December 28, 2019 CHIRP Playlist (Show #459)

9:01 AM Nilüfer Yanya • Paralysed • Miss Universe • ATO

9:05 AM Robert Forster • I'll Look After You • Inferno • Tapete

9:08 AM Half Gringa • Beauty of the County • So Many Singing Vol. 2 • Ruination

9:16 AM Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi • Gonna Write Me a Letter • There Is No Other • Nonesuch

My Top 40 albums of 2019

I really, really thought 2019 was a great year for music. Thanks again to CHIRP Radio, I got exposed to a lot of things I wouldn't have otherwise heard. I listened to a ton of new releases this year -- over 150, by my count. And figuring out what would go in the last 10 or so on this list was incredibly hard. Indeed, if I went through the albums a couple of months from now, you might have found the 2019 albums from the following artists on my list: Sasami, Cloud Eleven, Christian Scott, Tommi Zender, pronoun, Sharon Van Etten, Prince Fatty, Kaina, These New Puritans, Rosie Carney, Angelique Kidjo, The Embrooks, Bryony Jarman-Pinto, Jenny Lewis, Danny Brown, Mark Lanegan Band, and others I've forgotten about. Anyway, this is just a list of the stuff I liked the most, in a year where there was so much to like.

1. Michael Kiwanuka -- Kiwanuka (Polydor/Interscope): A confident Kiwanuka teamed up again with producers Danger Mouse and Inflo to further his intriguing blend of folk, rhythm and blues, and psychedelia. This album builds on its predecessor, Love & Hate, in the best possible ways. Kiwanuka’s vocals are as warm as ever, and he still conjures up wonderful melodies, while he and the producers conjure up a sound rooted in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but with a modern feel. Kiwanuka incisively writes about both personal matters and the ongoing struggle for civil rights with commitment and feeling, creating a very resonate album.

December 21 CHIRP Radio playlist (Show #458)

9:01 AM Sparks • Little Drummer Boy • Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins • BMG

9:03 AM Rotary Connection • Peace At Last • Peace • One Way

9:08 AM FKA twigs • home with you • MAGDALENE • Young Turks

9:15 AM Neil Finn • Sweet Secret Peace • Maybe This Christmas • Nettwerk

December 7, 2019 CHIRP Radio playlist (Show #457)

9:01 AM Paul Weller • Private Hell • Other Aspects • Parlophone

9:06 AM The Detroit Cobras • Let's Forget the Past • Life, Love and Leaving • Sympathy for the Record Industry

9:09 AM Alexis Gideon • Conception II • Upgrade Soul • FPE

9:14 AM Kali Uchis • Solita • single • Virgin EMI/Interscope