The first newsletter of February is here. Some thoughts on music, entertainment, and other random stuff. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (February 3rd, 2024)”The year started by throwing a few wrenches our way. The wind and ice storm shut down the city for a few days, but at least we kept power the whole time. This led to a lot of nights sitting by the fire with warm drinks and catching up on some long overdue reading. Not a bad way to spend a winter evening.
And the music year started off strong.
Let’s hope for less chaotic weather in February.
January 2024
Brian Fallon has long been one of my favorite lyricists, with dozens of classics under his belt, but there’s a line on the new Gaslight Anthem album that I keep running over and over in my head. Midway through “Autumn” he sings, “I wish I could do my life over, I’d be young better now,” and that lyric has haunted me ever since I first heard it. Such a damning description of growing older, looking back at life, and reflecting on the passing of time. At its core, ‘History Books’ feels like an album full of reflection, rejuvenation, and grace. It’s an album I was unsure we’d ever get, but one that sits proudly alongside the band’s storied catalog.
Sitting here by the fire on another Sunday evening, music softly playing, and thinking about a future where I’ll look back on today as when I was younger. I find it easier to start each week with that as my perspective.
Another week, another newsletter. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (January 27th, 2024)”
This week’s newsletter looks at Green Day’s new album and sprinkles in some other thoughts on the music and entertainment I spent time with last week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (January 20th, 2024)”
Ringing in 2024 with a new newsletter. We have some thoughts on music out this week and some early thoughts on music coming in the first part of the year. Can it live up to 2023? We’re about to find out.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (January 13th, 2024)”My favorite albums of 2023.
As a whole, I loved music in 2023. I loved how many bands that I’ve followed for years released albums that felt like incredible additions to their catalog. I loved how many new artists I discovered. I loved all the time I spent with music both old and new. And, perhaps most importantly, I loved the way music weaved its way through my year, providing a memorable soundtrack to the passing months.
The Stats: I listened to over 14,470 songs this year (29,840 scrobbles), 988 different artists, and 2,081 different albums. My most played artist was Blink-182, and my most played album was One More Time…, because, of course.
And that’s a wrap for 2023.
All the stats are totaled. My most played albums of the year are on slide two, and we’ll post our end of the year features on January 8th on the website. 🥂
It’s always one of my favorite times of the year, but this year felt extra special. I’ve loved each evening when the lights turned on and slowly filled the house with gold.
A wonderful December with friends, family, and the two cats. We ate lots of good food, our annual Christmas party had all sorts of fun news and life changes from our friends, and we attempted ice skating for the first time in over a decade. And, of course, we listened to a lot of Christmas music.
December 2023
I’ve been trying to remind myself to take photos during the month so I have something to share at the end of it. November is always one of my favorite months of the year. Our wedding anniversary starts it while Thanksgiving and decorating for Christmas act as a perfect bookend. (And I see holiday music getting some extra plays this week has already started to creep into my most played albums of the month.)
November 2023
I hope everyone had a good week this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (November 4th, 2023)”Congratulations to @blink182 on another number one album! My two variants have arrived and I’m just as happy with them as I am the album itself. Beyond my wildest dreams of what I could have hoped for when we heard Tom was coming back.
My full review is up on the website and the feedback has been a little overwhelming. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and for sharing with me how much this band has meant to you over the years. I had a good feeling I wasn’t the only one that felt the way I did, that grew up with blink-182 and experienced much of life soundtracked by their music.
With October coming to an end, I realize how little I’ve posted here over the past year. Not for lack of record buying. 😬 I guess I should try and step that up over the next few months and share some of the new additions.
#blink-182 #blink182 #vinyl
We’re back with another newsletter. This week has thoughts on a stacked release week and the usual commentary. As always, there’s a playlist of ten songs worth your time, and this week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (October 29th, 2023)”
Just a quick one this week.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (October 21st, 2023)”I wrote about @blink182’s new album and what the band has meant to me over the years at chorus.fm.
Call it a review, an essay, a love letter, or just a mess of words trying to work out how this band helped shape our lives.
Yes, I know it’s long. But when I sit down to write I always want the outcome to be something I’m proud of, and when I started writing this, so many different feelings started to bubble. It wasn’t long until I knew I needed it to exist.
The written album “review” barely seems to be a thing these days but they still matter to me. Soon I fear it’ll all be ChatGPT looking “summaries” and hot take reaction videos. But I tried to distill my history and musical journey, and put that into context with the band and their new music. And that matters to me too. My whole thing, from the start, is that I’ve wanted to treat this genre seriously when no one else did.
I’ve been writing this for a while. I hope you can relate. If not with this specific band, to one that’s changed your life.
