Best of 2024

2024 was a year in which the majority of my listening was dominated by 90's bands who are still active and/or back, yet my favorite albums are from newer, younger artists. As I recently shared on Instagram, Sixpence None the Richer was my most-listened to artist of the year, as in addition to their new EP I spent significant time with their discography. Not far behind in my listening was Stay Inside, who I discovered during peak COVID and then in this year released their best work, a masterpiece.

I once again prioritized experience over stuff in 2024, and in the case of music, going to shows over buying records. I entered 2024 with a Furnace Fest ticket but ultimately sold it due to frustration with the line-up. I then shifted my plans to Best Friends Forever Fest in Vegas, buying a ticket and making travel plans, but ultimately had to cancel those to my cross country coaching. Fall festivals are probably out for me moving forward.

 

I thankfully discovered a local summer festival, Pugfest in Ferndale, which I became aware of as Stay Inside was slated to play. Stay Inside sadly had to cancel due to illness, yet I went to all three days of Pugfest anyway, discovering the DIY scene and tons of great local bands--it really opened me up to a whole new world of music. My favorite show and band of Pugfest was Riot Course (seen at 1:55 in the video). They sadly haven't put out any new music since 2022, but I am optimistic it is coming in 2025.

Outside of Pugfest, I went to 9 other shows this year in three different states. I ranked my top 5 below, but I will mention one here that doesn't make the list: Mates of State. Was so good to see them again after 15 years, and they have a new single out, with a new album on the way and more touring in 2025!

My least favorite trend of 2024 is short albums. The number of albums released in 2024 that have less than 10 songs and less than 40 minutes of music feels like the highest it has been in decades. I'll admit my perspective is skewed, but having grown up on CDs when albums got longer and longer, it is hard for me to accept an "LP" that is less than 10 songs and/or 40 minutes of music. Part of this is that I love to experience an album, and experience it for awhile. Hard for me to do that when it is over in 30-something minutes.

Short pop songs are definitely a thing right now, and artists across the spectrum seem to have average shorter song lengths than they did a few years ago. But I otherwise feel that the popularity of vinyl is leading artists to once again record albums with the single-12" 33 rpm in mind as they did in the 60's and 70's. As vinyl production costs rise, it seems more bands are trying to keep an album to single, rather than double LP. And that doesn't mean they are writing shorter songs necessarily, it means they are including less songs in their releases. Anyway, here are examples from this year:

Stay Inside: 9 tracks, 32 minutes
The Forecast: 8 tracks, 24 minutes
Luxury: 9 tracks, 37 minutes
Gemma Hayes: 9 tracks, 36 minutes
Starflyer 59: 8 tracks, 37 minutes

Stay Inside I clearly didn't ultimately have a problem with considering where I rank it below, but it does keep me longing for more. The Forecast calls their 2024 release an album, but clearly it is an EP. 8 songs I guess is considered an LP? But whatever. The first track is an intro, and this "album" is shorter than many EPs.

The other three mentioned here: Luxury, Starflyer 59, and Gemma Hayes all feel short and incomplete to me. These are prolific artists who have been around decades, so it's not as if a lack of songs is the problem. So the decision to keep it short is intentional, and I don't like it. Jason Martin started making short Starflyer albums about 5 years ago, but this is a first for Luxury and Gemma Hayes.

Like last year, I made two playlists, each CD length. Disc 1 is on Apple Music, and Disc 2 is on BNDCMPR (no account needed). BNDCMPR can be finicky so I recommend the direct link but one should be able to stream here directly depending on your device and browser.

 

 

Top 20 albums of 2024:

1. Stay Inside - Ferried Away
New York
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

2. Circus Trees - This makes me sad, and I miss you
Marlborough, Massachusetts
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

3. Middle Kids - Faith Crisis Pt 1
Sydney, Australia
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

4. Luxury - Like Unto Lambs
Georgia
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

5. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
Kansas City, Missouri
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

6. Mindy Smith - Quiet Town
Nashville, Tennessee
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

7. A Place For Owls - How We Dig In the Earth
Denver, Colorado
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

8. My Epic - Loriella
Charlotte, North Carolina

9. Pedro the Lion - Santa Cruz
Seattle, Washington
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

10. Starflyer 59 - Lust for Gold
California
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

11. Gemma Hayes - Blind Faith
Ireland

12. Brother Bird - Another Year
Nashville, Tennessee
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

13. Norah Jones - Visions
New York

14. Jayne Sugg - Belief is Hard
New York

15. Balance and Composure - With You In Spirit
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

16. Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei
Chicago, Illinois

17. Barely Civil - I'd Say I'm Not Fine
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

18. Snarls - With Love
Columbus, Ohio
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

19. The Innocence Mission- Midwinter Swimmers
Pennsylvania
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

20. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department
West Reading, Pennsylvania

Top 5 EPs of 2024:

1. Sixpence None the Richer - Rosemary Hill
New Braunfels, Texas
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

2. Cusp - Thanks So Much
Chicago, Illinois
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

3. The Forecast - Good Journey
Peoria, Illinois

4. Stretch Arm Strong - The Revealing
Columbia, South Carolina
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

5. Half-Life Souvenir- half​-​life souvenir (ep1)
Seattle, Washington
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

Top 5 singles of 2024:

1. Sunny Day Real Estate - "Novum Vetus"
Seattle, Washington

2. Blue Deputy - "Cypress"
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

3. Mates of State- "Somewhere"
Connecticut
Watch/listen on YouTube

4. Bully - "Atom Bomb"
Nashville, Tennessee
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

5. Katie Malco and Laura Stevenson - "Fatal Attraction"
Northampton, England
Buy/listen on Bandcamp

Top 5 shows I attended in 2024:

1. Sunny Day Real Estate 
Video I shot

Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, Michigan, September 26, 2024

2. The Beths
Video I shot

Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, Michigan, August 28, 2024

3. Middle Kids
Video I shot

A&R Music Bar, Columbus, Ohio, USA, June 24, 2024

4. Brutus
Video I shot

The Magic Bag, Ferndale, Michigan, September 23, 2024

5. Sixpence None the Richer
Video I shot

The Ark, Ann Arbor, Michigan, October 24, 2024

Sixpence is BACK

Photo by me October 24, 2024

This post is long overdue, but Sixpence None the Richer is back (!!!) and quite honestly the most active they have been as a band since the year of Divine Discontent's release more than two decades ago. What has been wild about Sixpence's resurgence is that I have personally been involved. 🤯 And seeing them perform live for the first time in 22 years this week inspired me to write.

I mostly "blog" through Instagram now, but I felt I should take the time to come back here to write more about Sixpence--as this is where it all began. I'll conclude this post by attempting to pull together links to everything I have ever written about Sixpence.

But recently I wildly had the opportunity to write Sixpence's new official 2024 bio, centered around the release of their new EP, Rosemary Hill. You can read the full bio here. It was a blast to get to interview Matt, Leigh, Dale, and Justin over the summer, and I also had the opportunity to listen to the new EP a few months early--which was actually hard because I couldn't talk about it with anyone.

Back in 2023 Matt and Leigh connected me to Curb Records to write the liner notes for the 25th Anniversary vinyl reissue of the self-titled album that was released earlier this year. You'll have to buy a copy of the record to read them, or try to make them out in the photos on Discogs!

 
(video I shot at the Ann Arbor show)

Setlist from the October 24, 2024 show at The Ark in Ann Arbor:

1. Angeltread
2. Within a Room Somewhere
3. Thread the Needle
4. Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House cover)
5. The Tide
6. Rosemary Hill
7. Midnight Sun (The Choir cover)
8. Don't Let Me Die in Dallas (Leigh Nash song)
9. River (Joni Mitchell cover)
10. Melody of You
11. Homeland
12. Down and Out of Time
13. Julia
14. There She Goes (The La’s cover)
15. Kiss Me
16. We Are Love

Encore:
17. Tension Is a Passing Note
18. Breathe Your Name

The show was fantastic and rocking. The Ark is a small venue, best-suited for folk music. So it seemed a little out of place for a loud rock show to be in a tiny seated venue--I wanted to stand up and move! The only other show I have seen there was an Over the Rhine Christmas performance a few years back. The crowd was great and into it. Also, with the expectation that most of the crowd would be around my age and the age of the band members, it was surprising and refreshing to see so many younger people. As it was in Ann Arbor, there were many teens and twenty-somethings I assumed to be University of Michigan students.

I had actually not seen Sixpence None the Richer perform since Cornerstone Festival 2002. I was in the right place at the right time for the second half of the 90's and did see them a dozen times or more from 1995 until then. I first saw them in Birmingham in November 1995, and then in 1997 alone I saw them at least 6 times. I am fairly certain I was present for the first live performance of "Kiss Me" and the rest of the self-titled album as Sixpence showcased those new songs at Jammin Java, Franklin, Tennessee on February 1, 1997.

When I first read early versions of this setlist when the tour began a few weeks back, while pumped about the opening This Beautiful Mess songs, I was otherwise underwhelmed and a tiny bit irritated. Specifically, I have mixed feelings about the covers, and four covers seemed a bit much considering how deep and fantastic the band's catalog of original songs is. I do wish Sixpence had never recorded "There She Goes" and "Don't Dream It's Over." The Sixpence version of the first one I think is now more popular than the original, but I wish the second one didn't exist--and I feel if the band stopped playing it, no one would care or notice.

During the experience of the show I found the inclusion of the covers well-done and mostly well-connected to the full set (except for "Don't Dream It's Over"--it felt out of place). The Choir cover makes sense with Steve Hindalong playing with them right now, and it is a badass rock song that I really enjoyed. The Leigh Nash solo song was beautiful and profound as Leigh explained the writing of it about her dad. And the Joni Mitchell cover was a gorgeous surprise, as it was the first time Sixpence has played it on this tour (and seemingly a part of the marketing strategy for the vinyl re-issue of their Christmas album coming next month with two new songs--one of which, "I Believe In Father Christmas" being released as a single yesterday).

The set was well-paced and well-sequenced, and overall I was really into it. Matt's guitar playing was stunning, Leigh sounds great, it is SO GOOD to see Dale drum again, and Justin sounds the best he ever has with more prominent bass lines. Steve Hindalong (who produced the new EP) is in the band for this tour, mostly playing unique percussion, but also at times on acoustic guitar and background vocals. I loved that they played 5 of the 6 songs from the new EP, and the title track and "We are Love" were standouts. The biggest "omission" for me was the self-titled album in general; only "Kiss Me" to represent their most popular album feels really bizarre. Also, while I know Lost in Transition is not as well-loved or known, to not play a single song from it seems strange? 

All that said, this is the set I would recommend Sixpence play this fall, using their actual set as an outline and limiting it to the same 18 song number...

Setlist I think Sixpence should be playing on this tour (songs I added are starred*):

1. Angeltread
2. Love, Salvation, Fear of Death*
3. Within a Room Somewhere
4. Thread the Needle
5. Rosemary Hill
6. Anything*
7. Midnight Sun (The Choir cover)
8. Don't Let Me Die in Dallas (Leigh Nash song)
10. Melody of You
11. Radio*
11. Homeland
12. Down and Out of Time
13. Julia
14. The Lines of My Earth*
15. Kiss Me
16. We Are Love

Encore:
17. Tension Is a Passing Note
18. Love*

Ending with "Love" would be so powerful, especially the version of it with the epic guitar. 

However, the setlist that I feel would be best for all audiences is not really what I would dream to see. My true dream would be seeing a full This Beautiful Mess show, which actually was being planned until COVID killed it. 😭 However, it's not too late! 2025 is the 30th Anniversary! 😉

Outside of an album-focused show, here would be my 18-song set to feature all their best music from throughout their career:

My dream Sixpence setlist (limiting to 18 songs):
1. Angeltread
2. Love, Salvation, Fear of Death
3. Within a Room Somewhere
4. Rosemary Hill
5. Anything
6. The Lines of My Earth
7. Puedo Escribir
8. Down and Out of Time
9. Melody of You
10. A Million Parachutes
11. Paralyzed
12. Sad But True
13. Dresses
14. Radio
15. Don't Pass Me By
16. Meaningless

Encore:
17. We are Love
18. Love

Things I have written about/for Sixpence None the Richer:
2024: Band bio (official)
2023: Liner notes for 25th Anniversary Vinyl reissue of Sixpence None the Richer
2021: Worked on design and layout with Lost in Ohio records for vinyl re-issue of This Beautiful Mess
2017: Essay on the 20th Anniversary of Sixpence None the Richer
2017: Top 25 Sixpence None the Richer songs
2015: Oral History of This Beautiful Mess for it's 20th Anniversary
2015: 20th Anniversary This Beautiful Mess album review
2015: "Love, Salvation, Fear of Death" detailed examination (and how three bass players contributed to the composition of the song)
2015: Leigh Nash interview
2012: "An Open Letter to Sixpence None the Richer", my "viral" blog post that led to my first conversation with Matt and opened the door for future writing.
2010: Strange Conversation, bizarrely the most viewed post in the history of this blog. It is mostly a copied-and-pasted 2010 Sixpence bio (that I did not write) about the album that eventually became Lost in Transition but originally had the name Strange Conversation.
1997: My poorly-written yet intriguing original 1997 review of Sixpence None the Richer when it was released

(If you are reading this and know of other Sixpence things I have written, please let me know!)

Favorites

For those that have read my blog over the years, it will not surprise you that I am a "favorites" person. I have a favorite number (17), a favorite color (purple), a favorite cereal (Fruity Pebbles), a favorite baseball team (Baltimore Orioles), and each year of course I share my favorite top-20 or so albums.

With that being said, it has always been extremely difficult for me to list or share my favorite albums and songs of all time. However, recently I was invited to share my top-10 albums ever, and did for the top10albums Instagram account:

While that was the list I shared at that day and time, it of course changes. All 10 of those albums are in my top 30 or 40 albums ever, but outside of #1, which is locked in, the rest rotate.

Additionally, I have recently created two "Alan's top 100 songs" playlists, one on Apple Music and the other on BNDCMPR. My primary rule was only one song per artist, but I did welcome two creative ventures by the same principal songwriter (Mineral and The Gloria Record for example). Both playlists are totally random order, so not ranked. I have absolutely no idea what my favorite song of all time would be.

The biggest challenge in the Apple Music one is that I use iTunes match, which I like as a whole, but it makes it challenging to know what songs in my library are actually available on Apple Music. For example, when I first made the playlist it had 113 songs on it, but I shared it with a friend, and he only saw 87. There is way more 90's music than I realized that is not on Apple Music. I have recently updated it to where hopefully all Apple Music users see 100 songs like me!

On BNDCMPR, the challenge was to find 100 songs by 100 different artists that were worthy of the list. When I began the list, I was trying to copy the Apple Music list, but the Bandcamp library is SO different. Bandcamp doesn't have much major label or older music, so this playlist is dominated by newer songs. So now my plan is to make changes to both lists so it is 200 different songs. But in the meantime, both are up and public:

Finally, there is a new Sunny Day Real Estate song and it's fantastic! First one since 2014's "Lipton Witch".