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| Spanish Love Songs (photo by Alan Snodgrass) |
Here's the list of old Ape's favorite things he heard for the first time in 2020. Is someone speaking about himself in third person? Yes, it's been a tough year. Maybe it's time for a little forgiveness and compassion. This monkey uncle only had one drink all year, but faithfully took his antidepressants every day. He also bought a metric fuckton of music. So here you go. In no particular order. Let's do it. OK.
I'm fairly certain I ordered tapes from these guys a few months ago, but I'm oddly disaffected by not having received them yet. The sound of the basement, the stink of sweat, the taste of electrical charge; it's what I'm always seeking in my DIY music...it's what I pick up here. Fuckin' Prince Edward Island, y'all. Must be something in the water.
NØ MAN - "ERASE"
My favorite Majority Rule songs are on their split with Pageninetynine. So when the old lineup got together with a new vocalist (who did guest vox on that split) and started NØ MAN a few years back, of course I paid attention. "ERASE" has such a power to it, like the best crust and D-beat records. But it's the defiance spirit present throughout that I keep coming back to. It's an inspiriation I revisit every day I feel hopeless or small or impotent in the face of the world.
The Comes - "No Side"
SOUL GLO - collected works
101 Strings - "Astro-Sounds From Beyond The Year 2000"
Bob Vylan - "We Live Here"
Osanna - "Milano Calibro 9"
Basic Dicks - "Sick Sad Dicks"
William Onyeabor - "Who Is William Onyeabor?"
What's weird about this one is how many times I came across it in the wild over the years, and thought it was some outsider Christian music that David Byrne compiled and reissued. Obviously, I was so very wrong. The bummer comes in knowing I could have snagged a copy for less back then, and that I had to spend full price to get one this year. It's Nigerian funk from the late 70s through the mid 80s, and it's arguably better and more danceable than anything Prince has ever made (fight me!).
La Vida Es Un Mus reissued this crucial 1983 Japanese hardcore record the week after my birthday last year, but I didn't lay mitts on it until early this year. I've really tried to do a deep dive into late 70s - mid 80s JP punk/HC this year, and this is definitely my favorite new discovery. I'm really hoping that someone like Bitter Lake ends up getting the rights to their 1986 mini-album, "Power Never Die", or either of vocalist Chitose's post-Comes projects, Virgin Rocks and the Wretched.
Wire - "I Am The Fly" b/w "Ex-Lion Tamer"
If it's the goal of authority to eliminate dissent, then I want to be the fly in the ointment.
Fraykers Revenger - "Blacksploitation Style Funk From The Library" Vol. 1-5
This series came through one of the many blogs I follow (tho I forget which one), and, as someone who's loved the music of black action cinema since he was a kid, I had to download it. While the downloads were long on content, they were short on context, so I still have no clue if this is actual library music from the 70s, or something a mega fan cooked up at home by themself. Regardless, it's really excellent funk that I was stoked to turn up. These tracks will end up a fair amount of my mixes going forward.
FUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHCCCCCKKKKKKK! It blows my mind how good these guys are. The first show I go to if shows happen again will be SOUL GLO. Hell, they're one of the many reasons I'm thinking about moving back to the East Coast; I'll have a better chance of seeing them locally. They exceed every bit of hype that's popped up. Their live set at WKDU, their new 12", their back catalog: it's all great.
Manuela Iwansson - "Strangers On A Train" and "Blank Surface"
Noteworthy if only because it got me writing again.
No Note - "If this is the future then i'm in the dark"
I'm not sure what the initial reason was for downloading this; maybe it was because it was from Baltimore, one of the tags on Bandcamp was "sass", and they recorded in the same place my last band did. I have no clue. It's just a bold, damaged, post hardcore record from a band that played one show. And if that ain't art, I don't know what is.
Fiona Apple - "Fetch The Bolt Cutters"
Is this the quarantine record of the year? I'd argue it's one of the best hip-hop records of 2020. Due to my Ms. Fiona biases, she could have farted on a snare drum for 60 minutes and I would have preordered it as soon as it was announced.
Think of how many 101 Strings records you have to go through before you find the actual good ones. If there was ever a reason to keep digging through the bins at Goodwill, looking at every piece of beater vinyl, it's that you might turn this one up. It's Esquivelian space age MOR genius. I'll probably post it in the new year.
Run The Jewels - "RTJ4"
I feel like I've read a lot of reviews where critics have been all, blah, blah, blah, it's not as good as their other records. But this is the one I haven't been able to put down. "Walking In The Snow" is an amazing protest song. It's capturing the anger I've felt all year at my government and at big business.
Coriky - "Coriky"
The punks are getting older. But the best of us are still angry prophets, and Coriky is a three-person Elijah, bringing down fire and demanding we account for our sins.
Special Interest - "The Passion Of"
You've already read the reviews, I'm sure, reader. And this blog is starting to drag a bit. I will say this is one of the sexier records I bought this year; not quite Sade-level, but definitely enough to raise my pulse and get me tingly.
Another outstanding angry record from 2020, this time combining London grime with modern metalcore. It's not quite as musically progressive as SOUL GLO, but it hits like the first time a kid hears Rage Against The Machine, or the Clash, or Public Enemy.
Worriers - "You Or Someone You Know"
I remain a bit fan of Lauren Dinetzio, and it surprises me that "You Or Someone You Know" didn't get a bit more love this year. Was it because it came out as COVID-19's first wave as cresting? Did Jeff Rosenstock suck up all the attention for smart punk pop this year? The lyrics here are heartbreaking and really embody a lot of the anxiety I felt this year, so, yeah, I'm in love with this record. Plus...Mikey Erg on drums...of course it's great.
Jeff Rosenstock - "NO DREAM"
Another punk who made a pretty amazing record this year. Unlike Worriers, I've listened to this one out of sequence and in fits and starts, but every song, when it comes on, reminds me of being a kid and having a song on the radio grab me by the collar and force me to pay attention to it, singing along and hoping that the DJ will tell me just who this is when the song is over.
various - "Habibi Funk 014: Solidarity With Beirut"
A German label, focused on Arabic music from the 70s and 80s, picking through their collection to benefit the survivors of the August explosion in Beirut. It's a pretty great sampler of music I've avoided for its spirituality in the past. Yet here I am, digging in, and digging it.
I picked up a pair of Fernando Di Leo box sets from the folks at Raro Video US earlier this year, because they were 50% off SRP, I had a bit of fuck around money, and I really wanted to dive into the world of Eurocrime in earnest. Di Leo's 1972 poliziotteschi "Milano calibro 9" was the first disc in the first set, and from minute one, I was hooked because of the score. Argentine/Italian film composer Luis Bacalov ("Django", "The Grand Duel") collaborated with prog rock band Osanna for their second record, "Preludio Tema Variazioni Canzona", with was released here as "Milano Calibro 9". It's a pulsing score, like an Italian counterpart to Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" album. If you've never heard it before, check it out.
Silent Era - "Rotate The Mirror"
I'm not sure how I ended up with "buy random records" money this year, but at some point I decided to preorder this from Nervous Intent, and it was a really good pickup. Oakland-based (as so many good things are), hardcore with NWOBM and post-punk influences, female vocals, and it's got some of my favorite cover art and vinyl coloring of the year.
"Lo-fi feminist weirdo punx". It's the mad lib that will pique my interest every single time. "Covers of Void and Madonna". Well, I just went from half mast to full chub. "Daria"-influenced cover art? That's just the cherry on top of this tasty sundae.
All Men - "Men And Their Work"
There's a palatable sense of relief when old friends start new bands and it exceeds your expectations. All Men is seriously great post punk outta Portland, released by one of the best labels in the game, Iron Lung, and earning every bit of praise it's received. It's jittery and brash and I really want to watch it live and shake like I touched the third rail.
Gaffer - "DEMO"
Western Australia's answer to the Angelic Upstarts, except faster? I wish it wouldn't have cost $20 to get a tape from these dudes.
Spanish Love Songs - "Brave Faces Everyone"
This is the record I've gotten into most recently, thanks to it being Sophie's Floorboard's top record of 2020. Kevin likened them to the Menzingers and Captain, We're Sinking, two bands I really dig. I think SLS is a step above those two...maybe approaching Jawbreaker-status with their blend of powerful playing and iconoclastic vocals. This is one I'll be playing a lot into 2021, and more than likely beyond.
Y'all still reading? Go home. This blog is over!
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