As usual in December, I list what records I listened to MOST this year. It’s not really a “best of” but serves more or less the same function. I know that there is music out there I don’t know of yet and music I will discover I missed over the next two or three months…but here you have it all the same.
I guess most surprising to me is how divorced my list seems to be from many of the other “best of” lists I’ve come across. Perhaps it’s due to most my learning of new music nowadays is solely through blogs and not the usual “music industry” conduits where they praise so much bland, boring music (like Fleet Foxes, Vampire Wedding or whatever else they are trying to pitch you at Starbucks this week).
My favorite 71 albums released this year
1) Wire Object 47 (listen to “Perspex Icon“)
2) Fuck Buttons Street Horrrsing (listen to “Bright Tomorrow“)
3) Conifer Crown Fire (listen to “Cruciform Empannage“)
4) Blues Control Puff (listen to “Always On Time“)
5) Ulaan Khol 1/2 (listen to “Untitled 3“)
6) Indian Jewelry Free Gold! (listen to “Pompeii“)
7) Deerhunter Microcastle/Weird Era Inc. (listen to “Never Stops“)
8- Deerhoof Offend Maggie (listen to “Eaguru Guru” or “Snoopy Waves“)
9) Harvey Milk Life…The Best Game In Town (listen to “Death Goes To The Winner“)
10) The Futureheads This Is Not The World (listen to “Walking Backwards“)
11) The Night Marchers See You In Magic (listen to “I Wanna Deadbeat You“)
12) Blood Red Shoes Box Of Secrets (listen to “I Wish I Was Someone Better“)
13) Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Dig Lazarus Dig!!! (listen to “Albert Goes West“)
14) Grails Doomsdayer’s Holiday/Take Refuge In Clean Living (listen to “Take Refuge“)
15) Karl Hector And The Malcouns Sahara Swing (listen to “Nyx“)
16) “Nigeria Special†Series [Disco Funk Special/Rock Special] (listen to Asiko Rock Group-”Lagos City“)
17) No Age Nouns (listen to “Teen Creeps“)
18) School Of Language Sea From Shore (listen to “This Is No Fun“)
19) Los Campesinos Hold On Now, Youngster! (listen to “Death To Los Campesinos“)
20) These New Puritans Beat Pyramid (listen to “Colours“)
21) Kasai Allstars In The 7th Moon… (listen to “Quick As White“)
22) Sun Kil Moon April (listen to “Tonight In Bilbao“)
23) Nomo Ghost Rock (listen to “Rings“)
24) Holy Fuck Holy Fuck (listen to “Lovely Allen“)
25) The Muslims The Muslims (listen to “Parasites“)
26) Thee Oh Sees The Master’s Bedroom… (listen to “Ghost In The Trees“)
27) Ilyas Ahmed The Vertigo Of Dawn (listen to “Golden Universe“)
28) The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (listen to “Everything With You“)
29) Group Inerane Guitars From Agadez (listen to “Nadan Al Kazawnin“)
30) Benoit Pioulard Temper (listen to “Brown Bess“)
31) Vivian Girls Vivian Girls (listen to “Where Do You Run To?“)
32) Cheap Time Cheap Time (listen to “People Talk“)
33) “Give Me Love: Songs Of The Brokenhearted-Baghdad (1925-1929)” [compilation]
34) Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago/The Blood Bank ep (listen to “Re: Stacks“)
35) Sic Alps US Ez/A Long Way Around The Room (listen to “Mater“)
36) Sigur Ros Meo Suo I Evrum Vio Spilum Endalaust (listen to “Innà Mér Syngur Vitleysingur“)
37) Earth The Bees Made Honey In The Lions Skull (listen to “Rise To Glory“)
38) Original Silence The Second Original Silence (listen to “Argument Left Hanging-Rubber Cement“)
39) Mark Stewart Edit (listen to “Rise Again“)
40) TV On The Radio Dear Science. (listen to “DLZ“)
41) Jesu Split with Envy/ Why Are We Not Perfect? (listen to “The Stars That Hang Above You“)
42) The Fall Imperial Wax Solvent (listen to “Wolf Kidaut Man“)
43) Growing Lateral/All The Way (listen to “Swell” )
44) Offonoff Clash (listen to “Rabbit Punch“)
45) The Bug London Zoo (listen to “Skeng“)
46) The Kills Midnight Boom (listen to “Last Day Of Magic“)
47) Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahoney The Vodoun Effect (listen to “Iya Me Dji Ki Bi Ni“)
48) Stereolab Chemical Chords (listen to “Three Women“)
49) Expo ‘70 Black Ohms (listen to “Mind Echo Unit“)
50) Arthur Russell Love Is Overtaking Me (listen to “Eli“)
51) Fabulous Diamonds Fabulous Diamonds (listen to “Untitled 2“)
52) Beach House Devotion (listen to “D.A.R.L.I.N.G.“)
53) M83 Saturday=Youth (listen to “Kim & Jessie“)
54) Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker Fantasma-Parastasie (listen to “Auditory Spirits“)
55) Atlas Sound Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (listen to “Recent Bedroom“)
56) Rodriquez Cold Fact [reissue] (listen to “Sugar Man“)
57) Amadou & Mariam Welcome To Mali (listen to “Sabali“)
58) Be Your Own Pet Get Awkward (listen to “Black Hole“)
59) Portishead Third (listen to “Silence“)
60) Blank Dogs The Fields (listen to “Before The Hours“)
61) Juana Molina Un Dia (listen to “Un Dia“)
62) Grouper Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill (listen to “Heavy Water“)
63) James Blackshaw Litany Of Echoes (listen to “Gate Of Horn“)
64) A Place To Bury Strangers A Place To Bury Strangers (listen to “Ocean“)
65) Colour Haze All (listen to “Silent“)
66) Abe Vigoda Skeleton (listen to “Bear Face“)
67) Crystal Stilts Alight At Night (listen to “Departure“)
68) Prurient Time Began In A Garden (listen to “Stun Gun Theory“)
69) John Butcher Resonant Spaces (listen to “Hamilton“)
70) Birchville Cat Motel Our Love Will Destroy The World (listen to “Our Love Will Destroy The World“)
71) Dead C Secret Earth (listen to “Plains“)
+ 19 other songs I liked…
1) Kunk We Are Not Who You Think We Are (single)
2) MGMT Time To Pretend (from Oracular Spectacular)
3) The Black Keys Strange Times (from Attack & Release)
4) Jay Reatard See/Saw (from the Matador Singles comp.)
5) Hot Chip One Pure Thought (from Made In The Dark)
6) The Melvins The Kicking Machine (from Nude With Boots)
7) Animal Collective Water Curses (from Water Curses ep)
8- Mogwai Batcat (from The Hawk Is Howling)
9) Marnie Stern Transformer (from This Is It And I Am It…)
10) Firewater Borneo (from The Golden Hour)
11) Jay Reatard Painted Shut (from the Matador Singles comp.)
12) Alexander Tucker Veins To The Sky (from Portal)
13) Irmin Schmidt & Kumo Banging The Door (from Tribute)
14) Ellen Allien Caress (from Sool)
15) Alva Noto U_08-1 (from Unitxt)
16) Pocahaunted No More Women (from Chains)
17) Darker My Love Two Ways Out (from 2)
18) Dead Meadow What Needs Must Be (from Old Growth)
19) Rudimentary Peni No More Pain (from No More Pain)
