RIP MF Doom

Because 2020 is just the year that keeps on giving, it was revealed today that the elusive and enigmatic producer and rapper MF Doom passed away back in October at the age of 49.  Doom was an absolute master at what i like to call stoner rap, his gravelly, relaxed delivery sounding like he just took the biggest, longest pull off a bong that you could ever imagine.  His beats and samples were the epitome of cool, and he never sounded like anyone but himself.  He will be missed immensely.  Here's one of my favorites, "That's That," from 2009's "Born Like This."  RIP MF Doom.

And now...My Favorite Movies of 2020

The year winds down and i struggle to pick out 10 movies i loved most of all...so i picked 11.  I know i'm leaving some great stuff out.  I know i haven't even seen a lot of films that would be right up my alley.  But this is what i've got.  Some were a surprise.  I went in with 0 expectations for Underwater and really, really dug it.  Some are flawed.  I probably could have selected Soul instead of Onward, but if you want to see me cry, Onward is the way to do it.  Anyway, i loved all these movies, even the ones that were a little bloated and uneven (Mank, i'm looking in your direction), so i'm not going to rank anything. Except for The Vast of Night.  I'm pretty sure that was my favorite movie this year.  Check 'em out.

Underwater

Bill and Ted Face the Music

Anything for Jackson

Relic

Possessor

Host

Palm Springs

Onward

Mank

Color Out of Space

The Vast of Night

So it looks like you've got your New Year's Eve planned now huh?  Watching all of these wonderful movies.  Catch you guys in 2021.

Daily Jam - Daylight

It's time to put this miserable year to rest.  And remember, things can always get worse.  Here's "Daylight" by Failure, our Daily Jam.

Jennifer Castle

I slept on Jennifer Castle's latest album "Monarch Season" back in October, but i should have figured that the dusty and serene folk album would eventually find its way to my ears.  On "Veins," the tape hisses, dust particles catch the sunlight, and the hills roll on like some Americana vista.  Check it out below and get the record here from Paradise of Bachelors.

Daily Jam - I'm to Blame

There are a whole lot of random CD's i bought back in high school whose songs still find their way into regular rotation.  And so we have "I'm to Blame," a wonderful and melancholy piano ballad from Hayden.  Check it out, our Daily Jam.

Obnox

It's that time of year again when i stumble across all the great stuff i somehow missed out on the first time around this year.  And i can think of nothing that embodies that than the "Savage Raygun" album from Obnox, the experimental project of Lamont Thomas.  There is so much crammed into the record, it's hard to know what to even describe it as.  There's soul and hip-hop and post punk and synths and jazz and no wave punk rock and everything else just smooshed all together in an epic 20-track eargasm.  Why did i miss this?  I guess it doesn't matter because i'm remedying it now, as should you.  Listen to "Supernatural" below and get the album here from Ever/Never Records.

Daily Jam - Strange Currencies

R.E.M. is one of those bands i can never pinpoint a favorite song of.  It constantly changes and that's awesome.  Today, my favorite is "Strange Currencies."  Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Palliate

Demo Fest was a cool thing that happened a week ago where over 200 artists recorded demos that were then subsequently released by the fest to raise money for Solidarity Across Borders.  A lot of cool stuff in there too.  Right now i'm digging on the lo-fi darkwave groove of Palliate, a band i can find next to no information on.  Check out "The Stage" below and get their 2-track demo here.

Daily Jam - Hunted by a Freak

We're supposed to pick up a bearded dragon for the 7-year old today.  Hopefully it doesn't turn into some kind of Mogwai/Gremlin situation.  Speaking of Mogwai, here's "Hunted by a Freak," our Daily Jam.

Wren Kitz

Here's a dreamy, fuzzy mix of shoegaze and psychedelia for a Sunday afternoon.  Vermont artist Wren Kitz sets us all afloat with the sprawling "Georgie."  Check it out below and get the "Early Worm" LP here from the artist.

Daily Jam - Mountain Song

Coming down the mountain!  If i'm in the right mood, Jane's Addiction hits all the sweet spots.  Here's "Mountain Song," our Daily Jam.

Darkside

Darkside, the project of producers/musicians Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington just dropped a new track a couple days back, "Liberty Bell."  New album "Spiral" is due sometime in the spring on Matador.  Check out the track below and get it here.

Daily Jam - The Last Beat of My Heart

It's a Siouxsie and The Banshees kind of day.  Here's "The Last Beat of My Heart," our Daily Jam.

Cindy Cane - Blue Christmas

Cindy Cane covered "Blue Christmas," probably most famously sung by Elvis Pressley.  It's nice and weird.  Check it out below and get it here.

Daily Jam - Merry Christmas

A Bonnie Tyler Christmas song written and recorded for a 30+ year old French movie about a kid defending his home from a psycho Santa.  Merry Christmas everybody!  Here's "Merry Christmas," our Daily Jam.

Mary Halvorson's Code Girl

Continuing with the crawling jazz moods and Robert Wyatt vocals this morning, I'm just now discovering the work of Mary Halvorson.  On "Artlessly Falling," the New York guitarist and composer donned her project Mary Halvorson's Code Girl and recruited Wyatt to sing.  The result is the perfect sound i needed this morning for making coffee and mentally preparing myself for tomorrow and the joyful chaos my children will bring to it.  Listen to "The Lemon Trees" below and order the record here from Firehouse 12 Records.

Daily Jam - Stay Tuned

Today's track comes from the inimitable Robert Wyatt.  Listen to the practically uncategorizable "Stay Tuned" below, our Daily Jam.

Isla Invisible

Here's some lovely dreampop from New York's Isla Invisible.  The music on "EP2," as well its predecessor from October, "EP1," is a wistful and echoey haze, perfect for watching the waves crash against the shore or for watching snowflakes fall.  Listen to "Estranged" below and get snag both EP's here via Velvet Blue Music.

A.L.I.S.O.N.

Here's some chilled synth from French artist A.L.I.S.O.N. that sounds like taking a space cruise, watching the universe move in light through your window.  Pre-order new album "Éternité" here from Eye Witness Records and listen to the title track below.

Daily Jam - Harmonic 33

A few years back while digging through some vinyl at a record store, i came across the self-titled and sole release from the late '70s/early '80s LA post punk/new wave band Cipher.  I dug the cover art and the record had basically been cast away to the dollar bin, so i snatched it up without a listen.  And it turned out to be a gem.  I miss crate digging.  Anyway, here's "Harmonic 33," our Daily Jam.

The Stargazer Lilies

One of my favorite bands to discover in the last few years is Philadelphia shoegaze act The Stargazer Lilies.  And last month, the band recorded a virtual live concert (2020 being what 2020 is) at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.  You can get the performance here.  In the meanwhile, listen to a live take of one of my favorite songs of 2019, "Monsters of Your Thought," below.

Daily Jam - I Don't Know Why I Love You

Let's go back 30 years ago for some British pop that's not quite Britpop because it wasn't a thing yet.  So i guess it's proto-Britpop.  Here's "I Don't Know Why I Love You" from The House of Love, our Daily Jam.

Daily Jam - Unspoken

Cleaning the house yesterday with headphones on and Four Tet's "Unspoken" came up at random in the rotation.  I had forgotten how soothing it could be.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

VVV

Here's some new dark electronic music from Austin based producer VVV to blacken your holiday skies.  Check out the brooding "Kill Switch" below and get it here from Holodeck Records.

Daily Jam - Heaven Is a Place on Earth

That's right.  We're listening to Belinda Carlisle today.  Here's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth," our Daily Jam.  You know you like it.

Mica Levi

Mica Levi dropped a surprise solo album on the world a couple days ago, and it's a messy and noisy lo-fi dream.  Check out the distortion-raddled "One Tear" below and download all of "Ruff Dog" here from the artist.

Moor Mother & Billy Woods

Philadelphia artist and poet Moor Mother is a master of dark and creeping hip-hop, fusing all manner of sounds together into an often haunting but completely organic sonic tapestry.  On her latest collaborative effort "Brass," the artist teams with New York rapper Billy Woods to create something both eerie and ethereal, a real hypnotic piece of work.  Check out "The Blues Remembers Everything the Country Forgot" featuring Wolf Weston below and download the album here from BackwoodzStudioz.  The upcoming vinyl is already sold out.

Dean & Britta - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

Speaking of Christmas covers raising money for good causes, Dean & Britta give us a wonderful take on John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)."  The funds will be going to The Sled which provides assistance to underprivileged NYC public school students and their families.  Do it.  Listen below and get the music here from Double Feature Records.

Black Midi - Jingle Bell Rock

UK experimental post punk band Black Midi recorded a couple of Christmas songs.  Weird, i know.  Anyway, it's to raise funds to help out a venue the guys play at across the pond.  Check out the kind of faithful rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock" below and get the jams here.

Daily Jam - Patience

Put some Super Furry Animals into your life.  Listen to "Patience" below, our Daily Jam.

Friday Horror Trailer - Red Christmas

Daily Jam - March of the Pigs

I think this song still hits as hard now as it did 26 years ago.  Here's Nine Inch Nails' "March of the Pigs," our Daily Jam.

Zetra

My dudes over in Zetra have been very, very busy this year churning out music for my ears.  And i was not expecting a new album this morning, much less one inspired by the many pagan origins of Christmas.  But here we are and here it is.  I haven't had the time to sit with "The Wanderer" yet, but check out the opening track "The Blind Guest" below and order the cassette here from the band.

Daily Jam - Roar

Beans anyone?  Here's "Roar" from the rapper's 2003 album "Tomorrow Right Now," our Daily Jam.

Viagra Boys Cover John Prine

I feel like i've been seeing Swedish punk act Viagra Boys all over the place lately, but i think it's just that i've got a couple of friends who are really into them and posting links to their new tracks all over social media.  With good reason though, because they're killer.  The band's new album "Welfare Jazz" is due next month.  Order it here and check out their Amy Taylor (of Amyl and The Sniffers fame) assisted cover of John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves" below.

Daily Jam - Free For All

Moving in a jazz direction this morning, so here's some Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers.  Listen to "Free For All" below, our Daily Jam.

Bobby Would

Lo-fi pop artist Bobby Would is set to release his second LP next month, a chugging mix of distortion and acoustic guitar atop warbled, deteriorating vocals.  Check out "So to Say" below and pre-order the "World Wide World" LP here via UK label Low Company.

Low Company · Bobby Would - So To Say

Daily Jam - Tangled

One of my all time favorite artists, i wish these guys would come back.  Here's "Tangled" from The Black Heart Procession, our Daily Jam.

Mission to the Sun

Here's a little cold and minimalist synth from Detroit duo Mission to the Sun.  The band describes their music as creating an atmosphere of lamentation for the world left behind, and that's pretty dead on.  Check out "The Unbroken Sea" below and pre-order the upcoming "Cleansed by Fire" LP here from Felte.