week 52 | 2019 WRAP-UP

well, it looks like we made it…look how far we’ve come my babies! 52 weeks, 52-ish albums, and infinity to go! this has been one of the most gratifying and successful resolutions i’ve ever made and i’m so excited to keep on with it. here are my top 10-ish albums that i listened to this year (with a handful of honorable mentions i couldn’t manage to fully cut) and what a crew they’ve been and continue to be! stay tuned for even more music/non-reviews, my joy in learning a ton, and adventures in me finding my many musical blindspots. here goes!

1) sucker punch by sigrid

2) a bath full of ecstasy by hot chip

3) golden hour by kacey musgraves

4) whack world by tierra whack

5) carrie & lowell by sufjan stevens

6) norman fucking rockwell by lana del rey

7) 5 by sault

8) father of the bride by vampire weekend

9) amala (deluxe edition) by doja cat

10) better oblivion community center by better oblivion community center

honorable mentions:

-lush by snail mail

-lookout low by twin peaks

-neon bible by a giant dog

-pony by orville peck

week 51 | blackwater holylight by blackwater holylight

This week (and for transition into the new year) I’m listening to this wild new (to me) Oregon-based group, Blackwater Holylight. Specifically, this one was brought on by this dope-ass witchy video that Mitch showed me. They’re playing a show here in March and I’m getting stoked for their rock&roll weird coolness.

week 50 | 5 by sault

This one comes courtesy of an old pal from University, who had this song in her story, and I just couldn’t help myself. Come to find it was on several 2019 Albums of the Year lists, including some NPR staffers. Basically, obsessed, I can’t get enough, I’m digging it too hard.

week 49 | all mirrors by angel olsen

I have somehow really missed the boat on Angel Olsen. I know I’ve heard the name for a few years, but I had no idea this could have possibly been her fifth album, let alone what appears to be many peoples’ favorite so far! She seems very cool and I’m stoked on this one *~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~*

week 48 | pony by orville peck

Hey y’all, this week we’re jumping on a bandwagon I didn’t think I’d jump on. We’ve all seen this wild-looking masked dude Orville Peck popping up around the zeitgeist this year, and never in my wildest dreams did I think seeing him on It’s Alive with Brad would color-me-intrigued enough to go for it. And yet, here we are.

What a strange and interesting and operatic voice, and country but not but also weird and cool. Anyways, digging it. It’s been very rainy so my bus rides have been a cool and surreal mix of Orville’s enigmatic drama and the darkly funny and just darkly dark musings of Oyinkan Braithwaite in My Sister, the Serial Killer.

week 47 | amala (deluxe) by doja cat

This week I’m listening to Amala (Deluxe Version) by rapper/singer-songwriter Doja Cat. What a delight. She recently released a new album, Hot Pink, and while I thought long and hard about going with the freshest, I saw that “Tia Tamara” AND “Mooo!” are on the Deluxe Version of her 2018 album Amala so I had to go for that instead (two songs and two videos that are just a really weird and wonderful treat). She’s back on my radar because Mitch is obsessed with her recent release “Juicy” (another song/video that’s just a real fun time).

Kk, I’m not a cat, I don’t say meow, let’s goooo.

week 46 | clean by soccer mommy

This week’s pick courtesy of the Venn diagram between Spotify suggestions and longtime Pitchfork-based intentions to get on the Soccer Mommy train. My hunger for a return to some girl-rock roots (it’s been 4 weeks since Chastity Belt, I needed my fix!) is being sufficiently satiated <3

week 45 | hearts by america

I may have gone a little off the rails with this one, but bear with me…

Part 1: Mitch was on overnight shifts all week last week, I was a lonely gal watching A LOT of movies.

Part 2: I was in a real Timothée Chalamet sort of mood (when am I not?) and when I saw he was in something called Miss Stevens which was actually available on Netflix, how could I not? Plus, I love Lily Rabe from AHS. Win-win.

Part 3: This movie relies heavily on the song “Sister Golden Hair” (I think it plays during three different parts) and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get me in my lonely nostalgic state last week.

So there you have it. This album is fine, some songs hold up, many do not. But sometimes you need some dad rock to get you through a week.

week 44 | dookie by green day

Taking a different turn this week as I’ve been feeling v nostalgic and angsty. It was a tough choice (so much 90s/00s emo punk energy, so little time) but I decided to deep-dive an oldie in Green Day’s 1994 album, Dookie. I know some of these songs well and others not at all, so it felt like a good compromise (I was 2 when this came out, so what was I supposed to do? Somehow be the coolest kid in daycare despite parents who loved Steely Dan, Celine Dion, and BNL? Come on, get real). Not that Pitchfork is the end-all-be-all of music judgement, but they gave it an 8.7 (although, I guess it’s easy to say you love a long-beloved album when your review is 20 years late). Also, hot take - Billie Joe Armstrong has a fucking beautiful voice.

Oh well, whatevs, who cares, let’s go, who’s even reading this, happy November, no one!

week 43 | grand by matt & kim

Oooh, la la y’all! This week is an exciting one, it’s gonna be a real doozy. This Friday, I’m hitting up the Crystal Ballroom in PDX with my sis-in-law to see Matt & Kim on their Grand 10-Year Anniversary tour so, obvi, I’ll be cranking Grand for the next 5 days. I know bits of this album but I don’t know that I remember all of it, so I’m stoked <3 also, on a little deep-dive into their website, I found this AMAZE-ADORABLE video.

UPDATE: holy fuck. Matt & Kim was a goddamn party and I loved every second of it (and so pleasantly surprised by how polite and non-invasive the crowd collective was). They also covered Lizzo so, you know, hell yeah.

week 42 | chastity belt by chastity belt

This week, we’re back on that grungy indie rock girl music (we can never get too far from it here) listening to Chastity Belt’s self-titled fourth album Chastity Belt. I love these gals (though, they’ve gotten pretty sleepy recently - esp live). But obvi still into it and loving it (you can always go home). And hey, Pitchfork liked it too, so.

week 41 | hoku by hoku

I mean, what can I say about this one? It’s some pure, sugar-coated nostalgia for myself this week. Everyone knows “Perfect Day” (I assume we’ve all seen Legally Blonde here, yes? Well, if not, the music vidoe is basically the whole movie). Some people (should) know “Another Dumb Blonde” (another true classic whose music video is intercut with clips from the movie with which it was released in tandem, Snow Day). But I find it very important to remind everyone of “How Do I Feel” aka The Burrito Song (the alt-title alone is enough for me to buy back in).

Hoku is the perfect encapsulation of aughts pop, and I won’t hear any other opinions (at least not this week).

week 40 | neon bible by a giant dog (and arcade fire!)

Every year, Merge Records releases another album in their subscription series, wherein a band is given a budget and the time to cover an entire album of their choosing. This year, A Giant Dog covered Arcade Fire’s highly praised 2007 album, Neon Bible. It’s very similar, and they’re equipped to embody most of these songs with their own style, but it’s not perfect. That said, it’s fun and weird and cool and why not?! I’m switching off this week between the original and the cover and it’s been a rock and roll party blast so far. Les go.

week 39 | el mal querer by rosalía

This chick is new to me, but she is so badass, has such interesting sound, and is keeping my bike to work alive in this freshly cold Portland fall weather (40 degrees already?! Did Omaha’s long/late transition to fall spoil me??). And this album got a particularly high rating from Pitchfork so I’m even more here for it.

Let’s go.

week 38 | live from the banana stand by kulululu

Saw these dudes this past weekend in Portland and they were weird and fun and did skits and I loved it! Here we go bbs!

week 37 | lookout low by twin peaks

This week I’m hitting up a new fave from an old fave. Love these boys, love their vibes always, and while Pitchfork has deemed it their lowest reviewed album yet, I’m into it so far and it’s a jam. It’s a good time. But I might be biased. Plus it’s the first of their albums I feel comfortable putting on, in-full, at work! (Just don’t let the Spotify “Lookout Low” Radio Station start playing, you might start hearing songs like “Cool Slut” and “Sick Shit”).

week 36 | carrie & lowell by sufjan stevens

I watched Call Me By Your Name for the first time last night and (1) loved it, obviously, I knew I would and had just been putting off the inevitable. And (2) I realized Sufjan Stevens was a pretty significant blind-spot in my musical experience and that needed to be fixed immediately. So I went through Pitchfork reviews and picked out what they said was he best, which was Carrie & Lowell from 2015. It’s just plain soothing and simple and open and complex and fresh air. So far, not at all disappointed. Obsessed, possesed, blessed.

week 35 | Norman Fucking Rockwell by Lana del Rey

This week, we’re again staying in the 2019 zeitgeist with much anticipated (esp by meeee) fifth album from Lana del Rey, Norman Fucking Rockwell. And holy shit guys, it truly is not disappointing thus far. She’s weird and deep and solidifying herself as one of the best (and in the eyes of Pitchfork no less!).

My 2011 Tumblr-obsessed, Lana-based poetry writing heart is over the fucking moon <3

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ v stoked, v into it ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

week 34 | ICONOLOGY by Missy Elliott

This week we’re jumping from the 60s to an album that literally came out this week. Missy Elliot released her first EP in 10+ years, and I’m ready for a big change up in genre. It’s fun, it’s upbeat, it’s not all that interesting or innovative, but I’m still in. At least for this week.

week 33 | the roches by the roches

This week we are jumping back in time (I’ve done much too many modern albums in the past month+). And it is from a group, once again, brought to my attention by Griffin and Rachel McElroy on the Wonderful Podcast (those guys are just the best, huh?).

The Roches 1979 self-titled debut album. And man, so far what a delight. What a pleasant time I’ve had with these gals. Their voices are perfectly blended, their songs range from goofy and funny to more heartfelt and solemn. I’m digging it in a week where I need a little folksy calm.