2013: The Year in Music

2013 was another epic year for music. This year represented a shift in the way I purchase and consume music. While vinyl LPs still make up a bulk of my purchases and CDs are still a very tiny part, this year I purchased new music on cassette for the first time in ages. Also, downloads are now a more viable option with CD quality lossless and 24 bit becoming more widely available thanks to Bandcamp, HDtracks, Qobuz, and others. I still prefer shopping at traditional brick and mortar record stores and only prefer downloads when it it is the only viable option. Now the download sites and labels need to fix pricing. Something is wrong when the CD costs less than the crappy sounding MP3. Enough ranting. Onto the lists. I have it divided into three sections. The first is the 25 best new releases of 2013 in order, with number 1 being the best. Following that are 75 runner's up, in alphabetical order. Lastly are 20 reissues/archival/etc. releases, also in alphabetical order. A couple 2012 releases might have squeezed in – deal with it. Enjoy.

The 25 Best Records of 2013

1. Lucrecia Dalt – Syzygy

2. Aidan Baker – Already Drowning

3. Jenny Hval – Innocence is Kinky

4. Julianna Barwick – Nepenthe

5. Colleen – The Weighing of the Heart

6. Broken Deer – Polaraura

7. Mazzy Star – Seasons of Your Day

8. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare 3

9. Zola Jesus – Versions

10. Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter Two

11. Félicia Atkinson – Visions/Voices

12. Julia Holter – Loud City Song

13. Grouper – The Man Who Dies In His Boat

14. La Femme – Psycho Tropical Berlin

15. Matmos – The Marriage of True Minds

16. FKA Twigs – EP2

17. Oval – Calidostópia! & Voa

18. Tiger Village – Tiger Village I, II, III

19. Saltland – It Was Us But It Was All of Us

20. Broadcast – Berberian Sound Studio OST

21. Tim Hecker – Virgins

22. Bérangère Maximin -  Infinitesimal

23. Rachel Zeffira – The Deserters

24. Sean McCann – Music for Private Ensemble

25. Camera Obscura – Desire Lines

75 Honorable Mentions

Noël Akchoté – Green Lands

Ólöf Arnalds - Sudden Elevation

Asian Women on the Telephone – hour of Lavsan

Atoms for Peace – Amok

Austra – Olympia

Blixa Bargeld & Teho Teardo – Still Smiling

Baths – Obsidian

Jim Black's AlasNoAxis – Antiheroes

James Blake – Overgrown

Dean Blunt – The Redeemer

Body / Head – Coming Apart

David Bowie – The Next Day

Broken Deer – Unseen World

Harold Budd – Jane 1-11

Shane Caruth – Upstream Color OST

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away

Chelsea Light Moving – S/T

Circuit des Yeux – Overdue

Coco Rosie – Tales of Grass Widow

Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

Dawn of Midi – Dysnomia

Tanya Donelly – Swan Song Series Vol. 1-4

Dave Douglas – Time Travel

Kevin Drumm – Tannenbaum

Ensemble HD – Live at the Happy Dog

Esmerine – Dalmak

Bill Frisell – Big Sur

Focus Group - The Elektrik Karousel

Foetus – Soak

M. Geddes Gengras – Collected Works Vol. 1: The Moog Years

Glasser – Interiors

Laurel Halo – Chance of Rain

Françoise Hardy - Message personnel

Rene Hell – Vanilla Call Option

Robyn Hitchcock – Love From London

Lonnie Holley - Just Before Music

Je Suis Le Petit Chevalier - Those Vermillion Sands

Jerusalem In My Heart - Mo7it Al-Mo7it

Kronos Quartet – Aheym

Okkyung Lee – Ghil

Local Natives – Hummingbird

David Lynch – The Big Dream

Maharaja Sweets – Cream Juice

Cliff Martinez – Only God forgives OST

Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Electro Acoustic Ensemble - The Space Between

Pat Metheny - Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20

Janelle Monae – The Electric Lady

Thurston Moore & Loren Connors – The Only Way to Go Is Straight Through

Thurston Moore & John Zorn - @

My Bloody Valentine – MBV

The National – Trouble Will Find Me

Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks

Noveller – No Dreams

The Octopus Project – Fever Forms

Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band – Take Me to the Land of Hell

Ashley Paul – Line the Clouds

Lee Ranaldo and the Dust – Last Night on Earth

Elliott Sharp Aggregat – Quintet

She & Him – Volume 3

Matthew Shipp – Piano Sutras

Sigur Rós – Kveikur

Small Black – Limits of Desire

Marnie Stern – The Chronicles of Marnia

The Thing – Boot!

Ken Vandermark's Topology / Nonet – Impressions of Po Music

Tiger Village – Tiger Village IV: Six North

Mick Turner – Don't Tell the Driver

Vanessa Paradis – Love Songs

Max Richter - Disconnect

Washed Out – Paracosm

Weekend – Jinx

William Winant – Five American Percussion Pieces

C. Spencer Yeh / Okkyung Lee / Lasse Marhaug - Wake Up Awesome

Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Evan Parker, John Edwards, Tony Marsh, John Butcher – Quintet/Sextet

20 Archival/Reissues/etc.

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops Box

The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations

Miles Davis – Mono reissues

Do Make Say Think – S/T

Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours 35th Anniversary Edition

Thelonious Monk - Paris 1969

Nirvana – In Utero 20^th Anniversary

Oval – Systemische / 94 Diskont

Van Dyke Parks – Song Cycle

Public Enemy - 25^th Anniversary Collection

R.E.M. - Green 25^th Anniversary

Akos Rozmann – Images of the Dream and Death

Sly & the Family Stone - There's A Riot Going On

Sly & the Family Stone – Higher

V/A - Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1980-1987

V/A – I Am the Center: Private Issue New Age Music in America 1950-1990

V/A – Kill Rock Stars / Stars Kill Rock / Rock Stars Kill

V/A – No Alternative

V/A - Scared to Get Happy: A Story of Indie-Pop 1980-1989

The 10 Best Records for the First Half of 2013

So far, 2013 has been a great year for music. I've probably purchased and listened to more music during the first six months of 2013 than any year in recent memory, partly due to my early retirement and Bandcamp. Here is a list in descending order of my 10 favorite records that have been released so far this year.

10. La Femme - Psycho Tropical Berlin

9. Broadcast - Berberian Sound Studio

8. Matmos - The Marriage of True Minds

7. Grouper - The Man Who Died in His Boat

6. Ashley Paul - Line the Clouds

5. Rachel Zeffira - The Deserters

4. Oval - Calidostópia!

3. Jenny Hval - Innocence is Kinky

2. Colleen - The Weighing of the Heart

1. Aidan Baker - Already Drowning

The Best Records of 2012

In 2012 I consumed more music than any year in recent memory. It was tough to narrow it down to 50 albums of new music and 20 reissues etc. If a couple of the years don’t match up if you look stuff up, tough. It's my list. The first section has my 50 best new albums, with the top 10 in numerical order, with 1 being the best, and the remainder in alphabetical order. I also included a video highlighting each of the top 10. It was too difficult to order all of them this year. The second section has the 20 best reissues etc. in alphabetical order. Questions, comments, and criticism are more than welcome.

The 50 Best New Albums of 2012

1.  Neneh Cherry & The Thing – The Cherry Thing

2. Julia Holter – Exstasis

3. Les Momies De Palerme - Brûlez Ce Coeur

4. Holly Herndon – Movement

5. Nuojuva - Valot Kaukaa

6. Valgeir Sigurðsson – Architecture of Loss

7. Brian Eno – Lux

8. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!

9. Melody's Echo Chamber – S/T

10. Bérangère Maximin – No One Is An Island

2:54 – S/T

Allo Darlin – Europe

Beach House – Bloom

Bears – Greater Lakes

Best Coast – The Only Place

Blanche Blanche Blanche - Wink With Both Eyes

Peter Buck – S/T

David Byrne & St. Vincent – Love This Giant

John Cale – Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood

Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory

Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas

Diiv – Oshin

Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan

Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits

Bob Dylan - Tempest

Grimes – Visions

Grizzly Bear - Shields

Hospitality – S/T

Jim Jarmusch & Jozef Van Wissem - The Mystery of Heaven / Concerning the Entrance into Eternity

Lower Dens – Nootropics

Lee Ranaldo – Between The Times and the Tides

Laetitia Sadier – Silencio

Menomena – Moms

Micachu and the Shapes – Never

Mono – For My Parents

Off! - S/T

Yoko Ono / Kim Gordon / Thurston Moore - YOKOKIMTHURSTON

Prince Rama – Top 10 Hits of the End of the World

Purity Ring - S/T

Ramona Falls – Prophet

Frankie Rose – Interstellar

Sigur Rós – Valtari

School of Seven Bells – Ghostory

Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror

Stars – The North

Teen – In Limbo

Thee Satisfaction – Awe Naturale

Wild Nothing – Nocturne

Bobby Womack – The Bravest Man In the Universe

Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill

The 20 Best Reissues, Box Sets, Compilation, or Live Records of 2012, in Alphabetical Order

V/A – SID Chip Sounds: Music of the Commodore 64

Johnny Cash – Live Austin, TX

Eraserhead - OST

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

GZA - Liquid Swords

Lee Hazlewood – A House Safe For Tigers

Lee Hazlewood – The LHI Years

My Bloody Valentine - EPs

My Bloody Valentine – Isn't Anything

My Bloody Valentine – Loveless

Paul Simon – Graceland

Pauline Oliveros - Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961 – 1970

Roxy Music - The Complete Studio Recordings 1972-1982

Royal Trux – Accellerator

Sonic Youth – Smart Bar, Chicago, 1985

Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet

Stereolab – Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements

Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman

Velvet Underground - & Nico 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box set

The 50 Best Records of 2011

2011 was a much better year in music than I was expecting. At the beginning of the year there wasn;t a whole lot that I was really looking forward to, but as the year progressed, a lot of good records cam out. Listed below are my top 50 from the past year, with #1 being my absolute favorite. Who could have guessed that Kate Bush would have new music, let alone the best of her career. As usual, most are available on vinyl and should be purchased at Music Saves for maximum listening pleasure. And now, the list:

1. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow
   
2. Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Beans, and Hprizm - Knives from Heaven
3. Zola Jesus - Conatus
4. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
5. Tune-Yards - Whokill
6. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
7. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
8. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
9. James Blake - S/T
10. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now
11. People Like Us - Welcome Abroad
12. Battles - Gloss Drop
13. TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light
14. Février - The Lover
15. Brian Eno & Rick Holland - Drums Beween the Bells
16. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
17. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams and He Gets Me High EP
18. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
19. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
20. Esmerine - La Lechuza
21. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
22. Wild Nothing - Gemeni
23. Active Child - You Are All I See
24. The Black Keys - El Camino
25. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
26. Austra - Feel It Break
27. Can’t - Dreams Come True
28. Les Cousins Dangereux - Play “All Sprinkles”
29. Washed Out - Within and Without
30. Cults - S/T
31. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
32. Zomby - Dedication
33. Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts
34. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for my Halo
35. Feist - Metals
36. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
37. Cœur de Pirate - Blonde
38. Class Actress - Rapprocher
39. Twin Sister - In Heaven
40. Tennis - Cape Dory
41. Gill Scott-Heron and Jamie XX - We’re New Here
42. Frankie Rose and the Outs - S/T
43. Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi - Rome
44. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
45. Efrim Manuel Menuck - Plays “High Gospel”
46. Das Racist - Relax
47. Cloud Nothings - S/T
48. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.- It’s A Corporate World
49. Wye Oak - Civilian
50. Daryl Hall - Laughing Down Crying

Here is the part where I usually list the best reissues and archival recordings. Well, there were some good ones in 2011, but only one really matters - The Beach Boys' Smile Sessions. This has been 40+ years in the making and is worth every penny. Yes, you really do need an entire CD of Good Vibrations outtakes.

Record Store Day 2011

Saturday 16 April 2011 was the fourth annual Record Store Day, my favorite holiday of the year. For those of you out of the loop it is a celebration of independent record stores with a lot of exclusive limited edition releases that sell out in a matter of minutes. In order to get these releases one must line up outside his or her favorite record store well before they open. My day started at 8:00 am when I got up, got ready, and headed out to pick up the most awesome person in all of Cleveland. I picked her up and we headed east to the Waterloo area of Colinwood. But first, we stopped off at the Root Café for some much needed coffee. Once we arrived on Waterloo we promptly got in line for the best record store in Cleveland, Music Saves. We arrived at approximately 10:30 and there were already around 20 people in line. The store doesn't open until Noon. It was raining and we had one crappy $1.99 umbrella to share between us. We made some small talk with the other folks in line and made another coffee run, this time at the Arts Colinwood Café. At 12:00 sharp the store opened and a mad rush of people ran inside. Despite the insanity and huge mass of people in the small store I was able to get almost everything I wanted. The only things I didn't get were the Nirvana EP and the Beach Boy's 78s. I did get some pretty awesome stuff though.

Sonic Youth Whore's Moaning EP

Grinderman Evil 12"

Grinderman Palaces of Montezuma 12"

Television Live at the Old Waldorf double LP

James Blake's debut self titled double LP

Shoreway's debut 7" Daylight Dream b/w Empty Lot

The Villagers & Charlotte Gainsbourg split 7"

After we got what we wanted, we headed down the street to Blue Arrow Records, Cleveland's best used record store. Here I picked up a few used records to fill in some holes in my collection.

Hall & Oates Abandoned Luncheonette

Fleetwood Mac Rumours

Henry Mancini The Pink Panther OST

Next, we headed to Star Pop Vintage. They primarily sell vintage toys and collectibles but do have a small use vinyl section. I picked up Men Without Hats Rhythm of Youth for nostalgia reasons. I used to own the cassette in my younger days and thought the vinyl would be a nice addition to my collection.

At this point we were getting hungry and needed a cocktail. We headed to the Beachland Tavern for brunch where we had some yummy bloody Marys and some delicious food. We then wandered downstairs to This Way Out where I bought a few more records.

Sly & The Family Stone Greatest Hits

Esquivel Strings Aflame

Bonjour Tristesse OST. Purchased just for the Saul Bass cover art.

We then stopped by Native Cleveland and browsed their selection of cool t-shirts and other Cleveland centric goods. I picked up a P.O.C T-shirt which is pretty fucking cool if you ask me. The rest of the afternoon was spen alternating between Music Saves, The Beachland Tavern, and Blue Arrow records to catch several local bands. At around 8:00 or so we headed up to the Heights and grabbed some dinner at Tommy's. Food was delicious and the milkshakes are the best in Cleveland. Next up was the Grog Shop to see Zola Jesus. Nika Roza Danilova has one of the best and most powerful voices in music today. The show was amazing. I bought some ore records at the show.

LA Vampires Meets Zola Jesus EP

Zola Jesus Souer Sewer 7" single

We bumped into several friends during the show and all decided to go to La Cave du Vin for a nightcap. I had a Stone Old Guardian Belgo which was absolutely amazing. A barleywine brewed with a Belgian yeast strain. Great conversations with friends made last call arrive too quickly. Drove back to the west side and ended the long day with side one of Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. A perfect way to end a perfect day. Now to start counting down to Record Store Day 2012.