is a blog about design, technology and culture written by Khoi Vinh, and has been more or less continuously published since December 2000 in New York City. Khoi is currently Principal Designer at Adobe. Previously, Khoi was co-founder and CEO of Mixel (acquired in 2013), Design Director of The New York Times Online, and co-founder of the design studio Behavior, LLC. He is the author of “How They Got There: Interviews with Digital Designers About Their Careers”and “Ordering Disorder: Grid Principles for Web Design,” and was named one of Fast Company’s “fifty most influential designers in America.” Khoi lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn with his wife and three children.
Before we get too far into the new year, and before I wrap up my favorite movies of 2023, here are my five favorite albums from the twelve months ending in December. You’ll notice a trend: even though these are all new, they all sound like they could’ve been recorded before Taylor Swift was out of diapers. As I get older, for better or worse, I find that when I seek out new music I almost invariably prefer it to sound like old music.
Joy Division-esque noise pop from Berlin, with a dose of The Jesus & Mary Chain, Swervedriver, etc. Not unlike the work of Charlie Megira. Best album cover of the year.
If you count their EPs, this band has been on a seven-album winning streak—now eight. They started out sounding like Suicide, Spacemen 3, The Jesus and Mary Chain, etc., but they’ve evolved into an electro sound, e.g., Yaz, New Order, etc. A brilliant album cover—actually, just the latest in a brilliant series of album covers, as can be seen here.
The best album of the year, by miles. Of all the bands on this list, Wednesday are destined for the greatest fame. You might describe them as “trailer park shoe gaze”: My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., Ride and Drive-by Truckers in a blender. Also, a wonderful album cover.
