Though Jacob and I both departed our jobs at Hear Nebraska in 2015, Nebraska’s artists (who we spent the last few years covering) make it easy to willfully pay attention even when there’s no professional obligation.
Managing editor Andrew Stellmon was quite kind and welcomed us back into KZUM’s studios to record a year-end episode for HN’s album review podcast. Personally, I hope we can maintain this episode as an annual tradition. In addition to my affinity for the podcast format, diving into Nebraska music with my friends — talking everything from shop to far-of-field theories — is a meaningful part of our relationship.
Thanks for the R&B, garage rock, sad folk, smitten hip-hop, leftist punk and unknowable piano pop, Nebraska. Happy new year.
—Chance Solem-Pfeifer
If you want to know the picks in advance and skip around the podcast, find a time-stamped table of contents below.
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Favorite Nebraska Songs of 2015
1:25 – Honorable mentions for The Good Life, Uh Oh, John Klemmensen and the Party, blét, Halfwit, Digital Leather and Kill County
9:00 – Chance and Jacob’s #5 Song | “Alligator Years” by Twinsmith
11:30 – Chance’s #4 Song | “Airwaves” by Both feat. Rothsteen
13:15 – Jacob’s #4 Song | “Middle House” by Eric In Outerspace
14:50 – Chance’s #3 Song | “Retail Star” by CJ Mills
16:45 – Jacob’s #3 Song | “Fire Flames” by Anna McClellan
18:10 – Chance’s #2 Song | “Search The Searches” by Desaparecidos
20:50 – Jacob’s #2 Song | “Airwaves” by Both feat. Rothsteen
21:50 – Chance’s #1 Song | “Beat Up Iron” by Kill County
25:00 – Jacob’s #1 Song | “You Got Under My Skin” by Simon Joyner
Favorite Nebraska Albums of 2015
26:50 – Honorable mentions for Desaparecidos, See Through Dresses, John Klemmensen and The Party, Anna McClellan, Big Harp and Kill County
34:40 – Jacob’s #3 Album | All Faded by Digital Leather
36:20 – Chance’s #3 Album | Grass, Branch & Bone by Simon Joyner
39:55 – Jacob’s #2 Album| More Like It by McCarthy Trenching
43:40 – Chance’s #2 Album | Fire Flames by Anna McClellan
45:45 – Jacob’s #1 Album | Grass, Branch & Bone by Simon Joyner
51:15 – Chance’s #1 Album | More Like It by McCarthy Trenching
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Listen to past episodes of On The Record here: