12-11-2012, 03:49 PM | #41 |
Baird
Posts: 27,345
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Struggling to narrow it down just now, left it far too late to listen to a lot of 2012 releases. Give me a few days.
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12-15-2012, 08:08 AM | #42 |
Baird
Posts: 27,345
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Right, sorted. My top one is definitely Enslaved - RIITIIR. Best of the rest goes to:
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Âme Anathema - Weather Systems Blut Aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy Converge - All You Love You Leave Behind Deftones - Koi No Yokan Dysrhythmia - Test of Submission Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage Killing Joke - MMXII The Faceless - Autotheism Yeah, bit more "out there" than my normal end of year best albums are, but at least I'm not going soft in my old age, right? |
12-18-2012, 10:14 AM | #43 |
Triple A
Posts: 133,040
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My fav album that I listened to this year by far is:
John Maus - A Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material I also liked these albums Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes Dada Trash Collage - Fun Fund Daniel Johnston - Space Ducks: Soundtrack Grimes - Visions La Sera - Sees the Light Mac DeMarco - Rock and Roll Night Club The Magnetic Fields - Love at the Bottom of the Sea Matthew Friedberger - Matricidal Sons of Bitches Miniature Tigers - Truffles II of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now Tame Impala - Lonerism U.S. Girls - GEM White Fence - Family Perfume Vol. 1 Woods - Bend Beyond I didn't hear many albums that I really liked, relative to the last few years. Last edited by Triple A; 12-27-2012 at 09:40 AM. |
12-18-2012, 02:37 PM | #44 |
King of Love and Piss
Posts: 62,989
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I'd say Frank Ocean Channel Orange
I thought Bad Religion was an amazing song and then when you find out what he's singing about and it's actually more amazing. Just a strong strong song. Obviously Thinking Bout You is a fantastic song, monster hit. |
12-18-2012, 02:56 PM | #45 |
Eats that fuck at lunch
Posts: 2,396
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If i was a musician i would make a parody of all these sissy song. It would be called, thinking bout you...as i kick yr ass. Abd every song will be violent and make fun of sissy music
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12-18-2012, 04:10 PM | #46 |
Black Sheep Jew
Posts: 8,859
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12-18-2012, 09:45 PM | #47 |
continental drift
Posts: 46,731
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I tried to be more economical this year; also there were fewer new albums I liked. AS WILL APPEAR TOMORROW ON MY BLOG:
10) DIIV - Oshin This album basically WAS Brooklyn in 2012; its story an archetype for aughts-era success in the "other" borough, almost bordering on formulaic. In January, the band was nothing more than the bedroom project of Zachary Cole Smith. It was called Dive, and it slowly started to play shows around town. First in basements and lofts as the band became fully fleshed out, then in progressively larger venues under a slightly-altered moniker. A best-new music tag and some high profile slots later and DIIV was suddenly the biggest band in Brooklyn. DIIV accomplished this by embracing an increasingly chic early 90s aesthetic; though the grunge look and vibe is lost on most of the album (save for late album highlight Doused) and instead is replaced with sunny layered pop guitar riffs not too far removed from Smith's other band, Beach Fossils, but more fully-realized, more atmospheric and at times almost even anthemic. It's a simple record on its surface, but a swirl of contradiction under closer examination. Kind of like Brooklyn from afar. 9) Laurel Halo - Quarantine Long one of my favorite electronic musicians, Halo released her best record this year; largely because she recognized that her voice functions well as the lead on a track as opposed to merely being intermingled with complex pitch-shifting, almost alien electro-grooves. This is best realized on my favorite track, Mk Ultra which is akin to an out-of-body hallucinogenic experience. The beat is the closed-eyed part, a transformative out-of-body high, beautiful in ways the conscious mind simply cannot computer. But Halo's voice is there at the forefront, ready to pull you out of the abyss if you let it, if you just open your eyes. 8) Action Bronson and Party Supplies - Blue Chips This one admittedly took a little while to grow on me, though I'm sure you know that those sorts of albums can be the most rewarding. Blue Chips was no different. I was immediately drawn in by Bronson's Ghostface Killah-esque delivery, and while this clearly was no Supreme Clientele, it seemed a worthy addition to the now burgeoning New York hip-hop underground. This album is best appreciated if you have some knowledge of sports and late 80s and early 90s WWF as it's dominated by professional wrestling references; so much so that it can become a bit contrived at first, though as time has gone on I find myself returning to it again and again to marvel at Bronson's absurdly clever wordplay and Party Supplies innovative lo-tech production that consists of lifting beats and samples solely from YouTube. Truly a rap album of the times. 7) Kendrick Lamar - good kid m.A.A.d City What can I possibly say about this album that hasn't been said already? It's an instant classic; perhaps the first of its kind since Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Family, and to those in the know, perhaps the first of its kind since Nas' Illmatic. Deeply confessional, soul-baring and socially aware, Lamar's album exists as the apex of what hip-hop can be here in 2012. And while much of the album, at least thematically, can be something of a downer, it's got made for radio hits like Bitch Dan't Kill My Vibe and Swimming Pools (Drank) that are hooky enough to go top-40. 6) Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes Far less chaotic than its predecessor, Cosmogramma, but nearly its equal in terms of overall quality, Until The Quiet Comes seems to find FlyLo at a fork in the road. One leg remains firmly planted in the intergalactic left field, while another is stretching outward for a more straight-forward, and dare I say mainstream sound? FlyLo has never been shy about his desire to make beats for top-40 rap royalty (Still shocked Drake hasn't hit him back), and his desire to be "one of the guys" came out with his own rap mix-tape a couple months ago, Duality, released under the Captain Murphy moniker. Fortunately, FlyLo remains a perfectionist, and his absurd attention to detail has lead to a distinct hybrid production style, part space-rock, part electro, part crate-digger and part free-jazz, which has ensured that his albums remain his own, no matter what his motives may be. 5) Grimes - Visions I feel like every blogger in the universe has to include this one on their list, but no record captured the "post-internet" era quite like this one did. This one is music from the internet, by the internet and for the internet. It's a record of Aphex Twin-inspired beats and scathingly high-pitched, unintelligible vocals from a former crust punk who once tried to navigate the length of the Mississippi River on a rag-tag house boat with a bunch of chickens. Somehow, Clare Boucher took that ugly description and crafted one of the catchiest and most revered pop records of the year. If you don't believe me, try listening to Genesis or Oblivion or Nightmusic without getting your goddamn groove on. Boucher deserves to be commended for making her brand of absurdity work so well. 4) The Men - Open Your Heart While this one pales in comparison to 2011's far more aggressive Leave Home, The Men's 2012 offering Open Your Heart packs quite a punch from the opening western twang of Turn It Around all the way to the pounding drumbeat that concludes the record on Ex-Dreams. It was the first great punk record released this year, and found the four-piece expanding its previously more metal leaning palate to include elements of country, surf rock and bar band music. It opened the flood gates for one of the best years punk has seen in some time. With good reason. It's a pure record; punk to the core. DIY-minded, loud, self-recorded and absolutely devoid of bullshit. The kind of record I've loved for years. 3) Black Marble - A Different Arrangement Post-punk never really dies, which is quite the feat for a genre that seems inherently teenage. "Coldwave" may more accurately describe the sound that this Brooklyn duo emit from their synth, bass and microphone, but this is a record whose roots are firmly in Closer's camp. Tracks like Cruel Summer and Pretender feel like a slow dance with Ian Curtis at the gates of hell. This may not sound very inviting, but this record is strangely addicting. The lyrics are largely obscured, but the lo-fi ultravox synth and steady baselines create a darkly gorgeous atmosphere that's difficult to leave behind when the tape ends. 2) Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory Well, I sure as hell wasn't expecting Attack on Memory to sound like this, though perhaps I should have with Steve Albini at its helm. Attack on Memory certainly lived up to its name; as few records have so perfectly recaptured the feel of a record I would have enjoyed in my youth while simultaneously shattering the fuck out of aforementioned records by outperforming all of them in every way imaginable. No Future/No Past may be my favorite track of 2012, and the pace it sets; a slow and uneasy build to intense cathartic release holds for the remainder of the record; a trick we all remember but somehow still seems so poignant when so well-executed. 1) Metz - Metz No album this year grabbed me and beat the living hell out of me quite like this one. In fact, I'm struggling to think of the last album that sonically assaulted me in such a way. This album is all about power. It's unrelenting, uncompromising and absolutely brutal. It evokes images of violence, inspires feelings of dread and shocks the fuck out of your system in three minute or less bursts of death-sludge. The entire album is shorter than an episode of Family Matters, but Sad Pricks is no Carl Winslow. Headache is no Steve Urkel. Hell, it's not even Stephan Urquelle. There's nothing wholesome here and that's what makes this album so goddamn perfect. It's raw emotion with no filter, it's uneasy tension released in violent fury, it's the release you're looking for while you're slaving away in a cubicle. This record is great in the same way that the old hardcore records were; it's an escape. It's my favorite record of the year. NOT LISTED, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: TEEN - In Limbo, Death Grips - The Money Store, Tame Impala - Lonerism, The Babies - Our House on The Hill, Guardian Alien - See the World Given to a One Love Entity, Wild Nothing - Nocturne, Willis Earl Beal - Acousmatic Sourcery, Captain Murphy - Duality, Cities Aviv - Black Pleasure, Mac Demarco - Rock N Roll Night Club, Naomi Punk - The Feeling, Merchandise - Children of Desire, Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II |
12-18-2012, 09:49 PM | #48 |
continental drift
Posts: 46,731
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Mainly listened to Beat Happening and Future Islands all yr
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12-18-2012, 11:34 PM | #49 |
On-nO Asscii to Asscii
Posts: 10,214
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FakeLoser
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12-19-2012, 02:10 AM | #50 |
Best Poster
Posts: 56,921
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Fuck I hate the way Hipsters word their album reviews. And 95% of it sucks. That's why it's Indie, because nobody likes it.
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12-19-2012, 02:15 AM | #51 |
Best Poster
Posts: 56,921
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Ferry Corsten "WKND"
It's fucking good. See how I did that Fakelaser? My review goes straight to the point. |
12-20-2012, 12:21 AM | #52 |
continental drift
Posts: 46,731
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yeah but it doesn't sound self-important at all
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12-26-2012, 06:36 PM | #53 |
The Iconoclast
Posts: 2,897
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The only new albums I listened to this year are the new Rush and Soundgarden. Between the two, I'd probably say the new Soundgarden.
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12-30-2012, 02:40 AM | #54 |
Hey Mister!
Posts: 54,947
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Very little stood out to me this year
Public Enemy- The Evil Empire of Everything, was the only album that I really enjoyed, start to finish. |
01-20-2013, 01:36 AM | #55 |
Over Like Rover
Posts: 38,444
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1. Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
2. Plan B - iLL Manors 3. The Lumineers - The Lumineers |
01-20-2013, 09:58 AM | #56 |
continental drift
Posts: 46,731
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I've reconsidered this and it's Captain Murphy - Duality
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01-22-2013, 09:06 PM | #57 |
On-nO Asscii to Asscii
Posts: 10,214
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So an album that didn't make your top 10 is now number 1?
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01-22-2013, 10:14 PM | #58 |
Best Poster
Posts: 56,921
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Hipsters don't conform.
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01-23-2013, 02:09 AM | #59 |
Angel Headed Hipster
Posts: 37,942
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I've reconsidered this and it's whatever Dracula's Dick released this year.
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01-23-2013, 03:37 AM | #60 |
Hey Mister!
Posts: 54,947
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Listened to a lot more stuff from 2012
Current favorites: Gary Clark Jr. - Blak and Blu Crystal Castles- III Amadou and Mariam - Folila |
01-23-2013, 12:10 PM | #61 |
His name is Jeff Harvey
Posts: 5,256
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Album of the year was obviously either Life is Good by Nas or The OF Tape Vol. 2 by OFWGKTA
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01-23-2013, 02:28 PM | #62 |
His name is Jeff Harvey
Posts: 5,256
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Or Rick Ross God Forgives, I Don't
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01-23-2013, 02:28 PM | #63 |
His name is Jeff Harvey
Posts: 5,256
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Maybe Kendrick Lamar- Good Kid, mAAd City
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