I released an album in 2020, and of course, have listened to it way more than anyone else has.  That's kind of how it works for songwriters, you spend so much time listening and critiquing your own art.  I feel obligated to mention that release, because I'd really like you to listen to it if you haven't done so yet.

Curious about some of the other things I listened to in 2020?  Be assured, I spent time with music that wasn't actually my own music, and there was certainly no shortage of albums released.  Did you know that Pearl Jam put out an album this year?  It's true.  Guided By Voices put out three albums this year, because of course they did.  Some artists who released albums I enjoyed this year are Lesley Barth (Big Time Baby), Lydia Loveless (Daughter), Nick Kizirnis (The Distance), and Local H (Lifers).  However, here are my favorites, in no particular order, except for perhaps this first one:

 

HUM - Inlet

HUM dropped this on the world as a complete surprise.  In unison, music blogs everywhere reviewed Inlet with collective awe and near-universal approval.  If you’re a music fan who reads about music, and younger than my generation, I’m sure you didn’t understand it.  "Why are there suddenly all of these articles about a band I’ve never heard of"?  That’s what you surely asked yourself. 

HUM hail from Champaign, Illinois, and had a moderate hit song on their third album in the 90s.  From the first time I heard that song, I knew this was exactly the kind of band I would love to play in and the kind of band I would love to see.  Riff-tastic.  Layered.  Like shoegaze, but with more driving drums, very subtle harmonies, and some separation in the guitars.  A little bit like metal, but not quite as angry or as fast.   (Let's take a moment to appreciate some things about that excellent song I linked to that would be generally be castigated today by people in the music business.... introduction of 33 seconds, complete sonic deviation from introduction to the body of the song, all of the instruments are real, the vocals are not pitch corrected, vocals not sitting right on top of the mix, almost two minutes go by before the chorus shows up, total run time is five minutes.)

HUM disappear for 22 years, then drop an album out of nowhere that sounds like they had never left.  It is glorious, and is my favorite album of the year.  The guitar tones and feel of the songs remind me of my youth, but the vocals are on occasion just a touch more prominent in the mix now than they were a couple of decades ago.  There are still lyrics about space and relationships, and there is still all sorts of rock being brought to the table.

• Favorite songs:  “Waves”, “Step Into You”, “Cloud City”

Punch The Sun - Brevity

If you read my blog, you might remember that I’ve mentioned this album before, when I posted an interview with Shannon Söderlund.  Well, here we are near the end of the year, and Brevity remains one of my favorite albums, and I have listened to it over and over and over again.  That sweet 90s rock sound will probably always be a soft spot for me, and this album has plenty of it, but also plenty of vocal harmonies and clever lyrics.  Go listen to it immediately, leave your ammunition in the junk drawer, and don’t be like Steve. 

• Favorite songs:  “Ammunition", Hey Steve”, “11 Until 2”

 

 

 

Snarls - Burst

I am pretty sure that everyone in Snarls is too young to remember anything about the 90s, but here again, the rock sound from that time period shows up on a 2020 album.  These folks are fellow Ohioans, hailing from Columbus.  They've had a good year... they've gotten plenty of press from the prestigious and coveted media outlets who we all wish were listening to our music, they signed to a record label, and they released Burst, their debut.  Sure, the pandemic nixed their touring plans, and I'm sure that caused them to lose their collective marbles, but as soon as its possible, I think they'll head out on the road in search of world domination.  I'd really love to put together a show and play with them in Dayton, but that is probably not enough profile for them.

The songs here are good.  A lyric on the album that really resonates with me goes "twenty seems further than it ought to be", which I find to be amusing because there is no way this was written from my point of view.  You'll be learning more about a specific member of this band later. (That is what they call "a tease".)  For now, let's say that this is another album that lands squarely on some of my favorite sounds... two guitar attack, vocal harmonies, hooks aplenty. 

• Favorite songs:  "Hair", "Concrete", "Burst"

 

 

 

Radkey - Green Room 

I discovered this band early in 2020, via their 2019 album No Strange Cats.  That’s an outstanding, punchy, punk-influenced bundle of rock.  I remember checking the touring schedule to see if Radkey were going to make it to Ohio, and then… well, we all know what happened in the spring, and what that did to touring bands. 

Radkey clearly got to work during the months of isolation, and dropped a new album this year.  It picked up right where their previous one left off… I mean, check out this video for the lead single: 

You’ll be nodding along to everything on this album, and the interpretation of a Bill Withers classic at the end is a nice cherry on top of a tasty rock and roll sundae. 

• Favorite Songs: “Two-Face”, “Judy”, “Stains”

 

 

TINO - Past Due 

You know, in my youth, I listened to a lot more hip hop and rap than I do now.  Don’t get me wrong, I still very much respect the art form, but as I get older, I find that this genre has stopped resonating with me.  Well, TINO is here to bring it all back. 

He grew up in Cleveland, but he calls Dayton home these days, and music in the Gem City is better off for it.  You can learn more about him in an interview he did earlier on my blog.  With TINO, you shall find high energy delivery, intelligent lyrics, and rhymes that you probably didn’t expect. There is plenty of truth spoken on this album, about the 1995 Cleveland Baseball Club (whatever happened to them at the end of the season?), and about the government. 

This gentleman takes his art seriously, and he’s got more on the way.  If you know of more hip hop like this, point me in that direction. 

• Favorite Songs: “95 Tribe”, “Gov’t”

 

 

 

The Lees of Memory - Moon Shot 

John Davis does it again.  You might remember him from previous bands, such as Superdrag, and previous blog entries, such as this one right here.  Davis grabbed Brandon Fisher and Nick Slack, and dropped this album in July. 

A funk song isn’t the sort of thing you would ever expect here, but you get one on the last song of the album. Other than that, this sounds like a natural continuation of the sounds we have gotten on this band’s first three albums.  

If you don’t listen to the lyrics, you might think this is a happy album.  It’s not, and really, given what most of us have collectively experienced this year, that’s not a surprise. The lyrics on the album express plenty of problems, but they also comment on something that many of us do to deal with it all.  My favorite lyric on the record is from “Crocodile Tears”, and it goes:  the radio might help when you feel blue / that’s what rock and roll’s supposed to do / records lift me up when I can’t move / that’s what rock and roll’s supposed to prove. 

Yep, that’s about right. 

• Favorite Songs: “Crocodile Tears” , “Free & Easy”, “Far Beyond”

 

 

 

Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas

I thank NPR and their Tiny Desk series for introducing me to Lianne La Havas a few years ago.  If you have a few minutes, I cannot strongly enough recommend her enthralling performance from 2015.  Here it is: 

Two of those songs are from her second album Blood, and the other one is from her debut Is Your Love Big Enough?... but that’s a good sample to show you what she is about as an artist.  Lianne writes beautiful songs, and has a strong, otherworldly beautiful voice. 

I find the song “Green Papaya” particularly interesting.  There isn’t any percussion, so the guitar gives you the rhythm.  If you’re thinking that’s the bass player’s job, well, the bass here is sparse, and serves as more of an accent that occasionally moves the feeling along, it’s not actually doing rhythm work.  (I happen to very much LOVE what the bass is bringing here.) There is a time signature change at the chorus, but without a steady percussion instrument, I keep having a hard time finding the downbeat, and that really holds my interest.   

Lianne has been covering “Weird Fishes” live with her band for years now, so it’s pretty cool to see it show up on this album, and a very interesting choice to cover.  Here’s their official video of it, and something that keeps bringing me back to this is seeing the drummer start with the exact beat from the original song, and then change it.  Lianne makes this song her own.  Also, the a capella bit gives me chills.

 

• Favorite Songs: "Green Papaya", "Paper Thin", "Sour Flower"

 

 

 

Oceanator - Things I Never Said 

Oceanator is the project name for one Elise Okusami… a band and a person from New York City.  This is the Oceanator debut album, full of fuzzy guitars for body and catchy lead licks that you might end up humming.  Right around the time of release, this album got all kinds of press from just about every corner of the world of online indie rock commentary.  (Well, at least I noticed this in the corners of that world that I happen to visit.)  I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t been said already by a ton of writers who are more professional than me.  If you want more details, definitely go check out some reviews. 

I’ll sum up this way:  I dig this album.   

• Favorite songs: "Hide Away", "Walk With You", "The Sky Is Falling"

 

 

 

Sault - UNTITLED (Rise) 

Sault released two albums this year.  Many of their song lyrics directly reflect very relatable thoughts and feelings, and are expressed as direct observations or true-to-life quotes.  For an example, they have a lyric that goes like this: don’t shoot, guns down racist policeman, don’t shoot, I’m innocent 

That particular lyric isn’t on this album, it’s on the other one they released this year.  Both of them are certainly worthy of your attention, but this is the one that makes my list of favorites from the year. The percussion sometimes sounds like it comes from some genre of EDM, whereas other times I get a very Afro-Caribbean feel from it.  The music over the percussion is a mash-up of r & B, funk, soul, and gospel.  I don’t even know what to call it… Up tempo soul?  Disco revival?  Maybe we should eschew categorization here and just say that many of the tracks here will make you want to move. 

The bass groove on “I Just Want to Dance” is great, and I think I’ll spend some time learning that one for the fun of it.  The bass on “The Beginning & the End” is also awesome, and I might mess around with that as well. 

• Favorite songs:  “Free”, “You Know It Ain’t”, “Uncomfortable”

 

 

 

Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher

I didn't want to like this album.  It has been written about everywhere, and Bridgers has been making so many appearances that I don't know if we can refer to her as "indie" anymore.  Being ubiquitous makes you mainstream, doesn't it?  She even got nominated for a Grammy this year.  (An aside, her nomination is in the Best New Artist category, but she's not exactly a new artist.  The lesson here, as always, is that the Grammys are clueless.)  So yeah, I didn't want to like this album, and I didn't want to write about it, as I am not generally in the habit of listening to or writing about pop stars.

Here's the thing though... Punisher is every bit as good as people say it is. The pop sheen on the production is a bit much for me, but the songs are strong.  Phoebe Bridgers is brilliant, and listening to her songs makes me want to work on my craft.

• Favorite songs: "Kyoto",  "Chinese Satellite", "Moon Song"

 

 

Way back in April 2020, I began an interview series here on the blog.  I call it "Amplified" because my intent is to make the voices of artists louder.  We musician types desperately wish to be heard, and although I don't exactly have a mammoth readership, I figured I'd try to get some additional ears to the work of folks I respect.  After all, I'd love for someone to do that for me, and am grateful for every single listener.  Here's a brief summary of a very diverse group of people who agreed to participate this year:

Lauren Light - pop/soul singer/songwriter, podcaster, owner of a licensing company

Nina Pelligra - a capella looper artist, songwriter, engineer

Sarah Rudy - guitarist, songwriter

Dirty Doc - guitarist, songwriter

Shannon Söderlund - bassist, guitarist, songwriter

TINO - rapper, songwriter, performer

Greg Owens - guitarist, singer/songwriter

Treneti - vocalist, bassist, songwriter, producer

Megan Fiely - abstract artist, recovering musician

OriSoaring - multi-instrumentalist classically trained on saxophone, songwriter

 

If you missed any of these, I encourage you to revisit the interviews at the links.  Listen to the music, look at the artwork, connect with the artists on social media.

 

 

An interview with a musician in back-to-back weeks!  What's with this craziness?  Glad you asked.  The song that TINO and I collaborated on is available tomorrow, Tuesday 14th July, on all streaming services. I figured this would be a good time for all of us to get to know him better.  First, and you might have already guessed this, but "TINO" is a nickname and stage name.  His "government name" is Valentino Halton.  (I need to remind myself of this, as I misprinted his last name as "Hamilton" in the liner notes for the compact disc version of Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  He's chill though, so he has forgiven me.)

TINO recently released an EP called Past Due.  It's solid, you should definitely check it out.  You'll probably enjoy the groove on the track "95 Tribe", which is about the baseball club in TINO's hometown of Cleveland.  (He's a Dayton fella now, but is originally from Cleveland.)  I happen to personally enjoy this track very much, partially because of the excellent groove and lyrics, but also because I remember the World Series that year quite fondly, it being my senior year in high school, and my favorite team being involved.  My favorite team is the National League club, by the way.  Just to remind everyone, the World Series lasted six games that year.  In Game Six, there was only one run scored.  This was it.   Do you remember how that game ended?  I do, but let's refresh everyone's memory.  This is the last out.  TINO managed not to mention Carlos Baerga in "95 Tribe", but it's ok.  My personal favorite from the EP is "Gov't", which also has a fantastic groove.  

Strangely enough, all of the previous interview subjects in this series are women, so I'm breaking new ground with this one.  Interview with this gifted gentleman after the photo.

 

1.  Let's hear the elevator pitch for your skill set and genre.

I’m a high energy performer who is at home over uptempo production. My music ranges from deeply personal to ubiquitous in theme. There’s something for everyone, but not in a generic and vague way. 

 

2.  I remember meeting you because first, I saw you perform with Sidekick Complex, and second, I would see you at the indie rock shows, and that's my genre.  Then I checked out a couple of your solo sets.  At some point if/when we can all go to shows again, I imagine there are folks who go to the rock shows who also enjoy hip hop, but don't know much about that music community in our town.  Maybe it works the other way as well.  How do you think we can cross-promote so the music community has fewer silos?

I think it’s as easy as “Hey, I like your music. Want to play this show with me?” That’s how I got my first shows and I construct a lot of bills I put together in a similar fashion. I try to attract fans that enjoy a wide spectrum of music and not just one genre so variety is welcome. 

 

3.  What was the first album you can remember buying with your own money?

Mobb Deep, Infamy. I bought it to score a movie I made in high school 

 

4.  What is your creative process like?

For me it always starts with a beat. I hear something, fall in love, and I start writing. It could be production someone sends me, a song I heard on the radio, or even a moment during another artists live performance. I don’t use everything I write. 50% of what I do will never see the light of day or I’m not good enough yet to flush the idea out. 

 

5.  What artists do you consider to be your biggest influences?

Michael Jackson for his showmanship, Prince for his musicianship, Lauryn Hill for her spirit, Amy Winehouse for her ability to channel her pain, Kanye/OutKast for re-popularizing music that wasn’t gangster rap, and Drake for his ability to sum up a lot of these qualities in one hip hop artist. 

 

6.  If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?

I would hope a focus would be placed back on full bodies of work instead of collections of singles. I miss the cohesive journey music used to be about. 

 

7,  How do you intend to keep growing as an artist?

As long as I’m willing to admit there is still room for improvement in my art and I don’t get content with where I’m at I don’t believe I can stop growing as an artist. 

 

8,  I know you've done a ton of studio work over the last couple of years.  If you don't want to give too much away here, that's fine, but what can we expect from TINO in the near future?

The pandemic has afforded me the opportunity to tweak and refine my next work as well as slate some releases before it. I will say my next full length will be the best version of my work to date.

***

Personally, I strongly believe in the album as an art form, and am disappointed at the general listening habits of folks today.  I agree with TINO on this 100%.  Having TINO in the studio for "Anecdote" was a very educational experience for me, as he has a skill set that I do not have, and I was able to learn from his preparation and his approach.  The man is serious about his craft, and it shows in his results.  I linked to his website above, but you can also find TINO on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Please check out "Anecdote" tomorrow on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes, Deezer, or wherever you stream music, and also please check out TINO's work on these platforms.

 

This is what Merriam-Webster says about the word  anecdote:  "a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident"

Let me tell you a short narrative of a biographical incident that is not amusing in any way.

A few years ago my wife and I were coming home from a brief trip to New York.  We ended up flying into Detroit, then renting a car to drive home.  As we were headed South on I-75, we were stopped by the Michigan State Police.  I was not in violation of any traffic laws.  You should know where this is going.  This armed person yelled and screamed at us, succeeded in intimidating my wife by saying we would be charged with "a felony" (which was complete nonsense), and was generally abusive.  I ended up handcuffed, illegally searched, and screamed at even when I complied with instructions.  After sitting for awhile in his vehicle, and upon him discovering that I am not, in fact, a criminal, he tried to get me to say that I understood why he had to stop me and cuff me and search me.  I didn't want any such discussion on his recording, so I remained silent.  Once he ran out of reasons to detain us any longer, he let us go.  No apology.  I asked Misty to get the entire interaction on video from the moment the lights and sirens went on, but she didn't do so.  I thought that armed person was going to shoot me and then excuse it with lies... I was armed, I was on drugs, I tried to take his taser, he feared for his life, I threatened him... as they do, they kill and lie about why they kill.  I tried to explain to Misty afterward that if he shoots me, it's her word against his, and nobody will believe her, so she needs to have these interactions on video to have a basis for a lawsuit.  At any rate, I am convinced that if she wasn't also in the car, I wouldn't be here today.

The above interaction completely ruined my day.  It made me angry, but of course, when you're dealing with an armed racist, you can't afford to be angry.  All of the adrenaline pours into your blood because you are in a true "fight or flight" situation, but either one of those options results in your execution.  Later, you get the shakes. I'm a songwriter, and that's how I process emotions and such, so the skeleton of what would eventually become "Anecdote" started that very day, still on I-75, still driving toward home.  It took awhile for me to edit and distill all of the above paragraph into a package that would fit neatly into a song, but it didn't feel complete.

Then I heard an interview that TINO did with Gem City Podcast.  I think it was this episode. He told one of his personal experiences with "driving while black", and I thought to myself that his story and his skill set would be the perfect addition to this song.  I reached out.  He agreed to come rap on my song.  

What we have now is a cross-genre collaboration called "Anecdote".  We both tell short narratives of a specific biographical incident.

You'll be able to hear this song soon.