Probably like most everyone here, I listen to a lot of music. I miss a lot of the 70's melodies and of course grew up loving the five-man-band stuff of the 80's.
It's been a really nice couple of years for me, as far as finding full albums that I can get lost in start to finish. Since I work a lot and have a huge family, sometimes I have to just shut it all down, put on a pair of headphones and just leave the world for a bit. Another really nice thing about some of these albums is that my kids like them a lot too, so we can listen together and actually we find some joy in that. Joy is so elusive in the day to day world - at least for me.
I'm still listing to Springfield's Songs for the End of the World which is just a phenomenal work of art. I'm seeing him next week in his solo acoustic show. Should be fun. I'm also still listening to Night Ranger and John Waite's latest albums. Melissa Etheridge's latest is a really nice detour for her and I'm still listening, as I am with the Script and Train's latest.
But this year I have enjoyed some new stuff. Five for Fighting's Bookmarks is the record of the year for me. The Goo Goo Dolls released a really great record with some great melodies and lyrics. And the new one from James Blunt is for me, by far and away his best album and the only one I can listen to front to back. In fact that's true for all three of these artists. Each of these are good all the way through and I've never felt that about any of their previous albums. One down side, I'm not seeing where any of these folks are touring near me. Bummer. Even the Springfield show I have to travel several hours and we are staying the night. I miss the So. Cal concert calendar for sure.
All of this might be more mellow than this crowd likes, but for me it's been great. Most years I am begging for something to come out. This year it's been a bounty from surprising sources.
Just thought I'd share.