At the end of the day, music brings people together. Whether it’s a pop hit or a classically composed piece, the music that resonates with us fosters community and collectively shared experiences. Director of the Mead Witter School of Music Dan Cavanagh put it best in a message he sent out ahead of the holidays:
Music creates points of connection — between the performers on stage, between performers and listeners, between students and professors, between the community and the university, between the past, present, and future. It is one of the greatest human developments in all of history – this art form that communicates at a level deeper than language, that can express our deepest worries, our grandest desires, hopes, and dreams, this glorious experience that contains the sublime, the raw, the spiritual, the intense, the pristine, and the geyser of feeling into the world.
Cavanagh is one of the many members of our L&S community who have been listening to the massive quantity of music that came out this year. To help navigate the 2024 library of new releases, we connected with an alumnus who owns a local record store, students in our L&S Dean’s Ambassador Program and a pair of music faculty members. Together they provide insight on the best songs that came out this year and recommend what you should listen to next.
On the Record
For communication arts alumnus Rick Stoner (’06), music is more than just a hobby, it’s his business. Stoner is an entrepreneur who recently bought Strictly Discs, a record store with its flagship location on Monroe Street that’s popular with Madison locals and students alike. He bought the store in 2023 from the original owners, who opened the shop in 1988. But Stoner’s history with the store dates back to his time as a student. Strictly Discs is where he used to shop when he was looking for CDs.
“As a first-generation college student, Madison really changed my life — both the university and the community,” Stoner says. “The opportunity to own a business in the heart of Madison, right by Camp Randall and on a great small business street like Monroe Street, was a tremendous opportunity for me.”
Most record shops specialize in specific genres of music, but Strictly Discs has it all. They carry a wide selection of new releases and vintage vinyl for customers to peruse through, and it’s part of the company ethos to be non-judgmental of varying music tastes. And while they deal in all kinds of music, major artists like Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift were regularly their top sellers this year.
“There are many indie record shops that look down on pop music — particularly popular pop like Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan and artists like them,” Stoner says. “But to me pop has become so advanced that it’s borrowing from elements that most record heads really enjoy.”
In his year of running Strictly Discs, he’s noticed some exciting music trends. For one, more and more artists are releasing their albums on vinyl. A higher percentage of the record sale goes directly to the artist when compared to streaming, which sends very little money to the artist. Stoner also noticed an increase in collaboration between major artists. Take Noah Kahan, for example. Last year he re-released his album Stick Season with collaborative covers with artists like Hozier, Gracie Abrams, Post Malone and more. And as for the music itself, he’s noticed a heavier reliance on sampling, digital production equipment, looping and the creation of new sounds. Bon Iver’s 2024 EP Sable is an example of this type of approach.
As for Stoner, he’s a self-described music “chameleon,” and it shows in his top 10 albums of the year. His list includes records from Sierra Ferrell, MJ Lenderman, The Smile, Jack White, Nilüfer Yanya, Washed Out, Knocked Loose, Jessica Pratt and The Dare. And his top record of the year was I Wish You Way More Than Luck from Lo Moon.
“They do a lofi relaxing pop vibe, and it’s almost like if the band Genesis raised the band The Postal Service to be young musicians and they put out a new album — that’s what it sounds like to me,” Stoner says. “I love albums that don’t sound like anything else, so that’s why this was my favorite album of the year.”
Looking for more record recommendations from Strictly Discs? Follow their month-long coverage of top 10 staff picks on Instagram. Or, just stop by in person and ask the folks there what they’re spinning. While you’re there, you might run into Eric M. Wilcots, Dean of the College of Letters & Science and Mary C. Jacoby Professor of Astronomy. He’s been a regular at the shop since he joined the UW–Madison faculty nearly 30 years ago.
“He’s been buying jazz and classical CDs from Strictly Discs since he started working at the university,” Stoner says. “He’s a loyal customer, and it’s people like him who have sustained us through all the trends of vinyl versus CDs and music going digital.”
Soundtrack of the Student Experience
Walk around campus, and you’ll see a lot of students bopping around town with headphones on. Whether they’re making the hike up Bascom Hill between classes, studying in College Library or eating lunch by the State Street food trucks, there’s often music playing in the background. But do you ever wonder what they’re listening to? Turns out, it’s a wonderfully diverse mix of tunes. We asked the L&S Dean’s Ambassadors to share their favorite music releases from 2024, and their answers ranged from pop and hip hop, to folk and Latin to alternative and grunge. Plus, it’s worth noting, there wasn’t a single repeat recommendation.
Here’s a list of songs these outstanding students consider their top releases this year.
- “No One Noticed” by The Marías
- “Close to You” by Gracie Abrams
- “A Tear in Space (Airlock)” by Glass Animals
- “Surfing a Tsunami” by Future
- “Forever” by Noah Kahan
- “Taste” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
- “Beat It” by Future and Metro Boomin
- “Saturn” by SZA
- “Seventh Heaven” by INOHA
- “Se Fue” by Rauw Alejandro and Laura Pausini
- “Neon River” by POND
- “Orange Blossoms” by Goldford
- “The Greatest” by Billie Eilish
- “Take Her Home” by Kenny Chesney
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter
- “St. Chroma” by Tyler, The Creator
- “Supernatural” by Ariana Grande and featuring Troye Sivan
- “Alone” by The Cure
The students also shared their tactics for finding new music. While most gravitated toward social media, Spotify and Apple Music, there were still quite a few holdouts for the radio, record charts, media lists and good-old-fashioned word of mouth. Plus, one student gets the best of all these lists by using an app called Airbuds, which allows her to see what her friends are listening to in real time.
“It’s such a fun way to stay connected and discover new music together,” says Briana Medina, a senior studying political science and education studies.
From the Experts
When asked about their favorite music releases of the year, two faculty members in the Mead Witter School of Music had overlapping recommendations for one artist in particular: Chappell Roan.
Johannes Wallmann is a professor of music and the John and Carolyn Peterson Chair in Jazz Studies. As his title suggests, he usually listens to a lot of jazz music in its many broad forms. If you ask him what his favorite song release this year was, he’ll tell you about “Passing Lion’s Gate,” by Christine Jensen. He describes this almost 13-minute instrumental composition as big band jazz but in a new golden age of innovation.
“Jensen is among the genre’s leading composers,” says Wallmann, who is also a pianist, composer and recording artist. “And the rest of Jensen’s album Harbour is fantastic, too.”
But if you ask Wallmann what artist had the biggest impact on him this year, he’ll point to Roan’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Lately, he’s been listening to it almost daily with his daughter who loves it. Lucky for him, he’s also a fan.
In the music department, he’s in good company. Audrey Martinovich is a lecturer on music production as well as an audio engineer and music producer. She co-owns and operates Audio for the Arts, where she specializes in recording acoustic instruments and voice. Her taste in music leans more toward pop, and Roan has made a big impression on her this year. In Martinovich’s book, “Good Luck Babe” stands out as her favorite song release from the year, largely because of its production quality.
“It brings back an ’80s synth vibe and sounds happy at first, but the lyrics examine internalized homophobia,” Martinovich says. “The juxtaposition reflects these conflicting emotions perfectly.”
So, if you’ve been bumping Roan’s debut studio album regularly, know that you’re in good expert company.
