The years, the tears, the fears, they come and go just like that. A product of the smaller slice of life pie each rotation serves up no doubt, but nothing tragic to see here. In what should have been the most normal year in music we’ve had in a while, illusions of grandeur were met with (what feels like) an ongoing theme of good intentions clouded by some sort of new age malaise. Call it the post covid era, the increasingly impossible to be a musician and survive era, the viral insta gratification anxiety era, call it whatever you want, but…there’s something intangibly tangible there. There were still plenty of good to great albums to be had, but seemingly fewer artists and records that felt transformative. Make no mistake, we are in the age of the song, and it reins supreme. But please allow me to buck the trend and share fifty records that are worth hitting play and just letting yourself go. The end will be here before you know it, and there’s always a next song whether you’re listening for it or not.
Flashflooder’s Top 50 Albums of 2022
The time has come, the records have spun, and now despite better interests, the flash flood has begun. Literally…well, not for everyone I guess. But who’s guessing anyways? And what was the question? After careful deliberation, there’s still not much to be known, not much to be seen. But if you listen closely enough, you might just see what you’re looking to hear. A reflexive jaunt down memory lane, with some places unfamiliar and some places the same. And with the alignment in question, you may feel compelled to compare. Another year in the books, fifty more records to share.
Flashflooder’s Top 50 Albums of 2021
Wow, it’s this time of year again? How many months has it been? How many more will there be? What is a question. Why yes, that is correct (I suppose). But I guess I’m getting off track. Already?! Which tracks? Oh right, not tracks. Albums! Records, releases, call them what you may. May the whatever be without you. Wait, what are we doing here again? What are these words here for? Traditions, rituals, norms, mcdonalds, you know…
Flashflooder’s Top 50 Albums of 2020
Well well well plant wellington. Here we are again. Back at it. There’s no way around it though, 2020 was truly, an unforgettable year to forget. Thank the good lord of the rings that it’s over with. You’d hope that with people trapped inside with nothing else to do, those who could would lean into musical creativity but eh. Good ol stress and anxiety and death and depression don’t always make for the most opportune times to jam brah. Though I have no doubt the undesired feelings and experiences from this year will be inspiration for compelling and moving art for years to come. Just not so much this year. There were some moments though. Some glimmers. Some sprinkles. I mean hell, go to town with the toppings. We made it to 2021. Now have your ice cream cake and eat it too.
COViD-19 MiX SERiES: Uncut Jamz
Well well well, why hello there ye dusty old blog. D’ya fancy a bit of that ‘ol timey muzak fun? How bout a terrible silly on the nose mix series? Oh…a fragrant mix? a sonic potpourri? a series? Yo it better be a trilogy, themz are tiight….Nah brah, 3’s are soft. what do you know about NINETEEN? (COViD) 9TEEN. A mix project to distract and share a variety of niice songs with others in a discrete amount of time. Pick a pre-defined theme on the spot. Define out loud. Play 19 SONGS. Record and go. Stop overthinking. Just create whatever gets created. 19 MIX GOAL.
….wait, you still put out mixes? is it a livestream tho? how do i zoom troll this action? …uhhhhhh
so here’s the delio. i’ve recorded a few of these so far. enough now to finally warrant me admitting to doing this music mix shelter sanity project. wanting to at least give sufjan a run for his money with his 50 states project. especially because i only gots 19.
this is the most recent one i recorded last night. before i started this one i was thinking of a theme and said “ambient high”. the ambient element dissipated quickly as this journey thru some of my all time fav rare funky groovy world wide jammers came next. things don’t always end up as you initially intend them to be.
as we have to stay inside, i wanted to play some music to go outside. to different places.. in different times. before now. before the quarantime. better times.
more to come.
Flashflooder’s Top 50 Albums of 2019
Twenty nineteen was a solid year for music, but an odd one at that. While there were plenty of interesting and worthy releases to select for a “best of” list, critics seemed to flock heavily around a few mainstream records and run with it (more so than any other year I’ve witnessed). I (swear I really really) tried to buy the ticket and take the ride on the hype train, but ultimately was left mumbling “(lana del) no way!” to myself most of the time. So instead, this year you’ll just have to indulge yourself with the albums that I felt made this year sound special.
Flashflooder’s Top 100 Music Releases of 2018
Twenty Eighteen. There was music. Probably too much of it. I liked some though. And a few a lot.
Flashflooder’s Top 100 Music Releases of 2017
For me 2017 was the year of streaming and Spotify due to the tragic death of What.cd (RIP) the year prior which led me to discovering and listening to music a little differently than the past few years. While I had more entries on my albums of the year spreadsheet tracker than ever (a good thing by all accounts) I struggled to find and connect with as many groundbreaking albums as I would have liked and in turn had less clarity than usual about what really were the truly standout records of the year. Or maybe it’s more that most all the supposed great albums weren’t all that good or interesting after all? Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s just that 2017 was a year of adjusting to things that often don’t make sense and expecting it to feel normal.
Flashflooder’s Top 100 Music Releases of 2016
Well, 2016 was kind of a shit year. Maybe not completely for you (or me) personally, but by most accounts I think it’s fair to say that things could’ve been better (to say the least). In many ways the same thing could be said for the music released in 2016. Don’t get me wrong, there were still plenty of quality records released; but in comparison to past years, I found the music of 2016 to be more devoid of year defining standout records and a bit underwhelming in terms of genre range and uniqueness of music releases. Or maybe i’m just getting jaded and my musical taste buds are stagnating to the point I don’t “get” what “the kids” are into these days. Maybe. But, maybe not?
Flashflooder’s Top 100 Music Releases of 2015
Damn, 2015 is already over and (sadly) I’m just now discovering that this is my first blog post since last years Top 100 albums listravaganza. I’m really pumping out these posts at a record pace! Hurry and get me a pacemaker! Or make me some tomato paste (picante salsa will also do)! Or go to Indiana and watch an nba game! Or just press Ctrl+V for christ’s sake! Not that Jesus would know how to use a computer anyways. But I digress…there was a lot of great music in the last year and it would be silly and naive for me to assume this hodgepodge list of mine is comprehensive. But, I can confidently say that I did listen to a lot of records in 2015 and probably more than your average joe schmo (screw that guy anyways, everyone’s always talking about him like he’s so average…). Take the order for what you want but give some of these artists, bands, djs, and producers tunes a test drive. You might be surprised the places they’ll take you.
The life and times of a Flashflooder 