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Best music of 2010

December 11, 2010 in music | Tags: list, music | Leave a comment

My parents were the first of many influences on my musical tastes. Mom is the bona fide musician of the family; she has a beautiful singing voice and is proficient on the piano. I took three years of piano lessons, but it didn’t stick. What did become ingrained was an appreciation for artists in the singer/songwriter mold. The fact that I would belt out Willie Nelson’s Good Hearted Woman at age four can be attributed to my father’s passion for music. Even now, when I hear the Battle of New Orleans (video below), I hear my Dad’s voice and not Johnny Horton’s.

At some point in the late 80’s, it became obvious that I was developing my own set of criteria for evaluating art. I remember a seminal moment in particular — the day they chastised me after hearing the intro track on Black Sheep’s A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing blaring from my room. Someday, in ten years or so, my daughter or son will play something that bothers my ears, and the circle of life will continue.

How do my tastes differ from my parents’ tastes? I’m obsessed with melodies first and rhythm second. Mom’s prefers talented vocalists and dramatic phrasing, and Dad listens for song structure and lyrical content and meter. I wonder what they might think of my favorite track of 2010, Eyesore by Women. The song consists of three mini-songs strung together, and although I’m pretty sure Patrick Flegel’s nasally vocals are in English, only short segments of words are decipherable as coherent English phrases.

Unlike my previous year-end evaluations in 2008 and 2009, I’ll remember 2010 as a year when I made a conscious decision to consume full albums rather than singles (for old time’s sake, I guess). I can’t yet say whether this body-of-work strategy pays more dividends than the alternative piecemeal song strategy. This year, I feel like I have a stronger opinion when it comes to ranking albums, and less of a breadth of exposure to individual tracks, especially in the genres that I don’t hear as much through the blogs and satellite radio stations I depend on for music discovery (hip-hop, R&B, jazz, dance, and electronic). So, forgive me if my lists for 2010 are rock-heavy.

Music snob ice-dancing solo to the music in his head

This year I won’t dissect releases that disappointed me (Spoon and Broken Bells) or what I think was overrated (Sleigh Bells and Sufjan Stevens) or downright ridiculous and irritating (Kings of Leon). Instead, take a look and listen at what I found to be the aural highlights of 2010.

Oh, and I owe special thanks to my wife for tolerating my obsession and being agreeable about whatever I put on the home stereo.

Best albums

I’ve had 42 full albums and EPs, all released in 2010, in the rotation off and on this year. My 16 favorites are classified in the APJ four tiers of quality:

Tier One

– Public Strain — Women
– Lisbon — The Walkmen
– Cosmogramma — Flying Lotus
– InnerSpeaker — Tame Impala

Tier Two

– Astro Coast — Surfer Blood
– Before Today — Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
– Black Noise — Pantha du Prince
– Forget — Twin Shadow

Tier Three

– Everything In Between — No Age
– Swim — Caribou
– The Budos Band III — The Budos Band
– Halcyon Digest — Deerhunter

Tier Four

– Teen Dream — Beach House
– The Monitor — Titus Andronicus
– My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
– Odd Blood — Yeasayer

Best songs

My 40 favorite songs of 2010 are listed below. I linked mp3s if I could find them elsewhere (why yes, I am too cheap to pay for the WordPress audio upgrade) for the first 20 or so:

Eyesore — Women
Albatross — Besnard Lakes
My Way — jj (feat. Lil Wayne)
I Was Thinking… — Gauntlet Hair
Odessa — Caribou
Lucidity — Tame Impala
Heart to Tell — The Love Language
Carolina — Girls
Promises — The Morning Benders
Woe is Me — The Walkmen
Mouthful of Diamonds — Phantogram
How I Got Over — The Roots
Round and Round — Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
National Anthem — Freddie Gibbs
Piece — Deer Tick https://cbsmp3oftheday.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/deertick-piece.mp3?dl=1
River Serpentine — The Budos Band
I Don’t Think I — Devin Therriault
Empire Ants — Gorillaz (feat. Little Dragon)
O.N.E. — Yeasayer
Cremona Memories — Keep Shelly in Athens
Castles in the Snow — Twin Shadow
Heart — Love Diamonds
Gold Skull — Miniature Tigers
Waterfall — Fresh & Onlys
Total Life Forever — Foals
Desire Lines — Deerhunter
Satelllliiiiiiiteee — Flying Lotus
I Learned the Hard Way — Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Marathon — Tennis
Valley Hump Crash — No Age
Dance or Die — Janelle Monáe (feat. Saul Williams)
In the Fall — Future Islands (feat. Katrina Ford)
Shadow People — Dr. Dog
The Suburbs — Arcade Fire
Wide Eyes — Local Natives
Golden Haze — Wild Nothing
The Dreamer — The Tallest Man on Earth
A More Perfect Union — Titus Andronicus
Dance Yrself Clean — LCD Soundsystem
Bottled in Cork — Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Burns Family Reunion 2010

July 14, 2010 in family, vacation | Tags: dog, event, family, holiday, image, list, nature, pre-toddler, Summer | Leave a comment

Every year, in mid-June, Vogel State Park in north Georgia is taken over for an entire week by Burnses from all over the country. It’s the Burns Family Reunion, and this was Jackie’s second experience with Katie’s great uncles and aunts, second cousins, third cousins, sixth cousins twice removed, and so on. Jackie shared the spotlight with a few other children this year (including Henry, Audrey, Emilyn, and Emory), but she somehow managed to get plenty of attention and/or ice cream whenever she wanted either or both.

This was the first year of the BFR (of 44 years total) that Katie served as co-organizer and chief cabin coordinator. With her Uncle Robert’s tutelage, she did an outstanding job making sure that everyone had comfortable accommodations.

I brought a special non-Burns friend along to the BFR this year. Robah made the trip southwest, and I really appreciated him coming. He’s always been a true friend, but I was surprised to learn what a good hiking partner he is. You could say that Robah is a dog’s dog, except that he doesn’t really like other dogs. He does love people though.

Here’s a generalized schedule of the typical day during our week at Vogel State Park:

6:30 — Katie, Robah, and I wake up. Robah goes out to relieve himself, sees a deer in the woods, and takes off for about two minutes (the amount of time it takes for the deer to lose him)

7:15 — Katie heads up to her parents’ cabin, where Jackie is sleeping

7:15 – 8:00 — Robah and I listen to Tame Impala, Ariel Pink, The Arcade Fire, Tennis, and others as we get ready for the day

8:00 – 11:00 — Robah and I hike one of trails that head at VSP. Katie and Janet cook for the family members hanging around Janet and Ben’s cabin (at least 5 guest eaters total, maximum of 15). Jackie entertains, or is entertained, and then naps.

11:00 – 12:00 — Robah and I eat leftovers and snacks for lunch while we catch up with Jackie and Katie on the morning events

12:00 – 4:00 — The Joneses change into swim gear and enjoy the lake, except for Robah, who naps

4:00 – 7:00 — Jackie naps, and Katie, Robah, and I read and relax

7:00 – 9:00 — BFR dinner gathering (everyone), socializing or planned event (e.g. talent show) afterward

9:00 – After reading books with Nana and Papa, Jackie goes to bed in cabin #25

9:00 – 11:00 – Before bed Katie reads, Robah snoozes, and I play with my new phone

The schedule listed above shouldn’t leave you with the impression that every day at VSP is the same. Every day brings nuanced surprises, or in the case of our next-to-last day there, a fairly major event. Robah and I had a scary and exhilarating hike to wrap up our week, but I won’t go into details here.

Katie is lucky to have an amazing extended family (both paternal and maternal), and I’m lucky to be accepted by them (Robah was also accepted, except for the few isolated instances when he slobbered on someone).

Here are pictures from the week. Video will follow when I get around to editing and polishing.

Post-birthday shopping spree

August 5, 2009 in music | Tags: list, music | Leave a comment

Another birthday has come and gone, and I realize now that one of the best periods of every year is not my actual birthday, but the two weeks that follow it. My family and wife’s family now know that I would rather have new music than 95% of other gift ideas. It isn’t that they aren’t creative in their gift planning. Rather, they try to make me happy, and I truly appreciate that.

During the fortnight after my birthday, I don’t let the iTunes credits, Amazon credits, and cash burn holes in my pockets. I spend time reading about, listening to, and legally purchasing new music.

Here’s what I’ve scored recently, and I’m fairly pleased with everything on my acquisition list for late July and early August.

God Help the Girl, God Help the Girl

Sunset Rubdown, Dragonslayer

Akron/Family, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free

Spoon, Got Nuffin — EP

Bibio, Ambivalence Avenue

Memory Cassette, Calls & Responses

Dinosaur Jr., Farm

The Very Best, Warm Heart of Africa —– WTF???

Cherry-picking:

The Eels

The Magnetic Fields (XX Merge)

The Hood Internet, Mixtapes

Another birthday has come and gone, and I realize now that one of the best periods of every year is not my actual birthday, but the two weeks that follow it. My family and wife’s family now know that I would rather have new music than 99% of other gift ideas. It isn’t that they aren’t creative in their gift planning. Rather, they try to make me happy, and I truly appreciate that.

During the fortnight after my birthday, I don’t let the iTunes credits, Amazon credits, and cash burn holes in my pocket. I spend time reading about, listening to, and legally purchasing new music.

Here’s what I’ve scored recently, and I’m fairly pleased with everything on my album acquisition list for late July and early August.

Creaturesque by Throw Me The Statue
God Help the Girl by God Help The Girl
Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown
Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free by Akron/Family
Got Nuffin (EP) by Spoon
Farm by Dinosaur Jr.
Ambivalence Avenue by Bibio
Calls & Responses by Memory Cassette

Classify those last two albums under the hottest new summer genre: chill wave, or GorillavsBearcore. If you’re into this sort of thing, read a summary of the sub-genre Carles coined at I Guess I’m Floating or the original Carles post at Hipster Runoff.

I’ve also been cherry-picking some other artists, not all of whom have recent releases. I’ve included some editorial notes too.

The Eels — always one of those bands that I thought I would like if I ever put in the effort. Their catalog is pretty large, and I’ve enjoyed my time browsing.
The Magnetic Fields — chalk this up to the single thing that makes The Triangle much cooler than it would be otherwise: Merge Records. They recently celebrated their 20th anniversary, and it inspired me to try out my favorite Merge band that I knew very little about. I’m about 10 deep in 69 Love Songs.
The Hood Internet — if you like hip-hop and indie rock, you can’t find a better value (free at http://thehoodinternet.com/) than these mash-ups. I’m not exaggerating when I say that some have blown me away. I’m serious. These guys are supreme matchmakers.

Finally, can someone out there explain the appeal of The Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa. Even though every respectable taste-making music blog/magazine is smitten, I’m afraid I just don’t get it. I’m cool with world music, I like Afro-pop, but I just don’t get it.

Scooter smile & the best music of 2008

December 9, 2008 in music | Tags: list, music, scooter | 4 comments

We recently got our scooter back from the shop, where two recalled parts (a fuel pump seal and the connecting rod) were replaced at Yamaha’s expense. For both Katie (before she was pregnant) and me, scooting with the wind in your face causes a perma-grin, or “scooter smile” as we call it. Not a full smile, mind you…that would put you at risk of swallowing a bug. The scooter smile is more subdued, but impossible to prevent.

Nice whip eh?

There are several good reasons not to take yourself too seriously when you’re scooting about. For one thing, I think most people look a tad dorky (in the best possible way). I am no exception; my helmet is so big that I imagine myself looking like Lord Dark Helmet (of Spaceballs) as I drive around town.

Lord Dark Helmet, scooter aficionado?

Another reason that scooter riders need a sense of humor is our slow speed relative to the rest of traffic. It’s hard to exude coolness when a Hybrid Kia can smoke you without up-shifting from third gear. Finally, people in North Carolina sometimes assume that you’re riding a scooter because you lost your driver’s license (that’s when a “Not a Liquorcycle” bumper sticker really comes in handy…thanks Steve). So, scootin’ and grinnin’ go hand-in-hand.

Best Albums of 2008

The scootin’ conditions have been pretty cold here recently, but I have managed to scoot around Five Points on the warmer days during the past two weeks. Aside from running different errands, time on the scooter has given me a chance to think back on the year in music. 2008 has really been a good one for tunes, so just like everyone else, I have my own personal “best of” list. Here’s how I rank some of the best of what I’ve heard since this time last year. Also, I reserve the right to make changes to these lists as songs/albums/artists pop into my head. I initially planned to add links to these artists or even mp3s, but I probably won’t have time before my daughter is born.