It’s the end of the year and everyone is giving free publicity to Spotify, which has inspired me to scribble about my end-of-year music thoughts.
I don’t think I spent a ton of time listening to new albums in 2019. I listen to music pretty much constantly. I have it on all day while I work, and I’m usually pretty intentional about it, seeking out an album here, or an artist there. But thinking back, I really can’t remember how much of it was created or released in 2019. So instead of doing a Favorites of 2019 list, I thought I might write a little about some of the songs, new and old, that tore me up right nice this year. These songs are more on-my-mind-right-now-songs, rather than a best-of list. Enjoy!
Just Be Simple by Songs: Ohia (from Magnolia Electric Co., 2003)
The first song that comes to mind, and probably is on my mind at least once a day, is Just Be Simple. The late Jason Molina released a hefty amount of music in the late 1990s and into the 2000s under the moniker, Songs: Ohia. He lived in Indianapolis later in his short life that ended due to complications from an addiction to alcohol.
I’m not going to pretend like I know what songs mean, because unless they’re really explicitly clear, I probably don’t. But, I love the way Molina writes about the struggle of loneliness in this song. He starts with, “You’ll never hear me talk about one day getting out. Why put a new address on this same old loneliness?”
Amanda Shires and Scott Avett both have really nice covers of this song.
Everything Looks Better (In Hindsight) by The Wild Reeds (from The World We Built, 2017)
I knew a couple songs by The Wild Reeds before I saw them at the 2nd annual Holler on the Hill music festival at Garfield Park, here in Indy. They were easily the highlight of the festival for me. If you like incredible harmonies, people who shred, pointed and smart lyrics, and catchy melodies, The Wild Reeds should be on your Walkman (translate as phone, or however you listen to music).
“When you wake up in the morning, are you lonely? To find only the items I had left by your bedside, on the table, to your right hand? Little traces are the proof that I exist.”
Hey Ma by Bon Iver (from i,i, 2019)
I listened to this song about once a day all summer. Bon Iver is sort of an outlier for me. I typically don’t like things that are very electronic or non conventional. Bon Iver is heavy on both. But Justin Vernon’s voice, lyrics, and melodies are crazy good. I like that he goes back and forth from heavily produced vocals to completely bare.
Hey Ma is the song from the newest Bon Iver album that sounds like songs from previous albums. I’m not sure if that’s why it stands out to me so much. Probably.
Carnival by Kevin Devine (from Brother’s Blood, 2009)
I’m not sure how I missed this song when it came out. In 2009, I was definitely listening to lots of music very similar to this. I’m glad to have found it ten years later. I don’t think there’s anything amazing or incredibly unique about this song, but it’s a nice melody and simple guitar part that sets the tone for the whole thing. Plus, I like some good yelling in a song. I love the way it builds at the end, Devine adds some yelling business, and then quiet, with only soft, muted strumming on the guitar for a handful of bars, and humming.
Not by Big Thief (from Two Hands, 2019)
It’s almost annoying that Big Thief released two really good albums in a single calendar year. I’ve listened to Big Thief a lot this year. This song really stuck out. Lead singer and songwriter, Adrianne Lenker (born in Indy), says a lot in this song. And a lot of nots.
“It's not the hunger revealing, nor the ricochet in the cave, nor the hand that is healing, nor the nameless grave.”
I don’t love messy guitar solos with missed notes, intentional or not, but the song is good enough that I keep listening in spite of that element.
I Shall Not Walk Alone by The Blind Boys of Alabama (from Higher Ground, 2002)
I’m rewatching Lost, which I think is one of the greatest TV dramas ever, possibly only eclipsed by The West Wing. Anyway, this song plays at the end of an episode in season one.
The internet is telling me Ben Harper wrote this song. I like him fine, but haven’t heard his version. The Blind Boys of Alabama knock it out of the park.
“When my legs no longer carry and the warm wind chills my bones, I reach for Mother Mary and I shall not walk alone.”
Are You Sure by Kacey Musgraves featuring Willie Nelson (from Pageant Material, 2015)
Stumbled upon this hidden track from Kacey Musgraves’s 2015 album, Pageant Material. It’s a cover/duet of an old Willie Nelson song. His gravel is a nice balance with the ultra smooth quality of her voice.
Another song about loneliness. I’m not lonely these days (thank you, Arielle), but I’ve spent some time thinking about loneliness over the years. And I like songs that make me feel something.
Tortoises All the Way Down by mewithoutYou (from Untitled, 2018)
I can’t make a list of songs or bands without mewithoutYou. They are my favorite band and have been for over a decade. I’ve seen them, I think, 16 times. Every piece of their music appeals to me. One of those pieces is Aaron Weiss’s songwriting, which has been a huge influence on me, not just as a fan of writing, but as a person.
This song is another example of what they do best: pretty and dark guitar sounds, unique drum parts, and a story – and it’s, all in all, a fairly tame song compared to a lot of their discography. I’d recommend listening to mewithoutYou while reading the lyrics. Or just read the lyrics. They’re on another level.
They announced recently that 2020 is their last year as a band. I plan to see them at least one more time, hopefully twice. I thought I’d seen my last mwY show in, like, 2008, so I’ll take anything I can get.
Sad Blue Eyes by Jeffrey Martin (from One Go Around, 2017)
Jeffrey Martin kills me. He’s a songwriter with haunting lyrics and traditional folk guitar parts. He’s a storyteller, for sure. A former teacher turned full-time musician, he has lots of songs that are worthy of a lot of spins (Coal Fire, e.g.).
Sad Blue Eyes is a sad song that reminds me of my small hometown and how easy it can be to get “stuck” somewhere when life gets hard (not my experience, but it happens often there). It’s a song that reminds us that poverty, bad luck, shitty situations can sometimes be cyclical.
The opening line sets the tone: “He grew up in a house, in the valley, with a daddy who was one long cigarette, and his momma walked out on a Friday night with a man that she just met.”
Damn.
My Mind’s a Ship That’s Going Down by Katie Pruitt (from Katie Pruitt Our Vinyl Live EP, 2018)
I love Katie Pruitt. My wife loves her. My little sister loves her. My best friend cried at her show with no previous knowledge of her or her songs (I was also teary, but that’s very normal for me). She has an incredibly powerful voice and has something to say about being in love, being gay, having shitty relationships, and getting spun out sometimes.
We’ve seen her a few times now, two times at Holler on the Hill. Last year, at the inaugural Holler, she started singing her first song and about 10 people were watching. By the end of that song, there were a couple hundred. People flocked when they heard that voice.
And she shreds. Just follow her on Instagram and once in awhile she’ll put up a video of her jamming.
Looking forward to her first full album coming out in February.
This House by Courtney Marie Andrews (from May Your Kindness Remain, 2018)
Speaking of powerful voices. Courtney Marie Andrews has an old school country voice that will blow you away. I got to see her at American Aquarium’s Road Trip To Raleigh show last February. Having started her music career singing backup to Jimmy Eat World, she inevitably broke out on her own and is writing really great country/folk songs.
This song was on my mind a lot this year, because my wife and I bought our first house. It’s an old house, and already has some issues, but it’s ours. And it’s full of love.
…
There were more, of course. These are just the ones that came to mind just now.