How Much Is Real?

Kevin Conaway’s 2023 Mix Album

 

Welcome to the 14th installment of my annual mix albums! This is a tradition that I first started all the way back in 2010, when my buddy David Ullman handed me a stack of mix CD’s that he had been making on an annual basis since 2004. I loved the concept and decided to adopt the tradition for myself as well.

 

Throughout each year since, I would compile a collection of songs that were noteworthy during the year, and then at the end of the year I would review the list and narrow down the most significant ones to include in my mix. The only constraint that I placed on myself was that the final mix had to fit onto a blank CD; or in other words the total running time needed to be less than 80 minutes, a constraint that I continue to follow even though I no longer burn these mixes onto physical CD’s. Aside from that limitation, the songs just needed to fit the theme of either being new that year, new to me that year, or in some way significant to me that year. Certain years have leaned more heavily on personal significance, while other years have leaned more heavily on just being songs that I really liked. Once the songs were determined, I would arrange them so that they flow from song to song as though you were listening to a cohesive album (this is where the term “Mix Album” comes from). The finished mix is then given a title and artwork in an attempt to tie everything together.

 

I used to burn these onto physical CD’s and hand them out to whoever wanted one, asking for feedback as the only compensation. After the 10th anniversary, I decided to stop making physical CD’s as there was a significant amount of labor involved, and evolving listening habits were making CD’s less and less relevant. I have also noticed a decline in the amount of feedback that I would receive from people I sent music to, so I think that these mixes have been more and more for my own personal entertainment. I talked about this sentiment in more detail in the notes from last year’s mix. Even though it seems that these mixes do not really serve the purpose of giving people new music to discover anymore, they do at least provide me with an audio time capsule to listen to and remind me of the music that I had really enjoyed or events that happened over previous years. Each song featured on last year’s mix related to a personal experience that I had that year. This year’s mix goes back to including songs that I just simply enjoyed in addition to songs that have a personal significance to them.

 

Okay, onto the songs…

 

 

01. Big Wreck – Full Display

                Big Wreck is a band that I’ve liked since hearing “That Song” on MuchMusic back in the late-90’s. Our cable provider picked up the Canadian music channel during my high school and early college years. I used to spend hours watching music videos on the channel after school or work. As a result, that channel and time period really shaped a lot of my listening habits for years to come and influenced who would become some of my favorite bands and artists. I still distinctly remember the pit of despair I felt on the day our cable provider dropped MuchMusic from its lineup. I even still remember the channel number: 52!

                Anyway, Big Wreck was one of many bands that I discovered from the channel. I had actually kind of forgotten about them until seeing a new album in 2019 and giving it a listen. Starting in 2021, they began releasing EP’s, which they later compiled together after the third installment in 2023 to create album 7. “Full Display” was the lead single from the 7.3 EP and became an instant favorite of mine! I saw them live for the first time back in June and they sounded incredible! They’re apparently continuing the practice of releasing EP’s to compile into an album, as later in the year they released the first part of what will become a new album called “Pages,” which is also very good and worth checking out.

 

02. Foo Fighters – Under You

                The New Foo Fighters album, But Here We Are, is one of the best of their discography, but also one of the toughest to listen to emotionally. Described by the band as, “A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters have endured recently,” the album is packed full of songs that deal with the tragic and unexpected deaths of drummer Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl’s mother, Virginia, and runs the emotional gamut of rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance. You can feel the passion that Dave has put into each song. “Under You” showcases Dave’s thoughts and feelings while trying to accept and move past the losses of his loved ones. I was not expecting new music from Foo Fighters in 2023, so soon after these tragedies, but the music was great, even if the circumstances were not.

 

03. Fall Out Boy – We Didn’t Start the Fire

                Fall Out Boy has been relatively dormant since their disappointing 2018 album. This year they released a new album called So Much (for) Stardust, showcasing a sound that was a nice return to form and a massive improvement over the previous effort. I enjoyed the new album a lot and placed it in my top ten for the year. “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was released as a bonus track after the album was out. The song is a cover of the 1989 Billy Joel hit, with updated lyrics referencing historical events that have taken place since Joel’s recording. I thought the song was really cleverly written and I instantly loved it. The concept of rewriting a classic Billy Joel song and attempting to reference major and sometimes controversial events in the lyrics is a bold one that would (and apparently did) rub many people the wrong way, but I really enjoyed it. Admittedly though, the line about the Cubs hurt a little...

 

04. The Beaches – Blame Brett

                The Beaches are a fun Canadian indie rock band with a lot of up-beat and catchy songs. Their newest album, Blame My Ex, was one of my favorites this year; there’s not a bad song on it! “Blame Brett” is a reference to the breakup of singer Jordan Miller and Brett Emmons from the band The Glorious Sons (who were featured on my 2017 mix). Miller describes the tongue-in-cheek song: “I had been on this really weird date with this other guy and we had only been on three dates, and he told me that he loved me. And I was like, ‘Oh, wow, this is fresh off of my real severe breakup—I’m really not ready for this yet.’ So I wanted to write a song apologizing to all of my future partners where I’m like, ‘I’m going to be a bit of an asshole for a little while, LOL, don’t blame me, blame my ex-boyfriend!” She did reach out to Emmons prior to recording the song and he gave his permission to use his name.

 

05. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Easy Now

                Noel Gallagher is making his 5th appearance on one of my mix albums, tying for the 3rd most appearances. Since the days of Oasis, Noel has been a huge influence on my writing and guitar playing. The new album, Council Skies, took a little getting used to; it was a much more mellow and ballad-centric album than previous albums. However, the songs were excellent, and I grew to love it. “Easy Now” was one of the stand-out songs from the album. The chorus gets stuck in my head every time I hear the song, and I absolutely love the guitar tone on the solo.

                NGHFB toured this year with Garbage and Metric, an incredible bill of bands that I love! Naturally, the tour did not stop in Cleveland. I ended up road-tripping up to Detroit to see the show at the Pine Knob Amphitheater. Not only was the show incredible, but I also really loved the venue! Pine Knob is an outdoor “shed” venue; which features a covered pavilion with seats with a grass hill behind it. The comparable venue in the Cleveland area is Blossom Music Center.

                And now I need to take a moment to rant. Blossom Music Center in my opinion is easily the worst major venue in the Cleveland area. Seriously, it’s garbage. I’ll often forgo going to a concert, even if it’s a band I want to see, if the show is at Blossom. I have to REALLY love the band to go to that place. It is a 20,000-capacity venue with only 2 roads leading in and out… meaning that it will take FOREVER to get in, and don’t even think about getting out in less than two hours unless you leave the show early! Also, the sound is horrible – if you’re in the pavilion, the sound is muddy (unless you’re around the center-back area, near the sound board), and the sightlines are poor if you’re off to either side. If you’re on the lawn, the sound is too quiet (talking at a normal conversational volume will literally drown out the band), and thanks to the shape of the pavilion structure and the proportionately tiny opening to see into the pavilion, the sightlines to the stage are atrocious! If you’re on the lawn, it really doesn’t even feel like you’re at a show. If you’re not familiar with the venue, just do a Google image search and see if you can even tell that you’re looking at a photo of a concert. Blossom is really only good for two things: orchestra concerts (which is what it was designed for), where the volume and sightlines aren’t really necessary components to enjoy the show; and bro-country concerts (which always tend to play there), where the fans don’t really care about what interchangeable band is actually on stage, they just want to tailgate and party on the lawn with familiar music in the background.

                Pine Knob on the other hand is a much better experience. First off, its capacity is 5,000 less than Blossom’s which does make a major difference, making the place feel a bit more cozy and compact as opposed to the sprawl at Blossom. The pavilion structure is a more minimalistic design with a much larger opening, meaning that no matter where you are in the venue, you have a great sightline to the stage. Most importantly, the sound quality was great! Seriously, this was one of the best sounding shows I’ve ever been to. It was so clear that I even picked up lyrics in a few songs that I had been getting wrong all this time! My seats were in the middle of the pavilion, but the sound was great everywhere in the venue too. The show actually started a couple minutes earlier than advertised and I was caught on the wrong side of the grass hill and had to quickly make my way around the hill to the pavilion to get to my seat. But the music sounded clear and was at a good volume even on the other side of a hill! The venue was also much more aesthetically pleasing than Blossom, integrating the forested areas that surround it into the actual venue space to make it feel cozy and secluded. It also featured multiple food and drink vending areas on either side of the stage and behind the hill and a hilltop bar. Lastly, there were multiple entry and exit points which were accessible from multiple main roads, meaning that I had no trouble getting in or out of the venue. This venue does everything right, while Blossom manages to do everything wrong. If I can manage it going forward, when tours are coming through Blossom, I’ll choose to travel to this place instead.

Anyway, enough ranting and raving about venues… I’ll get off my soapbox. This show was great! All three bands put on killer performances, and I spent the next several weeks listening to those three bands pretty much nonstop. According to Spotify’s Wrapped data (more on that to come), Noel was the artist I listened to second-most this year.

                Also, I decided to make a full weekend out of this trip. After staying a night near the venue in Auburn Hills, I trekked up to Point Edward, Ontario, a small beach down on the southern tip of Lake Huron just across the border from Michigan. I didn’t know what to really expect out of the trip… I just looked at the town on Google Maps and assumed it might be a cool place to stay. Damn, was it ever! The town was a very quaint picturesque beach town. The scenery around the river and lake was stunning! The water of Lake Huron was a beautiful turquoise blue; it felt like being on a tropical ocean beach. A couple miles (or, rather… kilometers) down the road was the town of Sarnia, which had a nice downtown main street with cool shops, art galleries, bars, and restaurants. I brought my bike with me on the trip and rode around most of the area in both towns and had a great time. I’d love to make it back there again at some point.

Incidentally, I didn’t really think about it until just now… but I ended up visiting four out of five Great Lakes this year. Kind of cool. I guess I need to get up to Superior next year to complete the collection.

 

06. The Rural Alberta Advantage – Plague Dogs

                The RAA is a band that I discovered several years ago while listening to the Canadian station (The Verge) on Sirius XM. Their 2017 album, The Wild, was one of my favorites that year. I liked it so much that I was checking out their tour schedule and contemplating a trip to see them in Canada somewhere, however the dates didn’t work out and I ended up not going. They toured this year and I saw them in March at the Beachland Ballroom. The Beachland is real hit-or-miss as far as sound quality at shows goes… I’ve seen a few shows there over the years where the sound has been trash. Thankfully, the mix for the RAA sounded incredible! For the final song, the band jumped out in the middle of the crowd and sang a song with just an acoustic guitar and tambourine as we all surrounded them and listened. It was a really cool moment! Going into the show, I was really only familiar with The Wild and a handful of singles the band released late last year and early this year, including this song, which would later appear on a full-length album released later in the year. After the show, though, I explored the rest of their discography, loving all of it!

 

07. Dan McCoy – Remember

                Dan is a good friend who is making his 5th appearance on one of my mixes, tying him with Noel Gallagher for the 3rd most. Dan released a new EP this year called Snapshots, which features the best sound production he’s had on a recording to date, along with some of his best songwriting ever. Dan, along with his band the Standing 8s, put together an EP Release show at the Geauga Theater back in April and asked me to open for them at the show. It was an awesome experience, and easily my favorite gig that I played this year. They sold the theater out! I’d like to say that I helped draw in a crowd, but really, it was all Dan and the 8s! It was a very cool experience for me to play on a large stage with a great sound system in front of a packed theater full of people that were paying attention and into every song! The loud cheering after every song was a stark contrast to the bar gigs I normally play and made me feel really good. Dan’s set was awesome! Dan and the Standing 8s played a long set that touched on his full musical career, spanning multiple bands and decades. They had a cool stage setup as well featuring photos of the band members throughout their lives (tying into the “Snapshots” theme) as well as a slideshow on a projector screen. A lot of effort went into the show and it was well worth it!

 

08. Megan Knight – Turbulence

                One of my traditions for several years was to trek out to Cape May, New Jersey in March for the Singer-Songwriter Cape May Music Conference. I attended the conference every year except for one between 2008 and 2019. The event would feature two days of panel discussions and workshops with industry professionals during the day and multiple clubs featuring live music at night. I’ve made a lot of friends, learned a lot of information, played several fun shows, and received several opportunities as a direct result of the conference. It was always a fun weekend in a really cool and beautiful beach town. Sadly, the conference ceased operations during the pandemic, so my yearly trips have also ended.

                I met Megan at the conference back in 2016 and featured one of her songs on that year’s mix. She played a set later in the night at the same show that I was a part of that year. Right away I was blown away by how good her songs were and how well she performed. I’ve kept up with her and her music ever since and have really liked everything that she has released… and I’m not even into country (if you couldn’t figure that out by me shitting on it in my comments about Blossom above 😊 ). Megan released this song as a stand-alone single earlier this year, and I think it might be my favorite thing she has released.

 

09. The Front Bottoms – Finding Your Way Home

                I honestly do not know a lot about The Front Bottoms. I think I stumbled onto them when they released their previous album, curious to see what they sounded like after being entertained by the band name. I generally liked what I heard, but not enough to listen to it repeatedly or dive deeper into their catalog. I gave their new album a listen when it was released earlier this year. I took a trip to Grand Rapids, MI back in August, the weekend the album was released. I listened to this album during a day trip from my Airbnb to the lake and really liked it. This song was the album closer and it really jumped out to me. I love the mellow vibe of the song and the emotional tug of the lyrics. I listened to this song on repeat several times in a row as I was driving from the beach back to Grand Rapids, accidentally getting caught in heavy traffic during a town festival that I was unaware of.

                Also, Grand Rapids was a really fun trip. I went up there for a weekend kind of on a whim – I had a free weekend with nothing going on and just really wanted to get out of town. I had never been to Grand Rapids before and knew it had a reputation for a great local beer scene. The Airbnb I booked ended up being a really nice place and a steal at the price I paid. I brought my bike with me on the trip and used that to navigate my way around the city. I visited several breweries while there and was really impressed by some of the creative and unique offerings that many of them had. I would definitely go back.

 

10. Peter Gabriel – Panopticom (Bright Side Mix)

                Peter Gabriel has been the biggest name on my bucket list for performers to see live for a long time. I finally got to check him off the list this year. I picked up tickets to his performance at the United Center in Chicago in September. My friend Mark and I went to the show and it was an amazing experience. PG always incorporates spectacular visual elements into his live shows to go along with the music. This show featured a great lighting display, multiple moving video boards, and an interactive translucent video screen that PG would work with during one of the songs. This song was one of my favorites that I heard all year. I was instantly obsessed with it from the moment I first heard it. According to Spotify data, it was my second-most listened to song this year. PG opted to release each song from his upcoming album, I/O, individually on the full moon of each month prior to releasing the full album in December. This song was the first single released, back in January. Each song was also released as two different versions with two different sound mixes: a Bright Side mix and a Dark Side mix, with the two versions sounding either… well… brighter or darker. “Panopticom” was based on an idea for an infinitely expandable and accessible data globe, “to allow the world to see itself better and understand more of what’s really going on,” a project which Gabriel is attempting to work on with like-minded people.

                Aside from the concert, my weekend in Chicago was a fun time. This was also my first time taking Amtrak (aside from a short journey between DC and Baltimore). I had a hard time sleeping on the train… but I’d be willing to try it again.

                Incidentally, the week after I bought the tickets to the show in Chicago, they announced additional tour dates which included a Cleveland date… where prices were half what I paid for the Chicago ticket… Dammit! Oh well… it was a fun weekend and well worth it!

 

11. Depeche Mode – Precious

                Here is where I need to gripe about Spotify’s Wrapped data for a moment [gets back on soapbox]. I know this is a dumb trivial thing to take issue with… but Spotify only factors in listening data from January through October for its end-of-year Wrapped presentations. I’d love to know why. Why is there a need to send out the Wrapped at the end of November instead of the end of the year, and why are there two entire months that are not even factored in? If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a bit of a data geek, and the glaring hole in the Spotify Wrapped data aggravates me more than it should.

                The reason I’m particularly annoyed by it this year, and the reason I’m bringing it up in my description for this song is that if the Wrapped included data from the full year, Depeche Mode would’ve likely been my top band this year since I listened to them pretty much exclusively for just about the entire month of November. Instead, they weren’t even present on my list at all because November data is omitted. Not that it matters at all to DM’s royalties or notoriety whether or not they show up on some random guy’s Wrapped list, but it still bothers me.

                Anyway, ranting aside [steps back down from soapbox]… I saw Depeche Mode in early November. It was my first time seeing them live, and I was blown away by how good they sounded and how fun the show was! This show caused me to go on that month-long listening kick for them and I’ve also so far since bought two albums on vinyl.

                This song is not a new song. It was released on their 2005 album, Playing the Angel. While I liked their newest album, Memento Mori, nothing on it really jumped out to make me want to include it on this mix. Depeche Mode’s music has been so influential over the years that it has been covered by a huge list of other bands and musicians. Prior to the show, I was familiar with a cover version of this song by the band Starbenders, but I did not know the original version and did not actually realize it was a cover. They played this song at the show. I recognized the opening chord progression and lyrical melody and was trying to place where I knew it from. As soon as they got to the chorus, I had a “holy shit” moment of realization, as did my friend who was there with me and who also only knew the Starbenders version. We laughed about our collective epiphany during and after the show. Later, I found a list on Wikipedia of Depeche Mode songs that have been covered by other artists (which was a massive list), but it did not actually include Starbenders. I ended up editing the Wikipedia list to add them in. (Told you I was a geek.)

 

12. Metric – All Comes Crashing

                I discovered Metric while in college working and hanging out at Thursdays Lounge, where their music was in regular rotation. I discovered a lot of great indie and alternative music at that place. I’ve loved Metric ever since and saw them live for the third time at that show in Detroit that I mentioned above. Their set was energetic and great as usual, and I listened to them a lot leading up to and following that weekend. This song was the first single off their album Formentera, which was released last year. Later this year, they released the follow-up sequel album, Formentera II. The new album was a bit more electronic and dancy than its predecessor. I liked it, but preferred the first one. The new album was not out yet at the time of the concert, so they did not play anything off it, however this song sounded great live! I wanted to include this song because of the show… and also just because it’s a great song.

 

13. We Are Scientists – Here Goes

                Lobes from We Are Scientists was released in January and was the first album this year that I really latched onto and loved. Every song on it is catchy and fun. The whole album is just a pleasure to listen to. I named this album as my second favorite of the year, and according to Spotify, this song was the one that I listened to the most this year.

 

14. The Subways – Influencer Killed the Rock Star

                I remember The Subways from the indie hit “Rock & Roll Queen” back in 2005. That’s really the only thing I knew from them. I came across this new album while perusing new releases and gave it a listen. It’s a good album with a lot of good songs. This song really jumped out to me. I love the feel of the song. It’s energetic and very catchy. I also enjoyed the continuation of the “_ killed the_” theme and the commentary on the “Influencer Culture” that is prevalent in today’s society and on social media.

 

15. Starbenders – The Game

                In case you didn’t know who Starbenders were when I mentioned them above, here they are. I first heard this band in 2021 when they were supposed to open for The Sounds at the Grog Shop. However, The Sounds were stranded in PA when their bus broke down. Starbenders ended up playing a free show that night. We stuck around to watch them and I instantly became a fan! After releasing several singles throughout the last year, the band finally released the new full length album, Take Back the Night, in late-2023. This song was released as a single earlier in the year and was one of my favorite songs this year.

 

16. VOLA – Paper Wolf

                I have a metalhead friend who will occasionally send me bands or albums to check out from time to time… most of them are trash… but occasionally blind squirrels find nuts… and VOLA was one of his nuts……. um, I think I’m getting a little too lost in this metaphor. Anyway, VOLA is a great band with a progressive and melodic edge to their heavy music. I traveled out to Pittsburgh back in September to see back-to-back shows at Mr. Smalls Theater with the first night featuring Beast In Black (another great metal band) and VOLA playing the second night. That scheduling conveniently lined up well! Both shows were excellent! VOLA’s previous album, Witness, was one of my top albums of 2021. This song was a stand-alone single released earlier this year. I’m hoping there is a new album on the way soon.

 

17. BABYMETAL – METAL KINGDOM

                So, now that I’m typing this up, I’m pretty sure that same friend that introduced me to VOLA also introduced me to BABYMETAL. So, this is another nut apparently. Okay, seriously, I’m done with this metaphor.

                BABYMETAL was formed in Japan in 2010 by a music producer as a spinoff of a Japanese Idol girl group. The concept was a fusion of J-Pop and heavy metal (the term “baby” refers to “the birth of a new genre of music,” and the Japanese pronunciation rhymes with “heavy metal”). The band initially kind of felt almost like a novelty act, but the music was so good that they needed to be taken seriously. Over the span of the next decade-plus and over four albums, the band has really grown and matured. The new album, THE OTHER ONE, is a concept album based on alternate realities and parallel worlds. Even though I do not speak Japanese, the grandiose music and melodies of this song certainly convey that there is a deeper concept behind it.

 

18. Mammoth WVH – Take a Bow

                Mammoth WVH is the musical project of Wolfgang Van Halen, son of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen. Wolfgang is an incredibly talented musician, who… and it might be sacrilegious to say this… but he just might be even more talented than his father! Wolf plays every instrument on every song on the Mammoth albums, as well as writing all of the music and recording it himself. By all accounts, he’s also just a nice down-to-earth guy. I listened to an interview with him on a podcast when this album was released and he seems like the kind of guy that you’d want to just grab a beer with. The name Mammoth is a tribute to his father, whose first band was also called Mammoth before evolving into Van Halen.

                The first Mammoth WVH album was released in 2021. It was an excellent album. Wolf released his second album in August this year. It was released during the weekend when I took my road trip to Grand Rapids, and I listened to the album multiple times on my drive home, as well as throughout the rest of the year. This album showed a lot of growth in Wolf’s playing, singing, and writing, and the album ended up being my top album of 2023. I traveled down to Columbus to see Mammoth play a show in early November (Wolf has a backing band for the road). Their set was awesome! They sounded great live! As Wolf was talking to the crowd to thank everyone for coming out and to introduce the closing song [“Don’t Back Down,” the biggest single from the first album], he spotted a kid in the audience holding up a sign that said “Let me rock with you.” Wolf was like, “Wait, do you know how to play this song?” The kid shouted Yeah, and Wolf pulled him up on stage and handed him his guitar and let him play the song with the band. The kid handled it flawlessly! You could tell this wasn’t staged and wasn’t a gimmick that the band does every night based on Wolf’s reaction to everything – he was smiling and laughing about it through the whole song, clearly entertained and amazed that the kid not only knew the song but was pulling it off so well. At one point he even got lost in the song and screwed up the words because he was laughing. I’ll be curious to see if that’s something they start trying to incorporate into their shows going forward or if this was just a one-off. Either way it was really memorable!

                This song is from the new album and probably my favorite overall Mammoth song. I love the way the middle section builds into an intense guitar solo and crescendos back into the huge chorus.

 

19. Biffy Clyro – Many of Horror (Live at Wembly)

                This is Biffy Clyro’s 7th appearance on one of my mix albums, making them tied for the most appearances. The original version of this song was from the 2009 Only Revolutions album, and the first album of theirs that I really got into. They have since become one of my favorite bands, and I saw them twice in concert on their 2022 tour. The Live at Wembly album was released in 2011. I have a playlist on Spotify of all live songs from various artists which includes several live Biffy songs. My second date with my current girlfriend was back in September at the Cleveland Oktoberfest. I had this playlist playing in the car as I drove her home. Once we got back to her apartment, she kissed me in the car before leaving – our first kiss – while this song happened to be playing in the background (que the “aww’s”). This song was already one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands, but now it has an even more special meaning to it. And given that the song is one of the band’s most popular songs and this live version features a Wembly Stadium full of fans screaming their hearts out at the end of it, I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to conclude this mix album.

 

 

Okay, that’s a wrap (but not a Wrapped) on my 2023 Mix Album. If you listened to the whole thing and made it this far in the reading material, I thank you, and I hope you enjoyed what you heard and read. If you want to check out any of my previous mix albums, I have them all available to stream below. If you want even more music, check out my friend David Ullman’s mixes – as I mentioned in the intro, he’s been doing it since 2004 and was the inspiration for me to start. If you have Spotify, please check out my playlist, “Caught in the Current” – it’s a playlist of new music that I regularly update to keep fresh and… current. Many of the songs that I include in these mixes appear on that playlist first. I’m also planning on releasing new music in 2024 and would love it if you would check that out once it’s available. My current discography is available on Spotify or any other streaming service.

 

Thanks again for reading and listening. Cheers!

-KC

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Previous Mix Albums: