top [TWENTY.FIVE] of [TWENTY.ELEVEN]
Merry Christmas a day early! Here we are again. Another retrospective of music introspection and analysis awaits! And ironically its that time of year where traditions and customs from worlds ago follow us around like white on rice, here I am feeding this monster and producing yet another list of my favorite spins of the past 365 days. This year I've organized them starting with my top release and ending with the one that stuck with me the least. Its funny to include something that stuck with me the least but I still felt like including it, frankly because it still seemed to stick with me. Just like last year, what follows are reviews of albums I happened on in 2011. Some may have been new releases, some may be old news. The why and how these gems found their way into my ears is not important. The point is, I found them and my life on Earth has been more funner because of it! That's right, more funner damm it! These aren't your typical reviews, they are more about how the music contained in them made me feel rather than the mechanics of the album. And that's what music is really all about. Though I don't know how these reviews will benefit anyone else besides me, given the fact that each individual will feel something completely different during their listens, they are, however, honest and representative of my true thoughts. So pour on the salt and the sweet and cosy up into my musical adventures of this past year. Without further a do:::
mothermother #1
Eureka
"They don't even know, they don't even know" says Guldemond. Well I say, you do now! The seeds to this addiction were sewn last year with a little song called Body Of Years. The groove that song produced in me actually made me want to drive to work. Not because I particularly enjoy being in the 99%, I do however revel in the fact that because I know these people and the music they produce, it puts me in the coveted top 1% of all music lovers. And I can live with that! See this record and the art and spirit they compiled into it has gone a lot deeper than any ordinary music album should. But in a way, all music should have this kind of effect! But really, for me at least, Mother Mother are the only ones producing the kind of long term effects I'm after. In a roundabout way, their FX, affect. The line "I Forgot About Handfuls" is a house hold anthem. When the line is said to another it produces a facial expression that says "hell yeah, Mother Mother is tha mutherfucking shiznit!". Saying these words elicits the kind of reaction that I can only assume Hugh Hefner wakes up to every day and that is this: I fucking rock! I feel this way not because I created the modern sex movement or because I have more money than Scrooge McDuck but because I know that Mother Mother exists and I've seen them live! Speaking of seeing their live show, go here for that review. Not to put it lightly, this album will forever be in my top 10 of all time. But don't take my word, go listen for yourself!
cityandcolour #2 Little Hell
This album has found its way into my daily life! Everyday at 2:59pm I press play on my iPod and drive off leaving the power plant in its own dust and decay. In my time and in my space the melody of this piece plays up my mood at days end to the T. Equal parts bluesy soul and tattooed heart on your sleeve indie softness melds into my afternoons better than the air I breathe. This cut is my first serious look at Dallas Green under this moniker, however I have enjoyed all the past albums. Little Hell has just seemed to hit me over the head this past year. As of this writing, I know this album by heart. You know, when at the end of a track your already starting to produce the beat and recite lyrics of the next one even before your ears catch even the slightest hint of sound. This is no doubt a true sign of greatness, to me at least. A person wouldn't spend that much time with something they didn't really like. But this has never been the case for Little Hell. At this point we seem to be long lost twins, who only met each other a few short months ago yet are able to finish each others sentences. A true must have of 2011! But don't take my word, go listen for yourself!
boniver #3
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
If Little Hell gets me home from work, Bon Iver, Bon Iver gets me there in the morning. At 5:51am its dark, quiet, cool. It's this seemingly mysterious time period where your mind plans sentence fragments and mints suitable blog topics as the wheels pound the dew covered blacktop burning yet another gallon of non-renewable fuel all in the name of survival and on time bill payments. When Bon Iver floats from my speakers, I get into this mood of introspection. I guess it comes with the territory. Music like this puts a fictional typewriter to fingertip, pen to hand, brush to canvas and then you just have to stand back. The creativity in terms of thoughts about my life, where it is, where its going, spur me into a mode of unbridled happiness. The line "I can see for miles, miles, miles" is my anthem as I roll on into another days work of bending pipe and dirty hands. I know my work is not all for nothing. Bon Iver shows me that standing up and taking charge is as easy as showing up for your day with a smile and a real want to go make it matter, because we know that Justin Vernon does nothing less for us during his day job. This collection departs just music and approaches the highest levels of audio art. Please, take my word and go listen for yourself!
k.flay #4
Everything
[It's not an album, I literally mean everything]
[It's not an album, I literally mean everything]
All hail the magical mix tape! "Once you see the light, there ain't no turning back" booms K. on her latest freebie. Far's I'm concerned, K. is the sun that's providing me a fantastically illuminated audio environment! A bag of mixed beats which she shreds with her razor sharp rhymes. This girl really is raw talent. Samples or not, the words she spits could melt steel all on their own. But that's not really the best part of the K.Flay experience, its merely a by-product of a quick Internet DL and unzip. See, for those of you in the K.Flay zone, you already know what I mean. For those that don't listen up. SHE GIVES THIS SHIT AWAY FOR FREE! Dave Hester would for sure yeeeeep this one! So there you go, no money to spend or media to buy, just point, click, upzip, import and listen. K. you are the magical substance the little MC that resides in me has been looking for! So go listen for yourself like right now!
bayside #5
Killing Time
This is a continuation of a long and lustrous love affair. When you run with Bayside, you better be in it for all time. If not, well, you might find yourself the subject of one of their songs. Or in the case of Killing Time, an entire album! I have one word that describes what we are talking about here : revenge! Look, to all the emo, tattooed vixens out there. I know you think it would be cool to date / marry a musician, but if this album is any proof, you'd better damm well hope nothing ever goes wrong. I know that at the time all your friends were impressed that you of all people were able to get his attention. It was exciting watching him on stage. It blew your mind when the crowd would sing his lyrics. But you never thought about what those words actually meant, that is until they were about you. Now because you couldn't keep it in your pants, we the fan base, have yet another fiery anecdote of love lost and how much it can hurt when the other one decides your not her one and only. Hats off to all the girls that have ever pissed off Anthony Raneri for he has re-written the five stages of grief to tailor fit his world. Fly right on by denial and go straight to anger. Write an album about it. Put out record and tour on that anger. Please folks like me in the process as I happily throw down cash for the CD. This moves us straight to acceptance for we are full of revelry with hooks the size of Volkswagen's as Sick Sick Sick goes up the flag pole. Waving in the wind while the battle rages on below. I'm not a very vengeful person but god damm it, can I feel it when he crys "I hate the way you make me feel, Sick Sick Sick!" Poetry to all the emo types. Ladies and gentlemen, our bed has been made, now go listen to it! But don't take my word for it, go listen for yourself!
thedemos #6
Lovely
I've been around. OK, let me rephrase that. I've lived in many places. As each place comes and goes, little bits from those places get added into my life. For me, during my time in Rochester NY it's been The Demos. I have lived in Rochester probably a little less than half my life. I can do without the Winter, the salt and the grey, but I will not under any circumstances live without The Demos! It can be said than I often miss NY, mostly in the Summertime. Nothing compares when the weather turns warm in the North. And here we are again, on the eve of another summer and I'm down in PA missing NY like crazy. Fortunately one of the great bits to land in my ears during my Rochester time was the voice of Jason Milton and the music of The Demos. If you know Rochester and you've heard The Demos music you might not believe both could go hand in hand. These kids may reside under grey gloom and doom for 7 month stretches but somehow they are able to channel what sunshine does fall directly into all their albums. And the new Lovely is no different. It's been a few years since 2008 Your Girl Has Fun Without You EP and even longer since 2007 Alone With You EP but the combination to the musical and lyrical vault is still the same. This go'round we hear maturity. A more grown-up sound if you will. Now don't get me wrong, when folks say "its more grown-up" that usually means all those hooks of wreckless youth have been abandoned. Not true on Lovely. This ain't your 33 year old brothers Sugar Ray! Lovely has more hooks than a friggin meat locker! To clarify, the term grown-up implies a more comfortable, seated sound. The pogo sticks have been stowed, the champagne is not being shaken and blown all over the room, yet at the same time the party is still a party. And up until yesterday my party had been rockin 3 and 4 year old Demos. But now that Lovely is here, the party will continue on for another 4. And if there's any justice in this world The Demos will spread their kind of party the world over! For the time being my god damm Taylor Swift addiction has been broken! Thanks guys for breaking me of that nasty little habit. I swear the government is putting mind control in that shit! But maybe I'm just a sucker for sweet sweet melody. Which explains my enjoyment of Lovely. Please guys, keep making music! Now go listen for yourself! Listen to Lovely for free on their Bandcamp site right friggin now!
theyoungevils #7
Enchanted Chapel
Even though Little Hell was my go to on the ride home, the only other album to out it from my relentless spinning was Enchanted Chapel. Back in the day, a cure for aging was hocked in tiny bottles as the modern day fountain of youth. Used to provide immunity to the most incurable of all human conditions : getting older. Because we not only lose our looks, our shapes, our energy and creativity, we also edge closer to something a human has known for years, the great sleep. In modern times the elixir bottles have all been buried in the woods under decades old trash heaps. The liquid inside drained out and the glass stained and weathered. But that's ok, because you have The Young Evils! It's not that this music makes me feel like a kid, on the contrary. It makes me feel young. A feat that every cosmetic lab in the world has been after for centuries. Yet, with a guitar, vocals and these arrangements, Troy and Mackenzie have synthesized the feelings of being young into a circular piece of inorganic polymer. Ingestion not necessary! All that's required is a set of half way decent outputs and ears to perceive it with. Welcome to the secret fountain, listen often and at high volume. Now go tune in for yourself.
johngold #8
A Flower In Your Head
In spring, when that first hint of fresh cut grass hits your nose and you begin to believe that summer is truly about to happen is very much how Mr. Golds noodling feels to me during the very first :05 seconds of track one. And then we float out of spring and its this monster of an indie record in your hands. You may require more than a few turns, but just like the smell of spring time grass clippings, you can't help but to breathe in as much of it as you can. A Flower In Your Head has been my forever spring, ever lasting and a consistent producer of ethos and ambiance, or at least its what I think about when these melodies pass over my ear drums. California produces a lot of fruit, but not all of it is edible. This is nostalgia food, fed directly to that little section of mind and spirit solely responsible for making you feel good. And by god, mission accomplished!
fitzandthetantrums #9
Pickin' Up The Pieces
joeycape #10
Dosen't Play Well With Others
http://www.joeycape.com/
Bad Loud
http://joeycapesbadloud.bandcamp.com/
If #10 was my favorite Joey Cape acoustic album, Bad Loud is the rock equivalent to accompany it. Essentially, all the songs on Doesn't Play Well With Others were taken and given the Bad Loud treatment, which for the laymen means it sounds like Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut, Mr. Cape's other successes. For as long as I live, and prolly on the day I die, I will have listened to some form of Joey Cape's music. My formative adult years were forged around this sound and in my later youth listening to it still takes me back to my van Charlie, the State Theatre, crowd surfing and hating every last drop of military life. So much angst and thrift stores, so little time! It was the right music for that time period of my life.
mayerhawthorne #12
A Strange Arrangement
http://mayerhawthorne.comSome things end up slipping by under the radar, and when you find out about it your supremely shocked that something that good could have gone unnoticed for so long, especially to this music lover! But that's just what happened with A Strange Arrangement. Found through The Big Friend, I took a shot. I liken this stuff along the lines of William Elliott Whitmore, a voice of a different time and place born again into the body of a white man who has recognized his gifts. Now, one can be a fan of a certain genre. What gets expressed from this fan is only an extension of this liking. But one gets the feeling that with Hawthorne, much like Whitmore, even though this style sounds like a retro recreation we can ascertain that this music is what would have been produced even without all the past efforts to hold it up against. Hands down, this stuff will make you move. The album in its entirety is like a great big bowl of soul! It's like the first time I heard Jack Johnson, the music's sound is just so stuffed with goodness and expels the same out of you, its impossible to ignore it. True, not all the cuts are boogie woogie, some are slow and endearing. But this is all in the arrangement of the record. Having the cuts organized like they are makes it one you'll be able to put on and leave on until its done. I have to say that after multiple listens, for me, the record seems to end abruptly. To this day, even after all the turns its gotten, when it ends I always have that let down feeling of unfulfilment. But I always have the |<< button to help me out! But don't take my word, listen for yourself.
taylorswift #13
Speak Now
Adult Nights
http://www.wildlightmusic.com/
The thought I got was, yes I like it but that's because it sounds familiar. Usually a total deal breaker, but with Adult Nights I'm more akin to deal with the similarities than ignore them altogether. I think its just good soft indie type rock with singable lyrics that tip the scales in their favor. Also, in the past few years there's been this fad to have at least one song on your album with the word California in it. I think the children of this generation grew up listening to their hippy parents talk about that state with such fervor that the idea of the West has grown into more than just a real place to go, but into this fairytale place of creativity, love and dreams of the beach that's a must if your an artist! Hell, I was one of those kids. Heck, my Dad even took me there. San Diego, which is more like Sad Diego these days. No one my age can live there unless you have a trust fund. But not in my parents day. I saw the house where my parents lived when they were in their 20 something dream state. This was the 70's man! and they had youth, rock and roll and a beach house for 150 bucks a month! A million parties, a million memories. More real friends than our generations sad Facebook accounts could ever imagine. The sad part wasn't that those times of wreckless abandon have gone, it was the sign out in the front yard. You could now own your youth in 2004 for a mere 1 million dollars. Yuk. Barf. This is where songs like California On My Mind and the line "Fuck California" come from. At least that's my take on it. Quite possibly one of the better "California" songs out there. Obviously written post the California experiment. You move there with thoughts of that 150 dollar beach bungalow and then realize its a million dollar pipe dream nightmare. This is what I like about Wild Light. They aren't afraid to tell you the truth. Even if it destroys your California fairytale. But don't take my word for it, go fuck California for yourself.
Luck
http://wiretreemusic.blogspot.com/
I don't want this to sound like an anti-review, but Luck is the only album I like from Wiretree. Luck just seems to have a genuine sound to it. A level of passion and connection. Like everything was right on during its creation. The line "All the stars align when you get over it" is just about on mark. It's not that the bands other releases don't "do it" for me, its just they somehow don't have the sound that Luck seems to resonate so effortlessly. Nothing is forced on this album. Like an organic farm, the sustenance is allowed to grow and mature without the help of science or in this case, too much pro tools. Things are just how they are, as if it all came to light in the first take. Though I can only speculate this is probably not the case and if it isn't, they sure did a good job at hiding it away. Maybe with a little Luck in your life, things will just blossom on their own without you over thinking them to death. But don't take this review for it, go listen for yourself.
Confidence Man
http://twitter.com/#!/mattpryorsongs
My life has contained lots of Punk rock. Then I mellowed and went to Emo. I'm more Indie Rock these days, which is why its good to be in your 30's and aging at the same rate and pace as the folks who powered the music of your youth. To fans of TGUK, the voice of Matt Pryor sounds like a long ago friend who's simply grown into his sound and character. To the one's who missed TGUK, I'm sorry. You are so behind! Well, the best thing you can do now is get Confidence Man. To me, Pryor's voice takes me back to the days of CDR's with TGUK written in Sharpie strewn around the floors of our high school cars that we were still driving 5 years after graduation. Just like our cars, it was a tough pill to take when TGUK got up and left. Though their recent reunion has been less than lack luster, Mr. Pryor redeemed himself with these songs. To me, this album has been and always will be a classic. Some might wonder why it's #15.2 on this list. Truth is I've had this since it dropped in June of '08. And I've lost more time than I'd like to know to these 15 tracks. But that's just what it is to me, 15 hits of honesty! If I had been writing this a few years ago, it would have been at the top. But I've had time to understand it. Time has allowed it to wash over me. I've also had a healthy crop of new albums to precede it that have also caught my ear. But all these years later and it's still an album I listen to on a regular basis. In 2005 I put all my belongings into a UHaul trailer, I hooked it up to my Cavalier and hauled it from Florida back to New York. My soundtrack that summer is forever burned to memory. In that fateful mix of music was the TGUK last proper release before the big break, Guilt Show. I can't hear two notes of that record without thinking about the summer I came back to NY. It's a record that seriously makes me miss my mom, because just before I left FL I'd bought Guilt Show and would play it. Mom actually showed interest. In the few years I'd have with her, she got into Bright Eyes and even Death Cab. TGUK was her gateway, just like Pryor's voice is my gateway back to a time and place where it was just open road ahead. There was this warmth and possibility in the air of another summer's worth of youthful adventure that was only as far away as the next tank of gas. But with all that behind me, I have Confidence Man. I have these 15 gems of acoustic glory that I have memorized and sung at the highest of volumes when no one was looking. To me, Pryor's voice is a voice from my generation. It was there during some really interesting scenes from my life. Cinematically speaking, when you hear a certain song from a movie and its playing on your radio, even though their might be a proper video for that song, the only thing you can see is the scenes of the movie that it played to. That's how this stuff is for me. His stuff just makes me feel like everything will be ok. And as my good friend Hammy likes to say, "do good TPAL, do good", well this is how I view Confidence Man. It's done nothing but good. So take a chance on this one, have a listen for yourself. And if you know what TGUK means without a Google search, then its safe to assume you already know what I'm talking about.
The People's Key
http://www.conoroberst.com/
At number 16, it's a surprise this album even made it into my top 25. But my iPod track play counts don't lie. And I'm not one to fudge the truth. I've had my moments with The People's Key. When it showed up on my door step, I was glad to have another Conor record. See, I came into my own, as a writer at least, with Lifted decorating the airwaves. Some of my most inspired pieces were direct products of this album. This was my breakthrough record. My gateway drug called Bright Eyes. But back when I found them, they were already pretty big. Fevers and Mirrors had already catapulted their rise to stardom. And Lifted was the follow-up. And to my delight, it was dropped on me at just the right time. Because if it were dropped on me these days I wouldn't be able to see the draw in it. Some kid, some introspection and bam, a sad indie kids Messiah is born. But at that time and in that place I use to have a million and 1 thoughts running past my brain daily. I liked looking into something and seeing inspiration, then I'd write some crazy deep shit, put it in a blue envelope and mail it to all my friends. And for me, the lyric "But if the world could remain within a frame like a painting on a wall, well then I think we'd see the beauty then, we'd stand staring in awe" was like getting hit by a Mack truck of insight. In such a simple sentence was precisely what I felt, and to me, I was hooked. This guy knew what he was talking about. The years would come and go and we would get a few more gems of creation. Though these days, this stuff was no longer born unto a virgin mother. The Messiah title was quickly falling. Maybe we were growing up and realizing this world we held so much strife about was actually turning out to be a really beautiful thing. And we loosened our grip to the handlebars of angst and decided to try it no hands for a while. All those chips stacked up around our heads were falling to the floor now. We have a new and unobstructed view of the world and it's just as good as we use to hope it should or could be. These days we have stepped out of our youth, and moved past depression. And even though they say youth is the time of your life, for my generation I think its right now, not the times of yesterday. And this is where I meet the Bright Eyes of 2011. They have done self-examination, they have written their words, they have released it to the world and it has come back to them in spades. They have done a lot, but what they haven't done is release something that tells the story of adventure to a place where previously disillusioned 30 somethings go when the world they once felt so out of place in suddenly sets a place for them. It's the place you've been pining for all your life, yet it took all your past experiences to help you to see it today. Without all those old records, The People's Key is just another Bright Eye's album. But today, this recording is the final piece to a long and puzzling jumble called maturity. Use this key wisely, as it will open any door you choose. May I suggest that you not take my word for it, go listen for yourself, but if I were you, I'd start at the beginning of this novella.
All That I Know
http://ericandmagill.bandcamp.com/
When speaking about music, there are two words that make me happy :: FREE DOWNLOAD. You won't see these words printed very often, and if they are, at the very least there will be strings attached. But that's what makes Bandcamp so wonderful for the artists who populate it. All the power that's coupled to their creativity is in their hands. They choose the price. Or in the case of All That I Know, the lack there of. Lately, Bandcamp has been where I troll. Well, troll is kind of harsh. More like search endlessly for new stuff. It's like all the stacks of vinyl, only the stuff you'll find here is hot off a hard drive near you. It's your friends, your neighbors, its even for the semi-famous and mildly rich. Bandcamp is the true My|space|. And Eric and Macgill fit in nicely. All That I Know hasn't been a car record for me, it's been something I put on just to be completely blown away that someone would just be giving it away, legal and free. It's like a dryer sheet. It smells good, it has a purpose and at the end of the day we don't know why it does what it does but we are thankful for having it to do what we needed. And this is how I liken this music. When I need to trip over some writers block and fall head first off a cliff, down through the air and splash down into a river of words, this is what I place in my path. Airy, spacey and breathy, its as smooth and soothing as your old baby blanket. It's not something you'll be in the mood for all the time. But knowing you got it for free will sway more words from your gullet than what can come up from the dregs of a clumsy and hungover sea sick sailors stomach as he removes his morning meal up and over the side down into the drink. You've needed a map for a very long time, and now you've just found your GPS. Eyes down, thinking cap on, your all strapped in? Good! Now write and listen and for god sake, go DL it for free for yourself. You really have no excuses!
Mountbatten Class
http://ginnels.bandcamp.com/
Last year The Morning Benders found their way to my list of must haves. Since then they have gone on to tour the world over, became somewhat star worthy and released yet another starry eyed retro inspired spin Big Echo. Well forget about The Morning Benders. Welcome in Ginnels! Akin with TMB, Ginnels are giving away this masterpiece to the masses. I've already gushed about Bandcamp, so you can put two and two together and figure out where to get this album yourself. To an indie lover, finding unknowns out in cyberspace is easy. But finding one's that are good is nothing shorter than a total lunar eclipse of the heart. Mountbatten Class takes these seemingly impossible odds and flips it on its head. Say it with me, "I can find stuff that only a small core know about", even before the Pitchfork poachers get their grubby iced peppermint white chocolate chi mocha latte stained fingerprints all over it. Even though these creators aren't house names yet, the sound of their music will put them into your indie vocabulary! It's the kind of sound that if told was made by a really famous band, you'd believe it. But for flip sake, go to Bandcamp already, and don't forget to leave your fingerprints!
Fables For Fighters
http://chrisvelan.com/
I like to ride my mountain bike. At the time [2007] I also lived in Rochester New York. Posed with the issues that plague most bicyclists in the great North, we usually point our attention to the boob tube, unfortunately. For me, it's all the Mountain Bike movies I can handle! One in particular, the one to which I credit my appreciation of Mr. Velan was ROAM by TheCollective. At the end, you'll hear Shiver and that will be when I became a fan of this guys music. I can't hear that song and not think about throwing a leg over my old steed and heading out into the world to knock some dirt around and catch a little air. Aside from inspiring me to ride and not listen to his music, I caught the VelanBug. I went to his CDBaby site [before they got lame] and ordered everything he'd produced. At the time it was only It's not what you think [2003] and Twitter, Buzz, Howl [2006] which is ironically the same moment when the rest of the world started using the word Twitter. I like to think Chris had it first. Ok, so, more about the music, it's clear, honest, home spun, wide open, inspiring. The plain and fancy of it is that its just feel good stuff. And no, I'm not saying its all too religious, ok, it's not at all religious. Proving again that the heathens among us aren't a bad bunch. What you will expect is singer/songwriter chops with that feeling you get on a warm summer night as you drive into a red setting sun. Everything is just as it should be and your just loving this planet and your place in it. In 2009 we heard Solidago, again a beauty of a record. Here in the tailspin of 2011 we get Fables For Fighters. So, if you liked the previous 3, you need to keep your collection current and get it. If you're new to Chris, start with his older stuff and build up an appreciation before moving into Fables territory. Not that you won't like it if you start here, its just you might dismiss it before its naturally replaced by the zillions of other bands vying for your ears attention. These are records that you must sequester your need to skip ahead. Just put it on and do some house chores. Let it seep in and you'll see that your place on this planet isn't by accident. But don't let me tell you about it, go forth and discover my friends!
Jovials
http://therivermonks.bandcamp.com/
**sleeper hit of 2011**
Slow and inviting will pull you in, a tempo RPM increase and fine melody will keep you tuned in. And just like it says on their website, it will only take the first :10 sec of track 2 for the opening door to this album. And then your left wondering, where in the heck did this great stuff I'm hearing come from. Then you investigate. Iowa, um...ok. Question: They have indie kids in Iowa? I guess so. This album is proof you don't have to be in a part of the country that's usually associated with youth and the indie band member occupation title. This record has the coveted position of being my sleeper record of the year! A perfect explanation! High performance and an unassuming exterior. I've driven through Iowa, who hasn't? I've seen the corn, the flat landscape, the mid-westerner in his natural habitat. And this album is also from that same place? Really? Yup... I know associating corn with Iowa is way over done, but when I say I'm from New York and the local Iowans say "whoa, big city huh?" You look just as clichéd. Truth is whatever they are eating out there it's having a wonderful effect on the creative minds of these guys. So, get your butter, corncob, some salt and settle in by pressing play. Go see for yourself.
Options
http://www.timmycurran.com/
I use to live in Florida. I use to shop at surf shops. I use to know this kid named Z who was from Jacksonville. He surfed. I dreamed of surfing one day. Once we went to Jacksonville. There was no surfing that day. One day, I left Florida. The only surf stuff to leave with me was my subscription to SURFING and SURFER. There was just something about the blueness of the magazine that spoke to me. My subscription followed me all the way to upstate New York. I was prolly the only kid in a 500 mile radius getting his mailbox stuffed with 2 surfing mags monthly. It was here that I started to look past the pictures and into the stories. The classic surf adventure story is a hard one to beat. Now-a-days I'm a reader of BIKE and the adventures continue, just in a different context. The spirit is still the same, it's just not as blue and there's no shark threat. Anyway, at about the same time I got into Jack Johnson. I think SURFER reviewed his album, no, wait, maybe it was SURFING. Whatever... Surf rock had won me over. It seemed like it wasn't enough to just be a pro surfer, you also had to sing. And like the waves they ride, in came Donavon Frankenreiter. Pro surfer...check, musical ability...check. But I'm glad to say that it's been Timmy Curran's tunes which have stood on their heads and back upright again only to be just as good as they were when I first heard them. I remember I got this job with Norwegian Cruise Lines, yup...a cruise ship...or "shipjob" as they say in the biz. I met this kid from Australia. He was a surfer. We talked and I found out he had CITSUCA. He thought it was soo funny that I knew all about that record. I remember the affirmation on his face that told me, for being American, I was just a little more trust worthy than most. Tim is for real. Surfing the world with all the greats, he's prolly made more doe than he'll ever need. This is why, for us the music fan, it's a good thing. Again, just like a few others in this list, Tim is giving his stuff away for FREE. There's no need to take out your wallet, just DL and listen for yourself!
Days
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Estate_(band)
I know it the moment I hear it. And yet it may have star appeal, it eventually spins itself out. I can say with absolute clarity that Days somehow reminds me of my trek to Maine oh so long ago. I remember the day I went out in a small sail boat that belonged to Tom's neighbor. This is funny to me because at no time was I listening to this album. Why? Because Real Estate was something your parents owned, not an indie rock band from Jersey. When I play this stuff I feel like I'm in a scene from a Hollywood indie flick. It's like the first time I saw Lost In Translation and became transfixed, and went back 2 more times to the theatre and watched it again. The movie just spoke to me. It said, hey, your life and all the moments of youth with which you hold so near and dear have not only been done before, they have been done to the most grandest extent possible. And this is where Days falls in for me. You think you've struck the indie equivalent of gold in them there hills, but really its only 60% pure. You will hesitate to give it up, but sooner rather than later, you will trade it for cash on the barrelhead. Or in this case the next album or movie to come along and remind you of a time when you believed the world to revolve around you and you alone. It is solid retro indie flava, slow and easy with a hint of "don't forget about me to Taylor Swift" thrown in for good measure. Put it on at a party and it will work, you might even look cool, but beyond that and this bit of real estate may see its foreclosure notice instead of an increased play count. It makes my list, because of its obvious indie charm, but falls to the end of the pack frankly because its just a tad to usual for me. But, hey, what do I know. Go see for your own selves.
Helplessness Blues
http://fleetfoxes.com/music
It's Bon Iver with understandable lyrics. Yup, I said it. This is your poor mans Bon Iver. Damm, I said it again. I mean, when you have Bon Iver, just listen to Bon Iver. Because it always happens, I turn on Helplessness Blues and it gets to the title track and I'm suddenly reminded of an earlier post and then, that's it, I'm gone. I mean, to think that your so unique as to believe your what I should be listening to, at least for the long term, is just a pipe dream. But I was listening to this song at 6:18am. And that's also the hour of morning when I'm usually engrossed in thought about my life, the lives of the people around me, the very idea of what it means to be living on a giant rock that floats in nothing, revolving around a burning star that could go out at any time. Maybe I read a little too much into these lyrics, but whatever the case, they indeed spoke to me. And I have turned this record more often than BoyandBear's Moonfire, though I don't know why. They are essentially the same record. I guess the lyric that goes something like I want to be just a cog in the great machine serving something greater than me spoke to my morals and current state of mind.
Simple Math
http://www.themanchesterorchestra.com/us/home
Ok, so I'm not a MO virgin. I was however won over by their song under the same name. That track is just about as good of an ode to Pink Floyds Another Brick In The Wall as anything out there. Completing this ensemble is the video to Virgin. See, I'm from the Rochester, New York area. I hold that land near and dear to me. Its haunting, dark, cold, something I couldn't wait to escape and now something I can't wait to be captured by again. And when I see imagery involving the flower city its always extremely interesting. There was a time when I roamed that land with camcorder in hand filming and having cinematic dreams. Well, to see this same land in the viewfinder of another and to see how they weave that place into their stories takes me over. The story behind the Virgin video loaded the bullets and the rest of the album pulled the trigger. Simply a nice big old piece of musicana. So why #24? Good question. I think because it was Virgin that sold me, and it was Virgin alone that I came back to again and again, not the rest of the album. Sadly, I believe this album to be a success, I was however addicted to the Rochester scenery which inferno'ed that song to my collective minds playlist. I think I'll take my word for it and go listen for myself.
The Preview
http://chiddybang.net/
Last year I left the world of indie rock in the dust with MattandKims Sidewalks. This year we saw K.Flay and now Chiddy Bang. Look, I don't think I'm cool. I have pretty much relinquished my role as shot caller and have relegated myself to anonymous blog commenter. But that changes when The Preview falls from my speakers. And even though the stereo in my car sounds a tad better than metal scraping the pavement at 60mph, I still feel as cool as any thirty-something can ever hope to feel. Beats ricocheting around my noggin as my head makes the sound of an empty spray paint can. I may not have what this album makes me believe I have [koolness] I do however have this album. So even though I may not have "it", I do have the feeling of having "it", and that's like having "it." And I'm fine with that. Thanks Chiddy for makin this guy kool, at least during my drive home. So I'm a geek. I have this record and you don't. And thats why I'm keeping this one for myself. No one is allowed to get this one. Don't go searching, no looking for yourself! Just let me enjoy it, in my pool of elderly tears.
runnerups
If I'd only gotten to these a little bit sooner, they'd have been included on the list, but as fate would have it I spent a limited time with these albums. However, limited time doesn't mean limited listening, there just wasn't enough time to rack up a serious play count. In no particular order, the runner-up's are::
jonomcclery - Darkest Light
miikesnow - S/T
thelittlewillies - S/T
petedavis - The Pottsville Conglomerate
thanks,again - Blue Bird Words
blouse - S/T
boyandbear - Moonfire
cassmccombs - Wit's End
deertick - Devine Providence
theheadandtheheart - S/T
heartsound - Until We Surrender
honeyhoney - Billy Jack
robbcrow - He Thinks He's People
surferblood - Tarot Classics
tonysly - Sad Bear
jeffpianki - Paper Window
owen - Ghost Town
randolph - No Identity
sheandhim - A Very She And Him Christmas
thefling - What I've Seen
goldleaves - The Ornament
timkasher - Bigamy: More Songs From The Monogamy Sessions
And that's it!
If you comment on this post, I will include you into my drawing on February 6th 2011. If selected at random from all the comments I get, I will send you a flash drive containing 1 track from each of these disc's. But you have to leave comments. The order in which they appear will be your number. The more you post the greater your chances. Anonymous posters will not be counted! Tell me your thoughts people! Have a great 2012. I'll be listening all year!
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