Containing, among other things, my humble effort to bring my fellow sixty(ish) year olds up to date on some current, and frankly, not so current, pop music.
Every time I say something about a Brian Eno album, I fear I'm not adequately conveying how alien his work can be. And as that goes, this album is a pretty good example. No pretty piano or voices like Music for Airports. No specially-treated piano sounds like The Pearl. No concessions to pop music (guitars, drums, melodies, etc.) like Another Green World. In short, no obvious heart. It's here. He just doesn't flaunt it. It is, as we say, what it is.
And what it is works perfectly for me at the moment. A recent medical setback has me yearning for the minimal input I can still handle, and this does the trick.
Slightly out of reach, but when I check, it's still there, asking nothing of me. It's a deal.
But I can't play it all day. I need some other records that hit the mark as well. So I tried to find something new to match the mood: cool, almost sterile, coming from the vast surrounding darkness:
Dove Ellis: Blizzard (2025): I was hoping for something more stark. But this Irishman is one of those expressive ones. Weird. A bit like John Martyn but less bluesy. And having had two blizzards in the past two weeks, I thought it might be apt. But the title could refer to the repose you may experience if you're stuck inside your house for days at a time. Or more obviously, the storm itself. I assumed the former and was mistaken. So I'm in no real position to judge it at this time. All I know is that I can't listen to it right now.
Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago (2008): Based on its reputation, I thought it would be cold and barren. Not so. Annoyingly, not so. Given its reputation, I had much higher hopes for it. But I just may not be in a position to judge. So I put it aside.
So rather than another swing and miss, I decided to check what I already have:
Joanna Newsom?: Practically no "production" at all would seem perfect. Alas, she's a bit...wacky.
Cindy Lee: Diamond Jubilee: I thought it might be too recent, but it did get me through the earlier phase of this medical issue, so why not now? And it works.
A Break?:
My health being what it is, in the event that I'm not up to all this I may take a little break.
The broccoli rabe has long since been classified as hazardous waste, the red peppers and mozz are growing tentacles, but here is some music that is still fresh and tasty!
These are records I got last year that gave me feelies I couldn't quite articulate. (I'll skip the classical music and save that for the WHP.) They have virtually nothing in common, so by definition, there's no rhyme or reason here. No unifying theme. Just inappropriate metaphors.
Considered "the" record of 2024, I got this in early 2025. Now, nearly a year later, I've finally figured out that I kind of like it.
What took so long? I think it's that old British reserve that goes over my Yank head, which is why I still prefer Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo for this kind of dance-oriented pop. But if they're a bit much for you, this just might be what you're looking for.
It's well-put-together with more variety but less passion than Chappell. Which I guess makes this durable, if not overwhelming.
One day in 1964, six year old me heard that the Beatles were going to be Shindig that weekend. Did I sleep at all leading up to that show? I'm not sure, but imagine my chagrin when they came on and didn't play an actual Beatles song! (Were there such things, I wondered? But I've sinced checked and apparently there are.) Here's what they did play. I sniffed and turned up my nose. Where is the melody? The harmonies? All I heard was yelling and, shudder, rhythm. (I was such a little f*cking bitch. No fun what so ever*.)
Anyway, since then I became aware of Little Richard's existence. First by finding this song on Beatles VI, and then by hearing "Long Tall Sally" on The Beatles Second Album. It would take me a long while to realize that "Oh, Darlin'" was clearly a tribute to LR. So I reluctantly concluded that he must have been a worthy artist, but one I'd never get into until I stopped being NFWSE (see above*). It's been about sixty years and I'm still a work in progress.
Anyway...
Delight #1: "Awombompaluma..." (Please submit your suggestions for alternative spellings. Wrong answers only.)
Delight #2: Hearing his other voices, where more than once he could be mistaken for a lady.
Delights #3-20: The rest.
It's quite remarkable that for each anarchic manifesto ("Tutti Frutti", etc.) there is also a slow or mid-tempo r&b number ("Take a Hand"). Both approaches feature a different aspect of his boundless... well, energy doesn't quite cut it (Charisma? Insanity? Genius??). Just at different levels of intensity.
It's all just balanced enough to keep your head from exploding, which would be a shame because it might keep you from dancing/singing along.
Most people think Jerry Lee Lewis was the scariest of our Rock 'n roll Founding Fathers due to those undercurrents of violence/statutory rape. But that's all good old American fun compared to Little Richard's double threat of African American-ness and sexual up-for-anything-ness.
America didn't quite know what to make of him. Lucky for him I'll say.
This Scottish duo were pioneers of the hip hop mood-music scene of the late nineties. (What, you missed it??) It's a bit static but not bad at all. There aren't many peaks (or valleys) here, which is actually a strong argument for it. It really flows.
It's also great for reading. No pesky lyrics to distract you. This has become more and more important as the internet continues to shorten my attention span.
So if you're interested in some neat background music and are tired of ambient, you could do worse.
German art rock from the early seventies. Wait! Wait! Come back! It's really not bad at all.
It is weird in unexpected ways. It starts off promisingly, with some actual melodies and flow! But then the longer cuts kick in, and it gets a bit...harsh. The drumming isn't sophisticated, but man, it carries things for well over an hour, even when the production doesn't do it justice. That's the way to do it! Like my old boss used to say, Pneumonia? Just power through it.
And the lead guitar isn't fancy, but it fits gloriously into the jammier sections. And there really aren't any lengthy solos. Just sharp riffing in all the right places.
So it's the opposite of Boards in that it's hard to ignore. This, too, is both good and bad. Good when the musicians coalesce. Bad when the singer goes into a surrealistic rant. But even that is the outcome of an extended jam, so it has its charms.
Since it's a double album, it does have its own "Revolution 9" of sorts ("Peking O"), which I advise skipping.
But I, um, "recommend" it. Just make sure the wife and kids (and maybe pets) are out of the house first.
With two jazz titans in a 1962-ish recording session, this one is very hard to not like. But one could argue it's not needed, since if you're a fan of Duke Ellington, you are probably familiar with most of these songs. But having Satchmo playing - and singing! - on them is another matter altogether.
Ellington's piano is, as always, smooth and cool but never slick. The rest of the band does quite a creditable job, too, especially clarinetist Barney Bigard.
The overall mood is bluesy and slow, and yet compelling. Good music can accompany or improve your mood, and the rhythm can wake you up. But it takes pretty great music to slow you down and make you like it.
So I ended the year much like I began it - with Duke Ellington. And as with Money Jungle, this would have made my top ten of 2025 if it didn't come in so late. Which leads me to wonder if I'm listening to older music to escape from our present troubles. Seems likely.
A-
Good Riddance!:
So it wasn't a terrible year, for music at least. And music gives us hope.
2025 was everything we feared it would be, and more.
Personal: I'm getting over (I hope) an illness.
Music/Personal: Due to the above, I did the world a huge favor and stopped "playing" guitar for a while. The world took no notice. So I had no choice but to start again. This time with a focus on having fun. You've been warned.
Music:Per my last post, I'm feeling more alienated than ever from the current music, probably due to thoughts on mortality. Jazz, Blues, and Oldies were great, as usual. Otherwise, I kept looking for the weirdos. Thank god I found some.
Politics: After a long year, I'm seeing a little bit of daylight. How about you?
Humans:
Best:
Some judges
A very few congresspersons
Janet Mills
Many, many others who, in my current state, I just can't bring to mind. Feel free to write in your favorites.
Worst:
Some old winners (Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters) are working extra hard at being awful just to keep up with the new kids:
All the tech bros with no balls
All the media outlet owners who really don't give a shit about media
Elon Musk
Laura Loomer
Nick Fuentes (do I really have to point this out?)
Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas
ICE
Mike Johnson
Pam Bondi
Stephen Miller
Best Books:
I managed to read some books this year, none of which changed my life, but many that taught me things, some of which I might have been better off not knowing. I hope it's all made me a better person.
Infinite Jest by David FosterWallace- I read it on my tiny iPhone SE, which took nearly all summer. And as I did with Gravity's Rainbow, I ended up frustrated, annoyed, and wanting to read it again, maybe this time with a highlighter.
Cindy Lee: Diamond Jubilee(2024) - A dark time, indelibly stamped by this odd, lonely, beautiful record.
Handsome Family: In the Air(2000) - Cindy Lee swapped for Johnny Cash, the cold tundra swapped for the country, where everything is Very Normal. Right.
Some of the best songs I heard this year can be found here. It's a weirdly folk/country/hard rock hybrid. Good luck!
And since Cindy Lee is not on Spotify, here's a link to hear the entire album. I recommend you play it really early, or really late:
Conclusions:
I've been listening differently this year. Circumstances persuaded me to look to the past in hopes of finding something timeless. So I took my eye off the new and the shiny. A well rounded person would do both.
So then, how could you, dear reader, gain any useful knowledge about this year? You're busy, you want to have fun. Why am I dragging you to the old abandoned mine shafts? It's always been the conundrum of my approach.
The other issue is ranking some new records against many that have stood the test of time. It's almost as though the new music doesn't belong on the list at all. But I'd rather think of it as how I feel about these records right now as opposed to for all eternity.
And yet, on Bluesky, I'm seeing more and more folks mixing the old and the new on their lists of books and records in the name of describing the year they had. As the inventor of this approach, I approve.
The circumstances I mentioned above pulled me away from playing guitar for a while. Time was looking more and more limited, and I decided listening to actual pros was a better use of it than playing mediocrely (yes, I just made that word up). I fight the same war on the reading/writing front. Why write a word when there are so many great books to read? I don't know, but I will anyway.
I eventually drifted back to theh guitar, ignoring the voice asking me what the point was to trying to get better at this point. Then Son Michael bought me a new guitar - a nice electric one I really have no business playing. But Mike said I had a rough year and should "have some fun", whatever that is.
On the real-life front, I've gotten past my horror, or at least compartmentalized it. Elvis C was wrong, you know. One can be disgusted by events, but given how many people get hurt, there's never a justification for feeling merely amused.
