See all the rankings here.
If I’d heard the Mastodon and Gossip albums earlier, my votes might have been slightly different. But here’s a hip hip hooray for the 15 people besides me who awarded points to The Black Crowes: “Hip, hip, hooray!”
I hate arriving late to the party. But, better late than never. Three days ago, Stereogum revealed a new mp3 by White Hinterland. The electronic sound of “Icarus” is completely different from the band’s debut Phylactory Factory and subsequent EP Lumiculaire. I just hope that on the upcoming album, Kairos (release date March 9), Casey Dienel doesn’t skimp on the piano work. She’s such a great pianist; it would be a shame for the new album not to have a few songs that are more piano-driven.
Here’s the track list for my Christmas present to you, which can be downloaded here.
1. “Wholehearted Mess” (Pink Skull remix) – Bear in Heaven
2. “Economics” – Blakfish
3. “Answer is Zero” – Dappled Cities
4. “Reborn” – FACT
5. “Cutis Anserina” – Fiasco
6. “Wander Aimlessly” – Foreign Born
7. “Arrive” – HORSE the Band
8. “Skipping Across the Autobahn” – Banzai
9. “Meddler” – August Burns Red
10. “Sound Guardians – Lightening Bolt
11. “Unfolding” – Former Ghosts
12. “Heavy Cross” – Gossip
13. “Chip Away” – Jane’s Addiction
14. “Non-Entity” – Nine Inch Nails
15. “The Oath” – Street Sweeper Social Club
The semester is over. I’m now an M.A. hopeful…just holding my breath ’til those grades come in. What this means for you: more content coming right up! With more frequency and more enthusiasm, now that I’ve actually got time on my hands.
In the meantime, here’s my message of supplication to the profs who are deciding what my final grades will be.
P.S. I’ve added a Tip Jar in the right sidebar. You know, just in case…
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Want to listen to what OH is listening to? Find me on Blip.fm @lindasusername. Or just go here. It’s like a tweetable radio station, but instead of tweets, they’re called blips. I’ve been blipping like mad ever since I learned about the site a couple hours ago.
Brooklyn noise rockers and eardrum splitters A Place to Bury Strangers play the Bowery Ballroom tonight at 8:00 pm. With Dead Confederate and All the Saints. Get your tickets here.
Here’s the title track off the new APTBS album, Exploding Head.
Music journalist Ben Westhoff recently tipped me off about The Renaldo The Ensemble. I’m diggin’ ‘em. On their myspace page, they’re described as “a band/absurdist theater collective.” (More info on the theatre part can be found here.)
This video reminds me of the Buñuel/Dalí film Un chien andalou.
Paste Magazine is accepting votes for the ten best albums and films of the last decade. You can vote via the Paste website, Twitter, or Facebook.
How could I possibly narrow down to just ten all the albums I’ve liked since 2000? I’m sure my best-of list will leave out artists whose fabulous albums I haven’t heard or just won’t listen to because I can’t get into their music despite how good it is. Besides, what criteria makes an album one of the best? Are we talking the most influential albums–the most artistically significant–of the decade? The most popular? Albums with politically important songs? Albums whose songs featured prominently in the consciousness of listeners everywhere? Or, just in the U.S.A.? Moreover, the decade isn’t over yet. What about those releases yet to come? For certain, “best” is too broad a term.
Even so, I’m going to succumb to this tempting opportunity to be opinionated and exclusive. Here’s my list, which I reserve the right to amend at the end of 2009, in descending order of best-ness. (Note: This list will not include Arcade Fire or Radiohead because I don’t listen to them. I know. I’m such sinner against the gods of indie/alternative music.)
1. The White Stripes — Elephant (2003)
2. OutKast — Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2004)
3. Green Day — American Idiot (2004)
4. Amy Winehouse — Back to Black (2006)
5. Kanye West — Late Registration (2005)
6. Muse — Origin of Symmetry (2001)
7. Constantines — Kensington Heights (2008)
8. Pearl Jam — Pearl Jam (2006)
9. The Black Crowes –- Before the Frost…Until the Freeze (2009)
10. NIN – Year Zero (2007)
