Month: December 2019

NOTE: While I had hoped to go into deeper detail about each record and song, working on my dissertation for my Master’s degree in English left me with very little time for overt detail. Hopefully, one can listen to these tunes and simply understand why I think they’ve been so amazing, or not.Top 10 Albums of the Year 1. Imperial Teen - Now We Are Timeless 2. Huffamoose - …And That’s When the Golf Ball Hit Me in the Head 3. Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind4. The Specials - Encore  5. Sebadoh - Act Surprised  6. PUP - Morbid…

I have to say, I was fairly underwhelmed with most new music being made in 2019. Not that there weren't great records released this year, of course, but I had to wade through so much mediocrity to find something truly exceptional. Here are the 10 best releases I tracked down, in no particular order: Bad Luck – Drug Phase A fairly obscure outfit who blend punk, indie-rock, alt-rock, and rock 'n' roll in ways that would have the 25 year old me dedicating my undying adoration for, the 43 year old me is still quite impressed. The Cranberries – In…

It was a year in which I was reminded more than once that music is a healing force, or can be if we let it. It’s a time out from day to day concerns, an opportunity to visit a different part of our brain and let art take over. One thing about every single artist whose work I’m about to highlight—they didn’t hold back. They gave you a hundred percent of their truth, whether they chose to pair it with three chords or a 13-piece prog orchestra. As a listener, that’s all I can ask.  Ready For Prime Time Award…