2021 in Review: Non-2021 Music

I usually try to explore older music—at least enough to eke out a yearly list about it, anyway—but this was the first year in recent memory that I listened to more music that came out prior to the current year than I did music that came out this year. I don't know if that is an indictment of 2021's music, or if I'm just less committed to "keeping up with the joneses" than I have been in the past. In any case, here's some of the non-2021 music that I heard and enjoyed this year.

(I did not include any non-2021 album that I heard via A Year of Blind Spots—since I already ranked those—or Record Club—since I'll rank those at the end of the year in my final review—nor did I include Marah—which I already wrote about and is at this point one of my favorite albums ever—or any of the albums on this list from last December—mostly because I'm still listening to Kill Lincoln, and I will probably never stop.)

Top Five Non-2021 Albums Listened To in 2021

5. Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd (1970)

My in-laws coincidentally said that they were "getting into" Pink Floyd the same week I happened to be doing a deep dive into their discography. For them, I think this meant, I dunno, watching a fucking Apple TV documentary about Dark Side of the Moon or whatever? Though for me, it meant listening to a goddamn field recording of some British dude cooking breakfast, so I guess I'm not that much better.

4. Rebel, Sweetheart by the Wallflowers (2005)

I read a interview with Jakob Dylan this year in which he "reviews" every Wallflowers album. He said that Rebel, Sweetheart is known as his "Springsteen album," mainly because it sounds like Bruce Springsteen (but also because the Wallflowers literally used the E Street Band's instruments when they left them in the studio that the Wallflowers were occupying afterward). So I knew before even listening to this album that it was gonna be my fucking jam.

3. Burn.Flicker.Die. by American Aquarium (2012)

Listening to American Aquarium was important for my musical development this year, because 1) it is an Americana album, which by my definition pretty much means a country album that doesn't involve religious imagery or sucking Republican dick, but also 2) they are a band that isn't really popular, at least on the blogs that I frequent. So it was nice to be able to confirm that I'm not just following the popular consensus here, sticking with the internet-approved liberal-leaning country artists. American Aquarium allowed me to pave my own lane.

2. David's Town by "Various Artists" (a.k.a. Fucked Up) (2011)

This is a good gimmick (I say that as a man who likes a good gimmick). So, in 2011, Fucked Up released a rock opera called David Comes to Life. The story in that album takes place in a fictional town called Byrdesdale Spa, UK. So David's Town, which was released that same year (originally as a Record Store Day Only release) is billed as "the best artists of Byrdesdale Spa," which means that these are fictional bands from a fictional town playing real music. Love it.

1. Bombs over Bristol by Don McCloskey (2003)

I tossed around the idea of writing about Bombs over Bristol all year. There's probably enough meat on these bones—finally following up on an artist that was included on a mix CD I received in 2005; realizing that the song included on that mix CD was the outlier, and that a lot of the rest of the album was that sort of white boy faux-hip hop thing that was popular in the mid-aughts; asking myself whether it was even okay to be enjoying songs that had obviously aged pretty poorly; enjoying the ties to It's Always Sunny—but you know me. Too lazy. Good stuff though.



Alright, Fuck It, Here's the Top Five Non-2021 Albums That I Listened To in 2021 That I've Also Already Written About, As If We Don't Already Have Enough Qualifiers for This Top Five List

5. What Time Is It? by the Time
4. Say It like You Mean It by the Starting Line
3. Hearts of Stone by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes
2. Zombie by Fela Kuti
1. The Second Stage Turbine Blade by Coheed and Cambria

Top Five Songs from Non-2021 Albums That I Listened To in 2021 and Also Didn't Already Mention in Any of the Albums Listed Above, Jesus Fucking Christ with the Fucking Top Five List Bullshit Relax Already

5. "Dear Sirs" by El-P —Seems like more of a flex to me than anything else. Can we make an intense, under-two-minute rap song whose production is comprised of pretty much just a typewriter? Yes, we can, or at least El-P can anyway.

4. "Long Way Down" by Goo Goo Dolls — I like how the intro paragraph for this song's Wikipedia page states, right up front, that its success was diminished slightly when compared to the obviously more popular "Name." Sometimes second-best songs on an album are actually the first-best.

3. "How's It Going to Be" by Third Eye Blind — SAME, except what is this song ranked out of this album's hits? Third? Fourth? Still the best, in my humble opinion.

2. "The Authority Song" by Jimmy Eat World — I didn't know that Jimmy Eat World could sound this cool. Honestly, I didn't know anyone could sound this cool while liberally quoting John Mellencamp.

1. "B Is for Bethlehem" by the Promise Ring — SAME, except sub in Jesus for John Mellencamp, I guess. Like, imagine being at a fucking Promise Ring concert and having to sing along about Jesus being a fisherman. Fucking incredible. Love it. "B Is for Bethlehem" forever.