My Favorite Albums of 2012 (cont.)

03.) Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

The big story for me this year was my growing interest in rap, hip hop and R&B music, a trend spotlighted here in the top three. New York rapper had a breakout year with both his own Cancer for Cure album and the El-P-produced R.A.P. Music, but I preferred Killer Mike’s southern approach over El-P’s record. The first song “Big Beast” barks out immediately and doesn’t let up, showcasing polished verses by Bun B, TI and Mike himself. The sci-fi beat creaks and bounces before the smoothness of “Untitled.” Killer Mike spits about his love for his wife, the harsh realities of Reaganomics, and a case file of a drug dealer against airport security. He shines over the deep funky beats and gives praise to all the black music to come before him on “R.A.P. Music” before settling in with his daughter to ride out the end. “This is jazz, this is funk, this is soul, this is gospel” goes the chorus on this Adult Swim-affiliated release, and Killer Mike is trying to change the current rap game while giving nods to the past that made it possible. Watch out, other rappers on the radio, Mike’s calling you and your hood shit out.

2.) Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.a.a.d. city

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.a.a.d. city

The first time I heard Kendrick Lamar on the radio, I immediately took notice and hunted down his name over the other guest rappers. Then I heard he was from Compton, was being backed by Dr. Dre, and he had a new album coming out this fall. I got excited quick, and I gave good kid, m.a.a.d. city a perfunctory spin to see if the hype was justified. It was. Lamar calls this album a short film for good reason: it tells the story of his youth and upbringing, with short interludes with his parents and friends. The album also jumps around in the timeline, showing Lamar falling for Sherane before jumping to today and his current look upon the hip hop scene. Songs detail his nights free-styling over beats and burglarizing houses with his homies, nights in the club with way too many drinks, unknowingly smoking a blunt laced with angel dust and other hood-life rituals before he wakes up to strive for more and to live what he loves. Lamar escapes Compton by the album’s end to rap alongside Dre, but the path there is this album’s success.

“Swimming Pools”

01.) Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

If Kendrick Lamar’s major-label debut is a short film, then Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange is a novel, filled with all sorts of characters and plots. “Super Rich Kids” tells the story about the spoiled juniors growing up in California la-la land. A drug-mule’s love-life-gone-wrong unfolds in “Lost.” In my favorite story, the ten-minute “Pyramids” spans from the days of Cleopatra to the strip clubs of today, transforming over the song’s course from raving dance to slow jam incarnate. Ocean puts his own story of falling in love for the first time before losing his love and dealing with the pain right in proximity with these other stories, suggesting the English tidbit that it’s all one story, really. Most people focused on the fact that Ocean’s first love was a man and that he was coming out with this album. Although that letter was exquisitely written, it’s beside the point. Frank Ocean is a great songwriter first and foremost, and Channel Orange is his first classic album gifted to us, with hopefully more to come.

“Thinking About You”

So long 2012; hello, 2013!

-Landon Briggs, 1/7/13

My Favorite Albums of 2012 (cont.)

09.) Swans - The Seer

     Swans - The Seer

Understatement of the year: this album is heavy, man. It’s two hours of sludge metal and crackling fire and raw grandeur. The Seer will pummel you into pulp. Somedays I convince myself that I don’t even like this noise, that it’s just too much. But I keep coming back, and it grows on me more and more. It’s a commitment that repays all dividends, and once it clicks, there’s nothing quite like it. I’ll keep coming back to it.

“The Seer”

08.) Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

Segall should be commended here for releasing not one but three of the best garage-rock albums of the year, and his friends Thee Oh Sees also put out the excellent Putrifiers II, making 2012 a banner year for San Fran. Bay-area rock and roll. But as soon as “Death” scrawls away with that distorted scorched guitar to announce the Ty Segall Band’s arrival, Slaughterhouse takes the crown as the best release from their camp this year. The album blasts by at 120 mph in forty minutes, and at least a quarter of its runtime is squealing noise and distortion wrenched from Segall’s amps. This is a band where crowd surfing at the show is not optional, it’s mandatory. The surprise here is that beneath the loud uproar are some pretty catchy pop songs. It’s like uncovering a fossil, digging through the dirt and etching away the stone to find a Beatlesesque ditty such as “The Bag I’m In.” 

“Wave Goodbye”

07.) Tame Impala - Lonerism

Tame Impala - Lonerism

Remember the LOST finale where all the characters meet up in some sort of purgatory? Well, if I were to awake in purgatory today and see all my friends and family, I believe Lonerism would be playing. It’s an album I can everyone from my past enjoying, whether it’s for the Beatles-sounding vocals, the catchy songwriting or the psychedelic bridges and twisting interludes. More than anything, this album was the most fun in 2012. Pretty good for a record entitled Lonerism focused on self-contemplation to be shared by everyone. 

My Favorite Albums of 2012 (cont.)

14.) Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!

     Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!

These guys made an unexpected return in 2012 to remind us that yes, they can thrash and grind hard. Moments of peace and fragile beauty also flit by during these 20-minute soundtracks. I somehow missed the political context of GY!BE; during the run-up to the 2012 election, I was blissfully oblivious in the middle of a national park. However, an uninformed listen will still lead all to the same answer: things are pretty bad out there, the good times have left the building. Better to enjoy the moments of clarity between the distorted terror for what they are, then. A brief respite in a crumbling empire. I’ve got to see this band live.

“Mladic”

13.) Father John Misty - Fear Fun

Father John Misty - Fear Fun

The title of this album is misleading, as there is nothing to fear here. Father John Misty has put out an easygoing, witty, fun record with tracks in the grand Harry Nillson vein. The folky songs, the nonsensical lyrics, the pedal-steel guitar, it all works. Joshua Tillman left a juggernaut of an act in Fleet Foxes to drive down to California, take mushrooms from a shaman and write a novel, and Fear Fun is the twisted end-result. As he settled down  into the wacky world of Laurel Canyon, he relived the history of multiple artists from the 1970s. Whether he’s talking to his dog on “I’m Writing A Novel,” asking you to punch him and call him Nancy in “Nancy From Now On,” or detailing the multitude of materials it takes to manufacture a record or a painting on “Now I’m Learning to Love the War,” Tillman has a way of words one wouldn’t here if he was still behind his drum-kit up in Seattle. 

My Favorite Albums of 2012 (cont.)

19.) Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory

What do Pinkerton, In Utero, and Surfer Rosa have in common besides being some of my favorite albums of all time? Steve Albini produced all three, and this year he brought his signature sound of loud-as-hell drums and scratchy distorted guitars to upcoming act Cloud Nothings. He apparently didn’t do much else, which is okay since the songs came fully-formed, hooks and all. And the band came prepared to rock with a tightly-knit rhythm section. “No Future/No Past” announces itself with twinkling piano and burns slowly until it explodes in release. The epic “Wasted Days” sprawls all over it’s nine-minute runtime in exploration, and songs like “Stay Useless” and “Cut You” could even be called catchy. Another good rocker in 2012.

18.) Grizzly Bear - Shields

Grizzly Bear - Shields

I moved west from Atlanta to work in Yellowstone National Park over the tail end of the summer, and on the inaugural drive into the park I listened to Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House. This band was the soundtrack to the lush forests and the Bear’s newest release fit right in among the bears’ natural habitat. I Cued up Shields opener “Sleeping Ute” and hiked up to Observation Point to watch the Old Faithful geyser erupt around sunset. As I trudged alone through the woods on a gravel path and headed up and up, the majestic guitars crashed before giving way to gentle fingerpicked guitars. The geyser went off during luxuriant “Yet Again”, and I was stunned and silent at the power of the geyser shooting rushes of water into the air. I can’t wait to go back to the park next summer, and Shields is coming with me to accompany many more hikes in solitude.

My 25 favorite albums of 2012

     After a much too long hiatus from posting here, I’m afraid Casa Cabrones has sat dormant for quite some time. Well, I’ve been working on a few projects here and there, and what better place to post them than my old stomping grounds? I want to write a lot more in 2013, and I hope to post all kinds of interesting things here at Casa Cabrones in the future. But before we step into the new year, let’s get 2012 out of the way. First and foremost, my favorite albums released in the past year, hopefully posted before the idea of end-of-year lists grows stale. As usual, these are the albums I enjoyed the most, not necessarily the best. I like what I like and I’ll share my reasoning, but if our tastes don’t match up, well, good. We shouldn’t all think alike. And if they do, good…this is some fine listening going on here. I’ll post the first five tonight and move on from there, with all 25 posted by the 5th. Underneath the album titles are links to listen with Spotify. And once we get through 2012 we can move on to new exciting adventures. 

Here we go…

25.) How to Dress Well - Total Loss

     How to Dress Well - Total Loss

     Last year the Weeknd put out my favorite record and just like that my taste buds began to shift towards rap and R&B. Or PBR&B, a foolish name that most will shun but one that I kind of adore. And then I stumbled upon a video of How to Dress Well’s Tom Krell walking through the rain singing “& It Was You.” I sought this record out and gave it a spin while riding the bus up the mountain, and a world of decaying keyboards, shuffling beats and a fragile falsetto met the picturesque landscape of snow-covered pine trees for miles and miles. 

“& It Was You”

24.) Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

     Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

This album starts out majestically with a symphony, peppered with a western pinch. Then the guitars crank up, and we’re rolling through “Hey Jane.” The first half of the song is awesome on its own, but when the tempo kicks up and the coda starts charging towards the climax with oohs and ahhs galore, I’m sold. Jason Pierce manages to sound fragile, chaotic, precious, desperate and confused through the course of Sweet Heart, Sweet Light, and I’m left asking myself “Huh?” just like the title by the end of triumphant closer “So Long You Pretty Thing.” 

Marines vow solidarity with Wall Street protestors. →

The NYPD has received a massive donation from none other than the criminal oligarchs themselves, JPMorgan Chase! 

We can presume it was a donation that would tighten municipal powers and further the injustice and misuse of perceived ‘power’ of the New York police force. This couldn’t have come at a better time?

Nuclear Energy. What We Need to Know, Now.

For the past four days I have been anxiety ridden, sleep deprived, and absolutely glued to my laptop. But that doesn’t change the fact that right now I am sitting comfortably in my warm home, with abundant food, clean water, access to electricity, and have close contact with everyone I love. There are human beings in Japan who have lost everything, including homes and loved ones, and they are fighting for their lives as I write this. It literally brings me to tears.

This situation in Japan is exceptionally complicated for me to process. I was born in Tokyo, the daughter of a nuclear engineer, and have spent the past two+ years building a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing accurate arts-integrated information in support of nuclear energy. I started the organization to help bridge the gap between the realities of nuclear science, energy needs, and public awareness of these issues.

Right now people need accurate information about nuclear energy more than ever, as panic and sensationalized media reports are overshadowing the very real consequences of the catastrophic natural disasters that occurred on Friday. Citizens of Japan are suffering in unimaginable ways, and the rest of us are focusing in on the least threatening of the circumstances facing their survival: Nuclear Energy.

I want to provide some information in hopes that we can put the situation into perspective and refocus on meeting the immediate needs of the Japanese people.

First of all, I do not intend to downplay the incredibly precarious ongoing events at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Station. It is a huge issue that must be faced with great knowledge, caution and diligence. Thankfully, the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Japanese Government are some of the most experienced nuclear facilitators in the world, and they currently have assistance on the ground from several of the most capable American engineers as well.

The risk at Fukushima is not the lack of technical knowledge or ability at the plant, it is the complete lack of infrastructure that they have to work with as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. They are doing all that they can to keep the damage to plants and the release of radiation to a minimum until electricity and transportation routes can be reestablished. As far as I am concerned the operators and engineers at Fukushima are heroes beyond heroes.

Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 though 6 have all had significant problems ranging from cooling problems to oil fires and explosions. As dramatic and frightening as it has been to watch this unfold on the news, the reality is that even if any or all of these plants meltdown, it will still be the least significant threat that the public is currently facing. Nuclear power plants are designed to meltdown in a very specific way. If the fuel overheats and the temperature inside the reactor reached a certain temperature it will melt into the containment structure. This is what happened at Three Mile Island, and no significant harm was caused to the public, though the plant never operated again. If there is partial or total meltdown at any unit, it will happen inside the reactor, not out in the open where it is an immediate public threat.

The fact that these plants stood up to an earthquake 7 times stronger than they were designed for, and then a subsequent 30 foot tsunami is evidence that they are holding up better than any engineer could have expected. The radiation that has been released is not life threatening, and timely safety precautions like evacuations and distribution of iodine, will ultimately keep the vast majority of the public safe from exposure. At this point the power plants have been shut down for 5 days and are cooling down, so the risk of a meltdown are decreasing over time, although you won’t gather that from the main stream media coverage.

The loss of infrastructure, including the plants at Fukushima, is the most dangerous part of this situation. Access to health care, clean water, food, electricity, transportation, housing and communication abilities are all compromised at this time, which means the death toll will continue to rise. Without these needs being met, the public is at great risk. We should be making every effort to help rebuild basic infrastructure as quickly as possible though personal donations and government aid.

As contrary as it may seem, part of the infrastructure Japan will need in the coming months and years is new nuclear power. There have been major breakthroughs in the nuclear sector in the past thirty years, and the public needs to know about them. Technologies like Generation III+ Reactors, Small Modular Reactors, Thorium Reactors and Next Generation Nuclear Power are stronger, safer, carbon free alternatives to fossil fuels (I won’t get into how poorly oil and natural gas plants have held up through this situation). I can’t help but think that the warming oceans and carbon-saturated atmosphere, has amplified the severity of recent natural disasters. We need energy technology that doesn’t contribute to the ongoing weather and geological anomalies that have become common place in recent years, causing unprecedented death and destruction in places like Indonesia, China and Haiti. Walking away from nuclear energy technologies now could be a mistake of epic proportion.

So please, take another look at the events in Japan, and take a little time to learn the facts about nuclear energy. The real disasters in Japan are the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the resulting humanitarian crises, not the issues at Fukushima. Once we get past sensationalized stories and fear based reporting, we can focus our concern and attention to the people who are suffering and meeting their immediate needs.

Lastly, just in case you are reading, I am sending my love and prayers to the Katoh’s and the Yamamoto’s. You are in my thoughts constantly.

- Suzanne Hobbs, 3/15/2011

For more technical information please defer to the experts: ( www.nei.org )

Bio: Suzanne Hobbs is the Executive Director of PopAtomic Studios, a non-profit organization dedicated to using the power of visual and liberal arts to enrich the discussion on nuclear energy: ( www.popatomic.org )

(Formerly) 12 Days of Christmas: Class of 2010 Countdown!

8.) Surfer Blood - Astrocoast

I loved Weezer in high school. If I went to high school now, I’d hate Weezer. Good thing Surfer Blood is here to take the reins when it comes to anthemic power-pop. Simple three chord ditties about the girl who left. I saw these guys twice in 2010, and they put on a show that is just as consistent in person as on record. With songs so fully formed, that’s all the band has to do. The slinky jungle sound of “Take It Easy” reminds me of Panda Bear’s harmonies and “Neighboring Riffs” rumbles forward on carefree guitars. “Harmonix” could be a long lost Pixies song while “Twin Peaks” veers awfully close into Rivers Cuomo territory. I even like the sludgy, drawn-out “Slow Jabroni” more than its fast counterpart. This is a road album, made to be repeated on end in a car stereo. No CD spent more time in my car this year, and I’ll have it ready to play anytime I want to return to pitch perfect simple rock and roll from a fresh group of beginners. 

Favorite moment: “Neighborhood Riffs.” Always moving forward, looking for the next moment of release from those electric guitars. It just sounds so fun and easy.

7.) Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

Weird. Another unexpected record to grab me and send my head into the unknown. This is electronic music, jazz, and a dash of video game music. A great record to chill with on a long night. Really hard to write about this one, because so many sounds come at you at once that you can’t always decipher what you’re hearing.I know I really like the train sound at the start of propulsive “Pickled!” and special guest Thundercat’s bass work throughout. “Computer Face” is cool with video game lasers pinging around. So many different sounds collect together on this record, all riding tight beats. I can’t stress the joy of hearing this on vinyl enough. Thom Yorke even shows up and still manages to get overshadowed by Cosmogramma’s constant inventive streak. Weirdest record here.

Favorite moment: “Do the Astral Plane.” So addictive, and so funky. Makes you want to dance, plain and simple.

6.) The National - High Violet

Definition of a grower. Give this time to seep into your body, and you will know and love the National. The guys are still moping around here, managing to get unhinged during the breakdown of “Terrible Love” before settling down in other brooding tracks. Singer Matt Berninger’s baritone voice and poetic lyrics focus on life after college in the business world and finding love in a world of the mundane. The emotion becomes the main character in “Sorrow” and “Afraid of Everyone” worries about raising a kid in a nerve-racking society. The guitars sound perfect and the drums careen all over the place, while things get downright angelic on “Runaway” and “England.” After more than half a year spent with High Violet, I can now see what all the fuss is about. The second half, from “Lemonworld” onwards, is perfect.

Favorite moment: The moment towards the climax at the end of cryptic “Conversation 16” that finally lets you know what we’re really dealing with: evil zombies. 

5.) Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I was a huge fan of Neon Bible, and when I heard the self-titled opener I had a feeling I was in for more amazing songs. But much like the National, this album didn’t grab me immediately, and up until this week even I had this placed lower. But sometimes it all clicks for you at a certain point, and after visiting old haunts throughout 2010 I finally get it. The album isn’t excessively long, it literally sprawls all over the place. Every orchestrated part has its place in the overall story of growing up in the suburbs and the nostalgia of youth. Arcade Fire look close to home for the inspiration that pushes their music, and their sound here stretches out into every kind of song. Loud screeching strings, distorted punk guitar, processed beats, pounding drums, soft piano: they all factor in on The Suburbs. “Ready to Start” rocks, “Modern Man” breezes by, and the tense “We Used to Wait” builds over plinking piano. “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” is the unlikeliest Blondie/ABBA throwback of the year. Arcade Fire has somehow managed to put out a more complete album than Neon Bible and Funeral, I task I suspected to be impossible.

Favorite moment: When things open up in “Empty Room” over messy distorted guitars and strings growing faster by the second, grinding together over disembodied vocals in French from Regine Chassagne.

4.) Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

What’s left to say about Halcyon Digest? It flows wonderfully, going from soft to loud and from scuzzy to crystal clear. That bridge in “Desire Lines” stretches out into infinity, and the ramshackle feel to “Don’t Cry” is a nice touch. I can’t believe how catchy the words are to “Revival” and “Helicopter” after taking the subject matter for what it is: religious salvation and prostitution. Another solid release from Bradford Cox and friends, something I’ve almost come to expect every year. If you haven’t seen them play with their pedals in front of a live audience, it’s breathtaking and highly recommended.

Favorite moment: That bridge in “Desire Lines.” It really is that good.

3.) Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

When I first heard Before Today I didn’t know what I was listening to, but I knew right off the bat that I liked it. It’s definitely odd, a bit on the fringes of music today. It sounds more like a record from the 1980s than 2010. The bass sounds crisp, guitars and keyboards blend together to make a unified sound, and Pink’s vocals jump from a whisper to a creak to a bellow. “Round and Round” is the pop song of the year, with a loping bass line, huge singalong chorus and stabbing synths. “Little Wig” reminds me of the psychedelic Dukes of Stratosphere and “Butthouse Blondies” gets very shred-worthy quick. I wish I could go back in time to the roller rink and skate to “Fright Night (Nevermore)”’ and “Beverly Kills.” The straightforward garage rock of “Bright Lit Blue Skies” eases the listener before things grow weirder (“Menopause Man?”). The bubbling  instrumental jam “Reminiscences” is really relaxing and fun to breeze through. Even punk rock earns a spin in closer “Revolution’s A Lie.”

Favorite moment: Seeing “Round and Round” in person etched its rightful place as the jam. “And we die and we live and we’re born again.”

2.) Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

Punk rock civil war epic, a title rightfully earned. They swung for the rafters, and it’s a homer, folks. When you open the record, Abraham Lincoln stares back at you. Only four of these eleven songs are less than seven minutes long, and they still manage to feel eventful and expansive. There’s a roaring excellent saxophone solo in “…And Ever.” And a bagpipe solo in humongous fourteen-minute epic “The Battle of Hampton Roads,” named after the Civil War battle of the same name, of course. They turn “you will always be a loser” into a rally at the end of brilliantly titled “No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future.” For all of theses reasons and for so many more, tucked into every crevice of The Monitor to discover on a rainy day, this was the most life-affirming fun I had all year. I heard about this record on my birthday, and it’s turned out to be the best present I could ask for.

Favorite moment: “A Pot to Piss In.” One long suite revolving around a line from Jefferson Davis: “The audience was large and brilliant. Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits, and flowers, but beyond them, I saw thorns and troubles innumerable.” Then a slow, haunting buildup before exploding into familiar punk activity.  Triumphant guitar fills all the way through. Then that Bruce Springsteen piano. “You can’t make it on merit, not on merit and merit alone!” Builds and builds before locking into a groove and riding it out into the sunset.

1.) Beach House - Teen Dream

I knew this was the one to beat back in January, but I didn’t expect to see Teen Dream ride the whole year at the top spot. But here we are, and now that winter is back I’m positive this is my number one. The other week it snowed on my way to work and I walked out of the way just to enjoy the scenery set to opener “Zebra.” The bookends help to hold together this group of tight-knit ghostly pop songs, starting with “you don’t have to worry none” and ending with “I’ll take care of you.” The singer Victoria Legrand is furiously at her best here, and the electric guitar sounds dreamy. Song by song, from start to finish, this album is the perfect companion for a long winter. I know what album I will be holding closely until March arrives.

Favorite moment: The whole thing.

See you later, 2010. And may the new year bring with it more awesome music to enjoy.

-Landon Briggs, 12/31/10

(Formerly) 12 Days of Christmas: Class of 2010 Countdown!

19.) Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

This album completely caught me out of the blue. I’ll be the first to admit that I steer more towards indie rock than rap and R&B. But when I started hearing good things about this record, I slapped it on my iPod shuffle and headed to Alabama. Little did I know that a classical overture would introduce such an epic record. This is not one simple genre, this is every single genre bundled into a gigantic concept record about the love between humans and machines with folk rock, swinging R&B and sick, Prince-era  electric guitar solos incorporated all the way through. Janelle Monae came out swinging with her debut album, and I can jump into this jam every time with something new to absorb. It only adds to the fun that she is a homegrown treat of ATL. I mentioned earlier catching an of Montreal/Janelle Monae show late at Variety Playhouse this year, and the encore featured both acts in an incredible Michael Jackson medley. Monae stole the show belting out the chorus to “P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing).” This is a great example of an album that took me out of my comfort zone and surprised me, an occasion I wish for every year.

Favorite moment: “Oh Maker.” Janelle Monae treats the love between the engineer of the android and the product of playing God in the theme of an old folk song, with just the right pinch of soul.

18.) Mountain Man - Made the Harbor

I’ve been a student at Georgia State University since January ’09, but it wasn’t until this year that I gave Album 88.5 a real chance as my radio station of choice. One day through the static came Mountain Man’s “How’m I Doin’,” and I was intrigued immediately. Thank you, world, for letting me tune in at this particular time of day, because I was on to something I never expected to discover. Mountain Man comprises of four lovely female voices that join together to create heavenly melodies that were long lost up in the mountains. Sometimes they use a spare acoustic guitar, and sometimes all you hear are otherworldly a cappella harmonies. Either way, they will take you to another completely different place than the other music releases of 2010. Made the Harbor is the equivalent of a time machine this year, dragging the listener passively up into the Blue Ridge Mountains. A great discovery I most likely would have missed out on had it not been for local radio.

Favorite moment: The four-part harmony build-up of “Honeybee.” What a way to coast through life beyond the daily troubles we all face. Loveliness incarnate.

17.) Matthew Dear - Black City

So I am by no means a huge electronic music fan, but Matthew Dear’s Black City grabbed me steadily into a world I hardly recognize. Talk about an album that is somehow dark and soulful at the same time throughout every changing moment. Cold weather goes well together with these bubbling synthesizers; many a day I’ve waited on and on for MARTA worrying about showing up to work late. It’s hard to worry too much, though, when this Bowie soundalike sways his sleazy way through your headphones. Another album that snuck up on me in the last half of the year. The title track “Little People (Black City)” can keep my attention itself for its duration, but opener “Honey” also keeps the slow boil of darkness moving along.  And bonus track “Innh Dahh” brings you back down to Earth slowly in the vein of the Liars.

Favorite moment: “Slowdance.” It’s hard to describe this plodding slow jam, but if I could dance, this would be the one to show off the skills. It struts by sexily over breathing vocals and sharp keyboards.

16.) Spoon - Transference

Ah, Spoon. You can always be trusted to put out a solid album every time. I can count on tight rhythms and studio trickery. Britt Daniel’s howl attacked a spurned lover on “Written in Reverse” and softly cooed to another honey’s heart in “Goodbye Laura.” The bass and drums combo is confident here as always, keeping “The Mystery Zone” and “Nobody Gets Me But You” rolling along over tight grooves. Slanted guitar distortion gets plenty room to shine as well, especially during the descending bridge of “I Saw the Light.” While some may see another release that doesn’t really stand out, I see another solid step in Spoon’s discography. Way to put the rhythm in rhythm and blues, guys.

Favorite moment: When that echoing warble of synthesizers that floats over shakers and simple bass on “Who Makes Your Money” finally drops out, and we’re left with palm-muted guitars grinding together into a beautiful sort of tension before the electronics come back to bring us home.

15.) The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

My favorite artist of all time is Bob Dylan. I like weird sounding electronics and distorted guitars like the rest of you, but at the end of the day Dylan’s simple voice and guitar combo is all I need. So it’s no surprise that the latest Dylan troubadour climbed onto the list. What does surprise me is the craft that went into this batch of songs and that timeless rustic quality in the singer’s voice. “The Wild Hunt,” “You’re Going Back,” “Love Is All”: what can I say, these are just really good catchy sing-alongs. The acoustics sound beautiful yet simple, and this guy can strum along in a rush or gently finger-pick with the best of ‘em. “King of Spain” builds over an undeniable rush of emotions, and closer “Kids on the Run” switches to piano without feeling forced or corny. Most of all, I adore The Wild Hunt for that crisp soulful voice that floats over guitar chords and into my head.

Favorite moment: “I said, ‘Driver, please don’t go that fucking way!’” - “You’re Going Back”

14.) Vampire Weekend - Contra

January would have passed by very slowly without Contra in my earbuds. A relentlessly catchy record to bounce through on a fresh day on your way to work or school while the sun comes up and heats up the world. I still get excited and start bobbing when I hear “Holiday” come on over some car commercial. They got sued over that portrait on the cover, but Vampire Weekend took to the charts and the critics with their sophomore release and a year later I’m still hooked on Contra. Fun pop songs like “Cousins” and “White Sky” may get you grinning like a happy fool, but the real moments are tucked in acoustic closer “I Think Yr A Contra” and reggae-M.I.A. lovechild “Diplomat’s Son.”

Favorite moment: The skittering guitar and brilliant vocals during the bridge of “Holiday.” I could listen to just the bridge on repeat for a good while. “She never seen the word ‘bombs’ blown up to 96-point Futura.” Where else can you find such a perfect line like that?

13.) Menomena - Mines

Last time Menomena came out with an album, it kicked things off with “Muscle N’ Flo,” a thudding blowout of massive drums and amazing organ that soundtracked every time I walked anywhere in 2007. Mines starts things off more slowly over a simple beat, gentle  strumming guitar and sleigh bells. Melancholy settles in all over this release; Menomena are bummed out, no doubt. But while they feel a little let down in life and love, their music has only grown more mature and complete over the past three years. These feel like songs more than jams created on a computer, and the effect gives the album a classic wholeness that holds everything together. The vocals plead and moan, drums crash all over the place like the ghost of Bonham, and twinkling pianos sneak into every corner of every song. So maybe things aren’t so different from Friend and Foe.

Favorite moment: The slow buildup of “Dirty Cartoons” into a galactic slow jam over thick bass and acoustic guitar. Special points awarded to that small horn fill at the 1:51 mark, perfectly floating in before the fallout of the chorus.

12.) Best Coast - Crazy For You

Can we just agree that summer would have completely sucked without this album? I can’t even imagine those hot sunny days without the simple beach pop of Best Coast. Not too much going on in the lyrics department with this one, but the message is simple: singer Bethany Cosentino is crazy for this boy and wants him madly. She also likes weed and her cat a lot. That’s all she needs to say here, and she let’s the surf-rock pop take care of the rest. In the lazy days of summer, we don’t need anything more than that. Also: this is a great workout record. I ran to it every day of June, and the sun-drenched lyrics pushed me for miles. Just don’t bank on a winter record.

Favorite moment: The slow crush of Cosentino’s voice singing “I want you so bad” over and over on, fittingly, “I Want You.” And my biggest smile of the year coincides with short jam “Happy.”

11.) Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

While I’ve been eagerly awaiting the next states project (Kansas? Iowa?), Sufjan had a different idea in mind. Or, as to be expected from the one-man symphony, way too many ideas. He took the focus off of the 50 states and instead aimed his lyrics at himself. Introspection pays off on The Age of Adz, melding with a new electronic sound that gurgles and builds. The songwriting is beautiful and inventive, and Sufjan’s lyrics paint a  new picture of the singer’s feelings and angst. The gentle guitars of “Futile Devices” are the red herring before the drum machines and synths of “Too Much.” Sufjan shoots for the stars and follows through on this new album. Just the pleasant whistling on “All For Myself” are enough to tell me that this one was worth the wait.

Favorite moment: All 25 flawless minutes of “Impossible Soul.” It took me forever to get past this song and into the rest of the album, and while I enjoy the rest, I’m really just waiting for this track to arrive every time. A full side of vinyl on its own, “Impossible Soul” gets me grinning giddily just thinking about it: “Boy, we could do much more together, it’s not so impossible!”

10.) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye, you were not supposed to turn up here. While I’ve always tried to dig his albums and normally find one favorite jam per album that I blast for about three weeks and then forget about, I’m not obsessed with Kanye and normally I’m joining my friends in blasting the egomaniac. So while the critics praised and my friends pounced on his latest album, I was honestly plugging away with my normal tunes with no concern. Then I heard “Runaway.” Epic nine minute piano ballad toasting douche bags and featuring a wordless Auto Tune solo? Okay, strangely moving and catchy. Next came “Monster.” Nice, that chick tore up her verse! Then “Dark Fantasy.” These beats cruise, and could that chorus be more majestic? Then “All of the Lights.” And now I’m trying to get my friends to get into Kanye while they laugh at me and look away, not even bothering to feign interest. You know, Kanye and Sufjan have a lot in common. They both did the unexpected, they both honed in on their emotions, and they both aimed for the epic. But you can bang your head up and down to Mr. West.

Favorite moment: The progression from soft Auto-Tuned Bon Iver to massive club banger jam in “Lost in the World.” Also, the downright epic 29-minute film soundtracking “Runaway,” especially when Ye climbs on top of that piano and sings his heart out.

9.) Sleigh Bells - Treats

Bubblegum pop? Metal? Hip-hop? People had a hard time pinning Sleigh Bells, but the best word for the job here is loud. This is one of the few albums I heard this year that just didn’t make sense through headphones; it almost hurt my ears to listen to Treats this way. Treats sounds best blasting through the speakers while speeding down the road. “Tell ‘Em” and “Crown on the Ground” barge their way around with deafening drums and screeching guitars. “A/B Machines” never gets out more than two lines, but mangled surf guitar and the cheerleader delivery are effective enough to obliterate the need for lyrics. The band even finds the time to slow things down and just chill out over a Funkadelic sample on “Rill Rill.” The cover art is cute, but it hides the fact that these cheerleaders are hardcore and ready to party. This debut sounds like nothing else this year, and here’s hoping the next release from Sleigh Bells sounds just as fun. I have got to see this band live. Maybe the best word is crunk here.

Favorite moment: That mind-numbingly loud first minute of “Tell ‘Em” and the even louder guitar solo halfway through. 

-Landon Briggs, 12/31/10

12 Days of Christmas: Class of 2010 Countdown!

My Favorite 25 Albums of 2010

21.) The Walkmen - Lisbon

The Walkmen reek of weariness; you can hear it in the lead singer’s voice in nearly every song. But they learn to relax at least a bit during Lisbon; what’s the difference when “today’s a day like any other,” as the lyrics attest in “Angela Surf City” before blowing up with one of their trademark furious choruses. This is a relaxing listen, one to kick on when you just want to chill out and leave the world’s worries behind for once. “Juveniles” meanders through the door over pristine guitar lines and crooning lines that lay it all out: you’re one of us or one of them. Scattered guitars spill over “Follow the Leader” and soft horns fill out the space in “Stranded.” Honestly, you can tell the Walkmen are not too caught up in their sound; they are tired, ready to get through their songs and back to life. I instantly feel carried to a beach of no worries by the breezy music of “Woe Is Me,” a bouncy love song that’s simple enough. The Walkmen have learned to stick with what they know and can’t be bothered by the rest. Lisbon must be a peaceful place to get your mind right if it produces such soothing songs not concerned with getting ahead of themselves.

Favorite moment: Enjoying the winter pleasures of “While I Shovel the Snow,” a gentle ditty that follows our narrator as they, well, shovel some snow. A beautiful simple pleasure made out of a cold chore. “For now, I’ll take my time.”

20.) LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

The title says it all. James Murphy is here to party once again, and this time it might be his last. By the time 9-minute opener “Dance Yrself Clean” has twisted in every direction  and mutated into a furious club banger, Murphy has already made his last move count. Dance rhythms and electronics swap places with tightly-knit drumming and guitars to make this dance outfit more of a full band effort. Murphy still has the lead here, and he infuses the album with the same favored Eno/Bowie touchstones that made Sound of Silver an event to throw your body around the dance floor. “Home” builds and builds until you’re singing wordlessly with Murphy at the top of your lungs. “You Wanted A Hit” also stretches out over many layers and verses, growing bigger and better while denying listeners an easy fix. That fix is still here in single “Drunk Girls,” a song that veers from annoying to addictive fun every few seconds before launching into the secret yearning behind the party: “I believe in waking up together.” Murphy’s looking for love and he can change if it’ll help the outcome. I do hate the Iggy Pop rip-off “Someone’s Calling Me,” if only because “Nightclubbing” is still a better song. But “All I Want” can compete with Berlin-era Bowie any day. 

Favorite moment: The eventual climax of “All I Want.” Coated in frenzied synthesizers, squealing guitar and a simple keyboard chord progression, Murphy finally breaks and says what he really wants to say as the synths scatter: “Take me home….” He could be really lonely and wants to go home with anyone, but I think maybe he’s just ready to crash and start fresh with a new day.

-Landon Briggs, 12/16/10