N&G AotM /// Year 1 Review!

Joe Mac

Joe Mac

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Hey everyone! Can you believe it! The Forum is 1 year old and we have a full year of 13 (I know, I know) N&G AoTMs!

So before we start just a few little ground rules. Please be sensitive, the people who picked these put a lot of time, effort and thought into their picks so a couple of things to stop people feeling put out:

1. Please try not to do full year lists. I don't think anyone will object to a top 3 of yours or anything like that, but nothing past that please, it'd be soul destroying to see your album in the bottom 2 or 3.
2. Not everyone likes everything, and nor should they. However, please try to keep criticism measured and constructive, don't shit on the thing that someone has put forward.

As a reminder here are the first years AotM's and pickers with links to the threads:

Vol. 0 - June 2019 /// Mark de Clive-Lowe - Heritage / picked by @Skalap

Vol. 1 - July 2019 /// Lou Reed - The Blue Mask / picked by @Murfocakes

Vol. 2 - August 2019 /// Khemmis - Hunted / picked by @Goatfish

Vol. 3 - September 2019 /// Nicole Atkins - Goodnight, Rhonda Lee / picked by @Teeeee

Vol. 4 - October 2019 /// Camarón de la Isla - La Leyenda del Tiempo / picked by @agutierrezb

Vol. 5 - November 2019 - Ruen Brothers - All My Shades of Blue / picked by @ThePakoBuelna

Vol. 6 - December 2019 /// The Gloaming - 3 / picked by @Joe Mac

Vol. 7 - January 2020 /// Clarence Clarity - No Now / picked by @gaporter

Vol. 8 - February 2020 /// Ibeyi - Ash / picked by @ChristoBee

Vol. 9 - March 2020/// X Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents / picked by @girlnevergoesout

Vol. 10 - April 2020 /// Patrick Sweany - Every Hour Is A Dollar Gone / picked by @Crabbers

Vol.11 - May 2020 /// Kendra Morris - Mockingbird / picked by @AndySlash

Vol.12 - June 2020 /// Tortoise - TNT / picked by @sjaygray

So now all you sleuths, devils and booze hounds fire away!
 
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I'm looking forward to this! I'll be listening to the picks during the next couple of days and will share my htoughts here.

Like we discussed elsewhere, I think the goal of this thread should be to put the awesome year of music and fun we've had, and not to put people's beloved picks in tiers. I will avoid to attatch numbers to the picks, but rather talk about "Most spun", "Biggest surprise", "Slow grower", and so on.
 
my previous awards but adding tortoise into the mix

Heritage - Most Frequently Spun
The Blue Mask - Niche Classic (giving a more obscure album by one of the greats of music more love)
Khemmis - Most Fun Guessing Game (the best guessing game requires clues that hint at the band but are just confusing enough to make it engaging... possibly also i just dont like clues based on the song titles of an album)
Goodnight Rhonda Lee - Biggest Boost (we all supported and praised her ASAP, she was a great person)
La Leyenda De La Tiempo - The Most Hyped (we were talking about it for a good while if just because we wanted to find copies for a good while)
No Now - The Made for Me Award (the album that seems to basically be perfect for me)
Ash - Slow Grower (i knew about this album when it got best new music but payed it no mind, i'm thankful to have at least tried it out and appreciated it)
Germ Free Adolescence - The Girl Power Award
Every Hour is a Dollar Gone - Best Summer Album (feels like an album that would be wonderful to play when you are relaxed in the summer)
TNT - Sudden Big Fan (i think i've learned to love jeff parker after listening to TNT for the first time, that plus his album suite for max brown has really got my excited for tortoise and their interesting brand of moody art rock mixed with jazz)
 
i use the method of awards because i like to talk about every single month i joined in on (hence i ignored the ruen brothers, kendra morris, and the gloaming as though they aren't bad albums they just are not for me and i dont have anything to comment on) and i dont like doing top 3 lists
 
Thanks a lot for this excellent idea @Joe Mac 👍🙂 I already thought about checking out all those threads to see what N&G RotMs have been picked the recent months. Great to have them all listed. I will also search them on Spotify or YouTube and listen to all of them over the next week and tell my 3 favorites. I'm sure they're all very good. Thanks to all involved in this. ❤️
 
Enjoyed all of them!

I had the fortune to see two of these artists and meet them after their shows. So that is what makes these special for me.

Vol. 3 - September 2019 /// Nicole Atkins - Goodnight, Rhonda Lee / picked by @Teeeee
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I bought her signed album online with an art print.
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At the show, Nicole signed her first album for me... Check out the message!

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Vol. 5 - November 2019 - Ruen Brothers - All My Shades of Blue / picked by @ThePakoBuelna

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duke86fan said:
i use the method of awards because i like to talk about every single month i joined in on (hence i ignored the ruen brothers, kendra morris, and the gloaming as though they aren't bad albums they just are not for me and i dont have anything to comment on) and i dont like doing top 3 lists
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I absolutely am not suggesting people have to do top 3s, it was more a kinda thats ok for people who like to do lists, because that’s probably not going to offend anyone.
 
I must say that if i had to choose one and only one AoTM, it would be La Leyenda del Tiempo picked by @agutierrezb.

First because I loved the music, of course. Second due to it's historical importance in recent Spanish music (and probably non Spanish as well since it may have open the path to other musicians to take the most traditional music in their country and do something new with it). Third because it was challenging to grab a copy of the record! Fourth because the record (and the other listenings suggested by @agutierrezb were all available in Europe for quite cheap and i bought them all, plus a few other ones😋). Fifth, I discovered one musical legend and a bit of Flamenco thanks to the documentaries available on Netflix. Last, but definitely not least, the amazing booklet you and your girlfriend did. I don't know how much time you have spent on this but it just shows how much you love the record and how much you wanted everyone to know more about the music. So thank you very much for that.

I won't name any other other pick , I enjoyed each of them (some more than others which is perfectly normal) but what I enjoyed the most is the excitement shared every month to guess the right AoTM and how personal was every pick. Nobody picked an obvious record (it could have happened, why not) and except MdCL, Lou Reed, Ibeyi and Tortoise, all the artists were new to my ears. So thank you all for opening new musical paths.

Finally, thank you @sjaygray for this great pick closing our first year and good luck @Alexander and @Thackeraye for opening our second year!
 
Skalap said:
I must say that if i had to choose one and only one AoTM, it would be La Leyenda del Tiempo picked by @agutierrezb.

First because I loved the music, of course. Second due to it's historical importance in recent Spanish music (and probably non Spanish as well since it may have open the path to other musicians to take the most traditional music in their country and do something new with it). Third because it was challenging to grab a copy of the record! Fourth because the record (and the other listenings suggested by @agutierrezb were all available in Europe for quite cheap and i bought them all, plus a few other ones😋). Fifth, I discovered one musical legend and a bit of Flamenco thanks to the documentaries available on Netflix. Last, but definitely not least, the amazing booklet you and your girlfriend did. I don't know how much time you have spent on this but it just shows how much you love the record and how much you wanted everyone to know more about the music. So thank you very much for that.

I won't name any other other pick , I enjoyed each of them (some more than others which is perfectly normal) but what I enjoyed the most is the excitement shared every month to guess the right AoTM and how personal was every pick. Nobody picked an obvious record (it could have happened, why not) and except MdCL, Lou Reed, Ibeyi and Tortoise, all the artists were new to my ears. So thank you all for opening new musical paths.

Finally, thank you @sjaygray for this great pick closing our first year and good luck @Alexander and @Thackeraye for opening our second year!
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Hey, thank you so much for your words! Going into my pick I knew it probably wasn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I had my fingers crossed that someone would connect with it and see some of all the things I see in that record. I'm also really happy you enjoyed the booklet! One of the things I enjoy most about LLDT is the beautiful depictions of Southern Spanish culture in the lyrics, so that was the reason behind the translation and illustrations in the booklet.

I'll expand on my thoughts later, but I will say now that Heritage was one of my favorite discoveries of the last 12 months in general, not just of this club. Thanks for your thoughts on my pick, and thanks for your pick too @Skalap!
 
Everyone is spelling Nicole Atkins wrong.

Just kidding. Each and every pick was so fun for me. I have said it before and I'll say it again. Choosing my album, interacting with you all throughout the month, chatting with Nicole, all of it really was a highlight of my 2019. It was so rewarding to see all the genuine engagement.

I love how so many of these picks were new-to-me. Amazing and diverse curation!

@Goatfish 's thread was the most educational and eye opening to me. Before his thread, I didn't think I liked metal. I was wrong and I love that I was wrong!

A grower for me was @ThePakoBuelna 's pick - Ruen Bros. The first few times I listened I was mildly entertained. But a few more listens and it clicked in such a huge way! Now I can't get enough.

@gaporter , @Crabbers and @AndySlash completely confused me in the best way with their clues. Those were chaotically wonderful threads.

I definitely have more thoughts. Later maybe.
 
Teeeee said:
Everyone is spelling Paula Abdul wrong.

Just kidding. Each and every pick was so fun for me. I have said it before and I'll say it again. Choosing my album, interacting with you all throughout the month, chatting with Nicole, all of it really was a highlight of my 2019. It was so rewarding to see all the genuine engagement.

I love how so many of these picks were new-to-me. Amazing and diverse curation!

@Goatfish 's thread was the most educational and eye opening to me. Before his thread, I didn't think I liked metal. I was wrong and I love that I was wrong!

A grower for me was @ThePakoBuelna 's pick - Ruen Bros. The first few times I listened I was mildly entertained. But a few more listens and it clicked in such a huge way! Now I can't get enough.

@gaporter , @Crabbers and @AndySlash completely confused me in the best way with their clues. Those were chaotically wonderful threads.

I definitely have more thoughts. Later maybe.
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FIFY
 
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