Valley of the Deep Beats

Friday, December 9, 2016

one good thought. (best of 2016)

Here are a few reasons to hate 2016:
Zika.
Terror attacks in Brussels and Istanbul.
Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Keith Lamont Scott, Terrance Crutcher murdered.
Five Dallas police officers murdered.
Brock Turner.
Attack at Pulse Nightclub.
Trump.
David Bowie dies.
Glenn Frey dies.
Phife Dawg dies.
Merle Haggard dies.
Prince dies.
Muhammad Ali dies.
Prince Be dies.
Gene Wilder dies.
Arnold Palmer dies.
Leonard Cohen dies.
Sharon Jones dies.
Brexit.
Trump.
Attack at Ohio State.
Standing Rock.
Tennessee burns.
Trump.

I'm sure that I've missed something.
Lots of sucking happening in that list, huh? But you know something...when I stood on the banks of the Currituck Sound, days after the attacks in Brussels, holding my four-year old daughter and watching the sun gleam off of the water the only thing I could think about was how such beauty could never be taken by terrorists.

In October, when I stood in a crowd at the feet of Kelsey Lu, whose name I had never heard before, and listened to her voice and her cello I was not thinking of any of the terrible things that happened this year. In that moment all I could think was about was how such beautiful sounds could transfix a room full of strangers.

We need these moments. They give us life and hope and strength. Angel Olsen has reminded us that "some days all you need is one good thought strong in your mind." This year seemed to provide a never ending stream of loss and suffering. But when I really reflect on it I can see the beauty and joy and love sprinkled into it.

Music always helps. I have my favorites. Here are some that helped me through.

Kelsey Lu - Church

DIIV - Is The Is Are

Angel Olsen - My Woman

Anderson .Paak - Malibu

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here...Thank You 4 Your Service

Mary Lattimore - At the Dam

Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein - Stranger Things, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

Ty Segall - Emotional Mugger

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits

The Men - Devil Music

Parquet Courts - Human Performance

Kevin Morby - Singing Saw

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

Solange - A Seat at the Table

Quilt - Plaza

Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam - I Had a Dream that You Were Mine

Isaiah Rashad - The Sun's Tirade

James Blake - The Colour in Anything

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

keeping it real (best of 2015)

A few months ago my iPod classic (160GB), which held my entire music library with room to spare, finally gave out on me. It had been my trusty companion for years of road trips, backyard barbecues and house parties. Perhaps more significant, it was also what I relied on for my daily commute. No WiFi. No streaming. Just a tiny computer that fit into my pocket and could call up any of the thousands of songs I was in the mood for with one click of a wheel. The good news is that I had my library backed up. The bad news is that nothing will ever be the same.

Now I am forced to navigate the wilderness of on-line streaming services. I must choose sides in the "streaming wars." This is completely unsatisfying. At the moment I cannot get my Beach House and my Bonnie 'Prince' Billy in the same place. I'm sure that if I worked hard enough or paid enough money I could correct this problem but I have neither the patience nor the resources. So instead my listening library is drastically reduced. This is, however, not without its benefits.

I have found myself spending more time with fewer records and as a result have gotten to know them in a way I probably wouldn't have before. I started compiling a list of my 50 favorite albums of 2015 and quickly realized that this is a bit inauthentic. The truth is that I haven't spent enough time with the 50 records I think I like to know if they are really my favorites. So, let's be real. There are maybe 15 albums that I've been able to really get to know remotely well this year. Some of them better than others, but all of them enough to know that they are great.

This is not to say that I didn't enjoy other records this year. There were some from mainstays like Wilco, Bjork, Battles, Deerhunter, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. (I secretly love The Weeknd) And there were break outs from the likes of Dilly Dally, Viet Cong, Bully, All We Are, Ghost Culture, Jessica Pratt...and on and on...I wish I had spent more time with them. But for now I will stick with what I know. These are those, in alphabetical order.

Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear

Knxwledge - Hud Dreems

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

Low - Ones and Sixes

Lower Dens - Escape From Evil

Oddisee - The Good Fight

Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass

Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect

Joan Shelley - Over and Even

Vince Staples - Summertime '06

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell

Earl Sweatshirt - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside

Kamasi Washington - The Epic

Monday, December 22, 2014

best of 2014.

I have been trying to come up with something to say about this year and I keep finding myself failing. The events of the recent months and weeks have made it tempting to look back at 2014 and see nothing but darkness. That would be one way to choose to think about the past 12 months. I could choose to let the injustice, the anger and the sadness overshadow the great relief that was the completion of my master's degree or the small joys of family vacations or the answer to prayer that was full-time employment.

Then I start thinking about choice. It's something I talk about with the people I work with on a daily basis. The power of choice. The paradox of choice. The freedom of choice. Choice seems to be the one thing that is granted to all of us, even in moments when it seems there are no options. We've spent a lot of time judging other people's choices. How would you choose to react if you felt your life was in danger? What would you choose if someone was threatening your family? How do you determine what sort of milk to purchase? What is the best thing to say in this situation? How am I supposed to feel about that?

Having the time to think about what music I listen to and why is a luxury. That is not lost on me. Having the time to type about it, to make lists, to consider what qualifies an album for such lists feels more wasteful now than ever before. I have three kids at home. I work six days a week. There is always something to do. Do I feel guilty about choosing to write about music this week? Yes. I feel guilty about everything. That's a choice.

Here are 50 other choices I've made:

50. Anjou - Anjou
49. The Preatures - Blue Planet Eyes
48. How to Dress Well - "What is This Heart?"
47. Caribou - Our Love
46. Perfume Genius - Too Bright

45. Interpol - El Pintor
44. Ricky Eat Acid - Three Love Songs
43. MØ - No Mythologies to Follow
42. Aphex Twin - Syro
41. Flying Lotus - You're Dead!

40. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
39. La Sera - Hour of the Dawn
38. Wara from the NBHD - Kidnapped
37. Warpaint - Warpaint
36. Millie and Andrea - Drop the Vowels

35. Future Islands - Singles
34. The Roots - ...and Then You Shoot Your Cousin
33. Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy
32. Nothing - Guilty of Everything
31. Freddie Gibbs and Mablib - Pinata

30. Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World
29. Ought - More Than Any Other Day
28. Merchandise - After the End
27. Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
26. Sylvan Esso - Sylvan Esso

25. Lydia Ainsworth - Right From Real
24. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal
23. The Antlers - Familiars
22. Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else
21. Spoon - They Want My Soul

20. Step Brothers - Lord Steppington
19. Actress - Ghettoville
18. Real Estate - Atlas
17. Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like a Bell
16. Beck - Morning Phase

15. Marissa Nadler - July
14. Common - Nobody's Smiling
13. The Men - Tomorrow's Hits
12. St. Vincent - St. Vincent
11. Ty Segall - Manipulator

10. Mac Demarco - Salad Days
9. Wye Oak - Shriek
8. D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
7. Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
6. Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son

5. Pure X - Angel
4. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
3. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
2. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
1. Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire for No Witness

Friday, June 13, 2014

DANGER! your band's been hijacked.

I need to rant a little bit about the Black Keys. Not so much about the Black Keys but about Danger Mouse. Ok, maybe both. I was first turned on to the Black Keys after they were three albums deep into their career. To this day Rubber Factory remains my favorite album in their catalogue. I was delighted to find The Big Come Up and thickfreakness and mostly enjoyed Magic Potion but when they were said to be working with Danger Mouse, the highly touted but mostly boring mind behind the epic Jay-Z/Beatles mash-up The Grey Album, I was skeptical. When I listened to their work together on Attack & Release I tried hard to be a believer. Songs like "Oceans and Streams" and "I Got Mine" gave me hope that the band had not abandoned the basement blues sound of their previous albums but over-produced snoozers like "Psychotic Girl" and the lead single "Strange Times" made it obvious that Danger Mouse was having too large an influence over their sound. That being said, it was different than what they had done before and that, coupled with the hiring of a highly popular outside producer in Danger Mouse, seemed to be enough to garner a larger audience. Fine.

I will admit that since Attack & Release I have become one of this people who says things like, "I knew this band before anyone else was listening to them" (an obvious lie to myself since I've already told you my first exposure to them came on their third album). What attracted to the band in the first place was their gritty, rawness. It was not surprising to learn that Attack & Release was the first album the band recorded in a professional studio. I liked that their prior records sounded dirty, or "unprofessional." Then along came Danger Mouse and ruined everything. Now, after releasing their fourth album with Danger Mouse at the helm, I've almost lost all interest in the band. I pick and choose songs from Brothers and El Camino, which is probably their biggest commercial hit. I've been doing the same with their latest, Turn Blue. And when I heard "Year in Review" I nearly popped a blood vessel in my brain. Where is the damn guitar? This is a band that cites Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson as inspirations. And I had to actually try to hear the guitar. It's a catchy enough song but this band used to tear it up! In fact, four tracks earlier on the album opener "Weight of Love" I was practically giddy with guitar ruffage. I could only come to the conclusion that he'd finally done it, that Danger Mouse had completed his evil plan to take control of my beloved grease grinding, steel plowing, dust wielding, guitar bleeding band and turned them into lifeless, soul-less monotone drones like he has with so many other acts.

So folks, if you're U2 fans I suggest that you band together and intervene now because Danger Mouse has his sights set on your favorite band and he won't rest until he's sucked the fun out of them.

Here's how the Black Keys used to sound:

Friday, December 20, 2013

best of 2013

You ever notice how impatient we are when waiting for things to finish or conclude? And then, when whatever it is we're waiting for finally arrives we very quickly move on to the next thing that needs to be done and start to impatiently wait for that? Like, "I'm looking forward to getting this year over with." And then, "I can't wait to see what this next year has to offer." Or, "I'm really looking forward to finishing this semester so that I can graduate." And then, "I can't wait to find a job so that I can make some money." Or, "I'm really looking forward to the day that my daughter learns to walk." And then, "I can't wait until my daughter can do whatever next thing is developmentally appropriate."

This past year I found myself doing a lot of that. Complete self-disclosure - I started making a list of the best albums of 2013 in January. This year more than ever before I have compiled a list more out of obligation than anything else. I have thought, "I'm looking forward to the end of the year so that I can write a post about it." And I have already caught myself wondering what albums will make my list next year. The problem here is a rather obvious one - in focusing so much on results or conclusions it's easy to miss things in the present, in the here and now. This is, of course, not the first time I've had to learn this lesson. I've done my fair share of waiting and held my fair share of regret about the things I've missed in my impatience. I suspect that it is a lesson that I will spend most of my life trying to learn. After all, there are an unending number of things to distract us from the here and now.

In reviewing the albums on my list for 2013 I have found there are things that I missed. There are records that I wished I had spent more time with, some that made the list and some that didn't. I suspect that if I'd taken more time with Modern Vampires of the City that I would have valued it more. The same could be said for several others in the list below. Over the last week or so I tried to make up for lost time and have been reminded just how great some of the music of 2013 was. In compiling the list, I've simply put the albums I spent the most time with at the top. If I made this list again next week it would likely be different. My hope is that maybe somebody will discover something new, something worth spending time with in the here and now. And if not, there is sure to be more in the weeks, months and year to come.

50. Oddisee - Tangible Dream

49. The Belle Game - Ritual Tradition Habit

48. Mitzi - Truly Alive

47. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - II

46. Deafheaven - Sunbather