BEn’s FAves O’ the Year 2009!

Quick and to the point here kids. It was a great year for music.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Pure perfection from top to bottom. If you don’t like this album, you don’t have a heart.

St. Vincent – Actor. I see Annie Clark as the female Sufjan. An incredible album.

Future of the Left – Travels with Myself and Another. Good for those days when you feel really mad at everyone. Might not be for everyone, but “You Need Satan More Than He Needs You” is as good as it gets.

Washed Out – “Feel It All Around”. Jesus Christ, man. A beautiful, warm blanket of a song.

The Dead Weather – Horehound. Jack White on the drums. Alison Mosshart on vocals. It’s bluesy, intense and it rocks. When Mosshart snarls, “cuz I’m just like your mother”, I’m inclined to believe her.

Doves – Kingdom of Rust. Rainy day loveliness. You can always depend on Doves to crank out a dependable album and KoR does not disappoint. Heart-rending brit-pop with a dance beat.

Mew – No More Stories…I’m not sure how I missed Mew all these years (I’m currently obsessed with their earlier record, “Frengers”), but they’re fantastic. Skilled musicians, amazing arrangements.

The XX – The XX. This band came out of the nowhere, and while they can be a little mopey, that’s the point. Mopey club music.

Mastodon – Crack the Skye. Mastodon cleans up the metal and turns it on its head. Some of their best performances to date, with some crazy soloing, amazing drumming, and incredible vocal performances.

Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures. It’s obvious that Josh Homme took the helm on this project, but then that’s not a bad thing. Homme, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) join forces to fight flaccid riffs and succeed.

Animal Collective – MPP. Can’t believe it. After years of HATING Animal Collective. They win me over.

The Thermals – Now We Can See. Not as balls-out punk-rock as their older stuff, but it brings me great joy. The kids also love it.

Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years. My favorite SFA record since Rings Around the World. Filled with songs that were supposedly created from a single groove (each).

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm. This album, in a word, “rips”. The solo in “Said the People” is some history making stuff. Wonderful.

The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come. An album that takes all of its song titles from Bible passages. Doesn’t sound like something I’d be into, but this album is touching, riveting, and happy all at the same time.

Destroyer – Bay of Pigs. 13 minutes of heaven. I think I’ve begun every Destroyer review I’ve written with “Dan Bejar’s voice is an acquired taste” so I’m going to do it again. Dan Bejar’s voice is an acquired taste, but this 13 minute epic EP (it’s only 2 songs) is a must listen. What could be best described as “ambient disco”, Bejar constructs a fantastic song that lingers in the shadows long enough to burst forth and capture your ears.

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast. A Spring day. You can almost see the bugs, flitting about in the afternoon sun, as you listen to Noble Beast. All of Bird’s trademarks are there, the whistling, the violin, and his unmistakable voice. The deluxe edition comes with an album of instrumentals that are wonderful to read to.

The Clientele – Bonfires on the Heath. A Fall day. Much like Noble Beast above, this album conjures seasonal imagery: dead leaves crunching underfoot, the smell of fires in living rooms, the look of snow in the air. 60’s jangly Brit-pop through orange/brown colored lenses.

Up next, my favorite records of the 00’s.

It’s winter again in New England, time for the mid year music list.

Here’s what I’ve been loving so far this year, in no particular order at this point.

Andrew Bird – Noble Beast. While not as strong as as the last one and nowhere near as good as the Mysterious Production of Eggs, which I’ve had a recent love affair with, it has its moments. I love Anonanimal, Fitz & Dizzyspells, and a few of the instrumentals off Useless Creatures are spectacular.

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion. So I never thought I see the day that an AC record would grace my one of my lists but the day has arrived. On the strength of “My Girls” I went out and bought this album and I was not disappointed. I don’t think it will drive me to dive into their back catalog, but as a solitary album, it works for me.

Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains. Sure, CEG sounds like Modest Mouse and Built to Spill had a 3 way with Pavement, but oddly, it works. I can’t honestly say I think this has year-end top 10 type material on it, but it entertains me.

Dinosaur Jr. – Farm. Old reliable. They could churn out albums like this for the next 10 years and I wouldn’t mind. The whole thing sounds amazing and I couldn’t be happier with it.

Dodos – Time to Die. I’m not even sure if this is officially out yet, but it’s a great record. A logical progression from Visiter and cleaner yet truer production from Phil Eck. Meric Long is starting to sound a bit like Andy Partridge vocally.

Doves – Kingdom of Rust. Old reliable pt. 2. I can always depend on Doves to deliver an enjoyable record, and KoR is no different. The title track is K’s favorite song of the summer and I love the whole thing.

Future of the Left – Travels with Myself and Another. Many thanks to Dave for bringing this to my attention. My favorite crank it in the car album of right now. Hard hitting, aggressive and yet funny punk rock. You might find the vocals grating, but they’re not cookie monster grating. “You Need Satan More Than He Needs You” is one of my favorite songs of the summer.

Japandroids – Post-Nothing. I’ve been avoiding the whole noise rock, Times New Viking type thing up until I heard this record. I think it far outshines the No Age record in its listenability, but then that’s just my taste. The guitar tone is warm and enveloping and the songs poppy but loose enough to make me happy.

Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications. I’ve read a couple reviews that said Jarvis’ schtick is getting old, but I disagree. This album already wins with its Steve Albini production and the song Leftovers is brilliant.

Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You. I enjoy me a fun, snarky pop album.

Mastodon – Crack the Skye. Just an all around great album. Variety, chops, screaming, solos, drums, prog.

Mos Def – The Ecstatic. I hate saying a return to form, but this is a return to form. Much of the backing tracks are from previously released Stone’s Throw records, but Mos adds a freshness to the beats with his most relevant flows in years. It’s nice to have him back.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. My favorite album of the year so far. Perfect pop music. There’s no reason this album shouldn’t make them huge, but alas, it won’t.

Sonic Youth – The Eternal. Old Reliable pt. 3. I’ve been happy with all of SY’s output for the past couple years and The Eternal is no different. I do miss the longish jam songs like “Rain on Tin” or “Dripping Dream” but this album is quite good.

St. Vincent – Actor. Annie gets me over my Sufjan deficiency for this year. She’s a great guitar player a great song writer and she makes beautiful music.

Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years. I like the idea that all these songs evolved from bits and pieces of fragments. Each song has a definitive groove and it’s a great record for road trips.

The Thermals – Now We Can See. I guess I needed this softer version of the Thermals to make me appreciate them as a whole, because now I get it. I love this album, my 2 year old loves this album, it has broad appeal. Short but sweet, rockin’ but friendly. Great stuff.

Trashcan Sinatras – In the Music. I had a hard time accepting this album for what it is but I think I was finally able to cross over and appreciate it. I couldn’t get past the “adult contemporary” feel of the album (it may have been all the death metal I was listening to at the time), but once I settled down and listened to the songs, I’ve grown to love it.

We Were Promised Jetpacks – These Four Walls. Not quite Frightened Rabbit caliber stuff, but very good, explosive, emotional Scot-rock.

Wheat – White Ink Black Ink. I’m an “Every Second…” kind of guy, so I was very disappointed by “Everyday…”. This record gets Wheat back on track. Some of the songs are still pretty fragmented, but Scott Levesque has his melodic-muse back and he is choosing to actually sing on key this time. A fun, summery album.

My favorite albums of the year.

Since I couldn’t narrow them down to just 10.

1. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Again.

Technically not a 2008 release, but not introduced to me until 2008 and not released on a label until 2008. Not the kind of album I thought I’d ever like. Quiet, cold and lonely, but full of emotion. Justin Vernon’s falsetto over his acoustic guitar in the cold Wisconsin woods. Perfect.

2. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight.

One of the best break-up records I’ve ever heard. Self-pitying and then vengeful and then sad, the album has a logical progression through all the stages of a busted relationship. It kicks of with one of the best songs of the year, “The Modern Leper.”

3. Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant EP/Fleet Foxes.

Fleet Foxes could be classified as “folk” but Robin Pecknold’s vocals and harmonies carry the music to a different place. Excellent musicianship and interesting song structures help make this record one of the most pleasant listens on the list. “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Ragged Wood” are spectacular and “White Winter Hymnal” will probably end up being an all time classic.

4. Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid.

Guy Garvey writes some of the best lyrics of any modern day songwriter, period. A very strong Elbow album with a variety of styles like the barroom stomp of “Grounds for Divorce” to the soft, sweet pop of “Mirrorball”. A great record.

5. The Week That Was – The Week That Was.
6. Los Campesinos! – Hold on Now, Youngster…/We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.
7. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend.
8. The Dodos – Visiter.
9. School of Language – Sea to Shore.
10. Q-Tip – The Renaissance.
11. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours.
12. Pete & The Pirates – Little Death.
13. American Music Club – The Golden Age.
14. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals.
15. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
16. GZA/Genius – Pro Tools.
17. Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.
18. The Roots – Rising Down.
19. The Sea & Cake – Car Alarm.
20. Sigur Rós – Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust.
21. TV on the Radio – Dear Science.
22. Nine Inch Nails – The Slip.
23. Protest the Hero – Fortress.
24. Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold.
25. Meat Beat Manifesto – Autoimmune.

Sure, some of it might read like a critic’s end of the year list, but I can’t disagree with some of them critics. It was difficult to rank the first three as they all circle in and out of my heavy rotation on a daily basis. They could just all be number 1.

Top Records: 2008 – Prelim list.

It’s been a great year. I’ve felt a bit more folky, a little less dancy, sorta hip-hoppy and not so much with the headbangy. So many records to choose from, only 10 choices to make. Here are the candidates.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (Folky)

The Dodos – Visiter (Folky-Poppy)

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (Folky)

The Week That Was – The Week That Was (Pop)

School of Language – Sea to Shore (Pop)

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! (Rock)

Genius/GZA – Pro Tools (Hip-Hop)

Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (Pop?)

Brendan Canning – Something for All of Us… (Rock)

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (Pop)

Q-Tip – The Renaissance (Hip-Hop)

Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster / We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (Rock/Pop/Twee-ish)

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals (Dance Party)

The Sea and Cake – Car Alarm (Rock-lite)

American Music Club – The Golden Age (Rock-lite)

Al Green – Lay It Down (Soul)

Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (Hip-Hop)

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid (Brit-Rock)

Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (Scot-Folk Rock)

Meat Beat Manifesto – Autoimmune (Electronic Bleeps and Bloops)

Nine Inch Nails – The Slip (ROCK)

Pete and the Pirates – Little Death (Rockish Pop)

The Roots – Rising Down (Hip-Hop)

Sigur Ros – Með Suð í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (Lofty Pop)

Death Cab for Cutie – Narrow Stairs (Rock)

Protest the Hero – Fortress (Speedy Metal)

And after being literally disgusted by the new Portishead record, it shuffled through my iPod the other day and I suddenly became interested. So we’ll see.

A refined list with capsule reviews will follow. It’s going to be tough with so many choices.

Los Campesinos! – We are Beautiful, We are Doomed

Less than a year after “Hold On Now Youngster…” blew my mind, the Campesinos have returned with another full length. From the postings at their own site, it seems like this is a toss-off record that according to them will “only have one printing.” But don’t be fooled, this is a solid record, with zero b-side material. I was a bit put-off at first because of the lack of twee on the record. HONY was a bouncy, breakneck paced affair with jolly (sounding) lyrics and lots of yelling and screaming, which made it great. This still has a lot of the LC charm, but Gareth C. has crafted lyrics that are darker and a bit more ugly. WAB, WAD was foundering on my heavy rotation list but never being listened to, mainly because I’d burned out on HONY only a few months ago. Upon revisiting the new one, I’m pretty impressed in their growth spurt over the past few months.

There’s still plenty of violin, bleeping, dinging keys and shouting and talking, but it’s a bit more focused and less erratic. Gareth C. can still be a whiney brat, but he seems to be coming to terms with his faults and the lyrics tend to focus inward instead of outward.

The record is out digitally and will be released in a physical package soon that includes a DVD. If you like HONY, you will be a fan, and if you’ve not yet heard the Campesinos! this may be a good record to start with.

Me, in 4 sentences or less.

I am at a point in life where, despite financial issues, I’m genuinely happy and safe for the first time in a long time. Home is a refuge, where K, K, and Emm (when she’s around) are my soul mates, and I can always depend on them. I believe I’ve reached a point in relations with the ex where we are on even ground. My mother is well and I can sleep soundly.

I’ve moved

I decided after much trepidation that I’m going to cancel my hosting account and use a free bloggy thing. I just don’t really do it all that much anymore so it’s not worth the $100 a year that I pay for it. So here we are, still all in one piece, on a free WordPress blog.

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals

Mr. Gillis is back and has created the official party album of Summer 2008. His last record, “Night Ripper” was the official Radlinski Family party album of Summer 2006. Upon first listen, I was concerned and wasn’t sure a lot of the stuff was really working for me, but after the “car test” this record is coming together for me. It feels more complete and flowing than Night Ripper did. When you heard Night Ripper for the first time there was a big “wow factor” and that held pretty strong for the next several listens. After a while, the last half of the old record didn’t really do much for me. There were a few highlights, but it seemed to just disintigrate near the end. FtA is a much more cohesive affair, maintaining a pretty constant tempo the entire time and ending with a fantastic, emotional finale (I won’t tell!). He’s got a whole mess of genre spanning samples in there including Lil Mama, Lil Wayne, Underworld, Rod Stewart, Air, Snap, The Cure, Temple of the Dog, Metallica (look out), and unfortunately Solja Boy Tell ‘Em. Party on.

Paul Weller – Wild Wood (Deluxe Edition)

I recently noticed that Wild Wood had been reissued last year with a “Deluxe” treatment and seeing as I’m a sucker for reissues, I rushed out and got it. I still listen to WW quite a bit and while it hasn’t aged all that well over the years, it still has a number of standout songs. This deluxe edition gets some remastering and some bonus tracks, most of which I’ve heard before. The second disc is full of demos for most of the songs off WW and for the most part they’re pretty rough and not worth listening to. Suprisingly, the highlight of the reissue is the remastering. I had always thought that WW sounded a bit muddy and often thought that was intentional (and maybe at the time it was…it was supposed to be a trippy, psychadelic record). The remastering is evident here from the start, with the lead guitar on Sunflower during the verses being more present in the mix. You can hear the intricacies of Weller’s strumming and muting of strings. Steve White’s drums are clearer and his ride cymbal is tinny, but not in a bad way.”Can You Heal Us (Holy Man)” feels a bit heavy handed now and indicates where Weller was about go with “Stanley Road”, but the mix is much improved. “Shadow of the Sun”, my favorite track on Wild Wood sounds replenished and fresh and the extended bridge/jam part is phenomenal. If you’re a big fan of this album, it’s worth picking up this edition simply for the remaster. The extras are a nice bonus, but not necessary.

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

Let it be known that I run screaming from anything remotely close to being called “Freak-Folk” so I approached this record with great trepidation. I was ready to hit stop when I heard the first chorus of sing-songy, reverb soaked voices, but I let it go. While not the critical juggernaut that it’s turning out to be, Fleet Foxes is a pleasant album. Reminds me a little of James Taylor at times, and it often gets bogged down in Beach Boys harmonics (which I also can’t stand), but the musicianship is solid and the vocals are harmonious and quite emotional at times. My favorites are “Ragged Wood” and “Blue Ridge Mountains”. Sequence-wise, I think the album wanders a bit in the middle, but picks back up. A good record to put on when sitting outside on a Fall afternoon. Too bad it’s Summer.