Blog

Favourite Albums of 2023

I listened to a lot of music this year according to Spotify Wrapped, my summary was borked by my kid’s listening habits (though I did listen to a lot of Taylor on my own too).

First, a few that I’ve listened to and are ‘fine’.
– Higher by Chris Stapleton
– History Books by The Gaslight Anthem
– Volcano by Jungle

Favourite Albums of 2023

  1. Stand in the Joy by William Prince. Oh man, I love this guys voice so much. Seeing him in concert next year at Massey.
  2. GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo. I love some good angsty girl pop…
  3. Where the Angels Fall by The Cat Empire. I think my favourite concert of this year and this was a big boombastic album that was great to cook to.
  4. The Loveliest/Loneliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen. Z and I could agree on CRJ and TS this year, I’m hoping for many more years of sympatico music taste.
  5. Friendship – Surprise Chef. While not quite “LoFi Beats to Study To” this one got put on a lot as background tunes on the subway and while reading and working.
  6. The Winding Way by The Teskey Brothers. I do love that blue eyed soul and this was another good album.
  7. The Age of Pleasure by Janelle Monae. Sexy and fun.
  8. Weathervanes by Jason Isbell. Not his strongest album but still a worthy listen.
  9. That! Feels Good! by Jessie Ware – Another sexy fun disco vibed album. Pearls was my jam this year!
  10. Endless Summer Vacation by Miley Cyrus. Lot of Miley this year, and this album had some songs in heavy rotation.
  11. Neo-Romance by Alexandra Streliski. Beautiful piano, this might be one of my most listened to albums. Need to get this on vinyl.
  12. serenades by Jean-Michel Blais. Lot of neo-classical this year, am I getting old or something?

Best Bands of My Life Time (as of May 2023)

We were debating our all-time Top 10 the other day and whether Taylor Swift should make it.

It got me to thinking about my top 10 and I decided to put the limit of Of My Time. This means it has to be an artist that has the bulk of their best work released during the time I have been listening to music, i.e. the last 30 years. I didn’t really get into music until I was 12 or 13.

I listen to a lot of music across a lot of genres across a lot of time periods so this is a pretty good challenge. So here goes.

  1. Radiohead – This was an easy one. I’ve seen them live 3 times. “The Bends”, “OK Computer”, and “In Rainbows” are all top tier amazing albums. The rest of the discography is amazing to very good. Really only “King of Limbs” didn’t land for me.
  2. Oasis – For me, this is an easy one as well. They almost don’t get in based on my At Least 3 Legendary Albums. “Definitely Maybe”, “What’s the Story”, and “The Masterplan” are all amazing. “Be Here Now” is bloated but has it’s moments. I really liked “Dig Out Your Soul”. They also earn some points for their solo work; with Noel putting out some decent stuff and I really liked Liam’s “C’mon You Know” album. Plus, they’re hilarious.
  3. The Hold Steady – Introduced to me thanks to Andrew Cowan. “Boys and Girls in America” got me in. “Separation Sunday” and “Stay Positive” complete the requisite 3 albums. I’ve liked every album they’ve put out and they’re a blast to see live.
  4. The Weakerthans – Another Andrew Cowan introduction. Only four albums but all of them are amazing. Probably my favorite lyricist and “Reconstruction Site” is my favourite album. They also produced the best band shirt of all time with the mustard yellow “Winnipeg” shirt. Miss that shirt a lot.
  5. Taylor Swift – Yeah, she made it. 10 solid albums with 5 of them being excellent, and the others having at least a good single or 2.
  6. Vampire Weekend – Only four albums but all of them are really really good. I listen to them a lot when the weather starts to get nice.
  7. Kacey Musgraves – I like every one of her albums. “Golden Hour” was amazing. I even like her slightly cringey Christmas album.
  8. Jason Isbell – “Southeastern”, “Something More Than Free”, “Reunions” are all amazing. “Georgia Blue” has some banging covers (Nightswimming! Cross Bones Style! Midnight Train to Georgia) One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.
  9. Robyn – I love Robyn and this one is MAAAYBE a stretch since “Bodytalk” is sort of a series of albums then compiled into a single album. I also love “Robyn” and I thought “Honey” was pretty good. Her earlier stuff is just top notch European dance/pop music with at least a few good singles to dance to. I love Robyn.
  10. Weezer – That SNL sketch makes a lot of Good Points.. STILL! “Blue Album” & “Pinkerton” shaped my entire music listening life. “Green Album”, “Maladroit”, “Make Believe” are pretty good and across the rest of them there are at least a few singles from each that if we smashed them together would make for at least another two great albums.

Honorable Mentions

This artists and bands are just outside of the top 10 for me for any of the following reasons:

  1. Not enough track record: So my threshold for Top 10 inclusion was 3 albums in legendary status and/or enough additional support material.
  2. Amazing but just not quite better than the ones listed.
  3. Amazing but their artist output was before my time, even if their work after was maybe just as good. AKA The “Tom Petty” award.
  • The Beths: Three amazing albums I’ve listened to constantly. Will likely crack the top 10 eventually.
  • The Tragically Hip: Controversy! I didn’t really like The Hip till I was in university. I won’t really listen to individual albums of theirs, but instead to playlists, or to their live album.
  • Barenaked Ladies: Ooof. This was was tough. My first favourite band. My first concert. I loved “Gordon”, “Maybe you should drive”, and “Born on a Pirate Ship”. I really liked “Stunt”, “Maroon”, and they started to lose me at “Everything to Everyone” and I don’t think they had another album after that that ever listened to. I also don’t think I’ve returned to them as much as the other artists on this list. The song “Break your Heart” got me through a lot of breakups though.
  • Tom Petty: Tough to leave off the list but I’m counting his early work as not in my time. “Full Moon Fever” and “Wildflowers” are amazing and there is enough stuff across his other albums to make it really close.
  • Chris Stapleton: Three really good albums between “Traveller”, “From a Room” and “Starting Over”.
  • Green Day: VERY tough to leave off. I listened to a ton of Green Day over the years.
  • Beck: Saw him on the “Odelay” tour and he hits so many different points with his albums between Funk and Folk. “Colors” was really good!
  • Sarah Harmer: Underrated. One of my favourite vocalists of all time. “I’m a mountain” is one of my most played albums ever.
  • Brad Paisley: My gateway drug to country music. Corny and funny just like me. His ballads still make me tear up.
  • The Decemberists – Just missed out. “The Crane Wife”, “The Hazards of Love”, and “The King is Dead” got huge playtime. I probably listen to them less now because I rarely have time to put on a big proggy album.
  • Fiona Apple – Very close to cracking the top ten. This is a hard activity because her stuff is fantastic but requires a certain sort of mood to invoke me to put on her albums.

Dora (is) in Princessland

Working on a Book tonight; Suzannah is the Author and I am the illustrator.

Me: Okay, so what’s this book called?

Suzannah: Dora is in Princessland

Me: Sounds good, but you don’t need to say is.

Suzannah: But she IS IN Princessland.

Me: Yes I know, but you can just say, Dora in Princessland

Suzannah: Can you say, Dora is Princessland?

Me: No, that doesn’t make sense.

Suzannah: But Dora in Princessland, does?

Me: Yes. In is okay is, isn’t.

Suzannah: (Thinks) I’m just going to write Dora is in Princessland

Cook or Die

I couldn’t really cook when Brianne and I got together. I ate a pretty lousy diet that revolved around simple stuff I’d taught myself while at University. The longer we’ve been together the more I’ve learned, and also felt comfortable trying to learn to cook. I’ve picked up a few ‘specialties’ and I did most of the grilling over the years. There are weeks where I cooked 2-3 times and during the summer or Prime Grilling season I probably made a few more. Working from home I would sometimes get things started or prepped for her. I picked up a bit more of a role when we had Zuzu, and when Brie was back on Maternity leave with Tom I was mostly back to a 2-3 times per week.

So when Brianne went back to work I assumed the mantle of “Primary Caregiver”. I also assumed the role of primary cook.

  1. It had to be something that could be prepped, cooked, and finished before the kids were home; AKA Chilli, Soup, Stews, most slow cooker meals.
  2. It had to be something I could cook and leave to simmer or finish over the 30 minutes that I left the house to pick up the kids; AKA Curries with Rice, One Pot dinners, braised stuff.
  3. It had to be something I could prep in advance and very quickly cook in 22ish minutes after arriving home; AKA Grilled Meat, Simple Sautéed vegetables, and stir fry.

Final set of factors: it had to be tasty, and something that our kids will eat and ideally provide leftovers for lunch for Brie and I.

It’s been an interesting few months. Kid pick up and drop off has been mostly fine, though this frigging winter has meant it’s been a pain more than it will be in the spring and summer. The cooking has been actually pretty ‘fine’. We’ve not succumbed to take out TOO often. We’ve had a few Friday pizza nights, and weekend lunches from take always due to Saturday being when our groceries are mostly exhausted. The thing that has been the most illuminating for me is the constancy of it. Everyone has GOT to eat, and those dishes need to be done, and the fridge needs to be filled again and the meals need to be planned. Always, forever.

Have you always wondered why the “30 minute simple meals” or “One Pot Wonders” type books fill the shelves of most book stores? Or why devices like Slow Cookers and (lately) the Instant Pot are huge sellers, the answer is because you have no time to cook. None. You have little margin for error, if dinner sucks you don’t have time to order new food, or even to make something new unless it’s cold cereal. This means you want to outsource the worry about whether something will be good. You need something that offers short cuts or at least enables you to take your eyes off the stove long enough to catch a 15 month old moving at high speed towards the toaster oven and to help the 3 year old finish a puzzle she’s plaintively demanding your attention on. Recipes with margin for error, or at least ones that don’t demand your attention so much are the golden ticket for parents.

Going forward I’ll try to blog a bit more about eating and food and recipes and all that good stuff and post a few that I think are worth it plus any tips and tricks I can recommend.