Best of last year, what's to come and The End of Scruffy?

That pic above is the end of Yak. And right now it looks like this might be the end of Scruffy the Yak, or at least for an indefinite period of time. My laptop died, making it almost impossible to put this thing together. So here's a round up of a bunch of artists I didn't get the time to post about, some of which are my favourites for 2014, and some newer stuff. See ya 'round.

Ryan Adams finally embraced his inner Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, even Rick Springfield. Top 5 album last year.

Gimme Something Good


The Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen


Champagne Years - Skinny Jeans



Duotang came back from the dead like Walkers, except with more emotions. Get Duotang Unreleased EP from the Winnipeg Free Press's Anthony Augustine and the band, go here.Grab the audio from Duotang's Triumphant return to the Winnipeg stage from the always-insightful Teenage Dogs in Trouble.


Live at the Mint Records 2014 Xmas party


Failure - Come Crashing


Faith No More - MF


Bryan Ferry - Loop De Li


The Hours - Miss Emerald Green



jeff the brotherhood - What's A Creep


Jet Set Satellite - Ashes From the Fire


Junior Gone Wild got back together for a few shows, and Mike McDonald released a solo record. Here's hoping some new JGW songs are on the way.

The Cliche Song


Leaf Rapids - Healing Feeling


Manic Street Preachers - Walk Me To the Bridge


Metric - Fatal Gift


The New Wild


Robert Plant
Rainbow


Turn it Up


A messed-up version of Black Dog? Sure.


Posies - Failure


Red Vienna - Golden Dove


Sloan - Cleopatra


Sons of Freedom
USA Long Distance


Super Cool Wagon


Spoon - They Want My Soul


Trevor Tuminski - Covers


The Waterboys - Beautiful Now


Whitehorse - Sweet Disaster


The Yetis - Warm California

The Alphabet Part 1: A to Z Music You Need right now: Listen, Watch, Download

Three large posts, a truckload of music, little-to-no editorialising (or even editing). It's the A-Z of what's been catching Scruffy's ears, too much for one post Afghan Whigs">Afghan Whigs are back with a new album, Do to the Beast. Their new songs sound Afghan Whigsy, which is good, all dramatic and noir, passionate and perhaps insidious.



Afghan Whigs - The Lottery


Algiers


Lovecrimes


ATO Records spring sampler - Featuring Drive-by Truckers, Kaiser Chiefs, Old 97's, Built To Spill, Midlake, and 8 more! Free!




Beachwood Sparks - Make it Together


Neneh Cherry is back. She always had a unique voice and attitude.


Neneh Cherry - Out Of The Black (featuring Robyn) Everything Buffalo Stance

Dearly Beloved are getting ready to release a new album called Enduro.

 Dearly Beloved - Aimed Right At Me Dearly Beloved - To Better Days

Where We Been, a cover of Dinosaur Jr.’s Where You Been?, by Felled Trees, a collaboration that includes members of Knapsack, Samiam, Thrice, Texas is the Reason, and more. Felled Trees - Dinosaur Jr. - Watch the Corners

Gord Downie, The Sadies, And The Conquering Sun have now releades their album, and you can stream it at their website. Gord Downie, The Sadies, And The Conquering Sun - Crater

  Drive-by Truckers' new album English Oceans is finally out. You know the band is the best. Don't you think all those radio stations that play Lynyrd Skynyrd and 38 Special and whatever else someone calls southern rock should sneak in these guys every once in a while?
 Pauline Hawkins Drive-by Truckers - Pauline Hawkins Shit Shots Count Cooley's voice reminds me of Willie Nelson in Made Up English Oceans.

 Drivin' n Cryin' s latest, ‘Songs For The Turntable,’ available on Blank Records, is the fourth in a series of as-promised four EPs released over the past 18 months - pretty apt as tomorrow is Record Store Day. More on this soon. Songs for the Turntable Drivin' N' Cryin' - The Little Record Store Just Around The Corner Space Eyes Also check out the indiegogo fundraising for a doc called Scarred but Smarter: Life n Times of Drivin' n' Cryin'.

Echo & the Bunnymen have a new one coming out called Meteorites.

  Echo & the Bunnymen - Market Town Lovers on the Run

Failure is back together and playing shows, I'm sure hoping there's going to be new record coming too. Stuck on You

  Neil Finn - Dizzy Heights

 Not new at all, but this Matthew Good song was a nice surprise when pointed out to me recently.

  Matthew Good - Extraordinary Fades



Grant Hart is not trading on past glories with his newest album The Argument, which seems to call on psychedelic pop and garage rock as much as it does his earlier work. It Was a Most Disturbing Dream

Haunted Hearts - Johnny Jupiter

The Henry Millers - Posies

Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band - The Blast, the Bloom
Hugh Beaumont is Dead

The Hours are from Winnipeg, methinks, but they sound British, lazy, hazy, shoe-gazey. Here's Steady Glazed Eyes.

You miss the Smiths. Here's The Holiday Crowd - While She Waits.

Beloved Australian band Hunters & Collectors recently reunited as well as having a tribute album released in their honour featuring people like Neil Finn, Eddie Vedder, Paul Kelly, The Living End and Avalanches (you can stream it here).

Holy Grail When the River Runs Dry Do You See What I See? Throw Your Arms Around Me The Slab