Take What You Want: The Top Albums, EPs and Reissues of 2021

The Top 50 Albums of 2021

1. Kanye West- Donda

My review.

2. Irreversible Entanglements- Open the Gates

My review.

3. Mathias Eick- When We Leave

My review.

4. Molly Herron- Through Lines

My review.

5. Pino Palladino and Blake Mills- Notes with Attachments

My review.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

7. The Metropolitan Opera- Philip Glass’ Akhnaten

8. Nala Sinephro- Space 1.8

My review.

9. Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club

My podcast analysis.

10. Lise Davidsen- Beethoven Wagner Verdi

My review.

11. Sleaford Mods- Spare Ribs

My review.

12. Sons of Kemet- Black to the Future

13. St. Vincent- Daddy's Home

14. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

15. Evan Parker Quartet- All Knavery & Collusion

16. Turnstile- Glow On

My podcast analysis.

17. Marianne Faithful and Warren Ellis- She Walks in Beauty

18. Fire-Toolz- Eternal Home

My podcast analysis.

19. Benoît Delbecq- The Weight of Light

My review.

20. Summer Walker- Still Over It

21. Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble- Now

22. Brockhampton- Roadrunner: New Light, New Machine 

23. Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson- Searching for the Disappeared Hour

24. Behzod Abduraimov- Debussy Chopin Mussorgsky 

My review.

25. Artifacts- …And Then There’s This

26. Max Richter- Exiles

27. Chris Thile- Laysongs

28. Danish String Quartet- Prism III

29. Alan Jackson- Where Have You Gone

30. Migos- Culture III

31. Les Filles de Illighadad- At Pioneer Works

32. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

33. Morgan Wallen- Dangerous: The Double Album

34. Borderlands Trio- Wandersphere

My review.

35. Pat Metheny- Road to the Sun

My review.

36. Patricia Brennan- Maquishti

37. Yola- Stand For Myself

38. Roscoe Mitchell- Dots: Pieces for Percussion and Woodwinds

39. Karol G- KG01516

My podcast analysis.

40. Craig Taborn- Shadow Plays

41. Moor Mother- Black Encyclopedia of the Air

My podcast analysis.

42. Georgia Anne Muldrow- Vweto III

43. Dopolarians- The Bond

My review.

44. Sara Serpa- Intimate Strangers

45. Abstract Mindstate- Dreams Still Inspire

My review.

46. Chynna- Drug Opera

47. La Arrolladora Banda el Limón- En Contra De Mi Voluntad

48. Lana Del Rey- Blue Banisters

49. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra- Promises

My review.

50. Drake- Certified Lover Boy

The Top 25 EPs of 2021

1. Benny the Butcher- The Plugs I Met 2

My podcast analysis.

2. Caroline Shaw- Narrow Sea

3. Vince Staples- Vince Staples

4. Lyle Mays- Eberhard

5. The Alchemist- This Thing of Ours

6. Aida Cuevas- Antología de la Música Ranchera, Vol. 2

7. F*cked Up- Year of the Horse (four installments)

8. Rachika Nayar- Fragments

9. Wanda Jackson- Encore

10. Burial- Shock Power of Love

11. Los Dos Carnales- Corrido Pa’ la Historia

12. Benny the Butcher- Pyrex Picasso

13. Bummer- Dead Horse

14. Dare- Against All Odds

15. YoungBoy Never Broke Again- Sincerely, Kentrell

16. Benjamin Mørk and Arve Henriksen- The Valleys

17. Rudimentary Peni- Great War

18. Portrayal of Guilt- We Are Always Alone

19. María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir- Kom Vinur

20. Gatecreeper- An Unexpected Reality

21. Melvin Gibbs- 4 +1 Equals 5 for May 25

22. A Place to Bury Strangers- Hologram

23. Ryoji Ikeda- EP

24. Charlie Hunter- Kick, Snare, Baritone Guitar

25. Rosie Lowe and Duval Timothy- Son

The Top 25 Reissues, Reimaginings and Compilations of 2021

1. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Retrospect In Retirement Of Delay: The Solo Recordings

My review.

2. John Coltrane- A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

3. Sun Ra- Lanquidity (Definitive Edition)

4. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds- B-Sides & Rarities, Part II

5. Bob Dylan- Springtime in New York: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 16, 1980-1985

6. Nubya Garcia- Source ⧺ We Move

7. Toumani Diabaté and the London Symphony Orchestra- Kôrôlén

8. Alice Coltrane- Kirtan: Turiya Sings

9. Various- The Boys From Nairobi: 80s Benga & Rumba

10. The Beatles- Let It Be (Super Deluxe)

11. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

12. Lee Morgan- The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

My review.

13. Julius Hemphill- The Boyé Multi-National Crusade for Harmony 1977-2007

14. The Beach Boys- Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf’s Up Sessions, 1969-1971

15. Johnny Cash- Bear’s Sonic Journals: Live at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24, 1968

16. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey- Winterwood Revealed: Live Vipers & Studio Doves

17. Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band- Tezeta

18. J Dilla- Welcome 2 Detroit: The 20th Anniversary Edition

19. Prince- Welcome 2 America

20. PJ Harvey- Is This Desire?: Demos

21. Dyke & The Blazers- I Got a Message Hollywood: 1968-1970

My review.

22. Hasaan Ibn Ali- Metaphysics: The Lost Atlantic Album

23. Neil Young and Crazy Horse- Way Down in the Rust Bucket

24. The Weeknd- The Highlights

25. The Rolling Stones- Tattoo You: 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition

Links to 16 previous annual There Stands the Glass surveys begin here.

June 2021 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Screenshot of the trailer of Lili by There Stands the Glass.

Top Ten Albums (released in June)

1. Migos- Culture III

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 1/2.

2. Billy F Gibbons- Hardware

My post-vaccination party soundtrack, 2/2.

3. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion- Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part

I love the elements I love more than I loathe the elements I loathe.

4. Anthony Braxton- 12 Comp (Zim)

My review.

5. Chris Thile- Laysongs

Anxious gospel.

6. Tyler, The Creator- Call Me If You Get Lost

Goblin grows up.

7. Julian Lage- Squint

A different type of power trio.

8. Wild Up- Julius Eastman, Vol. 1: Femenine

A vital conceptualization.

9. Mac Lethal- Winter Heartbreak II

My review.

10. Angel Bat Dawid- Hush Harbor Mixtape Vol. 1 Doxology

Ancient to the (lofi) future.

Top Ten Songs (released in June)

1. Megan Thee Stallion- “Thot Sh*t”

“Lit since brunch.”

2. Little Simz- "Rollin' Stone"

Quenched.

3. Rauw Alejandro and Anitta- "Brazilera"

Carnival.

4. Moor Mother- "Zami"

Traveling the spaceways.

5. Billie Eilish- "Lost Cause"’

Dead flowers.

6. Petra Haden- "Silence"

Song for her father.

7. Becky G and El Alfa- “Fulanito”

Rhythm nation.

8. Jennifer Hudson- "Here I Am"

Aria for Aretha.

9. Bfd Da Packman- “Wendy Williams”

“Back to Walmart.”

10. Brittney Spencer- “Sober & Skinny”

You got a fast car.

Top Ten Concerts (first monthly ranking since March 2020!)

1. Irreversible Entanglements- Stephens Lake Park Amphitheatre (Columbia, Missouri)

My review.

2. Johnny Rawls- Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest 

My notes.

3. Bird Fleming and Bill Summers’ “Voyage of the Drum”- Dunbar Park

My review.

4. Second Nature Ensemble- Westport Coffee House

My review.

5. En Vogue- Hy-Vee Arena

My review.

6. Mike Dillon and Nikki Glaspie- 1900 Building

My review.

7. Adam Galblum Quartet- Market KC

Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli revived.

8. Kian Byrne- Second Presbyterian Church

A singer-songwriter sweats it out under the setting sun.

9. Roman Alexander- KC Live

My review.

10. The Kansas City Chorale- Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church

Docked several notches for a clergyman’s abhorrent mask-shaming.

Top Ten Movies (viewed for the first time in June)

1. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Gesundheit!

2. Lili (1953)

A French twist on The Wizard of Oz.

3. La ciociara/Two Women (1960)

Sophia Loren and Eleonora Brown suffer unspeakable trauma.

4. Polish Wedding (1998)

Love in Hamtramck.

5. Murder, My Sweet (1944)

Psychotropic noir.

6. I Accuse! (1958)

Straightforward depiction of the Dreyfus affair.

7. Lisztomania (1975)

Richard Wagner is Satan in Ken Russell’s gonzo freakout. 

8. Terri (2011)

Teen cringe.

9. The Shadow on the Window (1957)

And Jerry Mathers as the murder witness.

10. Small Town Crime (2017)

Negligible noir.

May’s recap and links to previous monthly surveys are here.

Aaron Rhodes Is In My Headache

Original art for In My Headache commissioned by Bill Brownlee and Aaron Rhodes by Andres Hedrick.

When I arrived at the Blue Room for a Roy Ayers performance in 2016, a member of the venue’s staff informed me my assistant already was inside.  I didn’t have an assistant.  The aspiring music journalist Aaron Rhodes used whatever limited cachet my name possessed to weasel his way into the show.

Of all the nerve!  Rhodes’ impudence didn’t end there.  Knowing Tyler, the Creator was in town, he invited the nonconformist rapper to Ayers’ show.  I was consequently distracted from my work by the surreal sight of Tyler’s animated reactions to Ayers’ set.

Five years later, I teamed up with the jackanapes for the In My Headache music podcast.  The premise- an old head spars with a young punk- is exemplified by an emotional argument about the merits of the new album by ILoveMakonnen in the latest episode.

In My Headache isn’t my first collaboration with Rhodes. I was featured in his vlog in 2017.  I’ve since watched him forge a miniature media empire under the Shuttlecock Music umbrella.  His initiatives include a print publication, an active blog and performance bookings.

I once told Rhodes’ father that I might someday find myself working for his ambitious son.  The prediction will be fulfilled only if Rhodes leaves town or if Kansas City’s music scene manages to snap out of the doldrums.  Until then, I’ll gladly continue to allow Rhodes to infuriate me on In My Headache.