Hello Future Me, Alec, and Quillen,
In 2013, it became abundantly clear that a blog is no longer the ideal format for me to communicate socially. At the end of 2012, I mentioned that that had been the busiest year of my life. Nothing's slowing down at this point. And so writing in this blog will likely become an annual event to make a long form list of my favorite albums. I'm at peace with this, but it does make me a little wistful for my midnight days and the absurd amount of free time I had back then.
So anyways, firstly, it's important to note that 2013 was the year of Save Your Generation Records. I had assumed for the last few years that I wouldn't really have an opportunity to be a part of a music community again. The work that Tony's done has helped develop and shape a really great local scene that I'm lucky to be a part of. It's certainly been a high point in my years of being in bands.
All of that wonderful stuff aside, 2013 was a craptacular year for new music. I think I'm in the minority in believing this, but it may have been the worst year as a music fan of my adult life. It was certainly the worst since 2007. I started to realize a pattern in my listening habits where I seem to care more about the artist than the album. It's not right or smart or anything, I just tend to listen to albums based on familiarity and comfort, I guess. I don't think that bodes well for future years of new music.
I listened to a lot of albums that I won't even mention, some from bands that I've previously loved. I was bummed out by almost as many bad albums as I was pleased by albums that I liked. Several albums I heard were "good" to "very good," but I don't have enough of a personal attachment to rank them. They are:
Arcade Fire - Reflektor
California X - California X
The Dismemberment Plan - Uncanney Valley
The Front Bottoms - Talon of the Hawk
Martin - The Worst Part EP
Mazzy Star - Seasons of Your Day
Minks - Tides End
Pixies - EP1/Bagboy
Potty Mouth - Hell Bent
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
Regarding Uncanney Valley, I've listened to it enough to know that it's not really very good. However, the more I listen to it, the more comfortable I'm becoming with it. That's not to say it's a grower or anything (it's more of a groaner), I just know that I'm stuck with it and I feel like I need to learn to enjoy it. Love is complicated.
Here are my ten favorite releases:
10. Camper Van Beethoven - La Costa Perdida
09. Sundials - Always Whatever
08. Daylight - Jar
07. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold/Tally All The Things You Broke EP
06. Deer Widow - Deer Widow EP
05. David Bowie - The Next Day
04. Ovlov - Am
03. Title Fight - Spring Songs EP
02. My Bloody Valentine - m b v
01. Haim - Days Are Gone
Clean, palm-muted leads. Classic R&B/Pop melodies. Bassface. Days Are Gone is my favorite album of 2013.
If you haven't actually listened to the record, I get the hate for this band. The first time I heard "The Wire" this summer, I hated it before it actually started playing based on the Sirius/XM dj's description. The second time it came up, all I heard was Shania Twain and The Eagles. That's not winning anybody over. It took Steven Hyden's Grantland article on the band for me to actually consider giving them a shot. 45 seconds into "Falling," I was shocked, and shortly after, hooked for good (and I realized "The Wire" rules).
It's not uncommon for people to talk about the influence of their dad's record collection on their tastes. What about Mom's influence? That's one of the things I'm frequently reminded of on Ds Are G. Mariah Carey, Madonna, 80s Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Cars 108...in all of their adult contemporary glory. Haim is also the reason I'm downloading an unreasonable amount of Gloria Estefan three months after their album's release. My first experience with the best song on the album, "If I Could Change Your Mind" was similar to my experience with "Round And Round:" multiple consecutive listens, bewilderment, goosebumps, getting a little emotional over how great of a song it is. It's still amazing how there are so many great parts that are arranged to fit together so well. That high level of insight and instinct runs throughout the album. There's a considerable amount of soul and subtle, tasteful funk in these songs that are often overlooked. Hyden talks about Haim representing the end of "indie." Style-wise (or anything else-wise), there's nothing really indie about it. It's just an album full of great music.
