Officially the don Horn/Ampersand/Quiet Brandon International Media Corporation: Denver Branch Best Music of 2012 The Last Year of Our Species.

Good Day, friends and acquaintances and strangers that somehow came across this thing. I have a great taste in music so my opinions are therefore the most important ones in regards to music released into this world during the calendar year of 2012. If I didn't hear it, it was not important/good. This is an assumption we must make. If I didn't understand it fully, it must not have been worth my time to give it the required attention.

I'm doing things a bit differently this year. I decided against the whole "ranking stuff" thing because come on. I always regret it later. I put the xx over Dirty Projectors in 2009? What was I thinking? And how can you choose between two great albums of entirely different genre? What is this based on? Something unquantifiable? That special feeling that special music gives me? Which one does "that" better?

No no no. This year, I'm just going to share with you a list (in alphabetical order lest you think I'm trying to rank them) of the music that was released that was very very special to me. There are 15 if you want to try to figure out how they would rank based on what I say about them. And I will say why it was special to me. Maybe we can start a dialogue that way. I know listing things starts dialogues, but it usually comes down to me saying "I don't know why I liked this more; I guess I just didn't get into that other one that much."

Take a look. And then tell me what music was the most special to you. Let's bond over this.

A is for...Aesop Rock: Skelethon. I'm not sure if this is less "dense" than his last album or not, but it feels that way to me. I can follow along a little better. It's either me or him that has changed. Probably me. He still spits out words with an intensity that sounds like they've been stuck in his throat for ages and he...just...hastogetthemoutrightnow. I like it a lot. Also, surprising to me because I kind of find her too precious, that song with Kimya Dawson is great. She is utilized in a way that is not annoying! More just creepy in a really great way.

B is for...Bobby Womack: The Bravest Man In The Universe. It sounds just as I hoped it would sound. After the greatness that was Bobby Womack on the last (two) Gorillaz album(s), I had high hopes for a Damon Albarn (and Richard Russell!) produced Bobby Womack album. His voice has oh so much soul at this age, I can't get over it. And Albarn's production is modern yet classy. Usually if you try to modernize soul like this it sounds cheesy and terrible. But something tells me this will age well. The production enhances the vocals, as opposed to masking/ruining them.

C is for...Chromatics: Kill For Love. Speaking of cheesy production...this sounds quite a bit like something cheesy from the 80s. Yet...I like it. Why? Well, this is a great album for driving around at night (yeah yeah, I know their last album was actually called Night Drive). The electricity of the city, experiencing life. Synths. Stuff.

C is also for...Cloud Nothings: Attack on Memory. This one took me a bit. It took me a while to get over the vocals. I almost have a love/tolerate relationship with the vocals. Sometimes it's annoying pop punk, and sometimes it sounds like a young Johnny Rotten (i.e. actual punk). The music, though, just sounds so alive! Kind of like what Titus Andronicus did for me a couple years ago. The energy of that punk rock that I lived for in high school. Unpredictable, turn on a dime, can't-help-but-air-drum-in-the-car rocking out. It kind of reminds me of Nirvana without being stuck in the 90s. And "Wasted Days" may be the song of the year. Maybe.

D is for...Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan. Beautiful record here. It reminds me of the last TV On The Radio album in that I feel like the last one reached such a level of technical mastery and now they are playing in the newly expanded playground they've created. Using it to create (dare I say) poppier sounds without compromising who they are. Putting more heart on display while making the technical stuff look easy. The breakdown that happens late in the album where they actually purposefully get off the beat, talk over each other, just lends to this as well. They're having fun. So listening to it is just fun.

E is for...El-P: Cancer 4 Cure. This really was a big year for hip hop. As you'll see. I don't know if I can get away with my years-old practice of shying away from commenting on hip hop because I'm "so new" to the genre that I don't know what to say! At this point I don't think that's fair. Why do I like this album? Because it's so bombastic, because it references Step Brothers and Groucho Marx. Because Nick Diamond is on there. And he lets the intro play for a full 3 minutes before jumping in there. This is a hip hop album that would have held up last year, when it seemed like nothing could hold a candle to Shabazz Palaces. It's at that level.

F is for...Frank Ocean: Channel Orange. I'll admit it. I probably would not have even given this a chance if he hadn't posted that coming out thing online leading up to the album. I always figured, he has a nice voice, but I also pre-decided that he wouldn't have anything interesting to say. The Odd Future crew irritated the hell out of me last year and I would just as soon have nothing to do with any of their output. But part of that was the misogyny and homophobia of what they were saying. But he's gay? And this album is getting good reviews? OK fine. Maybe I was wrong about this guy. I'll get the deal of the day $3.99 album on Amazon. If nothing else, there's at least a track featuring Andre 3000. But wow. He has a lot to say. This is some next level R&B. A modern Marvin Gaye (pardon the pun). The production and diversity of sounds is amazing, but what keep me coming back are his songwriting and that beautiful, beautiful voice.

G is for...Godspeed You! Black Emperor!: Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! A couple 20 minute tracks and a couple 6 minute tracks. Those two 20 minute tracks are kind of the definition of epic music, but I just find it accessible. I can just put it on like a pop record and listen to them like it's nothing. It's a quick 20 minute journey. Well a couple of them. Once it really gets going, you really gotta listen to the whole thing.

J is for...Japandroids: Celebration Rock. Kind of the opposite of the rock spectrum. Quick songs (ok, not like Off level quick, they are almost all over 4 minutes) of anthemic whoa-oh-ohs and guitar licks and a few actual lyrics to throw in there. "The Nights of Wine and Roses" is now one of my favorite drinking songs. But all the songs, put together, are a statement of "let's be young! woohoooo!" sloganeering but like, without being shallow, ya know?

J is also for...Jens Lekman. I was a little reluctant to put this on there. Especially because I skipped Jack White (did you notice that? I'm still kind of surprised I skipped his album on this list because it's great!). But also because I find the actual music to be somewhat cheesy. A little too smooth jazz for my tastes. But he always always always gets me with his combination of melody and lyrics. The simple songwriting. It doesn't matter how they are presented. These songs are pure gold. Every one of them.

K is for...Kendrick Lamar: good kid, m.A.A.d city. I wanted but kind of failed to like Section.80. Now I'm wondering if I should give it another chance. He has so much to say on this album, and so many creative ways to say it. It sounds like a debut to me.

K is also for...KIller Mike: R.A.P. Music. Can he and El-P team up all the time now? What a great foundation is laid for Killer Mike to just...kill it. He sounds completely alive and excited to rap about literature and staying sharp. It's inspiring. So listen up.

O is for...of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks. OK I will admit I am somewhat of an of Montreal apologist. Their last couple albums were a little lacking but I really really wanted to like them more than I probably actually did. I may have forced it a bit. But this one? Pitchfork hated this one? After gushing over Hissing Fauna? It's like it wouldn't fit their pre-set narrative of this band to admit they have returned in a big way. This is their darkest album, it is easily their best and most personal since Hissing Fauna, and it's very rewarding. Is it a mess? Kind of, but that's because it's exploring the human psyche, which is a mess. It's still catchy, still has those great sing along choruses about making the one you love start crying and it feeling good, exploring the darker reaches of your mind to come out clean on the other side. You know...therapy.

R is for...Robert Glasper: Black Radio. I didn't know who this guy was (he is a jazz pianist). But one of the free songs of the day on google was a song featuring Lupe Fiasco and Bilal. So I said "ok, I'll take that free song!" And I did and it was pretty good! Then the album came out and I looked at the track listing and who was featured. Erykah Badu! Chrisette Michele! Yasiin Bey (you know, Mos Def)! Why not give this a try? But more than a collection of R&B and hip hop personalities getting their jazz on is a celebration of  the love of the music. That sounds cheesy. But it's great jazz with great singing--and some rapping--on top. It's Billie Holiday for 2012. It's hard to describe. But a gorgeous experience.

T is for...THEESatisfaction: awE naturalE. So after Shabazz Palaces blew my mind last year, I was ready for everything I could find associated with them. So this was the big release of 2012 associated with Shabazz Palaces. And it kind of does for R&B what Black Up did for hip hop. It just blows it wide open. If R&B is the right genre for this. Maybe just call it another variation on hip hop. Why do I have to try to label something like this? But what this album does here is it takes two voices, winds them around each other, puts other pieces around those two voices, and makes something gripping and enchanting. Does that make sense? I didn't think so. Just listen!

Y is for...You should also check out these honorable mentions! Much more great music came out! Alabama Shakes. Animal Collective. The Antlers. Bat for Lashes. Big Boi (still needs more gestation as it just came out, it's probably not as great as Speakerboxxx or Sir Lucious Left Foot but it's still Big Boi). Brother Ali. Cat Power. David Byrne & St Vincent. Death Grips. E.D. Sedgwick. The Evens. Fiona Apple. Flying Lotus. Georgia Anne Muldrow (produced by Madlib!). Grimes. Hot Chip. Jack White. JJ Doom. John K. Samson. Leonard Cohen. Liars. Lower Dens. The Men. Nas. Neneh Cherry & The Thing. Santigold. Scissor Sisters. The Swans. Tanlines. Titus Andronicus. Ty Segall. The Walkmen. The xx. 

What did you love?

Playlist/CD/something coming soon.

best of the music of the 2011th year since we started counting up

Happy End of the Year Everyone!

Insert some sort of summary here! Something about how much of the year was dominated by great artists scaling back on their ambition, which makes it difficult to put together a list! Say something about how other than a few exceptions, the year was made great by great artists just doing what they do. Lots of solid efforts here. Very little went beyond that though. When we get down to the top few it will shift a bit.

As always, this isn't about "best" as much as "my favorites." you know, subjective opinions that can't really be backed up by fact? I have only so many synonyms for "gut reaction" and so many ways to describe it, but that's where the order comes from. Don't try to debate it, but please feel free to share your differing opinion!

I will start with some honorable mentions. This may be a long piece. You might want to go to the bathroom. Or maybe skip over these honorable mentions if you're in a hurry and want to get to the list. But I'll do what The AV Club does when they do this sort of paragraph and bold the artist mentioned so you can see if I mention someone you dig and you can see what I said about them while skipping whatever I said about whoever else that nobody cares about.

Although if you read it maybe you'll want to know more about some of these. Maybe?

Start at the end. The Roots just put out what seems to be a great album. A beautiful story told in reverse. I just didn't have enough time to listen through it over and over obsessively (though I should have) because I was already trying to listen through my full list of 2011 music and only got through undun a couple times. My bad. But so far, it's probably as good as anything they've done in the past few years if not better than at least most of it. I better start shortening these honorable mentions, eh? The same can be said about People Under The Stairs and Phonte, although to a lesser degree. Still great albums. I think I just got a lot of hip hop at the end of the year because I realized how lacking my "best of 2011" list was looking in that particular genre. You'll see. Let's knock out all the hip hop first, shall we? Atmosphere's latest had some wonderful moving storytelling as they are wont to do. Beans put out a highly underrated album with some of the sickest production to be heard (there was supposed to be a flying lotus track on there. it wasn't on the album for some reason...but the whole feel of the album is very flylo-esque). Big K.R.I.T. had that one that had everybody raving. I probably would be too if it had hit that gut reaction or whatever. But still wonderful. I'm sure some of you will be annoyed that the Beastie Boys aren't on the list. I don't know what to say, I probably just didn't listen to it enough. I think every track is great but when listened to in one sitting it has that Beastie Boys effect on me, which is that it's too much. Hail Mary Mallon had some unique moments and some highly catchy tunes, some of the catchiest stuff I've heard from Aesop Rock yet. I think I dug it more than most people. And finally, Kendrick Lamar had some brilliant and/or heartbreaking words but for some reason I wasn't into the production. It sounded too much like whatever he is kind of working against. Very optimistic about his future though. That's the hip hop I'm going to mention. What else? Wilco put out their best album in quite some time. Get it if you dig Wilco from before Sky Blue Sky. Lykke Li put out some gold that on another day probably could have made the list (super close!). Other Scandinavians? Peter Bjorn & John had a great opening three tracks on their album and didn't really get bad per se, it just had to slow down and I wish it hadn't had to. And The Lionheart Brothers' album wasn't officially released in the United States, although I will say that that's the only thing that kept if off the list because it was a super strong album that continues to go underheard here for some strange reason. They were masters of dream pop (emphasis on pop) on their last album and this is more of a mood record that is a wonderful place that I want to visit. Yes, I want to visit the album (and Norway, for that matter). Jens Lekman's EP delivered 4 more golden tracks, everything we would have hoped for. Speaking of EPs, Broken Bells' expanded their sound just enough this year. What's next? Los Campesinos! are a band I didn't check out until this year. Their album is very catchy and I need to hear more. Neon Indian expanded on the sound of their first album to create something more resembling their outstanding live show. Nat Baldwin put out something that The Dirty Projectors should be proud of (I just wish there had been more experimentation). Feist outdid herself despite not having a pop hit. St. Vincent made it clear that I should be more of a St. Vincent fan. Mekons put out a solid effort, melding and mixing many styles as The Mekons are good at doing. Raphael Saadiq kept soul alive while Charles Bradley completely killed it (and Mayer Hawthorne revived it with sweet, sweet lovin). Tinariwen brought us another type of African music ("another type" being as opposed to last year's resurgence of Congotronics) with some absolute gorgeousness. And Real Estate put out something that was wonderful the one and only time I've listened to it (again, if I listened some more it probably would be on the list but I'm a busy man).

I hope those mentions were honorable enough for fans of the above bolded artists. All worth checking out despite not getting full-ish paragraphs below that the ranked artists will now get.

The Top 19 (yes, only 19 this year because I'm a stickler. Just put The Roots at 20 if you need a round number) Albums of 2011.

19. Washed Out - Within And Without. Yeah, pretty sexy cover they got there. The whole album just feels like the cover looks. Somewhat PG-13-rated but you get it. What does this sentence even mean? If you need me to describe the music, it's bedroom sexy electronica without being too overtly sexy. Just like I said above! Come on! OK, this is what The XX would have sounded like if they were less minimalist (they were my top album of 2009 for the record).

18. Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah. Before this I hadn't really heard of Thao OR Mirah. OK, I think I had heard of Thao (and upon further investigation, I think I'd heard Thao's "bag of hammers" song). But I wasn't really intrigued until I saw a free download of their song featuring one Tune-Yards (I'm going to just spell it that way damnit). It was like a good Tune-Yards song with more vocalists! So I got the album and it's just full of that unique indie folk music that I love so much (that first got me into such artists as Jesca Hoop). Tune-Yards did something special with production and other than a song or two, it doesn't really sound like Tune-Yards, although it has that same spirit of looseness and giddiness of experimentation.

17. Lia Ices - Grown Unknown. More of that female indie folk stuff but on a slightly higher level than Thao & Mirah. The ethereal-ness of this record combined with a certain upbeat-icity made it something both easy to listen to and, in a way, transcendent.

16. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake - Sineater. It is impossible for me to be objective about this, although this was never about being objective. But this Denver favorite's debut LP was everything it should be. It did not disappoint. I already knew & loved the songs so it was easy to get into it from the very first spin. The production keeps the energy almost as high as the live experience of this band, so give it a listen if you're not from here and want to know what Denver's up to these days.

15. Cut Copy - Zonoscope. This is dance floor ready electronic pop music. It's almost like the Hot Chip album that this year was missing. I don't know what else to say about this. It's a lot like Hot Chip. So it's highly enjoyable.

14. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges. I was intrigued by who he's played with in the past and who shows up on this album. Laurie Anderson shows up on this and that should be indication enough what you are getting. Pulsating grooves and sounds that could not (but yes they do!) come from a saxophone. It's a big honkin' thing, let me tell you. And the atmosphere created here is like going into a dark cave with some ominousness lurking here and there, and then Laurie Anderson reads a poem and you wonder how you got there but you need to go deeper just to be deeper because despite where you are and any feelings of unease it's addicting.

13. The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts. They came back in a big way this year. This album is almost as good as their first one, which is to say it is much better than their second one. They have re-discovered the balance of high energy jams and gleeful-but-lower-tempo pop hits (or should be hits).

12. Wild Flag - Wild Flag. On Portlandia, Carrie Brownstein mercilessly mocks hipster culture so much that it's good to get a reminder about what gives her such credibility. Sure, you can just listen to some Sleater-Kinney and have that be the end of it, but that band hasn't been around in awhile. So this is a nice nudge to say, yes, Carrie Brownstein still rules when she's not being ironic/funny (although she rules at that too!). On top of that, it's nice to be reminded of why I first got into the band Quasi. Drummer Janet Weiss impressed me so when I saw them live that I had to have their albums. I can't really continue with these comparisons because I haven't listened to Helium or The Minders but let's just talk about this record. This band is legit, greater than the sum of its parts, a group of people that always should have been playing together (and in some cases they have). This is a showcase of some great individual talents (particularly Janet Weiss, but the whole group is highly skilled) coming together for a great unified statement.

11. Battles - Gloss Drop. The band was halfway through what I will now think of as some great lost album when Tyondai Braxton left. This was a cause of great concern of course, as Battles With Tyondai Braxton had created some of the greatest music of our young century. But all along, this was something of a super group, and if anyone was capable of carrying on it was the remaining trio. Sure, they likely had to scale back their vision a little bit, but that is different than looking back. Battles has always been a well oiled machine of a band, always moving forward into the future. Sort of a new generation of math rock. My engineering genes, love of organized chaos, and robotic hips will always appreciate what Battles does, and I have no doubt that they will pull us into the future.

Top Ten! That's a big deal, right? Ten is usually enough for some people anyway, so if you stopped reading and just scrolled for awhile, time to pretend we're just getting started!

10. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs Evil. Every year there's that early release that piques my interest and is that "early contender" for album of the year. This was that album this year. I was slightly late to get on the Deerhoof train; the first new album of theirs I got was Friend Opportunity (which was quite great!). Now, I don't know if this is just me or if it would be the case if others were to hear this album, but it sounds like the most accessible Deerhoof has been. Without compromising the weirdness that has always made the band something special, this album is just plain catchy.

9. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life. This is just a great story set to a punk rock background. One of those concept albums that can be appreciated on whichever level you feel like giving it at the time. Just enjoying a song here or there? It sounds great! It will get your adrenaline pumping and get you going. Wanting to hear the story? Do it then! It's a great story!

8. The Antlers - Burst Apart. When I first started reading about this new one I didn't think I'd like it as much as Hospice, because it was supposedly more electronic, possibly more poppy, which just seemed like it would be a less intimate experience. However, they don't seem to have lost anything in this expansion. The songs are still deeply personal and heartbreaking, in the same way as they are on the slower Hospice. If anything, the new expansive sound serves as a funnel allowing easier access to the devastation provided by their content. Or more surface area to the ocean of despair? I don't know, it's good.

7. Tom Waits - Bad As Me. Most everything has been said about Tom Waits over the years. Not sure what I have to contribute to the conversation. But this is just a badass record from front to back. Strong as it starts out, I think the back end is my favorite, featuring ballads alternating with some serious rockers (particularly Hell Broke Luce, the most intense song of the year). It's everything you could hope for from Tom Waits.

6. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver. This is such a pretty album for 9 of the 10 tracks. And good for him for track 10 anyway. If you will, allow me to make an outlandish comparison here. For Emma, Forever Ago was sort of his Late Registration (critically adored, great album despite its relatively limited scope). Blood Bank was his 808s & Heartbreak (experimenting with auto-tune, and while it's an interesting album it's more of a diversion than anything else). So yeah, this one is his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Using that previous experiment to expand beyond what we all thought he was capable of to create a masterwork. My only problem was that I listened to this once, recognized its greatness, filed it under "2011 contenders," and didn't listen to it much since then because I felt I should listen to potential "growers" more. I'm sorry Mr Vernon. I'm listening to it now and it definitely deserves to be at least this high and I don't mind that Pitchfork made you #1. No objections to that at all.

5. TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light. When TV On The Radio scales back, it takes them from #1 to #5. That's about as hyperbolic I can get about this band this time. Few things. I wrote an extensive review/whatever on this blog already so seek it out. I'm not sure if I said this before, but I heard that song "Will Do" an impossibly high number of times and never got sick of it. It's such a beautiful song that it will never be played out. There's plenty more on this album though, and I live for the deeper cuts. I could put "Repetition" on repeat all day. Hell of a roll this band is on.

4. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. The opening three on this are just pure glee. "Intro" (when the hell is a song called "Intro" actually this good, this much of a realized song?) followed by "Midnight City" followed by "Reunion?" These are the songs that musical moments in life are made of. I am beyond excited that I found out they are playing in Denver next year because I can just anticipate the reaction (my own and that of the crowd) at the opening notes to every one of these songs. And the dancing. And the sweating. And the absolute joy of every moment of said concert. And it's not like it lets up after this one-two-three punch. This is a double album that is just full of these moments. I recommend this to everyone. Go ahead and use that song in that Victoria's Secret commercial, as long as it spreads these songs around and gives more people a chance to experience the power of this music (although the snippet used in the commercial hardly does justice to the full song's impact) the world will be a better place.

3. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L. There, I capitalized it "correctly" this time. I'm not sure if I mentioned this when I wrote about the concert earlier this year but here's the thing about this album. I saw tUnE-yArDs a year or two ago opening for Xiu Xiu and was blown away. So blown away, in fact, that when I picked up the brand new album W H O K I L L the day it was released I already kind of knew most of the songs. The songs were so memorable from that one opening set over a year before that I remembered them vividly. This album is what happens when someone has pure artistic energy flowing out of every pore and puts it out there uninterrupted. The fact that this has become as popular as it has is just astonishing to me.

2. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up. The packaging on this vinyl is pretty unique. The material used is some sort of plastic, in a deep black. The art is minimalist, black on black. The inner sleeve is a deep red and it looks really cool peeking through when you first start to reach in and grab it. And then the record itself is black (not that unique, admittedly) but it is very high quality, very thick vinyl. That's what we're working with here. Minimalist beats, highly poetic lyricism with hints of flare but a strong intellectual and emotional core. This is why there's no other hip hop on the list (other than quite a few honorable mentions). This almost ruined hip hop for me. Before I ever listened to hip hop I used to think it all sounded the same. Then I figured out that that was not true. But when I listen to this album, all the rest of the hip hop that was released this year, despite being highly acclaimed, kind of sounded the same to me. This reached a higher level for me and I couldn't listen to other hip hop without being somewhat disappointed (until The Roots' new album came out, at least). And I'm sure I'm still somewhat an amateur as far as hip hop goes and there is other hip hop on this level out there, I just haven't heard it. And this is my personal list. So that's why this is here.

WHOA WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL BE #1????? YOU WILL NEVER GUESS!

1. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues. I am almost embarrassed about this. This album seems to be playing in Barnes & Noble all the time and other stores. It's probably all over the radio. This was a pretty successful album, I'm saying. And I don't know if it is particularly the "best" album of the year. OK enough trash talk (because obviously it was a fantastic album and it had to have been to top this list, let me tell you). In 2008 I hadn't heard of this band until they topped a bunch of "best of" lists for that year. I listened to their debut a little but was somewhat unimpressed. I gave them another chance when this new one came out. What is it about this album that makes it my personal #1 for the year? It's simply the fact that it relates to me on such a personal level right now. Where I am in my life, damnit that title track which was also released as a single, A SINGLE, defines where I am in my life. "If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm sore." This album served as the soundtrack to my summer of working on my yard, and I know it's not that literal but "I guess I got old" and every line speaks to me directly. And the music is beautiful and all that, kind of a mix of what Fleet Foxes were on their first album and some experimentalism that I am drawn to. So damnit, this damn album gave me no choice but to put it at #1.

Have a happy New Year! Maybe I'll post more in 2012!

best of the year of your life...so far

lots of people seem to be doing this and i will do this too. because i like making lists and ranking and filing my music. it's the best music that i have listened to enough to judge of 2009 of my life so far:

let's make it...oh, i didn't plan this out, did i? let's make it 10. or whatever it turns out to be once i list the ones that i deem listable. 11 it is! also note that i don't feel any of them should be #1 at this point. i don't think i've heard my #1 of 2009 yet. at least i hope not. so it's top 12 without a #1. or maybe one of those from the list below (of tbd rankings) will be #1.

12. iran - dissolver. pretty awesome. but upon further inspection, only like 4-5 of the songs are super fantastic. if they had a higher success rate this could be way higher on the list.

11. nasa - the spirit of apollo. pitchfork hated this. but i really feel like this is the next in the line of the gorillaz/gnarls barkley/whatever for genre transcendence of rock and hip hop. and the best songs are really the combinations of the two (even though such combinations can be disastrous sometimes). like the song with ODB and karen o. and the song with kool keith and tom waits. it's just a party record that seems really hard to hate, and i don't know how people can. but whatever.

10. obits - i blame you. so when i looked back at 2008, i was kind of surprised by the lack of rock music i had been involved with. and so this year i really wanted some real rock and roll. and here it is. this may not be as good as the best hot snakes records, but it's got what i need. rock in its purest, meanest form.

9. phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix. i've heard this band referred to as the french mgmt. which is funny, because i consider mgmt the poor man's of montreal. so phoenix is therefore the poor man's french of montreal. even though montreal is in canada and phoenix is in america. confusing. but this band has been at it for a long time apparently, but i hadn't heard them before this year. i can't really explain why i love this album. probably because it evokes a lot of the same stuff as of montreal, one of my very favorite bands.

8. andrew bird - noble beast. there's not really anything too special about this album except that it is just very high quality. it is just full of quality, enjoyable songs. nothing groundbreaking, just very well done.

7. aceyalone - the lonely ones. aceyalone shows his love for old timey music. somehow he makes music that sounds like it could come out in either 1960 or 2009. if they had rapping in 1960. this has basically all the elements i love about 60s soul music. it just sounds so natural; i'm not sure how this hasn't been done before (or has it???)

6. dark was the night. weird that a compilation could be on this list. usually when i get a compilation i listen to it a couple times and then forget about it (other than, maybe, a couple standout tracks). this one is a fully realized, great album. it just fits together unlike any other compilation i've ever heard. it's cohesive. the only complaint i have is that it's two full discs, so it's very long and overwhelming.

5. grizzly bear - veckatimest. it's a grower.

4. sonic youth - the eternal. how can a band be so good so far into their career? i feel like only sonic youth could pull this off, staying relevant for almost 30 years now. i guess that's how far ahead of their time they have always been.

3. mi ami - watersports. this is primal, uncompromising, and at times grating music. in other words, this is music that makes me feel ALIVE. it demands your attention. most people will hate it. it's just a combination of dub, hardcore, and really really annoying vocals. love it. NOTE TO EVERYBODY: anything featuring former members of the band black eyes is going to be amazing. divisive, sure, and maybe you won't like it. but i have loved everything these guys have done.

2. mos def - the ecstatic. this album makes me ecstatic.

1. ??????????

the problem here, see, is that lots of the great music just came out like, in the last couple weeks. so here is a list of stuff that just came out that may or may not make it on my year-end list once i can digest it:

dinosaur jr

dirty projectors

rock plaza central

tara jane oneil - i need to listen to this more even though it came out awhile ago. i blame the fact that the vinyl didn't come with a download, so i have only listened to it once. but it is fantastic.

and finally, my top anticipated albums of, presumably, if they actually get released this year, the rest of 2009

-big boi/outkast/andre 3000 - whatever they actually put out. apparently they are supposed to both have solo albums plus an outkast album. but it'll probably be a couple more years. but that big boi song that leaked last year (royal flush featuring andre 3000 and raekwon) was one of the best hip hop songs of the year for sure.

-jay-z - blueprint 3. you know.

-deltron 3030 - event 2 (or whatever its name will be). like outkast, this has been pushed back and pushed back again. although it's never had an official release date. but it seems everything's been done except del's part for like 2 years now. dude needs to get on that. also i haven't liked his last two solo albums THAT much. i hope the 'tron brings him back to what made him one of my favorite rappers back then.

-yo la tengo - popular songs. these guys are so good and so versatile. this is going to be something else.

-tyondai braxton - central market. i only first heard about his solo stuff a couple weeks ago when pitchfork reported that he had another one coming out this fall. i still need to track down his other solo stuff and enjoy it, but battles are one of my favorite bands of the past couple years, and it has to be fantastic.

-kyp mallone solo album - yeah!! maybe it will surpass iran.

-the roots - how i got over. did you hear the song on jimmy fallon last week? holy crap. FUNKY FUNKY.

-annie - i hope this sees the light of day soon.

-the flaming lips - embryonic

it's all in one post here. Because it doesn't matter.

Let me just say something. Let me just say that 2008 was no 2007. Personally and as far as I'm concerned musically. But then again, I bought more music in 2007 than ever, so I was exposed to more. This year I was unemployed for half the year. So I scaled back on my purchases during this period. Then there was the suburbs thing. That didn't help my general exposure to new music. Nor was the fact that the internet mostly didn't work here. I have four awards to give out. If I missed anything worthy of these awards, please tell me. Now, because I was jobless for 6 months, I should certainly start off with...
FREE IS THE BEST award you can BE. Much to my luck, lots of music was released for free in 2008. It kinda became the thing to do. And what's the deal with the free music being better than the "official" releases? Nas, for example, and Murs, for another example, had fairly disappointing albums come out, but they were preceded by fantastic free albums. Part of what made the stuff you paid for so disappointing. Here we go. List ON:
11. Jelani - Wait, You can Rap?!?! - Thanks to freehiphopnow, I was exposed, while my internet was working, to some undergound rappers I would not have otherwise known about. This was a fun album.
10. Danielson - Danielson Alive! - Just an EP of a bunch of live songs. But it was free and charming.
9. Elucid - Police & Thieves - Another freehiphopnow find. Political and pretty great.
8. The Blak Experiment - Utica Ave. - OK this is the last real obscure hip hop album. This one was laid back and very creative.
7. Ham1 - The Underground Stream - This has some Elephant 6 connections. I forget what exactly. If my internet were working, I could totally look it up. I think some folks from the Elephant 6 collective played on it. Either way, this is a good indie pop record, much like most E6 related stuff.
6. The Charlatans - You Cross My Path - This came out the same weekend as some Trent Reznor free stuff. So it didn't get much attention. Still, one of the better Charlatans albums to be released.
5. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals - This was only free if you had justification. I did pay $5 for my copy. Either way, this is a fantastic party album. If you're reading this, you probably already know about this. This guy takes mashups to a whole new art form.
4. Murs & 9th Wonder - Sweet Lord - This preceded the very annoyingly disappointing Murs For President. This one was fantastic though. Murs is one of the great storytellers of hip hop.
3. Hearts of Palm - The Bridge - Just an EP. Just four songs. But four of the most perfect power pop songs you'll ever hear.
2. Rhymefest - Man In The Mirror - Holy crap. A tribute to Michael Jackson. A very loving tribute. Very expertly produced by Mark Ronson. But the real star here is Rhymefest. He demonstrates very well why he's one of the best MCs working today. It just seems like the most natural flow. Like he's talking but he's actually rapping and it's actually amazing. It's probably a good thing El Che didn't come out this year, it may have been disappointing after this.
1. Wale - Mixtape About Nothing - I don't even really like Seinfeld! But this is one of the most promising debuts I've ever heard. I am very excited to see what he has in store for us.



Where were you, public? award. This is stuff that I happened to discover in one way or another but I didn't really hear about from anyone else. They were all too busy talking about vampire weekend, or the backlash to vampire weekend, or the backlash to the backlash to vampire weekend. i was busy in my apathy over the backlash to the backlash to vampire weekend discovering stuff that was much more interesting to me.
5. Dr. Dooom - Dr. Dooom 2. Pitchfork didn't like this one. But I did. Especially in principle. When the Return of Dr Octagon came out and pissed off almost every Kool Keith fan, I thought it was over. But then he came back with this. Kind of an "I killed Dr Octagon, remember? He's dead. Y'all are trying to bring him back but he's dead. Fine, I'll kill him again." I just liked the statement. But beyond that, it is a very good album for the most part. There are a couple really lame songs, but some are very poignant, some are very fun, and most are very good.
4. Miss Kittin - Batbox. I know electro has been dead for some time. But there's something about a new Miss Kittin album that got me super stoked. Didn't seem to get anyone else very stoked, but I was. And it did not disappoint. It's got all the attitude of her excellent solo debut I Com. While it's not quite at that level, it is definitely something else. It would have done a lot better 5 years ago, but in my opinion it transcends the dead genre it, to most people, represents.
3. Little Jackie - The Stoop. I saw them on Conan one night and was hooked. I got the album the next day and was still hooked. It's kinda silly, yes, but oh so much fun. I feel like this should have been a mainstream sensation but I only ever saw them on Conan. I spread the love as much as I could to my friends, but that's all I could do.
2. Jonathan Richman - Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild. This wasn't totally ignored, but it didn't get nearly as much attention as it deserved. I did see it on the Paste list of most criminally slept on albums or something (I really wish I could cross-reference this stuff!), and that's good enough for me to put him on this list.
1. KatJonBand - KatJonBand. This album was very very awesome. Combine the rhythm of The Ex with the songwriting of the Mekons and you have very high expectations. And it delivers. The biggest problem this album had was the fact that it came out the same day as Dear Science. Oops.



HEY! It's the MAINSTREAM GOT SOMETHING RIGHT award!! Sure, they missed those 5 stellar releases (and others), but mainstream music wasn't entirely horrible this year.
5. Ludacris - Theater of the Mind. Did this count as mainstream? I don't care. Ludacris has achieved something great here. I was worried after his horrible mixtape (exception to the rule mentioned above), but I went out and bought this anyway. So glad I did. There's a song here with Jay-Z and Nas. And it's as good as it should be. That alone puts it on this list. Throw in the fact that it's got a lot less filler than his other recent albums and it's enthusiastically on this list.
4. Nikka Costa - Pebble To A Pearl. I never really paid her any mind. But my friend Amy told me to check this out. So glad she did. As a lover of all things soul, I was stoked that this album was on Stax. Then I heard it. Wow. There's some funky, funky shit on here.
3. Al Green - Lay It Down. How does he still sound so good? My god.
2. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple. LOVE IT. Spoiler alert: I will talk about it more on the "top thirteen" list.
1. Duffy - Rockferry. Total mainstream. This one's not on the top list but it's the top of this list. Get it? What I mean to say here is that this is the most fitting example of the mainstream "getting it right" that I heard this year. Total pop star here. But she sounds so good! When I first even saw this album cover I knew it would be what it was. And it was!



OK now it's MAIN TIME LIST WORTHY TOP YES: TOP THIRTEEN. There are thirteen because that's how many albums I considered to be of a certain calibur. I felt there were only thirteen that were good enough for this list. Last year there were probably about 25. At least it makes listing and ranking a lot easier.
13. Jonathan Richman - Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild. Again. It's heartbreaking at times. Smart at times. Funny at times. But at all times it's just fantastic.
12. Frida Hyvonen - Silence is Wild. It she Finnish? I hope so. There's not enough Finnish representation and I'm 1/4 Finnish. But she is definitely from the Nordic area. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the female Jens Lekman. Not just in the fact that she's Nordic and a singer-songwriter. She just finds that same place in my heart that Jens does. That spot that most music misses. Clever, but not just clever. She sneaks in other feelings. Sneaks them through my brain. Not the quickest way to a man's heart, but one of the most effective.
11. Ladytron - Velocifero. Back up a few lists, when I talked about Miss Kittin, I mentioned that electro has been dead for some time now. Yet Ladytron manages to stay relevant. I don't know how they do it.
10. Rhymefest - Man In The Mirror. I think I basically said it all in the "FREE is the best AWARD you can BE" list. But just to emphasize. I was obsessed with this album this year. So much fun, such a natural flow.
9. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping. This received kind of lukewarm reviews. Mostly because last year's Hissing Fauna... was so brilliant and amazing (my #1!). People were kind of quick to write this off as a "victory lap" or something. But this was something else entirely. On the surface, it is Georgie Fruit (Kevin's alter ego) just having a blast, being a pervert, indulging, getting his "Prince" on. The character isn't particularly likable, but is fun to listen to. But there's some real depth at work here. Kevin yelling out from beneath. Crying for help. It's beautiful. Don't you pimp out my heart.
8. The Roots - Rising Down. Artful, masterful, gorgeous, but very forceful and angry at the same time. All of this. The Roots did it again. When this came out I listened to it over and over and over and over. Then I took a break. Now I listen to it again and remember why I listened to it over and over and over.
7. She & Him - Volume One. At first I wrote this off as just one of those indie pop things that everyone would get excited about for about a month and then forget about. That it would be kind of lacking. Possibly boring. Then I actually heard one of the songs on a Merge sampler. Fabulous! It sounded like 60s girl groups! I bought the album when it came out on vinyl. It became my favorite album of the year. Mostly because it was my standby this year. (last year it was Blonde Redhead, the year before it was Belle & Sebastian). The album I could always put on when I didn't know what to listen to and it would bring up my spirits. Definitely my album of the first half of 2008. The unemployed half. The kind of depressing half. Because that's when I needed it the most. Something to help me through the times of uncertainty and all that. But then the second half of the year came, I got a job, and I was able to listen to some more "artsy" stuff (and the good shit finally started coming out) so this got pushed down 6 spots! But still, it's a standby for me.
6. KatJonBand - KatJonBand. I repeat. This album was criminally ignored by most. But it's Kat from The Ex and Jon from The Mekons! Two punk rock legends. It combines what I love from both of these two bands. The Ex has the coolest rhythm section ever, lead by Kat. The Mekons kind of started alt country in the punk rock scene (cow punk) and inject a whole lot of heart while retaining their punk rock edge. So together? Fucking awesome rhythm. And heart. But not too much heart. Remember in 2005, when Calexico and Iron & Wine combined forces for that EP? It sounded exactly like a combination of Calexico and Iron & Wine. Not really anything surprising. But it was such a brilliant combination that it was one of the top releases of the year. That's what we have here.
5. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple. This was an album I held off on buying for awhile. Not because of anything against the band. I actually love the band. And I was excited. But I was unemployed and it just wouldn't go on sale. I eventually saw them at a free concert and all the new stuff was just brilliant. So I bit the bullet and bought it for $15 or whatever stupid price it was after I had a job. And man. It's better than the first album. Much better. More consistent, more realized. Without losing any of its creativity. And I think it's even more fun than the first.
4. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins. Damn, dudes! Two in two years? Two top fivers? Who does that? It's a sequel to last year's The Stage Names but it's every bit as brilliant. It's The Godfather Part II, man. It's The Dark Knight.
3. Wale - Mixtape About Nothing. Seriously though, this is the best debut ever. I would like to thank my friend Mark for telling me about this. I don't even like Seinfeld that much!
2. Calexico - Carried to Dust. And they bring it all full circle. I feel like it's the most complete Calexico album. It has everything Calexico could possibly do (make me eat my words here next time, Calexico!) while staying within the somewhat limited space they work in. That sounded bad. But it's not. It's just that the idea of Calexico is somewhat limited. And that's why this album works so well. It explores that whole territory and goes spelunking. And it's beautiful. I could spend all day in those caves.
1. TV On The Radio - Dear Science, No surprise here. The biggest disappointment of the year, for me, was the fact that once this album came out, there was no question. Nothing came close to challenging this as album of the year. I already wrote about this extensively, but I repeat: Desperate Youth went deep. Cookie Mountain took everything from Desperate Youth and went deeper. Dear Science took Cookie Mountain and went wider. Vastly wider. While retaining the depth. This band is better than any other form of any art that exists today. Better than any of today's painters, directors, architects, writers, anything. I always speak in hyperbole when I speak of TV on the Radio, but that's just because I am so excited about everything they've done, and everything they will do. Because in order to continue their trend of growing exponentially in every release, next album will have to discover a new dimension. Then they will be bigger than Science. They've already conquered Art. I bet the full title of this album was "Dear Science, You better watch your ass!"





i must MENTION a few more-- with honor. These weren't on the other lists but you should understand that these are also GREAT.
Atmosphere - When Life Hands You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold - because it has Tom Waits beatboxing. And man, it's just stories about real people, and man, they painted that shit gold.
Beck - Modern Guilt - because it's beck, man!
Breeders - Mountain Battles - This really probably should have gone on a list. There's something about Kim Deal's bass playing and her singing that is just instantly comforting and warming to me. No matter what.
David Byrne & Brian Eno - Eveything That Happens Will Happen Today - because it's two masters, together again. and because it was almost as good as it should have been.
Deerhoof - Offend Maggie - I shoulda listened to this more than I did.
Del The Funky Homosapien - Eleventh Hour - It's awesome just to hear some new material by him, but I'm pretty sure we're all just waiting for that new deltron album that's been promised for a couple years now.
DeVotchKa - A Mad and Faithful Telling - because, man, colorado has some good shit.
El Perro Del Mar - From The Valley To The Stars - I feel like this is a better album than her first one, which was very well received by me, but this year for some reason I couldn't get into it as much.
Elvis Costello - Momofuku - I liked the idea of this (releasing it on vinyl before cd, shortly after recording it, without much notice) more than the execution. Which breaks my heart a little. Elvis Costello has always been my favorite songwriter and I just felt like I was starting to get over him or something when I listened to this album. However, don't fear, because his new show on the Sundance Channel is pretty much the best thing ever so I am still a huge fan.
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes - A casualty of me not having the internet/money for much of the year. This good-apparently great-album by this apparently great band just passed me by all year. I heard of it, but I heard of a lot of things. I couldn't listen to everything like I nearly did last year. But just today (December 16 I am writing this) I saw it on/near the top of lots of best-of-08 lists, and now that I have employment and more income than I used to, I decided to buy this. It's too late for it to make the list. I am just listening to it now. But damn, it's pretty awesome. I could have used this during that unemployment period. Certainly it would have ended up high on my list.
Janelle Monae - Metropolis - She is just fabulous. I can't wait for more from her.
Magnetic Fields - Distortion - Let me make one thing clear. This isn't really a "new direction" for the band, in my opinion. The sound is very similar to some of their earlier albums. So I feel like it's kind of a return to form to the pre-69 love songs magnetic fields. But there's nothing wrong with that. The lyrics are as great as any Stephin Merritt album and that's what it's always been about with these guys.
Nada Surf - Lucky - there's just something about nada surf. they just make me feel good. this new one is no exception.
Nick Cave - Dig! Lazarus! Dig! - so kick-you-in-the-face-with-its-power awesome.
People Under The Stairs - Fun DMC - This is the sort of music that makes me wish I could have parties where you just put on an album, don't really do much talking, and just listen to it and have a good time.
Smoking Popes - Stay Down - I was so worried and excited when I found out this was coming out. When they reunited I kind of felt like it was a reunion for reunion's sake and the band wouldn't have anything new to say. Plus, how do you follow up an album like Destination Failure? You can't do it. But they did it anyway. It's not better (if it was you'd see it on another list up there), but it's really a respectable, enjoyable album. A worthy follow-up.