by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

So here it is again, the Lazy-i Best of 2023 compilation CD. I’ve been putting this comp together since 1994, originally on cassette.  It’s a collection of favorite tracks I’ve come across during my work as a critic-at-large for Lazy-i.com and the aforementioned, now-defunct, Reader. The CD is mailed to friends and associates as a sort of year-end holiday card that’s also an audio time capsule (and collector’s item!).  

Got a CD player? This year, I’m sending a liminted number of copies to anyone who asks, while supplies last (and there ain’t many). Just send me your mailing address via email to tim.mcmahan@gmail.com. 

Here’s the track list: 

• Genesis Owusu, “Leaving the Light” from the album STRUGGLER (AWAL)
• Sextile, “Contortion” from the album Push (Sacred Bones)
• noname, “Namesake” from the album Sundial (self-released)
• Slowdive, “Kisses,” from the album Everything is Alive (Dead Oceans)
• M83, “Amnesia,” from the album Fantasy (Mute)
• Yo La Tengo, “Aselestine” from the album This Stupid World(Matador)
• Hotline TNT, “I Thought You’d Change” from the album Cartwheel (Third Man)
• boygenius, “Cool About It,” from the album The Record(Interscope)
• Blondshell, “Joiner” from the album Blondshell (Partisan)
• Lloyd Cole, “Warm by the Fire,” from the album On Pain (Edel Music)
• Neva Dinova, “Outside,” single (Saddle Creek)
• Slow Pulp, “Broadview” from the album Yard (ANTI-)
• Palehound, “Eye on the Bat” from the album Eye on the Bat (Polyvinyl)
• Pardoner, “Get Inside!” from the album Peace Loving People(Bar/None)
• Lewsberg, “Communion,” single (12XU)
• Water from Your Eyes, “Out There (The Dare Version)” from Crushed by Everyone (Matador)
• Bad Bad Men, “No Thanks” from the album Messed Up(SPEED! Nebraska)
• Model/Actriz, “Mosquito” from the album Dogsbody (True Panther)
• Lana Del Rey, “Let the Light In” from the album Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (Interscope)
• Mitch Gettman, “Empire” from the album Tilde (self released)
• Bright Eyes, “Christmas in Prison” single featuring John Prine (Oh Boy)

The playlist also is available in Spotify. Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. You’ll find it along with a few from past years.

But wait, there’s more. As I said, I’ve been putting this comp together since ’94, so I figured why not (for Throw Back Thursday’s sake) post the playlist from the Lazy-i Best of 2003 comp CD? That was 20 years ago. It was a different world for sure. Omaha’s indie music scene had just begun to capture national attention, and almost all the bands on this comp played at Sokol Underground.

Here’s the track list:

• Guster — “Keep It Together” from Keep It Together on Warner Bros. 

• The Jayhawks — “Save It for a Rainy Day ” from Rainy Day Music on American Recordings. 

• Yo La Tengo — “Moonrock Mambo” from Summer Sun released by Matador. 

• Criteria — “Play on Words” from En Garde released by Initial. 

• The Rapture — “I Need Your Love” from Echoes released by Strummer / Universal.

• Steely Dan — “Things I Miss the Most” from Everything Must Go on Warner/Reprise. 

• Crooked Fingers — “Big Darkness” from Red Devil Dawn, released on Warm Records.  

• Death in Vegas — “Girls” from the soundtrack to the motion picture Lost in Translation, released on Emperor Norton.  

• Consonant — “Night for Love” from Love and Affliction released on Fenway Records. 

• Guided by Voices — “The Best of Jill Hives ” from Earthquake Glue released by Matador Records. 

• Liam Lynch — “SOS” from Fake Songs, released by S-curve Records. 

• The Kingdom Flying Club — “Artists Are Boring ”  from Non-fiction released by Emergency Umbrella Records. 

• Okkervil River — “Blanket and Crib” from Down the River of Golden Dreams on Jagjaguwar Records. 

• The Postal Service — “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” from Give Up on Sub Pop Records.

• Atom & His Package — “Lying to You” from Attention! Blah Blah Blah released on Hopeless Records.  

• Enon — “The Power of Yawning” from Hocus-Pocus, released by Touch and Go Records. 

• The Shins — “Turn a Square,” from Chutes Too Narrow on Sub Pop Records. 

• Sun Kil Moon — “Lily and Parrots” from Ghosts of the Great Highway, released on Jetset. 

• The Pernice Brothers — “Baby in Two” from Yours, Mine & Ours, on Ashmont Records. 

• The Twilight Singers — “Martin Eden” from Blackberry Belle, released on Badman. 

I stil have a few copies of this one in the basement. The good news is as of today, the playlist also is available in Spotify. Simply click this link or search “Tim McMahan” in Spotify, then select Profiles, then Public Playlists. Take a trip back in time!

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.