Musical summary 2024#

It's not a trivial task to write a musical summary of the year in our digital age. Thanks to various music services (including torrents), one can listen to any music they want. And who would track what was nice and what was not? Way too much. And worse, to extract a more interesting subset, let's say top 10? Too arduous. But it's not my first rodeo, isn't it?

Years ago, I would document on my blog all the CDs I bought in the given year. And as it happens, I have been buying CDs since the last year. If I can listen to (almost) any album on a streaming, then buying them shows they're more important.

Let's get to it.

Jakuzi, "Fantezi Müzik"#

It's a bit of a stretch because Jakuzi's "Fantezi Muzik" landed in my hands in 2023 as a Christmas gift, but my CD player was broken at the time, and I couldn't listen to it. So, practically, this is 2024's addition to my collection.

This album is part of my gathering the albums which I heard digitally but wanted to have in the CD quality. I found it on Bandcamp, and listened to it there for a while and later found it also on Spotify. I kind of forgot about it afterwards, but a person I followed on Twitter shared it once and reminded me about it in the process. This was when it came back for good.

It was advertised as a mix of Depeche Mode and synthpop (I think), but it's not true. I wouldn't even call it synthwave. It vaguely reminds me of the 70s sound, but it's more of a flavour because I believe that "Fantezi Müzik" stands out as its own thing. It's not too upbeat and more suitable to comfortably lay down on a couch on a Sunday afternoon and get lost in it. The cover, with a man in a latex mask, might be suggesting something more aggressive.

As a funny anecdote, I like playing this album to guests because Turkish sounds like nothing familiar and around the half of the album, people start asking, "What the hell is this language?" I can only guess that it's expected for Turkish to sound more Arabic?

The next 4 albums were bought as a part of a birthday gift from my mother-in-law. She gave my a budget and said to choose whatever I want, which suited us both.

David Lynch, "Crazy Clown Time"#

It was a bit of surprise when David Lynch of "Twink Peaks" fame released an album back in 2011 (which is because I didn't know he debuted in 2001; I just did now, while researching for this text). I listened to it a lot after the release, so it was only fair to get it at some point. When I returned to buying CDs again, it was high on the list.

"A collection of dark songs in the style of modern blues," as stated on Wikipedia, and I think it's a pretty accurate description. It follows the direction which he started with "Ghost of Love" on the soundtrack to "Inland Empire." I remembered the album as much more electronic, but upon return to the material, I heard, perhaps thanks to a better equipment, all that bluesy guitars. Or maybe it was I who changed?

There is a song where he sings "On this dark, dark night," and I recall listening to it while reading "Simon Dark" back in 2012, and those two merged in my head, so whenever I listen to the album, I think of the comic (which turned out silly later down the plot, but had a strong beginning). I also misheard "ball and chains gone" as "balls and chaingun" (too much Doom).

The most notorious song is probably the one about transcendental meditation where David Lynch melorecites the lyrics in a single breath. And very fast. For 6 mintues!

Massive Attack, "Heligoland"#

That's an album that I was planning to have ever since it got released in 2010, but there never seemed to be the right time. This year I said fuck it and finally got the physical.

There were a lot of expectations from the fifth Massive Attack album, which was coming out 7 years after the previous one, and even now people say it's a bit meh, but I always liked it. I'm not interested in placing it on any chart against the earlier albums. There are some nice collaborations here (Hope Sandoval!) and very much like "Fantezi Müzik" above, it's perfect for an idle afternoon. And that is a quality which I often look for in my CDs.

Marilyn Manson, "The High End Of Low"#

In high school, Marilyn Manson was my favourite artist for a while. It started with "Mechanical Animals" and continued to all the other albums at the time. I ended my adventure with the live album, and when I heard the first single from "Holy Wood," it felt like repetition from the previous works. I then abandoned Marilyn Manson and moved to, among other artists, Massive Attack. It got a bit better with "The Golden Age of Grotesque," but this was very short-lived because "Eat Me, Drink Me" was a nail to this coffin. In 2012, I got "Born Villain" but only because I wanted to prepare for the concert in Warsaw (in the end, he played no material from this album and rather had a the-best-of kind of gig, which perhaps suited me even better). So, how does 2011's "The High End of Low" fit here?

Before I abandoned Manson's music at the threshold of "Holy Wood," I listened to his previous albums to death. I knew "Mechanical Animals" inside out; I think I can listen to this album only a couple of times more in my life, so I avoid it at all cost. But this ended in the year 2000, with a brief break in 2003 and 2012 (we're still talking about making a step of buying a CD). However, there was something pulling me to "The High End of Low" and so I torrented the album and recorded it with some others to listen to in my car. The radio I had at a time was handling mp3, so I would have a CD with 10 albums on more, which I would listen to on repeat until I had enough of them (that's how I came to love and cherish "Lulu" from Metallica with Lou Reed). I still remember where I parked my car, so my wife could get out do something, and was listening to the album when "Four Rusted Hourses" started playing. I joked to myself that this sounds like a rip-off of their own cover of "Personal Jesus," which the band did a couple of years ago. And then, suddenly, it dawned on me that this was it. This was what I was looking for: a Marilyn Manson album from years ago that I didn't know yet. I realised that other songs also remind me of his other works. Normally, this would a bad thing and definitely something you want to avoid as an artist. But for me, it worked perfectly.

And so "The High End of Low" became an album that I listened to with a great pleasure, always promising myself to finally get a physical release. Years have passed and I started moving around the world and my CD collection was stashed for the future. In 2023, I finally got it to my new home and in the beginning of 2024, I finally bought it. It still rocks.

Trentemøller, "Fixion"#

"Fixion" was the first new album I liked enough to buy after I returned to the idea of having a CD collection again. No more trips down the memory lane and revisiting recordings from my youth, no. Spotify suggested a song from this one after I finished another album and it fell into my liking. For some reason, this album became one of the things I listened to during flights (which I revived after the pandemics and lockdowns settled down), so there is a certain vibe of being half-asleep and in transition. As it was quite cheap, I managed to still get it from the birthday budget. I was actually positively surprised that it was released on CD, something that many new releases skip by either going purely digital or settling for a vinyl and/or a cassette in case of a lot of Bandcamp artists.

A characteristic thing about "Fixion" is that I doze off around the half of the album and I don't remember how it ends (a bit like musical Ceuta). It might sound like a bad thing to say, but my CDs are meant to fit a specific purpose of leisurely listening. So we're good. And it actually got better over time.

For a long time, I could not pinpoint what does this album remind me of. After many months of listening and casually giving The Sisters of Mercy's "Floodland" a spin at one time, I realised that the bass here is like from "Floodland." "Floodland" is one of my favourite albums, and its sound is very unique. It's no longer gothic (that was their first LP) and it's rock in general, but I cannot categorise it any more than that. It also has no followers, copiers, nor ripoffers. It's out there, one of its kind, a bit alone perhaps. But "Fixion's" basslines sound like taken from "Floodland." So, that's a plus for me. A couple more albums, and we might have a subgenre. Not that we need it.

(The only other example I can come up with at the moment are "Screen Memories" from John Maus and "Black Waves" by Lost Years.)

Those 4 albums were my birthday gift.

Mephisto Walz, "The Eternal Deep"#

It was year 2007, and I came into posession of a cylinder with dozens of CDs full of mp3s. I was working as a developer for the first time and I was the only one in the room, which was also equivalent of the company, who listened to music, so I had freedom of playing whatever I wanted. I even tested my co-workers with various albums (Halina Frąckowiak being the most audacious), and not once they complained.

But back to the cylinder. As I scouted through its contents, I found some interesting releases and songs (like Aneka's "Japanese Boy"), but also the protagonist of this chapter: Mephisto Walz. The original owner of the CDs was into gothic and similar, so they were full of artists from that segment. There were a couple of Mephisto Walz's albums, but "The Eternal Deep" one was my favourite (I also remember "Terra Regina" and "Thalia"). I would return to it time and time again, and in 2024, almost full 17 years later, I said it's time to get the proper thing. It's not true that people who download music don't buy it later. It just takes some time sometimes.

I was going heavily through my The Sisters of Mercy phase at the time and Mephisto Walz fit in just perfectly with a monotone female vocalist and typical gothic wall of sound. "I Want To Be Your Dog" in their arrangement really strikes a cord with me. It's rock for sure, but also very climatic, in a drone-like manner. The album itself turned out to be, which I learned only this year, a compilation from other sources. I would never tell it myself.

An interesting thing for me was that I paid 10 euros for it, and when I was cleaning my Amazon wishlist before Christmas, I found out "The Eternal Deep" there too, but the price was 696 euros. What the actual fuck. I guess I got an expensive item cheap.

Mephisto Walz, "Rarities 1989"#

In the opening to this text, I stated that buying a CD means it's more important one. Well, I lied. :D

I used Discogs to buy "The Eternal Deep" and as soon as I paid, the seller reached out to tell me they were out of town and they cannot send it for the next 3 weeks. I was then given an option to either cancel the sale with no hard feelings or wait and take one more CD within 10 euros. As a patient person, I decided to not eat my marshmallow immediately and get more later. The seller was very grateful (maybe other customers were not as forthcoming, who knows), and I earned one more CD.

"Rarities" have a male singer which ruins Mephisto Walz for me. I listened to the album once and put it to the cupboard. Who knows, I might return to it later in my life or when I'm bored, but for now, that's all I have to say about this release.

John Frusciante, "To Record Only Water For Ten Days"#

If 17 years to decide to buy an album was a lot, how 'bout 23? But I might be exageratting a little because while it's true that I liked "Going Inside," which promoted "To Record Only Water For Ten Days," I did not download the full thing until 2008. The same story as in other case, I would return to it time after time, always promising myself to get the proper release, etc. And so I did.

I really like raw harshness of the sound here. John Frusciante recorded the album by himself and it's very personal. I followed lyrics once while listening, only to discover they don't seem to make much sense. Not that it's an issue. I consider John Frusciante to be one of the best guitarists out there, and the guitars here are superb.

And that's really all that there is to say. A solid piece of fantastic listening.

Queralt Lahoz, "Pureza"#

Thanks to Spotify's recommendation system, I learned of Queralt Lahoz, a Spanish artist who mixes flamenco and hip-hop. And she does it really well. For those interested, all can be listened to on Spoti, but I felt a CD would be good. I went to her website, only to learn it's out of stock (unlike vinyls). Then, I headed to Discogs to casually add it to watchlist, and I discovered that a music store in Madrid is closing and they're liquidating their stocks. Thus, "Pureza" was available at mere 6 euros plus shipping. It was a no-brainer for me.

It's an EP, so it's short, but it's still worth it. Queralt is talented so seemingly distant genres cooperate really well under her spell. It's also interesting to hear a thick Andalusian accent (she might live in Barcelona, but she was born in Granada). I'm always up for the thick Andalusian accent. Me gutza.

"Until The End Of The World"#

And so we're getting to the end of the list.

Years ago, I saw "Southland Tales" from "Donnie Darko's" director, and I really liked it, which placed me in minority. This year, I decided to rewatch it, out of curiosity. It was quite fun, albeit, the level of trust in viewer's intelligence as well as knowing the connected comic book was very high (but I still like this movie). Long story short, I did additional reading after watching it, and that's how I learned of "Until the End of the World," a movie which was supposed to tell "Southland Tales" story better. A 5-hour long epic journey of number of characters was indeed more coherent. It's worth mentioning that the movie in its full shape is available today because Wim Wenders, the director, made a copies of all recorded materials (the cinema cut was 3-hour long and apparently sucked).

And that's how we're getting to the album. The film's action is set in 1999, but it premiered in 1990. For the soundtrack, Wim Wenders asked a number of artists to write songs that would sound as if they were written a decade later. A tall order, but various artists (Talking Heads in their last song, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, and many more) complied and gave us quite coherent album. I don't think they predicted the actual 1999, but it still makes for a very good listening. If comments from my wife ("I don't think you listened to anything on repeat that much") are any indicators, this has got to be my number 1 for this year, next to "Fixion's."

Also, it's incomplete on Spotify, due to licensing shenanigans, so it has quite practical value for me.

And then, another Christmas came.

Gary Numan, 5 Albums#

A single-box set of four albums, actually, but 5 CDs: "Living Ornaments" (2xCD), "Dance," "I, Assassin," and "Warriors." I put it on my wishlist because it was a great deal. Additionally, non-live albums have extra tracks, something that pisses me off when I already have the original release. But I didn't have this time, so we're good with Gary. :D

As a long-time fan of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, I was not only aware of Gary Numan but also knew some songs, however, I never fully dove into his music. This year, it changed after listening to a radio programme from Rajmund about Gary. After that, I had to go through the entire discography, an activity that happens to me quite often. The albums here are from the 1980s and they have this lovely bass sound that disappeared in 1990s to never return. I need to explore as to why, mabye someone had a look at that.

Anchorsong, "Ceremonial"#

And just like we opened with an album coming from Bandcamp, the same way we're gonna close. Both albums were discovered around the same time, so this means that my wife has some sort of intuition with fishing them out from my wishlist. I don't know anything about the artist, apart from the fact they're from Japan. The album is instrumental and falls into the "couch listening" category.

And that was it.

In a way, there were more because many of the albums in my collection were listened to for the first time (which is also an interesting story but for another time). Or almost the first time. So, what you have read was just a slice of a rich experience I had this year.