Ten Favorite Swansongs of Music
(alphabetically by artist, with a preference for albums that represented a high point (if not always the absolute pinnacle) in their artists’ discographies, and excluding albums that were released posthumously without the artists’ guidance—making room for the Coil album assembled after the death of John Balance, though, because of the peculiar nature of the band’s recording process)
Blackstar by David Bowie
Moonstruck by Barbara Buccholz
You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen *
The Ape of Naples by Coil
Pink Moon by Nick Drake
The Next Hundred Years by Ted Hawkins
Tin Drum by Japan
Avalon by Roxy Music
Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
Laughing Stock by Talk Talk
* The only artist in both this list and my list of debuts.
— September 1, 2021