Skip to main content

An Album a Day

Ahoy!

As we near the end of 2018 the Wonderfish and I will be discussing this year's “best” new albums (best according to us at least). Last year was the first year we named an official Album of the Year and I knew going into this year I'd need a better strategy for listening to so much music. When 2018 rolled in I was also 3 semesters into my graduate work as a jazz performance major and constantly discovering new music (new as in new to me). I set myself the lofty goal of listening to an album a day for the whole year and, because I know life gets crazy, used a minimum of 20 albums per month as my fall back. Here's what I found out.

I want to clarify one thing, I'm using the term “album per day” to reflect the average number of albums. I do honestly strive to listen to one album everyday but some days that's not feasible so I catch up on long drives and listen to several. I also tally an album each time I listen to the whole thing, regardless if I've listened to the album already that month (i.e. listening to one album 10 times a month). I also don't count live concerts and I only count classical works if it's a large work and I listen to the whole thing. This journal didn't count the times that I listened to one song on repeat for days either transcribing it or because I loved it.

I learned a lot about myself and my listening habits this year. I realized just how vast the scope of my listening is. I've always said that I'd put my record collection up against anyone's and in keeping this journal I would do so all the more. Right off the bat my January included things like The Rite of Spring, the entire Between the Buried and Me catalog, Charlie Haden, and Julien Baker. It was no surprise to me that by and large my listening is jazz and prog metal but it was nice actually seeing such an eclectic mix on the page.

Below is the breakdown of my monthly totals, top artist, and top album (minus December). The top album is based on the highest number of plays that month, not which one I liked the most (although I was clearly feeling it if I listened to it a lot). Top artist is based on how many times I heard that artist across several albums. I strongly recommend setting your own goals for next year and keeping your own journal. Let us know how it goes in the comments!

Until next time,

Heard

January
Total: 33
Top Album: Sting, Ten Summoner Tales
Top Artist: Between the Buried and Me

February
Total: 26
Top Album: Tigan Hamasyan, For Gyumri
Top Artist: The Dear Hunter

March
Total: 43
Top Album: Shai Maestro, The Stone Skipper
Top Artist: Charlie Haden

April
Total: 20
Top Album: Matthew Santos, This Burning Ship of Fools
Top Artist:Matthew Santos

May
Total: 26
Top Album: TIE Dave Matthews, Busted Stuff and The Stranger, Self Titled
Top Artist: Dave Matthews Band

June
Total: 27
Top Album: Dave Matthews, Come Tomorrow
Top Artist: Dave Matthews Band

July
Total: 31
Top Album: The Stranger, Self Titled
Top Artist:The Stranger

August
Total: 36
Top Album: Devin Townsend, Z2
Top Artist: Devin Townsend

September
Total: 37
Top Album: TIE Phil Lemm Trio, City Birds and Circles, The Last One
Top Artist: Phil Lemm Trio

October
Total: 26
Top Album: Lighthouse Band, Here if You Listen
Top Artist: Lighthouse Band

November
Total: 29
Top Album: Rubble Bucket, Sun Machine
Top Artist: Rubble Bucket


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Ahoy! Time for another edition of Fin Mail, Heard style. One of my favorite musicians of all time is Dave Matthews. On Wednesday of this week, January 9th, he celebrated his 52nd. In honor of him and what his music has meant to me over the years you’ll find my letter of appreciation along with a few links to help get you familiar with his music if you’re not, and will give you an inside look into my favorite tracks of his if you are. Who are you inspired by? Leave us a comment or shoot us an email and let us know! Dear Dave, Happy Birthday! I hope you got to spend your day relaxing with family and not on the road travelling to another show. You music has been one of the largest inspirational forces in my life both as a musician, and as a human. I remember countless hours as a teenager lying on the floor of my room blasting Under the Table and Dreaming , Crash and Before These Crowded Streets. No matter what was happening in my life your music always fit as the perfect b...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Half of the Year Hear

Greetings from The Music Bowl! I'm The Wonderfish. If you are anything like me, you have a hard time keeping up with all the new stuff . You know, new movies, television shows, comics, memes, music, remixes, deluxe editions, and John Mayer music videos (featuring premium content!) all over the place. Then there are the video games, the newsletters, the causes, and books, national anthem performances, photos, hashtags, Pinterest boards, podcasts, product endorsements, Gordon Ramsay ventures, and I could go on and on and on. Face it. There is new content everywhere all the time. We cannot possibly keep up with everything. But, we can stay connected. And we tend to our own little corners of the universe as best we can. In terms of music, we've had a slew of new releases thus far in 2018. It is now the middle of June, which means it's time for the Half of the Year Hear . That's right, we've narrowed the never ending list of new albums down to a select f...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Your Own Boss

Ahoy! Growing up, there was some apprehension from my parents around my desire to be a musician. Society (at least in the US) doesn’t view it as a “real job” and now as an educator I hear many students saying things like “my parents want me to find something more stable.” These views are not limited to music but transfer to all the arts fields. American culture definitely views musicians as “less thans” unless their cranking out Top 40 hits that have little to no musical value. The life of a musician is certainly atypical compared to a 9-5 job but is sustainable and can be a viable career path. First things first, I’ve never worked harder in my life than the times that I lived solely based on my music income. I’ve noticed that most people think I only “work” for the 2-4 hours I’m playing that night's gig. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The amount of effort it takes just to book the gig would stagger most people but then factor in personal practice time, band reh...
2 comments
Read more