2024: the sleeve notes
Every year from 1987 to 2022 my partner Sue and I put together a best of year cassette or CD, chronicling our favourite music from the year just ending. This year, after skipping a year because I was mourning the loss of Sue, I’ve decided to continue the tradition, but with a Spotify playlist. In 2022 it became clear that only a handful of people were still using CDs. This way saves me a lot of postage and time spent burning CDs. I’ve donated the money I’ve saved on CDs and Christmas cards I used to post to Oxfam’s Gaza appeal.
My love of music helped me get through the tough months after losing my life partner and, in particular, my long delayed trip to Austin, Texas (see posts below) which began with ten days at the South by South West festival, allowed me to have a complete, recuperative change. This year, I’ve tweaked my self imposed rules slightly – allowing myself 90 minutes (the length of the cassettes we used to send) and changing the title to ‘favourite songs first heard in 2024’ which allows me to include some old songs that I first heard at SXSW. To be precise, one from Jon Dee Graham and one by James McMurtry, both of which I’ve written about on this blog already + a set highlight from Chuck Prophet, who I saw twice, and look forward to seeing again at Metronome in Nottingham come the end of February, promoted by my great friends at Cosmic American Music, without whom I couldn’t have had such a great SXSW. Tickets.
I used to write individual sleeve notes with playable MP3s but that was when I was working and had more spare time than I do now, so, without any further ado, here’s a link to this year’s playlist. Best of 2024.
Some songs are by acts who I first saw this year and loved: Mdou Moctar, Michael Kiwanuka, Chuck, Jon Dee and James (sadly had to give away my Ezra Collective ticket as it was rescheduled and clashed with Robert Plant in Harrogate, which was superb). Others are by acts who have long been favourites (like Adrianne Lenker, who is the singer with Big Thief). MJ Lenderman gets on twice by courtesy of singing with Waxahatchee as well as on his own album. Looking forward to seeing him for the first time at the Rescue Rooms in May. Tickets. Also looking forward to seeing Father John Misty for the third time, at Rock City. His new album Mahashmashana is one of his best and he’s a brilliant showman.
Elsewhere on the playlist there’s a mixture of old favourites and new ones, with a fair sprinkling of pop. I’m off to see White Denim on Monday, my last gig of the year, but I haven’t had a proper listen to their new album yet. There’s no room for Taylor Swift this year, and I didn’t get to see her tour, but I did stand next to her stage costume when I was in Austin, so, to finish, here’s a photo of that. Season’s greetings.
Taylor’s Swift’s stage outfit in a special exhibition at the LBJ Presidential Library, Austin, Texas.
