Just assume if you’re talking to me this month I’m thinking about Japandroids and probably not listening to you.
Conversation
Her: What time’s your show tonight
Me: I don’t know, it’s at a DIY space in Bushwick so I don’t think there’s a schedule. You know, the one that I thought I got bedbugs from last year.
Her: … How’s 39 treating you?
My Best of 2011
My reader will certainly agree that this site is a close second behind Pitchfork when it comes to eagerly anticipated best of lists. So without further ado, here we go:
- Wild Flag: What can one say that hasn’t been said. Maybe supergroups shouldn’t be eligible.
- PJ Harvey: A return to form, and I know everyone agrees.
- Wye Oak: Solid growth and a shock to me from a band that I thought would always be an opener last year.
- Fucked Up: I’ve already said this is the world I want to live in. The fact that this is 4th says something about those in 1-3.
- The Pains of Being Pure At Heart: Upped the shoegaze and won my heart. That won’t shock anyone who’s been around me for the last 20 years.
- Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Nostalgia? Maybe, but there are some really catchy tunes here.
- Deer Tick: People will groan when I say (again) that this is the best new Replacements album in the last 20 years
- We Were Promised Jetpacks: I like as much as the debut, maybe more because I find it a little more mature / accessible. Probably why others hate it.
- We Are Augustines: Pela’s gone, and those days are, too, but this will do for now.
- Yuck: Surprising addition to me, I suspect this might not stand, but there are some really good songs on this album. They should be looking over their collective shoulders for Youth Lagoon.
There are some that I suspect are missing and so I’m going to try to do a top 20 next month. Let’s see how close I got.
Also, I’m hoping I’ll do a ‘surprisingly disappointing’ list. *glances towards The Antlers*.
Milk Music
I’ve had this band in my head all year, ever since the night that we wandered into Bruar Falls (rip) during Northside.
We’d spent the night hopping between venues not knowing who was playing or what to expect. We’d seen some interesting stuff (good and bad), but when we saw Milk Music I knew that we’d seen it. It was crowded, oven-hot, and WAY too late… and yet there’s nothing better than realizing you’re watching one of your new favorite bands – and it’s a band that you didn’t know existed before they started playing.
Finding their album is a challenge, and I haven’t seen them back in town since then, but there’s a lot of buzz – this could be their year if they ever leave the west coast again. Over the summer I would have said the vocals were mixed too low and the music was too far from the mainstream to be popular, but in a world where David Comes to Life is the album of the year anything’s possible. And that’s the world I want to live in.
Visual Dissonance
Maybe this doesn’t bother other people like it bothers me, but I’d rather have the text backwards than the buildings.
I’ll be replacing the album cover in all my meta data w/ this one, and my apologies to the artist who put it together originally. I’m sure they must have had some reason for flipping reality.
On a related note: meh.
Archos Gen 8 70i
I hope to have more about this later, but this took me a while to get around to researching so I thought I’d leave here for anyone else having the same problem:
Media files w/ ‘#’ in the name appear to stop the Archos Media Scanner dead in its tracks. Not just skipping the files, skipping all files that would have been scanned after that file.
Arcade Fire, Elliott Smith, even the Minutemen…
Death, again
Someone should write a tune about [Alex Chilton]. Then again, nah, that would be impossible. Or just plain stupid.
ATP NY ’09
Nothing much to say – not as good as last year, but probably enjoyable on the whole.
Nothing sums up the Flaming Lips live like this photo, stolen from brooklynvegan:
Wild Sweet Orange
Breeders @ The Bowery Ballroom
Yes, I like the Breeders. Yes, Kim was in the Pixies, so she could make armpit noises & I’d probably love it.
Lately, dunno if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been going to a LOT of shows. This one was down my list, not because they’re not a good band, but… well, you know, the heroin, the one hit albums, the new single, etc. We manged to get tickets early enough that we could go to the Friday show though, so why not? Normally I love the BB, but lately with all the smaller venues we’ve been going to I was sure I was going to hate it.
It turns out that they’re not that popular at all. We arrived exactly on time (or at least when I was planning on showing up), in time to watch them change for the headliners, and the place wasn’t that crowded. We got a good spot and Juliet could almost even see.
Their show is really interesting. The interplay between Kim & Kelly (who looks strangely like the more sober of the two these days) is great. Kelly’s almost the mom on stage… “Honey, are you ready to rock?”. In fact, the whole band was responsible for keeping a well lubed Kim on track. Invariably someone in the rhythm section would start the next song, interupting Kim’s drink or monologue when they decided it was time.
I shouldn’t comment on playing the guitars, because my sk1llz only extend to G & F, but the three (!) players in the Breeders could stand to learn to tune themselves. The constant breaks… pass the guitar back to tech, tune, return… slowed the show down considerably and accentuated Kim’s patter (not necessarily a bad things) making the show like being in their living room. Tuning aside, it’s obvious they all have a great musical ability – again, a good show. I wonder why more bands can’t move the drummer up with the rest of the band, is it because they can’t keep together without the constant pounding? It’s certainly not for lack of space, because the Breeders are 5 strong and managed to fit.
Yes, this is just one more thing that I owe J. – Spicy Gumbo.