 2020: Quarantunes - The Sequel!

Brief impressions on the albums that have been in rotation recently, including:

The Merrymakers – Bubblegun (1998)

Seabuckthorn – Through a Vulnerable Occur (2020)

Flotation Toy Warning – Bluffer’s Guide to the Flight Deck (2003)

LAG I RUN – Vagrant Sleepers (2019)

Tears for Fears – The Seeds of Love (1989)

Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020)

Relevant Links

The Jellyfish post dedicated to Andy Sturmer

Older text post on Seabuckthorn’s Turns

And last year’s post on Crossing

Swimming With The Fish Part 3: Misplaced Childhood

Review and discussion on Marillion’s landmark 1985 album Misplaced Childhood

Relevant Links

Part 1 of this series 

Part 2 of this series

Chomsky's "Selections:" Rebooting With Possibilities

Review and Discussion on Chomsky’s 1999 release A Few Possible Selections to the Soundtrack of Your Life.

Relevant Links:

I consider this album to be my 2000 Album of the Year

Spring Album Roundup Part 2: The Fo' Realz Quarantine Collection

A new album overview for late Spring 2020, including

J. Balvin – Colores (2020)

Brutus – Nest (2019)

Igorrr – Spirituality and Distortion (2020)

Mdou Moctar – Ilana, the Creator (2019)

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts V: Together (2020)

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts VI: Locusts (2020)

And the playlist grows!

Kate Davis' Trophy: Sticky Ideas and Classic Repertoire

Review and discussion on Kate Davis' background and debut album Trophy (2019).

Swimming With the Fish Part 2: Marillion's Fugazi

Review and discussion on Marillion’s Fugazi (1984).

Relevant links:

Part I of this series: Script for a Jester’s Tear

A text post on a more recent album: F.E.A.R.

Another text post addressing Anoraknophobia

Fountains of Wayne's Utopia Parkway: Ennui and Responsibility

Review and discussion on Fountains of Wayne's 1999 album Utopia Parkway, as well as an overview of Adam Schleisinger's career.

Spring Album Overview Part 1: The Quarantine Collection

Overview of recent albums in rotation, including:

Steve Hackett: At the Edge of Light (2019)

avery r. young: tubman. (2019)

dumama + kechou: buffering juju (2020)

Dana Jean Phoenix: PixelDust (2018)

Anna Meredith: FIBS (2019)

Venetian Snares: Rossz Csillag Alatt Született (2005)

Relevant Links:

Older text review of Anna Meredith’s Varmits

Venetian Snares’ Traditional Synthesizer Music

2020 Spotify playlist

Duran Duran's New Ordinary: The Wedding Album

Review and discussion around Duran Duran’s 1993 self-titled release, often referred to as The Wedding Album.

black midi, Schlagenheim, and Arts-Based Curriculum

Review and discussion of black midi’s Schlagenheim (2019).

Relevant links:

Preview of Schlagenheim from 2019

2019 Top ten

Swimming With the Fish Part 1: Marillion's "Script for a Jester's Tear."

Review and discussion on Marillion’s 1983 landmark, Script for a Jester’s Tear

Relevant Links:

A couple of older text posts on Hogarth-led Marillion albums

Anoraknophobia

F.E.A.R.

Floating Points "Crush:" The Aesthetic of Intellect

Review and discussion on Crush by Floating Points (2019)

Relevant links:

Review of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s The Kid, with an eye towardsthe Buchla Synthesizer

FM-84's "Atlas:" Resonance and Nostalgia

Review and discussion on FM-84’s album Atlas (2016), with a special focus on nostalgia.

Relevant links

A very early post on M83

A bit more about how M83 uses nostalgia

Tool's Fear Innoculum: Watcher at the Threshold

Review and discussion on the Book Edition of Tool's Fear Innoculum (2019)



Relevant links:

Review of Lateralus
First impressions of Fear Innoculum
Best of 2019 part 1

2020 Album Preview Series Part 5: Transcending Convention!

Final 2020 Preview post, including discussion on:

Kate Davis – Trophy (2019)

Heijira – Thread of Gold (2019)

Church of the Cosmic Skull – Everybody’s Going to Die (2019)

We Are the City – RIP (2020)

Cynic – Focus (1993)

Põhja Konn - ‎Hetk. InSpereeritud Tüürist (2019)

Related Links

Previous post on Pohja Konn

2019 Top Ten

2020 Radio

2020 Album Preview Series Part 4: To Vet During the Threat

Previews of upcoming 2020 listening, including: Field Music – Making a New World (2020) DIIV – Deceiver (2019) Craig Armstrong- The Incredible Hulk Original Score (2008) Deerhoof – The Runner’s Four (2005) The Aristocrats – You Know What…? (2019) Shana Cleveland – Night of the Worm Moon (2019)


Relevant Links
Previous review of Field Music’s Plumb Previous review of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless
Introduction to the Superhero Theme Project
Recalling a cold night with Deerhoof The 2020 Playlist grows:

Pink Floyd's "The Wall:" Waters in the Fractures

Review and discussion on Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979)

Relevant links:

Previous post on A Saucerful of Secrets

2020 Album Preview Series Part 3: The Melody Spectrum

More previews of new music for 2020, including:

Blood Incantation – Hidden History of the Human Race (2019)

Larry Gus – Subservience (2019)

Angel Olson - All Mirrors (2019)

No-Man - I Love You To Bits (2019)

James Blake – Assume Form (2019)

Various Artists – Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental, and New Age Music 1980-1990 (2019)

Relevant Links:

Old text review of James Blake’s debut

Aaaand the ever-growing 2020 Spotify list....

2020 Album Preview Series Part 2: To Reshape the Cliche

Album previews for Spring 2020, including:

The Rentals – Return of the Rentals (1995)

Frank Zappa – You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 3 (1989)

John Williams – The Rise of Skywalker OST (2019)

Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time (1986)

Saariselka – The Ground Our Sky (2019)

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble – In Step (1989)

Related Links:

Overview of Weezer albums

Recent thoughts on Weezer’s Pinkerton AND Star Wars

Posts on Zappa’s You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

The ever-growing 2020 playlist

Remembering Peart: A Show of Hands and Visa Bands

A memorial post for Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for Rush, as well as some discussion on their live album A Show of Hands (1988).

Relevant posts

I did a text series a few years ago on Rush’s entire studio catalog. Start here.  

2020 Preview Series Part 1: The Hands-On Approach

Previews of new music for 2020, including:

Anamanaguchi – [USA] (2019)

Battles – Juice B Crypts (2019)

Crystal Beth – Push Through (2019)

Floating Points – Crush (2019)

Everything Everything- A Fever Dream (2017)

RPWL – Tales From Outer Space (2019)

Below is a widget to the 2020 playlist.  Watch it grow!