Chorizo’s favourite things of 2019: Part 2

I’ve already done a summary of the gigs I went to in 2019. You can find that in Part 1 right here.

Hear lots of this music on my “best of the year” podcast coming to this site very soon.

Top 10 Favourite Albums of the Year

No Treasure But Hope by Tindersticks
Club Nites by Dumb
The World Is A Bell by The Leaf Library
Seeker by Mikal Cronin
Polarlichter by Alice Hubble
Boat by Pip Blom
PF2 by Pill Fangs
Run Around The Sun by Sacred Paws
There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win by Mammoth Penguins
Stunning Luxury by Snapped Ankles

: Sacred Paws CD

: Snapped Ankles CD

: Dumb CD

: Mikal Cronin CD

: Tindersticks CD

: Pill Fangs CD

: Alice Hubble CD

: The Leaf Library CD

: Pip Blom CD

: Mammoth Penguins CD

Favourite concept album of the year

The Crack And What It Meant by Quiet Marauder featuring Matthias Kom[Hear all about that in our podcast interview with Simon from Quiet Marauder]

The rest of my Top 30 albums of the year (in no particular order)

VALIS by Reptaliens
Badbea by Edwyn Collins
The Fen Sessions by John MOuse [blog article]
kc+ca=<3 by Kevin Colin Et Les Crazy Antonins (Name your price download)
Eton Alive by Sleaford Mods
Verses Universe by Rev Magnetic
Atlanta Millionaire’s Club by Faye Webster [live review in podcast 87]
Cut Up and Paste by Woog Riots
This Mess Is A Place by Tacocat
Anxiety League by Teen Girl Scientist Monthly
Til the Morning by The Catenary Wires
Tainted Lunch by Warmduscher
Love Keeps Kicking by Martha
Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood
Twelve Nudes by Ezra Furman
Pang! by Gruff Rhys
Anima by Thom Yorke
As The Dust Is Beginning To Settle by The Nameless Book
Purple Mountains by Purple Mountains

: Sleaford Mods CD

: Tacocat CD

: Thom Yorke CD

: The Catenary Wires CD

Favourite compilation album

The Moon and Back This is “an album of kosmische, pop, indie, alternative, DIY, and ambient tunes celebrating the Apollo 11 adventure” released on the ever-reliable Where It’s At Is Where You Are label.
Runner up: Pay It All Back Volume 7 The latest label sampler from On U Sound.

: The Moon And Back

: Pay It All Back Vol. 7

Favourite EP

Keep Walking EP by Sports Team (2nd year in a row that Sports Team have made my favourite EP of the year!)

Runner-up: Town Centre EP by Squid

Favourite EP that I’m playing on!

2005 by pinkandblue

Favourite films

Films / TV / books may not necessarily released in 2019 but they were all consumed and enjoyed by me in this year.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs & The Ritual (both Netflix)

Favourite films with the Junior Chorizos

Like many people we’ve watched / re-watched loads of Marvel films in the run-up to the release of Avengers Endgame.

My favourites have been Thor, Thor Ragnarok, Captain Marvel & Guardians of the Galaxy. Endgame itself was of course fantastic too.

Favourite TV series

Re:Mind

Also enjoyed the documentaries Life Animated & The Dawn Wall (all Netflix)

Favourite podcast

Year of the Joni

I’ve loved Joni Mitchell’s early 70s albums since first hearing them as a teenager but I’ve never known much about her as a person. This impeccably researched podcast series told the story of her life and music in a fascinating way, using interview clips with Joni herself and all the other key players in her story. And what a story it is, even before she starts making music Joni has already had a more eventful life than most!

Great to hear the backstory behind so many of the songs I love as well as inspiring me to buy and fall in love with some of her later albums, Turbulent Indigo in particular.

Other recommended music podcast: The C86 Show

Other non-music podcasts: The Horror of Dolores Roach, Tunnel 29, Party Games

Favourite music book

I’m Not With The Band by Sylvia Patterson

Great to read an autobiography by a music journalist that is so full of enthusiasm for the job and so free of pretension and self-aggrandisement.

Runner-up: Anarchy in the Year Zero by Clinton Heylin. Extremely detailed and forensic rundown of the early days of punk.

Favourite non-music books

The Quarry & Transition, both by Iain Banks

I know these are both a few years old but I only got around to reading them this year. Transition is a bizarre trippy story with multiple narrators and timelines. The Quarry is much more straight-forward and is centred around 2 fantastically written main characters, a dysfunctional father and son.

It’s made me want to go back and fill in the gaps of all the other Banks books I didn’t read.