New year, new mux.
Boom.
1. Aesop Rock - Keep Off The Lawn (None Shall Pass)
2. Phantogram - Fall In Love (Voices)
3. HAIM - The Wire (Days Are Gone)
4. Chvrches - We Sink (The Bones of What You Believe)
5. !!! - Get That Rhythm Right (THR!!!ER)
6. Deerhunter - Pensacola (Monomania)
7. Iceage - Morals (Live in the Studio)
8. Tortoise - I Set My Face To The Hillside (TNT)
9. Feist - The Water (The Reminder)
10. Justin Timberlake - Blue Ocean Floor (The 20/20 Experience Part 1)
11. Oneohtrix Point Never - Ouroboros (Returnal)
TRT 47:01
Showing posts with label Oneohtrix Point Never. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oneohtrix Point Never. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Friday, November 1, 2013
Mux134: November 2013
And just on the day I was about to start my always-far-too-long-to-finish-on-time-unless-I-start-in-October yearly music roundup, an Arcade Fire album comes out. So if nothing else, there's none of that here, since I, you know, usually make these about a week in advance. And my hope-it-proves-me-wrong first-listen of Reflecktor had me thinking, "Eh."
And why the hell is the mastering so low?
And why the hell is the mastering so low?
Boom.
1. The National - I Should Live In Salt (Trouble Will Find Me) (For JET, obviously)
2. HEALTH - High Pressure Dave (The Music of Grand Theft Auto V)
3. Haim - Forever (Days Are Gone)
4. !!! - Blue (Strange Weather, Isn't It? bonus track)
5. Sleigh Bells - Bitter Rivals (Bitter Rivals)
6. The Men - Night Landing (Leave Home)
7. Deerhunter - Leather Jacket II (Monomania) (For the ex-pat Swede)
8. Volcano Choir - Comrade (Repave)
9. Fuck Buttons - Stalker (Slow Focus)
10. Oneohtrix Point Never - Chrome Country (R Plus Seven)
TRT 48:51
2013 music: Deerhunter, Fuck Buttons, Haim, HEALTH, The National, Oneohtrix Point Never, Sleigh Bells, Volcano Choir
Rookies: Haim
Friday, February 15, 2013
Mux119: Oregon Dreamin'
Blame all volume disparity on the geniuses who mastered Local Natives and MBV so ridiculously low.
Boom.
1. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (Friendly Fires)
2. Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Single)
3. Kanye West - Street Lights (808s and Heartbreak)
4. LCD Soundsystem - Too Much Love (LCD Soundsystem)
5. Chromatics - At Your Door (Kill For Love)
6. Oneohtrix Point Never - Betrayed in the Octagon (Rifts)
7. Frightened Rabbit - Holy (Pedestrian Verse)
8. Local Natives - Mt. Washington (Hummingbird)
9. Bloc Party - This Modern Love (Silent Alarm)
10. Sleater-Kinney - Buy Her Candy (Dig Me Out)
11. Tame Impala - Be Above It (Lonerism)
12. My Bloody Valentine - Who Sees You (MBV)
TRT 47:15
Rookies: Tame Impala
Boom.
1. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy (Friendly Fires)
2. Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie (Single)
3. Kanye West - Street Lights (808s and Heartbreak)
4. LCD Soundsystem - Too Much Love (LCD Soundsystem)
5. Chromatics - At Your Door (Kill For Love)
6. Oneohtrix Point Never - Betrayed in the Octagon (Rifts)
7. Frightened Rabbit - Holy (Pedestrian Verse)
8. Local Natives - Mt. Washington (Hummingbird)
9. Bloc Party - This Modern Love (Silent Alarm)
10. Sleater-Kinney - Buy Her Candy (Dig Me Out)
11. Tame Impala - Be Above It (Lonerism)
12. My Bloody Valentine - Who Sees You (MBV)
TRT 47:15
Rookies: Tame Impala
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Mux092: January 2012
Starting off the year with a bit of a clearinghouse. The sequencing holds, but a look at the tracklist looks rather unwieldy.
Boxed.
1. Battles - Africastle (MPLS.tv session) (Gloss Drop)
2. The Roots - One Time (Undun)
3. The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy! (Boys And Girls In America)
4. The Strokes - Barely Legal (Is This It?)
5. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (One Beat)
6. Radiohead - Climbing Up The Walls (OK Computer)
7. Deerhunter - Saved By Old Times (Microcastle)
8. Phantogram - Futuristic Casket (Eyelid Movies)
9. Oneohtrix Point Never - Child Soldier (Replica)
10. Air - Alone In Kyoto (Talkie Walkie / Lost In Translation Soundtrack)
11. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up (The Smile Sessions)
In particular, "Saved By Old Times" and "Alone In Kyoto" have been in my pending to-be-added-to-a-mux playlist for at least two years. And "Surf's Up" been there even since I heard The Smile Sessions; but given the multi-suite nature of most of Smile, it's hard to cram a Beach Boys cut into the mix. Thus, it caps it off.
Rookies:
The Beach Boys
Oneohtrix Point Never
1. Battles - Africastle (MPLS.tv session) (Gloss Drop)
2. The Roots - One Time (Undun)
3. The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy! (Boys And Girls In America)
4. The Strokes - Barely Legal (Is This It?)
5. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (One Beat)
6. Radiohead - Climbing Up The Walls (OK Computer)
7. Deerhunter - Saved By Old Times (Microcastle)
8. Phantogram - Futuristic Casket (Eyelid Movies)
9. Oneohtrix Point Never - Child Soldier (Replica)
10. Air - Alone In Kyoto (Talkie Walkie / Lost In Translation Soundtrack)
11. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up (The Smile Sessions)
In particular, "Saved By Old Times" and "Alone In Kyoto" have been in my pending to-be-added-to-a-mux playlist for at least two years. And "Surf's Up" been there even since I heard The Smile Sessions; but given the multi-suite nature of most of Smile, it's hard to cram a Beach Boys cut into the mix. Thus, it caps it off.
Rookies:
The Beach Boys
Oneohtrix Point Never
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
2011 Music: JDK's Best of the Rest - Albums
Instead of straight-up, arbitrarily ranking things or
rattling off an alphabetical list, I'm going to do this Technical Oscars-style
with esoteric awards that only really apply to one thing. All I'm missing is
some pretty broad they usually rope in to host those nerdfests.
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
I really like this album. That's about it. I imagined it'd play awesome on a road trip but I haven't done one of those in a while. A lot of songs fade out, and I don't like that, and there are a lot of songs that are short instrumental non-songs, which I also don't like. However: If The War On Drugs go from the level of quality of Wagonwheel Blues to Slave Ambient on their Slave Ambient follow-up, we have a Most-Favorite Album of the Year contender.
Best album that should've made my top seven
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
ONP's move away from Returnal's electro-drone to semi-cinematic instrumentals is quite welcome.
Best album to fall asleep to
Bon Iver - Self-Titled
This is where I'm supposed to give the Bon Iver album obligatory propers. Granted, in the long run I vastly prefer this folky rock over the likes of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, but my listening trends over the past few years have skewed toward noisier fare. I just can't get behind these kinds of records anymore; but then again, winter has descended upon Minnesota, and this seems as good of a don't-want-to-do-a-fucking-thing cold-as-shit winter-day album as any.
Best mellow album from a band that doesn't usually make mellow albums
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
I don't want to fall into the trap of calling NTOL the worst TV on the Radio album simply because it doesn't have any awesome uptempo numbers; "Caffeinated Consciousness" isn't anywhere close to their prior album's "Halfway Home," "Golden Age," "Red Dress," or the angry paranoia of "DLZ." But nothing can be written off that has such solid tracks as "Killer Crane" and "Will Do." The latter makes the case that this is TV on the Radio's "love" album after the visceral Bush-hate on Dear Science (never mind that it was released in Obama's election year). Nonetheless, it's amazing when a band simply lacks the ability to make a bad album.
Second-best road trip album (first being Slave Ambient)
Real Estate - Days
I've been told this album is awesome. Just sounds really slow to me. A summer album that had the misfortune of coming out in late fall. I like it because it laments and debunks nostalgia instead of blindly embracing it. Still having fringe regrets not seeing them at the 400 Bar (probably one of the smallest venues in the metro area); they rocked opening for Deerhunter, and while the drums sound polite on record, their drummer beats the shit out of his kit live. I can imagine that'd elevate "It's Real" from a tight piece to a roadtrip anthem.
Best song-based follow up to a long concept record that many found horrifically depressing
The Antlers - Burst Apart
I've tried and tried and tried but I can't get behind this album to the extent that I gushed over Hospice. And Hospice - outside of a few stand-outs - sounds mostly the same! And nearly every song on Burst Apart sounds different! That's probably why I'm drawn to "Corsicana," the very slow end-of-the-album track that probably best replicates Hospice's glacial pace.
Best collection of songs that has no coherent thesis
I'm sure reading some interviews or album reviews would help, but I have no idea what either St. Vincent or the album Strange Mercy are all about. All I know is I'm terrified that "Chloe In The Afternoon," the fantastic opening track, is really a euphemism for something that, if I knew what it meant, I wouldn't have nearly as many in-the-car sing-alongs to this.
Best Atlas Sound album
Atlas Sound - Parallax
Look out! Bradford Cox found the "cutout" Photoshop filter! Also: James Murphy wants his microphone back.
Like show-buddy Thom said, this year just felt weird without any sort of Deerhunter release. While it's unfair to compare Atlas Sound to Cox's band proper, this is the most Deerhuntery of his Atlas Sound albums. It's also fairly amazing to see how Cox, on his own, has progressed from the weird sound of Let The Blind... to the austere Logos and to the much-more-complete Parallax.
Best album by a band that has barely changed their sound across four records
Junior Boys - It's All True
I was ready to write off the Junior Boys until I saw them at First Ave. Apparently all of Minneapolis had written them off, since there were only about a hundred people in the entire Mainroom. Their show was a grab bag of all their albums - though only "Teach Me How To Fight" showed up off Last Exit - and I broke my piggy bank getting vinyls of Last Exit, So This Is Goodbye, and It's All True (and Begone Dull Care was absent, sadly). I came home and marathoned them all, and it came into sharp focus that Junior Boys are really fucking good. Miracle: "Last Exit" starting playing on my iTunes right now, and that's definitely my favorite JB song; nothing like that on It's All True, though marathon ending dance track "Banana Ripple" is begging for inclusion on an upcoming Dance Party.
Best challenging sophomore album that might be good, might be shit, don't know yet
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien
Pick a cover.
Now I know why frontman Joseph "Ferocious" was a tad cagey when I asked him about the sound of their upcoming record (Lenses Alien) when they opened for The Thermals a while back. Reason being is that it sounds like everything. In a good way.
I'll venture out on this limb: I had similar thoughts about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder (unsure if it was worth anything at all), but I'm pretty sure Lenses Alien isn't nearly as fucking terrible as SLT.
Best album of alternate takes that you can't really find anywhere
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma Alt Takes
I was going to brave all sorts of insanity to pick this up on Record Store Day (a limited-edition 12" compiled from previously-online-only material) but instead found a download. People originally got these tracks - which are indeed alternate takes of Cosmogramma tracks, since FlyLo considers Cosmo his "jazz" album - by using this crazy scanning thing for their purchased Cosmogramma stuff. Even now that I have the Cosmogramma vinyl, I trust my downloaded copy is, more or less, the same.
Not sure why this is even here, since, A) I don't think many Flying Lotus fans read this, and B) If you're a Flying Lotus fan, you already have this. (And if you don't, hit me up and I'll send it to you.)
But Annie? Yep. If you look at my Last.fm stats for my massive Annie listening, it's clustered entirely around the time when I was making the short film Transmissions: Single Again. I had to do the same level of house-clearing as Transmissions proper, and I got into the habit of spinning Annie's whole discography when clearing and un-clearing my shooting locations. Highly recommended.
2012 also might be the year for her third LP proper. If she tours, I'll be in the front row. And only half of that has to do with her being hot.
(Random factoid: I listen to so much Annie during my Single Again shoot that I became one of her top listeners on Last.fm.)
Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Month
I guess I missed it the first time around. Probably one of my bad habits of picking up pretty anything BNM'd by Pitchfork and highly-rated by the AV Club, giving it one listen, and relegating it to the dusty corners of my iTunes. No longer the case, and it's nice to suddenly get into a band right around the time they should be working on a 2012 album.
That's it for now.
I'll write about 2011 songs some other time.
Best album that should've made my top five
EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
Simple logic: There's a lot going on here. After the epic,
multi-stage opener "The Grey Ship," there's the mostly-spoken-word
"California," the beautifully-haunting "Breakfast," the
suicide lovesong "Butterfly Knife," and the guarded bombast of closer
"Red Star" and its muddy-yet-triumphant guitar line. But most of all,
I think I'll have to parse out the lyrics over a year or two before next year's
Overlooked 2011 Albums lists. Also, give me this brand of introspection and social
commentary over Tune-Yards any day.
Best album that should've made my top six
The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient
I really like this album. That's about it. I imagined it'd play awesome on a road trip but I haven't done one of those in a while. A lot of songs fade out, and I don't like that, and there are a lot of songs that are short instrumental non-songs, which I also don't like. However: If The War On Drugs go from the level of quality of Wagonwheel Blues to Slave Ambient on their Slave Ambient follow-up, we have a Most-Favorite Album of the Year contender.
Best album that should've made my top seven
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
ONP's move away from Returnal's electro-drone to semi-cinematic instrumentals is quite welcome.
Best album to fall asleep to
Bon Iver - Self-Titled
This is where I'm supposed to give the Bon Iver album obligatory propers. Granted, in the long run I vastly prefer this folky rock over the likes of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, but my listening trends over the past few years have skewed toward noisier fare. I just can't get behind these kinds of records anymore; but then again, winter has descended upon Minnesota, and this seems as good of a don't-want-to-do-a-fucking-thing cold-as-shit winter-day album as any.
Best mellow album from a band that doesn't usually make mellow albums
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
I don't want to fall into the trap of calling NTOL the worst TV on the Radio album simply because it doesn't have any awesome uptempo numbers; "Caffeinated Consciousness" isn't anywhere close to their prior album's "Halfway Home," "Golden Age," "Red Dress," or the angry paranoia of "DLZ." But nothing can be written off that has such solid tracks as "Killer Crane" and "Will Do." The latter makes the case that this is TV on the Radio's "love" album after the visceral Bush-hate on Dear Science (never mind that it was released in Obama's election year). Nonetheless, it's amazing when a band simply lacks the ability to make a bad album.
Second-best road trip album (first being Slave Ambient)
Real Estate - Days
I've been told this album is awesome. Just sounds really slow to me. A summer album that had the misfortune of coming out in late fall. I like it because it laments and debunks nostalgia instead of blindly embracing it. Still having fringe regrets not seeing them at the 400 Bar (probably one of the smallest venues in the metro area); they rocked opening for Deerhunter, and while the drums sound polite on record, their drummer beats the shit out of his kit live. I can imagine that'd elevate "It's Real" from a tight piece to a roadtrip anthem.
Best song-based follow up to a long concept record that many found horrifically depressing
The Antlers - Burst Apart
I've tried and tried and tried but I can't get behind this album to the extent that I gushed over Hospice. And Hospice - outside of a few stand-outs - sounds mostly the same! And nearly every song on Burst Apart sounds different! That's probably why I'm drawn to "Corsicana," the very slow end-of-the-album track that probably best replicates Hospice's glacial pace.
Best collection of songs that has no coherent thesis
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
This is like a singles collection. Not a problem when there are plenty of songs that get fairly close to the band high-water mark of "Katrina."
This is like a singles collection. Not a problem when there are plenty of songs that get fairly close to the band high-water mark of "Katrina."
Best jury-is-stil-out album / Best 2011 album from a Broken Social Scene alumnus
Feist - Metals
No idea what I'll later think of this. I just rediscovered The Reminder a few months ago, and much like Metals, it's a disparate blend of pretty pop, driving urgency, and alt-country sensibilities. Great sequencing saves these records from sounding like a mess. "Undiscovered Firsts" gets the award for the best build-up of any non-dance song this year.
No idea what I'll later think of this. I just rediscovered The Reminder a few months ago, and much like Metals, it's a disparate blend of pretty pop, driving urgency, and alt-country sensibilities. Great sequencing saves these records from sounding like a mess. "Undiscovered Firsts" gets the award for the best build-up of any non-dance song this year.
Best album that I've listened to three times
St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
I'm sure reading some interviews or album reviews would help, but I have no idea what either St. Vincent or the album Strange Mercy are all about. All I know is I'm terrified that "Chloe In The Afternoon," the fantastic opening track, is really a euphemism for something that, if I knew what it meant, I wouldn't have nearly as many in-the-car sing-alongs to this.
Best Jay Reatard stand-in
Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread / Singles 2007-2010
I'm lukewarm on Goodbye Bread, but Segall's singles collection exhibit a raw fury that is almost terrifying in terms of its closeness to early Jay Reatard sounds. Let's hope Segall isn't far from making his own version of Reatard's blistering Blood Visions.
I'm lukewarm on Goodbye Bread, but Segall's singles collection exhibit a raw fury that is almost terrifying in terms of its closeness to early Jay Reatard sounds. Let's hope Segall isn't far from making his own version of Reatard's blistering Blood Visions.
Best album which has a cover that looks like an American
Apparel ad
Washed Out - Within and Without
Full disclosure: I stole that joke. Also, while I contractually hate everything "chillwave" (I refuse to type that "genre" without putting quotes around it), this album has such a specific, icy vibe that, like Bon Iver, will get a lot of play this winter.
Full disclosure: I stole that joke. Also, while I contractually hate everything "chillwave" (I refuse to type that "genre" without putting quotes around it), this album has such a specific, icy vibe that, like Bon Iver, will get a lot of play this winter.
Best Atlas Sound album
Atlas Sound - Parallax
Look out! Bradford Cox found the "cutout" Photoshop filter! Also: James Murphy wants his microphone back.
Like show-buddy Thom said, this year just felt weird without any sort of Deerhunter release. While it's unfair to compare Atlas Sound to Cox's band proper, this is the most Deerhuntery of his Atlas Sound albums. It's also fairly amazing to see how Cox, on his own, has progressed from the weird sound of Let The Blind... to the austere Logos and to the much-more-complete Parallax.
Best album by a band that has barely changed their sound across four records
Junior Boys - It's All True
I was ready to write off the Junior Boys until I saw them at First Ave. Apparently all of Minneapolis had written them off, since there were only about a hundred people in the entire Mainroom. Their show was a grab bag of all their albums - though only "Teach Me How To Fight" showed up off Last Exit - and I broke my piggy bank getting vinyls of Last Exit, So This Is Goodbye, and It's All True (and Begone Dull Care was absent, sadly). I came home and marathoned them all, and it came into sharp focus that Junior Boys are really fucking good. Miracle: "Last Exit" starting playing on my iTunes right now, and that's definitely my favorite JB song; nothing like that on It's All True, though marathon ending dance track "Banana Ripple" is begging for inclusion on an upcoming Dance Party.
Best challenging sophomore album that might be good, might be shit, don't know yet
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien
Pick a cover.
Now I know why frontman Joseph "Ferocious" was a tad cagey when I asked him about the sound of their upcoming record (Lenses Alien) when they opened for The Thermals a while back. Reason being is that it sounds like everything. In a good way.
I'll venture out on this limb: I had similar thoughts about Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Some Loud Thunder (unsure if it was worth anything at all), but I'm pretty sure Lenses Alien isn't nearly as fucking terrible as SLT.
Best album of alternate takes that you can't really find anywhere
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma Alt Takes
I was going to brave all sorts of insanity to pick this up on Record Store Day (a limited-edition 12" compiled from previously-online-only material) but instead found a download. People originally got these tracks - which are indeed alternate takes of Cosmogramma tracks, since FlyLo considers Cosmo his "jazz" album - by using this crazy scanning thing for their purchased Cosmogramma stuff. Even now that I have the Cosmogramma vinyl, I trust my downloaded copy is, more or less, the same.
Not sure why this is even here, since, A) I don't think many Flying Lotus fans read this, and B) If you're a Flying Lotus fan, you already have this. (And if you don't, hit me up and I'll send it to you.)
Best album reconstructed from fifty-year-old master tapes
The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions
Further proof whenever I get into a pointless argument regarding my assertion that The Beach Boys were better than The Beatles. As their careers progressed, The Beatles got high; Brian Wilson went insane. The Beatles were tripping balls and Wilson was putting a piano in a sandbox and writing "Surf's Up" in only a few hours... while also tripping balls.
What's agonizing about the recovered Smile Sessions is how complete it sounds despite the fact that it is not complete. What would make it fully finished? More of a sound-collage feel, given that there aren't many actual songs here? Something totally left field because Wilson was nuts? Can currently-sane Wilson figure out what then-insane Wilson wanted? Doesn't matter, since I think this closes the chapter on Smile forever. (Disregarding that a lot of people thought the same thing after the Wilson-branded Smile.)
Add it to the unfortunate list of works of capital-A Art that are somehow incomplete, like Welles' original ending of The Magnificent Ambersons, or David Foster Wallace's The Pale King, or Lang's full Metropolis. At least we have a Smile with a 1960s sound instead of Brian Wilson's Smile from a few years ago, which sounds too clean and features a Wilson who can't get anywhere near his 60's-era vocal range.
I'm also probably the only person in the universe who thinks that "Surf's Up" - absolutely mind-blowingly beautifully gorgeous by every measure - would also sound unreasonably amazing covered by Thom Yorke on piano. Hey guys am I rite?
Further proof whenever I get into a pointless argument regarding my assertion that The Beach Boys were better than The Beatles. As their careers progressed, The Beatles got high; Brian Wilson went insane. The Beatles were tripping balls and Wilson was putting a piano in a sandbox and writing "Surf's Up" in only a few hours... while also tripping balls.
What's agonizing about the recovered Smile Sessions is how complete it sounds despite the fact that it is not complete. What would make it fully finished? More of a sound-collage feel, given that there aren't many actual songs here? Something totally left field because Wilson was nuts? Can currently-sane Wilson figure out what then-insane Wilson wanted? Doesn't matter, since I think this closes the chapter on Smile forever. (Disregarding that a lot of people thought the same thing after the Wilson-branded Smile.)
Add it to the unfortunate list of works of capital-A Art that are somehow incomplete, like Welles' original ending of The Magnificent Ambersons, or David Foster Wallace's The Pale King, or Lang's full Metropolis. At least we have a Smile with a 1960s sound instead of Brian Wilson's Smile from a few years ago, which sounds too clean and features a Wilson who can't get anywhere near his 60's-era vocal range.
I'm also probably the only person in the universe who thinks that "Surf's Up" - absolutely mind-blowingly beautifully gorgeous by every measure - would also sound unreasonably amazing covered by Thom Yorke on piano. Hey guys am I rite?
Best tribute album for an album I don't really like that much but a lot of people do
Spin - Newermind (track-by-track covers of Nirvana's Nevermind by various current artists)
Not a big Nevermind fan. Never have been. Probably because grunge turned into shit like Nickelback.
This album, however, is pretty fantastic. There are a lot of imaginative covers, even though my favorite is the not-that-much-different-from-the-original "Breed" by Titus Andronicus. Adding a backing chorus makes anything better.
Best EPs
Burial - Street Halo
Less murky than Untrue, but Untrue has enough murk to last us all the way through the nuclear winter when it finally comes.
Not a big Nevermind fan. Never have been. Probably because grunge turned into shit like Nickelback.
This album, however, is pretty fantastic. There are a lot of imaginative covers, even though my favorite is the not-that-much-different-from-the-original "Breed" by Titus Andronicus. Adding a backing chorus makes anything better.
Best EPs
Burial - Street Halo
Less murky than Untrue, but Untrue has enough murk to last us all the way through the nuclear winter when it finally comes.
Dom - Family of Love
Terrified that Dom - with only two excellent EPs to their name - will release an LP that has, I don't know, filler or something. My love for "Damn" is well-documented, and even for its cheesiness, I enjoy "Happy Birthday Party" far more than necessary.
Terrified that Dom - with only two excellent EPs to their name - will release an LP that has, I don't know, filler or something. My love for "Damn" is well-documented, and even for its cheesiness, I enjoy "Happy Birthday Party" far more than necessary.
Phantogram - Nightlife
Phantogram, even after having headlined at First Ave., is still the best band that you don't listen to that your girlfriend will like as much as you do. Take note, guys.
Phantogram, even after having headlined at First Ave., is still the best band that you don't listen to that your girlfriend will like as much as you do. Take note, guys.
Weekend - Red
Leave it to The Weeknd to think people I'm really into him when I'm really talking about the shoegazy, noisy bliss of Weekend. They started as a sort poor man's A Place To Bury Strangers on their debut LP Sports, but this EP shows that cleaning up their sound reveals that, my god, they can actually write decent tunes.
Leave it to The Weeknd to think people I'm really into him when I'm really talking about the shoegazy, noisy bliss of Weekend. They started as a sort poor man's A Place To Bury Strangers on their debut LP Sports, but this EP shows that cleaning up their sound reveals that, my god, they can actually write decent tunes.
Best album art
Feist - Metals
It took me a long time to see the woman - Feist, right? - on the tree's lower branch. Give me a million of these instead of goddamn found photographs. And for the sake of my vinyl collection, other bands take note: Listing the band and album title on the art are greatly appreciated.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
If you think about the art it, like, will blow your mind and shit.
It took me a long time to see the woman - Feist, right? - on the tree's lower branch. Give me a million of these instead of goddamn found photographs. And for the sake of my vinyl collection, other bands take note: Listing the band and album title on the art are greatly appreciated.
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
If you think about the art it, like, will blow your mind and shit.
Mastodon - The Hunter
That beast has not one, nor two, but three lower jaws. Never mind that that'd make eating extremely difficult and that those extra jaws wouldn't do much. Think of it this way: What would you do if you ran into that in the woods? You'd run, my friend. You'd run.
Whenever Mastodon breaks up (and let that not be anytime soon), I'm going to frame all their LP covers because they're capital-A Art. Hell, let me just run them down.
Remission
Leviathan
Blood Mountain
Crack The Skye
(And now we're done with Mastodon.)
Washed Out - Within and Without
Same joke applies as above.
That beast has not one, nor two, but three lower jaws. Never mind that that'd make eating extremely difficult and that those extra jaws wouldn't do much. Think of it this way: What would you do if you ran into that in the woods? You'd run, my friend. You'd run.
Whenever Mastodon breaks up (and let that not be anytime soon), I'm going to frame all their LP covers because they're capital-A Art. Hell, let me just run them down.
Remission
Leviathan
Blood Mountain
Crack The Skye
(And now we're done with Mastodon.)
Washed Out - Within and Without
Same joke applies as above.
Best albums that didn't come out in 2011
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Said a million times but here it is again: Cosmogramma is so good it makes me want to quite making music. Or, well, trying to make music.
And if you haven't heard it, don't just cherrypick and listen to the song with Thom Yorke as a guest vocalist. Listen to the whole thing. Then you'll understand.
Said a million times but here it is again: Cosmogramma is so good it makes me want to quite making music. Or, well, trying to make music.
And if you haven't heard it, don't just cherrypick and listen to the song with Thom Yorke as a guest vocalist. Listen to the whole thing. Then you'll understand.
Slint - Spiderland
Yes, it took me several years to finally realize that this is an amazing album. "Good Morning, Captain" gets all the credit, but I'm far more into the lush "Washer" and band-thesis-statement "Breadcrumb Trail."
Yes, it took me several years to finally realize that this is an amazing album. "Good Morning, Captain" gets all the credit, but I'm far more into the lush "Washer" and band-thesis-statement "Breadcrumb Trail."
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
This album is a party. Apparently the in-the-making-since-'05 follow-up is even more of a party. These guys put Girl Talk and The Hood Internet to shame.
This album is a party. Apparently the in-the-making-since-'05 follow-up is even more of a party. These guys put Girl Talk and The Hood Internet to shame.
Annie - Anniemal, Don't Stop (retail), All Night EP
(Note: The cover for the All Night EP is a fan-made cover, as All Night originally came as a bonus disc with the retail version of Don't Stop.)
I finally decided to stop using the leak of Don't Stop and picked up the retail version. While originally bummed some of my favorite tracks didn't make the cut, I was very glad to discover the bonus disc / fake EP All Night compiled them.
(Note: The cover for the All Night EP is a fan-made cover, as All Night originally came as a bonus disc with the retail version of Don't Stop.)
I finally decided to stop using the leak of Don't Stop and picked up the retail version. While originally bummed some of my favorite tracks didn't make the cut, I was very glad to discover the bonus disc / fake EP All Night compiled them.
But Annie? Yep. If you look at my Last.fm stats for my massive Annie listening, it's clustered entirely around the time when I was making the short film Transmissions: Single Again. I had to do the same level of house-clearing as Transmissions proper, and I got into the habit of spinning Annie's whole discography when clearing and un-clearing my shooting locations. Highly recommended.
2012 also might be the year for her third LP proper. If she tours, I'll be in the front row. And only half of that has to do with her being hot.
(Random factoid: I listen to so much Annie during my Single Again shoot that I became one of her top listeners on Last.fm.)
Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Month
I guess I missed it the first time around. Probably one of my bad habits of picking up pretty anything BNM'd by Pitchfork and highly-rated by the AV Club, giving it one listen, and relegating it to the dusty corners of my iTunes. No longer the case, and it's nice to suddenly get into a band right around the time they should be working on a 2012 album.
That's it for now.
I'll write about 2011 songs some other time.
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