You can blame the tardiness of this list and writeup on, well, everything else that's gotten me over a year behind on my blogging. Still, I enjoy these, so I went ahead and upped it a bit in priority.
A couple of things. First, this is the list I composed just after the start of the year. I have not gone back and added, removed, or changed the order of anything. However, since the writeup was just done, I have reflected some on how my thoughts on all this music have changed in the last nine months. I also am a bit fuzzy on some of this; for the sake of expediency I haven't gone back to refamiliarize with anything. In some cases that provides a better perspective on an album; in some cases it doesn't leave me with much.
So anyway, I present you with my song of the year, my favorite discoveries of the year that were not new releases, and a summary of the year's EPs/singles.
Songs
- LCD Soundsystem, "All My Friends": Wow, what a song. I feel this one, now that I only get to see my three best friends from high school once or twice a year. I'm know I'll be feeling it more as I get older, as I move away to embrace whatever my future is, and part ways with more friends. So round up the guys, and get ready for a booze-fueled all-nighter of a reunion. Pour one out for the good ol' days, because they're gone, and they'll only be back in brief glimpses from here on out. The thing that really makes this work is that it's not a song of despair; it's a song of paying homage to the past by trying to recreate it: a loving tribute. Beautiful and moving. Song of the year.
Discoveries
- Astronautilus, The Mighty Ocean & Nine Dark Theaters: Saw this man open for Bill Callahan at the Orange Show, and is usually the case with Orange Show acts, he didn't disappoint. Great fusion of indie rock tropes and rap technique. I listened to this one a lot. Great songs of dreamscapes, nostalgia, despair. Highly recommended.
- The National, Alligator: More anthemic and immediately impressing highs than Boxer, the album that would followed it, but the quality isn't as consistently high throughout. Much better than their first two albums, though, and some absolute must-have songs. If you've already got Boxer and are craving more, this is the one to get.
EPs and Singles
- Nina Nastasia & Jim White, You Follow Me: Above average singer-songwriter material buoyed by absolutely stellar drumming. Lots of fun. Very thankful to have seen them play live at the Orange Show.
- The Hold Steady, Live At Fingerprints: The missing link between the Hold Steady and Counting Crows? Possibly. Puts a nice emphasis on Craig Finn's songwriting and vocals. Good stuff if you're familiar with the catalog, or maybe if the you find the rest of their releases overly frat-ish.
- Joanna Newsom & The Ys Street Band: Notable for capturing on record her brilliant live band and the excellent job they've done re-arranging the Ys material for this combination of instruments. It's not what I really want, which is a companion piece to Ys consisting of the entire album backed by the live band. I've got a great bootleg (from the Bottletree) of the band playing the entire album, but it's got some skips in it. Maybe I'll find a better one some day.
- LCD Soundsystem, All My Friends: Again, more on this song in elsewhere, but this single is notable for having covers of the title track by Franz Ferdinand and the Velvet Underground's John Cale instead of the usual generic remixes. Having those two versions of the song side-by-side with the original makes this disc a compelling listen on its own, despite the relatively uninteresting other b-sides.
- Okkervil River, Golden Opportunities: Good example of how to do right by your fans with some nice, free b-side-ish material. Some very interesting covers that are intertwined with The Stage Names, and some good originals, too. I'd actually pay for a full CD quality copy.
- The Verve, The Thaw Sessions: Looked like, from this, that they may still have it. Unfortunately, so far, their album strikes me as mediocre, certainly not up there with the best they've done. Still, exciting to get a sneak preview of a long-missed band reuniting.
- The Decemberists, Live in Soho: Notable, to me, as the first "iTunes Plus" release I purchased DRM free from the iTunes store. Sounds pretty good in 256 kbps AAC, but it can be hard to tell with live material sometimes. The thing itself is a bit by-the-numbers, but certainly competent.
- Jens Lekman, Kalendervägen 113D: Recorded (if memory serves) in his apartment before he moved away, as sort of a live, solo acoustic concert. Came as a bonus disc with Night Falls, and makes a very strong companion piece to that album, including some storytelling that gives nice insight into its songs.
- Fleming & John, Wrong/Feel Your Love: Oh yeah, Fleming & John finally released some new material... on MySpace, I think? I can't really remember much of it right now. Seemed solid, though, and gives me some hope for another album for them, probably a full 10 years after the last one.
- Guster, Satellite EP: Serviceable single/companion piece to Ganging Up on the Sun.
- Spoon, Get Nice!: Not a whole lot here. Good that this one was a freebie.
So there you go. Tomorrow, the stuff I didn't like, and the stuff that I'm uncertain about.
Labels: music
