2024 Year in Review: Best Music

Today I come to you with my top five albums/music moments from 2024. I love music, listening to it, seeing it live and chatting with friends about it. I am getting older, and some of the new, well loved artists have no bearing on me. I like what I like, I will try some recommendations, but I listen to the stuff that I have always listened to. That's the way it is. I will say, and this isn't part of my top five, I have grown to enjoy Taylor Swift's catalog, I like listening to Olivia Rodrigo and Chappel Roan makes me want to dance. I have to imagine this is due to having a nine year old daughter that is just now getting into music. I just wanted to put that out there. Now, onto the list.

At number 5 I have my first live experience of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I have heard so many people talk about this group. I have read a ton about this group. I have read about how prolific they are, putting out dozens of records in short periods of time. But I just figured they were a jam band thing that I had outgrown. I was very, very wrong. My buddy had an extra ticket when they were in Saint Louis and offered it to me. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about, so I happily accepted the ticket. It helps that my buddy is such a big fan, but what I saw unfold for the next two and a half hours was rad. They started off with some of their metal music. And from there on out I heard metal, rock, electronic, new wave and even songs that used a gong heavily. I was taken aback at how well, how proficient they played and sang. These dudes are true pros and seeing them live was exceptional. I immediately started listening to as much of their catalog as I could and am still listening to them today. King Gizzard is worth the hype and then some, and my fandom started this past summer when I saw them live.

At number 4 I have Kirk introducing me to Califone. I had no idea who or what this band was when Kirk texted me and asked if I wanted to go to a show of theirs. I told him I hadn't heard of them, but to let me listen and I'd get back to him. He agreed, but told me to answer quickly. I guess the show he was talking about was in a person's basement in town and they were only selling 50 tickets. I went to Spotify and turned the music on right away. I was hooked. Califone is folky with some experimental stuff. I love the lead singer's voice. I like how mellow the music sounds. I also like how loud it can get with only an acoustic guitar. After hearing one song I told Kirk I was in for the show. The show was even better than just listening in my car. I had never seen a show like this before. It was intimate and personal. Califone had two members performing and they were great. The banter in between songs was awesome. We were asked how everything sounded. It felt like we had a say, and that made the night even more fun. I'm still listening to Califone to this day and have even checked out some of the band members' side projects. Now to the albums.

At number 3 I have Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds "Wild God". This record is classic Nick Cave. Cave tells a story with his song lyrics. He paints a picture. I love his voice bringing these stories to life. The Bad Seeds are a perfect backing band for all the things Nick Cave wants to do. When an artist like him and his band comes out with a new record, and it hits as well as this one does, that makes me smile so much. It is nice and refreshing to someone of Cave's ability and longevity still making new, awesome music that reminds us all of what makes them so great.

At number 2 I have Kendrick Lamar's "GNX". I mean, Kendrick cannot miss at the moment. He is on a heater like we've never seen before. He crushed his rap beef this summer. His songs from said beef were played over and over again. His music videos were rad as well. Kendrick Lamar didn't have to do anything else and he would've owned the year in music. But, much to my delight, he gave us a full length record that is as good as most of his stuff. This album has no skippable tracks in my opinion. Kendrick Lamar has a lot to say and I love that he is recording it all for us to hear. I'm stoked that he will be touring this summer with SZA and that they are making a stop in STL. "GNX" has just about everything I enjoy from Kendrick Lamar and I cannot wait to hear these songs live.

And at number 1 for 2024 in music I have Tyler, the Creator's "Chromakopia". This record is damn near perfect. And I mean everything about it. The lead up had me, and everyone else for that matter, super hype. There were theories and posts online about all the early buzz and videos. Releasing a song like "Noid", with one of the best music videos in a long long time was perfect. That made everyone clamor for the record even more. Releasing it on a Monday as opposed to a Friday was genius. The free shows that Tyler, the Creator was doing made it all the more intriguing. By the time the record came out, I would've been happy with pretty much anything. Lucky for me and everyone else, the record is incredible. Tyler, the Creator keeps trying new things and it's working. He's showing us his growth as an artist. His music has gotten better and better. He knows how to produce and rap over perfect beats he's made for himself. His features are second to none. His shows are a blast and look incredible on screen. "Chromakopia" has wonderful relistening ability. This is just a perfect record for my fandom in music.

That's it for my top music of 2024. Come back tomorrow for my top five tv shows of the year. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Check Out King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard on their Tour

A buddy of mine invited me to see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard live last night. Let’s discuss.

I have never really listened to their music much before. I have heard a few tunes, and my friend told me to listen to their most recent record, which I enjoyed quite a bit. My brother is a super fan as well. He couldn't go last night, but he has told me a ton about the band before. So, I met my friend at the venue, The Factory in Chesterfield, which is rad, and we took our seats.

The opening band was called Geese. They were pretty solid. They are kind of post punk/rock music. They had some cool visuals in the background while they played. I liked their stuff and I will be listening to them in the future. Then King Gizzard took the stage. Again, due to my lack of knowledge, I didn't know what to expect. I know that they play a bunch of different genres of music, that they have recorded 26 records and that they are super talented. But I have never seen a live show and I didn't know what they would bring to the table. I was super impressed with the next two hours of music. They opened the set with a run of metal music. They were shredding. They blew through these songs and I found myself bopping along. Immediately I was impressed with how proficient they were with their instruments. Metal music is tough to play, but these guys made it look easy. The guitars sounded really good too. They had the right distortion and you could hear every note in every solo. After the metal music run, they switched over to some psychedelic music. Again, I was shocked, in a good way, that they were so easily able to pull off a totally different genre. They sounded great yet again. The instruments sounded good too. And this time I could fully hear the lyrics and singing, which was dynamite. I loved the use of a wah wah pedal during this part of their set. They switched over to electronic at this point. The stagehands brought out a table that had a bunch of different boards attached to it. Every member of the band, except the drummer, gathered around the table and took the crowd to space. They were making crazy noises come out of those boards. The mics had a wild robot-like effect being used. They made a genre of music that I don't really like very listenable for me. One of the band members informed us that what the "leader" of the band just performed was totally improvised, which is wild. That takes an insane amount of talent to do that at every show, and it was rad. The set ended with about seven or eight songs that were a mix of blues and rock. This was my favorite part of the show. I love this style of music and King Gizzard played it exceptionally. The tone and sound coming off the three guitars was amazing. The keyboard player busted out the saxophone. Earlier on the "leader" of the band played some flute. Some of the other members got to show off their vocals during this part. The two guys who are front and center on the stage absolutely destroyed the guitar.

When my buddy and I left, I was in awe of what I just witnessed. Not knowing much about the band made the experience that much better for me. This was all new to me, and it blew me away. The band has a great energy on stage. They want you to dance and have a good time. They seem to genuinely like playing music with one another. The fact that they can shift from genre to genre was so cool. My buddy told me they play a different set every night, which is bonkers if you think about it.

I don't know why I never bought into the hype before, but King Gizzard more than won me over last night. I am a fan for sure now. I have found myself listening to their music all day today and enjoying the hell out of myself. This was a great, great show. I definitely recommend seeing them live if they are near your hometown. You will have a blast. I sure know I did. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.