Corona-chles III

Working in the basement:

I'm an inessential worker in an essential industry, so, unlike many people, I've been busy lately. 


Monday, March 22: My second official day working from home. It was a hell of a lot better than the first day, where I sat in the basement hunched over a laptop all day.

Our boiler has this great feature where, when you put on some music, it automatically fires up. Like an older version of GPS instructions timed to obliterate the BEST PART of the song that's on. I understand most boilers work based on the actual temperature, but there you go.

Humanity I:

Tuesday, March 30: I found out John Prine was gravely ill with COVID-19.

Does Music Help?

Musically, I kept with the vinyl James gave me, and dipped into Pet Sounds, which is now a double album! So I have to get up every ten minutes to flip it over. That beats sitting on my ass for ten hours straight, though. 

You wouldn't think the Beach Boys would be a smooth segue from old Neil but overall, it sounded pretty apt for the situation, Especially "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times".

Then there was music from Twin Peaks: The Return, which was surprisingly pretty.

Then I got an idea - I'm in the basement anyway, why not just do what I used to always do? Which is look through the shelves - which are in alphabetical order - and play whatever strikes my fancy? In the first floor living room, that would mean CDs or mp3s. In the basement, it's vinyl. By definition, that means stuff I haven't played in a long while.

And let's face it. This is no time for new music. This is not a time I want to flash back on years from now by innocently putting on an album that's been imprinted by this era. (Or is the era imprinted by the music? Usually, it is, but not this time.) But of course, this would never happen. At that point in the future, when I'm perusing the CD shelf or mp3 player, I would pass over that album like it was kryptonite. So why bother with it at all?

No, this is the time for old music. 

And I won't allow myself "comfort" music. I don't think it works, to tell the truth. I will allow music I've not heard in a long while, and music that didn't quite connect with me the first time around. 


The ABCs of Music on Vinyl: 

Eric Anderson: Blue River

Sad, beautiful but a tad less powerful than when I first got it as a (very) sensitive teenager.
"Blue River" 
A-

Laurie Anderson: Big Science

Strange as ever, with some silliness, but some great moments.
"O Superman"
B+

King Sunny Ade: Juju Music

The laid back vibe - which was a little too laid back for me in 1982 - was pretty soothing in the dark days as we prepared for the worst. 
"Ja Funmi" 
B+

Burning Spear: Harder Than the Best

Amazing what sounds great in a dank basement. Not very cheerful but often mesmerizing.
"The Ghost" 

 B+

Captain Beefheart: (I did say I was in the basement...)

Trout Mask Replica:

I played the whole 2-LP set all the way through, which is almost as bad an idea as playing all nine Beethoven's symphonies back to back. After a while, it all just blends together. But I decided I'd just slice off a side per day to make sure I'm really hearing it. And I kind of did.

And the world seems a more all right place when I see that he's filed right next to the Carpenters.
"Moonlight On Vermont" 
A-

Shiny Best/Bat Chain Puller:
Still jagged but somehow more "accessible".
"Tropical Hot Dog Night"  The Captain wins on titles alone.

A-

Doc at the Radar Station:
The very clear and immediate sound of a tense and jittery racket. Still out there, still powerful regardless. But enough was enough.

"Ashtray Heart" 

A-

Clearly, I belong in the basement.

Chicago: II

Despite his early popularity, after World War II nobody in Germany admitted to liking Hitler. Same with Chicago. They sold bajillion records, but everyone now considers them uncool. How did that happen? 
Many of us did questionable things in the 70s. And just because in the case of this band those things were recorded, that just means there's evidence. So let's not hold it against these guys, shall we?
So I'll start by admitting this is Not Terrible. Well, sides one and four are pretty terrible, but two and three are very good. So it could've been a good single album, but like I said it was the seventies.
"Wake Up Sunshine"
B-

Clash: Combat Rock

Not as bad as I feared but I still skip "Should I Stay" and "Rock the Casbah". (Wow, the 80s could ruin anything.)
"Straight to Hell"

B

Ry Cooder: Ry Cooder

This is a really good record. It just took 45 years of me hearing the folk music and blues he was emulating to truly enjoy this now.

A-

"Police Dog Blues"

Into the Purple Valley: 

Perfectly good but unnecessary. 
"Teardrops Will Fall"
B

Elvis Costello:

Trust 
This one holds up very well indeed. Possibly his best?
"White Knuckles" 
A

Imperial Bedroom: 
Bloated, with precious singing and forces melodies, but with several great songs. Frustrating as hell.
"You Little Fool"
B+

Spike: 
Unlike the too-much-but-who-cares Get Happy!!, this one never quite takes off. A lot of honorable work here, but after x number of records - like Dylan - who wants to hear that voice again? 
"...This Town..."  
B

Country Joe and the Fish: Together

Just not worth the trouble. 

"Rock and Soul Music"  
C+

Creedence:

Green River

Very much worth the trouble.
"Wrote a Song for Everyone"

A-

Cosmo's Factory
CCR cresting, Fogerty at the top of his game. Did they know they were running out of time?
My favorite by them.
"Ramble Tamble"  
A

Ornette Coleman: Of Human Feelings

Listening to this is like listening to Giant Steps for the first time. Except that by now - only after 30 years - I've absorbed Giant Steps. After nearly forty years I still haven't absorbed this. 
"Jump Street"  
B+

Health (Physical)

I checked my weight yesterday and didn't like what I saw. I haven't been getting out like I'm used to and so will have to work in a long walk somehow.

So working from home should give me some time to do this. But it doesn't

Humanity II:

Wednesday, April 1: Adam Schlesinger is dead.

Health (Mental):

And it was beginning to seem like the music doesn't matter anymore. There's just too much suffering.  I continued to listen, but until now I couldn't bring myself to think about it or tell you about it.

Corona-chles II

Working from home, continued:
Well, it wasn't great that first day (3/17). It took forever to do things on my laptop that I could do in seconds on my desktop at work. So I decided to go into work, and spent the rest of the week there.

Subways:

Unlike just a couple of days before, the trains were now almost empty. And those of us who were on them were aggressively avoiding each other.

Masks:
I don't wear a mask, even when on the train. Am I stupid? I don't know. I just heard it wouldn't help. Now all those folks who wear them at the drop of a hat look like prophets. Next Step, fashion versions. Get ready. After all, we need something to distinguish the elite from the rabble. Me, I'm not shaving. That keeps people away.

Gloves:
I honestly don't know how to use them without not only touching my face but likely swallowing them whole. I may have inadvertently started that condom-up-the-nose trend a couple of years back...


Working From Work:
Ah, but for those three days (3/18-20) I was very productive! Which is the important thing, right?

Working From Work, Reconsidered:
But by Thursday night Mrs. Jaybee - a cancer survivor - was getting a bit nervous I'd pick up something and drop it right on her questionable immune system.
And it hit me. What. The. Fuck. Am. I. Doing??  How could I run when I knew?
So Friday I brought home my docking station, keyboard and mouse, to see if I could unflatten the curve of my lesser productivity as home.

Music:
Playing Decade got me back to practicing guitar using Neil Young music. I mean, he just kept hitting the right notes. Random lines pop up with a new relevance, like:

See the sky about to rain

The subways are empty, and so are the cafes...

In the stands
The home crowd scatters
For the turnstiles...

If you see him in the subway, He'll be down at the end of the car.
Watching you move Until he knows he knows who you are.

And here's another - completely un-pandemic unrelated one - for good measure:

You're watching your TV, and it's watching you. 
From 1975 no less!

But I guess your favorite artist has lyrics that will suddenly take on a whole new meaning now.

By Sunday (3/22) Mrs. Jaybee was pretty sad and wanted to hear something upbeat, so we tried Alvvays and the New Pornographers which worked well. Neil was on point, but we just didn't want to feel that way anymore.

Looking Human:
I haven't shaved since my one day working from home last week And Mrs. Jaybee likes it!
She said I should continue to grow it for the duration of the pandemic. And with the barbershops closed, I'll end up looking like old Neil himself up top there.
Who am I kidding? I'm 62, it'll probably come in white, which, if I wasn't before, I will surely now be the whitest man in America. So, who am I kidding? I'll look like Leon Russell. (Time to dig out my old white communion suit...)
I did figure out why Mrs. Jaybee likes it, though. It's just her way of being quarantined with someone else. Clever girl!

Fails:
During Mrs. Jaybee's first day of teaching from home, I stood behind her and dropped an f-bomb - a real doozy, too - behind her while her students were signing in. They really behaved themselves that day.

It could have been worse. 

Anyway, stay well - and stay the fuck back - okay?

Corona-chles I

Everything else seems to require some adjustment, so why not this? Later I may get to say "before we were so rudely interrupted" but I fear that won't be for some time.

And if the Kinks can misspell it, why can't I?  Well, Jaybee, talent, for one thing. But if this blog has ever had a message surely it's been that a lack of talent can't stop you.

Back when things were "normal" I was living my version of a life, writing this stupid blog about my dumb reactions to questionable music, or my even dumber reactions to unquestionable music. And there I was, trying to figure out where to go next regarding pop music from the 2010s, while hedging those bets to get back to the World History Project, working my way through Beethoven's Nine Symphonies. And I will get back to it. You've been warned.

But for the moment (and the length of this pandemic, I guess) I must digress.  With random - and hopefully some non-random - observations during this Time of the Pandemic. Because who knows what things will look like when we come out the other side.

So I hope you'll forgive the stupid/cute play on words in the title. It can't be helped. After all, virtually anything you or I say may, in retrospect, or even at the time, immediately seem ignorant, stupid, puerile, insensitive, in bad taste, etc. If I make a joke the day hundreds die, I hope you'll understand it's just my way of dealing. So please forgive the inevitable foolishness to follow. I'm only human, for now at least.


Some Random Observations:

The morning paper delivery: 
This morning it was outside the gate and suspiciously close to the open garbage can. Bad aim? I think not. Last week I had just picked up a flyer on my way into the house when I heard the paper land a couple of inches behind my foot. He and I have been in a sort of Cold War for years. But the paper outside the fence might have just been his version of social distancing.

News articles:
I can't read articles entitled "How the Pandemic Has Changed Us". Jesus Fuck, can I please actually change first and then see if you got it right??

Working From Home:
It's not all it's cracked up to be.
My wife and I were both working from home on St. Patrick's Day. She's a teacher, so first off, a hearty fuck you to anyone who thinks she's on vacation. She had to learn how to use a virtual classroom from scratch the day before. And on St. Pat's she's sitting at the dining room table, teaching a class.
Which meant I had to retreat to our finished-but-you'd-never-know-it basement. I spent the first hour sneezing from the dust, leaning over my laptop. I'm used to my office at work with the two monitors, so I was miserable. But, on the other hand, that's where the vinyl is.

Music:
You didn't think you'd escape this, did you? First, I worked my way through Beethoven's First and Second Symphonies and his First Piano Concerto. Then I got to the vinyl James got me last Christmas. I decided I'd start with Decade. Work got pretty hectic after that, so I didn't any further. But it was the correct choice.

Politics:
My Facebook friends think I'm a commie-pinko-liberal-sad-sack-pain-in-the-ass.  (Let's not get into what my enemies think.) But what they don't know is how much I hold back, withholding judgment until I've got my facts straight, like in 2003 when everyone was wondering if invading Iraq was a good idea. And since we're not holding that against George Bush and Friends, why would I expect anyone - of my friends that is - to hold this catastrophe against the current occupant?
It's harder to evade politics that one might think. No sooner is someone bemoaning the politicization of the pandemic (against the current occupant, naturally) than they're nitpicking someone else's decisions. Fuck, at least they are decisions.

Social Distancing:
I not all it's cracked down to be. It was not for nothing that Decade (containing "The Loner" of course) resonated, even though I'd heard every last song a million times.
But I guess we'll find out if all those jokes we told ourselves about hell being other people start to ring hollow.

Complaints:
Just about everyone has been handed a difficulty or two in this situation. Mine are pretty minimal. I work in healthcare, but in IT, not in clinical work, so while my sister is sitting at home, bored out of her skull, I'm working harder than ever. Given all the layoffs, I should count myself lucky. I know I am. I hope to stay that way. But I'm tired. In all likelihood, so are you.

Lead-In To an Old Joke: Guess Who's In the Hospital? 
Lots of tired staff.
Hospitals are running out of supplies and their clinical staffs are exhausted.
Why didn't they prepare for this, you might ask? Well, they did to the extent possible, given their limited resources. Oh, did you think all the money is going there? Well, like your paycheck, it's only there for a minute, and then it's off to the medical supply, pharmaceutical and insurance companies, who are doing a little better, thank you very much.
Back in 2008, it took a while, but the recession eventually made its way to health care, and there were severe cutbacks that we're living (and dying) with still.
So despite the inevitable second-guessing to come about what we must do to be better prepared next time, I can foresee the coming recession mowing down everything in its path. And with tax revenues drying up, politicians will have to make tough decisions about where to cut their budgets. And guess where they'll eventually end up looking?
Why, health care, of course.

Punch Line to Said Joke: Sick People!
Have you tested positive? Have you been tested? Of course not! After all, we're not South Korea, are we? Get in line, and have your cash ready.
But do you know someone who has tested positive? Are they a loved one? And have you done the math yet, about what demographic they're in, and if it's one of the safer ones or not? Youth does not appear to be the safe haven we thought it would be. And, who am I kidding? I'm in that problematic, older age range, where bad things happen.
But the attention-whore in me isn't afraid of catching it. The father and friend in me is, though. How could I live with myself if I passed it on to a loved one?

As Neil would say How can you run when you know?

To Infinity and Beyonce

Decade Catch Up: After thoroughly researching the best of the decade polls and methodically identifying what I missed, I resolve to use laser focus to drill down and fill those gaps. That lasts about a week, and then I get distracted by who else, Brian fucking Eno.

Frank Ocean: Channel Orange (2012) This one appeared at or near the top of just about every decade poll I found. Frank Ocean is first and foremost a songwriter. And he’s real good at it. He’s written many for other people, and here he’s out on his own. So this is not an assemblage of songs acquired from other people. It’s his vision. He can also sing and produce, so this is his show all the way. And it’s quite the show. Surprisingly melodic. Surprisingly affluent - a lot of this is about young wealthy people living in California at the beach. There are love songs here, but they’re not just plopped in for the sake of having hits. They’re about people living in this milieu (no, I don’t fucking believe I used that word, either) he’s describing. And the musical background is practically Eno-worthy. A- "Super Rich Kids" Beyonce: Lemonade (2016) Another one consistently atop or near the top of just about every decade end poll I found. This record is surprisingly rocking. And at the same time surprisingly varied in tone (Christ, there’s a country song here), dynamics and volume. I was bracing myself for a histrionic lesson in empowerment from a very powerful diva. The lesson would be correct but it wouldn’t be coming from the right source, and that kind of thing is exhausting. But, by starting quietly and slowly picking up the pace, adding real feeling, this superstar earns my respect (which I assume she was losing sleep over). I guess celebrities have feelings, too. I’m not sitting up at attention all the way through, like with Janelle Monae or Rihanna, but what slips past me seems pleasant enough. And there’s at least one moment that brings a tear to my eye. So, diva or not, it’s not histrionic at all. Pretty damned controlled, in fact. B+

"All Night" Fucking Eno:

Fripp & Eno: (No Pussyfooting) (1973) If allmusic.com is accurate this is Eno’s first record without Roxy Music and, god bless him, he goes hardcore experimental by laying down some drone music that the guitarist from King Crimson Robert Fripp solos over. And. It’s. Not. Bad. At. All. Even pretty every once in a while. But I am occasionally asked by a family member what the hell we're listening to, but that's the effect I'm going for. Oblique Music tells the almost too good to be true story of BBC accidentally playing the tape of the album backward, and when Eno calls to tell them, they say “That’s what they all say”. This deluxe edition includes a backward version, All I can say is it was an honest mistake. B+ "The Heavenly Music Corporation I" Devo: Are We Not Men? No, We are Devo! (1978) The other funny Eno story is about how this radically arty band somehow hooked up with him to produce their first album. It’s hard to remember that back then Eno’s producing attempts were anything but sure things. He even tried to work with Television but that ended real fast. His No New York hard-core punk compilation was widely panned by the artists who were involved. And this love fest. Devo had already been honing their craft and alienating mid-Western audiences for years, so they knew what they wanted. And it sure wasn’t Eno’s kinder, gentler approach. At one point they’re listening to the playback of one of the songs and the band thinks they see Eno turning a know to add something to the mix, and they’re all over him. Hey, what do you think you’re doing making our record sound nice!!??? One wonders now - even Devo - what a real Eno-centric album would have sounded like. But I don’t think he’s returning their calls. But it was an excuse to finally get this record and find out just how weird it really is. And now, with the benefit of forty-odd years, it sounds more consistent and catchy than you’d think. You'll seem like nice folks so I'll give you the hit here. B+

"Satisfaction" But if you really want to know how disturbing these guys were here are just check out some of their early videos Let's start with a relatively benign collaboration with...Neil Young!? “Human Highway” To a warped early version of "My My, Hey Hey": “Hey Hey” To the truly disturbing "Jocko Homo":

Enjoy your Sunday!

Next time, 2019!, or 1812, I'm not sure.

2019: Who Doesn't Like Leftovers?

I don’t know about you but we (well, I) just stopped eating the Christmas leftovers a week or so ago. It may cause me to grow a third ear but that'll just help me keep up with all this music.

The following are all the records I accumulated during 2019 that I hadn’t yet mentioned - usually, because I had very little to say about them, or they took a while to sink in. 

Months or years from now I’ll put some of them on and have a blast, but for now, most of them fall into the pleasant/fun-but-not-quite-exhilarating category. In other words, life on a pretty good day.

Let’s go in ascending order of excellent-ness.

Tune-Yards: Nikki Nack (2014)

This is a pretty good record, but a huge letdown from 2010’s W H O K I L L. This one is similarly weird and almost as inventive, and if I'd gotten it first it would sound just fine.

B+

"Find a New Way"

Carly Rae Jepsen: E*MO*TION (2015)

Mr.s Jaybee looks at me weird when I get records like this. No dear, I’m not creeping on the young women. Besides, said young women are usually one third my age, and Ms. Jepsen is merely one half.

Re the actual music, I am in awe of its almost pathological catchiness. Between I really really really really really like you and give me love, give me love, give me love, give me love, give me love, give me love, give me love there’s really no doubting where she stands on um, interpersonal questions. I almost want the young lady to take a rest midway through the album (which she does at cut 5). But then again, like I said she’s much younger than me.

B+

“I Really Like You”

Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle (1968)

Recognize that name? You should. He’s worked with Randy Newman, Little Feat, Brian Wilson, JoAnna Newsome, Harry Nilsson and a huge list of others. This is his very first album

It’s oddly Americana-ish for a psychedelic time and too weird for immediate enjoyment. I suspect it’s a grower but mostly for those odd occasions when you’re feeling completely alienated from the modern world. And who could blame you?

 B+

"The Attic"

Los Lobos: Colossal Head (1996)

These guys just impress the hell out of me. There’s a real fuck you attitude to this one. I mean, how many good records do they have to make to have you sit up and notice??

The guitar really stings on this one. They’re way past La Bamba, artiness and white acceptance.  Here the just rock.

B+

"Can’t Stop the Rain"

 

Idles: Joy As An Act of Resistance (2018)

Angry punk music, great dynamics, and a singer with a big deep voice. It’s closer to mid-tempo rather than the breakneck speed punk is more famous for. The main advantage of this is you can tell exactly what they’re mad about.

B+

"Colossus"

LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening (2010)

Same old LCDSS but unlike The Sound of Silver, this one is very consistent. It doesn’t have anything undeniably great like "All My Friends" but I like the consistency of this one.

B+

"I Can Change"

Algiers: The Under Side of Power (2017)

This is less cerebral than TV on the Radio. More impassioned, too. The vocals are simply overpowering. This is a weird mix of gospel, hard rock/punk and a few other things I can't name. It’s not an easy listen. By the time it’s over you feel like you’ve worked out. But every time I put it on I rank it higher and higher.

B+

"Mme Rieux"

REM: Unplugged Completely (1995) Bootleg

I’d been looking for something like this for quite some time. They had their MTV set before I had cable and so I only heard bits of it here and there. 

This pulls all of that set together with some other acoustic performances right around their commercial peak.

As one who loves Out of Time, this one brings similar joys.

There are a few versions of this, that encompass their entire career. This one’s from 1991 or so and sticks to that early middle period that may consider the band’s peak.

A-

"Belong"

Rihanna: Anti (2016)

Who (in my demographic) would know what to expect from this critically hailed record by a fiery and sometimes problematic young lady. So what’s here?

A great voice. Excellent tunes. And no dumb crowd-pleaser songs. (Well, ok, I guess “Sex With Me” counts.) But I actively enjoy each of these songs. And they are songs, not just tracks with a voice over it.

This young lady may have some questionable choices in her life but she has made none of them here.

A-

"Close to You"

 

Alvvays: Anti-Socialites (2017)

This one falls right smack in the middle of my current comfort zone: catchy pop from female-led bands.

This one is more methodically catchy, which I guess has its shortcomings. But while she might also really really really etc like you, she has a little more to say about it than just that.

A-

And so now that I've gotten all that off my chest I look back on the last year and find that my focus on catching up on the decade has caused me to ignore records actually released in 2019 altogether.



Jesus H. Christ, I've got work to do.

Ninth Annual Jaybee-bies: The Best of 2019, But Not Really

Well, This Is Embarrassing.

Despite my best efforts to stay current, I got so focused on catching up on the decade that I never actually got to 2019. Thus, my 2019 list has no 2019 records on it! Nutboy would be mortified.

It’s people like Nutboy - by focusing on the here and the now and yet somehow absorbing the latest 30-CD Bob Dylan Bootleg release - who keep me humble. I’m waiting for your 2019 list NB!

I was tempted to check out the 2019 records that appeared on the many decade lists I perused, but I didn’t trust the rankings. The value of decade lists is that they give people years to process what they heard. But you only get a few months for the 2019 records. Hence there’s a temptation to overrate what you happen to like at that moment.


Resolutions: 

So, I will - again - resolve to get 2020 music during actual 2020. And, I guess, catch up on, um, 2019. A new decade and I’m already behind the f*cking 8-ball. Or in my case maybe the 7-ball.

Aside from that, I won’t bore you yet again with my pathetic attempts at personal resolutions. They’re going about as well as you’d expect.

But as far as music goes, I’ve made some adjustments. I had previously resolved to get more mp3s. I’m now hearing that the sound quality of CDs (and vinyl) is better. (Any advice on this would be appreciated.) So I may go back to CDs. We’ll just have to add an extension to the house.

Oh, I’ve been (re)learning guitar, and have resolved to practice “more”, whatever that means.


Awards:

Most Work (But Worth it): Arca

Most Work (And Possibly Not Worth It): tUnE yArDs

Most Surprising: Lykki Li

Most Disappointing: tUnE yArDs

Best Artist: Nobody, but that's okay.


Best Books:

This was not a great year for finishing books, but for those that I did, here are my favorites.

Any Old Way You Choose It by Robert Christgau
Just so much fun to read a person's first-hand reaction to events and music from decades ago. A

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Very entertaining and I learned a lot. But I couldn't have the latter without the former. A-

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Jane’s always reliable for a good yarn. A-

Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone Interview, Cott, Jonathan
I enjoyed Sontag’s answers a lot more than Cott’s questions.  A-


Oh, Yeah. Music:

I didn’t hear anything that absolutely floored me, but all of the below rewarded repeated listening.

Last year, of my top ten, five were either lead or co-led by a woman. This year makes that year look like a case of testosterone poisoning.

There was also a struggle between fun and seriousness. In a pinch, the former won.

In terms of quality 1-4 are very close, as are 5-6 and 7-9 and - of course - 10.

1. Snail Mail: Lush (2018)  Compared to the ladies below, she’s a bit of a sad sack, but she wants what’s best for you.
2. Alvvays: Anti-Socialites (2017)  She’s pretty level headed about love. And outright serious about catchiness.
3. Best Coast: Crazy for You (2010)  Not only do the songs sound similar, but their themes are also similar. She loves him, he drives her crazy. What might drive you crazy in a friend can be very entertaining in an artist.
4. Janelle Monae: Dirty Computer  (2018)  Yes, Prince is dead, but she is filling the hole pretty nicely so far.
5. Leonard Cohen: You Want it Darker (2018)  He may have been a young hedonist but he worked and worked and worked until the very end.
6. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour (2018) The songs are not all uniformly great, but that voice! 
7. Soccer Mommy: Clean (2018)  Sometimes irritatingly weird but I keep listening to it.
8. Pusha T: Daytona (2018)  Grim realities right in your face. Compelling.
9. Noname: Room 25 (2018) This flows beautifully from beginning to end.
10. And tied for 10th: Arca: Arca (2017), Lykki Li: Wounded Rhymes (2011), Father John Misty: I Love You Honeybear (2010), Tom Waits: Bad As Me (2011), Bon Iver: Bon Iver (2011)

Some of the best songs I heard this year can be found here.

Here's to the New Year! 

Are we in a war yet?