My 2025 Listening Habits

Top 5 Albums Released in 2025
Headlights	Alex G
Thee Black Bolt	Tunde Abebimpe
Sogolo	WITCH
1985: The Miracle Year	Hüsker Dü
NEVER ENOUGH	Turnstile

15 Favorite songs for the year:

Miracle Aligner - The Last Shadow Puppets

I had tried The Last Shadow Puppets previously but was expecting a version of the Arctic Monkeys. This somng finally clicked,

Magnetic - Tunde Abebimpe

The closest to a recent TVOTR radio release and a fun album for the year.

Metronomic Underground - Stereolab

2025 was a Stereolab year.

Don't Know How I Keep Loving You - Julia Jacklin

Discovered this on. the local AAA station, great vocals that remind me of Sharon Van Etten.

Madness - Prince Buster

They call it madness.

Sungu Lubuka - Petelo Vicka et  Son Nzazi

The first track on another great compilation from Analog Africa, this aptly titled Congo-Funk.

Skinhead Stomp - Symarip

I watched a great documentary on Trojan Records. I had missed the fact that Jamaican artists in Britain were releasing tracks for that market and skinheads specially.  

Lou Reed Was My Babysitter - Jeff Tweedy

Fun moment from the triple album of the year!

Stop It - Pylon

nev er dug in, not sure why I took so long!

Kamsule - We Intend To Cause Havoc

Zamrock originally continue to release funky stuff.

Seconds - The Human League

The LCD Soundsystem London Session included a cover of this, and although I listening to to Dare before, this time it stuck with me.

Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Not sure why I had not listened to this before having heard Winter in America but not this amazing track.

Alex G - Afterlife

90's REM vibes.

CAN - Mother Sky

Didn't have Soundtracks before this year, finally realized what I was missing.

Parliament - Mothership Connection (Star Child)

Dug into P-Funk this year, one of my favorite tracks from that exploration.

My 2017 Listening Habits

A momentousness year for my household where there never seems to be enough time to listen to music. Some of my favorite artists of the last 10 years release some of their most disappointing records (looking at you Arcade Fire) and a few artists that I hope to go back to at some point (Fleet Foxes). In the year of infinite music, it becomes a challenge to focus on new records, and I find that in the CD era I may have listening to something 3 or 4 times before deciding if I liked it or not. Now, I never even made it through Everything Now during 2017.

This year, I spend some serious time re-listening to music of my childhood. YouTube provides a great conduit for live performances and I enjoyed some great stuff from my 80s favorites of REM, The Smiths, and the Depeche Mode. I thought a lot about how the music my parents listening to had a big effect on my own taste as well as the point an album became my own. An REM record I had overlooked, Live at the Olympia, fit the mode with multiple older cuts from the IRS era. An excellent document of an band in their twilight revisiting their younger days.

Two older records in contact rotation this past year was Can's Tago Mago and The Clean's Anthology. Can has been a favorite for a while, but I never listened to this one, which may be my favorite from their discography. I could listen to Paperhouse forever. The Clean take elements of the Velvet Underground and distill it down to it's base elements. If The Modern Lovers were the American take on this sound, The Clean gave us the Kiwi version. A favorite track from this collection was Secret Place.

Favorite records of 2017:

Future Islands The Far Field 
War On Drugs A Deeper Understanding
The National Sleep Well Beast
Zola Jesus Okovi
Beach House 7

My picks for 2010 - 2019

Without further ado:

Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
Sufjan Steven: Age of Adz
Arcade Fire: The Suburbs and Reflector
LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening
Wolf Parade : Expo 86
Bon Iver: Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan
Beach House: Bloom and 7
Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Future Islands: Singles
Wilco: Star Wars
Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool
War on Drugs: Lost in the Dream
Kurt Vile: Wakin' on a Pretty Daze
Tame Impala: Currents
Thom Yorke: ANIMA
Sigur Rós: Kveikur
Wye Oak: Civilian
The National: High Violet
Cate Le Bon: Reward
Angel Olsen: All Mirrors

My 2016 Listening Habits

2016, where did you go? It was the year I had a hard time getting heavily invested in any one new record. I spend a fair amount of time with the following records: Bowie's masterful departure note Blackstar gave us the jazz record we never knew we needed. Bon Iver's 22, A Million took Justin Veron's experimental and voice-as-an-instrument experiments to the max, leaving those who still think of him as folk singer in the woods far behind. Car Seat Headrest's Teens of Denial embodied many of the things I still love about guitar based rock music. Verbose songs, with elements of Built to Spill and Pavement, memorable obtuse choruses and songs that grow. 

The majority was spend listened to Radiohead's beautiful A Moon Shaped Pool. It was the first Radiohead record completely missing at least one song with distorted guitar, and most closely related to 2007's lush In Rainbows. Depending about how you feel about bands progressing from their initial sound and beauty in music, the record was sleeper or a tonic to the senses. Amazing string arrangements from Jonny Greenwood spattered across many of the songs, where "the guitars sound like pianos, the pianos sound like guitars." With ties to songs that have been the band's repertoire for quite some time, we finally get a studio version of True Love Waits at it's most abstract. Stand out tracks for me included the dreamy Decks Dark, and the soulful Identikit. Broken hearts truly do make it rain.

My 2015 Listening Habits

Late again, I know; Let's go!

Some past favorites released excellent rerecords this year. Björk with Vulnicura and Sufjan Stevens with Carrie & Lowell were both revealing, soul barring records, mining the depths of human emotion over broken relationships and dead loved ones. Both use mostly non-rock style instrumentation, with Carrie & Lowell avoiding drums almost completely. Haunting to listen to, but not for sunny afternoons. 

TV on Radio with Seeds and Interpol on El Pintor were both in rotation. TVOR has moved farther from there clattering post-punk sound and funk-style deviations to crystal clear synth-rock. Although I am often left wanting the sounds of Return to Cookie Mountain, I am glad the band continues to evolve it sound. Interpol released the record everyone wanted with El Pintor harking back to Turn On the Bright Lights. A good choice and a solid non-reinvention.

2014 material I caught up with this year included  Aphex Twin's excellent Syro (listenable glitch IDM; always different but recognizable all these years later), The War on Drugs' Lost in the Dream (hazy guitar rock of yore),  and Caribou's Our Love (dreamy dance music done right). 

My Favorites Records of 2015:

Wilco :: Star Wars

An excellent surprise record. Hints of Television and A Ghost is Born. Kraut-y jams abound with a in studio/live feel to the entire record. Makes me smile.

Alabama Shakes :: Sound & Color

Surprising if you expected retreat of roots-soul-rock. The Shakes decide instead to expand their sound to be electric, modern, and unexpected in the best ways possible. 

Joanna Newsom :: Divers

On her most accessible record yet, Joanna still manages to make you ant to follow her down the rabbit hole. Beautiful avant-folk for the modern age.

Blur :: The Magic Whip

Hard to believe they finally released this after a supposed failed recording session in Hong Kong in 2014. Although Albarn has many side projects to keep him busy, the boys from London remind us of why we feel in love with them in the first place with a record that does not disappoint.

Beach House :: Depression Cherry // Thank Your Lucky Stars

In the age of fast attention spans, Beach House releases two record in a year. A further trip along the fuzzy, dream pop trail.

Your Options As A Two Piece Band

Look at you! You formed a band! Who's in it? Oh, you and that other guy/girl. I see. Well, your options are clearly laid out before you based on other power duo or two piece rock bands of the last 30 years. Let's dig in:

The White Stripes / The Kills: Believe in the power of two to your own detriment. Harness those limitations to become even more powerful than you could have even if you recruited as many members as Broken Social Scene.

The Black Keys / Flat Duo Jets: Stick with the two piece until you get sick of it. It stops you from getting boring.

Japandroids: Split you guitar signal between two amps, one for clean and one for effects. This allow for a lead and rhythm guitar sound without an additional guitarist.

Sleigh Bells / Crystal Castles: Use a sampler to your benefit.

Beach House: Skip the drummer, at least for a while.

Wye Oak: Have your drummer play one handed on a keyboard. Make it ethereal.

Lightning Bolt: Play your music on the floor, not on a stage. What would a third band member be doing anyway? You can't get any louder than you already are.

My 2014 Listening Habits

So, I am really late on this one. But for posterity...I didn't "get" as many new records this year as I typically have. I think I spent more time listening to This American Life, Radio Diaries, and other podcasts than falling in love with new music. But, here is what I did listen to:

From last year, I finally got my teeth into Bowie's The Next Day. It is the most solid record from the Thin White Duke in (maybe) 20 years. Althought self-referential to his 70s Berlin period, those records have stood the test of time and still sound fresh today.

Here are my 2014 top records:

Jack White :: Lazzaretto

The man is unstoppable. Yes, things are glossier than the White Stripes days, but Lazzaretto is diverse, classic, and innovative all in the same breath. I picked up my copy on vinyl in Nashville at Third Man Records.

Spoon :: They Want MySoul

Eight records in, Spoon continue to release essential records. Britt's voice never gets old, and the boys add more keyboards and other fx without sounding unlike themselves. Just excellent from front to back.

Sharon van Etten :: Are We There Yet?

This was my grower for 2015. I loved Tramp, and on first listen I didn't "get" this one. Haunting melodies and some additional instrumentation round out Sharon's sound. A great soundtrack for late night drives into the woods.

Future Islands :: Singles

If one band dominated my headspace during 2015, it was Future Islands. Yes, I was late to the party here, but I dug into their back catalog and came back with many favorites. The appeal of Future Islands is hard to describe without at least seeing a performance. They bring the soul to dark synth pop. Fans of New Order will hear those Peter Hook bass lines, but Sam Cooke pops up in the vocal delivery at times, along with enigmatic lead singers like Morrissey and other elements of 80s pop music. It may not work on paper, but Singles is just that, a collection of songs that stand on their own by a road tested band who found a sound all their own. 

My 2013 Listening Habits

At one point during the year, my car battery died. After the battery was replaced, the head unit in the car needed an access code to be unlocked. Unfortunately, I did not have the access code on hand. To get it working again I would need to get the serial number off the unit itself along with the car's VIN to get the security code. Interestingly, the manufacture only makes this website available during certain hours of the day. So, I have yet to get the radio and cd player working. And that sums up my year in some ways. With so much to do, if something required too much time and wasn't essential, it didn't get done. Not to say there were not many great listening experiences and otherwise during 2013, but I did little to no listening in my car. Instead, cds were ripped and mp3s cataloged but sometimes never listened to. So, I think in the coming year I will go back and listen to a lot of music I acquired in 2013 but just never got around to hearing. And in some ways that is the great thing about music. There will always be more to listen than you will have time in the day, and if something is that good, it can be heard years from it's initial release date and still make in impact.

Because of not listening much in the car, my list this year is light on older material which i usually seem to spin  more while traveling. One band I had overlooked that I did enjoy catching up with this year was  Low. I had the opportunity to see them perform at Solid Sound Festival this summer in the middle of a hot, sunny day. This did little to impact the somber mood with the stage and band members bathed in black.  Some dismiss Low as too depressing, but listening to 2001's Things We Lost in the Fire did a good job of introducing me to their sound. I look forward to hearing their other releases as they continue to examine how much emotional weight can be wrought from a slow song.

Another set of bands that I hadn't got around to was JEFF the Brotherhood and Screaming Females. Both have toured and released split together. Screaming Females reminds me of a younger Dinosaur Jr fronted by a female J Mascis with a larger vocal presence, and 2012's Ugly is a testament to their chops. JEFF the Brotherhood calls to mind what Weezer used to be, fun power-pop with a sense of humor. Hypnotic Nights was a great summer time record of fun tunes for the open road.

As for records of 2013, some of favorites came back with solid releases. The National continued to fine tune there unique sound with Trouble Will Find Me. If you weren't a fan of previous releases, it's hard to imagine jumping at this late date with a different opinion. If anything, The National continue to distill their sound. Not as epic as previous releases, I found Trouble a grower that I returned to throughout the year.

Sigur Rós came back from the land of ambient via 2012 Valtari with 2013's epic Kveikur. Fire and brimstone reign down from the sky as the boys from the land of ice get loud. If you thought the band lost their noise after ( ), Kveikur reminds us that was not the case.

The Strokes had fallen off my radar after Angles, which although enjoyable, didn't get much repeated listens. I found Countdown Machine to be different. The band continues to mine the 1982 sound, with synth flourishes beside their typical guitar work. I found it a return to form that held more than I expected.

Thom Yorke's side project band Atoms for Peace released the excellent Amok to well-deserved acclaim. Hypnotic in sound, with electronics pushed to the front, the record's basis in African bass and drum rhythms and further reliance on live instrumentation than The Eraser made it funkier then expected. It's no surprise that the record was born from late night Fela Kuti listening sessions. Traditionalists may not hear through the electronics, but the basis is deeply rooted in something real.

My favorite three records of the year were:

Foxygen / We are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic
Certain records go over my head. The uber-fan will say "You had to be there, man" and it seems that, yes, you really did to understand the impact or how different this music was then everything else around it at the time. Once it's been spun 50 zillion times on the "classic rock" station, even the best songs lose their potency. Foxoygen came to remind us how it felt. Thoroughly mining the best of the 60s and 70s, We are... incorporates much of a vintage rock sound, at times in full on homages, and others with a wink and a nod. This is another band I was privileged to see at Solid Sound, and there live antics did not disappoint. You really had to be there.

Arcade Fire / Reflkector
So what else could Arcade Fire do that they already haven't? It seems that they are not content to rest, with each album seeing a further spin on their sound. It comes to us fully formed, guided by the loving hand of James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame (R.I.P.) Some have decried the ostentatiousness of a double record, but nothing here is a time waster. Does Arcade Fire sound suffer from going down the mutant dance rabbit hole? No, if anything, it enhancing my belief they these guys can do anything.

Daft Punk / Random Access Memories
How does a cult electronic dance duo from France become a household name? It doesn't happen overnight. Daft Punk have slowly been building their reputation over their career, but in many senses this is a very different record for them. Instead of relying on samplers, the robots used more live studio instrumentation and a variety of guest vocalist to augment their ambitious vision. After one of the largest album rollouts of all time (yes, even bigger than Arcade Fire), these guys move away from their own followers and brostep boys by releasing their most backwards looking record. Interesting, it stands as a cohesive document of musical memories of a time gone by.

Bring On the Weird

What is weird and what is not is highly subjective. The same could be said about normality. Musical artists often get labeled as weird by non-fans, but some cultivate an aura of  shock and weirdness  to cultivate an image, satisfy fans, and sell more records. Some, however, don't try to subvert normality. It just comes naturally. These have been labeled Outsiders artists. They may create music or art, but they do so strictly for themselves, not trying to satisfy a market or demographic. At times, they may be sufferers of mental or emotional illnesses. They exist outside the culture of the art and music world, but at times they are accepted and influence other artists. Truly authentic, but you may not enjoy their work.

Songs in the Key of Z by Irwin Chusid attempts to reconcile disparate musical artists that fall within this category. When I got this book from the library it was supposed to come with a cd, but it did not. Thanks to the power of the internet I can now hear what I only read of before. Included as well are tracks by Syd Barrett, Harry Partch, and Wild Man Fisher, who are discussed in the book but not included on the complication.

Motorik

Neu! formed after Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger left Kraftwerk in 1971, citing a lack of vision. Despite Kraftwerk being the greater household name, Neu! can be cited as a large influence on a variety of bands, from David Bowie to Sonic Youth, from Wire to Radiohead. Some would say they even influenced Kraftwerk to modify their own sound with 1974's "Autobahn" incorporating the motorik sound.

Neu! often gets cited for "inventing" motorik beat. If they didn't invent it, they definitely popularized it, and many bands use it as homage to their Krautrock forebears. Here are some songs I like in the motorik style. 

 

Thanks to Sick Mouthy and The Quietus for inspiring some of the choices.

Brian Eno

 Brian Eno has done it all. He's been a member of a successful art-rock band with Roxy Music, became a solo artist, "invented" ambient music, championed little know genres, and became a famed collaborator and producer. In this playlist, I highlight some of my favorite Eno moments from 1973 to the present. You may notice I have overlooked some of his well know efforts as I am not much of fan.

"Do the Strand" is good representation of early Roxy, with Eno lurking in the background wearing some unforgettable (and most likely unfortunate) getup while using synthesizer and tape effects. With tape recording loop experiments in full effect, "The Heavenly Music Corporation" from Fripp & Eno's 1973 effort (No Pussyfooting) highlights what came to be known as Frippertronics. Released around the same time was the more "rock" oriented Here Come the Warm Jets. Continued explorations in ambient came in 1978, which finds Eno recording his Ambient 1: Music for Airports record.

I always found it interesting that Eno keep exploring musically, and this can be seen by his curation of defining no-wave completion No New York. By 1978, Eno began working with the Talking Heads, co-produced their next three albums. On these albums, we find the band going from minimalist to maximalist while incorporating African music and polyrhythms. Also from 1977–79 we find Eno collaborating with Bowie on his seminal Berlin Trilogy.

In more recent times, Eno was hired by Microsoft to create a sound that was "inspiring, universal...optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional". Even the uninitiated are familiar with this six-second composition. Eno continues to release ambient music on Warp, whose artist roster may not exist without his influence. In 2008, we find Eno collaborating with David Byrne again to create Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, their second album together.

My 2012 Listening Habits

2012, like every year before it, seems busier than ever. With some new projects on the plate, there was less time for deep listening. But, onwards and forwards!

 

There were a few things from 2011 that I didn't get to until this year.  Included was Feist's fourth album Metals. Lacking anything like 1234, Feist continues to progress as an artist. Metals reminds me of open coastal views near Big Sur where it was recorded.

Although I have been interested in African music for a few years, I hadn't caught up with Tinariwen. After hearing a track on NPR's Afro-Pop Worldwide show, I enjoyed hearing more on their latest album, Tassili, where they forge on, playing their brand of desert blues. Some of the other African bands I have enjoyed are long gone, so it's great to hear a modern group like Tinariwen still releasing essential music.

Ty Segall was my introduction to the psych/garage San Francisco scene. I  had seen him perform with just a kick drum and a guitar at SMOG a few years back, and his continual tour/release cycle has honed his skills. In 2012 alone, Segall released three records, which I have yet to hear. Goodbye, Bread was his 2011 release.  A hard man to keep up with.

 

After enjoying and listening to Bon Iver, Bon Iver last year, it somehow became overlooked in my review. Yes, he is no longer that man in the cabin. Yes, that's Colin Stetson on sax. No, I am still not a fan of Beth=Rest. Yes, the album is great.

Kurt Vile's Smoke Ring for My Halo was my sleeper hit of the year. On first listen, it sounded slow, laconic, and tired but, after multiple listens, the record opened up as something great. 

Marissa Nadler's Little Hells was my random library cd of the year. I think I first read about her when I was reading about Sharon van Etten (see below). Nadler's vocals pack a punch, even on first listen. It's the type of record you feel you have heard somewhere before, not too long ago. 

My favorites from 2012 are as follows:

Sharon van Etten: Tramp

For records that came out this year, 2012 didn't really break a lot of new ground for me. Of my favorites, most were from bands I already knew of and liked. The only "new" artist for me was the previously mentioned Sharon van Etten. On Tramp, Etten's hushed, haunting vocals play well with production from The National's Aaron Dessner. A great cathartic record.

Jack White: Blunderbuss

Jack White delivered the goods on his first solo title release, Blunderbuss. Sometimes it's hard to believe how much energy this guy has. So many releases in the last few years with all of his many bands, and he still delivers on this one. So many blues, so little time.

Grizzly Bear: Shields

Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan 

Despite sounding quite different, these bands are both connected in my mind because they both released records I loved in 2009 as well. Shields is beautifully recorded choral avant-pop with an increased emphasis on lyrics. Swing Lo Magellan is Dirty Projectors at their loosest. Both solid releases.

Beach House: Bloom
Beach House was a band that took a while for me to get into. I love the dream-pop sound of their previous albums, but I couldn't seem to find the patience to love any of their records. Bloom changed that. It made me go back to and fall in love with Teen Dream and Devotion. These guys aren't making huge stylistic shifts each album or following a trend. They are here for the long run. 

A Morning at Work

 It's not always fun to be at work, but having music along can really help the day go by. I created this playlist of old and new songs based mainly around the guitar. It has a few moods that I usually go through during the day. It starts and ends with The Fall. And yes, an budget espresso machine and a $7 usb turntable on the desk can really help the day go by as well.

The Whites Stripes and Friends

The White Stripes closed up shop on Groundhog Day (February 2) of last year. They hadn't toured in a while and Jack was involved with at least three other projects. The good of the situation was that they never sullied their reputation and took the two piece band to it's most extreme. The bad, of course, was the loss of another great band who actually achieved a level of commercial success and was played on modern rock radio (for better or worse) that didn't sound like another rehash of Pearl Jam. A good reason for this was that there really was no connection between grunge music of the 90's and the Stripes, something which can not be said of 95% of the bands described as "alternative" during the last 15 years. I feel some good came out of the Northwest and the Year Punk Broke, but too many bands have made Nirvana and Pearl Jam their Led Zeppelin, and we know how that turned out in the 80s already. So who were the White Stripes influenced by? Here is a playlist of songs they covered and recorded, with the original artist recording followed by the White Stripes version.

My 2011 Listening Habits

I finally got a working turntable set up this year and have been enjoying spinning all the vinyl I have collected at garage sales, Goodwill, and new stuff as well. Listening to a record is a patient experience, unlike much of my listening today. It's great to concentrate on just a side at a time and not skip tracks to something more familiar or catchy. I have added quite a few LP's to my collection, but Pharaoh Sanders' Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong got the most spins overall this year. Sadly, I haven't set up scrobbling for LPs yet.

I started the year off exploring American roots music. I often feel a lot of newer music that is classified as folk lacks the sense of danger, sadness, and honesty that was found in older field recordings and early compilations of the style. Honesty and a sense of foreboding always seems to come across in early folk songs that I enjoy as well as all other genres of music. This year, I listened to selections that Harry Smith compiled during the early '50s, which went on to influence many of the folk revival artists of the '60s. Smith himself was an interesting eccentric that seemed to have quite a few bad qualities, but it seems that without his compilations, much of this music would have been lost or forgotten. The Harry Smith Project reunited more recent artist covering favorite selections from the original compilations live. I especially enjoyed David Johansen of New York Dolls fame cover of Old Dog Blue, Nick Cave's John the Revelator, and Lou Reed's See That My Grave is Kept Clean. A side note in my reading about the original artists on Harry Smith's compilation was the sad tale of Blind Lemon Jefferson, writer of the last tune. His grave was lost and not kept clean for years, but now you can purchase vanity Texas license plate with his likeness on it. That's the real blues there.

Artists I have been a fan of released another set of strong albums this year. Radiohead continued to defy expectations with the excellent King of Limbs. The TV on the Radio release Nine Types of Light was less funky than Dear Science but added further songs to everyone's end of the world dance party play list. Wilco's The Whole Love reconciled their last few releases by doing some AM radio jams along with some crazy, epic kraut rock when needed. That first track is a killer. The Rapture's third release, In the Grace of Your Love reminded us that they are back on DFA and sounding as good as ever.

I bring my music collection to work with me ever day now, and that has allowed me to dig back into some albums that I haven't touched in a while. I have found that depending what I am working on on, I may not enjoy listening to new music. Sometimes it's comforting to hear what you already know. So earlier this year, I went back and listening to some R.E.M. bootlegs that had gotten an official release with deluxe editions of some of the earlier IRS-era albums. This was also influenced by the fact the R.E.M. was to release a new album this year. I'll cover my feeling on the R.E.M. breakup in another post, but it was nice to look back on the band in their younger days and pick out influences that I overlooked when In was younger that I now know and love (The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, Wire, Gang of Four, T. Rex). I think it was a good time to end their run, and that Toronto show 7/9/1983 was really great.

Two other bands I care about went on infinite hiatus/split this year as well. One was The White Stripes. It's not surprising with how much Jack has been busy with other things that the Stripes were on the way out. I think it's great that they left a legacy of six studio records, never once embarrassed themselves, and stuck true to the diy vision they started with. The other band that went on infinite hiatus was Wolf Parade. Their third album from last year, Expo '86, was great. I love how the band combines the unique sythn melodies of Spencer Krug with the working-man guitar of Dan Boeckner with both having their own songs. I also have deep interest in all the Montreal bands these guys have been a part of over the years and continue to work with (Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs).

Beside Expo '86, the other album from 2010 I really got into was Warpaint's The Fool. On hearing the album, you can just imagine these girls out in the desert as the sun goes down, playing their haunting, brooding songs to the cacti that surround them. I really look forward to another release from these guys.

My favorites from 2011 are as follows:

Colin Stetson: New History of Warfare, Vol II
Stetson makes a "jazz" record using his instrument of choice: the bass saxophone, and basically that alone. The incredible part is how it was recorded. The liner notes say it was "captured entirely live in single takes at Montreal's Hotel2Tango studio, with no overdubs or looping, using over 20 mics positioned close and far throughout the live room. Guest vocals by Laurie Anderson and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) are the only exceptions to this rule, along with one brief French horn that was multi-tracked." Most were recorded on the first take. On first listen, that is really hard to believe. Drum sounds, electronics patterns, and non saxaphone melodies seem to be found throughout despite their absence while the music is moving, and seems to be filled with dread. So, although the story of how this record was recorded is amazing, the music stands on it's own, with or without the knowledge about it's creation. And if you know the story, it an even more impressive work.

Tune-Yards: W h o k i l l
No, it's not lo-fi anymore. And yeah, it still sounds good. A great mashup of styles here, with amplified overdrive uke, looping vocals, and dubby beats. Mix that with the feral voice of Merrill Garbus and it's unforgettable.

Wye Oak: Civilian
I have a soft spot for two piece bands, especially when they don't sound overly minimal. This is dynamic folky dream pop at it's best. I had not heard about this Merge band before this record, their third release, so I look forward to going back and catching up.

Okkervil River: I Am Very Far
I hadn't really gotten into this band's early releases, but I spent some time with last year's True Love Cast Out All Evil by Roky Erickson with Okkervil River as the backing band, who are both from Texas. It sounds like the band segued to a much larger, more experimental sound from those sessions and created a dense, moving album.

M83: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Can it get larger than Saturdays = Youth? Yes, it can. Although the last album mined cinematic sounds of the 80s, Anthony Gonzalez went for all out aural overload. Bigger drummers, sythns, and loud vocals come from every corner and gladly make this a surprisingly double album with no filler.

WU LYF: Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
The most interesting bands are hard to classify. These guys have that. You have little to no idea what lead singer Ellery James Roberts is saying, with his Tom Wait-as-a-punk vocals, but you want to sing along. Anthematic and moving, isn't that what makes music? Just remember, dollar is not your friend!

My 2010 Listening Habits

For some reason or other, 2010 was the year of music overload for me. The library continued to have good stuff, which meant each week I was getting at least one cd, if not more. Some were great, but others made me wish I had more time to spend with the stuff I liked. Besides the library, there was other new music that I acquired and stuff that was given to me. Two months into the new the year, I still feel like I haven't spent enough time with the records I liked from 2010. Because of that, my list for the year skews toward the immediate and bands In already liked instead of albums I listened to repeatedly before falling in love with or large older discoveries. I hope to change that with some additional listening time/options opening up at work recently, but enough on that.

Part of the year was taken catching up with bands that had a new record coming out in 2010 that I was excited about. Because of that, I wanted to go back and hear their earlier material that I had only listened two in passing before (starting to notice a trend here?). In that list would definitely be Hot Chip and Deerhunter. Quite different bands, but both at similar points in their careers in some ways. Hot Chip is a synthpop band who are simultaneously funny, inventive, danceable, and a bit weird; all great qualities. Their music was a great soundtrack to quite a few cooking experiments and kitchen cleanups this year that dissolved into dance-a-thons (as much as that can be done in my kitchen that is). Their latest record, One Life Stand, goes for the quieter and more sincere of their sounds. It doesn't make my list of best of this year, but I continue to appreciate there records on the whole. Although not impossible, I never started dancing listening to Deerhunter. I would now put their 2007 release Cryptograms/Fluorescent Grey EP in my top 10 favorite albums of the last decade. Microcastle felt like it was an old favorite the first time I heard it. Halcyon Digest may be quieter and less noise based, but it continues to highlight the great songwriting an melodies that have underlain all of Deerhunter's material.

As far as stuff from 2009 that I was still catching up with, the two that resonated most were The xx self-titled album and The Flaming Lips Embryonic. The xx has the minimalist indie pop thing down to science, with great beats and shimmer-y guitar lines. The whole album has a "sound" that really feels fully formed and I look forward to their future material. They are one of the bands I listen to that motivates me to try makes music myself. Embryonic was a redeeming album for me as regards the Flaming Lips. It has some amazing moments, with dirty psych guitars and grooving bass lines while Wayne's disembodied-sounding vocals climb above the mix. I would say it is the best Flaming Lips album yet, so thanks to those Oklahoma weirdos again.

Here are my favorites new release from 2010 with a short summary and link to a favorite song on the album in no particular order:

LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening
Since I am a few months behind, it's now common knowledge now that James Murphy is putting LCD on hiatus. But talk about going out with a bang...what an amazing album. With great "tribute" tracks to greats like Bowie and Eno, this album is great beginning to end. Who can we look to now, James, to combine all the best elements of underground rock from the past with dance-punk-funk? Don't stay away too long.

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs
Album three, and they just keep getting better. Great songs throughout, with a concept that neither bashes or praises the suburbs of America but uses them as a context. And since we're in February, I can mention that album-of-the-year Grammy win. Merge should be proud. Indie rock should be proud. Too bad radio and other commercial outlets can't follow Arcade Fire's example and keep it about the music (sorry to get corny there).

The National: High Violet
I missed these guys first few records, but this year The Boxer entered my canon of great records. Another great from these guys who are a great definition of what indie rock really is circa 2010.

Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest
See above

Sufjan Steven: Age of Adz
Outsider art really interests me, so finding out the latest Sufjan release was connected to Royal Robertson intrigued me right away. Those who only think of Sufjan as a banjo slinger were in for a surprise. Sufjan's older releases hint at an ongoing interest in electronic music, and he uses it to full effect here. The melodies are still clear beneath the distorted synth lines and muddled choruses, which seem to represent emerging mental illness tied to great loss and emotional distress. How many other records make you think about being unhinged?

Sleigh Bells: Treats
Can you say loud? These two really make a racket. Buzz saw guitar lines, blown out beats, with girl-group/cheerleader anthem singing? Wouldn't have guessed that it could turn out so good.

Joanna Newsome: Have One on Me
You have to respect Have One on My based on sheer ambition. A 3-disc album of great music that I can keep going back to during 2012 as well.

Vampire Weekend: Contra
If you though these guys were a one album band, think again. This was one that I wasn't crazy about at first listen, but have now come to love. Great references to ska and other genres without making the songs genre experiments. Solid, through and through.

Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma
I think I first heard of this via the Thom Yorke guest spot. Regardless, it's a definite refresh on what electronic music is and can be. Cool drum sounds? Check. Crazy bass lines? Check. Songs that only come together after repeated listens? Check. Quite a bit of harp?!? Check. Well, Flying Lotus isn't Alice Coltrane's nephew for nothin'.

Until next year and hopefully earlier...

Radiohead :: King of Limbs

Well, Radiohead will continue to surprise us no matter what it seems. First, let's announce an album only a few days before you can buy it. Then, we'll drop it a day before we said we would. Arguably the "biggest" band in the world need no hype, hyperbole, or singles releases to drop their records. They can release it themselves when they want to because they have earned it. While not being left behind technologically on how they release (the pay-what-you-want experiment, digital download release pre physical release, large internet presence, etc), Radiohead have stuck to the older idea of album as a complete listening experience, and not just a package for singles. Because of it's short length, the King of Limbs allows a complete listen in a session even more so than a longer record would.

So, on first listen it's definitely a Radiohead record, but (for any still hoping) definitely not The Bends or OK Compuer 2.0. I would say it has the most in common with moments of Kid A/Amnesiac, but especially the Thom Yorke solo release The Eraser. If you are waiting for Jonny to drop in with some crazy guitar solo, it doesn't happen and that's a good thing. So many times, bands find them aping earlier versions of themselves or sticking with the same sound every record. Never the case here. Radiohead have gone from a band in their early days that was very typical in many ways to their peers to now doing something very atypical for a rock band. They have moved from easily digestible to the more difficult, while many bands do the reverse.

I thought In Rainbows was a great album, but some found it quiet. This record is "quieter" yet. And while In Rainbows made me feel like I was listening to the whole band play together, The King of Limbs does not. Phil's Kraut-rock style drumming is ever present, along with Thom's voice, albeit digitally skewed at times. Leftfeild electronic music floats to the front of the mix on most tracks. Beats skitter and synth-Thom-choruses as Thom's reverb filled voice float through the air. Even more than other Radiohead albums, King of Limbs seems seems to have a theme of nature and the elements. Some have noted that the album title references an old tree in England. Fish and sea creatures, birds, water, and dragonflies seem to be mentioned or have noises present on most every track.

Most of Radiohead records are difficult, if not impossible to fully decipher on the first few listens. The King Of Limbs continues this trend. It will reward repeated listens. See for yourself.