This was the year that was ... my new music from 2016 #2016Music #2016inReview

This year I'm going to start off by listing my favorite releases of the year. It was a hard year to make top picks. Some releases by classic artists who then died, some simply classic (or future classics.

First, let me note that both David Bowie (Black Star) and Leonard Cohen's (You Want it Darker?) could easily vie for my top spot. Likewise, The Rolling Stones (Blue and Lonesome) and Green Day (Revolution Radio) turned in albums that will eventually lodge in the top of their all time best. Another veteran, Bob Weir (Blue Mountain) waxed a stellar low key album. And since he's for a wristband, let's not forget to name check  Rhymin' Simon's Stranger to Stranger.

In the more recent artist category, Bastille's Wild World and Regina Spektor's Remember Us to Life stayed on my frequent play list from the time they were released. 

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released Skeleton Tree, a simply brilliant addition to their work.

But the top album for me was the sprawl-y, hooky, sloppy, brilliant mess (in the mold of Exile on Main Street) that was Miranda Lambert's Weight of These Wings. Forget about the soap-opera that was her life the past year, forget it's "Country" if that turns you off, forget she's "Hell on Heels" or "Platinum" or even a "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", Weight of These Wings is full of brilliantly executed music ... 

In a year that, as the meme says, was like a dumpster fire, there was some pretty good music. There were significant losses over the year, so let's look back at them first before we get to the full list:

• David Bowie (January 10, 2016)
• Glenn Frey (January 18, 2016)
• Paul Kanter (January 28, 2016)
• Maurice White (February 3, 2016)
• Dan Hicks (February 6, 2016)
• Vanity (Denise Matthews) (February 15, 2016)
• George Martin (March 8, 2016)
• Keith Emerson (March 11, 2016)
• Frank Sinatra, Jr. (March 16, 2016)
• Gato Barbieri (April 2, 2016)
• Merle Haggard (April 6, 2016)
• Prince (April 21, 2016)
• Tomita (May 5, 2016)
• John Berry (May 19, 2016)
• Rob Wasserman (June 29, 2016)
• Scotty Moore (June 28, 2016)
• Pete Fountain (August 6, 2016)
• Jimmy Levine (August 9, 2016)
• Jean Shepherd (September 25, 2016)
• Bobby Vee (October 24, 2016)
• Leonard Cohen (November 7, 2016)
• Leon Russell (November 13, 2016)
• Sharon Jones (November 18, 2016)
• Florence Henderson (November 25, 2016)
• Greg Lake (December 7, 2016)
• Rick Parfitt (December 24, 2016)
• George Michael (December 25, 2016)
• Debbie Reynolds (December 28, 2016)

* * * * * 

But on a happier note, here's my music year in review. I'll also add as a bonus, one I missed at the end of last year, The Hollywood Vampires' The Hollywood Vampires (September 15, 2015) -- most excellent!

If I had to name a Top Fifteen, this would be it (in order of release):

1. David Bowie, Black Star (January 8, 2015)
2. Bonnie Raitt, Dig in Deep (February 26, 2016)
3. Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression (March 18, 2016)
4. Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger (June 3, 2016)
5. Jeff Beck, Loud Hailer (July 15, 2016)
6. Ingrid Michaelson, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense (August 26, 2016)
7. Bastille, Wild World (September 9, 2016)
8. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree (September 9, 2016)
9. Devendra Banhart, Ape in Pink Marble (September 23, 2016)
10. Bob Weir, Blue Mountain (September 30, 2016)
11. Regina Spektor, Remember Us to Life (September 30, 2016)
12. Green Day, Revolution Radio (October 7, 2016)
13. Leonard Cohen, You Want it Darker? (October 21, 2016)
14. Miranda Lambert, Weight of These Wings (November 18, 2016)
15. The Rolling Stones, Blue and Lonesome (December 2, 2016)

Honorable Mentions:

1. Loretta Lynn, Full Circle (March 4, 2016)
2. Radiohead, Moon Shaped Pool (May 8, 2016)
3. Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger (June 3, 2016)
4. Phish, Big Boat (October 7, 2016)
5. Pretenders, Alone (October 21, 2016)

In the list of re-releases or "from the vaults", I'll add:

• Allman Brothers Band, Live from A&R Studios (April 1, 2016)
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Miss Sharon Jones! (August 19, 2016)
• The Beatles, Live at the Hollywood Bowl (September 9, 2016)
• Bob Dylan, The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert (Live) (December 2, 2016)

Let's not forget a couple of singles:

Singles:

• "No," Meghan Trainor
• "Used to Love You," Gwen Stefani

And now, the complete Albums of 2016:

JANUARY

• David Bowie, Black Star (January 8, 2015)
• Megadeath, Dystopia (January 22, 2015)
• Aoife O'Donovan, In the Magic Hour (January 22, 2016)
• Dressy Bessy, Kingsized (February 5, 2016)

FEBRUARY

• Bonnie Raitt, Dig in Deep (February 26, 2016)

MARCH

• Gwen Stefani, This Is What the Truth Feels Like (March 18, 2016)
• Loretta Lynn, Full Circle (March 4, 2016)
• Iggy Pop, Post Pop Depression (March 18, 2016)

APRIL

• Allman Brothers Band, Live from A&R Studios (April 1, 2016)
• Graham Nash, This Path Tonight (April 15, 2016)
• Santana, Santana IV (April 15, 2016)
• Ace Frehely, Origins, Vol. 1 (April 15, 2016)
• Brian Eno, Ship (April 29, 2016)

MAY

• The Rides, Pierced Arrow (May 6, 2016)
• Cyndi Lauper, Detour (May 6, 2016)
• Meghan Trainor, Thank You (May 2016)
• Bob Dylan, Fallen Angels (May 20, 2016)
• Eric Clapton, I Still Do (May 20, 2016)
• Mudcrutch, 2 (May 20, 2016)
• Radiohead, Moon Shaped Pool (May 8, 2016)

JUNE

• Paul Simon, Stranger to Stranger (June 3, 2016)
• Neil Young, Earth (June 17, 2016)

JULY

• Heart, Beautiful Broken (July 8, 2016)
• Jeff Beck, Loud Hailer (July 15, 2016)

AUGUST

• Dolly Parton, Pure and Simple (August 19, 2016)
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Miss Sharon Jones! (August 19, 2016)
• Ingrid Michaelson, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense (August 26, 2016)

SEPTEMBER

• Soundwalk Collective with Jesse Paris Smith featuring Patti Smith, Killer Road (September 2, 2016)
• Wilco, Schmilco (September 9, 2016)
• Bastile, Wild World (September 9, 2016)
• The Beatles, Live at the Hollywood Bowl (September 9, 2016)
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Skeleton Tree (September 9, 2016)
• Daniel Lanois, Goodbye to Language (September 9, 2016)
• Meat Loaf, Braver Than We Are (September 16, 2016)
• Devendra Banhart, Ape in Pink Marble (September 23, 2016)
• Bob Weir, Blue Mountain (September 30, 2016)
• Marianne Faithfull, No Exit (September 30, 2016)
• Van Morrison, Keep Me Singing (September 30, 2016)
• Regina Spektor, Remember Us to Life (September 30, 2016)

OCTOBER

• Phish, Big Boat (October 7, 2016)
• Lisa Loeb, Feel What U Feel (October 7, 2016)
• Leonard Cohen, You Want it Darker? (October 21, 2016)
• Pretenders, Alone (October 21, 2016)
• Green Day, Revolution Radio (October 7, 2016)
• Kacy Musgraves, A Very Kacey Christmas (October 28, 2016)

NOVEMBER

• Miranda Lambert, Weight of These Wings (November 18, 2016)
• Bridget Medler, Nemesis (November 18, 2016)

DECEMBER

• The Rolling Stones, Blue and Lonesome (December 2, 2016)
• Bob Dylan, The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert (Live) (December 2, 2016)
• Neil Young, Peace Trail (December 9, 2016)

This was the year that was ... my new music from 2015 #2015Music #2015inReview

A review of the year that was in new music I listened to. Notables are described below, and best of the best (or at least the ones that got multiple plays from me) are highlighted. I've also noted a few other "honorable mentions" (or disappointments). For the full list, go to the end of the post.

If I had to name a Top Ten (plus 5), this would be it (in order of release):

1. Fall Out Boy, American Beauty/American Psycho (January 15, 2015)
2. Belle and Sebastian, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (January 20, 2015)
3. Julianne Hatfield, Whatever, My Love (February 17, 2015)
4. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday (March 2, 2015)
5. Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit (March 23, 2015)
6. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell (March 31, 2015)
7. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, After (March 2015)
8. Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure (April 7, 2015)
9. The Weepies, Sirens (April 28, 2015)
10. Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material (June 23, 2015)
11. Keith Richards, Crosseyed Heart (September 18, 2015)
12. David Gilmour, Rattle that Lock (September 18, 2015)
13. Don Henley, Cass County (September 25, 2015)
14. Trey Anastasio, Paper Wheels (October 30, 2015)
15. Adele, 25 (November 23, 2015)

As a bonus album, I'm going to include Bob Dylan's latest entry in his Bootleg Series, The Cutting Edge: 1965-66, The Bootleg Series Volume 12. It's hard to rank an album like such as this, but it was clearly one of the best releases of the year.

So, here are some notes on this year's albums:

The year kicked off with Meghan Trainor's Title (January 13, 2015) which had some great singles, but didn't really hold together as an album. Driven by a couple of really catchy big hits, Fall Out Boy's American Beauty/American Psycho made my top ten list. New to me was Kitty, Daisy & Lewis's The Third. Belle and Sebastian's Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance continued the groups string of great albums. It was great to see Sleater-Kinney back with No Cities to Love. Likewise, The Decemberists were back with two offerings, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (January 20, 2015) and Florasongs (October 9, 2015).

I tried hard to like Björk's Vulnicura and The Dodos' Individ, but neither really kept my attention. Bob Dylan's Shadows in the Night was yet another interesting take by the master of interesting takes. Kate Pierson turned in the interesting Guitars and Microphones (February 17, 2015). Julianne Hatfield turned in one of my favorites for the year with Whatever, My Love. Noel, of the battling Gallagher brothers had an album that I kept playing throughout the year with Chasing Yesterday. Dove Cameron and her Disney TV show are on in the house all the time, so I had to get her Liv and Maddie, Songs from the TV Show.

Another artist I learned of this year was Courtney Barnett; her Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit was great. It's hard to categorize Sufjan Stevens and his quirky music (I've heard "anti-folk" as one genera, but his paen to his lost mother, Carrie & Lowell was one of the best albums of the year. I've been a fan of Lady Lamb the Beekeeper and their After was brilliant. Boz Skaggs' had another solid record with A Fool to Care.

Straight from the 1960s, we had Ringo Starr (Postcards from Paradise) with yet more catchy tunes and Brian Wilson (No Pier Pressure) which again saw Wilson surrounded by collaborators trying to deliver a SMiLE. Also delivering from the past was Randy Bachman (Heavy Blues) with an album I was expecting more from . There was also a nice reissue of some classic Reggae with Peter Tosh and Friends' An Upsetters Showcase. 

Peach Kelli Pop released an enjoyable third album, Peach Kelli Pop III and Blur returned with some classic BritPop (The Magic Whip) but April's greatest release was another new artist for me, The Weepies. Sirens which I listened to regularly for the rest of the year. Good albums also came from Faith No More (Sol Invictus); Paul Weller (Saturn's Pattern); and a good, but uneven entries from James Taylor (Before This World), Stereo Total (Yéyé Existentialiste), and Richard Thompson (Still)

I really wanted to enjoy Rickie Lee Jones' The Other Side of Desire, but like much of her recent work, it was very uneven, though the opening track, "Jimmy Choos" was a standout.

From the country side of music, both Kacey Musgraves (Pageant Material) and Ashley Monroe (The Blade). Monroe turned in some very good songs, but as a whole, I found Pageant Material to be one of the standout albums of the year.

Neil Young released two albums during the year, the first, Monsanto Years, was full of quite catchy polemics about GMOs; the second,  Bluenote Cafe, captured his 1980s tour with the Bluenotes in a spectacular live set that's short on the hits, but still powerful. Wilco gave us a free album, Star Wars, that was very good. And from the pop phenom, Carly Rae Jepsen, we had E-MO-TION that produced another amazing and catchy song ("I Really Like You") that wasn't quite the hit like "Call me Maybe."

Stepping away from Mick and the Stones, Keith Richards' Crosseyed Heart was yet another of the his solo albums that makes one long for a Stones' blues album ... and speaking of the rootsy blues, The Blasters' Brothers (Dave and Phil Alvin) delivered a great set of bluesy rockers with their Lost Time. Also in the blasting from the past categories, David Gilmore (Rattle that Lock) and Don Henley (Cass County) turned in brilliant albums that made you think more of now than their pasts. Los Lobos' Gates of Gold was solid if uninspiring, while Joe Jackson's Fast Forward grew on me after a number of listenings.

Laurie Anderson released an album that was more a story with music (Heart of a Dog) that was quite interesting, but complex to listen to regularly. Teaming up again, Eddie Brickell and Steve Martin gave us a pleasant outing with  So Familiar, but it wasn't as compelling as their previous outing. The Grateful Dead reunion may not have "Let Trey Sing" (as I saw in t-shirts), but Trey Anastasio turned in a great album (with singing) on his Paper Wheels. 

Bob Dylan, The Cutting Edge: 1965-66, The Bootleg Series Volume 12 (November 6, 2015) first massive appearance of the "thin wild mercury music" that Dylan created over two brief years and formally issued as three classic albums.

The Canadian group Library Voices had a fun album with Lovish and the Foo Fighters produced an excellent EP, St. Cecilia EP. Like Taylor Swift's 1989 last year, 2015 closed out with a massive hit (some called it the music industry savior) in the form of Adele's 25. Closing out my year, was another soulful Brit (er, Welsh) singer, Tom Jones, and another in his recent series of albums (Long Lost Suitcase) that show there was a great singer behind the hype.

Singles:

• "Shut Up and Dance with Me" by Walk the Moon 
• "Geronimio" by Sheppard

And now, the Albums of 2015:

JANUARY

• Meghan Trainor, Title (January 13, 2015)
• Fall Out Boy, American Beauty/American Psycho (January 15, 2015)
• Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, The Third (January 26, 2015)
• Belle and Sebastian, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance (January 20, 2015)
• Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love (January 20, 2015)
• The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (January 20, 2015)
• Björk, Vulnicura (January 20, 2015) 
• The Dodos, Individ (January 27, 2015)

FEBRUARY

• Bob Dylan, Shadows in the Night (February 3, 2015)
• Kate Pierson, Guitars and Microphones (February 17, 2015)
• Julianne Hatfield, Whatever, My Love (February 17, 2015)

MARCH

• Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday (March 2, 2015)
• Dove Cameron, Liv and Maddie, Songs from the TV Show (March 17, 2015)
• Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit (March 23, 2015)
• Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell (March 31, 2015)
• Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, After (March 2015)
• Boz Skaggs, A Fool to Care (March 31, 2015)
• Ringo Starr, Postcards from Paradise (March 31, 2015)

APRIL

• Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure (April 7, 2015)
• Peter Tosh and Friends, An Upsetters Showcase (April 14, 2015)
• Randy Bachman, Heavy Blues (April 14, 2015)
• Peach Kelli Pop, Peach Kelli Pop III (April 21, 2015)
• Blur, The Magic Whip (April 28, 2015)
• The Weepies, Sirens (April 28, 2015)

MAY

• Faith No More, Sol Invictus (May 18, 2015)
• Paul Weller, Saturn's Pattern (May 19, 2015)

JUNE

• James Taylor, Before This World (June 16, 2015)
• Stereo Total, Yéyé Existentialiste (June 8, 2015)
• Rickie Lee Jones, The Other Side of Desire (June 23, 2015)
• Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material (June 23, 2015)
• Richard Thompson, Still (June 23, 2015)
• Neil Young, Monsanto Years (June 30, 2015)

JULY

• Wilco, Star Wars (July 16, 2015)
• Ashley Monroe, The Blade (July 24, 2015)

AUGUST

• Carly Rae Jepsen, E-MO-TION (August 21, 2015)

SEPTEMBER

• Keith Richards, Crosseyed Heart (September 18, 2015)
• Dave and Phil Alvin, Lost Time (September 18, 2015)
• David Gilmour, Rattle that Lock (September 18, 2015)
• Don Henley, Cass County (September 25, 2015)
• Los Lobos, Gates of Gold (September 25, 2015)

OCTOBER

• Joe Jackson, Fast Forward (October 2, 2015)
• Decemberists, Florasongs (October 9, 2015)
• Laurie Anderson, Heart of a Dog (October 23, 2015)
• Eddie Brickell and Steve Martin, So Familiar (October 30, 2015)
• Trey Anastasio, Paper Wheels (October 30, 2015)

NOVEMBER

• Bob Dylan, The Cutting Edge: 1965-66, The Bootleg Series Volume 12 (November 6, 2015)
• Library Voices, Lovish (November 6, 2015)
• Neil Young, Bluenote Cafe (November 13, 2015)
• Foo Fighters, St. Cecilia EP (November 23, 2015)
• Adele, 25 (November 23, 2015)

DECEMBER

• Tom Jones, Long Lost Suitcase (December 4, 2015)

QotD: "Book store owners and record store owners used to be oracles" Tom Waits

 "They have removed the struggle to find anything. And therefore there is no genuine sense of discovery. Struggle is the first thing we know getting along the birth canal, out in the world. It's pretty basic. Book store owners and record store owners used to be oracles, in that way; you'd go in this dusty old place and they might point you toward something that would change your life. All that's gone." - Tom Waits (The Guardian, 22 Oct 2011)

Wow, Waits is so right ... I used to spend so many hours combing through record and book stores. Trying to find that known or unknown book or LP. 


There was a certain rush of actually finding something, or maybe it was something that was in the hunting and not the actual finding that made it such a special event. 


(insert here the memories of slightly damp cardboard from those funky used record stores around the country; the ramshackle packed shelves of weird old used book store; the smell of ink and paper in new stores)


Not quite the same thing as typing in a search box and pressing click to order. There was a sense of wonder the first time I found with just a few clicks a used copy of Holger Cahill's The Shadow of My Hand, something I'd been searching for in used book stores for years.


Now that I've moved mostly to ebooks and online music (see EMusic for some great deals and community - but they don't have Waits' new album yet, just the single), most of the hunting is reserved for waiting for things like Gravity's Rainbow to get released in epub).

200,000 plus views, not just Periplaneta americana

DSCN5381, a photo by martin_kalfatovic on Flickr.

No, not the giant South Carolina cockroach here - a nice specimen of Periplaneta americana (though it has a healthy 500+ views, but all my pictures on Flickr.

Not bad for a lot of pictures of airplanes, librarians, food, and what not.