I almost didn’t make a post here, since I listened to very little new music this year, but I always tell my students that they can use their failures (of imagination, of nerve, of research) as fodder for writing, so I’m trying to do the same. In the absence of anything satisfying or staying that came out recently, I listened to these older records instead, some of them fairly obsessively.
Toad the Wet Sprocket
Dulcinea (1994)
Apart from their radio singles in the 90’s I never got into Toad. My brother did a bit, and I always kind of thought of them as one of his bands (we overlapped significantly, but each had a couple that were just ours). I don’t remember why I turned this on early in 2023, but I did and was caught immediately. I’ve played in every couple of weeks since January. It’s rare that I missed a significant album from the 90’s, having had my finger directly on the musical pulse of that time, but I’m glad to be making up for this one now.
The Violet Burning
S/T (1996)
Here’s another one I sort-of listened to in the 90’s, but I think I never had a copy of the CD, and this was during the time when such things were prohibitive. They were certainly part of my scene, but I never quite caught on. This band is edgy like crazy, and dark, but also huge; not anthemic, but storm-like. Had I paid more attention then, this would’ve been one of my favorite records ever. Now, I hear it tinged with a bit of regret.
Bon Voyage
The Right Amount (2002)
I’m a sucker for Bon Voyage, as I am generally for Martin brothers’ projects (hello, Pony Express!) and things involving Andy Prickett, but I didn’t get to this one, having figured their debut was a sort-of one-off side project. A few years ago, I played that self-titled all year, and played it for my wife who couldn’t believe it was from 20 years ago. This one is sweeter somehow, less grungy, but it still swings. Why do I always picture Quinten Tarantino vibes when this is on? It’s period music, but what period? Noir?
John Van Deusen
Every Power Wide Awake (2017)
This was just me going into the back-catalog of one of my favorite artists of last year, and it’s the most recent thing I cared about musically this year. I can listen to these Origami records all the time, with their huge range of musical styles and challenging lyrics. It helps that he’s become my daughter’s favorite singer too, our soundtrack to drives to school.
Miss Angie
100 Million Eyeballs (1997)
How did I come upon this record in the Year of Our Lord 2023? I vaguely recall seeing the cover before; someone in college must have had it, back when it was a normal thing to walk into someone’s dorm room and start perusing their CD collection. I played it on a whim, likely looking for something else the kids would like to hear on the way to school, something bubble-gum and bouncy and not gross. Nailed it! Miss Angie sounds a bit like Hole, a bit like Garbage, but most like Verruca Salt. It’s a very strange combination though, and an intentional one, I think: the lyrics are rather theologically-inflected (none of this Plumb/Sarah Marsden casual association with “heaven,” no “is this about a boy or about Jesus?” nonsense). Some songs are just straight verses from John the Revelator, but—here’s were it gets awkward—they’re delivered in this syrupy, playful sexuality that’s…umm…awesome. I mean, her voice and mode of delivery are the sexiest thing since Mazzy Star. Super Hot church-lady music with great mixing and punchy guitars. That’s what I’m listening to.
…and that’s pretty much it. Not too many records and none of them from the current year. I have a list like this for every year since 1986 and this is the first time that’s the case. I don’t know if it’s because the move away from albums and toward singles is now more or less complete, or if I have just now reached that age whereat people start feeling music isn’t being made for them—why for instance there was that whole generation who listened to 50’s music in the 70’s, or to 70’s music in the 90’s. Maybe 2024 will be a great one for music and I’ll get right back on the train, but even if I am waylaid at the station for now, it has been good to spend the interim with these records for company.