GL.24.06: Caseysimone Ballestas
GL.24.08: TONY SCHOENBERG
GL.24.09: Ben Evangelista
GL.24.10: Kevin Wyckoff
GL.24.11: Jem Stirling
GL.24.12: Dillon North
***
2024 Song List
In no particular order:
The Hard Quartet - “Rio’s Song” and “Our Hometown Boy”
I’d like to personally thank boygenius for making supergroups cool again. And with that, I’d like to talk about The Hard Quartet, a band whose Wikipedia page begins, “The Hard Quartet is an indie rock supergroup formed in May 2023.” The members of The Hard Quartet are Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Jim White, and Emmett Kelly. We all know who Stephen Malkmus is. But if you’re like me, you probably don’t know the others. As it turns out, their indie rock bona fides are formidable. Matt Sweeney has collaborated with Billy Corgan (in another “supergroup,” Zwan), Dave Grohl, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Cat Power, Johnny Cash, Josh Homme, Andrew W.K. and The Chicks, and he made his name in the 1990s fronting Chavez, a band I fondly recall from its excellent contribution to the Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks album. Kelly has collaborated with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Angel Olsen and Ty Segall and is the leader of The Cairo Gang, as well as being the founder or co-founder of an absurd number of other more obscure bands. Last but not least, Jim White is the longtime drummer of The Dirty Three and has collaborated with the likes of PJ Harvey, Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Smog. In other words, these are serious musicians who have had long, varied and successful careers, even if they are not household names.
And it turns out that’s important. While I worship at the altar of Stephen Malkmus and love many of his songs on The Hard Quartet’s album (and a good two thirds of the songs are his), the album’s highlights for me are by Sweeney and Kelly. Sweeney’s “Rio’s Song” is a gorgeous indie rock tune filled with catchy hooks, poetic lyrics (in tribute to the late actor Rio Hackford), infectious guitar parts – there are three amazing guitarists in this band! - and killer drums (Jim White is sort of like an indie rock Neil Peart). And Kelly’s “Our Hometown Boy” is nothing less than the greatest Byrds song of all time.
MJ Lenderman “On My Knees”
I suppose it was predictable that my favorite albums of 2024 would include two by 1990s guitar-centric indie rockers (The Hard Quartet and Grandaddy) and another by a young artist who is heavily influenced by 1990s guitar-centric indie rockers (MJ Lenderman). 1990s guitar-centric indie rock is my musical comfort food, and I nearly always read that part of the menu first. But, whatevs, Lenderman is a friggin great songwriter and guitarist, a fact that at this point has been acknowledged by virtually every music publication on earth. The standout song for me on Lenderman’s excellent 2024 album, Manning Fireworks, is “On My Knees.” The song goes all-in on 1970s Neil Youngesque heavy guitar aesthetics (which, as far as aesthetic choices go, is tops in my book), accompanied by Lenderman’s characteristically funny and sad song-poetry.
Kendrick Lamar - “Luther”
In 2024, Kendrick Lamar reminded us, once again, of his indisputable greatness. In May, he had a massive hit with the insanely infectious diss track, “Not Like Us,” which eviscerated the hopelessly outgunned Drake. Then in November he dropped yet another great album on the world, the west coast tinged GNX. As usual, the album shows off Lamar’s mastery of all that he does. One of those things is to chill into a slow groove and seduce us with his strangely captivating monotone singing voice. Another is to build a track around a tasty and unexpected sample of an almost-forgotten song from a prior era. He does both things on this track, a sultry and soulful duet with SZA built around a sample of the Luther Vandross-Cheryl Lynn cover of the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell song, “If This World Were Mine.” The song gets bonus points for its smart placement as the third track on GNX, providing a needed respite after the intensity and anger of “Wacced Out Murals” and “Squabble Up,” both of which were contenders for inclusion on this list.
Rosie Tucker - “Gil Scott Albatross”
And not just because of the amazing song title. This song rocks, something Rosie does a lot on their new album, – and it turns out that rocking is great for Rosie’s prolifically hook-filled tunes. The lyrics on this one are characteristically witty but with extra bite, leaning into their rage and despair at the current state of world affairs but answering it with the reassurance that love is the answer (as it always is).
Grandaddy - “Cabin In My Mind”
This song is like stepping into a warm bubble bath. And I fucking love warm bubble baths!
Bad Moves “Let the Rats Inherit The Earth”
I patiently waited four years for Bad Moves to release this album, and, boy, was it worth the wait. It has all the elements I fell in love with when I first heard the band in 2020 – overlapping boy-girl vocals; half-yelled choruses; catchy hooks; punky guitar; huge energy; and fierce political commitment in the face of an overwhelmingly fucked-up world. I could have picked any number of songs on the album, but I landed on this particular one because it encapsulates all of the aforementioned elements I love about the band. But, goddamnit kids, don’t make me wait another four years to hear the next one!
Vampire Weekend - “Ice Cream Piano”
They’re just showing off here. But who gives a fuck, it’s a spectacular opening track that earns the indulgence. If I were a music writer, I might say the song is the sound of a bacchanal on a runaway train hurling towards the void. And I might then say something like this: Whether the void in question is personal, political or something else, I don’t know. And I don’t care.
Billie Eilish - “The Diner”
One thing I love about the current state of pop music is that a massive pop star can write hit songs that remind me of Kurt Weill and Tom Waits.
Brittany Howard - “What Now”
The first definition that came up when I googled the word “powerhouse” is “a person or thing of great energy, strength, or power.” Brittany Howard’s 2024 album What Now is a powerhouse. When I first listened to it, I actually didn’t know that she had been the leader of Alabama Shakes (I know that seems implausible, but just take my word for it). Learning this fact blew my mind, because I never fully understood all the fuss about Alabama Shakes. This, however, is something else entirely, and I totally get the fuss around it. It’s an explosive and gorgeous piece of work, bursting at the seams with soul, rock, psychedelia, funk and probably a dozen other musical genres that my mind is too feeble to identify. It frequently sounds futuristic, but it has plenty of retro vibes to keep it grounded. And throughout, Brittany Howard’s vocals slay with enormous range and power. To top it off, the playing and production are top fucking notch. The title track is a particular standout, a straight up nasty dose of electric funk rock.
No comments:
Post a Comment