And we’re back!
Due to unforgivably sloppy records keeping in 2016, I was unable to successfully compile my annual list of albums and favorites. And as I go over a cross section of my playlists, I see quite a few albums I’m amazed to have forgotten about ever even listening to (M83! The Julie Ruin! Iggy Pop! Radiohead! Chance The Rapper! Cherry Poppin’ Daddies! Mogwai! Blood Orange! And yes, even the Hot Sardines!)
But that’s the cost of business when music becomes a volume game…
This year, however, represents what has to be Peak Album for your old buddy here.
For reasons that may be obvious to anyone who watches the news, I found myself spending most of 2017 having retreated into a fairly impenetrable musical shell. And by the time December had rolled around, the full extent of my retreat came as quite the shock.
I will not say exactly how many albums I listened to this year, but it is staggering; a number far beyond anything I ever intended when I first started doing this four years ago, and certainly a number I can’t imagine approaching ever again.
And this, incidentally, isn’t the full list of albums I listened to this year; only the ones that were released between Jan 1st and Dec 25th (my cut-off for new releases).
There were roughly another 60-70 on top of that.
So, once again, is the list of albums.
Count along, if you will, to unlock the secrets of my descent into madness…
!!!, “Shake The Shudder”
(Sandy) Alex G., “Rocket”
Various Artists, “Atomic Blonde Soundtrack”
Various Artists, “Blade Runner 2049”
Various Artists, “Ed Rec 100”
Various Artists, “Fate of the Furious Soundtrack”
Various Artists, “Twin Peaks (Limited Event Series Soundtrack)”
Various Artists, “Twin Peaks (Music From The Limited Series)”
Ace Mo, “Black Populous”
Action Bronson, “Blue Chips 7000”
Actress, “AZD”
Adult, “Detroit House Games”
Aesop Rock, “Bushwick”
Afghan Whigs, “In Spades”
Age Coin, “Performance”
A Giant Dog, “Toy”
Alexandra Savior, “Belladonna of Sadness”
Alex Cameron, “Forced Witness”
Alex Lahey, “I Love You Like a Brother”
Algiers, “The Underside of Power”
Alice Glass, “Alice Glass”
Allan Kingdom, “Lines”
alt-J, “Relaxer”
Alvvays, “Antisocialites”
Amber Coffman, “City Of No Reply”
Amy O, “Elastic”
Animal Collective, “Meeting of the Waters”
Annie Hardy, “Rules”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, “Dedicated To Bobby Jameson”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Myths 002”
Austra, “Future Politics”
Aye Nako, “Silver Haze”
Baio, “Man Of The World”
Bash and Pop, “Anything Could Happen”
Baths, “Romaplasm”
Beach Fossils, “Somersault”
Beck, “Colors”
Beth Ditto, “Fake Sugar”
Big Boi, “BOOMIVERSE”
Big KR.I.T., “4Eva Is a Mighty Long Time”
Big Sean, “i decided.”
Big Thief, “Capacity”
Bjork, “Utopia”
blackbear, “Cybersex”
Black Joe Lewis, “Backlash”
Black Lips, “Satan’s Graffiti Or God’s Art?”
Blanck Mass, “World Eater”
The Blaze, “Territory”
Bleachers, “Gone Now”
Blockhead, “Funeral Balloons”
Blockhead, “Known Unknowns (Instrumentals)”
Blue Hawaii, “Tenderness”
BNQT, “Vol. 1”
Body Count, “Bloodlust”
Bonny Doon, “Bonny Doon”
Bonobo, “Migration”
Bosco, “B.”
Boss Hog, “Brood X”
Botany, “Raw Light II”
Brightness, “Teething”
Brian Tyler & Joel J. Richmond, “John Wick 2”
Briana Marela, “Call It Love”
British Sea Power, “Let The Dancers Inherit The Party”
Brockhampton, “Saturation”
Brother Ali, “All The Beauty”
Bryson Tiller, “True To Self”
The Bug, “Concrete Desert”
Buscabulla, “Tartaro”
Buy Muy Drugs, “Buy Muy Drugs”
Caddywhompus, “Odd Hours”
Cameron Avery, “Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams”
Career Suicide, “Machine Response”
Carnage, “Young Martha”
Cashmere Cat, “9”
Chad Vangaalen, “Light Information”
Champion, “Snapshot”
Charlatans U.K., “Different Days”
Charlotte Gainsbourg, “Rest”
Charly Bliss, “Guppy”
Chavez, “Cockfighters”
Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2, “Star Stuff”
Cherry Glazer, Apocalipstick”
Chief Keef, “Two Zero One Seven”
Chino Amobi, “Paradiso”
Citizen, “As You Please”
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, “The Tourist”
Clark, “Death Peak”
Cloakroom, “Time Well”
Cloud Nothings, “Life Without Sound”
Cold War Kids, “L.A. Divine”
Colleen, “a flame my love, a frequency”
College, “Shanghai”
Collin Strange, “How I Creep”
Communions, “Blue”
Com Truise, “Iteration”
Corbin, “Mourn”
Cornelius, “Mellow Waves”
Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile, “Lotta Sea Lice”
The Courtneys, “The Courtneys II”
Crystal Fairy, “Crystal Fairy”
Cuddle Magic, “Ashes/Axis”
Cupcakke, “Queen Elizabitch”
The Curls, “Vante”
Cults, “Offering”
Cut Copy, “Haiku From Zero”
D33J, “Death Valley Oasis”
Daniel Luppi & Parquet Courts, “Milano”
Daniel Pemberton, “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”
Danny Elfman, “Justice League”
Dead Cross, “Dead Cross”
Death From Above 1979, “Outrage Is Now”
Deerhoof, “Mountain Moves”
Delicate Steve, “This Is Steve”
Denitia Odigie, “Ceilings”
Dent May, “Across The Multiverse”
Depeche Mode, “Spirit”
Destroyer, “Ken”
Diet Cig, “Swear I’m Good At This”
The Districts, “Popular Manipulations”
Dizzee Rascal, “Raskit”
Do Make Say Think, “Stubborn Persistent Illusions”
Dodgr The Last Artful, “Bone Music”
Downtown Boys, “Cost of Living”
Dream Syndicate, “How Did I Find Myself Here?”
Dreamcar, “Dreamcar”
The Drums, “Abysmal Thoughts”
dvsn, “Morning After”
elbow, “Little Fictions”
Elucid, “Valley of Grace”
EMA, “Exile In The Outer Ring”
Emptyset, “Borders”
Ennaga Vision, “Ennaga Vision”
Equiknoxx, “Colón Man”
Errorsmith, “Superlative Fatigue”
Everything Everything, “A Fever Dream”
Fabalous & Jadakiss, “Friday On Elm Street”
Fat Joe, “Plata O Plomo”
Fatimah Yamaha, “Araya”
Fazerdaze, “Morningside”
Feist, “Pleasure”
Fever Ray, “Plunge”
Fire-Toolz, “Drip Mental”
First Hate, “A Prayer For The Unemployed”
Flash Trading, “The Golden Mile”
Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White, “Gentlewoman, Ruby Man”
Foo Fighters, “Concrete and Gold”
Forest Swords, “Compassion”
Formation, “Look at the Powerful People”
Foxygen, “Hang”
Frankie Rose, “Cage Tropical”
Fred Thomas, “Changer”
Freddie Gibbs, “You Only Live 2wice”
Fufanu, “Sports”
Future, “Future”
Future, “Hndrxxx”
Future Islands, “The Far Field”
G Herbo, “Humble Beast”
G Herbo, “Strictly 4 My Fans”
G Perico, “All Blue”
Galantis, “The Aviary”
Girlpool, “Power Plant”
Goldfrapp, “Silver Eye”
Goldlink, “At What Cost?”
Gorillaz, “Humanz”
Grandaddy, “Last Place”
Great Grandpa, “Plastic Cough”
Guided By Voices, “August By Cake”
H.E.R., “H.E.R., Vol. 2”
Half Japanese, “Hear The Lions Roar”
Hand Habits, “Wildly Idle (Humble Before The Void)”
Hanna, “The Never End”
Hans Zimmer, “Dunkirk”
Helena Hauff, “Have You Been There, Have YOu Seen It?”
Ho99o9, “United States of Horror”
Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, “Son of a Lady”
Hoops, “Routines”
Hovvdy, “Taster”
Hype Williams, “Rainbow Editions”
inc., “Living
Iglooghost, “Neō Wax Bloom”
J Hus, “Common Sense”
Jacques Greene, “Feel Infinite”
Jaden Smith, “Syre”
James Holden, “The Animal Spirits”
Jamiroquai, “Automaton”
Japanese Breakfast, “Soft Sounds For Another Planet”
Japandroids, “Near To The Wild Heart Of Life”
Jarvis Cocker, “Room 29”
Jay Som, “Everbody Works”
Jay-Z, “4:44”
Jens Lekman, “Life Will See You Now”
Jessie Ware, “Glasshouse”
Jhène Aiko, “Trip”
Jimi Tents, “I Can’t Go Home”
JLin, “Black Oragami”
Joe Godard, “Electric Lines”
Joey Bada$$, “All-American Bada$$”
John Maus, “Screen Memories”
Jonti, “Tokorats”
Jonwayne, “Rap Album Two”
Joywave, “Content”
Julia Michaels, “Nervous System”
K. Flay, “Everywhere Is Somewhere”
Kariem Riggins, “Headnod Suite”
Kamaiyah, “Before I Wake”
Karen Gwyer, “Rembo”
Kasabian, “For Crying Out Loud”
Katie Von Schleicher, “Sh*tty Hits”
Katy Perry, “Witness”
Kedr Livanskiy, “Ariadna”
Kelly Lee Owens, “Kelly Lee Owens”
Kendrick Lamar, “DAMN.”
Kesha, “Rainbow”
Kevin Gates, “By Any Means 2”
Kevin Morby, “City Music”
Kid Koala, “Music To Draw To: Satellite”
Kilo, “Backwater”
King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, “Flying Microtonal Banana”
King Khan, “Murderburgers”
King Krule, “The OOZ”
Kingdom, “Tears In The Club”
Knox-om-Pax, “Refresher”
Kweku Collins, “Grey”
Lana Del Ray, “Lust For Life”
Land of Talk, “Life After Youth”
Landlady, “The World Is a Loud Place”
Laura Marling, “Semper Femina”
Liam Gallagher, “As You Were”
Lil B, “Black Ken”
Lil Durk, “Love Songs For The Streets”
Lil Peep, “Come Over When You’re Sober Pt. 1”
Lil Pump, “Lil Pump”
Lindstrom, “It’s All Right Between Us As It Is”
Little Dragon, “Season High”
Lo Tom, “Lo Tom”
Logic, “Everybody”
Loose Tooth, “Big Day”
Lorde, “Melodrama”
Los Campesinos!, “Sick Scenes”
Lowly, “Heba”
The Lox, “Filthy America… It’s Beautiful”
Lupe Fiasco, “DROGAS Light”
Mac DeMarco, “This Old Dog”
Maggoe Rogers, “Now That The Light Is Fading”
Majid Jordan, “The Space Between”
Makthaverskan, “III”
Marius, “Existence Problem”
Mark Lanegan, “Gragoyle”
Mark Mothersbaugh, “Thor: Ragnarok”
Martin Carr, “New Shapes Of Life”
Martin Rev, “Demolition 9”
Matt Martians, “The Drum Chord Theory”
Mavis Staples, “If All I Was Was Black”
Meatbodies, “Alice”
Melkbelly, “Nothing Valley”
Metro Riders, “Europe By Night”
Mew, “Visuals”
Mhysha, “Fantasii”
Mike Will Made It, “Ransom 2”
Milo, “Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?”
Moon Diagrams, “Lifetime of Love”
Moon Duo, “Occult Architecture”
Moon King, “Hamtrack ’16”
Moses Sumney, “Aromanticism”
Mount Eerie, “A Crow Looked at Me”
Mountain Goats, “Goths”
Mozarts Sister, “Field of Love”
Mozzy, “1 Up Top AHK”
Mozzy, “Fake Famous”
Mr. Jukes, “God First”
Mr. Mitch, “Devout”
Murlo, “Club Coil”
Naaahhh, “Themes”
Nadine Shah, “Holiday Destination”
Nelly Furtado, “The Ride”
New Gen, “New Gen”
New Jackson, “From Night To Night”
The New Pornographers, “Whiteout Conditions”
Nick Hakim, “Green Twins”
Nick Murphy, “Missing Link”
Niia, “I”
Nite Jewel, “Real High”
Nightlands, “I Can Feel The Nigt Around Me”
Nocow, “Ledyanoy Album”
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, “Who Built The Moon?”
Noveller, “A Pink Sunset For No One”
Obnox, “Niggative Approacj”
OCS, “Memory of a Cut-Off Head”
Oddisee, “The Iceberg”
Odesza, “A Moment Apart”
Odonis Odonis, “No Pop”
Of Montreal, “Rune Husk”
Omni, “Multi-Task”
Oneohtrix Point Never, “Good Time Soundtrack”
Open Mike Eagle, “Brick Body Kids Still Daydream”
The Orwells, “Terrible Human Beings”
Oso Oso, “The Yunahon Mixtape
Overmono, “Aria II”
P.O.S., “chill, dummy”
Palberta, “Bye Bye Berta”
Palm, “Shadow Expert”
Parlor Walls, “Opposites”
Partner, “In Search of Lost Time”
Paul White, “Accelerator”
PC Worship, “Buried Wish”
Peaking Lights, “The Fifth State of Consciousness”
People Like You, “Verse”
Perera Elsewhere, “All Of This”
Perfume Genius, “No Shape”
Pet Symmetry, “Vision”
Pete Rock, “Don’t Smoke Rock”
Phoenix, “Ti Amo”
Pickwick, “Lovejoys”
Pile, “A Hairshirt of Purpose”
Pixx, “The Age of Anxiety”
Planning For Burial, “Below The House”
Playboi Carti, “Playboi Carti”
PnB Rock, “GTTM: Going Thru The Motions”
Pond, “The Weather”
Porter Ray, “Watercolor”
Portugal. The Man, “Woodstock”
Power Trip, “Nightmare Logic”
Primus, “The Desaturating Seven”
The Proper Ornaments, “Foxhole”
Protomartyr, “Relatives In Descent”
Quelle Chris, “Being You Is Great, I Should Be You More Often”
Queens of the Stone Age, “Villains”
Radiator Hospital, “Play The Song You Like”
Raekwon, “The Wild”
Rancid, “Trouble Maker”
Rayvn Lenae, “Midnight Moonlight”
The Raveonettes, “2016 Atomized”
Real Estate, “In Mind”
Real Life Buildings, “Significant Weather”
Richard Pinhas, “Reverse”
Rick Ross, “Rather You Than Me”
RIDE, “Weather Diaries”
Robert Hood, “Paradygm Shift”
Roc Marciano, Rosebudd’s Revenge”
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, “The French Press”
Rose Elinor Dougall, “Stellular”
Rostam, “Half-Light”
Royal Blood, “How Did We Get So Dark?”
Rozwell Kid, “Precious Art”
Run The Jewels, Run The Jewels 3″
Sahbabi, “S.A.N.D.A.S.”
Samantha Urbani, “Policies of Power EP”
Sampha, “Process”
San Fermin, “Belong”
Sarah Davachi, “All My Circles Run”
Sassy 009, “Do You Mind? EP”
Sau Poler, “Dribble”
Sevdaliza, “Ison”
Shackleton, “Sferic Ghost Transmits”
Shamir, “Revelations”
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, “Soul of a Woman”
Sheer Mag, “To Feel Your Love”
Shennendoah Davis, “Souverniers”
Sherwood, “Man Vs. Sofa”
Shinichi Atobe, “From The Heart It’s a Start, It’s a Work Of Art”
The Shins, “Heartworms”
Shobaleader One, “Elektrac”
Show Me The Body, “Corpus I”
Showtime Goma, “Smiley Face”
Sinai Vessel, “Brokenlegged”
Sinkane, “Life & Living It”
SiR, “Her Too”
Sleaford Mods, “English Tapas”
Slowdive, “Slowdive”
Snail Mail, “Habit EP”
Software, “Fragrance”
Sophia Kennedy, “Sophia Kennedy”
Sorority Noise, “You’re Not As As You Think”
Sote, “Scared Horror In Design”
Soulwax, “From Deewee”
Spiral Stairs, “Doris and the Daggers”
Spirit of the Beehive, “Pleasure Suck”
Spoon, “Hot Thoughts”
St. Etienne, “Home Counties”
St. Vincent, “MASSEDUCTION”
Starlito, “Step Brothers Three”
Stars, “There Is No Love In Fluorescent Lights”
Stef Chura, “Messes”
Steve Lacy, “Steve Lacy’s Demo”
Steven Warwick, “Nadir”
Stormzy, “Gang Signs & Prayer”
Suicideyear, “Brothers”
Suicideyear, “Hate Songs”
Superfiće, “Hèlices”
Surfer Blood, “Snowdonia”
Swt Shop Boys, “Sufi La”
Syd, “Fin”
Sylvan Esso, “What Now”
SZA, “Control”
T.I., “Us Or Them: A Letter To The System”
Talib Kweli, “Radio Silence”
Talaboman, “The Night Land”
Tall Juan, “Olden Goldies”
Taso, “New Start”
Taylor Swift, “Reputation”
Tee Grizzley, “My Moment”
Teen Daze, “Themes For Dying Earth”
Tennis, “Yours, Conditionally”
Tera Melos, “Trash Generator”
The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, “Always Foreign”
Thunder Dreamer, “Capture”
Thundercat, “Drunk”
Tiger Jaw, “Spin”
Tim Cohen, “Luck Man”
Tim Darcy, “Saturday Night”
Tobin Sprout, “The Universe and Me”
Todd Rundgren, “White Knight”
TOPS, “Sugar at the Gate”
Tornado Wallace, “Lonely Planet”
Torres, “Three Futures”
Tove Lo, “Blue Lips”
Trevor de Brauw, “Uptown”
Tricky, “Ununiform”
Trupa Trupa, “Jolly New Songs”
Turnover, “Good Nature”
Turtlenecked, “Vulture”
Tyler The Creator, “Flower Boy”
U2, “Songs of Experience”
The Uniform, Wake In Fight”
Uranium Club, “All Of The Naturals”
Urochromes, “Night Bully”
UZ, “Layers”
Vagabon, “Infinite Worlds”
Valee, “Vtm”
Vanbot, “Siberia”
Vic Mensa, “The Autobiography”
Vince Staples, “Big Fish Theory”
Visionist, “Value”
Wale, “Shine”
The Wall, “Untitled”
The War On Drugs, “A Deeper Understanding”
Wavves, “You’re Welcome”
Weaves, “Wide Open”
Weezer, “Pacific Daydream”
White Reaper, “The Worlds Best American Band”
Why, “Moh Llhean”
Wifisfuneral, “Boy Who Cried Wolf”
Wiki, “No Mountains In Manhattan”
Wiley, “Godfather”
Wild Beasts, “Punch Drunk & Trembling”
Wild Pink, “Wild Pink”
Wire, “Silver/Lead”
Wolf Parade, “Cry Cry Cry”
Woods, “Love Is Love”
Wu Tang Clan, “The Saga Continues”
The XX, “I See You”
Xiu Xiu, “Forget”
Yaeji, “Yaeji”
The Yawpers, “Boy In a Well”
Yo Gotti, “White Friday (CM9)”
Yotam Avni, “Tehillim”
YoungBoy Never Broke Again, “A.I. YoungBoy”
Your Old Droog, “Packs”
Ziύr, “U Feel Anything?”
Zola Jesus, “Okovi”
Pryorball. 