Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm

2015's Top Ten Albums 1) "In Colour" -- Jamie xx 2) "Synesthesiac - EP" -- Jack Garrett 3) "Every Eye Open" -- CHVRCHES 4) "EP3" -- Zero 7 5) "Bones" -- Son Lux 6) "Big Grams" -- Big Grams 7) "25" -- Adele 8) "Return to the Moon" -- EL VY 9) "Urban Flora - EP" -- Galimatias & Alina Baraz 10) "Another Eternity" -- Purity Ring Honorable mentions:   "To Pimp a Butterfly" -- Kendrick Lamar "Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper" -- Panda Bear "Beauty Behind the Madness" -- The Weeknd [posted in 2024 in an effort to get all of my top ten lists in one place.]

So I still haven’t made it back home so I haven’t had a chance to dig into the data living on my home music server about what I listened to in 2023, but here’s my first crack at a top ten list for the year. 1 “First Two Pages of Frankenstein” by The National. Was there any chance in the world this album wasn’t making this list? With most of the band off doing independent projects (notably Matt Berninger’s solo album and Dessner’s work with T-Swizzle), I’ve been a little apprehensive about the length of time it’s been since 2019’s excellent “I Am Easy To Find”. I didn’t need to be. This album is stellar, front to back. In particular, “Ice Machines” is a true throwback to the Boxer era (my favorite of their albums), and “Your Mind is Not Your Friend Again” has lived in my subconscious for months.  “Lahai” by Sampha. I first heard Sampha’s “Like the Piano” on Roon Radio when it came up a couple of times in one day, and I’ve been absolutely obsessed with that track since. This album i...

The Range--"Potential" (electronica) Brass Tracks--"Good Love" (electronica/jazz/hip-hop) The 1975--"I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware" (electro-pop) Dawn Golden--"Still Life" (electronica/ambient) Blood Orange--"Freetown Sound" (rock?) James Blake--"The Colour in Anything" (electronica/ambient) Phantogram--"Three" (electro-rock) Massive Attack--"Ritual Spirit EP" (trip-hop) Jack Garratt--"Phase" (electronica/rock/???) Various Artists--"Hamilton Mixtape" (broadway/hip-hop) Honorable mentions: School of Seven Bells--"SVIIB" (rock) Various Artists--"Day of the Dead" (Grateful Dead covers organized by The National) It was also a good year for EPs. A few of my favorites: Petit Biscuit--"Petit Biscuit EP" Verite--"Living EP" The Range--"Superimpose EP" [Editor's note: I spend a surprising amount of time look...

 2017 was a year of change--much of it bad (pretty much everything political, other than the reawakening of liberal activism), and some of it good (new job, etc.). It was also a pretty good year for music. So here's my top 10 (with four bonus albums) for 2017: Sylvan Esso "What Now" (alt rock/electro-pop--I've been wanting this album for like two years now and it's finally out and so so good) The xx "I See You" (alt rock--a lot of people knock this album, but I think it shows an interesting evolution for their sound, post Jamie xx's solo works) SZA "Ctrl" (R&B--been a fan of her projects for some time, but only heard this album in its entirety like a week ago) Jidenna "The Chief" (hip hop) The War on Drugs "A Deeper Understanding" (alt rock--think 1980s Grateful Dead) Jaymes Young "Feel Something" (best surprising live opener of 2017) Gorillaz "Humanz" (alt rock/electro-pop/????) The National ...

Janelle Monae--"Dirty Computer" (nothing else was even close) Brasstracks--"For Those Who Know, Pt. II EP" Kurt Vile--"Bottle It In"   The National--"Boxer(Live in Brussels)"  Marian Hill--"Unusual" Various Artists--"Black Panther The Album" Chvrches--"Love is Dead" Let's Eat Grandma--"I'm All Ears" Lo Moon--"Lo Moon" twenty one pilots--"Trench" Little Dragon--"Lover Chanting EP" (couldn't leave this off) Honorable mentions (things I discovered too late in the year to really listen much, but that I'm liking a lot so far): Christine and the Queens--"Chris" The 1975--"A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships" Young Fathers--"Cocoa Sugar" Blood Orange--"Negro Swan" It was also a great year for soundtracks--in addition to Black Panther, I particularly loved "Annihilation" (very Alt-J-esque at times), Ali Shaheed Muh...

Waiting to join an online birthday party for a dear friend, looking at a plate with five high-end ryes for my tasting pleasure (spoiler: Templeton's 2018 barrel strength rye is better than it should be), seemed like it was finally time to pull the trigger on my 2020 top ten albums. What did I miss? (I enjoy the new Thundercat but haven't listened to it that much yet.) 1) “Free Love”, Sylvan Esso 2) “Folklore”, Taylor Swift 3) “Fall to Pieces”, Tricky 4) “Circles”, Mac Miller 5) “some kind of peace”, Olafur Arnalds 6) “Good Souls Better Angels”, Lucinda Williams 7) “The Slow Rush”, Tame Impala 8)- “Serpentine Prison”, Matt Berninger 9) “Womb”, Purity Ring 10) “Punisher”, Phoebe Bridgers Honorable mentions: 1) “Have We Met”, Destroyer 2) “Golden Ticket”, Brasstracks 3) “Warnings”, I Break Horses 4) “New Me, Same Us”, Little Dragon 5) “Your Hero is Not Dead”, Westerman Best Eps: 1) “Dear Illusion”, Adaline 2) “Flight Tower”, Dirty Projectors 3) “I Shine, U  Shine”, Rimon [Editor...

It was a pretty weird year in music for me, as I spent a lot of time trying to listen my way through my dad’s vinyl collection but still managed to hit more than 1,200 hours of music streaming along the way. That journey sent me down the rabbit hole pretty frequently on older artists like the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, and even some bands that don’t start with “the.” Nevertheless, I found some time for new music, and here are the ten albums from 2021 that I think you should listen to if you haven’t already: “Screen Violence” – Chvrches (electro-pop): I’m probably always going to put a new Chvrches album on my list anytime they release one, but this is genuinely a great album and shows growth for the band. “Good Girls” is a brutal call to arms, “How not to Drown” a really interesting collaboration with Robert Smith, and Lullabies a nice throwback to their first couple of albums. “Hotel Surrender” – Chet Faker (electro-pop): always been a fan of Nick Murphy, and this was a nice b...

It’s that time of year again, so here’s my top ten albums of 2022. As always, curious to hear where you agree or disagree, or what I’ve missed this year. Rating everything on a scale of 10 possible Denalis this time. Phil’s 2022 Top 10 albums 1)       “angel in realtime.” – Gang of Youths. This album broke my heart and rebuilt it over and over. It’s a beautiful mediation on loss, grief, parents, and purpose, and the opening track (“You in Everything”) is on my no-random-shuffle list lest it come on when I’m working or driving or can’t stop to listen and tear up. I’m sure y’all are tired of hearing me rave about this album, but it’s truly an exceptional piece of art, and my life is better for knowing it. 27.5 out of a possible 10 Denalis. 2)       “Midnights” – Taylor Swift. It’s super weird to me that Taylor Swift makes my list again, but this is a great album. “Anti-hero” is the track everyone raves about, but honestly I think “Maro...

For posterity (and so I can remember in six months), here's my current favorites in a number of categories: Favorite Dogs: Denali Bodhi Nika All other dogs. Favorite Audio Stuff Overall headphone: Meze 109 Pro Noise-canceling headphones: Apple AirPods Max (for airplanes), Apple AirPodsPro Gen2 (for everything else) [and that irritates me to say] Closed-backed headphones: ZMF Bokeh Closed (review forthcoming) IEM: Campfire Audio Holocene  (review forthcoming) Audio calls: Status Audio Between ANC (from computers), AirPodsPro Gen2 (everything else) Spatial audio: AirPodsPro Gen 2   Dog walking: Moondrop Chu II  (review forthcoming) DAC/Amp: Schiit Jotunheim 2/Modius (balanced), Schiit Bifrost/Asgard 2 (single-ended) [honorable mention: Apos Gremlin ] Mobile DAC: ALO Pilot Dongle DAC/Amp Audio Setups [as of 3/14/25] Main: Devialet Expert 140 Pro Super Integrated KEF LS50 Standmounts (on cheap stands) Rega RP3 Turntable w/Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge Apple TV 4K Kyocera DA-71...