[…continued from last post]

2024 BUYING STATS

Total titles purchased: 185 [↑78% 2023]
Total expenditures: $1201.55 [↑87% 2023]
Average cost: $6.25/title [↑3.6% 2023]

• CD: 87
• Downloads: 59
• Vinyl: 32
• – LP: 9
• – 12″: 14
• – 7″: 9
• Blu-Ray 5.1: 1
• DVD:4 [1x 5.1 DVD-A, 1x bonus DVD bundled in packages]

I spent a lot of money on music this year. More than I have in a while and more than I care to. But the trip to the UK/Europe was only a surprisingly small outlay of cash for music. That wasn’t the culprit as half of what I got there were “dollar discs.” This was down to almost everything I bought being full price and new instead of used. And there were lots of buy-it-now-or-else-not-ever releases that were full price items that I either bought in pre-order [with costly shipping from the UK] or would have to resign myself to never having at all. For the record, we do not add shipping costs to the spending totals! if I did I would get depressed very quickly!

Another factor is that ultraboxes don’t come cheaply. Over 10% of my spending was down to the full Ultravox “Lament” campaign across eleven discs and four release formats to get it all. But it was worth it as Steven Wilson had really kicked up the scattershot album a notch or two in my esteem!

THE RISE OF DOWNLOADS

After 15 years of writing this blog, there has been a subtle sea change in how much contemporary music I absorb. At any time in the past year-end roundups of this blog, I would have widened my eyes in shock at the notion of hearing as many as 22 contemporary albums as are listed below. A caveat: some of these have not been played. The OMD album was purchased six weeks ago but it’s a record. Playing records is always on the losing end of the free time equation.

12″ singles and 7″ singles are at typically low numbers. They are scarce in stores these days. But downloads are now seriously gaining on the CD count! This is down to most of the promo items coming across my transom being DL format, naturally. But also the vibrancy of the Bandcamp market! I am continually impressed with how people releasing music they’ve made on their own through Bandcamp basically aces what I hear from the “majors” these days. I’ve said it elsewhere that if all I could hear were Bandcamp releases, I would have no complaints. Finally, if I want to hear a single there is virtually no physical format. It’s a DL or nothing, and I’m happy with that! It could be worse. it could be a streaming-only scenario!

ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

And I have thrown out the rule book this year and named two albums as my 2024 album[s] of the year. I knew right off the bat when these two titles entered my world in early 2024, that they were the ones to beat in the long haul to my year-end list in the top position. As I’ve played each of them countless times this year, I cannot in good conscience pick a favorite from these two. Chopper Franklin was occupying two slots in the top ten; one more with his primary gig, The Heathen Apostles. They were new to my ears but have been around for a while and are doing it right.

Italy and Hungary have contributed greatly to my enjoyment of contemporary Post-Punk music this year with both Les Longs Adieux and Ductape. Like Yama Uba and Chopper Franklin, they went on my personal device and have stayed on all year throughout many plays. We just got the 2024 John Cale album recently but I still need to review it as the elder statesman of Art Rock is still doing his usual sterling job. I also haven’t managed to review the excellent new Blow Monkeys disc, but that needs to be an amendment to the Blow Monkeys Rock G.P.A.

We did review the first new Pet Shop Boys album in decades and I’m happy to see that the duo still have what it takes to make this Monk happy. And last year’s top ranked Metamorph managed two placings in the top 20 this year. I am once more shamed that I had not reviewed the borderline compulsive listening of the “Tecton” album! What you must think of me!

I had planned for an early October review of the new A Certain Ratio opus but Hurricane Helene’s Great Reset, put the brakes on all blogging for a few weeks. Messing with my head and free time for about a month. And the Al Stewart title is owing to a very late in the game investigation of the Scot songsmith. I enjoyed the 70s radio hits I heard on the wireless but never looked further.

Finally, Greg Lisher of Camper Van Beethoven made surprising inroads into the Post-Punk instro style with his “Underwater Detection Method” which was also planned for an early October review before … you know. Resulting in it falling through the cracks. And The Office Of Personal Development came highly recommended by Martyn Ware of Heaven 17/B.E.F. but a cursory listen failed utterly to stick with me; hence its final placement. I should give it another “spin” as it seems to have the right postmodern slant on things.

1. Yama Uba: Silhouhettes –TIE – Chopper Franklin: Spaghetti Western Dub Vol. 1
2. Visage: Live 2013/The Prague Sessions
3. Les Longs Adieux: Vertigo
4. Ductape: Echo Drama
5. Blow Monkeys: Together/Alone
6. Pet Shop Boys: Nonetheless
7. John Cale: POPtical Illusion
8. The Heathen Apostles: The In-Between
9. The Metamorph: Tecton
10. Modern English: 1 2 3 4
11. Head Noise: Twisted Histories
12. A Certain Ratio: It All Comes Down To This
13. Al Stewart + The Empty Pockets: Live
14. The Metamorph: Zenith
15. Attrition: Black Mariah
16. And Also The Trees: Mother Of Pearl Moon
17. Greg Lisher: Underwater Detection Method
18. Office For Personal Development: Doing. Is. Thinking.

NOT HEARD YET

• Savage Republic: Live in Wrocław January 7, 2023
• Andrios Costas: My Memories
• OMD: Bauhaus Staircase Instrumentals

SINGLES OF THE YEAR

The singles of the year were mostly downloads, with only OMD really working that physical unit action. Their last three singles had CD/12″/7″ versions for many times more that the cost of everything I bought as downloads…and I tip big on Bandcamp! A CD single is therefore worth a dozen downloads, with a 7″ maybe 15 and a 12″at least 25! Just saying!

And OMD had two singles on the list this year. “Kleptocracy” was the clear single of the year! It nailed the zeitgeist, bloody, to the wall and was the clear winner also from their surprisingly lackluster “Bauhaus Staircase” album of last year. Fluid Japan got bumped to number two this year with the compulsive “Don’t Dry Your Eyes” which has been mental flypaper to me this year, and they had two more singles tied for number six with both mixes of “When Your Heart Is A Suicide. I can’t pick a favorite!

Autumn were a new band to me this year but “Catacombs” had plenty of the right stuff we yearn for here at PPM. Jan Linton’s second Scott Walker cover had us yearning for a full EP of Mr. Engel’s tunes. Logan Sky had a very different side project with RIS-707 that was highly unique. And Jemaur [Shelleyan Orphan] Tayle and Boris [The Cure] Williams’ new project Vamberator burst from nowhere to command both our attention and two slots in the top ten singles of the year.

Once more Logan Sky with his usual cohort Steven Jones had a non-LP single that hit the spot. As did perennial PPM faves Simple Minds. A non-LP single also arrived from The Countess Of Fife [though it’s a bonus track on the 2nd pressing of her debut LP]. Elsewhere on the Scot front The Twistettes grabbed my lapels with their two-fisted guitar drums attack; heavy on the Scot brogue!

Last year newcomer to my ears René scored a bit hit with “The Siren [Aye Aye]” and this year his “Nothing New [Under The Sun]” hit the spot. He also re-recorded a single from last year that had passed me by [“Timeless”] in a much better version for these ears. Fluid Japan also squeaked into the list one more time with an atypical taster from their upcoming conceptual project with a track so subtle, when I first played it in my car, I couldn’t hear it. Headphones are suggested here! And finally, CVP issued a retro-Italo-Disco single that really did sound like 1987…I just wasn’t moved by it. Sometimes Italo-Disco can work for me. This was not one of those times.

1. OMD: Kleptocracy
2. Fluid Japan: Don’t Dry Your Eyes
3. Vamberator: I Used To Be Lou Reed
4. Autumn: Catacombs
5. Jan Linton: 30th Century Man
6. Fluid Japan: When Your Heart Is A Suicide [Shinagawa Mix]/[Shinjuku Mix]
7. Logan Sky + RIS-707: Everything, Everywhere, Endlessly
8. René: Nothing New Under The Sun
9. The Twistettes: Tory C*nts
10. Vamberator: Sleep The Giant Of Sleeps
11. Dr. Robert + Matt Deighton: Instant Garden
12. Fluid Japan: Always
13. Les Longs Adieux: La Luna
14. Chameleons: Where Are You?
15. Simple Minds: Your Name In Lights
16. Steven Jones + Logan Sky: Dark Thoughts
17. Head Noise: I Was A Teenage Video Nasty
18. The Countess Of Fife: Angel In My Pocket
19. René: Timeless [24 Karat Edition]
20. The Twistettes: Big Boned
21. OMD: Look At You Now
22. Peter Murphy + Boy George: Let The Flowers Grow
23. Fractured Wrist: December
24. Fluid Japan: A Safe Place?
25. CVP: Always Never

EPS OF THE YEAR

The humble EP format was extremely healthy this year which makes me happy. There’s something to be said for more than a single but less than an album. The big EP news was the dramatic reappearance of Tim Benton in his guise of Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot. While he was here for several years in nooks and crannies that evaded my view under that name [since purchased], I fortunately noticed the “Raptor” EP and it hit like a ton of bricks. Getting heavy earplay with this Monk.

The Nits released a six track EP; their first since “Hats” in 1987?! The EP was all dealing with their traumatic loss of their studio, which burned down in 2023, and we made the great effort to order it before seeing them live the next month. Good thing too, as they performed the entire EP at the opening position in their live set we saw.

I just found out yesterday that along with the two CDs I got last month, Visage also issued the “single” that had been earmarked or release from the ultimately posthumous “Demons To Diamonds” album of 2015. “Before You Win” now was getting the widescreen treatment that rocked my world on the earlier modern Visage singles; this time on DL only, instead of CD-5, but I’ll take what I can get when it sounds this great!

Fluid Japan issued a fantastic Ryuichi Sakamoto cover EP; their first excursion into cover version territory and a successful one. Jones + Sky revisited an older track from their “Electric Eye” album enhanced with Jan Linton guitar this time out. And I wasn’t previously aware of Emily Kinski’s Dead, but I responded very positively to their modern take on a classic EBM sound.

1. Parenthesis Dot Dot Dot: The Raptor E.P.
2. Nits: Tree House Fire
3. Visage: Before You Win
4. Fluid Japan: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence EP
5. Chameleons: Tomorrow Remember Yesterday EP
6. Emily Kinski’s Dead: Dancing On The Battlefield EP
7. Steven Jones + Logan Sky: Voltage [2024v]
8. Fractured Wrist: Initial Sketches 1
9. Dove Blood: Delirious

REISSUES OF THE YEAR

Finally, since I’m the Post-Punk Monk, reissues occupy a big amount of head space with me. The Ultravox “Lament” campaign is possibly the biggest such effort and will certainly mark the jumping off point for me on any Ultravox SDLX boxes going forward. I can’t imagine dropping coin on expanded versions of albums I’m actually selling off in spite of decades of Ultravox collecting at this point.

But as transformative as the Steven Wilson mixes of “Lament” were [taking a 2.5/4 album up to 3.5/4 status] they were eclipsed by my fave rave reissue of the year from Nöel [and Sparks] with the DLX RM of “Is There More To Life Than Dancing?” The bonus tracks were even better than the very late to the game but still fantastic album tracks! And The Metamorph showed that one doesn’t need to be on a big label to show reissue care to their back catalog.

China Crisis took a page out of the Ultravox playbook by remixing old material with new performances of the music for a hybrid approach. And I was thrilled to see that someone besides myself appreciated ScotFunk outlier Jesse Rae to issue a new EP of classic, underheard material. I’d not followed David J’s solo career but a three disc collection of unreleased demos showed that I was wrong to do so. Finally, Jon Savage’s “Do You Have The Force? vol 2” disc was a head-scratching mix of material for what was touted as an Alternative History Of Electronica. The one great track here, “John Foxx’s “Burning Car,” was probably too obvious for such a collection, yet much else there was by turns too obscure, or off-topic for my take.

Finally, there are four titles I’ve not managed to hear yet! Three of them being on records and not yet played! I can’t believe that I’ve not managed to spin the Howard Devoto title in over half a year, and the amazing, actually stunning, DEVO package was a late arrival that’s taunting me with even more tracks than on the Rhino Handmade 2xCD of Y2K that I can’t afford. And the Ultravox Blu-Ray audio disc with Dolby Atmos® mix of “Lament” that differs from the5.1 DVD-A in the “Lament” box, [both by Steven Wilson] is another thing I have to play at one location only in my home. Which could take years.

1. Nöel: Is There More To Life Than Dancing? DLX RM
2. Ultravox: Lament 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition
3. Ultravox: Lament Extended Remixes CD
4. Ultravox: Lament [Steven Wilson 12″ Remixes]
5. China Crisis: China Greatness
6. Jesse Rae: Almost Ma Sel Again
7. Altered Images: Pinky Blue DLX RM
8. The Metamorph: Red Tape DLX RM
9. David J: Tracks From The Attic 3xCD
10. Ultravox: Lament Steven Wilson remix/instrumental 2xCD
11. Car Crash Set: Join The Car Crash Set
12. Afterimage: Faces To Hide
13. The Metamorph: Exploded View DLX RM
14. Various: Jon Savage’s Do You Have The Force Vol. 2 [Alternative History of Electronica]

NOT HEARD YET

• DEVO: RecomboDNA DLM RM
• Buzzkunst/Howard Devoto: Special Sauce/Designoid
• Various: Postcards Vol. 3 D.I.Y. And Indie Post-Punk From England 1979-1981
• Ultravox: Lament [Steven Wilson Dolby Atmos®] Blu-Ray
• Yachts: Missing In Action [The Lost Tapes 1980/1981]

As in many past years, I would like to spend about 40% of what I actually did. That I coughed up so much was down to bands continually releasing much heavy monk-bait. And in today’s market you buy it right now at the asking price or you can never afford it. I don’t like twitch capitalism but here we are.

The preponderence of actual records are still a disturbing trend to me. I have less time than ever to actually play records in the way that I do. My entire life, I’ve played my records as few times as possible. In the late 70s you recorded them to quality cassette tape. Things are more complicated now that we have computers!

MONASTIC RECORD DIGITIZING PROCESS

• clean the disc with a Discwasher
• set levels in my 2-track editor
• digitize the record, getting a clean recording [how ever many times it takes] from each side.
• open file and process click/noise removal
• edit side-long files down into discrete single tracks
• tag files with track/album data and images
• if not making a CD, load tracks onto personal device for listening in car
• If making a CD – scan/retouch/design cover art
• If making a CD – write liner notes and design booklet
• If making a CD – design CD label art
• If making a CD – burn and print label art onto disc
• If making a CD – assemble finished CD

An LP if not making a CD takes at least 4 hours to process Monastically for digital, in-car enjoyment. A CD? Between 12-20 hours! I’m a married person closing in on senior citizenship who works full-time and maintains a house in addition to any civic duties and social interaction. Play records??! When?!!

And this year I still need to liquidate 25-30% of my collection to have it all accessible on the rack space that I can have. There’s no room for more of it! I’m maxed out in a 9′ x 12′ room that can hold 1200 12″ discs, 1000 7″ discs, and 3000 CDs. I still need to take the time to get medieval on my collection. I want to sell it off and use any funds to buy what I want going forward. I have a lot of “dollar discs” among some collector’s items. I’m fine with getting dimes on the dollar for many things, but I want something, capish? I need to make 2025 the year I hit my Discogs store and ebay to move as much as I can. But I’ve said this before. I’m not sure where the time is to do this. But until I get rid of that third of my collection, I really cannot enjoy or even access much of it in my small home. It’s an existential dilemma. Watch this space.

-30-

p.s. – I just listened to Fluid Japan’s “Always” one more time and I was crazy to place it at #17. It just got bumped up five spots on the singles list.

p.p.s. – When poring over the purchase lists to make the rankings I somehow forgot to include two singles by René! Mea Culpa!

p.p.p.s – I was just in my Bandcamp account and saw a DL single by Head Noise missing from the rankings and my purchase lists! This is what happens if I wait even a moment after buying something!