Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antarctica

So, Spectrum Culture does these features called “Resequence” where you take an album and rework the track list so it’s more to your liking. On one hand this feels unholy, but on the other there are a lot of albums that, once I think on it, I would love the ability to rework the order. Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica is probably foremost among them. I’ve always felt that it sagged in the middle; putting “The Cold Part” basically next to “The Stars are Projectors” with only a short little rocker between to separate them kills the energy halfway through. So here’s my proposed fantasy realignment of the album that puts “Stars are Projectors” down at the end where it’s wild psychedelic outro can carry out The Moon & Antarctica like it was always meant to.

The Paper Kites – If You Go There, I Hope You Find It

The Paper Kites

If You Go There, I Hope You Find It

Released January 23rd, 2026 on Nettwerk

Via Spectrum Culture:

The Melbourne folk-rockers stick too closely to the formula on this familiar effort.

The 100 Best Albums of 2024

My yearly collection playlist always has a name, and this year was obviously “2024 Sucks OK.” Which, obviously, it did. Every year sucks in its own way, but man, was 2024 a doozy. Disappointment, the realization that stasis of post-pandemic living, awful politics, genocides, unending wars. Your idols are dead and your enemies are in power. Everything feels too Weimar for its own good.

Still, there were good parts to the year, as there always are. Great books, great movies, some stellar albums. There were a lot of great records this year, actually. I could have done 200 for this entry if that weren’t such obvious overkill. I managed to know 40 entries on the Quietus’ year-end list. Usually I only know single digits – This despite listening to an average of 1100 albums a year.

Also I managed to get six short stories published this year, which is pretty good if you ask me.

Here are the 100 albums that best exemplify this year, this moment, this lifetime.