2020 Albums of the Year

I've been lazy and mia, here's a list of them, but like so many others things in this past year, they've been lost, in a bunker, missing in action, unmotivated, lethargic, lackadaisical, etc, etc.

life sucks, and it's not others faults, but with diabetes, a blood clot, dealing with a house/payments/appliances, annoying neighbors being excessively loud, the pandemic, the election, working from home, my wife's challenges with her work, the health and unfortunate passing of my dog,  social unrest, and so many other things, music just hasn't found its way into my life as much as usual.

lot of soul searching, mortality thinking, and longing for nostalgia.

Plus after finding 1 million hits 2019, I kind of longed to try and write and publish a book, but that also seems unlikely anytime soon.

Plus the updated version of blogger has thrown me off, so much trying to blog like I once did isn't as second nature.

I have probably only listened to most of these albums once or twice, which kind of invalidates this list, but at this point I don't have the time or motivation to try and make this list more accurate, so here's the list. In a better time, I would/will do a revised version, but if/when that happens is unclear.

1. Dirt Poor Robins - Dead Horse (incl Dirt Poor Robins - Dead Horse, Alaska (Onyx))
2. Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea
3. Pat Metheny - From this Place

4. Everything Everything - Re-Animator
5. Vennart - In the Dead, Dead Wood
6. Ours - Media Age [EP]
7. Lehto and Wright - Curios (2019)
8. Fates Warning - Long Day Good Night
9. Pain of Salvation - Panther
10. Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure?
11. Bend Sinister - Why Can't We Be Happy [EP]
12. Bruce Peninsula - No Earthly Sound
13. Green Carnation - Leaves of Yesteryear
14. Doves - The Universal Want
15. Tigran Hamasyan - The Call Within
16. Timmy Sean - A Tale From the Other Side

17. Long Distance Calling - How Do We Want to Live?
18. Psychotic Waltz - The God-Shaped Void
19. The Dear Hunter - The Fox and the Hunt
20. Chromeo - Quarantine Casanova [EP]
21. Protest the Hero - Palimpsest
22. The Monkees - The Monkees Live – The Mike & Micky Show
23. NDV - Invisible
24. Nektar - The Other Side
25. Other Lives - For Their Love
26. John Petrucci - Terminal Velocity
27. Maraton - Meta
28. Misha Bower - Trying to Have it All



Haven't got around to listening to


Ghostpoet - I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep
Android Superstation - This Side of Nowhere
Battlemaster - Ghastly, Graven & Grimoireless
Skott - Always Live for Always
McStine & Minnemann - McStine & Minnemann
Max Richter - Voices
Motorpsycho - The All Is One
Thurisaz - Re-Incentive
Jónsi - Shiver
Honorary Astronaut - EP. 001
The Midnight Callers - Red Letter Glow
Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo
Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings
Fish - Weltschmerz 
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
The Greening - The Color of Television
Jessy Ribordy - Adrift In The Whereabouts
K Será - Revolution in Retrospect [1B]
Kristoffer Gildenlöw - Homebound
The Chap - Digital Technology
Mariana Semkina - Sleepwalking
IAMX - Echo Echo

Still not released
Blackfield - For The Music
iamthemorning - Counting the Ghost [EP]
McStine & Minnemann - II
Dirty Loops - Phoenix [EP]
Sólstafir - Endless Twilight of Codependent Love

OT: 2020 US Presidential Election and SWING STATES importance

Sanders/Klobuchar/Bloomberg/Buttigieg/
Warren/Biden 191
Trump 182

270 Electoral College Votes Wins the Election

The Democratic Candidate needs to win 79 of the below 156 Electoral College Votes
Trump needs to win 88 of the below 156 Electoral College Votes


12 Swing States hold 156 Electoral College Votes.
29 Florida
20 Pennsylvania
18 Ohio
16 Michigan
15 North Carolina
13 Virginia
10 Minnesota
10 Wisconsin
9 Colorado
6 Iowa
6 Nevada
4 New Hampshire

38 Non-Swing States hold 382 Electoral College Votes. If all vote as their recent/expected Partisan history would suggest.

The number of votes and States listed below.

Blue = Democrat
Red = Republican

55 California
38 Texas
29 New York
20 Illinois
16 Georgia
14 New Jersey
12 Washington
*11 Arizona
11 Indiana
11 Massachusetts
11 Tennessee
10 Maryland
10 Missouri
9 Alabama
8 Kentucky
8 Louisiana
7 Connecticut
7 Oklahoma
7 Oregon
6 Arkansas 
6 Kansas 
6 Mississippi 
6 Utah
5 Nebraska 
5 New Mexico
5 West Virginia
4 Hawaii
4 Idaho 
4 Maine
4 Rhode Island
3 Alaska
3 Delaware
3 District of Columbia
3 Montana
3 North Dakota
3 South Dakota
3 Vermont
3 Wyoming

= 538 Total electoral college votes

*Arizona among a few States not listed as a Swing State, but "could go either way" per Per 270towin.com

16 Democrat States and 191 Electoral College Votes
55 California
29 New York
20 Illinois
14 New Jersey
12 Washington
11 Massachusetts
10 Maryland
7 Connecticut
7 Oregon
5 New Mexico
4 Hawaii
4 Maine
4 Rhode Island
3 Delaware
3 District of Columbia
3 Vermont

22 Republican States and 182 Electoral College Votes
38 Texas
16 Georgia
*11 Arizona
11 Indiana
11 Tennessee
10 Missouri
9 Alabama
8 Kentucky
8 Louisiana
7 Oklahoma
6 Arkansas 
6 Kansas 
6 Mississippi 
6 Utah
5 Nebraska 
5 West Virginia
4 Idaho 
3 Alaska
3 Montana
3 North Dakota
3 South Dakota
3 Wyoming

Ranking the Rush Albums

Pete Pardo with Sea of Tranquility posted a ranking of the Rush Albums and asked for others in the comments.

So here's mine. the 1st 14 are quite close, which speaks as much for their quality and consistency as anything else.

1. Hemispheres 2. A Farewell to Kings 3. Permanent Waves 4. 2112 5. Grace Under Pressure 6. Caress of Steel 7. Moving Pictures 8. Signals 9. Power Windows 10. Presto 11. Hold Your Fire 12. Counterparts 13. Fly By Night 14. Rush 15. Roll the Bones 16. Clockwork Angels 17. Vapor Trails 18. Test for Echo 19. Snakes and Arrows

Pure Reason Revolution - Eupnea (2019-2020)

1/31/20
 the 1st single, the 10+minute "Silent Genesis"
👍👍👍👍👍

very The Dark Third-like. 1st few minutes sound like Aeropause pt 2 in some ways.

Not a stretch, but with Dirt Poor Robins Dead Horse, Alaska coming, this may be a co-favorite for an AotY, but we'll see.




 Preorders (both Digital and Physical)


1/22/20
Loudersound

The duo say in a statement: “We stuck to our manifesto of no musical boundaries and the result was Eupnea. 
“We return to a more progressive sound with ferocious guitars, thunderous drums and the stacked harmonies that give us our signature sound. We're excited to begin playing it live.”


Yeah boi 👍👍👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁😁

Facebook

Some news 🙊:
Pure Reason Revolution announce ‘Eupnea’; their first studio album in nearly 10 years
Last year, Jon Courtney and Chloë Alper reunited the much-loved Pure Reason Revolution, playing their first show in close to eight years at Midsummer Prog Festival and performing their debut album ‘The Dark Third’ in full. Today they are excited to announce the release of ‘Eupnea’, their first new studio album in nearly 10 years, for the 3rd of April 2020.

1. New Obsession
2. Silent Genesis
3. Maelstrom
4. Ghosts and Typhoons
5. Beyond Our Bodies
6. Eupnea

6 tracks? EPICS???????? 😄😄😄

...

Sometimes I feel like everyone doing what I love is better than me at it.

But I often try to think if they are doing this, why the fuck can't I?

What the fuck happens to us when we die?

Did I live dozens of previous lives, I just don't have a memory of them?

It's creation/formation and The Big Bang's cosmic joke?

Or are we just like all other life forms we know of, we just change to dust and all the time we spent alive was just a passing of time, and we're just gone/changed/transferred with no memory of what happened when we were alive in the human body we were in before?

it's shit like this that never goes away and frustrates me everyday.

Diabetes

So, it's not 3 months later, but my A1C number is down to 7.5.

And the Educator gave me the go to stop Insulin (at least for now).

I never mentioned the Blood Clot in my leg (which happened not long after the ER visit), which seems kind of status quo, not bad, but not ideal. The Blood Thinner I'm on, I'm to take at least until March. At that point, i may need another ultrasound and to see the Hematologist again.

I also am having Heartburn/Acid Reflux, although ever since lowering the Metformin to 2 500mg per day, it's been less frequent. Tums though is very short/limited relief. I'm having an Echo Heart test in a few weeks.

It's not been easy, but I am getting used to it.

Neil Peart ...never forget..

Suddenly, you were gone
From all the lives you left your mark upon

I remember
How we talked and drank into the misty dawn
I hear the voices

We ran by the water on the wet summer lawn
I see the footprints
I remember

I feel the way you would
I feel the way you would

Tried to believe but you know it's no good
This is something that just can't be understood

I remember
The shouts of joy, skiing fast through the woods
I hear the echoes

I learned your love for life
I feel the way that you would
I feel your presence
I remember

I feel the way you would
This just can't be understood

2000-2009: Top 15 Albums Ranked

Life is short, no time to write blurbs nor actually make THE list from this decade I need to, right now.

But I only would suspect the 1970's would have as formidable a list, both from a top 15 here, or a Top 150.

Which now saying that, that might make a cool challenge.

1970's Albums vs 2000's albums (vs 1990's? or 1980's which I would be shocked if the 80's compared. The 80's though would do exceptional if comparing fantastic pop songs, which maybe that could be for another comparison/competition later?).

Oh, many of these albums I've written about and listed often to varying degrees, but they still all warrant novel-like write ups again or for the 1st time someday soon.

Maybe in the short-term though, this 1970's List vs 2000's List, 150 or so albums? could be a really fun thing to make.

Time and priorities of course is what it may take to do....

1. Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True

2. Apes and Androids - Blood Moon

3. dredg - El Cielo

4. Ours - Distorted Lullabies

5. Pain of Salvation - The Perfect Element I

6. The Receiving End of Sirens - Between the Heart and the Synapse

7. Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness

8. Kaddisfly - Set Sail the Prairie

9. The Dear Hunter - Act II: The Meaning of and All Things Regarding Ms.Leading

10. Marillion - Marbles

11. Between the Buried and Me - Colors

12. Menomena - I am the Fun Blame Monster

13. Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever

14. maudlin of the Well - Bath/Leaving Your Body Map

15. Bend Sinister - Stories of Brothers, Tales of Lovers

The Return of TOKYO JIHEN!

Clip on YouTube, and the whole new track "The Unchosen People" can be streamed via the links here

I read 1 or 2 comments on 1 of the Facebook groups kind dogging this new tune. I don't love it, but find it okay.

I guess I am very happy they are back together and hope this 1st track is just a sample of what may be coming in 2020 from the return of Tokyo Jihen aka Tokyo Incident.