I'm a bit of a music junkee. Really. Anyway, I just spent so much time putting together the list below that I don't feel like writing a proper intro to this post. So let's just get into it: here are Diabolical H. Crazy's top 10 albums of 2009.
1. Dirty Projectors "Bitte Orca" -- As in, please, I'd like another whale of an album like this. While it seems that the rest of the music press penciled in Animal Collective as the year's best album in January, "Bitte Orca" came out in June and picked up steam throughout the summer. "Stillness Is The Move" is definitely the highlight track (I think I must have Shazamed this song about a dozen times before buying the album, plus there's the Solange Knowles cover. Any song that is still amazing when covered in another genre must be an amazing song). The album starts with "Cannibal Resource," one of my all time favorite, "is this music? what the hell is this? wait, this IS music!" album openers ever. The vibe continues through "Temecula Sunrise" and "No Intention." At moments, it sounds like a cacophonic experimental middle school band, and it others it is simply pure genius.
2. Phoenix "Wolfgang Amedeus Phoenix" -- At first I had it really low on this list. Then not as low. And then I listened to it again. And again. It's a damn catchy album, and I can't believe I am putting something this poppy so high, but that's just the thing--who expected a (mostly obscure) French band to make one of the best pop albums of the year and then name it after one of the best composers ever? Everyone knows "1901" (thanks, Cadillac. By the way, I know someone who should do your marketing) and "Lisztomania," but this album is steady all the way through--so solid that I had trouble picking which song I wanted to link to (I went with "Lasso," but make sure you check out "Love Like a Sunset, Pt. II"). Oh yeah, and thanks to my wife for turning me on to this band and buying me tickets to the show.
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs "It's Blitz" -- I liked "Show Your Bones." Having said that, it was definitely not the right album to follow their stellar debut "Fever to Tell." The YYYs could have retreated from "Show Your Bones," licked their wounds, and put out another indie-punk gem. Instead, they completely blew up their sound (seriously, Nick Zinner, keyboards? I had no clue.) and came out with one of the most backward-sounding, forward-reaching albums I have ever heard. It's hard to outshine Karen O, but in some cases on this album--like "Zero"--the music is at the forefront. Luckily Karen gives us "Heads Will Roll" and "Dull Life."
4. Girls "Album" -- "I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine." This line, from "Lust for Life," is so many perfect moments wrapped up into 11 little words. It's the first song on the album, and I completely skipped over it for a month, listening to "Laura," "Big Bad Mean Motherfucker," and "Hellhole Ratrace." And then one day, while walking the dog, I listened to "Lust for Life," over and over and over again. And then the rest of the album. It's at once retro and lo-fi, yet somehow modern and vulnerable. "So come on, come on, come on and laugh with me." And listen to this album.
5. The Flaming Lips "Embryonic" -- Okay, Wayne and company, the album's called "Embryonic"; we really didn't need to see that birth scene in the video for "Watching the Planets." As you say so well on the album's first song, "that's the difference between us." But you did show us that and so much more. Starting with "Convinced of the Hex, this album feels like the birth and destruction of something, but what? The ego (as in "The Ego's Last Stand")? Yourself? Celebrity? What?
(bonus side note: Karen O offers some amazing animal vocals on "I Can Be A Frog." Some called this the year of Jack White. I call it the year of Karen O.)
6. Passion Pit "Manners" -- Of the year's electronic albums, I like this one the best. Maybe it's the way "Moth's Wings" builds up. Maybe its the way "Sleepyhead" reminds me of my wife. But most likely it's the singing, sometimes high pitched, sometimes a collection of voices, that adds depth to everything else. That, and it's fun. Whatever it is, I have the manners to say, "thank you, Passion Pit."
7. The Decemberists "The Hazards of Love" -- I really didn't want to like this album. I even took most of the songs off my iPod for a while to make room for some newer albums. But there's this one riff that's repeated in a number of songs that just makes me want more, and I started adding them back. In my opinion, the Decemberists have always engaged in a bit of puffery and fluffery in their songs, making them sound complex and grandiose. And some of their so-called period songs (like "Eli, the Barrow Boy") seem like a creative writing class gone wrong. But this album, "The Hazards of Love," though a concept album, never feels overblown. It might be that refrain that first appears in "A Bower Scene" or it might be the presence of My Brightest Diamond, but this compact (one hour!) musical is simply Ear Delicious.
8. Animal Collective "Merriweather Post Pavilion" -- So okay, here it is. I think it deserves the hype it got. The band finally makes sense to me. I have to mention, I was a little skeptical for the first few listens. But after a while, you peel through the layers (and occasionally something that sounds like a siren backwards) to listen to an amazing album. And my wife liked "My Girls," which counts for something. From the confusingly named "Lion in a Coma" with its didgeridoo, through the never-ending build-up of "My Girls," there's only one word that can describe this album: genius. Or swirling. Your pick. I'm going with swirling.
9. DJ Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse "Dark Night of the Soul" -- This is an eerie, alternate universe of an album, almost like what Edward Scissorhands would have on his iPod if he didn't keep cutting the cord on his earphones. No wonder it accompanies a series of David Lynch's photography. It starts out strong, with a slowly haunting collaboration with the Flaming Lip's Wayne Coyne (each song has a different vocal collaborist). This album really plays like an old double record, with four distinct sections. From a slowly psychedelic beginning, the album delves into punk, and then another psychedelic turn--this one working its way down to the haunting, final two songs, which feature church (death?) bells, the fuzz from an old record player, and some understated Vic Chesnutt vocals. Don't listen to this album alone in the dark.
Oh yeah, and this record was never released (officially). Start your search here.
10. The Drums "Summertime" -- Even though it didn't come out until almost Fall, this brief debut EP by the Drums perfectly encapsulates every summer from the last 60 years. Surf rock, hand claps, and the catchiest whistling this side of Peter, Bjorn and John almost make this album sound like a relic from the past--as do the album's repeating themes of schoolyard love, holding hands and old-fashioned dates. It's a simple, classic format, perfectly executed.
The next five albums just missed my Top Ten. They are the best of the rest. But I'm making some tough decisions by leaving Wilco, the Dead Weather, blakroc, Metric, Mos Def, Soulsavers, The Very Best, Bat for Lashes, and Beirut off this list.
11. The xx "xx"
12. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes "Up From Below"
13. Arctic Monkeys "Humbug"
14. Miike Snow "Miike Snow"
15. Neko Case "Middle Cyclone"
Notable Omissions:
The Antlers "Hospice" -- I'm sorry, but the slow-building church organ just didn't do it for me, especially after trying to make it through Grizzly Bear's "Veckatimest." Speaking of ...
Grizzly Bear "Veckatimist" -- I get it. Kind of. "The Knife" was great. As are moments of "Veckatimist," like "Two Weeks." The rest of it just feels empty. And not in the amazing Bon-Iver-there's-no-one-else-around empty, more like soulless empty.
"Dark Was the Night" -- great album, but it was a COMPILATION. Sorry, not valid in my book. Neither are soundtracks (unless all the music is original and new). Sorry, them's the rules.
And now, if you've made it this far: time to debate.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Dirty Rock from the U.K
I woke up a little hazy today and have been moving slowly ever since. Not that the night before was epic or anything, but it included a stop at a bourbon bar, a creepy mustache, and a bartender so hot that my brother-in-law and I named her Zooey Fox. I think the mustache was probably the worst part of the night.
As I was beginning my afternoon slide into unproductivity (aided by the haze and the heat), I heard a song on Sirius XMU (still Left of Center to me) that was so great I had to listen to it again. Because I was streaming Sirius online and not listening through my radio, I couldn't check out who the artist was. I then tried the next-best solution, Shazam on my iPhone, only to learn that this song was unrecognizable. I ran to the other room to turn on my Sirius receiver (and wait for the antenna to find a signal) just in time to see who sang the song.
It still amazes me that some bands can be so strongly associated with a region, yet they come from somewhere else. My go-to example for this is Creedence Clearwater Revival, who sound like they are from the South but were actually from San Francisco. The band I heard today also captures this same phenomenon: The Heavy.
On first listen, they also have a dirty, southern sound. And the first video I watched ("Sixteen") had the familiar backdrop of "Shoot the Freak" and Coney Island. But they're not from the South or from Brooklyn. After looking around for a release date on their upcoming album ("The House that Dirt Built" drops in the U.S. on October 13, according to Amazon), I found that this album was released in the U.K.--their home base--two days ago. We Americans need to wait another three weeks.
Not being very patient, I tracked down two songs today: the soulful "How You Like Me Know" and the bluesy "Sixteen." The Heavy channels a little Screamin' Jay Hawkins on "Sixteen," which is always acceptable to me. Let me know what you think (about the songs, not the mustache).
As I was beginning my afternoon slide into unproductivity (aided by the haze and the heat), I heard a song on Sirius XMU (still Left of Center to me) that was so great I had to listen to it again. Because I was streaming Sirius online and not listening through my radio, I couldn't check out who the artist was. I then tried the next-best solution, Shazam on my iPhone, only to learn that this song was unrecognizable. I ran to the other room to turn on my Sirius receiver (and wait for the antenna to find a signal) just in time to see who sang the song.
It still amazes me that some bands can be so strongly associated with a region, yet they come from somewhere else. My go-to example for this is Creedence Clearwater Revival, who sound like they are from the South but were actually from San Francisco. The band I heard today also captures this same phenomenon: The Heavy.
On first listen, they also have a dirty, southern sound. And the first video I watched ("Sixteen") had the familiar backdrop of "Shoot the Freak" and Coney Island. But they're not from the South or from Brooklyn. After looking around for a release date on their upcoming album ("The House that Dirt Built" drops in the U.S. on October 13, according to Amazon), I found that this album was released in the U.K.--their home base--two days ago. We Americans need to wait another three weeks.
Not being very patient, I tracked down two songs today: the soulful "How You Like Me Know" and the bluesy "Sixteen." The Heavy channels a little Screamin' Jay Hawkins on "Sixteen," which is always acceptable to me. Let me know what you think (about the songs, not the mustache).
Monday, September 14, 2009
Carcass Rock?
Usually I'm skeptical of the whole "super group" concept--Jack White's projects exempt. Exhibit 1 of bad super group ideas: the reality show Supergroup.
But this snippet of a song by Them Crooked Vultures--who have been written about and blogged about continuously--has me excited. Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl returns to the drums. Josh Homme, from Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, and Screaming Trees, plays guitar. And John Paul Jones--whose middle name would surely be "Fucking" had he not used "Paul"--from Led Zeppelin is on the bass and the keys.
Look for the album sometime in October (I think).
But this snippet of a song by Them Crooked Vultures--who have been written about and blogged about continuously--has me excited. Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl returns to the drums. Josh Homme, from Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, and Screaming Trees, plays guitar. And John Paul Jones--whose middle name would surely be "Fucking" had he not used "Paul"--from Led Zeppelin is on the bass and the keys.
Look for the album sometime in October (I think).
Friday, September 11, 2009
New Music
I love finding out about new music, and the last few months have been especially fruitful for me as I have started to tip-toe into the L.A. music scene (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, The Henry Clay People, Foreign Born).*
Last night I went to see the Soulsavers at the Troubadour. Red Ghost opened (check out covers of The Widow and A Memory) and sings on a few Soulsavers songs.
But I was really impressed by Jonneine Zapata. Turns out, she's from L.A. and is playing a bunch of shows at the Silverlake Lounge in October. I might have to venture over and check her out again.
Anyone else have any L.A. music tips, along the lines of the bands listed above?
*As a side note, I still find myself listening to way more Brooklyn-based bands, from the Dirty Projectors to Matt & Kim to Grizzly Bear. I think the highest concentration of my music comes from Brooklyn. My current Brooklyn obsession is The Drums.
Last night I went to see the Soulsavers at the Troubadour. Red Ghost opened (check out covers of The Widow and A Memory) and sings on a few Soulsavers songs.
But I was really impressed by Jonneine Zapata. Turns out, she's from L.A. and is playing a bunch of shows at the Silverlake Lounge in October. I might have to venture over and check her out again.
Anyone else have any L.A. music tips, along the lines of the bands listed above?
*As a side note, I still find myself listening to way more Brooklyn-based bands, from the Dirty Projectors to Matt & Kim to Grizzly Bear. I think the highest concentration of my music comes from Brooklyn. My current Brooklyn obsession is The Drums.
Best Live Music Venue in L.A.?
Having lived in L.A. for a little more than a year, there are still tons of music venues I've yet to check out, but I find myself venturing back to the same few venues over and over. I see big shows at the Greek, mid-sized shows at the Music Box at the Fonda, and small shows at the Troubadour. It must be something about whoever books the shows at these places.
I love, love, love the Troubadour. It could be that it was just a mile from my first apartment here, it could be because it looks and feels like what a small live music venue should look like (at least to me), it could be because of the Loft upstairs, or it could be because I love faxing in my order instead of going through the Evil Empire (aka Ticketmaster). Or it could be because of all of the above.
I say the Troub is my favorite, but I haven't checked out places that continually get recommended to me, like Spaceland and the Echoplex. And I haven't been to the Wiltern yet (I had tickets to the Wilco-Okkervil River show in June, but life got in the way of music and I had to sell them).
So, Angelenos, I ask: What's your favorite place in L.A. to see live music?
By the way, the most amazing venue I have been to is the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights/Manhattan. Here's a picture of the 2007 Arcade Fire show, courtesy of Product Shop NYC. And I grew up going to shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater in beautiful Morrison, Colorado.
I love, love, love the Troubadour. It could be that it was just a mile from my first apartment here, it could be because it looks and feels like what a small live music venue should look like (at least to me), it could be because of the Loft upstairs, or it could be because I love faxing in my order instead of going through the Evil Empire (aka Ticketmaster). Or it could be because of all of the above.
I say the Troub is my favorite, but I haven't checked out places that continually get recommended to me, like Spaceland and the Echoplex. And I haven't been to the Wiltern yet (I had tickets to the Wilco-Okkervil River show in June, but life got in the way of music and I had to sell them).
So, Angelenos, I ask: What's your favorite place in L.A. to see live music?
By the way, the most amazing venue I have been to is the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights/Manhattan. Here's a picture of the 2007 Arcade Fire show, courtesy of Product Shop NYC. And I grew up going to shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater in beautiful Morrison, Colorado.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
The Daily 5: Late Summer Reminiscences
For me, summer has been a bit sad since I noticed the shorter days in mid-August. But this recent release by The Drums will help me extend my summer mindset for a few more weeks at least. Okay, who am I kidding? I live in Los Angeles.
Continuing the summer theme, here's a song off a recent EP by BLK JKS, a great band from South Africa. Their new album comes out next Tuesday (9/8), so make like a robot and buy it.
Philly-based rapper Amanda Blank has been getting tons of press lately, and I think it's because she's hot. Okay, she's hot and she can rap. Okay, she's hot, she can rap, and she has some interesting beats.
More Amanda Blank. So she's hot, she can rap, and, as she shows on this track, she can sing. Sure, she's no Karen O, at least not yet.
Yesterday was my anniversary, and today I wish that I were "working part time." Seriously, I'm not operating at full capacity today. This song by the Glendale, CA-based The Henry Clay People has been rattling around my head for a few days now.
BONUS! 6 for the price of 5! The Soulsavers! I'm throwing this song on because I just learned that these guys are playing the Troubadour in West Hollywood on 9/10. I'm faxing in my ticket order today. I love this song, and I love that I can fax in my order to the Troubadour and avoid Ticketmaster fees.
Monday, August 31, 2009
The Daily 5: Inaugural Edition
For this inaugural edition of the Daily 5*, I am providing the first five songs off my late-summer playlist--perfect for cruising down to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, driving along Ocean Avenue, or heading to the Helm's District for a weekend "shift" at the Office.
The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band "15 to 20 (feat. Lady Tigra)"
This is another really catchy song. You will be singing along by the second verse (assuming you can count by fives).
*Note: By naming this post "The Daily 5," I am not guaranteeing any type of daily posting. We'll just see how this goes. Right now, it's a pain as I can't quite figure out the best way to get tracks up. Let's just say that this post took somewhere between two minutes and two hours. Yeah.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes "Janglin"
Edward Sharpe reinvents himself and turns out a great album for the summer. We saw them play at the Hammer Museum's "Also I Like to Rock" series this summer, and it was a great show (even though we practically had to climb a tree for a view).
The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band "15 to 20 (feat. Lady Tigra)"
This is another really catchy song. You will be singing along by the second verse (assuming you can count by fives).
Dirty Projectors "Stillness Is The Move"
The new Dirty Projector's album, Bitte Orca, is equal parts strange and mesmerizing. And this song is definitely both.
YACHT "Psychic City"
A former member of The Blow adds a collaborator, with great effect. Plus, the subtitle of this song (Voodoo City) might just be a shout out to my brother's doughnut shop.
Friendly Fires "In the Hospital"
I wish the fires in LA County were a little friendlier this week. But if you need something else to think about, this is a pretty catchy track.
*Note: By naming this post "The Daily 5," I am not guaranteeing any type of daily posting. We'll just see how this goes. Right now, it's a pain as I can't quite figure out the best way to get tracks up. Let's just say that this post took somewhere between two minutes and two hours. Yeah.
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