'Tis the season... to post your Top 10 Albums List!!!

[Swish]

...as of now anyway. Sometimes I rediscover records months later that didn't do much for me right away, and I'm sure many others feel the same way.

Wilco – The Whole Love More great music from my one of my favorite bands of the past decade. I got to hear a few tracks before seeing them live for the 3rd time.

EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints Dark music the way I like it. What a great debut.

Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean Seeing Sam and his band live really opened my eyes to this one. I just love it.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic Saw them on this tour and was pretty happy, although I think Stephen was a bit under the weather.

Yuck - Yuck Cool Brit-pop with a 90s feel.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver Despite the fact that Finchy introduced me to this band, I'm really liking this second effort. Intricate stuff that showcases Justin Vernon's vocals, and that's a good thing.

Destroyer - Kaput Never listened to this band very much, and this is their 9th record. It's really, really good, and they're from Canada for cryin' out loud.



Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys They can do no wrong.

James Blake - James Blake This will give your sub-woofer a nice work out.

[Davey]

Yuck - Yuck Cool Brit-pop with a 90s feel.

That Yuck CD may be the worst sounding one I heard this year. The foobar dynamic range meter registers something like 3. I'd post a waveform, but there isn't really one, it's just pegged the whole time. It did sound kinda fun, but I couldn't get past that awful mastering. You're a better rocker than me, Swish Baby!

[Swish]

That Yuck CD may be the worst sounding one I heard this year. The foobar dynamic range meter registers something like 3. I'd post a waveform, but there isn't really one, it's just pegged the whole time. It did sound kinda fun, but I couldn't get past that awful mastering. You're a better rocker than me, Swish Baby!

....not sound quality. I have to admit that I've listened to this in my car more than on my home rig, so it hasn't bothered me so much.

[Jack in Wilmington]

....not sound quality. I have to admit that I've listened to this in my car more than on my home rig, so it hasn't bothered me so much.

"I was going for the best records by content....not sound quality."

Can someone get Swish his meds.

[nobody]

OK, not really a list as I don't do those anymore, but here's a small selection of randomly ordered albums from this year that I realkly like for various moods. And yes, these picks change almost daily.

When I wanna rock the fck out...

OFF!: The First Four EPs
Keith Morris and a guy from Red Kross and some new kids blow the joint apart with hardcore blasts straight outta 1981. This thing just smokes.
Honorable mentions to Davilla666: Tan Bajo, Hunx and His Punx: Too Young to Be in Love, & The Misfits: Devil's Rain (mostly just for the song Where Do They Go)

When I wanna chill the fck out...(electronic category)

Nicolas Jaar: Space is Only Noise
Most of you have listened to this for sure if you're interested in this sort of laid back dance-music influenced electronica. Headphone listening highly recommended, sounds ping all over the place with this one, almost seems designed with headphones in mind. This is one of those records I fully expect to still be listening to years from now.
Honorable mentions to Ken Seeno: Invisible Surfer on an Invisible Wave, Jürgen Müller: Science of the Sea & Pulse Emitter:Spiritual Vistas.

When I wanna chill the fck out...(acoustic category)

J. Masics: Several Shades of Why
Really nice intimate acoustic album from the Dinosaur Jr. frontman. I was never really much into that group, but this album has grabbed me enough that I've since delved back into their catalog...and I still like this as a whole better than anything they did.
Honorable mention to Middle Brother:S/T, Exene Cervenka:The Excitement of Maybe & Beach Fossils: What A Pleasure.

When I wanna hear something somewhere in-between...

Washed Out: Within and Without
I guess this is more Chillwave, but this album has a great pop sensibility and excellent propulsion throughout. A really cohesive listen from start to finish without getting boring or feeling too monotonous.
Honorable mentions to Fujiya and Miyagi: Ventriloquizzing, The Cults: S/T & The Dirtbombs: Party Store

When I wanna hear some droning oddball stuff...

Zomes: Earth Grid
Drones and tape loops. Not a ton of variety here, but the whole thing holds together and the individual songs keep my attention. The pacing is quicker and the loops more rhythmic than a lot of this sort of thing and I think that's probably what hooks me.
Honorable mentions to: Prurient: Time's Arrow, Willamette: Echo Park, & Mountains: Air Museum

When I wanna hear some soul music...

Charles Bradley: No Time for Dreaming
I still think this one really has one mega-track that carries the rest of the album. Thena gain when it is a song as good as The World (Is Going Up in Flames), that can be just fine.
Honorable mentions to Jill Scott: The Light of the Sun &Raphael Saadiq: Stone Rollin.

Other people who made stuff I liked a lot this year: Mind Spiders, Teenage Panzerkorps, The Kills, Barn Owl, Panabrite, Roy Ellis, Anthony Hamilton, Skybombers, Teen Daze, Girls, Run DMT, Sean McCann, Grouper, Balam Acab and several more I am forgetting.

Song of the year even though I'm not so big on the rest of the album.... Post Break Up Sex by the Vaccines.

[Slosh]

Wow, I just looked and I have 45 albums or EPs from 2011 so far. I haven't had time to listen very much to all of them yet, however. Off the top of my head I'll go with:

We Are Augustines - Rise, Ye Sunken Ships
The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Mirror Traffic
The Feelies - Here Before
Rob Crow - He Thinks He's People
Wilco - The Whole Love

There's a bunch such as Kid Dakota, Richmond Fontaine, Tapes 'n Tapes, Wooden Shjips, Kurt Vile, Old 97s, Destroyer, Bill Callahan, Trail Of Dead, etc. that I need more spins with.

[Swish]

"I was going for the best records by content....not sound quality."

Can someone get Swish his meds.

Otherwise, maybe the mirror should be your friend.

[bobsticks]

I love the fact that you'll pick a fight for something that was said months ago...I respect the current spouse more and more each day...

[Swish]

That Yuck CD may be the worst sounding one I heard this year. The foobar dynamic range meter registers something like 3. I'd post a waveform, but there isn't really one, it's just pegged the whole time. It did sound kinda fun, but I couldn't get past that awful mastering. You're a better rocker than me, Swish Baby!

Since Yuck is categorized as a 'low-fi' band, a genre which typically records with technical flaws and limited frequency response, would you tend to say your criticism may be a tad heavy-handed?

Just wondering.

[Davey]

Since Yuck is categorized as a 'low-fi' band, a genre which typically records with technical flaws and limited frequency response, would you tend to say your criticism may be a tad heavy-handed?

Uh, sure, maybe... neither of us should be taken seriously most of the time, I'm pretty sure that's well understood here .... but seriously, a tad heavy-handed? Only if we were all kids with no memory of when even the bands characterized as lo-fi put out some pretty decent sounding (in retrospect) records and CDs. Admittedly, I didn't know at the time I would be saying 20 years down the tunnel that the mid 90s were already heading down from the peak of modern pop/rock recording, but there it is. If you don't hear it, I'll draw you some pictures ...



Pavement from Crooked Rain (1994)


Sparklehorse from Vivadixie... (1995)


Silver Jews from America Water (1998)


Yuck from Yuck (2011)