Blood
ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!
'Best Music' lists that taste like envelopes!
These bustling tunes will turnpike your psyche
and bumrush your tushie!
Shortcut to Music Players:
- BEST ALBUMS: 2019
- COOL SONGS: 2019
- BEST REISSUES: 2019
B E S T
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 9
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
• Weyes Blood, "Titanic Rising"
Natalie Mering is making the most beautiful and innovative records around.
Always majestic, her previous stately madrigals have now melted into warm and soulful confessionals, gorgeously adorned with aching keys and Harrison slides, while subliminally underlined by corroded electronics.
Lovely and complex. Essential.
• Willie Farmer, "The Man From The Hill"
Gutbucket Blues.
Soulful songs sidling out with fuzzy swagger.
• Yola, "Walk Through Fire"
Country Soul.
Produced by Dan Auerbach (of The Black Keys), the British singer carries the torch of Stax Records and "Dusty In Memphis" forward.
The epic "Faraway Look" is the Song Of The Year.
• Chrysta Bell, "Feels Like Love"
Advanced TripHop.
Expanding beyond her "Twin Peaks" territory, the unfairly-unsung Bell channels Eurythmics and Kate Bush into new frequencies.
• The Black Keys, "Let's Rock"
Bluesy Rock'n'Soul.
Nevermind the digital shrill,
here's the analog Feel.
• Orquesta Akokán, "Orquesta Akokán (The Instrumentals)"
Cuban Mambo.
Last year's party kicker glees up the spree just as great in its Instrumental version.
• Lee Fields And The Expressions, "It Rains Love"
Timeless Soul.
With the sad losses of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley, Daptone Records keeps on keepin' on with the stalwart soul troubadour, Lee Fields.
• Seratones, "POWER"
Rock'n'Soul 2.0.
Louisiana's finest brings us the next level of passionate thump and grind.
• Ghost Funk Orchestra, "A Song For Paul"
Cinematic Art-Soul.
Threading the moody badlands with a funky strut.
• Karen O + Danger Mouse, "Lux Prima"
Electro Noir.
The superduo of Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) get taut while colossal.
• Hannah Williams And The Affirmations, "50 Foot Woman"
Perennial Soul.
Funky vamps, Soul croons, and the breathtaking political anthem "What Can We Do?"
• Here Lies Man, "No Ground To Walk Upon"
Afrobeat Rock.
Rhythmic double-step with metallic crunch.
• Fabienne DelSol, "Four"
Beat, Garage, and Psyche.
After too long an absence, the French Beat-maven (formerly of The Bristols) returns with immortal sounds.
• Kate Tempest, "The Book Of Traps And Lessons"
Spoken Word.
Kate Tempest, perhaps the most literate Rapper on Earth, strips it to the bone with her razor poetry.
• Brittany Howard, "Jaime"
Eccentric Soul.
The Alabama Shakes leader does an experimental sidebar, trading blues rock for malleable soul confessions.
• White Denim, "Side Effects"
Grooving Art-Rock.
Catchy as fire, glitchy as Zappa, groovy as bliss.
• Our Native Daughters, "Songs Of Our Native Daughters"
Bluegrass Americana.
A roots supergroup of Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell, using the traditional to critique the present.
• The Darts (U.S.), "I Like You But Not Like That"
Garage Rock.
Led by Nicole Laurenne (The Love Me Nots, Motobunny), these hoodlums kick your keister wearing go-go boots.
• Ibibio Sound Machine, "Doko Mien"
New Wave Afrobeat.
Nigerian/Brit Eno Williams preens her machine with '80s sheen.
• The Limiñanas, "Le bel été"
Soundtrack.
The usually psychedelic couple evokes the spirits of Morricone, Axelrod, and Vannier in these ambient arias.
• Paul Cauthen, "Room 41"
Soul Country.
Like Waylon Jennings jamming with Hi Records, coming off of a bender or a revelation.
• L7, "Scatter The Rats"
Grunge Grrrl.
One of Rock's finest bands returns to stomp all assclowns flat.
• Angel Olsen, "All Mirrors"
Symphonic Songwriter.
The mercurial minstrel goes luminous.
• Durand Jones And The Indications, "American Love Call"
Vocal Soul.
Everything right about The Miracles, The Delfonics, and The Chi-Lites, shining clear.
• Fay Hallam, "Propeller"
Psychedelic Yé-yé.
Everything right about trippin' Library Music albums, strobing.
• Seba Kaapstad, "Thina"
World NeoSoul.
The nexus of South Africa/Germany opens up new lines of soul-pop communication.
• The Jackets, "Queen Of The Pill"
Garage Psyche.
Swiss band led by the terrifying Jackie Brutsche, trashing your place and laughing.
• Gary Clark Jr., "This Land"
Blues Rock.
The blues paragon goes elastic with reggae, rockabilly, soul, and social commentary.
• Chrissie Hynde, The Valve Bone Woe Ensemble, "Valve Bone Woe"
Melodic Jazz.
Imaginative cover versions swinging with nifty lilt.
• Altin Gün, "Gece"
World Psyche.
Anatolian rock + Turkish Psyche Folk band from The Netherlands.
• The High Dials, "Primitive Feelings, Pt. 1"
Indie Psyche.
Magical mystery trouveurs.
• Ikebe Shakedown, "Kings Left Behind"
Soul Cinerama.
Spaghetti Western Tripadelic Funk. C'mon, you know you want it.
• L'Epee, "Diabolique"
Psyche Supergroup.
Actor Emmanuelle Seigner, Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), and The Limiñanas alchemize lightning.
• Mercury Rev +, "Bobbie Gentry's 'The Delta Sweete' Revisited"
Swamp Pop Redux.
The indie band honors Bobbie Gentry's 1968 classic album with covers sung by luminaries like Norah Jones, Hope Sandoval, Laetitia Sadier, Vashti Bunyan, and Lucinda Williams.
• The Shivas, "Dark Thoughts"
Dream Psyche a-go-go.
Do the rite of Shiva.
• Mavis Staples, "We Get By"
Gospel Soul.
The original Woke, since the '50s. Listen up to the legend and learn.
• Temples, "Hot Motion"
Glam Psyche.
Like Syd Barrett swirls with T-Rex saunter.
• Control Top, "Covert Contracts"
PostPunk Grrrl.
Angular rock, anger wrought.
• Shafiq Husayn, "The Loop"
Space-adelic Soul-Hop.
Funky head raps and chorals, with stellar guests.
• Olivia Jean, "Night Owl"
Fuzzadelic Pop.
Like Fabienne Delsol's alternate universe American cousin.
• The New Pornographers, "In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights"
PostGrad Pop.
The indie-pop supergroup collective fronted by Carl Newman and Neko Case, refracting pop sunshine into new spectrums.
• The Coathangers, "The Devil You Know"
Garage Punk.
The song "F___ The NRA" says it all.
• The Claypool Lennon Delirium, "South Of Reality"
Prog Psyche.
Les Claypool and Sean Lennon perfect their progressive psychedelia.
• The O'Jays, "The Last Word"
Philly Soul.
The vocal legends' swan song, co-produced by Betty Wright, which exactly captures the sweet tunes and caustic wit of their early-'70s heyday.
"As long as it's workin' in your favor/ You love the law/
Making our lives a livin' hell/ Above the law/
No one is above the law."
C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 9
All the
REAL MUSICbeyond the box!
Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
than South Korea!
by Tym Stevens
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Glam! Folk! Country! Blues!
Soul! Funk! Covers! RESIST!
Riot Grrrl! Alt-Rap! Electro! Alt Rock!
World ! Alt Jazz! Soundtracks!
Durand Jones + Indications; The Coathangers;
Gary Clark Jr; Blackwater Holylight
18 hours of skull-wobbling, fanny-swiveling music, featuring the following fine folks in this exact order!:
Taron Egerton; Valerie June; Kandle
Death Valley Girls
Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom
B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 9
Quality is timeless.
the love you take
is equal to
the love you make.
by Tym Stevens
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.
• 1950s •
• Miles Davis, "The Complete Birth Of The Cool" (1950)
The pivotal sessions that hinged the transition from Bebop to Cool Jazz.
• Miles Davis, "The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions" (1956)
With John Coltrane, Red Garland, Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones.
• Link Wray And His Ray Men, "The Link Wray Collection 1956-’62"
Wray's fiery guitar instrumentals paved the way for Garage Rock, Heavy Metal, and Punk.
Stax Records; The Stooges; James Brown
• 1960s •
• Ray Charles, "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music, Vols. 1 and 2" (1962)
Country and Soul are intertwined, and Ray templated the next decade of each with these crucial records.
• Norma Tanega, "Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog" (1966)
Askew Folk balladeer gets the spotlight she deserves.
• Little Ann, "Detroit’s Secret Soul" (1969)
All of her unreleased recordings, finally seeing light.
• The Doors, "Waiting For The Sun" (1969)
50th anniversary expansion of the classic album.
• The Doors, "The Soft Parade" (1969)
50th anniversary expansion of the classic album.
• The Beatles, "Abbey Road" (1969)
One of the greatest albums ever made, remastered along with demos and takes.
Essential.
• Stax various artists, "Soul Explosion" (1969)
An overview of the massive amount of single releases Stax did to relaunch itself after breaking up with Atlantic Records.
• Various Artists, "Psyche France, Vol 5 (1960-70)"
More PsycheGallic tunes, including some of Bernard Chabert's Beatlesque jams.
• The Stooges, "The Stooges" (1969)
50th anniversary of the first album, a precursor of Punk.
• Various Artists, "Motown Unreleased: 1969"
There are so many riches in the Motown vault and here are still more.
• King Crimson, Catalog reissues (1969-'95)
The quintessential Prog band, in all their fascinating permutations.
• Various Artists, "Fania Goes Psychedelic"
Spike some Boogaloo in your hullabaloo.
• Bob Dylan, Travelin’ Thru, 1967-’69: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15
The Country crooner years, featuring Johnny Cash.
Richie Havens; Janis Joplin;
Sly Stone; Santana;
Jimi Hendrix; The Who;
We are stardust
• Various Artists, "WOODSTOCK: Back To The Garden" (1969)
The most important concert of all time,
and the coming out party for the actual greatest generation.
Available in 5 LP, 3 CD, 10 CD, and whopping 38 CD versions.
• James Brown, "Live At Home With His Bad Self" (1969)
An unreleased live hits album backed by the original JB's.
• Chicago, "Chicago Transit Authority" (1969)
Their startling debut will force anyone to reassess them fairly.
Astounding chops, evergreen melodies, skronk guitar, and freedom fighter politics.
All Power To The People!
• Jimi Hendrix, "Songs For Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts" (1969/'70)
Every one of the New Years performances by the Band Of Gypsies.
• 1970s •
• The J.B.'s, "More Mess On My Thing" (1969-'70)
An unreleased album of the next phase J.B.'s, featuring Catfish and Bootsy Collins, including a 22-minute medley which covers Kool & The Gang, The Meters, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, and George Harrison.
• Polly Niles, "Sunshine In My Rainy Day Mind: The Lost Album" (1970)
An unreleased album of sunny Pop and Soul.
• Nat Turner Rebellion, "Laugh To Keep From Crying" (1971)
An unreleased album of the vocal combo with raised fists.
• Marvin Gaye, "What’s Going On (Live)" (1972)
Unreleased live performances, touring one of the greatest albums ever made.
• Various Artists, "Cambodian Nuggets" (late-'60s/early-'70s)
Ros Sereysothea sang fuzzy rock tunes, and for that the Pol Pot regime murdered her.>
Buy this record and raise a middle finger to all dictators.
• R.D. Burman, "The Bullet Train" (1970s)
Burman scored many of the most adventurous Bollywood scores of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, and this is a retrospective.
• Various Artists, "Soul Jazz Records Presents: Nigeria Soul Power 70: Afro Funk, Afro Rock, Afro Disco" (1970s)
Beyond Fela, African music underwent sonic revolutions in the '70s, but often got overwritten by oppressive political revolutions.
• Curtis Mayfield, "Keep On Keeping On: Curtis Mayfield Studio Albums 1970-1974"
All of the essential early-'70s solo albums (except for 1972's "Super Fly"), prime for rediscovery.
• Marvin Gaye, "You’re The Man" (1972)
A reconstruction of the 'missing album' sessions between "What's Going On" (1971) and "Let's Get It On" (1973).
The political first third is amazing.
Dead Kennedys
• Gene Clark, "No Other" (1974)
Gene's moody, complex, and especially soulful album.
• Mick Ronson, "Only After Dark: The Complete Mainman Recordings" (1974-'76)
The three albums that guitarist Ronson made on Bowie's label after going solo.
• The Undisputed Truth, "Cosmic Truth" (1975)
Norman Whitfield's answer to Funkadelic, finally rereleased.
• The Undisputed Truth, "Higher Than High" (1975)
Like The Temptations, the Family Stone, and Funkadelic having a debauched weekend.
• Suicide, "Suicide" (1977)
The nervy record that launched a million cold-synth acts.
• Dead Kennedys, "Iguana Studios Rehearsal Tape -San Francisco 1978"
The standard bearers of American political punk, galloping on surf clang.
• The Pop Group, "Y" (1979)
PostPunk agitprop of the first order.
Music
Sex
Romance
• 1980s •
• Dinosaur L, "24-24 Music" (1982)
Arthur Russell's experimental mutant disco, which rebounded across all the cutting edge dancefloors.
• Arthur Russell, "Iowa Dream" (1974-1985)>
More of Arthur's unreleased folk work, introspective and eclectic.
• Konk, "The Magic Force Of Konk 1981-1988"
Maybe more so than their peers Talking Heads, Liquid Liquid, and ESG, Konk were the intersection of afrobeat, jazz, funk, and hip hop.
• Prince, "1999" (1982)
The essential double album, doubled out again with unreleased tracks, plus b-sides and live takes.
• Prince, "Originals"
Prince's original demos of songs he gave to other artists.
• The Smithereens, "Demos 1: Girls About Town/Beauty And Sadness/ Especially For You" ('81-'86)
Demos for the initial EPs and debut album.
• Beastie Boys, "An Exciting Evening At Home With Shadrach, Meshach And Abednego" (EP, 1989)
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the "Paul's Boutique" album, these two EPS were reissued.
• Beastie Boys, "Love American Style" (EP, 1989)
• 1990s •
• Bikini Kill, Catalog reissues (1991-'96)
Revolution Grrrl Style Now And Forever!
• Harry Nilsson, "Losst And Founnd" (1994)
The unreleased album that Nilsson was working on at the time of his passing.
• 2000s •
• Queens of the Stone Age, "Songs For The Deaf" (2002)
Their breakthrough and best album, like robotik stoner rock with Cream harmonies.
© Tym Stevens
"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"
See also:
· BEST MOVIES + TV: 2023
• BEST MUSIC: 2023
• BEST COMICS: 2023
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2022
• BEST MUSIC: 2022
• BEST COMICS: 2022
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2021
• BEST MUSIC: 2021
• BEST COMICS: 2021
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2020
• BEST MUSIC: 2020
• BEST COMICS: 2020
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2019
• BEST COMICS: 2019
• BEST MOVIES + TV: 2018
• BEST MUSIC: 2018
• BEST COMICS: 2018
• BEST M