Favorite Albums of 2025

 I'm not saying these are the best  albums of 2025, they are just my favorites 

1. Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On. Darcey and Eric's Togetherness listen of 2025.  
2. Daughter of Swords - Alex
3. Tunde Adebimpe - Three Black Boltz
4. Sylvana Estrada - Vendrán Suaves Lluvias This album is a balm to a weary soul. Her voice is like silk.
5. Liv Greene - Deep Feeler (2024) warm, old school songwriting
6. Toro y Moi - Mahal (2022) My friend bill recommended this album. So glad he did. It's very cool, like him.
7. The Beths  - Straight Line Was a Lie  Indie Rock, great for driving or cooking. I have the title song stuck in my head right now.
8. Lily Lyons - Reopen the World Beautiful velvet voice and melodies
9. Florist - Jellywish sweet, melancholy, delicate, very meta.
10. Moonchild Sanelly - Full Moon less delicate, more badass.
11. Saya Gray - Saya Playful use of sound, she arranges her voice as an instrument in the mix.
12. Ada Lea  - When I Paint My Masterpiece quirky lyrics and stories, reminds me of Tiny Ruins in places.
13. Snocaps  - Snocaps
14. Saintseneca  - Highwallow & Supermoon Songs
15. Julian Baker & Torres - Send a Prayer My Way Surprising collaboration for Julian post- Boy Genius.
16. The Ladles - Everything That Grows (2024) These guys blew me away with their sweet harmonies at Grass Roots, and I've followed them ever since. Got to see them live at the Rockwell Museum this year! 
17. Florence and the Machine - Everybody Scream: Chamber Edition (the Chamber edition really highlights her vocals- I think I like it better than the original).  
18. Dodie - Not For Lack of Trying
19. Madison Cunningham - Ace The sweetness of her songs is balanced by the complexity of the arrangements.
20. Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover - What of Our Nature I've loved Haley Heynderickx, and couldn't believe she and Conover came to Homer NY. Amazing show. Love this album inspired by the work of Woody Guthrie, two old friends returning to collaboration. 
21. Cymande  - Renascence I don't think these guys have ever played at Grassroots, but they definitely have that dance tent vibe. 

That's right, I'm a sucker for a beautiful voice, a lyrical melody, a warm guitar, 

thoughtful lyrics, quirky arrangements, and a groovy beat.

Favorite Albums 2024 

Favorite Albums 2023 

Favorite Albums 2022 

Favorite Albums of 2024

 

I'm not saying these are the best  albums of 2024, they are just my favorites 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Haley Heynderickx- Seed of a Seed. Gorgeous melodies, rich acoustic instrumentation- guitar, cello, everything you love. No one's quite like her.
  
• Willow- Empathogen. So much energy and creativity. I'm a sucker for irregular meters and rhythms.
• Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past is Still Alive. Just great songwriting, and I love her voice. Nice car trip album.
• Rosie Tucker - Utopia Now! "All My Exes Live in Vortexes" reminds me of my favorite power pop girl bands from back in the day. Like, remember That Dog? Also I love that she name-checks Gil Scott-Heron
• Helado Negro - Phasor. delightfully quirky. Gentle. Clever blend of digital and acoustic instrumentation.
  
• Waxahatchee - Tiger's Blood. Americana veteran artist Katie Crutchfield -- so much heart, but also she rocks.
  
• Mary Timony - Untame the Tiger. OG. Show the kids how it's done Mary.
• Pedro the Lion - Santa Cruz. An album that goes on a journey. Skillful storytelling. And that baritone! The first track made me nervous- but keep going. If you make it to "Modesto" you get a prize.
• Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers. Larger than life roots music
• Khruangbin - A La Sala.  Chill, Groovy, Surfy.
  
• Kim Deal -  Nobody Loves You More. The voice of my misspent youth. 
• La Luz - News of the Universe. Love the vocal harmonies. Dreamy surf punctuated by driving percussion, electric guitar, and psychedelic folk. 
• Jana Mila - Chameleon. Warm voice, melodies, production and arrangements. Good-hearted.
• Dr. Dog - Dr. Dog. Songs and sound candy. Upbeat nostalgic.
  
• Leyla McCalla -  Sun Without the Heat. Didn't we see her at Grassroots? No, wait, that was Elisa and Solstice...
  
• Nala Sinephro - endlessness. And now for something completely different...
  

 And the Darcey & Eric togetherness listen 2024 (from 2018)

• Caroline Rose - Loner.  This album makes it's own ironic, fun, cohesive world. And that organ sound! (Eric thinks it's probably a Teenage Engineering OP-1)

Favorite Albums 2023 

Favorite Albums 2022 

Favorite Albums of 2023*

 

So much good music this year! Enjoyed many albums that are not on this list, but here are my 16 favorites, albums that one way or another said something to me. This is an un-ranked list, but how could you tell how many if there were no numbers? Also, if you were going to listen to all of them, this is not a bad order for the journey.
 

1. Sweet Pea by Lila Blue - We've never met but I’m pretty sure we're best friends now. Love everything about this album.
2. the record by Boygenius - Eric and I had so many great moments with this album. Know and have discussed every song. Album of the year for the Laines.
3. The Omnichord Real book by Meshell Ndegeocello - Have we really been listening to Meshell for 30 years? Yet this is so fresh and fusiony and complex and groovy.
4. Careful of Your Keepers by This is the Kit - Cool and smart and a certain kind of mood. "I choo choo choose you"
5. Mind Place Music by @ - Baltimore band who reminds me of days long ago in a Baltimore basement listening to friends playing with a 4 track recorder.
6. Lotus Glow by Adi Oasis  -It's all about that bass
7. Secret to Life by  Fizz - BLAM!!
8. Diagnosis by Sen Morimoto - If he played at an Ithaca Underground show I would totally buy his T-shirt. 
9. Voice Notes by Yazmin Lacey - Yum
10. Outside Problems by Andrew Bird - Instrumental album calling you outside to enjoy the day
    
11. Ends & Begins by Labrinth  - "Now I'm in my feels"
    
12. The Art of Forgetting by Caroline Rose  - Perfect driving home from work on a Sunday album
13. The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We byMitski  - Oh, Mitski, we're so glad you are back!
14. Proof of Life by Joy Oladokun  - If I'd known her in college I probably would have been less depressed. She's like that friend who makes you feel better
15. This is Why by Paramore  - "This is why I don't leave the house"... my personal theme song for 2023
    
16. Marchita by Silvana Estrada  * - Okay, I know this came out in 2022, but I didn't hear it until January 2023, and it is so achingly beautiful. Sigh.
    

Top 12 Albums of 2022

 

My Favorite 12 Albums of 2022 

(there were so many more, but 12 is a nice number)

1. Wet Leg by Wet Leg
2. Earth Worship by Rubblebucket 
3. Painless by Nilufer Yanya
4. Expert in a Dying Field  by The Beths 
5. Natural Brown Prom Queen by Sudan Archives
6. 19 Masters by Saya Gray 
7. De Todas Las Flores by Natalia Lafourcade
8. I Walked With You a Ways by Plains 
9. In These Times by Makaya McCraven
   
10. The Spur by Joan Shelley
11. Florist by Florist 
12. Cruel Country by Wilco
    

Mrs. McNeil Music of Ithaca’s Top 5 ways to support local music:

5. Get the Door: If a musician walks past you carrying an amp/ drum/ bass-cabinet/harp grab the door for them. That stuff’s heavy, and it’s nice to know you care.

4. Get it Live: Planning a wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, graduation party? Hire live musicians. There is something truly magical about music being made especially for you in an unrepeatable, unique moment.

3. Get it direct:  Buy the album or tracks directly from the musician. If you give a musician $10 for an album they get $10. If you give it to that online company, the musician may get only pennies. Same goes for t-shirts, posters, and other assorted schwag.

2. Spread the Word: If you love that song/band/concert why not post/tweet/blog/Instagram so all your friends know the awesomeness? Better yet- carpool. Load all your friends into your car so you can elbow them during the show and say “I told you this would rock.” A packed house makes the performers feel great, builds excitement for the audience, and makes whoever books for the club say “I’ve got to get these guys back here!”

1. Listen: There is no better way to support local music than to show up and listen. Why do you think that band lives 5 months a year in a tour bus eating cold pizza? Why do they spend all those hours in the practice room or rehearsal space? Because they hope that if they pour all that love and sweat and hard work into it you will listen.

[Bonus points- afterward tell them what you heard. Musicians drink that up like water on a hot day]

This is Why

Note inside card given to me by the first and third same-gender couples ever to receive a marriage license in Bradford County PA at their joint wedding on Wednesday:

"Having our wedding ceremony in our church, performed by our minister is truly a blessing and a dream come true."

Thirty years each couple had been together before that fateful court decision a few days back.

During the round of toasts that followed the 9 of us present for the ceremony lifted a glass to Unitarian Universalism for being part of the struggle.

I lifted my class and told them a day like this is why you go to seminary in the first place.

An Open Letter to Gap Inc.

Dear Gap Inc.,

I have been a loyal customer of the Gap for many years- some of my favorite clothes are from the Gap brands. Recently, however, I have been ashamed to admit to my friends that I am a Gap customer. I was deeply shaken by the factory fires in Bangladesh this past year.   Those tragedies made me question the integrity of the garment industry, and of Gap brands in particular.

 I am glad that Gap and other retailers have agreed to a “5 year safety plan”  but I call on Gap Inc. to be a leader in the industry by signing on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety inBangladesh.  I look forward to someday being confident that the women and men who make my clothing work in a safe environment, only then will I be a proud Gap customer again.

Sincerely,

Rev. Darcey Laine

Digital Divide- Update

An update from my previous post about the digital divide:

First, I should disclose that I am now blogging from a laptop made in the CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR with the Windows 8 and everything. I can't tell you what a difference it makes to be able to run two programs simultaneously, to not have a half hour boot-up time, or to be able to open iTunes without crashing the whole works.

This makes me only more adamant in my witness of the digital divide. Yes, technology is awesome -- I totally get that. But it is simply not accessible to everyone. A friend moved about a half an hour outside of town, and though the neighbors one block over have cable TV and Internet, the cable just doesn't cross the street. The good people at Time Warner Cable said they'd be happy to run a cable out to her house for the low-low price of $20,000. She now waits until she drives into town to check her e-mail at the bookstore cafe on her laptop.  Now imagine that you can't afford a laptop and so you are one of the millions of Americans who can only access the Internet in half hour increments at the public library. Doesn't it make you want to lobby your elected officials for a "Rural Internet Act" in the spirit of the "Rural Electrification Act" that brought the electric light to rural America in the late 1930s? Perhaps some kind of governmental computer upgrade program so that not only would every home have a computer, but one that us up-to-date enough to run the current version of, let's say, iTunes?

Second, I am disturbed by the fundamental misunderstanding of why the technological divide exists. On the Colbert Report last spring, Google's Eric Schmidt said "In the next few years years 5 Billion people are going to join the 2 billion of us who are already on it." [this is around 3 minutes into the video] He says tht these are the 5 billion people, [like me], who are currently using "dumb phones" in places like "Africa, Asia and the poor parts of America."  Apparently we are all going to be converted to smart phones. But Mr. Schmidt does not explain how all of these folks [like me] are going to pay for their data plans. Nor does he explain how we are going to extend cell phone coverage to all those currently un-covered areas [like my friend's house] that are too sparsely populated to seem worth covering by for-profit corporations.

I also recommend that Mr. Schmidt check his math --  there are only a total of 7 billion people in the world today, and though in fact 6 million of us do have a cell phone of some kind, Mr. Schmidt's math is off by a billion people who have no cell phone of any kind. I don't think we can assume they are all going to be part of the internet comunity "in the next few years."

It reminds me of the green revolution back in the 70s. We were going to radically change our agricultural practices so that we could fight hunger around the globe. Recently a World Bank report showed that it is actually not a lack of food that creates global hunger, but a lack of money to pay for said food. According to the United Nations, there are 870 million chronically hungry people in the world today. 2.5 billion people lack access to proper sanitation. If we can't even get food and clean water to all 7 billion people in the world, how on earth do we think we are going to get each and every one of them a smart phone? It feels a little like Marie Antoinette's admonition to "let them eat cake."