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End of Year Patreon Special: albums and books of the year (Patreon)

Published:
2023-12-22 18:03:39
Imported:
2023-12
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Content

Hello!

For my final video of 2023 I’ve made a little end of year message for everyone here on the Patreon page. And I thought I’d talk about some of my favourite music-related stuff of the year. Hope you find it interesting. And do share some of your own favourite albums, books etc. in the comments. I’m sure there have been a lot of great things that I’ve missed, and I’ll try and check out some of your recommendations over the Xmas break.

Thanks so much to all the subscribers here, for the amazing support you shown to me and my channel over the past 12 months. I’m away next week, but I’ll be back again the first week of January.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!

- Adrian

Files

Patreon End of Year Special: top albums, music books, gigs, and gear

Comments

Gregg Hermetech

Lankum's album has been the album of the year for me, and it seems for lots of other people too! (See today's Guardian article). Crazy modern, dark take on Trad Irish Folk. Lots of nice guitar too! Close second is the Albion album by Harp, it's like the bastard offspring of The Incredible String Band and The Cure. Reckon you'd love it Adrian!

anyonecanplayguitar

Hi Gregg! Yes I saw that today. For some reason that record completely passed me by, but I’ll certainly be giving it a listen.

Ian West

Me too. Very rarely, if at all do I take much interest in new music but they sound really interesting

Ian West

Thanks for your great vids on YouTube and all the hard work you have done. Keep educating me not only on guitar playing but your knowledge of music. I haven't read much in the way of music books this year but I did pick up a copy of the David Byrne book How Music Works in Spanish in a library in Madrid. Interesting stuff. Merry Christmas, Adrián and all patreons on here

Matt Thomas

Commence eye roll but I quite enjoyed Olivia Rodrigo’s album. Reminded me of a friendly 90s’ pop alternative album. Miles better than 99% of what I hear in the “radio” today.

Gregg Hermetech

I had a 707 in the 90s, great box, and apparently used on Cocteau Twins’ Treasure album (along with the 727 Latin Percusion version).

Gregg Hermetech

Have asked you before on Insta, but something/anything from Hawkwind or Stereolab would be amazing for a song lesson next year!

JAMES BUTLER

Loved Slowdive LP and saw them live in Belfast which was fantastic. YHF is one of my fave records but I've not bought a Wilco album for a decade...but maybe that will change now! Also loved Lankum and Steve Mason. Adrian...do you not have a copy of Marr's Guitars? And surely you need to do a Slowdive lesson now... Thanks for everything and have a lovely Xmas.

Thomas Oldenburg

Merry Christmas, Adrian yes I can only agree with Lankum. It's a rest for my ears, whereas otherwise I discovered KFC Murder Chicks this year, even though the last record KFCMC is already 2 years old. 😊

Jonathan I Benisvy

Adrian, thank you for another wonderful year of tasteful, left of center guitar instruction. Given that I often feel that we share the same exact record collection (I'm sure most of your patrons feel the same), I can't recommend the new En Attendant Ana album, Principia, enough. Not a wasted note from this French indie pop band, and proudly on my Chicago hometown label, Trouble in Mind - which rarely if ever releases a dud. Happy holidays! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNPGM2D7aODelphhmsSf7rWG62unwrqUV&si=UNbrO9XpKwwT9TLH

Michael

One of the best albums of the year in my opinion was The Hypnogogue by The Church. It is their 26th! album, and it is one of their best, and most ambitious. The current lineup includes 3 excellent guitarists which makes for some very interesting, layered textures. Another interesting album was the hauntingly beautiful Hold Sacred by Esben and the Witch. Listen to it loud, late at night.

David Orgill

Adrian Chris Brain : Steady Away album 2023 also , Chris Brain : Bound to Rise album released 2022 Both worth a listen Thanks for all Good work

Chris Strane

Thank you for another wonderful year of guitar tutorials, insight on things musical, your humble spirit and wry sense of humor. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Adrian!

Peter Healy

Hi Adrian, I enjoy it when you share this stuff with us. I've had a big Music year on both playing and Gear fronts. After hacking away at my Guitar for last couple of years it is finally paying off. (A big part of that has come from your lessons) I have got a regular practice framework and have mainly focused on consolidating what I have learned. I keep going back to your Beginner Lead Guitar course and getting that stuff under my fingers. Also practicing improvisation as part of my routine. Just started doing strumming exercises to widen my range and loosen up a bit. On the Music theory side, understanding the Song Key and basic CAGED stuff is starting to sink in. I picked up two bits of Gear to round out my set up. I decided to get the Boss GX-100 Multi Effects Pedal, it gives me access to the sounds I want without going down the Pedal Rabbit Hole. Two weeks ago my Fender Vintera II Jaguar arrived. This completes my Offset Set. I have a MIJ Hosco Kit Jazzmaster that I built and fitted the Pure Vintage 65 Pickups and a Squier Classic Vibe Starcaster (semi hollow). This all goes into the Tone Master Super Reverb I got last year. So now I have no excuses lol. As far as checking out newer Artists/Bands, the Blondshell debut Album comes to mind and Dust Stray's Fire Place also caught my attention. Look forward to next year and I'll be ready to sign up for your Intermediate Guitar Solo and Post Punk Courses. Finally I'd like to hear your take on the riffs from The Saints No Time "B" side of their first single (1976), personally I like it more than I'm Stranded. Ed Kuepper's amazing playing on this and everything else he's done to this day is worth checking out for any Guitarist. End of my rant hah ha. Wishing you, Adrian and your Family, as well as all my fellow ACG Patrons, an Amazing Festive Season whatever gets served up on your Sonic Plate. Cheers Pete

Chad Perry

Thank you for everything you do and share with us. I have several people in the Patreon community I try to learn from/with but when your stuff comes out it’s always a good day. Best to you for 2024!

Neil Willcocks

Thanks for all the great lessons this year Adrian. The Clientele record was a highlight of the year for me- would love you to do a lesson on one of their songs. Also the James Yorkston/Nina Persson record might be up your alley? Thanks again and enjoy the break

Michael Ahearn

Adrian: all great records. The Marr book is a must of course. Liked the year end fireside a lot—you don't have to be wary of the format, very much in the Peel tradition. Read some great suggestions from your disciples here as well, thanks crew I've got some holiday listening to do. Also damn you Adrian for showing the Solina, now I've got a horrible case of GAS. Have been coveting the Behringer Deep Mind but that Solina looks like what I need, I've always scoured Craigslist/Reverb for an Omni, I loved the late 70's Joy Division/New Order/Cure keyboard parts. Solina and Omni were "that" sound, although I think Joy Division mostly used the Omni. For gear suggestions, on the subject of Behringer I picked up their TO800 Tubescreamer clone. I have, and now had, a vintage Tubscreamer. The Behringer is a dead ringer, for $20 used, $30 new. I sold my Ibanez with a JRC4558D chip, the Behringer is that good. Also picked up their analog delay VD400, at $30 sounds as good as many of the popular boxes that go for $150+. It's a true bucket brigade delay. These Behringer pedals are especially great for a travel board when you don't want to risk your good gear at dodgy gigs and venues. The CEO of JHS who makes super expensive high quality pedals reviews the whole Behringer line in a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApJZa8yCMCQ, it's hilarious his mind is blown as a competitor by what Behringer has achieved at prices that are almost for free. Everything coming from Behringer these days in pedals and synths are super value for money, great sounding and unbelievably inexpensive.

Jas

Thank you Adrian for keeping the fire going.I don't always get to follow your lessons just due to time but knowing the breadth and depth of content you make is a God send. If I may suggest Star Roving by Slowdive as a future lesson please, as this will tie in with my recent purchase of a Casino (and I already had a Squire Jazzmaster) so that lesson would be a no-excuses must do for me! It doesn't look too difficult for my simple skills either. So that's me. Happy New Year, All! I'm off to pretend I'm a Beatle now.

Ralph Blair

Thanks Adrian, appreciate the recs. If you’re on Spotify, PJ Harvey just posted a short playlist, many of the artists new to me, couple great cuts so far. Happy holidays to you and yours.

Allan Dahlquist

Book recommendation: "Who Cares Anyway: Post-Punk San Francisco and the End of the Analog Age" by Will York. The summary on Amazon provides a better overview than I could offer. Lots of detail and connection making between artists and events during a very creative time in SF history. Thanks for the gift of your recommendations and for all of the great lessons. Happy holidays to you.

Joseph Simpson

Bill Orcutt and Chris Corsano- Play At Duke is worth a listen. Total braincell exploder/realigner

Matt K

Thanks Adrian for your efforts. My musical taste leans to retro styles and sounds. Personally I am concentrating on my guitar learning journey through old school R & B, there are some artists around in this space who have released new material. I've liked The Red Clay Strays and The Teskey Brothers this year.

Bill Reh

Thanks Adrian, for all of the lessons and the music you share with us. I'd love to hear you do a lesson on something by Los Wemblers de Iquitos. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

Haroun Haroun

You are the second person I know who rated the new Slowdive!! Keiji Heino and the Happy Mondays were live fave from this side of the world... Gear - so in Tokyo I picked up the new Boss Space Echo Re202 and the Boss 'Slicer', which is a completely musical tremelo/rhythmiser type pedal.. I tried to find a Fernandes RST-50 Strat, the model Robert Quine used, alas, nothing in lefty in a city of 38 mil... Likewise couldn't even find a left Yamaha Revstar...! then I come home to Melbourne and find both in lefty..go figure...

hugh hales-tooke

People often observe that the music of the 1960s made use of a wider range of chords than songs typically do nowadays. It wasn’t just the melody and chords that made Beatles songs so good, it was also the drums on their songs, from pop hits like ‘Ticket to Ride’, to ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, the most experimental song on their most inventive record. When I think about the songs I’ve been learning in 2023 from your lessons, they are all strongly rhythmic. Perhaps bands in the Garage Band/ Logic era don’t understand that a song doesn’t become rhythmic simply by adding a boom chick, boom boom chick drum part. I love your lesson on T Bone Shuffle. It has a great groove that anticipates Chuck Berry. Just the basic tune is very satisfying. It makes use of a simple insistent phrase and variation working against a blues progression. It’s repetitive and catchy but avoids sounding too predictable. I only discovered the Johnny Burnette Trio in 2023. I spent a lot of time with your lesson on ‘I’m a Lonesome Train.’ It’s a great rockabilly solo. The opening phrase repeats one note - a lot - and it’s great. The flurry of pull offs (triplets) is repetitive in an exciting way. You hear it and wonder how the plane is going to come out of the spin. I loved your lesson on ‘Venus’. ‘Marquee Moon’ has been a favorite ever since it came out. I was amazed to discover that the fabulous descending chord arpeggios that define the song are standard chord shapes (your lessons on triads helped). I didn’t think of it this way before, but It isn’t just the soaring melodies of the guitar lines that define the song. It’s also the rhythm of the lines. The opening phrase makes a simple melodic and rhythmic statement. It is answered by the descending arpeggio which is not just a startling melodic reply but also a rhythmic contrast. Rhythm is also important to Tom Verlaine’s solo. It starts in half time - if I am using the term properly - anyway it’s half as fast as the previous part of the song, which gives the solo a slow motion feeling making the part that follows the opening feel especially propulsive. The Velvet Underground are another long time favorite New York band. ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ is a slow ballad but it has a groove. I realized from your lesson that it’s the slide in the move between the two chord arpeggios in the verse that defines the song. It has a strong rhythmic component. Your lesson for Stormy Monday from this year is great. The song is memorable not just for that ninth chord sound but also the rhythmic pattern of that chord sliding around - notably after the first vocal line - it's this combination that makes the song so iconic. I could just about just get through the first song on Hackney Diamonds (the new Stones Record). The massive synthetic sounding drums were rhythmic formaldehyde to my ears. Minus the human sound of Charlie Watts the Stones sound devoid of any soul to me. Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen is song I came across in 2023 (although the song was released a few years ago). It’s properly rhythmic.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks James. A few people have mentioned Lankum, so I'll definitely give that a listen. And I like Steve Mason, but I've not kept up with what he's been doing lately so I'll check that out too. Hoping someone might buy me a copy of Marr's Guitars for Xmas! Merry Christmas to you.

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, I missed the Lankum record but going to listen to it this week. KFC Murder Chicks is a new one for me, but I'll seek out the latest record.

anyonecanplayguitar

That sounds great, thanks for the recommendation. One of the great things about people on here is they all seem to have incredible taste in music (ie very similar to my own tastes!). Looking forward to listening to this one.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Michael. I love The Church, especially some of their classic 80s and 90s work. But I've not kept up with their recent releases. Will certainly check this one out.

anyonecanplayguitar

Cheers Chris. Likewise wising you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Pete. Glad you've to hear had a good year with your playing. (I'm hoping the new soloing course will be out next month, with the PP to flow later in the year.) Sounds like you've got a great gear set up going on. There's a lot to be said for those Boss multi-fx units, sound great and super convenient. And I'll check out your album recommendations - both new names for me. I've considered doing some Saints/Ed Kuepper before, so I'll try and make that happen in the New Year. Likewise wishing you and yours a lovely festive season!

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Neil! Yes, I was aware of those records but haven't had a chance to listen yet. Will definitely do so over the next week or two!

Colin Sibthorpe

Adrian, a very merry Xmas & New Year to you too. Thank you for all your excellent lessons & content over the last year . Lots of great resources to dig into over the coming months

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, hoping someone might buy me the Marr book for Xmas - not read it yet, but very much looking forward to it.

anyonecanplayguitar

And the Solina is so good - sounds amazing, and so much better than spending £2000 on pounds on a knackered and mouldy vintage one. People love to knock Behringer but that's mostly just vintage snobs getting defensive. I think it's great they're making these classic sounds available to all at ridiculously good prices.

anyonecanplayguitar

Congratulations on the Casino, I've always coveted one of those myself! Star Roving could make an excellent lesson I think - I'll see what I can do!

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Ralph. I'll certainly check out that playlist! Likewise Happy Holidays to you and yours!

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Allan - sounds like my kind of book, will definitely give that a go!

anyonecanplayguitar

Yes, nice recommendation! I'll give this a listen for sure, thanks Joseph.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Matt, will check those acts out. To be honest most of my listening this year has been revisiting old favourites and discovering older music that I'd never come across before.

anyonecanplayguitar

Thanks Bill! Will check out Los Wemblers de Iquitos. A new name to me, but I just did a quick Google and sounds brilliant!

Ted Moore

Thanks for all the wonderful videos and lessons of the past year. Have a well earned xmas break and a good new year.

Bryan S

Thanks for the excellent and varied tuition. Can I recommend my favourite album of the year: The Abbot by Clive Carroll - a stunning homage to the late John Renbourn.

Michael

They've only gotten better with age! Other standouts since their "heyday" include "Further/Deeper," "Untitled #23", "Uninvited, Like The Clouds," and my personal favourite, "Back With Two Beasts." It'd be great if you did a video (or some videos) on some of your personal favourite Church songs in 2024!

Neal Pike

I thought the national would be your bag adrian

James Beard

Thanks for the great videos this year Adrian. Good recommendations too. If you liked the Wednesday album then check out M J Lenderman, the guitarist from the band. He released a superb album last year called Boat Songs. Album of the year for me is Space Heavy by King Krule a newly discovered artist for me, excellent stuff. Best gig was Dry Cleaning at Manchester Albert Hall, what a brilliant band - any chance of some dry cleaning lessons in the new year? Merry Christmas, James

John Weatherford

Thank you for another year of excellent videos and extras, Adrian. I appreciate the instructional videos, as I attempt to become proficient on guitar. I also appreciate the tabs and backing tracks. I imagine those alone are a lot of work to put together each week!

poplar

the sparklehorse album should fit well in your list

Rosie on Guitar

Hey Adrian, Not sure if you'll be able to get to this but I was wondering if you've ever heard of Enanitos Verdes (or Little Green Men)? Theyre a rock band out of Argentina and I think their music is right up your alley. Some of their albums are Contrareloj and Habitaciones Extrañas (or Strange Rooms). I think you would enjoy these very much. Thanks for all your videos, keep at it, and Happy Holidays! :) -Rosie

Iain G

Adrian, thanks for all your really great videos in 2023 and I hope you have a fun break and a very Happy Christmas!

JohnnyHasTheMoney

Hi Adrian thanks for all the great songs you cover on your channel. Every lesson is spot on. You and the good eric haugen are my go to youtubers for everything guitar related! I recommend to you an guitarist and singer named charlie megira. I adore his sound and playstyle and can image it is right up your ally. I honestly would be a dream come true if you would do lesson on him but he is quite unknown 🥲 Happy holidays

Blaine Whelan

Merry Christmas Ades! I have a request for next year - how about a little Ween? Check out 'Live in Chicago' on YouTube if you haven't already, as it captures them in their prime. Transdermal Celebration, Buckingham Green, Roses Are Free or The Grobe would all be great choices. How could you not love a band who broke into Santana's lock-up to record a solo using his guitar and amp?

Gary Smith

Happy holidays Adrian! Looking forward to your lesson videos in the new year. You always keep it interesting. Thanks for all your hard work.

Ian Lawton

Merry Christmas Adrian. Exquisite taste as ever - Wednesday are one of the bands I've discovered from end of year lists. Agreed, great stuff. Other things I've liked you might like: Cory Hanson alb is pretty ripping guitar wise, Hotline TNT is a very enjoyable wall of sometimes MBVish fuzz, and Jim 'Love Makes Magic' is an unlikely lovely Laurel Canyon/yacht rock ish alb from a normally disco bloke from Crazy P. Thanks for the lessons!

Mick Marston

Hi Adrian, Thanks for the weekly posts – always quality stuff and such a breath of fresh air with your choices. This year I really enjoyed Chanan Hanspal's interviews on YouTube with Andy Partridge – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZzhjgQqCJI, plus the one with Dave Gregory too – more XTC maybe next year? And maybe Orange Juice... Check out the band Cola too – a recent discovery for me this year also Dry Cleaning – who are really interesting.

Roderick Mackenzie

Happy holidays Adrian, I really like some of the quirky songs you cover, and I’m looking forward to next years lesson videos. As you’ve asked for song suggestions, I thought I’d throw a few in. I’d describe my guitar playing as somewhere in the beginner-early intermediate level, so I guess this might be reflected in my song suggestions(?). Firstly, I wondered about a lesson on ‘man-size’ or ‘rub ‘till it bleeds’ by PJ Harvey? Or maybe something by Fontaines DC, such as ‘You Said’ or ‘Too Real’. I don’t know if the band ‘Bar Italia’ are on your radar, but I wondered if their song ‘my little Tony’ would be of interest to you. Another band that I thought might appeal to you is ‘Black Honey’, and I really like their latest single ‘lemonade’, which is a bit shoe gazey, and got some nice guitar parts in it. Oh, i notice someone has already suggested ‘Dry Cleaning’, yes, they’re great - and I love the guitar in ‘sit down meal’.

Scott Smith

I would love to see lessons on early Pavement, or on songs from the more recent Dinosaur Jr albums. Also, anything on Don Rich would be much appreciated.

Pierre Dupont

2.26 minutes of preamble before getting into the meat of your presentation is way too long, IMO.

James Rossiter

Throwing a request out there - I'd love to see a tutorial for Sister Surround by The Soundtrack of Our Lives! Thanks for everything you've done this past year, here's looking to more great tracks in 2024 :-)

Bob.M

Happy New Year and thanks, Adrian. My time spent with your videos has been well spent. I appreciate the wide range of styles that you take us through, so my request is that you trust yourself, and don’t let the loudest voices sway you from that. Nor should you give credence to those few negative comments about your presentation style. Most all of us are delighted by the approach that you take every week. All the best in 2024

Erik Denninghoff

Thanks for all of your hard work! I enjoy your pacing (both beginner and advanced material to be found in most lessons) and much prefer your taste in music to the standard YouTube educator blooz fare. Personally, I would love to see you tackle early post-hardcore (e.g. Fugazi), especially the harmonic approach and interplay between guitar parts, I think these bands offer a lot of similar musical revelations as post-punk though obviously typically heavier.

Sean Hall

Great suggestions. Thank for everything! Happy holidays.

Kerry From AJ

Thanks Adrian for all the motivation, entertainment and help with my guitar endeavours, this year, and the previous years. I still miss the troublesome begging cat…

anyonecanplayguitar

Cheers Kerry! Yes, the cat is still here, he's just moved behind the camera since it was playing havoc with the autofocus! I made a few videos where the cat was in focus rather than my fingers on the fretboard.

anyonecanplayguitar

Hi Pierre. Yes, this video was really intended as a relaxed, end of year chat, so it's a little bit meandering. In my main YouTube videos I'm very careful to plan and pace the videos, and to edit out any extraneous material.

Christophe

Hi Adrian, happy new year !

Christophe

I just wanted to thank you for all of your publishing, always way out of the main stream and really interesting. You made me discover a lot of music and artists I didn't know anything about. So thank you again and go on the good stuff. Looking forward for your next tuition, if you plan to do another one. Bye !

Peter Geary

I’m enjoying Sonic Life - glad you mentioned it ‘cos I didn’t know Thurston had put it out. Do you have a fav site for album/music book reviews? And thx.

Trick Fall

Would love for you to do a House of Love song, or a Yo La Tengo song. Hope you had a great holidays thanks for all you do.

Tlon Uqbar

The Ren & Stimpy theme song!

bigmiff

Happy New Year Adrian! I've only just caught up with this video, but I really enjoyed it - like chatting with a fellow music nerd down the pub! I'm looking forward to hearing your new music this year, and would welcome a video on your process, and how you put songs together - I thoroughly enjoyed your last one like this. I'm hoping to finally write some stuff myself this year, so could do with a little inspiration! All the best for the year ahead, Miff

Jim Parker

Thanks for the recommendations, Adrian. I’m so looking forward to reading the Nick Drake book. A few years back, I read ‘White Bicycles’, the memoir by the American producer Joe Boyd who produced Nick’s albums. If you’re a Drake completist, it’s a great read, not only about Nick, of course, but others in the ‘folk-rock’ stable at the time, including Fairport Conventional and the Incredible String Band. On ‘new’ music, it came out in 2022 (so I’m cheating a little), but I really loved ‘Ali’, the album that eclectic Texas-based world music/psychedelia trio Khruangbin did with Vieux Farka Toure, the Mali guitarist and son of the legendary Ali Farka Toure. On gear, I got a Fender Tonemaster deluxe amp. These are the digital modelling amps that closely replicate the tone of the old classic Fender tube amps of the 60s. I know this is heresy in some circles. But I’m on the wrong side of 60 and did my back in over the years, lugging big Fender tube amps in and out of gigs. These amps look exactly the same as the Princetons and Blackfaces they’re modelled on but weigh half as much. And I doubt that anyone but the biggest die-hard tube snob could tell the difference. My daughter, a fine guitar player, also sold me her US-made Tele (I’ve always owned Strats) and help me set up a new pedal board. So a good year in 2023! Just have to find some gigs now!

John Weatherford

Happy New Year Adrian! How about Open and Revolving by Public Image Limited?

anyonecanplayguitar

Cheers Miff! Happy New Year to you too. Yes, definitely hoping to get some music happening this year, and I'll certainly try and do some kind of behind the scenes breakdown of how the creative and recording process works.

J H

Wednesday and Lana, that’s the good taste I subscribe for 😎 Mo Tropper is a great current power pop artist worth checking out. He also wrote a great essay called “Power Pop is Camp” Thanks for sharing boss