Norman's Rockwell

Now that the year is done, here are my Top 10 favorite recordings released in 2020. No order. Hope you discovered new music to elevate you. Keep your ears open in 2021. Dua Lipa - "Break My Heart" The Stokes - "Bad Decisions" BTS - "Dynamite" Evie Sands - "If You Give Up" Brian Whelan - "So Long Blue" Polo G - "Wishing For A Hero" Kevin McGowan - "Lennon Said" Harry Styles - "Watermelon Sugar" Liam Gallagher - "All You're Dreaming Of" Misterwives - "Superbloom" #top10

Remembering John Lennon today. Forty years have flashed by. I can still hear my clock radio turning on to the incongruent sound of the Beatles on Dec. 9, 1980 and wondering why? I think about John every day. I am fortunate to have been able to make pilgrimage to Mendips, Abbey Road and Strawberry Fields, NY; to play on stages like the Cavern, the Jacaranda and the Troubadour where he performed or made trouble, or both. Here’s a quick playlist for you and me. (Just Like) Starting Over I Should Have Known Better Bless You Nobody Told Me Strawberry Fields Forever Nowhere Man Enjoy the day. Fill it with peace. Fill it with music. #JohnLennon #Liverpool

Happy 20th Anniversary to Entertainment Now . This record from my band Bat Country was released on 9/30/2000. Long time fans may recall it shipped too late for our 'record release' show at the Roxy Theatre. We still had a blast playing one of L.A.'s most storied venues for the occasion. The album features "Can't Endure Any More," "Forcefield," and "Bad Penny Blues," along with a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You." "Can't Endure Any More" was featured earlier a single on a compilation from Yesterday Girl Records. It remains one of my favorite recordings. Several of these songs were revived for my IPO set in 2019. Many thanks to the main musicians who played on the record, Dave DeMarco, Tom Wolfe and Larry Doran; the O.G. Bat Country lineup. And thanks to the guys who subsequently played and toured the record: Henry Castro, Scott Franse and Dennis Satterfield. Thanks to Bobby Bognar for additional support and ...

Tomorrow, the Sign ‘O’ The Times deluxe reissue will be released. I am very excited to hear the remasters and the many treasures from the vault. All of Prince’s records deserve the upgrade, but this one is particularly special for me. I was a royal subject for several years before the album came out March 31, 1987. However this was the first Prince album that I owned and heard before my older brother had it. Therefore, even while Parade is my favorite Prince album, I consider this to be *my* Prince album. SOTT was a changing of the guard. The Purple Army was suddenly told to dress in Peach and Black, and OG fans like my brother dropped ranks. That Monday, I went straight to the wrecka stow after school to buy it. I bought it on cassette and when I got home, I put it on and listened to it in one non-stop sitting. My head practically exploded by track three, “Housequake.” There were so many new ideas, voices and sounds. I had virtually memorized every note of his previous four albums,...

Hope you've had a marvelous Boxing Day after a wonderful Christmas. As promised here is my rundown of my favorite singles/songs from the past decade (2010-2019). Unlike the LPs, I decided to run with a Top 20. Many beloved tracks that appear on albums in my Top 10 are not here, in part because while they are spectacular, they work mainly in context with the LP. This list could easily be 40 songs deep, but I wanted one to encourage you to discover a new record or two. As with the album list, none of my own works are included. In ascending order to my favorite song of the 2010's, here we go with the Top 20: 20. A Tribe Called Quest - "Dis Generation" 19. Flyte - "Over & Out" 18. The Weeknd - "I Can't Feel My Face" 17. Natalie Prass - "Short Court Style" 16. Daft Punk (feat. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers) - "Get Lucky" 15. Paul McCartney - "New" 14. Liam Gallagher - "Wall of Glass" 13. Radiohead -...

Shut up already! Thirty years ago today, Prince unleashed the funkiest, most amazing artistic statement of his career: the double album Sign 'O' The Times . Music does not get better than this. I still get chills spinning this. I remember buying Sign after school the day it came out and racing home to play it undisturbed in one sitting. Mesmerized. It contains Prince's utterly genius "Housequake" and "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and so much more. Go dig it.

This took me a while, because I love music and I listen to a lot of it and I think about it almost as much as I listen to it. My friend Phillip Mottaz put me up to this and I accepted the challenge. Here are my Favorite Albums by Year for Each Year of my Life. I went by actual release year, not peak of popularity. They were not necessarily my favorites at the time of release. A few, like 1984, were no brainers (a right answer, as Phillip says). 1970, 1985 and 1994 became Sophie's Choice. As a result some of my all time favorite records are absent. Some favorite artists recur, proving they made consistently great albums that have influenced my listening habits perpetually. Steely Dan is here twice, but not my favorite Steely Dan record. I apparently enjoy Franz Ferdinand far more than I would have guessed. If I tackle this exercise again in 5 years or 5 weeks, I would expect about 3 or 4 to change. Here we go, as of today... 1969 - Abbey Road - The Beatles 1970 - ABC - The Jackson ...