Newt Gingrich was recently sued in federal court for "illegally" using "The Eye of The Tiger" during his campaign speeches.
If I was an elected official, my first priority would be what I would play as running music during my campaign.
A while ago I had an idea had compiled a loose playlist of what I would play for the demographics I sought to have give me their delegation points in a national election. This type of news story always seems to happen from time to time, and I could help reconsidering how I would go about it. I attended an Obama rally in 2008 and he was playing Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up". Not that shitty sample from the Kanye West song, I mean the real 8:54 version. This is not only a great song and a solid social statement, but it also has a bongo solo, and everyone loves a bongo solo (which is another discussion altogether). I always thought this was a great pull because most campaign songs, on both sides of the political compass, are fairly generic. Although, even though The Boss got pissed that Reagan used "Born In The USA", that was a pretty smooth one too.
My thoughts rethinking this notion:
1. Lots of Beatles songs. Everyone likes the Beatles; old people (sort of), relatively hip stoner-moms, college freshmen.
2. In the red states I would play a lot of Led Zeppelin, and in blue states I would play The Who
3. NO BOB DYLAN
4. The Big Lebowski soundtrack to prep the crowd (I now think that the cult of Lebowski is now the majority)
5. Merle. Fucking. Haggard.
6. Johnny Cash
7. Stevie Wonder, and not that late-year tchochtke. I'm talking early 70s slow-jams.
8. My official campaign theme song: "The Union Forever" by The White Stripes.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
My Unlikely Boycott of Superbowl XVLI
Two Sundays ago I saw perhaps one of my favorite games in my recent memory of football games. I hadn't seen a gold and red jersey in the playoffs since I was in the single digits, and this was just what I need. Not only did the 49ers have the best defense in the NFL, but the game against the Giants was in one of those utopian filthy football games. The rain was pouring all day in San Francisco, and to see Eli Manning get shut down repeatedly over the four quarters brought me great joy, partially because I couldn't care less about the dynasties of Brady, the Mannings, Brees, and the other atypical greats. That's not to say that Alex Smith was that great. With a reasonable QB next year (and a legitimate punt returner), I can see them taking over in a heavy way in the NFC. For now, they showed a demonstrable impact against yet another high financed, popular, and smug team from the east. If the niners had actually pulled off the upset, which they should have, I would have loved to see them clash against the Pats, or the Ravens.
Either way, the 49ers had an ability nobody else (with exception to the Texans) had: the chance to make the game interesting. Every time I saw them play I always felt the intensity, mainly because San Francisco played a man-to-man that no one knew how to stop (as well, Houston with TJ Yates as QB threw the ball like it was high school, and mostly got away with it)
However, this did not happen, and so we're left with a rematch that couldn't be less interesting. Furthermore, the commercials look terrible.
Exhibit A:
Commercialism and legitimate competition are the two things I strive to obtain from the Super Bowl, but this year has left me not so much with a bad taste in my mouth, but a boring, stale taste in my mouth. Eli Manning and Tom Brady have both won championships in the last decade, and honestly when they played each other four years ago, the only thing that matched the ecstatic enthusiasm in a college dorm like that game-winning catch was the night Obama won a year later.
This year I hate both teams. I'm sick of the Mannings being the dueling archetypes (one of which, playing for a terrible team), and the other team I've learned to despise in a way that I can only match with the likes of the Lakers and Yankees.
Either way, the 49ers had an ability nobody else (with exception to the Texans) had: the chance to make the game interesting. Every time I saw them play I always felt the intensity, mainly because San Francisco played a man-to-man that no one knew how to stop (as well, Houston with TJ Yates as QB threw the ball like it was high school, and mostly got away with it)
However, this did not happen, and so we're left with a rematch that couldn't be less interesting. Furthermore, the commercials look terrible.
Exhibit A:
Commercialism and legitimate competition are the two things I strive to obtain from the Super Bowl, but this year has left me not so much with a bad taste in my mouth, but a boring, stale taste in my mouth. Eli Manning and Tom Brady have both won championships in the last decade, and honestly when they played each other four years ago, the only thing that matched the ecstatic enthusiasm in a college dorm like that game-winning catch was the night Obama won a year later.
This year I hate both teams. I'm sick of the Mannings being the dueling archetypes (one of which, playing for a terrible team), and the other team I've learned to despise in a way that I can only match with the likes of the Lakers and Yankees.
Best Random Things 2011
I love excessive releases because there is so much that is passed the first time, and hearing the bits and pieces of other albums that never got made, you sometimes wonder just what the artist was thinking when they thought wouldn't mesh. Most of the time I disagree with the artist's choices, because I've heard some of the most amazing songs that were deliberately kept out of the main LPs (which, I've always felt should always be the artist's best display of work.
Best EPs
Thee Oh Sees Carrion Crawler/The Dream
There's a thump that is missing in music today. Last year had great examples through J. Roddy Walston and The Black Angels. A lot of bands I felt sideswiped this a little bit (The Black Lips come to mind especially). That's not to say it's a bad thing, that's just the way people work and progress, and should not be judged harshly. But it is annoying. Thee Oh Sees play a punkish garage rock without all the goddamn feedback. It's clean, yet it's messy.
The Decemberists Long Live the King
The Decemberists did some serious things this year, which I will discuss later in the month. But for now I will only say that there is a great song entitled "Sonnet" that comes at the end of the EP that is amazing. That's the thing with a lot of these old timers is that everything becomes so saturated, and this just trips the simplicity that made me love their last LP (and subsequently all their old stuff again).
Jens Lekman An Argument With Myself
I mean, I'll take whatever Jens Lekman I can get. Because I'm trying to keep standard priniciples about what constitutes an actual album in the top 20, this EP lands here. But it would have been in there. Jens never really gives you what want, but he does offer something better. Kind of like friends you've had for a long time and haven't seen in a while. A sunny day listening to his rambles is a day for me, even if they have a slight reggae hue to it.
Mayer Hawthorne Impressions
This is one those "Strictly Covers" EPs, and aside from his shitty cover of "Mr. Blue Sky", this is essentially some good stuff. I think the key to any of these covers EPs is by making the songs very obscure, thus you can more freely perform your instrumental (or in this case, vocal) abilities. Hawthorne is a cornball, but in the best way, and he wandering on this EP is always a delight.
Robin Pecknold Three Songs
Hey remember when the Fleet Foxes only had one album out? Yeah, me neither. But inbetween the first and the second LP, as a matter of fact, before the great hipster hype that nearly toppled Seattle for a few days last spring, Robin Pecknold let out three free releases, and they were fucking stellar. Even through the hype, listening to it now makes me realize just what Fleet Foxes were about do. All of the songs are like the beginnings of any Fleet Foxes song before their songs take off into some huge thunder. It's almost ambient and times, and great marker before Helplessness Blues was released.
Best Reissues:
The Beach Boys Smile Sessions
I've always tried to understand the Beach Boys, and it's always been based on the fact that I will never get the surfer/barbershop quartet schtick. I mean, I acknowledge that every mindblowing band of the 1960s had to start from a simpler medium (Beatles, Who, Stones, etc), but The Beach Boys are starting to slowly turn me around. Most that are because of these sessions. It feels like genius struggling, and it sounds like a slow drawn because of it, but to sift through, I start to find some real peaches in the basket. At this point there's been so many versions of this album, including one full recording, I'm just glad to have the basics in a huge bundle.
East of Underground East of Underground
There's such a huge spread of reissues in commission (mostly because marketing people are really banking on the nerds). But this is the pinnacle of the nerdom. If the Smile Sessions is Led Zeppelin IV, East of Underground is the Live at Leeds. This album is essentially a reprint (but in 4 pieces, and on vinyl) of a military band (as in the U.S. military). The set was stationed in Germany during Vietnam, and it plays (omitting some general corniness) almost seamlessly. It's a modgepodge of general funk and soul, with a few pop hits, but not only is the language more political than one would normally assume. As well, the songs seamlessly slide in-and-out of each other neglecting the occasional intro for the tape recordings. It's simplistic, yet it's amazing if presented correctly in its vinyl form.
Best EPs
Thee Oh Sees Carrion Crawler/The Dream
There's a thump that is missing in music today. Last year had great examples through J. Roddy Walston and The Black Angels. A lot of bands I felt sideswiped this a little bit (The Black Lips come to mind especially). That's not to say it's a bad thing, that's just the way people work and progress, and should not be judged harshly. But it is annoying. Thee Oh Sees play a punkish garage rock without all the goddamn feedback. It's clean, yet it's messy.
The Decemberists Long Live the King
The Decemberists did some serious things this year, which I will discuss later in the month. But for now I will only say that there is a great song entitled "Sonnet" that comes at the end of the EP that is amazing. That's the thing with a lot of these old timers is that everything becomes so saturated, and this just trips the simplicity that made me love their last LP (and subsequently all their old stuff again).
Jens Lekman An Argument With Myself
I mean, I'll take whatever Jens Lekman I can get. Because I'm trying to keep standard priniciples about what constitutes an actual album in the top 20, this EP lands here. But it would have been in there. Jens never really gives you what want, but he does offer something better. Kind of like friends you've had for a long time and haven't seen in a while. A sunny day listening to his rambles is a day for me, even if they have a slight reggae hue to it.
Mayer Hawthorne Impressions
This is one those "Strictly Covers" EPs, and aside from his shitty cover of "Mr. Blue Sky", this is essentially some good stuff. I think the key to any of these covers EPs is by making the songs very obscure, thus you can more freely perform your instrumental (or in this case, vocal) abilities. Hawthorne is a cornball, but in the best way, and he wandering on this EP is always a delight.
Robin Pecknold Three Songs
Hey remember when the Fleet Foxes only had one album out? Yeah, me neither. But inbetween the first and the second LP, as a matter of fact, before the great hipster hype that nearly toppled Seattle for a few days last spring, Robin Pecknold let out three free releases, and they were fucking stellar. Even through the hype, listening to it now makes me realize just what Fleet Foxes were about do. All of the songs are like the beginnings of any Fleet Foxes song before their songs take off into some huge thunder. It's almost ambient and times, and great marker before Helplessness Blues was released.
Best Reissues:
The Beach Boys Smile Sessions
East of Underground East of Underground
There's such a huge spread of reissues in commission (mostly because marketing people are really banking on the nerds). But this is the pinnacle of the nerdom. If the Smile Sessions is Led Zeppelin IV, East of Underground is the Live at Leeds. This album is essentially a reprint (but in 4 pieces, and on vinyl) of a military band (as in the U.S. military). The set was stationed in Germany during Vietnam, and it plays (omitting some general corniness) almost seamlessly. It's a modgepodge of general funk and soul, with a few pop hits, but not only is the language more political than one would normally assume. As well, the songs seamlessly slide in-and-out of each other neglecting the occasional intro for the tape recordings. It's simplistic, yet it's amazing if presented correctly in its vinyl form.
The Modern Political Ideology; An Introduction
Preface: I in no way intend on creating a movement or a political action. I'm far too uneducated to even know how to organize such a thing, but I do wish to encourage research, honest thinking, and intellectual openness regardless of where your political compass points.
For the past month I've been trying to compile a list of ideologies that sync up to create what most people believe. In 2012 we have a string of ideologies that all have one common denominator; centrism.
The last decade split us by neo-conservatism, which I would argue is really not conservatism. Republican perhaps, but certainly not conservative. I suppose I could be marginalized philosophically into conceding my libertarian tendencies, but aside from that I really aim to be as analytical as possible when it comes to any political movement, law, or government ideal.
The other end, of course, was a series of democrat-run classes of congress who did enough to really flip the economy like FDR did, which I think in the back of every liberal-minded was what we anticipated.
As well, my basis comes from an interpretation of the Constitution, but even that has so much polarity in ideology that I suppose that is yet another denominator. However, I believe even within that We still hold a new dissent in our society, especially within our youth's ranks, which I consider myself a part of.
There are two categories to place us in; the Obama supporters and Paul supporters. Yes, I will admit there are those enthusiastic about the last staves of the GOP, but I rarely see these people, let alone hear them, really plant their flags of dedication. The Obama and Paul supporters can be separated by realism of the political system and those wishing for a stronger implementation of conservative ideals; smaller government, less intervention, et cetera.
In this decade, there is no more war mongering, there is no such thing as Social Darwinism (at least not on the grand scale it use to be), and there is a stronger acknowledgement of economic disparities between income levels. Reports have been made that the "Y" Generation will be seeing less equality economically than many of our past generations, meaning less opportunity, more restitution, and a larger rat race to the top of the financial hierarchy.
However, I feel more and more that young people want less to do with the competition because we've begun to realize that economic growth is a system unintentionally designed to exhaust resources.
Example, the libertarian in me wishes that we could have clunkiness when it comes to government intervention in the free market. To cut the bureaucracy in our government would alleviate our debt, our inherences, and our opportunity. The other side of me (I suppose you could call it my populist side) recognizes just what opportunity in the free market was in the last ten years (spoiler alert: it is/was terrible). That's not to say I don't have my hesitations about me. The free market did give us Google and Facebook, but it has also put strangleholds on people working in the lower class, which I am clearly a part of.
There is a notion in my mind that has been passed down for hundreds of generations: I'm only complaining because I'm young and lazy. I would have taken more stock in this ideal:
A. Before I really began my introduction in the post-graduation job market
B. If the facts are increasingly demonstrating that things are as bad as we imagined.
That's not to say that it won't get better. I believe in a world with a little violence as we've seen on a global level, We are allowing ourselves some breathing room for domestic issues to be the agenda in our society. In a decade, we've gone from holding foreign intervention being the forefront (I still remember watching Iraq being bombed when I was in middle school), to desiring as little unnecessary violence as possible. Something that really changed that ideology is seeing our friends and family come back from countries we couldn't point out on a map being so demoralized, desensitized and, to be quite frank about it, fucked by a government that was suppose to do everything humanly possible to make sure that these.
In the next few weeks I'm going to compile a list of themes, most of which have been touched on here. I feel a huge desire to ramble out everything, but for now I'm going to leave it as this. I always encourage everyone to really analyze everything they can when they have a belief, and as my first meditation concludes, I'm trying to consider exactly what we mostly have a grip on. There is no extremism in these essays because I believe We built a government that attempts to avoid such erasable tendencies...
Although, as Barry Goldwater said "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice".
I believe that the best embodiment (in song form) of our mass political ideology is best described below; an acknowledgement that we are not all special and a desire to just work.
Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"
For the past month I've been trying to compile a list of ideologies that sync up to create what most people believe. In 2012 we have a string of ideologies that all have one common denominator; centrism.
The last decade split us by neo-conservatism, which I would argue is really not conservatism. Republican perhaps, but certainly not conservative. I suppose I could be marginalized philosophically into conceding my libertarian tendencies, but aside from that I really aim to be as analytical as possible when it comes to any political movement, law, or government ideal.
The other end, of course, was a series of democrat-run classes of congress who did enough to really flip the economy like FDR did, which I think in the back of every liberal-minded was what we anticipated.
As well, my basis comes from an interpretation of the Constitution, but even that has so much polarity in ideology that I suppose that is yet another denominator. However, I believe even within that We still hold a new dissent in our society, especially within our youth's ranks, which I consider myself a part of.
There are two categories to place us in; the Obama supporters and Paul supporters. Yes, I will admit there are those enthusiastic about the last staves of the GOP, but I rarely see these people, let alone hear them, really plant their flags of dedication. The Obama and Paul supporters can be separated by realism of the political system and those wishing for a stronger implementation of conservative ideals; smaller government, less intervention, et cetera.
In this decade, there is no more war mongering, there is no such thing as Social Darwinism (at least not on the grand scale it use to be), and there is a stronger acknowledgement of economic disparities between income levels. Reports have been made that the "Y" Generation will be seeing less equality economically than many of our past generations, meaning less opportunity, more restitution, and a larger rat race to the top of the financial hierarchy.
However, I feel more and more that young people want less to do with the competition because we've begun to realize that economic growth is a system unintentionally designed to exhaust resources.
Example, the libertarian in me wishes that we could have clunkiness when it comes to government intervention in the free market. To cut the bureaucracy in our government would alleviate our debt, our inherences, and our opportunity. The other side of me (I suppose you could call it my populist side) recognizes just what opportunity in the free market was in the last ten years (spoiler alert: it is/was terrible). That's not to say I don't have my hesitations about me. The free market did give us Google and Facebook, but it has also put strangleholds on people working in the lower class, which I am clearly a part of.
There is a notion in my mind that has been passed down for hundreds of generations: I'm only complaining because I'm young and lazy. I would have taken more stock in this ideal:
A. Before I really began my introduction in the post-graduation job market
B. If the facts are increasingly demonstrating that things are as bad as we imagined.
That's not to say that it won't get better. I believe in a world with a little violence as we've seen on a global level, We are allowing ourselves some breathing room for domestic issues to be the agenda in our society. In a decade, we've gone from holding foreign intervention being the forefront (I still remember watching Iraq being bombed when I was in middle school), to desiring as little unnecessary violence as possible. Something that really changed that ideology is seeing our friends and family come back from countries we couldn't point out on a map being so demoralized, desensitized and, to be quite frank about it, fucked by a government that was suppose to do everything humanly possible to make sure that these.
In the next few weeks I'm going to compile a list of themes, most of which have been touched on here. I feel a huge desire to ramble out everything, but for now I'm going to leave it as this. I always encourage everyone to really analyze everything they can when they have a belief, and as my first meditation concludes, I'm trying to consider exactly what we mostly have a grip on. There is no extremism in these essays because I believe We built a government that attempts to avoid such erasable tendencies...
Although, as Barry Goldwater said "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice".
I believe that the best embodiment (in song form) of our mass political ideology is best described below; an acknowledgement that we are not all special and a desire to just work.
Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues"
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Nowies 2011
Now I recognize how late this is, but I didn't bother posting this for a while because I hadn't quite absorbed into this set of bests for a while, and I spent a lot of this last month going over them one more time around and re-editing... and now I can say that I've got the most buzz apart from all the other best-of lists out there on the internet.
2011 wasn't necessarily more talented than the last batch by its predeceasing year, but it was a lot fucking cooler. I've come to recognize that these subjective lists are just as representative of how my year went just as much as the music I listened to. I didn't hear anything in particular that was a work of articulate arrangement. But in that haze was a large spread of clarity. 2011 was kind of like hangover from the last decade.
That's something I loved; a lack of realization that what happens now will shape the legacy of everything for another decade. A lot of bands began looking like Wilco circa 2005; incredibly fun but divisive in fanbase. I didn't hear anything genuinely surprising, mostly because I think we've become so consumed in media that heads or tails doesn't matter. So when I would hear something good I would be genuinely satisfied. In other words, because of my disappointment in everything, all good things were a surprise.
I've spent a few years doing this now, four to be specific, and I always enjoy this, so let's go for it.
20. Wild Flag Wild Flag
To paraphrase something I heard on the internet: "Riot Grrrl isn't dead, it just goes to bed at a more reasonable hour". I've heard some of their live stuff, which is something I love because it doesn't sound as quiet and polished as this, but the fact Wild Flag is a band, and that they assembled to make music, should speak to the testament to how badly women need a better representation in the rock community. For that, Wild Flag means the world to me.
19. Wu Lyf Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
Every list needs a good post-rock name drop, and I suppose this is that one, if you could call it post-rock. I'm still not quite sure what the fuck this is. The vocals were only so nauseous that it took away only when the band wasn't playing loud enough, which was rare. Fucked Up did something similar, but that was too brash. WU LYF does a great job straddling that line. I enjoy a good jam album as much as the next cat so this to me is that one, even through the strange shouts I held no reservation in loving this.
18. The Ravoenettes Raven in the Grave
Perhaps the decade rule of spoils is finally exposing people for who they are, and I always knew The Ravoenettes were this good. Ever since I heard "That Great Love Sound" in my preteens, I was always looking for something this kicking and up-tempo, and for the most part, Raven in the Grave pulls it off rather well.
17. The Roots Undun
I'm exhausted about hearing how much more "roots" The Roots have gotten. There will never be another Phrenology, and we really should stop trying to reinforce that bullshit. The reason The Roots have been able to remain The Roots is by being a part of the original ethos of hip hop, and yes a lot of those bands have passed in the process, but I don't know why this band was ever doubted. I've seen them live and almost weekly on late night television, and ?uestlove will never lead them in the wrong direction. Yes this album is great, but did anyone ever really doubt that? It doesn't sound like anything else. It just sounds like The Roots.
16. Justice Audio, Video, Disco
People were really batting this one around for a while, and I think it got left in the mire. When I finally got around to dusting this off, I realized this was what I was hoping to hear more of from the previous LP. There's a strange 70s quality to this (Iron and Wine did something similar), except Justice veered off closer to glam/arena rock on this, and I love glam/arena rock... and the 70s in general. I don't generally party, but when I do I can imagine it would be to something like this. Supplementally, Justice also produced some of my favorite music videos from last year, only validating the virtuoso skills further.
15. Kurt Vile Smoke Rings For My Halo
Seeing the split from The War on Drugs, I can now tell who got its Americana kicks. It was probably my favorite part of the band, and now that Vile is solo, I like his very specific type of organization. For something with a lot of giddiness, it still maintained a lot of rugged individualism about it.
14. My Morning Jacket Circuital
At this point, I doubt My Morning Jacket even cares about the game. Jim James has molded his status, the band has made so many good or great albums, started a neo-Traveling Wilburies, and then they still had 15 years to do whatever they want. They still don't use their status lightly, and the last project didn't get any less heavy. It felt, in many ways, like The King of Limbs of My Morning Jacket's career; still amazing, but probably not their best, so just hold on a little tighter and we got something else coming up.
13. M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is one of those albums I consider stricly as "headphones music". Listening to my laptop speakers doesn't quite do much of anything, but when you put the headphones on, the music becomes a horse of different color. Merriweather Post Pavilion comes to mind when I think of this notion. I'm not going to jam to it, I'm not going to drive around blasting it (with the exception of a long road trip), but I can definitely absorb it at 7:00 AM wile I'm wearily riding the bus to work. What makes Hurry Up, We're Dreaming so distinct is that it is flawless and incredibly long. The self-titled track speaks to it immediately, then it trails off for a while, then it's rocking again, then is slows with the pace of a Pink Floyd b-sides release. Because of it's rhythm it becomes enjoyable, but because of its epic fluidity it because a psuedo-materpiece
12. Arctic Monkeys Suck It and See
My favorite surprise by far. Two reasons I loved this so much:
1. I forgot that Arctic Monkeys existed
2. I forgot that Arctic Monkeys know how to write great lyrics.
I remember in high school how afraid I was that Arctic Monkeys could veer into that obscurity of Brit-Indie-Pop that consumed so many, and I thought that they've always done their best to keep above the benchmark. The lackadaisical approach to Alex Turner's lyrics works around the music just demonstrating its "I Don't Give a Fuck" theme all the better, which is great because last summer was so hot I didn't want to do much either.
11. Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter Marble Son
Perhaps the most classic rock of anything on this list. Veering off 8-minute tracks still hold a cohesion, and then it settles the dust to simple call and responses, and not to mention, that it's the first real female band lead I've seen in a while, and she fucking works her band in an orchestral way with the kicky little rock pace I hear floating the whole thing along.
10. Gruff Rhys Hotel Shampoo
I would have rated this higher if more than Rhys' first track was fucking amazing, which it was, but the rest wasn't. I was hooked listening to the first 30 seconds, and from their it veers back and forth. To be fair, I've never absorbed any of Rhys' work with Super Furry Animals, but to create anonymity on a well polished work like Hotel Shampoo allowed me to be more virginal and honest with the LP. This may not have been the best, but I'm curious to know where this guy runs off to in his future endeavors.
9. Chad VanGaalen Diaper Island
Chad VanGaalen is perhaps one of few singer/songwriter acts that I enjoy, and mostly for that fact that it is the basics, but used for such hardened benefit. For something so downbeat and mellow, it really did have some phenomenal lyrics, which made me mentally categorize him with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The Tallest Man on Earth, with a strange dash of Neil Young. Even as I compile this I still assume it's the most underrated of any on my list, and I'm still wondering if I should have ranked it higher. At times it can get both Americana and electronica while still holding its individualistic integrity.
8. Youth Lagoon The Year of Hibernation
Every now and again I like to give shoutouts to my Columbian homies (and by that I mean the river in the Northwest), but usually it's for posterity or self-indulgence. This however was different because it was both parts more authentic and exceptional, especially for a place as alien as Idaho, which is rare for its talents (Built to Spill, anyone?). Idaho is a lot like Eastern Washington; barren, epic, warm, and sweet-aired, and I think Youth Lagoon hits it right not just as music, but as a representation of the great Western void before you reach The Pacific Northwest. People laugh at Napoleon Dynamite because of it's sheer absurdity, but I've known enough people from Idaho to know that these are stereotypes, and realistic ones at that. What I thought Youth Lagoon did, besides make an amazing album, was legitimize a little known music community of stale and compassionate electronics in a land devoid of an identifiable culture.
7. Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean
I'll tell ya, this was a tough one to swallow, but in the end I should have known Sam Beam mimicking 70s pop was a very good thing. To be fair, I haven't really gotten much past Creek Drank the Cradle, partially because Garden State, and partially because I didn't really feel anything between then and now was really that engaging. This is something I suspect Beam realized, and I think that this was a great move, because for the most part it keeps that slow and easy going pace of Iron & Wine and adds an element of jazzy horns and minor electronics and has it pick the pace up a bit, which was always Beam's largest hinderance (and for good reason). After going over the tracks a third time, I realized that Iron & Wine finally figured it out, and instead I was the one who was sorely mistaken.
6. The People's Temple The People's Temple
I went through a huge lo-fi garage rock thing this year (oh wait, that was every year since I was 14), and in my mind I can tell you this album is exactly what Central Utah sounds like, which is ironic because the band is from Michigan. As I'm getting older I'm learning to hate Pitchfork more and more, and so subsequently I end up listening to a lot more albums that receive lower ratings than a "Best New Music" stamp. I'm sorry but Gang Gang Dance is not music, it's sound art. You can go listen to John Cage performances and eat mushrooms. I'll hang back with the social awkwards and listen to something with a conscience. ANYWAYS, I can't remember the actual rating, but The People's Temple got a low one, but I persisted always and found a huge, and at times, uncollected menagerie of aggressive echoing guitars and a fading loud shout-box of neo-psychedelic throwbacks.
5. The Decemberists The King is Dead
My former roommate is the only equal I have in the world of music, and I say that with full arrogance and sincerity. So when I obtained a copy of this CD, we got in the car and decided to drive to the Goodwill in town. We put in on very hesitantly, first with a certainty that we knew it was going to suck. Then 1:30 passed from the first track, and we were confused, because we both knew something very good was happening. Then the third tracked slipped through our audible senses, and by the time we were five tracks in, we knew that this was probably the best Decemberists album we've heard since Picaresque (this point alone was highly contested). People say The Decemberists got back to their roots in this last one, but I honestly think they finally got a chance to get some breathing room and get comfortable again because it doesn't sound like Her Majesty The Decemberists, it sounds more folksy, but they lyrics hold sway, and I think that shines as to why they are bettter now than they were a decade ago.
4. Aloe Blacc Good Things
Mayer Hawthorne was good but not great this year, and really to be reiterating another Sharon Jones LP or neo-soul album from Daptone Records would be bias and cheap (both of which I often am). I cut out all my other soul picks because Aloe Blacc does it all in one. His thumps and beats are more saturated and appealing than all other freshmen attempts last year, and he makes some great fucking social statements (when I was laid off from my previous job, "I Need A Dollar" became a heavily rotated song for me). I hold true to the notion that social statements are really the largest and most important theme in soul music, and only a select few have done it correctly (Curtis Mayfield is perhaps the best example). Perhaps the most intimate (obviously) of any LP on this list.
3. Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues
It's probably the nostalgia that gets me with this. I worked briefly at an anonymous retail position in which the title track was played over and over and OVER AND OVER again while I would be racking clothes, and the only thought I could think everytime I heard it was "posers". Not Fleet Foxes, they've already built enough steam to validate their medieval-folk schtick. I'm referring to most people. Like the hip predaseccors (The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, et. al.), they were prone to be completely fucked by public dissent. Fortunately, they remained almost entirely unscathed, and just as determined and focus as before. With their success the embodied a mentality we saw a lot of this year; the desire to be normal and interwoven.
2. The Black Keys El Camino
This was tentative on a lot of lists, partially because it came out so late in the year that most didn't have time to properly analyze it. However, I did. I'm amazed how after ten years since The Big Come Up, we've still got fanboys crying foul for something as "genuine" as their first album. Since El Camino came out, people have been driving comparisons to the origins of hard rock (although leaning closer to bands like ZZ Top than those as artisanal as Led Zeppelin, which I always envisioned instead of the further). I think it's the second best of the year because I've never seen a band from the previous decade pull off something both so engrossing (financially) that was so engrossing (muscially). A lot of stink came from the band crying fowl on the industry, and I think it was a little late to make such accusations, but they had a point, and subsequently a theme, to their new album; You too can make good music and good money at the same time.
1. Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra
What a kick in the ass. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is like the upbeat younger cousin to some great Guided By Voices machine. It takes the best parts of its hazy fuck-around, but instead of kicking in some sadness, it drops a jam, and a stomp, and a hook. I found myself dancing like a fucking idiot to something you could barely make out the lyrics to. Tame Impala had a similar trance over me. Unknown Mortal Orchestra seems to have a great ability to pop a lot crisper than most which I think might be their greatest trait. If you removed the layers of reverb and fade, I would still enjoy listening to it.
2011 wasn't necessarily more talented than the last batch by its predeceasing year, but it was a lot fucking cooler. I've come to recognize that these subjective lists are just as representative of how my year went just as much as the music I listened to. I didn't hear anything in particular that was a work of articulate arrangement. But in that haze was a large spread of clarity. 2011 was kind of like hangover from the last decade.
That's something I loved; a lack of realization that what happens now will shape the legacy of everything for another decade. A lot of bands began looking like Wilco circa 2005; incredibly fun but divisive in fanbase. I didn't hear anything genuinely surprising, mostly because I think we've become so consumed in media that heads or tails doesn't matter. So when I would hear something good I would be genuinely satisfied. In other words, because of my disappointment in everything, all good things were a surprise.
I've spent a few years doing this now, four to be specific, and I always enjoy this, so let's go for it.
20. Wild Flag Wild Flag
To paraphrase something I heard on the internet: "Riot Grrrl isn't dead, it just goes to bed at a more reasonable hour". I've heard some of their live stuff, which is something I love because it doesn't sound as quiet and polished as this, but the fact Wild Flag is a band, and that they assembled to make music, should speak to the testament to how badly women need a better representation in the rock community. For that, Wild Flag means the world to me.
19. Wu Lyf Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
18. The Ravoenettes Raven in the Grave
Perhaps the decade rule of spoils is finally exposing people for who they are, and I always knew The Ravoenettes were this good. Ever since I heard "That Great Love Sound" in my preteens, I was always looking for something this kicking and up-tempo, and for the most part, Raven in the Grave pulls it off rather well.
17. The Roots Undun
I'm exhausted about hearing how much more "roots" The Roots have gotten. There will never be another Phrenology, and we really should stop trying to reinforce that bullshit. The reason The Roots have been able to remain The Roots is by being a part of the original ethos of hip hop, and yes a lot of those bands have passed in the process, but I don't know why this band was ever doubted. I've seen them live and almost weekly on late night television, and ?uestlove will never lead them in the wrong direction. Yes this album is great, but did anyone ever really doubt that? It doesn't sound like anything else. It just sounds like The Roots.
16. Justice Audio, Video, Disco
People were really batting this one around for a while, and I think it got left in the mire. When I finally got around to dusting this off, I realized this was what I was hoping to hear more of from the previous LP. There's a strange 70s quality to this (Iron and Wine did something similar), except Justice veered off closer to glam/arena rock on this, and I love glam/arena rock... and the 70s in general. I don't generally party, but when I do I can imagine it would be to something like this. Supplementally, Justice also produced some of my favorite music videos from last year, only validating the virtuoso skills further.
15. Kurt Vile Smoke Rings For My Halo
Seeing the split from The War on Drugs, I can now tell who got its Americana kicks. It was probably my favorite part of the band, and now that Vile is solo, I like his very specific type of organization. For something with a lot of giddiness, it still maintained a lot of rugged individualism about it.
14. My Morning Jacket Circuital
At this point, I doubt My Morning Jacket even cares about the game. Jim James has molded his status, the band has made so many good or great albums, started a neo-Traveling Wilburies, and then they still had 15 years to do whatever they want. They still don't use their status lightly, and the last project didn't get any less heavy. It felt, in many ways, like The King of Limbs of My Morning Jacket's career; still amazing, but probably not their best, so just hold on a little tighter and we got something else coming up.
13. M83 Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is one of those albums I consider stricly as "headphones music". Listening to my laptop speakers doesn't quite do much of anything, but when you put the headphones on, the music becomes a horse of different color. Merriweather Post Pavilion comes to mind when I think of this notion. I'm not going to jam to it, I'm not going to drive around blasting it (with the exception of a long road trip), but I can definitely absorb it at 7:00 AM wile I'm wearily riding the bus to work. What makes Hurry Up, We're Dreaming so distinct is that it is flawless and incredibly long. The self-titled track speaks to it immediately, then it trails off for a while, then it's rocking again, then is slows with the pace of a Pink Floyd b-sides release. Because of it's rhythm it becomes enjoyable, but because of its epic fluidity it because a psuedo-materpiece
12. Arctic Monkeys Suck It and See
My favorite surprise by far. Two reasons I loved this so much:
1. I forgot that Arctic Monkeys existed
2. I forgot that Arctic Monkeys know how to write great lyrics.
I remember in high school how afraid I was that Arctic Monkeys could veer into that obscurity of Brit-Indie-Pop that consumed so many, and I thought that they've always done their best to keep above the benchmark. The lackadaisical approach to Alex Turner's lyrics works around the music just demonstrating its "I Don't Give a Fuck" theme all the better, which is great because last summer was so hot I didn't want to do much either.
11. Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter Marble Son
Perhaps the most classic rock of anything on this list. Veering off 8-minute tracks still hold a cohesion, and then it settles the dust to simple call and responses, and not to mention, that it's the first real female band lead I've seen in a while, and she fucking works her band in an orchestral way with the kicky little rock pace I hear floating the whole thing along.
10. Gruff Rhys Hotel Shampoo
I would have rated this higher if more than Rhys' first track was fucking amazing, which it was, but the rest wasn't. I was hooked listening to the first 30 seconds, and from their it veers back and forth. To be fair, I've never absorbed any of Rhys' work with Super Furry Animals, but to create anonymity on a well polished work like Hotel Shampoo allowed me to be more virginal and honest with the LP. This may not have been the best, but I'm curious to know where this guy runs off to in his future endeavors.
9. Chad VanGaalen Diaper Island
Chad VanGaalen is perhaps one of few singer/songwriter acts that I enjoy, and mostly for that fact that it is the basics, but used for such hardened benefit. For something so downbeat and mellow, it really did have some phenomenal lyrics, which made me mentally categorize him with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and The Tallest Man on Earth, with a strange dash of Neil Young. Even as I compile this I still assume it's the most underrated of any on my list, and I'm still wondering if I should have ranked it higher. At times it can get both Americana and electronica while still holding its individualistic integrity.
8. Youth Lagoon The Year of Hibernation
Every now and again I like to give shoutouts to my Columbian homies (and by that I mean the river in the Northwest), but usually it's for posterity or self-indulgence. This however was different because it was both parts more authentic and exceptional, especially for a place as alien as Idaho, which is rare for its talents (Built to Spill, anyone?). Idaho is a lot like Eastern Washington; barren, epic, warm, and sweet-aired, and I think Youth Lagoon hits it right not just as music, but as a representation of the great Western void before you reach The Pacific Northwest. People laugh at Napoleon Dynamite because of it's sheer absurdity, but I've known enough people from Idaho to know that these are stereotypes, and realistic ones at that. What I thought Youth Lagoon did, besides make an amazing album, was legitimize a little known music community of stale and compassionate electronics in a land devoid of an identifiable culture.
7. Iron & Wine Kiss Each Other Clean
I'll tell ya, this was a tough one to swallow, but in the end I should have known Sam Beam mimicking 70s pop was a very good thing. To be fair, I haven't really gotten much past Creek Drank the Cradle, partially because Garden State, and partially because I didn't really feel anything between then and now was really that engaging. This is something I suspect Beam realized, and I think that this was a great move, because for the most part it keeps that slow and easy going pace of Iron & Wine and adds an element of jazzy horns and minor electronics and has it pick the pace up a bit, which was always Beam's largest hinderance (and for good reason). After going over the tracks a third time, I realized that Iron & Wine finally figured it out, and instead I was the one who was sorely mistaken.
6. The People's Temple The People's Temple
I went through a huge lo-fi garage rock thing this year (oh wait, that was every year since I was 14), and in my mind I can tell you this album is exactly what Central Utah sounds like, which is ironic because the band is from Michigan. As I'm getting older I'm learning to hate Pitchfork more and more, and so subsequently I end up listening to a lot more albums that receive lower ratings than a "Best New Music" stamp. I'm sorry but Gang Gang Dance is not music, it's sound art. You can go listen to John Cage performances and eat mushrooms. I'll hang back with the social awkwards and listen to something with a conscience. ANYWAYS, I can't remember the actual rating, but The People's Temple got a low one, but I persisted always and found a huge, and at times, uncollected menagerie of aggressive echoing guitars and a fading loud shout-box of neo-psychedelic throwbacks.
5. The Decemberists The King is Dead
My former roommate is the only equal I have in the world of music, and I say that with full arrogance and sincerity. So when I obtained a copy of this CD, we got in the car and decided to drive to the Goodwill in town. We put in on very hesitantly, first with a certainty that we knew it was going to suck. Then 1:30 passed from the first track, and we were confused, because we both knew something very good was happening. Then the third tracked slipped through our audible senses, and by the time we were five tracks in, we knew that this was probably the best Decemberists album we've heard since Picaresque (this point alone was highly contested). People say The Decemberists got back to their roots in this last one, but I honestly think they finally got a chance to get some breathing room and get comfortable again because it doesn't sound like Her Majesty The Decemberists, it sounds more folksy, but they lyrics hold sway, and I think that shines as to why they are bettter now than they were a decade ago.
4. Aloe Blacc Good Things
Mayer Hawthorne was good but not great this year, and really to be reiterating another Sharon Jones LP or neo-soul album from Daptone Records would be bias and cheap (both of which I often am). I cut out all my other soul picks because Aloe Blacc does it all in one. His thumps and beats are more saturated and appealing than all other freshmen attempts last year, and he makes some great fucking social statements (when I was laid off from my previous job, "I Need A Dollar" became a heavily rotated song for me). I hold true to the notion that social statements are really the largest and most important theme in soul music, and only a select few have done it correctly (Curtis Mayfield is perhaps the best example). Perhaps the most intimate (obviously) of any LP on this list.
3. Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues
It's probably the nostalgia that gets me with this. I worked briefly at an anonymous retail position in which the title track was played over and over and OVER AND OVER again while I would be racking clothes, and the only thought I could think everytime I heard it was "posers". Not Fleet Foxes, they've already built enough steam to validate their medieval-folk schtick. I'm referring to most people. Like the hip predaseccors (The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, et. al.), they were prone to be completely fucked by public dissent. Fortunately, they remained almost entirely unscathed, and just as determined and focus as before. With their success the embodied a mentality we saw a lot of this year; the desire to be normal and interwoven.
2. The Black Keys El Camino
This was tentative on a lot of lists, partially because it came out so late in the year that most didn't have time to properly analyze it. However, I did. I'm amazed how after ten years since The Big Come Up, we've still got fanboys crying foul for something as "genuine" as their first album. Since El Camino came out, people have been driving comparisons to the origins of hard rock (although leaning closer to bands like ZZ Top than those as artisanal as Led Zeppelin, which I always envisioned instead of the further). I think it's the second best of the year because I've never seen a band from the previous decade pull off something both so engrossing (financially) that was so engrossing (muscially). A lot of stink came from the band crying fowl on the industry, and I think it was a little late to make such accusations, but they had a point, and subsequently a theme, to their new album; You too can make good music and good money at the same time.
1. Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra
What a kick in the ass. Unknown Mortal Orchestra is like the upbeat younger cousin to some great Guided By Voices machine. It takes the best parts of its hazy fuck-around, but instead of kicking in some sadness, it drops a jam, and a stomp, and a hook. I found myself dancing like a fucking idiot to something you could barely make out the lyrics to. Tame Impala had a similar trance over me. Unknown Mortal Orchestra seems to have a great ability to pop a lot crisper than most which I think might be their greatest trait. If you removed the layers of reverb and fade, I would still enjoy listening to it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)