Category: Music

How I Buy Music in 2024

Earlier this year I ran out of space to store records. I could ship a load of old ones to our storage unit, but I really do like having my music around me so that didn’t feel like a good idea. I was also noticing the the already high price of records was creeping up, from £20 to well over £25 in most cases. So apart from a few new releases from Wrong Speed Records, I’ve not bought vinyl at all this year, and have instead reverted to either digital music or CDs.

Both of those formats provided challenges for me though. Digital music is great, but it means I have to think about backups, and having multiple copies in case of disk failure. I largely solved that by saving all new music to Dropbox, and then making it available on all my computers that way. I also back up to a large hard drive in my main computer that contains everything I have ever downloaded since 2021. The challenge with CDs was that the 20+ year old machine I used to play them on died over a year ago, so I was just ripping them to MP3 and playing them that way.

That wasn’t too much of a problem to start off with, as two of my main sources of music was the albums I get as part of my subscription to The Quietus magazine, and a Bandcamp subscription to the music of Constellation Records. In both cases new music arrives every few weeks, and I download it and play it on my computer. My computer is plugged into an amp, which is connected to the speakers from my old CD player, so the sound is pretty decent.

In the end I did buy a CD player, and another cheap amp to connect it to some other vintage speakers I have. So now I have my record player and CD player routing to one sound system, and my home and work computers to the other. That way I can play any music I own in my home office without too much effort with cables and switches. It also means I spend a lot less money on music because CDs are under half the price of records, and digital music is cheaper still.

After doing this for a few months, I can’t say I notice a huge difference in sound quality between anything I listen to, and I’ve enjoyed the subscription music a lot, whilst also spending far too much time on Ebay tracking down things I want to own on CD that other people are getting rid of. That’s where the real cost saving happens, and I’m operating on an average of about £3 per CD right now.

We are also setting up a media swap scheme at work, so I can take in any CDs I don’t want anymore, and hopefully pick up a few things from other people.

So that’s how I’m consuming music in 2024. I still have Spotify for when I’m walking the dog or on my work computer, but my default is still very much an ownership model, with a strong preference to buy directly from the artist or the record company. That way money goes to the people who make the music, and should hopefully support them sufficiently to make more.

New Music

I’ve worked for my current employer for 24 years. On the day I had my interview, I bought two albums on the way home. Once was Kid A by Radiohead, the other was Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven by Godspeed You Black Emperor!. It amuses me that this week I’m writing about two records that are made by some of the same people, and then one that definitely wasn’t.

My three records for 4th October are:

I think I know what I’ll be listening to on Friday.

Albums of the year 2023

These are the records that have been the soundtrack to my 2023. If 2022 was a bad year for the world, then 2023 was more of the same, with a side-dose of personal horror. I did the exact same job for a whole year for the first time in a while, but everything around me seemed more chaotic, with ill health and general disruption not too far away. I suspect my musical choices have been influenced by that, although it certainly hasn’t been consciously.

I’m sitting writing this on a wet and blustery evening in the Isle of Wight (for the second year running). I think the amount of time I’ve spent here over the last two years has definitely influenced some of my choices, but only in a good way. There is some music that just makes more sense in a rural location, and many of these records are definitely not particularly influenced by cities or suburbia. But also this is a list that pays a lot more homage to louder and faster music than previous years. There are less melodically beautiful records (especially outside the top 25), and more that channel the anger that so many people feel towards the world and some of the people in it.

Albums

In all cases the links below are to somewhere you can listen to and/or buy the record in question (Bandcamp or the artist’s own website). For things you can’t buy anymore I’ve linked to a description.

Singles

All of these are either one long song, or a 7″.

Other stuff

Live albums, reissues, and things that were definitely available in some format before this year.

The rest

Other things I’ve listened to this year that I enjoyed.

Pay What You Want

I often download albums that have been made freely available, and then end up buying the record anyway. It’s definitely a way I have discovered new music for a while, and very rarely leads to me not giving the artist money for something, even if it is not that particular record.

Here is list of music currently available on a pay-what-you-want basis. It’s accurate as of 30th September 2023, but I do intend on trying to keep this as up to date as possible. For the first three sections it’s worth looking directly on their Bandcamp pages, and even if things change, then there is always something on offer.

Wrong Speed Records

This is my favourite record label right now, and I own a fair few of these on vinyl or cassette. If you don’t care about having a physical copy then you can pay whatever you want for these.

Gizeh Records

Another favourite that I own a fair few records from.

The band that started me on this quest often add/remove things from they pay-what-you-want list, but these are the ones that seem to be on it the most. If you do find physical copies of this music then just buy it, because they don’t stick around for long.

Everything else

A selection of other things that I have enjoyed and would definitely like to own on vinyl at some point.

Albums of the year 2022

These are the records that have been the soundtrack to my 2022. It’s been a good year for music, but a bad year for the world. There have been positive changes in my personal and professional life, but otherwise this is likely to be a year that is remembered for all the wrong reasons.

I’m sitting writing this on a wet and blustery evening in the Isle of Wight. I think the amount of time I’ve spent here this year has definitely influenced some of my choices, but only in a good way. There is some music that just makes more sense in a rural location, and many of these records are definitely not particularly influenced by cities or suburbia, so probably have a slightly different feel to my previous lists.

Albums

In all cases the links below are to somewhere you can listen to and/or buy the record in question (Bandcamp or the artist’s own website). For things you can’t buy anymore I’ve linked to a description.

Singles

All of these are either one long song, or a 7″ with at least three songs. They are all also part of my Quietus subscription or very limited edition pressings, so there are some things here that people can’t actually go and listen to, which is a shame as they are all great.

Albums of the year 2021

What can I say about 2021 that has not already been said? It has been another very challenging year; both for the world in general but also for the world of music. I have not experienced live music at all this year, but made up for it by buying a lot of records (and tried to buy them directly from the artists where possible, because people need to make a living). Music has always been very important to me, but never more so than now. These are the records that made this year better, or at least acted as a soundtrack to the bad bits.

Top 20

In all cases the links below are to somewhere you can listen to and/or buy the record in question (Bandcamp, Rough Trade or the artist’s own website).

Arab Strap – As Days Get Dark

This is a record I never expected to be made, and it’s been a real treat to listen to. It might even be my favourite Arab Strap record now. If you’ve not heard them before then you’re in for a treat; if you’ve not heard them for ages then you won’t be disappointed.

Black Country, New Road – For the First Time

February saw the very welcome arrival of For The First Time by Black Country, New Road. I had already played a lot of these songs to death, but getting them all in one place was exactly what I needed to shed some truth and light on the cold winter days. I think this is probably my record of the year, and it was always going to take something really special to dislodge it. It also came with a badge (more records should come with badges).

Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth – Utopian Ashes

I’ve loved this record since the first time I heard it. It’s got the emotional vibe of The National’s Trouble Will Find Me, but also reminds me a lot of the Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan records. One I think I will keep coming back to. Some of these songs are uncomfortable, but it’s because they stir the emotions in the way that all good songs should. For a record released in 2021 it sounds remarkably timeless.

Desire Marea – Desire

I am not even sure how to describe this record, but it’s right up there with anything else released this year. If you’re in the Rough Trade Club you will know this, for everyone else it may be a new treat.

Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

April bought with it the excellent New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning. It reminds me a bit of a cross between The Blue Aeroplanes and Arab Strap, but with female vocals. If that sounds intriguing then you should definitely give it a listen. The songs on the bonus CD are very good as well.

Edward Ka-Spel – Prints of Darkness

Edward Ka-Spel has released a lot of music this year. This one is probably the highlight (although I love them all, and they are all in my long-list). If you are not already bought into the Legendary Pink Dots ecosystem then this is as good a place as any to start, although it is one of the few records from this year’s batch that isn’t pay-what-you-want.

Field Music – Flat White Moon

Field Music never fail to deliver, and this record is no exception. Once more they manage to create a sound that is unmistakeably them, and that is very difficult to describe or assign a genre to. If you know their work then you know what I mean. If you don’t then this is as good a place as any to start.

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises

This is the soundtrack to many hours of work this year, and a record I don’t think I’ll ever tire of. It’s not a combination I would have expected to make a record, but it works really well and hits the same emotional resonance as Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock.

For Those I Love – For Those I Love

A really unique record that builds well on the mixtape from last year (which would have been in my list if I had discovered it in time). I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try and match this to a genre, but if you take a leap of faith then you may find yourself spending many hours with this record.

Gazelle Twin & NYX – Deep England

I’m not sure how to describe this record by Gazelle Twin & NYX, but I’ve played it a lot this year, and it’s definitely a contender. I would really love to hear this live in a candlelit church; it’s the kind of music that would work so well in that kind of environment.

Geese – Projector

A last minute entry that I have largely listened to as I am compiling this list. I discovered Geese via a Rough Trade 7″ single, and was very happy to receive this earlier this month. It is definitely a grower, but one that will stay with me well into 2022.

Jane Weaver – Flock

Many people may not have heard of Jane Weaver, but this record is a joyous pop masterpiece that I think anyone who appreciates good music would enjoy. This is what pop music should sound like in 2021.

Maximo Park – Nature Always Wins

I was going to say that this is surprisingly good, but it’s not really a surprise any more. Definitely their strongest record for a while, and one that I keep coming back to.

Mogwai – As the Love Continues

Mogwai are a really important band for me, and have been one of the main soundtracks of my year of working from home. I often listen to them when I’m working. The tracks with obvious vocals are when I take a break and just listen to the words for a few minutes. Richie Sacramento is my “take a break” track, and it’s amusing that it is also one of my most played songs of this year (maybe I took too many breaks?).

At the time I said “I think if this gets to number 1 tomorrow then it’s the first time since Kid A that something that completely represents my musical taste at the time does that.” It did get to number one, and it was a very satisfying feeling.

Penfriend – Exotic Monsters

I used to be the kind of person who thought that title tracks should go at the end (I blame Robert Smith for this). Here we have a title track that belongs at the start, followed by a collection of songs that I’ve been lucky enough to hear as they have been evolving, and also now they have been released.

One of the many things I love about Penfriend is the quality of the things I get through the post. Coloured vinyl, postcards, badges, stickers; all the things I loved about collecting records as a teenager. This record really is the complete package, and highlights some of the brilliant work Laura has been doing over the last couple of years (along with the podcast, the YouTube channel and everything else).

Richard Dawson & Circle – Henki

Richard Dawson does it again. A fantastic and flawless concept album that I love more each time I listen to it. It snuck into the list right at the end of the year, but it’s something I suspect will be listened to a lot during the first few months of 2022.

Snapped Ankles – Forest of Your Problems

One step on from their last record. I love it. I also really wish I could see them play live again, because my first experience was absolutely mind-blowing.

Squid – Bright Green Field

May’s Rough Trade album of the month was Bright Green Field by Squid. A new name for me, but one that reminds me a little of Black Country, New Road and a lot of other things that I really like. It’s not an easy first listen, but it soon makes itself indispensable and is another one that was always going to feature on my end of year list.

The Stranglers – Dark Matters

I did not expect this record to be so good, and it’s a fitting tribute to Dave Greenfield who we lost this year. I think it’s probably their best since their heyday.

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

Maybe a predictable choice, but I do really love this record, and I think it will stand the test of time. This sounds the way I expect number one records in 2021 to sound like.

Everything Else

Rough Trade Club 2021

I’ve been subscribed to the Rough Trade Club for a few years now, and receive a monthly record with a few other interesting bits of paraphernalia thrown in. The records I get are rarely bad, and many of them are things I would buy anyway, but the selection this year has been particularly strong, and If I had to only listen to these records for a whole year then I think I would be OK.

January’s selection was Welfare Jazz by Viagra Boys. I loved their last record and this one is also very strong. It fuses together quite a few genres of music, but it’s also immediately accessible and a lot of fun as well.

February saw the very welcome arrival of For The First Time by Black Country, New Road. I had already played a lot of these songs to death, but getting them all in one place was exactly what I needed to shed some truth and light on the cold winter days. I think this is still my record of the year (so far), and it will take something really special to dislodge it. It also came with a badge (more records should come with badges).

March’s record was Flock by Jane Weaver. An artist I already own music by, and another record that was already on my list to buy. Many people may not have heard of Jane Weaver, but this record is a joyous pop masterpiece that I think anyone who appreciates good music would enjoy. It was also the subject of a really entertaining listening party.

April bought with it the excellent New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning. It reminds me a bit of a cross between The Blue Aeroplanes and Arab Strap, but with female vocals. If that sounds intriguing then you should definitely give it a listen. The songs on the bonus CD are very good as well.

May’s record was Bright Green Field by Squid. A new name for me, but one that reminds me a little of Black Country, New Road and a lot of other things that I really like. It’s not an easy first listen, but it soon makes itself indispensable and is another one that will definitely feature on my end of year list.

I’ve also chosen to buy music by Arab Strap, Mogwai, Maximo Park and Field Music, all of which I’ve very much recommend, but it is the Rough Trade selection that I think best represent the musical journey I’ve been on so far this year.

Albums of the year 2020

2020 has been a strange year. We all know that. Live music hasn’t really been a thing since March, and so many more people get to listen to music throughout the day thanks to working from home being much more common than it was before March. I think both of these things have probably influenced my list of favourite albums this year, and so I’m going to split it into two lists – one of traditional albums that are best listened to in sequence, and one of the music that soundtracked my working days during those rare few moments when I was not in Zoom or Teams meetings.

Looking down the lists I can see I’ve very much been influenced by the live music I did get to encounter this year (at the 6 Music Festival mainly), and also by the 130+ listening parties I did since live music dried up in March (which I wrote about here and here). I do hope I’ll be able to experience live music again next year, but I also very much hope that listening parties are still something that artists see as a valuable way of connecting with their fans.

In all cases the links below are to somewhere you can listen to and/or buy the record in question (Bandcamp or the artist’s own website). There’s a lot of music here, but hopefully some of it will appeal to someone.

First off we have my list of albums. It’s quite an angry list but I think that’s a fair comment on this year:

And then the list of compilations, soundtracks, live albums, instrumentals and other things that kept me soothed during this turbulant year:

My year of #TimsTwitterListeningParty

A few months ago I wrote about how I had started attending a few listening parties to replace the lack of live music in my life. As I’ve got an automation (via IFTTT) that outputs everything from my calendar to a spreadsheet then it’s fairly easy for me to know how many “a few” actually is.

  1. Open Season (British Sea Power)
  2. The 3 EPs (The Beta Band)
  3. Different Class (Pulp)
  4. Power Corruption & Lies (New Order)
  5. Boat to Bolivia (Martin Stephenson & The Daintees)
  6. Dog Man Star (Suede)
  7. Architecture and Morality (OMD)
  8. 1977 (Ash)
  9. Divide & Exit (Sleeper)
  10. Dogrel (Fontaines DC)
  11. Do You Like Rock Music? (British Sea Power)
  12. Rattlesnakes (Lloyd Cole & The Commotions)
  13. IT WON/T BE LIKE THIS ALL THE TIME LIVE (The Twilight Sad)
  14. Figure 8 (Elliott Smith)
  15. I Should Coco (Supergrass)
  16. The Coral (The Coral)
  17. Love (The Cult)
  18. Real life (Joan As Policewoman)
  19. Before Today (Ariel Pink)
  20. Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (The Pogues)
  21. Hand. Cannot. Erase. (Steven Wilson)
  22. Be Here Now (Oasis)
  23. Infected (The The)
  24. Man of Aran (British Sea Power)
  25. Dig Your Own Hole (Chemical Brothers)
  26. Revel in the Drama (Ren Harvieu)
  27. Trials of Van Occupanther (Midlake)
  28. Last Splash (The Breeders)
  29. The Boy with the Arab Strap (Belle & Sebastian)
  30. Shortly After Takeoff (BC Camplight)
  31. Cafe Bleu (The Style Council)
  32. A Maximum High (Shed Seven)
  33. Bandwagonesque (Teenage Fanclub)
  34. Low Life (New Order)
  35. Machineries of Joy (British Sea Power)
  36. Boat (Pip Blom)
  37. Foolish Loving Spaces (Blossoms)
  38. Up to Our Hips (Charlatans)
  39. West Kirby County Primary (Bill Ryder Jones)
  40. When I Have Fears (The Murder Capital)
  41. The It Girl (Sleeper)
  42. High Land, Hard Rain (Aztec Camera)
  43. Moonshine Freeze (This is the Kit)
  44. Glasvegas (Glasvegas)
  45. I’ve Seen Everything (Trashcan Sinatras)
  46. Attack of the Grey Lantern (Mansun)
  47. I Believe (Tim Burgess)
  48. Eton Alive (Tim Burgess)
  49. Six (Mansun)
  50. Valhalla Dancehall (British Sea Power)
  51. Brutalism (IDLES)
  52. The Raven (The Stranglers)
  53. Joy as an Act of Resistance (IDLES)
  54. Separation Sunday (The Hold Steady)
  55. Source Tags & Codes (…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead)
  56. Sea of Brass (British Sea Power)
  57. University (Throwing Muses)
  58. Let the Dancers Inherit the Party (British Sea Power)
  59. Magic & Medicine (The Coral)
  60. Unknown Pleasures (Joy Division)
  61. Pale Green Ghosts (John Grant)
  62. Oh, Inverted World (The Shins)
  63. Nixon (Lambchop)
  64. Feast of Wire (Calexico)
  65. Don’t Get Weird On Me, Babe (Lloyd Cole)
  66. Deserter’s Songs (Mercury Rev)
  67. Want One (Rufus Wainwright)
  68. I Love The New Sky (Tim Burgess)
  69. Giant Steps (The Boo Radleys)
  70. From the Sea to the Land Beyond (British Sea Power)
  71. Faith (The Cure)
  72. Fibs (Anna Meredith)
  73. Force (A Certain Ratio)
  74. Insurgentes (Steven Wilson)
  75. Holiday Destination (Nadine Shah)
  76. The Decline of British Sea Power (British Sea Power)
  77. Let’s get out of this Country (Camera Obscura)
  78. Harcore Can Never Die But You Will (Mogwai)
  79. Stranger (Our Girl)
  80. Seamosters (The Wedding Present)
  81. The Crackdown (Caberet Voltaire)
  82. Dazzle Ships (OMD)
  83. Philophobia (The Arab Strap)
  84. Source Tags & Codes (..And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead)
  85. Costello Music (The Fratellis)
  86. Aviary (Julia Holter)
  87. Leave Me Alone (Hinds)
  88. Beauty Stab (ABC)
  89. A Certain Trigger (Maximo Park)
  90. Red Roses For Me (The Pogues)
  91. Aladdin Sane (David Bowie)
  92. Fisherman’s Blues (Waterboys)
  93. Underwater Moonlight (The Soft Boys)
  94. Kitchen Sink (Nadine Shah)
  95. Levelling the Land (The Levellers)
  96. If I Should Fall From Grace With God (The Pogues)
  97. Diamond Dogs (David Bowie)
  98. Troublegum (Therapy?)
  99. Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (The Dandy Warhols)
  100. All Things Being Equal (Sonic Boom)
  101. 101 Damnations (Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine)
  102. Grand Prix (Teenage Fanclub)
  103. Fear Of Music (Talking Heads)
  104. Closer (Joy Division)
  105. Young Americans (David Bowie)
  106. This Is The Sea (The Waterboys)
  107. Soul Mining (The The)
  108. Yuck (Yuck)
  109. All Is Dream (Mercury Rev)
  110. Technique (New Order)
  111. Pin Ups (David Bowie)
  112. Have You In My Wilderness (Julia Holter)
  113. Kaleidoscope (Siouxsie and the Banshees)
  114. A Pagan Place (The Waterboys)
  115. The Don of Diamond Dreams (Shabazz Palaces)
  116. Mind Bomb (The The)
  117. Bizarro (The Wedding Present)
  118. Doolittle (Pixies)
  119. Good Luck, Seeker (The Waterboys)
  120. Movement (New Order)
  121. Fibs (Anna Meredith)
  122. Hours (David Bowie)
  123. Surfer Rosa (Pixies)
  124. Dusk (The The)
  125. Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters (Twilight Sad)
  126. The Queen Is Dead (The Smiths)
  127. Mainstream (Lloyd Cole and the Commotions)
  128. Seventeen Seconds (The Cure)
  129. Strangeways Here We Come (The Smiths)
  130. ACR Loco (A Certain Ratio)
  131. Pornography (The Cure)
  132. Jet Plane and Oxbow (Shearwater)
  133. Hex Enduction Hour (The Fall)
  134. Grotesque (After The Gramme) (The Fall)
  135. Slates (The Fall)
  136. Four-Calendar Café (The Cocteau Twins)
  137. New Facts Emerge (The Fall)
  138. All Blessed (Faithless)
  139. Nobody Wants to Be Here & Nobody Wants to Leave (Twilight Sad)
  140. Songs From Northern Britain (Teenage Fanclub)
  141. Gladsome, Humour & Blue (Martin Stephenson And The Daintees)
  142. Room To Roam (The Waterboys)
  143. Music In A Foreign Language (Lloyd Cole)
  144. Heaven Is Whenever (The Hold Steady)
  145. Songs From The Big Chair (Tears For Fears)
  146. Kiss Ass, Godhead! (Membranes)
  147. This Is the Day…This Is the Hour…This Is This! (Pop Will Eat Itself)

This is everything I’ve listened to that I actually put in my calendar. There may be a few more ad-hoc ones that I didn’t record, but it’s still quite a lot. One day I might go through them and work out how many were new-to-me albums, but that day is not today.

A few words on why I still listen to albums (and how)

I’ve been talking and writing about music a lot over the last week, and am part way through writing up my thoughts on what live music might look like when we all emerge from lock down. In the meantime, my response to Jehnny Beth on how I listen to albums. Jehnny’s question was:

What’s your favourite way of listening to an album? Do you still take time to immerse yourself? What do you think an album represents in 2020? I’d love to read your thoughts.

My response was:

I love to immerse myself in it. I tend to buy albums I really love on vinyl and listen to them when I can fully concentrate on the music. I also prefer to listen to them in the order they were sequenced. I also have playlists on shuffle, but that’s a different type of listening.

I think there is still a place for the album in the world of streaming. A proper album is as different to a load of songs in a playlist as a novel is to a tweet or a short blog post, and I think we still have room for both.