 |
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Jim Connelly's
Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Monday, January 15, 2007
Jesse Steichen's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Friday, January 12, 2007
Bill Bentley's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings Of 2006
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Anthony Carew's 13 Fave Albums Of 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
SXSW 2006: Finding Some Hope In Austin
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Letter From New Orleans
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums of 2005
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Music For Dwindling Days: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Sean Fennessey's 'Best-Of' 2005
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Albums Of 2005
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Lee Templeton's Favorite Recordings of 2005
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Michael Lach - Old Soul Songs For A New World Order
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Found In Translation — Emme Stone's Year In Music 2005
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Dave Allen's 'Best-Of' 2005
Monday, January 2, 2006
Steve Gozdecki's Favorite Albums Of 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Johnny Walker Black's Top 10 Of 2005
Monday, December 19, 2005
Neal Block's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Year In Review
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Jennifer Kelly's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Tom Ridge's Favorite Recordings Of 2005
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Ben Gook's Beloved Albums Of 2005
Monday, December 5, 2005
Anthony Carew's Fave Albums Of 2005
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Prince, Spoon And The Magic Of The Dead Stop
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Truth About America
Monday, September 5, 2005
Tryin' To Wash Us Away
Monday, August 1, 2005
A Psyche-Folk Heat Wave In Western Massachusetts
Monday, July 18, 2005
Soggy But Happy At Glastonbury 2005
Monday, April 4, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 3: All Together Now
Friday, April 1, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 2: Dr. Dog's Happy Chords
Thursday, March 31, 2005
The SXSW Experience, Part 1: Waiting, Waiting And More Waiting
Friday, March 25, 2005
Final Day At SXSW's Charnel House
Monday, March 21, 2005
Day Three At SXSW
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Day Two In SXSW's Hall Of Mirrors
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Report #1: SXSW 2005 And Its Hall Of Mirrors
Monday, February 14, 2005
Matt Landry's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
David Howie's 'Moments' From The Year 2004
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Lori Miller Barrett's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Noah Bonaparte's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Kevin John's Fave Albums Of 2004
Friday, January 14, 2005
Music For Those Nights: Max Schaefer's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2004
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Neal Block's Top Ten Of 2004
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Jenny Tatone's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 10, 2005
Wayne Robins' Top Ten Of 2004
Friday, January 7, 2005
Brian Orloff's Fave Albums Of 2004
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Johnny Walker (Black)'s Top 10 Of 2004
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Jennifer Przybylski's Fave Albums (And Book) Of 2004
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Mark Mordue's Fave Albums Of 2004
Monday, January 3, 2005
Lee Templeton's Fave Recordings Of 2004
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Dave Renard's Fave Recordings Of 2005
Neumu's Michael Goldberg writes: Neumu Senior Writer Dave Renard has been writing the singles round-up column that's periodically appeared in the Needle Drops section of Neumu for much of 2005, and it's been a welcome addition to the site. Today we present his list of favorite albums, singles and shows of 2005. Enjoy.
Animal Collective, Feels (Fat Cat): Few bands with the
ambition to make every album sound different also have the talent to
pull it off. These guys do, and they seem like the nicest people on
earth to boot (check the awesome interview in Arthur magazine).
The pop psychedelia of Feels is probably their most accessible
incarnation yet, but on the other hand, listen to "Grass" — twists,
turns, weird wonder, and a romp through tall weeds amid day-bright
bursts of fireworks.
Blood on the Wall, Awesomer (The Social Registry): I
don't think of myself as provincial or one to big-up the home team,
but music in New York is so great right now (30% of my top 10 is
from Brooklyn!). Blood on the Wall nail the '80s and '90s indie-rock
touchstones (Yo La, Pixies, Dino Jr., Half Japanese) to the wall with
enough sloppy energy and conviction to make ex-college-radio DJs
forget that it's technically too early for a revival of this stuff.
The year's best soundtrack for shotgunning cans of Bud.
Edan, Beauty and the Beat (Lewis): The premise of this
album barely even makes any sense — meld the drugged-out
experimentation of Nuggets-style '60s psych with the rapid-
fire punchlines and sampladelic cut-up style of old-school hip-hop.
Edan makes it work, not just by chopping the rock records into
samples but by bringing that anarchic, analog, reel-to-reel feel to a
2005 hip-hop album. Lots of the best quotables don't make much sense
out of context, but Beauty and the Beat constructs whole worlds
according to its own weird logic: "That was after the world tour/
When I traveled through gravel and battled matter at the earth's
core/ I did the show on a fireball!"
The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday (Frenchkiss):
Speaking of quotables, awwww man, stop me before I type out this
whole album — Craig Finn is the best lyricist in rock. "She drove it
like she stole it/ She stole it fast and with a multitude of
casualties/ Yeah she shipped it out from Boulder/ Packed in coffee
grounds and wrapped around in dryer sheets." So focused and specific,
and yet you feel like Holly, Charlemagne, Gideon and the rest are
based on — not your friends exactly, but someone you might have met
once. Or heard about. Or talked to at the bar that night. Did I
mention they ROCK?!?
Isolee, Wearemonster (Playhouse): A slippery electronic
album, Isolee's Wearemonster has so much going on it can only
be digested one song at a time; the tracks were initially hard to
distinguish from one another, but eventually with each listen I would
find a new favorite. "Enrico" best captures what I love about it:
Constant shifts and changes, dark pulses of sexy bass, with voices
and echoing strings spotlighted one by one against a shimmering black
background. As some have pointed out, it's a house record not
particularly suited for dancing, but Wearemonster bubbles over
with pure sound.
M.A.N.D.Y., Body Language Vol. 1 (Get Physical): Of all
the DJ mixes in 2005, this one from the German duo M.A.N.D.Y.
probably covers the most ground (and contains the most jams). It's a
sub-genre primer — starts off clicky and dubby, moves into more
discofied territory with Lindstrom's "I Feel Space" and Francisco's
"Moon Roller," then fast-forwards to the "ketamine house" (coined by
ex-Needle Dropper Philip Sherburne) of Booka Shade's "Mandarine Girl"
and Andre Kraml's "Safari (James Holden Remix)," where sheets of
white noise (and yellow noise and pink noise) first cut against the
beat, then thrillingly strobe into sync. The secret weapon is saved
for near the end: the title cut, "Body Language," which surprisingly
won track of the year in Ibiza — perhaps signaling yet another
change of direction for the Get Physical crew.
M.I.A., Arular (XL/Interscope): Now this one really
feels like 2004, since "Galang" and Diplo's Piracy mix have
been kicking around for more than a year now, but Arular
deserves to keep its slot. The fact that I got a little burned out on
it isn't really M.I.A.'s fault — putting "Bucky Done Gun" or "Bingo"
on every mixtape I made from March to November was nobody's fault but
my own. The album's mish-mash of global pop culture and global
politics sparked almost a Madonna-like level of zeitgeisty debate and
analysis, but ultimately the fact that it's a fucking FUN record wins
the day.
Optimo, Psyche Out (Eskimo): Compared with last year's
How to Kill the DJ [Part 2] (not just one of one of 2004's best
mixes but one of its best releases, period), Glasgow's Twitch and
Wilkes go deeper and darker on Psyche Out, connecting dots
between Hawkwind, Herbie Hancock and Mr. Fingers for a walloping head
trip. The middle third might get too far gone into acid tunnel-vision
for some, but with revelations like the Skatt Bros.' "Walk the
Night" (this is 1979 disco?!) and a dip into psychedelic soul
(Temptations, Chambers Brothers) waiting on the other side, it's well
worth it. The sublime "Kiss Me Again" by Dinosaur (Arthur Russell)
got a thorough revival this year, also popping up in a different
version on Dan Selzer and Mike Simonetti's RVNG
PRSNTS MX4.
Vitalic, OK Cowboy (PIAS): The latest in French house,
Vitalic brings a growling rock aesthetic to techno on this album that
pits a few older singles ("La Rock 01," "Poney Part 1") against some
incandescent new jams. Hasn't happened yet, but if I'm out at a club
and "No Fun" comes on, watch out. With dense keyboard sounds and
breakdown after breakdown, tracks on OK Cowboy drop down to
quiet mode before blindsiding you with drums and relentless squelch.
Paul Wall, The Peoples Champ (Swishahouse/Atlantic):
Yeah, it surprised me too! Of all the albums from hip-hop's Houston
takeover (Mike Jones, Slim Thug, Bun B), The Peoples Champ is
the most consistently entertaining, with the big hit ("Sittin'
Sidewayz") only the tip of the iceberg. There are a few key guest
spots from the likes of Freeway and Three 6 Mafia, but mostly Paul
Wall holds it down all on his own, with his somewhat repetitive but
hugely charismatic flow riding producer Gridiron's trunk-rattling,
slowed-down beats. (Note: I choose to pretend that the ridiculous
"Internet Goin' Nutz" is not on the album.)
Honorable mention: A Frames, Black Forest (Sub Pop) —
Black humor for black days, it's abrasive but just catchy enough to
make you want to hop aboard the death train; The Juan Maclean,
Less Than Human (DFA/Astralwerks) — Plenty of great stuff
here ("Shining Skinned Friend"), but it possibly suffered from elevated
expectations since the best song on it ("Give Me Every Little Thing")
is two years old; Roll Deep, In at the Deep End (Relentless)
— I'm shocked no one put this out in the States, since its hybrid grime/
R&B has way more crossover potential than Dizzee or the Streets;
Dominik Eulberg, Kreucht & Fleucht (Mischwald) — The
beginning of this mix's second half is massive (especially Eulberg's
"Cosmic Sandwich" remix), but there are dull spots over its double-disc length.
Singles and misc.: Lindstrom, "I Feel Space" — He's from
Norway, not Italy, but the picture in my head is a pink sunrise over
the Colosseum; Three 6 Mafia feat. 8-Ball & MJG and Young Buck, "Stay
Fly" — On the strength of this song I almost (almost) bought
an album that gives prominent guest slots to Project Pat. Amerie, "1
Thing" — I have a feeling producer Rich Harrison ("Crazy in Love") is
running out of tricks, but those drums could not be any hotter; !!!,
"Take Ecstasy With Me" — With Magnetic Fields on the A side and Nate
Dogg on the flip, it's the EP that soundtracked my summer; Lemon-Red mix
series — September's Caps
and Jones
installment was especially hot — Crucial Conflict into Black Sabbath,
whut?!?!
Live music highlights: Arcade Fire at Irving Plaza (with David
Byrne encore); Optimo DJ set at the Glass House Gallery in Brooklyn;
LCD Soundsystem at Bowery Ballroom (the show that's in the "Disco
Infiltrator" video); Sonic Youth on the fourth floor of a fitness
club in Queens (?!); Destroyer and New Pornographers in Philly; Yura
Yura Teikoku at Northsix in Brooklyn; Steinski DJ set at a warehouse
party; and multiple Hold Steady shows — the Bowery Ballroom record
release party in May flipped my wig, but when they got back from
touring and played Bowery again in August (two days before my 30th
birthday), man I was high as hell and born again. Here's to keeping
it moving in 2006.
| | |
