ARCHIVE 2020

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT- MY RECAP OF 2020

2020- It was a year plagued with loss, bitterness, hardship, and loneliness.  It was the year that our concert arenas and venues were silent and our theaters were empty.  It was difficult to write my year end recap because I saw no concerts and very few movies were released.  I did find a few bright points.

TOP ALBUMS

-Greg Dulli- Random Desire: Released prior to the pandemic, Random Desire was Greg Dulli’s first solo album, recorded during a brief break from the Afghan Whigs.  It is a perfect album from the opening bass on the catchy, upbeat “Pantomima” to the elegant closing waltz on “Slow Pan”.   In typical Greg Dulli fashion, there is a lot of loss, regret, and heartbreak in between.

-Green Day- Father of All: Another album released pre-pandemic.  After some epic concept albums, Green Day returned to their roots with a short album that is punk and catchy pop at the same time.

-The Psychedelic Furs- Made of Rain: OMG, it was the first new Psychedelic Furs’ album in 29 years.  Enough said.

-Alanis Morissette- Some Pretty Forks in the Road: Her album Jagged Little Pill is a feminist classic.  Morissette is middle age now but her songwriting is still solid and she writes with a very relatable voice.

-Billie Joe Armstrong- No Fun Mondays: Recorded during the pandemic, Green Day frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong, released a brilliant covers album.  It is a fun and nostalgic album.

-Best Reissue- The Replacements- Pleased to Meet Me:  The Replacement’s Tim and Pleased to Meet Me albums are the Replacements at their best and two of the best albums ever.  I loved that Pleased to Meet Me got the deluxe treatment with a reissue that included never released demos and beautiful packaging great photos from the time. 

THE LIVE STREAM WORLD

One of the most difficult things for me as a music fan was a year without live music.  I do admire the creative ways musicians continued to play live music.  I enjoyed more weeks that I can count seeing Robin Wilson from the Gin Blossoms’ live streams from his basement and front yard.  I enjoyed thirteen weeks from Ben Folds’ apartment on the other side of the world in Australia.  I enjoyed several weeks from Matt Nathanson’s home office.    The longer the pandemic continued, there were some professionally filmed live streams.  Greg Dulli’s live stream was the next best thing to a live show as were the three Matt Nathanson did. The quality wasn’t always perfect on the non-professionally filmed ones, but the music continued for both the performers and the fans.

NINE INCH NAILS- ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020

After being passed over twice, Nine Inch Nails were finally inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I really missed the induction ceremony.  An induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the highest honor for a musician and I am proud that two of my bands have made it (R.E.M. being the other in 2007).

THE BEST AND WORST MUSIC RELATED TV AND MOVIES

I loved Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.  Based on a completely unique concept, Zoey is a young woman with the special power of hearing others’ thoughts as songs.  The show was fun and sweet at the time (I may have ugly cried during the season finale).

The documentary, Vinyl Nation, was supposed to be released for Record Store Day.  Since Record Store Day was changed this year, Vinyl Nation got an online release with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting local record stores. Vinyl Nation celebrated the local record store and was a love letter to vinyl record collecting.

I couldn’t write this without commenting on the new TV series of High Fidelity.  Nick Hornby’s novel, High Fidelity, is one of my favorite books of all time.   It captured better than any other book or movie the record store culture and what being a “music geek” is.  I thought that the 2000 movie was a faithful adaptation of Hornby’s book, the only major change being that it was set in the US instead of England, as in the book.  John Cusack was the perfect Rob.  Though Nick Hornby was involved in the TV adaptation, the TV series got several things wrong.  First, this story did not need to be updated.  Second, by having Rob as female and the forced diversity in the cast, it felt like a blatant ploy to make Hornby’s novel PC, not “updated”.  While I laughed at some things, like the record store worker who frequently said “I hate it more than Creed!”, the TV series felt like a botching of Hornby’s brilliant work.  I wanted to like it better but just couldn’t.If customers can’t find it, it doesn’t exist. Clearly list and describe the services you offer. Also, be sure to showcase a premium service.