Music Bestivus 2024

It's the end of the year as we know it.

Hello party people in the place to be. Happy almost end of ‘24. I’m sure you’re all super psyched for yet another end of the year music list. And yes, I’m talking about mine.

This year my listening habits continued to be mostly song based. Yes, I still do listen to full albums, especially new ones that make my Album A Day listens.

But damn it’s so hard to keep up with the infinite scroll of endless songs and albums that are released every day. Which is the point of an excellent article that Sean Adams over at Drowned In Sound wrote earlier this month called “Why You’re Not Out of Touch With Music.“ Subtitled “a meditation on losing your edge during album of the year listing season, and a few tips to find your new favourite album from the deluge of recommendations,” Adams takes us through his thought process of dealing with the overabundance of music, something I deal with as both a fan, and a radio programmer.

Adams writes: “As humans living in a time of infinite scroll and an over abundance of creativity (home recording, free music distribution: there are no barriers any more!), we may have to learn to accept that we cannot and will not ever again be able to keep up.”

But damn, we sure try.

Seeing some of the bands that made my list live in concert this year, tended to increase my listening of their record. Cases in point: Vampire Weekend (at the Mann), Gill and Dave (their Newport FF and Philly shows were stunning), The Dare at Johnny Brenda’s, The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis at Solar Myth, Waxahatchee (her underplay at Philly Music Fest was incredible), to name a bunch. I saw Brittany Howard three times this past year. And while I’ve yet to see Merce Lemon live, the album Merce made continues to dazzle me after its release in August.

My favorite albums of the year:

• Waxahatchee -Tigers Blood

• Kendrick Lamar -GNX

• The Cure -Songs of a Lost World

• Father John Misty - Mahashmashana

• MJ Lenderman -Manning Fireworks

• Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal

• The Dare - What’s Wrong With New York

• Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland

• Merce Lemon – Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild

• Brittany Howard - What Now

• The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis – The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis

• The Last Dinner Party - The Last Dinner Party

The “song” list (at least one, or two songs from records I dug this year)

Before I roll out of here, thanks to all of you for reading and to those of you who have reached out - it’s great to connect. When I started writing my Some Velvet Blog music blog back in the golden age of MP3 blogs I loved the energy of the fans and it had a significant impact on how I thought about music, as a fan, and as a “music biz” person. The newsletter age we’re in has re-intro’d me to a new crew of music fans and I’m grateful for that. Keep it coming.

I’m off on a somewhat new journey in 2025 which may or may not lead to my being here more often, but as I often say, “keep playing the hits, even if they’re the ones you make for yourself.” Happy New Year. Take care of your self and each other.

Finally, I’ll leave you with an oldie but goodie, as we wallow in the nostalgia of the year in passing, and to what lies ahead. I first heard this by Tav Falco’s Panther Burns on the 1987 Alex Chilton produced album of the same name. The Chairman of the Board recorded it in 1967 and delivers a sweeping, haunting, hyper-cinematic take.