listening now...

Did NOT really dig The Men's new one, btw... Sad. I wanted to.

I'm not a big fan of it myself, but out of curiosity which of their previous albums did you like?

I think Tomorrow's Hits sounds like a logical progression in the direction they've been headed over the course of their previous records, unfortunate as that may be. I think they peaked early with Leave Home, but I like both Open Your Heart and New Moon a lot.

Open Your Heart and Leave Home.

i really like their last two albums. sure, i was thrown off when i first saw them playing the new moon stuff when i was expecting open your heart-ish songs, but that sound has really come around for me.

this year, so far for me:

bleeding rainbow - interrupt
the colourist
eagulls
elbow - the take off and landing of everything
the men - tomorrow's hits
single mothers - negative qualities
sonic avenues - mistakes
spoon - they want my soul
the war on drugs - lost in the dream
wild beasts - present tense

Out of curiousity, do any of you motherfuckers out there not have my album?

PM me, I didn't come back from the motherfucking gates of hell to make an album to have YOU not listen to it because you're too lazy to steal it and then listen for a whopping 29:56.

Listen to it, or the next time I'm taking you off of the overpass with me.

Count on it.













i finish what I start, muhfuh

Phil, I've listened to it. I love it. I posted your bandcamp on facebook, and it has been well-received, and I'm not even friends with any of you motherfuckers on there.

I will buy it when I can scrape some cash.

Phil:
It's in my top 5 for the year. It's pretty much a lock to stay there for me, too.
Not just a great album by a friend, but an actual great album.
Love it.

I'm the asshole who hasn't listened to it yet. But that's gonna change!

I've listened to it, and figure you don't need my opinion on it. I think you're extremely talented, and for fans of McCartney-esque, Jellyfish-ish ornate pop it's an impressive accomplishment. Just not my sort of thing.

Certainly late here, but as move into year end mode standouts of the year for me have been:
Scott Walker and SunnO)))
Grouper
Aphex Twin
Locrian
Fennesz
OOIOO
Jakob (the surprise album this year for me)
Flying Lotus (dude is always on another level)
...and probably another ten-fifteen that need revisits soon.

k! nice to see you around these parts again

I need to get around to hearing those SW & SunnO))) and Grouper albums. And maybe OOIOO, too.

strand of oaks heal
phil ajjarapu sing along until you feel better
freddie gibbs & madlib pinata
king tuff black moon spell
perfume genius too bright
death from above 1979 the physical world
sinoia caves beyond the black rainbow
run the jewels rtj2
foxygen ...and star power
ariel pink pom pom (i'm on the fence about this. half of it sounds amazing and the other half sounds like an embarrassing mr bungle's first album rip off)
caribou our love
pallbearer foundations of burden
adult jazz gist is
various country funk volume II
dan sartain dudesblood
first aid kit stay gold
shamir northtown
parquet courts sunbathing animal
obn III's third time to harm
sharon van etten are we there
herzog boys
ema the future's void
the body i shall die here
millie & andrea drop the vowels
the men tomorrow's hits
schoolboy q oxymoron
wild beasts present tense

Thanks dude. It's good to be back. Definitely check out both SunnO))) collabs from this year. The one with Ulver certainly isn't amazing but it has it's moments. I don't know, maybe it is some reflection on this past year personally, but I think it's been a great return to form for some seriously gloomy bands. The above mentioned Locrian kills and the Earth record is the best thing they have done in a long time also, in my opinion.

As for the OOIOO, I really do think there's some bias from me on that one. It's not Taiga or Green to Gold, but it's a fun weird little record and I will always have a place for that.

Here my top albums, as of 11/6. Subject to re-ranking:

1 | Fumaça Preta | Fumaça Preta
2 | The Thons | Thirty Foot Snake
3 | Phil Ajjarapu | Sing Along Until You Feel Better
4 | The Limiñanas | I’ve Got Trouble In Mind: 7”s and Rare Stuff 2009/2014
5 | Future Islands | Singles
6 | The War On Drugs | Lost in the Dream
7 | James | La Petite Mort
8 | Gryff Rhys | American Interior
9 | Damon Albarn | Everyday Robots
10 | Sturgill Simpson | Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
11 | Trans | Green
12 | Parquet Courts | Sunbathing Animal
13 | Fauna Flora | Fauna Flora
14 | The Both | The Both
15 | Cleaners From Venus | Return To Bohemia
16 | Freeman | Freeman
17 | TELE/VISIONS | 2013
18 | The Wytches | Annabel Dream Reader
19 | Beck - Morning Phase
20 | Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Give the People What They Want
21 | Roxy Swain - Restless Hearts

Some other good ones:
David Feldstein - Surrender the Silence
Léo Lago - Reino em Minha Mente
The Irenes - The Irenes 3-7-14 Live at Young Camelot
The Red Plastic Buddha - Songs For Mara


Need to listen more:
Temples - Sun Structures
Dan Morr & The Dashing Bastard Sideshow - Shouting Into the Wind
Goat - Commune
Ptose - Ignobles Limaces
Brian Eno & Karl Hyde - High Life
Wand - Ganglion Reef
Brownout - Brown Sabath
Spectralux - Nexxus

Just not gonna make it:
U2 - Songs of Innocence
Various Artists - Bloodshot Records 20th Anniversary Collection

STILL NEED TO PICK UP:
Tom Zé - Vira Lata Na Via Láctea

These are my favourites from the year. I am really looking to hear some more music before the year's out, on your recommendation.

Timber Timbre Hot Dreams
Absolutely Free Absolutely Free.
Ariel Pink pom pom
Earth Primitive And Deadly
Gord Downie, The Sadies, And The Conquering Sun Gord Downie, The Sadies, And The Conquering Sun
Ought More Than Any Other Day
Aphex Twin Syro
The Bug Angels & Demons
Fucked Up Glass Boys
Goat Commune
DOOMSQUAD Kalaboogie

This was the list I made mid year



From those before adding anything new,

Phil Ajjarapu, John Fullbright, and Ags Connolly would likely move up. Phil might move up 5-6 spots. The others only slightly up. Skank and Rodney Crowell might drop a bit.

Since making that list, I've bought the following:

Del Barber – Prairieography
Fauna Flora – S/T
Deacon Blue – A New House
Jim Lauderdale – I’m A Song
Sean Rowe – Madmen
Luke Haines – New York in the ‘70’s
Candi Staton – Life Happens
Tony Allen – Film of Life
Grady Kelneck – Take My Hand
Jeffrey Martin – Dogs in the Daylight
Jesse Winchester – A Reasonable Amount of Trouble
Trevor Alguire – Miles Away
The Loudermilks – S/T
Ronnie Fauss – Built to Break

Most of these need a lot more listens before I could slot any in but the early winners are the Loudermilks, Fauna Flora and Jim Lauderdale. Luke Haines is the only one that I'm pretty certain stands little chance of making my year-end list.

Also really digging this...

Disappointed to hear this, I had high hopes for it. Hopes are just a little lower now.

Its not terrible. Just not top 20 material. It's certainly better than that last album. You undersold the Fauna Flora album. Much more of a Pisapia album than I was expecting.

I've always said that I like it quite a bit.
It's not Top 5 material for me, but certainly top 20.
And: I liked Rock n' Roll Animals. Maybe the concept was a bit too precious for you, and it was precious, but I enjoyed it all the same.

I just went back and re-read your post after your first listen. You're right -- you didn't really undersell it. I guess I was just surprised how much I liked it and I don't know why I didn't buy right after your post. My biggest concern was that it would be too much Steve Ward and not enough Joe P. but you addressed that concern in your post. I just forgot that by the time I got around to buying it. I agree its not top 5 or even top 10 but its still pretty good.

And don't be discouraged that I don't love that Luke Haines album. While I love the Auteurs, I really don't like many of his solo albums and don't even expect much out of each new one. I just can't stop myself from buying them though. I'm always curious to hear them and there's something about his persona that just makes me want to support him. 21st Century Man is really the only solo album that I love (unless you count Das Capital which is just new versions of Auteurs songs). You might very well like this a lot more than I do. I think it's probably better than either of his prior two if you like those.

My year-end mix is in pretty good shape for still being in November. Top albums list is going to be meager (in length, not in quality), but I'm satisfied with random gems piling up for my annual mega mix.

In other news, the sentence "The new Diarrhea Planet EP is really quite good" are words I never thought I'd say or type, but here we are.