2023 was a tough year. My wife had urgent spinal fusion right before Christmas 2022, and her lengthy recovery obviously bled into 2023. We moved from the east coast USA to the west coast, which obviously brings up a lot of transition anxieties and all that jazz.
2024 seemed to be on a better path. TGEFM was humming. My art side of things was humming, and then my mother-in-law passed away suddenly in April. In the aftermath of this there was much traveling to Minnesota to help out and, you may have noticed, this resulted in a bit of slow-down for news here at TGEFM over the summer. Then the missus started experiencing neck and shoulder problems again (luckily not her spine, but still in enough pain and discomfort to require treatment and ongoing PT). Then EVERYONE got sick right at the start of the holiday break. Etc., etc.
And that’s not mentioning how much shitty stuff has been happening the world over, including millions of Americans seeming to remember how well the economy was doing during Trump’s first administration while simultaneously forgetting how hard he tried to crash it even before COVID hit (it’s true, his economic policies hurt much more than they helped), and then decided that handing that bloviating jackass another four years was a good idea. And we’ve already seen how quickly Dipshit Drumpf backpedalled on his (surprisingly) clear statement that he will lower our grocery bills. But he’s still charging forward with all of the bad shit. Sigh…
In a way, a lot of 2024 is a blur to me. I’ve been racking my mind about what happened in music this year and most of it comes up a blank, despite the fact that so much good stuff happened this year. So I’m just gonna post a few “best of” items, a “worst of,” and then get to the TGEFM 2024 round up.
Best (only) live show of 2024: The Get Up Kids and Smoking Popes in San Francisco
I had quite a few gigs lined up in the late spring and into summer, but I had to wave off on all of them due to the death in the family. As everything kind of kept getting in the way, it turns out I only saw one live gig all year, and that was The Get Up Kids and Smoking Popes at The Great American Music Hall this past September.
First off, it was an awesome show. I mean, if I’m only going to make it to one all year, I could’ve done a lot worse but likely not a lot better. As I’ve mentioned in these pages before, I know the Smoking Popes. Like “know” know. I’ve known drummer Mike Felumlee since junior high, and the rest soon after. I’m also the guy that draws THE Smoking Pope character, all the back to the first one. While only half of the original members were able to make this tour, it was still great to see Mike and Josh Caterer (guitar, vocals) in person after 16 years. That itself was worth the price of admission (although I got in on a guest/photo pass). On top of that, their performance was just as wild and energetic as it was all those decades ago in the Porter Garage.
The Get Up Kids, touring in support of the 25th anniversary of Something to Write Home About had the audience in the palm of their hand. Everyone was having a great time and the vibe was truly spectacular.
Check out the photo gallery and read my review of the show.
Best single of 2024: Wintersleep – “Fool for a Life”
This song has been stuck in my head since it came out in early November. I joke that if it had come out a few months earlier, maybe the USA election may have gone differently and, while that’s not true at all, it helps a bit.
This song is as surprising as it is honest. Just as excoriating as Propagandhi‘s most vicious takedowns of white fragility, but presented in a way that you don’t expect. Before I go further, I want you to hear the song (if you haven’t already). Even if you’re not into the indie-rock style, stick with it until after the first repetition of “Fools for a Life (x2),” and you start to see why it’s so poignant (and true).
Do you get it now? The gentle indie song does more than most political bands accomplish on a whole album. In one sub-5 minute track Wintersleep lays bare all of the asinine fears and worries that plague the insanely safe and comfortable Christian Right in the United States have. Arguably one the largest, most secure, and least repressed demographic blocks in America simply feel the need to convince everyone else that they are the most persecuted in the land, and Wintersleep does a good job of exposing MAGA through a lens of clarity.
A lot of this song is good, and clever even when bluntly declaring items like “He was a member of the Christian Right / and an asshole day and night.” I don’t know if this is entirely intentional, but the in the first instance of the verse “some nights he would carry it over into his dreams,” the cadence of the vocals along with the pronunciation where the word “nights” sounds more like “knots” and, paired with “he, ” it sound like “nazi.” Is it genius? I’d like to think so.
It’s got a nice heavy bass and biting critique. Catchy, too.
Best song not from 2024: Block Parent – “SUBAR”
Ontario’s Block Parent came out with a new song this year, “Panic Pete,” and it is awesome. Check it out!
But their song “SUBAR” from their 2021 LP Sick Year, Bro! continues to live rent free in my head. It remains, along with Science Club‘s 2015 EP Ska and Wolfrik‘s “Skeleton City” (the title track to their 2017 EP), as my favorite music of the past decade. These songs are always on rotation, but “SUBAR” is something I can (and do) listen to over and over.
Worst trend: Musicians defending AI in one specific aspect, completely missing the future implications
If there’s one part of 2024 that bothered me, it was the trend of musicians trying to justify using AI-generated imagery for their album covers or promotional materials. Thankfully, they are few and far between and many, many more have come out against it. But it still shows an inability to think more than one step ahead.
As I’ve mentioned before, one of my other hats is as an illustrator. This occasionally includes doing work for bands. As such, it bothers me when a musician or band tries to wave away their use of AI-generated imagery. Mostly due to cost concerns.
This was brought back to my attention the other day when my friend Hassan, vocalist of Zanjeer, shared a post written by a member of long-running Dutch metal act Pestilence. Via social media the band member, who doesn’t ID themselves, tries to explain the reasons for, and benefits of, the band using AI images. It’s a bit of a lengthy post (which you can read on Facebook). They spend a weird amount of time, in a Trumpian style, either attempting to ding other bands or passive-aggressively blaming the fans for their own recent shortcomings, rather than addressing the crux of their argument. But there is an important section in the final two paragraphs:
As an example this “drawing” was considered to be amazing on my personal FB site. This is also A.I., and is an amazing piece of art. Not the albumcover by the way!!!
And now the real question: would you not buy and album with killer production and song just because a cover is A.I.? Then you are not listening to our compositions that are fully handmade.
Now, anyone who isn’t dense as a brick knows what I’m going to recommend this member of Pestilence ask their fans next: And now the real question: would you not buy an album with killer production and songs just because it is A.I.?
I mean, AI is already producing music. It doesn’t take someone capable of 2D chess, let alone 2D checkers, to know that it is already usurping the musical arts. Just as it has engulfed the visual arts. How long until Pestilence gets skipped over in lieu of “amazing pieces of music” created by AI?
If there is any consolation here, the reacts to the post are overwhelmingly “laugh emoji.”
TGEFM Year in Review
Well, kinda. For a while between late January and early April we had to turn off Google Analytics as there were problems integrating with the site. Despite that period where we lack data, page views were still up almost 20% from 2023, and views per active user were up over 90%. More readers are visiting the site, and they are sticking around to read more news. This is great for TGEFM, and the (mostly up-and-coming) bands that we write about.
But, there’s still a place for the popular bands, which dominate our…
Top 10 posts of 2024
1) Live review: Green Day – The Saviors Tour live at the PNC Music Pavilion
2) Premiere: new single and video “Black Umbrellas” from Big Sad
3) Live review: NOFX and Punk In Drublic at Fan Park (plus photos)
4) Surprises from Riot Fest 2024
5) Live review: The Get Up Kids and Smoking Popes live at Great American Music Hall
6) Premiere: Smug Brothers sing of “Javelina Nowhere” with newest single and video
7) TGEFM is giving away two weekend passes to T1 Fest 2024!
8) Live review: Goldfinger’s Skanksgiving at Starland Ballroom
9) Guest “Best of 2024”: Whatever
10) Live review: Bad Religion and Social Distortion live at Masonic Temple
Post with the longest legs
While those were the top posts of 2024, what isn’t included is TGEFM’s most popular post of all time. Reaching back all of the way to March of 2023, Julie River penned an editorial about the break-up of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Editorial: I Do Believe In Some Things; or, Why the Ska Scene Doesn’t Need the Return of Dicky Barrett is not only our most-read post, but was also the third most-read post of 2024.
Looking ahead
2025 will see TGEFM celebrate our 5th anniversary. By that time we will have surpassed 15k news posts since we launched on 01 May 2020, during those crazy days at the start of the pandemic lockdown. Obviously a grass roots, volunteer-run news site like TGEFM wouldn’t exist without our great contributors past, present and, of course, future. The chance to work with such dedicated music lovers is something I cherish, although not enough to pay them. Haha! I’d also like to thank news editors Bad Dad and Rizchex for helping me keep the news, interviews, premieres, review and more flowing this year.
We look forward to serving you great new music news in 2025 and beyond. And we’re always looking out for new contributors, so if you (yes, YOU) want to write about the scene you love at a nice, laid back place like TGEFM, do reach out!
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
