Each year, I put together a mix of songs which resonated most with me, new or old. Find that playlist below via Spotify, as well as some quick words on the selections.
Sidney Gish – “Filming School”: A volley against the kind of pretension to which I’m prone, and which I’m glad was not reinforced by a formal education. Simple, vital questions on the purpose of media consumption, as a means for self-edification versus a common ground on which to relate: “What’s worth watching? What’s worth stopping? What’s just boring?”
Andy Shauf – “Don’t Let It Get To You”: Saskatchewan’s great songwriting talent, Andy Shauf, put out Norm early this year, an album I related deeply to while feeling as if I shouldn’t. Here, he understands it’s easier said than done.
Fleet Foxes – “Montezuma”: Seeing Robin Pecknold and his band play this at Edmonton Folk Fest this year is probably the most emotional I’ve ever felt at a concert. I am not yet older than my mother and father when they had their daughter, but I’m getting distressingly close. A futile grasping at both the future and the past.
Black Country, New Road – “Laughing Song”: This track, from the band’s excellent live album of new material from this year, echoes the same question as “Montezuma”: “What does that (i.e. all the difficult, indecipherable parts of ourselves) say?” A tough listen for me.
Carissa’s Wierd – “They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave”: The title deviates from the lyrics, substituting ‘when’ for ‘if,’ in what could be described either as hope or delusion. I think about Carissa’s Wierd as the most juvenile music I listen to, and not in a bad way. Sometimes a hit of angst is what you need.
Sunset Rubdown- “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)”: This Spencer Krug side project is a long-ago favourite, and I jumped at the chance to see them in Calgary on a reunion tour of sorts. This song was the highlight, especially the beautiful days/weeks/months/years melody toward the end. I’ve repeatedly gone back to this early acoustic performance, which maintains the song’s power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcLtto4vOII
Neko Case- “This Tornado Loves You”: On the shortlist for greatest vocal performances of all time. I love that the momentum from the first note carries it through, into this explosion of yearning.
The Beths – “Expert in a Dying Field”: Devastating, whether considered on the literal or the metaphorical level.
Joyce Manor – “Catalina Fight Song”: I saw Joyce Manor live for a second consecutive year, which I still can’t believe. Such specific, evocative songwriting, and I think I’d feel that way even if I hadn’t worked at Target as a disaffected teenager.
The Wrens – “She Sends Kisses”: Also somehow evocative, despite having never stepped foot in New Jersey (and, God willing, I never will). The platonic ideal of heart-on-one’s-sleeve emo.
The Hold Steady- “Girls Like Status”: Not sure I agree with the main thesis of this song, which I’d classify as a mid-tier Craig Finn anthem. But that outro, where, in 2006, he recognizes the immense power of John Darnielle’s most enduring cut released one year earlier, gets at something universal. “It was song number three on John’s last CD/’I’m going to make it through this year if it kills me’/And it almost killed me.” I doubt I’ll ever again meet a new year without that ringing through my head as well.
The Fiery Furnaces – “Turning Round”: I think The Fiery Furnaces have a reputation of being enigmatic if not completely inscrutable, which I’ve never found fair. The Friedbergers’ ear for melody is excellent, each song packed with so many ideas and motifs but refusing to linger on anything for too long. And though the more involved cuts are deeply rewarding to dig through, it’s this simple, plaintive piano line that most often echoes through my head.
Das Racist – “Rainbow in the Dark”: Went to a White Castle in Cincinnati with my friends this September. I unironically think this is a contender for the best rap track ever written.
Pavement – “Kennel District”: We went to Cincinnati for The National’s Homecoming festival, which was excellent. The highlight for me was seeing Pavement on the second night, as one of those bands I never thought I’d get the chance to see. Might be my favourite set I’ve ever watched. “Kennel District” has emerged as a favourite, tapping into their poppier tendencies and featuring the band’s best chorus.
Guided By Voices – “Always Crush Me”: Had a lot of GBV in my late-year rotation. Their catalog is endlessly rewarding, and this one really stuck with me as I mainlined Alien Lanes.
TV Girl – “Not Allowed”: Scratch what I said above — TV Girl is the most juvenile music I listen to, and this time I think I do mean that in a bad way. But I love this.
Alex G – “Sarah”: I still don’t entirely ‘get’ Alex G, but wow, does this one ever hit. “Sarah runs to feel the burning in her lungs” is such a great lyric.
Alvvays – “Lottery Noises”: Blue Rev was my favourite album of last year, and I spent a lot of time with it on repeat this year too. I think it’s a flawless record, and it’s tough to pick one cut from it. I love the opening and closing tracks best, and I chose “Pharmacist” last year. “Lottery Noises” places me into a headspace which I find very difficult to access, which is shifting my focus toward gratefulness for what I have and away from fixations on what I do not. The Serenity Prayer, though, as I told my therapist late in the year, I’m not sure serenity is ever in the cards for me. But I know I am very, very lucky.
Yo La Tengo – “Miles Away”: The closest thing I felt to serenity this year was at Alena’s grandparents’ Vancouver Island property, sitting on a dock and listening to Yo La Tengo’s new album, drifting in and out of sleep. “Miles Away” has a dreamy quality I find otherworldly, and transporting. The repeated, wordless Georgia Hubley melody is beautiful.