Deserted Island Material

Enjoy hypothetical questions?  I do (about as much as lists.)

Well, if you were to be stranded on a deserted island with a Discman®, portable speakers, a lifetime supply of AA batteries and only 5 albums, which would you choose?

After much (...some) debating, here are the 5 albums I would be happy to spin for eternity (or at least until I can no longer survive isolated in a hunter/gatherer scenario.)

[As a side note; these do not necessarily represent my favorite albums.  Nor are they in any particular order.  Just a bunch of "classic" albums with a good mix of diversity.  And no "Greatest Hits" albums... that's just cheating.]


The Heavy

The Epic

The Funk

The Folk

The Female

How about your island?

New Music Tuesday

Anticipating...

or

Hmmm???

[Hallelujah, It's Tight Like That!]

He's Gone Home

Alvin Lee R.I.P.

Thank you for all the iconic music and the most epic performance at Woodstock!  You will forever be remembered.

Gnarly Album Covers: Best of 2012

In the age of digital media, previously important items are becoming lost in the realm of music.  Albums are no longer collectables amongst most of the younger generation and "singles" have certainly become king.  Of course many of your "audiophiles" and vinyl collectors will insist on purchasing physical media (\m/ \m/), that fact of the matter is electronic means of acquiring music will now and forever be the largest and most lucrative method.  As a result, I fear people, and possibly the musicians themselves, will no longer appreciate the significance of album art.

The album cover has always been very important to me and to the music itself.  In particular, metal bands like Iron Maiden and Megadeth have relied heavily on their covers to entice new listeners and introduce them to their catalog (in all its devastating glory!)  That being said, I have commonly purchased CDs and records based solely on an album cover that had caught my eye.   Eventhough more often than not I have sold these albums back to a local record store, others have proved to be exceptional.  I cringe at a time when artists release their music without this memorable element.  Until that time comes...

Enjoy my favorite album covers of 2012.


5. Pallbearer - "Sorrow And Extinction"

4. Céu - "Caravana Sereia Bloom"

3. Matt Elliott - "The Broken Man"

2. Angel Witch - "As Above, So Below"

1. Chromatics - "Kill For Love"

Best of 2012 - ZH Version

I have to admit that this past year in music was fairly uninspiring for me. There were a lot of albums I liked, few that I loved. Very few that I liked from start to finish without throw-away tracks. It was definitely more of a mix tape year for me. Nevertheless, here are the best of the bunch and the ones in heaviest rotation for me. I hope for good things in 2013 and I know there are a few promising releases on the horizon.


10. The Heavy - The Glorious Dead

I don't really know what the popular consensus is on these guys and I feel like this is kind of a guilty pleasure sort of pick, but I don't care because I really enjoy listening to this album. With the exception of Big Bad Wolf (which would have been really good as an instrumental), I find myself listening to and singing along with this disc over and over again during my commute home. There's definitely a Black Keys vibe which makes it an obvious pick, but again, I don't care. I like it. It's fun. Screw you, hipsters.


9. Jack White - Blunderbuss

I had high hopes for this one, and in the end, I think they were too high. Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great album, well crafted, well produced, appropriately varied. I just feel like it's not very memorable. I don't see myself choosing to put this album on over any of the White Stripes ones. That being said, the guy's still a genius. Trash Tongue Talker, Love Interruption and I'm Shakin' are among the year's best songs. I also love his marketing scheme. He used the same template he used for the White Stripes' ever-present red and white motif and built a new black and blue brand in his own name, complete with the classic "III" logo and alternating all-male and all-female touring bands. This dude is a showman and he knows how to do it right. I really enjoyed seeing him this last summer and I think his live show made the album sparkle a little more. I expect his next solo effort to be mind-blowing.


8. Menomena - Moms

This is another one I was probably too excited about. I like everything these guys have done, but I was always less impressed with the tracks built off Brent Knopf's ideas. Then he quit the band. Perfect, I thought, I love this band and now the only part of it I don't care for is gone. It's like distilling the band down to a potent and extremely satisfying Menomena extract. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite hit the mark as I'd expected. I'm afraid that he took with him not only the blah synth based meanderings, but also some important part of the song creation process. Several of these songs lack the depth and layers I love from Friend and Foe and Mines. I've described their unique songwriting process on this blog previously so I won't go into it again, but it seems they've also ditched that innovative method on this album. Still (by now you've probably picked up on a theme in this post), this album has some really awesome songs. Plumage, Capsule and Skintercourse are outstanding and some of my favorite tracks they've ever recorded. I got to see them play live three times this fall and you can be sure I'll catch them again next time they come back home for a show.


7. Django Django - Django Django

Sir RJD introduced me to these guys when he came to visit in September and I've been hooked ever since. I think he summarized it well on his list so I won't go into great detail, but Default and Love's Dart are particularly noteworthy and this album played a lot in my house over the last few months of the year.


6. Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune

This is probably the only album I loved from the first track to the last, probably because it's concept nature makes it one continuous piece. It's actually a score for the movie of the same name. The movie was from the dawn of filmmaking (it's the one featured in the movie Hugo) and it's silent. These guys decided it needed some music behind it and this is what they came up with. They screened the film here many months back with the soundtrack and I regrettably missed it, but I have a feeling it's pretty impressive. The album stands alone quite well and has a proggy, 2001 A Space Odyssey feel at times. I think it was the first album I bought in 2012 and one of the best.


5. The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now

It's pretty much a given that any time TTMOE or WEW releases an album, it's going to be in my top five of the year. Again, RJD has summarized this album nicely and it's more of the same from a rare folk talent. I hope he keeps making records for a long, long time and, after missing him play free shows in Portland several times in years past, I'm glad that I finally got to see him perform live for the first time.


4. Japandroids - Celebration Rock

It took me a while to get into these guys. They had heaps of praise piled on them after Post Nothing came out a few years ago. I got that album, but I didn't quite see the brilliance, or maybe I didn't give a chance. This one by the Vancouver BC twosome grabbed me rather quickly and grew with each subsequent listen. It's short and sweet and is pure energy from top to bottom. Another great show I saw this year, their set at the Wonder Ballroom was their first back on the west coast and they showed very much love to their brethren to the south by playing the entire album plus most of Post Nothing and many early single and EP tracks.


3. Grizzly Bear - Shields; Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile

I was treated twice this year by Daniel Rossen, so I decided to lump these two albums together at number three. Not only did we get the usual melodic perfection of a new Grizzly Bear album, but DR decided to issue an EP of the songs he wrote that didn't make it onto Shields. A big Department of Eagles fan, I say the more Rossen the better and I'm always moved by his songs. It's pretty incredible that the songs on Silent Hour didn't make the final cut because they're all excellent. There is an unmistakable George Harrison sound on this disc that keeps me coming back. Golden Mile is a great track that I hesitate to call the highlight, because really the album is solid all the way through. Favorite songs on the Grizzly Bear album change every time I listen to it (this happens to me with every GB album) but right now I'd say Sleeping Ute, A Simple Answer and Gun-Shy stand out.


2. The Evens - The Odds

I've found in recent years that some of my favorite albums end up being ones I didn't expect. They're from artists I don't know who make music I don't typically seek out. But there's always something I was craving that I wasn't aware of and these albums reach me at the exact right time. Last year the album was from Tune-Yards. This year it's The Evens. Their slightly produced baritone guitar, drums and tag team vocals set up scratched an itch I didn't know I had. I've never been a big Fugazi fan, but this slowed down, stripped down approach to punk works well. The songs are infectious and I couldn't ever seem to stay away very long. The whole album is really good, but check out King of Kings, Sooner or Later, Broken Finger and Architects Sleep to get started. This is one band whose back catalog I can't wait to dive into.


1. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

This album came out in early summer and I said after the first listen that it was the best of the year to that point. It became the benchmark against which all other albums of 2012 were judged. She writes incredibly catchy songs and pours so much soul into them vocally that they're just plain fun to listen to. And her voice is really what it's about. Accompanied by only her keyboard and percussion you can literally feel the emotion on tracks like Every Single Night and Daredevil. She took her time for this release and its flawlessness shows. I think the reason this one rose so high on my list was again the Tune-Yard effect. I think this album and Whokill share a lot of similarities and if I never get to fulfill my dream of seeing WEW and TTMOE play a double bill together I think seeing Merrill and Fiona would be the next best thing.



Despite my negativity about the year that was in music, this is a solid list. I was lucky enough to see four of the above bands perform live and will plan to see a fifth (Django Django) in March. I don't get to see and hear as much live music as I once did, but I am grateful every day that these heroes of mine (superheroes, really) are still traveling around the world to let their fans experience their brilliance live. The definite highlight of my year musically was attending MFNW with RJD. We packed in three days of live shows, catching some of our all time favorites while also discovering some new surprises (I predict Tango Alpha Tango will officially arrive in 2013). Thanks for sharing a great weekend and I hope we can do it again sooner than later.

Below, in sticking with the format, I've included my best of list for 2012, an album I've titled 2012 in Rearview. Enjoy.

2012 in Rearview

1. Astronomic Club - Air
2. Elephant - Tame Impala
3. Default - Django Django
4. Sooner or Later - The Evens
5. Plumage - Menomena
6. A Simple Answer - Grizzly Bear
7. Black Cloud - Tango Alpha Tango
8. Who - David Byrne & St. Vincent
9. Daredevil - Fiona Apple
10. The Lonesome Road - The Heavy
11. About To Die - Dirty Projectors
12. Little Brother - The Tallest Man On Earth
13. Trash Tongue Talker - Jack White
14. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
15. The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids
16. To Break Into - Tu Fawning

RJD's 12 Best Albums of 2012

Being the end is near (anytime now according to the Mayans), I present my best albums of 2012.  Enjoy (if you have time.)


12. Storm Corrosion - "Storm Corrosion"
(5/8/12, Roadrunner [Sweden/UK])

For fans of Opeth, Porcupine Tree, King Crimson
Premium cuts: Drag Ropes, Lock Howl, Storm Corrosion


11. Fiona Apple - "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do"
(6/19/12, Epic [USA])

For fans of Tori Amos, Billie Holiday, Mazzy Star
Premium cuts: Hot Knife, Periphery, Jonathan


10. Witchcraft - "Legend"
(9/21/12, Nuclear Blast [Sweden])

For fans of Graveyard, Pentagram, Tool
Premium cuts: White Light Suicide, It's Not Because Of You, Dystopia


9. 3 Inches Of Blood - "Long Live Heavy Metal"
(3/27/12, Century Media [Canada])

For fans of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio
Premium cuts: Dark Messenger, Leather Lord, 4000 Torches


8. Sean Rowe - "The Salesman And The Shark"
(8/27/12, -Anti [USA])

For fans of Andrew Bird, Bill Withers, Tom Waits
Premium cuts: Horses, The Ballad Of Buttermilk Falls, The Lonely Maze


7. Menahan Street Band - "The Crossing"
(10/30/12, Dunham Records [USA])

For fans of The Budos Band, Mondo Cane, El Michels Affair
Premium cuts: Sleight Of Hand, Three Faces, Lights Out


6. Baroness - "Yellow & Green"
(7/16/12, Relapse [USA])

A common trend among many of my admired metal bands over the past few years has been to write an album with smaller cojones. That may be too harsh of a description, as groups getting in touch with their softer side has lead to some killer material (case in point, last years #5 album of the year; Opeth's "Heritage"). Baroness had this in mind heading into the studio to record "Yellow & Green", knowing very well fans may be polarized with less aggression. The result was far from delicate. Songs like "Eula" and "The Lines Between" have enough beef and fire to support the Donner party. The boys from Savannah, GA, also seem to have opted for an early 90s rock groove, sounding very much like the Meat Puppets ("Collapse") and Quicksand ("Psalms Alive"). If this represents the new Baroness, a fourth album entitled "Magenta" would still come off as ferocious.

For fans of Mastodon, Meat Puppets, The Moody Blues
Premium cuts: Eula, Cocainium, Mtns. (The Crown & Anchor)


5. Django Django - "Django Django"
(10/9/12, Ribbon Music [UK])

It has been a while since a more mainstream, alternative, pop rock band with radio airplay has sparked my interest in any meaningful way. Part of the reason Django Django has been able to accomplish this feat is due to nostalgia. The music on their full length debut is a continuation of vocal harmony and electronic synth as introduced by The Beta Band in the late 90s. Having listened to The Beta Band since my introduction following the "Sell Five Copies" scene from the movie High Fidelity, I have loved their distinctive style. Django Django has tapped into the same vein with DJ sampling and breakbeats mixed with acoustic rock and surf pop. The beats are absolutely infectious throughout Django Django. Consider the torch passed.

For fans of The Beta Band, The Beach Boys, Archie Bronson Outfit
Premium cuts: Default, Hail Bop, Love's Dart


4. The Tallest Man On Earth - "There's No Leaving Now"
(6/12/12, Dead Oceans [Sweden])

Folk artists take note; there is no one better than The Tallest Man On Earth. Kristian Matsson may only be 5'7", but his music is gargantuan. On his third LP, Mr. Matsson uses more production to give his music a bigger sound, compared to his previously more rustic albums. His songwriting remains second to none with a voice Dylan purists miss (see "Tempest.") Hearing the majority of "There's No Leaving Now" live added to my appreciation of this album. Stripped down and played acoustic, these songs stand out even more and continue with TTMOE's track record of being yet to write a song that wasn't instantly memorable. Only three albums and 2 EPs into his career, the Tallest Man is already among the upper echelon of folk songwriters. Here's hoping he stays true to his word and doesn't leave anytime soon.

For fans of Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, William Elliott Whitmore
Premium cuts: Little Brother, Wind And Walls, Revelation Blues


3. Graveyard - "Lights Out"
(11/6/12, Nuclear Blast [Sweden])

I am convinced that Sweden has more musical talent per capita than any other country. Four albums on this list are from Sweden. Three of my favorite artists hail from the land of meatballs and lutfisk; Opeth, The Tallest Man On Earth and Graveyard. Graveyard also claimed the crown for "best album of 2011" with the monumental "Hisingen Blues." Their follow-up album "Lights Outs" continues the bands trend of psychedelic blues, southern-fried "classic" rock/metal. Joakim Nilsson and crew has gotten the "Led out" yet another time in a mere 18 months. The music on their 3rd full length album is just as good as their previous efforts with vocals sounding like it was spewed from classic rock pioneers and riffs as catchy as anything heard at Woodstock. This rollicking, rock music is contagiously fun in a time where the whole world seems like it could use a little. For full effect, "Lights Out" is best served loud. Skål!

For fans of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Sword
Premium cuts: Endless Night, An Industry Of Murder, The Suits, The Law & The Uniforms


2. Enslaved - "RIITIIR"
(10/9/12, Nuclear Blast [Norway])

Most individuals mellow out as they become long(er) in the tooth. However, as I have aged (to my ripe old mid-thirtysomething's), my taste in music has become much heavier. Thrash metal of the 80's (in the vain of Megadeth [the greatest thrash metal band of all time] and Metallica) was the start. Followed by more radio-friendly rock/metal. Over the past few years, my auditory "palate" has expanded to enjoy Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, New Wave Of Swedish Death Metal and Progressive Death Metal (a recent favorite.) Enslaved is the newest extreme band I have become quite fond of and has introduced me to Progressive Viking Metal (check out the Map Of Metal.) "RIITIIR" is the 12th studio album from Norway's Enslaved and the 5th with their current (and best) lineup. Following heavy rotation of their back catalog, one can hear an increasing progressive element akin to Pink Floyd and King Crimson, which is undoubtedly why this album stands out. It is amazingly heavy with guttural roars and clean vocals throughout. At times, Grutle Kjellson's vocals sound like an orc from Middle Earth whom has overdosed on helium (this description doesn't come off as bad-ass as he actually sounds.)  That all being said, these vikings retain their musicianship without compromising brutality. Conventional time signatures need not apply as several different span throughout even a single song. Chaos rules in this epic, bombastic, metal masterpiece.

For fans of Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Dream Theater
Premium cuts: Roots Of The Mountain, Thoughts Like Hammers, Death In The Eyes Of Dawn


1. Matt Elliott - "The Broken Man"
(1/16/12, Ici d'ailleurs... [UK/France])

"The Broken Man" is haunting and this is because Matt Elliott is scary good... Literally. He is a gifted songwriter and his music is incredibly eerie. From Bistol, United Kingdom, this limey has been creating music for over a decade ranging from electronic/drum and bass to ambient soundscapes. He has recently opened my eyes to a new genre of music dubbed "dark folk" (for a great collection of dark folk music check out the 2010 compilation album "Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings.") "The Broken Man" is primarily a solitary man and his acoustic guitar. Elliott's guitar picking technique is similar to toque played in flamenco music. But the most memorable part of his craft is his voice which is absolutely entrancing, almost hypnotizing. His deep, bass intonation is both wicked and soothing. The album starts with "Oh How We Fell," which begins with a simple guitar strum and builds until the sounds of a choir (and quite possibly cherubs) accompany our storyteller. This album is layered with so many different accents from bells, piano and chimes to barks, chants and ghosts(?). The lyrics on "Dust Flesh and Bone" include "still you yearn for contact but the burden that you shoulder means you'll never trust a living soul again. This is how it feels to be alone." WARNING: the severely (or even mildly) depressed should not spin the record for risk of commitment. Despite its bleak lyrics, "The Broken Man" is a beautiful, unique recording with a sound unlike any I have heard before. And as a result, has been christened my "best" album of 2012.

For those in the right mood for something completely different.
Premium cuts: Dust Flesh and Bones, Oh How We Fell, This Is For



Best Songs of 2012:
1. "Little Brother" - The Tallest Man On Earth
2. "Phantom In The Valley" - Howlin Rain
3. "Endless Night" - Graveyard
4. "Secular Haze" - Ghost
5. "Horses" - Sean Rowe
6. "Epic Castles" - Toadies
7. "White Light Suicide" - Witchcraft
8. "Sleight Of Hand" - Menahan Street Band
9. "Default" - Django Django
10. "The Lion's Roar" - First Aid Kit
11. "Mary Lou" - Black Mountain
12. "Spiritual Rites" - High On Fire

2012 Half Full

Now that 2012 is half in the bag, here are 6 albums we feel are definitely worth a spin...

Jerome Turner:
First Aid Kit - "The Lion's Roar"

Band Of Skulls - "Sweet Sour"

Hoffelt:
Fiona Apple - "The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do"

Jack White - "Blunderbuss"

RJD:
Howlin Rain - "The Russian Wilds"

Matt Elliott - "The Broken Man"

Enjoy.