2018 - Daaaaaaaamn!

Dear 2018

You have me so confused. Politically you were a mess but in terms of life and music, you were a good yearfriend. I know I just left you for 2019 but I did make you a mixtape (okay, it's a Spotify playlist. Whatever. Just click here) and tried to draw you a note to remember some of the great times we had together.

2018!

Now, 2018 I don't want you to think I'm downplaying how great your music was but it seems like in times of a crappy political/world environment music just gets better. With that, I made this Spotify playlist for you (and others) that includes my favorites, covers and honorable mentions.

So 2018, in case you don't have Spotify or just want to hear more of my opinions, I've spelled it out a bit more for you. It's much more than I've written to other years because you were so special.

Best Song Title from a 5-Year-Old Song That I Just Discovered and Love

Please Don't Tell My Father That I Used His 1996 Honda Accord to Destroy The Town of Willow Grove Pennsylvania in 2002 - Pet Symmetry

Top 20 things in music this year for me....even if they weren't from this year (with links to videos in each...that's why they're a different color :))

20) Elvis in the Freezer (single) - Ratboys
19) Elastic (single) - Joey Purp
18) BOOGIE, 1999 WILDFIRE, and SAN MARCOS (singles) - BROCKHAMPTON
17) Let's Talk About Your Hair (single) - Have Mercy
16) They Move on Tracks of Neverending Light (single) - This Will Destroy You
15) Hey Mama and Say it Louder (singles) - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
14) Head Full of Bees (single) - Raquet Club
13) Feels Great (single) - Cheat Codes feat Fetty Wap
12) It's the Rest of the World that Looks So Small (play) - Flying V Productions. Play made up of all Jonathan Coulton songs
11) Coming in Hot (single) - Andy Mineo

Hey 2018, you did provide some guilty pleasures so I've broken up the top 20 countdown with the yearly MMMBop Guilty Pleasure Award (3-way tie)

The Middle - Zedd

Balenciaga - Cheat Codes

I Like Me Better - Lauv

....and your Best covers

Best Covers


Best musical performances by my kids
Hard to rank because each one slays me but....

Zack has progressed so far as a public performer. Here is his latest voice recital and his guitar and music production skills are going to serve him well when he goes away to college next year and joins a band :) He impresses me more and more every day

Becca always brings it - whether it's Dorothy in Wizard of Oz earlier this year or top of her lungs in the shower that can be heard throughout the house. Here is one from April where she won a local competition...and another one from a voice recital here. Look out Broadway!

Pete only sings when he thinks no one is listening and even though he's good, it seems no amount of cajoling from the other two can get him to join choir.

Okay, back to the Top 10 and I've made it easier to watch these videos. Definitely (re)watch the Childish Gambino/Atlanta ones. 

10)4 songs by Micheal Cera Palin (I love this band name) - Portrait of a Man on a Couch with Cats; Go Home. Play Music, Feel Better; Laughing Makes it Worse; Mystery

9) Her and Cigarettes (single) - Cheap Girls

8) Twins Twist and Don't Feel like Dancing (singles) - The Sidekicks




 7) Ye (album) /Lift Yourself (single) /Daytona (Pusha T album)/4th Dimension (Kids See Ghosts single) - Kanye West (by himself, producing). Kanye continues to astound musically.....





.....but he confounds politically. Given his Trump tweets there is another thing that is true

6) Twin Fantasy (album) - Car Seat Headrest. Solid all the way through

5) Skylight (album) - Pinegrove Can't. Stop. Listening.

5) This is America (single/video) - Childish Gambino. If you watch no other videos (and for some reason have not seen this as of yet) watch this one. Very Powerful. Also Atlanta (show) season 2 was so varied and layered that I have seen nothing like it on TV ever.



4 (tie) Foo Fighters Concert - Never seen them before. Def have to see them again



4 (tie) Clarksdale, MS As part of our attempt to go to all the states Wendy and I went to Clarksdale Mississippi and it was amazing. 

It's the crossroads of the blues with amazing places like the Shack Up Inn which looks like Disneyland rustic as well as the Blueberry Cafe where we saw blues at brunch. Some pics of the venue and rest of the trip here

At the brunch a guy comes in wearing a fedora hat and starts to dance (terribly) and jam on bongos with the band impromptu (even worse - check it and the MS ambiance out here) and then grabs the mic. He turns out to be an artist named Watermelon Slim who has many records and was amazing. Check out a snippet of him on the harmonica here


3) Mom Jeans/Just Friends/Retirement Party at DC9 (show)
I can't find any video from this show but all bands were killer. Here is Mom Jeans from the same tour. Great albums from all too!




2) Somewhat Literate (album and show at our house!) - Retirement Party
We got to see this band twice this year. The first time was when their gig fell through and we offered to host. Local band Bluewreck ripped it open and we had 40-50 people show up including those coming from hours away on a Monday in the burbs. Band is a great group of people with the best, most relate-able and musically impressive album this year. Am so happy to play a small part in supporting them and see their success growing.

 





1) Zack's Playlist - For Father's Day this year Zack made me a playlist of songs he thought I would like. I have such pride and happiness from this. It is something I would have done and while I feel I have strongly influenced his musical taste, he has grown to such a point that we are just trading recommendations all the time. Many things on this list are from him.  I can't tell you what this means to me. 

So 2018, I'm leaving you and your great events. Even looking at this pic Zack took of the concert at the house I have to go.

2018, it's been real. I will sign off with Honorable Mentions

Andy