Wednesday, January 01, 2025

Songs for Cineastes: 2024 Edition

Click here 
for the 
2023 edition. 

A shorter list than usual. I heard a lot of good stuff this year, but I watched so many movies, it didn't leave a lot of time for music. It probably doesn't help that I'm still listening to podcasts in the mornings before work rather than new music, which was my method for years (blame the pandemic, which upended the ways I do some things). Also, I didn't compile a list of reissues, because I didn't listen to enough to make it worthwhile, though I included two, Broadcast and Margo Guryan, in my top 10. And much like last year, I only went to one concert: Air performing Moon Safari. Totally worth the exorbitant price, especially since they played other material during the three encores. That said, I'm sorry I missed Meshell Ndegeocello at Jazz Alley. No guarantees, but I'll try to do better next time.

All links lead to Bandcamp pages.  

Top 10 
1. La Luz - News of the Universe (Sub Pop) 
2. somesurprises - Perseids (self-titled) 
3. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More (4AD) 
4. Meshell Ndegeocello - No More Water: 
    The Gospel Of James Baldwin (Blue Note) 
5. Margo Guryan - Words And Music (Numero Group) 
7. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee (Realistik Studios) 
8. Tierra Whack - World Wide Whack (Universal) 
9. Kim Gordon - The Collective (Matador) 
10. Mary Timony - Untame the Tiger (Merge) 

This is the same top 10 I submitted to the Village Voice Pazz & Jop Rip-Off Poll and Uproxx polls, plus five songs (see below), two album covers: Broadcast and Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom, and three videos: Sade's "Young Lion" (Sophie Muller), Tierra Whack's "Shower Song" (Alex Da Corte), and Floating Points' "Key103" (Akiko Nakayama).


Runners-up 
11. Various Artists - TRAИƧA (Red Hot) 
12. Can - Live in Paris 1973 (Spoon-Mute) 
13. Can - Live in Aston 1977 (Spoon-Mute) 
14. The Mountain Movers - Walking After Dark (Trouble in Mind) 
15. Hinds - Viva Hinds (Lucky Number) 
16. Ty Segall - Three Bells (Drag City) 
17. Redd Kross - Redd Kross (In the Red) 
18. Sault - Acts of Faith (Forever Living Originals) 
19. Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement (Young) 
20. BadBadNotGood - Mid-Spiral (XL Recordings) 

I still have to check out Can's Live in Keele 1977, which also saw release this year. I'm likely to enjoy it as much as their other live releases. 

21. Kendrick Lamar - GNX (Interscope) 
22. James Elkington and Nathan Salsburg - All Gist 
      (Paradise Of Bachelors) 
23. SZA - SOS Deluxe: Lana (Top Dawg-RCA) 
24. LL Cool J - The Force (LL Cool J, Inc) 
25. Jim White and Marisa Anderson - Swallowtail (Thrill Jockey) 
26. Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn - 
27. Linda Sikhakhane - ILadi (Blue Note) 
28. Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us (Carpark) 
29. Jlin - Akoma (Planet Mu) 
30. English Teacher - This Could Be Texas (Island) 

31. BEAK> - >>>> (Invada) 
32. The Smile - Wall of Eyes (Self Help Tapes-XL) 
33. The Messthetics - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) 
34. Jack White - No Name (Third Man) 
35. Miranda Lambert - Postcards from Texas (Vanner-Republic) 
36. Wussy - Cincinnati Ohio (Shake It) 
37. MIZU - Forest Scenes (NNA Tapes) 
38. Jane Weaver - Love In Constant Spectacle (Invada) 
39. St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (Virgin) 
40. Amy Rigby - Hang In There With Me (Tapete) 

Top Songs 
1. Mavis Staples - "Worthy" 
2. Kim Deal - "Crystal Breath" 
3. Tierra Whack - "Shower Song"
4. Goat - "Ouroboros"
5. Nilüfer Yanya - "Like I Say (I Runaway)" 
6. Nia Archives - "So Tell Me" 
7. LL Cool J - "Black Code Suite" feat. Sona Jobarteh 
8. Shabazz Palaces feat. Lavarr the Starr - "Take Me To Your Leader" 
9. English Teacher - "The World's Biggest Paving Slab" 
10. Suki Waterhouse - "Supersad"

Top Score
Eiko Ishibash - Evil Does Not Exist (Drag City)


Images from Sub Pop Records (La Luz) and Bandcamp (Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us album cover by Marco Papiro).

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