#^d 2016-07-04 #^h Music Week

Music: Current count 26750 [26732] rated (+18), 449 [438] unrated (+11).

Recovery from whatever struck me the previous week was slow, partly because I never seem to feel like doing much of anything anyways these days. I did manage to post a Rhapsody Streamnotes for June, and filed a tweet to that effect, but promoting the event on Facebook seemed like too much effort -- or maybe just not worth the trouble, as travel and illness had made the column much shorter and sparser than usual. This week's count is way short as well, but I came up with more than a few A-list adds.

One thing that helped there was seeing more than a few mid-year best-of lists. Dan Weiss suggested Eric Prydz (3), The Goon Sax (5), Brandy Clark (18), and a few others I haven't gotten to yet (Konono No. 1, Tweet, The Paranoid Style, Sheer Mag, Wire, Mitski, The Julie Ruin, Fruit Bats, Angry Angles). I haven't been cataloguing these lists, but have started to add some records to my Music Tracking list. Last year's list was pretty deep (3077 records) whereas this year's is still sketchy (488) -- mostly records I've heard (373) plus a few that I may want to check out eventually (actually, up to 635 after I added the records from the "so far" lists below).

For whatever it may be worth, here are some lists I've consulted: Brooklyn Magazine, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Digital Spy, EW, Fact, Fuse, Gigwise, Gorilla vs. Bear, Guardian, Mashable, Metacritic, Mojo, Newsday, NME, NPR, Observer: Hip-Hop, Observer: Jazz, Okayplayer, Pigeons & Planes, Rolling Stone, Spin, Stereogum, The Telegraph, USA Today, Vulture, XXL. I didn't tally them, but offhand the top slot seems to be between Beyoncé and Chance the Rapper, trailed by (in unranked order, my grades in brackets): Anderson .Paak [A-], Radiohead [B], Rihanna [A-], Kanye West [***]; maybe also: Anohni [*], James Blake, David Bowie [***], Tim Hecker, Kaytranada, Kendrick Lamar [***], Mitski, Parquet Courts [A-], Sturgill Simpson [***].

Other names that have popped up (probably incomplete, omitting EPs and compilations, * indicates a few mentions [as best I recall], titles only where I'm aware of multiples): *The 1975 [*], Aesop Rock [A-], Africans With Mainframes, Afro Celt Sound System, All Saints, The Anchoress, Applewood Road, ASAP Ferg, Aurora, Autechre, A-WA, Katy B [**], Baauer, Juliana Barwick, Bas, Be, Bendik, Big Thief, BJ the Chicago Kid [A-], Bjarki, Blood Orange, The Body, Boosie BadAzz, Borderland [Juan Atkins/Moritz von Oswald], Brockhampton, Brothers Osborne, *Car Seat Headrest, Jazz Cartier, Cavern of Anti-Matter, Helena Celle, *Chairlift, A.Chal, Christine and the Queens, Brandy Clark [A-], Cobalt, Kweku Collins, The Coral, Frankie Cosmos, Theo Croker, The Cult, Denzel Curry, Lucy Dacus [***], Daughter, Death Grips, Deftones, Jack DeJohnette [A-], DIIV, J Dilla, DJ Marfox, DJ Shadow [*], John Doe, *Drake, DVSN, Bob Dylan, Open Mike Eagle + Paul White [***], Robert Ellis, Elzhi, Brian Eno [*], Explosions in the Sky, Brian Fallon, The Field, Field Music [B], Flatbush Zombies [**], Floorplan, Flume, Anat Fort, Foxes, Freeway, Eleanor Friedberger, Frightened Rabbit, Robbie Fulks [A-], Future (EVOL), Gallant, Jack Garratt, *Kevin Gates [*], *Domo Genesis, Vince Gill, Robert Glasper, GLOSS, Gojira, Ariana Grande [*], The Greys, Steve Gunn, Bret Harris, PJ Harvey [**], Fay Hield and the Hurricane Party, Marquis Hill, Heron Oblivion, *Hinds, The Hotelier, Into It Over It, Ital Tek, Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith [**], Elton John, Johnhyun, Majid Jordan, Kamaiyah [**], Kano, Elon Katz, Charles Kelley, KING, Kvelertak, Julian Lage [*], Ray LaMontagne, *Jessy Lanza, *Lapsley, The Last Shadow Puppets, Klara Lewis, Mr. Lif [***], Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Kedr Livanskiy, Night Lovell, Lucius, Luh, Loretta Lynn [**], Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Post Malone, Megadeth, Michete, Modern Baseball, Mogwai, Money, The Monkees, Moodymann, Kevin Morby, *Maren Morris, Mothers, *Bob Mould, Mozzy, Mudcrutch, Mystery Jets, Nada Surf, Marissa Nadler, Oddisee [*], Panic! at the Disco, Oranssi Pazuzu, Jeff Parker, Pet Shop Boys [A-], Pinegrove [*], Rachel Platten, Polica, *Iggy Pop [*], A Pregnant Light, *Margo Price [A-], Pup [C+], Joey Purp, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bonnie Raitt [A-], The Range, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Logan Richardson [*], Alfredo Rodriguez [**], Carrie Rodriguez, Royce da 5'9", Xenia Rubinos, Huerco S, Samlyam, Santigold, *Savages, SBTRKT, School of Seven Bells, Ty Segall, Shearwater, Sia, *Paul Simon [*], Sioux Falls, *Skepta, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Snarky Puppy (Kulcha Vulcha) [C+], Soulwax, Vic Spencer/Chris Crack, *Esperanza Spalding [B], Mavis Staples [**], Gwen Stefani [A-], Sunflower Bean, Swans, Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld, Teen Suicide, *Tegan and Sara, Tindersticks, Rokia Traore, Twenty88, William Tyler, Underworld [**], Maria Usbeck, Vektor, Villagers, Violent Soho, Leon Vynehall, Weezer, Westside Gunn, Wet [B], White Denim, *White Lung [**], Whitney, Lucinda Williams, YG, Yo Gotti, Young Dolph, *Young Thug (Slime Season 3) [**], Yung Lean, Zayn, ZelooperZ, Yumi Zouma.

As of midyear (well, today) I have 40 records on my A-list (vs. 161 on my 2015 A-list, or about one-quarter as many in one-half the time). My list includes 20 jazz records (1 listed above), and 21 non-jazz (12 listed above, plus: The Coathangers, Elizabeth Cook, Dori Freeman, Gambari Band, Del McCoury, Eric Prydz, Tacocat, Wussy, Young Thug: I'm Up). Christgau, by the way, has 9 A-list albums (not counting compilations) not listed above: four of mine plus Homeboy Sandman, Konono No. 1, Buddy Miller, Thao & the Get Down Set Down, Waco Brothers.


New records rated this week:

Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:

Old music rated this week:


Grade changes:


Unpacking: Found in the mail last week: