[Furnace Fest 2021, photo by me]
What impacted my listening habits the most in 2021? LIVE MUSIC. The return of concerts was huge for me, all fans, all musicians, and the entire music community. I believe music exists primarily to be experienced live. While of course I listen to it primarily at home on my turntable, at work on my computer, and in my car, the experience--key word, experience--of seeing musicians perform their compositions live in concert radically elevates the impact. The communal and downright spiritual component of a live show cannot be replicated through listening to recordings.
Pre-COVID, the last concert I attended had been June of 2019 (Blank Books and Brother Bird in Detroit). Then during COVID, planning for Furnace Fest began, and I knew I had to attend and take part. The festival was inevitably delayed for a full year, but I was fortunate enough to attend in September. And that, along with three other shows this fall, dictated what music, and what kind of music, I listened to most in 2021: heavy stuff. After my 2020 listening was dominated by primarily quiet folk, both prep for Furnace Fest and the experience itself reignited my love for hardcore, punk, metal, etc. You'll see that clearly in the top 20. See my Furnace Fest video recap here, and all my concert photos here.
Next, where does Evermore go? Released digitally on December 11, 2020, I will forever think of it as a "holiday album" as I listened to it incessantly this time last year. But then the vinyl dropped in May of 2021. So, is it my #2 album of 2020 (behind folklore)? Or is it my favorite album of 2021? Currently leaning towards the first option, because of how it is paired with folklore. So while you won't see Taylor Swift in my list below (except under best reissues), for the second year in a row I listened to Taylor Swift WAY more than any other artist. And not just because of folklore and Evermore, but also due to her contributions to Big Red Machine (in my top 20 below), and the spectacular re-recordings and reissues--the "Taylor's Version" of Fearless (April 9, 2021) and Red (November 15, 2021).I put together three best-of playlists recently, two on Apple Music and one on BNDCMPR (the new and only way to compile a playlist of Bandcamp tracks). All three playlists are about an hour long, albeit different thematically. The first playlist I randomly created one night in November, and picked some of the longest and best songs of the year--only took seven songs to fill the hour. I have gravitated towards really long songs my whole life (when I deejayed in college I had a regular feature of shows where we'd only play 6 minute-plus songs, the opposite of what radio typically leans to).
The second playlist is more of a traditional best-of list, and I defaulted towards shorter songs to represent more (18 songs):
And the final is more random and represents some lesser-known and under-represented 2021 releases:
Top 20 albums of 2021:
1. The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die- Illusory Walls
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Listen/buy on BandcampCollaboration and experimentation are two of my most important attributes in music. And this album and band--with no principle songwriter--is a perfect example of that. I was recently listening to a podcast interview with Chris Teti, guitarist in The World is, as he described how Illusory Walls was written. Each member of the band first of all has the ability to present ideas to everyone else, and secondly has the freedom to modify and change ideas that the other members have presented. It is a unique and rare model, the the fruits are awesome.
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on BandcampMiddle Kids is arguably my favorite band of the last few years, right up there with the band next in this list. They dropped Today We’re The Greatest on March 19, which was perfect timing for spring break and summer roads trip with the fam. My middle child watched the YouTube premiere for the video for the song "Questions", and it became maybe her favorite song of the year. This is catchy, pop-rock goodness.
3. Manchester Orchestra- The Million Masks Of God
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Irvine, California
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on BandcampThrice is my favorite post-2000 band. However, everything since 2009's Beggars had been a little disappointing for me. I find the band at their creative peak with The Alchemy Index, and finally, after a decade, Thrice has returned to the experimentation that defined them prior to 2010.
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on band webstoreAs far as music defined by the live experience, Turnstile is the 2021 essential example. While I listened to and enjoyed GLOW ON prior to seeing them at Furnace Fest, that show was next-level. The band, and crowd, was so energetic and having SO MUCH FUN. Here's my video of them playing "Holiday":
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Format purchased: Vinyl (pre-order due to ship in February)
Listen/buy on BandcampHad never even heard of Bent Knee prior to October, but when I saw they were opening for The World Is in Ann Arbor, I began checking out some of their older music. However, nothing would prepare me for what I would experience with their live show--absolutely stunning. While the opening band Gates was strong, and I of course love the headliner, Bent Knee as live performers blew them all away. The show also happened to be the digital album release party for Frosting, and most of the songs played were from it.
Hometown: London, England
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on band webstoreWolf Alice's 3rd album is probably also 3rd in my personal rankings of their full-lengths, but it does show development and front-woman Ellie Roswell can sing far better than I ever realized.
Hometown: Long Island, New York
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Scotland, UK
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Riverside, California
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Glasgow, Scotland
Format purchased: Vinyl
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: New York, New York
Format purchased: Vinyl (due to ship in February 20222)
Listen/buy on BandcampAnother debut comes in next, with the perfect band name for 2020. While I spent most of the year listening to singer-songwriter music, this was the first and best heavy album I got into. It is all over the place stylistically though, and isn't always hard.
Format purchased: Vinyl (see on my Instagram)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Format purchased: Digitial
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
18. Wednesday- Twin Plagues
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
19. Spirit Breaker- Cura Nata
Hometown: Michigan
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on band webstore
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Top 5 EP’s of 2021:
1. This Beautiful Mess- Second Mountain Songs
Hometown: Utrecht, Netherlands
Format purchased: Vinyl, but awaiting shipment from the Netherlands
Listen/buy on BandcampOne of my top 5 releases of 2021 as whole, and I was able to interview Arjen van Wijk and Lydia van Maurik over Zoom in January in a feature I published in July to correspond with the release fo the EP.
2. Natalie Schepman- Fresh Water in an Empty Vase
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Format purchased: Digital
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (weird to type that instead of Seattle, but as long as he has lived there, I guess true?)
Listen/buy on Bandcamp
Top 5 singles of 2021:
Top 10 vinyl reissues of 2021:
Radiohead- KID A MNESIA