2018 offered plenty - to put it mildly - in the way of headlines, and with the year coming to a close, the iron grip of unease and tumult feels tight as ever. A divided country, an administration with no compassion for climate change science (amongst just about everything else), no movement on gun control, the list goes on and on.
With that, it should be no surprise that artists are speaking up and getting loud about these things. There is no finer example than Childish Gambino's track "This Is America." In terms of artistic expression, I can't recall a more profound moment in popular culture (during my lifetime, anyhow). The second that video dropped - with its visceral imagery throughout - it sent shockwaves across the states (world?) and seemingly stopped time. Everyone tuned in to what he had to say - and good on him. What an accomplishment, utilizing extraordinary talent and his platform to convey such complicated matters; all the while doing so in such an entertaining and thought-provoking way.
About 10 or so weeks beyond Gambino's soapbox moment - July 20th to be exact - my wife and I lovingly welcomed our daughter, Leighton Byrne Hale, into the world. In the blink of an eye, my responsibility list grew, along with a fastidious desire to ensure the world around her is a better place. While my blessings are many and my close-knits are happy, healthy and well, my hope is that Leighton can grow into a peaceful, artistic, and beautiful world. One even better than the version I'm familiar with. Who knows, with a blank canvas in front of her, maybe Leighton will use her talents to inspire and pave the road to a brighter way forward. One day I'll show her an example of that very concept from the year she was born.
My favorite album of the year is appropriately titled Freedom by Amen Dunes. It's a psych-folk collection of effervescent, groove-filled musings on life (aspects good, dark, and everywhere in between). I could talk about all of the great tracks on the album, but for those unfamiliar, it cold opens with a quote from the film Miracle. You hear a child boast, "This is your time, their time is done, it's over..."
I hope the kid's right.
xo,
T
P.S. I did things a bit differently this year, aside from Amen Dunes being my clear cut favorite album, I didn't see a reason to rank up all of this fantastic art; it's all good.
Favorite Albums of 2018
Amen Dunes - Freedom
Damien Jurado - The Horizon Just Laughed
Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth
Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer
Big Red Machine - Big Red Machine
Kurt Vile - Bottle It In
Wooden Shjips - V
Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs
Bonny Doon - Longwave
Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo
Hiss Golden Messenger - Devotion: Songs About Rivers and Spirits and Children (rarities + remasters collection)
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
Sandro Perri - In Another Life
