2019/2010s in review

*2019 all-genres-in-play list, plus runners-up, songs and shows.

*2019 jazz list.

*2010s all-genres-in-play list, plus runners-up and songs.

*2010s jazz list.

I've also updated the two archives of prior top 10 lists:

*All-genres-in-play lists, 2005 through the present.

*Jazz lists, 2008 through the present.

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This year, I released 10 episodes of the Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast, featuring interviews with Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, Living Colour's Vernon Reid, Jan Hammer, Dave King and more. Please check them out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Podbean if you haven't already. More to come in 2020!

And thanks to these and other music/etc. podcasts that have enriched and inspired me; I strongly encourage you to give them all a look/listen:

-The 5049 Podcast
-The Trap Set
-Kreative Kontrol
-The Heavy Hole
-Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk
-Radical Research
-Crash Bang Boom Drumming Podcast
-Burning Ambulance
-Noisextra
-Washed Up Emo
-Everything Went Black
-You Don't Know Mojack
-Henry & Heidi

I wrote a lot this year, but the pieces I'm most proud of were the King Crimson–related stories, namely:

*A Robert Fripp interview.

*A two-part deep dive into the history and influence of "21st Century Schizoid Man."

*And a career-spanning interview with Bill Bruford.

And thank you to anyone still making their way to this webspace! It's less active than it has been in years past as more of my work appears elsewhere, but it's still meaningful to me as a personal archive and occasional writing outlet.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #10: Bill Ward

Hard to put into words how meaningful it was for me to sit down with one fourth of the original Black Sabbath. Bill's warmth and sincerity are disarming. He's just an absolute joy to speak with. I hope you enjoy this interview.

You can listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or the Podbean player below:

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #9: Pyrrhon

A really fun interview with a truly avant-garde band, and a great bunch of guys, to boot.


Please check out their music here.

Fun fact: Pyrrhon vocalist Doug Moore is also an excellent writer. Check out his take on the resurrection of craw here. He also wrote the bio for the recently released Skryptor album; scroll to the bottom here to read. And if you've ever been a death-metal fan, you need to read his classic 2013 treatise on Death Metal English.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #8: Jan Hammer

Very proud to present two hours of conversation with the great Jan Hammer:


I found his genuine, unabashed excitement re: the music he's made over the years to be deeply charming, and I hope that comes across in this interview. Absolutely one of my favorite entries in the HMB series so far. No Miami Vice talk here, since that's covered in just about every other interview he's done; just pure jazz, rock and jazz-rock the whole way through!

You can also listen via Apple Podcasts. If you're enjoying these episodes, I'd be so grateful if you could leave a rating and/or review, and help spread the word via social media. More to come.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #7: Wendy Eisenberg

Episode 7 features an in-depth conversation with guitarist-singer-songwriter Wendy Eisenberg:


I had a blast speaking with Wendy and I hope you enjoy this episode! Listen via the player above, the HMB Podbean page or Apple Podcasts. Learn more about Wendy here.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #6: Ches Smith

The latest installment of the Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast is now live. Episode 6 features an in-depth conversation with drummer/composer Ches Smith:



We touch on his work with everyone from Mr. Bungle and Theory of Ruin to Tim Berne and Marc Ribot.

I hope you enjoy! If that is the case, I would be very grateful if you would consider subscribing to the show in Apple Podcasts, and/or leaving a rating or review. Any kind of social-media or word-of-mouth shout-outs are also of course hugely appreciated.

Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #5: Vernon Reid

The fifth episode of the HMB Podcast — featuring an in-depth conversation with guitar virtuoso and Living Colour founder Vernon Reid — is now live! Go here to listen/subscribe via Apple Podcasts and here to listen/subscribe via Podbean, or check out the episode via the player below.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #4: Tyshawn Sorey

The fourth episode of the HMB Podcast — featuring an in-depth conversation with multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey — is now live. Go here to listen/subscribe via Apple Podcasts and here to listen subscribe via Podbean, or check out the episode via the player below.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #3: Kenny Grohowski

The third installment of the HMB Podcast, featuring a long-form interview with drummer Kenny Grohowski — of Imperial Triumphant, John Zorn's Simulacrum and many other projects — is now live. You can listen/subscribe in iTunes or stream/download via the player below.


Photo: Petra Cvelbar

A sincere thanks to anyone who has checked out the podcast so far. I hope you're enjoying this new format for the HMB series as much as I am. And for those who might be wondering: Yes, non-drummers will be featured on future episodes! Please stay tuned.

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast #2: Kate Gentile

The second installment of the HMB Podcast, featuring a long-form interview with drummer-composer Kate Gentile, is now live. You can listen/subscribe in iTunes or stream/download via the player below.


To everyone who has listened or sent feedback on the podcast so far, thank you so much for your support. If you like what you hear and are inclined to rate or review the show in iTunes, that would be sincerely appreciated.

More great conversations have already been recorded for the coming months, so please stay tuned!

The Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast

Some reading this may be familiar with Heavy Metal Bebop, the online interview series I launched back in 2011 dealing with the intersections of jazz and metal. I'm happy to announce that Heavy Metal Bebop is now a podcast. Go here to learn more and to stream or download the first episode, which features a conversation with Bad Plus drummer Dave King. Or just hit play below:



I've had more fun conducting these interviews than I have in just about any other journalistic endeavor to date, so I'm enormously happy to unveil this latest chapter of HMB. The other HMB Podcast episodes I've recorded so far have been a blast, and I can't wait for you to hear them.

Hope you enjoy! And stay tuned for episode 2 sometime in March.

Update: You can now hear and subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.