These are the albums I listened to the most in 2021. Did any of your favorites make the list? Check out the official companion playlist on Spotify featuring all of these artists and more (link below)!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21pBTWgadwrwuLARWfdi8u?si=273dbb0021b64fc0

Watch the full episode on YouTube @ https://youtu.be/ziKnxEkecOg

Featured artists/albums (in no particular order):

Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade

Caroline Kingsbury - Heaven's Just A Flight

Geese - Projector

Amyl And The Sniffers - Comfort To Me

Pale Waves - Who Am I?

Garbage - No Gods No Masters

ABBA - Voyage

Nation Of Language - A Way Forward

John Mayer - Sob Rock

Billy Bragg - The Million Things That Never Happened

Starflyer 59 - Vanity

Limp Bizkit - Still Sucks

Magdalena Bay - Mercurial World

They Might Be Giants - Book

Pixel Grip - Arena

Lyle Caine - Evanzen Ethereal Blues Continuum

Torres - Thirstier

Pom Poko - Cheater

The Killers - Pressure Machine

The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art

Kiwi Jr. - Cooler Returns

Penelope Isles - Which Way To Happy

Silk Sonic - An Evening With Silk Sonic

Quicksand - Distant Populations

Trace Mountains - House Of Confusion

Low - Hey What

Webbed Wing - What's So Fucking Funny?

Liz Cooper - Hot Sass

Failure - Wild Type Droid

The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore

Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror

An in-depth conversation with Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/guitar virtuoso Lyle Caine! Watch the video @ https://youtu.be/qNn-3G460H4

Check out some of the cool stuff Lyle's up to these days:

Original music on Bandcamp // https://lylecaine.bandcamp.com/

Official albums trailer // https://youtu.be/GoFYimbz18Q

Nick Goovnia Music (record label) // https://nickgoovniamusic.com/

Howard Caine Major Hochstetter Page on Facebook // https://facebook.com/groups/2600074953564376/

Interview with Rick Nineg (on the subject of Howard Caine) // https://youtu.be/Lh7qHJ4LBzU

An in-depth conversation with Louis DeMarco - a Chicago-based outsider artist and musician living with autism. Watch the video @ https://youtu.be/q1DtXU9mSV4

Check out some of the cool stuff Louis did:

Visual art @ Project Onward // https://www.projectonward.org/louis-demarco

Home demo recordings of original music // https://soundcloud.com/cdwallet/sets/louisdemarco

"The Loudemar Song" animated music video // https://www.facebook.com/ProjectOnward/videos/1266414186948

"Artists At Home" interview for Project Onward // https://youtu.be/pFPtIjgh9hc

"Toasters" ep. 01 animation and ep. 02 table read // https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHWyqtsJs8VgPNbx_VEuSfeVFI8QXvaZX

Rockin' out live w/ DHF Express // https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHWyqtsJs8VhALTkErhiiGNTO_P94dfj0

An in-depth conversation with one of my oldest, dearest friends, and the mastermind behind multiple great bands... PDX by way of SoCal artist Chris Koza! Watch the video @ https://youtu.be/nQX3u6i5YfI

Check out some of the cool stuff Chris did:

Jessi's a good friend and former co-worker.  As the dust from COVID-19 settles, we continue to re-emerge from lockdown and return to business (though not quite "as usual"), Jessi finds herself working in not one, but two service industries that are very different than they were just six months ago. As a server at a restaurant and a hairstylist at a salon, she works very closely with an often weary and occasionally difficult general public still coming to terms with the etiquette and what could very well be the "new normal" in a post-pandemic world. She was kind enough to share some of her recent experience with me.

She gave me an excellent haircut less than a month ago in her very clean, safe and welcoming salon located in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood. She's taking appointments now! Visit her on Instagram @hairea51_ for more information on how to book yours!

When discussing the greatest dreampop albums of all time, is it crazy to consider anything other than "Heaven Or Las Vegas" for the top spot? Maybe. Brace yourself, 'cause we take it a step further by suggesting that "Disintegration" should be part of the conversation (for its gratuitous use of chimes alone)!

Pete Barker's new record "Miami Green" might actually be better than both of them, anyway. Follow this link to check that out! https://petebarker.bandcamp.com/album/miami-green