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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Songs That Saved Your Life

This is a blast!

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Just imagine what this will turn into if/when we do albums of the decade

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A battle royale, or a novella. Maybe both.

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I thought this was album of the decade?😀

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Steve Goldberg, Songs That Saved Your Life

Shoutout to Steve for including Youth Lagoon and the best release from Trevor Powers since his special debut all of those years ago!

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The more I listen to all of the picks, the more I think that Steve's are my favorite.

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Fun project to include multiple lists and show just how different year end is for everyone! I’m definitely gravitating towards his picks with this first entry.

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Definitely my favorite part of this was how different our lists were.

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100%

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Kiley, I’ll try and disappoint you with my 1-5!😜 The truth is that many of my favorites of the year came from your playlists!

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Ah man, that makes my day! I'm so happy to hear that the selections connect with you. Can't wait to see what all of you picked for the top 5!

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Oh stop it- it’s too early for blushing. Also, I top loaded my list...😀

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Youth Lagoon is great!

As for his other picks, If I was asked which artist came up the most on Mondays, NoName would be one of the first that came to mind.

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There are at least 20 albums this year that could've easily made my top 10 list

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Noname was completely off of my radar until this project and what a shame that would've been had we not done this.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander

Great lists so far!! But, holy moly, thanks for including Red Pants Kevin, I’m shocked and honored!!

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Of course! It’s a great record!

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Come check out all four of our posts - they may seem the same at first, but our intros and layouts are chock full of surprises! That’s what I get for living on the west coast of the US; mine goes up last!:) 7:02 am PST.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Steve Goldberg, Songs That Saved Your Life

Extra credit to Sam for including PetroDragonic Apocalypse which will be on my end of year list. Love that Khruanghbin album too!

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A little hint....PetroDrago might be somewhere in my top 5 next week!

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Hell yea!

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It is insane how consistent and prolific Gizzy is. Can't wait to see them on tour next year. Haven't seen them since 2017 and they've released like 20 LPs and EPs since then haha

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Also want to say that I was at the Khruangbin/Men I Trust show at RBC Echo Beach last summer and it was INSANE. They just sampled/covered like 50 hip-hop songs over 20 minutes.

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Seething jealousy that you saw that show live. This album is solidly (as you'll see in next week's post) in my Top 5 faves of the year. I can't get enough of their music and especially loved their collab with Leon Bridges in 2020 and 2022, Texas Sun and Texas Moon.

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Very jealous here as well. Terry Barr turned me onto Texas Moon, and I've been "all in" ever since.

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Note to self: Become better friends with Sam. Go to killer shows.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Steve Goldberg

Ah, Jeanne Moreau. Reminds me to pull out the Ascenseur pour l'échafaud soundtrack and listen to some of Miles Davis now.

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I am delighted someone else likes that pic (and Moreau!).

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A fantastic actress, many great performances in her career.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Steve Goldberg, Songs That Saved Your Life

This news letter came at me three ways this AM!! Great stuff! Particularly glad to see Yves Tumor on here. Every time I’ve listened to “Praise a Lord ...” I think “If Prince’s alter-ego Camille and Joy Division had made music together, this is what it would sound like.”

I’ve not listened to Durand Jones solo effort for the reasons Steve says he finds The Indications less than inspiring, but Steve has convinced me that I need to check out this record.

And as a self proclaimed Sad Dad, I’m glad to see Cousin on this list.

Looking forward to the top five!

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Funny you say that about Yves, because when I saw them live in May, they reminded me of a grungy Prince.

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I cannot believe that my unnatural and potentially unhealthy Prince obsession did not lead me to Yves. A mix of Prince (especially the Camille version) and Joy Division couldn't possibly be a better selling point. Thank you again!

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I am surprised too! I figured you’d get on board Yvesventually!

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Sir.

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I had to channel my inner Brad Kyle for that one. Thanks for acknowledging the hard work. I think Jami was trying not to encourage me!

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Without looking, I think there is at least one Sad Dad record in the next round...or at least one that appeals to the demo that wears cargo shorts year-round.

(these are my people, btw)

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Steve Goldberg

Yay! I love this project so much!

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Right on! It has been incredibly fun to do.

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Dec 6, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Steve Goldberg

The Treasures of Mexico is going to be in my top albums of 2023.

Although I've not heard that full Men I Trust album yet, I do like the sound of a few songs I've heard so for so must listen more.

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I am 99.99% sure it was you who turned me on to that record, so thank you!

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Dec 7, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Sam Colt, Steve Goldberg, Songs That Saved Your Life

The big question is will there be any overlap (Boygenius, I'm looking at you...) in 1-5? Or is there just TOO MUCH MUSIC? Frankly, after this opening blast, I'm on the edge of my seat! (And Mitski, Geese, and Youth Lagoon are on the longlist for my Top 25...)

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Tbh I wasn’t crazy about the boygenius album. It was good, but I don’t think it lived up to the hype. There were 6 legit excellent tracks but the rest felt disjointed/B-sides from their solo careers. I thought they sounded more cohesive on their EP than they did on this one. If my list was top 25, it would be somewhere in the 20-25 range for sure.

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Not to spoil next week's post but I placed them on my "honorable mention" list. There are some gorgeous moments on that album and I'm happy that they are receiving so much attention. There were just too many other great picks.

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I hope you are sitting in a soft chair, as sitting on a hard edge for a full week can damage the derrier. Yes, that was my inner concerned mother speaking. Overlap may appear in 1-5 but I make no promises.

And don't forget to wear your wool-lined coat when you go outside!

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Very little overlap, which tbh, made this even more fun to put together.

I think Jami and I have 2 total? There might be 1-2 records that appear on more than one list after that??

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Dec 7, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander, Steve Goldberg

Thanks fellas, hadn't heard of seablite or Red Pants, love what I'm hearing!

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Dec 13, 2023Liked by Kevin Alexander

This is a fantastic way to release this. Love the communal angle and the choices are aces. Great work, y'all.

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Thank you!!

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