Monday 14 January 2013

Brad's 20 Favorite Albums of 2012

I've reached the crotchety, old, "get off my damn lawn you punk kids" phase of my musical life, what with all the beeping, booping and discoteche-ing going on with their electronic future music.  I was born in the 80's....I really don't want to go back.  Plus, if history tells us anything, whenever we try to sound all futuristic and shit, it doesn't age well at all.

Luckily, Ty Segall exists.  And he kicks so much fucking ass.

20.) Cloud Nothing - Attack on Memory

I bet when Silverchair heard this album they were all like "Fuck...that's what we should have tried to do.  Then people wouldn't have forgotten we existed."

Fave tracks:  No Future, No Past and Stay Useless

19.) Godspeed You Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

Getting a Godspeed You Black Emperor album unexpectedly is always a nice gift that makes you feel all warm and cozy on the inside.

Fave tracks:  Godspeed You Black Emperor albums are to be listened in full.

18.) The Shins - Port of Morrow

Just classic Shins.  Poppy and produced enough to enjoy some mainstream success while maintaining street cred with the kids.

Fave tracks:  Simple Song and For A Fool

17.) Baroness - Green & Yellow

One of about three metal bands I actually listen to.  And metal is probably a loose term.  Still, they kick ass, write interesting songs, have some sweet riffs and don't sing a whole bunch about dragons, satan or corn children.

Fave tracks:  Eula and Take My Bones Away

16.) FIDLAR - Shit We Recorded In Our Bedroom EP

God I can't wait for FIDLAR to release a proper album.  It's going to tear everyone faces off.  This band should be the next big thing.  They probably won't, though, because people suck.  They are rock and roll.  This would be significantly higher if it had more than 4 songs.

Fave tracks:  West Coast and Crackhead Ted

15.) Killer Mike - Rap Music

I didn't hear too much rap that caught my ear this year.  Killer Mike had an awesome track called That's Life from several years ago and finally got me interested in a whole album this year.  Rap needs some more guys like this....smart, aware of what's going on in the real world and able to not be a total lame ass rapping about "issues."

Fave tracks:  Reagan and Don't Die

14.) Grizzly Bear - Shields

Part of me thinks I should like Grizzly Bear more than I do because they make some beautiful music that gets stuck in my head.  But part of me wants to hate Grizzly Bear because would it hurt them to display at least a little goddamn testosterone once in awhile?

Fave tracks:  Yet Again and Sleeping Ute

13.) Ty Segall & White Fence - Hair

Ty Segall is the future.  And the present.  And he kicks so much ass.  It's telling that this is his "worst" album of the year, and comes in at 13.  There are two more coming.

Fave tracks:  Easy Ryder and Scissor People

12.) Death Grips - The Money Store

Thank god someone finally decided to do something completely new with rap.  I guess its experimental and probably a lot of people will hate this, but at least its interesting and doesn't suck.

Fave tracks:  Get Got

11.) Titus Andronicus - Local Business

I'll admit, I kinda slept on Titus Andronicus.  The Airing of Grievances album sat in my collection, unlistened to for years.  Then a a few months ago I put it in and realized it is brilliant shit.  The Monitor was also pretty awesome.  Then they released Local Business this year.  Just another slice of brilliant rock and roll.

Fave tracks:  Ecce Homo and My Eating Disorder (no good youtube vids for these)

10.) The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

Just when I was starting to lose a bit of interest, they release this magnificent slice of psychadelic mind fuck.  Who would have thought I'd love a Ke$ha track this much!

Fave tracks:  2012 You Must Be Upgraded and Ashes In The Air

9.) Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Hey Jane is one of my fave songs of the year.  So there's that.  And this album is another in a long line of great albums by J. Spaceman.

Fave tracks:  Hey Jane and Little Girl

8.) Metz - Metz

You can't listen to Metz loud enough.  You really can't.

Fave tracks:  Get Off  and Knife In The Water

7.) Jack White - Blunderbuss

An old favorite of mine.  While I wasn't blown away by his solo debut like some apparently were, I also wasn't disappointed.  And after the luke warm feeling I'd had towards the Raconteurs and Dead Weather, I thought I would be disappointed.

Fave tracks:  Freedom at 21 and I'm Shakin'

6.) Tame Impala - Lonerism

I jizzed my pants when I first heard Elephant.  Then I didn't fully understand the hype behind the rest of the album.  Then I listened to it using headphones.  It needs to be heard with headphones to be fully appreciated.

Fave tracks:  Elephant and Mind Mischief

5.) Ty Segall - Twins

The last album Ty Fucking Segall released this year.  It might climb higher the more I listen to it.  It's awesome.

Fave tracks:  You're The Doctor, Thank God For The Sinners and The Hill

4.) Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II

It's no secret that my upbringing of a steady dose of KY58 has instilled in me an affinity towards the wonderful musical stylings of garage rock.  So I'm not sure if the rekindling of my love of garage rock this past year is just part of my musical taste cycle or if people like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees just released brilliant albums.  I'm pretty sure its the latter.

Fave tracks:  Putrifiers II, Lupine Dominus, and Flood's New Light

3.) FIDLAR - Don't Try EP

There are only four songs on this EP.  They all kick so much fucking ass.  Full album coming out in February.  It's gonna be awesome.

Fave tracks:  Got No Money, No Waves, No Ass, and Black Out Stout

2.) Father John Misty - Fear Fun

Dude quits Fleet Foxes.  Dude makes music that definitely comes from same vein as Fleet Foxes, but is significantly more interesting than last Fleet Foxes album.  Funtimes in Babylon.

Fave tracks:  Nancy From Now, I'm Writing A Novel, Tee Pees 1-12, and Well, You Can Do It Without Me

1.) Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse

Have I mentioned before that Ty Segall is, like, really, really good.  Because he is.  He's rock and roll's best kept secret and even the indie kids seem reluctant to crown him grand champion of everything, which he probably is.

Fave Tracks:  Tell Me What's Inside Your Heart, I Bought My Eyes, Muscle Man, and Diddy Wah Diddy (magnificent Captain Beefheart cover)

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