Without a Yard

But I still resolve to get this 2012 list in under the wire.

Big thanks, as always, to the lovely Waub for starting this tradition. Without him, numerous inboxes, harddrives, iPods & vinyl crates would be unenlightened.

It’s weird staring down a blank WordPress screen instead of a blank Celtex screen. While I’ve been writing much, much more this year (with/out writing partners…a story for another time, my friends),  I’m just not publishing it, & you can thank me for that later.

Maybe 2013′ll yield more benign bloggable topics. Hard to believe 2012 marked the 7 year anniversary for ‘withoutayard’ (archives mercifully under digital lock & key). The Twitter, Tumblr & 8tracks mistresses were also neglected, though not nearly as much as this poor old domain.

All in, 2012 was tough but fair. Lots of change. & not just hair colour, though I did cycle through my Riverdale High School role-playing fantasies with equal turns as a brunette, red-head & blonde.

As the film tour/screenings wound down at the beginning of 2012, new music/festival/conference work picked up. HPX’s inaugural year for digital & NXNE’s ongoing growth in this space were two massive highlights personally & professionally. Doing another Ignite was as terrifying as I remembered & SXSW talks get better every year, thanks to stellar conspirators.

Work-work ‘s been increasingly satisfying, too. Our digital team (& I can take absolutely ZERO credit for most of this cool stuff)’s progress in open data, web mod, intuitive design, visual identity, content strategy & outreach is inspiring (please remember that we work in a resource-restricted, foosball-free workplace before comparing us to Old Spice).

& with that rambling preamble-ing, I present two 2012 music lists.

One acknowledges my repressed-inner-Baby-Boomer-curmudgeon (or more optimistically the indelible mark of my Dad’s musical taste). The other tips its digital-hat to shiny new young(ish) things.

Juicy Rationalizations – 10 LPs for ‘The Big Chill II’ soundtrack supervisor job application

1) Dr. John – Locked Down: Swampy psychedelic southern-fried goodness.   Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach’s production adds a nice contemporary touch without changing the funky sounds you’d expect from the best Last Waltz guest of all time.

2) Bonnie Raitt – Slipstream: Poor Ms. Raitt doesn’t get a fair shake with anyone under 40. She’s BB King’s favourite slide guitarist for a reason. She’s equally badass as a lyricist & composer. Trust me.

3) Chilly Gonzales – Solo Piano II: Technically, this is an age-appropriate pick for a 30-something, but its family-friendly instrumental perfection makes more sense here. In terms of Chilly’s live performance, Pianovision never disappoints, the Winter Garden Theatre show was one of the best concerts of 2012.

4) Patti Smith – Banga: Zero objectivity when it comes to PS after reading ‘Just Kids.’ Zero.

5) Various Artists – Just Tell Me That You Want Me: This was for sale at Starbucks for chrissakes. The artists are really quite good though, & their (Fleetwood Mac, duh) covers aren’t entirely straightforward. I will stop trying to rationalize my love now.

6) Rufus Wainwright – Out of the Game: All hail the return of the pop-y cabaret-ish troubadour Rufus. We missed him.

 
7) Sixto Rodriguez – Searching for Sugarman s/t//Cold Fact: Great story, beautifully shot/directed music doc & gorgeous timeless songs.

8 ) Rush – Clockwork Angels: I will not apologize for being from Northern Ontario. At least the R&RHoF agrees.

9) Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas: Perfect poetry. Unmistakably unique warm growl. Cheese-free accompaniment (which can’t be said for some past synth-y LPs, unfortunately).

10) Neil Young – Psychedelic Pill//Americana: See #8.

Youthful Declarations – 10 LPs that probably aren’t cool enough to get my Urban Outfitters job back (despite a marked improvement in T-shirt folding)

1) Bahamas – Barchords: Is it so wrong that I still tear up a bit if I actually listen-listen to ‘Lost in the Light’? No, right? Thankfully the rest of the record is more upbeat. The combination of Afie’s vocals – which can swing from raspy M.Ward-y to chirpy Buddy Holly to Auerbach’s Black-Keys-blues – & his retro-reverb guitar-work - sealed this as #1 – the year’s most played LP by a country mile.

2) Allah-Las – s/t: To call these guys garage rock wouldn’t be fair. It’s a sunny light gossamer mix of psychedelia, Californian pop & the best jangly bits of early 60s Brit-invasion.

3) Tame Impala – Lonerism: Fell in love with these (again, psychedelic/pop, but ) guys while visiting Melbourne/Sydney in the winter of 2010. The cities’ cutest record store clerks drawled that TA’ed be big here soon.  Not quite Crowded House yet but we’ll clue in eventually.

4) Robert Glasper – Black Radio: Ever since Guru’s Jazzmatazz series in the early 90s I’ve been a sucker for hip hop/jazz collaborations. Some standout vocalists appear (Mos Def, I mean, Yasiin Bey, Erykah Badu & Shafiq Husayn) & some very fun/risky covers (Sade & Nirvana, anyone?) show that Glasper can hop from ‘traditional’ jazz (whatever that means) to R&B to hip hop seamlessly.

5) Zeus – Busting Visions: There will always be a special place in my heart for these guys. Their sound is definitely changing & maturing, but their 70s rock influences still lay a solid foundation for their upbeat melodic pop-rock.

6) Bat for Lashes – Haunted Man: Just when I thought Natasha couldn’t be more Kate Bush-infused, she unleashes this sweeping, orchestral, brooding set of songs that are perfectly mixed, paced & balanced.

7) David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant: I’ll be the first to admit that this isn’t exactly a fair fight. I love both of these artists & own all their albums. Who knew that all-brass instrumentation was going to be the glue binding these pleasantly complimentary songwriters, though? One of the most joyous live shows, too – Byrne was very gracious in ceding the spotlight often to Clark – even when they were covering Talking Heads tunes. Class act.

8 ) Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel: Another act that stands out for a live performance as much as an album. This is a powerhouse of a recording on its own, though. Put aside the ‘angsty-90s’ stigma that you probably assign to Apple & listen to the new wry wisdom of a woman who knows who she is, what she wants & how she’ll get it. Well, maybe not the last bit.

9) Cold Warps – s/t//Slimer 7″//Endless Bummer: Halifax knows how to churn out amazing four-piece power-pop/punk bands like it’s nobody’s business. I haven’t been this excited about a CanRock band in this vein since Cub. Serious.

10) Flying Lotus – Until The Quiet Comes: For lack of a better genre-name, I guess ‘glitch-hop’ will do the trick. Imagine Dilla & Caribou & Radiohead (Kid A-era) mixing an atmospheric trippy soundtrack for a co-pro from David Lynch & John Singleton.

Glaring Omissions – 10 LPs that I like-liked, but didn’t love

1) Gary Clark Jr. – Blak & Blu

2) Grizzly Bear – Shields

3) Frank Ocean – Channel Orange

4) Nas – Life Is Good

5) Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d.

6) Bob Dylan – Tempest

7) Jack White – Blunderbuss

8 ) Bright Lights Social Hour – New Year’s Live

9) Asteroid Galaxy Tour – Out of Frequency

10) Vybz Cartel – Kingston Story

Might as well get these out of the way before the 2012 Mayan calendar apocalypse thing happens, too.  (Again, stalling, yes.)

Top five records in 2011 that were really good, but only in small doses (reasons outlined in handy parentheses):

1. Austra – Feel it Break (Shrill…Sorry, but it’s true.)
2. James Blake – s/t (Cold & melancholic, like a poorly curated pop-art exhibit soundtrack.)
3. tUnE-yArDs – whokill – (Too much, too busy, too piercing in its jangly-ness.)
4. K Flay – I Stopped Caring in ‘96 (Two words: white guilt.)
5. Raphael Saddiq – Stone Rollin’ (Too happy.)

Top five records I bought in Australia, still listen to on a regular basis, and secretly wish were released in 2011 because they’d have a fair shot at the real top ten:

1. Darren Sylvester – s/t (2008 – SERIOUSLY GET THIS. The Cars & T Rex honeymooned in Oz & this record appeared 9mos later.)
2. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker (2010 – Swirly psych without hippie dippy-tude, still nice & fuzzy around the edges. Sent it to all my Black Angels/WarPaint friends.)
3. Mystery Twin – s/t (2010 – So different than anything I’ve listened to in ages, great work-music, which isn’t to imply that it’s a total snoozefest, cause, it’s, ugh, just go listen.)
4. Angus & Julia Stone – Down the Way (2010 – a bit folk-twee, in a Felicity soundtrack kind of way, but not as cheesy as the godawful CD-ROM-flashback-website would have you believe.)
5. Cut Copy – Zonoscope (FastFact: this came out in 2011 but I had nowhere else to put it.)

Top ten records that I didn’t weigh fairly because I have it in my mind that they should be as great as the artist(s)’s previous LP, which is wrong:

1. Wild Flag – s/t (It’s hard to not expect more from this amalgamation of grrrl hrrros… REMINDER:  before you get angry, remember the intro about the total unfairness of this list)
2. Das Racist – Relax (Meh. Maybe it was their lackluster SX appearance…)
3. Tom Waits – Bad As Me (So so so good.  But still…)
4. Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune (‘Nice, Nice, Very Nice’ was TOO darn nice.)
5. Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes (‘Little Bit’ less than what I’d hoped.)
6. The Roots – Undun (Solid…)
7. Black Keys – El Camino (Again, they set the bar SO high…)
8. Smith Westerns – Dye It Blonde (the NEXT record will be insane…right?)
9. Ian Kamau – One Day Soon (SO GOOD…but the mixtapes spoiled me.)
10. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life (concept albums, are, you know, um, tough to pull off…)

So this year was, erm, interesting.  Thankfully there were loads of fantastic LPs/EPs & shows to lift our collective spirits, right guys? Right?

Like every year, a virtual tip of the hat is directed Waub’s way for starting the best annual tradition among our crew.  Extra thanks go out to everyone who contributed to those list emails or posted lists on their respective sites.

I have been agonizing/procrastinating for over a month.  Had a Top 20 list burning a hole in my draft folder & I think I have whittled it down properly…So in no particular order, I give you:

Zeus – Sounds Like Zeus EP – Tho last year’s promise of a full-length won’t materialize til February, this tiny perfect pop confection arrived just in time for Zeus’ pint-sized, yet triumphant, takeover of the Arts&Crafts NXNEshowcase.  Neil’s tune ‘Marching Through Your Head’ is my personal fav, but the Phil Collins cover of ‘That’s All’ is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

Joel Plaskett – Three - 3xs the usual amazing JP output but surprisingly (unlike almost every other concept album in the history of rock music after Sgt Pepper’s) strung together with a cohesive theme, both lyrically and melodically, featuring beautiful guest vocals and insane hooks.  This undertaking stands on par with Down at the Khyber

Gentleman Reg – Jet Black – He’s Reg.  He can do no (faux)albino wrong.

Cats On Fire – Our Temperance Movement – Frosty Finnish climate makes for toasty warm indoor fireworks.  I am entirely biased because they are Finnish. (Insert Kayne interruption joke *here*)

Sprengjuhöllin – Bestu Kveðjur – What can I say?  I love Scandinavian dudes.  These psych pop lads are what The Coral would sound like if they were fronted by Sondre Lerche – borderline saccharine-sweet, but genuinely heartfelt. Now that they’re penning English-language lyrics, they’ll hopefully have 2010 North American success to match their string of homeland #1s.

Do Make Say Think – Other Truths – This record makes me wish I was still in school so it could be my go-to-instrumental background writing s/t. If you have a chance to catch DMST/Happiness Project on tour – PROMISE ME you will attend.  Happiness Project is such a phenomenal experience live, I cried. (& I only cry for Rufus or when someone drops a delicious gooey cookie from Le Gourmand)

Bahamas – Pink Strat – This record is more of a ’07-09 souvenir for the zillions of treks to the Magpie for Paso Mino or some other brilliant indie incarnation of Afie Jurvanen (here I go again with the Finns…).  I can promise with a clear-conscience that this record will make you smile – it’s perfect.

Dan Mangan – Nice, Nice, Very Nice – This is the only album that overlaps with the year-end list by almighty music guru Frank at Chromewaves.  So I’ve got that going for me…Although it’s ridiculously earnest/shockingly adorable, Dan’s gravely voice balances it out & it turns into this laddish singer-songwriter masterpiece.

PJ Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By – Pretty sure if I had to pick a #1 that this would be it…not necessarily due to its musical merits, but mainly because I’m a *little* stubborn.  I’ve been so disappointed that throughout the year, & especially now, this LP hasn’t gotten any love.  People take PJ for granted! I’m convinced if some new YouTubeing/Twittering waif in Portland put this haunting, sexy, gutsy, intense, raw, intelligent record out, you’d hear it in every pseudo bohemian cafe from here to Timbuktu.  But what the hell do I know?

Noah And The Whale – The First Days Of Spring – Every couple years you need a new ‘break glass in case of sad bastard emergency (heartbreak, boredom, general malaise, crap manager who accuses one of job hunting whilst on medical leave, etc)’ record.  This is your new one if you get sick of your old Belle & Sebastian LPs.

Honourable Mentions:
St. Vincent – Actor
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Bruce Peninsula – A Mountain Is A Mouth
The Wooden Sky – If I don’t come home you’ll know I’m gone
Bon Iver – Blood Bank EP
Julie Fader – Outside In
M. Ward – Hold Time
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Robert Francis – Before Nightfall
Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

Totally cheating – but I can’t just do 10 – 2008 was such an amazing year in music – old farts aside, here’s 10 newish artists’ records who were at least old souls (not to be confused with ‘the’ Old Soul, who didn’t make the TO list that’ll follow…)
1. Cat Power – Jukebox
Sample Mp3 – New York, New York (Live in Paris for Black Sessions)
Chan’s second covers record – can’t say that it’s *better*, but it’s just – argh. Indescribable. To say she’s reinterpreted these tunes isn’t saying enough – they’re completely turned inside out, shorn & rebuilt as if she lived’em…

2. Eli Paperboy Reed & The True Loves – Roll With You
Sample Mp3 – I’m Gonna Getcha
So I love this guy. A lot. His scorching hot live performances translate surprisingly accurately on the record. There is no distance too far to travel to see Eli. He will change your life & restore your faith in soul music.

3. Dr. Dog – Fate
Sample Mp3 – The Rabbit, The Bat & The Reindeer
Imagine The Band reuniting for another epic Scorcese-directed Last Waltz blowout, with coked-out Shakey, saccharine Neil Diamond & mumbley Dylan, too – but instead of an afterparty with Joni, the night ends in an amazing gay sex male orgy. These are their babies.

4. Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Sample Mp3 – Party Barge
To Quote ‘Party Barge’: “Father drove a steamroller. Momma was a crossing guard. She got rolled when he got steamed, And I got left in charge.” David Berman is the best lyricist I’ve come across since Jonathan Richman. ’nuff said.

5. The Black Angels – Directions To See A Ghost
Sample Mp3 – You In Color
We all go through a psychedelic phase, right? Let’s hope that these guys never grow out of theirs & keep putting out fuzzy spacey goodness.

6. Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
Sample Mp3 – Staying In Love
Call it retro-or-new-soul, or clump it with the cresting wave of DapTone’s roster, but Saadiq’s been making thick R&B records since 90′s Tony!Toni!Tone! & early 00′s Lucy Pearl. Bonus points for selecting smart vocal cameos from beefy studio mates like D’Angelo – le sigh.

7. Lykke Li – Youth Novel
Sample Mp3 – Little Bit (Aether Remix)
Slap me with a swan dress, but I’ll dare to say that Sweden’s produced a pop queen with the artistic chops, chutzpa, show(wo)manship & lyrics to rival Bjork. It you wanna complain, I’m not the complaint department.

8. Hercules & Love Affair – s/t
Sample Mp3 – Raise Me Up
It’s as if Antony had this musical karmic retribution that needed to be served. His longing, miserable, achingly perfect records with the Johnsons are completely balanced out by this peppy cosmic disco dance soundtrack for glamorous substance-fueled hookups & rollerskating.

9. She & Him – Volume One
Sample Mp3 – Change Is Hard (Live @ SXSW, March 2008)
Moms love it! Kids love it! It’s a public radio/indierock/vintagewearinghipsterhit! With good reason, not too sweet, not too polished, & twangier than you’d think. Imagine a delicious, warm, thick barley-filled soup with Beatles covers croutons sprinkled on top.

10. Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part One
Sample Mp3 – Honey (Seiji Mix)
Mashup Sly & The Family Stone crazy funk weirdness with remixes by J Dilla & P-Funk Orchestra members chiming in for robust bridge breakdowns. Definitely old-school retro sound without being gaudy in its 70s excesses & staying true to Badu’s earth mother persona. There will be FOUR parts released in this series…eventually…& if you listen to them back to back while watching Wizard of Oz with the sound turned off….

Honourable Newish Old Soul Mentions: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Cardinology, Rufus Wainwright – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, Jamie Liddell – Jim, Mason Jennings – In The Ever, Duffy – Rockferry