This is no music critic's list, no higher thought allotted into the making of it. I picked the songs I liked best, the ones I played more than others. You might find some embarrassing (Yes, Coldplay and Nick Jonas), but when I look back on this year, this will be what I played and played. Some are stand-ins for others (Like I nearly always listened to Taylor Swift, Too Many Zooz, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Sinkane, Beyonce as albums. And some have deplorable lyrics ("Try Me"), but this is what was in my headphones as I rode the bus home.
1. Spoon - "Inside Out"
2. I LOVE MAKONNEN f/ Drake - "Tuesday"
3. Beyoncé - "Drunk In Love" (See: nearly any other song on this album. This was just the most ubiquitous)
4. Coldplay - "Magic"
5. FKA Twigs - "Two Weeks"
6. Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)"
7. The War on Drugs - "Red Eyes"
8. Sharon Van Etten - "Your Love is Killing Me"
9. Taylor Swift - "Out of the Woods"
10. Sinkane - "Mean Love"
11. Too Many Zooz - "To The Top" / "F.W.S."
12. Rae Sremmurd - "No Flex Zone"
13. Todd Terje f/ Bryan Ferry - "Johnny and Mary"
14. Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - "Sunday Candy"
15. Vic Mensa - "Down On My Luck"
16. Jamie XX - "Sleep Sound"
17. Rick Ross - "Sanctified"
18. White Sea - "They Don't Know"
19. Beyoncé - "Mine"
20. Boots f/ Beyonce - "Dreams"
21. Sinkane - "Young Trouble"
22. Rae Sremmurd - "No Type"
23. Beck - "Blue Moon"
24. Bleachers f/ Grimes - "Take Me Away"
25. How to Dress Well - "Words I Don't Remember"
26. JJ - "All White Everything"
27. Ages and Ages - "Calamity is Overrated"
28. Ought - "Today More Than Any Other Day"
29. Party Next Door - "West District"
30. Dej Loaf - "Try Me"
31. Mac DeMarco - "Brother"
32. J. Cole - "G.O.M.D."
33. Darkside - "Gone Too Soon"
34. Angel Olsen - "Hi-Five"
35. Childish Gambino - "Sober"
36. Grimes - "Go"
37. Nick Jonas - "Jealous"
38. St. Paul & The Broken Bones - "I'm Torn Up"
39. Milosh - "Right Never Comes"
40. P. Reign f/ Drake - "DnF"
![[seconds and decades]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_tTMVKRz0jDrVLxSpQ0DZU4SvFB5GzxnXrrF4bXty5nK5bsdFLb9T2H1EpMNEKjTltmj59LpwdlQMvYjt4QSJWpnKrIMEvNB4TMViH-CnLnh5Sq3Td8_HnCzZIV4jyN9V86Ywveg6g42r/s1600/sandd2.jpg)
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Best albums 2014
1. BEYONCÉ - BEYONCÉ
I am cheating because this is my barely-updated blog, and I make the rules here. No, Beyonce's album didn't come out in 2014. It slipped in too close to the end of 2013 to be counted then, but I can't let it go unnoted. It defined my year. We did the "Drunk in Love" dance. We mimicked the way she said "surfbort." We pretended to rollerskate, careening along as she sang "Blow."
The older I get, the less abashed I feel. I love pop music. However manufactured it was, Beyonce's album always felt new and rule-breaking. The songs (particularly "Partition," "Mine" and "***Flawless") broke down and reassembled in new configurations. But they weren't disjointed. Like the Madonna and Michael Jackson records of the 1980s, these were pop hits that weren't just singles but part of a bigger album narrative.
These songs were the soundtrack to the few nights I stayed up past 11 p.m., and they were the sounds that anchored me back to some version of myself that felt young. 2013 was a year of big let-downs and big decisions -- all of which left me feeling rooted and regulated. "BEYONCÉ" was all bounce and thud, cusswords and catchphrases (I woke up like this!), and when we danced around this tiny house together, I felt back on the brink of a limitless future.
2. TOO MANY ZOOZ - F NOTE
Years ago, a friend and I danced dizzy around his Missouri home to old jazz records. We did the Peanuts. We did some version of the swing. We were a decade younger than everyone around us, and we drank enough beer to prove it. But our movements dissolved in the dramas of being 23 and on to the next thing. We reconnected this year, and he sent me this video near the beginning of our talking. This wasn't the jazz we listened to in Missouri. But it felt familiar. We wrote and listened, trying to close the gaps years leave. These bursts of brass were the perfect notes for regaining a friendship. I listened to these songs exclusively for weeks, thinking nothing is lost. In our 30s we can get back what we had.
As with the Beyonce album, I can't disconnect this one from the visuals -- a young baritone sax player grinding his way through the scales. By the time I saw that sax player grooving on a Portland stage this fall, the old friend had already retreated away again. The songs were so good I didn't even notice - I was dancing alone this time.
3. TAYLOR SWIFT - 1989
The post-30 metabolism is slow and droning. I can't eat ice cream the way I once could. I took up running this year, hoping to edge my way back down the scale. It's a miserable venture at first. My lungs hurt. My legs hurt. And worst of all: I was bored. That changed when "Serial" and this Taylor Swift album came out. I could stay on the treadmill for 45 minutes, listening to the murder mystery unwind or Taylor tell the story of the boy she lost. The drums and choruses here have the right kind of rhythm for powering through the miles.
Swift repeats themes, too. Her elusive boy is always driving reckless, crashing or recovering. She is wearing red lipstick, hoping he won't forget. The repetitions stick out because Swift is so good at painting a scene. Every song paints a tidy little portrait. Here they are moving the furniture to dance. Here they are somewhere before or after a breakup, terrified of monsters that turn out to be trees. They lyrics are all so specific yet universal enough that you can fill in your own stories. (I've got a blank space baby, and I'll write your name).
Best of all: This is an album made my someone super self aware of every criticism that has ever been lobbed her way. (Shake it off!) And she owns them all here. It's the kind of confidence you need to hear when taking up running for the first time at 31.
4. Sinkane - Mean Love
5. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
6. Spoon - They Want My Soul
7. Ages and Ages - Divisionary
8. Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
9. CunninLynguists - Strange Journey Vol. 3
10. J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive
11. St. Paul & The Broken Bones - Half the City
12. Hundred Waters - Morning Rang Like a Bell
13. Kindness - Otherness
14. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
15. Beck - Morning Phase
* I'm not including D'Angelo here, even though it is the perfect album I have waited all of the 2000s for, because it didn't come out until so late in the year. I reserve the right to name it the best album of 2015.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Best songs of 2013
I've been making lists of my 50 favorite songs for a whole decade this year.
1. Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home
I’m a sucker for a good pop song, and this year was full of them. But unlike “Mirrors” or "Royals" or “Wrecking Ball,” I never tired of hearing this Drake track. His voice is so smooth here, soothing his girl into knowing it is going to be all right. It’s kind of dancey, kind of pretty and very catchy.
2. Disclosure f/ London Grammar - Help Me Lose My Mind
Her voice is so pretty on both ends of the register. Disclosure managed to make a timeless track on its very of-the-moment album.
3. Ciara - Body Party
There’s a handicap in Ciara’s favor here: “My Boo” is one of my favorite songs of all time. But any other pop star might have trudged all over my beloved hook. Ciara and Mike Will Made It instead elevated it. Shout out to the video, which we replayed at the end of every hangout.
4. Waxahatchee - Swan Dive
I love the lyrics here -- the words, yes, but also the way Katie Crutchfield bends them over lines. She has a funny way of enjambing, where the middle of sentences rise up, and I love it.
5. Chance the Rapper - Chain Smoker
I have never heard a rapper use words the way he does. This track is stuffed full, packed with internal rhymes that would make Rakim proud.
6. Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up
I always listen to the lyrics over the instrumentation, and I love the story this song tells. His voice sounds great, too. I wish I had thought of this line, in particular: So girl leave your boots by the bed, we ain't leavin' this room til someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom.
7. Mikal Cronin - Weight
This song just makes me happy.
8. Kanye West - Bound 2
In an era of Kanye innovation, this was old school, a reminder of how good it felt to listen to him in the College Droupout days. Plus, there's a Martin reference! I'm especially fond of the live performance with Charlie Wilson on Jimmy Fallon.
9. Daft Punk - Instant Crush
Julian Casablancas never sounded so good. So smooth and moody.
10. Vinnie Dewayne - Nowhere
Y'all watch out for this Portland rapper. He looks and sounds like Kendrick Lamar, but I think he has something special of his own to add, too. He's bringing rap back to storytelling.
11. Arcade Fire - Afterlife
12. Vampire Weekend - Step
13. Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
14. Local Natives - Mt. Washington
15. J. Cole - Power Trip
16. London Grammar - Strong
17. Kanye West - Blood on the Leaves
18. Disclosure - Latch
19. Janelle Monae f/ Erykah Badu - Q.U.E.E.N
20. Kanye West - Hold My Liquor
21. Jason Isbell - Songs that She Sang in the Shower
22. Lana Del Ray and Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness remix
23. Vampire Weekend - Hannah Hunt
24. Neko Case - Night Still Comes
25. Janelle Monae - What an Experience
26. Daft Punk - Doin' It Right
27. Neko Case - Local Girl
28. Blood Orange - It Is What It Is
29. Justin Timberlake - Let the Groove Get In
30. Tegan and Sara - I was a Fool
31. Waxahatchee - Lively
32. Earl Sweatshirt f/ Frank Ocean - Sundah
33. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
34. Jhene Aiko f/ Childish Gambino - Bed Peace
35. The National - I Should Live in Salt
36. Janelle Monae f/ Miguel - Primetime
37. Sampha - Without
38. James Blake - Retrograde
39. J. Cole - She Knows
40. Mariah Carey f/ Miguel - #Beautiful
41. The Killers - Just Another Girl
42. Drake - f/ Jhene Aiko - From Time
43. Glenn Waco f/ Mic Capes - Paradise
44. Youth Lagoon - Dropla
45. Lady Gaga f/ R. Kelly - Do What You Want
46. Torres - Honey
47. the Internet - Dontcha
48. Volcano Choir - Byegone
49. Tegan and Sara - Closer
50. Rhye - Open
1. Drake - Hold On, We're Going Home
I’m a sucker for a good pop song, and this year was full of them. But unlike “Mirrors” or "Royals" or “Wrecking Ball,” I never tired of hearing this Drake track. His voice is so smooth here, soothing his girl into knowing it is going to be all right. It’s kind of dancey, kind of pretty and very catchy.
2. Disclosure f/ London Grammar - Help Me Lose My Mind
Her voice is so pretty on both ends of the register. Disclosure managed to make a timeless track on its very of-the-moment album.
3. Ciara - Body Party
There’s a handicap in Ciara’s favor here: “My Boo” is one of my favorite songs of all time. But any other pop star might have trudged all over my beloved hook. Ciara and Mike Will Made It instead elevated it. Shout out to the video, which we replayed at the end of every hangout.
4. Waxahatchee - Swan Dive
I love the lyrics here -- the words, yes, but also the way Katie Crutchfield bends them over lines. She has a funny way of enjambing, where the middle of sentences rise up, and I love it.
5. Chance the Rapper - Chain Smoker
I have never heard a rapper use words the way he does. This track is stuffed full, packed with internal rhymes that would make Rakim proud.
6. Jason Isbell - Cover Me Up
I always listen to the lyrics over the instrumentation, and I love the story this song tells. His voice sounds great, too. I wish I had thought of this line, in particular: So girl leave your boots by the bed, we ain't leavin' this room til someone needs medical help or the magnolias bloom.
7. Mikal Cronin - Weight
This song just makes me happy.
8. Kanye West - Bound 2
In an era of Kanye innovation, this was old school, a reminder of how good it felt to listen to him in the College Droupout days. Plus, there's a Martin reference! I'm especially fond of the live performance with Charlie Wilson on Jimmy Fallon.
9. Daft Punk - Instant Crush
Julian Casablancas never sounded so good. So smooth and moody.
10. Vinnie Dewayne - Nowhere
Y'all watch out for this Portland rapper. He looks and sounds like Kendrick Lamar, but I think he has something special of his own to add, too. He's bringing rap back to storytelling.
11. Arcade Fire - Afterlife
12. Vampire Weekend - Step
13. Justin Timberlake - Mirrors
14. Local Natives - Mt. Washington
15. J. Cole - Power Trip
16. London Grammar - Strong
17. Kanye West - Blood on the Leaves
18. Disclosure - Latch
19. Janelle Monae f/ Erykah Badu - Q.U.E.E.N
20. Kanye West - Hold My Liquor
21. Jason Isbell - Songs that She Sang in the Shower
22. Lana Del Ray and Cedric Gervais - Summertime Sadness remix
23. Vampire Weekend - Hannah Hunt
24. Neko Case - Night Still Comes
25. Janelle Monae - What an Experience
26. Daft Punk - Doin' It Right
27. Neko Case - Local Girl
28. Blood Orange - It Is What It Is
29. Justin Timberlake - Let the Groove Get In
30. Tegan and Sara - I was a Fool
31. Waxahatchee - Lively
32. Earl Sweatshirt f/ Frank Ocean - Sundah
33. Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
34. Jhene Aiko f/ Childish Gambino - Bed Peace
35. The National - I Should Live in Salt
36. Janelle Monae f/ Miguel - Primetime
37. Sampha - Without
38. James Blake - Retrograde
39. J. Cole - She Knows
40. Mariah Carey f/ Miguel - #Beautiful
41. The Killers - Just Another Girl
42. Drake - f/ Jhene Aiko - From Time
43. Glenn Waco f/ Mic Capes - Paradise
44. Youth Lagoon - Dropla
45. Lady Gaga f/ R. Kelly - Do What You Want
46. Torres - Honey
47. the Internet - Dontcha
48. Volcano Choir - Byegone
49. Tegan and Sara - Closer
50. Rhye - Open
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Favorite albums of 2013
I mostly bought singles the past few years, but I decided in 2013 to concentrate on albums. Lucky me, it was a great year for them. Here are my top 15. Mainly, I chose based on lyrics or how much fun I had listening.
1. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
This is totally an album the 18-year-old version of me would have loved, would have found very important and made for me alone. That it somehow made me feel all those things at 30, too, is a neat little trick. I love the lyrics, and I love her voice. The CD rarely left my car stereo.
2. Jason Isabel - Southeastern
Another one chosen for lyrics. He has a great voice, but it was the stories that kept me replaying.
3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
I've liked this band well enough on past albums, but this one is so much better crafted. I love all the meditations on religion, the freaky drops and leaps lead singer Ezra Koenig takes with his voice. Some of the songs made me dance; others made me ache. There was a song for all seasons, and I played the hell out of it.
4. Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
This is just my kind of sound -- groovy, vaguely retro r&b. Individual songs don't stand out as much, but I'm always in the mood to hear the whole.
5. Disclosure - Settle
For me, this is a great collection of songs. The different guest singers leaves a slightly disjointed feel to me, but the songs are just so good.
6. Janelle Monae - Electric Lady
She can rap and sing and wield a story and a hook. She put on a mean concert, too.
7. Kanye West - Yeezus
So unlike anything anyone else is doing. It's the album I most admire of the year, but I'm rating here on personal listening habits.
8. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight
Reviewers seem to think this is her most perfect album, but sadly, it's my least favorite. It's the first album of hers I've ever skipped songs. But even at half-mast, she's still better than most everyone else to me. And there are a few stand-outs here.
9. Drake - Nothing Was The Same
I had a similar reaction here: I love his earlier albums so much more, but this one also has such great moments (including my favorite song of the year). He blazes his own trails.
10. Ciara - Ciara
So very catchy.
11. Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience
He is not a great lyricist, but the first disc of this project (I refuse to acknowledge the dreadful second) is so fun. How he made seven-minute songs catchy and instant-replayable I don't know. But these songs soundtracked my spring.
12. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap
I have never heard anyone use words the way he does. Taffier than taffy, springier than a rubber band. This guy has skill. And hooks.
13. J. Cole - Born Sinner
I love his storytelling.
14. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
This album made me a fan again after the snoozefest of The Suburbs. It's crazy with its genre-mixing, but I like the songs.
15. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Another solid double from The National. I like their sound and their weird sentences.
1. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
This is totally an album the 18-year-old version of me would have loved, would have found very important and made for me alone. That it somehow made me feel all those things at 30, too, is a neat little trick. I love the lyrics, and I love her voice. The CD rarely left my car stereo.
2. Jason Isabel - Southeastern
Another one chosen for lyrics. He has a great voice, but it was the stories that kept me replaying.
3. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
I've liked this band well enough on past albums, but this one is so much better crafted. I love all the meditations on religion, the freaky drops and leaps lead singer Ezra Koenig takes with his voice. Some of the songs made me dance; others made me ache. There was a song for all seasons, and I played the hell out of it.
4. Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe
This is just my kind of sound -- groovy, vaguely retro r&b. Individual songs don't stand out as much, but I'm always in the mood to hear the whole.
5. Disclosure - Settle
For me, this is a great collection of songs. The different guest singers leaves a slightly disjointed feel to me, but the songs are just so good.
6. Janelle Monae - Electric Lady
She can rap and sing and wield a story and a hook. She put on a mean concert, too.
7. Kanye West - Yeezus
So unlike anything anyone else is doing. It's the album I most admire of the year, but I'm rating here on personal listening habits.
8. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight
Reviewers seem to think this is her most perfect album, but sadly, it's my least favorite. It's the first album of hers I've ever skipped songs. But even at half-mast, she's still better than most everyone else to me. And there are a few stand-outs here.
9. Drake - Nothing Was The Same
I had a similar reaction here: I love his earlier albums so much more, but this one also has such great moments (including my favorite song of the year). He blazes his own trails.
10. Ciara - Ciara
So very catchy.
11. Justin Timberlake - 20/20 Experience
He is not a great lyricist, but the first disc of this project (I refuse to acknowledge the dreadful second) is so fun. How he made seven-minute songs catchy and instant-replayable I don't know. But these songs soundtracked my spring.
12. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap
I have never heard anyone use words the way he does. Taffier than taffy, springier than a rubber band. This guy has skill. And hooks.
13. J. Cole - Born Sinner
I love his storytelling.
14. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
This album made me a fan again after the snoozefest of The Suburbs. It's crazy with its genre-mixing, but I like the songs.
15. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
Another solid double from The National. I like their sound and their weird sentences.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Best songs of 2012: 01 - 12
Oops, the end of December waylayed me with virus. Still not firing on all cylinders, but here are my top 10 favorite songs of 2012.
1. Frank Ocean - Bad Religion
The real genius of this song, for me, is that such a personal song became so ubiquitous. For me, Ocean's song sounds exactly like what I felt 10 years ago -- 19, desperately wishing I weren't gay, but desperately wishing my bad news girl interest love me back. I, too, felt like I had three lives balanced on my head like steak knives. I never could make her love me. (See also: this live version)
2. Usher and Diplo - Climax
This is my most-listened to song of 2012 -- addictive, beautiful and pessimistic. The four minutes tell the story of whole months of my 2012. Usher's voice has never sounded better, and Diplo distills dubstep into its greatest pop potential.
3. Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
I could happily pick any song from Lamar's album to fill this spot. But "Sing About Me" stands out because of its message (that stories have power, that telling THIS story is his calling), its rhymes (In pajamas and Dun-ta-duns / when thunder comes it rains cats and dogs), its rhythms (that pause after "I'll wait" !) He's saying big things here, but comes out so easy. For me, no one has painted such a perfect ethnography since Nas's "Illmatic."
4. Earl Sweatshirt - Chum
Earl raps more bars with longer, more tongue-twisting lines than any other artist right now. That's apparent in "Oldie." Here, his verses are shorter but no less complex. (Mama often was offering peace offerings / think, wheeze cough, scoffing and he's off again) There are traces of the rambunctious young gun of OFWGKTA that first introduced him to the world, but this is a different Earl. Sensitive, open and earnest.
5. Schoolboy Q f/ Kendrick Lamar - Blessed
I love the way the aggressive, contemplative lines lay over the dream-pop beat. This was the first song of the year that showed me that rap could return to the form I once loved, that rap could still be ABOUT something. Plus, that Kendrick Lamar verse has the craziest cadence.
6. Miguel - The Thrill
His voice sounds so good. I just want to drive around all night listening to this song.
7. Frank Ocean - Summer Remains
The music bloggers can have their "Pyramid" love. For me, the other best Frank Ocean song of the year is the one he made "just f**** around" with his Macbook one night.
This song has some of my favorite lyrics of the year (The tide stole my youth / the creases in my brow ain't tanlines / saltwater swole my eyes / the sun burned me back and blue / too cold this side of June)
8. Stay Calm - Let Me Clear My Throat
I love how the beat charges ahead, how Claudia Meza's voice sounds with Zac Pennington's. And I love the line "Broke both legs but I'll be just fine." I can't stand to listen to it only once.
9. Bat for Lashes - Laura
Her voice is so good, and in this sparse piece, you can really hear the vulnerability it holds.
10. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
Like everyone, I feel about 17 and unstoppable when I hear this song.
1. Frank Ocean - Bad Religion
The real genius of this song, for me, is that such a personal song became so ubiquitous. For me, Ocean's song sounds exactly like what I felt 10 years ago -- 19, desperately wishing I weren't gay, but desperately wishing my bad news girl interest love me back. I, too, felt like I had three lives balanced on my head like steak knives. I never could make her love me. (See also: this live version)
2. Usher and Diplo - Climax
This is my most-listened to song of 2012 -- addictive, beautiful and pessimistic. The four minutes tell the story of whole months of my 2012. Usher's voice has never sounded better, and Diplo distills dubstep into its greatest pop potential.
3. Kendrick Lamar - Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst
I could happily pick any song from Lamar's album to fill this spot. But "Sing About Me" stands out because of its message (that stories have power, that telling THIS story is his calling), its rhymes (In pajamas and Dun-ta-duns / when thunder comes it rains cats and dogs), its rhythms (that pause after "I'll wait" !) He's saying big things here, but comes out so easy. For me, no one has painted such a perfect ethnography since Nas's "Illmatic."
4. Earl Sweatshirt - Chum
Earl raps more bars with longer, more tongue-twisting lines than any other artist right now. That's apparent in "Oldie." Here, his verses are shorter but no less complex. (Mama often was offering peace offerings / think, wheeze cough, scoffing and he's off again) There are traces of the rambunctious young gun of OFWGKTA that first introduced him to the world, but this is a different Earl. Sensitive, open and earnest.
5. Schoolboy Q f/ Kendrick Lamar - Blessed
I love the way the aggressive, contemplative lines lay over the dream-pop beat. This was the first song of the year that showed me that rap could return to the form I once loved, that rap could still be ABOUT something. Plus, that Kendrick Lamar verse has the craziest cadence.
6. Miguel - The Thrill
His voice sounds so good. I just want to drive around all night listening to this song.
7. Frank Ocean - Summer Remains
The music bloggers can have their "Pyramid" love. For me, the other best Frank Ocean song of the year is the one he made "just f**** around" with his Macbook one night.
This song has some of my favorite lyrics of the year (The tide stole my youth / the creases in my brow ain't tanlines / saltwater swole my eyes / the sun burned me back and blue / too cold this side of June)
8. Stay Calm - Let Me Clear My Throat
I love how the beat charges ahead, how Claudia Meza's voice sounds with Zac Pennington's. And I love the line "Broke both legs but I'll be just fine." I can't stand to listen to it only once.
9. Bat for Lashes - Laura
Her voice is so good, and in this sparse piece, you can really hear the vulnerability it holds.
10. Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
Like everyone, I feel about 17 and unstoppable when I hear this song.
Monday, December 24, 2012
Best songs: 2012
I've made lists of my favorite songs, books and movies of the year since I first had a geocities blog -- white background, courier new font, zero pictures -- in high school. I like going back to see what moved me in particular years. Sometime I find out later that the real best song of the year was one I never heard (see: entire Avett Brothers album I and Love and You). Anyway, here is all but the top 10. I'll post those later this week with a little write-up on each on why it made my 2012. Links to YouTube on all of them; I asterisked ones that have really good videos.
**11. Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank)
12. First Aid Kit - Emmylou
13. Heartless Bastards - Low, Low, Low
14. Frank Ocean f/ Earl Sweatshirt - Super Rich Kids (love this tongue-twisting rap from Earl)
**15. Solange - Losing You
**16. Perfume Genius - Hood
17. Fiona Apple - Werewolf
18. Purse Candy - Fire Fight (free download)
19. The xx - Angels
20. Miguel - Adorn
21. Hot Chip - Look At Where We Are
**22. Grimes - Oblivion
23. The Walkmen - The Love You Love
24. Kendrick Lamar - Collect Calls
25. The xx - Chained
26. How to Dress Well - Ocean Floor for Everything
27. Chromatics - Back from the Grave
28. Mystikal - Hit Me
29. Alabama Shakes - Hold On
30. Waxahatchee - Be Good
31. Solange - Sleeping in the Park (Twin Shadow remix)
32. Just Friends - Avalanche
33. Azealia Banks - Jumanji
34. Damien Jurado - Museum of Flight
35. The Walkmen - We Can't Be Beat
36. Blood Diamonds f/ Grimes - Phone Sex
37. Miguel - How Many Drinks?
38. Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms
39. Sky Ferreira - Everything is Embarrassing
40. The Killers - Runaways
**41. Odd Future - Oldie
42. Hodgy Beats - Cookie Coma
43. Kanye West - White Dress
**44. Danny Brown - Grown Up
45. Rihanna - Diamonds
46. Angel Haze - Werkin Girls
47. Summer Camp - Life
48. How to Dress Well - & It Was You
49. THEESatisfaction - QueenS
50. Rhye - The Fall
**11. Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank)
12. First Aid Kit - Emmylou
13. Heartless Bastards - Low, Low, Low
14. Frank Ocean f/ Earl Sweatshirt - Super Rich Kids (love this tongue-twisting rap from Earl)
**15. Solange - Losing You
**16. Perfume Genius - Hood
17. Fiona Apple - Werewolf
18. Purse Candy - Fire Fight (free download)
19. The xx - Angels
20. Miguel - Adorn
21. Hot Chip - Look At Where We Are
**22. Grimes - Oblivion
23. The Walkmen - The Love You Love
24. Kendrick Lamar - Collect Calls
25. The xx - Chained
26. How to Dress Well - Ocean Floor for Everything
27. Chromatics - Back from the Grave
28. Mystikal - Hit Me
29. Alabama Shakes - Hold On
30. Waxahatchee - Be Good
31. Solange - Sleeping in the Park (Twin Shadow remix)
32. Just Friends - Avalanche
33. Azealia Banks - Jumanji
34. Damien Jurado - Museum of Flight
35. The Walkmen - We Can't Be Beat
36. Blood Diamonds f/ Grimes - Phone Sex
37. Miguel - How Many Drinks?
38. Chairlift - I Belong in Your Arms
39. Sky Ferreira - Everything is Embarrassing
40. The Killers - Runaways
**41. Odd Future - Oldie
42. Hodgy Beats - Cookie Coma
43. Kanye West - White Dress
**44. Danny Brown - Grown Up
45. Rihanna - Diamonds
46. Angel Haze - Werkin Girls
47. Summer Camp - Life
48. How to Dress Well - & It Was You
49. THEESatisfaction - QueenS
50. Rhye - The Fall
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Best of 2011: Albums
I've been making best-of-the-year lists since 2003. This week on my blog I'll unveil my favorite albums, songs and movies from this year. First, the albums:
1. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
This album is so dark and creeping, but Abel Tesfaye's sweet croon is like a north star guiding you through that darkness. I love the way the first song, "High for This," builds so that by the time it's over, you're already deep into Tesfaye's world without really knowing how you got there. The songs are catchy, innovative and perfectly paced. And though I don't inhabit most of the worlds he describes, listening to "House of Balloons" pretty much always has an emotional effect on me.
2. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Robin Peckhold is a little younger than I am, but I feel like the lyrics on this album perfectly sum up what it feels like to be 28 right now. The album is beautiful -- at times sweeping, at times quietly pensive -- and searching. It sounded right soundtracking my sunny days just as well as it did the foggy ones.
3. James Blake - James Blake
The silence on this album -- and there is a lot of it -- somehow feels both full and empty to me. This is the album I wanted to hear when I was sad, as if I could pour myself into Blake's many pauses. I admire what he's able to do with dubstep, but the songs I like best here are the ones that sound like snippets of gospel songs. The first 30 seconds of "Why Don't You Call?" sounds like a perfect little demo to me. I always want to hear them again.
4. Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
I get that the sound of this album might not be for everyone. He recorded it by playing the original bedroom recordings in a garage and recording them again. That means the album can sometimes have a tinny, far-away sound to it, but underneath that is some very honest and beautiful songwriting. I love the lyrics of "17" and the way "Montana" builds so steadily until it erupts. I love the way it feels to listen to "Afternoon" while driving around during the fall. Nearly all of the songs evoke something purely cinematic, and I pretty much never grew tired of hearing them.
5. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
I don't necessarily think the Vaccines are doing anything innovative here, but I just love listening to this record. I came back to it all year long, always finding a new favorite song. I listened to it at the gym, driving through the suburbs, cooking dinner in my city apartment. It's somehow dark and infectious at the same time.
6. Drake - Take Care
It took me a while to get into this album. I preferred his early, yearning mixtape. But "Take Care" has so many good songs and shows Drake really expanding his style (On "Thank Me Later," he often recycled through the same repetitive rhythms). And he is still rapping about subjects that no one else talks about. He's innovative, and I hope he pushes himself to keep experimenting.
7. Tennis - Cape Dory
This is so fun to listen to. A lot of the songs sound the same -- lyrically and sonically -- but I like those themes and sounds so much it doesn't bother me (plus it's such a short little album). The lyrics have a few little gems ("shifty wind that gusts and dies"), her voice is great and I usually feel pretty happy listening.
8. tune yards - w h o k i l l
I don't think this album is as innovative as it's praised for being. Merril Garbus admits that she modeled it after the music of the Ba'Aka pygmies in Central African Republic. Having been there and listened to their vocal polyphonies, I can say tune-yards' songs really do sound a lot like them. But she pushes them further, adding more drama and more layers, and I think her lyrics are at times really great (See: My Country). But the real secret weapon here is that voice. I thought she was a man for her whole first record, but it's mostly impossible to tell where that sound is coming from. She has such an incredible and powerful range. Really fun to listen to.
9. Beyonce - 4
For my money, she is the most interesting, consistent and talented pop star recording. She tries all kinds of sounds on this album, at times stuffing songs with a dozen samples and genres. Whatever she throws at the wall seems to stick; 4 churned out hit after hit this year. And she somehow does that without sounding like she is trying very hard. She is so good it feels effortless.
10. AgesandAges - Alright You Restless
Like the Tennis album, this one is comprised of songs that sometimes sound just like the one before it. But it doesn't sound like any other album I heard this year, so I'll forgive it its repetitions. I love all the voices, the church-like joy of the songs. There's not a dud on here.
Honorable Mentions: The Roots - Undun; Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra; Cults - Cults; Dirty Mittens - Heart of Town
1. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
This album is so dark and creeping, but Abel Tesfaye's sweet croon is like a north star guiding you through that darkness. I love the way the first song, "High for This," builds so that by the time it's over, you're already deep into Tesfaye's world without really knowing how you got there. The songs are catchy, innovative and perfectly paced. And though I don't inhabit most of the worlds he describes, listening to "House of Balloons" pretty much always has an emotional effect on me.
2. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Robin Peckhold is a little younger than I am, but I feel like the lyrics on this album perfectly sum up what it feels like to be 28 right now. The album is beautiful -- at times sweeping, at times quietly pensive -- and searching. It sounded right soundtracking my sunny days just as well as it did the foggy ones.
3. James Blake - James Blake
The silence on this album -- and there is a lot of it -- somehow feels both full and empty to me. This is the album I wanted to hear when I was sad, as if I could pour myself into Blake's many pauses. I admire what he's able to do with dubstep, but the songs I like best here are the ones that sound like snippets of gospel songs. The first 30 seconds of "Why Don't You Call?" sounds like a perfect little demo to me. I always want to hear them again.
4. Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
I get that the sound of this album might not be for everyone. He recorded it by playing the original bedroom recordings in a garage and recording them again. That means the album can sometimes have a tinny, far-away sound to it, but underneath that is some very honest and beautiful songwriting. I love the lyrics of "17" and the way "Montana" builds so steadily until it erupts. I love the way it feels to listen to "Afternoon" while driving around during the fall. Nearly all of the songs evoke something purely cinematic, and I pretty much never grew tired of hearing them.
5. The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
I don't necessarily think the Vaccines are doing anything innovative here, but I just love listening to this record. I came back to it all year long, always finding a new favorite song. I listened to it at the gym, driving through the suburbs, cooking dinner in my city apartment. It's somehow dark and infectious at the same time.
6. Drake - Take Care
It took me a while to get into this album. I preferred his early, yearning mixtape. But "Take Care" has so many good songs and shows Drake really expanding his style (On "Thank Me Later," he often recycled through the same repetitive rhythms). And he is still rapping about subjects that no one else talks about. He's innovative, and I hope he pushes himself to keep experimenting.
7. Tennis - Cape Dory
This is so fun to listen to. A lot of the songs sound the same -- lyrically and sonically -- but I like those themes and sounds so much it doesn't bother me (plus it's such a short little album). The lyrics have a few little gems ("shifty wind that gusts and dies"), her voice is great and I usually feel pretty happy listening.
8. tune yards - w h o k i l l
I don't think this album is as innovative as it's praised for being. Merril Garbus admits that she modeled it after the music of the Ba'Aka pygmies in Central African Republic. Having been there and listened to their vocal polyphonies, I can say tune-yards' songs really do sound a lot like them. But she pushes them further, adding more drama and more layers, and I think her lyrics are at times really great (See: My Country). But the real secret weapon here is that voice. I thought she was a man for her whole first record, but it's mostly impossible to tell where that sound is coming from. She has such an incredible and powerful range. Really fun to listen to.
9. Beyonce - 4
For my money, she is the most interesting, consistent and talented pop star recording. She tries all kinds of sounds on this album, at times stuffing songs with a dozen samples and genres. Whatever she throws at the wall seems to stick; 4 churned out hit after hit this year. And she somehow does that without sounding like she is trying very hard. She is so good it feels effortless.
10. AgesandAges - Alright You Restless
Like the Tennis album, this one is comprised of songs that sometimes sound just like the one before it. But it doesn't sound like any other album I heard this year, so I'll forgive it its repetitions. I love all the voices, the church-like joy of the songs. There's not a dud on here.
Honorable Mentions: The Roots - Undun; Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra; Cults - Cults; Dirty Mittens - Heart of Town
Thursday, October 13, 2011
West with the Night
An EP for driving East then West
1. Generationalists - When They Fight, They Fight
2. Sugar Billy - Super Duper Love
3. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
4. New Order - Love Vigilante
5. The Clean - Thumbs Off
6. Styles Infinite - Aquarian Mind
Right-click, save as if you want the songs on your computer.
1. Generationalists - When They Fight, They Fight
2. Sugar Billy - Super Duper Love
3. The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
4. New Order - Love Vigilante
5. The Clean - Thumbs Off
6. Styles Infinite - Aquarian Mind
Right-click, save as if you want the songs on your computer.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Best 10 of the first six
Here are my favorite 10 songs from the first six months of 2011. They aren't in any order.
1. Tennis - Take Me Somewhere
2. Nicolas Jaar - I Got A
3. Holcombe Waller - Hardliners
4. Adele remixed by Jamie XX featuring Childish Gambino - Rolling in the Deep
5. The Weeknd - Wicked Games (See also: The Weeknd - The Birds Pt. 1)
6. Frank Ocean - Novacane
7. Austra - Lose It
8. Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
9. Lloyd f/ Andre 3000 and Lil Wayne - Dedication to my Ex (Miss That)
10. Rye Rye featuring Robyn - Never Will Be Mine
1. Tennis - Take Me Somewhere
2. Nicolas Jaar - I Got A
3. Holcombe Waller - Hardliners
4. Adele remixed by Jamie XX featuring Childish Gambino - Rolling in the Deep
5. The Weeknd - Wicked Games (See also: The Weeknd - The Birds Pt. 1)
6. Frank Ocean - Novacane
7. Austra - Lose It
8. Childish Gambino - Freaks and Geeks
9. Lloyd f/ Andre 3000 and Lil Wayne - Dedication to my Ex (Miss That)
10. Rye Rye featuring Robyn - Never Will Be Mine
Thursday, June 23, 2011
GIS - We Max video debut
Today is the debut of a rap video I made with my friends Aubree Bernier-Clarke and Aaron Wong (they're also working on the documentary with me). I met these teenage boys four years ago when they were in high school in a suburb just east of Portland. We've kept in touch, and when they won the chance to perform on BET this year, they asked me to make a music video for them. They won B.E.T.'s Wild Out Wednesdays competition in January, and they're headed back to 106 and Park in August to compete in the All Stars competition. Check out the video we made for them.
And if you're just dying to see how my video skills have improved over the years, check out this video I made of them about three years ago after school one day:
G.I.S. "We Max" from Amorphous Films on Vimeo.
And if you're just dying to see how my video skills have improved over the years, check out this video I made of them about three years ago after school one day:
Monday, March 14, 2011
Pocket full of stacks
Aaron and I have been working on a rap video for the past few months (with extra camera help by Aubree and Joel), and we're finally wrapping it up with an epic amount of shooting this week. Three days! As you wait for the real thing to drop, check out this trailer that Aaron put together of our footage:
"We Max" G.I.S. Music Video Preview from studio.pebble on Vimeo.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Favorite songs pf 2010 (1.10)
1. Robyn - Dancing On My Own
There are slower, prettier versions of this song that fit the wistful lyrics better, but I prefer the electric original. Something about the energy is both desperate and defiant at the same time. Plus, the electric has that funny little percussion piece (it sounds like a pencil beating on a pipe to me) that I find absolutely addictive. Homegirl dances like crazy, and why not? This lonely song is somehow the most fun single of 2010. For a while, I couldn't decide if this or "Bloodbuzz Ohio" was my favorite, but for me, the choice boiled down to this: This song sounds like 2010 to me. When I think back to this year, this will be the song I remember as defining my moments.
2. The National - Blood Buzz Ohio
A gorgeous song about one of life's most conflicting duties -- going home. The "blood" here is family, home, which can give the best and worst buzzes. The instrumentation is magical, I think, and Matt Beringer's baritone shines all the more in its levelness because the music is so soaring. Honestly, I love this song too much to be able to write about it.
3. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II
I wish, I wish Régine Chassagne sang more often. I know Arcade Fire is an album band, and this song fits in thematically with "The Suburbs," but "Sprawl II" is its own moment, totally removed from anything else in its glory. It is the song at its musical and lyrical best. I love that they twisted a Haitian proverb (Beyond mountains, there are mountains) into a comment on something decidedly American. Sometimes, I wonder if the world's so small. It's the only Arcade Fire song that ever made me do the Running Man dance.
4. Best Coast - Our Deal
This song is just so plaintive and pretty. "When you leave me, you take away everything." I'd say the song is sad, but it feels a bit different than that. It's more ... resigned, I guess. She wishes he'd tell her things, but that's not their deal, so ... that's it. Vocally, this is Bethany Cosentino at her best (probably because she sounds a lot more Neko Case than surfer girl).
5. Kanye West and Bon Iver - Lost in the World
Bon Iver's "Woods" (from 2009's Blood Bank EP) had good parts, but it dragged on into some lengthy weirdness. Here, Kanye takes the best part of Bon Iver's original and builds it into a hell of a song. This song is so full, it reminds me of church. Kanye's retreat isn't a whiskey still -- it's the whole damn city. Either way, they're lost. And as the Gil Scott-Heron sample (from 1970's Comment #1) asks, "Who will survive in America?"
6. Big Boi - Turns Me On
I love this looping lush vocal/keyboard beat. I just love how much the voices play into making that beat. It's so funky and smooth, partially, I think, because those keys really anchor everything. It's a hell of a nasty song, lyrically, but the sound is so smooth you could miss that nastiness. Big Boi is just so creative, so unlike any other rapper. This song, this whole album, is so far ahead of where the rest of rap is, I cannot believe he wrote it two years ago.
7. Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi - Tightrope
Monae is definitely my 2010 crush of the year. She has such a pretty face, and I've always been a sucker for saddle oxfords. I don't know how to characterize most of her songs, but this one is such an obvious hit. Is it a rap song? Is it soul? Jazz? Big band? Who cares! It makes me want to dance. I like how they repurpose the chorus line "I've got to keep my balance" into some kind of repeated chant background noise at the end. My favorite part is when she sings (raps?) "Some callin' me a sinner. Some callin' me a winner. I'm callin' you to dinner. You know exactly what I mean. I'm talkin' boutcha."
8. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
When Randi first told me she liked this song, my response was something akin to "Absolutely no way will I listen." I hated every Katy Perry song I had ever heard. Then, one late night driving home from work, I heard it on the radio, and I was hooked. It is just a perfect pop song. It totally lives up to its theme - listening to it, I feel like a teenager again (in the good kind of way, that is). This song reminds me of Ryan. He's so full of youthful joy, and spending Saturdays with him this fall (usually watching Gossip Girl or doing something photograph related), I remembered that I'm not old, not yet. Anyway, this song makes me feel downright joyous.
9. Drake - The Resistance
This song is everything I love about Drake. Sometimes I worry he's going to become too much of a mainstream rapper, rhyming about how awesome he is. But this song is him at his lyrically best. It's a song about the changes he has made since becoming famous, the way his friends resent the fact that he isn't the same man he used to be, and how all of that scares him. "What am I afraid of? This is what dreams are supposed to be made of." What other rapper would write lines like this: "I heard they just moved my grandmother to a nursing home, and Il be acting like I don’t know how to work a phone. But hit redial you’ll see that I just called some chick I met at the mall that I barely know at all. Plus this women that I messed with unprotected texted saying she wish she woulda kept it. The one I’m laying next to just looked over and read it. Man, I couldn’t tell you where the fuck my head is. I'm holding on by a thread." It's a struggle he never resolves on this album. The theme carries on into the next song ("Over") with more energy but the same confusion.
10. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yourself Clean
I love most songs on this album, but this one immediately stood (and continues to stand) out to me. The lyrics are more clever, and I love the beat and the way it builds into something so dancey and energetic. This summer, I spent my lunch breaks biking up some ferocious hills near my office. I began each ride listening to that song precisely because of the way it builds. I usually made it to the first hill just as the song really kicked off. I moved my foot harder down on the pedal just as he sings, "I miss the way the night comes."
There are slower, prettier versions of this song that fit the wistful lyrics better, but I prefer the electric original. Something about the energy is both desperate and defiant at the same time. Plus, the electric has that funny little percussion piece (it sounds like a pencil beating on a pipe to me) that I find absolutely addictive. Homegirl dances like crazy, and why not? This lonely song is somehow the most fun single of 2010. For a while, I couldn't decide if this or "Bloodbuzz Ohio" was my favorite, but for me, the choice boiled down to this: This song sounds like 2010 to me. When I think back to this year, this will be the song I remember as defining my moments.
2. The National - Blood Buzz Ohio
A gorgeous song about one of life's most conflicting duties -- going home. The "blood" here is family, home, which can give the best and worst buzzes. The instrumentation is magical, I think, and Matt Beringer's baritone shines all the more in its levelness because the music is so soaring. Honestly, I love this song too much to be able to write about it.
3. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II
I wish, I wish Régine Chassagne sang more often. I know Arcade Fire is an album band, and this song fits in thematically with "The Suburbs," but "Sprawl II" is its own moment, totally removed from anything else in its glory. It is the song at its musical and lyrical best. I love that they twisted a Haitian proverb (Beyond mountains, there are mountains) into a comment on something decidedly American. Sometimes, I wonder if the world's so small. It's the only Arcade Fire song that ever made me do the Running Man dance.
4. Best Coast - Our Deal
This song is just so plaintive and pretty. "When you leave me, you take away everything." I'd say the song is sad, but it feels a bit different than that. It's more ... resigned, I guess. She wishes he'd tell her things, but that's not their deal, so ... that's it. Vocally, this is Bethany Cosentino at her best (probably because she sounds a lot more Neko Case than surfer girl).
5. Kanye West and Bon Iver - Lost in the World
Bon Iver's "Woods" (from 2009's Blood Bank EP) had good parts, but it dragged on into some lengthy weirdness. Here, Kanye takes the best part of Bon Iver's original and builds it into a hell of a song. This song is so full, it reminds me of church. Kanye's retreat isn't a whiskey still -- it's the whole damn city. Either way, they're lost. And as the Gil Scott-Heron sample (from 1970's Comment #1) asks, "Who will survive in America?"
6. Big Boi - Turns Me On
I love this looping lush vocal/keyboard beat. I just love how much the voices play into making that beat. It's so funky and smooth, partially, I think, because those keys really anchor everything. It's a hell of a nasty song, lyrically, but the sound is so smooth you could miss that nastiness. Big Boi is just so creative, so unlike any other rapper. This song, this whole album, is so far ahead of where the rest of rap is, I cannot believe he wrote it two years ago.
7. Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi - Tightrope
Monae is definitely my 2010 crush of the year. She has such a pretty face, and I've always been a sucker for saddle oxfords. I don't know how to characterize most of her songs, but this one is such an obvious hit. Is it a rap song? Is it soul? Jazz? Big band? Who cares! It makes me want to dance. I like how they repurpose the chorus line "I've got to keep my balance" into some kind of repeated chant background noise at the end. My favorite part is when she sings (raps?) "Some callin' me a sinner. Some callin' me a winner. I'm callin' you to dinner. You know exactly what I mean. I'm talkin' boutcha."
8. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream
When Randi first told me she liked this song, my response was something akin to "Absolutely no way will I listen." I hated every Katy Perry song I had ever heard. Then, one late night driving home from work, I heard it on the radio, and I was hooked. It is just a perfect pop song. It totally lives up to its theme - listening to it, I feel like a teenager again (in the good kind of way, that is). This song reminds me of Ryan. He's so full of youthful joy, and spending Saturdays with him this fall (usually watching Gossip Girl or doing something photograph related), I remembered that I'm not old, not yet. Anyway, this song makes me feel downright joyous.
9. Drake - The Resistance
This song is everything I love about Drake. Sometimes I worry he's going to become too much of a mainstream rapper, rhyming about how awesome he is. But this song is him at his lyrically best. It's a song about the changes he has made since becoming famous, the way his friends resent the fact that he isn't the same man he used to be, and how all of that scares him. "What am I afraid of? This is what dreams are supposed to be made of." What other rapper would write lines like this: "I heard they just moved my grandmother to a nursing home, and Il be acting like I don’t know how to work a phone. But hit redial you’ll see that I just called some chick I met at the mall that I barely know at all. Plus this women that I messed with unprotected texted saying she wish she woulda kept it. The one I’m laying next to just looked over and read it. Man, I couldn’t tell you where the fuck my head is. I'm holding on by a thread." It's a struggle he never resolves on this album. The theme carries on into the next song ("Over") with more energy but the same confusion.
10. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yourself Clean
I love most songs on this album, but this one immediately stood (and continues to stand) out to me. The lyrics are more clever, and I love the beat and the way it builds into something so dancey and energetic. This summer, I spent my lunch breaks biking up some ferocious hills near my office. I began each ride listening to that song precisely because of the way it builds. I usually made it to the first hill just as the song really kicked off. I moved my foot harder down on the pedal just as he sings, "I miss the way the night comes."
Friday, December 24, 2010
Favorite songs of 2010 (11.20)
11. Damien Jurado - Arkansas
iTunes says I listened to this song more than any other this year. That's probably because I'm always in the mood to hear it. The line "I never feel magic unless I am with you" is always stuck in my head.
12. Kanye West featuring Pusha T - Runaway
I think this could have been the best song of the year if Pusha T's rap was not included. I hate to say that because I am a huge Clipse fan, but Pusha T just totally doesn't fit here. Kanye's portion is a mediation, a push-and-pull list of everything he has ever done wrong (it's the one justified mention of his dick on this whole album). Run away from me, he says, then later admits he isn't sure what he'd do if the "you" in this song actually did run away. His part of the song is so complex. He's regretful. He's proud. He doesn't know why he's an asshole, why he's addicted to hood rats. Pusha T's verse is so simple and stupid. I have no idea why it's included. The rhymes are juvenile. The subject matter is even worse (Let's drink mai thais? an ode to his watch? Seriously?) Thankfully Pusha T only lasts a minute or so of this nine-minute wonder, so I can spend the rest of the time just listening. The music in this song is amazing. That lone, repeating plaintive piano plunk. That eerie sample coming in with the rest of the electronic buzz and the Pete Rock drum beat. It is a song to remember.
13. The Walkmen - Angela Surf City
This song builds from a pretty simple drum and clangy guitar into something very furious. I like pretty much every Walkmen song ever written, but "The Rat" (from 2004's Bows + Arrows) is easily their best song. They don't usually sound as energetic as they do in "The Rat," but this song comes fairly close.
14. Stephanie Finch - Count the Days (1-2-3-4-5-6-7)
Finch sang back-up in the Red House Painters, and this song illustrates so well why she should be front-and-center. It's a cover of an old soul song by Inez and Charlie Fox. Their version is more doo-wop-boppy, and Finch slims it down to something more mournful. She has a kind of Aimee Mann-sounding voice on the album's slower songs, but here, she sounds totally soulful.
15. The National - Lemonworld
I love those first few guitar strums. I love Matt Berninger's deep, understated voice. I love the lyrics ("try to find something on this thing that means nothing enough" is my favorite). I love the doo doo doo doo. It's such a nihilistic, depressed song, which is a good soundtrack when you're in those places.
16. Kanye West featuring a whole bunch of people - All of the Lights
Hands-down, for me, the best beat of the year. It is so frenetic, so eerie yet celebratory. I love when he uses horns in his production. Kanye -- in a rare turn of not talking about his dick -- sounds great, too, talking about the ghetto, about wanting custody of some fictional daughter, but "her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order." This song reminds me of the things I used to love so much about Kanye. I can't hear half of the guest singers (Elton John? Elly Jackson from La Roux? I mostly hear Rihanna and old nasty Fergie), but there is definitely some polyphonic greatness happening in this song.
17. Drake and The-Dream - Shut It Down
As you can tell by the rest of this list, I have plenty of Drake love. But for me, this good old fashioned take your clothes off song is so good because of The-Dream. He has the absolute prettiest voice in R&B right now, and he can write his ass off (He wrote Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and Rihanna's "Umbrella," for instance). When he comes back in with full force at the 4:30 minute mark, my heart always jump a bit.
18. Taylor Swift - Speak Now
My second favorite mainstream pop song of the year. The first time I heard it, I listened to it on repeat for more than an hour. It's clever, cute, catchy. I've read that her voice doesn't hold up in concert, but whatever magic her producers have done on that instrument her, it works. She sounds great. Swift is such a great writer. I love that she tells stories. I love how realistic they seem, even in a song like this about busting up some boy's wedding day. I haven't seen a video, but I don't need to. She paints the scene so clearly. This song is just so imminently likeable.
19. Beach House - Zebra
I'm surprised I like a song with so many horse metaphors (are they metaphors?), but this song is so pretty, it leaves me helpless. I love everything about the album "Teen Dream," and Zebra is the perfect opening mood-setter. Her voice is so good and so unique.
20. Tyree Harris - Memory Lane
Again, from Tyree's album REALmatic. "Memory Lane" is the name of a song on "Illmatic," but it's nothing like Tyree's version, which samples Earth Wind & Fire. It's just such an infectious, smart song about "super bad nostalgia." He raps of being grounded half his life: "How'd I learn to write? Being grounded, drowned in thoughts and etching shit all night." This kid is for real, one of the best up-and-coming rappers. I've heard something from his next project, and you do not want to miss it.
iTunes says I listened to this song more than any other this year. That's probably because I'm always in the mood to hear it. The line "I never feel magic unless I am with you" is always stuck in my head.
12. Kanye West featuring Pusha T - Runaway
I think this could have been the best song of the year if Pusha T's rap was not included. I hate to say that because I am a huge Clipse fan, but Pusha T just totally doesn't fit here. Kanye's portion is a mediation, a push-and-pull list of everything he has ever done wrong (it's the one justified mention of his dick on this whole album). Run away from me, he says, then later admits he isn't sure what he'd do if the "you" in this song actually did run away. His part of the song is so complex. He's regretful. He's proud. He doesn't know why he's an asshole, why he's addicted to hood rats. Pusha T's verse is so simple and stupid. I have no idea why it's included. The rhymes are juvenile. The subject matter is even worse (Let's drink mai thais? an ode to his watch? Seriously?) Thankfully Pusha T only lasts a minute or so of this nine-minute wonder, so I can spend the rest of the time just listening. The music in this song is amazing. That lone, repeating plaintive piano plunk. That eerie sample coming in with the rest of the electronic buzz and the Pete Rock drum beat. It is a song to remember.
13. The Walkmen - Angela Surf City
This song builds from a pretty simple drum and clangy guitar into something very furious. I like pretty much every Walkmen song ever written, but "The Rat" (from 2004's Bows + Arrows) is easily their best song. They don't usually sound as energetic as they do in "The Rat," but this song comes fairly close.
14. Stephanie Finch - Count the Days (1-2-3-4-5-6-7)
Finch sang back-up in the Red House Painters, and this song illustrates so well why she should be front-and-center. It's a cover of an old soul song by Inez and Charlie Fox. Their version is more doo-wop-boppy, and Finch slims it down to something more mournful. She has a kind of Aimee Mann-sounding voice on the album's slower songs, but here, she sounds totally soulful.
15. The National - Lemonworld
I love those first few guitar strums. I love Matt Berninger's deep, understated voice. I love the lyrics ("try to find something on this thing that means nothing enough" is my favorite). I love the doo doo doo doo. It's such a nihilistic, depressed song, which is a good soundtrack when you're in those places.
16. Kanye West featuring a whole bunch of people - All of the Lights
Hands-down, for me, the best beat of the year. It is so frenetic, so eerie yet celebratory. I love when he uses horns in his production. Kanye -- in a rare turn of not talking about his dick -- sounds great, too, talking about the ghetto, about wanting custody of some fictional daughter, but "her mother, brother, grandmother hate me in that order." This song reminds me of the things I used to love so much about Kanye. I can't hear half of the guest singers (Elton John? Elly Jackson from La Roux? I mostly hear Rihanna and old nasty Fergie), but there is definitely some polyphonic greatness happening in this song.
17. Drake and The-Dream - Shut It Down
As you can tell by the rest of this list, I have plenty of Drake love. But for me, this good old fashioned take your clothes off song is so good because of The-Dream. He has the absolute prettiest voice in R&B right now, and he can write his ass off (He wrote Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and Rihanna's "Umbrella," for instance). When he comes back in with full force at the 4:30 minute mark, my heart always jump a bit.
18. Taylor Swift - Speak Now
My second favorite mainstream pop song of the year. The first time I heard it, I listened to it on repeat for more than an hour. It's clever, cute, catchy. I've read that her voice doesn't hold up in concert, but whatever magic her producers have done on that instrument her, it works. She sounds great. Swift is such a great writer. I love that she tells stories. I love how realistic they seem, even in a song like this about busting up some boy's wedding day. I haven't seen a video, but I don't need to. She paints the scene so clearly. This song is just so imminently likeable.
19. Beach House - Zebra
I'm surprised I like a song with so many horse metaphors (are they metaphors?), but this song is so pretty, it leaves me helpless. I love everything about the album "Teen Dream," and Zebra is the perfect opening mood-setter. Her voice is so good and so unique.
20. Tyree Harris - Memory Lane
Again, from Tyree's album REALmatic. "Memory Lane" is the name of a song on "Illmatic," but it's nothing like Tyree's version, which samples Earth Wind & Fire. It's just such an infectious, smart song about "super bad nostalgia." He raps of being grounded half his life: "How'd I learn to write? Being grounded, drowned in thoughts and etching shit all night." This kid is for real, one of the best up-and-coming rappers. I've heard something from his next project, and you do not want to miss it.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Favorite songs of 2010 (21.30)
21. Tyree Harris - I Rap For
Tyree was 15 or 16 when I met him in a high school newspaper class. I was there to help edit some articles, and he gave me his rap CD. I didn't expect much, but I was blown away as soon as I listened. This kid can rap. He's 20 now, and this song comes from his latest album REALmatic. It's a spin-off of sorts of Nas' seminal "Illmatic." This song twists words from Nas' "Memory Lane" into a slow-buzzing, thick hook. I like Tyree because his songs tell a story.
22. Cee Lo Green - Fuck You
Cee Lo knows how to write a viral hit (Remember "Crazy" in 2006?) I guess I'm not different than anyone else in saying this was immediately my favorite song when I heard it. Its overplay might have made it less likeable, but I don't want to forget that first moment, when hearing the doo-woppy, cussing songjust made me absolutely happy.
23. Japanther - $100 dollar remix
This song is just down-right infectious.
24. Drake - Over
The beat in this song is just so freaking good. I love every change it makes, but the best part starts in at about 42 seconds and sounds like frenetic bells. It's addictive and even if its lyrics aren't as interesting as some of the other songs from Thank Me Later, it is a perfect pop song.
25. The Magnetic Fields - Walk a Lonely Road
Claudia Gonson totally makes this song for me. Stephin Merritt's voice is so deep it's almost harsh, but then suddenly he, and all the musical bells and whistles, disappear, leaving only Gonson's pure, pretty voice. It is one of my favorite moments of any song this year. I don't mean to diss Merritt's part. Without his juxtaposition, that wouldn't be so special.
26. The National - Terrible Love
I read about this gorgeous song before I heard it. That line -- singled out by the New York Times -- "It's a terrible love, and I'm walking with spiders" was baffling on paper, but listening to it is a different experience. It still doesn't make total, regular sense, but hearing it makes it so much prettier. The song sounds so understated but that line says so much. Maybe the NYT said it best: 'Matt carries around a notebook that he fills with fragments of language, single lines he invents like “terrible love and I’m walking with spiders.” “The challenge,” he says, “is to write the rest of a song that holds up to that feeling of anxious, nervous love.” He likes images that are blurry and suggestive, snapshots that don’t exactly mean anything but allow the listener to feel that they do.'
27. Lovers - Boxer
I love the way the boop-boop keyboard beats play with Emily Kingan's steady drumming in this song. And I love (even more) the way Cubby Berk's voice stays steady and pretty under Kerby Ferris' ridiculously catchy harmony. Something about this song makes me want to march in step. It stays stuck in my head for weeks at a time.
28. Lil Wayne f/ Drake - Right Above It
Lil Wayne was behind bars when this track dropped, but he sounds no less in control because of it. I first heard this song at a football game, playing loud over stadium speakers on a cold night. As soon as it started, I felt strangely warmer, like I was in some special moment. Maybe it's the beat -- a slowed-down crunk soundalike that's high pitched enough to nearly harmonize with Drake and Wayne's voices. There's nothing special about these lyrics, but I find the song totally hypnotic.
29. Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em
For the record, I do believe that "Crown on the Ground" and "Rill Rill" are far and away the best songs on "Treats," but both of those songs also came out on Sleigh Bells' 2009 EP, so I don't consider them options for best 2010 songs. That said, I feel fairly equally about all of the other songs, but I wanted to highlight one because I love that album. Anyway, I chose this one, maybe because it's the first song and that thundering open set the pace for the whole album. This is the perfect soundtrack if you ever find yourself biking up monstrous hills on your lunch break.
30. Lovers - Barnacle
I love this Portland band. This song, in particular, has such pretty lyrics. "You hold on, dear, like a barnacle on your ship of fears. And I am out here, like an island on a sea of tears. If I could tear you away, I would."
Tyree was 15 or 16 when I met him in a high school newspaper class. I was there to help edit some articles, and he gave me his rap CD. I didn't expect much, but I was blown away as soon as I listened. This kid can rap. He's 20 now, and this song comes from his latest album REALmatic. It's a spin-off of sorts of Nas' seminal "Illmatic." This song twists words from Nas' "Memory Lane" into a slow-buzzing, thick hook. I like Tyree because his songs tell a story.
22. Cee Lo Green - Fuck You
Cee Lo knows how to write a viral hit (Remember "Crazy" in 2006?) I guess I'm not different than anyone else in saying this was immediately my favorite song when I heard it. Its overplay might have made it less likeable, but I don't want to forget that first moment, when hearing the doo-woppy, cussing songjust made me absolutely happy.
23. Japanther - $100 dollar remix
This song is just down-right infectious.
24. Drake - Over
The beat in this song is just so freaking good. I love every change it makes, but the best part starts in at about 42 seconds and sounds like frenetic bells. It's addictive and even if its lyrics aren't as interesting as some of the other songs from Thank Me Later, it is a perfect pop song.
25. The Magnetic Fields - Walk a Lonely Road
Claudia Gonson totally makes this song for me. Stephin Merritt's voice is so deep it's almost harsh, but then suddenly he, and all the musical bells and whistles, disappear, leaving only Gonson's pure, pretty voice. It is one of my favorite moments of any song this year. I don't mean to diss Merritt's part. Without his juxtaposition, that wouldn't be so special.
26. The National - Terrible Love
I read about this gorgeous song before I heard it. That line -- singled out by the New York Times -- "It's a terrible love, and I'm walking with spiders" was baffling on paper, but listening to it is a different experience. It still doesn't make total, regular sense, but hearing it makes it so much prettier. The song sounds so understated but that line says so much. Maybe the NYT said it best: 'Matt carries around a notebook that he fills with fragments of language, single lines he invents like “terrible love and I’m walking with spiders.” “The challenge,” he says, “is to write the rest of a song that holds up to that feeling of anxious, nervous love.” He likes images that are blurry and suggestive, snapshots that don’t exactly mean anything but allow the listener to feel that they do.'
27. Lovers - Boxer
I love the way the boop-boop keyboard beats play with Emily Kingan's steady drumming in this song. And I love (even more) the way Cubby Berk's voice stays steady and pretty under Kerby Ferris' ridiculously catchy harmony. Something about this song makes me want to march in step. It stays stuck in my head for weeks at a time.
28. Lil Wayne f/ Drake - Right Above It
Lil Wayne was behind bars when this track dropped, but he sounds no less in control because of it. I first heard this song at a football game, playing loud over stadium speakers on a cold night. As soon as it started, I felt strangely warmer, like I was in some special moment. Maybe it's the beat -- a slowed-down crunk soundalike that's high pitched enough to nearly harmonize with Drake and Wayne's voices. There's nothing special about these lyrics, but I find the song totally hypnotic.
29. Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em
For the record, I do believe that "Crown on the Ground" and "Rill Rill" are far and away the best songs on "Treats," but both of those songs also came out on Sleigh Bells' 2009 EP, so I don't consider them options for best 2010 songs. That said, I feel fairly equally about all of the other songs, but I wanted to highlight one because I love that album. Anyway, I chose this one, maybe because it's the first song and that thundering open set the pace for the whole album. This is the perfect soundtrack if you ever find yourself biking up monstrous hills on your lunch break.
30. Lovers - Barnacle
I love this Portland band. This song, in particular, has such pretty lyrics. "You hold on, dear, like a barnacle on your ship of fears. And I am out here, like an island on a sea of tears. If I could tear you away, I would."
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Favorite songs of 2010 (31.40)
31. Gayngs - Faded High
I just like the way this song sounds. I like the way it changes a bunch of times (like at 1:35, when he says "I want your body on me). I like that the cheesy keyboard/computer fake-sounding beats are irrelevant behind all those voices.
32. Spoon - Out Go the Lights / Goodnight Laura
I put these two songs together because they are next to each other on the album and because I like them equally and for the same reasons. They're pretty, and they sound different from the Spoon songs I first loved a decade ago. For me, they really stand out on Transference as the truly memorable songs.
33. Drake and Alicia Keys - Fireworks
I could actually do without the hook in this song, but I love Drake's rap. It's so different than any other big hip-hop star's rhymes. Take for instance, this, from the verse about Rihanna: "I'm just such a gentleman. You should give it up for me. Look at how I'm placing all my napkins and my cutlery. I can tell it wasn't love. I just thought you'd fuck with me. Who coulda predicted love could strike. Now you stuck with me. I kept my wits about my luckily. What happened between us that night it always seems to trouble me. ... There was smoke in the air before. Now it's me clearing it. That felt good, and I learned a lesson from it though. You never see it coming. You just get to see it go."
34. Janelle Monae - Dance or Die / Faster
These songs actually bleed into each other, so I can't really split them. They sound like one long song to me. Sometimes that long song reminds me of Madonna. Sometimes it sounds like some future hushed and hurried rap. Sometimes it sounds like Lauryn Hill. Her voice is great. These songs are catchy, the kind of music I like to listen to when I mop my floors on Sunday mornings (Imagine me, if you like, singing into the mop's handle, twisting over the wet floor like I was some jazz dancer).
35. Big Boi - Shutterbug / Shine Blockas
OK, these two songs do not smash into each other, but I couldn't figure out which one I liked better. Plus I wanted to cheat and cram more songs into my top 50 list. Both of these are total rap bangers, the kind of songs you want to play really loud when you're heading out for some memorable night of partying. I can't believe the record label sat on this album -- if only for these two songs. They seem so obviously hits to me. Shutterbug, in particular, has one of the most memorable beats of the year.
36. Robyn - Hang With Me
I love the beat in this song, and I love her voice. She sounds so measured but so full of life. Maybe it's that beat keeping her in line. I can't decide if this is a dance song or a sing-along, but I liked it as soon as I first heard it. I like it more every time I listen. Plus, there's that part in the end of the middle of the song where she holds that note forever.
37. Best Coast - Summer Mood
I could pick any number of other songs from "Crazy for You" to be in this spot. Each song is so catchy and fun to sing. They're simple songs. I wouldn't suggest listening to most of the lyrics if you're seeking enlightenment. And I wouldn't suggest seeing her in concert (so boring), but the album is seriously fun to listen to. After so many listens, the repetition of Summer Mood stands out for me as one of the album's highlights. I especially like the end part where she's singing "that makes me moooooooody." There's something about her flat "that" that really appeals to me.
38. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
There was a time this year when this would have been my favorite song of the year. I loved a live version especially. The group just looked like it was having so much fun. And while I still think it is one very great song, I may have worn it out with all my repeated listening. I like listening to it and bouncing around while singing it.
39. The Drums - Down by the Water
This song reminds me of the kind of lonely oldie that a movie might play while doing a pan of all the wallflowers at a dance. But its lyrics are more plaintive: "Everybody's gotta love somebody. But I just wanna love you my dear." It's the kind of song you might hear and think you'll forget. But hours later, you'll instead find yourself unable to stop humming its simple chorus.
40. Cults - Go Outside
This song is so cute to me, and even better, it was free. The group released a little mini album on their Website. It's a sing-along, or a snap-along, whichever your preference.
I just like the way this song sounds. I like the way it changes a bunch of times (like at 1:35, when he says "I want your body on me). I like that the cheesy keyboard/computer fake-sounding beats are irrelevant behind all those voices.
32. Spoon - Out Go the Lights / Goodnight Laura
I put these two songs together because they are next to each other on the album and because I like them equally and for the same reasons. They're pretty, and they sound different from the Spoon songs I first loved a decade ago. For me, they really stand out on Transference as the truly memorable songs.
33. Drake and Alicia Keys - Fireworks
I could actually do without the hook in this song, but I love Drake's rap. It's so different than any other big hip-hop star's rhymes. Take for instance, this, from the verse about Rihanna: "I'm just such a gentleman. You should give it up for me. Look at how I'm placing all my napkins and my cutlery. I can tell it wasn't love. I just thought you'd fuck with me. Who coulda predicted love could strike. Now you stuck with me. I kept my wits about my luckily. What happened between us that night it always seems to trouble me. ... There was smoke in the air before. Now it's me clearing it. That felt good, and I learned a lesson from it though. You never see it coming. You just get to see it go."
34. Janelle Monae - Dance or Die / Faster
These songs actually bleed into each other, so I can't really split them. They sound like one long song to me. Sometimes that long song reminds me of Madonna. Sometimes it sounds like some future hushed and hurried rap. Sometimes it sounds like Lauryn Hill. Her voice is great. These songs are catchy, the kind of music I like to listen to when I mop my floors on Sunday mornings (Imagine me, if you like, singing into the mop's handle, twisting over the wet floor like I was some jazz dancer).
35. Big Boi - Shutterbug / Shine Blockas
OK, these two songs do not smash into each other, but I couldn't figure out which one I liked better. Plus I wanted to cheat and cram more songs into my top 50 list. Both of these are total rap bangers, the kind of songs you want to play really loud when you're heading out for some memorable night of partying. I can't believe the record label sat on this album -- if only for these two songs. They seem so obviously hits to me. Shutterbug, in particular, has one of the most memorable beats of the year.
36. Robyn - Hang With Me
I love the beat in this song, and I love her voice. She sounds so measured but so full of life. Maybe it's that beat keeping her in line. I can't decide if this is a dance song or a sing-along, but I liked it as soon as I first heard it. I like it more every time I listen. Plus, there's that part in the end of the middle of the song where she holds that note forever.
37. Best Coast - Summer Mood
I could pick any number of other songs from "Crazy for You" to be in this spot. Each song is so catchy and fun to sing. They're simple songs. I wouldn't suggest listening to most of the lyrics if you're seeking enlightenment. And I wouldn't suggest seeing her in concert (so boring), but the album is seriously fun to listen to. After so many listens, the repetition of Summer Mood stands out for me as one of the album's highlights. I especially like the end part where she's singing "that makes me moooooooody." There's something about her flat "that" that really appeals to me.
38. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Home
There was a time this year when this would have been my favorite song of the year. I loved a live version especially. The group just looked like it was having so much fun. And while I still think it is one very great song, I may have worn it out with all my repeated listening. I like listening to it and bouncing around while singing it.
39. The Drums - Down by the Water
This song reminds me of the kind of lonely oldie that a movie might play while doing a pan of all the wallflowers at a dance. But its lyrics are more plaintive: "Everybody's gotta love somebody. But I just wanna love you my dear." It's the kind of song you might hear and think you'll forget. But hours later, you'll instead find yourself unable to stop humming its simple chorus.
40. Cults - Go Outside
This song is so cute to me, and even better, it was free. The group released a little mini album on their Website. It's a sing-along, or a snap-along, whichever your preference.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Favorite songs of 2010 (41.50)
I've been making lists of my favorite songs for nearly a decade (At least publicly anyway -- My brother told me this weekend he remembers me making these lists as a kid). For this year's choices, you can click on the name of the song to hear or download the song. Some are links to Youtube. Some are links to free mp3s. Enjoy! And tell me your favorites!
41. Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait
I love the repetition of the piano. I love the way the songs starts with the repeated "I used to." I couldn't relate to most of the Arcade Fire album "The Suburbs," but this is one song whose lyrics really meant something for me. I miss waiting for things. I miss what life used to be. The 24-hour news cycle, the rush of adult life -- none of it compares to the way time used to move.
42. Drake - Karaoke
Drake waits nearly two minutes to begin rapping in this three and a half minute song, but I think that's a good thing. His singing voice is so pretty, so measured here that the rap is almost unnecessary. In only a few lyrics, Drake paints a picture of losing a girl who doesn't want to come along with his new successful life. He even makes time (in sparse words) to describe here lighting a tea kettle. (Put your hand to the metal and feel it / But do you even feel it anymore?) Most of the album drills home just how much he's made it, but always with a caveat: "Don't be fooled by the money. I'm still young and unlucky."
43. Tegan & Sara - Turnpike Ghost (Steel Train cover)
In which Tegan and Sara cover their opening act's song, totally outperforming the original artists. This is catchy as hell when T&S sing it.
44. Perfume Genius - Learning
This song is soft like raindrops, so I'm not at all surprised it comes from Seattle. It's a good soundtrack for days when the sun is down by 3:30 p.m., but it's also good sing-along music. The piano part is so simple. His voice is so soft. But there's something very arresting and dramatic about the two together.
45. Delorean - Simple Graces
This song is good summer (windows down) driving music. I have no idea what half the lyrics are, but I just think the song is so fine to listen to.
46. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
I love the phrase one life stand, and I also love the beat in this song. It's slow, but danceable. The steel drum is nice, too.
47. Laura Veirs - July Flame
This song came out so early in 2010 that I nearly forgot about it is I made this list. But I spent many of my early rainy 2010 days listening to this on repeat as I drove to work. She's a Portland girl, so I imagine the Northwest rains might have been playing as she crafted this song, even though it's a song about July. Either way, it's just a really pretty song, and it shares a name with a variety of Northwest peach. I like the way it builds toward that powerful (and strings-laden) end.
48. Julian Lynch - Rancher
This is song is more woozy and electric than I might normally like, but I like the way it somehow embodies both dark and light. Some of the sounds are unlike any I've ever heard. Most of the time, I listened to this song in the thick radiator heat of my apartment, and when the song ended so soon, I'd listen one more time.
49. The Magnetic Fields - You Must Be Out of Your Mind
I'm sure most people don't think the latest Magnetic Fields album is all that great, but I spent a lot of time listening to it this year. This song starts the album with a slew of quirky lyrics (You can't go around just sayin' stuff because it's pretty. And I no longer drink enough to think you're witty.), but amid that there's this: "If you think you can leave the past behind, you must be out of your mind." That followed me for a good chunk of the year, and it did so in this tight little catchy tune.
50. Spoon - Mystery Zone
This is exactly what you'd expect a mid-tempo Spoon song to sound like. Not ground-breaking, but definitely listenable. I like the rhythm. I like his voice.
Honorable mention: Northern Portrait - When Goodness Fails
The lead singer's voice sounds like Morrissey. His lyrics include "I'm gay in the old-fashioned sense of the word," "I have come to disappoint you" and "you're so impossibly cruel." One look at the album cover, and it's pretty clear they're trying to mimic? honor? etc? The Smiths. Still, this song is really fun to listen to.
41. Arcade Fire - We Used to Wait
I love the repetition of the piano. I love the way the songs starts with the repeated "I used to." I couldn't relate to most of the Arcade Fire album "The Suburbs," but this is one song whose lyrics really meant something for me. I miss waiting for things. I miss what life used to be. The 24-hour news cycle, the rush of adult life -- none of it compares to the way time used to move.
42. Drake - Karaoke
Drake waits nearly two minutes to begin rapping in this three and a half minute song, but I think that's a good thing. His singing voice is so pretty, so measured here that the rap is almost unnecessary. In only a few lyrics, Drake paints a picture of losing a girl who doesn't want to come along with his new successful life. He even makes time (in sparse words) to describe here lighting a tea kettle. (Put your hand to the metal and feel it / But do you even feel it anymore?) Most of the album drills home just how much he's made it, but always with a caveat: "Don't be fooled by the money. I'm still young and unlucky."
43. Tegan & Sara - Turnpike Ghost (Steel Train cover)
In which Tegan and Sara cover their opening act's song, totally outperforming the original artists. This is catchy as hell when T&S sing it.
44. Perfume Genius - Learning
This song is soft like raindrops, so I'm not at all surprised it comes from Seattle. It's a good soundtrack for days when the sun is down by 3:30 p.m., but it's also good sing-along music. The piano part is so simple. His voice is so soft. But there's something very arresting and dramatic about the two together.
45. Delorean - Simple Graces
This song is good summer (windows down) driving music. I have no idea what half the lyrics are, but I just think the song is so fine to listen to.
46. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
I love the phrase one life stand, and I also love the beat in this song. It's slow, but danceable. The steel drum is nice, too.
47. Laura Veirs - July Flame
This song came out so early in 2010 that I nearly forgot about it is I made this list. But I spent many of my early rainy 2010 days listening to this on repeat as I drove to work. She's a Portland girl, so I imagine the Northwest rains might have been playing as she crafted this song, even though it's a song about July. Either way, it's just a really pretty song, and it shares a name with a variety of Northwest peach. I like the way it builds toward that powerful (and strings-laden) end.
48. Julian Lynch - Rancher
This is song is more woozy and electric than I might normally like, but I like the way it somehow embodies both dark and light. Some of the sounds are unlike any I've ever heard. Most of the time, I listened to this song in the thick radiator heat of my apartment, and when the song ended so soon, I'd listen one more time.
49. The Magnetic Fields - You Must Be Out of Your Mind
I'm sure most people don't think the latest Magnetic Fields album is all that great, but I spent a lot of time listening to it this year. This song starts the album with a slew of quirky lyrics (You can't go around just sayin' stuff because it's pretty. And I no longer drink enough to think you're witty.), but amid that there's this: "If you think you can leave the past behind, you must be out of your mind." That followed me for a good chunk of the year, and it did so in this tight little catchy tune.
50. Spoon - Mystery Zone
This is exactly what you'd expect a mid-tempo Spoon song to sound like. Not ground-breaking, but definitely listenable. I like the rhythm. I like his voice.
Honorable mention: Northern Portrait - When Goodness Fails
The lead singer's voice sounds like Morrissey. His lyrics include "I'm gay in the old-fashioned sense of the word," "I have come to disappoint you" and "you're so impossibly cruel." One look at the album cover, and it's pretty clear they're trying to mimic? honor? etc? The Smiths. Still, this song is really fun to listen to.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
April is the cruelest month
In Portland, April means rain non-stop and a resurrection of the heavy coat. Songs to stay indoors by:
The National - Blood Buzz
Bon Iver - Woods
Karen O - Worried Shoes
Sibylle Baier - Says Elliot
Neko Case - Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth
The National - Blood Buzz
Bon Iver - Woods
Karen O - Worried Shoes
Sibylle Baier - Says Elliot
Neko Case - Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Year in review: Albums
1. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
No one can write like her. No one can sing like her. Unlike her last album - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - this album took a while to grow on me. But once it grew on me, I was hooked. Her voice is amazing, yes, but it was the lyrics that hooked me: "Your rails have always outrun mine." "And I raked the springtime across your sheets." "I love your long shadows and your gun powder eyes." "My hotel room won't remember me." They helped me write many a story this year.
See tracks: This Tornado Loves You, Vengeance is Sleeping
2. Drake - So Far Gone mixtape
I remember when Drake's Degrassi character Jimmy Brooks rapped for the first time on the show. I loved his voice then, and I loved it as soon as I heard this mixtape. I've seen a lot of people make fun of his overly earnest, overly cocky rhymes, but I love them. I usually could do without autotune, but even that doesn't bother me here. Most of the raps are slow, smooth and sexy. I never tired of listening.
See tracks: Houstatlantavegas, Lust for Life
3. Telegraph Canyon - Tide and the Current
I saw this band (my cousin's) so many times in concert this year, and every time I felt more proud than the last. Chris Johnson is a great songwriter. Each song is so complexly layered (Yep, it's an Arcade Fire-sized band). It's not folk. It's not alt-country. It's something much more lush and experimental than that. Whatever the label, I think it is a great album.
See tracks: Safe on the Outside, Into the Woods
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - self-titled
This album reminds me of Quentin's apartment. In the summer, we would make fancy lunches and play this record while making crafts. It's so fuzzy and so fun, and, for me, will remind me of 2009 more than any other record. Q and some other co-workers and I saw them play a free, 10 a.m. show at the end of summer, and the songs held up pretty well live. Plus, everyone in the band is drop-dead gorgeous.
See tracks: This Love is Fucking Right!, Come Saturday
5. MEN - Limited Edition Demo
MEN played, by far, my favorite live show of the year. I've loved JD Samson for years, and in the absence of any new Le Tigre, this does very nicely. It's an EP, so the chance that all songs would be good is greater, but I imagine they will do just as well with a full-length, too.
See tracks: Off Our Backs, Make it Reverse
6. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
This album also took a while to grow on me. Every Tegan and Sara album sounds like an album -- cohesive, thematic. This one is harder, more grown up but still focused on love (both lost and looking). It's not as immediately as catchy as their previous albums, but I think that may be on purpose.
See tracks: The Ocean, The Cure
7. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Perfect for Portland's rainy winter. This album, like all Andrew Bird albums, is pretty, simple and lush at the same time. There are a few good standout tracks, but this works better as an album.
See tracks: Nomenclature, Tenuousness
8. The xx - self-titled
Plenty of blogs have written about this band. I like it because it's slow and sexy. The songs are all clear and catchy.
See tracks: Stars, Basic Space
9. Gossip - Music for Men
Not every song on this album is good, but the ones that are are great. It's a great dance album -- even better live.
See tracks: Heavy Cross, Men in Love
10. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
I love several songs on this album, but some are too weird for my tastes.
See tracks: Summertime Clothes, My Girls
No one can write like her. No one can sing like her. Unlike her last album - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - this album took a while to grow on me. But once it grew on me, I was hooked. Her voice is amazing, yes, but it was the lyrics that hooked me: "Your rails have always outrun mine." "And I raked the springtime across your sheets." "I love your long shadows and your gun powder eyes." "My hotel room won't remember me." They helped me write many a story this year.
See tracks: This Tornado Loves You, Vengeance is Sleeping
2. Drake - So Far Gone mixtape
I remember when Drake's Degrassi character Jimmy Brooks rapped for the first time on the show. I loved his voice then, and I loved it as soon as I heard this mixtape. I've seen a lot of people make fun of his overly earnest, overly cocky rhymes, but I love them. I usually could do without autotune, but even that doesn't bother me here. Most of the raps are slow, smooth and sexy. I never tired of listening.
See tracks: Houstatlantavegas, Lust for Life
3. Telegraph Canyon - Tide and the Current
I saw this band (my cousin's) so many times in concert this year, and every time I felt more proud than the last. Chris Johnson is a great songwriter. Each song is so complexly layered (Yep, it's an Arcade Fire-sized band). It's not folk. It's not alt-country. It's something much more lush and experimental than that. Whatever the label, I think it is a great album.
See tracks: Safe on the Outside, Into the Woods
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - self-titled
This album reminds me of Quentin's apartment. In the summer, we would make fancy lunches and play this record while making crafts. It's so fuzzy and so fun, and, for me, will remind me of 2009 more than any other record. Q and some other co-workers and I saw them play a free, 10 a.m. show at the end of summer, and the songs held up pretty well live. Plus, everyone in the band is drop-dead gorgeous.
See tracks: This Love is Fucking Right!, Come Saturday
5. MEN - Limited Edition Demo
MEN played, by far, my favorite live show of the year. I've loved JD Samson for years, and in the absence of any new Le Tigre, this does very nicely. It's an EP, so the chance that all songs would be good is greater, but I imagine they will do just as well with a full-length, too.
See tracks: Off Our Backs, Make it Reverse
6. Tegan and Sara - Sainthood
This album also took a while to grow on me. Every Tegan and Sara album sounds like an album -- cohesive, thematic. This one is harder, more grown up but still focused on love (both lost and looking). It's not as immediately as catchy as their previous albums, but I think that may be on purpose.
See tracks: The Ocean, The Cure
7. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
Perfect for Portland's rainy winter. This album, like all Andrew Bird albums, is pretty, simple and lush at the same time. There are a few good standout tracks, but this works better as an album.
See tracks: Nomenclature, Tenuousness
8. The xx - self-titled
Plenty of blogs have written about this band. I like it because it's slow and sexy. The songs are all clear and catchy.
See tracks: Stars, Basic Space
9. Gossip - Music for Men
Not every song on this album is good, but the ones that are are great. It's a great dance album -- even better live.
See tracks: Heavy Cross, Men in Love
10. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
I love several songs on this album, but some are too weird for my tastes.
See tracks: Summertime Clothes, My Girls
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