Best Albums of 2015: Rolling Stone

Next up, Rolling Stone.  Now, I know that some folks (see last year's Rock Critic Hive Mind article) who make fun of RS as being the fuddy duddy old grandad of musical appreciation (see last year, picking U2 and Springsteen's entirely forgettable albums as #1 and #2), but I still read the magazines for great articles and good musical discovery that hews mainstream.  Unfortunately, there is only one album in this top ten that I hadn't already listened to before now.  

I had a thought the other day, that Rolling Stone just doesn't bag on anyone enough in their reviews, which is really too bad.  My guess is that they still get shit for crapping all over Zeppelin back in the day, so now they are all cautious and scared to come correct on anyone else.  Now they hand out 3 star reviews like Halloween candy and lavish praise on anyone who may end up culturally significant.

1.  Kendrick Lamar, 'To Pimp a Butterfly'  Surprise surprise, I bet this will be a consistent theme. Great album, just not my top choice.  My theory on this album is that it is the "important" album of 2015, and so everyone will feel hard pressed to make it their top pick so that they can show how in tune they are with the importance of this album.  I think it is the year's best rap album, but it is only lyrically great - the underlying tunes rarely spark anything for me.

2.  Adele, '25'  Yep, nothing shocking here.  As I said on the NYT top ten list, this one has some great moments, but didn't snatch me up after a few listens so hard that I know it would immediately be a top ten album.  We'll see over time.  They did give this one 5 stars in the most recent magazine, which happens very rarely, so they are putting their money where their mouth is.  Interesting that Lamar only got 4.5 stars for his review, and yet took the year-end prize from Adele.

3.  Drake, 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'  Eh.  Nothing on this album is so immediate and necessary that it will stay around once his new album is out.  His most popular tracks here at the end of the year weren't even on this album - "Hotline Bling," "Back to Back," and "Right Hand" were all singles, while "Jumpman" and "Big Rings" are from the Future collaboration.  This is the best thing Drake was on this whole year.  Here is the most-listened-to track from this album, called "Know Yourself."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Oh, hey, was that song still on?  Right.  "Runnin' thru tha Six wit my woes!" Jeah!

4.  D'Angelo and the Vanguard, 'Black Messiah'  Yeah, this is a cool album.  Funky and fun, I liked it quite a bit when I listened to it last year.  Yeah, this one came out in 2014.  And yet RS thinks it is a top album of 2015.  Mmmkay.  As such, I didn't even consider it for this year's list.  It might have made it, as it is a sweet album.

5.  The Weeknd, 'Beauty Behind the Madness'  Nope.  I'll go right along with the fact that "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills" are heavyweight, excellent pop gems.  I think that, if Michael Jackson hadn't lost his way and melted his face down for drug money, he would have been making these exact songs right now.  Its actually genius, for this guy to pay homage to Michael with his sound but update the lyrics with dark, drug-fueled sexy-time fun.  But the rest of this album, after those two hits, doesn't do it for me.

6.  Courtney Barnett, 'Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit'  Agreed.  This album is awesome.  Lyrically tight and musically fun.  I can't quit singing "Depreston" in my head.

7.  Jason Isbell, 'Something More Than Free'  I liked this album a lot when I listened to it earlier this year.  Really strong batch of lyrics.

8.  Artists, 'Hamilton: Original Broadway Soundtrack'  I was going to call out RS for being obnoxious and adding this to their list.  Nothing like a Broadway soundtrack to act as your pretentious ticket to legitimacy in the eyes of the musical elite.  And then I actually just listened to this album and it is freaking awesome.  If you've read my constant griping about the state of rap music, you'd know that I lament the lack of coherent lyrics or the kind of grimy ghetto tales spun by Biggie or Cube back in the day.  Now, this is weird, to say that the story of the guy on the ten dollar bill qualifies, but it absolutely hits the right spot.  This album is great.  It is also 2 freaking hours and 22 minutes long, so you better go ahead and settle in if you plan to try it out.

"The Ten Duel Commandments."  Echos of Biggie's "Ten Crack Commandments," except seriously a rap about how to carry out a duel.  Total surprise to me, but this is good stuff.  "Cabinet Battle #1" is freaking awesome.  Old school rap battle action, but nerding out about fiscal policy of the 18th century.  I also was a big fat theater dork in high school and college, so I'm not going to quail at some chorus harmonies or affected accents and precise diction.  This is a good album.

9.  The Arcs, 'Yours, Dreamily'  Great album.  YOU DONE LOST YOUR CHINATOWN PASS, BRO!  I kind of forgot about it in my top ten.  Don't know that it would have beaten any of the albums I chose to be included, but it really has a funky and fun sound.  I don't know Dan Auerbach has become the smartest and best creator of rock and roll around, but I'm pretty well in for what he wants to play.

10.  Blur, 'The Magic Whip'   I liked this album well enough, although I really haven't given it much time since I first reviewed it.  Going back and re-listening right now, I still really like it.  Just the beginning frame of the opener, "Lonesome Street," evokes memories of past Brit pop loves, loose and jangly; yelpy and then tuneful.

Just got a little mesmerized by that video.  Good song and good album.

Best Albums of 2015: New York Times

While I definitely enjoy doing my own top ten list, it is also satisfying and fun to go through other critics' lists so that I can find new music and make fun of other people's taste. Because my list is perfect and cannot be faded, obviously all others don't know what they are talking about!

First up, the New York Times' Jon Pareles!

1. Kendrick Lamar “To Pimp a Butterfly”  I agree, this is a great album, but I couldn't make it the top one of the year.  Pareles has a spot-on line in his review "Ideas and atmosphere govern the tracks, not immediate catchiness."  That is exactly right.

2. Joanna Newsom “Divers”  I can't hear the whole disc, as it is not available on Spotify to jam.  So it is totally and completely unavailable to any reasonable human.  But I listened to two songs on YouTube, "Sapokanikan" and "Divers."  This is not my favorite music of the year.  "Sapokanikan" has a disjointed musical sound with a whimsical twee voice over the top, like an American Bjork who took singing lessons from Kate Bush.  The amount of eye contact she gives me in the video makes me uncomfortable.  If you try to go listen to her album on YouTube, use caution, as the link to hear her whole album included an ULTIMATE MARTIAL ARTS FAILS video in the third song slot.  Which was super extreme after hearing "Divers." "Divers" is a super pretty, harp-driven hymn.

Again, so much eye contact.  I'm very nervous over here during that video.  But I can't even try to fade that song, its gorgeous.  Not the type of music I'd gravitate to, but I can recognize it as truly lovely.

3. Grimes “Art Angels”  This is a Canadian gal named Claire Boucher who makes this music with the made-in-her-basement-with-pro-tools technique.  Her earlier music (which I also don't know) was apparently darker and less accessible, but this music is mostly of the shiny pop variety, songs like "Easily" (bubbly and ready for the dance floor), "Artangels" (super sunny sounding), and "Kill V. Maim" (sounds like an old Gwen Stefani song from Love Angel Music Baby).  But then I turned on the lyrics for my second run through the album, and peppy little ditties like "California" are actually kind of dark and sad.

"And when the ocean rises up above the ground, Baby, I'll drown in California, You only like me when you think I'm looking sad. California, I didn't think you'd end up treating me so bad."  Meanwhile the vocals sound kind of like the Sundays and the music is this hand-clapping sunshine.  Hard juxtaposition.  And here is "Flesh Without Blood/Life in the Vivid Dream."

Which starts with the sound and look of a bubblegum pop dream, and then turns into sketchy murder-death-kill central in the video.  To keep the weird duality going, during the bubblegum section, she's singing about how she doesn't care anymore and she does doesn't like you.  On "SCREAM," don't bother trying to understand the lyrics, as they are apparently all in Chinese.  I'm just not worldly and cool enough to get this.  I guess I enjoy the pop tunefulness of most of the songs, but they also grate my nerves after a while.

4. Sleater-Kinney “No Cities to Love”  Not my thing, as noted back when I reviewed that album.

5. Björk “Vulnicura”  I love Bjork, but this isn't the album to rank in a top ten list. Extremely pretty, but as discussed in my review, can't hold a candle to the originality and fun of her old music.

6. Adele “25”  I went out and joined the millions who bought this CD on its release date. Felt very happy with myself, stalking through Waterloo for some new and hip music.  After a handful of listens, doesn't feel as strong as 21, but is still carried by her all-time voice. "Hello" is an unstoppable ear-worm, and "Send My Love" is a fun jam.  

I tried to find a YouTube link to "Send My Love," but all that is available is about a million cover versions.  Oh, and by the way, 724 MILLION FREAKING VIEWS OF THAT VIDEO FOR HELLO!!!  Holy freaking schnikeys!!  You think Adele might be big right now?  I may end up wishing I had ranked this album myself, but after only a handful of listens, it doesn't rise up to top ten status.  

7. Alabama Shakes “Sound & Color”  Agreed.  My number one album of the year.

8. Sufjan Stevens “Carrie and Lowell”  I actually really liked this album when I checked it out earlier this year.  Crazy pretty, worth a listen.  

9. Mbongwana Star “From Kinshasa”  Here we go, with this old tried and true move: rank something strange and inscrutable near the bottom of your list so that you prove your street cred, without having to make people think you are crazy pants for ranking it above the other albums.  This band is apparently some dudes from the Congo, and the two main guys are quadriplegics who rock cool three wheeler wheelchairs.  Wikipedia says that this album had universal acclaim.  

I have to say, its actually pretty damn fun and funky and entertaining, even if I have no clue what is going on.  Or what anyone is saying.  It wore me out by the end, but the first few tracks are pretty snappy.

10. Miguel “Wildheart”  Huh.  I always thought Miguel was more of an R. Kelly/D'Angelo kind of slinky bedroom love-making slow jam kinda guy.  This album has way more rock style than I expected, with a dose of rap.  I don't know what to think of this at all.  "Coffee" might be my favorite thing on here (well, the explicit version, where about half of the usages of the word "coffee" are replaced with the word "f***ing"), but the big hit is "Simple Things," which is only on the deluxe version of the album.

Not doing much for me on these tracks.  I'll let old Jon Pareles enjoy this one on his own.

Quick Hits, Vol. 65 (Dead Weather, Scorpion Child, Dilly Dally, ASG)

Hot Topic:  Man, screw trying to buy tickets online for big shows.  I just tried to get Adele tickets for her Austin shows, and was on the website about 5 minutes before the 10 am start time.  According to the message you get there at that time, it says "Please do not reload this page - or you will lose your place in queue."  I shouldn't be in the freaking Q right then!  The line shouldn't begin until 10 am, when you said it would begin.  If I could have lined up at 9 and been at the front of the line, then I would have.  
So I opened up three browsers to see if Safari, Chrome, or IE would have a better shot at getting in, and then decided to start refreshing one to see if that helped.  Surprise surprise, the one I kept refreshing (Chrome) got in, at 10:11, while the other two have still been spinning 20 minutes later.  And for the one that got in, no level 1 or level 2 tickets were still available, only Mezzanine tickets up in the nosebleeds to the side of the stage.  No thanks. That is a crap system for handing out tickets. Feels rigged.  Probably is.  I know I'm just bitter to have missed out on a show, but I would have paid up for the good seats if they had been available.

The Dead Weather - Dodge and Burn.  I should like this album.  I should use this to fill the White Stripes-shaped hole in my heart, lovingly layering in the molten rock into that hole with Jack White's hot guitar-lick love. Instead, I really don't like this album, and really don't want to hear Alison Mossheart squeak, squeal, and scream her way through the album. Here is the most popular of the tracks on the album so that you can check it for yourself.  "I Feel Love (Every Million Miles)"

The groove of the song is tight - I like that sound at the start, but then it falls of the rails for me once the singing starts.  I know others who love it, but I don't need to listen anymore.

Scorpion Child - Scorpion Child.  What does Scorpion Child sound like?  Billy Squier circa 1982, but backed by a Zeppelin cover band.  Local Austin boys doing some heavy rocking out.  The singer's voice also sounds a bit like old Robert Plant, but I feel hear Squier's voice every time I hear their "hit."  That hit is "Kings Highway."

Some good times old school 70's rock and roll right there, baby.  Get it ON!  I also dig the final track, "Red Blood (The River Flows)," that has more than a little southern rock feel and a chilled vibe underneath the riffages and solos.  I enjoyed jamming this disc a few times.

Dilly Dally - Sore.  No clue where I found this one, but it is some 90's alt-crunch borrowed straight from Hole and the Pixies.  This may be wrong, but I have a theory that if a band's top song on Spotify is the first song on their album, then more than likely people go to try them out, hear the first song, then click elsewhere.  Just a thought, although I don't think it applies to this band, as their most popular song (also their first track) has a real deal video. This is called "Desire."

You can crunch my face all day long.  That tune is kick ass.  The album gets a little too scream-y for me as it slogs on, so I don't know that I plan to keep it around for all time, but it definitely has some high points like "Desire" and "Purple Rage."  I'll definitely hold on to those.

ASG - Blood Drive.  I found this band the other day after listening to Wildlights, this is apparently the same lead singer, Jason Shi.  This is good rock and roll stuff, although I think I like the Wildlights album better.  This one finds him a bit more scream-y than the other. But I'm still digging it.  The most listened to tune on the album is the first track, called "Avalanche."

Grind that one out, baby.  Funny, after my whole commentary up above, now I want to talk lyrics, but I'll just say that the groove of this song is the best part.  The rest of the disc is similar in tone and is also good.  Nothing great, but good enough to listen to a few more times.

Quick Hits, Vol. 64 (Fetty Wap, Bjork, Mandolin Orange, Coldplay)

Fetty Wap - Fetty Wap.  I remember reading an article in the spring calling Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen" the future "song of the summer" for 2015.  Negatory, good buddy.  I know this track has been played all year and there are obviously people who enjoy it, but it is musical death to me.  RS just named it as their #2 single of the year.  

I'll take One-Eyed Auto-Tuner Drug-Kingpins for $400, Alex.  The rest of the album sticks right with this same deal, except the beats on those other songs aren't even as good as this basic stuff.  20 songs of musical death.  I never want to hear this song again.

Bjork - Vulnicura.  I fell in love with Bjork back in high school, when she put out Debut.  I have this great memory of listening to it at my sister's creekside hovel in Boulder one spring break, grooving to the funky bits and soaking up the ambient beauty of the chilled portions. I still love that album (and should write it up in total sometime soon).  Her next album, Post, was also my jam.  I remember seeing her posters all over London when I was there one January in college, I think I even took a picture of myself in front of one (before digital film or the term "selfie").  One summer, I bet two other counselors in my cabin at camp that I could make the kids love "Army of Me" more than any song they decided to choose.  I won.  Suck it, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover."

But the greatness of those two albums, to me, is the excellence in variance.  No two song is the same. You have the danceable crush of "Army of Me," and then you have the quiet and entrancing "Hyperballad" or "Headphones," and then you get one that bridges the gap with "It's Oh So Quiet." Same with Debut, with "Human Behavior" and "There's More to Life Than This" partying in one corner and "Venus as a Boy" or "Like Someone in Love" chilling in the other.  She doesn't just hit one note, she bounces all over the musical spectrum, and you get to have fun, wild songs as well as these beautiful hymns made of electronic waterfalls. They're all wonderful and well done and they make the albums a cool group of similar but different things.

Unfortunately for me, this album just slips right into the same path as her last few albums, wonderfully pretty orchestral tracks with her top notch voice weaving its way through them. "Stonemilker" is absolutely gorgeous.  I could sink myself into that song all day.  But then the rest of the album lines up that same pretty sound, with little to no variance into a dance groove or a spaz out into the fun zone.  Here is some trippy video action for "Lionsong"

I mean, that is different from "Stonemilker," but you still get another song, like the rest of this album, that is almost like poetry that happens to have some sounds playing along with it. Nothing that makes you want to bob your head or wiggle your tailfeather, but lyrically and sonically grand and complex nonetheless.  I'll probably let this album go without saving, but I'm glad I played with it for a few days anyway.

Mandolin Orange - Such Jubilee.  I caught a few songs from these guys at ACL this year, and liked what I heard a lot.  These songs hew to the tried and true formula of solid americana music that I would have listened to nonstop back in 1999 (who else out there loved 95.3 The Range in Dallas?).  These songs are beautiful, relaxing, well-played, and make me happy. "Rounder," and "Settled Down" are beauts.  The "hot" track on here, with over 700k listens, is called "Old Ties and Companions."

Good driving mandolin lick - exactly what it should be doing unless it is in Mandolin-God-Mode hands like Chris Thile.  Soft harmonies, gentle picking, give me "Of Which There Is No Like" for a requiem.  I could just keep this album playing all day in the background.

Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams.  I was interested in reading this New Yorker review, thinking that it was going to be in defense of Coldplay.  That was foolish and I should have known better.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed the read - well done piece and funny - even if it just joined the chorus of the rest of the world who think that Coldplay and Chris Martin are an easy punchline.  Personally, I don't care about whether or not this album has "important" lyrics or a deep transcendence to help the world resolve its deepest woes.  This album is fun.  Yes, people can parse the lyrics and song titles and make fun of the banality of the writing and the mood, but if you just back off and play this album with a mind toward enjoying yourself, I think you'll come away happy.  Here is "Adventure of a Lifetime," with more than 16 million YouTube views and 34.6 spins on Spotify.

Those creepy-eyed monkeys are having a blast, man.  Music can be just fun.  It doesn't have to be serious literature or art house films.  It can also be Harry Potter or Die Hard.  I'll admit that I didn't think much of Ghost Stories or Mylo Xyloto, but Parachutes, Rush of Blood, and (to a lesser extent) X & Y are freaking great albums.  This one does not get up to those in my mind, but it is undeniably enjoyable to listen to and I'm going to keep doing it in spite of the rest of the world.
Also of interest, I think they use the sound of drumsticks on Coke bottles multiple times ("Hymn for the Weekend," "Adventure of a Lifetime") on this album, which is just kind of odd. Anyway, go give this one a listen.

Quick Hits, Vol. 63 (Lana Del Rey, Chris Cornell, Ryan Adams, Big Grams)

Hot Topic: An interesting editorial asks the question of whether the South Ruined Hip Hop, and while the title gets the question wrong, the discussion is interesting and points to the issues I have with most rap these days. I don't think it is all of the south that has ruined hip hop, I agree that you can direct that ire directly at Atlanta. The quote that sealed the deal for me, realizing that other people are hearing what I am hearing, was noting that the charts are now dominated by "rap songs with heavy melodies and light lyricism." And it sounds like the reason for the downfall of the good rap sound is that there is some sort of new payola scheme with the Coalition DJs in Atlanta, who get paid to play a certain song in the strip clubs, and then that springboard launches those new songs into the charts. And the rest of us have to suffer through jenky ATL stripper music instead of something with smart lyrics and a good beat.  Long live Ice Cube.


Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon.  I'm almost a little disappointed in myself, because I don't full-on detest this music.  Here is my musical taste card, you can take it back.  Well, maybe just cut a corner off and give it back.  It is a super weird album, all breathy vocals and extremely minimal backing music. Like a dark lounge act where the singer's mic is cranked and the rest of the band is located behind a curtain.  The soundtrack to a dark Lynch film scored by Trent Reznor and Chris Isaak.  Or maybe just someone sitting alone and sadly singing to herself.  I'd rather listen to something with a great bassline any day of the week, but I've actually found myself drawn to the minimalist sound and pretty voice.  Why is this happening to me?  I've lost my way, friends.  Maybe the most "mainstream" of the tracks would be "High by the Beach," because it opens up after the basic vocals and organ to a trappy bass line.

34.6 million freaking views of that video.  Criminy.  And BTDubs, that mega-alien-melter-2000 gun could not have fit in that guitar case.  Boom!  Music Video Truther!  The rest of the album has very little of that type of pop sense, much more sleepy, languid, sensual...  But I liked hearing it!  I need to go listen to some metal or something.

Chris Cornell - Higher Truth.  Soundgarden was the bomb back in my high school days. Couldn't get enough of them for a while.  Saw them play live a few times and just loved it.  I still dig their first three albums (except for Spoonman, bluuuurg, that song is terrible). I spent a lot of time darkly brooding over "Fell on Black Days," "The Day I Tried to Live," "4th of July," and "Like Suicide" and imagining how important my deep understanding and appreciation for those songs was. But I didn't stick around for the later albums, by then I had lost interest and was in college braying Robert Earl Keen at the top of my lungs.

I've given this album a lot of listens, and while I still like Cornell's voice, used to great effect on these songs, this music is generically uninteresting.  He needs to bring the Audioslave or Soundgarden pain.  But because I am doing this for you, fair reader, I present to you the most popular song off the album, "Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart."

Cool sound in the song. That is probably the best song on the album - none go back to the sludge grunge of old Soundgarden.  A lot of the other songs are kind of goofy sounding in comparison.  I won't keep this album around.

Ryan Adams - 1989.  The cover album of the year, and kind of a cool experiment.  People talk about how great Taylor Swift's songwriting is, so this puts those lyrics front and center in (mostly) minimal arrangements and Adam's lovely tenor.  It is great.  Both of my daughters are in full-on obsession mode with TayTay, so it has been fun to play them songs from this album and see them recognize the song without all of the pop trappings of the originals. "Bad Blood" is probably the best one, although I'm liking the entire album.

I hope that Adams keeps the rights to remake all TayTay albums in the future for all time. My worry is that her next album will have crappy people tripping over themselves to re-create this magic and we'll end up with the R. Kelly version, the Nickelback version, the Brayleigh from "16 and Pregnant" version, and the Nick Lachey version to wade through.

Big Grams - Big Grams.  A collaboration between Phantogram and Big Boi (of Outkast) that is a really fun disc.  I listened to Phantogram for the 2014 ACL Fest preview, and was intrigued.  I never went and saw them, but after listening to this album I'm down to give it a try.  Big Boi is smooth as hell, and the music and verses by the Phantogram singer (Sarah Barthel) are actually good too.  They have one track with Skrillex that is pretty sweet, and then another with Run the Jewels (which is a perfect match), but my favorite track is the album opener, "Run for your Life."  Unfortunately, that one doesn't have a video, so here is the most listened-to track, "Fell into the Sun."

The Skrillex track, "Drum Machine" is also pretty sweet.  Fun collabo.  Go check it out.

Adele on NBC

Last night, NBC aired a special hour-long concert of Adele from Radio City Music Hall.  I didn't have it on my radar, but a friend texted to see if I was watching and it was amazing.  I mean, if you didn't watch this thing, you missed out. Her voice is just out of this world.  I'm really excited now about trying to get tickets on Thursday for her Austin shows next November.  Check it out.

It was short, only eight songs, because NBC needed to fit eighty-five billion commercials in that same hour.  Seriously, just about every single song was followed with an eight minute commercial break.  It was brutal.  My two favorites of the night were "Skyfall" and "Someone Like You."  Most of the songs throughout the night were just simple backing music, usually just the piano and nothing else.  But "Skyfall" had a big bunch of horns and strings and backup choirs jamming out with her.  Great song and cool performance.

But then "Someone like You" was a revelation.  I was somewhat distracted when she kept part of the chorus down an octave. Check out 24:06-ish in that video and you'll hear it.  The third line should be up higher than that.  When she had the crowd sing it, they went up to the right spot.  Wonder if her throat can't get up there now?  I thought she said she could go higher and lower than before after the surgery?  Anyway, I don't think I'd ever really paid attention to that song before, but my God it is beautiful.  And devastatingly sad.

"Never mind, I'll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you two, Don't forget me, I beg, I remember you said, Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead." I'd never really heard those lyrics until last night, and damn.  I really hope I can score tickets on Thursday so I can see her in person.

Best Albums of 2015: me

Spotify says I listened to 63,000 minutes of music in 2015.  Pretty insane if you really think about that - which doesn't even include the time I spent on Pandora or listening to my own CDs or ripped albums.  That is a lot of time spent inserting new sounds into my head.  Which makes it a little bit difficult to tackle the project of naming my top 10 albums of the year.  I've been so voracious at devouring new music that I haven't gotten to spend really good quality time with some of the albums that I loved.  But I just ran down through all of the new albums (listed on Wikipedia) that were released in 2015, made a list, and have waded through that list of my favorites to choose the cream of the crop.

A few observations.  First, my list is heavy on people who came to ACL this year.  I don't know the direction of the chicken and the egg for that - if my ACL project influenced my list, or if ACL just got people this year who put out fantastic albums - but either way it is funny how intertwined the two are this year.  Second, I never heard the new Dr. Dre or the new Coldplay because neither are available on Spotify [edit, new Coldplay is up now, but I still haven't heard enough to judge].  Finally, I think this is the right order, and I think the "Beard-o Three" at the bottom could have lost out to other albums, but for now I think they win out.

1. Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color.
2. The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.
3. Chris Stapleton - Traveller
4. Tame Impala - Currents
5. Kacey Musgraves - Pageant Material
6. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
7. Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit
8. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
9. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
10. My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall

I know the rest of the world is going to go with Kendrick Lamar in that top slot, and while I liked the album too, its just not one that I am going to want to play over and over.  "King Kunta" is a fun jam, but the overall tenor of the album is so serious (and jazzy) that it won't stick in the albums I want to just keep in the constant rotation.  I think the top three are all albums that I am going to keep listening to for a long time.  I struggled with the order up there, and think I got it right, but any of those three could have been in the top slot.  If you want more detail about what I think of each one, click those links above.

Albums that just missed the cut: Adele's 25, A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.ASAP, Kurt Vile - b'lieve I'm goin' down, Lord Huron's Strange Trails, Gary Clark Jr.'s The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, Wolf Alice's My Love is Cool, Houndmouth's Little Neon Limelight, Jose Gonzalez's Vestiges and Claws, Blur's Magic Whip, and Drenge's Undertow.  I may end up liking Adele's album more, but after a few listens, I love the first two tracks and then feel underwhelmed by the rest.  

Best Random Single of the Year:  Beck's Dreams.  Makes me want to boogie down the street, kick in your front door, pop some popcorn, and then jump on your bed in my shoes while cramming joyful fistfuls of the popped corn into my craw.  You must obey this song and have fun.

Best Album Not From 2015 That I Just Discovered:  Royal Blood's Royal Blood.  From 2014. This is now officially my jam.

Best Concert of the Year:  Definitely Metallica.  While I saw some great stuff at ACL Fest, loved the Nathaniel Rateliff taping the other day, and have seen some other fun music this year, that Metallica show was the deepest and truest happiness I've received from live music this year.

Most Confusing Band that is somehow still putting out Music.  In running through the list of 2015 albums, I have to say that a-ha wins this award for me.  How are they still putting out new music?  Their one hit was released 30 years ago.  Runners up: Bryan Adams, Collective Soul, Ugly Kid Joe, RuPaul, Toto, Whitesnake, Lifehouse, and Def Leppard.  FYI, there is also a band named "Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!"

Spotify Year in Music 2015

I always love the end-of-year retrospective that Spotify gives out every December.  And this sounds generally right, except I know for a fact that something is wrong with the system, because I listened to hours of Metallica in the middle of this year leading up to that concert, and they aren't mentioned at all.  Even if not the most listened to overall, they should have at least dominated the Spring or Summer time.

Interesting facts:

• Top five artists of the year: Decemberists, R.E.M., Drake, Foo Fighters, Tame Impala
• Top Albums of the year: Decemberists' What a Beautiful World, What a Terrible World, A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.A$AP, Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, Alabama Shakes' Sound and Color, and Modest Mouse's Strangers to Ourselves.
• That last one is surprising, I would never have guessed I listened to that album more than 4 or 5 times.
• Top Tracks: Royal Blood's Out of the Black, Leon Bridges' Coming Home, Maccabbee's X-Ray, Walk the Moon's Shut Up and Dance, and In the Whale's Girlfriend.  You think I listened to my ACL Friday playlist a few times?  :)
• Top Genres (which is heavily influenced by ACL): Indie Folk, Indie Rock, Hip Hop, Chamber Pop, Rock.  WTF is Chamber Pop?
• Biggest surprise to me was that Unknown Mortal Orchestra took the prize for my most listened-to thing throughout the summer.  I think it should have been Metallica if this was tracking correctly, but 132 listens for UMO is impressive.

I wish they would give you even more data.  It would be really fun to dive deep into it all.  Anyone else out there have something interesting to report?

Quick Hits, Vol 62 (Foo Fighters, T.I., Carson McHone, Masta Ace Incorporated)

I find this move by the Wu Tang to be highly cool.  I know I kind of dissed their inability to get along the other day, but to issue one single copy of a new album, and restrict the purchaser to releasing out to the world for 88 years, is freaking sweet.  I'd like to hear the album (well, maybe, their last disc was kinda jenky) but it is an interesting move to make the art into a true collectible again.
And to add to the fun of this deal, there is apparently a clause in the agreement for sale saying that the Wu Tang Clan and/or Bill Murray are allowed one attempted caper to steal the album back and regain ownership.

Foo Fighters - Songs from the Laundry Room EP.  This EP was released in 2015, and has two demos of songs from the Foo Fighters days ("Big Me," "Alone + Easy Target"), one cover of an 80's empowerment anthem ("Kids in America"), and a previously unreleased track ("Empty Handed"). This was an exclusive record day store release on vinyl that the band decided to make widely available (presumably after a bunch of suckers plunked down $30 for the vinyl).  No thanks on the "Kids in America" cover, yes please to the demos, and I'm OK with the new tune, a 1:47 minute blast of fuzzy early Foos renaissance.  Kind of a cool little EP, but nothing terribly special.

Foo Fighters - St. Cecilia.  Another 2015 EP, recorded during their Austin time for the Sonic Highways cross-country circle-jerk (which bummed me out for its lack of variance, although it was touted as a taking genres from each zone of America).  Again, this EP holds nothing in it that would make you tie to Austin, except the title (a boutique hotel off of South Congress).  

There you've got a radio-ready prime Foos song ("St. Cecilia").  The rest of the EP has my favorite ("Sean"), a propulsive pogo-ing rocker that sounds exactly like 92% of all other Foo music of the past decade, a rough punk rocker ("Savior Breath"), an acoustic alt-country-tinged-rocker probably about some decoration in the yard of the hotel ("Iron Rooster"), and another radio-ready rawk song ("The Neverending Sigh").  You could put any of these on the radio today, and everyone would know who is playing and they'd probably generally like the song. Which is not a terrible thing, and this is a good taste of what else they had going when they cut "God is my Witness" for the Austin track.

T.I. - Da' Nic.  A little 5 song EP released in 2015.  T.I. has definitely become my favorite of the Atlanta area rappers, first because his beats are almost always strong, and second because he is usually telling a story or rapping about something that makes sense.  Paper Trail was a great album.  This one sounds a lot like Paper Trail, especially the opener, "Broadcast Live."  Every song on here is good, making me excited for the new album soon to come out, but the two best tracks on here are "Ain't Gonna See It Coming" and "Peanut Butter Jelly."

Aw jeah.  He is apparently going back to his old stage name - TIP - instead of T.I.  The whole thing is confusing, mainly because of that album he made a few years back that was called T.I. v. T.I.P., and played as though he was two separate people inside himself.  I'm sure Wikipedia has that album listed as Schizophrenic Rap.  

Carson McHone - Goodluck Man.  I heard her open for Jerry Jeff Walker earlier this year, and liked her sound quite a bit.  This album is also good - really pretty voice, solid lyrics, and an overall good sound.  Reminds me a bit of Cowboy Junkies, like here on "Dram Shop Gal."

She did not look like she was 8 year old at the concert, but in that video, I'm not sure if she could go see a PG-13 movie yet.  Although now she is 21.  There is a great write-up of her in the Chronicle, with one amazing line, a quote from the guy who runs the Hole in the Wall: "Blake Shelton can go eat a pile of dicks."  That is some flowery prose right there.  But it sounds like a great story - sure, she's gotten some good breaks from people to help get her to where she is, but I think its because her lyrics and voice are so solid.  I hope she keeps going up and up.  Good album.

Masta Ace Incorporated - Sittin' on Chrome.  With that album title, what age would you put on this album?  Sounds like something the Paul Wall set would call their album from 2014, but this disc was released in freaking 1995!  Masta Ace Inc. is so ahead of their time, yo!  A friend and I were discussing our childhood rap, and he was amazed that I had never heard of or listened to this album. Seriously, no recollection of ever even hearing the name of this group before now.  The sound of this is classic old school, the intro sounds like it could be a Nas track, and the second song ("The I.N.C. Ride") has a laid back Dr. Dre-alike beat going on.  The title track is a keeper, but the big hit from this album (that I apparently should have known) is "Born to Roll."

That is some old school bass knocker action, along with those LL descending bells and then the squidgy sound over the top?  Hell, yes.  And that video!  Look at what those ladies are wearing! I likely won't keep any of this around, but I enjoyed a few listens to the classic mid-90's rap sound.

Best Albums of 2015 (coming soon)

Hooray!  Year end lists are coming out so I can find more good music and make fun of other people's taste in music!  Zippedee!  Too bad Grantland died, as their list was always good for a headscratcher or two.  I'll replace them with Pitchfork or something else similarly obnoxious.  Last year, my favorite of the articles I read about the year's music was the Rock Critic Hive Mind article I found on Deadspin.  I hope they do that again.  Otherwise, I'll do Rolling Stone and Spin again, and add in the New York Times and maybe one other.  Should be fun.  My prediction right now is that Kendrick Lamar runs away with the critic's lists.

As for what I think are the best of the year, that is going to take some work.  I have listened to SO MUCH music this year, so I've got to do a deep dive back into what went on this year and see what I think.  But I'll get that knocked out and into your loving hands sometime soon.

Best Rock Album Nominees for Grammy's 2016

The other day, I noted that the nominees for Best Rock Album were confusing, and because I have dedicated my life to you, I've now gone back and listened to them all to make an informed decision.  By the way, here is the rockin' winner of last year's award:

Smokin' hot mandolin licks, bro!!!  (Full disclosure, I love that album, but best rock album of the year?  Maybe not quite right.)

Here is what I said the other day:

"Best Rock Album:

• James Bay - The Chaos and the Calm
• Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi
• Highly Suspect - Mister Asylum
• Muse - Drones
• Slipknot - .5 The Gray Chapter

What the hell, man?  How would you not nominate any of the same bands for Performance and Album?  I've heard two of those albums (and have never even heard of a band called Highly Suspect, which is ironic).  I think four of the albums containing the nominations for Performance would whip these five albums easy. Weird.  I can't even provide any useful context here - I'll have to go listen to these albums and report back."

I still cannot fathom how in the world you would nominate Alabama Shakes, Florence, Foo Fighters, Elle King, and Wolf Alice for Best Rock Performance, and yet NONE of those folks would make the cut for best album.  And vice versa - if these five are the best albums of the year, how come none of them have a single up for Performance?  What is happening here?

As you read, here are the top tracks from each album so that you can taste test for yourself.


Who knows, I don't, but I'm still here to help you make sense of the world.  To get there, I would like to present my new Moneyball-esque rating system which will show the deep advanced metrics and statistical relevance of each of these albums.  This is deep stuff, so take your time and feel free to ask questions.

1. SPoB.  Long recognized as a deep look at the power hitters of music, this shows the Super Position on Billboard.  Loads of proprietary metrics calculated here.  Highest position, time on the charts, and length of time since release all factor in here.  By my measure, Bay takes this category with a 12, barely edging out Muse with an 11.5. This likely shows that my SPoB is flawed, since I had never heard of the guy, but if you can hang on the Billboard chart for 35 weeks, you are doing something right.  However, he never broke 15th of 200, so he loses some points to Muse and Slipknot who both hit #1
2. OWGf.  The all-important Old White Guy factor.  Springsteen consistently bats one million on this metric.  Looking back at the past few years, you've got Beck, Led Zeppelin, Black Keys, Muse, Foo Fighters, and Coldplay.  100% old, established white dudes.  Sadly for Slipknot, anyone over 35 is so terrified about their masks that they will lose this category in a landslide.  As for the other entrants here, Highly Suspect and Muse strike out, and while James Bay puts up a slightly better .100 average, Death Cab absolutely crushes it at .947 with 10 separate articles or interviews archived on NPR about them.  That is OWGf gold, right there.
3. OCwgitBLY.  A more recent advanced metric in the music world, this one stands for Oh Crap we gave it to Beck Last Year.  This one works like a bad call in basketball, where you know the other team is about to get a flagrantly wrong call to make up for that last outrageous call.  James Bay, with his smooth rock falsetto-fest, and Death Cab, with their gentle prettiness, both lose major points here, and although Slipknot would fit this category like an airtight gimp mouthpiece, I don't actually think that anyone is going to really vote for them.  I say Highly Suspect rides a wave of old voters trying to appear hip by voting for the thing they've never heard of, giving HS the advantage in this stat.
4. EBf.  Expert Bloviating factor.  This stat takes "expert" opinions and ratings into account.  In an interesting turn, no major publication rated all five of these albums. Does it seem like maybe they aren't the five best if people paid to review these kinds of things haven't even tried all of them out?  Hmmm?  Anyway, Rolling Stone picks Muse (4) over Death Cab (3.5) and Slipknot (2.5).  Pitchfork picks Death Cab (5.5) over Muse (4.5) - and both of those ratings are out of ten, so the cool kids don't like either of those albums.  Consequence of Sound gives a limp win to Slipknot at C+ over Muse (C) and Death Cab (C-).  Metacritic rates four of the five, which is the best I found, and it gives the win to Slipknot at 77 (but that includes a 100 from Kerrang!, which should be discounted), over Death Cab (67), Muse (63) and James Bay (58). No one rated Highly Suspect, BUT, even though they didn't rate the release, Rolling Stone hyped Highly Suspect before it even came out, adding to their expert bloviation rating.
5. PPRN.  The most important of all five Musicball statistics, the all important Personal Preference Right Now.  This is measured with 100% subjectiveness, based on my thoughts after listening to this music for a few days.  The following ranking is in opposite order of my enjoyment:
1. Slipknot.  Funny thing is that I like hard rock and metal at times, and some of this makes me want to jam it loud and crush baby skulls under my boots.  But the overall experience of listening to the whole album more than once is just too much (especially when jockeying a desk instead of planning an undercover drug raid with Johnny Utah and some meth-head bikers).  But one song at a time, I can dig this.
2. James Bay.  The songwriting is good, the music is nice, his voice is pretty, but I just finished each listen bored and uninterested in trying it again.  Unbelievable that the Grammy folks think that the Slipknot album should be in the same category as this blandly pretty music.  If one of these is rock, then the other is definitely not.
3. Death Cab.  I reviewed this album a while back, and didn't have too much to say about it.  On re-listen this week, I like it more than I remembered. This is a good album.  But the best rock album of the year?
4. Muse.  I also reviewed this album a few weeks ago and was pretty lukewarm about it. But on re-listen, it is better than I remember and worthy of jamming. Again though, the BEST?
5. Highly Suspect.  This is not a fair contest.  Without even playing anything for me, if you told me you would give me the following choices (using real descriptions from Spotify) then the game is rigged.  I already know which of those I want to hear:  
1. "mix of post-Korn alternative metal, Marilyn Manson-esque neo-shock rock, and rap-metal"
2. "moving and evocative folk-pop confections in the vein of Ed Sheeran"
3. "fusion of progressive rock, electronica, and Radiohead-influenced experimentation"
4. "one of indie rock's greatest success stories"
5. or power rock described as being "in the vein of Queens of the Stone Age, King of Leon, ... and Royal Blood,"

The Highly Suspect album is really good.  The Kings of Leon reference is spot on with the vocals.  And the QOTSA and Royal Blood references work well for the crunchy, thick riffs and groove.  If it wasn't for the guitar parts, you could have easily convinced me that this was a new Royal Blood project.  "Lydia," which I included in the playlist above, is their hit, with over 7 million listens on Spotify, but this one is also pretty tight.  "Lost."

Rock and roll, baby.  They win the prize if I had anything to do with the vote, but after reviewing my metrics detailed above, and running the candidates through the dulljack-o-meter, I think I would expect the prize to go to Muse.

Grammy Nominations for 2016

The Grammy nominations for the February 2016 show have been released, and of course I have a few opinions.

• Kendrick Lamar, the Weeknd, and Taylor Swift are cleaning up, and that makes some sense.
• The Grammy categories are dumb and confusing, so in case you are like me and need a refresher every time you hear this, I found some FAQs out there:
• The Song Of The Year category recognizes the songwriter(s).  "Performance" of the year goes to everyone involved, the performer and the writer and everyone. Weird, right?
• The "Record Of The Year" category recognizes the artist’s performance as well as the overall contributions of the producer(s), recording engineer(s) and/or mixer(s) if other than the artist. And this is not about an entire album, "record" in this context is just about a single.  I guess it would be really hard to just call this "Single of the Year?"
• The "Album of the Year" category recognizes the entire album, not just one single.
• The rules for timing are also always weird.  For example, Swift's 1989 came out on October 27, 2014, so it seems like it shouldn't be up for awards for the 2016 Grammy's. But the Grammy year goes from October 1 to September 30, so while 1989 will be considered this year, we can't yet give Adele all of the awards in every category because her 25 came out after September 30.

Record of the Year: 

• D'Angelo - Really Love
• Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk
• Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud
• Taylor Swift - Blank Space
• The Weeknd - Can' Feel My Face

I think it goes to The Weeknd, in a close race with Ronson.  Swift may deserve it as well.  I don't understand the Ed Sheeran love.

Album of the Year:

• Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color
• Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
• Chris Stapleton - Traveller
• Taylor Swift - 1989
• The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness

Pretty solid set of artists and albums.  I freaking love that Alabama Shakes album, and the fact that Stapleton made this list is amazing and shows that maybe these Grammy people can get this stuff right.  His album is amazing.  But looking back at the last 5 winners, you have Beck (with a surprise win last year), Daft Punk, Mumford & Sons, Adele, and Arcade Fire.  If it wasn't for the Daft Punk sneak attack in there, you'd think that Alabama Shakes have a great chance to take the award of the album most listened to by frumpy old traditionalists who think they like to mix things up.  But I think the critical darling and times are right for Lamar to win this one.

Song of the Year:

• Kendrick Lamar - Alright
• Taylor Swift - Blank Space
• Little Big Town - Girl Crush
• Wiz Khalifa - See You Again
• Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud

Huh.  Kind of a weird slate of choices - but maybe if you think of this as trying to reward songwriters, it makes sense?  I don't think "Alright" is even in my top five of tracks from Lamar's album.  I've never heard, in my life, that song by Little Big Town.  I just went and played it on Spotify, and literally, I've never even heard a snippet on TV or on the pop radio the kids listen to. And its just any old love song with a boring 50's sway. "I want her magic touch, because maybe then you'd want me just as much."  Yaaaawwwnnn.  Can't stand the Wiz Khalifa song (even if the end of Fast and Furious 7 was pretty cool with that song and the goodbye to Paul Walker), and I think Ed Sheeran is Jason Mraz with an accent.  So I guess I'll give it to TayTay.

Best New Artist:

• Courtney Barnett
• James Bay
• Sam Hunt
• Tori Kelly
• Meghan Trainor

Well, being that I know two of those artists, and wish Meghan Trainor would disappear, then I'll have to go with Barnett.  And she kicks ass, so hopefully she wins.  I'll put the others into my Q.

Best Rock Performance:

• Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight
• Florence + the Machine - What Kind of Man
• Foo Fighters - Something from Nothing
• Elle King - Ex's and Oh's
• Wolf Alice - Moaning Lisa Smile

That Elle King track is not what I would consider rock, but we've had this discussion before. I also hate it because it is on every radio station all the time without ceasing.  Die.  The other four songs on here all kick ass, and I'd be happy with any of them winning.  I doubt Wolf Alice will, although that song is freaking awesome:

Don't you kind of wish you could go back to 1992 and rediscover grungy badass rock again? You damn right.  Pretty cool that four of five here are fronted by ladies, but I fully expect a safe pick from the Grammy's, which means Foo Fighters.

Best Rock Album:

• James Bay - The Chaos and the Calm
• Death Cab for Cutie - Kintsugi
• Highly Suspect - Mister Asylum
• Muse - Drones
• Slipknot - .5 The Gray Chapter

What the hell, man?  How would you not nominate any of the same bands for Performance and Album?  I've heard two of those albums (and have never even heard of a band called Highly Suspect, which is ironic).  I think four of the albums containing the nominations for Performance would whip these five albums easy. Weird.  I can't even provide any useful context here - I'll have to go listen to these albums and report back.

Best Alternative Music Album:

• Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color
• Bjork - Vulnicura
• My Morning Jacket - The Waterfall
• Tame Impala - Currents
• Wilco - Star Wars.

Strong group of artists here, although I've previously explained how I can't get behind the Wilco album.  I love Bjork, but have yet to listen to that album (because I thought it wasn't on Spotify until I just found it).  Love MMJ but think they've had stronger albums in the past. I think I have to give Tame Impala the nod on this one, although the Shakes might take it.

I'll post again about Rock Album once I listen to those guys, but otherwise I'll be back in February to discuss the winners.

Quick Hits, Vol. 61 (Drake & Future, Thunderbitch, Ought, The Libertines)

Before I get to the new music, I need to give a shout out to Scott Weiland today after he died at age 48.  I know a lot of people bag on STP for being a rip off of Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains, but when Core and Purple came out in the early nineties, those albums were fantastic.  I didn't care who influenced them, I just knew that "Sex Type Thing," "Plush," "Wicked Garden," "Creep," "Interstate Love Song," "Vasoline," "Big Empty" and others were excellent rock tunes.  The intro for "Dead and Bloated," before the song kicks in like a ton of bricks, probably resulted in bruised knuckles for me on more than one occasion when jamming in my car.  I have a distinct memory of driving around after prom and listening to "Big Empty."

I never cared as much for the later albums - the one with the weird title about the Vatican Gift Shop, or whatever else they put out later than that, but those first two albums were solid stuff.  R.I.P.

Drake & Future - What a Time to Be Alive.  If you've been reading me, then you know that I'm pretty lukewarm when it comes to either of these dudes.  The alien auto-tune monster that is Future never gets me off the ground, and Drake's sing-song delivery is very hit or miss.  In a similar way, some of this is pretty damn fun ("Big Rings") and some of it is garbage ("Jumpman," the most popular track on this album).  This is like the garbage Jay Z makes now, where he just repeats the same word 136 times in a song and then says a few other words in between.  The one thing I like in "Jumpman" is the "caw!" of a crow in the background every once in a while.  I don't know why, but that sounds cool as hell. And the best part about "Big Rings" is the exuberant and fun beat, as well as the line "what a time to be alive!"

The beats on most of the songs make me feel badass, but lyrically, this stuff is just boring and uninteresting.  Like most, if not all, of the Future tunes I've listened to in the past.  I'll keep "Big Rings" and drop the rest.  Especially the 30 for 30 freestyle, which is soooooo boring.

Ugh, and then 3 hours after listening to this crap, I'm still saying "jumpmanjumpmanjumpmanjumpman" in my head.  Damn subliminal stuff.

Thunderbitch - Thunderbitch.  More soul rock power from Brittany Howard, the lead singer of Alabama Shakes.  Looser, rawer garage rock sound, not quite as soulful and warm as the Shakes' most recent album, but this is a fun sound nonetheless.  Song titles like "Leather Jacket," "I Don't Care," "I Just Wanna Rock n Roll," and "Wild Child" show you the type of tunes she is bringing to this party. Speaking of which, here is "Eastside Party."

Clap along, baby!  The most popular track is called "My Baby is my Guitar," but "Eastside" is more fun.  I enjoyed this well enough a few times, but I doubt I'll hold on to it for later listens.

Ought - Sun Coming Down.  Rolling Stone gave this album 4 stars, talking about an anxious groove.  I find the album strikingly similar to the grating Strokes music that I never want to hear again. Anxious may be a good descriptor, but no thanks for me.

The Libertines - Anthems for Doomed Youth.  I've never really given these dudes a chance before - but I feel like their reputation has received more press than their actual music.  The lead singer, Pete Doherty, became famous for drug-fueled silliness and frequent arrests/rehab stints, and I recall that being the majority of their fame for years. Their bio says that "Don't Look Back Into the Sun" was their big hit, but it doesn't even crack their top ten most popular on Spotify, so I get the idea that they really don't have a hit of any consequence.  The music reminds me of the Clash's speak-sing verses mixed with Blur-ish mid-90's Brit Pop sung choruses.  Seriously, some of these are indistinguishable from recent Blur songs - try out "Iceman" or "Fame and Fortune."  The most popular track right now is "Gunga Din"

That video kind of makes the song - looks like fun for a bit and then just plain exhausting. But that track, like the rest of this album, is good music.  The kind of sloppy rock and roll that isn't going to reach peak radio popularity, but I bet is a blast to see on stage and which makes for a fun listen in the car as well.  I like it.