That kids today still listen to shite music.
What were your top musical discoveries of 2024?
Looking for music that was new to you and your collection that lit you and your system up last year.
Here’s my list:
Vinyl -
UHQR version of Steely Dan “Asia”
Original Master Recording of Grateful Dead’s “Workingman’s Dead”
Digital files -
Mac Miller “Circles”
Iron & Wine “The Shepherds Dog”
Jacob Collier “Djesse Vol.2”
Mokave “Afrique”
Skrillex “Quest for Fire”
Beyonce “Cowboy Carter”
CD -
Sinead O’Conner “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got”
This is at least what is top of mind.
kn
51 responses Add your response
Well, I didn't discover her in '24, but Kim Deal is in rotation again. Gecko Turner has caught my attention, as has Club Des Beluga. I have a German store I buy from regularly, and I've added This Bad Life "Big Jihad" to the rotation, and Amon Duul's "Yeti" both form the last batch. This past year I reviewed my Kraftwerk catalog, and had my eyes open for Missus Beastly and Rare Bird. There are multiple bands on BandCamp for which I'm waiting for the rice and bean diet to pay off... Have a great new year! |
A lot of blues songs I heard on BB King’s Bluesville on XM radio while out driving around. Many are older artists and songs. For example last year, Walter Trout who I somehow missed along the way. Great guitarist and singer. Joe Bonamassa has a show on the station and he plays a lot of great stuff including collaborations with other artists. |
Suzanne Ciani - "Golden apples of the Sun" and "Improvisation on four sequences" Pauline Anna Strom - "Plot Zero" Khruangbin and Leon Bridges - "Texas Moon" Ray Lamontagne - "Long way Home" Scott Lavene - "Milk City Sweethearts" and "Broke" John Grant - (all of his stuff) Terry Riley - "A Rainbow in Curved Air" Chappel Roan - "The rise and fall of a Midwest Princess" Stereolab |
Horace Parlan Quintet "Speakin' My Piece (Remastered)" Michael Hedges "Aerial Boundaries" Keith Jarrett "The Melody At Night, With You" Mary "Lou Williams "Free Spirits" Frank Morgan "A Lovesome Thing" great cover of Foorprints Ray Brown Trio "Soular Energy" José James "Lean On Me" A tribute to Bill Withers. Wow. |
@simonmoon Thanks for the recommendation! I plan on streaming the "Last Quiet Place" by Ingrid Laubrock this evening. "Devotion" is my favorite by Grossman but I also have "Quiet Earth" on CD. I love the Spiritual Jazz sub-genre in which Grossman is a contemporary example. |
ah…. a lovely thread… May Erlewine… really anything by her… wow just fantastic, how did i miss her ? Not a new discovery..just a continuing love affair with anything Gillian Welch / David Rawlings do… the latest is Woodland Love mining threads like this and of course Radio Paradise… ( reminder to self, send them $$$$$ Best in music to all |
Here are some new discoveries for me. These are artists, bands, musicians, composers, that I was unaware of until 2024. My tastes in music tend to lean toward the progressive and avant-garde, so, YMMV. Prog: Greco Bastian - With a Little Hell from MORE Friends / avant-prog composer. This is complex, challenging stuff. With very high levels of musicianship. Weather Systems - Ocean Without a Shore / New band formed by the remnants of the band, Anathema. Beautiful melodies, loads of emotion. Lux de Riada - Rizoma / Another avant-prog band from Mexico. A bit of 80’s King Crimson sneaks in. At Night I Fly - collision/fusion/division / Very good prog-metal band from Hungary. Lots of emotion on this. Viima - Väistyy Mielen Yö / Folky prog from Finland. Beautiful melodies, great flute and Hamond organ playing. Jazz: Ingrid Laubrock - The Last Quiet Place / Progressive, verging on avant-garde jazz. The Pneumatic Transit - Forbidden Trinkets / Creative jazz-fusion band from Chicago. Aurora Clara - IV / Fusion band from Spain heavily influenced by Mahavishnu Orchestra, and they have the chops to pull it off. They even have Jerry Goodman on violin on a few of their earlier albums. Classical*: Felipe Lara - Portals / Brazilian-American composer / Avant-garde and atonal. Elizabeth Harnik - Someone Will Remember Us / Austrian composer. More avant-garde classical. Anthony Cheung - Music for Film, Sculpture, and Captions / American composer. *This is where my tastes get really "out there". I seriously love thorny, angular, contemporary classical music. |
Two records stand out for me - neither issued in 2024, but I purchased them both last year: ARCHORA / AIŌN Album by Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir, Eva Ollikainen, and Iceland Symphony Orchestra Ariabesques - WDR Big Band Plays Bach (The Goldberg Variations) Album by Johann Sebastian Bach and WDR Big Band Make what you will of my musical taste ;-) |
If you like classical - Deutche Gramophone - DG - started to release a bunch of stuff recorded from about 1960-70 or so, when companies actually spent big $$ to record classical music. It's pretty impressive technically and the sound is WOW. Even if you don't like classical, you can read what they did to go direct from the 4 and 8- track original tape to the cutting head. they eliminated all the middle steps to maximize the sound The Original Source is the label name. I think they have released about 20 records so far, with more to come. |
NEW discoveries: GRAHAM NASH: "Live - Songs for Beginners/ Wild Tales" J.D. SOUTHER - "Natural History" RE-Discoveries: ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION - "The Polydor Years" (8 CD retrospective. Found it new for only $40) JACKSON BROWNE - "For Everyman" (2024 Remaster) DIXIE DREGS - "Freefall - What If - Night of the Living Dregs" (2024 Remaster) BOO HEWERDINE & DARDEN SMITH - "Evidence" (1996 Remaster)
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Devin, I looked back in my conversation history and I can't find the thread I was looking for, but there was a thread about "Jazz Music", and I suggested the OP listen to Bohren & der Club of Gore and another member contacted me raving about how much they enjoyed Bohren. Was that you? If so, I'm elated that they made such an impact on you that you listed them in this thread about favorite music discoveries of 2024. I feel like I did a good deed if it is you I spoke with earlier.
If you, what was your favorite album? Did you look up any of their live performances on YouTube? As far as full albums go, my favorites are 1997's "Midnight Radio" and 2000's "Sunset Mission". I was blown away when I first heard their cover of "Catch My Heart" with vocals by Mike Patton (lead singer of Faith No More) on the 2011 EP "Beileid" (it's also on 2016's "Bohren For Beginners". The first time I heard it, I did a quick head snap, because I couldn't believe I was hearing a remake of the 1985 song by the German Heavy Metal band, Warlock. Warlock was fronted by one of the earliest female smoke show vocalist, Doro Pesch, and were quite popular in Europe during the 1980's and early 1990's, touring with bands such as Dio, W.A.S.P., Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Scorpions.
On this song, Mike Patton shows why he is one of the most talented and versatile voices in rock and roll today. He does just an amazing job. While this Bohren project was being recorded, Patton learned Italian and released "Mondo Cane", an album of Italian Pop Songs backed by a forty-member orchestra and fifteen-piece backing band. People that only know him through Faith No More are missing A LOT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxbwSCbSAsc
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Band-Maid. Listen to any of their official live recordings on Youtube. Good examples are "Domination". "Hate?" "Freedom", "Play" and "Thrill" (the studio version, their fist hit) and many, many more. These five Japanese women are the real deal, hard rockers, accomplished musicians, and have been around more than ten years.. They are the best rock group in the world now in my humble, but definitive opinion. I found them by accident while looking for clips of the TV series Shogun online and now have since acquired all but their first and new album. They are truly fabulous. Don’t miss out. |
@ghdprentice particularly their live albums, very well recorded as are all there albums. Another discovery was Phronesis I only have Alive on vinyl but would love to get their others. |
@sfar went to Casa de Fados in Evora in 2024. Loved it. I will check that artist out! |
Yes that was me, and you did do a good deed indeed :) Incidentally, that started me thinking about musical discoveries later in life and I just posted a new thread about that. I’m looking forward to hear what folks say https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/can-we-make-major-musical-discoveries-at-age-50-65-or-80 I love Sunset Mission, Patchouli Blue and Beileid. I have not listened to Bohren’s entire catalog though. My favorite song so far might be Dead End Angels. Also, I had no idea the Faith No More guy was singing on Catch My Heart. I was a fan back in the day! I think the way Bohren’s music is experienced is very system-sensitive. Despite the often extreme sparseness and slow tempo, I think it’s best appreciated on fast, authoritative speakers driven by high-current amps. Sometimes I kind of wish mine extended a bit deeper into octave 0
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I usually listen to Bohren on these two systems in my house:
1) New KLH Model 5 speakers connected to an Audio Research SP17 preamp and a McIntosh 225 amp
2) Klipsch Forte II speakers connected to a Dennis Had LP3.1 tube preamp and a Dennis Had Inspire 45 "Fire Bottle" tube amp
I listen both streaming and by a turntable, and I find both systems sound great. Bohren is not music that I play very loud to begin with, so the McIntosh provides plenty of power for me. Heck, even the Dennis Had amp at a mere 2 watts makes my Forte II's sing. What is your current setup?
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Heilung Forndom Wardruna
and a host of other “Viking” music. I had no idea the Norse Sagas and Eddas were being worked into modern-day music releases or that there’s a virtual army of online techno-geek linguists commenting on the translations of Runic lore. My undergraduate advisor, Herr Professor Doktor Martin Wierschin would have had a thing or three to say about it, God rest his soul. |
Right now I have Infinity RS-II speakers driven by a pair of Classé monoblocks. I just rebuilt the crossovers and they sound fantastic. They are very underrated speakers imo. They do dip to 2 ohms across the HF range and they need high current amplifiers if they are to really wake up and sing. They are a 5-way, 7-driver design with open-baffle mids and highs, and two 10" woofers in separate sealed cabinets. I think the airiness of the midrange, the precision of the EMIT ribbons and the respectable bass slam makes them a great fit for music like Bohren, especially if played at higher volumes.
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ARCHORA / AIŌN Album by Anna S. Þorvaldsdóttir, Eva Ollikainen, and Iceland Symphony Orchestra
Þorvaldsdóttir (Thovaldsdottir) is a pretty recent discovery of mine too. I am not usually a fan of the Spectralism school of classical music, but her stuff is so haunting and beautiful, with great building tension and intensity, that it sucks me in. |
@devinplombier -- Nice. I love old school Infinity speakers. I'm not certain, but I believe those Infinity utilized the Watkins Dual-Drive Woofer. I grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee, and was frequently found at Watkins Stereo Center, an Audio store founded by Bill Watkins, Sr. Watkins developed and patented the unique Dual-Drive Woofer that he later sold to Infinity. I believe they were in the RS-II.
https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/william-h-bill-watkins-a-true-american-audio-innovator/ |
I haven't pulled any of the woofers but I think you are correct. I recall reading they are Watkins Dual Drive. Thanks for the link. Watkins is still in business in Kingsport TN. They will refoam, realign and thoroughly check Infinity woofers like in my RS-II for $85 a piece as I write this (10" size). Good to know!
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@devinplombier -- You are welcome, again. Yes, Watkins Stereo is still churning along. Bill Watkins, Sr., passed away as you saw in the Absolute Sound obituary, but his son Bill Watkins, Jr., is carrying the torch. They are located in the same corner location on the outskirts of Downtown Kingsport since I first went there in 1977. And yes, they will still do work on speakers, especially when people find their Holy Grail models, the WE-1 and WSC-1A. Bill, Sr., was a great guy, and Bill, Jr., is also very nice to work with.
They are a small niche shop, selling Watkins speakers, Certain Klipsch speakers, VPI Scout 21 turntables, Oracle Origin turntables, U-Turn Orbit Turntables, and certain Yamaha amps. For certain not a store crammed with too many choices.
If you are ever in the market for a set of Bookshelf Speakers, I highly recommend checking out their newest addition, the award winning Generation 4 speakers. Amazing speakers.
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