January 5, 2019 CHIRP Radio Playlist (Show #413)

9:00 AM #20 Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers • The Hotel Song • Bought To Rot • Bloodshot

9:03 AM Al Green • You Oughta Be With Me • Greatest Hits • Hi

9:06 AM Tim Rutili & Craig Ross • Coma Tapes • 10 Seconds to Collapse • Jealous Butcher

9:14 AM #19 Anna Calvi • Alpha • Hunter • Domino

9:18 AM FURY • Home • Black Magic • Self-Released

9:21 AM Chris Isaak • Dancin' • Silvertone • Warner Bros.

9:25 AM #18 Teleman • Song for a Seagull • Family of Aliens • Moshi Moshi

9:31 AM #17 Kamasi Washington • Street Fighter Mas • Heaven and Earth • Young Turks

9:36 AM Cindy Lee • Don't Let Me Down • Model Express • W. 25th

9:39 AM The Kinks • Johnny Thunder • The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society • Pye

9:43 AM #16 Kacey Musgraves • Space Cowboy • Golden Hour • MCA

9:47 AM The Moles • Queen Anne • Code Word • Super Secret

9:49 AM Grave Flowers Bongo Band • Come Along, Move Along • Flower Pot • Permanent

9:51 AM #15 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever • Talking Straight • Hope Downs • Sub Pop

9:57 AM #14 Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 • Kuku Kee Me • Black Times• Strut

10:02 AM #13 Neneh Cherry • Shot Gun Shack • Broken Politics • Smalltown Supersound

10:06 AM Devo • Social Fools • Hardcore Devo: Volume One • Rykodisc

10:09 AM The Screaming Blue Messiahs • Just for Fun • Gun-Shy • Elektra

10:15 AM #12 Negative Scanner • Shoplifter • Nose Picker • Trouble in Mind

10:19 AM Swamp Dogg • Redneck • Total Destruction to Your Mind • Canyon

10:21 AM Spoon • Who Makes Your Money • Transference • Merge

10:25 AM #11 Marianne Faithfull • As Tears Go By • Negative Capability • Panta Rei

10:31 AM #10 Sunshine Boys • Billy Boy • Blue Music • Pravda

10:35 AM FFS • Johnny Delusional • FFS • Domino

10:38 AM Anderson .Paak • Trippy (featuring J. Cole) • Oxnard• Aftermath

10:45 AM #9 Fatoumata Diawara • Kanou Dan Yen • Fenfo (Something To Say) • Shanachie

10:48 AM Jeff Tweedy • Warm (When the Sun Has Died) • Warm • dBpm

10:50 AM The Sir Douglas Quintet • Mendocino • Medocino • Smash

10:53 AM #8 Young Fathers • In My View • Cocoa Sugar • Ninja Tune

10:58 AM #7 Tracey Thorn • Dancefloor • Record • Merge

11:02 AM #6 CHAI • N.E.O • Pink • Burger

11:04 AM Bob Seger & The Last Heard • Heavy Music (Part 1)• Heavy Music • ABKCO

11:07 AM Gudrun Gut • Boys Keep Swinging • Moment • Monika Enterprise

11:13 AM #5 Kali Uchis • Just a Stranger (featuring Steve Lacy) • Isolation • Universal

11:16 AM Olden Yolk • Gamblers on a Dime • Olden Yolk • Trouble In Mind

11:20 AM Tonio K. • Life in the Foodchain • Life in the Foodchain • Gadfly

11:24 AM #4 Elvis Costello & The Imposters • Unwanted Number • Look Now • Concord

11:30 AM #3 Sons of Kemet • My Queen Is Harriet Tubman • Your Queen Is a Reptile • Impulse

11:36 AM Big'n • Hog Hell • Knife of Sin • Computer Students

11:38 AM Diagonal • Can't Be Real • You Are Free EP • Midwest Action

11:43 AM #2 Mitski • Why Didn't You Stop Me • Be the Cowboy • Dead Oceans

11:45 AM Car Seat Headrest • My Boy Twin Fantasy • Twin Fantasy • Matador

11:48 AM Crack Cloud • Bastard Basket • Crack Cloud • Tin Angel

11:51 AM #1 Superchunk • Reagan Youth • What a Time to Be Alive • Merge

11:55 AM The Psychedelic Furs • India • The Psychedelic Furs• Columbia

December 29, 2018 CHIRP Radio Playlist (Show #412)

I played songs from my Top 40 LPs of 2019, with #20-1 next week!

9:00 AM #40 FACS • Silencing • Negative Houses • Trouble in Mind

9:04 AM Eurythmics • Beethoven (I Love to Listen To) • Savage • RCA

9:09 AM Wet • 11 Hours • Still Run • Columbia

December 22, 2018 CHIRP Radio playlist

9:01 AM Michael Carpenter • Love and Mercy • By Request Volume 2 • Big Radio

9:04 AM Mavis Staples • Christmas in Love • Holiday Heroes• Soul Purpose

9:08 AM Sarah Louise • Rime • Nighttime Birds and Morning Stars • Thrill Jockey

My Top 40 albums of 2018

Another swell year for music, and another year where I couldn't possibly keep up with all of the good stuff coming out. I listened to about 200 albums this year, and these are the ones that I played the most and stayed with me the longest. I find that with each batch of 10 records, the ratings are less fine tuned, and I could probably change the order of the bottom 20 and that would be just as satisfactory to me. But I have to lock it in some time, and now is that time.

1. Superchunk – What a Time to Be Alive (Merge): This is the third album since Superchunk reactivated, and as terrific as the prior two were, this album uses the fuel of the current presidential administration and comes up with an inspired collection. The songs are classic Superchunk, with a bashing rhythm section, biting lead guitars, and strong melodies and hooks. These are in songs that channel anger and frustration into something hopeful and inspiring. 21st century punk rock tailor made to fuel protest marches.

2. Mitski – Be the Cowboy (Dead Oceans): I saw Mitski at the Pitchfork Blue Stage, and the crowd spilled over to hear her bring the songs off of Puberty 2 to life. I was watching a star in the making. She could have made Puberty 3 (or Puberty 2 II?), but instead of continuing to update ‘90s alt-rock, she upped the ante with a musically diverse collection of songs filtered through a concept that was ideal for her keen observational lyrics. The concise tunes fly by and build resonance like a musical version of Raymond Carver book.

3. Sons of Kemet – Your Queen Is a Reptile (Impulse): This percussive jazz quartet led by British-Bahan wunderkind Shabaka Hutchings plays politically motivated songs that have the power of punk rock. I never could imagine how commanding a saxophone, a tuba, and two drummers could sound, but the songs have a bit of New Orleans second line jazz, funk, Afro pop, and the Carribean exploding through the speakers. As with Superchunk’s album, the political motivation behind the album (how the British monarchy doesn’t represent black immigrants, conveyed through songs about notable black women) gives it an energy and center that never cools off.

December 15, 2018 CHIRP Radio Playlist (Show #411)

9:00 AM Fine Young Cannibals • Ever Fallen in Love • The Raw & The Cooked • I.R.S.

9:03 AM The Pointer Sisters • Fairytale • That's a Plenty • Blue Thumb

9:07 AM Tim Rutili & Craig Ross • Like a Rifle • 10 Seconds to Collapse • Jealous Butcher

December 1, 2018 CHIRP Radio playlist (Show #410)

9:00 AM The Korgis • Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime • Dumb Waiters • Asylum

9:04 AM Bat For Lashes • Pearl's Dream • Two Suns • Astralwerks

9:09 AM Masta Ace & Marco Polo • American Me • A Breukelen Story • Fat Beats

November 24, 2018 CHIRP Playlist (Show #409)

8:59 AM De La Soul • Breakadawn • Buhloone Mind State • Tommy Boy

9:03 AM Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn • As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone • Country Partners • MCA

9:06 AM Miya Folick • Premonitions • Premonitions • Terrible