Best of 2024 ~ Turn Off the Radio

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.