YTD recordings listened to: 939
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 547
Not good music: 337
Buys: 30 (not all 2012 releases)
Possibles: Zani Diabate, Isaiah Toothtaker (2011), Ondatropica, Sidsel Endresen & Stan Westerhus, The Ones to Blame, Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Nick Waterhouse, Patterson Hood, Wahid, Skyzoo, Pig Destroyer, Bettye Lavette, Philippe Petite, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Bio Ritmo, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Mrs. Medicine, Nico Muhly, Code Orange Kids, Bob Gluck Trio, Damien Jurado, Martha Redbone, Eric Boeren Quartet, Wadada Leo Smith/Louis Moholo, Prince Fatty
@@@ Prince Fatty vs. The Drunken Gambler (Mr. Bongo, 2012). From the WRIR best of 2012 list weighing in at #9. If you’re up for the bubbling organ and the ska/dancehall vocalist, check this record out. Immediately goes onto my best of 2012 list.
@@@ Wadada Leo Smith & Louis Moholo (Tum, 2012). I put Smith’s 10 Freedom Summers and although I can’t stream the whole album, here’s a track from it and it’s pretty fat.
@@@ Mike Dillon: Urn (Royal Potato Family, 2012). Marketed as a punk jazz musician I found this musician over here at Splinters and Candy. The music is part funk, part free jazz and part freak punk. There’s a pretty noticeable Frank Zappa flow to the proceedings as well. In your face lyrics (great), quick song/mood changes (good). I liked it a whole bunch but didn’t flip my wig.
@@@ Mogwai: A Wretched Virile Lore (Sub Pop, 2012). From the MOG new release front page. A darker more downtempo synth rock opener called ‘George Square Thatcher Death Party’. The singer’s voice has been all processed out for trippiness. The second tune ‘Rano Pano’ starts out with a throb, gets a bounced synth popped on top of it until it segues into a linear bass line with long clouds of sound over the top and a harp like synth slicing through the mix. It just keeps turning and twisting in on itself. It morphs from a New Wavey kind of thing into a dubstep/drum ‘n bass vibe as it progresses. Solid and energetic.
@@@ Joel Harrison: Holy Abyss (Cuneiform, 2012) A spacey jazz fusion guitar deal. You can read Hank Shteamer’s reasons for putting this record on his part 2 of best of 2012. I like Harrison’s sustained guitar tone, but it’s not year end material for me. Fusion jazz is a tough sell for me.
Deep In the Music 