The Ladybug Transistor at Deep Cuts in Medford MA. Photo by Ben Stas.
Top tour experiences with The Ladybug Transistor: December 2024
by Jennifer Baron (The Ladybug Transistor + The Garment District) Being a total fan girl while touring with the fantastic Lightheaded and Tony Molina band (and having Mark Robinson on the bill in Medford, MA) and sharing the stage with Ladybug members from all iterations of the band each night was absolutely dreamy—every night was a joy, with beautiful venues and fantastic audiences, and I just wish we could have lived it all in slow motion!
Rest area snowball fight in New Hampshire
Here are some of my top highlights from an abbreviated tour diary of sorts:
On the drive from Keene, New Hampshire to Kingston, New York: Visiting the iconic Hogback Mountain Country Store perched atop scenic Route 9 in Marlboro, Vermont, just after a serene December snowfall. A Vermont fixture since 1936, the cozy shop is located at the Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook at 2,250 feet. The sweeping views span breathtaking Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, pointing to Mount Holyoke, where I attended college. Perusing the shop and natural history museum, with an incredible section of maple syrup, donuts, libations and apparel—that I could not fit in my suitcase.
Nova Arts Block, Keene, New HampshireScott McCaughey playing with The Ladybug Transistor at Mississippi Studios in PDX
Having the wonderful Scott McCaughey join us for our cover of Gene Clark’s “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” at the fantastic Mississippi Studios in Portland, and meeting Scott’s adorable dog Gladys during our sound check. And also seeing you there, Gail, along with dear friends from Pittsburgh and college. A beautiful venue throughout.
Sasha Bell, Scott McCaughey, Jennifer Baron at Mississippi Studios
Two sublime, and related, vegan dinners from venues where we performed:
At The Atrium plant-based restaurant inside Public Records in Brooklyn: Hibachi grilled tamarind Jewel yams with tamarind yogurt, salsa macha, pumpkin seed gremolata, coriander and mint. From Checker Hall inside The Lodge Room in Highland Park, Los Angeles: Sticky sweet potato dish with garlic glaze, aji verde, hazelnut and harissa oil. OMG, take me back.
LBT and Tony Molina band in the Mission District
Reuniting with our dearest friend Alicia Vanden Heuvel for the West Coast tour; revisiting Atlas Cafe in the Mission where we used to love going for breakfast when we toured in California with friends such as The Aislers Set, the Lucksmiths and Of Montreal. This visit was WAY TOO BRIEF. Thank you for everything, Alicia and Tony!
Rickshaw Stop LBT Cocktail
The Ladybug Transistor cocktail made for our show by the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco and having it be exactly the kind of cocktail I love: tequila, grapefruit, lime, grenadine and soda. Loved having The Telephone Numbers plus DJs Jessica B, Coleminer and Miller Genuine Daft help to make this night so extra special.
Jacki Walburn from Lightheaded playing with The Ladybug Transistor at Public Records in Brooklyn
Having Jacki from Lightheaded “play” an apple (and tambourine) while joining us for “The Swimmer” (see 1:53) at Public Records in Brooklyn, and likewise, finally getting to “play” an apple myself, after all of these years, along with Ladybug percussionist dynamo Eric Farber, who joined is for our show at The Lodge Room in LA.
LBT at The Lodge Room in LA. Photo by Darian Sahanaja
Seeing the one and only, Joe Belock, aka WFMU’s Three Chord Monte, along with the ever-fabulous Jack Silbert, at our show at Public Records in Brooklyn. Thank you Joe, for spinning The Garment District!
Having original Ladybug drummer Ed Powers join us for “Rushes of Pure Spring” at Nova Arts Block in Keene, New Hampshire, where we had a blissful reunion of so many old friends from NYC and New England.
Spending the night at Gaia Hotel in Anderson CA (thank you Scott McCaughey, for the pro tip!) … but too cold for the hot tub!
Åke Strömer at Love of Fuzz in Troy New York
Visiting the terrific Love of Fuzz music store in Troy, New York, thanks to pedal-making, van-driving and merchandise-selling Swede guru, Åke Strömer.
Random and good-natured practical jokes and snowball fights at the many rest stops we frequented along the way.
IYKYK: Enjoying the best-in-the-game, late-night Smiling Pizza and blowing a kiss to my old apartment on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Reunions of all sorts on this tour, including a mini high school reunion and Frock reunion (Sasha from Ladybug, Annie from Spent and me!) in LA. So good for the soul, heart and spirit.
Flowers from Mooncake Flower Farm
Receiving gorgeous local flowers grown by Stephen Hunking (who helped us recreate the original packaging for “The Albemarle Sound” reissue), who runs Mooncake Flower Farm in Camas Washington, which graced our stage, and van, for the West Coast shows. Check out his new band, Dew Claw!
Favorite new sparkly vintage necklace scored at a vintage and antique warehouse in Kalama, Washington.
Staying in the house where we used to live (Marlborough Farms) in Brooklyn, while hunkering down in the basement studio for rehearsals and making frequent trips to the Flatbush Food Co-op. Taking breaks to watch “The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and have Sasha do tarot readings and cook us amazing dinner!
Griffith Observatory full December Moon. Photo by Sam BleharControlling the dome speed at Griffith Observatory in LA
During a few days off in Los Angeles with my cousin Sam after the tour: Being invited to control the speed of the dome at Griffith Observatory; the best pupusa breakfast ever at the Atwater Village Farmers’ Market with dear friends I first met years ago while living in NYC (thank you, Jeff Feuerzeig, Dean Warheam and Matt Chesse!); finding the Ennis House in Los Feliz; revisiting the Laurel Canyon Country Store …
L-R: My dream supergroup! Matt Chessé, Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, Jennifer Baron, Darian Sahanaja, Sasha Bell, Domenic Priore, Jeff Feuerzeig and Becky Ebenkamp after our show at The Lodge Room in LAThe Ennis House in Los Feliz in LA
It was deeply meaningful to play our music and be able to exist in a bit of an alternate universe bubble for a few weeks on both coasts during this truly multimodal tour! THANK YOU to my Ladybug bandmates and to every single person who attended these shows, listened with enthusiasm and helped us to sell out of our vinyl and T-shirts. Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is currently planning a repress of “The Albemarle Sound” reissue and we hope to see you all again soon!
Reissue Deluxe Version with MobileBest pupusa breakfast ever at the Atwater Village Farmers Market in LAThe Ladybug Transistor and Lightheaded in Brooklyn
Paul Kelly (Birdie/East Village): Top Ten London Pubs I should probably keep some of these pubs secret but hopefully most readers are in the US anyway.
The Betsey Trotwood – Farringdon Road, EC1
King Charles 1st – Northdown Street, N1
The Shakespeare – Arlington Way, EC1
The Angel – St Giles High Street, WC2
The Dolphin Tavern – Red Lion Street, WC1
Hemingford Arms – Hemingford Rd, N1
Bradley’s Spanish Bar – Hanway Street, W1
The Lamb – Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1
The Blue Posts – Berwick Street, Soho
Cittie of Yorke – High Holborn, WC1
Erin Moran (A Girl Called Eddy) My Top 10 Albums of 2024 (new releases and new to me discoveries) 1. The Lemon Twigs/A Dream is All We Know
2. Laetitia Sadier/Rooting for Love
3. Jerry Merrick/Follow
4. High Llamas/ Hey Panda
5. The Cure/ Songs of a Lost World
6. Blossom Dearie/ Verve-Third Man Special Edition
7. The Pearlfishers/ Making Tapes for Girls
8. Joni Mitchell/ Hejira Demos
9. Walter Wanderley/Kee-Ka-Roo
10 Rod Stewart /Never a Dull Moment
Top 5 Dutch Artworks Visited by Jim and Emily with Belgian Beer Pairings
1. Rembrandt’s The Night Watch – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Pair with – St Bernardus Christmas Ale. “A strong, dark, quadrupel, It tastes of licorice, apricots and marzipan.”
2. Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring – Maurits Huis, Den Haag. Pairs well with Chimay Grande Reserve (blue) Trappist Ale. “It exhibits a considerable depth of fruity, peppery character (including hints of plum, raisin and nutmeg).”
3. Frans Hal’s The Regentesses of the Old Men’s Almhouse Haarlem – Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem. Pair with a Cherry Chouffe, “a Belgian Brown Ale – with cherries added. Ruby-tinted, it has a full cherry aroma with notes of strawberry, almond, spices, and port. Round-bodied, soft, and delicate, it has a satisfying finish, with very slight bitterness.”
4. Dom Tower and Church, Utrecht – Paired here with La Trappe Tripel, “a strong coppery-gold Trappist ale with an off-white foamy head and an enticing aroma of fruit, honey and spice. Coriander adds an herbally spicy note to its fruity, well-balanced bittersweet taste.”
5. Rietveld Schroeder Huis, Utrecht – Pairs nicely with St. Bernardus Wit “The Aroma is wheaty, with apple-like tartness; herbal-spicy notes of coriander, white pepper and orange peel are complemented by a light, honey-like sweetness.”
All descriptions taken from the Belgian Style Ales website.
+ also too: – Karaoke parties: highlight was Janice Headley’s version of Cibo Matto’s “Birthday Cake”
– Road trips: Going to Olympia with JJ, Nancy and Yvonne was super-fun (save for the drive home) and we got to see Lois and Heather Dunn play together and Lois even slayed the room as Calvin in “C Is the Heavenly Option” – EPIC!
– Timberline outing with visiting pals
– USWNT winning Olympic Gold: triple espresso FTW!
– Portland Thorns (esp. beating Orlando and witnessing 12 years of #12 Captain Christine Sinclair): Please stop trading away our favorite players and hire more women in the NWSL FFS.
– Portland Timbers (esp. beating the cup winning LA Galaxy): Please get a new owner and GM ASAP.
– West Coast Heavenly Tour; TMF 69LS friend reunions; YLT + Built to Spill; Alvvays and the Beths in the town square. Swansea Sound + meeting Hue
I had my head down most of the year making my upcoming album (shameless plug: my first “solo” album, Space, comes out 2.28 on Mother West), but when I wasn’t recording or obsessing over something or other about the record, I was loving experiencing the following things:
SONGS
“Dominoes” by Mary Timony
“A Little Longer” by Johanna Samuels
“Slim Pickings” by Sabrina Carpenter
“Girl, So Confusing” by Charli xcx (feat Lorde)
“Tiny Flame” by The Softies
“Right Back To It” by Waxahatchee feat MJ Lenderman
“Deeper Well” by Kacey Musgraves
FILMS
Flipside by Chris Wilcha
23 Mile by Mitch McCabe
A Complete Unknown by James Mangold
LIVE SHOWS
Magnetic Fields two nights in a row in LA with Gail Chickfactor
Mary Timony at the Lodge Room
Matthew Caws (solo) at a KCSN event at Houdini’s old mansion in LA
Kacey Musgraves in Dallas
Ladybug Transistor at Lodge Room
Mac DeMarco at the Greek with my nephew
Mitski and Sharon Van Etten at the Hollywood Bowl
The Love Hangover at The Bowery Ballroom in NYC
Matthew Edwards at SYZYGY in SF
Joni Mitchell and Friends at the Bowl
Will Sheff at this groovy stoner event at the Philosophical Research Society (and I even got to sing a song with him),
Joan Wasser at the Cha Cha Lounge in LA.
Friends and fam at The Hotel Cafe
OTHER STUFF
Buying my niece her first guitar (she chose a Fender acoustic).
Hosting a residency at Hotel Cafe in October and playing every week was great for me to brush up on my act as a performer. It was also a wonderful way to gather old and new friends. Benjamin Cartel, Nicole Lawrence, Alie Byland, and Eli Wulfmeier opened the shows, and they were excellent.
Making time for long, healthy hikes with friends in and around LA (a bonus of living here).
Feeling very ladylike by joining The Huntington in Pasadena, which hosts the most beautiful art collections and has huge botanical gardens to get lost in. My friends and I took our moms there for high tea, and it was so sweet.
I spent 3 days in Palma de Mallorca for a friend’s big birthday. It was stunning, and I would love to go back. Shout out to all the pastry shops in Palma and the beautiful beaches.
I got to spend time in Detroit with my Dad and play my now annual holiday show at a little dive bar called The Polka Dot.
Wrangling many of my friends to play on my new record in LA, Detroit, and NYC, and wrangling others to make content with me and artwork and all of the things that go into making and promoting an album. Feeling very grateful.
SONGS:
Chappell Roan, ‘Good Luck, Babe!’,
Jessica Pratt, ‘Life Is’
Gigi Perez, ‘The Sailor Song’
Tess Parks, ‘California’s Dreaming’
Pet Shop Boys, ‘Loneliness’
Bruno Mars and Rosé, ‘APT.’
Claire Rousay, ‘Head’
Laurie Anderson, ‘Road to Mandalay’
Emma Anderson, ‘Taste The Air (Julia Holter Mix)’
Charley Stone, ‘Free Food’
Janis, Perez & YANIS, ‘Pharmacoliberation’
Noel, ‘Dancing is Dangerous’
Abstract Crimewave ‘The Longest Night’
Fuse ODG, ‘We Know It’s Christmas’
BOOKS (fiction):
Alan Hollinghurst, Our Evenings
Nat Reeve, Earlyfate
H. Gareth Gavin, Never Was
Khaled Alesmael, Selamlik
Chloe Michelle Howarth, Sunburn
Iain Sinclair, Pariah Genius
Justin Torres, Blackouts
Adam Macqueen Haunted Tales
Henry Van Dyke, Ladies of the Rachmaninoff Eyes (reissue)
BOOKS (non-fiction / memoir)
Katherine Bucknell, Christopher Isherwood Inside Out
Claire Dederer, Monsters
Xiaolu Guo, My Battle of Hastings
Liam Konemann, The Appendix
Salman Rushdie, Knife
Hanif Kureishi, Shattered
Claude Cahun, Cancelled Confessions
BOOKS (poetry):
Peter Scalpello, Limbic
JP Seabright, George Parker, Jaime Lock, Not Your Orlando
Camille Ralphs, After You Were, I Am
Jen Calleja, Goblinhood (poems and essays)
FILMS / TV:
Orlando, My Political Biography
Wilding
Scala!
Poor Things
Past Lives
Feud: Capote Vs the Swans
PLACES:
The Goat Ledge Beach Cafe, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex
Black Gull Books, St Leonards
Cute (exhibition), Somerset House, London
Oed Ronne (The Ocean Blue) There were four standout records I heard this year, 3 of which came from people I was hashtag blest to play shows with this year.
Photos of Happy by Oed Ronne
Bart and the Bedazzled – Blue Motel
We got to play a few shows with Bart and his band the Bedazzled this year – all charming, warm, and incredibly talented. Man, Bart has the ability to command the room. Though a few years old, this record was in the background of all year long for me. Absolutely lovely.
We also got to play a few shows with Asteroid No. 4 for a few shows this last year. Always rocking sunglasses and walls of melody and guitars. Amazing band.
Wayne plays guitar in Bart’s band and on this, his debut, he sort of reminds me of Deebank-era Felt and the Go-Betweens. I love the way the 7/4 hook of Millwood St sucks you in. I’m at risk of wearing this album out for reals.
Thank goodness there was a new Tyde record this year. Kind of stylisitically the same touchstones but also here with a dash of Mike Post and more of a tropical flavor. I love this record.
Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School) We did a bit of touring in 2024! In no particular order here’s some of our favorite food and drinks along the way:
1. Espresso and Patisserie at Le Sullyin Paris, France.
2. Picon Bière – Amer Picon (orange liqueur) mixed with Kronenbourg 1664, at Le Hasard Ludiquein Paris, France.
3. Pie and Mash; Scotch Eggs, from Tebay Farmshop, Tebay, UK.
4. “$2.95 All-Day Breakfast” at Bon’s off Broadway, Vancouver BC.
5. Anything on the menu at Salsa & Beer, Los Angeles. 6. GONZO Ramen, Carlsbad, CA. Seriously the best Ramen any of us have ever had.
7. Curry and Porotta bread from Kerala South Indian Restaurant, Coventry, UK. On the same block as Just Dropped In Records!
8. Cheeseburgers at Hattie’s Hat, Seattle, WA.
9. Buckfast Tonic Wine, Glasgow, UK, for a much needed pre-show “pick me up”!
10. Fresh salads, juices, and packet sandwiches from any and all motorway stops in the UK; they kept us healthy on tour!
Seablite with Laetitia Sadier (photo courtesy of Seablite)
Dawn Sutter Madell (Agoraphone) + Trixie Madell (Girl Scout Handbook) Best Shows We Saw Together 2024
PJ Harvey at Terminal 5
Sun Ra Arkestra at Central Park, Sony Hall
Kim Gordon Central Park
Yo La Tengo at Sony Hall
Bikini Kill at Paramount
Adrienne Lenker Music Hall of Williamsburg
Quasi at Bowery Ballroom
Off Pink at a record store
Julien Baker, Torres at Webster Hall
Bratmobile at Warsaw
X, Jon Spencer, Lydia Loveless, Finom at Square Roots Festival, Chicago
Sweeping Promises, Jessica Pratt, Brittany Howard, Grandmaster Flash, De La Soul, Mannequin Pussy, Muna at Pitchfork Chicago
Son Rompe Pera, Fishbone at Prospect Park
Favorite book: my favorite book this year was published in 1970, it’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, by Dee Brown. This was my choice for my non-fiction bookclub, so I also forced a few other people to read it. It was so well written, easy to read, interesting, fascinating, enlightening and unbearably tragic. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wish I’d read it 30 years ago.
Favorite cocktail: the Hugo, which is St. Germain elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, seltzer & mint. Except I put the liquid in a blender and add ice and make a slushy, which is fabulouso, but dangerous, lol
Favorite meal: post graduation dinner at Thompson and Bleeker in Ithaca NY. Amazing pizza, fantastic salads, delicious cold beer, and not insanely expensive!!
Favorite radio shows: I love listening to two radio shows on WMBR.org, “Coffee Time” from 2-4 on Friday, and “Backwoods” from 10-12 on Saturdays. Both remind me that the weekend is coming or is here, so time to chill out!
Favorite movie: “My Old Ass” which was so sweet and lovely, see it if you can!
Favorite songs: “Gild the Lily,” by Billy Strings. It’s a country music song that reminds me of country songs that my mom would listen to on the radio when I was a kid. Plus, it’s about birds singing, which is lovely.
I also love that song “Sexy to Someone” by Clairo; it’s catchy, cute and the keyboards sound so cool.
Mario and Riley – Courtesy of Riley
Riley Riley (Artsick/Boyracer) – Favorites of 2024: Music in alphabetical order:
Adrianne Lenker “Bright Future” Beth Gibbons “Lives Outgrown” Billie Eilish “Hit Me Hard And Soft” The concert was amazing.
Doechii “Alligator Bites Never Heal” Kim Deal “Nobody Loves You More” Mo Dotti “Opaque” Rachel Love “Lyra” The Softies “The Bed I Made” WUT “Mingling With The Thorns”
Fav local Seaside/Monterey Bay things:
1. Mando Surf Company is a local surfboard shaper and a friend of mine. Their boards are gorgeous pieces of art, one of which ended up at SFMOMA for their “Get in the Game” exhibit.
2. Pop and Hiss is a new local venue/record shop/bar in Pacific Grove. Super cool spot to check out if in the area.
3. Captain Stoker Coffee is delicious and the best coffee in Monterey IMO
Fav things I did: 1. Oakland Weekender 2024 happened at Thee Stork Club and was amazing… again!
2. Played a PNW mini tour with my favs, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Kids On A Crime Spree. Major bonus: got to see Gail!
3. Played a couple of shows with my besties band, WUT and got to join them for a couple songs live.
4. Danced to an incredible set by Kid Frostbite with friends.
5. The new Boyracer record called “Seaside Riot” came out and I am so proud to be part of it.
6. Drove down to Big Sur with my family, parked on a cliff and saw the Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet… it was breathtaking and such a memorable moment. It was last visible 80,000 years ago.
7. Read “You Better Be Lightning” by Andrea Gibson
8. Dog cuddles
9. Hiking in Big Sur
10. Got to hangout with Kim Baxter from AGSFB in Monterey… we had the best time getting some food and sitting by the water.
11. Recording new Artsick
12. Mushroom Tea…
RYLI at the 4 Star Theater! This is Yea Ming Chen’s new band & I was driven to dance. That woman knows how to write a pop song!
Watching Josh Miller play bass in Chime School AND Anna Hillburg Band, both experiences are mind-bending
Watching Ladybug Transistor reunion live in LA at the Lodge Room. Trumpets, flutes, & song craft from Sasha, Jennifer, Gary, Julia, and Jeff. What a group!
Gerard Love at Glasgoes Pop! What a voice! (And with the crowd singing along it was like the best party)
Heavenly at Glasgoes Pop dancing with Kenji (The Fairways forever) & Ari (Poastal forever)! I nearly died!
The Softies, with Anna Hillburg at Bottom of the Hill, because OMG it’s The Softies. Also, bonus, Rose sang a song with Anna & it was epic.
Galore! Anywhere they play, every time. Three part harmonies and killer melodies. I die again.
Shannon Shaw at the Fox with my buddies Noelle & The Deserters. Epic venue, epic night.
Lightheaded at the Oakland Weekender!! They ripped! I was not expecting the ferocity of pop that came our way, all the way from Jersey, I love them.
Jessica Pratt at Bimbos. Her album made my year, and seeing her perform the songs live was otherworldly.
1. Caribou- Campfire
2. Seefeel- Multifolds
3. Chris Cohen- Night and Day
4. Real Estate- Airdrop
5. Orcas- Riptide
6. Mahogany- A Scaffold
7. Bedroom- Her Ghost
8. Epic45- New Town Faded
9. Dottie- Disappearing
10. Royksopp- Camera Obscura (but actually the whole album, Nebulous Nights)
The Umbrellas: here is our end of the year list, we decided to rank gas stations!
The Umbrellas were on the road ALOT (possibly far too much) this past year. Given this, what better way to wrap up 2024 than a retrospect of where we spent a majority of our time, gas stations…?
One9 – This fueling station we believe is a newish franchise. The whole sign and exterior looks like it was designed by a silicon valley software developer. They have hot food items, a lot of car accessories you wouldn’t normally find (like hub caps), and the latest trending food items. Nick tried an Oreos Coca-cola and commented that it tasted like cleaning supplies.
Kum & Go – Ha ha ha … get your mind out of the gutter! This midwest franchise only has a few locations, but each one is more charming than the last. Generally friendly staff who don’t mind you giggling when you bring one of to their “Kum & Go” t-shirts up to the counter to purchase.
Sinclair- That dinosaur logo is cool! Maybe it has to do with the fact that these are not terribly common in the bay area, but whenever we stop into one there’s an indescribable sense of nostalgia and whimsy. It feels like an old-timey gas pump attendant dressed in all white with a newscap is going to pop out from behind the big fiberglass Dinosaur they have on display. While other chains have rebranded or updated their logo … that dino has always remained, plastered on their fueling pumps.
Buc-ees – An allegory for what America is: Large, overwhelming, and hundreds of bathroom stalls. A must-stop for anyone driving through the south or mid-west. What more is there to say that hasn’t been said by bands and short-form video influencers alike? Matt says to make sure to try the Brisket sandwich. Pro-tip: skip the prepackaged bagged jerky and go straight to the counter for the fresh stuff.
Love’s – Love’s is like a reliable old friend that will always be there for you. Love’s doesn’t judge you when you’ve had one too many hard seltzers and you stumble around looking for their mini-tacos. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to catch the Love’s x Del Taco combo. Love’s would never dream of thinking illy of you! Hot showers, hot food, and hot deals (each location has a discount food rack of unsold seasonal items). Through and through The Umbrellas are a Love’s band. So spread the love and stop into your local Love’s the next time you need to top off your tank.
Best long poems I read or reread this year:
Liu Shang, “Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute”
Matthew Rohrer, “The Others”
John Ashbery, “The Wave”
Annelyse Gelman, “Vexations”
Alice Notley, “In The Pines”
Laura Henrikesen, “Laura’s Desires”
Best long songs I liked this year:
Gerard Cleaver, “The Process”
Destroyer, “Bay of Pigs”
Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell, “Mutron/Arabian Nightmare”
Nichuminu, “Aberraciones y Milagros”
Matmos, “Ultimate Care II”
Yukihiro Fukutomi, “5 Blind Boys”
Prince, “Automatic”
Caley Conway, Partner
Refrigerator, Get Lost
Jeff Parker, The Way Out Of Easy
Mountain Movers, Walking After Dark
The Special Pillow, Meets The Space Monster
Little Hag, Now That’s What I Call Little Hag
Daga Voladora, Los Manantiales
Shady Cove, Part II
Oneida, Expensive Air
Cornelius, Ethereal Essence
Roger Moutenot, Microcosm
Ava Mendoza, The Circular Train
David Nance, David Nance & Mowed Sound
Alan Sparhawk, White Roses My God
Tim Heidecker, Slipping Away
Alan Licht, Havens
Julie Beth Napolin, Only The Void Stands Between Us
Mark Robinson (Teen-Beat Records, Cotton Candy) Kali Malone, All Life Long (record)
Miranda July, All Fours (book)
Kim Gordon, The Collective (record)
Ruben Pater, Caps Lock (book)
hollAnd, Green Text (record)
Katherine Small Gallery (store)
White Manna, Hackensack, NJ (restaurant)
Henry Smith, Film No.18 (Mahagonny) (film)
Bakar, Halo (record)
Escape-ism Black Gold (record)
Mount Kimbie, The Sunset Violent (record)
Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga, The Courage to Be Disliked (book)
King Krule, Shhhhhhhh! (record)
Papa Slumber’s Top Ten Listens of 2024 (Slumberland Records) Ability II – Rediscovered (I9M)
Autocamper – Blanche (Safe Suburban Home)
Jesse Garon & The Desperadoes – Janice Long Session 11.11.86 (Precious)
Shabaka Hutchings – Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace (Impulse!)
Rachel Love – Lyra (The Cat Collects)
The Moment of Nightfall & Tony Jay – Winter Dream (Kilikilivilla)
Sharp Pins – Radio DDR (Sharp Pins)
Nala Sinephro – Endlessness (Warp)
The Softies – The Bed I Made (Father/Daughter)
v/a – Lost Paradise: Blissed Out Breakbeat Hardcore 1991-94 (Blank Mind)
I’m not going to get any less angry, so here we go:
Fanzines – loads of brilliant photos, pictures and writing, perhaps replacing record sales. Maybe we all need to evolve…
Clairo – get the latest lp if you haven’t already..
now..
really, are you still here?…
go… get the latest Clairo album, come back, read on…
Do not read on without that Clairo lp
YOU GOT IT? Ok, read on
Heavenly – they have returned just when we need them the most – May I be among the first to solemnly declare allegiance to the flag of FUCK YOU NO WAY
Saturday Night Fever – seen for the first time in 2024, after nearly fifty years of being told “it’s not what you think it is” it wasn’t what I thought it was. Led to me listening to a LOT of disco, good and bad, and buying a LOT of paint.
Italian exploitation soundtracks of the 70’s – turns out it’s the best music there is
Despair – we did our best, it was fun while it lasted, but the cunts have been voted in, promoting the far right, buying politicians and media networks – but remember everyone who didn’t vote for it, we stand together, we are here for each other. I don’t know what it means, but if there is anything I can help with I am here – wiaiwya on most media (fuck you billionaires, we will use your networks while we can) – please get in touch – we are here for each other…
The future – it is ours… it has to be.
FUCK YOU NO WAY
Can you say cunt in America? Hope you can’t and you will anyway- because he is one!
Some books from 2024 that I have read/am reading and thoroughly enjoy – not in hierarchical order, but I do love Joni Mitchell more than most things:
• Traveling on the Path of Joni Mitchell by Ann Powers is my fave of the new books I’ve purchased this year because, well, Joni. There is not a wasted syllable in it, and the “traveling” and “path” is an extended metaphor for both Joni and author Ann Powers.
• How Women Made Music includes two photographs by me, but that’s not why I love it. It is an important reference work of NPR dispatches with thorough curation by Alison Fensterstock. I have lost track of how many people who have received this book from me as a gift. If you still haven’t gifted anyone anything yet – I highly suggest How Women Made Music. And sharing good reads isn’t just for Christmas or year-end lists.
• In Under a Rock, Blondie’s co-founder, Chris Stein delivers a delightful valentine to the NYC of his youth. It’s no wonder Blondie was a pioneering musical project. I wish that NYC still existed.
• The surrealist next door, my former neighbor and lifetime icon of pop surrealism, Robyn Hitchcock also paints a picture of his Groover origin story in 1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left. He made a companion album to go along with it, which is a fave listen as well.
• The Freaks Came Out to Write: The Definitive History of the Village Voice, the Radical Paper That Changed American Culture. I lived in NYC for 20 years, but I read the Village Voice long before and long after I lived there. What a fantastic biography of a print icon! Bravo Tricia Romano onyour widely heralded book!
• Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum I’ve worked in television, and I grew up in Santa Barbara and witnessed the Loud family open their lives to the PBS series about them – An American Family, which was the first “reality show” in the early 1970s. Emily Nussbaum nailed this on every point; she has been writing about television for a long, long time and deftly connects all the dots. I am a hard one to convince, since this particular example took place in my very hometown at the peak of my snarky teenage phase. Read for yourself, Emily got it right !
• Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius. I have a personal obsession with the films ISHTAR and REDS, which Elaine May wrote, and co-wrote (no on-screen credit for REDS), and so does the author Carrie Courogen who appropriately identifies Elaine May as “Hollywood’s Hidden Genius.” This is a phenomenal effort and it places my head in a space that helps me understand why I am happy when I’m immersed in ironic satire.
Music and Film – Mostly I was underwhelmed this year – too much hype; too little deliverance. That being said, The The in concert was impressive, with the first set being their new album, Ensoulment, and after a brief intermission, a set of hits and fan faves. Way back in January, I saw Elvis Costello & the Imposters put on the best concert (3+ hours!!) I’ve ever seen and heard.
We are here to inform you that—OH HELL YEAH!—legendary UK indiepop band Heavenly and indie supergroup Swansea Sound are coming to play shows in the USA! So we asked the band members to come up with lists of their favorite West Coast things and memories. (Photos courtesy of the bands)
Heavenly + Swansea Sound in NYC:
May 31-June 1 in Brooklyn: shows are sold out
June 1: Heavenly daytime event
What Heavenly and Swansea Sound Love About the West Coast
Cathy Rogers (Heavenly, Marine Research, Gilroy)
1. Driving through trees for hours and hours between Portland and SF or is it Oly and Portland? America does everything on a scale so big for us Brits 2. The Original Pantry in LA, my first experience of a cafe open 365 and 24/7, the door constantly swinging 3. The unbelievable smell of Gilroy. Everyone says oh you’ll smell it miles before you get there and you think they’re exaggerating then you smell that they’re not 4. Monterey aquarium and the whole feeling of Monterey and canning and those pummelling words 5. Swap meets in San Luis Obispo, getting up in the middle of the night to rummage around in other people’s drawers of kitchen utensils to find just the right shaped thing you don’t know what to do with 6. Lovely Olympia people. The indie punk memories of the US all centre around or connect in some way with Olympia 7. Snorkelling in kelp off Catalina island. A 90degree change in the angle of your head is all it takes to enter a parallel universe 8. Staying in an airstream by the river in Kernville. I co-owned an airstream when I lived in LA and went up to stay in it at weekends and float in giant tractor tyres down the river 9. Jumping kangaroo rats and cactuses in Joshua Tree National Park. Shame U2 appropriated its name. 10. Pie. The whole west coast. And east coast, and middle. Whole shops, whole restaurants, whole lives committed to pie.
Amelia and Hue, image courtesy of the artists
Hue Williams (Swansea Sound, the Pooh Sticks) 1. City Lights bookstore
2. Meeting Johnny Guitar Watson the first time I visited LA who invited me to swim in his guitar shaped pool
3. Sky Saxon and the Seeds
4. The Griffith Observatory
5. Meeting Brian May at Universal Studios
6. San Francisco 49ers
7. Arthur Lee and Love
8. Linda Perhacs
9. Attending the world premiere of the Beavis and Butthead movie at the Chinese theatre and the aftershow party with Tarantino where Issac Hayes was the star guest
10. The Six Million Dollar Man
Photograph by Yvonne Chen
Amelia Fletcher (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, the Catenary Wires, Marine Research, Tender Trap, Talulah Gosh, Skep Wax Records) 1. Olympia: Our US home from home.
2. Riot grrrl: A global phenomenon but Olympia was where it started and also where we first discovered it. Heavenly weren’t exactly a riot grrrl band, but it had a big influence on us.
3. Heavenly’s show with Tiger Trap in Sacramento: One of my all time favourite shows. I seem to remember it was in someone’s basement without their parents’ knowing. Tiger Trap were on roller skates. It was everything a show should be.
4. The competition between K Records and Kill Rock Stars to be the best label in Olympia/the world at that time. They both won.
5. Slumberland Records: So good for such a prolonged period. Current faves include The Umbrellas and Lightheaded.
6. Gidget: Both the book and the film. I have no idea why I love this, as I have zero interest in surfing; it just got to me.
7. The long-time liberal attitudes to sexuality and gender on the West Coast. Yep, had to say it. Important.
8. Silicon Valley: For giving Swansea Sound so much lyrical source material.
9. The Aislers Set: Such an amazing way with a tune. Linton = ❤️.
10. Beat Happening: The music I want played at my funeral. The music we did play at my brother’s.
Ian recording with Thrashing Doves at Rumbo Recorders in LA ‘86
Ian Button (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, Death In Vegas) 1. Little Richard winding down his limo window to say hello in the car park of the Hyatt.
2. Anthony Perkins stepping out of the lift at The Hollywood Roosevelt.
3. Seeing The Replacements at Santa Barbara ’87.
4. Waking up from an earth tremor.
5. A strawberry next to your eggs and bacon.
6. “What are grits, please?” “You English? You won’t like ’em!”
7. Death In Vegas @ Bimbos 365 SF ’97.
8. Surplus store near Ripley’s Odditorium – proper raw denim Levi’s
9. Hearing Todd R. ‘Hello It’s Me’ for the first time, on the radio, driving along Sunset Blvd., top down.
10. Hot apple cider in Seattle in November.
Peter in the Capitol Theatre, Olympia
Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, the Would-Be-Goods, Tufthunter, Marine Research, Talulah Gosh, many more) North to South:
1. Sylvia Hotel, Stanley Park, Vancouver
2. Bellingham summer philosophy conference
3. Anacortes IPA
4. Roasted Olympia oysters
5. All Freakin’ Night at Olympia film fest
6. Olympia pet parade
7. The decor at the Brotherhood Lounge, Oly
8. Dumpster Values, Oly
9. Sprung dance floor at the Crystal Ballroom, Portland
10. Chez Panisse
11. Hummingbirds in Golden Gate Park
12. Midnight tour of historic downtown LA
Rob and Calvin (“P.U.N.K. Girl” video shoot)
Rob Pursey (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, The Catenary Wires, Skep Wax Records, Talulah Gosh, Marine Research) 1. Filming a video for “P.U.N.K. Girl” in the Capitol Theatre, Olympia
2. ‘Would you like that covered and smothered?’
3. Cinnamon-scented garbage
4. ‘That sounded totally SWEDISH’ (San Diego promoter, of our soundcheck, approvingly)
5. Vaginal Davis hosting the Marine Research show in LA
6. Tiger Trap
7. Hanging with Candice and Calvin at K Records HQ
8. Visiting Kill Rock Stars HQ, just down the street from K. (I just realised that this list is very Olympia-centric)
9. The Microphones
10. Driving for 8 hours and nothing happening
Swansea Sound (Bob in center)
Bob Collins (Swansea Sound, the Treasures of Mexico, the Dentists) 1. Monterey Pop
2. Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass
3. Laurel and Hardy driving in LA with a record player under the hood
4. Ray Manzarek’s almost certainly made-up story about meeting Jim Morrison on Venice Beach and forming the Doors
5. The geographical absurdity of Point Roberts
6. The fact that the members of Love all lived in a house called The Castle.
7. The day that Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Gene Clark went to the movies in LA to see A Hard Day’s Night 8. Mulholland Drive
LA show is October 23, 2024!!!From the archiveEddie Vedder and Cathy Heavenly (she didn’t know who he was!)“P.U.N.K. Girl” video shootCathy watching Lois in San Jose
Daniel Handler: I am spending the last chunk of 2023 and the first of 2024 spelunking my way through some haphazard research into sculpture and other visual arts. Here are thirteen images I came across in my research.
Design for a castle, 1539:
Back view of the Great Buddha of Kamakura (built in 1252):
Brancusi, Three Penguins:
Callot’s etching of Two Pantaloons:
Claes Oldenburg’s Giant BLT:
Deakin’s portrait of Barbara Hepworth:
Designers of Lincoln Center with its scale model:
Frank Lloyd Wright’s redesign of Suite 223 at the Plaza Hotel for his own use:
Gilbert and George as the Singing Sculpture:
Illustration of Jupiter seated triumphantly on a bed of defeated giants:
Rob Pursey’s (Heavenly, Swansea Sound, The Catenary Wires, Skep Wax Records) Top 10 Christmas Tree Baubles:
I’m sorry, this is probably the most sentimental top 10 list you’ve ever read. But I have just entered that melancholy phase when, looking at our Christmas Tree, I realise it has to come down soon – and then I’ll have to confront the rest of the winter without any twinkly distractions.
Christmas is a big deal in this house. It’s got nothing to do with religion: we are all atheists and so were our parents. It’s more like an accumulation of memories of all the other times you and your family did exactly the same things, every year: parents stopping work, kids getting presents, everyone playing old board games, eating special things. The winter is transformed, briefly, into something wonderful because of the people around you. And because of the baubles and twinkly lights.
So, my first bauble was a gift from Alexandra, who is the very skilful knitter and craftswoman and partner of John, head honcho of WIAIWYA Records. It’s a felt rendition of the first record by The Catenary Wires.
Bauble Two is a strange little stretchy man. He doesn’t dangle like the other baubles do, he grips the branch of the tree like a cartoon soldier. I don’t know why he entered the canon of baubles. One of the kids put him up on the tree a few years ago, he made us laugh, and now he comes out every year.
Bauble Three is the newest one. It was a present from Bob Collins, who plays guitar with us in Swansea Sound. It’s an image of Priestfield Stadium, where Gillingham FC play. We went there (with Bob) a couple of days ago and saw Gillingham lose 2-0 to Crawley. It was a horrible experience, but we will be back there very soon. And the Priestfield bauble will be back on the tree next year.
Bauble Four was made many years ago by our older daughter Dora. She made a lot of items in pottery class when she was a little kid. I have a goblet, a candlestick holder, a vase and many other chunky, colourful items. This bauble is quite fragile and I worry about it surviving through all future Christmases.
The fifth bauble is this tiny stocking which clearly belonged to Ivy (our younger daughter). I don’t know where it came from – maybe it was part of an advent calendar, or was attached to something bigger – but it is now an essential tree item.
I like this sixth bauble a lot. It is the most substantial decoration on the tree as it includes the entire text of the first book of Paradise Lost by John Milton, which is my favourite poem. I am not sure that Milton, a fairly austere Protestant, would have approved of this frivolous and decorative use of his major work. But he might also be pleased that his poetry is honoured, four hundred years after it was written.
Bauble Seven. Some years ago, I can’t remember when, the kids were given a set of toy germs. This one is eColi, and he has become a regular fixture. There were five or six other germs, including halitosis and the common cold, but eColi is the one who got hung on the tree.
This little robin started life as a cake decoration, but got upgraded to the tree a few years ago. He has efficient claws and so he can perch on the branch, just like a real robin. Except he is only about an inch long. He is bauble number eight.
Sorry, not a great picture, but the fairy is right at the top and I couldn’t get close enough without knocking the whole thing over. She is the oldest bauble – she sat on top of the Christmas Tree when I was a little kid. She is a bit lopsided, but she is hanging on.
Ok, Bauble Ten takes us back to music, and it’s another one by Alexandra, with Le Jardin de Heavenly-style butterflies on a little felt square. (I have no idea why people accused our old band of being twee.)
By the time anyone reads this the baubles will be heading back into their box, and winter will have resumed. I hope you have a happy new year.
Kim Baxter’s (All Girl Summer Fun Band) Top 10 Favorite Things About Reuniting with AGSFB in 2023
The amazing feeling that occurred when the 3 of us got together and started playing music again. It was like no time had passed at all. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed playing with Jen & Kathy.
Having friends come to our shows that we hadn’t seen in ages!
Encountering the nicest and most helpful sound people that we have ever worked with.
Jen’s contagious excitement for playing shows & recording music again, her awesome playlists & podcast selections, and her ability to drive for hours on end.
Figuring out that if we rent an AirBnB with a garage, we don’t have to unload our gear each night. Our favorite new tour hack!
Getting to play shows with so many awesome bands & people-Tony Molina, Mo Troper, The Softies, Growing Pains, Who Is She?, Love in Hell, Tony Jay, Kids on a Crime Spree, Rose Melberg, Lunchbox, Wifey, Field Drums.
Catching up, cracking up, and built-in therapy + pep talks with Jen & Kathy at band practices and on the road.
Hitting all of the health food co-ops on tour (Kathy is an expert at finding them) and being instantly transported back to the 90’s by the smell of nutritional yeast and nag champa.
Sitting around in our PJs after shows and watching back-to-back episodes of Selling Sunset together (so bad, yet so good).
Making plans for future shows and writing & recording new music!
Favorite Youth Slang – LFG! (In a text, it means Let’s Fucking Go)
Great albums – Black Rainbows by Corinne Bailey Rae; The Water, The Sky by Black Belt Eagle Scout
Favorite Books – My Murder by Katie Williams and The Fraud by Zadie Smith
James McNew’s Favorite songs 2023:
Staple Singers, “The Gardener” (1970)
The Cyclones with Count Ossie, “Meditation” (1973)
Thin Lizzy, “The Friendly Ranger at Clontorf Castle” (1971)
Jimmy Flemion, “Oh Babe, What Would You Say” (2022)
Little Obsessions, “Can’t See What’s Mine” (2023)
Rob Sonic, “Mink” (2023)
Dave Edmunds, “Where Or When” (1977)
Flo and Eddie, “Keep It Warm” (1976)
Ceremony, “Your Life In France” (2015)
Yozoh, “Tommy” (2022)
The Notwist, “Sans Soleil” (2021)
Evelyn Hurley (Cotton Candy): Top fave shows of 2023
I watched a lot of good television shows this year, so in no real order, here’s a list of a few or my favorite tv shows for 2023:
Slow Horses – this TV show is on a lot of peoples “Best Of” lists and there’s a good reason for that, it’s really good! The acting and stories are super suspenseful, and it’s really funny. Highly recommend!
Rain Dogs – this is a British TV show which was really touching, even though the protagonists are somewhat unlikeable and flawed. The lead actress/writer/creator, Daisy May Cooper, is super talented, and she has another show on my list, which is called…
Am I Being Unreasonable? – this is the other Daisy May Cooper show on my list, and it’s completely different from Rain Dogs. The story is so compelling and the twist at the end had me literally screaming. Definitely watch this if you can, you will not forget it.
Schmigadoon – the second season of this show was based on the musical Chicago rather than Brigadoon, and songs are catchy, the story is clever, and the singing and acting is so good. It’s a great series, watch it if you get the chance, especially if you’re old an old theater kid like me.
Afterparty – this is also the second season of this show, and it’s really so well done with clever, jokes and great acting by everyone. I did not predict the ending at all!
Physical – this was the third and final season of the show and in my opinion it’s really one of the best TV shows I’ve seen in years. Rose Byrne is so excellent, which is saying a lot because every single actor in the show is fantastic. I can see why some people are uncomfortable with this show because it might trigger some trauma people have had with an eating disorder, but the way she portrays a working business woman in the 80’s, with all the references to exercise trends, clothing, foods, is really well done without being preachy or grating. Also, big shout out to Zooey Deschanel, whose portrayal of a zany character was so great.
Big Door Prize – the show was kind of a sleeper but I thought it was really good. Chris O’Dowd is really hilarious in an understated way, and Josh Segarra was so great as the almost-successful hockey player-has been. I still can’t really figure out what is going with the plot, show but it’s a good show!
Hijack – this Idris Elba show was so good, but it’s really suspenseful, so don’t watch it if you don’t like being stressed out.
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields – this is an amazing documentary about Brooke Shields and how she grew up in the public eye in the 70’s & 80’s. I grew up the same time as Brooke, so all the footage of her childhood was a trip down memory lane for me, only this time I realized how incredibly exploited she was by almost everyone in her life. She handled every single man, woman, TV star, movie star, interviewer, journalist, etc… with such grace and respect, even though they were all usually acting like massive creeps. (Looking at you, Bob Hope.)It’s incredible how she turned out so well adjusted, because she seems like a really cool person.
WHAM! documentary – I’m a big George Michael & Wham! fan, and this documentary was really well done and very sweet. It showed how incredibly talented and driven George Michael and Andrew Ridgely were. I especially loved how tormented George Michael was when he knew that his song “Last Christmas” wasn’t going to be the number one Christmas song because Band Aid would knock it off of its 1st place space, even though he was also on that song. But I especially loved the sweet friendship they had, and it makes me sad that Yog died way too young.
Sukhdev Sandhu (Photo: Gail O’Hara)
Sukhdev Sandhu (English professor, critic, event creator, and CF contributor/MC)
* Chiara Ambrosio is one of the most teeming, tireless people I know. She lives in London, is a writer and an artist and a filmmaker and a puppeteer and a publisher, and champions that which deserves championing. In this year alone: a linocut response to Yannis Ritsos’s Monochords; The Book of Raft – a companion to an upcoming film championing cultural hubs/ holdouts in London; a wonderful event at The Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury – which featured broom-dancing children, Kurdish singing and mulled wine-enhanced wassailing deep into the December night.
* I’m not sure if Mike Rubin ever sleeps. Almost every night he ranges across New York, shows in places both lofty and busted, often attending more than one event – jazz, hip hop, soul and post-soul, mangled electronica, beats from all across the world. He documents these fastidiously, making sure musicians and performers are properly credited, and flagging them up on his crucial Instagram page. It’s a wonderful resource and, in the words of the Caught by the River magazine, ”an antidote to indifference”.
* Archive Books. These days, every bookshop, big or small, cussedly individual or corporate, deserves at least two cheers. And then there’s Archive Books in Marylebone, London. It’s hard enough to get inside, far less glide down its aisles. There’s no space – except to wonder. Its shelves tower and teeter. Edwardiana for a couple of quid. Cricketing autobiographies, collected journalism of long-forgotten Fleet Strack hacks, self-published cookery books, an Aladdin’s cave of a basement crammed with music scores. Impossible to leave, most likely hours later, without a couple of bags of unknown pleasures in hand.
* There are more famous names in food journalism, but Sheila Dillon is in a league of her own. Since the late 1980s, she’s been reporting for – and later presenting – BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme. Week after week, with clarity and dry wit, she has kept listeners in the now about topics such as the baneful power of the big supermarket chains, the BSE scandal, the fall of Communism’s impact on Russian food systems. Never talking down, pretending to be our pal, or following critical fashions, she is a truly great broadcaster.
* I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. If England still exists, it’s here in this BBC Radio 4 panel show that’s been running since 1972. Its first host was jazzbo Humphrey Lyttelton, about whom Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood said, “Without his direction, we’d never have recorded/ released ‘Life in a Glasshouse.” One of the programme’s quizzes – Mornington Crescent – is as recondite as any Fall lyric. Another – ‘Uxbridge English Dictionary’ – requires contestants to supply new definitions for existing terms; among those proposed in the Christmas 2024 edition were “aspic: disgusting habit”; “jacuzzi: French for ‘I blame myself'”, and “criteria: cafe for sad people”.
* Radio – live, now, happenstance – is still a thrill. My favourites are Andres Lokko on Sveriges Radio – 2pm every Sunday. Kevin Pearce-style Modernism forever! And Jack Rollo, half of Time Is Away, helming The Early Bird Show on Fridays from 7-9am. Aching folk, glassy ambient techno, worlds of echo, a hush and a huddle for everyone who’s just about made it through another week.
* Back in March, I was lucky enough to be allowed to stage a screening, the first in North America, of Being Mavis Nicholson. How I adored the Welsh TV interviewer when I was younger. So curious, warm, intelligent. She called herself “a natural gasser”. The documentary’s director Carolynn Hitt was closer to the truth: “When a conversation is good, you’re so engrossed in it, it’s like a blanket going round you both…”
* Art galleries: take them away. Too many pious shows, lumpy wall-text, the visitors samey-same. I’ve been going, more and more, to museums. More history, sense of place, modesty. More ‘there’ there. Among my favourites this year the Stadsmuseet in Stockholm, the Franziskaner Museum in Villingen (particularly the spectacularly alarming masks and colourful costumes associated with the annual Fastnacht festivities in southern Germany), and the KattenKabinet in Amsterdam Bob Meijer founded in 1990 to celebrate feline portraiture. There are sleepy cats in some of the townhouse rooms and in the garden. Everything about the place is purr-worthy.
* Monica Zetterlund and Sivuca performing together. That scarf!
* East Broadway, New York City. When you want to get away, when you want to stay, when you want to feel like you’re somewhere: East Broadway – in the autumn, Thursday afternoons, breezes and leaf-carpeted sidewalk. Stay outside, go inside – it doesn’t matter. Carol’s Bun, Ritualarium, The House of Sages. Walk your blues, walk into blue, walk off your blues.
As always: The Style Council, ‘It’s A Very Deep Sea’; Woo, ‘This Love Affair’; Kevin Ayers, ‘May I?’; Nico Fidenco, ‘Ligados’. But also: Erlend Øye & La Comitiva, ‘Mornings and Afternoons’; The Embassy, ‘Escape’; Guy Cabay, ‘Pôve Tièsse’; Romy, ‘She’s On My Mind’.
Gail O’Hara / CF editor/photographer’s ten songs stuck in my head:
Things I’m looking forward to: New Softies and Umbrellas albums, Heavenly and 69LS shows
Pete Paphides (Photo: Gail O)
Pete Paphides (author, critic, Needle Mythology records)
Condiment/seasoning of 2023: Vegan Smoky Bacon Nooch by Notorious Nooch Co.
Protein shake of 2023: Milk (semi-skimmed or oat), peanut butter, whey powder, one frozen banana, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, almonds. Blend. Drink. Oh my god.
Sandwich of 2023: The simple tomato sandwich. Trust me. Nothing else. Just some buttered bread and a sliced room-temperature tomato with a dash of salt.
Various artists anthology of 2023: Disco Discharge presents Box Of Sin. A four LP soundtrack to the gay clubbing experience of the 80s.
Single artist anthology of 2023: The Teardrop Explodes: The Teardrop Explodes: Culture Bunker 1978-1982
Music memoir of of 2023: Paul Simpson: Revolutionary Spirit – A Post-Punk Exorcism
Memoir of 2023: John Niven: O Brother
Most heroic, articulate and humane corrective to toxic masculinity of 2023: Caitlin Moran: What About Men?
Late to the party TV experience of 2023 (i): Better Call Saul
Late to the party TV experience of 2023 (ii): Season one of Fargo, especially Billy Bob Thornton as Lorne Malvo
Cereal of 2023: Robert Forster’s Spring Grain muesli
Football (soccer) hero of 2023: Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou in the interview after losing to Chelsea with two men sent off and refusing, on point of principle, to adjust to a defensive formation in order to avoid being pummelled by their eleven man opponents: “It’s just who we are, mate. As long as I’m here, that’s what we’re going to do. ‘Even with five men, we’ll have a go.’”
Carb replacement of 2023: Edamame spaghetti.
Gig of 2023, not including gigs by humans I had a hand in making: The Northern Soul Proms at The Royal Albert Hall; The Soup Dragons at Electric Ballroom; The Bluebells at Glasgow St Lukes
Gig of 2023, including gigs by humans I had a hand in making: Eaves Wilder’s last-minute set on the second stage at Glastonbury (replacing the also-brilliant Japanese Breakfast, who were/was stuck in transit).
Song of 2023, not including songs by humans I had a hand in making or artists whose album was released on my label: Nadine Shah: Topless Mother
Song of 2023, including songs by humans I had a hand in making: Eaves Wilder: Freefall. Literally my most played song of the year
Song of 2023, including songs by artists whose album was released on my label: Iraina Mancini: Cannonball. Or maybe this was my most played song. It’s close.
Album of 2023, including albums released on my label: Iraina Mancini: Undo The Blue.
Album of 2023, not including albums released on my label: Grian Chatten: Chaos For The Fly; Beatowls: Marma; Mitski: The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
Exhibition of 2023: Women In Revolt!, Tate Britain
Parental pride moments of 2023: Seeing the results of Dora Paphides’ astonishing work for The Last Dinner Party’s My Lady Of Mercy, Fred Roberts’ Say and Chinchilla’s Cut You Off; Running along Brighton seafront to a Eaves Wilder’s just-released Hookey EP and thinking my heart was about burst (in an utterly wonderful way).
Inspired musical collision of 2023: John Douglas from Trashcan Sinatras on my Soho Radio show, creating a brand new acoustic accompaniment to the vocal of Stormzy’s Firebabe.
Lazarus-style return of 2023: The Bathers: Sirenesque
Label of 2023: Last Night From Glasgow
Drink of 2023: Sainsbury’s own brand peach iced tea. And you can have as much as you want because zero calories
Meet your heroes pinch-me moment of 2023: Interviewing Chrissie Hynde for Record Collector. I was told one hour. Three hours later, I left and somehow my car hadn’t been clamped or ticketed.
Best album recommended to me by one of my heroes: When I got to Chrissie Hynde’s apartment, she played me Spooky Two by Spooky Tooth. The first thing I had to do after I left was locate a copy.
Chocolate of 2023: Snacksy Raw Chocolate with Ginger
Cake of the year: McVities Jamaica Ginger Cake with Madagascan Vanilla Custard. In a teacup or mug, eaten with a teaspoon. Whilst watching Great British Bake-Off on the sofa.
Belated realisation of 2023: Boiled eggs make great hand warmers + once you’ve warmed your hands on them, you can eat them.
Record I Didn’t Realise I Most Needed In 2023: dEUS: How To Replace It
Most perplexingly ignored album of 2023: Keaton Henson: House Party
Best Instruction Given By An Artist When Telling Their Band How To Play Their Songs During The Recording Of An Album: “Just try and channel the soundtrack of Ten Things I Hate About You” – Keaton Henson
Big-hearted, perfectly judged, very very very funny movie of 2023: No Hard Feelings. Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman both just utterly perfect in it.
Andrew Bulhak (musicwriter, DJ) Top Songs of 2023 (not necessarily in this order): Emma Anderson – Clusters
the bv’s – warp
Hot Coppers – Hot Coppers
Jimmy Whispers – Ice Cream Truck
Lael Neale – I Am The River
Leah Senior – The Music That I Make
Pickle Darling – Kinds of Love
Slowdive – Kisses
Spearmint – tell me about my sister
Spunsugar – Metals
Strawberry Runners – Circle Circle
yeule – dazies
Borrowed from https://www.instagram.com/macsuperchunk/
Mac McCaughan (Superchunk, Merge Records): Fave Reissue / Archival Releases of 2023
Pharoah Sanders – Pharoah (Luaka Bop)
Reissue of an album by the jazz giant we lost last year that you pretty much just had to listen to on YouTube until now unless you had hundreds of dollars for an original copy. The music (incl a bonus LP of unrelease live performances) is amazing and the package includes a booklet, photographs, flyer reproductions and other ephemera.
Chin Chin – Cry In Vain (Sealed Records)
My fault for not knowing about this incredible all-girl Swiss punk group from the 80s. Amazing songs which remind me of a slightly more aggro Look Blue Go Purple. Can’t stop listening!
Milford Graves / Arthur Doyle / Hugh Glover – Children of the Forest (The Black Editions)
The Black Editions label has uncorked a flow of powerful free jazz archival releases over the last few years and this previously unreleased home-recorded by Graves performance from 1976 is essential. The world will be catching up with Milford Graves forever i think.
Masayuki Takayanagi – Mass Hysterism In Another Situation (The Black Editions)
Electric guitar destruction from ’83 and a two-guitar & drums trio led by Takayanagi. Massive.
Milford Graves / Don Pullen – The Complete Yale Concert 1966 (Corbett Vs Dempsey)
Speaking of Milford Graves, i keep trying to imagine what the audience expected / what they got when they attended this intense performance in 1966… Long out of print and lovingly put back together by the fine people at Corbett Vs Dempsey.
Arthur Russell – Picture of Bunny Rabbit (Rough Trade)
The Arthur Russell archive may be bottomless but if it’s all as listenable as what’s been excavated so far I hope they keep it coming.
Hiroshi Yoshimura – Surround (Light In The Attic)
“Environmental music” commissioned by a home builder to play in their living spaces or something like that… recorded the same year as one my favorite ambient records ever, Yoshimura’s Green LP and never reissued before, Surround is as liquid and beautiful as the sleeve suggests.
John Coltrane – Evenings At The Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse)
Minor Threat – Out of Step Outtakes 7″ (Dischord)
The titles of these two releases tell you all you need to know!
The Umbrellas’ Top 10 San Francisco Date Spots
Hey… February is right around the corner… Love is in the air… Wink wink!1. Musée Mécanique
2. Vesuvio Cafe, City Lights and an Italian dinner
3. Top of the Mark
4. Lands End/ Sutro Baths
5. Audium, and THEN Tommy’s Joynt
6. Free Gold Watch
7. Royal Cuckoo on Sundays
8. Conservatory of Flowers
9. A cable car ride with a tallcan!
10. Giants game at Oracle Park
image courtesy of Theresa Kereakes
Theresa Kereakes, punk photographer and historian When I was a kid, I recall reading a column in TV Guide called “Cheers & Jeers,” and I think that’s what 2023 calls for….
Cheers: The World According to Joan Didion by Evelyn McDonnell.
All my dots connected in this book – California, women writers, inadvertent movers & shakers. The intellectual rigor combined with passion for their respective subject matters from both the author and her subject make this book a must-read. I don’t want it to end. More than a biography, it is a consideration of the times, and how Didion lived and wrote in them.
Maestro – believe it or not! If you know me in real life, you know I am no fan of Bradley Cooper and a huge fan of Leonard Bernstein. With low expectations, I watched it and was not disappointed. I don’t care that Cooper is not Jewish and he wore a prosthetic nose. Movies are smoke and mirrors and if one chooses to criticize on this point, then criticize the superb Irish actor, Liam Neeson for portraying the German Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List. Bottom line: for a mainstream movie featuring the movie star as actor and director, this was most serviceable and Lenny is introduced to a whole new audience.
Tim: Let it Be Edition – The Replacements. My favorite album of 2023 is a reissue of an 80s record, remastered to sound the way it should. It’s perfect.
Eddie Izzard- The Rewind Tour. It was a delightful time hearing the old sketches and how prescient Izzard’s comedy was in the 80s. Dress to Kill is probably still my favorite stand up performance by anyone- seeing a reprise of “Tea & cake or death?” made my night.
The Algonquin Cat – best thing about Midtown Manhattan- the historic hotel has a cat. His name is Hamlet and whenever I am in NYC, I stop by the hotel JUST FOR THE CAT!
Jeers: War Barbie – subtle as a flying mallet
Media coverage of Taylor Swift’s dating life
For me, the overall vibe of 2023 is “hurry up 2024,” and I dream of more interesting times.
Top 8 shows Seablite went to in 2023
Sweeping Promises – The Chapel, San Francisco (LM)
Underworld – The Warfield, San Francisco (LM)
The Charlatans and Ride – The Fillmore, San Francisco (GT)
Suede – O2 Academy, Glasgow (GT)
Love and Rockets – Fox Theater, Oakland (JM)
Patti Smith – Golden State Theatre, Monterey (JM)
Mo Dotti – Permanent Records, Los Angeles (AP)
Aluminum – The Makeout Room, San Francisco (AP)
Papa Slumber (right) with Nommi and Gaylord, London, 2022 (photo: Gail O’Hara)
Papa Slumber’s Lucky 13 01 Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin – Archetype (Aquarii)
02 Autocamper – You Look Fabulous! (Discontinuous Innovation)
03 Nat Birchall – The Infinite (Ancient Archive of Sound)
04 The Clientele – I Am Not There Anymore (Merge)
05 John Haycock – Dorian Portrait (Second Thoughts Records)
06 Kode9 / Burial – Infirmary / Unknown Summer (Fabric)
07 The Lost Days – In The Store (Speakeasy Studios)
08 Malombo Jazz Makers – Down Lucky’s Way (Tapestry Works)
09 Primal Scream – Reverberations (Travelling In Time) BBC Radio Sessions & Creation Singles 1985-86 (Young Tiki)
10 The Southern University Jazz Ensemble – Goes To Africa With Love (Now Again)
11 Sam Wilkes & Jacob Mann – Perform The Compositions Of Sam Wilkes & Jacob Mann (Leaving Records)
12 Yaw Evans – The Bits (GD4YA)
13 The Oakland Weekender – great music, great friends, can’t wait to do it again!
Jennifer O’Connor’s favorite records MeShell Ndegeocello – The Omnichord Real Book (Blue Note) Steve Gunn & David Moore – Reflections Vol. 1: Let the Moon Be a Planet (RVNG Intl.) Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru – Jerusalem (Missippippi Records) Armand Hammer – We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (Fat Possum) Feist – Multitudes (Polydor) King Krule – Space Heavy (Matador) Meg Baird – Furling (Drag City) Roge – Curyman (Diamond West) Everything But The Girl – Fuse (Buzzin’ Fly/Virgin) Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We (Dead Oceans)
Rachel Blumberg (drummer): Top Ten Portland Area Pooches Who Have Spent Time At Our Humble Abode, The Two Fir in 2023…
1. Winnie Dean Underberg! We adopted her in November and shortly thereafter learned she is a purebred McNab! Whoever knows what this is without googling it wins a prize. She is so sweet and super smart and we love her so much.
2. Arrow, fur child of Sarah Fennel (Night Brunch) and Matt Sheehy (Lostlander).
3. Tizate, also known as Sweet T, fur child of Joanna Bolme (many, many bands and also Reverse Cowgirl, the country cover band we both play in along with Rebecca Cole), and Gary Jarman (The Cribs). Sweet T quickly made her way to our heart with her snuggling ways and “dead bug in the sun” pose. She came to Joanna and Gary through Street Dog Hero, a great dog rescue organization based in Bend, OR.
4. Ringo, fur child of Adam Selzer (M.Ward, Norfolk & Western, Type Foundry Recording Studio). He is super smart and recently Adam discovered the most hilarious thing. Sometimes his recently baked sourdough bread would go missing. He could never find the missing bags that held said sourdough, until a few weeks ago he found a stash of plastic bags hidden behind the cherry tree in the corner of their yard! RIngo was hiding them there after eating the bread!
5. Sal, fur child of Sam Farrell (Fronjentress, Graves, Curly Cassettes, Family Reunion Music Festival) and Sarah Paradis ( Cush Upholstery)
6. Rankin, fur child of Rankin Renwick (Oregon Department of Kick Ass)
7. Oney, fur child of Cory Gray (Old Unconscious, Graves, Federale) and Nicky Kriara (Niko Far West Ceramics).
8. Bella, my sister’s pup, who is a golden sweetheart.
9. Sufi, my cousin’s pup. Tall elegant black poodle with sweet eyes.
10. Sparky,my father’s pup.
Cheers to these 13 wonderful Music Related Things of 2023 that I either played or enjoyed from the audience!
1. All Girl Summer Fun Band/Lunchbox/Field Drums summer house show in our basement!.
2. Your Heart Breaks/Matt Sheehy Magic Event/Cynthia Nelson Band house show in our courtyard!
3. Multiple shows and tours and recording and releasing a new record (Villagers!) with Califone!
4. Friday night happy hour shows at the Laurelthirst drumming with Michael Hurley!
5. Two shows at Turn Turn Turn! with Field Drums, the first featuring Jeffrey’s songs based on Shel Silverstein poems, and the second with our new bass player! Recording in 2024 is the goal!
6. Drumming and singing with the Cynthia Nelson Band at our house hosw and at Turn Turn Turn! on many several occasions!
7. Playing with Old Unconscious at the Curly Cassette Family Reunion Music Festival at Camp Wilkerson in August. Playing with GSO there too!
8. Reverse Cowgirl shows and rehearsals. SO fun. Country dance covers with a band of ringers (Joanna Bolme, Rebecca Cole, Anita Elliot and Arrin Schoedinger)
9. ESG at Polaris Hall!
10. The Papercuts at Mississippi Studios!
11. The Softies at Polaris Hall!
12. Quasi at The Doug Fir!
13. Yo La Tengo (two nights) at The Wonder Ballroom!
Michael Azerrad (author): Ten Best Vegetables of 2023 Puntarelle
Castelfranco radicchio
Salad Bowl lettuce
Sugar Snap peas
Leeks
Corn
Shishito peppers
La Ratte fingerling potatoes
Brussels sprouts
Fiddlehead ferns
CF contributor Julie Underwood’s Top 10 Albums:
boygenius – the record
Olivia Rodrigo – Guts
SZA – SOS
Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We
L’Rain – I Killed Your Dog
Girl Ray – Prestige
The Tubs – Dead Meat
The Reds, Pinks and Purples – The Town That Cursed Your Name
En Attendant Ana – Principia
Jess Williamson – Time Ain’t Accidental
Lyle Hysen (the Royal Arctic Institute, Das Damen):
Thomas Mosher (My Lil Underground label, A Certain Smile): Top 10 Daycare Plagues we survived this year:
1) Covid (again) [all of us]
2) RSV (all of us)
3) Hand, Foot, and Mouth (Me and Tilly)
4) Influenza A (Me and Tilly so far)
5) Ear Infection (just Tilly)
6) Sinus infection (Me from RSV)
7) double bout of Food Poisoning (Me and Justine)
8) Medication Allergy Rash (Just Tilly)
9) at least half a dozen colds (all of us)
10) there is still 4 days so we will see…
Photo via Shawn B
(OG CF cartoonist) Shawn Belschwender’s Best 2023 “New to Me” Reading discoveries:
Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926). Title character is tired of being a dependable aunt. In midlife, moves to a remote village. Joins a coven. Speaks to the Devil himself and discovers him to be rather stupid, but also, and more importantly, that he will leave her alone. From the Devil, and even the well-meaning, Lolly Willowes wishes to escape.
Lynne Tillman. You’ll know whether or not you’ll like Lynne Tillman if you read her “By the Book” in the NYTimes, as I did. I thought it was one of the best of those things they’ve published. This year I picked up and read What Would Lynne Tillman Do? (a collection of her nonfiction, from 2014) and her novel Men and Apparitions (2018), in which she diagnoses us, through her ethnographer narrator, as The Picture People. Men and Apparitions is about images and their place in our lives, and men and their place in the world after/under feminism. Next Tillman book I am going to track down and read: Weird Fucks.
Some of the tracks I listened to the most in 2023:
“A Sleep With No Dreaming,” k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang, from their album Sing it Loud (2011). Possibly my favorite track on definitely my favorite k.d. lang album, which I think is a tour de force. I got into k.d. lang that first pandemic summer, when I was coming unglued, but it took me until this year to hook on to this album in particular, hard.
“If I Could Breathe Underwater (feat. Mary Lattimore), Marissa Nadler, from her album The Path of Clouds (2021). I would insist that this is objectively Marissa Nadler’s best song. That it features another of my favorite musicians, Mary Lattimore, is a bonus. I saw Mary Lattimore at The Colony in Woodstock, NY in 2022, and it is one of the concert-going highlights of my life. Anyway, I built a “Summer” playlist around this track and the k.d. lang above, I love them both so much.
If you want to talk masterpieces, that Purple Mountains album is one, and the death of David Berman is a tragedy, I don’t need to tell you. I listened to “Nights That Won’t Happen” from it the most.
I was confused when Saint Etienne was at its peak, owing to the Fox Base Alpha album cover, which made them look like they were Camera Obscura only not good (I like Camera Obscura). There was just too much knitwear for me to digest, at the moment. Finally, I downloaded all the Saint Etienne, and now I can’t get enough of “Nothing Can Stop Us.” I was then thrilled to stumble upon the Dusty Springfield track it samples from (“I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face”).
“Au début c’était le début (feat. Bertrand Belin)”, The Limiñanas & Laurent Garnier, from the album De Película (2021). One day, before I die or they die, I wish to travel to France specifically to see The Limiñanas and Bertrand Belin perform, separately or together. If I could only see one, it would be Bertrand Belin. Sadly, I can’t find my fellow Belin Heads in the USA, and Limiñanas freaks are thin on the ground here, so I understand that I have to go to them.
“Anti-glory” by Horsegirl, from Versions of Modern Performance (2022). Wouldn’t have known about them if Gail O’Hara hadn’t alerted me to their existence. I missed a chance to meet ’em and take their picture, but it was the second pandemic spring and I was in the process of moving and falling fully apart. Are they referencing Conan O’Brien in this? Or the Barbarian? I don’t know what the lyrics mean, but I don’t care too much.
“Billy Jack,” Curtis Mayfield, from There’s No Place Like America Today (1975). It was written after that embarrassing movie Billy Jack, but it has nothing to do with it. “Ah, it can’t be no fun / Can’t be no fun / To be shot, shot with a handgun.” This is true. Peak Mayfield I’d known nothing about until this year.
