Last week Bright Eyes cancelled their entire tour for the rest of the year, citing issues with Conor Oberst’s vocal health as the reason. While a few fans might have been disappointed, most actually breathed a sigh of relief. Anyone who has seen Conor on stage in the last few years knows that performing live has become seriously detrimental to his physical and mental health. The most alarming moment on this aborted tour was him struggling so much he was talking about killing himself, his own songs becoming so physically painful to perform. 

Jane’s Addiction fans witnessed an unraveling of a different sort on their tour last month. After a series of troubled shows where Perry Farrell was drinking copious amounts of wine and failing to follow along with the songs, the band appeared to be on the brink. Instead of cancelling the tour they kept going and, as everyone will have probably seen, this ended up in Farrell assaulting guitarist Dave Navarro on stage, effectively ending the band. 

What both of these incidents have in common is that these men are obviously on the edge – suffering with likely mental health, addiction, physical issues or a combination of all three. They have been forced by circumstance to play live for fans to make money, to fulfil obligations or because they don’t know what else to do with their lives at this point. They have been pushed to the brink because of their jobs and they’re just a snapshot of a wider music industry unraveling due to the pressures of touring right now.  

As 2023 draws to a close it is the traditional time for music fans to look back with love and appreciation for the music that has seen them through the year.

Before I began blogging I would scour the end of year lists in the hope of finding a gem I had missed, and more broadly as an easy way to keep up with the cultural conversation around popular music. Sometimes that has led me to getting depressed at the state of the industry but the best lists can unite fans in wonder and joy.

As a blogger generally I have listed my favourite albums of those I have reviewed, however this year I have not reviewed as many albums as usual. In fact for various reasons I haven’t written about some of my favourite and most listened to albums, including Allison Russell, Brandy Clark and Jenny Lewis.

In 2023 I returned to my old ways of taking things slower, listening at different times than the release schedule, not writing about everything I was listening to. The albums that I did write about I felt I had something to say and the time to say it.

Looking back on this I actually don’t think it was necessarily the best choice to write less, as writing helps my mood and my life, but I liked feeling less pressure to participate in the online culture. To write a blog is to take your time, to listen well and really think, which is why it is such an enriching activity.

So that’s a long winded way of getting round to my list of ten albums of the year. As per other years I keep the number one spot for a solo artist who has written the majority of their record without songwriting collaboration, as this best encapsulates the independent free spirit of what this blog is about.

I have included the link to my original review, if one exists. Please comment below with your choices and anything you’ve loved this year which you think has been overlooked!

A few years back I wrote a post about trying to be a more minimalist music fan, addressing many of the issues I had with the constant demands on music fans to buy more and more and more and more stuff.

After writing that post I slowly began to change my behaviour, and this year I have almost stopped buying new vinyl entirely. In fact the only album I have purchased on vinyl this year is a signed copy of Amanda Shires last album from her concert in June.

Yes, you read that right, this vinyl addict has gone nearly six months without adding anything new to their collection at all. Please send me all your praise for this remarkable feat of resistance in the comments.

Let me walk you through the reasons why I, music blogger with a record collection stretching into the hundreds, came to the blasphemous decision to stop buying new vinyl.