sad to say that Music and iTunes are only vaguely compatible. These instructions helped me tho.

been on a real TMBG kick lately. This b-side is new to me. 1 minute long and goodness throughout

Also. So long 2020. 2021. Be nice.

https://t.co/NEuF4FntTF

I think more people should do this, and I plan on doing it in the days ahead. I enjoy “detoxing”, of all things. Clothes. Shoes. Various Things. We spend so much time online, you need to be actively making it a more enjoyable place. Keep what serves you. Discard the rest. https://t.co/sk4XgmvXgB

an extremely pleasing supercut

A short by @jamesfflynn

via @zombiesfj

Absolutely fascinating and completely terrifying

Damon Krukowski (Galaxie 500) makes for a good read. Nothing too outlandish but certainly worth sitting with.

free to use forever

an annual posting from @ruby_stevens

Merry Christmas... xxx https://t.co/9yancoJkAt

https://t.co/RnrPBm5UaN

2020: MY YEAR IN REVIEW: This was nobody’s favorite year and yet, it was a good year for my endeavors. Here’s everything I produced this year. I think some of my very best work is in this lot. https://t.co/E6wJXQTIAe https://t.co/jX24y7wgyg

While we're on the subject of wrapping up 2020, I would be remiss to not point out all the good work done over at We Own This Town, the podcast network I run. We posted 221 episodes over 171 hours of podcasts. It's kind of a lot! I know there are a ton of podcasts out there but we seem to be finding an audience for ours, so we keep going.

Much like the struggle of celebrating music releases, promoting podcasts during a good chunk of the year felt quite frivolous. People being evicted, bars and restaurants shut down, music venues on the constant brink of closing.. it was (and continues to be) daunting. Fortunately, resources like Nashville Free Store sprung up to help - literally - give away aid to communities and we did our best to promote and support endeavors like that.

I wrote a big lengthy We Own This Town Wrapup if you're interested. I'm happy with the progress we have made and hope to figure out a way to make it more beneficial to the community in 2021.

It’s time for yk Records to go into a short hibernation as we prepare for 2021. As the year winds down, it’s always good to look back and take stock of all the great releases from the prior trip around the sun. So, let’s do that! 

It goes without saying that 2020 was a complicated year (with a difficult road still ahead). Bands couldn’t tour, venues couldn’t have shows and while we adjusted to quarantine, it felt wildly inappropriate to even promote music at all. 

As we adjusted to the New Way of Things™ it became easier to release music and it even (hopefully) served as a respite for the weirdness of the year. You may find yourself still in need of such a break and I hope you’ll give some YK Records releases a listen for such a salve. We’ve always had a troublingly eclectic roster and that’s showcased quite well this year.

You can find all these releases on Bandcamp or streaming on Spotify or YouTube Music. Below you’ll find a little insight on each.

The Medium - “Sugar Shark / Fade Away”
Two of the bands oldest songs finally recorded in their proper form. Had 2020 been different, The Medium woulda toured like crazy. Instead, we get these two fantastic new tracks.

Andrew Brassell - Singles
Previous output from Brassell was released as Slowmotions but he embarked into the world under his own name with “Imposter Syndrome”, “Habits” and “Blissed Out” - three shiny psychedelic pop songs with a distinctly unique Brassell bend to them.

Meadownoise - Threeve / Cliff House Kids
Released in collaboration with Pets Musical Park, Meadownoise creates pop songs that defy description. They’re often catchy and memorable but can feel like they’re transmitted from another planet. Sometimes meditative, sometimes challenging, always rewarding.

Black Bra - Black Bra
Beth Cameron previously performed as Forget Cassettes for years and years. She has enlisted a new band and a new, dark, psych experience. It’s both vulnerable and empowered. The Nashville Scene called it the Best Rock Record of 2020; we tend to agree. 

DM Stith - Waving 1-4
The vocal qualities of DM Stith have always been haunting and ethereal. This is showcased in unparalleled fashion with this EP of vocal compositions. These pieces consume the listener, completely.

The Prudish Few - The Eagle Has Left the Building
An exercise in juxtapositions. The songs sound simple but contain a number of atypical time signatures. They are shiny pop songs but their lyrical content is about the oppression of politics and nostalgia. It’s a delightfully fun listen that yields real insight and weight once you dig in.

Coupler - The Rhythm Method
When performing live, Coupler would often eschew their tranquil ambient styles and decimate the crowd with a “Bangers Only” set. This EP contains three of those bangers and it delivers in spades.

Spencer Cullum - Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection
Know for his pedal steel work in a number of Nashville bands and as half of the instrumental duo Steelism, Spencer Cullum enlisted a number of his talented friends to weave a record that is equal parts psych, folk and kraut. It’s a nod to the past but entirely timeless. A proper classic.

Tower Defense - In the City
I constantly call these songs “bombastic” because there is no other word for it. They are songs fueled by troubled dreams about the future of Nashville, mixed with feverish visions of pop culture. It’s also an incredibly fun record.

Coupler - The Forgotten Openness of the Closed World
An EP of long form ambient pieces specifically designed to give pause and reflection on your own conscious self. It’s a quarantine record that reminds you that the outer world may be off limits but your inner worlds are open. Just pay attention.

I've got a rundown of the yk Records 2020 releases but that only covers the new releases throughout the year; not any additional promotional pieces for previously released albums. So, here's YouTube playlist of music videos released in 2020. I suggest you play it on Shuffle for maximum enjoyment.

I've known Mac Burrus for almost 20 years and been a fan of his musical output for the duration. He writes / plays in Self, he's a music producer on Jimmy Kimmel Live and has always had several of his own musical irons in the fire but never releases them. Until now!

Under the name The Gros Michel over on Bandcamp, he and Justin Tapp have released a great little Christmas song, "This Christmas." It's a wonderfully melancholy little ditty and I'm happy to hear it out in the world.

It's an odd thing to admit but I sorta love a kitschy Christmas album. This Mouth Trumpet Christmas Album is as kitschy as it comes and I've been listening to it for eight years, never once tiring of that version of "Jingle Bells."

A Very Omnichord Christmas, Again / An Omnichord for Christmas is a somewhat different beast. It's two albums from Nashville duo Zeke & Ross composed entirely on the Omnichord; a delightfully unique instrument. At forty tracks, there's a lot of ground that gets covered. Some of the tracks are outright absurd while others are heartfelt and only a little absurd. It's not a joke of an album but the two creators are clearly having fun with it. This is well exemplified with the two fifteen-minute "Intermission" tracks where they casually chat with one another about various Christmas ponderings.

I don't suspect this is for everyone but if you're the kind that enjoys a bit of upbeat optimism mixed with a twinge of zany, I think you'll enjoy.