Happy New Year, pals! I spent all 31 days of January being hungover from writing last month’s EOY Noots Letter, but I want to thank all of you who have reached out. So many kind responses and listens and likes and the general music-sharing-glow—you rock.
We’re now heading into the 4th (!!) year of the Noots Letter. Here’s a couple things I’m playing with, gently:
The album-a-day thing is, quite simply, addictive and has changed the way I appreciate music. I’m sticking to it for sure, but this year will be stronger than ever! More genres! More new artists! More full record listens even if I hate it! No repeats! No waiting until the last day of the month to start writing (except for this one, clearly).
Social media?? I secured the @nootsletter handle years ago back when like finstas were still a thing. If I revived it would you follow? 👉🏼👈🏼 (there will be memes) ((this is all just to delve deeper into my dream job… niche meme creative director))
It’s always been a possibility to pay what you want for this little guy, but I don’t really promote that because knowledge should remain FREE. However if you’re feeling generous, loving, or rich, you can donate $5 a month (that’s literally the minimum amount I can ask for on this website i’m sorry) to fund future Noots Letters endeavors, a.k.a. concert tickets and my Spotify Premium fees.
Alright alright let’s get into the ‘24 cycle:
If you’re still catching up from last year…
I stole these recs from a couple pal’s EOY lists, so thanks for that! Started New Year’s Day with Superviolet’s Infinite Spring (2023), which was the perfect selection. grouptherapy’s i was mature for my age, but i was still a child (2023) goes wild in an addictive way. I don’t know how I missed Mali Velasquez’s I'm Green (2023) and Khamari’s A Brief Nirvana (2023)—two outstanding picks. Other highlights include George Clanton’s Ooh Rap I Ya, Sun June’s Bad Dream Jaguar, Nourished by Time’s Erotic Probiotic 2, and Petey’s USA. Ok bye forever2023.
If you’re interested in introspective soft forest green femme figures…
Sorry that was a weird description. Back with another genre qualm, as always: there’s this whole group of musicians for me who aren’t quite folk and aren’t quite rock or pop and live in this singer-songwriter (?? I hate this term) hazy blob. But they make beautiful music so they’re worthy of some proper title. TBA! Favorite new release of the month was Katy Kirby’s Blue Raspberry, whose delicious lyrics made me replay her songs over and over just so I could keep swooning. Also released in January 2024 was Marika Hackman’s Big Sigh (great), PACKS’ Melt the Honey (very similar), and Sarah Jarosz’s Polaroid Lovers (def more folk).
If you went to that orchid exhibit at the NY Botanical Garden last year…
Kali Uchis wrote a whole album about them with Orquídeas (2024)! It’s just as exquisite as the flower itself, and a luxurious companion to last year’s Red Moon In Venus. She’s gotta stop releasing music in cold weather though because it’s making me crave human affection toooooo much. Y’all better download Duolingo because chart-topping music in Spanish? Here to stay.
If you’re into old stuff…
Saw this post about artists loving Jamiroquai, so pre-gamed my workday with A Funk Odyssey (2001). Oh, it’s FUNKY alright. I was practically out there like Napoleon Dynamite on my L train ride. I thought my mind was blown when I learned Jamiroquai isn’t actually any one person’s name, only a band name–just wait ‘til you find out these guys are white! Speaking of groovy, I amped myself up for an audition to Donna Summer’s Bad Girls (1979), which is unsurprisingly a no-skip record. Hot hot hot stuff!
If you’re into new stuff by old people…
Green Day’s Saviors (2024) sounds quite like their old stuff. I appreciate that they’re not trying to reinvent themselves, but recognize why others may feel like it lacks the same punch. The Smile, a.k.a. post-pandemic Radiohead, released Wall of Eyes (2024) which honestly was little bit sad. Have they always been this sad? Took a run to Future Islands’ People Who Aren't There Anymore (2024), and it was awesome. Man I love synths.
If you want to dabble in more electronic or experimental stuff but are nervous…
I felt like Astrid Sonne’s Great Doubt (2024) touches the shallow end of experimental. Like you’re cool if you bring it up at a party, and you’ll also find legitimate enjoyment in it. Stepping away from her previous electronic-only sound, she leans toward singer-songwriter with this record. TORRES is more on the pop/rock side of things, but she makes cool weird choices on What an Enormous Room (2024) so we’re slotting her in here too.
If you like…musicals…
If you know anything about me you probably know one of my greatest life dreams is to be in an Off-Broadway parody musical, so there was a lot of that this month. Namely, the Great British Bake Off Musical cast recording was simply flawless. I also finally saw Titanique, which was maybe even more flawless, so I highly recommend revisiting Celine Dion’s catalog. I did of course see the new Mean Girls movie based on the musical based on the movie, too. My expectations were quite low due to everyone eviscerating it online. While it wasn’t flawless, it was okay (Renée? Auli’i? Avantika? Aaron Samuels? Hot). My major beef with the musical in general is not with the casting or the vocals, however—it’s with the modernization. This is a story that lives so distinctly in 2004, from the slang to the bleach blonde to the weight obsessions to the hierarchical nature of “queen bee” status in a post-9/11 America! In this essay I will—
If you’re writing a list of things to look forward to…
Brittany Howard album next week. Talking Heads covers. Lana Del Rey doing country? New artist posts like these. T-Pain’s fans. The freaking Chicken Shop Date with Paul Mescal. These memes about Jack Harlow. The forbidden Bee Movie musical. This image, which is my new personality.