The full feature is up on the website!
For the first half of the year, I’ve listened to 856 albums, 366 artists, and 7,784 songs (12,382 scrobbles). My most played album of the year so far is Sum 41’s ‘Heaven :x: Hell.’ My most played artist so far this year is MxPx.
June flew by. A month of birthdays to celebrate and wonderful weather to experience. Lots of great food and great wine. Summer is here and it’s glorious.
June 2024
May in Portland flips between gorgeous and rain. But it’s starting to lean a little more toward the former and I’m definitely here for it. The month was busy, went by too fast, but ain’t that always the way.
May 2024
I shared an article on the website today that talks about why music tastes solidify in our youth and we return to the music of our teens through thirties for basically the rest of our lives. I (obviously) still seek out new music on a weekly basis and love nothing more than discovering a new favorite band, but there is something so comforting about returning to an old musical friend. One of my pet theories is those summer albums you spent your late teens blasting in the car right after getting your license find an even deeper way into your heart. Summer break, that first taste of (relative) freedom, and nothing to do but drive around trying to blow out your speakers. Boys Like Girls’ debut is one of those albums for me. It’s always screamed of summer and ushering in sunny days and warm evenings. Not surprisingly, Martin’s songwriting has continued to stick with me all these years later. (Do not sleep on those Night Game albums.)
Anyway, here’s to growing up and still spinning our youthful faves. And here’s to summer 2024.
#vinyl
April showers…
It was a month defined by travel. A business trip in the middle of the month to Mexico City, and Hannah off to California at the end of the month. But around the chaos of airports there was still a lot of good music, good friends, and some good weather. Let’s hope for more of that in May.
April 2024
The weather is starting to turn here in Portland. You can feel it in the city. People are starting to spend more time in the park across the street, the temperature is creeping upward, and this week has been ideal to break out this pop-punk gem from last year. Reminding me of the best parts of Sum-41 and early Blink-182, with a fresh youthful perspective, this is easily one of my favorite pop-punk releases in a long time. A worthy addition to not only one of my favorite genres, but my favorite summer albums playlist as well. (And once I saw this t-shirt I knew I had to order it. Could that be anymore me?)
March represented one more trip around the sun. And just at the tail end we started to see it peek its head out again; I’m ready to put the rain in the rear view mirror. Good drinks, good music, good walks, great time with family and friends.
March 2024
February brought (slightly) better weather, some great music, some good books, an incredible concert, and quite a few lovely weekend walks capped off with a perfect beer. And we were able to celebrate Valentine’s Day and my mom’s (long-deserved) retirement.
February 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.
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.
Well, it’s that time of the year again. I’ve been putting together a list of my favorite albums of the year since at least 2005, and 2023 was one of the most jam-packed I can remember. Not only did I listen to more music than ever before, but I found the quality of new releases week-to-week to be engaging and exciting. Discovering new gems and being more than impressed with the output from old favorites.
You can subscribe to my newsletter if you’re interested in a weekly rundown of the music and other entertainment I consume, and the staff compiled best of 2023 list can be found here.
Read More “Jason Tate’s Top Albums of 2023” 2023 was absolutely S-T-A-C-K-E-D from top to bottom with some incredible music from so many talented artists. Below is a collection of my favorite albums (which include several EPs, for the first time on my year-end list, because I adored them so much), a separate call out for EPs, a playlist of my favorite songs, the best concerts I attended, my favorite books I read during the year, as well as my favorite interviews I conducted. Also, be sure to check out my favorite movies and TV shows that kept my attention in 2023. I wish all of you a very happy New Year, and I’m thrilled to spend another year with everyone on this site and in the forums.
Read More “Adam Grundy’s Top Albums of 2023”
Sometimes, the things you love leave you. Sometimes, those things come back.
Musically, 2023 for me was a year defined by the things I got back. Six of the 30 albums listed below were made by artists or bands I thought would never release music again. All six were artists who played key roles in extremely formative moments of my life; then they all went dormant for extended periods of time. Three of the six had been out of action for a decade or longer; one’s been gone for 23 years. Getting all six back – plus a few other long-awaited returns not represented on this list – felt like a little gift from the music gods, and made 2023 feel so special. There’s a Dawes song I love that goes, “May all your favorite bands stay together.” 2023’s blessing, for me, was more like “May all your favorite bands get back together.”
2023 was also the year that I wandered back out into the live music world, after being extremely hesitant about doing so in 2021 and 2022. While that post-pandemic return to normal didn’t come without its costs – I definitely contracted COVID-19 at a Taylor Swift concert – it felt so wonderful and so life affirming to be a part of a deafeningly-loud audience again. Getting that sensation back in 2023 – and having a couple of my very favorite concert experiences ever along the way – was a gift of its own.
So, here’s to getting things back, whether that’s the bands you love or the kinds of communal live music experiences you weren’t sure you’d ever have again. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the past five years, it’s to never, ever take anything for granted, and I tried to instill that spirit into the making of this list. To quote yet another Dawes lyric, “Most people don’t talk enough about how lucky they are.” Most people also don’t talk enough about why they love the music they love, so here’s 30 albums from 2023 that I love – and more importantly, the “why.”
Read More “Craig Manning’s Top Albums of 2023” Man, what a year. It was dominated by Taylor Swift and I wrote one of my favorite pieces about attending two stops of The Eras Tour. I attended Furnace Fest for the third year in a row, but didn’t write about it this time. It’s been a tough year with a lot of loss. But music has really helped me through. It’s been the year of the EP, with some absolute juggernauts represented below including as my AOTY. Gonna share some of my favorite songs of the year interspersed with their albums. Definitely check them out if you haven’t. Happy New Year!
Read More “Garrett Lemons’ Top Albums of 2023”
