2014 was more doing this project. I also went to Costa Rica. That was pretty awesome.
This will be quick. I almost feel like I'm just getting these out of the way. With a baby coming soon, my focus is going to be in other places. I'm hoping to continue to use this blog to relate music to what my new life will be. Whatever that means.
So real quick, 2014.
Oh and my stupid itunes synching app stopped synching play counts/times so it's harder to keep track. Stupid thing.
I'm going to just do this like a quick recap where I write a few sentences about just a few of the many albums I listened to here. Not really in any order. Well the order is approximately the order I listened to stuff in, which is a somewhat randomized version of the order they were released in (shuffling all the albums of a given quarter)
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Give the People What They Want. I saw them live on this tour. It was the last time I would see them. WEWANTSHARON I remember being the thing. The hash tag thing. She was always amazing. Always. This album is as powerful as anything she did. RETREAT!
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project. I got this one because I so dug her album with The Thing. And because Robyn's on a track. It's pretty hot stuff that you might have forgotten about so give it a spin.
Vertical Scratchers - Daughter of Everything. I just recently picked this one up because I just recently heard of it. Another Schmersal project (John of Enon and Brainiac and several other things), this one is high energy and a lot of fun. I should give it another listen and have something constructive to say!
The Lawrence Arms - Metropole. Who would have thought, huh? My favorite band in college, I loved all their stuff back then, and then I got out of college and they put out what might be their most popular album (Oh Calcutta) and I kind of let my fandom wane even though I think I do quite dig that one...but that all leads to this, almost a full decade later. Metropole. They're getting older, I'm getting older, they're singing about it, I'm relating just as I did in college. Strikes all those same old nerves. What a great, great album.
The Lawrence Arms, "The YMCA Down The Street From the Clinic"
St. Vincent - St. Vincent. What a coincidence, she has a new one now. And I'm seeing her live this January. One of, if not the last, show I go to before fatherhood. It will be a hoot! This self titled album might be my favorite of hers, as she continued her evolution to art rock god in the vein of David Byrne or something like that (easy comparison to make since she had that collab album with him). Her view of the world is so New York, so Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson, and she absolutely shreds on guitar. I dig the new one but I absolutely love this album.
St. Vincent, "Digital Witness"
Open Mike Eagle - Dark Comedy. I think I got a random email from Mello Music Group in 2014 with a free download. See, I'd dug some of that label's stuff and they put out some quality free tracks on bandcamp. This one intrigued me because it featured noted funny person Hannibal Buress. It turned out to be the Open Mike Eagle song "Doug Stamper (Advice Raps)" and it was quite funny. Eventually I picked up the album and it is so smart and funny and creative and I can't describe him as well as he does on the opening song "Dark Comedy Morning Show" when he sing-raps "For those who haven't heard of me, I'm bad at sarcasm so I work in absurdity." Eventually I saw him perform live and after several drinks I told him how much I dug his stuff and shook his hand twice. Hopefully he just found me amusing.
Open Mike Eagle, "Qualifiers"
People Under the Stairs - 12 Step Program. I like all of the things that they do, this one was notable for its "1 Up Til Sun Up" song that samples mario and zelda games. And that creepy "Pictures On My Wall" song.
Tune-Yards - Nikki Nack. I'm going with normal spelling. I think they are finally going with normal spelling on their new one that comes out next year. She just keeps pushing forward creatively, she's no longer just dealing in loops but still engrossing. I think I might like whokill a little more but this one is up there.
The Bruce Lee Band - Everything Will Be Alright,My Friend. Mike Park doing what he does. Great ska punk from the man that mastered ska punk 20 years before.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Mandatory Fun. This one's great because it's a Weird Al album. I think it was his first to hit #1 on Billboard or something? He made all those videos and really captured the attention of the Internet and the Internet returned the favor by paying for the album I guess. At this point I more or less am back to knowing the songs he's parodying because I don't go out of my way to avoid those popular songs. I still don't always know who does what but I can say "I think that's that one song."
TV on the Radio - Seeds. Masters of earnestness and dense soundscapes continue to do their thing too. They stopped pushing the envelope a couple albums ago but as I always say about them, the playing field they have created for themselves is a rich land and they explore interesting depths and whatever other fancy words you want to insert here.
Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2. This is probably their crowning achievement. Full aggression, full of politics, entertaining, etc.
I probably also should have written about Spoon, Lia Ices, Leonard Cohen, The New Pornographers, and Shellac. All great too.
Next time I will tackle 2015 and that will really feel like modern times. Grimes, !!!, Sufjan Stevens, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sleater-Kinney, Courtney Barnett, Dilly Dally, Vince Staples, and Kendrick Lamar did some amazing things that year and it's probably still fresh in your mind. Still...nostalgia?
Here is 2013. 2013 is here. Or then. Just a few short years ago I started this project and I'm still kind of doing it. I've been doing this for nearly 5 years now, and I'll hit 5 years before I'm done.
So I've been basing this, at least since the entries taking place in the 80s or 90s or so, on my experiences with the music and my life at the time. This year I was in high school and couldn't get enough ska. That year I had a bad breakup and that music helped me through it. Etcetera. My memories of 2013-2017, music-wise, have mostly just been this project and digging backward. So for 2013 and the rest of these, as I have warned, I am just going to give a quick overview of what I liked. Since in 2013 I was listening to 40s music and whatnot, I didn't spend much time with 2013 music. So I haven't heard enough of any of this. So I got to listen to it all one more time and now I get to write about it.
Oh, and here is what I wrote in 2013. Probably more insightful, as I gave it a little more thought then than I am now.
Life experiences: In 2013 I went to Ireland. That was fun. I remember finishing one year of this project on the plane and not writing about it until I got back. See, those are my music memories. We'll see if anything gets jogged as I list things out.
I was big on running in 2013, so that was a pretty cool coincidence that I used the word "jogged" up there. In 2013 there were more "breaks" between years since I had such short, week-long time frames between entries on this project. So I was able to incorporate some modern music into my jogging playlist. What did I like to run to?
Run The Jewels! The dream of a project between Killer Mike & El-P came to fruition! The first album is mostly just boast raps but man, it kicks!
The Lonely Island is always great for running. Especially that song with Robyn.
CHVRCHES. The Bones of What You Believe is a perfect example of great running pop music. It just feels so empowering and I feel like I can just go and go and go.
The sides of Danny Brown on display on the album Old are so insightful...I have gotten so used to his goofy persona in recent years that listening to this album where half of it is more serious stuff just blows my mind. Dude is brilliant.
M.I.A. had a very nice return to form with Matangi. I quite liked running to that album. Very catchy and feel-good.
And finally, the reason I wanted to have a section about running music is because !!! had that album THR!!!ER that was my favorite album for running. I like those guys a lot. The energy they have managed to continue to throw into everything they've done for so many years now is quite impressive. And the ultimate running song, if you were to ask me, and I wasn't at the time thinking about which Carly Rae Jepsen song to say, would be this one.
!!! "Even When the Water's Cold"
Another interesting trend I'm noticing here is that 2013 had a lot of big reunion/long-awaited releases.
Justin Timberlake, ooh! I think it had been a few years since that sexxyback or whatever came out and he had some new jams. The main thing about his The 20/20 Experience double album that was actually just two albums he put out that year was that there were lots of long songs. Like he was trying to be Stevie Wonder or something. Most of the songs are 6/7/8 minutes long. And one of the shorter songs was the 5.5 minute "Suit & Tie" featuring Jay-Z. It's a catchy number, though Jay-Z has been better.
David Bowie had a big comeback with The Next Day. I remember it coming out and everyone had thought he'd retired so it was a big deal. And it was a big deal because it was a fantastic album. I gave lots of songs three stars (I should probably revisit those ratings) but none above three. Which is my way of saying "it was really good but man, it will now forever be overshadowed by Blackstar!"
My Bloody Valentine finally released their new album and holy cow, what a record m b v was. Somehow it sounded newer and fresher than most anything else that came out from bands that formed in the last couple years, and this is a band formed in the early 80s following up its amazing 1991 album. But it exists, this album is great and I could listen to it always. And apparently they're "already" (in 2018) putting out more new music in the near future! Only 5 years!
My Bloody Valentine, "she found now"
Man or Astro-Man? was a surprise reunion to me. I never got to see them live in high school even though I really wanted to. Most of the time they played at the Starlight for 21+ shows. Then they stopped playing shows. But then I went to the Touch & Go Records anniversary festival in Chicago in 2006 I think, and they played a big reunion show there, so I was lucky enough to see them there. But I was still surprised when they put out actual new music. Defcon 5...4...3...2...1 brings back a lot of the instrumental surf rock they were known for, and went different directions than their previous last album that was pretty experimental. But they still were growing forward and D54321 is quite good. A few songs with vocals, lots of the MOAM sound I love in general though.
Remember the big deal of Daft Punk coming back? That was cool. "Get Lucky" was in my head for a while just listening to it again once. I do think the album as a whole was a little boring and overrated but you cannot get that song out of your head. Oh, you think you don't have it in your head? "We're up all night to get lucky." Now it's in your head for a week. You're welcome.
I was waiting for the new Deltron 3030 album for so long. I actively checked the wikipedia page for any updates I might have missed. Since like 2006. I didn't know if it would ever actually be an album, but in the big reunion year of course Event II finally came out. And it didn't disappoint! Even though my expectations were low due to my declining interest in Del's solo material, getting the gang back together was something special. Amusing, high quality, great production, all stuff that just made it a special album.
Other things of note that were just artists doing good things but not after a big reunion:
Deafheaven - Sunbather. Shoegaze, indie friendly or whatever, metal. I think metal purists hate it, probably because they brought a bunch of hipsters to their metal shows. And there's only enough room for one type of pretentious douchebag, thank you very much. But seriously, this album kicks. The passion, the intricacy, play it LOUD.
I have to talk about Kanye West. Yeezus was an interesting direction for the dude to go. I loved it in theory, merely liked it in practice. I liked the more political songs, I liked the sound of him rapping over industrial music, but wish he'd gone further. And I wish it wasn't praised as so original, since he was totally ripping of what Saul Williams had done in 2007 or so. And many others before him in the Def Jux crowd. But "Black Skinhead" is a great song.
The National continued to be fantastic. I really love this song. Listen to the words.
The National, "Pink Rabbits"
Savages were a great new addition to the world of music with Silence Yourself. Euro sounding post punk. I don't know if I have enough words to justify putting them in this section, so let me just spend some words saying simple things like they are awesome and you should get both of their albums right now. Ok, thank you!
Janelle Monae is still special. Has it really been this long since she put out a real new album? What gives? Someone wants to be a Hollywood star or something! Anyway, The Electric Lady was a great last note (so far) from one of the most creative forces in entertainment. A double album full of jams, including the last word I have in my collection from Prince, and that "Dance Apocalyptic" song, and so many great songs expanding on the Metropolis universe she began sharing way back when.
Neko Case is a MAN.
Other Things to Share Short Thoughts About:
Nightmare Air's High in the Lasers was an interesting weird album that I got as part of a package deal. It was an odd one but I dug it.
Bilal's A Love Surreal was very nice, good to hear him pushing some boundaries.
Kacey Musgraves. Same Trailer Different Park. I remember seeing the digital album on Amazon all the time but not thinking twice. Then I think her more recent album came out to very good reviews so I checked out this older one and it is quite fantastic, it turns out. Not all contemporary country is bad!
Micah Schnabel - I'm Dead, Serious. I saw this dude live playing with my friend's band and he had good songs so I got the album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Push The Sky Away. A good dramatic album that only paves the way for his even more good more dramatic album he put out in 2016!
Ducktails. The Flower Lane. Good album, too bad the guy turned out to be a pervert or something. I saw them in Brooklyn when I decided to track down a hipster show the one weekend I was in New York. They opened for Lower Dens, who were even better. But I did like Ducktails at the time.
Nanobots was probably one of They Might Be Giants' better recent albums.
Deathfix was a pretty cool band. Their context of being a band of people that really liked 1973 music (or so, I forget and refuse to look it up) was enriched by this project because I always assumed the 70s sucked until '77 and then this project showing me how great 1972/1973ish was in some certain glam/art-rock circles. They also have a highly amusing song called "Dali's House" where they just say random things about random famous people.
Yo La Tengo. Fade. Just gotta bring it up. Not as many long songs as I'm accustomed to on YLT albums but still quite catchy and enjoyable.
The Men were still quite good and New Moon was a good one that saw them branching out a bit into sounds hinted at on their previous album. yeah yeah.
Acid Rap!
Colin Stetson's New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light was interesting in that he had Justin Vernon on a bunch of tracks. Still prefer the Laurie Anderson collabs though!
PLVS VLTRA! Toko from Enon! I got that album on cassette with my bandcamp order since it was the same price or so!
I was slightly disappointed in Prisoner of Conscious by Talib Kweli because it was teased for so long as a grand statement about his position as an author and when it finally came out it just seemed cheap and small. To me, at least.
She & Him. Vol. 3 was nice, seemed like they were embracing some of the originality and catchiness they are capable of. Seemed like something of a step forward which was refreshing after Vol. 2 (which was also very nice but just seemed like another collection like Vol. 1)
Is Shaking The Habitual the final album by The Knife? Very good album, I made the mistake of putting it on my running mix. Not super upbeat.
Future Bible Heroes. Interesting project for Stephin Merritt to bring back at this time (come on, I want a modern day 6ths album please!). But in the end, it doesn't really matter which project we're talking about. It's going to have a couple great songs and Partygoing is no exception. "Drink Nothing But Champagne" is an anthem like none other, and "Keep Your Children in a Coma" is still highly amusing, even as I prepare for my own son to enter this world.
The Ex collaborated with Brass Unbound for an album called Enormous Door. Some pre-existing songs, some were new (to me at least), and the takes on things were so unique and I love how inventive The Ex has been for like 40 years now. The brassed-up Konono No. 2 is so great.
Similarly, Elvis Costello's album with The Roots just offered fresh new takes on some of the different things EC has done over the years. Re-contextualizing snippets of lyrics to give them new meanings, or emphasis, or whatever. And the random new song that wasn't particularly wild still managed to get itself on the level of many of my favorite Elvis Costello songs. It's called "Tripwire." Look it up.
Like PLVS VLTRA, Crooks on Tape was the other Enon offshoot that is just so great, So much of what I love about Enon is present here on their album Fingerprint.
Sundowner! Neon Fiction!
Preservation Hall Jazz Band put out an album of originals!
Arcade Fire. Reflektor was maybe a tad overrated but now that they've bombed with their new album I feel bad. Reflektor was a grower though. I still need to hear that new one.
What's Next?
After 2013 comes 2014. Which means great albums by The Roots, D'Angelo, Budos Band, Open Mike Eagle, ANOTHER John Schmersal project (Vertical Scratchers), Shellac, a Weezer album I actually got (though I'm not sure I'll write about it), The Bruce Lee Band, The Lawrence Arms, Tune-Yards, the triumphant return of Braid, Ex Hex, more RTJ, TVOTR, Against Me!, and another classic from Weird Al! (Is this the latest Weird Al album? Is this the last time I get to say this in this??)
And thus, we wrap around to where we started. Kind of. I started this thing in 2013. Which kind of means 2012 was the original planned stopping point. Kind of. I didn't think I'd get it done in a year. But what I'm getting at is that while this is not the last one of these I'm doing, it's the last one that will really be tied in to my life. Because my musical memories of 2013-2017 consisted of going through this project and sneaking in some new music in between. So I'm continuing this project just because 2013-2017 were neglected and I might as well listen to that stuff one more time and give my thoughts on it, whether they are interesting or not! Luckily, doing this project also kept me from acquiring as much new music as usual, so it should speed up a bit here.
So 2012 was a significant year for me and for music. The last "big one" you'll see on this blog. Maybe going forward (and I'm thinking way ahead now, since I have a bunch more entries to do), I'll turn this into an ongoing blog about my relationship with music. Whatever that means. And 2013-2017 will be that black hole.
I forgot to get started in that last paragraph. Too bad I don't know how to edit what I've written to make those two paragraphs one coherent thought. Oh well.
Oh, here's my 2012 list from 2012. I decided to stop ranking things that year because it was too hard to compare Frank Ocean to The Dirty Projectors. But seriously, read that. I read it after writing this and it was eerie how many things I described the exact same way 5 years ago. And some things I described much better there than here.
In 2012 I got married. That was the main thing. So my relationship with music was mostly in the fact that I was particularly sentimental toward love songs and such and was seeking them out for perfect wedding playlist choices. And then memories of driving around Napa Valley on our honeymoon listening to The 2 Bears. That's probably the definitive music memory for 2012 for me. Napa Valley and into San Francisco, listening to "Bear Hug" and going over the Golden Gate Bridge. See, that album Be Strong was a good one for both of us to like because it was the dude from Hot Chip but nobody knew about it. My wife (wife!) had reviewed it for a website she was working for at the time, gravitated toward it due to a love of said Hot Chip. It's basically Hot Chip but with more silly songs and guest vocalists. They also had a song called "Ghosts & Zombies" which worked for the wedding thing since wedding was horror themed. But I think my favorite song off that album was "Time in Mind."
The 2 Bears "Time in Mind"
I just jumped in there, didn't I? I mean, once I actually jumped? When I was listening to music this time I was thinking about themes and how I'd summarize the year, but I just put that there. And there's no turning back now. My backspace key is broken. It's a good thing I don't make typos.
2012 was characterized by some very straightforward music. Most of the best music of the year was pretty unambiguous. Usually my favorite music kind of hops genres and is hard to define. Not this year.
Of course, I'll start (not counting The 2 Bears) with the exceptions to that. There are a lot of releases in a year and they're not all going to fit into these boxes.
One of the hottest songs of the year to me was sponsored by Converse and it brought together some favorites that aren't that far apart but still not usually interacting. Three giant personalities that are usually enough on their own. I'm talking about a song that had contributions from Gorillaz (the official "artist"), Andre 3000, and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. It was a thing that Converse had them do, and let me tell you, it is an entertaining track. Especially the long, uncensored version (which really has the LCD Soundsystem influences go off the rails along with Andre). If you didn't hear this in 2012, or you just forgot about it, here is a treat for you!
Gorillaz featuring Andre 3000 and James Murphy "DoYaThing" (short version, sorry! couldn't find the long version on YouTube anymore!)
THEESatisfaction melded together some different things as well. I call them hip hop, but it's more of a neo soul thing I guess? I don't know. Just spiritual and honest and smart and moving. Maybe? Check out awE naturalE, it is a great record and features Palaceer Lazaro (of Shabazz Palaces), the closest spiritual partner to this wild music that I can think of. Meanwhile, Robert Glasper fused together jazz and R&B and some hip hop on Black Radio. Such great soulful performances on there from the likes of Musiq Soulchild, Bilal, Erykah Badu, etc.
I just keep finding exceptions! I think my rule is nonsense but still a convenient way to break this up. But pop/R&B singer Neneh Cherry teamed up with avant-jazz group The Thing for The Cherry Thing and it is such a unique, special....thing. It's got covers of great songs by The Stooges and Suicide and Madvillain, and that Madvillain cover in particular ("Accordion") I love because it brings out MF DOOM's lyrics in such a new and unique way, more like poetry than rap, and I'd love to hear such a treatment of more rap songs because I appreciate his lyrics that much more now.
Kid Koala, ever unclassifiable. I generally put him under hip hop because turntables, but 12 bit Blues is straight up a turntable blues album. Like, classic blues. That guy! If you check out one song off this album, make it "8 bit Blues (Chicago to LA to NY)." Heavy Chicago blues. And turntables. And area codes. Just...the area codes. For Chicago, LA, and NY. That guy!
Deerhoof firmly belongs in the "undefinable" category, but Breakup Song is kind of their pop album anyway. They have always been gleefully weird and catchy, but Breakup Song might be their catchiest without making a whole lot of concessions to their signature weirdness. Does that make sense? Of course that makes sense. It's Deerhoof.
I think Swing Lo Magellan is my favorite Dirty Projectors album. It might be their most mature. With enough weird creative energy for me to list them next to Deerhoof but also enough pretty vocals, it i s a very realized sound from what seems to be a bunch of experts. But they have fun with it. Amber Coffman takes the lead a couple times on vocals and they are some of my favorite moments. And then the playfulness of songs like "Unto Caesar" where they kind of take on a looseness not unlike "Barbara Ann" by the Beach Boys, where they're just kind of showing off how easy it is for them to hit those perfect harmonies when they feel like it. And then on other songs, there is an intensity that the harmonies just amplify. It really is sad that the personal and professional relationship of David Longstreth and Amber Coffman fell apart as it did, but we'll always have this album.
Dirty Projectors, "Gun Has No Trigger"
I skipped out of the UMS for the night Saturday night to see Dirty Projectors that year. No regrets at all.
And now the straightforward stuff that I swear was the whole point I was getting at, I'm sure this is the focus!
Rock and roll just went straight out rock and roll in 2012. Cloud Nothings' Attack on Memory reminded me of Bleach era Nirvana, the changeups, the passionate grungey vocals (Cobain-style, not Vedder-style), and just the way they pushed everything to its limits, it really is one of the best pure rock albums of the past decade.
Similarly, The Men went balls-to-the-wall on Open Your Heart, OFF! had a self titled album that was just exactly what we needed, which is what OFF! is always best for: short fast punk songs, preferably under a minute but sometimes as long as a minute 37 seconds. Ty Segall Band put out Slaughterhouse which I think is the only Ty Segall album I have. They cover "Diddy Wah Diddy" by Bo Diddley, so that's great. Dinosaur Jr continued their reunion hot streak with I Bet On Sky. Screaming Females delivered big time on Ugly with the best vocals and guitar licks one could want. Even Titus Andronicus simplified their formula as well with Local Business, a decidedly not conceptual album (while fitting in a couple characteristically long confessional tracks). And METZ.
Jack White's solo debut Blunderbuss was I guess slightly more complicated than The White Stripes, but pretty much straightforward blues rock. I saw him at Red Rocks as well as at a tire shop in Denver on this album. My last hurrah of working weekends (oh yeah, I switched to weekdays in 2012!) was the ability I had to chase him down to see an intimate show at a random tire (was it a body shop? I don't know, something car related) on West Colfax and be in like the 2nd row. That was a thrill, let me tell you. Then Red Rocks that night. Oh, and our "end of the night" song from the wedding was his "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep." Good song!
Jack White, "I Guess I Should Go To Sleep"
Oh, and remember Alabama Shakes' debut album Boys & Girls? More awesome soulful garage rock! Fairly straightforward!
And finally, Japandroids' Celebration Rock may just take the cake for rock album of the year. Maybe. The pure mass of sound they put out as two people is just phenomenal. The passion, the whoa-oh-oh, it's just pure anthemic celebration. I guess that album title is a pretty good descriptor that I didn't realize was right in front of me. I also remember one night I was listening to it and it ends on a song called "Continuous Thunder" and it ended up being the same night as a huge thunderstorm in Denver. I kind of wondered if the album had called it into being, similar to a rain dance.
Japandroids "Continuous Thunder"
Small section in here for pretty-easy-to-classify Swedish indie pop artist Jens Lekman. I Know What Love Isn't is signature Jens Lekman, just easy songs with some truly insightful lyrics while also staying true and all that. Words. He's better at words than me. But this album has "I Want A Pair of Cowboy Boots" which is one of my favorites. "Just buy me a drink so I can refuse to raise my glass to these sad and worn out midnight shoes..."
And also easy to classify is straightforward pop music. Carly Rae Jepsen'sKiss came out in 2012 and while the album is uneven to say the least (she would get much more consistently great in a few years), it had the smash single "Call Me Maybe" which is great for all the unironic reasons. And that alone makes it worth pulling into the main part of the entry here.
Another usually easy to define genre is hip hop. It was a very good year for hip hop, if you remember 2012. El-P'sCancer 4 Cure saw the beginning of his mutually beneficial relationship with Killer Mike. Or did Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music come first? Either way, before they were Run The Jewels, the two collaborated quite a bit on two of the best hip hop albums of the year (and probably more than just the year). So I'll talk about them together here. El-P's started with an extended instrumental break that I remember people remarking made them think they'd accidentally gotten the instrumental version of the album. He just makes you wait for it longer than you may be used to. But once that hits, the words come hard and he does not let up. I don't know how to explain these albums! In terms of RTJ, they showcase the individual talents more than their combined efforts, and for that I hope they do some more solo material (while not wanting RTJ to end because duh).
Aesop Rock's Skelethon. It has some great moments of creepiness, particularly when they feature his newtime collaborator Kimya Dawson (which almost would put him in the "less classifiable" category, except that she doesn't sway the album out of hip hop territory. I will say that she brings her signature twee in to a great unsettling effect).
Nas put out an album as a reasonably old rapper called Life Is Good. I didn't think I'd be that into it but it must have been $5 or something. It ended up being one of the better "mature" hip hop albums I've heard. Still uneven (particularly when the song about having a daughter is followed up within a couple songs by less than savory language one wouldn't want to use with one's daughter) but there are some illuminating moments for sure.
The Coup made the revolution a party by the way. Sorry to Bother You is THE ONLY album you need for your revolution party.
Kendrick Lamar kind of broke my rating system with good kid, m.A.A.d city. Usually my ratings are there to indicate standout tracks so I know which ones to revisit (in addition to using them so they'll come up on various shuffly playlists, as I do). But the consistency of greatness on this album just kind of means the whole thing is to be revisited. Over and over. It's interesting to revisit this album now that he's put out a couple more. It might be my favorite of the three (not counting untitled unmastered). But it also has had the most time to marinate. I'm excited for the revisiting of TuPAB in the near future. The reason I'm not trying to really write about the music is because so many words are on the internet about this album. I don't really have anything to contribute. But just to say something, it is a refreshingly honest portrayal of life in Compton without being grandstanding. It's about difficulties and it's just about growing up. It's oft misunderstood but wise beyond its years. Or something. I don't know. It's one of the best hip hop albums in existence. And I get to see him live on Saturday (I had to throw that in there).
We can also put Frank Ocean firmly in the R&B category of the record store. Channel Orange is not a typical R&B album though. The pure honest heart on sleeve presentation and the deep, deep levels of creativity make this something truly special and it transcends any genre. Even though it evokes greats like Marvin Gaye and Al Green, it is so contemporary and original. Album of the year? Tough call, due to this year being this year. But maybe.
Frank Ocean, "Pyramids"
Also of note:
Grimes' Visions was fantastic. I know she would go more pop and arguably better on her follow-up, but Visions was my intro to her and I love its experimentalism.
Man, there was a giant box set of Bob Dylan covers that I got because it was a benefit for Amnesty International, but was that a slog to get through! No regrets for supporting it, but it had maybe an EP's worth of tracks I actually liked.
John K Samson of Weakerthans fame went solo with Provincial. Definitely consistent.
Leonard Cohen deserves more than a footnote, I'll try to put in a tribute with the 2016 entry. Old Ideas was fantastic though.
Chromatics' Kill For Love. A great album for driving around a big city on a rainy night.
Magnetic Fields checked in with Love at the Bottom of the Sea. As usual, it had a couple great songs and some filler. But I really liked "Andrew in Drag" and "Going Back to the Country."
I'm not sure which category I'd put Sleigh Bells in above (which I guess puts them in the non-straightforward category!) because Reign of Terror saw them going a little more basic, dropping some of the hip hop influences in favor of making it closer to metal. So it's only joining together like three genres now, okay?
Revisiting The Shins' Port of Morrow was quite rewarding. I had thought I'd remembered it being dull, but this time it was a pure delight.
of Montreal had two albums! And many genres as well!
I think Heaven might have been the album that really made me appreciate The Walkmen.
I feel like I didn't like The House That Jack Built by Jesca Hoop as much as I should have, considering it seems to expand on my favorite quirks of her first album. I wonder if it's related to the similarly timed release of Fiona Apple's The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, which touches on similar styles and was just so great that it made others look bad. Not sure. But yes, I put that whole title in here. Confession: I used copy/paste for that one.
Hot Chip also had an album as Hot Chip and it was great. It deserves to be not just a footnote, but I write about them a lot already!
Same with Scissor Sisters. b is more greatness from them.
Is Master of My Make Believe Santigold's best? Maybe, just maybe.
Calexico, man. Calexico. Algiers is just like, what Calexico does. They could put out 10 more albums like this and I'd love them all.
The xx managed to evolve enough for their sophomore album Coexist where I maintained interest, but they were nowhere near the year end list this time. I still enjoy them though.
The Whigs' album Enjoy The Company was included in a random grab bag thing I got at the record store. Two words of advice: when you already have tons of music, don't go acquiring more stuff you've never heard of. However, sometimes you might get lucky and get something awesome.
David Byrne and St Vincent teamed up for a pretty funky collaborative album. It's got hits and misses but the hits hit hard, like good classic Talking Heads. I'd like more of St Vincent's signature oddball guitar work, but the brass sounds good too.
Divine Fits were a good way to hold us over until the next Spoon album.
Big Boi took a step back with Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. But still, Big Boi.
The Evens! The Odds!
Bat For Lashes! I got bored with her other albums for whatever reason, but The Haunted Man is the real deal!
And always The Mountain Goats. Transcendental Youth is typical great Mountain Goats music.
2012 Playlist from 2012:
Comfort in Destiny: It Was 2012
17. David Byrne & St. Vincent "Weekend in the Dust"
18. Jack White "I Guess I Should Go to Sleep"
Next is 2013:
Chance the Rapper! CHVRCHES! The return of Man or Astro-man?! The return of Janelle Monae! DELTRON EVENT II! My Bloody Valentine! (now I feel silly talking about the return of Janelle Monae since the other returns are after much longer hiati) Bowie! Daft Punk! (now I'm realizing that I'm getting older and all the more exciting albums are returns) Run The Jewels! Savages! Deafheaven! (now that's more like it, some new stuff) Elvis Costello with The Roots! Justin Timberlake! And more stuff! But not as much as I started to scale back on my music. Please keep reading this even though I said it would be less personal. You might get nostalgic for music from 4 years ago, right? Remember 4 years ago? Those were the days.
I will assume you are reading this in the evening. Not that you have to. In fact, I watched many horror movies in the daytime.
This past weekend I was lucky enough to attend the first annual (maybe?) Overlook Film Festival. Held in the mountains of Oregon at the Timberline Lodge (where the exterior shots of the Overlook were filmed in The Shining), it was the successor to the great Stanley Film Festival. For reasons I won't go into here, the Stanley Film Festival is no more, and a new, also Shining-based location had to be picked out. And in the Mt. Hood area, it was amusing to see that they claim The Shining as much as Estes Park does with their merchandise and whatnot. I'd call them equally valid claims as "the hotel from The Shining."
There was a lot of stuff going on at this festival, with parties and interactive experiences and panels and whatnot. Something for everybody (that is, everybody with an interest in the horror genre). I will say that it did kind of feel like the inaugural year for the festival, with a few technical difficulties (the Timberline is less equipped to have converted movie theaters than the Stanley, which had three screens at actual theaters in Estes Park; no maps or real printed programs other than a schedule grid; a one hour shuttle schedule due to most lodging options being several miles down the mountain), but it really had a great energy. Everybody was there for the same basic reasons, the parties were quite elaborate, and everything went relatively smoothly.
But I'm really just here to talk about the movies. Because that was why we were there. Some of these will make their way to other festivals and/or on demand and/or maybe even regular movie theaters if we're lucky! So seek them out when you can.
Opening Night
The festivities opened with the world premiere of a movie called Stephanie. It was decently scary and quite clever the more I think about it. And something that could benefit from repeat viewings. The little girl (Shree Crooks, whom you may recognize from Mr. Fantastic) delivered a very magnetic performance, commanding the camera as she spent a good chunk of the movie as the only character on screen. Director Akiva Goldsman (Oscar winning writer of A Beautiful Mind) had a Q&A after the movie and was very entertaining. He and producer Jason Blum (of Blumhouse productions, honored for their contributions to pushing Horror in new and interesting directions) kind of took over the Q&A and made an announcement that Goldsman would be directing a remake of Firestarter, so that is something to keep an eye out for. Stephanie was Goldsman's first horror picture (that he directed at least) but he had a decent command of the genre, so it could be good.
After that (and the opening night party), we went to a very late night screening of Prey, a goofy Dutch film about a man-eating lion. I'm not sure what all to say about this one. It was quite enjoyable for what it was, which is something that could play well on SyFy if it were in English. I saw the "twist" coming a mile away, but it was more about the goofs than anything, and they were decently good goofs.
The drive down the mountain at 2:00am was decently scary as well. Because of logistics, we couldn't make it up to the last movie on the shuttle, so we had to drive up in the snow. Luckily, the rental car company gave us a good deal on an SUV with 4 wheel drive, but it was very icy and windy. The game of riding the brakes down the mountain.
Day Two
Friday we saw a bunch of movies, though it was less horror than what we saw the other days (and coincidentally no filmmakers in attendance). First up was Australian kidnapping thriller Hounds of Love. It was quite disturbing but had some good empowerment to it that resonated with the jury, who awarded it the grand prize of best film at the festival. It crossed a couple too many lines for me personally, but it had a powerful narrative, great acting, and a great ending that resonated strongly.
Following that one was the English Two Pigeons, described very aptly by the introduction as "icky." It was quite amusing and very icky. A very interesting way to confine a movie to a limited space. That's about all I have to say about it.
That was followed up by The Untamed. Looking at it as a drama, it was a very strong film about secrets and desire. The "horror" aspect was a kind of sex monster thing, which had an interesting design to it but it seemed like the movie might have been better as a drama with some slight changes.
We wrapped up Friday with the very entertaining The Bar, the latest from Alex de la Iglesia. I was unfamiliar with his work, but based on this (and other festers' recommendations) I will have to see more for sure. It was mostly a comedy with some very active dialog and various horrific aspects. It was also the first of what turned out to be quite a few (or was it just 3 or 4?) movies centered around disease/quarantine that we saw. But it was similar in tone to an Edgar Wright film and definitely one to seek out.
Day Three
We decided that four movies in one day wasn't enough, so we crammed five into our last day at the festival. And it just happened to have all of the most exciting/intriguing films on the list. And after the somewhat hit-or-miss track record of what we watched Friday, Saturday turned out to be just as strong as we'd hoped. I wholeheartedly recommend all five of these movies we watched. And four of them had the filmmaker in attendance!
First up was the scariest one we saw (and the jury agreed, giving it the honorable mention of "scariest movie"), the world premiere of Still/Born by newcomer Brandon Christensen. For me personally, the scariest scary movies center around a lonely house where there may or may not be a demon or ghost lurking. So this was that one this year. It did include someone actually screaming at one of the scariest moments. Christie Burke delivered an awesome performance, leaving audiences unsure of whether there was a demon, or maybe she was going crazy and bringing us there with her.
Next was Mayhem, an over-the-top action comedy starring Steven Yeun and directed by Joe Lynch (perhaps known for Knights of Badassdom). The concept was that there is a virus that causes people to lose their inhibitions and act out their impulses, and it takes place in a law office. So...all of the rage of the very high strung comes out and there is a lot of blood and silliness. I'm sure this one will be available somewhere soon. It was a lot of fun.
That was followed up by the presentation of the Master of Horror Award to Roger Corman. They showed X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes but it was more about the interview/Q&A with the legend. It was really cool to hear him talk about his shifting role in movie making, bringing Bergman's Cries and Whispers to drive-ins, talking about the late great Jonathan Demme (one of many talents discovered by Mr. Corman), an anecdote about Stephen King's almost-contribution to X, and how he thinks of all his movies they should remake X with modern technology. It was a truly fascinating discussion, and luckily it was a live podcast so you can probably track it down. Definitely highly recommended.
We narrowly got into line early enough to get tickets to the secret screening. Nobody knew what movie to expect. When they announced that it was It Comes At Night, there was a big cheer, though I admit that I hadn't heard of it and didn't know what to expect. Director Trey Edward Shults introduced the film, stating that he still had to go finish it. The only noticeable thing was that the credits weren't attached yet. The movie itself was very dark, very psychological, and mysterious. Without giving too much away, it centers around a family isolated away during an outbreak of some deadly disease. It's more about the people than anything, and their relationships, and trust. It was a very awesome movie. It will be in theaters later this summer. See it.
Our last picture was a true classic horror about teenagers camping in the woods. It was the Finnish film Lake Bodom, based around a true story that happened in Finland in the 1960s where three of four teenagers camping at the lake...did not return. This one takes place in modern times and is more of a parallel story. Despite starting with lots of the classic beats of horror cliche, it took some interesting turns and had an awesome "car chase" scene. The Q&A with director Taneli Mustonen was very entertaining, as he spoke of Finland and its aversion to horror cinema (despite its thriving metal scene) and how it is his true love, though he mostly directs comedies because that's where the money is. Hopefully he gets more chances to make more horror because it showed some promise.
One final horror show was the ride back down the mountain at 1:00am Saturday night. The shuttle was full of people and refused to stop accepting people. We could smell those brakes burn as we rode down and joked with each other about how at least we would appreciate the irony if we all died riding the shuttle down from the horror fest.
There was a Day Four, but we had a plane to catch. I still feel we crammed enough movies into our weekend, as eleven movies in three days (and only two the first day) is a lot of movies.
Actually, what I kind of want to talk about is how exhausting the 2598 songs (7 days worth) of 2011 were. I considered stopping as it dragged on and on. I'm still mostly enjoying this project, but this one just had me really wanting to live more in the moment, because this seems like such a critical moment to be present in. But it'll be fine. I did a count for 2012 and there are only 1791 songs, less than 5 days worth. I think 2011 was probably the biggest chunk. And I considered ending it after 2012 since I started this project way back at the beginning of 2013...but then that would cheat me out of all these years I've put into this. Because due to said project, I didn't spend enough time with current music. So everything I've accrued in the past 4 years has gotten not enough attention already. So might as well give it its due here.
Okay, that is out of the way. let's go back 6 years to 2011. Sorry if I'm somewhat brief (and heavy on the footnotey section at the bottom) but I started listening to this back in November and I am going to have a hard time remembering it all that well. I've been on a break (listening to new music) a full month now, and I'm probably going to go another month before I dive into the next one.
The summer of 2011 was when I was really working on my lawn for my house. Lots of digging holes. I remember this specifically because of a couple songs from a couple albums that came out in 2011.
Peter Bjorn & John's Gimme Some was quite an enjoyable collection of upbeat tracks, and many times I was digging holes with "Dig A Little Deeper" in my head.
My main soundtrack to that summer was Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes though. So much that I made it my album of the year back then. And the title track was my anthem as I worked to make my property into something. It was some sort of a growing up song and album. Trying to figure out what I really should be, what I should do with this land, work 'til I'm sore.
Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"
Thao & Mirah was my introduction to both Thao Nguyen and Mirah. I checked it out because it was produced by tUnE-YarDs and included a song featuring her. Three awesome, empowered, unique, and incredibly playful voices playing off each other. I wonder if they are going to get back together again. They have both put out some awesome solo stuff before and since then though.
Speaking of tUnE-YarDs, W H O K I L L might be her best album. Bird-Brains (no more stylizing with punctuation, I've put enough effort into getting that right) had hints of W H O K I L L with a few tracks that could be on this one, but this one was this one. The power of looping, the power of the creative energy, the power of the rawness.
Tune-yards "Powa"
Speaking of catchy and creative, let's go further down that road to Deerhoof. Deerhoof vs Evil is one of my favorites from them. I read a review of their most recent album that badmouthed this one a little bit for whatever reason, and it seemed uncalled for. This one is different in that it doesn't rock out as hard as classic Deerhoof, but it just finds quieter ways to be very very weird.
TV On The Radio, man. TV On The Radio. What do I write about Nine Types of Light that I haven't already written about TV On The Radio? I guess at this point their pop is getting poppier without sacrificing any of their inventiveness. The ballady songs are especially heartfelt, and the rockers keep me banging on my steering wheel.
I had a Facebook "memory" the other day from 2011 when I was in the conundrum that new TVOTR and Battles music was available to me at the same time and I didn't know what to listen to first. Because they are two of my always favorites, and new music from either is an event. And then when I heard "Ice Cream," the first song Battles released from their new album Gloss Drop, their first without founding member Tyondai Braxton, I was absolutely blown away. They brought in some guest vocalists to fill in the gap, and while they didn't really need them (as they proved on the instrumental tracks and then the subsequent album), it was a very creative exercise for one of the most creative bands I've heard. I've written about Battles a lot so I won't say much more except that I saw them live that same year and I wrote a blog post about it, so if you want to you can check it out: Battles 7.19.11: A Deconstruction of Carefully Controlled Noise
St. Vincent won me over with Strange Mercy. I hadn't realized what I'd been missing but checked this one out because I was checking everything out in 2011. And this album is why it is good that I checked so much out in 2011. I didn't realize she was so experimental/art rock! And I didn't know she could wail on guitar so effectively! Those licks pulled me in and then the "in between" slower songs hooked me (with her also awesome vocals).
The Antlers' second one Burst Apart was basically equally devastating as their previous one. A big step forward musically without sacrificing (wow I used the same basic sentence just a couple paragraphs ago...but I'm not gonna change it!) what makes it such an engaging challenge to listen to. I remember worrying it would be less intense when the reviews said it was less raw, but...it wasn't. Not very fair to have a song called "Putting The Dog To Sleep" though.
More indie rock was Bon Iver with his doubly self-titled album Bon Iver, Bon Iver. That one is pretty mind blowing. I remember comparing his trajectory to Kanye West, calling this his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I stand behind that, though I'm not sure if his new one is his Life of Pablo. But as of 2011, totally apt. A combination of all of his tricks he'd accrued over his previous material and put together in fascinating ways. I still can't get behind that Peter Cetera esque last track though.
When the album Wild Flag by the "supergroup" Wild Flag was released, it was exciting because Carrie Brownstein was playing music again after mostly being known for Portlandia for so many years. It was a nice reminder of how great of an artist she was when she was being sincere instead of sarcastic. It was a nice reminder where she gets the credibility to lampoon hipster culture so effectively. And it was my introduction to Mary Timony, who is about to re-release material from her old band Helium and similarly rocked me to my soul with her other newer band Ex Hex. But what about Wild Flag? It's just a great collection of high energy punk, a throwback to Sleater-Kinney, and even though it was kind of a side project (especially now that SK is back together) it will never be a minor footnote release. It stands tall.
M83 caught my ear with Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, a massive double album with massive hit after massive hit (okay maybe the hits weren't technically massive, they just felt that way. Epic hit maybe? I hate overuse of that word, but I think these songs qualify). Synthy, high energy, it just makes me want to see them live and feel the energy of the room on the opening notes of some of these songs.
Remember when The Weeknd was a new, mysterious thing? House of Balloons kind of blew my mind. The rawness, the desperation, that voice, it was very engaging. And I'm not generally into modern R&B unless it's something wild along the lines of Janelle Monae. But The Weeknd came out of nowhere and expressed something very raw and sad in such an engaging way. Side note: I ended up also getting the "remastered" versions of the first three albums/mixtapes/whatever and listened to both. I liked the remaster of House of Balloons but when I heard the original version again I loved it that much more. The rawness!
Charles Bradley came on shortly after the election with his song "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)" and it was so poignant and timely and sad. Most of the rest of the album is not particularly political, more love song based. That man can sing.
Another one that came on shortly after the election was The Ex with Catch My Shoe. This was their first one with the new singer, and while it definitely changed the experience a little to have a different singer, there is so much rhythm to The Ex that I think it would have been weirder if they swapped out the drummer or guitarist.
The Ex "Cold Weather is Back"
The final Beastie Boys album was a very fine Beastie Boys album. Leave it to them to keep pushing musical innovation 25 years into their career, but Hot Sauce Committee Part Two was amazing. Enough of that old school swagger and playfulness combined with forward thinking production. RIP MCA!
Other hip hop was a bunch of things, of course including that Jay-Z & Kanye West collaboration Watch The Throne. I feel the same way now as I did when it came out. They've both done better, they've both done much deeper, but it is a hell of a lot of fun to listen to anyway.
Regarding Kendrick Lamar, I just want to say that what I wrote about in my 2011 write-up (linked above) was "very optimistic about his future." Now, I don't think I could have predicted anything like Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City (or of course To Pimp a Butterfly) but I would like to point out that I astutely knew he was capable of better than Section.80. His lyrics and delivery were great (particularly on "Rigamortus") but the production left a bit to be desired. And then he delivered a short year later. In all seriousness though, Section.80 was better than I'd remembered/recognized at the time. But of course now it's all about what he went on to do, isn't it?
The Roots had another brilliant one in undun, a very raw, gritty set that has a certain artfulness, seamlessly incorporating a Sufjan Sevens instrumental track in full before expanding on that with an extended outro.
Of course, all hip hop that came out in 2011 had to be compared to Black Up by Shabazz Palaces. It ended up very close to the top of my list and pretty much ruined all other hip hop that came out because it was so far beyond what I understood hip hop could be. I still don't know how to write about it (see my attempt in 2011) other than it feels like it elevates me, clears some space out, and puts me...somewhere. Up there. Cleared out.
Shabazz Palaces "Recollections of the wraith"
But what about Tom Waits? Bad As Me is still his latest album and it is still as awesome as most of what he's put out in his long career. I love his alternating between banging blues blowouts and sincere bona fide ballads. Nobody does it like Tom Waits. Not even close. It was quite haunting to listen to "Last Leaf" though, in early 2017, so soon after the likes of Bowie and Leonard Cohen left this plane. Stick around forever please!
I had a couple massive, very experimental/heady benefit compilations come up that were made for Japan, and I still feel like the world didn't mourn enough for what happened to Japan in March of 2011. It was a massive catastrophe and so much bigger than some little blog.
And while I was writing this, I googled Fukushima and saw this story from YESTERDAY that there are currently "Deadly Nuclear Radiation Levels Detected" in Fukushima.
Grouper "Cassiopeia"
Other words.
Explosions in the Sky. I was just getting into them because Take Care, Take Care, Take Care was pretty well received. Quite awesome instrumental post rock.
Similarly, Mogwai with the best song title of most times: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.
I Am Very Far was yet another quite good Okkervil River album but this was when I was a little less into it than their predecessors. Still a couple songs I gave 4 stars to though.
Kind of ditto for The Decemberists/The King is Dead.
I always remember liking The Dodos but I never decide that I want to listen to The Dodos. But Here came No Color to remind me of why I always remember liking them. Very catchy and creative.
Iron & Wine just kept getting more and more weird and that's one of the few acts I'd rather hear stick to what they're known for. Still a couple songs I love though.
Big K.R.I.T. had a breakthrough with Return Of 4Eva, and I ran the turkey trot listening to it. It was very good running music.
I'm not sure if there's much unique about The Mountain Goats' All Eternals Deck but I do remember getting it at Twist & Shout on vinyl and they had held onto a special limited version of the vinyl for me. That was when I knew I had "made it" as a music fan. My favorite record store knew me! It also, in retrospect speaks volumes to why I had so much damn 2011 music.
Obits! Still awesome.
The Lionheart Brothers! Still great. A little more wistful and less poppy on Matters of Love and Nature but I still like them quite a lot.
Lykke Li seemed to get more bold with her vulnerabilities on Wounded Rhymes.
Cut Copy made for a good stand in for Hot Chip on Zonoscope.
I like Smoking Popes, but This Is Only A Test is just an awkward album where he tries to speak for kids much younger than he is. It just doesn't work for me.
I should probably mention Radiohead so Radiohead! I think I liked the random other tracks they put out more than The King of Limbs but it still has its moments.
of Montreal put out an EP called thecontrollersphere, which was okay, but its centerpiece, the 8 minute "Holiday Call" was great.
There were two Buddy Holly tribute compilations for some reason. Lots of variation in quality...
I usually skip Christmas songs with this project but the holidays actually lined up with it this time, so I had the quite enjoyable Songs for Christmas Vol. X by Sufjan Stevens (including my favorite, "Christmas Unicorn") and A Very She & Him Christmas come up. Enjoyable tree decoratin' music.
The Lonely Island is pretty great, eh?
And speaking of funny things, The Book of Mormon.
Jens Lekman's EP An Argument With Myself has my wife's favorite Jens song (the title track). I prefer "A Promise," a heartfelt song for a very good friend.
People Under The Stairs are like the Spoon of hip hop. Always great.
I remember Tinariwen's album Tassili. It featured numerous TV On The Radio cameos and some great guitar work.
Retox is pretty awesome.
LP1 got me over Joss Stone. Great voice, but at that point I'd finally had enough.
Washed Out was the sexier version of the xx.
Mi Ami went totally electronic on the EP Dolphins. I still prefer the more outrageous guitar-flavored version of them.
I think I realized while listening to Take Care that I don't really have a personal need to listen to Drake.
Doomtree Bangarang!
Feist! Metals! Still great!
...And another classic by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Alpocalypse seemed almost like he was trying to be relevant to the 2011 world with songs about Craigslist and ringtones and forwards, but still quite good. And the White Stripes style parody "CNR" is pretty right on. (he did better on the next one though)
The Mix of the time:
Sound is the Blood Between Me and You: It Was 2011
1. Wild Flag "Romance"
2. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake "Hastily"
3. M83 featuring Amy White "Steve McQueen"
4. Beans "Gluetraps"
5. Shabazz Palaces "Recollections of the wraith"
6. Mayer Hawthorne featuring Jimijames "The Walk"
7. Bon Iver "Perth"
8. Lia Ices featuring Justin Vernon "Daphne"
9. Jens Lekman "Waiting for Kirsten"
10. The Antlers "Putting the Dog to Sleep"
11. Deerhoof "I Did Crimes for You"
12. Tom Waits "Hell Broke Luce"
13. Battles "Inchworm"
14. TV On the Radio "Repetition"
15. Tinariwen featuring Tunde Adebimpe & Kyp Malone "Tenere Taqqim Tossam"
16. Tune-Yards "Esso"
17. Colin Stetson featuring Shara Worden "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes"
18. Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"
Next One is 2012 (eventually):
Dirty Projectors' best maybe? Rock off with Cloud Nothings vs Japandroids! The year of El-P and Killer Mike before they joined forces officially! Frank Ocean! Kendrick Lamar! Call Me Maybe! And much more!
Oscars are back so I'm going to write about them again this year. I tried to watch most of what I wanted to see that was nominated, which was most of what was nominated for most categories. So it's based on seeing most of the things.
I'm going to go in reverse order of the way my spreadsheet is listed because then the fun best picture/acting/etc is saved for last. Not that the first one is unexciting (I actually am a big fan of the writing categories).
And as always, I'm not trying to give the Oscars more relevance by posting this (not that I have any influence). This should not be where it begins and ends with discussion of the movies of 2016 and certainly some of the best movies weren't even nominated for anything (or were for very little), and they deserve discussion as well. I'll try to be better at writing about movies as they come out (as I see them, which isn's as often as I'd like) going forward. But we'll see if that works out.
okay, let's go. I'll post my hopes, ranked in some way (so there will be multiple for some categories, my top is the first one listed. Get it?)
Best Original Screenplay
Hope: I would be so happy if The Lobster won. It was such a unique type of movie that doesn't usually get any attention at the Oscars. I missed 20th Century Women but I really hope to see that shortly and It's my second choice anyway based on what I've heard about it. Hell or High Water would be a solid choice as well. A good classic morality tale...kind of.
Predict: Manchester By The Sea
Best Adapted Screenplay
Hope: Moonlight was just so great a portrait of a man growing into himself in confusing times. Arrival was brilliant.
Predict: Hidden Figures Best Visual Effects
Hope: I'm pretty indifferent on this one but I'll put Kubo and the Two Strings on this one because it is some cool animation
Predict: Jungle Book Sound Mixing
Hope: Arrival had such good sound, making me feel all the isolation of that pod.
Predict: Hacksaw Ridge Sound Editing
Hope: Arrival again just because
Predict: Hacksaw Ridge (I didn't see this one but if the war scenes are as good as I've heard, it just might deserve this award)
Shorts
Didn't see any, nothing to say here.
Original Song (I reserve the right to change my votes upon hearing the performances since I still haven't heard some of these. Yes, I know YouTube exists)
Hope: "Audition" from La La Land, it was one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Predict: "City of Stars" from La La Land because it is all over the place now.
Score
Hope: Mica Levi for Jackie
Predict: La La Land Makeup & Hairstyling
Hope: Star Trek I suppose. I wanted to pick A Man Called Ove but it wasn't all that impressive...
Predict: Star Trek
Foreign Language Film
Hope: (I only saw A Man Called Ove which was good but I imagine others were better.) Officially I put Toni Erdmann based on what I've read about it but that's just to fill out the column.
Predict: It would be pretty sweet to see The Salesman win based on the political implications.
Film Editing
Hope: Arrival used editing masterfully. The movie would not have been what it was without its near-perfect editing.
Predict: Moonlight Documentary Feature
Hope: 13TH which is sadly the only one I've seen so far.
Predict: O.J.: Made in America Directing
Hope: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight. I'd be happy with Damien Chezelle or Denis Villeneuve too though.
Predict: Damien Chezelle for La La Land (just realizing I'm not predicting this for nearly enough categories!)
Costume Design
Hope: Jackie
Predict: La La Land Production Design
Hope: Hail, Caesar! They production designed the hell out of that movie!
Predict: La La Land Cinematography
Hope: First year without Roger Deakins in a while! Silence deserves it for sure. I'd be very pleased if Moonlight wins though with its use of blues.
Predict: La La Land (okay, I am putting lots of La La Land in here after all)
Animated Feature
Hope: I didn't see any of these but they all look quite good for different reasons. I'm just glad there's not a default Pixar movie in here. I'll put The Red Turtle as my pick even though those never win.
Predict: Zootopia Supporting Actress (I should re-order my spreadsheet, I'm annoyed that the actors come before actresses every year)
Hope: Viola Davis was the best part of Fences. Michelle Williams made so much out of her few scenes in Manchester By The Sea and they were truly heartbreaking. I did love all five performances though so I think I'll be good.
Predict: Viola Davis Supporting Actor
Hope: Mahershala Ali is blowing up. So great in Moonlight. Michael Shannon really elevated Nocturnal Animals.
Predict: Mahershala Ali Lead Actress
Hope: Ruth Negga played a full range of acting from subtle to heartbreaking in Loving. I didn't get a chance to see Elle but from what I heard, Isabelle Huppert deserves a win for that performance. Natalie Portman delivered a studied performance in Jackie that somehow allowed me to forget it was Natalie Portman.
Predict: Natalie Portman Lead Actor
Hope: Denzel.
Predict: Denzel. Best Picture
Hope: Arrival was my favorite of a very strong group. Moonlight was fantastic as well. I have a lot to say, don't I?? Hell or High Water would be a super pleasant surprise. La La Land would be fine.
Predict: La La Land
Anyone want to compare notes?
I finished listening to 2010 a while ago but I have just been listening to all of the new music I can get my hands on because 2016 ain't half bad either!
But 2010 gives 2007 a run for its money. A ridiculously great year for music. So I'll probably just focus on the great, putting the merely "very good" in the bottom section.
The most significant thing in my personal life in 2010 is probably my trip to New Orleans. It is where I proposed to my wife and fell in love with the city. We went to Preservation Hall and saw the band there. Earlier in the year I had purchased An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall with such guests as Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Jason Isbell, and many more. This was the first New Orleans jazz album officially in my collection and it will always be near to my heart for these reasons. Similarly, Kermit Ruffins put out Happy Talk, which will probably always be my favorite Ruffins album.
I remember Broken Bells were taken off my top whatever list at the last minute because I decided it was a little boring on my final listen-through. I'm bringing them back here because it is just so darn pleasant to listen to! I think I like this more than anything The Shins have done, although I was never a huge Shins fan. Danger Mouse's bleeps and bloops compliment James Mercer's words and voice quite well.
Remember when we all first heard Sleigh Bells? I'm pretty sure "Crown on the Ground" just had me immediately thank the person who shared them on Facebook or whatever. Such an awesome unique combination of sounds, from the pop vocals to the hip hop beats to the metal guitars, it was one of the most exciting sounds I'd heard and I was immediately hooked. When Treats finally came out, it sure was a collection of Treats, am I right? But seriously, that song and "Rill Rill" are what it's all about.
Spoon was always and will continue to be super reliably great. Transference saw them returning "to form," whatever that means for them. Just dig that beat, dig that build, and dig those forays into otherness.
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire was exactly what I wanted from them. I've always enjoyed them, but on this album they somehow sounded less self-important than everything else they've done. I'm not sure how that is. I think there's just this playful element that keeps it breezy. It just floats by in a wonderful way. Not that they don't sing about some heavy subjects, but the delivery makes it that much more enjoyable.
OFF! had four great EPs combined into one release called First Four EPs. That's a total of 16 songs for a grand total of 18 minutes of music. These little bolts of hardcore punk lightning are just a shot of lightning into the lightning tree. Am I right?
That's curtains for the Man in Black. American VI: Ain't No Grave was officially the final release of new music by Johnny Cash. With how depressing American V was, VI was a nice batch of hopeful, uplifting tunes, perfect for bidding adieu to one of the greatest artists to walk this earth.
The tip top:
There were a few albums that could easily top the list at the end of whatever year, but since it was 2010 there could be only one (at the time; I'm not ranking anymore). So these are the exceptionally great ones. Just because.
I had gotten previous Hot Chip albums, but One Life Stand stuck with me hard. It's like I finally figured out what they were doing. I'd had it in my head that they were supposed to be some dancy thing to take to the parties, but then I gave them more attention here and heard something much closer to the heart. Very soulful and optimistic. The title track ended up obviously being a very appropriate song for my pending nuptials, but this song was the one I wanted played at my wedding, for my side of the wedding party.
Hot Chip, "Brothers"
I'm pretty sure I picked up The Monitor by Titus Andronicus based off hype alone. People were talking them up and without even really knowing what it would sound like I went for it. This is something I have done before and since, but probably the most successful I've ever been with it. This is an epic punk rock tale. This is a story of the civil war and it's a story of self and all the ugliness and beauty that goes along with that. This is pure passion, unrestricted. Throw it all out, burn it up, and breathe in the fire.
Titus Andronicus, "Richard II"
She seemed to be ignored in 2010 by the mainstream here in the states, but in the years that followed, it looks like Robyn started getting her due, as songs like "Dancing On My Own" made their way to TV shows and such. But we can call 2010 her Body Talk era, when she put out three EPs over the course of the year to culminate in the full album version toward the end. At the time I remember thinking of how criminal it was that she wasn't the queen of the pop world, but the pop world just wasn't ready for her. Innovative beats, heartfelt lyrics, and just something extra that I can't quite pinpoint combine for the pop album of the year or more. Perfection. Love. Adore.
Robyn, "Hang With Me"
LCD Soundsystem. As of now, their latest album is still This Is Happening (that will probably change any day now!). At the time, it was the perfect culmination of their short career. Starting with the best drop I've ever heard on "Dance Yrself Clean," it just proceeds to rock every bone in your body including your skull and ribcage (as in being thoughtful and heartfelt), knock you down, and pick you back up, swearing "I Can Change." Because of this music project I hadn't heard this album in a few years before seeing them live at Red Rocks this summer, and coming back to the songs off this album in that mindset was pretty mind blowing.
LCD Soundsystem, "All I Want"
I think I mentioned a couple of these ago that my introduction to the great Janelle Monae was that Outkast song she was amazing on. But that and even the EP that followed were nothing to prepare me for the dizzying The ArchAndroid. I declared this my #1 album of the year at the time and I have no regrets about that (I'm not going to rank these here though, just so you know. Too much greatness for any of them to fall outside the top 5!). She can PERFORM and she can SING and she can CONCEPTUALIZE and she can ENTERTAIN and she can MAKE YOU SMILE and she can MAKE YOU THINK AND QUESTION EVERYTHING. She is the future. So it's only fitting that she introduced herself to the world with a multi-part concept suite-of-albums about the future.
Janelle Monae, "Tightrope" (I used this version because the official video isn't on YouTube but she was amazing on Letterman! But track down the video for the Big Boi part!)
That guy from that song up there, Big Boi, finally put out a proper solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty. Previously I had remarked that Speakerboxxx was criminally Underrated, but this album just builds on that for the new decade to sound super fresh even now, six years later. It sounds like someone who has been holding it all in and has had so much to say. The energy of the beats here and his awesome delivery, I still haven't gotten any better at writing about hip hop have I?
Big Boi, "Daddy Fat Sax" or "Back Up Plan" - apparently he is not on YouTube! Listen to this stuff though using legitimate/legal methods!
Kanye West. Oh, Kanye West. Whatever problems your ego causes, whatever the hell 808s and Heartbreak was, it is all worth it if it leads to something like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. You certainly have something you are good at, and that is constructing something of beauty from the ground up. My favorite moments from his early albums are the moments when he shows a little bit of vulnerability and he finds just the right times to do that here (while still showing the duality of his ego all over the thing). It's like a hip hop of Montreal. Showing one thing by demonstrating the opposite.
Kanye West featuring Pusha T, Tony Williams & The-Dream, "Runaway" - also can't emebed from YouTube! Get Tidal or whatever!
Is The Age Of Adz by Sufjan Stevens all that different of an album than that Kanye album? Maximalism to hide-which-also-reveals the underlying pain? Although it seems like he's taking a different approach to his maximalism. He's always had his heart on his sleeve, even if the sleeve is adorned in sequins and neon colors. It just draws you in with its unusual sounds so you're close enough to feel the gut punch which you saw coming from a mile away. There is this pain, this very personal pain, but it shows the spectrum of human emotion with its spectrum of even more neon colors. The joy and the fear, the sorrow and the hope, all culminating in my favorite 25 minute song. It is tempting to post that song, but I don't know if people have time for that, so I'll post this one instead.
Sufjan Stevens, "I Walked"
Other things that were very (very very very) good:
I enjoyed Miles Kurosky's solo album, although maybe not as much as Beulah proper.
Free Energy was an interesting product of my tendency these days to check out a lot of stuff that got good reviews. My wife ended up a bigger fan than me, but they are a good band to work out to.
Love is All put out the wonderful Two Thousand And Ten Injuries, featuring mixtape staple "Less Than Thrilled," one of the best breakup songs of this century. Great energy. They still haven't followed up on that album 6 years later, but I'm excited to hear it whenever (if ever) they do.
I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron is a really great collection of poetry and deep introspection.
Sisterworld is yet another fantastic record by Liars.
She & Him Volume 2 isn't all that different from Volume 1 but why change? They evolve a bit on subsequent releases and it does suit them but these early ones are just so charming.
Oh yeah, Beach House! Teen Dream was my intro to this band and still my favorite of theirs.
Black Francis continued his prolific hot streak with Nonstoperotik, a very good collection of vaguely and not-that-vaguely sexual innuendo with some heart.
The Like went from 70s throwback to 60s throwback on Release Me. I enjoyed this shift in their sound immensely, particularly in the song "He's Not a Boy."
The Magnetic Fields are always enjoyable and there's always a few standout tracks. On Realism, those standouts were "The Dada Polka," a signature clever song, and "Seduced and Abandoned," a signature sad song, from the master.
Ol' reliable Ted Leo & The Pharmacists put out The Brutalist Bricks, a shot of adrenaline early in the year.
Sadly the most memorable thing to me about Devil's Music by Teddybears was the overly snarky article about it by Pitchfork when it was announced. But the song with Robyn is obviously awesome, and a few of the others are quite good as well.
Surfer Blood!
Phantogram!
I remember impressing a hip hop friend by getting The Stimulus Package by Freeway & Jake One. He then introduced me to other Jake One stuff. I just got it because of curiosity and the fact that I bought a LOT of music in 2010. And it had guests like Raekwon and Bun B. Those Jake One beats are great for running though!
Plastic Beach by Gorillaz cemented the fact that Damon Albarn didn't need some big name producer to produce great songs for this project.
Night Work had Scissor Sisters returning "to form" for an amazing celebration of excess.
Assume Crash Position by Konono No 1 was quite revelatory. Such awesome sounds, it was like african post rock or something.
CocoRosie continued to be underrated with Grey Oceans.
The more beat-oriented Caribou found on Swim is a sound I like a lot.
The New Pornographers always deliver and Together was no exception. "My Shepherd" has become possibly my favorite Neko Case fronted NP song.
Is Outlaster the last Nina Nastasia album we've been treated to? Shame.
How I Got Over showed The Roots settling into their TV gig and expanding their reach to things like Dirty Projectors and Monsters of Folk, both of which were featured (along with Joanna Newsom!). So indie! Of course, my favorite songs are the ones with Dice Raw, including the FIRE title track (and "The Fire" featuring John Legend). Lots of passion on this album.
I Learned The Hard Way could potentially be my favorite Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings album, but that might just be because that's when I really started getting in to them.
Medications were a band I discovered that appeals to both me and my wife, with their odd combination of post rock experimentation and pop vocals.
I never quite spend enough time listening to Without Why by Rose Elinor Dougall, formerly my favorite member of The Pipettes. It is good and sassy even if it's not quite on the level of her old project's peak moments.
Damn you, Twilight: Eclipse for having an exclusive Battles song "The Line" on your soundtrack (possibly the last Battles song to feature Tyondai Braxton)! Hopefully they found some new fans because it's a nice deceptive number that starts out easy and goes full Battles about halfway through.
High Violet by The National is another of their very good albums. This is actually the point where I decided I liked them. Or was that 2009?
Grinderman 2 is everything it needs to be. And has the best album cover.
Maximum Balloon had some of the best non-TVOTR TV On The Radio songs ever recorded. The party version of TVOTR.
I guess I should put All Delighted People, the Sufjan Stevens EP, down here just because I didn't want to take away from my Age of Adz write-up. It does happen to include one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs of all time though, "Enchanting Ghost." For a surprise release that he just threw out there before blowing all our minds with his "real" album, it is an amazing accomplishment that is doomed to be a footnote like this.
Lisbon includes one of my favorite Walkmen songs, "While I Shovel the Snow." Just so perfectly captures that winter feeling.
M.I.A. put out the purposely polarizing MAYA (/\/\/\Y/\) that is just finally getting the respect it deserves. It still sounds a little slight compared to some of her other accomplishments, but it's just such a bold move that I appreciate it for that.
of Montreal got Solange on a track for False Priest. And Janelle Monae on a couple. I always like of Montreal albums and then they kind of blur around this time. Still a nasty little fun time.
!!! was in the midst of their great period that they haven't left yet. Strange Weather, Isn't It? is just a big party.
Les Savy Fav was also partying on Root For Ruin. Not sure if it will end up being their final album, but it is a great one to go out on.
That Girl Talk mash-up mix thing All Day became of my favorite things to run to, just like that last one!
National Ransom has all the ingredients to be a favorite Elvis Costello album for me. I just haven't been listening to him as much as I used to. But whenever I give it another shot, I remember that yes, I do quite enjoy this one.
Neon Indian is pretty good, huh?
Write About Love is a very enjoyable Belle & Sebastian album featuring the likes of Norah Jones and Carey Mulligan.
I did a two-album set for my mix of 2010.
'Twas 2010a:
1. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
2. Robyn - Dancing On My Own
3. Gorillaz featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonon - Plastic Beach
4. Flying Lotus featuring Thundercat - Mmmhmm
5. The Roots featuring Dice Raw - How I Got Over
6. Kanye West featuring Dwele - Power
7. Big Boi featuring Andre 3000 - Lookin 4 Ya (Jedi Remix)
8. Janelle Monae - Cold War
9. Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill
10. Broken Bells - The High Road
11. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
12. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
13. Sufjan Stevens - Vesuvius
14. The National - Lemonworld
15. Titus Andronicus - The Battle of Hampton Roads
'Twas 2010b:
1. Love Is All - Less Than Thrilled
2. Maximum Balloon featuring Aku - Tiger
3. Reflection Eternal featuring Bun B - Strangers (Paranoid)
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Dandelion
5. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - When I Come Home
6. Grinderman - Evil!
7. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake - Ornament
8. Liars - Scissor
9. Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil
10. Beach House - Zebra
11. The Magnetic Fields - Seduced and Abandoned
12. Nina Nastasia - Cry, Cry Baby
13. Tussle - Soft Crush
14. Caribou - Leave House
15. Free Energy - Young Hearts
16. The Like - He's Not a Boy
17. The New Pornographers - My Shepherd
18. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Bottled Up In Cork
19. Les Savy Fav - Excess Energies
20. Spoon - Written In Reverse
21. Battles - The Line
22. Black Francis - Nonstoperotik
2011:
Antlers, Battles, Beastie Boys, Bon Iver, Deerhoof, Fleet Foxes, Jay Z & Kanye, M83, Shabazz Palaces, St Vincent, Thao & Mirah, Tom Waits, TV On The Radio's triumphant return, Wild Flag, and another classic album by Mr. "Weird Al" Yankovic.
mp3s are for sampling purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists using the links provided. If you are the owner of any of the songs I share, you can email me at brandon.horning@gmail.com and demand immediate removal, and I will comply! Otherwise, they last for one week.
An Ear For An Era Playlist!
Check out a spotify playlist of the stuff I post in the An Ear For An Era feature!
