Pet Door Show Best of 2021
I feel like I should say something meaningful about 2021, like some conniving spin doctor trying to avert a scandal, but I think the best I can say about it is: it’s ending. Like many of you, my year has been filled with painful loneliness, stagnant restriction, endless worry, and devastating loss. Like many of you, I am beyond frustrated that we are not only still in a global pandemic, but somehow at the end of 2021 we are smashing daily new COVID case records left and right. So many people have lost income and security while trying to protect the safety and lives of themselves and their communities, while bosses, pharmacological corporations, and our elected representatives bemoan our lack of willingness to risk everything for the sake of another buck in their pocket, all while facing mind-boggling pushback against vaccination and other precautions by disingenuous (and vaccinated) politicians and the people they have misled.
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “What the hell, I thought this was a piece about music?” And it is, I promise. As an independent performing musician, and as someone who loves going to gigs and supporting other independent artists, I see how difficult this pandemic has been for musicians. Since I first heard about cases discovered in the US, I have played one (1) very private show: my birthday, in my backyard, for about fifteen people (with Ariel Wang, Dibson T Hoffweiler, Ruthie Sea, and Squeakie). Every day I see working musicians optimistically planning tours and shows, and then having to pull out at the last minute because one or more of them tested positive for COVID. I miss going to see local bands. I miss planning shows. I see how our global, political response to the pandemic directly affects musicians.
The last I will say about the pandemic is this: Even from the most isolationist perspective, if we don’t tackle COVID globally, we’re not tackling it at all. Wherever in the world infections are left to spread, the potential for mutation into more infectious, less vaccine-resistant strains increases. We need to waive patents for COVID vaccines and diagnostics and provide materials and other assistance in order to ensure global access to vaccines. We need to put a lot more effort into outreach and education on COVID and the vaccines in areas where vaccine uptake is low, and do whatever is necessary to get enough people in our communities vaccinated so that our immunosuppressed and high risk loved ones for whom the vaccines aren’t an option, are still protected. And in the meantime, we need to lock down, and provide relief and assistance to people so that they are able to do so. It’s not cheap, doesn’t sound pleasant, but the current plan of “take precautions unless they impact profits” doesn’t have an end to the pandemic built in to the plan. How else are we going to get it under control?
ANYWAY.
2021 was the first full year that I have hosted my radio show, the Pet Door Show on Shady Pines Radio (Thursdays 2–4pm PST / 5–7pm EST / 10pm-12am GMT). Every week, I share a cross-genre sampler of my favorite tracks released in the past year by independent and underplayed artists from around the world, all with fewer than 5,000 followers on instagram. It’s always filled with music that doesn’t get nearly as much airplay as deserved, by artists before they make it big. (Check out my post Pet Door Show’s Up-and-Coming Artists You Should Know in 2022 for a list of artists who‘ve been blowing up since they were played on the Pet Door Show.) Sorry to toot my own horn, but it’s a really great show. Last year, people were still releasing music recorded and produced in 2019 and there was a ton of amazing music to share. To be honest, I kind of expected that things would cool off a little in 2021. I was extremely wrong. Musicians have been out here the whole time, recording albums remotely, in bedrooms, on porches, tinkering and moulding their art into beautiful, innovative albums, EPs, and singles. If anything, this year has clarified for me the tremendous creativity and resilience of artists. Artists gotta art, you know.
Like last year, I wanted to share a list of my absolute favorite releases of 2021 that I’ve played on the Pet Door Show. I love every track I’ve ever played on the show, so it was no easy feat whittling down to 2 hours of tracks, but here they are. These 29 tracks are the cream of the crop, the tracks that especially resonated with my soul, the phenomenal bops and entrancing tunes that I just couldn’t get enough of this year. So here is a rundown of the Pet Door Show Best of 2021, which also aired live on the Pet Door Show on Shady Pines Radio on December 30th 2021. Enjoy! Buy some music!
(P.S. Here too is an accompanying Spotify playlist, but I highly encourage you to purchase music on Bandcamp etc. if possible, because it’s so much better for the artists — see below for purchase links. The Spotify playlist also does not include one track that is not on Spotify: Transparency by Lady Midnight, Rollie Raps, B3ar MC, and Gunner Jules, from the album LANDBACK by NDN Collective, available on Bandcamp.)
Virginia Wing — Soft Fruit
From the album private LIFE (February 12, 2021)
Indie electronica. Manchester, England.
Saint Mela — st. paul x parkside
From the EP a well for my ego (June 20, 2021)
Indie R&B. New York City, NY.
Houston Kendrick — Good Evening, Tennessee
From the album Small Infinity (April 23, 2021)
R&B hip hop. Nashville, TN.
Ahzia — The Wav.
From the album Welcome to Nowhere (December 3, 2021)
Hip hop. Davenport, IA.
Lady Midnight*, Rollie Raps**, B3ar MC***, and Gunner Jules** — Transparency
From the album LANDBACK by NDN Collective (November 25, 2021)
Hip hop. *Minneapolis, MN / Sicangu Nation** / Tuah-Tah (Taos Pueblo)***
Surron the 7th & Thomas Who? ft. Bezel 365 — Raw Cocaine
From the album Fire in Little Africa by Fire in Little Africa (May 28, 2021)
Hip hop. Tulsa, OK.
Solemn Brigham — Nothing Left
From the album South Sinner Street (September 24, 2021)
Hip hop. Wilmington, NC.
Big Jess — Grumpy Old Grandpa
From the album Good Clean Fun 4 (August 11, 2021)
Hip hop. Minneapolis, MN.
Mr. Sipp — Gonna Be Alright
From the album Sippnotized (April 2, 2021)
Soul blues. McComb, MS.
Annie Mack — Testify
From the EP Testify (January 29, 2021)
Blues americana. Minneapolis, MN.
Deb Ryder — Memphis Moonlight
From the album Memphis Moonlight (June 11, 2021)
Blues americana. Topanga, CA.
Emily Nenni — In the Mornin’
Single (May 28, 2021)
Country. Nashville, TN.
Víík — Alle barn skal sove
Single (February 10, 2021)
Folk. Denmark.
Christina Alden & Alex Patterson — Hunter
From the album Hunter (May 7, 2021)
Folk. Norwich, England.
Spider Noises — Jane’s Train Driver Husband
From the 2-track Year in Amber (April 1, 2021)
Folk. Durham, England.
Mt. Pleasure — Twilight River Blues
From the album A Strange Shadow (July 3, 2021)
Guitar instrumental. Montana.
Fogo Pagô — Boca de Peixe
From the album O Abre Caminhos (March 26, 2021)
Latin folk. Bahia, Brazil.
Syssi Mananga* — Mopepe
From the album Mopepe Mama (April 15, 2021)
Afropop folk. Nairobi, Kenya.
* Syssi Mananga was the Pet Door Show’s highlighted artist on May 27th 2021!
Laura Itandehui — Yo no Necesito de Mucho
From the album Laura Itandehui (July 16, 2021)
Folk jazz. Mexico City, Mexico.
Grace Victoria — Down in Virginia
Single (January 1, 2021) from the album Love & Justice (January 1, 2022).
Indie jazz. New York City, NY.
Mia Pixley* — Mama’s Got Snacks
From the album Margaret in the Wild (July 23, 2021)
Experimental indie folk. Oakland, CA.
* Mia Pixley was the Pet Door Show’s highlighted artist on October 21st, 2021!
Alostmen ft. Yaa Pono — Fauziah
From the album Kologo (January 29, 2021)
West African roots folk. Accra, Ghana.
My Idea — I Can’t Dance
From the EP That’s My Idea (July 30, 2021)
Indie. Brooklyn, NY.
Corduroy Brown — To My Younger Self
From the album Let Me Know (August 13, 2021)
Alternative indie. Huntington, WV.
Francis of Delirium — I Think I’m Losing
From the EP Wading (April 9, 2021)
Alternative rock. Luxembourg.
Zig Zag — I Care About You
Single (August 14, 2021)
Post punk. Naarm, Australia.
Fake Fruit — Milkman
From the album Fake Fruit (March 5, 2021)
Post punk. Oakland, CA.
The Bug Club — The Fixer
From the album Pure Particles (November 12, 2021)
Post punk. Caldicot, Wales.
Kiss the Tiger — Motel Room
From the album Vicious Kid (June 3, 2021)
Minneapolis, MN.
That’s it! You reached the end! Here’s a link to that Spotify playlist again. If you enjoyed this list, check out my other post “Pet Door Show’s Up-and-Coming Artists You Should Know” for a list of artists who’ve been rising in popularity since they were played on the Pet Door Show, and have crossed over the “5,000 followers” benchmark.