It might not quite fit an Americana tag being more on the straight up Country side of the dial but Shane Smith and The Saints album Norther has been on repeat here all year…I guess the lead single was Adeline but you could take anything from the record. One of my albums of 2024
Beautiful story you shared about you, your wife and the house. Congrats on the next big step. It can all feel nerve-wracking, but always remember that, no matter what life throws at you; you’ll still have each other, and a hella ton of sense of humour to get through whatever obstacles there may be along the way. On that note, happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for being simultaneously so unique and relatable. Very few people can achieve that.
Andres! That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Including my wife and the five people I pay to say nice things to me. I probably don't pay them enough.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Aren't we celebrating breaking away from the UK? Or the slaughter of Native Americans? I'm bad with history, but it all seems like a dark series of events to tie to gratefulness. I would so love to call myself British nowadays! Until your public figures match or outdo ours, that is. Then it's Canada or Portugal for me. Guess you always have Argentina to fall back on!:)
I’m sure many if not all of your subscribers will agree with me. If not, we can get the threat game started 😈
I can imagine it must feel weird to have to be grateful at a scheduled time regardless of what you’ve been through.
You’re always welcome here! It rains a lot more often than in northern California, but you would love the culture.
Argentina to fall back on is, well, like that ex who you know fucks you well but breaks your heart every time 🤣 so it’s always a double-edged sword for me (the country, I mean, not shagging my ex… well… let’s leave it there) 😅😅
I’m sure things will work out for you on the house front, but hoping you don’t go through too much more angst between now and then. As a king of catastrophizing and going down crazy mental rabbit holes, I feel your pain. Hang in there!
I was never too big on Dinosaur Jr. Didn’t necessarily dislike them, just never really listened to them. Although I spent quite a bit of time with the J Mascis album earlier this year, it just didn’t do it for me.
Ditto with X. I’ve never been that much into punk. I don’t dislike their new album (or this song) but just not really my vibe.
What a phenomenal album Robert Smith has produced in “Songs of a Lost World”. Like you, I’ve been desperately waiting for this album to drop for years. My hopes were high. And the finished product exceeded even my loftiest expectations. An absolute masterpiece.
That’s a beautiful song by The Church. I only recently (in the last few years) became aware they were still making music. Not a band I’ve really followed but I’ve enjoyed much of what I’ve heard from them over the years.
Gotta be honest, Kim Deal’s solo album blew me away. First off, I didn’t even know it was coming. Secondly, it’s just so beautifully crafted and so quintessentially Kim Deal in many ways (while also reflecting new and unexpected sonic directions). Not sure I can squeeze her into my top ten this year but it’s damn close.
Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest will definitely make my AOTY list this year although it probably won’t crack the top 20. It’s a beautiful record but there’s been so many amazing releases this year that even an excellent album like this may be pushed down to honorable mention territory.
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers are brand new to me, but I LOVED what I heard on Nightingale and have queued up the album for listening later today. Excited to hear the rest of it.
I’ve also added Gold Star to my homework pile as I liked what I heard and am interested to hear the rest of the album.
Jobi Riccio and Paul Cauthen were only okay for me.
I’m in the process of trying to wrangle my own top 50 list together. No idea of how or when I’m gonna make them public. I know last year’s posts were quite time consuming and given my current travel schedule and my weekly Alphabet Soup series, I don’t have as much time as last year. We’ll just have to see what comes…
I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the episodes!
I always love (your) long comments! The longer the better!
Thanks for the commiseration, Mark. Going through mental anguish is my jam. It's incredibly triggering as I watched my dad get taken advantage of, financially speaking, as a kid, so I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to trusting people around money. And the owners of the house are fighting our demands for financial reimbursement for the damages, which makes me want to lash out at them. Not a good idea.
I love detailed responses to the songs! Thanks for checking them out - I'm having fun turning each group of songs into a podcast, but it's crazy time-consuming. I use a very old iMac that can't use any of my editing software so I'm using a really old version of iMovie and it's quite tortuous, but a nice distraction from the house stuff.
I did decide to add Kim Deal to my 'honorable mention' albums list, as I love it so much but haven't given it the time as the rest of my list, so I am reluctant to put it in the top 10.
Hey Steve, crossing my fingers for your house-buying adventure. It's nerve wracking even without nasty discoveries along the way!
So, for me reading and clicking on the links works better. It's the advantage of random access. Played them all, at least partway through. Wonderful list! And I thought my tastes are eclectic...
On first listens: X, the Cure, Jobi and Paul Cauthen did the most for me. I didn't know about the new Cure release (actually would have bet it would never happen), so I jumped on that right away. Not disappointed. Rock on!
Thanks, Kevin. AOTY lists are so much harder for me than songs, as I like to give each album enough plays to get a strong sense of how I feel about it. With the number of exciting records that come out each week, it's impossible to do that. Thus, the song method. Yeah, Mascis' was the perfect album to start the year off right (though it came out in early Feb, "Can't Believe We're Here" had an early January rotation).
Hope radio show #1 provides a suitable work accompaniment tomorrow!
I listened to a few, and the one that I find myself caught by is "The World Is Dangerous." Whenever I read about Hurray for The Riff Raff it sounds like exactly my kind of thing, but it just doesn't quite work for me.
But maybe it's getting through. That's clearly a good song. I agree that Conor Oberst improves it, and I like the duet between them.
Also, tangentially, reading the quoted lyrics made me think of Bruce Cockburn which isn't a comparison that I would have made listening to her. But maybe, despite the vast stylistic differences, there is a comparison to be made to, say, "The Trouble With Normal" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybkiiAKMOY
Thanks, Nick! I actually thought of you when I included that Hurray For the Riff Raff song! I know you are a big fan of folk/country and related genres and the messages in that song in particular really resonated with me. I'll check out the Bruce Cockburn song and see if I find the connection.
I wasn't sure what Bruce Cockburn sound would be the best comparison, but he wrote a number of songs that combined relationship songs and feeling badly about the state of the world songs. His "Lovers In A Dangerous Time" was covered by the Barenaked Ladies (very early in their career) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_oOc3Zj0KU
I'm not familiar with the song, but the comments are hilarious, calling it the most Canadian song ever. I have a giant Bruce Cockburn hole in my musical knowledge, but I do remember hearing a couple of albums of his from a housemate when I lived on a farm on Vancouver Island back in 1995.
I don't know any of these songs Steve so I will have to check them out! I've got about 75 songs right now that are under consideration for my Top Ten of 2024. I'll start revealing the ten one day at a time beginning December 22nd. I hope you and others join me!
I'll for sure join you, Dan! I'll add in the comments section and I'll be posting these lists once a week until about mid-January, so that I suppose is joining you too. I'm surprised you didn't know the song by The Cure, though! It's getting a fair bit of airplay and attention the last couple of months. The rest are less known. Though the Kim Deal is making the rounds right now for sure.
Cool! I'll be posting more details about it in a few days. This is the format we've been using for our Top Ten Parties for the last decade or so. However, we do that one as a private group on Facebook. I want to start this new countdown for all the Substackers.
I did hear that Cure song but I guess I forgot about it. Their new album didn't do anything for me this year!
I had no idea The Church was still around! Thank you for highlighting them and all the others here.
It might not quite fit an Americana tag being more on the straight up Country side of the dial but Shane Smith and The Saints album Norther has been on repeat here all year…I guess the lead single was Adeline but you could take anything from the record. One of my albums of 2024
Thanks, Rob! I'll definitely check it out. Always happy to add more highly touted records to the list!
Beautiful story you shared about you, your wife and the house. Congrats on the next big step. It can all feel nerve-wracking, but always remember that, no matter what life throws at you; you’ll still have each other, and a hella ton of sense of humour to get through whatever obstacles there may be along the way. On that note, happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for being simultaneously so unique and relatable. Very few people can achieve that.
Andres! That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Including my wife and the five people I pay to say nice things to me. I probably don't pay them enough.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Aren't we celebrating breaking away from the UK? Or the slaughter of Native Americans? I'm bad with history, but it all seems like a dark series of events to tie to gratefulness. I would so love to call myself British nowadays! Until your public figures match or outdo ours, that is. Then it's Canada or Portugal for me. Guess you always have Argentina to fall back on!:)
Andy for you! 😉
I’m sure many if not all of your subscribers will agree with me. If not, we can get the threat game started 😈
I can imagine it must feel weird to have to be grateful at a scheduled time regardless of what you’ve been through.
You’re always welcome here! It rains a lot more often than in northern California, but you would love the culture.
Argentina to fall back on is, well, like that ex who you know fucks you well but breaks your heart every time 🤣 so it’s always a double-edged sword for me (the country, I mean, not shagging my ex… well… let’s leave it there) 😅😅
(Apologies in advance for such a long comment)
I’m sure things will work out for you on the house front, but hoping you don’t go through too much more angst between now and then. As a king of catastrophizing and going down crazy mental rabbit holes, I feel your pain. Hang in there!
I was never too big on Dinosaur Jr. Didn’t necessarily dislike them, just never really listened to them. Although I spent quite a bit of time with the J Mascis album earlier this year, it just didn’t do it for me.
Ditto with X. I’ve never been that much into punk. I don’t dislike their new album (or this song) but just not really my vibe.
What a phenomenal album Robert Smith has produced in “Songs of a Lost World”. Like you, I’ve been desperately waiting for this album to drop for years. My hopes were high. And the finished product exceeded even my loftiest expectations. An absolute masterpiece.
That’s a beautiful song by The Church. I only recently (in the last few years) became aware they were still making music. Not a band I’ve really followed but I’ve enjoyed much of what I’ve heard from them over the years.
Gotta be honest, Kim Deal’s solo album blew me away. First off, I didn’t even know it was coming. Secondly, it’s just so beautifully crafted and so quintessentially Kim Deal in many ways (while also reflecting new and unexpected sonic directions). Not sure I can squeeze her into my top ten this year but it’s damn close.
Hurray for the Riff Raff’s latest will definitely make my AOTY list this year although it probably won’t crack the top 20. It’s a beautiful record but there’s been so many amazing releases this year that even an excellent album like this may be pushed down to honorable mention territory.
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers are brand new to me, but I LOVED what I heard on Nightingale and have queued up the album for listening later today. Excited to hear the rest of it.
I’ve also added Gold Star to my homework pile as I liked what I heard and am interested to hear the rest of the album.
Jobi Riccio and Paul Cauthen were only okay for me.
I’m in the process of trying to wrangle my own top 50 list together. No idea of how or when I’m gonna make them public. I know last year’s posts were quite time consuming and given my current travel schedule and my weekly Alphabet Soup series, I don’t have as much time as last year. We’ll just have to see what comes…
I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the episodes!
I always love (your) long comments! The longer the better!
Thanks for the commiseration, Mark. Going through mental anguish is my jam. It's incredibly triggering as I watched my dad get taken advantage of, financially speaking, as a kid, so I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to trusting people around money. And the owners of the house are fighting our demands for financial reimbursement for the damages, which makes me want to lash out at them. Not a good idea.
I love detailed responses to the songs! Thanks for checking them out - I'm having fun turning each group of songs into a podcast, but it's crazy time-consuming. I use a very old iMac that can't use any of my editing software so I'm using a really old version of iMovie and it's quite tortuous, but a nice distraction from the house stuff.
I did decide to add Kim Deal to my 'honorable mention' albums list, as I love it so much but haven't given it the time as the rest of my list, so I am reluctant to put it in the top 10.
Hey Steve, crossing my fingers for your house-buying adventure. It's nerve wracking even without nasty discoveries along the way!
So, for me reading and clicking on the links works better. It's the advantage of random access. Played them all, at least partway through. Wonderful list! And I thought my tastes are eclectic...
On first listens: X, the Cure, Jobi and Paul Cauthen did the most for me. I didn't know about the new Cure release (actually would have bet it would never happen), so I jumped on that right away. Not disappointed. Rock on!
First, I hope the house situation works out well and fast. If I never buy another place it’ll be too soon!
J Mascis’ landed an early spot on my shortlist of AOTY contenders, but man, that track hits different after the last few weeks…
I haven’t had to catch your show on KWRM yet, but it’s queued up for tomorrow AM at work.
Thanks, Kevin. AOTY lists are so much harder for me than songs, as I like to give each album enough plays to get a strong sense of how I feel about it. With the number of exciting records that come out each week, it's impossible to do that. Thus, the song method. Yeah, Mascis' was the perfect album to start the year off right (though it came out in early Feb, "Can't Believe We're Here" had an early January rotation).
Hope radio show #1 provides a suitable work accompaniment tomorrow!
Sending good vibes your way. Hope the house situation works out well for you and your wife.
Thanks, Nolan. I’m sure it will. I’m just ready to jump ahead to the already-comfortably living in it phase.
Also, don’t forget about my invite to be a guest earworm contributor!;)
Anytime! Maybe once you land your new home so you wont be as grumpy : )
I'm always grumpy -- it would never be taken out on you though. Unless you don't live up to my expectations! 👺👺🧌🤭
you gonna be very grumpy…
Looking forward to the lists!
I listened to a few, and the one that I find myself caught by is "The World Is Dangerous." Whenever I read about Hurray for The Riff Raff it sounds like exactly my kind of thing, but it just doesn't quite work for me.
But maybe it's getting through. That's clearly a good song. I agree that Conor Oberst improves it, and I like the duet between them.
Also, tangentially, reading the quoted lyrics made me think of Bruce Cockburn which isn't a comparison that I would have made listening to her. But maybe, despite the vast stylistic differences, there is a comparison to be made to, say, "The Trouble With Normal" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kybkiiAKMOY
Thanks, Nick! I actually thought of you when I included that Hurray For the Riff Raff song! I know you are a big fan of folk/country and related genres and the messages in that song in particular really resonated with me. I'll check out the Bruce Cockburn song and see if I find the connection.
Thanks.
I wasn't sure what Bruce Cockburn sound would be the best comparison, but he wrote a number of songs that combined relationship songs and feeling badly about the state of the world songs. His "Lovers In A Dangerous Time" was covered by the Barenaked Ladies (very early in their career) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_oOc3Zj0KU
I'm not familiar with the song, but the comments are hilarious, calling it the most Canadian song ever. I have a giant Bruce Cockburn hole in my musical knowledge, but I do remember hearing a couple of albums of his from a housemate when I lived on a farm on Vancouver Island back in 1995.
Yeah, the comments on that video are great.
I don't know any of these songs Steve so I will have to check them out! I've got about 75 songs right now that are under consideration for my Top Ten of 2024. I'll start revealing the ten one day at a time beginning December 22nd. I hope you and others join me!
I'll for sure join you, Dan! I'll add in the comments section and I'll be posting these lists once a week until about mid-January, so that I suppose is joining you too. I'm surprised you didn't know the song by The Cure, though! It's getting a fair bit of airplay and attention the last couple of months. The rest are less known. Though the Kim Deal is making the rounds right now for sure.
Cool! I'll be posting more details about it in a few days. This is the format we've been using for our Top Ten Parties for the last decade or so. However, we do that one as a private group on Facebook. I want to start this new countdown for all the Substackers.
I did hear that Cure song but I guess I forgot about it. Their new album didn't do anything for me this year!
I got a long drive today so this’ll be perfect!
Awesome! And I'm sure a song or two on my list originated from one of your posts.