2020/01/02 • 2019 was a pretty dark year and I’m actually grateful to Spotify for reminding me I listened to some amazing music. In March my father was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, he had surgery on May 22 and spent six weeks in the hospital. He came home on July 2 and died on July 3. After he died, my mother and I spent a lot of time cleaning and sorting and packing. We needed a playlist we both liked that didn’t contain anything that reminded us of Dad. Hence Spotify’s “This Is Nick Lowe.” Also, everything reminds us of Dad.
Top Artist of 2019: Nick Lowe
I’ve always liked Nick Lowe but this year I just freaking fell in love with him. From a distance, of course - second row, left of the center aisle. Ron and I saw him and Los Straitjackets in Hartford in April. They burned that place down. Mr. Lowe came out onstage looking like the kindly man from the local hardware store. He looked over at me, smiled and said “thank you.” I smiled back. And he proceeded to tear it up. It was an amazing show, one of the best I’ve ever seen, and a sweet, sunny oasis in what turned out to be a really crap spring.
According to Ron, Mr. Lowe really did thank me - twice. I don’t even know if he could see anyone with the stage lights on, but it really looked like he was at least looking at our row. So if you know Mr. Nick Lowe or the brilliant Los Straitjackets, I was the one in the second row, left of the center aisle, in the Ramones shirt.
Top Song of 2019: Apache
I’m crazy about surf bands. I love the Ventures - they’ve covered literally every song ever recorded since 1960. Apache was not theirs originally, although they covered it; the Shadows recorded it first and it is excellent. Early in 2019 Ron made me a playlist called Hip Hip Chin Chin (old rhythms for the new year) and the first track is a cover of Apache by the Incredible Bongo Band. Once you hear it, it will not surprise you that it was my number one song of 2019. It’s incredible, true to the original and supremely funky. If you like their version of Apache, check out the album 40 Years of the Incredible Bongo Band. They covered In A Gadda Da Vida and made it funky.
Top 100 Songs of 2019
My top 100 is pretty much what I expected: lots of Nick Lowe, and the aforementioned Hip Hip Chin Chin playlist. But I forgot about Hildegard: my early-morning music for the past two years has been a mega-playlist of Hildegard von Bingen's music performed by artists like Stevie Wishart and Sinfonye - I wouldn't know Stevie Wishart if I fell over her, but I love her voice. So while I love every track on this Top 100 list, playing it straight through is really not a nonstop dance party. Unless you know all the hot line dances from the 1160s. Do you?
Top Artist of the Decade: David Bowie
Spotify didn’t give me a Best of the Decade playlist so I’m not sure which Bowie songs got played the most. For the past couple of years, though, I’ve been listening to his albums in chronological order. I start with David Bowie (1967) and usually start over once I get to Scary Monsters (1980). There are three live albums in that rotation: David Live (1974), Live Nassau Coliseum ’76 (1976) and Welcome to the Blackout (1978). Welcome to the Blackout is by far my favorite of the live albums. It opens with Warszawa and ends with Rebel Rebel and has charming bits in between songs. Only David Bowie could thank a trucking company and make it sound like poetry.
I’m sad David Bowie died, but as so many people have said, I’m so grateful we existed on this planet at the same time. I’d love to have drinks with Nick Lowe, but I’m grateful I got to see him and Los Straitjackets. And I miss my dad so fucking much.