I have already explained my love for Spotify here - I wish I had been an even earlier adopter of the streaming world. They do a really cool presentation that will show you the music you have listened to for the year. In light of my top ten list of 2014, I was glad to see that I listened to the things I loved quite a bit.
Almost 50,000 minutes listening to Spotify?! Damn! And I pause the music whenever I leave my desk, as I don't want to miss out on the tunes (and I fear someone important walking in to my office just as something terrifically offensive comes on). That is 809 hours of music! Cool.
Beyond those top 5 songs, my next five were A$AP Ferg's Shabba ("Masta BRUCE!"), Beck's Blue Moon, The Head and the Heart's Shake, Real Estate's Talking Backwards, and Beck's Blackbird Chain. Sounds about right.
Seasonal Favorites? Winter = Beck; Spring = First Aid Kit; Summer = Pearl Jam; Fall = Hozier. That also sounds about right.
Top five albums listened to? Beck's Morning Phase, Spanish Gold's South of Nowhere, Real Estate's Atlas, Lake Street Dive's Lake Street Dive, and Weezer's Everything Will Be Alright in the End.
Cool tool - if you haven't checked it out yet, do that here and then let me know about your 2014.
1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream. Again with this same album. Officially the album of the year to love if you want indie street cred. I agree it was good, although after about 10 listens now, I think this may be more David Gray than Ryan Adams. Either way, it is a really nice album.
2. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues. I gave this one a few shots but just don't remember feeling it. Hyden calls it primal, but I don't recall that feeling. I think these dudes got loads of attention because their lead singer changed gender this year or last year, and while I don't dislike this music, I'm not that interested. Saw them at SXSW this last year and felt the same way - good but not great. Here is the video for "Black Me Out."
3. Strand of Oaks - Heal. Never heard of this band in my life. Hyden calls it "full-on, heart-on-sleeve vision-quest rock in the style of Showalter’s beloved Smashing Pumpkins." Uh, as mentioned recently, I love the Pumpkins, and I don't think this sounds much like them at all. Maybe the new stuff after Mellon Collie, but I don't think so. This album is interesting, but top 3 of the year? To each his own, right? 4. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. I agree, this album is awesome.
5. YG - My Krazy Life. Hyden calls it the "most cohesive album I heard in any genre this year." Wow. It is good, and has some great high moments, but I doubt anyone will remember it much by next year. The big hit "My Hitta" (the radio name) is a good head-bobber, but its not going to change the world of hip hop by any means. 6. Cymbals Eat Guitars - LOSE. "the year’s most gloriously grandiose indie-rock record" You know what? Good call, buddy. The first few songs on this album rock. Kick ass rock verging on the edge of punk. Then it slows down and has some weird-out slow jams that are less appealing. But cool album anyway. 7. D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah. Funky and weird like an old Prince jam complete with guitar solo freakouts and little Prince-esque squeaks of ecstasy. I fully expected to be underwhelmed by this, but instead, I just found myself bobbing my head and bouncing along with the groove. Fun stuff right here. 8. Lykke Li - I Never Learn "When Swedish pop singers cry, even the tears come out looking perfectly crafted." Yeah, this is a really pretty album - she's got a great voice. But I doubt I would ever listen to it again after the three chances I just gave it. 9. Restorations - LP3. Where did this one come from? These guys are awesome. In the Gaslight Anthem vein of music - driving, heavy heartland rock. I like this album a lot. 10. Tinariwen - Emmaar. "sounds like the desert: vast, indefatigable, serene, and quietly lethal." I am no world music scholar, and thus had never heard of this one either. Not sure what the language is, but the guitar licks are tight and the arrangements are interesting.
I always forget to read Five Thirty Eight, but when I do, I am consistently pleased with their data-driven nerd articles about stuff. I just read this article about Christmas Music and loved it. Data nerds unite! Growing up, the only Christmas music I really remember listening to was the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album (A Christmas Together), which is still awesome. We would fire that sucker up every year as we decorated the tree. RIP Johnny D. Did I love singing the Animal part of We Wish You a Merry Christmas? Absolutely. Still do. WON'T GO! WON'T GO! WON'T GO! Rolf and Mr. Denver singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas? Damn right. Oh what?!? - there is video of this thing! Terrible audio, but you can Spotify the album to hear it in pristine condition.
Anyway, I never gave much thought to the fact that Christmas music on radio stations is a major moneymaker, but it makes total sense. Soft rock radio is death, but everyone loves hearing Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree 500 times a day! Magic 95 here in Austin switched over before Thanksgiving, but I managed to keep the family away until after Turkey Day. More than the radio, we have been jamming a great Pandora station through the Sonos at home that is based on Bing Crosby's White Christmas. Classic and awesome. The most surprising thing in that article to me is how Wham! is still cranking out listens of Last Christmas. This garbage song isn't even really about Christmas - he just happens to say that their love happened on Christmas, and then they crank some jingle bells for a bit of the chorus. And now George Michael and the other guy from Wham! likely kill it on royalties in December.
Loogit that hair! Hell yes! I think every band in the world ought to be required to write an original Christmas song for a battle of the bands-style face-off where the world picks the best one and then we can use those songs for years of listening pleasure. And erase the memory of Last Christmas.
Rolling Stone's list, while not entirely in line with what I think, was still pretty close to music that I liked this year. In high school, I took both Rolling Stone and SPIN magazines every month, and loved the different perspective of SPIN versus the more establishment RS. They keep that up with this list, making sure that no massively successful records make their list so they can maintain street cred with their buddies from Pitchfork.
1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream. Bold choice, or at least I say that because I had never listened to it. A sign from God that I need to go give it a whirl. After one listen, it is really good - sounds like a Ryan Adams album with some Springsteen sax and Cure synth. Wow, no, seriously, after listening again, I'm 90% sure this is a Ryan Adams album. A really good one, but still. Spin's money quote: "What he emerged with is a masterwork — a thrilling but stately rock record, a new entry in the indie canon." Here is the video for "Red Eyes"
2. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal. I tried this one repeatedly, and just didn't lock on. Although, I'll have to admit that I never locked on to the Strokes either, and these dudes have a very similar sound. Loose, jangly, garage rock with semi-shouted lyrics. Spin quote: "Now more than ever, their band could be your life."
3. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2. Agreed that this one is good. "They're the type to greet the preacher with a grin and a gun — 2014's Public Enemies."
4. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager. No killer one liners on this one from Spin, but I do feel like I ought to go give this album a few more listens. I don't even recall what it sounds like, which is a bad sign. Oh yeah, this is the new Jewel - now I remember her. "Just One of the Guys" is a fun track for sure, and overall this is a pretty good album.
5. Caribou - Our Love. Never heard this one before now, but the top song on Spotify has over 4 million spins, so other people are jamming this. "Can't Do Without You" is that track, and it is a pretty simple electro track looping the title phrase. The rest is more of the same, electro-chill with soft lyrics. Not my thing. Spin says: "Lush and moody, the slow-burning album works like a Choose Your Own Adventure of synthesized proportions"
6. Sun Kil Moon - Benji. I liked this one when I listened to it a few months ago. Not in my top ten, but really good story-telling and packed lyrics. Simple music, but definitely rewards multiple listens. "A deeply personal and largely empathetic work, Benji longs to share its most intimate secrets and insights as it details the life of a man "feeling somewhere between happy and sad.""
7. Future Islands - Singles. I thought this was going to be Lonely Islands at first, which would have been a hilarious pick for a top ten album of the year. Instead, this is synth pop that kind of reminds me of Elton John for some reason. Spin says "calling Singles just "an album" is too simple — it's more of a Your-Day-Will-Come-Too opus for unjustly underrated acts everywhere."
8. Tinashe - Aquarius. Spin says: "The year's best R&B album being made by a 22-year-old Two and a Half Men alumna." I say it has some good rap-ish moments, with Schoolboy Q and A$AP Rocky making appearances, but in general she sounds like a good hook from a rap song, but for the whole song. Not my thing, but she has a nice voice and the beats are pretty solid.
9. tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack. I can't distance myself from the terrible experience of seeing her/them live at ACL, and so I can't handle this in a top ten. Felt like someone was playing a joke on you to see if you will agree that the music is good, while a group of cool kids are laughing at you around the corner. Water Fountain is a catchy ass song, and overall it is kind of a cool album, but just aggressively odd - like Arcade Fire remade Graceland with only a synthesizer and Dave Sitek in the booth. But seriously, they were awful in concert. Spin's confusing money quote: "It's based on a one-woman puppet show from before her mUsIc cArEeR, wherein the hero escaped via weaponized farts. Now that's real."
10. The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers. Excellent album - almost made my top ten and I like it alot. "Any of the criticism leveled against their last few albums — too reserved, too leisurely, too complacent — won't fly here."
Soundgarden - Echo of Miles. New Soundgarden? Hell yes. New Soundgarden. Well, only sort of. This is a three-disc compilation of old music from Soundgarden that was either unreleased, found on random soundtracks/compilations, or has been remixed by someone else. The first disc is originals, and had three songs that poked out at me as pretty awesome, old-school, grunge-y Soundgarden. No big surprise, but all three, Cold Bitch, Blind Dogs, and Black Rain, were recorded in 1994/1995 for the Badmotorfinger or Superunknown albums. Here is Black Rain:
The second disc goes for covers, including a sweet cover of Sly & the Family Stone's Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin), some Beatles and Stones, Sabbath, and even Devo. Oh, and the real deal Spinal Tap's Big Bottom. "Talk about mud flaps, my girls got 'em!" The last disc, called Oddities, is just that. But the first two discs hold enough fun stuff to play with for a while. Smashing Pumpkins - Monuments to an Elegy. That's right, folks. It's mid-90's nostalgia day here at dulljack! The Pumpkins are up there as one of my favorite handful of bands of all time, so I'm a sucker for their new music, despite what I have thought of their last two or three albums. "Tiberius" is kick ass, righteous Billy Corgan with power chords and lyrics about nonsensical love. Not as good as Gish or Siamese Dream, but this would be right at home on Mellon Collie. Meanwhile, "Run to Me" sounds like a Tiffany B-Side from a fictional world when she tried to go rock and roll. So the disc is a little uneven, but has some good moments. Wu Tang Clan - A Better Tomorrow. Honestly, the more I listen to Wu Tang the more I know I like some of the individuals in the Clan more than the whole. Bits of this album sound really cool, but it just isn't cohesive. The verses aren't tied together by a theme for the track, they are just each guy taking turns to do their own thing. "Preacher's Daughter" is cool because it samples Dusty Springfield. "Ruckus in B Minor" is probably the best track, but it literally goes like this: Inspectah Deck (I'm super awesome and cool like the Dos Equis guy), U-God (we are the best), Method Man (you are too young and can't be as cool as us), Another dude who I couldn't ID (I shoot jealous people and you are not a man), Ghostface (I have lots of chains and you wish you were me), GZA (mystical weird stuff about the earth), RZA (I'm going to name some guys who just rapped and mention how cool they are), Method Man (apparently that part about young people not being as cool as us was a chorus), Raekwon (I am cooler than cocaine), Another dude who I couldn't ID (I am super hard core and awesome). Meanwhile, recent discs from Ghostface and Raekwon are solid, grimy story-telling rap over old school samples. It is odd that Ghost would change his style when alone versus with the crew, but maybe it is all about who has creative control. Anyway, this one is not going to make my top albums ever list. Rick Ross - Hood Billionaire. Ugh (and no, not the rUUUHH sound Rick Ross makes 30 times in every song. This guy has a super cool sound - I want to crank it up and drive down the street with the windows down to prove to everyone just how dope I am. And say rUUUhhHH! Real loud over and over. However, his lyrics are flat as hell. I'd love to say the Snoop or Jay-Z cameos help carry the load, but they just spit the same old tired crap about how cool they are and how much dope they sling and ladies they bag. Blah blah my paint wet and my feet chrome. Check out my designer label stuff. Yawn. Ghostface Killah - 36 Seasons. Word. This is why I still love rap. Well-crafted samples based on old soul songs. A cohesive storyline about a guy who gets sent off to jail(?) for 9 years and then comes back to the old hood to find everything has changed. "It's a Thin Line Between Love and Hate" isn't even a rap, but a classic soul song cover about what your lady can do if you cross her. And it fits perfectly in the midst of these tracks, going from Ghost (as Tony Starks, as usual) realizing his hood is changed and his woman has a new man (guess what happens when you don't call for 9 years?), to trying to reclaim his place in the neighborhood but getting shot, and then recovering and winning his lady friend back. SO MUCH BETTER than stupid Rick Ross and his vapid brag-fest. Here is the video for "Love Don't Live Here Anymore."
Even without the video, you can see what is going on by the lyrics (although I think Omar's character doesn't actually get stabbed in the song. Details. Whatevs). Just great storytelling.
I have already made my love for Kodaline obvious, but their song All I Want was used in The Fault in Our Stars, and it made me sad and hopeful and *almost* teary once again. Such a good song.
Stalley - Ohio. I recall listening to this dude a few years ago, can't recall why but think that I had read about this huge dude rapping with Rick Ross about his love for Ohio. He's still real excited about Ohio. Jackin' Chevys bites the Boyz in da 'Hood, but the video shows him going out to Compton and hanging out with lots of people with Eazy E memorabilia in their house, so maybe this was a respect thing?
Stalley uses excellent beats. Little of the flavor-of-the-month stuff, just classic trunk rattlers. I don't find a YouTube video for it, but go listen to "Free," which is a soul-tastic, Ohio Players-sampling banger. "Problems" is solid with some good story-telling action. "One More Shot" is money - his current top song on Spotify (likely because of the Rick Ross cameo). And who out there still have the bad ass balls to include De La Soul in their raps? This guy. Solid album.
Wildcat Apollo - Wildcat Apollo. Indie rock in the vein of softer Cults and Liz Phair. I wanted to say Sleater-Kinney, but that isn't true because this band is much gentler and less screamy. They are apparently from Austin according to the radio people who told me about the band, but could really be from anywhere. Maybe even mid-90's Britain influence as well. The drummer makes me think of Blur and Teenage Bandwagon. Some trippy stuff on here as well. I could only find a live version of The Colorado, but I dig this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz4khdqyozs (sorry, YouTube is being annoying with links again).
Fuzzed out and awesome.
OK Go - Hungry Ghosts. These guys are definitely more famous for their excellent music videos than for their actual music. You can spend multiple hours dropping down the rabbit hole of their videos on YouTube. Here is the most popular one I found, with over 45 million views, for This Too Shall Pass:
The new album is similar stuff, well crafted harmonies and pop/rock music. Their initial album (OK Go) with its single Get Over It was damn fine pop rock as well. Of the songs on this album, I think Writings on the Wall is my favorite one.
Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were. I literally have had two different people walk in to my office today and say it is chilled day in here. This music is super chilled and relaxing. Howard's voice is smooth and makes for a really great sound on these tracks. Nice album, even if nothing very exciting for me on here.
She & Him - Classics. Speaking of super chilled, this is an awesome album of throw-back action. Ever since Zooey Deschanel sang in the shower in "Elf," I've thought she has a magical voice. This disc treads no new ground but is a beautiful little nugget of harmony and lush arrangements that I never hear unless listening to the old school Christmas station on Pandora. Good stuff.
Year end lists are a fun rite of passage for the Internet age. I swear there are millions of them out there by now, and after seeing Rolling Stone put its top 40 out in the magazine, I thought I'd take a swing at a top ten as well. While Wikipedia's information is going to be suspect (for example, Miranda Lambert's album is missing from the list of 2014 albums), it is what I have available to easily see what was released in 2014. Of note:
Who out there knew that the Presidents of the United States of America were still releasing albums? Not me! They put out two this year.
There is a band called I Killed the Prom Queen. Of course there is.
Sebastian Bach, Winger, and Tesla all put out new albums this year. WTF?!? Who buys that crap? And someone said Rock and Roll was dead!
2014 has been a good year. I have listened to a freaking TON of music this year. I actually think it has made me more discerning, but it also has made it significantly harder to recall what I listened to and what I thought. When I was in high school and could only afford 1 or 2 CDs a month, I really knew those CDs. But now that I can hear a million different things at any given time, I just don't get that same deep level of digging in to music, unless it is so good that I keep going back to it again and again. These ten albums listed here seem like albums I will keep around. Anyway, my top ten. I ran through Wikipedia's list of albums released this year and listed out the ones that I had heard. From those, I started comparing them to each other to see which one I would rather hear forever. Kind of the like way Flickchart does their movie rankings - compare one to the other and see which one wins. I'm still not entirely satisfied that the order of these is right, but I feel pretty good that these ten belong in my top ten in some order.
Interesting that I ended up being pretty chilled up there in my top two, and that no rap made my list at all. Stay Gold is such a beautiful thing. Feels classic while new. Longing and gentle and effective to change my mood, which is an amazing thing in music. I don't think Morning Phase was as good as Beck's Sea Change, but its still an excellent album. I think I've talked enough about the rest of those, but this was a good year for music.
The albums that just missed the cut are TV on the Radio’s Seeds, Real Estate’s Atlas, Run the Jewels’ Run the Jewels 2, Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, and Coldplay’s Ghost Stories.
Honorable mentions: Temples’ Sun Structures, Jack White’s Lazaretto, YG's My Krazy Life, Benjamin Booker’s Benjamin Booker, Death from Above 1979’s The Physical World, New Pornographers' Brill Bruisers, Old 97’s Most Messed Up, Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron, Maroon 5’s V (I know, weird, but that Levine guy knows how to make serious pop hooks), and I’d like to say Black Key’s Turn Blue, but since I haven’t heard the whole album, I can’t include it above.
I hope that 2015 will be just as strong, and that I can keep up with talking about this stuff over the year. Happy New Year!
I spent a little too much time with my friend Evan Williams last night and was a little foggy in the car this morning, until some Rick Ross came on. As such, I hereby decree the day of bass to rattle my head loose and get some work done 'round here. For your listening enjoyment:
One of my favorite singles of the year, Future's Move that Dope. This beat should make you want to crush the day and sell load of cocaine and wear the Arby's hat.
Run the Jewels - Close Your Eyes (and Count to F):
And finally, to chill out a little bit after your hard day of work (but apparently keep selling cocaine), the new track from O.T. Genasis:
Rolling Stone has released their list of the 50 best albums of 2014. Click through that image to see their thoughts.
First, my thoughts on their top ten. Then I will work up another post about my own top ten albums of the year.
U2 - Songs of Innocence. Excellent. Not sure it is the greatest album of the year - I think RS is pushing back on all the people who pushed back on the free release/forced download thing. I also think that this album is much more powerful with commentary - I would not have known that Iris was Bono's mom or that Cedarwood Road was where he grew up. If you find out how confessional and real the lyrics are, I do think it makes these songs more interesting and emotionally appealing. And several of these songs - Every Breaking Wave for one - have classic old U2/Joshua Tree era sound. I dig it.
Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes. Blah. I gave this one a good number of listens when it first came out, and it just sounds like B-sides and Tom Morello guitar schtick. I thought Magic and Wrecking Ball were significantly better albums.
Black Keys - Turn Blue. Sadly, they only have two of these songs on Spotify. I love the Black Keys in general, but never got around to buying this whole album, thinking it would show up to stream. Not so much. "Fever" is more of the blues rock greatness they are known for, with a touch more old-school, 50's pop/surf-rock sound. Great tune. "Gotta Get Away" is on heavy rotation on the radio right now and is another good song - a quick rock nugget that lets you sing San Berdoo and Kalamazoo in the chorus. This album is probably worthy of top three status.
Miranda Lambert - Platinum. You know what? I don't hate this album. I expected to hate this album and was bummed to waste time listening to it, but it has some fun moments and pretty good songs. "Priscilla" made me smile (about Elvis's wifey) and "Automatic" is a legit burner about love going stale. Reminds me of the best stuff the Dixie Chicks did back in the day. "All That's Left" is a fine Bob Wills homage, Smokin' and Drinkin' is a good fun song as well. Huh. I am truly surprised that this wasn't Florida Georgia Line-style garbage rock-country. This is good. Not the 5th best album of the year, but this is good.
Charli XCX - Sucker. In a sad indictment of the potential future of Spotify, this album is also not available on there. Three songs are available (Breaking Up, Gold Coins, and London Queen), and I find it interesting that this would be a top ten album for the year. "Breaking Up" is a nyah nyah, cheerleader-y pop nugget, but doesn't sound like much. Could have been a b-side of Hey Mickey (and is all of 2:18 long). "Gold Coins" has a pretty good beat, but the lyrics are boring brag-rap. Maybe she is trying to do the "Royals" sarcasm thing here, but if so she misses the mark. "London Queen" is another 80's-esque pop throw-away about how crazy it is she was from London and now lives in L.A. With some London-punk "Oy!"s thrown in to make it clear she is legit. Nope. Assuming "Boom Clap" will also be on this album, then it has at least one great song on it, but those three are lame-o. Not top 6 in any way.
Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence. I have considered Del Rey in the past. After giving this album another listen, I still can't get on board. I tried to eliminate my past notions of her and just judge this as though it was from a new artist I had never heard of before. It is still annoying as crap. The title song appears to be all about her getting her ass kicked by a dude but sticking with him because of love and stuff. Er, bad plan, lady. And then the rest of the album is just her cooing and whispering about her baby living in shades of cool and how she's too young to love you. I am terrified that my daughters will love this kind of garbage and sit around in their rooms pining away for a cool guy who will beat her ass and then sing Lou Reed to her while wearing old school Wayfarers. Ugh, daughters.
Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2. Bad ass stuff. I just noticed the other day that the Wu Tang say "run the jewels" at one point in their debut album, and looking it up shows that it might mean to "give me your expensive belongings right now." Killer Mike is good in his own right - his album RAP Music was solid a few years ago - but he sounds bad ass here. I don't know any of El-P's music, but probably ought to go check it out because these beats are interesting and excellent. The crushing beat on "Oh My Darling Don't Cry" is a bass sledgehammer, and "Close Your Eyes" (feat. Zach De La Rocha!!!) is right there with it.
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days. I looked at this album in the run-up to ACL as well. Super chilled tuneage with oddball lyrics. Not bad, but not top ten either. This feels like the kind of album I am supposed to like if I am a cool music blogger guy. But not so much.
Taylor Swift - 1989. Such a bummer that she pulled her music from Spotify. I know that I am in the demographic who is supposed to hate her music, but I don't. The last album (Red) had a lot of really great songs on it, well written lyrics and good tunes to boot. Likely not a popular sentiment, but totally true. I wonder if nerd music bloggers back in the mid-80's hated on pop queens like Madonna or Janet Jackson while those ladies crushed the competition and did their thing? Anyway, "Shake it Off" is kind of annoying because that phrase is repeated so damn much, and the rap interlude is lame, but its definitely a catchy beat and I like the sentiment of doing your thing no matter what unpleasant people say. The other big single is "Blank Space," and it is great. It starts as a straight up high hat/bass beat like a minimal rap song, and she raps/sings until the chorus when she kicks in like Kary Perry or old school Britney. Maybe I need to go hit up the used bin at Waterloo and see if Turn Blue and 1989 have filtered their way down there yet.
I need to look at a list of all the albums that make the cut for release in this year, and I'll be back with my top ten list sometime soon.
