Sunday, November 24, 2024

Twist & Shout Staff Picks: the Best of 2024


Patrick Brown
Hello, my name is Patrick Brown and these are my top things of 2024.


Best music 2024:
1. Lux Quartet (Myra Melford, Allison Miller, Dayna Stephens, Scott Colley) - Tomorrowland
2. Vijay Iyer Trio - Compassion
3. Wussy - Cincinnati Ohio
4. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
5. Sunny Five (Tim Berne, David Torn, Ches Smith, Devin Hoff & Marc Ducret) - Candid
6. Various Artists - Congo Funk!: Sound Madness From the Shores of the Mighty Congo River 1969 - 1982
7. Serengeti - KDIV
8. Brandon Ross Phantom Station - Off the End
9. Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless
10. Laetitia Sadier - Rooting for Love
11. Richard Thompson - Ship to Shore
12. ØKSE - ØKSE
13. Laurie Anderson - Amelia
14. Wayne Shorter - Celebration Volume One
15. Peter Brötzmann / Toshinori Kondo / Sabu Toyozumi - Complete Link
16. Alan Braufman - Infinite Love Infinite Tears
17. Nicole Mitchell and Ballaké Sissoko - Bamako*Chicago Sound System
18. Tomeka Reid Quartet - 3+3
19. Vinicius Cantuaria - Psychedelic Rio
20. Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice

Best Blu-ray releases 2024:
1. About Dry Grasses
2. Chantal Akerman Masterpieces 1968-1978
3. All The Beauty & The Bloodshed
4. Black God, White Devil
5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
6. Monster
7. Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid
8. The Poetry of Lee Chang-Dong: Four Films
9. Ousmane Sembene: Three Revolutionary Films
10. Yakuza Graveyard


Abbey B
Hello, my name is Abbey B and these are my favorite things of 2024.


Top albums:
1. Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
2. Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
3. Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
4. Kali Uchis – Orquídeas
5. Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine
6. Megan Thee Stallion – Megan
7. Tyla – Tyla
8. Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
9. Eminem – The Death of Slim Shady
10. Sofi Tukker – Bread

Top movies:
1. Deadpool and Wolverine
2. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
3. The Substance
4. Smile 2
5. Trap
6. Longlegs
7. Speak No Evil
8. A Quiet Place Day One
9. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
10. Abigail


Adam Reshotko
Adam Reshotko’s Music I enjoyed in 2024. Presented alphabetically in a modest attempt at subverting hierarchies.


Music:
1. Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works Volume II (reissue)
2. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
3. Can - Live in Paris 1973
4. Chat Pile - Cool World
5. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
6. Ghost Funk Orchestra - A Trip to the Moon
7. Goat - Goat
8. Kim Gordon - The Collective
9. Grateful Dead - From the Mars Hotel 50th Anniversary Edition
10. Ibibio Sound Machine - Pull the Rope
11. Sean Ono Lennon - Asterisms
12. Rob Mazurek - Live at Adler Planetarium
13. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
14. Ron Miles - Old Main Chapel
15. Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice
16. Phish - The Spectrum '97
17. The Smile - Wall of Eyes
18. Sonic Youth - Walls Have Ears
19. Various - Congo Funk! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River (Analog Africa No. 38)
20. Various - Spiritual Jazz 16: Riverside, Etc.
21. Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement
22. Jack White - No Name
23. Yin Yin - Mount Matsu
24. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Early Daze
25. Frank Zappa - Apostrophe (') 50th Anniversary Edition
26. Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention - Whisky a Go Go, 1968


Amy Goodall
Hello, my name is Amy Goodall and these are my top CDs and records of 2024.


1. Bladee – Cold Visions
2. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
3. Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
4. Quadeca – Scrapyard
5. Loidis – One Day
6. Actress – Statik
7. Slift – Ilion
8. Seefeel – Everything Squared
9. Geordie Greep – The New Sound
10. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead
11. Ritchie – Triple Digits
12. Unskilled Labor – Kapital Won
13. Sheffner – Tumult
14. Jack White – No Name
15. Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
16. Iglooghost – Tidal Memory Exo
17. Mount Kimbie – The Sunset Violent
18. Skee Mask – Resort
19. Nala Sinephro – Endlessness
20. Ben Frost – Scope Neglect
21. Floating Points – Cascade
22. Mount Eerie – Night Palace
23. Snakes With Human Traits – Break Odyssey
24. Jamie XX – In Waves
25. Tapir – The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain
26. James Devane – Searching
27. Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud
28. KUČKA – Can You Hear Me Dreaming?
29. Kelly Lee Owens – Dreamstate
30. Gerycz/Powers/Rolin – Activator


Anna Lathem
Howdy! My name is Anna Lathem and these are my top albums of 2024! In no particular order, but also kinda a little bit in a particular order.


1. Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
2. Charli XCX – brat
3. Beyoncé – Cowboy Carter
4. Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department (The Black Dog)
5. X – Smoke & Fiction
6. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers (Original Score)
7. Brittany Howard – What Now
8. Leon Bridges – Leon
9. Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes
10. IDLES – TANGK
11. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
12. John Grant – Art of the Lie
13. Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us
14. Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet


blake
blake; 2024


1. nala sinephro - endlessness
2. mermaid chunky - slif slaf slof
3. kali malone - all life long
4. arooj aftab - night reign
5. clairo - charm
6. chelsea wolfe - she reaches out to she reaches out to she
7. charli xcx - brat
8. king hannah - big swimmer
9. kim gordon - the collective
10. st. vincent - all born screaming


Hello, my name is Brian Albright and these are my top things of 2024:


New Music:
1. Ducks Ltd. – Harms Way
2. Muscadine Bloodline – Coastal Plain
3. X – Smoke & Fiction
4. Umbrellas – Fairweather Friend
5. Jesse Daniel – Countin’ the Miles
6. Redd Kross – Redd Kross
7. Dwight Yoakam – Brighter Days
8. Chime School – The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel
9. Fu Manchu – The Return of Tomorrow
10. The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know

Reissues/Collections:
1. Johnny Cash – Songwriter
2. Various Artists – Twisted Dream Machine: The Paisley Underground
3. Kay Adams – Little Pink Mack
4. Roger McGuinn/Chris Hillman/Marty Stuart – Sweetheart of the Rodeo 50th Anniversary
5. The Cowsills – Global
6. Dwight Twilley – Twilley
7. Thompson Twins – Into the Gap 40th Anniversary
8. Various Artists – One In A Row: The Willie Nelson Songbook
9. Young Fresh Fellows – Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest
10. Various Artists – Pour A Little Sugar On It: The Chewy, Chewy Sounds of American Bubblegum 1966 - 1971


Hi, my name is B-Y and all that jazz…


…in no order…
1. X - Smoke and Fiction
2. Orquesta Akokan - Caracoles
3. Les Big Byrd - Diamonds, Rhinestones & Hard Rain
4. Those King Gizzard Rascals - Flight b741
5. Slift - Ilion
6. Suffrajettes - Easy As Pie
7. Glass Beams - Mahal
8. The Third Sound - Most Perfect Solitude
9. ‘Sup Q…
10. La Luz - News of the Universe
11. The Raveonettes - Sing
12. Hermanos Gutierrez - Sonido Cósmico
13. Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Texicali
14. Hank Williams III - Risin’ Outlaw (1st LP reissue in forever)
15. Sonic Boom / Panda Bear - Reset Mariachi EP
16. Tord Gustavsen - Seeing
17. Gum - Ill Times
18. Prince Far I - Cry Tuff Chants On You
19. Neil & The Horse - Fuckin’ Up
20. Juan Almeida - Fantasia
21. Elephant Stone - Back Into the Dream
22. A Place To Bury Strangers - Synthesizer
23. Amyl & the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
24. The Flatlanders - All American Music
25. Oh Sees - SORCS 80
26. Keep your heads up
27. Keep your heart open
28. Keep the Green Chile hot!
29. Keep Chooglin’ (Squirrel)
30. Support Winchell’s Donuts - especially the new decked out one on 78th and Sheridan, they are the shit!
-bye


Chris McLaughlin
Hello, my name is Chris McLaughlin and these are my top albums of 2024


1. Oranssi Pazuzu – Muutautuja
2. Drahla – angeltape
3. Maruja – Connla’s Well (EP)
4. Folly Group – Down There!
5. Chat Pile – Cool World
6. Champagne Dub – Rainbow
7. Kim Gordon – The Collective
8. Vince Staples – Dark Times
9. Nala Sinephro – Endlessness
10. Careen – Cycle 3 (EP)
11. Charli xcx – Brat
12. Thou – Umbilical
13. Ka – The Thief Next to Jesus
14. MIZU – Forest Scenes
15. Head Portals – A Lesson in Object Permanence
16. Delasi – Audacity of Free Thought (EP)
17. Tyler, the Creator – CHROMAKOPIA
18. Girls in Synthesis – Sublimation
19. Yin Yin – Mount Matsu
20. Cowboy Sadness – Selected Jambient Works Vol. 1


Eric Curley
Hello, my name is Eric Curley and these are my top things of 2024


So much great new music this year, folks! Thanks to all for your love and support to the store this year. Happy holidays and happy listening! ~ Eric

SLIFT: ILION (1/19)
YIN YIN: Mount Matsu (1/19)
Orgōne: Chimera (2/9)
Ghost Funk Orchestra: A Trip To The Moon (2/23)
Khruangbin: A La Sala (4/5)
Guster: Ooh La La (5/17)
RJD2: Visions Out Of Limelight (6/14)
Prefuse 73: New Strategies For Modern Crimes Vols. 1 & 2 (6/28)
Washed Out: Notes From A Quiet Life (6/28)
Kiasmos: II (7/5)
Phish: Evolve (7/12)
Oneida: Expensive Air (7/19)
Wand: Vertigo (7/26)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Flight b471 (8/9)
Ray LaMontagne: Long Way Home (8/16)
Lotus: How To Dream In Color (8/16)
Jon Hopkins: Ritual (8/30)
Tycho: Infinite Health (8/30)
Deftones: B-Sides & Rarities [reissue] (9/6)
Molchat Doma: Belaya Polosa (9/6)
Floating Points: Cascade (9/13)
Nala Sinephro: Endlessness (9/13)
Lady Blackbird: Slang Spirituals (9/13)
Ezra Collective: Dance, No One's Watching (9/27)
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80: Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head) (10/4)
GOAT [Self-Titled] (10/11)
BADBADNOTGOOD: Mid-Spiral (10/25)

VINYL-ONLY:
deadmau5 vinyl debuts & reissues
Dave Matthews Band vinyl debuts: Some Devil (5/3) & Listener Supported (11/15)
Phish reissues: Round Room (2/2) & Billy Breathes (10/18)


Ethan
Ethan's Alphabetically Organized Best of 2024


New:
Charli XCX - brat
Chime School - The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee (physical release coming 02/2025)
Cola - The Gloss
Ducks Ltd. - Harm's Way
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Jamie xx - In Waves
Kishi Bashi - Kantos
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
Mount Kimbie - The Sunset Violent
Omni - Souvenir
Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
J Mascis - What Do We Do Now
Lætitia Sadier - Rooting for Love
The Smile - Wall of Eyes
Kali Uchis - ORQUÍDEAS
Vacations - No Place Like Home
Wand - Vertigo
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor

Reissues/Remasters/Things that aren't "new":
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs Live at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel
The Beatles - The US Albums in Mono
Broadcast - both Collected Demos compilations
Cindy Lee - What's Tonight to Eternity (2024 RTI vinyl repressing)
Galaxie 500 - Uncollected Noise New York '88-'90
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs (25th Anniversary Edition)
Paul McCartney & Wings - One Hand Clapping
The Rolling Stones - Live at Racket - NYC (Record Store Day 2024)
Todd Rundgren - all RSD reissues
Stereolab - Little Pieces of Stereolab: A Switched On Sampler


Harrison
YOU ARE NOW TAPPED INTO:
Harrison’s Top 30 Products I Consumed This Year Which Made Me Desire To Continue


Joey Valence & Brae - No Hands
Charli xcx - brat
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Lupe Fiasco - Samurai
Queef Jerky - absolute madness
Cheekface - It’s Sorted
Tierra Whack - World Wide Whack
E L U C I D - Revelator
Ka - The Thief Next To Jesus
Unskilled Labor - Kapital Won
Yeat - 2093
Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA
Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown
death’s dynamic shroud & galen tipton - You Like Music
JPEGMAFIA - I Lay Down My Life For You
Denzel Curry - King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
Nails - Every Bridge Burning
Nxworries - Why Lawd?
Chat Pile - Cool World
Amyl & The Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
Extra Kool & Time - The Grimies
Cupcakke - Dauntless Manifesto
CENSORED dialogue - Pyrex Housecat
Judas Priest - Invincible Shield
Chief Keef - Almighty So 2
Megan Thee Stallion - MEGAN
Bruiser Wolf - My Story Got Stories
Kim Gordon - The Collective


Hello, my name is Jack Brown and these are my top things of 2024.


1. Einstürzende Neubauten – Rampen APM
2. The The – Ensoulment
3. JD McPherson – Nite Owls
4. The Mavericks – Moon and Stars
5. Floating Points – Cascade
6. Bug – Machines I-V
7. Four Tet – Three
8. Nails – Every Bridge Burning
9. Prince Far I – Cry Tuff Chants On U
10. Creation Rebel – High Above Harlesden


Jon
Hello my name is Jon and these are my top things of 2024.


CD:
1. The Body – The Crying Out of Things
2. Pharmakon – Maggot Mass
3. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
4. Jamie XX – In Waves
5. Chat Pile – Cool World
6. Charli xcx – Brat
7. Uniform – American Standard
8. The Bug – Machines I-V
9. Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2
10. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead

Vinyl:
1. The Bug – I -V 5LP set
2. Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II 4LP set
3. Jamie XX – In Waves
4. Nina Sinephro – Endlessness
5. God Is War – Boogeyman Inc.
6. Sophie – Sophie
7. A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer
8. Full of Hell and Andrew Nolan – Scraping the Divine
9. Project Pat – Mista Don’t Play: Everythang’s Workin’
10. Skinny Pimp – Vol. 1


Kris DiBenedetto
Hello, my name is Kris DiBenedetto and these are my top vinyl things of 2024


1. The Spectral Voice – Sparagmos LP (Dark Descent Records)
2. Septage – Septic Worship (Intolerant Spree of Infesting Forms LP (Me Saco Un Ojo Records)
3. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere LP (Century Media)
4. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World LP (Fiction)
5. Invertebrates – Sick to Survive LP (Beach Impediment)
6. Swallowed – Lunarterial LP reissue (Me Saco Un Ojo Records)
7. Charli xcx – Brat LP (Atlantic Records)
8. Rudimentary Peni – Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric LP reissue (Sealed Records)
9. Broadcast – Distant Call collection LP (Warp)
10. Broadcast – Spell Blanket collection LP (Warp)


Maggie Cranson
Hello, my name is Maggie Cranson and these are my top things of 2024


Music:
1. Charli xcx – Brat
2. Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
3. Tierra Whack – World Wide Whack
4. Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
5. Beyonce – Cowboy Carter
6. The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
7. Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
8. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
9. Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
10. Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine

Movies:
1. The Zone of Interest (d. Jonathan Glazer)
2. Challengers (d. Luca Guadagnino)
3. The Anatomy of a Fall (d. Justine Triet)
4. Blink Twice (d. Zoë Kravitz)
5. Anora (d. Sean Baker)
6. The Substance (d. Coralie Fargeat)
7. Trap (d. M. Night Shyamalan)
8. I Saw the TV Glow (d. Jane Schoenbrun)
9. Rebel Ridge (d. Jeremy Saulnier)
10. Heretic (d. Scott Beck / Bryan Woods)


Quinn Theis
Hello, my name is Quinn Theis and these are my top albums of 2024


1. Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
2. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
3. Clairo - Charm
4. Arooj Aftab - Night Reign
5. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Fuckin Up
6. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future
7. Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
8. Grandaddy - Blue Wav
9. Julia Holter - Something in the Room She Moves
10. Charli xcx - Brat
11. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
12. Vijay Iyer Trio - Compassion
13. Einstürzende Neubauten - Rampen (apm: Alien Pop Music)
14. The Jesus & Mary Chain - Glasgow Eyes
15. Wadada Leo Smith/Amina Claudine Myers - Central Park’s Mosaics of Reservoir, Lakes, Paths and Gardens
16. Unskilled Labor - Weaponized Incompetence
17. The Flatlanders - All American Music
18. Bela Fleck - Rhapsody In Blue
19. Mercury Rev - Born Horses
20. Hermeto Pascoal - Pra Voce, Ilza
21. Jlin - Akoma
22. Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
23. Drahla - angeltape
24. Mdou Moctar - Funeral For Justice
25. Geordie Greep - The New Sound
26. Orquesta Akokan - Caracoles
27. Laurie Anderson - Amelia
28. Chat Pile - Cool World
29. Mong Tong - Mongkok Duel
30. The The - Ensoulement


Reggie
Reggie's Top Ten 2024


1. Allie X – Girl With No Face (02/23/24)
2. Kneecap – Fine Art (06/14/24)
3. Noga Erez – Vandalist (09/20/24)
4. Sofi Tukker – Bread (08/23/24)
5. Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy (02/02/24)
6. Jamie xx – In Waves (09/20/24)
7. Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism (05/03/24)
8. Charli xcx – Brat (06/07/24)
9. Lip Critic – Hex Dealer (05/17/24)
10. Fat Dog – Woof (09/06/24)

Honorable Mentions:
* John Grant – Art Of The Lie (06/14/24)
* Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out (02/16/24)
* TR/ST – Performance (09/13/24)
* Geneva Jacuzzi – Triple Fire (08/23/24)
* Bones UK – Soft (09/13/24)


hello, i’m robin! these are my favorite releases of 2024 in no particular order!


Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead
Mount Eerie – Night Palace
Haley Heynderickx – Seed of a Seed
Chat Pile – Cool World
Xiu Xiu – Arp Omni/Veneficium
The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
Charli xcx – brat
The Smile – Wall of Eyes
Kim Gordon – The Collective
Horse Jumper of Love – Disaster Trick
Jpegmafia – I Lay Down My Life For You
Midwife – Killdozer
Iron & Wine – Light Verse
A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer
Bright Eyes – Five Dice, All Threes
Geordie Greep – The New Sound
Your Arms Are My Cocoon – Death of a Rabbit
Machine Girl – MG Ultra
Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia
Couch Slut – You Could Do It Tonight


Sam Seymour
Hey my name is Sam Seymour and these are my top listens of 2024!


MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
Clairo - Charm
Friko - Where We’ve Been, Where We Go
King Hannah - Big Swimmer
Royel Otis - Pratts & Pain
Heavy Heavy - One of a Kind
Sprints - Letter to Self
Jack White - No Name
Thee Sacred Souls - Got a Story to Tell
Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven
Being Dead - Eels
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
English Teacher - This Could Be Texas
DIIV - Frog in Boiling Water
Wild Pink - Dulling the Horns
Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness
Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy
St. Vincent - All Born Screaming
Peach Pit - Magpie
Meatbodies - Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom
J Mascis - What Do We Do Now
Pond - Stung
The Smile - Cutouts
Fontaines D.C. - Romance
Crumb - Amama
La Luz - News of the Universe
Brittany Howard - What Now
Ginger Root - Shinbangumi
Black Keys - Ohio Players
Illuminati Hotties - Power


Scott
Hello, my name is Scott and these are my top things of 2024


1. Charli XCX - Brat
2. Geordie Greep - The New Sound
3. Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
4. Chat Pile - Cool World
5. Previous Industries - Service Merchandise
6. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks
7. E L U C I D - Revelator
8. Father John Misty - Mahashmashana
9. Armand Hammer - BLK LBL
10. MGMT - Loss of Life
11. King Hannah - Big Swimmer
12. Cheekface - It's Sorted
13. Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
14. Remi Wolf - Big Ideas
15. Mach-Hommy - #RICHAXXHAITIAN
16. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
17. Spirit of the Beehive - You'll Have to Lose Something
18. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
19. Tyler the Creator - Chromakopia
20. Denzel Curry - King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2
21. Floating Points - Cascade
22. Clairo - Charm
23. The Smile - Cutouts
24. Jamie XX - In Waves
25. Jesse Welles - Hells Welles
26. Bruiser Wolf - My Story Got Stories
27. Blu & Evidence - Los Angeles
28. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
29. Westside Gunn and DJ DRAMA - Still Praying
30. Joey Valence and Brae - No Hands


Ed the Worm (Toni)
Yo It’s Ed the Worm (Toni) and these are my top albums of 2024.


1. Mannequin Pussy – I’ve Got Heaven
2. Amyl and the Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
3. Kim Gordon – The Collective
4. Gouge Away – Deep Sage
5. Dehd – Poetry
6. Chat Pile – Cool World
7. Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal
8. Enumclaw – Home In Another Life
9. Tyler the Creator – Chromakopia
10. The Hard Quartet – The Hard Quartet


Travis Harris
Travis Harris’ ethically sourced top 30 for 2024


Albums:
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Wild Horses
Couch Slut - You Could Do It Tonight
Kim Gordon - The Collective
Holiday Sidewinder - The Last Resort
Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice
A Place to Bury Strangers - Synthesizer
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Sleater-Kinney - Little Rope
Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She

Reissues:
Can - Live in Paris 1973/Live in Aston 1977
Alice Coltrane - The Carnegie Hall Concert
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru - Souvenirs
Joe Henderson - Power to the People
Talking Heads - Talking Heads: ‘77

Movies:
Favorite new movies so far are Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance and Bertrand Bonello’s La Bête [The Beast] (which had a limited 2023 release but we’re counting it for the wide). Here is a tiny fistful of physical releases I’ve annoyed everyone about.

Chantal Akerman Masterpieces 1968-1978 (1968-1978) dir. Chantal Akerman [Blu-Ray; Criterion Collection]
Body Double (1984) dir. Brian De Palma [UHD; Sony]
The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (1969-1972) dir. Shigehiro Ozawa & Eiichi Kudo [Blu-Ray; Radiance Films]
Bringing Out the Dead (1999) dir. Martin Scorsese [UHD; Paramount Presents]
Louis Feuillade: The Complete Crime Serials (1913-1918) dir. Louis Feuillade [Blu-Ray; Eureka! The Masters of Cinema Series]
Happiness (1998) dir. Todd Solondz [UHD; Criterion Collection]
Matinee (1993) dir. Joe Dante [UHD; Shout Factory]
Nothing is Sacred: Three Heresies by Luis Buñuel (1961-1965) dir. Luis Buñuel [Blu-Ray; Radiance Films]
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) dir. Sergio Leone [UHD; Paramount Presents]
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1976) dir. Peter Weir [UHD; Criterion Collection]
Seven Samurai (1954) dir. Akira Kurosawa [UHD; Criterion Collection]
ShawScope Vol. 3 (1967-1983) dir. Various [Blu-Ray; Arrow Video]
Southern Comfort (1981) dir. Walter Hill [UHD; Vinegar Syndrome]
The Terminator/Aliens/The Abyss/True Lies (1984-1994) dir. James Cameron [UHD; MGM & 20th Century Fox]
The Warriors (1979) dir. Walter Hill [UHD; Arrow Video]


Yasmin’s top ten records (vinyl) of 2024


1. Willie Nelson – The Border
2. Haruomi Hosono – Hosono House Revisited
3. Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
4. George Strait – Cowboys & Dreamers
5. Nubya Garcia – Odyssey
6. Charli xcx – Brat
7. Judas Priest – Invincible Shield
8. Hermanos Gutiérrez – Sonido Cósmico
9. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
10. Gouge Away – Deep Sage

Thursday, February 15, 2024

David Dinsmore, RIP





Upon hearing of the passing of one of the most-loved folks in Denver's music scene — trombonist/singer (and more) David Dinsmore (of Judge Roughneck, Lost Dog Ensemble, and more) — we reached out to a few close friends of his to see if they would be willing to comment on his impact in the scene, and fellow trombonist Dave Flomberg (of Reptiles and Samurai and Tivoli Club Brass Band, among many others) graciously allowed us to share his heartfelt post in honor of Dinsmore. Read on:







Please indulge me for a minute as I talk about my dear friend and trombrother, David Dinsmore, gone way too goddamned soon. I first met David Dinsmore back in 1997 when he was playing with Judge Roughneck. My roommate back then was my dear lifelong friend Zachary Pietlock. He was asked to join up as their drummer, and Zach introduced us.

The Denver 'bone scene is small enough that most of us who play professionally know each other. And for the most part, we all get along pretty well. (Not like those egomaniacal trumpet players... I kid. Mostly.)


David and I circled around each other in scene for years; I subbed in once or twice for him in Roughneck; then followed after him playing with FaceMan on occasion when they wanted a horn line. My old band Money Plays 8 and Judge Roughneck shared a few bills back in the late '90s. We had great chats when we'd run into each other. But finally, several years ago, Dean Hirschfield started the Tivoli Club Brass Band and invited me to play. Troy Thill joined up on sax, and he and David were already attached at the musical hip, so Troy convinced David to join up too. I was elated to be playing with him.

David was a helluva player. Better than me. I had no issue with that. No one ever hires more than one 'bone player (legit ensembles aside), so here I had the chance to pick up a few more tricks from someone I already considered a friend, and I was grateful for it. I have my own style; David had his. We both bring different things to the table, and I think we complemented each other pretty well. Although he thought he was funnier than me. And I knew I was funnier than him. As a result, we had each other laughing in rehearsals most nights.

Dean built us a family with Tivoli Club Brass Band. Rehearsal is every Sunday night, and Dean loves to cook, so we all show up around 6, eat, talk, hang out for an hour or so, then go play music in Dean's basement for another couple hours. It really is a family. I've been in a lot of bands over the years, and with TCBB, it's the unique kind of thing you really want in a band — that familial chemistry. We've played a lot of gigs together, toured together, drank too much together, yelled at each other, shoved each other into hotel pools, cried together. Sometimes all in the same weekend. All of the things you and your closest cousins or even siblings might do. Even when you're annoyed with each other, you still love each other. And we all really do.

David's love of music was probably the biggest inspiration to us as musicians. His musical vocabulary was encyclopedic in nature. He listened to everything and was constantly bringing in something new for the rest of us to hear. His tastes were truly across the spectrum. Like Duke said (maybe apocryphally, who knows), "there's only two kinds of music. Good, and the other kind." David listened to the good. And David lived it. He loved his family and you could see it when they were all together. His kids reflect the best of David, and that's the most any parent can hope for. David's sense of justice ran deep. He and I were very politically aligned in supporting and championing those who need it. Marginalized communities were something that David cared deeply about, and he very much believed in the righteous causes. He and I talked at length about my own lived experiences as a Jewish journalist covering antisemitism, and his sense of understanding and empathy really stood out in those talks. Especially lately.

The other thing that I always marveled at was David's support of the music scene in Denver as a whole. David was 6 years older than me — he used to get annoyed at me for calling him "The Elder Statesman of Trombone" (emphasis on elder, just to rub it in) — but he had far deeper reserves of energy to get to a show and support other musicians than me. Or anyone else for that matter. Bar none, really. I'm reasonably sure no one in Denver saw more other Denver bands play than David. And when the pie is so small here and everyone's hustling to get people to show up to a gig, that means a lot to folks. When I'm playing with one of my other bands and I look out in the audience and see David, it makes me smile. Especially since he didn't even hit me up for a guest pass. He lived the life and walked the walk for us all. He set the example of what it is to support local music.


David was also someone who enjoyed when other people were excited about something. When I got the bell of my horn powder-coated blue, he was first in line to talk about how cool it looked. Got new ink on your arm? David wanted to see it. See a great movie or read a new book that you liked? David wanted to hear about it. That's the kind of green flag you look for in a friendship. But an even bigger green flag is when your friend is willing to disagree with you on something or hold you accountable for something you said. David was willing to do that as well. Respectfully, most of the time. And if it got heated, David would also be the first to hug it out later.

When someone close to us dies, it's our default to often canonize them and only talk about their good qualities and paint a largely unrealistic picture of them. David wasn't perfect — just like every other human on Earth. But he was definitely better than a lot of them. David was tall, but he cast a much longer shadow than his 6'3" frame would suggest.

And that long, beautiful shadow wrapped its arms around us all — his family, his friends, his bandmates and this entire city of musicians and artists and weirdos and orphans — and embraced us all for our imperfections, too.

I'm going to miss him. My dearest trombrother.

There’s a go fund me link for the Dinsmore family to help cover the burial costs. You can make a contribution and see the full details HERE.