Hi Jay! Thank you, as always, for your musical/cultural recommendations; I recall learning about the existence of NTS Radio from a twitter post of yours in 2020, which was life-changing (I've listened to it near-daily since; btw, I'm @elixirdc over there).
It occurred to me to share my Best Music of 2023 list, in case you are interested, which includes my picks for the top 20 albums this year, and my top picks for NTS sets this year. (I listened to and saved 465 NTS sets and honed that down to 64 of the best sets (presented in my list below), along with my top 10 "must hear" sets (noted by asterisk).) I also listened to or sampled hundreds of albums featured by Allmusic, reviewed by Pitchfork, and/or included on numerous year-end best music lists. My best album list comprises the very best 20 of those, to my taste/ear.
Tirzah's "trip9love...???" is my pick for the best album of 2023. As a side note: Tirzah's 2018 album "Devotion" was my pick for best album of that year.
Other notables: the most fun album this year was Pearl and the Oysters' "Coast 2 Coast", with its whimsical French indiepop; the smoothest album this year was Eddie Chacon's "Sundown", bathed in and reflecting the Mediterranean island sounds that inspired it; the most unique album this year was Ragana's "Desolation's Flower"; I've never heard anything like it, and the fact that it is as raw as it is while also being as listenable as it is, is an accomplishment.
The Veldt's "Illuminated 1989" and Arthur Russell's "Picture of Bunny Rabbit" were my picks for the best archival releases this year--a great lost proto-shoegaze masterwork, and a wonderful setpiece from the genius of the 80s NYC disco underground.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year!
Tis the season for finding those gems you missed during the year. I'm trying to catch back up and have been floored by Country Life in America.
https://charliekaplan.bandcamp.com/album/country-life-in-america
Hi Jay! Thank you, as always, for your musical/cultural recommendations; I recall learning about the existence of NTS Radio from a twitter post of yours in 2020, which was life-changing (I've listened to it near-daily since; btw, I'm @elixirdc over there).
It occurred to me to share my Best Music of 2023 list, in case you are interested, which includes my picks for the top 20 albums this year, and my top picks for NTS sets this year. (I listened to and saved 465 NTS sets and honed that down to 64 of the best sets (presented in my list below), along with my top 10 "must hear" sets (noted by asterisk).) I also listened to or sampled hundreds of albums featured by Allmusic, reviewed by Pitchfork, and/or included on numerous year-end best music lists. My best album list comprises the very best 20 of those, to my taste/ear.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RMQ1S0NxCNQiFBdk-F9A5vBQ2cw6ryuOSHkUTb4fiJw/edit?usp=sharing
Tirzah's "trip9love...???" is my pick for the best album of 2023. As a side note: Tirzah's 2018 album "Devotion" was my pick for best album of that year.
Other notables: the most fun album this year was Pearl and the Oysters' "Coast 2 Coast", with its whimsical French indiepop; the smoothest album this year was Eddie Chacon's "Sundown", bathed in and reflecting the Mediterranean island sounds that inspired it; the most unique album this year was Ragana's "Desolation's Flower"; I've never heard anything like it, and the fact that it is as raw as it is while also being as listenable as it is, is an accomplishment.
The Veldt's "Illuminated 1989" and Arthur Russell's "Picture of Bunny Rabbit" were my picks for the best archival releases this year--a great lost proto-shoegaze masterwork, and a wonderful setpiece from the genius of the 80s NYC disco underground.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season, and a happy new year!
Shawn Sprague
sprague.shawn@gmail.com