Music: A 2021 Year End Review
As we are coming to a close on 2021, I’d like to offer up a short list of my favorite songs and ones that inspired me during the year. I must tell you up front that I’m not an audiophile or a musicologist and my taste in music is all over the map. I was brought up on oldies and 70’s hits through the speakers of my parents car, but as I moved into my teens I was mesmerized by hard rock and heavy metal. The 90’s brought alternative and grunge music into my life and the 2000’s til now, I took a deep dive into blues music and more recently Instrumental and lofi music.
Here are ten tracks that intrigued me through their lyrics, vocals, beat, and guitar riffs.
Tito Jackson - Under Your Spell. Favorite Track: Dying Over Here
Yes, Tito Jackson of the Jackson Five. This album was the surprise of the year for me. Guests on the album include Joe Bonamassa, Bobby Rush, Stevie Wonder, and George Benson.
Duran Duran - Future Past. Favorite Track: Anniversary
I’ve long been a fan of Duran Duran. The track Anniversary is catchy and really reminded me of the band that filled the airwaves in the 80’s. Go ahead and scroll back through your mental database and you should easily recall their popular videos on MTV.
YNDI & Dream Koala - We Can’t Be Friends (single)
This is the lone LoFi track on the list. I am a sucker for a good lofi guitar sound, and in 2021, this one fit the bill.
Joanne Shaw Taylor - The Blues Album. Favorite Track: Let Me Down Easy
I was totally mesmerized by the gritty vocals belted out by Ms. Taylor. You could really sense the heartbreak throughout the storyline in the lyrics and in her voice. This more than anything else made this track so powerful.
John Mayer - Sob Rock, Favorite Track: Carry Me Away
Ok….So this track technically came out as a single before the full album was released in 2021, but for me it was the best track on the album. John Mayer is one of the greatest singer songwriters in this generation not to mention one of my favorite guitar players. The lyrics on Carry Me Away remind me a lot of songs from his album Born and Raised which I think was full of musical masterpieces.
Billy F. Gibbons - Hardware. Favorite Track: My Lucky Card
The Reverend Billy F. Gibbons has presided over his three-piece blue-rock inspired side project and has truly given us some magical tunes on this album and his prior release, The Big Bad Blues. It’s not a huge departure from ZZ Top, but with Austin Hanks on rhythm guitar and Matt Sorum (Guns & Roses, Velvet Revolver, The Cult) on drums, you get a hard hitting punchy group.
The Pretty Reckless - Death By Rock And Roll. Favorite Track: Death By Rock And Roll
Taylor Momsen can belt out rock n’ roll as good as anyone. And you sure get that on the title track of their 2021 release. The thick overdriven guitar and her voice work together so well and bring me right back to when I first heard her belt out Heaven Knows on their 2014 release Going To Hell.
Hamish Anderson - Morning Light (single)
This Melbourne, Australia native has been cooped up at home during the pandemic and has been collaborating virtually with his band that is based in Los Angeles. This is one such track that was created, mixed, and mastered by sending pieces back and forth via the web. He’s another young singer songwriter who was just coming into his own before the pandemic derailed many tours. I expect to see Hamish back out on the stage sooner than later.
Mark Ronson - Watch The Sound. Favorite Track: You’ll Go Crazy, feat. King Princess
I just finished watching the Apple TV+ series Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson. He created six episodes around some of the biggest topics in music making today including: Autotune, Sampling, Reverb, Synthesizers, Drum Machines, and Distortion. In one episode, he was working with the artist King Princess and you see her writing lyrics and then busting into a tune that Ronson was producing from some beats she made up. I had not heard of this artist before this episode and I totally dug what she was doing.
Jason Landry - Monochrome. Favorite Track: Four Eyes
I’m too married to all the music I make to actually give it a proper review. I would prefer you just listen to it sometime. There’s something on the album for everybody. More new music is coming in the new year.
