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TOO DETROIT HAS A SKYLINE TOO,

Grgas

Oscar Picks 2012

My choices are starred and italicized. Was disappointed with my work last year, though it was respectable. But I want domination!

This year I'm feeling okay. I went heavy on The Artist so that could screw me, and I think that this year the Oscars are really a joke so I was having trouble wading through the odd and sometimes seemingly shitty nominations.

Also, you've got the Black Super Bowl (NBA All-Star Weekend) vs. the Gay Super Bowl (the Oscars) on TV. Cool!

UPDATE: How'd I do? 13/23. Not too bad, but it wasn't domination. Should've picked Plummer - DUH. Streep winning was surprising, I thought, and I went too heavy on "The Artist" technical awards.

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
*Jean Dujardin in "The Artist" - WINNER
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
*Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners" - WINNER
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
*Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady" - WINNER
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
*Octavia Spencer in "The Help" - WINNER

Directing
*"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius - WINNER
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

Best Picture
*"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer - WINNER
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
*"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
"Rango" Gore Verbinski - WINNER

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
*"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - WINNER
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
*"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen - WINNER
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Art Direction
"The Artist"
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan

"Hugo"
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo - WINNER

*"Midnight in Paris"
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil

"War Horse"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
*"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson - WINNER
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
*"The Artist" Mark Bridges - WINNER
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips

Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again"
Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner

"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman

"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

*"Pina"
Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel

"Undefeated"
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas - WINNER

Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin

"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson

"Incident in New Baghdad"
James Spione

*"Saving Face"
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy - WINNER

"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"
Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
*"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall - WINNER
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
*"A Separation" Iran - WINNER

Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng

*"The Iron Lady"
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland - WINNER

Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
*"The Artist" Ludovic Bource - WINNER
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams

Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie - WINNER
*"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa - WINNER
*"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George - WINNER
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
*"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
*"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty - WINNER
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson

*"Hugo"
Tom Fleischman and John Midgley - WINNER

"Moneyball"
Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin

"War Horse"
Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson

*"Hugo"
Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning - WINNER

"Real Steel"
Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

What's Hot - 2/17/12

1) Two albums rocked my shit: Wonderful Rainbow, Lightning Bolt and Akuma no Uta, Boris. Both are very hard rocking records. Rainbow's got a punk rock/free jazz vibe to it while Akuma's noise rock is earsplitting and tinged with the perfect amount of psychedelia, just enough so that I say "Whoa" but not enough to make me say "far out". Rainbow is the stranger record with more of a cohesive sonic statement - something along the lines of, say, a rainbow that is constantly struggling to break free, while also kinda always being there anyway, lurking within us even during our darker times. It is wonderful because it is human. Akuma is just more of a fucking jam, bro: the 12 minute track "Naki Kyoku" made me shit my pants at work. Pure majesty, no snobbery or pomposity, and all of it gathering at the center of your brain, man, all at the center of your head. Far out - Whoops!

2) John Zorn for president! For those who haven't had the pleasure, John Zorn is, at the basest level, a jazz musician, an alto saxophonist. Other than that, he dabbles in everything - I'd say if you called him a composer you'd be closest to the most accurate definition of the man as musician.

I've been liking harsh sounds lately, and I truly believe that when an alto sax runs wild in front of thundering hardcore drums and bass, there is nothing more bombastic. His music can be tough to listen to - the sheer volume and noise - but it is oftentimes quite playful. Start off with Naked City, Naked City, a band with Zorn as leader. They dip into tv themes, cartoons, spaghetti western, surf - pretty much everything all packed together. It might be the closest you can get to an all encompassing recording: Zorn is trying to play culture; to play society'ss subconscious. Far out - Whoops again!

3) Economy Of Words - As far as pop music goes, I've been zoning in on lyrics lately, trying to understand, as a songwriter, how to say everything with as few words as possible. How to get across an emotion - a very specific emotion - in a few words, a simple lyric. Written for Johnny Cash, Nick Lowe's "The Beast In Me" is a great example. "God save the beast in me" is the key line that contains all of humanity in it, and it bumps against other simple sentences which allow that larger overpowering unwieldy feeling to be caroled through a single person. In this way, it's specific to one man while staying universal. Using a lot of words effectively is easier than using very few effectively. My favorite album that showcases this is Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon. Currently active songwriter who showcases this: Bill Callahan.

4) "Dance The Night Away" - Van Halen - If you put this song on and it doesn't put a smile on your face, than I don't know what to tell you.

Top 50 Albums of 2011

It's a little late, but here it is. Just wanted to make sure I considered everything carefully. Thanks to Spotify, I was able to listen to more new music than ever before. Enjoy! And weigh in if you'd like.

1. Apocalypse – Bill Callahan – In a year that gave us a lot of good music, the only possible choice for number one was Apocalypse.
   
   Bill Callahan’s music is hard to define. Sure, it contains familiar elements, but Callahan has his own language. It’s not that Callahan is without influence, he just seems as if he's from another planet, so whatever influences he might have taken on, they’re cycled through his alien mind. The result, therefore, is still not clearly a product of influence.
   
   Apocalypse is about the destruction of vanity and ego; struggling to release oneself from “drovering”: pushing these horses that are your hangups to the limit, hopefully trying to transcend them – and questioning, finally, if it is even possible to do so without dying, without an apocalypse in the most literal sense of the word.
   
   Ultimately, Apocalypse is another document in the life and times of Bill Callahan. He made the record because he had to. It was how he was feeling at the time. For me, that’s the truest gift an artist can give a listener. The truth one feels at any given moment. Grand statements have their place, but I’d much rather hear about a single person’s feelings and Bill Callahan never fails to do that.
   
   I might have said he’s alien, but I’ve never listened to music more humane. At the end of “One Fine Morning,” the last track of the album, he sings “DC 450,” the Drag City catalogue number of Apocalypse, and Bill is reveling in completing the record, finally getting it off his chest so that he might transcend all the bullshit. It’s finished, it’s the end, my apocalypse is DC 450, Apocalypse.
   
   
2. New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges – Colin Stetson – One man and his sax. No overdubs other than the vocals and a single French horn line. From this, an army roaring.
   
   A man and his sax, blowing abrasively and beautifully. There’s so much sound, it’s baffling it came from one man. Bombs are exploding, people are running for shelter, they’re trapped - they’re free… – more bombs, more fighting, peace. A one man wrecking crew and you’ve gotta hear it. The balance of beauty and discord happening simultaneously.
   
   What a perfect marriage of passion and skill, technical mastery and unbridled enthusiasm.
   
   New History Warfare Vol. II: Judges is an album I’d listen to if I were born or dying.
   
   
3. Barfly – Rocket From The Tombs – This is the band that came before its members formed Pere Ubu and The Dead Boys (plus a Television guitarist), and now, some 40 years after disbanding, Rocket From The Tombs have given us their debut record and it’s a doozy.
   
   It’s one of those albums where there’s not much to say. You just plug it in and ride it. Which isn’t to say there isn’t any pathos or emotion behind the music; there’s plenty, just check out “Romeo and Juliet” for proof of that.
   
   It’s a quirky album of rock and roll tunes. Two tracks back to back that are basically the same. Britney Spears is name checked. But what would you expect of a band with David Thomas in it? One of the great musical personalities in rock and roll. Pick up Barfly, have a blast, cry, laugh, and get weird, ya know?
   
   And the guitars totally rule, can’t forget to mention that.
   
   
4. Bad As Me – Tom Waits – When you give me Waits, I prefer it with minimal carnival ride organ music and I like it succinct. Bad As Me is just that. This is a collection of Waits songs that don’t go off the deep end: they’re not too weird; Waits sings with minimal over the top barking; there aren’t too many tracks and all of the tracks are on the short side.
   
   The backing band is also top notch. From the ballads to the rockers the band adds nuance to each and every track, dipping into surf guitar, military march, 50s high school dance, without ever taking the spotlight from Waits and his voice, which is always the star of the show.
   
   I believe this is the album Waits should have made for a long time. He has a lot of material, and on Bad As Me he plays to his strengths. On this record, Waits just doesn’t fuck around. The songs are good and he nails them, without most of the gimmicky moves he has made since Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, his artistic breakthroughs.
   
   My favorite Waits since Rain Dogs, and a top tier effort in the Waits catalogue.
   
   
5. Kaputt – Destroyer - A good album that I feel I am not qualified to love -- THIS JUST IN, I love it! At first I was thrown by Dan Bejar and his style, but Kaputt is a great collection of songs, and, believe me, in the end, they are played honestly, which is always the best policy. (Honesty in music should be the ONLY policy as far as I'm concerned. Dishonest music is the work of losers.) At first you might hear willful kitsch, but kitsch isn’t really even present on Kaputt once you get passed that which could be perceived as it on initial listens. You make a record, you make a record. It comes out how it's meant to come out. Destroyer made Kaputt. End of story. Great songs. Some of the best lyrics of the year. Truly a great record.
   
   
6. Father, Son, Holy Ghost – Girls – Infectious from beginning to end. Christopher Owens is upset, angry, scared, happy, depressed, funny, dour…This is personal music with a capital P, delivered from the head of an unsteady mind.
   
   I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder with this band, always re-thinking why I can’t help but like their music, wanting to dislike it: the constant chatter about Owens troubled past; the vintage sound; the melodrama of the lyrics; it all seemed like something I shouldn’t like. But then I realized that I’m just kinda jealous that Owens’ music is out there and mine isn’t, and I’ve came to terms with that.
   
   Father, Son, Holy Ghost is an improvement of Album, their first LP, on every level, especially Owens’ singing. The song writing continues to seem so damned familiar but remains unequivocally original, and the arrangement game was taken up a notch.
   
   From the mind of a troubled young man, Girls have created a document of honesty that can be uncomfortable to listen to but always a pleasure to hear.
   
   
7. Strange Mercy – St. Vincent – Actor was the bolder artistic statement and Strange Mercy is the better album. I feel like Annie Clark was sick of futzing around with art and decided to just make an album that rocks, one that just came out of her. She wanted it to sound good, sound cool, to rock, and it does.
   
   The key to this album is that she’s a guitar player and a good one. Strange Mercy is about that guitar, both when it sounds like a guitar and when it doesn’t. “Strange Mercy” sounds like the sound a guitar makes, like if an old bluesman shouted, “Oh boy, dat guitar sound sure is given out some strange mercy!” Take the “best finest surgeon” section of “Surgeon”: those are some slinky guitar lines propelling the song forward. And then the song ends with a Pete Frampton-like solo. Unreal.
   
   I’m not convinced she’s a great lyricist yet, but the songs are well crafted pop. They’re trim and fit: no flab. Each songs peaks at just the right moment, the guitar and Clark’s voice working with each other to a beautiful end.
   
   
8. Wild Flag – Wild Flag – Four chicks put out the second best pure rock record this year. What? Am I not supposed to be surprised? Can chicks rock?
   
   Fucking duh, they can. I’ve always been a big chick rock dude, which is to say that I like rock, pure and simple, whoever it’s coming from. And Wild Flag has given us a collection of songs that celebrate the joy of making music, in the lyrics, yes, but mostly through the audible joy of the music itself. They had a blast making this music together, and it’s apparent.
   
   
9. Relax – Das Racist – A new voice in rap music! Indians! Italo-Cubanos! Liberal arts! A million dollars! You feel me?
   
   I don’t always know what they’re rapping about but Heems and Kool AD are funny, have good taste, and their bro hype-man Dap is the best currently working in the rap business.Their beats incorporate world music but aren’t too out the box to bump along with.
   
   I think what it comes down to is that I could hang with the dudes in Das Racist. They’re a little older and a lot less white than I am, but we could kick it, I can tell by this music. See, that’s kinda the ultimate test for music: could you hang with the band? I mean at an elemental level because obviously it’s a little late for me to hang with Bob Dylan - but at the artist’s core, they’re soul, are you compatible? Relax hits me in all the right places – specifically my noggin since, for me, rap music usually hits the head, not the heart. I’d like nothing more than to drink a 40 with this record and I have and I will again.
   
   
10. Sound Kapital – Handsome Furs - Their best work yet. This album is clearly the result of hard work. Over the course of their first two LPs and touring throughout Europe and Asia (which influences the lyrics: you don't hear too many indie bands make the same kind of references) this band has gotten better and better. The songs and arrangements are more concise and truly feel of a piece.
    
    This record was kind of ignored this year, and it's a sin. It's almost like they're too good. They're so solid! What a great balance between rock, punk, and the electronic. There isn't a band working today that delivers a better chorus than Handsome Furs. A personal favorite act.
    
    
11. Last Summer – Eleanor Friedberger – “Watched Footloose with the biggest bottle of vodka in the world” sings Eleanor Friedberger in “Inn of the Seventh Ray” and it’s these kind of lines with specifics, details – Footloose and vodka – that make this a gem. It’s like you’re walking around Brooklyn with this woman, living with this woman – or at least I wish I was. She’s funny, she can feel, she’s emotionally available, she’s imperfect, she’s smart. Basically, this is the kind of record I wanna date. I’d love to go out with this record. And like a good crush, the melody sticks with you, even when you’ve stopped listening. Ah, Eleanor…
    
    
12. James Blake – James Blake – I wish people didn’t make such a big deal out of James Blake going from dubstep producer to singer-songwriter mode – does it really matter? Yes, it’s a change, but I for one only know this album, and it makes sense without any of his past work to compare it to.
    
    The space on this record is the star. To quote a Simpsons gag: “You have to listen to the notes he doesn’t play!” Everything you hear is beautiful, but Blake removes so much and the result is haunting. A really beautiful record that can make you cry while also steeling you for hard times ahead. Hopefully this kid is just getting started: can’t wait for LP number two.
    
    
13. Lenses Alien – Cymbals Eat Guitars - Most improved player of the year award goes to Cymbals Eat Guitars for this, their sophomore LP. Their debut was a little too loose, thematically and musically, and this record reigns it all in without sacrificing that sprawling charm that kinda defines this band. "Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)" is like a mini album in and of itself. And I gotta say, I delved into the lyrics here, and they're good. Not a typical rendering of angst via drugs and paranoia you might expect from a young band. "Lenses Alien" -- this record's about ever shifting perception.
    
    
14. Black Up – Shabazz Palaces - A succint rap record! Not overlong! What plagues rap music for me is that every album seems to be too long. The beauty of Black Up is that it's to the point, which means you can take it in in a single sitting and not lose focus about what the record is about: marrying old school hip hop with the future of hip hop, lyrically and sonically, while also commenting on the part race will continue to play in culture and in music. A very lush and deep record. Play it when you want hip hop that sounds like the past and future.
    
    
15. Badlands – Dirty Beaches – I’m giving my Weirdest Album of the Year award to Badlands. It sounds like Terrence Malick via David Lynch via Clint Eastwood, spray painted in silver, dipped in rust, and viewed from a hundred miles away. A moving record, but why is it moving me? A record this willfully fucked up can only come from the heart, and that’s what shines through the silver rust and cigarette smoke. 1950s high school dance with your eyes closed, baby.
    
    
16. Golden Age of the Apocalypse – Thundercat – Thundercat leaves a little bit of something in your soul after a spin of this record. A futuristic 1980s bass and synth heavy Earth, Wind and Fire down low soul explosion, with space in the production courtesy of Flying Lotus. Even though the sonic interludes that dominate the album may make it feel a bit disjointed, there’s enough songwriting in between to keep it all together without getting too tight and loosing that funk. Good for any occasion.
    
    
17. Here Before – The Feelies – If my dad liked The Feelies, he’d like this record. Yeah, it seems like older people made this record – and it was! It rings true because it’s not meant to be hip. It’s honest to who this band is. It’s pop music, and the Feelies retain their quirky rhythms while presenting a full-bodied sound where melodies and guitar licks pop out at you and draw you in, possibly even when you thought you weren’t listening. Listen when you want to be content.
    
    
18. Space Elements Vol. III – Rafael Toral – Jazz being squeezed out of an electronic tube. This album will not be for everyone, but it’s for me:
    
    
1. First takes
2. Hard to listen to
3. Attempts to transcend the machines that make music
4. Questions what machines can make music
5. Questions what music might be
6. The artist is pushing himself to question himself as a musician

With that, you’ve got a record that challenges. Sometimes, music should be hard. Sometimes it should be work. Push yourself to understand how you “enjoy” music.

19. The Hunter – Mastodon – Heavy metal? Maybe. Heavier than most? Yeah, for sure.
    
    I played some choice tracks from The Hunter for some friends, thinking, “They’re gonna love this and then be shocked they liked it, cuz it’s ‘metal’.” Guess what? They fucking couldn’t wait to get it off the speakers. It shocked me. I was convinced this transcended that metal boundary most people won’t cross. And that’s not to say I’m a big fan of metal. I check out metal but most of the time I’d rather leave than take it. The Hunter – Mastodon, basically – is a different story. Great hard rock, great tunes, a melodic edge that’s missing from most hard music. I thought I was going to be a missionary, converting the people. Nope. They hated it. Oh well. I stand by my initial thought: this is rock music for anyone who likes guitars and tunes.
    
    
20. King of Limbs – Radiohead – I’m not Radiohead fan numero uno, but each album they’ve come out with has changed the game in some way. Excluding their first, maybe, and…The King of Limbs? Nope! Shit is the subtlest album I’ve ever listened to. Radiohead has turned into masters of the art of subtlety. You don’t even know what’s being played. TKOL sneaks up on you big time. It’s no OK Computer, and it doesn’t need to be. This is a band making music that doesn’t need to impress or try to impress and impresses all the same. Not to mention the percussion and drumming on this album might be the best of the year. Masters of rhythm as well.
    
    
21. Smoke Ring For My Halo – Kurt Vile – This one grew on me. Yeah, Vile’s got some influences, but he doesn’t shy away from them and most the time the influences seep through just because he digs that kind of music. Ain’t no shame in that! Hell, he might’ve been a peer of Neil Young back in the day. I also admire this album because I fully expected it to have more in common with Fleet Foxes than Neil Young. I don’t know what the fuck the lyrics mean, but peace love and grass, baby.
    
    
22. Several Shades of Why – J Mascis – Arguably the best guitarist of his era, J has crushed ear drums for years, and now he’s back – acoustic! Simple little diddies about love, sung in his trademark drawl. J doesn’t shoot for the moon and he doesn’t have to. These are great little folk tunes executed with enough originality to keep it fresh. And don’t worry: the electric makes an appearance or two.
    
    

23. Telebossa – Telebossa – Talk about left field favorites! I’m not schooled in bossa nova, but I loved the sounds on this album. The contrast between guitar and voice versus the electronic hiccupping and cello seems like it shouldn’t fit together, but it’s seamless, though never perfect, which is always refreshing: perfection is never perfection, though imperfection may be! Listen during a great meal drinking wine with friends or alone taking pleasure in every blip and blop.
    
    
24. Replica – Onehotrix Point Never - Fuckin' sound collage kept me entertained and returning! There's a human element shining through it all, and everything sounds organic, like the sounds either came from an instrument or a living creature. This sounds like the jungle of the future.
    
    
25. People Changes - Nat Baldwin - The opening track "A Little Lost" is an Arthur Russel jam and it's a track of the year. The rest of the album is atonal, with Baldwin leading the way on his bass, accompanied by strings and flutes, and his voice providing nice melodies over it all.
    
    
26. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two – Beastie Boys – The Beasties are my pals. I put this record on and I think of good things. College, my home, youth, summer, 40s, shit like that. And even if the rhymes might be a little simplistic even for the Beasties, they still have a charm and humor that are uniquely them. This is their place. The beats are funky, the mic is hot, so spit it and get down. Always Beastie Boys, never not.
    
    
27. Ex-Military – Death Grips – This album will rip you’re dick off, stomp on it, feed it to you, then force you to drink your own tears to wash it down. What an intense rap record! Unreal. The beats are practically musique concrete and the MC, whoever he is, spits hot fire straight through, never relenting. Download this shit for free off the internet and hold onto your dick, son!
    
    
28. Carrion Crawler/The Dream & Castlemania– Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania is a tad overly weird; the sonics get in the way of the songs, which are good. Carrion Crawler/The Dream is Black Sabbath played by losers who might even care more about playing music than getting laid, but I doubt that’s ever really possible. I put these two together because it seemed silly not too and have them take up two spots.
    
    
29. A Treasure – Neil Young & The International Harvesters – Are you ready for the country? Young was shifting gears a mile a minute when this was recorded in the mid 1980s, but A Treasure is firmly rooted in the traditions of great country; some of Young’s prettiest tunes; and a tight band, fiddle included. The late great Ben Keith, who plays pedal steel on this live set, named the record, calling the unearthed tracks “a treasure”. Boom. Review done.
    
    
30. undun – The Roots – ?uestlove said in an interview that undun was an art record, and that he felt lucky to be able to hand one into his label, no ?uestions asked. I’m glad too. While undun isn’t as stunning as Phrenology, I do think it’s something of a rap masterpiece. It’s flawless in execution; each track flows into the next seamlessly, and the narrative is a narrative, with one of the best MCs in rap as guide, Black Thought. And while this might be an art record, there are hooks on every track, including the Sufjan Stevens inspired four part suite that closes out what I’m sure I would consider an even more important record if I were black. The Roots: forever and always tight.
    
    
31. Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I – A monolith. Puts you on your ass with harsh beauty. Dig the violin in the mix! Both easy and difficult to listen to – certainly part of the pleasure.
    
    
32. Watch the Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West – As Dick Vitale: “Even though I’d rather listen to a solo Kanye record – I think Hov gets in Ye’s way a bit, an artist with HUGE talent and vision – this is a good record, baby! Big time record! You can’t stop it when it’s coming at you. This is big time rap music and Otis cannot be denied! Watch the Throne, baby!” I love Dickie V.
    
    
33. Leave Home – The Men - I'll take this record any day of the week to get my blood pumping. It's a charmingly messy record, and they steal shit from The Stooges without even trying to hide it. They say they're leaving home, yet their music doesn't truly transcend their influences. A proper fuck off. Get me a stog.
    
    
34. How The Thing Sings – Bill Orcutt – Bill Orcutt sounds like a man with mental retardation playing guitar, yelping like a strangled cat, mumbling.
    
    
35. Goblin – Tyler, the Creator – I wanted to hate this record more than I did, but it’s great stuff. The kid is just a kid, and that’s what you’re getting on Goblin. This is a teen’s diary.
    
    
36. David Comes To Life - Fucked Up - GUITARS.
    
    
37. 50 Words For Snow – Kate Bush – A sexy, dark Christmas album about love and loss: snow will always fall, but it must always melt away; when you fuck a snowman, he might be melted by morning. It get’s a little goofy when Stephen Fry and Elton John pop up in the second half, but Kate Bush is sincere throughout; the album was written, composed, and played with great care and respect for the listener.
    
    
38. Bon Iver – Bon Iver – So what if all the lyrics are goobledegook? They’re good intentioned! And who cares that the music is 80’s kitsch? I actually like this sound! I wasn’t that big of a fan of For Emma, Forever Ago and I like this self-titled venture better. It’s good to put on and mellow out to every now and then.
    
    
39. Sepalcure – Sepalcure – I need something like this in my life. This fits the bill. Some electronic dance music, some dubstep…Yeah, I’m in it, I’m with it.
    
    
40. Ravedeath, 1972 – Tim Hecker - This one’s about the death of music. I like it. Great soundscapes recorded in a church on organ. Why didn’t I think of that?
    
    
41. The Whole Love – Wilco – I’m kinda off Wilco as far craving their new music: unless Tweedy gets re-addicted to pills, I think their best work is behind them. But The Whole Love is a pretty solid rock record, with enough “experimental” Wilco squeezed in with some cheery, goofy Wilco. Album closer is epic: 12 minutes of Tweedy doing his thing with the acoustic where he is melancholy. Glenn Kotche and John Stirratt continue to be one of the best rhythm sections in rock. All’s well in Wilco, I suppose, as far as Wilco goes.
    
    
42. Wounded Rhythms – Lykke Li – I can forgive some of the dance beats on this album because Lykke Li’s slow, girl group inspired ballads – and a mid-tempo number! – are indelible. Lykke Li is wounded, and they’ve now left their mark on me. “Unrequited Love” is a top track of the year, and most of the album comes close to relating the same amount of pain over love lost/never found in as intimate a fashion. Unlike EMA there is no hint of contrivance here, though I do find it puzzling that someone as talented and sexy as Lykke Li can’t find a man.
    
    
43. Mirror Traffic – Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks -- Fuck yeah, Malkmus. This is a fine record, and the best part? It’s not to Malkmusy! The noodling is cut down; the songs are in and out. The lyrics aren’t too goofy (“Elmo Delmo,” anyone?) but still retain that witty idiocy that we all love about Stephen Malkmus. Catchy, direct, and yes, it sounds a bit like you might imagine Pavement might sound like these days.
    
    
44. Past Life Martyred Saints – EMA – This is an emotional album. Or does it just seem like EMA is emotionally wrecked and fucked while in reality she just knows how to put that facade on in order to attract an audience? Doesn’t matter. This is a clever, soulful (is it?) record, with indie cred for days, it’s biggest strength and weakness.
    
    
45. Yuck – Yuck - Youngins from England making pop punk. It's number 45 on my list!
    
    
46. Live Love A$AP - A$AP Rocky – Great production, and the pretty motherfucker has some flow, just not sure if he has much to say just yet. Well worth a listen; a couple of key tracks. A fun time, he’s my boy. Hopefully his official debut will elevate him. Harlem, say what!?
    
    
47. Gloss Drop – Battles – Nothing’s gonna top Mirrored. That said, this record’s good. A little safe. Some great sounds coming off of it.
    
    
48. w h o k i l l – tUnE-yArDs – Everybody’s pants were charmed right the fuck off by this broad’s album, and she certainly does have some pretty powerful stuff. The songs are catchy, even though it all stinks of her puppetry background; too musical theater, too Lion King.
    
    
49. Metals – Feist – First track “The Bad In Each Other” is a fucking masterpiece pop song; the rest of the album is just like it, only not as good. Metals was too homogeneous for me to fall in love with. Listen to the first track, and a few of the others, doesn’t matter which, just pick some and you’ll be satisfied.
    
    
50. Days – Real Estate – A very pleasant album indeed. Nice and chill. Good for an overcast day on the beach, maybe….Zzzzzz…zzzzzz…Wait, what? What happened?
    
    

BEST TRACKS IN NO REAL ORDER:

1. Riding For the Feeling – Bill Callahan
2. Unrequited Love – Lykke Li
3. 1+1 - Beyonce
4. Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name) – Cymbals Eat Guitars
5. Michael Jackson – Das Racist
6. Losers – The Belle Brigade
7. Otis – Jay-Z and Kanye West
8. Suck It and See – The Arctic Monkeys
9. Second Song – TV On The Radio
10. Queen Of Hearts – Fucked Up
11. The Bad In Each Other – Feist
12. Measurements – James Blake
13. Romeo & Juliet – Rocket From The Tombs
14. Cruel – St. Vincent
15. Racehorse – Wild Flag
16. Up All Night – blink 182
17. A Little Lost – Nat Baldwin
18. My Mistakes – Eleanor Friedberger
19. I Need Seed – Thee Oh Sees
20. Curl of the Burl - Mastodon