Guided Tour Through 2024

I'm trying to decide if this past year was as turbulent as the previous one when it comes to my music habits. 2023 might have seen me rewiring my brain on what I listen to and accepting more different styles of music, but I think that 2024 might have seen me focus in a bit more on those sounds that were new to me. While I enjoyed a song or two from bands like The Smiths and The Cure in 2023, this past year had me really obsessing over certain albums from those bands and reaching out to discover more indie sounds. I wasn't really interested in what new bands were doing or what new records were being released... nope, I was too busy exploring older discoveries. Because I was trying new things, I didn't really spend a lot of time chasing records... I wasn't even sure if I wanted to buy records for those bands. Yeah, it was a weird time that I was still trying to figure out.

While I was still lost on what to do about record collecting, and being more distracted with books and reading, it lead to the lowest number of posts on this blog in 15 years. I still enjoy the time that I dedicate to this thing, I just found it difficult to make that time. While the year wasn't too exciting for collecting, there were still a few things that I'm really happy about picking up, so let's get into them here.

For most of the year, I put very little thought into chasing records. The year was bookended however with a couple moments of inspiration... first with a 90's hardcore obsession, and then getting the opportunity to go through someone's collection and buy some older records... and looking back at these few purchases kind of has me excited again. Reflecting on these eight purchases makes me want more of this.

1. Spiritual Cramp 'Mass Hysteria' record release - There was never any doubt that this was going to be the favorite record that I picked up this year. This was probably the only time all summer that I was bit by the collector bug. I saw this record release sleeve for the first Spiritual Cramp 7 inch and needed to own it no matter what the price was.

2. Social Distortion 'Mommy's Little Monster' 1st press - Maybe the most expensive record that I bought this past year. When I discovered this record eight years ago, I threw this 1st pressing on my wantlist, but realistically didn't think that I'd ever spend this kind of money for it. Man, sometimes it feels good to just do it.

3. Remission 'Pain Understood' test press - Buying this test press made me feel like a serious collector again... plus the record was from a time when I was at the height of my record collecting mania. Remission still sounds so good today, and I was stoked to get my hands on this test.

4. Voice Of Reason 'Parody' limited cover and blue vinyl - The thing about me is that I love obscure 90's hardcore bands. Wrap that shit up in a special cover and press it on colored vinyl, and I will eat it up all day.

5. Abuse Of Power 'When Then Becomes Now' tour cover - I was surprised to find this in the racks at Wanna Hear It Records. Abuse Of Power had fallen off my radar a bit, but buying this 7 inch with the limited tour cover was a great reminder of how much I like this band.

6. Cro-Mags 'The Age Of Quarrel' 1st press - An absolute hardcore classic. Honestly, finally buying this record just makes me want to buy more of this older shit that I should have in my collection.

7. T.S.O.L. self-titled EP - While I do wish that this was an earlier pressing, there is no doubt that buying this 12 inch has me appreciating early T.S.O.L. more. I've listened to this record so many times since I bought it, and it is just perfect.

8. Burst Of Silence 'Thicker Than Blood' on maroon - Burst Of Silence is another obscure 90's hardcore band that I fucking love. I didn't know that this was even available on colored vinyl for a long time, so I'm very happy to own this.

1. Bent Blue - So Much Seething

2. High Vis - Guided Tour

3. Spaced - This Is All We Ever Get

4. Wreckage - Self In All

5. Unified Action - This Is A War

6. Planet On A Chain - Culture Of Death

7. Statement of Pride - Rebirth

8. Berthold City - Where Did We Go Wrong?

As I've said, I struggled to find interest in new music for most of this past year. These "Best of" lists don't really mean anything anymore. There was a day when I was narrowing down my favorites from a list of 20+, but from this past year, I only have listened to 11 new hardcore records... so a Top 8 is basically just a list of the only new hardcore that was interesting to me. Still, those records at the top of my list can't be fucked with. Bent Blue continue to impress me, and the biggest surprise here was how much I enjoyed the new High Vis. Spaced was a nice surprise too, and if Marcus hadn't put them on my radar, I would have probably let them skip right by me... so I'm thankful for friends that still reach out and make recommendations.

1. Grand Magus - Sunraven

2. Midnight - Hellish Expectations

3. Satan - Songs In Crimson

4. Bat - Under The Crooked Claw

5. The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World

6. Fu Manchu - The Return Of Tomorrow

7. Whores - War.

8. IDLES - TANGK

Okay, I know that this list is a mess. I've always had an obvious line between my hardcore and metal "Best Of" lists, but I had not idea how to manage those bands that didn't fit into those two catagories. In a moment of panic, I just made a "hardcore" and a "not hardcore" list... and then I was left trying to figure out how to rank The Cure alongside Satan. It is fucking messy and I hate it. But beside my obvious problems in strict buckets in which to compare bands, there was so great stuff from this past year... you know, once I actually started paying attention. Once again Grand Magus, Midnight and Satan take the top of my list, as they do every year that they release an album, but that Fu Manchu record was surprisingly good as well... plus shit like Orange Goblin and The Obsessed that didn't make the cut here are also excellent. Still albums from The Cure, IDLES and the Whores record just floored me when I heard them, so I needed to include them here.

Lastly, we get to the shit that I've been excited to talk about... music that I was obsessed with this past year that wasn't released in 2024. Okay, the Spiritual Cramp record was released at the very end of 2023, so loosely it could be considered a new release, but damn, I didn't care about this band when they released their first 7 inch on REACT Records back in 2017, so I was really surprised to find how much I loved this band with their new album. For The Cure, I really listened to Disintegration and Wish a lot at the start of the year, and it was a lot of fun to dig into these records and discover the band. Another band that could have multiple records on this list is Modest Mouse. Holy shit, I obsessed over this band and even took a 2 hour drive by myself to see them play live in New Hampshire over the summer. I loved them that much. The Moon & Antarctica, The Lonesome Crowded West, and Good News were all records from Modest Mouse that saw a lot of action on my daily playlists. Speaking of unexpected obsessions, we need to talk about Karate. The Bed Is In The Ocean was my summer soundtrack. I don't know what it was, but that record was exactly what I needed when I heard it. Title Fight were another band that I have never liked, but this year the band gave me exactly what I needed to hear. Gulch and High Vis were just extensions of the appreciation that I found with those bands last year. A Perfect Circle fit for when I was in a mood for something different, and Entombed hit the spot for when I wanted something heavy. Man, it was such a great year discovering older bands that I'd missed the first time around. The interesting thing is that of these 9, I only own 4 of these on vinyl, so I obviously still have work to do.

So that is my 2024. It wasn't really exciting or busy on this blog, but as we move into a new year, I feel that fire starting to come back. I'm not saying that I'll get back to regular double digit posts in a month again, but I'm excited by what I can still plunder from Tim's collection over the coming months... plus writing up this end of the year post has me thinking about hardcore again, and I'm looking forward to seeing where that takes me. Music has proven to be an unpredictable journey, so let's see what dumb shit I can get up to here in 2025.