Wrapping Up 2021: The Top 20 and Thanks to Snoopy

After I posted my “best of” lists for 2021, I intended to make a “making of” post like I did in 2021.  Holiday festivities and travel, however, kept me away from a formal recording session during that “sweet spot” week when I was really excited about the results.  I am now, unfortunately, way more focused on the new music of 2022 than I am about retreading 2021. 

But now that the results are public, I wanted to make the finalized listing easier to access (with links to relevant posts) for reference sake.  So for posterity, 2021’s Top 20 looked like this:

Dr. Spin's Favorite Albums of 2021 Part 2: The Top 10!

My ten favorite albums from 2021!  If you watch any post this year, catch this one.

In case you missed it, here's Part 1

Other related links in alphabetical order (no cheating!):

black midi – Cavalcade

Bo Burnham – Inside

Brendan Eder Ensemble – To Mix With Time

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and the LSO – Promises

Mammoth WVH – Mammoth WVH

Once and Future Band – Deleted Scenes

Steven Wilson – The Future Bites

Timmy Sean – A Tale From The Other Side

And....a playlist for your listening enjoyment!  Don't forget to show your support by purchasing directly from these artists.

Dr. Spin's Favorite Albums From 2021 Part 1: #'s 20-11

This post is part of my year-end summary of my favorite albums from 2021, containing #’s 11-20.

Part 2 coming soon.

A post on Chouk Bwa and the Angstromers

A post on Sault’s Untitled (Rise)

A post on clipping.’s CLPPNG

2021 Album Preview Series: December Showcase!

One last roundup for 2021, including albums by:

Chassol – Indiamore (2013)
Deafheaven – Infinite Granite (2021)
Injury Reserve – By The Time I Get To Phoenix (2021)
Let’s Eat Grandma – I’m All Ears (2018)
The Angstromers – Path to Danach (2020)
Emmett Chapman – Parallel Galaxy (1985)

 

2021 Album Preview Series: Last Call In The Fall

 Previews of November’s albums, including:

Yes – The Quest (2021)
Squid – Bright Green Field (2021)

Gerald Fjord – Receiver (2020)
Squarepusher – Feed Me Weird Things (1997)

Mike Dillon – Rosewood (2020)

Vodun - Ascend (2018)  

2021 Album Preview Series: October Showcase

Preview of new music in rotation for October, including releases by:

Arlo Parks – Collapsed in Sunbeams (2021)
Gaspard Auge – Escapades (2021)
Hans Zimmer – Dune OST (2021)
Weezer – OK Human (2021)
The Armed – Ultrapop (2021)
TEKE::TEKE – Shirushi (2021)

Relevant Links:

Full Arlo Parks performance
Full TEKE::TEKE performance
Full Weezer performance
Text post on Jodorowsky’s Dune OST

2021 Album Preview Series: Variety is the Spice

 Overview of September listening, including:

The Who – The Who Sell Out (1967) The Knife – Shaking the Habitual (2013) Chad VanGaalen – The World’s Most Stressed Out Gardener (2021) Mdou Moctar – Afrique Victime (2021) Our Oceans – Our Oceans (2015) The Sons of Kemet – Black to the Future (2021)

Relevant Links: Previous post on Mdou Moctar

2021 Album Preview Series: August in Appalachia

A preview of recent listening, including:

Bo Burnham – Inside (The Songs) (2021)
Mononeon – Supermane (2021)
Tally Hall – Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum (2005)
Siti Muharam – Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution in Zanzibar) (2020)
Beauty Pill – Please Advise (2020)
Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 (2005)



Relevant Links:

Post on Beauty Pill’s Describes Things As They Are
Best of 2015
Source for Aphex Twin visuals

2021 Album Preview Series: Summer Solstice Special

Short reviews and discussion on:

Yes – From a Page EP (2019)
Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma (2010)
Onipa – We No Be Machine (2020)
Field Music – Flat White Moon (2021)
Spelling – Mazy Fly (2019)
Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors -  Selected Works 1985-2005(2020)



Relevant Links:

Previous post on Arc of Life
Text post on Field Music

2021 Album Preview Series: May Music Showcase

Previews of new music for May 2021, including:

Mogwai – As The Love Continues (2021)
Fugazi – Steady Diet of Nothing (1991)
Ghost Against Ghost – Still Love (2017)
Deep Thoukus – Deep Thoukus (2020)
Rick Wakeman – The Red Planet (2020)
Cynic – Traced in Air (2008)

Relevant Links:

Asteroid animation from Anselmo La Manna

Fugazi images from MaRoZa

Destino sync by Igor Baliun

Album Preview Series 2021: The Aesthetics of April

Overview of new music in April, 2021, including albums by:

Chouk Bwa and the Angstromers – Vodou Ale (2020)
Aimee Mann – The Forgotten Arm (2005)
Ghost of Vroom – Ghost of Vroom vol. 1 (2021)
Thought Gang – Modern Music (2018)
Arc of Life – Arc of Life (2021)
Wobbler – Dwellers of the Deep (2020)

Relevant Posts:

Source for the Ghost of Vroom images

The Yes Open Your Eyes post

Album Preview Series 2021: Spring Break Edition!

Previews of current listening, including:

Timmy Sean – A Tale From the Other Side (2021)
Mary Lattimore – Silver Ladders (2020)
Coil - Musick to Play In The Dark V.1 (1999)
Sons of Apollo – MMXX (2020)
London Grammar – If You Wait (2014)
Nils Frahm – All Melody (2018)

 Relevant Links:

Full clip of Broccoli

Album Previews 2021: Snowpacalypse Edition!

 New music in rotation, along with an update, including:

The Holophonics - Banjo-Skazooie (2021) Kurt Baker - After Party (2020) Super Collider - [This Side Up] (1991) Jake Blount - Spider Tales (2020) Ryo Kawasaki - Juice (1976) Lush - Split (1994)

And the 2021 playlist - always up to date:

Album Previews for 2021 Part 6: The Curtain Closes

Previews of new music for 2021, including:

Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore Vol. 5 (1992) Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978) The Foreign Films - The Ocean Moon (New Songs and Hidden Gems) (2020) The Once and Future Band - Deleted Scenes (2020) Amir ElSaffar - Inana (2013) (Sound muted due to copyright restrictions) Tame Impala - The Slow Rush (2020)

Relevant Links: Amir ElSaffar's Al Badia

The 2021 Radio playlist, always up to date....

Album Previews for 2021 Part 5: Stick With The Issues

Another set of previews that address new music for 2021, including:

Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers– Just Coolin’ (2020/1959)
Slauson Malone - Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak) (2020)
Mononeon – Banana Peel on Capitol Hill (2021)
Duma – Duma (2020)
Rafael Anton Irisarri- Solastalgia (2019) 

Ecker & Meulyzer – Carbon (2018)



Relevant Links:
Full short video documentary for Growth

The ever-evolving 2021 Radio playlist

Album Previews for 2021 Part 4: The Prog Show!

 Previewing new music for 2021, with a special emphasis on progressive rock releases, including:

The Flower Kings - Islands (2020) Gleb Kolyadin - Gleb Kolyadin (2018) Soup - The Beauty of Our Youth (2013) Leprous - Pitfalls (2019) Glass Hammer - Chronomonaut (2018) Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior (1976)

Relevant links: Review of Soup's Remedies (my first dedicated video post) Review of iamthemorning's debut and an example of the speculative Yes membership series Review of Glass Hammer's Chronometree

And the ever-growing 2021 Radio Spotify playlist - now with added prog!

Album Preview for 2021 Part 3: Meet the Cast

 The third installment in a series of overviews that examine albums new to me in 2021, including:

Caroline Eyck & Eversines – Waves LP (2020)

Jeremy Cunningham – The Weather Up There (2020)

Photay – Waking Hours (2020)

Disheveled Cuss – Disheveled Cuss (2020)

The Jonathan Scales Fourchestra – Pillar (2018)

Mr. Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny (2020)

 And the 2021 Spotify playlist!

Album Previews for 2021 Part 2: Draw the Curtain

 Second in a series previewing new music for 2021, including:

 

Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? (2020)

Orchestre International du Vetex – Total Tajine (2011)

Coriky – Coriky (2020)

Kai Whiston – No World As Good As Mine (2019)

E.B. the Younger – To Each His Own (2019)

Speaker Music – Black Nationalist Sonic Weaponry (2020)

 

Relevant Links

Post on Midlake’s Tales of Van Occupanther

Speaker Music source video from Clips Co-Op

The 2021 Radio Playlist from Spotify.  Follow for updates!

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.