Active Music Listening Fuck Off 2013 edition

YTD recordings listened to: 1002
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 612
Not good music: 321

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 21

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

Due to a late November/early December listening spurt, I got to give my ears a bit of a rest but today we’re going over the 1,000 recording mark.

I know, everybody laughed (at me), and everybody cried (ran out of weed).  By the way, I have no clue how half this blog post bolded out, I’m having profound browser klusterfuck and I really don’t have time to deal with it.

@@@ Drudkh: Microcosmos (Season of Mist, 2009)  Some Ukrainian black metal to take us out of 2013 into 2014.  Oh yeah!  A nice sharp guitar sound and a stringy punk bass vibe and the barking singer.  All the elements are there but with some mainstream rock mixed into the black metal pieces.   The third tune, Sun of Great Nations Sits Down, has a syrupy, stony vibe that revels in the rolling.  Tune in for the guitar distortion and stay for the stomp.

@@@ Tony Braxton and Babyface: Where Did We Go Wrong? (Motown, 2013).  Some breathy falsetto from Babyface and a lower register for Braxton but she sounds like she’s about to cum — same as him.  Accompanied by some tinkling percussion and a shopping mall drum machine beat they get into all manner of space age r&b goo.  You would think experienced singers like this would be able to take a breath without sharing that breath with all the world to hear.  Oy.

@@@ Secret Colours: Peach (Secret Colours, 2013).  I got to this record via a Eastern European music blog I’m familiar with.  Opens up with the tune, Blackbird, which I hear as a blend of dreamy psych elements and Brit rock.  The singer is mad dreamy.  The record sports a variety of tasty guitar sounds, but overall the vibe is a bit soft for my taste.  But if you like the half-psych dreamy rock, have at it.

 

Best of 2013 Pick 22

A Tribe Called Red: Nation II Nation (Tribal Spirit Music, 2013)

It would be easy to latch onto this record as it has a very clear marketing hook — combine electronic music with Native American chanting/singing and sell it to the White Man.

But this really is some moving music, mostly due to the ecstatic chanting of the Native Americans involved.  I was trying to explain one of my sons who asked how can you make music with just a drum.  As I told him in the beginning there was the drum and the voice and that was music.  This drum/vocal record shows how these two fundamental elements can be more than enough.

I find it interesting that electronic music, which tends to sound very detached and non-human is really made more organic by the singing.  I also think it’s very creative that the electronic beats are augmented with hand drums.

Lest you think the ladies get left out, the record really peaks with the tune Sisters with a bouncing electronic arrangement and an all female chant pushing it hard.

I can’t really say enough good about this record.

Merry Christmas from Miley Cyrus’ punani!

Great album Miley and we can’t wait to have you grind your junk in our faces in 2014!  If we’re lucky….

 

 

 

Active Music Listening Monday December 23, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 999
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 600
Not good music: 307

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

We are finishing up our 2013 listening party — I’m going to be not taking a full siesta but…  

@@@ Black Deer: Black Deer (Peak Oil, 2013).  Some electronica I found on the Aquarius Records weekly email.  It opens up with a tune called, It’s Like the Way it Used to Be, composed of an oscillating metal synth patch, a sweeter ping pong delayed synth patch and a minimalist four on the floor kick drum.  The second tune, Rambling Rumble Stone uses the same multi-synthesizer attack — one low vibrator, one phased wah wah type, and a keyboard part.  Same minimalist beats — it’s solid but not remarkable to my ears.

@@@ KA: The Night’s Gambit (Iron Works, 2013).  I don’t know why I keep returning to the NPR best of 2013 list but I do.  This is one of their hip hop sections — I like the less than shiny sound of the record, the resonant sound of the kick drum and his urgent but not gangsta flow.  I dig this more than the vast majority of NPR records.  I think I dig the sound of the record more than the rhymes and I like the rhymes.  His non-corporate/unshiny sound is working for me. I would give this a solid B+.

@@@ Lucius: Wildewoman (Mom & Pop, 2013)  Also off the NPR best of list.  If you dig the supersweet indie pop confection you will be absolutely orgasmic over this record.  This is all about the cute vocal arrangements, the Beach Boys throwback bass sound and the lightness.  Oh the lightness!  Can you handle it?  The first tune is better than the second one, which brings the handclaps and the light drizzling of cheese sauce.

Active Music Listening Sunday December 22, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 996
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 597
Not good music: 307

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

@@@ Jagwar Ma: Howlin’ (Mom and Pop, 2013).  This record made NPR’s best of 2013 as well as getting a MOG editor’s pick.  It’s claim to fame is a blending of psych music and electronic music, which I get as I listen to it.  However it doesn’t have that unsettling, hallucinatory feel that a slammin’ psychedelic tune can have.  It’s happy psychedelic influenced music.  There’s a tripped out guitar in the third tune, The Throw, but this is not a combining of styles, it’s electronic music with light psych influences.

@@@ Elephant Revival: These Changing Skies (Itz Evolving, 2013).  Progressive folk/roots record I found on the NPR overlooked list.  I’m finding the first tune, clipped below, to be very pretty and a bit sleepy.  Now I’m five songs in on this record and the band is one dimensionally focused on prettiness and the record comes off as New Age and kind of shallow.  It’s unfortunate as they’re good players.

Best of 2013 Pick 21

Tal National: Kaani (Fat Cat, 2013).

This African record by a party band from Niger is almost dizzying.  A lot of African music records can have a very manicured and micromanaged sound to them.  While Kaani is a very tight sounding record, there’s an abundance of things to listen to.  It always pushes on the listener.  It’s reminiscent of Extra Golden’s Thank You Very Much that came out a few years ago on Thrill Jockey but with a slightly higher energy level.

The drums sound great, the vocal arrangements are hip, and the record is plainly produced which leaves the listener to focus more closely on the playing, which is unrestrained and awesome.

Check it out.

Active Music Listening Friday December 20, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 994
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 595
Not good music: 307

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Tal National, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

@@@ B.o.B.: Underground Luxury (Rebel Rock, 2013).  Opens up with unabashed confession of wanting to consume as much as possible, going so far as to say that’s what we’re here for.  The first tune, All I want, is just a list of all the shit this rapper wants.  Money, money, money!  Straight up fuck this ignorant bitch.

@@@ Frank Wess: Magic 101 (IPO, 2013).  I caught this record on a jazz PR email about it being an NPR best of 2013 record.   It’s an old school straight jazz session with a thick sax tone, piano, bass and drums.  I like Kenny Barron’s piano work on the second tune, The Very Thought of You, and the vibe is mellow for the holidays.

@@@ Sandy Ewen/Damon Smith (Balanced Point Acoustics, 2013).  I saw Mr. Smith’s name on Facebook and clicked through.  You can do that, you should do that.  The recording is an ambient electric, bass (acoustic and electric), and field recording.  Lots of string scraping and crackling and the sound of wind.  It has a sparse beauty to it.  Hopefully smart listeners out there realize that great ambient music can be generated outside of a computer.

@@@ Express Rising: Express Rising (Self-released, 2013).  I saw a music critic on Facebook mention this record here and I always gravitate towards self-released records.  The first tune, Rooms Between Us, is hippie-tronica.  Tambourine, acoustic guitar and a synth drone in the back all done in a sparse, lonely fashion.  It’s pretty and downtempo with echoed guitar and organ added in the second tune, Memorabilia.

@@@ Gorguts: Colored Sands (N/A, 2013).  A death metal record pretty far up on Rolling Stone’s best metal of 2013 list.  The first tune does not seem beholden to any particular metal sub-genre.  There is a battering section with the doublekick, and sort of proggy melodic guitar breaks, some technical sections, and some that sound like mainstream rock.  Very unpredictable within the tune, I like that.  I appreciate the creativity in this record, while I don’t feel like jumping up and down when I hear it playing.  Personal preference so check it out for yourself.

Active Music Listening Thursday December 19, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 989
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 592
Not good music: 305

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Tal National, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

@@@ Earthless: From the Ages (Tee Pee, 2013).  A retro-psych record that snuck onto Rolling Stone’s best of 2013 list.  Evokes Hendrix as well as other power groove blues bands — Blue Cheer, Deep Purple and shit.  The first tune, Violence of the Red Sea, is a 15 minute monster shot of instrumental music and the challenge for them is to keep me interested for that long.  Not an easy task to accomplish via riffage alone.  The drummer is doing some solid solid work — a good level of fire and spray.  Bass player holds it down the groove without sticking out, and the guitarists shreds like an alligator is chomping his genitals.  The energy on this jam is outrageous, the originality of it less so.

@@@  Robot By the River: Birdsong Sayonara (Self-released, 2013).  I was asked by the artist to listen to this album.  I was about to nod off during the the first tune, Antidepressants and Vitamins, when a big quasi-shoegaze/noise shitshow broke out.  I guess the intro was the antidepressant and the explosion is the vitamins.  Excellent tones on both the guitars and drums with a detached voice nestled in that nest of noise.  The second tune, Searching For the Elephants, is an alt-slacker affair with a nice guitar cloud tucked in the outro to the tune.  Clearly inspired by late ’80s/early ’90s indie/punk/shoegaze this is a strong effort.

You can stream over here at Bandcamp.

@@@ The Dillinger Escape Plan: One of Us is the Killer (Sumerian, 2013).  Off the Stolling Rone best of 2013.   Alternating between a staccato ka-chunk and a slashing high string squalor, this is definitely heavy but with a strong punk flavor.  Also has a Rage in the Machine vibe without the hip hop beats.  The second tune, One of Us is the Killer, is much more mainstream and closer to what I’ve heard from this band.  I don’t like it as much.  Seems like these guys play both sides of the cheese fence — sometimes no cheese, sometimes cheese.

@@@ Dethscalator: Racial Golf Course No Bitches (Riot Season, 2013).  Off the Quietus best of 2013 list.  This is a sizzly ass, psych punk throwdown.  This is a full on, old school punk noise throwdown, and even though I’m not feeling it at the best of year level, it’s good to see someone waving this flag.  Fully fucked up psych vocals and spilled guitars.

Active Music Listening Wednesday December 18, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 985
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 589
Not good music: 304

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Tal National, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

@@@ Wolves Within: After the Burial (Sumerian, 2013).  Some pretty in yer face metal off the MOG new release page.  The singer is clearly working out some issues out on the microphone.  A lot of unpredictable changes – from a thrash section to a tinkly proggy section to a technical metal section to a mainstream shred section.  Oh boy, they put you through your paces.  The second tune is different, less aggressive with a synth cloud tucked in the back of the mix and a bouncy guitar/drum riff that evokes a more mainstream vibe.

@@@ James Blake: Overgrown (Universal Records, 2013).  This guy is a critic’s darling and he’s on the NPR best of 2013, a list I haven’t found shit on but yet I continue to listen off of due to my low self esteem.  I can see how his lilting, romantic vocal style could quake some panties out there in the wasteland, but I find it a tad manipulative and overly dramatical.  The production is very slick and sophisticated, but if you don’t dig his voice it kinda goes nowhere.  I declare this a super glazed, puffy donut, not even jelly filled!

@@@ Theresa Wong: The Unlearning (Tzadik, 2011/12).  A chamber indie record I found via Brooklyn’s Roulette weekly email.  Instrumentation is cello, violin, and vocals — the pieces are both sweet and substantive.  There are some beautiful pieces in the chunk of soundcloud music clipped below.

@@@ Chrome Hoof: Chrome Black Gold (Cuneiform, 2013).  #97 on the Quietus’ best of 2013.  If you took Yes and Primus and a bullshit Williamsburg indie electronica outfit and blendered the fuck out of them you would get something like this band.  I dig the combining of electronica elements with hard prog, but it might work better for you than it does for me.

@@@ The Best of King George: Hardknoxx, Vol. 1 (Highness, 2010).  I came to this rapper via a music PR service that has adopted my email box.  I would call this hip hop gangsta lite, some classic corporate hip hop string flourishes and a lack of guns and hoes which I appreciate.  Elements of 1980’s George Clinton funk which I dig.

You can sample over here.

@@@ Inter Arma: Sky Burial (Relapse, 2013).  Some big metal off the Rolling Stone best 2013 metal.  Cymbal bashing rock drummer, a howl at the moon vocalist, and a guitar player that traffics mostly in the mid/downtempo guitar arpeggios of stoner rock with occasional forays into ka-chunkin’ and power chord boomage.  There is a pallette clearing acoustic guitar instrumental in slot 3.  If you dig the big heavy rock, come and get it.

Active Music Listening Tuesday December 17, 2013

YTD recordings listened to: 979
Good music, not recommended for purchase: 585
Not good music: 302

Honorable Mentions: 21
Buys: 20

Possibles: Boyd Rivers, Abdoulaye Alhassane Toure, Cryptopsy, Chris McGregor, Brother Ali (2009), Alvin Youngblood Hart, Dave Arner Trio, Trap Them, Bill Horist, MAKU Soundsystem, Zomby, Retox, Owiny Sigoma Band, About Group, Andrew Cedermark, Jello Biafra, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Jessie Mae Hemphill, All Pigs Must Die, Kendl Winter, Shigeto, Bone Dance, Cage the Elephant, Defeater, Tal National, Sidi Toure, Lindi Ortega,  Jonwayne, Christian Kjellvander, Okkyung Lee, Tiger Hatchery

@@@ Parquet Courts: Light Up Gold + Tally All the Things You Broke (What’s Your Rupture, 2013)  Some medium strength punk rock I found on the The Daily Beast’s best of 2013.  It’s got a bit of rockabilly thrown in for good measure.  Does not have that stripped down, spot on crispness of say, a classic X record but it does all right.  I don’t find it has that certain X Factor (not the TV show) that would put it on my best of list.

@@@ David Bowie: The Next Day (Columbia, 2013).  This record is all over the best of lists for the year.  My first impression is how authentically he pulls of a late ’70s rock tune.  The sound of it, that is.  I like the second tune, Dirty Boys, that’s hooky.  I really like the sound of the record — it’s punchy and it brings out the power of the arrangements.  I didn’t feel pulled in by the tunes, but the sound is impressive.

@@@ Kyles: Ultraviolet (Season of Mist, 2013).  Off the Stolling Rone best of 2013 list.  It’s heavy music with touches of Beastie Boys, a bit o’ the grunge, and some mainstream rockin’ (oh and a touch o’ The Prog!).  It has a rock muscle with some uplifting elements — soaring vocal and guitar melodies most notably.  I like it all right.

@@@ Clutch: Earth Rocker (Weathermaker, 2013).   Another one off the Rolling Stone best of 2013 list.   A piquant blend of hippie rock, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and mainstream cock rock.  Notable in that the band swings, which is something very rare in the world of lock step boot stomping.  More of a hard, mainstream rock band than a metal outfit but that’s an informational statement with no judgment.  The singer has a lot of charisma and they crank out the grooves like they are sausages.

@@@ Lewis Watson: Some Songs With Some Friends (Warner, 2013).  Confessional/inspiring/meaningful pop rock music I found on the MOG new release page.  Fabulously manicured, instrumenation is classic adult alternative rock — strummed acoustic guitar, organ, bass drums.  Very pretty, but too clean for me.

@@@ In Solitude: In Solitude (Season of Mist, 2013).  The last NPR best of 2013 record I will check out.  Crunchy but not particularly super loud/metallic it sounds like Halloween forest rock indebted to late 1970’s/early ’80s hard rock.  I have to judge by this track on Soundcloud as the whole album is not up on my streaming store, but it’s pretty good.  Rocking in a sort of glammy, old school fashion, check it for yourself.  The singer is a bit melodramatic for my taste.