2024 was a great year for music. Great shows, a ton of new great albums. Here is an accounting of my favorite music and musical moments from the year 2024.
My Ten Favorite Albums of 2023
- Tiger’s Blood by Waxahatchee — This was the album I came back to over and over and over the most all year. 3 Sisters was the song I listened to the most, likely prompted by the live performance as a set opener when I saw them in May. The way the drumroll builds into the second chorus and then the song blooms open like a beautiful flower. It was an electric live moment. (Songs on the album that I like: 3 Sisters, Evil Spawn, Right Back To It, Lone Star Lake)
- Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar — This song was everywhere. The Drake/Kendrick beef was a big story. And this was the song that ended that. No coming back from a disstrack this good. I’m also going to throw GNX in here. It was a late entrant into the album of the year race and has some all time great tracks. (Songs on the album that I like: Squabble Up, Peekaboo)
- Box for Buddy, Box for Star by This is Lorelai— This entire album is impossible to pin down, in the best way possible. From the electronica beats on Perfect Hand to the music box and strings on Where’s Your Love Now to the 50’s country guitar riff in An Extra Beat for You and Me, each song is its own mini-adventure. (Songs on the album that I like: Perfect Hand, Dancing in the Club, Where’s Your Love Now, A Song That Sings About You, An Extra Beat for You and Me)
- Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman — There’s so much to love about this record, but I think I’ll focus on the Lightning McQueen meets Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer fan-fiction in Rudolph. The way he drawls “de-leted-scene-of-lightning-mcqueen” and the distorted drums and then the best guitar solo on the record starting at 1:58 that goes for almost a minute. It is the perfect mess of a bunch of parts that should make no sense together. Which is this album. And it rules. (Songs on the album that I like: Joker Lips, Rudolph, Wristwatch, She’s Leaving You, You Don’t Know The Shape I’m In)
- COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé — TEXAS HOLD ’EM is an all time great song. And it’s not even the best song on the album. That would be 16 CARRIAGES, which is like going to church. What really stands out to me on this album is Beyoncé’s voice. I feel like the whole record is mixed in a way that let’s her amazing voice sit on top of the music and get the spotlight it deserves. (Songs on the album that I like: AMERIICAN REQUIEM, 16 CARRIAGES, TEXAS HOLD ’EM, JOLENE, II MOST WANTED, SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN’, and all the Willie Nelson cameos)
- Romanticism by Hana Vu — I loved the record before I saw her live. I loved the production on Look Alive and Hammer. At the live show, I realized Hana’s voice is deep and rich and full and carries with it so much emotion. When she played 22, the whole package came together for me. (Songs on the album that I like: Look Alive, 22, Hammer)
- Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee — Did I ever listen to the entire thing? Does it even matter? This album would probably be higher if it was easier to listen to, but it’s still so good. (Songs on the album that I like: Just put the album on and let it play, man.)
- Strange Burden by Font — Speaking of songs and albums that are mini-adventures. This one is like a Homeric Odyssey with all the places it goes. And they are local Austinites. (Songs on the album that I like: The Golden Calf, Hey Kekulé, Looking At Engines, It)
- Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker — When I saw Big Thief last year they played Vampire Empire. The song didn’t existing in writing or recording but it was instantly my favorite Big Thief song. I cataloged it in my mind for the next Big Thief album. Too my delight, it came out on a Adrianne Lenker solo record, as a stripped down lo-fi jaunt, that gives “me chills” every time I hear it. (Songs on the album that I like: Sadness As A Gift, Vampire Empire)
- Woodland by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings — The coveted final spot in my top ten goes to a pair of all timers still throwing their fastball almost 30 years in. With so few albums, each one must be cherished. This one makes it really easy to do so. It’s like slipping on your childhood baseball glove that is soft and weathered and molded perfectly to your hand, no matter if you haven’t put it on in years. (Songs on the album that I like: Empty Trainload of Sky, Hashtag, The Day The Mississippi Died)
Other albums / songs / music I loved from 2024:
The Past Is Still Alive by Hurray For The Riff Raff — In a certain moment of the year this would have made the top 10. Buffalo, Colossus of Roads, and Snake Plant are standout songs.
CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler The Creator — Ditto on this album, could’ve been a top 10 in a certain moment. St. Chroma is the perfect opener.
PRUDE by Drug Church — One of a couple harder-core sounding records that I dug this year. Business Ethics has the heaviest bass line and Yankee Trails has some Hold Steady-esque lyrics to it.
Spiral In A Straight Line by Touche Amoré— Another of those hard core records that hit the spot. Nobody’s and Goodbye For Now are the jams.
Oolong by Oolong— The song Runtz sounds like if Chris Conley from Saves The Day was singing with a sped up Sunny Day Real Estate. I’m happy to report Emo isn’t dead.
Recusitate! by Bill Callahan — A mix of reimagined Smog and Bill Callahan songs that just works so well as a live album. Keep Some Steady Friends Around and Drover stand out to me.
Weird Faith by Madi Diaz — This one caught me by surprise. It seems like a straightforward singer-songwriter Americana record and then you start hearing the heaviest lyrics — like the extremely confessional Get to Know Me or the slow waltz through the heaviness with Kacey Musgraves on Don’t Do Me Good.
All Born Screaming by St. Vincent— 17 years and 8 albums later, St Vincent is till making rad songs. Check out Broken Man, Violent Times, and Sweetest Fruit.
Bells and Whistles by Bright Eyes — The song grabbed me on the first listen and didn’t let up. It’s a four minute jangly romp, highlighted by the way the music comes blasting back in during the lines “Secondhand amps, a bent up crash, The band sounds like an animal”
The Dreamer by A Country Western — There’s a playlist floating out there of songs that sound like The Beatles but aren’t by The Beatles, like Mr Blue Sky by ELO. This song by A Country Western would be on my “Not Wilco but Wilco” playlist.
Missing Out by Maya Hawke — I guess somewhere between filming Asteroid City and Stranger Things, while also voicing Anxiety for Inside Out 2, someone finds the time to make the most infectious earworm of the year? This song is so good.
Please, Please, Please by Sabrina Carpenter— It feels like the perfect pop song to me.
Dramamine by Middle Kids — I love all the words they rhyme with Dramamine in this song.
Defense by Panda Bear — This song has such a killer beat, driving ahead the entire song. And then the beat becomes the perfect backdrop for a searing Cindy Lee guitar solo.
Concerts I Attended in 2024
This year my list of live shows was a real smorgasbord. My kids started to infiltrate my live music experience. I saw some “nostalgia tours” and did a couple of festival spots. Seeing Young Fathers for the first time was a major highlight of the year. I have loved the band for a long time and they rarely play US shows. And it lived up to my high expectations. Here’s the full list:
Snõõper 3/15/2024 at Cheer Up Charlies during SXSW
Body Meat 3/15/2024 at Cheer Up Charlies during SXSW
Horse Jumper of Love 3/15/2024 at Cheer Up Charlies during SXSW
Symbiote 4/2/2024 at The Ballroom
Hotline TNT 4/2/2024 at The Ballroom
Young Fathers 4/4/2024 at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn
AJR 5/7/2024 at The Moody Center (with the whole family)
Good Morning 5/11/2024 at The Moody Theater
Waxahatchee 5/11/2024 at The Moody Theater
Gracie Abrams 7/30/2024 taping ACL TV
Babebee 8/3/2024 at Mohawk (Indoor)
Hana Vu 8/3/2024 at Mohawk (Indoor)
Smoking Popes 8/24/2024 at Mohawk (Outdoor)
The Get Up Kids 8/24/2024 at Mohawk (Outdoor) (playing Something To Write Home About)
Graham 10/3/2024 at Stubbs (with the older two kids)
Connor Price 10/3/2024 at Stubbs (with the older two kids)
Camilla Cabello 10/9/2024 at Webster Hall in NYC (Spotify party)
Blink-182 10/11/2024 at ACL Festival
Benson Boone 10/12/2024 at ACL Festival (with the whole family)
Dua Lipa 10/12/2024 at ACL Festival (with the whole family)
The National 10/25/2024 at Webster Hall in NYC (Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner acoustic for the New Yorker Festival)
MJ Lenderman 11/19/2024 at The Garage in London
Wilco 12/5/2024 at The Moody Theater (with a different kid each night)
Wilco 12/6/2024 at The Moody Theater (with a different kid each night)
Wilco 12/7/2024 at The Moody Theater (with a different kid each night)
A few more things that inspired me in 2024:
The Lightning Field — in May I made my way out to Quemado, New Mexico, and spent the night in a 100 year old cabin in the middle of the high desert with 4 other strangers, just to be able to see Walter De Maria’s largest piece of art. Sunrise and sunset were surreal.
Eno.—The documentary film by Gary Huswit. I saw it three times in the span of a week. Each time it was a different cut of the film generated by an algorithm on the fly, as is the gimmick of the film. But it’s not a gimmick. It is the soul of the film and captures the subject so perfectly. An inspiring movie and also an inspiring look into the storied career of the perpetually curious Brian Eno.
Robert Longo — I saw this charcoal drawing by Longo at the Broad in LA over the summer. There’s a lot of flashy art in that museum, but this one stopped me. The blackness of the skirt, the twist of the sweater, the mundaneness of the subject matter. Later in the summer a friend shared this short documentary about him. I was really inspired by his confession about seeing the photograph of a wave and then locking himself in his studio for days while he drew it. Oh to have a burst of creative inspiration like that.
The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast — In this podcast they go through every SNL Digital Short one by one and talk about the writing and making of it. I love hearing the stories behind each one. I look forward to the new episodes each week.
James — Yes, the book. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of my all time favorite books. This is the same story from the perspective of Jim. It’s heartbreaking and eye opening.
Oh, Mary! — Yes, a play. I’m not big on musical theater and just so-so on theater in general. But this was really good — so unique, so funny, and a singular performance by Cole Escola.
Polaroid cameras — I scraped together some expired film and brought it along with my two Polaroid cameras to a work gathering. We put all the photos on a table as they developed. Most everyone spent the night gathered around the table, watching the photos appear, talking about them, laughing at them. Turns out there’s something to waiting.
Quarter Sheets — No frills, no pretense, no fuss. Just great ingredients put into a simple menu. The pizzas were memorable. The cake was to die for.
Stockholm archipelago — East of Stockholm is a collection of more than 24,000 islands. I had heard about this place from Swedes for a few years but the way they would talk about it made it seem overhyped. Nope. I spent an early summer day out there and it isdefinitely underhyped. Everyone should summer in the archipelago.
Wrestlemania — My brother-in-law is a lifelong pro wresting fan. He invited me to Wrestlemania 40 in Philly. I am so glad I agreed to it. Being in a stadium with 60,000+ people all enthusiastic about the same thing was really fun. And seeing The Rock return to the ring was a cherry on top.
