My Favourite Things (of 2023)

What a year 2023 was, there were many good things about the year, here are some of the really bright bits.  Here today are my favourite things.

My turntable had a good year, especially since it came out of storage following the completion of our renovations.  

There were couple albums that really made my year.  The first as the issuing of Sheryl Crow debut album on vinyl, The Tuesday Night Music Club.  I’ve always thought this is one of the best debut albums ever and I’m happy I picked this up and can now play this regularly.  Another favourite that got much time spinning was Taylor Swift Midnights, yep Taylor Swift, this was good.  A final favourite was The Beatles’ Revolver.  This 1966 release is never old, it was the beginning of the Beatles expansion into more creative writing and producing.  It also has one of George Harrison’s best songs ever…Taxman.

I did a lot of reading last year, with 30 books going from the want to read pile to the read bin. My best read goes to David Hepworth and Abbey Road, The Inside Story of the World’s Most Famous Recording Studio.

More than just about the Beatles, but they are in it a lot, this is about the beginning of the recording industry; movie music, Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon and the evolution of recording and staying one step ahead of everyone else. Next up is Washington Black by Isa Edugyan, Isa is becoming one of my favourite authors. This is a story of slavery and freedom earned that many want to take a way. You are transported from Africa to Bahamas to the Arctic and the UK through the eyes of one Mr. Washington Black. Quickly, a 3^rd book is The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The Measure is a whole new take on the question, “if you could know how your life would turn out would you want to know? “ If you want a fourth book, look for Greenwood by Michael Christie.

Heading back to Music, when it comes to songs in 2023, three, I’ll make that four  topped my person charts as was compiled for my 2023 Wrapped from @Spotify.  The four were divided by two artists.  Maisie Peters took my most favourite and third favourite songs with Lost the Breakup and Body Better, while in 2^nd and fourth it was Jisoo (of BlackPink) with Flower and BlackPink  Shutdown.  All it tells me is that when I hear something I like, I stick with it and put it on repeat.

Listening to albums this year, and I consider this a listening from track 1 to the last track as my guide. A couple really made an impression on me, Ed Sheeran with Autumn Variations and The Rolling Stones Hackney Diamonds. From start to finish both these albums kept my ear’s interests, there’s not a weak track on either of these. FYI The Stones are still rolling strong in 2024 with Hackney Diamonds.

Lastly, I expanded by list of podcasts that I subscribe to and with these three I rarely miss and episode.  The Daily from the New York Times is always current, it’s a good listen on any day.  In ’23 I have not missed one episode of The History of Rock in 500 Songs, the year ended with song 171, a 3 hour and 36-minute episode on Hey Jude by the Beatles.  The amount of work that is done by Andrew Hickey on every episode is simply tremendous.  I could not leave this section without mentioning my weekly need for the political insight, musings and cussing of Scott Reid, Jordan Leichnitz, Kory Teneycke with David Hurley on The Curse of Politics. I can’t decide if its more for the entertainment than information.

I hope you had a year of favourite things as well,  Please share them with me through any of the ways you can contact me below. 

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Thank you for reading this post; to catch all my posts and be notified as new ones come up, please follow me on WordPress.  I can be found on X @robertdekker & @RedHrtBlueSign and on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/rob.dekker.54.  If you prefer email, please contact me at rdmedia@bell.net.

My Fave Five New Songs in November

When I look back at the five songs I had on repeat in October, my five in November are so different.  This month there’s no dance tunes, nothing too upbeat, in fact I find all five songs from November are introspective in nature.   I am really happy local Ottawa area artist; Alex Kaye Black is part of my fave five for the month.  Alex is a singer songwriter I’ve been following for a few years.  We worked together in radio for about a year at the now closed 1310 News in Ottawa.  There will be more about Alex below.  As I did last week, I will also include a link to a play list of the five faves this month, however I am going to match up 4 songs into 2 pairs, I found listening to these songs there was a natural connection there.

The first pair will be “Your Surrender” with “Interjection” and the second is “Amazing” with “Beautiful View”.

Your Surrender by Nina June

Nina June hails from Amsterdam and with “Your Surrender” she teams up with Emily James.  In this haunting song Nina worries about fighting the surrender of love she is receiving, perhaps this comes from previous relationships, but it haunts her. 

“Your Surrender” isn’t like any love song we’ve heard before and that’s what makes me unable to walk away from listening to it. Understanding the fears in the song, the starkness of the music is completely warranted.  You feel hopeful that after the three minutes are over, the surrender is accepted, and love wins.

Interjection by Alex Kaye Black

Now take the idea of surrender from “Your Surrender” and turn it upside down; this is what you get on “Interjection” by Alex Kaye Black.  On “Interjection” Black sings about fighting the surrender and not returning to a toxic relationship.  You hear the hope in the words she sings, but there’s the fear that she can succeed in her surrender.

“Interjection” is best I heard in Alex’s song writing and in her singing; it makes me think back to Alanis’ Jagged Little Pill, where this song’s theme would be a natural fit. It’s also best vocal performance I’ve ever heard from Alex when I think back to listening to previous releases and the arrangements add to the irking feeling of the song.  This song really excites me for the next wave of music from Alex Kaye Black that will follow. “Interjection”.

The second match  is “Amazing” and “Beautiful View”, both titles evoke something good, but here they are opposite.

Amazing by Ed Sheeran

Sheeran released the LP Autumn Variations quietly on his own Gingerbread Man Records.  Ed Sheeran stated this LP was very personal and reflected the past year of the loss and loves of his life.  While I found many tracks worthy to be here on the fave five this month, “Amazing” stood out for me.  In classic Sheeran form, there are hooks everywhere 

In “Amazing”, Sheeran ponders an amazing life with love and happiness.  That it’s done in an upbeat manner disguises the difficulty the subject in the song has in finding the happiness he seeks and truly having an ‘amazing’ life. Its up tempo beat leaves a hopeful feeling that the amazing feeling being sought is close by.

Beautiful View by Rianne Downey

The voice is what grabbed me first on “Beautiful View” from Rianne.  Downey is from Glasgow Scotland and according to an article from February she currently calls Liverpool home, she’s released two EPs, her latest in February 2023, sadly “Beautiful View” is not to be found on either. In 2022 Rianne was named Scotland’s Breakthrough Artist of the year.  But all the new hype on Rianne started when she was uploading covers during the pandemic.  

Listening to “Beautiful View”, it’s uplifting and introspective, looking back at how she found her way to her current success.  I imagine that when she sings about a beautiful view it’s her looking out to see people that have come to see her sing or its Rianne pondering that her life is looking pretty damn good right now. At 23, Rianne has a lot of promise for more than a “Beautiful View”.

Homecoming by James Arthur

On September 5^th this year Cape Breton singer songwriter Bruce Guthro passed away.  When I first heard James Arthur and the song “Homecoming” I was positive it could’ve been a reincarnated Bruce Guthro.  Arthur is a X Factor UK in 2012 and has seen that success continue with his four previous albums all going top 3 in the UK.

Homecoming is the 4^th single to come from his forthcoming LP ‘Bitter Sweet Love’ that will be released January 2024.  “Homecoming” is a troubadour’s song to his home that he’s been away from and longs to return to.  The song has an East Coast sensitivity to it that drew me in and has kept me listening this month. 

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To listen to these songs, here is a link to my fave new songs on Spotify, enjoy. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/63ekq2lJlBpg6XvdxfQBZD?si=8b28c4c297e6418c

Thank you for reading this post; to catch all my posts and be notified as new ones come up, please follow me on WordPress.  I can be found on X @robertdekker & @RedHrtBlueSign and on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/rob.dekker.54.  If you prefer email, please contact me at rdmedia@bell.net.

My Best of 2017: Music

The end is coming, the end of 2017.   With it comes the best of what I have come across in 2017; the best of book; the best of my blog posts and today the best of music I have listened to.  What follows are some of the best discs of the year, according to my ears.

Michelle Branch – Hopeless Romantic

This is my album of the year!

From the opening refrain of ‘Best You Ever’ Hopeless Romantic signals the return of Michelle Branch. Her song writing has matured, the stronger songs are a result of years of collaborations while trying to come up with material her record company would stand behind.

Her sound has filled out and her vocals reflect the sensitivity of the material filled with the fragile emotion of a break up, ‘Fault Line’ is a great example of this. However when she breaks out the acoustic it is solid.

It was so good when it came out in April; Hopeless Romantic has not diminished at all in the past year. What was a summer album; Hopeless Romantic is a permanent go to for a good listen.

You can read my post on the return of Michelle Branch here: The Return of Michelle Branch

Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Okay, so it’s not new but it is still relevant. The 50^th Anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper was like the return of an old friend. We all know the music, but the re-issue brought back the lore and history and my love of not only this Lp, but the entire Beatles catalogue (something that still baffles Liz).

George Martin oversaw the original and the 25^th Anniversary remixes, for #SgtPepper50, Martin’s son Giles was in charge of the mixes, which produced a new stereo mix from the original mono masters. I still have yet to take the shrink-wrap off the double vinyl package, though I have heard that as good as the new mixes sound on CD, the vinyl is even better. It may only be a matter of time before the wrap comes off and I get see all the extras that first appeared in June 1967.

My post on #SgtPepper50 is here: Sgt Pepper at 50

Ryan Adams – Prisoner

Prisoner follows the release of a complete remake song by song of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Creatively, Prisoner is Adams’ most complete work of music on one disc since his work with The Cardinals. For whatever reason, Adams’ creativity and energy towards his music has been incredible. Prisoner captures that energy as has the tour he embarked on through 2017.

Prisoner swings from rock, to country folk and back, his voice lends to being able to commit to any style wants.  His musicianship shines throughout this disc; he loves his guitars and different sounds he gets from the many he owns. It brings diversity not on many discs.

It’s not too late to catch on to Prisoner and a masterpiece from Ryan Adams.

Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie – Buckingham/McVie

What drove the musical dynasty that propelled Fleetwood Mac in the ‘70’s, still has a presence 40 years later. Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie put together a good collection of songs, contributing their own and collaborating on other songs.

Fleetwood Mac fans; this is a something for you. It can be called, though it wasn’t, a reunion album for the band with everyone from “the Mac” performing with the exception of Stevie Nicks. Listening to this album took me back to 1975’s Fleetwood Mac Lp, the beginning of a good run of discs.

Ruth B – Safe Haven

It took me forever to learn that it was Ruth B behind the song ‘Lost Boy’, only after seeing her perform the song at the Juno Awards did it click just how good the song was. On that performance I went and purchased the EP “the Intro”, then “Safe Haven came out. Ruth B has an amazing voice and just might be the soul/r&b singer that Canada has been waiting for. In fact the comparisons to Alicia Keys are very much warranted.

Through Safe Haven, Ruth B surprises and presents a sound that may have been in the works for years. It is a maturity that could be equal to, yes – Alicia Keys. With key tracks like ‘Dandelions’, ‘World war 3’, ‘First Love’ and ‘Superficial Love’ make Safe Haven a Summer Album for me.

Ed Sheeran – Divide

Along with Michelle Branch, Divide has been playing all year for me. It is refreshing to hear this modern troubadour consistently bring great music. Divide is a gift that keeps on giving hit singles. Divide started with ‘Shape of you’, ‘Castle on the Hill’, ‘Galway Girl’ and now a Christmas Number 1 on Billboard this week with the wonderful ‘Perfect’. Haven’t caught on to Divide? It’s not too late.

 

Up Next: My Best of 2017 Blog Posts

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Thank you for reading this post; to catch all my posts and be notified as new ones come up please follow me on WordPress. I can be found Twitter @robertdekker, @rdmediaottawa and on Facebook at http://tiny.cc/n5l97. I can be reached at rdmedia@bell.net