AJJ/Anxiety Machine (Mark Glick)
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2018? (Preferably in order 1-5)
- Jeff Rosenstock - POST-
- The Sidekicks - Happiness Hours
- The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer
- Advance Base - Animal Companionship
- Vein - Errorzone
2. What band did you discover in 2018 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
I heard Thee More Shallows for the first time this year. The urgency of their record The Book of Bad Breaks really struck a chord. On the other end of the spectrum, Hiroshi Yoshimura's Music For Nine Postcards was a near constant when I just wanted to relax and focus.
3. How will you remember 2018? (In terms of music)
I'll remember 2018 as a really inspiring year, having toured with and seen bands & musicians I love confidently do whatever they want. Spending a week with Emperor X was incredibly motivating, he could capture an entire room with just an iPad.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2019?
We're putting together a festival/party/art show called Desert Trash in Phoenix this February, which is going to be a lot of fun. More touring, more music, more more.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2019?
Xiu Xiu & Katie Dey. There's probably a bunch of stuff that I'm unaware of being in the works. I like being surprised.
6. Right now there are two primary types of digital services: subscription streaming and the bandcamp approach that's more individualized. Do you have a preference and what direction do you think future streaming/download services will move toward?
I prefer the subscription service style. I'm constantly finding new and old music that I fall in love with, and I believe it's because the bar to entry is so low. I pay the monthly fee, and then all it costs is time to find things that resonate with me. It's not perfect, and people have made some really good points against it, but it's better than not paying anyone anything and just having piracy be the biggest platform.
I have no idea what direction things will move. I've seen the stream to own model gaining some traction, which would be an interesting spin on things. Hopefully it just gets better for everyone, however iterative or incremental it needs to be.
