The Artists Pick the Best of 2012, Part 1

By
 / 25 December 2012

The end of the year is the one time on the music industry calendar when the critics take center stage, as best-of lists flood the Internet. While performers become either the objects of affection or the cause of disappointment each December, PopMatters is giving artists a chance to play critic, asking them to supply us with the albums, songs, musical moments, and whatever else (President Obama’s re-election, Mars Curiosity Rover, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, anyone?) that struck their fancy in 2012. What you’ll see is a broad range of favorites — some echoing the critics, but many not — as well as a good dose of holiday camaraderie among peers.

 

A.Dd+, with the Cannabinoids and DJ Sober

Here’s a list of top 10 moments from 2012:

  • Being a part of the Claps & Slaps Tour with Black Milk

  • Dallas Observer Awards: A.Dd+ won “Best Group Act” and “Best Rap/Hip Hop Act”, the Cannabinoids won “Best Funk/R&B Act”, and DJ Sober won “Best DJ”

  • Being on the cover of the Dallas Observer, Dallas’ alternative weekly

  • Rondo stage dive: A fan, Rondo, decided to stage dive at the Schoolboy Q show we opened. In the middle of the performance he got on top of a speaker and jumped in to the crowd. Needless to say, the crowd parted and dude hit the floor.

  • Going on the Red Bull Skooled Tour

  • Opening up for Talib Kweli on the West Coast

  • Performing at Atlanta’s annual hip-hop festival, A3C Fest

  • Performing at FunFunFun Fest again this year

  • Halloween/Justice, DJ Sober opened sold-out show

  • Being mentioned in the New York Times

    Rap group A.Dd+ was chosen as the best group act by the Dallas Observer in 2012. They released When Pigs Fly and a singles collection Loosies in 2011.

     

    akaFRANK

    1. Rick Ross, “Hold Me Back”

    2. E-40, featuring IamSu!, YG, Problem, “Function”

    3. Future, “Same Damn Time”

    4. G.O.O.D. Music, “New God Flow”

    5. MMM, “Actin’ Up”

    6. Killer Mike, “Reagan”

    7. Future, featuring Juicy J, “I’m Trippin'”

    8. Kendrick Lamar, “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”

    9. Juicy J, featuring Lil’ Wayne , 2 Chainz, “Bands Make Her Dance”

    10. E-40, featuing Cousin Fik, “Wasted”

    Bay Area rapper akaFRANK is preparing The Boycott mixtape for release in early 2013.

     

    Alt-J’s Gus Unger-Hamilton

    1. Poliça, Give You the Ghost: This for me is a quintessential “headphones album”– my favourite way to listen to music is while I’m walking around somewhere. Polica’s album, with its beautiful vocals and production, has been a constant companion in 2012.

    2. Django Django, Django Django: We played at a lot of the same festivals as Django Django this year, so the way I first heard their music was live. However, this took me to the album, which I have learned to love as much as their stage show.

    3. Romare, Meditations on Afrocentrism EP: This guy is one half of a band we knew in Leeds, the Peppermint Lounge. The band has since split, but both members continue to make music on their own. This was Archie’s debut release, a four-track EP of footwork, dubstep, world, and house that I think is truly original.

    4. The Lumineers, The Lumineers: I discovered this album while touring the States this autumn — I am a folk music lover at heart, and this is a very strong album.

    5. Oberhofer, Time Capsules II: I know little about this band, but my friend in San Francisco got me into them via the track “Heart”. It’s a varied and intriguing record that I’ve been listening to more and more.

    6. The Maccabees, Given to the Wild: I’ve loved this band since I first heard a demo of theirs on late-night BBC Radio 1 some time in the mid-noughties, when I was a teenager. Each subsequent album of theirs has represented a musical maturation for the band, and their third offering is no different. Another headphones record!

    7. Metronomy’s LateNightTales compilation: The first LateNightTales compilation I got was the Cinematic Orchestra’s, a few years ago. Since then, I’ve been addicted to this series. Metronomy [aka Joseph Mount and co.] are one of my favourite bands (their third album was my “record of 2011”), and this is a great mix by one of the most daring and visionary musicians working in Britain today.

    8. The Cribs, In The Belly of the Brazen Bull: No Cribs album has ever disappointed me, from their eponymous debut almost ten years ago, to this, their fifth studio album. I’ll always be interested in what this band is doing.

    9. Cave Painting, Votive Life: We toured with this band in May around the time of our album release. They’d finished their debut record, but hadn’t released it yet, so I got a chance to get to know it both through their live set and an advance copy they gave me. Whilst I think they convey more live, this is still a really good collection of songs, thoughtfully written and produced.

    10. Stealing Sheep, Into the Diamond Sun: Another band which has supported us this year, a female three-piece from Liverpool. Folky harmonies sung over psychedelic instrumentals, and a genuine sense of magic,make this a perfect album for me.

    Alt-J’s debut album An Awesome Wave won the prestigious Mercury Prize in 2012. It also placed as #61 on PopMatters’ list of the best albums of 2012.

    • Arbouretum and more…

     

    Arbouretum’s Dave Heumann

    A brief list of the best music-oriented things that happened in 2012, according to me:

  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse, “Ramada Inn”: This one I’m putting at the top because, well, it’s Neil Young at his best, which is better than pretty much anyone else at their best.

    I first heard it when someone had put a recording of one of his shows from a recent tour up on a blog somewhere, and someone else linked to it on Twitter. Crappy audience recording notwithstanding, this song shone like a gem. It seemed to hold within it nearly every facet of human experience, as if this song itself contained the world entire. I listened to it for weeks before it was officially released, and then when I heard the proper studio recording it did nothing to diminish my enthusiasm. Incredible.

  • Seeing K-X-P live in Dublin: We had just played the downstairs room at Whelans Live in Dublin. That night after we’d played, we were invited to check out the other show that was going on that night upstairs. We’d never heard of K-X-P before, but were buoyed by the enthusiasm of having just played ourselves, and also curious to see what this mysterious band from Finland with a hyphenated acronym for a band name was all about.

    Well, it was fucking amazing. The singer had some kind of sampler thing going that he was tweaking when not hurling out some heavily-effected vocals, the bass player just kind of hung out and grooved hard while looking spooky as shit, and the drummer…man, that guy could really lay down some serious beats! I don’t think I’m capable of describing how utterly transfixed we were by this performance, but suffice it to say that we were all completely blown away. We were all in the front row dancing, actually, which is incredibly rare for us, as anyone who knows us can attest to.

  • Luke Roberts, “His Song”: We had Luke opening for us and traveling with us during our European spring tour. I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d heard a few songs and thought they were pretty good, but that didn’t in any way prepare me for the actual experience of getting to know this guy and his music. Luke is the real deal. It doesn’t get any realer, in fact. His songs just sort of burrow into your head and stay there, revealing new aspects every time you hear them, or even every time you hear them in your head. He’s the closest thing this era has to Townes Van Zandt, and I mean this not in the sense that he’s at all derivative (he’s not), just in the sense that he exudes that level of potent reality through his songs. If you know what I’m talking about, then you’ll know what I mean.

  • Die Antwoord, “Baby’s on Fire” video: This video is one of my favorite-ever videos for the following reasons…

    1. It’s hilarious.

    2. Yolandi. I’ll leave it at that.

    3. There’s an awesome E30 BMW drifting and kicking up dust clouds. I’m a huge fan of BMW, and the E30 body style reigns supreme. Well, that and the E36.

  • Red River Dialect, awellopontheway: This is probably my favorite band in England right now, and the record is spectacular. It was financed completely through an indiegogo campaign, and to my ears sounds as good as anything to come out of a major studio. There’s an infectious fervor that permeates this violin-tinged folk-rock, music that Ben Chasny called “some of the greatest fist-in-the-air fisherman jams since the Waterboys.” I’m inclined to agree, despite never actually having heard the Waterboys.

  • Playing with Sidi Toure at the Thrill Jockey 20th Anniversary show in London: I’ve been listening to Malian music for many years now — it’s been an absolutely huge influence on my guitar playing. All of us in the band have been, in fact: Tinariwen, Oumou Sangare, Toumani Diabate, this is the kind of thing we listen to in the van. So when Anthea from the London Thrill Jockey office called me and asked if it would be okay to have Sidi Toure play a song before our set, I was like, “Are you kidding, of course, it’s okay!”

    After I got off the phone with her, I started daydreaming about how cool it would be if he actually played a song with us. We had been doing an arrangement of our song “Tonight’s a Jewel” in a North African style anyway, so I figured this would be perfect. He was into the idea, so after he played a song on his own, we opened our set with it. Yes, I was actually trading licks with Sidi Toure. Total mind-blower.

  • Microkingdom live at Scapescape, Baltimore: Microkingdom plays jazz, sort of. I’m not really sure what to call it, but they themselves call it “zone variance of extra-cognitive spiritual magnetism, or No Jazz”. At Scapescape, a summertime music/arts festival in Baltimore, Microkingdom took the stage at the Windup Space as a quartet, the usual trio of Redman, Miller, and Dierker, plus Chris Pumphrey (Rhodes), who is one of the most lucid, enthusiastic, and head-bangingest guys to have ever touched a keyboard. It was pure bliss hearing and watching these fellows weave in and out of some of the most incredible dynamic and textural musical landscapes known to mankind — truly awe-inspiring. My consciousness was reduced to a puddle on the floor as I tried vainly to understand how they were doing it, any of it.

  • Meeting Jeffrey Johns in Bristol, UK: Jeff Johns isn’t a musician, really, just a guy. He is, however, quite possibly the best music fan of all time, and he came to three of our shows in 2012. When we played Bristol back in May, there was this gigantic guy with a head of curly blond hair standing right in front of me as we were setting up, a guy who, once the music started, was dancing and rocking out continuously. I have been around people rocking out before, of course, and inclined to do it myself at times, but this guy took it to a whole new level, energizing all of us and inspiring us to play at our best. It came as little surprise, then, to find out that there is actually a mini-documentary made about him, actually an interactive documentary with many segments. To watch this in its entirety is to love this man. I am not joking.



    Arbouretum’s fifth album, Coming Out of the Fog, will be released by Thrill Jockey on January 22, 2013.

     

    Bad Cop

    Top 10 moments of 2012:

  • Touring with Cage the Elephant across the entire country in a month back in April.

  • METZ’s set at the Sub Pop showcase at CMJ was insane. It really reminded me of how awesome music is.

  • CMJ, in general, was a crazy experience this year. We had a huge crew with us (Bad Cop, Western Medication, and Ghost Dance), so it felt like we got to take over the city for a few days.

  • Springfield, Missouri: We have been watching this scene grow tremendously this year. It’s like Nashville, circa 2009; can’t wait to see all the awesome things to come out of that city next year.

  • Jeffery Drag Records picked up in a huge way this year. We have been lucky enough to make records for some of the best bands Nashville (and the rest of the country) has to offer.

  • Being in New Orleans on 4/20 at House Of Blues, playing before Curren$y. Wow.

  • Looking up during our set in Vegas at the Cosmopolitan Hotel and seeing ourselves being broadcast on a three-story Jumbotron facing Las Vegas Blvd. We had no idea that was going down.

  • Recording our new record at Battletapes with Brad Shultz producing.

  • Having our homie Brian Mayo driving us on tour all over the country. Hands down the funniest, most hatin’-on guy we know. Thanks Mayo!

  • Getting a HUGE box of custom rolling papers for Natural Child in the mail for our label. Holographic, embossed, high quality papers that literally had us drooling. Look it up!

    Bad Cop, from Nashville, Tennessee, released a split 7″ with Turbo Fruits on Jeffrey Drag in July 2012.

     

    Beach Fossils

  • Lower, Walk on Heads
  • Death Grips, The Money Store
  • Lust For Youth, Growing Seeds
  • Mac DeMarco, 2
  • Warthog, Chain Wallet Sessions

    • Beach Fossils will be releasing a new album, Clash the Truth, on February 19, 2013, via Captured Tracks.

     

    Beca

    Top 10 favorite albums, songs, things of the year:

    1. Le1f’s live performance at CMJ

    2. Lemonade, “Neptune”

    3. Grimes, Visions

    4. Soso, T.T.I.D.S.D.I.E.U.I.C.

    5. Azealia Banks, “Luxury”

    6. David Greilsammer’s solo piano performance at the Mostly Mozart concert series

    7. Yolandi Visser from Die Anwoord

    8. Mars Volta, “Lapochka”

    9. Royal Canoe, “Nightcrawlin”, especially the vocal solo by guitarist Bucky Driedger and epic ending

    10. Sun Glitters mixtapes

    Beca released her Born to Fly EP in Novemeber 2012 on This Is Music Ltd.

     

    Black Marble’s Ty Kube

    1. Holograms, Holograms

    2. Rosenkopf , Rosenkopf and live

    3. YOU. brick cassette tape

    4. Killer Mike, R.A.P Music

    5. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! and live

    6. Hank Wood and the Hammer Heads, Go Home

    7. Sad Boys demo cassette

    8. Lives of Angels, Elevator to Eden reissue of original mixes

    9. Total Control, Henge Beat

    10 Void Vision, Live

    Black Marble released A Different Arrangement on Hardly Art in October 2012.

     

    BRAINSTORM

    In no particular order:

  • Mississippi Records’ five-vinyl-LP African Guitar Box
  • Grimes’ music videos for “Oblivion” and “Genesis”
  • Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang, En Yay Sah
  • Death Grips and Epic Records falling out over No Love Deep Web
  • Delicate Steve’s live show
  • Peaking Lights, Lucifer
  • Onuinu, Mirror Gazer
  • Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras Meet the Congos, Icon Give Thank
  • Major Lazer, featuring Amber Coffman, “Get Free” (the Jamaica video)
  • Jason Urick’s rip of Sandwidi Pierre’s Le Troubadour de la Savane on ghostcapital

    • BRAINSTORM released its new album Heat Waves (Tender Loving Empire) in October 2012.

     

    Brown Shoe

  • Delta Spirit, “Time Bomb”
  • Grizzly Bear, “Yet Again”
  • Smoke and Jackal, “No Tell”
  • Metric, “Breathing Underwater”
  • Kelli Scarr, “Dangling Teeth”
  • Local Natives, “Breakers”
  • Sigur Ros, “Rembihnutur”
  • Jay-Z & Kanye West, “No Church in the Wild”
  • Spencer & Antfood, “Trek”
  • Cat Power, “Ruin”



    Folsom, California-based indie rock band Brown Shoe released The Gift Horse in 2011.

    • Paul Buchanan and more…

     

    Paul Buchanan (formerly of the Blue Nile)

  • Bruce Springsteen, Wrecking Ball
  • Lana Del Rey, Born to Die
  • Frank Ocean, channel Orange
  • The Maccabees, Given to the Wild
  • Leonard Cohen, Old Ideas
  • Neil Young, Waging Heavy Peace (Book)
  • David Byrne, How Music Works (Book)
  • Rod Stewart, The Autobiography (Book)
  • Bob Dylan, Tempest
  • The xx, Coexist

    • One-time Blue Nile frontman Paul Buchanan released his solo debut Mid Air (Newsroom) in November 2012.

     

    Sera Cahoone

    1. Breaking Bad, Season 5

    2. Denver Broncos

    3. Thee Satisfaction, Awe Natural

    4. Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur

    5. Toy poodles

    6. Music for marriage equality

    7. Bulleit Rye

    8. Father John Misty, Fear Fun

    9. Shovels and Ropes, Oh Be Joyful

    10. Raquetball resurgence

    Sera Cahoone released her third album Deer Creek Canyon via Sub Pop in September 2012.

     

    Callers

  • Lower Dens, Nootropics
  • Flying Lotus, Until the Quiet Comes
  • Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo Magellan
  • Antony and the Johnsons, Cut the World
  • Doldrums, Egypt EP
  • DJ Rashad, Teklife Vol. 1 –Welcome to the Chi
  • Here We Go Magic, A Different Ship
  • Actress, R.I.P.
  • Brian Eno, LUX
  • Mac DeMarco, Rock and Roll Nightclub

    • Callers released their third album, Reviver (Partisan), in October 2012.

     

    Cannibal Ox’s Vast Aire

    1. Nas, Life Is Good

    2. Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d. city

    3. Meek Mill, Dreams and Nightmares

    4. Curren$y, The Stoned Immaculate

    5. Double A.B., Media Shower

    6. Billy Woods, History Will Absolve Me

    7. Devin the Dude, Seriously Trippin

    8. Danny Brown, Bruiser Brigade

    9. Iron Solomon, Monster

    10. MHZ, Legacy

    Vast Aire will be releasing his Space Iliad EP on Man Bites Dog in early 2013. Cannibal Ox’s December 2012 reunion show was sold out, and the group is touring and planning a new record.

     

    Chaos Chaos

    Top 10 songs of 2012:

    1. TV on the Radio, “Second Song” and “Will Do” (XXXChange Dancehall Mix)

    2. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, “Thrift Shop”

    3. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, “Bag of Bones”

    4. Deerhoof , “Flower”

    5. Death Grips, “I’ve Seen Footage”

    6. Tegan and Sara, “Closer”

    7. Tyga, “Faded”

    8. Bloc Party, “Kettling”

    9. Alice and Michi, “Cairo”

    10. Cat Power, “3, 6, 9”

    Chaos Chaos, the new project of Asy and Chloe formerly of the band Smoosh, released a new EP S in October 2012.

     

    Cinema Cinema’s Ev Gold

    1. Swans, The Seer

    2. Swans, We Rose from Your Bed with the Sun in Our Head (live)

    3. John Frusciante, PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone

    4. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!

    5. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Psychedelic Pill

    6. The Mars Volta, Noctourniquet

    7. Flying Lotus, Until the Quiet Comes

    8. Killing Joke, MMXII

    9. Yva Las Vegass, I Was Born in a Place of Sunshine and the Smell of Ripe Mangoes

    10. Sir Richard Bishop, Intermezzo

    11. Rush, Clockwork Angels

    12. The Evens, The Odds

    13. John Frusciante, Letur-Lefr

    14. Dr. John, Locked Down

    15. Tenacious D, Rize of the Fenix

    16. The Mountain Goats, Transcendental Youth

    17. Melvins Lite, Freak Puke

    18. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Americana

    19. Lightning Bolt, Oblivion Hunter

    20. Soundgarden, King Animal

    Cinema Cinema’s latest full-length, Manic Children and the Slow Aggression, came out on Lumiere in July 2012.

     

    Todd Clouser

    1. David Byrne & St. Vincent, Love This Giant

    2. Ron Miles, Bill Frisell, Brian Blade, Quiver

    3. Melvins Lite, Freak Puke

    4. Nels Cline, Henry Kaiser, Jim Thomas, Weasel Walter, & Allen Whitman, Jazz Free (A Connective Improvisation)

    5. John Zorn, Templars in Sacred Blood

    6. Jack White, Blunderbuss

    7. Eddie Vedder & Natalie Maines, “Golden State” (Live)

    8. Bill Laswell, Mean of Deliverance

    9. Matt Chamberlain, Company 23

    10. Medeski Martin & Wood, Free Magic

    Todd Clouser is in the midst of releasing three albums over the course of 12 months, beginning with 20th Century Folk Selections in February 2012 and ending on February 19, 2013 with The Naked Beat.

     

    Chris Cohen

  • Blanche Blanche Blanche, Open Session Rock
  • APHG, Mature Themes
  • Howling Hex, Navajo Rag
  • Mac DeMarco, 2
  • Deerhoof, Breakup Song

    • After playing with the likes of Ariel Pink’s Haunted Grafitti and Deerhoof, Chris Cohen released his solo debut Overgrown Path (Captured Tracks) in September 2012.

     

    Companion

    Pepi

  • Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE: channel ORANGE just totally rocked me. The melodies and lyrics are incredibly compelling, it’s a super fresh take on culture and love. Sometimes I think he’s the genius Joanna Newsom of R&B.

  • Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city: Kendrick Lamar’s, good kid M.A.A.D city blows me away. I listen to it on repeat. It’s musically and sonically captivating, lyrically powerful, and just a solid, thoroughly considered listen from start to finish.

    Tim

  • Here We Go Magic, A Different Ship: I think every song on that record is a complete idea fully thought out. Each song has its own feel that it sticks too and fully explores.

    Kirk

  • Grimes, Visions: The melodies on this record are absolutely captivating. I love Grimes’ voice because I can really feel the honesty she’s projecting. It’s beautiful, it’s raw, and it never sacrifices the fragility that makes each of these tracks so entrancing. Grimes is writing great, nuanced songs, and she has the talent and the artistry to make those songs relevant and danceable.

  • TEEN, In Limbo: I love listening to this record because while many of its ’50s/’60s throwback sounds are surely tongue-in-cheek and are more than likely a play on the drastic changes in societal expectations of women between the days of Motown and today, In Limbo is never derivative and always catchy. This record is catchy enough to blow up, but sonically interesting enough to listen to over and over.

    Anna

  • Goat, World Music
  • Tame Impala, Lonerism
  • Cat Power, Sun
  • Death Grips, The Money Store
  • Shintaro Sakamoto, How to Live with a Phantom
  • Ty Segall, Twins

    • Companion, the new chamber-pop group headed by Pepi Ginsberg, releases its self-titled debut on February 5, 2013.

     

    Copywrite

    1. MHz Legacy, MHz Legacy

    2. Copywrite, God Save the King

    3. Copywrite, God Save the King: Proper English Version

    4. KIller Mike, R.A.P. Music

    5. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

    6. Nas, Life Is Good

    7. Parvis Fekrat, Now That I’m Rich…How Much Are You?

    8. Trinidad James, Don’t Be S.A.F.E.

    9. The Beach Boys, That’s Why God Made the Radio

    10. Eshon Burgundy, Blood Rushing to My Head

    Copywrite released a new solo album God Save the King in February 2012, in addition to a full-length project with MHz Legacy, out in October 2012.

    Father John Misty and more…

     

    Correatown

    Top 5 tracks of 2012:

    1. Amadou and Miriam, featuring Santigold, “Dougou Badia”: The crazy tight harmonies and swirly melodies mixed with the beats and crushing guitars make me feel like I’m inside a kaleidoscope.

    2. Reptar, “Sebastian”: If Animal Collective and Mice Parade had a baby raised by Vampire Weekend. I’m into it…makes me want to dance while I’m making dinner and drinking bourbon.

    3. Alabama Shakes ,”Hold On”: I love that this song is all about Brittney Howard’s fucking crazy amazing pipes. It’s the slowly burning cigarette you bummed from a friend after quitting years ago that you tease out drag by drag — and it’s marvelous.

    4. Pony Boy, “The Murder Ballad of Carrie Lee”: I’ve known Marchelle for awhile and her voice is sultry and moving in the best way. I was obsessed with murder ballads when I first started playing music, so I’m particularly fond of this tune.

    5. Father John Misty, “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”: The drums and the repetitive top-of-the-verse lament on this song end up haunting me a few days later. The hella crazy video probably lends to the hangover. I’ve also heard some tales from friends about J. Tillman, and I was surprised to be into his songs — you know, the whole separating the guy from his music. The L.A. music scene can be teeny tiny sometimes.

    Correatown, the musical project of L.A.’s Angela Correa, released its latest album Pleiades (Highline) in August 2012.

     

    Anthony da Costa

    1. Anaïs Mitchell, Young Man in America: Anais Mitchell has released the best album of her career thus far. I enjoyed her Hadestown project very much, but this album feels a lot more personal and contains some pretty intense songs. Lyrically and melodically brilliant. Look out for “Coming Down”, “Venus”, and “He Did”. Oh, and Todd Sickafoose killed it in terms of production. Wonderful.

    2. Nels Andrews, Scrimshaw: Nels Andrews, a fantastic singer/songwriter who’s lived in a million places but now calls Santa Cruz, CA his home, has put out a gem of a record. Also produced by Todd Sickafoose, I happen to know that the songs on this album were largely written for the weekly NYC Songwriter’s Exchange hosted by the late, great Jack Hardy…and it shows. Every song is strong and the arrangements do them justice.

    3. Bob Dylan, Tempest: I gotta say it: I love the new Dylan album. I mean, you’ve gotta place it in the right context…People who say he’s old, washed up, and “can’t sing” need not apply. If you’re fascinated by the fact that this guy is still doing it, still being creative and changing up his game, then please buy and listen to this. Some tracks are a little much (the 13- or 14 minute-long re-telling of the Titanic epic), but others like “Narrow Way” and “Pay in Blood” are worth the whole record. He’s having fun. Loosen up!

    4. Amanda Palmer & the Grand Theft Orchestra, Theatre Is Evil: The drummer on my last album, Brian Viglione, was in a band with Amanda called the Dresden Dolls for years. She’s been doing her own thing for the past several and this is by far my favorite of her efforts. The girl can write a pop song. Killer energy, and the band is tight. Look out for some brutal honesty in “Grown Man Cry”. There were a couple weeks where I listened to “Want It Back” incessantly on repeat.

    5. Cory Branan, Mutt: Cory Branan is one of America’s best kept secrets of songwriting…one of my favorite writers of all time. Gruff, raw, and real. A Cory Branan show is full of surprises and punk rock energy. This album could not have a more fitting title. Cory produced the thing himself and pays tribute to a lot of his influences (from Springsteen and Mellencamp to Waits and Thin Lizzy), while maintaining a sound and soul that is his own.

    6. Plume Giant, Callithump: I took these guys on one of their first tours a year and a half ago. Now they’re touring all over the country and taking names. Beautiful folk harmony trio with guitar and two violins. The debut LP, produced by James Frazee in New York, is full of catchy, tender, beautiful songs. The production is just right, lush without overdoing it or killing the live spirit of these three souls who enjoy making music more than anything.

    7. Swear and Shake, Maple Ridge: More NYC buddies. Swear and Shake is a four-piece indie rock band fronted by Adam McHeffey and Kari Spieler. Adam keeps things grounded with his smooth tenor and non-invasive guitar playing. Kari is a vocal powerhouse and the blend of their two voices is something to hear. The band has a lovely energy about them, and be prepared to sing along.

    8. Alberta Cross, Songs of Patience: A buddy of mine (Aaron Lee Tasjan) has been the touring guitarist for these guys for some time. The lead singer was born in Sweden, spent a bunch of time in London, and now is based in NYC. He’s got a distinctive voice with killer range that reminds me of all that was good about alternative rock in the early and mid-’90s. But this is no grunge band: Alberta Cross lays down some sweet layered jams. Check out “Magnolia”, “Lay Down”, and “Wasteland”.

    9. Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons, Old Believers: I love this guy’s voice. I love this guy’s voice. I love this guy’s voice. Saw the band perform on Conan and bought the album immediately. Great tunes, the vibe with his harmony singer is lovely. “Foxgloves” is my favorite. Did I mention I love this guy’s voice?

    10. Aziz Ansari, Dangerously Delicious: Okay, so this is a comedy album. But I’ve been listening to a ton of standup lately and this is a killer hour of comedy. You might know Aziz from playing Tom Haverford on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. His standup is full of charm, wit, honesty, and what he might call “swag”.



    Anthony da Costa self-released his recent album Secret Handshake in April 2012.

     

    Escort’s Adeline Michèle

  • Gotye and Kimbra, “Somebody That I Used to Know”
  • Santigold, Master of My Make Believe
  • Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

    • In 2012: we lost Whitney Houston, Etta James and Donna Summer. All 3 were my idols and huge influences. (Donna Summer died on my birthday May 17, which was an even bigger shock.) The fact that we lost 3 divas in a year made 2012 a year very heavy in emotion for me.

    New York City disco revivalists Escort released their self-titled debut in January 2012.

     

    Father John Misty’s Josh Tillman

    10. Prez P. A. U. L. A. C. R. O. N. Y. M. S. 2055

    9. Blood Diamond Vague Geometric Shapes

    8. Assorted Bears Debts

    7. Skyler No and Terror Maze Electric’s Grid

    6. Holy Matrimony Retrograde Flux

    5. Lil’ Cleopatra $$$ Intro-deucing: Return of The 2nd Queen: Reloaded (Pink Edition)

    4. NOVUS ^

    3. Girl Camp Beach Cat

    2. Tierro and Dempsey CEEEiling FrEEEquencies

    1. Groupthink S/T

    Father John Misty released Fear Fun (Sub Pop) in May 2012, which ranked #27 on PopMatters’ list of best albums of the year.

     

    Field Report

  • Kathleen Edwards, Voyageur
  • The Weather Station, All of It Was Mine
  • S. Carey, Hoyas EP
  • Anais Mitchell, Young Man in America
  • Kate Bush, 50 Words for Snow
  • Damien Jurado, Maraquopa
  • Bro. Stephen, Baptist Girls
  • Old Earth, Low Place in the Old Place
  • Kallispell, Westbound
  • Aimee Mann, Charmer

    • Field Report’s self-titled debut was released on Partisan in September 2012.

     

    Flight Facilities

    For our list of 10, we chose 5 categories with 2 things from each: Favourite single, album, remix, music video, and lastly our favourite song that has passed its statute of limitations and is now totally allowed back into a DJ set:

    Singles

    1. Todd Terje, “Inspector Norse”

    2. Jai Paul, “Jasmine” (Demo)

    Album

    1. Tame Impala, Lonerism

    2. Elton John vs. PNAU, Good Morning to the Night

    Remix

    1. Munk & Peaches, “You Can’t Run from My Love” (Classixx Remix)

    2. Tornado Wallace, “Rainbow Road” (Lewie’s Bowser Castle Remix)

    Music Video

    1. Client Liaison, “The End of The Earth”

    2. Van She, “Idea Of Happiness”

    Revived

    1. Klaxons, “Golden Skans” (Erol’s Ekstra Spektral Rework)

    2. Chicken Lips, “He Not In”

    Flight Facilities recently signed to Glassnote and released the single “Claire de Lune” in November 2012.

    Freeway and more…

     

    Fort Lean

    Man, so many good ones! I’m losing my mind over here…

    1. Grizzly Bear, Shields: I’m extremely impressed by this album. It sounds perfect. The songs are astounding and the arrangements are wonderful. There’s so much to hear every time you listen. I think this is their best work by FAR, it’s just fucking awesome. It’s a lot tougher than their other stuff. Dan’s voice is worlds better too, I love how he sings. Recommended listening situation: I listened to this on the way to a funeral and on the way to a wedding, so it gets points for vibe versatility.

    2. Chairlift, Something: These frogs are cool! Caroline is good at singing and Patrick is good at various kinds of music. Patrick also produced our EP, so I’m a fan. Recommended listening situation: pet stores.

    3. Ludwig Persik: An as-yet undiscovered NYC genius. I worked on his record and I am in love with it. He only has an EP out now but it’s great, and the stuff that’s about to come out is even better! He also has a very cool dog. Recommended listening situation: Berlin or in a babe’s room.

    4. Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city: Kendrick has a really unique voice and great flow. The production is great. It’s one of those records that just works, like when you put it on, it sounds like everything that happens was exactly the way that it HAD to happen. Recommended listening situation: tour van.

    5. High on Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis: I LOVE Sleep, and I love Matt Pike. He’s probably my favorite heavy guitar player. And I love H.P. Lovecraft, so an album by Matt Pike that references Lovecraft is cool in my book. Evil Jesus twins and weed make for an interesting listen. Recommended listening situation: Grandma’s.

    6. Tame Impala, Lonerism: WEED. Recommended listening situation: Your mind, man.

    7. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE: Incredible voice, production, and songs. Frank is a real winner! He’s really ahead. Recommended listening situation: kitchen.

    8. Ariel Pink, Mature Themes: Ariel’s music is great because, like the Beach Boys, it makes me feel both comforted and absolutely terrified by the all-encompassing feeling of a psychopath smiling at a child or animal before he kisses it/eats it. He writes the freakiest pop songs. Every time he puts something out I’m amazed at how good the raw songwriting is, but also at how he can keep things so out. Sex change lyrics are always cool in my book. Recommended listening situation: waiting room.

    9. Anhedonist, Netherwards: This is Zach’s brother’s band. We were all sort of shocked at how fucking great they sound! This is a pretty brutal record, so I recommend listening to it pre-church or post-frisbee.

    10. Le1f, “Wut”: This is not an album but is fucking awesome. Great song, great video, great dude, great friend. He’s pushing things and I think he’s on to something. Le1f is gonna be big! Recommended listening situation: while exercising or doing something requiring great prowess.

    Fort Lean released its Change Your Name EP in October 2012.

     

    Free Energy’s Paul Sprangers

    1. Katy Perry, All of Me documentary

    2. David Byrne, How Music Works book

    3. Santigold, Master of My Make Believe

    4. Icona Pop, “I Love It”

    5. Titus Andronicus, “Date Tonight/In a Big City”

    6. The Soft Pack, “Bobby Brown”

    7. Carly Rae Jepsen, “Call Me Maybe”

    8. Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master film

    9. Tim Heidecker in The Comedy

    10. M83, “OK Pal”

    Also: Comedy Bang Bang, Children’s Hospital, NTSF: SD: SUV, Eagleheart

    Free Energy has its sophomore full-length, Love Sign, due out on January 15, 2013 through its own Free Energy Records label.

     

    Freeway

    Top 10 moments of 2012

  • Having a successful Ramadan which was a blessing
  • Coming out with Jay for “Made in America” concert
  • Obama being re-elected
  • Signing a deal with Babygrande
  • Peforming “Numbers” with Neef and performing “Early” on Sway in the Morning show
  • Dropping album on November 27
  • Getting to 100K followers on Twitter
  • BET Backroom Freestyle — first to do it one take
  • Being on BET twice this year
  • Being on RapFix twice this year

    • Freeway recently released his latest full-length Diamond in the Ruff on Babygrande.

     

    French Horn Rebellion’s Robert Perlick-Molinari

    Since we’re DJs as well, I put together a list of my top 10 tracks of the year. We actually DJ a lot of these things at FHR DJ sets.

    1. St. Lucia, “Closer Than This” (Viceroy Remix)

    2. The Supermen Lovers, “Say No More” (Jupiter Remix)

    3. (tied) Rogue Vogue, “When I Looked at You”

    3. (tied) Moon Boots, “Got Somebody”

    5. Haerts, “Wings”

    6. Junior High, “PSA”

    7. Two Door Cinema Club, “Sun” (Gigamesh Remix)

    8. Capital Cities, “Kangaroo Court”

    9. M.I.A., “Paper Planes” (3 AM Remix)

    10. ETC!ETC! & Brillz & Diplo, “Bueller”, featuring Chuck Inglish

    French Horn Rebellion’s latest release is the Love Is Dangerous EP, which includes a remix featuring Jody Watley.

     

    Dan Friel

    Favorite live performances of 2012:

  • Nass Gnawa @ Zebulon
  • Guardian Alien @ Death By Audio
  • Dan Deacon @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
  • Peter Evans @ Dither Fest at the Invisible Dog
  • Black Dice @ Birthdays
  • Skoal Kodiak @ Death By Audio
  • Milk Music @ 285 Kent
  • Titus Andronicus @ Shea Stadium

    • Dan Friel has a full-length, Total Folklore, due out on February 19, 2013, on Thrill Jockey. It comes on the heels of his 2012 EP, Valedictorian/Exoskeleton.

     

    Full |REBEL| Jacket

    Top 10 Albums, Songs, and Events of 2012:

    1. Full |REBEL| Jacket, The REBEL EP

    2. Big K.R.I.T., Live from the Underground

    3. Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m A.A.d city

    4. B.J. tha Chicago Kid, Pineapple Now-Laters (Screwed and Chopped)

    5. Chief Keef , “I Don’t Like”

    6. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

    7. Trinidad James, “All Gold Everything”

    8. Juicy J, “Bandz a Make Her Dance”

    9. Loaded Lux vs. Calicoe Rap Battle

    10. Obama’s re-election

    “Southern Sophisticated” rap group Full | REBEL | Jacket released its self-produced REBEL EP in September 2012.

     

    Sid Griffin (The Coal Porters and the Long Ryders)

    1. The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground & Nico box set: What a great collection and don’t think getting a four-CD set out of what was originally a lone LP is an easy thing to do. Adding live material, several sets of demos, rehearsals apparently recorded from a few doors down the hall, and including the tracks from Nico’s first solo LP, which were written by the Velvets. This is a terrific box set…modern music begins here!

    2. Last Shop Standing (DVD): Yes, Graham Jones’ book of the same name came out well over a year ago, but the accompanying documentary DVD only came out this past September and, ahem, the whole shootin’ match was destined for the dust bin until yours truly gave the Last Shop Standing book a rave review on BBC Radio 2 in 2011.

    Since then, Jones has hired a director and soundman, and traveled the UK exploring why, be it Britain or Germany or the USA, the record store is dying off so rapidly. This documentary also explains why a record shop is important to a community and what such a shop gives back in terms of bonding, sanctuary, and purpose. With appearances on screen by Billy Bragg, Johnny Marr, and Paul Weller, this DVD will not only strike a resounding chord in the record collector on your block, it may well cause them to weep.

    3. Bob Dylan, Tempest: The greatest lyricist since Homer may have ruined his voice and may mix his recordings as if they were to appear on 78 rpm, but there is a reason why Jack Nicholson once called Dylan “one of America’s great voices of freedom.” Nowadays, His Royal Bobness is settling down into his latest role in a lifetime of role changing and this time he’s a bluesman. Albeit one who reads a lotta dead poets. “Pay in Blood” is Dylan doing the Stones, “Early Roman Kings” is Dylan doing Bo Diddley, and “Tempest” is Dylan doing “A Night to Remember”. Church bells will toll across the USA when this man dies.

    4. The Dreaming Spires, Brothers in Brooklyn: One of a wave of great English psychedelic bands, the Dreaming Spires are a couple of Oxfordshire brothers, a fantastic drummer, and a fourth member who speaks about every full moon. Think of them as a British version of the Rain Parade or Mazzy Star. Their song titles tell it all: “Singing Sin City”, “Laughing & Dancing”, “Strength of Strings”, and, get ready, “Not Every Song from the Sixties Is a Classic”.

    5. Michael Nesmith, live in concert, October 2012: Not Papa Nez with the Monkees, but him doing his own gig backed by two longtime pals wherein the pre-Fab Four took a backseat to his First National Band years. Finally heard live by aging Baby Boomers and fuzz-faced newcomers to country-rock, neither demographic ever dreaming they would get to do so, were such classics as “Papa Gene’s Blues”, “Different Drum”, “Some of Shelley’s Blues”, and, Nesmith’s lone solo hit, “Joanne”. Bliss.

    6. NRBQ, We Travel the Spaceways: Terry Adams is the most important and creative musician to come outta Louisville, Kentucky. (I like to think I am the second most important and creative musician from Kentucky Derby City USA, but I doubt that is true.) Reforming NRBQ after a life-threatening health scare and without longtime musical companion Joey Spampinato took some balls, but not only has Adams done exactly that, but the three new dudes sound a helluva lot like his old gang. This album features several components missing from most contemporary music such as humor, warmth, and style. The new band knows how to swing too. Most bands only know how to rock. There is a difference. Terry will explain it to you.

    7. The See See, Fountayne Mountain: Richard Olson may well be the hippest young songwriter since the Fleet Foxes decided to do their own material. With a growing legion of fans across Europe it is easy to hear why. They sound like a cross between the Stone Roses and H.P. Lovecraft ,and the only reason “Sunbleached” or the title track are not your new favorite jams is because you haven’t heard ’em yet. But you will.

    8. Morton Valence, Me & Home James: Admittedly this came out late 2011, but I did not hear it till February and it is fabulous, so there. Irish lass Anne Gilpin is such a great, evocative vocalist she brings to mind Sandie Shaw or maybe Sandoz Shaw as things get so wigged out here. Bandleader Robert Hacker uses his Colombian and Peruvian rock musicians more like Latin Americans going ga-ga than rockers rockin’ out, and all the better for it. Their live show is akin to Howe Gelb’s more improvised and experimental efforts, if Howe was from Bogota. Which some of these dudes are.

    9. Magic Sam, Live 1969, Raw Blues!: This stellar, stunning, poorly recorded live concert by the man who was a perfect midpoint between Robert Cray, Robert Johnson, and Lochinvar has only come to light quite recently. After years in the trenches battling obscurity and fate, this west side of Chicago bluesman found himself in the late ’60s on bills alongside the Grateful Dead (who adored him) and the Who (who ignored him…Sam’s manager told me so) ready for this chance at The Big Time. Needing only a bassist and drummer behind him to fill a room up with sound, passion, and technique, Sam Maghett was a unique, amazing blues guitarist and a passionate, inspired singer with a strong voice. He was allegedly a nice guy too. A few short months after this concert, Sam dropped dead in his native Chicago, close enough to have seen The Big Time but not close enough to touch it and enter.

    10. Obama’s Re-election: There are disadvantages and advantages to living abroad. One disadvantage is every time some numbskull from your native land does something bad, you get teased about it and sometimes you somehow can even get blamed for it. Ahh, but the advantage is when something in your native land goes well, especially if it affects those abroad, you are all-too-briefly a King. The re-election of President Obama shut the mouth of every European critic of the USA for every moment of the five days since our election and I, for one, am grateful for that. That it also kicked the ass of politicians who failed to understand that Latinos, black folks, single moms, and gays get to be proud Americans too is almost more than I can bear.

    Sid Griffin’s current band the Coal Porters released Find the One in September 2012.

    TAGS