as required. (best of 2012)

I don't know what to say, really. Just another life altering year. Became a father. Quit my job. Read many books and took many tests and wrote many papers. Said lots of quick prayers. Moved into a new apartment. Spent time with friends, old and new. Did not devote any time whatsoever to this here blog. But the year is coming to a close and now I am required to provide a list of what I consider to be the best 50 albums of 2012. This was a great year for rap music. I suggest to you that hip-hop is not yet dead. I said this last year, I wish that I had more time to write about each and every one of these 50, but I have diapers to change and bottles to prepare. Here is the run down, from the least favorite to the most adored. Enjoy.

50. Allah-Las - Allah-Las
49. Twin Shadow - Confess
48. JJ Doom - Key to the Cuffs
47. Bobby Womack - The Bravest Man in the Universe
46. Pond - Beard, Wives, Denim 

45. Exitmusic - Passage
44. Father John Misty - Fear Fun
43. Now, Now - Threads
42. Common - The Dreamer, The Believer
41. Nas - Life is Good

40. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
39. Hospitality - Hospitality 
38. Mount Eerie - Ocean Roar
37. Menomena - Moms
36. Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody's Echo Chamber

35. The Mynabirds - Generals
34. Animal Collective - Centipede Hz 
33. Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
32. Joey Bada$$ - 1999
31. Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred

30. Lilacs and Champagne - Lilacs and Champagne
29. Aesop Rock - Skelethon
28. M. Ward - Wasteland Companion
27. Bowerbirds - The Clearing
26. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

25. Chairlift - Something
24. Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action at a Distance
23. Oh No - Ohnomite
22. Action Bronson - Blue Chips
21. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

20. Flying Lotus - Until the Quiet Comes
19. Tennis - Young and Old
18. Lower Dens - Nootropics
17. Lambchop - Mr. M
16. Damien Jurado - Maraqopa

15. Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man
14. Grizzly Bear - Shields
13. El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
12. Purity Ring - Shrines
11. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

10. Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
 9. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, m.A.A.d. City
 8. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
 7. DIIV - Oshin
 6. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

 5. Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse
 4. Andrew Bird - Break it Yourself
 3. Shearwater - Animal Joy
 2. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
 1. Beach House - Bloom

royalty, birds and forgiveness

I have found myself with a whole lotta free time recently and I've spent a lot of it reading. I've learned things like Will Oldham first made music under various incarnations of the name "Palace". There was Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music and plain old Palace. That was from 1993 to 1997. Then after one release under his birth name he became Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Now he's 39, bald and kind of ugly (sorry Will). I took to his 2008 release Lie Down in the Light rather quickly and still turn to it often. It's kind of quiet and sweet despite his imperfect voice and feels like the work of a much older folk musician. I have never listened to any of his other fifteen recordings as "Prince" Billy, even though I have five of them in my possession.

In my reading I have also learned that this band I've been listening to called Shearwater actually started as a side project of another band called Okkerville River. That band, Okkerville River, made an album I liked in 2007 called The Stage Names. In particular, the song "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" became one of my favorites of that year. Now I'm getting to know Shearwater's 2008 release Rook. Shearwater was formed by Okkerville members Will Sheff and Jonathan Meiburg. As it turns out, Sheff is no longer a part of Shearwater and Meiburg is no longer a member of Okkerville River. I'm not sure why any of this is relevant, but I found it interesting. Something else that's interesting, "Shearwater" is the name of medium sized seabird. Meibug has a Master's degree in Ornithology (the study of birds). I'm assuming he choose the band name.

I read that the band Broken Social Scene is less like a band and more like an outlet for bored musicians. Founders Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning are the constants. Just about everything else is up in the air. Sometimes Feist is involved. Sometimes she's not. You're a member a Canadian indie band? You're in the neighborhood? There's an open mic for you! Members of Stars, Metric and Do Make Say Think are all contributors. BSS has a new album. It's called Forgiveness Rock Record. I like the title.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy's second album, Ease Down the Road, was released in 2001. It's noticeably different than the 2008 album I liked so much. On "A King at Night" he sings things like - Where is my queen, she's as gone as she can be. She was a fine looking lady and she liked to go down on me, and I liked to go down on her too. I think it's safe to say Ease Down the Road is not quite sweet. It seems a bit more bitter, but maybe that's just because I haven't gotten to know it well enough. Something tells me that songs like "Grand Dark Feeling of Emptiness" won't exactly change my mind.

Jonathan Meiburg does the singing and songwriting for Shearwater. He doesn't sound like your normal indie band leader. His voice is almost operatic. He displays great range on Rook, and his writing is more dramatic than anything I've heard from Will Sheff and Okkerville River. The result is a sprawling sound with Meiburg softly setting the stage at one turn and then calling the whole show down the next. Mirroring Meiburg's voice, Shearwater doesn't sound like your typical indie group. This is intelligent, mature music. They're a less folksy version of the Decemberists, putting on a Broadway musical instead of a Civil War reenactment.

Forgiveness Rock Record doesn't sound all that different from the previous two Broken Social Scene albums (You Forgot it in People and Broken Social Scene). That's a credit to Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and the other handful of regulars. There is something slightly different about the way this record sounds though and I can't quite put my finger on it. After the first couple of listens it feels like it's missing a heart. It's still a big sound with lots of percussion and lots of layers, but something didn't make it in the pot when this one got thrown together. I'm hoping that listening to it more will prove me wrong, but I'm not so sure.

This is what I'm listening to this week, along with some Radiohead, Over the Rhine, The National and all the old school hip-hop Pandora can throw at me.



Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Ease Down the Road (2001)
I like "Just to See My Holly Home"




Shearwater - Rook (2008)
"The Snow Leopard" will give you a good sampling of their sound.




Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record (2010)
The opener is nice, "World Sick"