My Personal Best albums of 2010:
10. Kings Of Leon - Come Around Sundown
Although this doesn't pack as much punch as their last release, Only By the Night, which made it to my #2 last year (only surpassed by Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers), it still deserves a spot in my top 10. I love this band, love watching them play, and the way their music makes me feel.
9. Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Hawk
Although this needs no explanation since the Mighty Mark Lanegan lends his voice to it, a song like Won't let Me Down Again (great video at the link) give this album an Americana vibe I didn't know I liked so much! Plus, have I mentioned it's Mark Lanegan?
8. Ryan Bingham and The Dead Horses - Junky Star
itunes places this in the country genre. I don't like that label, but I do enjoy this album. I love the grit in Ryan's voice, the guitar playing, the harmonica placement, the humble stage presence -one of the best shows I've seen this year. There's also this...sigh...
7.The National - High Violet
I'm kinda fibbing here. I discovered The National this year and completely fixated on Boxer, which was released in 2007, but also picked up 2010's release High Violet. The new one hasn't seen as many spins as Boxer, because I just couldn't let go. My one Lollapalooza regret was missing The National - poor placement, their set was right before Soundgarden.
6. Broken Bells
Fun, fun, album. Great driving while dancing music, which apparently I still need to master. This one had massive air time. Broken Bells put on a great live show too! I'd almost consider this a guilty pleasure, but it convinced me to check out Sparklehorse, Dark Night of the Soul, which really deserves it's own spot on this list.
5.Fistful of Mercy
For a great album, an amazing live show, for Alain Johannes' Spark, for running across Broad St. in the middle of the night into Joseph Arthur's arms.....for making me smile :)
4.Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
I'm starting to see a trend of deep, rough voices, acoustic guitar and that Americana vibe again. Although, to be fair these guys aren't American. Unfortunately, I caught on too late and missed their sold out show, which precludes their placement higher on my list.
3.Robert Francis - Before Nightfall
THE find of the year for me. I get goosebumps thinking about it. Young dude,with an old voice and soul. I 'felt' shades of Jeff Buckley just listening and even more so when I caught a show this summer, in the Hamptons of all places. The dichotomy of his age and sound blew me away as well. Check out this vid for Mescaline and see if you don't agree.
2.The Black Keys - Brothers
This band have begun to define rock 'n roll for me. I know this album made many best of lists this year, but spinning Brothers on my USB turntable IS the epitome of rock 'n roll. It takes me back and keeps me present.
1.Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
In keeping with my retro, yet current leanings (this worked out nicely but completely unintentionally), Wilderness Heart is my #1. On the band's myspace, they list their genre as "Healing and Easy Listening/Psychedelic". I love that description, but I feel there's so much more: alternating and combining female/male leads, early heavy metal influences as well that awesome hallucinogenic leaning, plus a rocking live show (it's ALL about the live show) - I feel pretty passionate about this pick. Bonus: listen to Rollercoaster at the 4:24 mark - completely reminiscent of one of my all time favorite bands (mentioned in #7).
Now that I'm done, I'm literally exhausted. This was a long, thought out process. I listed all the albums I felt influenced me this year. Then I started assigning numbers, and re-assigning. There are several bands that deserve honorable mentions, but I think I'll save that for another time. I listened to tracks over and over again. Its an emotional undertaking for me, and I know I do it ONLY for me. It serves to remind me why I love music in the first place, and love is not a word that can begin to do it justice. Now I'm not feeling so guilty about investing in that new ipod the other day ;)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Catching Up
It's been almost a full 6 months since I've blogged. Seems I go through this every year, winter is much more conducive to staying inside and writing. However, the only thing I'm doing here is copy/pasting the summer music blogs I wrote for work, that never made it to my blog. I'm not proud of the writing that follows, because I was always cognizant of the professional , rather than musical audience I was writing for, however, I am pretty proud of the fact that a picture of Soundgarden graced the intranet presence of my workplace :)
EvelynEvelyn, Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley at the TLA June 18, 2010
Part vaudeville act, part circus side show, part musical theatre, part cabaret and all entertainment and fun, this act of fictional conjoined twin sisters and their life story was a performance like no other. The “girls” played guitar, accordion, ukulele, piano, drum, and kazoos all the while recounting their dramatic life’s tale. The performances consisted of songs from the EvelynEvelyn cd such as ‘Elephant Elephant’, ’MySpace’ and a touching cover of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. The great entertainer, Sxip Shirey served as both the opening act and emcee of the entire affair, even manning a puppet show during the main event.
EvelynEvelyn is the brainchild of Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls) and Jason Webley. Everything from songwriting to costume to artwork was the result of a zany creative process, and came together for a wonderful production. Amanda and Jason each performed their own sets as well, before the whole cast reassembled onstage for a rousing sing-along finale.
I am a big fan of Amanda Palmer and she never fails to work with the most creative artists, and put on the most intimate of shows. Her next release is all ukulele covers of Radiohead songs. Jason Webley started out as a street musician in Seattle, and has since released several collaborations as well as solo work. I look forward to following both these artists’ careers.
http://www.evelynevelyn.com/
Next month: I travel to Chicago for the Lollapalooza Music Festival. 3 days, eight stages, over 90 bands!
Lollapalooza: Grant Park, Chicago August 6,7,8 2010
You could say I’m a veteran of Lollapalooza. This music festival started as a traveling show in 1991, took a couple of breaks over the years and found a permanent home in Chicago beginning in 2005. Besides early shows, this was my 3rd straight time traveling to Chicago on the first weekend of August, and is definitely the highlight of my summer concert experiences. This year was extra special because Sunday’s headliner was the recently reunited Soundgarden, which meant I would also be reunited with friends from all over the country traveling just to see them.
It’s impossible for me to share all my experiences, so I’ll just give a rundown of the highlights:
Day 1 – it’s always a wait to get into the festival on the first day. Once I got through the gate, it was time to reacquaint myself with the layout and purchase band t-shirts while the selection was still good. The first band I saw was newcomers The Big Pink, followed by the New Pornographers, a glimpse of Matt and Kim, The Black Keys (a huge favorite of mine), hall of famer Jimmy Cliff and The Strokes.
Day 2 – I started out at The xx but I think 75,000 other people were there, so I made my way over to see another relatively new band I love, Dawes. Heard some Grizzly Bear, Metric, Spoon, Cut Copy and finally Phoenix. I had been looking forward to this band; their record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix won this year’s Grammy for best alternative album. Unfortunately the sound didn’t carry over well to where I was standing, so I didn’t get the full effect until I moved to the center during the encore. I would love to see Phoenix again in a smaller venue. I just found out Phoenix will be at the Tower in October, perfect!
Day 3 – My friends and I got a late start on the last day. We were definitely feeling the cumulative effects of the hot sun and being on our feet. However, this was the day we had all gathered for: Soundgarden together for the first time in over 13 years! Luckily, I was able to distract myself enough to enjoy Hockey, Frightened Rabbit, and MGMT beforehand. A few of my friends were brave enough to secure spots on the field against the rail in front of the stage. However I positioned myself on a small rise to the right of the stage which gave me a great view of the stage as well as the 2 video screens on either side. Soundgarden were as loud, powerful and dark as ever. They combined classic radio songs such as “Black Hole Sun” and “Fell on Black Days”, with some earlier favorites for diehards like myself, such as “Gun and Flower”. Honestly, I was more than nervous about a reunion due to the fact that most bands cannot recreate what it was we loved about them the first time around. My fears were completely unfounded and I am anxiously awaiting a tour announcement.
In keeping with the rock star vibe of the event, Chicago chef Graham Elliott Bowles (who concert-goers were posing for pictures with)and is also on the Fox show Master Chef, ran the festival’s ‘chow towns’. This was not your usual burgers and dogs fare. The vendors were top class Chicago restaurants showcasing their food. I sampled gourmet food such as a lobster corn dog and Asian Chicken Salad with peanut-jalapeño vinaigrette. Chicago is a beautiful city and there’s not much that can top watching a favorite band perform against the backdrop of the city skyline while feeling the breeze off Lake Michigan. I’m not sure if I’ll return to the Windy City next year, but no matter where I go I know I’ll have great music and friends to accompany me.
http://www.lollapalooza.com/
http://www.soundgardenworld.com/
EvelynEvelyn, Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley at the TLA June 18, 2010
Part vaudeville act, part circus side show, part musical theatre, part cabaret and all entertainment and fun, this act of fictional conjoined twin sisters and their life story was a performance like no other. The “girls” played guitar, accordion, ukulele, piano, drum, and kazoos all the while recounting their dramatic life’s tale. The performances consisted of songs from the EvelynEvelyn cd such as ‘Elephant Elephant’, ’MySpace’ and a touching cover of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. The great entertainer, Sxip Shirey served as both the opening act and emcee of the entire affair, even manning a puppet show during the main event.
EvelynEvelyn is the brainchild of Amanda Palmer (The Dresden Dolls) and Jason Webley. Everything from songwriting to costume to artwork was the result of a zany creative process, and came together for a wonderful production. Amanda and Jason each performed their own sets as well, before the whole cast reassembled onstage for a rousing sing-along finale.
I am a big fan of Amanda Palmer and she never fails to work with the most creative artists, and put on the most intimate of shows. Her next release is all ukulele covers of Radiohead songs. Jason Webley started out as a street musician in Seattle, and has since released several collaborations as well as solo work. I look forward to following both these artists’ careers.
http://www.evelynevelyn.com/
Next month: I travel to Chicago for the Lollapalooza Music Festival. 3 days, eight stages, over 90 bands!
Lollapalooza: Grant Park, Chicago August 6,7,8 2010
You could say I’m a veteran of Lollapalooza. This music festival started as a traveling show in 1991, took a couple of breaks over the years and found a permanent home in Chicago beginning in 2005. Besides early shows, this was my 3rd straight time traveling to Chicago on the first weekend of August, and is definitely the highlight of my summer concert experiences. This year was extra special because Sunday’s headliner was the recently reunited Soundgarden, which meant I would also be reunited with friends from all over the country traveling just to see them.
It’s impossible for me to share all my experiences, so I’ll just give a rundown of the highlights:
Day 1 – it’s always a wait to get into the festival on the first day. Once I got through the gate, it was time to reacquaint myself with the layout and purchase band t-shirts while the selection was still good. The first band I saw was newcomers The Big Pink, followed by the New Pornographers, a glimpse of Matt and Kim, The Black Keys (a huge favorite of mine), hall of famer Jimmy Cliff and The Strokes.
Day 2 – I started out at The xx but I think 75,000 other people were there, so I made my way over to see another relatively new band I love, Dawes. Heard some Grizzly Bear, Metric, Spoon, Cut Copy and finally Phoenix. I had been looking forward to this band; their record Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix won this year’s Grammy for best alternative album. Unfortunately the sound didn’t carry over well to where I was standing, so I didn’t get the full effect until I moved to the center during the encore. I would love to see Phoenix again in a smaller venue. I just found out Phoenix will be at the Tower in October, perfect!
Day 3 – My friends and I got a late start on the last day. We were definitely feeling the cumulative effects of the hot sun and being on our feet. However, this was the day we had all gathered for: Soundgarden together for the first time in over 13 years! Luckily, I was able to distract myself enough to enjoy Hockey, Frightened Rabbit, and MGMT beforehand. A few of my friends were brave enough to secure spots on the field against the rail in front of the stage. However I positioned myself on a small rise to the right of the stage which gave me a great view of the stage as well as the 2 video screens on either side. Soundgarden were as loud, powerful and dark as ever. They combined classic radio songs such as “Black Hole Sun” and “Fell on Black Days”, with some earlier favorites for diehards like myself, such as “Gun and Flower”. Honestly, I was more than nervous about a reunion due to the fact that most bands cannot recreate what it was we loved about them the first time around. My fears were completely unfounded and I am anxiously awaiting a tour announcement.
In keeping with the rock star vibe of the event, Chicago chef Graham Elliott Bowles (who concert-goers were posing for pictures with)and is also on the Fox show Master Chef, ran the festival’s ‘chow towns’. This was not your usual burgers and dogs fare. The vendors were top class Chicago restaurants showcasing their food. I sampled gourmet food such as a lobster corn dog and Asian Chicken Salad with peanut-jalapeño vinaigrette. Chicago is a beautiful city and there’s not much that can top watching a favorite band perform against the backdrop of the city skyline while feeling the breeze off Lake Michigan. I’m not sure if I’ll return to the Windy City next year, but no matter where I go I know I’ll have great music and friends to accompany me.
http://www.lollapalooza.com/
http://www.soundgardenworld.com/
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