Music hasn’t been as much of a focus for me this year as it has other years, which made selecting favourites a bit more of a challenge. Probably also shows in my preference for shorter, catchier music this year, which is a bit of a shift. And metal really didn’t do much for me this year, with a few exceptions. But this is a fun way to spend a few minutes, and the bub just fell asleep at last (I hope), so here goes!
Dev – Deconstruction. Brilliant, intense and sometimes challenging music. Decon really took repeated listens for me to really get into fully, but it was worth it. Hooray for Dev in giving birth to what sounds like it might have been a… complicated child, shall we say. Ihsahn and Mikael’s voices sound epic here, btw.
Dev – Ghost. Ok, I’ll admit it. I don’t much go for flutey/panpipey sounds at all in this kind of music. In fact, I generally hate it with a passion. And so it was that I found this element of Ghost quite distracting at first. But everything else in Ghost is a delight and I trust Dev, so I looked beyond my prejudices and enjoyed the beauty.
Seasick Steve – You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks. Real music by a real man about real life. Real good.
Cloudkicker – Let Yourself Be Huge. What a surprise! And a very pleasant one. I love driving with this album playing. Ben’s non-business model (aka having a regular nine-to-five to pay the bills) allows him to do EXACTLY what he wants without any pressure from anyone at all. And it shows. A track like It’s Inside Me, And I’m Inside It was made for sunny afternoons when all is right with the world. It just feels like… how can I put it? As corny as it sounds, you can feel love in each chord. A delightful album and I am super impressed with each new thing this guy does.
Mastodon – The Hunter. I’ve raved about it plenty so I won’t repeat myself too much. Short, simple, rockin’, groovin’, infectious stuff from MASTODON? Pissed off some fans, which made me like it even more.
Steel Panther – Balls Out. Besides all the faux misogynistic fun, these guys actually write and produce old school LA rock that is catchy as fuck! And yes, fuck is catchy. Case in point being Just Like Tiger Woods. What a ridiculously infectious, feel-good song, I can’t get enough of it. Best lyric of the year: Surprise them all with an invitation to a viewing of your first double-penetration.
Gotye - Making Mirrors. Delightfully off-kilter, melodic stuff from start to finish. He had the biggest Aussie single this year (with a bit of help from Kimbra) and deserved it. He is, as we like to say, a jet. I hope Wally achieves all the success his talent deserves.
Honourable mentions to Adele – 21 (what a stunning voice) and Art vs. Science - The Experiment (even though Magic Fountain is one of the worst songs I happened to hear this year).
Stuff I need to catch up with / listen to properly:
Kimbra – Vows. And no, it’s not just because she’s drop dead gorgeous.
TesseracT – One. I enjoyed Concealing Fate, so I need to give this a whirl.
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light.
Noah and the Whale – Last Night on Earth
Bon Iver – Bon Iver. They’re a new one for me, but I can see why Mark loves ‘em. Look forward to listening to this soon.
The new TV on the Radio. Cool band.
The Roots - Undun. I love these guys and this is supposed to be a bit of a shift for them so it should be interesting.
And the one I’m most excited about: Black Keys – El Camino. I know I’ll love it. Check this shit out:
[youtube]a_426RiwST8[/youtube]
Dev – Deconstruction. Brilliant, intense and sometimes challenging music. Decon really took repeated listens for me to really get into fully, but it was worth it. Hooray for Dev in giving birth to what sounds like it might have been a… complicated child, shall we say. Ihsahn and Mikael’s voices sound epic here, btw.
Dev – Ghost. Ok, I’ll admit it. I don’t much go for flutey/panpipey sounds at all in this kind of music. In fact, I generally hate it with a passion. And so it was that I found this element of Ghost quite distracting at first. But everything else in Ghost is a delight and I trust Dev, so I looked beyond my prejudices and enjoyed the beauty.
Seasick Steve – You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks. Real music by a real man about real life. Real good.
Cloudkicker – Let Yourself Be Huge. What a surprise! And a very pleasant one. I love driving with this album playing. Ben’s non-business model (aka having a regular nine-to-five to pay the bills) allows him to do EXACTLY what he wants without any pressure from anyone at all. And it shows. A track like It’s Inside Me, And I’m Inside It was made for sunny afternoons when all is right with the world. It just feels like… how can I put it? As corny as it sounds, you can feel love in each chord. A delightful album and I am super impressed with each new thing this guy does.
Mastodon – The Hunter. I’ve raved about it plenty so I won’t repeat myself too much. Short, simple, rockin’, groovin’, infectious stuff from MASTODON? Pissed off some fans, which made me like it even more.
Steel Panther – Balls Out. Besides all the faux misogynistic fun, these guys actually write and produce old school LA rock that is catchy as fuck! And yes, fuck is catchy. Case in point being Just Like Tiger Woods. What a ridiculously infectious, feel-good song, I can’t get enough of it. Best lyric of the year: Surprise them all with an invitation to a viewing of your first double-penetration.
Gotye - Making Mirrors. Delightfully off-kilter, melodic stuff from start to finish. He had the biggest Aussie single this year (with a bit of help from Kimbra) and deserved it. He is, as we like to say, a jet. I hope Wally achieves all the success his talent deserves.
Honourable mentions to Adele – 21 (what a stunning voice) and Art vs. Science - The Experiment (even though Magic Fountain is one of the worst songs I happened to hear this year).
Stuff I need to catch up with / listen to properly:
Kimbra – Vows. And no, it’s not just because she’s drop dead gorgeous.
TesseracT – One. I enjoyed Concealing Fate, so I need to give this a whirl.
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light.
Noah and the Whale – Last Night on Earth
Bon Iver – Bon Iver. They’re a new one for me, but I can see why Mark loves ‘em. Look forward to listening to this soon.
The new TV on the Radio. Cool band.
The Roots - Undun. I love these guys and this is supposed to be a bit of a shift for them so it should be interesting.
And the one I’m most excited about: Black Keys – El Camino. I know I’ll love it. Check this shit out:
[youtube]a_426RiwST8[/youtube]
amazing!
