48. Port O’Brien: Threadbare
47. Headlights: Wildlife
46. Felice Brothers: Yonder is the Clock
45. Cut Off Your Hands: You and I
44. The Woodlands: The Woodlands
43. Gift of Gab: Escape to Mars
42. Throw Me the Statue: Creaturesque
41. Alela Diane: To Be Still
40. Laura Gibson: Beasts of Seasons
39. Lushlife: Cassette City
38. Harper Simon: Harper Simon
37. Justin Townes Earle: Midnight at the Movies
36. Jenny Owen Youngs: Transmitter Failure
35. Mayer Hawthorne: A Strange Arrangement
34. Lightning Dust: Infinite Light
33. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
2009 albums of the year: numbers 49-53
53. Richard Swift: Atlantic Ocean.
52. Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers: Songs in the Night.
51. Vetiver: Tight Knit.
50. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Up From Below.
49. Amadou et Mariam: Welcome to Mali.
52. Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers: Songs in the Night.
51. Vetiver: Tight Knit.
50. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Up From Below.
49. Amadou et Mariam: Welcome to Mali.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Splitting hairs
Sixteen more albums succumbed in the loser's bracket, but looking at the list, numbers 30 through 70 are potentially interchangeable. Almost all of these albums could have been listed on the "Could have been a contender category" because all 16 were good enough to make the final list, though lacked the consistency to warrant repeated plays five years down the road. I did select five, however, to make the final countdown. Added to the final 48 remaining, they will round out my top 53 albums of the year. I'll post those soon. First, the round-up:
*Could have been a contender: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Up From Below. Though the album has five outstanding songs and a bunch of OK songs, the group's best songs, "40 Day Dream" and "Home" are good enough to propel this album to propel this album into the top 40 or higher.
*Should have been a contender: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Again, the band was three or so more great songs away from a top 20 finish. Catch them live if you can. There are 10 or so band members crammed onto what is usually a tiny stage. Meanwhile, lead singer Alex Ebert, who resembles some sort of hippie Messiah, ventures into the crowd to bond with the audience and possibly find some more followers.
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Girls, Album. To be fair, I didn't have this album long enough to be in heavy rotation in time to snag a higher seed in the tournament. Also to be fair, I am buying the hype for half of this album, but it suffers from the same issues of inconsistency as the Edward Sharpe album.
*Check you out later: Megafaun, Gather, Form and Fly. This album reminds me of Blitzen Trapper's Wild Mountain Nation and Field Rexx albums: there were great songs on those albums but some of the album's momentum was negated by what my friend Lynne calls "noodling." Sometimes, Megafaun sounds like it is interested in experimentation and doesn't quite realize yet that it's a real band. I'll purchase Megafaun's next album based on potential. AFter all, Blitzen Trapper eventually settled on a sound and produced last year's stellar Furr, which would have been in my top 10 had I ever bothered to compile one.
*Could have been a contender: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Up From Below. Though the album has five outstanding songs and a bunch of OK songs, the group's best songs, "40 Day Dream" and "Home" are good enough to propel this album to propel this album into the top 40 or higher.
*Should have been a contender: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Again, the band was three or so more great songs away from a top 20 finish. Catch them live if you can. There are 10 or so band members crammed onto what is usually a tiny stage. Meanwhile, lead singer Alex Ebert, who resembles some sort of hippie Messiah, ventures into the crowd to bond with the audience and possibly find some more followers.
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Girls, Album. To be fair, I didn't have this album long enough to be in heavy rotation in time to snag a higher seed in the tournament. Also to be fair, I am buying the hype for half of this album, but it suffers from the same issues of inconsistency as the Edward Sharpe album.
*Check you out later: Megafaun, Gather, Form and Fly. This album reminds me of Blitzen Trapper's Wild Mountain Nation and Field Rexx albums: there were great songs on those albums but some of the album's momentum was negated by what my friend Lynne calls "noodling." Sometimes, Megafaun sounds like it is interested in experimentation and doesn't quite realize yet that it's a real band. I'll purchase Megafaun's next album based on potential. AFter all, Blitzen Trapper eventually settled on a sound and produced last year's stellar Furr, which would have been in my top 10 had I ever bothered to compile one.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
32 more gone
*Could have been a contender: Fanfarlo, Reservoir.
*Should have been a contender: There were some albums I looked forward to this year and ultimately didn't meet expectations. Despite a few strong songs, Langhorne Slim's Be Set Free didn't match the energy of his 2008 album, which, if I had have made a best-of list last year, would have been in my top 20 for sure.
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Widely regarded as the album of the year in critic circles, there's no question this album is creative and musically engaging. But that doesn't I'm ever going to listen to it again. I remember the first time my mom tried goat's milk at a farm where we were guests. She didn't want to be rude, so she took a sip and said, "Hmmmm, interesting." That sums up my feelings of this album.
*Check you out later: Dawes, North Hills. This album could have gone in the "Could have been a contender" category because it had top 53 potential. With L.A.'s Dawes, San Francisco's Or, the Whale and Seattle's Maldives, The west coast is full of young, twangy, country-influenced bands. The Maldives are the best of the bunch, but Dawes isn't far behind.
*Should have been a contender: There were some albums I looked forward to this year and ultimately didn't meet expectations. Despite a few strong songs, Langhorne Slim's Be Set Free didn't match the energy of his 2008 album, which, if I had have made a best-of list last year, would have been in my top 20 for sure.
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion. Widely regarded as the album of the year in critic circles, there's no question this album is creative and musically engaging. But that doesn't I'm ever going to listen to it again. I remember the first time my mom tried goat's milk at a farm where we were guests. She didn't want to be rude, so she took a sip and said, "Hmmmm, interesting." That sums up my feelings of this album.
*Check you out later: Dawes, North Hills. This album could have gone in the "Could have been a contender" category because it had top 53 potential. With L.A.'s Dawes, San Francisco's Or, the Whale and Seattle's Maldives, The west coast is full of young, twangy, country-influenced bands. The Maldives are the best of the bunch, but Dawes isn't far behind.
The first eliminations
The first 32 albums were eliminated from contention in the quest to find the top 53 albums of the year. Here's an update:
*Could have been a contender: While the system is basically fair, the draw does matter. For the early rounds, I'll pick the best eliminated album, one that could have made it to the final list if given a different draw. This round: Ben Darwish's Ode to Consumerism. I'm not a jazz connoisseur at all, but this Portland jazz pianist grabbed my attention with the original title track and a cover of Green Day's "Longview."
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest.
*Check you out later: Every round I'll pick a band that didn't make the final cut but that at least piqued my interest. This round: Warpaint.
*Could have been a contender: While the system is basically fair, the draw does matter. For the early rounds, I'll pick the best eliminated album, one that could have made it to the final list if given a different draw. This round: Ben Darwish's Ode to Consumerism. I'm not a jazz connoisseur at all, but this Portland jazz pianist grabbed my attention with the original title track and a cover of Green Day's "Longview."
*Purchased the album, not buying the hype: Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest.
*Check you out later: Every round I'll pick a band that didn't make the final cut but that at least piqued my interest. This round: Warpaint.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
At last I've found a way to crown the album of the year
When I was 10 -- and 11 and 12 and 13 and probably 14 -- I played Nerf basketball incessantly. I would make tournaments and play all of the games out by myself. I started at 64, but then that wasn't enough. I went up to 128, then 256 and then 512. A quarter of a decade later, I've decided to resurrect my DIY brackets for one sole purpose: to crown my album of the year with a 128-album double elimination tournament. Until this year, I've never officially written a year-end best-of list. I didn't think I could really choose one fairly because the albums from earlier in the year ended up being forgotten. Speaking of forgetting, I'm to the point in my life where if I don't write down my favorite albums of the year, I may never remember them again.
I wanted my list to represent fairly which album I like to listen to the most. Not which one is more creative. Not which one is different. Not which one sounds interesting. Which albums do I sing along to and which ones will I sing along to in 10 years? Here's how it works:
* I found some British foosball double-elimination tournament online to serve as my bluprint.
* I seeded the albums from 1-128 based on my iTunes play count. If there was a tie -- and there were many -- then I chose which one I thought was the better album as the higher seed. I could have ranked them 1-128 by what I thought the order was going to be, but that didn't seem very interesting. Besides, I came up with the tournament to get away from just the top-of-my-head list. There are certain to be albums that have better draws than others but with a double-elimination format, the best albums will win out.
* I originally planned to listen to every album at every round until I realized I wouldn't finish until December of 2010. Instead, I have a "listen-off" if there is even the slightest doubt of which album I like better. Having already started the process, I can say that my prediction of what will win only plays out half the time. Albums that I thought were great suddenly sound merely good.
There really isn't a foolproof way to decide the year's best album, so I'm sticking with what I know how to do: listen to music and make brackets.
May the best album win. And if it doesn't, then may it come up from the loser's bracket to triumph in the end.
I wanted my list to represent fairly which album I like to listen to the most. Not which one is more creative. Not which one is different. Not which one sounds interesting. Which albums do I sing along to and which ones will I sing along to in 10 years? Here's how it works:
* I found some British foosball double-elimination tournament online to serve as my bluprint.
* I seeded the albums from 1-128 based on my iTunes play count. If there was a tie -- and there were many -- then I chose which one I thought was the better album as the higher seed. I could have ranked them 1-128 by what I thought the order was going to be, but that didn't seem very interesting. Besides, I came up with the tournament to get away from just the top-of-my-head list. There are certain to be albums that have better draws than others but with a double-elimination format, the best albums will win out.
* I originally planned to listen to every album at every round until I realized I wouldn't finish until December of 2010. Instead, I have a "listen-off" if there is even the slightest doubt of which album I like better. Having already started the process, I can say that my prediction of what will win only plays out half the time. Albums that I thought were great suddenly sound merely good.
There really isn't a foolproof way to decide the year's best album, so I'm sticking with what I know how to do: listen to music and make brackets.
May the best album win. And if it doesn't, then may it come up from the loser's bracket to triumph in the end.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Hinging my hopes on the next generation
I can't dance. It has something to do with growing up Mennonite probably. Or at least that's convenient to say. After all, Mennonites weren't supposed to dance. My high school banned dances and the college I went to didn't sponsor dances until three years before I arrived. In college, I rarely danced because I was usually the DJ. That was a convenient out as well.
The fact is that the "oh, I'm Mennonite, so that's why I can't dance or have any sort of moves except for the running man" masks an important fact: even I would have had more opportunities to dance, that doesn't mean that I actually could physically do it. I'm not alone. I haven't read any studies, but if there was one about Mennonites and dancing, I'm pretty sure it would show that 85 percent of Mennonites born before 1982 have no rhythm.
So, I was hopeful this morning when Mauren took time out from our tea party to dance to the Gaslight Anthem. She has moves, including a little hip shake and a tilting head nod. Best of all, she was to the beat. The next generation may actually have some rhythm.
The fact is that the "oh, I'm Mennonite, so that's why I can't dance or have any sort of moves except for the running man" masks an important fact: even I would have had more opportunities to dance, that doesn't mean that I actually could physically do it. I'm not alone. I haven't read any studies, but if there was one about Mennonites and dancing, I'm pretty sure it would show that 85 percent of Mennonites born before 1982 have no rhythm.
So, I was hopeful this morning when Mauren took time out from our tea party to dance to the Gaslight Anthem. She has moves, including a little hip shake and a tilting head nod. Best of all, she was to the beat. The next generation may actually have some rhythm.
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