Saniel Bonders's Own Personal List Page

Brooklyn til I Die

2012-01-02T22:28:00.001-05:00

damn, son. hold your horses, fish or cut bait, shit or get off the pot. IT IS TIME. i'm different from you, yes'sir, I am. I don't listen to cutting edge jams, the newest of the new. I don't know many 2011 albums, but I know a few -- and of those few, I have 5 (cinco, cinq) favorites.

y'all ready for this?

5. The Leaving - Lee Miles

I know this man. Seriously. I know that you are probably jealous. This album was released in January of 2011 - one year ago. It's a comfort music, a rustic, blood flowing through my veins, welcome home sound. Lee Miles deserves about one billion more times recognition than he gets. He's a great song writer, amazing singer, beautiful musician and my friend on facebook. (Boom, baby) Bigger bands with similar sounds need to be dethroned by The Leaving, in my opinion. Do yourselves a favor, pick this up.
Favorite Track: Where Nebulae Die

4. nostalgia, ultra - Frank Ocean

New to R&B and eager, I've fallen in love with Frank Ocean. I don't know what to listen for, what to praise, what to say - just that, his voice... *sigh* his voice. Other than that, let's see... hmmm.. he's on, like, *every body's* list this year. That has got to say something. Truth and feelings and taking political stances and being smooth as hell will get you places, I guess. As I explore more R&B and I mautre my preferences, I'll be more thorough about what stands out... I am excited about my developing tastes, and I'm glad this is a journey I'm taking with Frank Ocean.
Favorite Track: American Wedding (I know, I know - I'm so predictable)

3. Deceiver - Jon Keller

I have one question for you -- can you even believe this guy? I mean, seriously?? First, let's start out by segregating the very first sounds to bring us into this album.. dammit. Innovative and ballsy. Jon Keller is one hell of a musician, all the way around. He embodies passion for music and has the artistic follow-through needed to pull off this sophomore album. Vocals are beautiful on all 10 tracks and the lyrics parallel the sound. Sometimes, when, in the quiet, I'm thinking about how lucky I am, I can't believe he's one of my best friends. Some one so talented shouldn't even know I exist.
Noteworthy moments in the album: catchy riff throughout Coaxed (track 3), truthful pains during A Bottle Tonight (track 5), nearly tangible, unprecedented anger during Face the Facts augmented by the creepy dark circus keyboarding at mark 2:15(track 9)..
Favorite Track: Pangs

2. Take Care - Drake

Excuse me for a moment while I bring the tempo down to a sexy beat. Okay, ready? Featuring big names in the commercial pop hip hop world, this album kicks tons of asses and remains introspective and not as trite as the Sprite advertisement might make you think... This is a smooth, humming 3am album, but be warned: a warm wine buzz is appropriate for this slightly melancholy, slightly narcissistic album. I love it. Mostly, I'm not one to pick apart the nuances that make something great -- when it's great, you feel it. And here we are, Drake. An awkwardly misplaced white girl in the mid-west has fallen in love with you. Congratulations.
Favorite Track: Under Ground Kings

1. Watch the Throne - Jay-Z & Kanye West

Don't even tell me you didn't see this coming. I can't help it. I tried this year, I really did. It can't be helped. God damn these beats, y'all - from the first second, I'm captivated. Why? Everything. Every reason. Seriously. I don't know if I'm envious or just totally snowed, but come on! Hova and Ye - bringing it. I feel like I didn't know it, but all my life I was waiting on this album. The seriously, deep rooted narcissism really speaks to me. I know! I'm shrugging my shoulders at my musical tastes, too. It's like a star-crossed love affair, but embracing it is what I choose. Let's talk about how cool it is to be so rich AND TO BRAG ABOUT IT when so many people are poor... IT'S NOT COOL, but i love it. I can't, with a clear conscience, defend this. So, I won't try. They compliment each other well, don't they? Their voices, their visions, their moneys... *sigh* Oh man. It's big time for me during Otis. I'm just like, "yeah, yeah, yeah" supplemented with fist pumps the whole song. ((who am I?)) I KNEW I shouldn't have read that article about Jay in GQ this fall, but I did, and that's what cleared it up for me: I'm a fan. And I've always been. Ye rules, too, don't get me wrong with his attention to detail and stylish, very contemporary lyrics... but Jay-Z, he's it for me this year. 2011 belongs to him. Throw your hands up, Leo. Surrender. Jay is king of the world.
Favorite Track(s): (TIED) Gotta Have It and Made In America

My favorite songs of 2011

2011-12-29T08:21:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Oliver James Harpe. I've been alive since August 9th. Wow, what a crazy world, huh? Don't you love toys? And things that jut outwards from surfaces? And cats? I'll tell you what else is great: songs. These are some of my favorite songs of this year (my only year ha ha am I right?).

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Stained Glass Body

This song is great for calming down and sleeping. I mostly liked this song when I was younger. My tastes have matured since then.

Lonely Old Man

This is the next song that I really loved. My parents and I think it's hilarious.

Skinnimarink

This song has great hand motions. My dad does them really well.

Alphabet Song/Shapes Song

These songs are the work of A. J. Jenkins, who's pretty much my favorite artist right now. His songs are so great, and are accompanied by shapes and letters which have faces, just like people do! I feel like he really gets me. No matter what mood I'm in, these tunes set me right.

Well, that's it. These are pretty much the top songs out there. Bye for now. I've got to go practice this new high-pitched squeal that I now use to express every human emotion.

Top Hot Shots of 2011

2011-12-21T23:03:00.000-05:00

New real lists coming as soon as vaca starts. But for now, PING PONG!

List her? I hardly know her.

2011-12-21T11:04:00.006-05:00

Wow, what an unexpected boon to my household! List season is here again. What a year, huh guys? My faith-based craft business took off in a big way. I was elected to Congress. I finally killed that sonofabitch Andy. And it was a great year for music too!

In the past these lists have gotten way out of hand, so I'm going to limit it to a quick and dirty top 15 this year. If you'd like to hear more of my top picks, you can go to hell.

15. Federico Durand - El Extasis de las Flores Pequenas

Piano and field recordings. Very beautiful and sleepy. Supposedly it's about his childhood. I'll buy that.

14. Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder

Previously I've always hated those annoying chipmunk sounding voices that are in hip hop sometimes. You guys know what I mean, right? Well, now I love them thanks to this.

13. M. Ostermeier - The Rules of Another Small World

This is another album of piano and field recordings. I guess I'm a sucker for stuff like this. This one is a bit more minimalistic. Very gentle.

12. Mountains - Air Museum

I feel like Mountains aren't very highly regarded by some, but they're a personal favorite of mine. This is their most consistent release to date, I think. Saw these bros at Neon Marshmallow Fest.

11. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

A new direction for ole Danny. Way more samples and way less drones. When Andy and I saw him at NMF, his set fell about halfway between this and Returnal. I'd like to see him put that down on paper, so to speak.

10. Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place

So many layers of beautiful voice pouring into your ears. It doesn't get any better than that.

9. Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere

Some great melancholy piano compositions from this modern classical dog. I've listened to the song "Fragile N. 4" about a million times this year.

8. The Field - Looping State of Mind

Awesome beats and sounds repeating over and over again. I'm not sure why this isn't boring like most house music, but it's not. I love it.

7. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

Andy suggested that Tim Hecker's music has always sounded wintry. I, however, have always felt his music to be notable for the incredible warmth of its noise. In any case, this album is clearly some chilly stuff. Definitely more aggressive than some of his previous releases.

6. Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure

There's not a dull moment on this album! It's overflowing with delicious sounds. So many good ideas.

5. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

M83 is about the best thing going, despite the fact that he continues to use that dumb talking girl all the time. It makes me feel like he could make the best album ever by simply not doing that.

4. Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony

Here's another awesome friend we saw at the fest. Jeff Witscher's latest is definitely his most accessible, but it's not without a lot of abrasive moments. A real synth master.

3. Steve Hauschildt - Tragedy and Geometry

Speaking of synth masters...I always thought of Steve Hauschildt as the most abstract and conceptual artist in the Emeralds gang, so this is totally not what I was expecting. I bet some people (Paco?) were disappointed with it. Granted, there is a lot of stuff that kind of sounds like this, but I think this is totally the best.

2. Lee Noble - Horrorism

I wasn't a fan of some of his previous drone releases, but I'm in love with this album. Great songs awash in so much beautiful noise and sound. "Horrorism" is supposed to refer a fake art movement that he invented. Don't worry, it's not scary.

1. Sean McCann - The Capital

Sean's been putting out top quality releases at an insane pace over the last few years. I feel like this is kind of the culmination of that whole period. There's a lot of really different sounding stuff here, but it all seems to draw from the best of what he's been doing lately. I can't recommend this enough!

Okay okay, here's some stuff that would've made a longer list. It's all great.

Golden Retriever - Light Cones (side one is amazing!)
Lunar Miasma - The Gateway
Niggas With Guitars - Ethnic Frenzy
Deaf Center - Owl Splinters
Aerial Jungle - Tales of Acoustic Levitation
Grouper - A | A
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
Belong - Common Era
EUS - Trans El Horizonte
Higuma - Pacific Fog Dreams
Julia Kent - Green and Grey
Juv - Juv
Mandelbrot & Skyy - OD-Axis
Mist - House
Polymer Slug - Cloud Types
Panabrite - Nordsee
Noveller - Glacial Glow
Motion Sickness of Time Travel - Luminaries and Synastry
M. Geddas Grengas - This Could Be the Last Time
Father - Return of Father
Deep Magic - Sky Haze
Sundrips - Just a Glimpse
Sky Stadium - Palmae
Pure X - Pleasure
Quiet Evenings - Transcending Spheres
Cliffsides - Liquid Mirrors

2011-12-19T00:52:00.033-05:00

Sup dopes; i mean teds and carlas. do you know what time it is? it is time. my god what a year right. as most of you know i really got a promotion this year big. now i have nothing to worry about in this world except for lists. and one can make many lists, but i can make only one. so that's what i'm about to do. make list.

but first:
this year was a good year. but even in good years bad disasters befall good computers. this year was no exception for disasters or computers. Once, there was this bad drought, and our computer got so thirsty and then it died. the doctors tried to make it alive again, and they did, but not before it forgot all that it once knew, including known pictures and songs, and that stuff; like the english patient, i think, i haven't seen that movie.

it forgot it all.
and in the process i learned a very valuable lesson which is this: my mind isn't good at knowing what it likes and knowing what's important. it's so hard. but i have tried my damndest and i have gave it my all. starting from scratch we have been rebuilding our music library and collection selection. and from that and my recollection(seuss) i present you with:
BAM: LIST FOR MUSIC FOR YOU FOR THE PAST YEAR!!

i have split my one big list into four sub-lists. they aren't the most coherent but they are the best that i could manage, what with the economy and all.

section 1: for the people (pop/indie rock kinda stuff)
i figure i will start things off nice and easy. just dip our toes in kinda stuff. anybody other than my dad could pick up these boys and say "wow, those boys are great for my ears and good for my spirit and attitude."

M83 "hurry up we're dreaming"

you guys know these guys. here we have a double album that rocks you to the socks. man i can't get enough of most of these songs. i just wanna hear them. especially steve mcqueen and that song
with the cute little girl about magic frogs. ONG Also, only minimal occurrences of that whiny girl talking in the middle of songs, which is always a plus for M83. (She should keep those feelings in her diary and out of my music).

James Blake "james blake"

this guy. ha. im not really sure. part of me feels like this is a guilty pleasure; part of me feels like i could listen to him openly in public and feel bad-ass; im torn. either way some real good maple syrup. any song that talks about kestrels is winning in my book.

Bon Iver "bon iver"

Duh. Bon Iver. I mean any dude whose voice sounds like 10,000 angels has to make the list. don't matter one bit about the autotune. sorry.

Ford & Lopatin "channel pressure"

Who's feeling risky? You? Pink shirt, third row? Yeah, way to go! Ok so this one is so good, but also made from ancient keyboards and weird old synthesizers, not your modern guitars and justin biebers. but shoot the shit and give it a try.

Right? Told yah.

section 2: Oh my God, no way!/sounds for chillin
things now begin to unravel a little bit. these songs are a little less normal, but in many cases 15 or 52% more beautiful than those above. this is one of the sections that doesn't really coalesce as much, but who cares. maybe it does.

Alexander Turnquist "hallway of mirrors"

for starters, i heard of this instrument called a guitar. man what cool sounds! but if you take this guy, and you give him one of those, man oh man oh man. i just found this gem not so long ago, but it is sooo good and sooo pretty. you should all listen to it when you are in need of sweet sounds. i recommend for use in the car, at home, the office, quiet dinner parties, the study, or to give to the barber to put on while he is trimming the ole neck-line (i prefer mine rounded). you'll be surprised.

Julianna Barwick "the magic place"
so there is this girl. she sings these words that you can't make out. but she sings them and records them at one pitch, then does the same thing for like a hundred different pitches that all harmonize and blend perfectly like a host of heavenly angels and my god if it doesn't warrant a little reverence and maybe even some repentance. check it out (especially on sunday)

Geotic "mend"

i don't really know what to say about this one. i mean, i think you will like it, it's good.
you liked that Baths album last year, right? well this is by him, but under a different name. and totally different (no beats). but so good. maybe like the soundtrack to a dream where good things are happening, like lots of flying above cool cities or chocolate baseball diamonds. not sure.
you tell me.

section 3: dope beeps/ ughhh what? cool!
here we digress but in such a good way. this is where songs disintegrate into sounds, but wow guys, these sounds are so good and pretty. sheesh just give it a go.

Mountains "air museum"

i have loved these guys for so long; but then they put out this new album and then my friend and i saw them in chicago and BOOM. that was it. i mean talk about do it best. this is that. so much sounds, beeps, static, and delicious slowly changing tones. it's everything you ever.

p.s. it's okay, i admit, the album cover is totally lame.

Mist "house"

Whats that? aaaahhhhh!!! it's these sweet beeps and dops and sounds that make you want to succeed so hard. lets all run out and take the GRE and get these incredible scores, like in the top percentiles. lets go take IQ test and all become members of Mensa. WHAT? we are all universal donors? Blood Type O? Yes! this is what the world could accomplish if 7 billion people all listened to tack 1 of this album simultaneously. Success! world peace. good will and what not. we did it. global raise the roof. raise it to space and then some. gosh.

The Field "looping state of mind"

i know that most of you like to dance and shake your body all around the world. well then you should get this album. especially if you only have like two or three really good moves. then you can just do them over and over because that's what the album is like. it's like a sweet dancey/housey album that plays the same awesome beats over and over and over. but in the best possible non-boring way ever.

Rene Hell "the terminal symphony"

This is the least accessible album in this section. however, im pretty sure that everyone in the world could get on board with the fourth track E.S. Des Grauens In Fifths, so just give that one a try, love it, then slowly your love will bleed to all the surrounding tracks. probably not. for me it's a hit and a winner.

section 4: sounds for long winters

we have come to the last section, and thusly the last four albums i have loved over this past year. okay, let's see what we got! hold my hand.

Balam Acab "wander/wonder"

so i didn't really know where to put this one. Maybe it should have gone up in section 2 for chillin, but im sticking to my guns and keeping it here. This is an album that i could put on in winter and maybe i would forget about the cold and pretend that i was bobbing up and down in a comfortably ocean or something. i don't know. it has all these haunting beats and weird vocals. but it is super good and that's no joke. i mean you can still chill during the winter, right?

The Caretaker "an empty bliss beyond this world"

This is the soundtrack to the creepiest old haunted house ever, but in a very warm and inviting way, you know? probably not. so what we have here is these really vintage sounding snippets of music that repeat at length and then abruptly shift into a different old timey song segment. and im sure my description is crap, but thats all i got. just give it a hear. good stuff.

Bo Becker "Brecilian"

just some classic droney stuff, you know. again, to me this album feels cold, but in a warm way. i don't know how or why, maybe like it's 8 degrees outside, but i have on so many layers and 2 scarves and huge gloves and only 3% of my skin is visible. if you like droney stuff listen to it now, if not then you probably won't care and that is perfectly all right.

Tim Hecker "Ravedeath, 1972"

This album is the epitome of cold. it's like if ice got inside the bones in your ears (you know the three little ones) and froze em up so they barely moved. Tim Hecker takes these beautiful old organs and makes them so icy that sometimes you can't even tell they are organs at all. it's like your sitting in the middle of the frozen tundra and the snow is blowing so hard that you can't even see the polar bear running towards you so fast to eat you or hug you who knows. Ravedeath is so good and so cold that you don't really care whether you get eaten or hugged by a huge polar bear, it just don't make a difference one way or the other.

In Closing:
there you go. happy new year. it was a big year for music. i heard on the internet that 143 total albums came out during the year 2011. here are the fifteen that i loved a whole lot, probably the most. can't say which is the best, because i loved them all in different ways. i can love owls and also love skateboards! i can love bats, but also want them to keep warm and snugly ! also i probably forgot some that i totally loved so hard, but then lost in the war. oh well. that's why you should all make lists as well and help me remember what my computer forgot.

Let's see who my friends really are: If you agree with this list, or the bats thing, or like owls, then copy this list and send it to fifteen people you love.

Stanley, aka Leslie, aka 2 Be Simple, aka #1

2011-11-29T19:44:00.001-05:00

This song will be number one on all of my lists this year, FYI.

Pre-Lizst List

2011-10-03T18:27:00.003-04:00

Good Ides about the Pre-Lizst Lists, Erica!

Here are some things that happened before Franz Lizst, for the curious.

The events in the Star Wars Saga:

Supercontinents!

Mayans made calendars

Man wrought stone tools

Spawn of Quasars

I don't won't to take them all, though, in case anyone else would like to pre-Lizst it up.

somewhere in middle america

2011-09-14T16:11:00.000-04:00

listen up, buddies. it is very close to list time. we should do some pre-list lists. for real. let's do it! i already have some ideas for my pre-list list. don't leave me hanging. let's do it to it. let's not flake out.let's make this year's lists the best lists ever. amen

bring it down to a slow dance

2011-01-01T08:36:00.020-05:00

Okay, 2011, listen up. 2010 was a year for the books - these past few days I have been trying to decipher the code and deem 2010 either a bad year or a good year. Guess what? I can't. The jury's out and will remain out on this issue for me personally. So, I've decided to compile a list of the top Life Altering Events of 2010, (the order of events lack significance). They are both grand and terrible. I will note on which side the event is on by a unicorn icon for good, sad puppy face for bad. If you, the reader, only want to read the good ones, find the unicorn. If just the sad ones, as some of you sadists are, search for the puppy.

Commence.

I LOST MY JOB. What a dumb ass year for employment nationwide. Non Profit institutions in Indiana had high death tolls this year. Dumb ol' Mitch Daniels slashed budgets by about a gazillion dollars. Somehow in my pompous youth, i thought for sure that I was safe from the lay offs. I was definitely wrong. In April I was told that i could continue working until August, and I tried. But every day was torture. Let's remember, I was very good at being a social worker. and by very good, I mean it. Passing out my clients to some social workers who were far less compassionate and thorough was torture. (Some of my colleagues were super great) So, though I got laid off, I felt bullied out of where I called home for nearly 5 years. Bull shit alert.

BEAR TOWN. This may not seem awesome to anyone but andy and me, but we took an awesome vacation to the Smokey Mountains this year. It was glorious. Andy, Blue Ridge Mountains and BEARS! Once, when I was in middle school, I saw, for a few seconds a Grizzly Bear and that was sweet. But this trip was FULL OF BEARS, beautifully cute black bears. It was totally tubular. For real. We felt threatened a few times, we felt warm hearts a few times and mostly we just felt like "these bears rule the school". Honestly, may sound lame to everyone but me, but for sure worthy to be called mind blowing.

MORTALITY SITS NEAR. This year was a tough year for my family on my dad's side. My papa, who happens to be one of my favorite men of all time, had a fire in his barber shop, he had mutiny in his shop, sold all his father's belongings... AND nearly died in a terrible car accident. He said it started because he was sneaking ice cream and he didn't buckle his safety belt due to needing two hands for the delicious treat. Anyways, some little 16 year old idiot ran a stop sign, hit his truck and flipped it. My papa went flying out of the truck and into the field. He didn't sustain too many injuries, but when something like that happens, it hits you, ya know? Like, tiny details of every day can cause a life to spiral down hill in a matter of minutes. I asked for the name of the kid. All I wanted to do was bully him into apologizing to one of the men who make my world a brighter place, but being graceful and full of mercy, he wouldn't give me the little jerk's name. Sometimes a girl just thinks about life and death and even the thought sitting near is sad and scary.

INDECISIVE BROTHER FINDS HIS WAY. I remember the days my brothers were born. Never, ever, ever was I jealous. Having siblings is one of the best parts of my life. It's definitely one of the saddest things in my life that I don't get to see my brothers on a more regular basis. It's heart breaking really because I think there is nothing cooler than having people who are part of you yet so different. The family of origin is a tricky beast sometimes, but mostly, in my case, it's an okay thing. My brother, roger, who rules, btw, he had a rough time deciding where to put all his talent. Because he is talented beyond belief. He's so smart, athletic, super social, so adaptable and sensitive to people around him. He's the full package. Anyways, this year, he enlisted in the Navy - which some on this blog might not love, but I love it. I love it. and i'll yell it down every street in fort wayne that I love it. He's been hand picked for the Honor Guard in DC - which is awesome. He did amazingly well in boot camp and I just know, as corny as this sounds, he's where he belongs at this moment in his life. it's a beautiful thing, really, seeing someone bloom over the span of his life.

SOMETIMES PEOPLE GROW UP. It's been sort of heart breaking watching my little community disband. I fought with myself whether or not to put this event on 'ze blog, but it seemed obvious. Some people will disagree and argue that I shouldn't feel this way. But i got big news for you people, i feel deeply and I am sad that Bryce is moving to Korea. And I am sad that Jim and Anna moved out of the house. I have lived with Anna since 2003. For a short time in 2007, we lived 30 seconds apart, but basically, that still counts. Sometimes, you build a need for people to be close physically. My definition of survival looks differently than most. And even though it's a good thing for them, Bryce and Anna and Jim, when I come home to a home without them, I feel incomplete.

I BECAME A LIBRARIAN AGAIN. So, after months of waiting tables (and loving it). And months after applying and interviewing for a sundry of jobs around fort wayne, BOOM, the Allen County Public Library hires me as a Children's Librarian at the Main Library. This is earth shattering in a terrific way: watch out, let the Outside Hire through. I still can't believe it, seriously. I suppose I just decided in the interview, welp, yeah right, like I'll get hired, let's go all out. So I did. And so I got the job. It's weird. And it's hard. But it's good. I get to walk to work every day and a residual effect is better cardiovascular health. I get to wear these fabulous green pants at least once a week and I get to help kids who like to read. I get to know the low down on all the best kids' books and I get a magnetic name tag that unlocks doors! All of these things are pretty radical. I also get to write incident reports, see poop in the Great Hall and hear people being really mean to kids - which, that's not so awesome, but e'ry thing good outweighs the crazy.

A DECADE LATER. Time has this way of completely obliterating my mind. I turned 27 in the summer. And on June 11, 2010 - my dad's death-iversarry was TEN YEARS. Ten years is a long time. Ten years is a long time to be without someone. Mostly, I still feel 17 about this whole ordeal. I still can't believe it. But when I realized that a it's been a decade, well, it blew my mind. The thing about time is, it just is so fake. I can't believe we measure years the way we do, I guess it's good otherwise we'd all be confused. For instance, if we didn't, i wouldn't know if my dad died yesterday or eons ago, because basically, that's how it feels: so far and so close simultaneously. But, here we are, a decade has passed. Does that make sense to any one else?

APRIL & POEMS. This past spring, you'll never guess what i did. Maybe you will, especially if you know me at all. But i'll got ahead and say it, since it changed my life. I wrote a poem a day every day for the month of April. I've never done that. Along with the writing, I was always super afraid of writing about certain items... but in April I was all like "watch out, bitches, imma go there and go there with grace. " and I did. I basically like lots of my April poems, but I like what happens after you know you can do something that seems hard. Pride. Achievement. yada. yada. yada. Brett Jenkins was instrumental in this whole ordeal and basically, she's totally awesome. Also, I'm going to do it again some time. Just, it's hard to do. :)

Let's face it, this list isn't complete. Tons more shit went down then i have documented, but, at it's core, this list represents the major life changing events in 2010. I left out little stuff, like kids throwing trash in my face, some other events that went down in the summer, dropping my phone in the lake, getting my ear lobes pierced at the mall and promptly removing them... you know, big stuff that has happened, but didn't change me drastically.That's what i left out.

so, there you go, list friends.
a real, vulnerable list that blows the internet apart.
welcome home, 2011.
2010, see ya never.

Best Christmas Alumns!

2010-12-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Christmas music is rad, man. And so is making lists. Like the best Listservs on the planet! So let's make a Christmas list. But with a couple of stips: One, no Bing, Dean and Peggy Lee. Great Christmas warblers, sure, but they have so many albums that it's unpossible to pick one. And two, no comps, even though there are some sweet Christmas tunes from Starflyer, Pedro and JJ on Happy Christmas or Maybe this Christmas or Christmas for Goyims. Alright, enough small talk. Hit it!

15. Amy Grant - A Christmas Album
So many great synths and keytar solos. But this was Amy Grant back in tha day, before the drama, before Baby Baby, when all she wanted was a Tender Tennesse Christmas. Cheesy? Yes. Feels like home? Absolutely.

14. Enya - And Winter Came
Yes, Enya is on my list. Deal with it. These guys were Sigur Ros back when Sigur Ros was Sigur Who? Ceewatididthr? THERE ARE NO MUSIC RULES AT CHRISTMAS!!!

13. The Blind Boys of Alabama - Go Tell It on the Mountain
These guys are blind and they sing the blues and the gospel. That's hot.

12. The Beach Boys - Christmas Album
A little old, but Brian Wilson is the sweetest man since ever. That means he's sweeter than Moses. MOSES MAIMONIDES!!! Vocal cords from God herself. I'm such a feminazi.

11. Leonard Bernstein - The Joy of Christmas
Lame alert! Jonny likes the Nutcracker. Taylor Townsend, I love you. Leonard Bernstein, you're a close second.

10. Tim Dinkins - Christmas on the Moon
I found this little gem on TPB. I have no idea who Tim Dinkins is/was/is yet to be, but he's amazing. Kind of twangy, lo-fi, x-mas joy. On the moon.

9. Low - Christmas
Quite quiet tunes from everybody's favorite Mormons. What? Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker aren't your favorite Mormons?!? You're a sick human being. Go drive your Hummer and destroy another rain forest sick human being!!! Exclamation!

8. Christmas in Russia
Russians singing Christmas carols? Yes, like angels! Like angels on the head of a pin! A beautiful choral pin topped with gorgeous choral voices! On a pin!

7. A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector
Cheater! No, really I'm not. Sort of a compliation, I know, which breaks the rules. But it's from/produced by Phil Spector, man! That hair, man! And good rock music, man! Making the kids dance like demons, man! It's bad in Bomont, I hear.

6. Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
Vince Guaraldi, basically you're a peach. Thanks for the best Christmas special ever.

5. Rosie Thomas - A Very Rosie Christmas
Oh Rosie, I saw you once at a house show in Seattle. You were beautiful. Basically, you should have my Christmas babies. kthnxbi!

4. Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas
Yeah, possibly my favorite Sufjan song of all time is Sister Winter. All the volumes are streets ahead. Don't be streets behind, Listen!!!

3. John Denver and the Muppets - A Christmas Together
Goodness from my childhood! John Denver melts my six-year-old heart. And my current one, too. Also, did you hear they're making a new Muppets movie? And it's supposed to be not just for kids? Like the old days!!! Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!

2. Michael W. Smith - Christmas
Best Christmas album of the 80s. Best album of W's career. Circa some time around 1988 he birthed this beautiful thing full of carols and choirs and pop songcraft. His duet with Amy G? Fabulous! That sounded gay. Tis the season!

1. Over the Rhine - The Darkest Night of the Year
Number one with a bullet. Linford and Karen own my music liver along with Jesus. B/c my heart is full with possiblity. Don't worry, it's cool. This is literally the saddest, most beautiful Christmas album of all time. It kills me. In my bones. It's like death marrow. But in a good way.

Top 36ish Drone/Ambient/Ex-spearmintal Jamez of 2010: Part 2 20-1

2010-12-23T12:18:00.002-05:00

Yes indeed. The dream is over. Time for the wrap up of this sweet music of 2010 based frenzy. As I said before these 20 are all awesome. Get on the ball and grapple them up.

20. Pulse Emitter - Cosmic Images (Expansive)
Although I have a few Pulse Emitter releases I'm still a Pulse Emitter beginning. This is some great synth action here. It's a very patient album and it might be a little too emotionless for some but its good.

19. Sovetskaya Gone - Smiling Skies on the Back of Airplanes (Cylindrical Habitat Modules)
SG was the king of the roost in 2009 but they had some good releases this year two. For example this one. SG is also generally a purveyor of lo-fi noisy staticy drone. This is really nice. I feel like if you read this recommendation you won't check this out cause this recommendaiton is kinda boring. that's cause I'm tired. But you should check this out.

18. Driphouse - 50/50 (NNA Tapes)
Driphouse used to a be a lot more noisy and abrasive but has gotten gentler as time goes one. While I like most Driphouse releases, I think this is a good thing. This tape is good and interesting work and packs a lot into a mere 24 minutes. That's enough time to have a nice listen and not shirk any duties you might have. Plus It seems longer (in a very good way). see you at goodway!

17. Bernardino Femminielli - La Montaña del Capricornio (Hobo Cult Records)
For some reason as i was writing about these I started at the beginning so I would be able to describe what I liked best without being tired and then as I worked down I realized this list was long so I needed to split it up so I skipped to describing the bottom so I could post that first. But then I just went ahead and finished it all and somehow this ended up being the last thing I wrote about on the list. The point of this ramble? I'm really tired of writing and also actually physically tired cause its late at night. So I can't do this justice. But you should check this out. It's two 30 minute tracks that take you on a sweet synth journey. It starts with a kraut-rock buildup and then moves into more expansive style drone wash as you soar from Montana to Capricorn. The B side is more mysterious, starting and ending in gentle suds of static sea with mysterious unanswered questions from mysterious synthy inquisitors sandwiched in between.

16. 1958-2009 - II (Ekhein)
These guys are Alex Twomey and Matthew Sullivan, they of many other projects, but I like Sullivan best as Earn. This is apparently a tape trilogy (plus a live one) only moniker tribute to Michael Jackson. It doesn't sound anything like MJ unless MJ is in heaven and this is the soundtrack of heaven. Some seriously nice beautiful ambient drones. Actually all 4 tapes are pretty much the same (which is a good thing) but I feel for some reason that this one is the best. Really nice, especially for sitting down, lying down, staring, being motionless in complete darkness, thinking, being at total peace with the universe or other such like activities.

15. Mohave Triangles - Astral Holograms (Digitalis Limited)
Astral Holograms indeed! This is great release by relatively new artist Mohave Triangles (formerly Realms) (who is also a nice guy). This release is good but real Gem here is the A Side of the tape. I I could listen to this track again and again. Blissful noisy lo-fi psych drone with a great messed up sample of a guy talking about secret mind control projects. That probably sounds either awesome or cliche to you and I'm here to tell you that its awesome. It's a great little 30 minutes, especially side A.

14. Rene Hell - Porcelain Opera (Type) / 18:54 Torture Highway (Agents of Chaos)
Jeff Witscher here again. Jeff releases a lot of stuff under a ton of names. This year (and maybe last year) my favorite, and the most unique/creative one is Rene Hell. Of his many releases this year, I suggest these two which are both equally great. I keep saying I don't know how to describe things but I really don't know here. Hmm...a pleasant and relaxed version of being an Apple II hard drive as its crashing after you (as the drive) consumed some serious downer drugs (Codiene? Is Codiene a downer? What is Codiene exactly?)? The exact audio representation of a Paik Nam June installation, only better, plus sudden moments of serene bathing in an digital waterfall? Walking down a really long corridor with fake digital echos and then sometimes realizing you are flying on poorly rendered clouds? I dunno, basically its like carrying around a heavy handbag coated in lots of weird and digital murk and then opening the bag sometimes to discover glorious and lovely moments of mildly krautrocky drone and ambient (If you like ambient by the by, Jeff also does that really well as Marble Sky). Porcelain Opera is a little more hi-fi sounding than his normal no budget jams but no less good or weird. 18:54 is more like the rest of his stuff which is to say like Porcelain Opera but more lo-fi.

13. Concessionaires - Skyline (Gift Tapes)
I wasn't disappointed when I heard this like Jim, but it definitely wasn't what I expected. This sounds nothing like Pete Fosco's or Brad Rose's regular stuff and its not what you would think the sound like together. Which is pretty exciting. Personally, I loved this bad. It's definitely very slow moving and takes some patience but there is a lot of stuff to explore inside here and some really great sounds which make me feel some very interesting feelings. I don't know how to describe this really. The synths are both very crisp and also ancient and far away. Also the album art is really cool. (this isn't a very good pic of it. I think discogs has a better one) I want that on a shirt. A shirt made of gold!

12. Brett Naucke - Southern California (Arbor)
This is another great relaxing tape. Pretty new agey but I like that. It's really great for your life. If SoCal is like this then I guess I need to live there for ever. But I don't think its like this. But anyway this is fantastic. I listened to this a lot this year. It's good all the time for everything, except maybe party time. Or when you are wearing one of your gold encrusted shirts.

11. Bee Mask - Canzoni Dai Laboratorio Del Silenzio Cosmico (Gift Tapes)
Bee Mask is a guy that is pretty diligent at making good sounds. I like a lot of his stuff (not all) but until now I just thought he was good. But this one breaks new ground for him and its an awesome tape from the venerable Gift Tapes. Lots of beautiful synth sounds here. Not as droney or quiet as some of his other stuff.

10. Flower-Corsano Duo - You'll Never Work in This Town Again (Non-Label)
This is pretty different from most of my list here but it belongs here because its insanely good. Flower and Corsano are improv noise rock/free music/free jazz dudes and the are two of the baddest dudes in the game. And these three songs are powerfully awesome. They are long and full power all the way through (I mean there are some dynamics here and different things happen sure, but...) so they might be hard to get through for some of you but man, I love it. Despite the fact that it ought to be played as loud as possible I love it best on headphones. I can't really understand the energy here especially on the first song its long, (17 minutes) and they just keep going at full speed. I suggest being in a mood were loud stuff doesn't annoy you, putting on headphones and listening to this straight through for all 43 minutes. You'll probably be tired afterward. But it'll be great. Maybe. Or maybe you hate it. I would really love to see this duo live.

9. Sean McCann - Lower Decks (Ekhein) / Open Resolve (Stunned)
as Jim mentioned, Sean (as usual) released a buttload of stuff this year. Although he is too creative and varied to pin down he generally takes two forms, one of a top notch ambient/drone creater, and the other as a noisy (not noise) experimental rock folk whatever guy. I did not hear it all, but what I did hear (a lot of it), I have sifted through with my drone sifting pan and would like to suggest that you check out these two. If you are an ambientist/dronester then Lower Decks will immediately strike you as ol' sean at the top of his form. Open Resolve is the other side of the McCann coin and is one of his best releases ever. It's not as easy to get into as its more noisy and wild, but let it hit you off guard in the right mood and you'll be trapped forever in spinning cage of your own desires. but, like, in a good way.

8. Lee Noble - Darker Half (Bathetic Records) / Our Star, The Sun (Moon Glyph)
Here's a fine fellow I knew nothing about before this year with 2 releases on 2 labels I knew nothing about before this year (thanks radiant now blog) It was difficult to choose between these two as they are both great. I imagine more of you might be into Our Star, The Sun, as Darker Half is, well, a little darker. But not really dark. Just lightly creepy. I don't really know how to descibe it. It's great. And its what I heard first so I for now I love it more. The first track (poorly named, Halloween Kiss) is the best.

Despite its title Our Star, The Sun really reminds me more of the moon. But then what is the moon after all but a barren, smaller, fireless, more relaxing, version of the Sun? In any case, this is some serious astral travel. And who doesn't love drifting in space for 93,000 miles until you crash into the sun (but like I said it turns out that the sun is the moon but a really far away and more mysterious version of the moon)? The tracks are pretty varied actually from noisy drone to acoustic laced psych to some modular sounding wonky space synths, but all maintain a delicious cohesiveness.

7. Brainworlds - ••• (Sonic Meditations)
Except for maybe emeralds or yellow swans there is not a lot of hype in tiny world of drone/psych/etc listeners. But perhaps one of the most underhyped dudes ever is Brainworlds. I don't think anyone ever talks abou him. Which is unfortunate both because his name (well probably not his real name but that would be even more amazing) is Brainworlds and because his music is awesome. Seriously meditative, shimmering, gentle ambient. I like all his stuff that i've heard but this is his best yet in my opinion. Top shelf relaxing gentleman's ambient right here. And its 60 minutes long so the goodness just keeps going and going. I know many of you are perhaps not into really long songs but for me, especially when we are talking ambient or drone, I hope that the songs are as long as possible, hopefully lasting forever without any interruptions. This gets pretty close. Plus Sonic Meditations is the label of the Expo '70 guy (Justin Wright) so you know you can trust this to be awesome. Even better, this album is available as a pay-what-you-want download on Bandcamp, something I always respect and love when bands do. What have you got to lose? click that link and go check it out! (P.s. I just found out that •••• is already out on Hooker Vision and ••••• is coming out next year. Stoked!)

6. Lunar Miasma - Crystal Covered (Basses Frequences)
I heard this around the same time I heard the album following this on the list so although they are different they stick together with me as a kind of double album or perhaps split release. Lunar Miasma is Panos Alexiadis who is from Greece. I don't know anything about Greek music. But If he is not the top of the Whatever size drone/psych scene they got there then they must have some amazing crap going on there. I love the cover of this album. I wish I had a huge version of that. Look at the cover there. That's pretty much what the music sounds like really. Jim is write that he has probably travelled in actual space. This album is mindblowingly good for me. Grade A Noisy Space Psych Dronebient.

5. Black Mountain Transmitter - Theory & Practice (Lysergic Earwax)
These dudes came out of nowhere for me and I loved this tape so bad from the moment I heard it. I wanted to buy it so bad but I went away or something suddenly and then i was all sold out. Although in real life I'm a bigger fan of Practice than Theory in this album life Theory is the best track. This should be rated higher on Jim's list. This is just some beautiful tones which develop into some more heavy beautiful tones. find a nice place to lie down.

4. Pete Fosco - Breath Radiant (Dial Square)
To use one of his apt song titles, Pete plays Infinite Starlight Blues. I think Jim is underrating this one, but then again Pete Fosco is my boy. I love everything he does but his solo stuff is the best (at least until he does my dream collab with Barn Owl, good idea right Pete? Do it man!). I don't know if Pete is actually good at playing guitar in a traditional sense but he's a guitar master. I've never seen him live but I imagine his guitar is not shaped like a guitar but like a vast mountainous mass of energy. Another thing I like about his jamz is the sound behind the sound. You know when you are listening to something (esecially something reverby or noisy or echoy) and there becomes several layers of sound some of which are intentional but some of which just happen because of physics or some science BS? This music has lots of that. And that's my favorite part of music or sound in general. Listen for that sound. It's in there. It's about 3 or 4 feet back in and its only about 2 inches tall and wide. It's fading in and out, its moving very slow and its also moving very fast.

3. Yellow Swans - Going Places (Type)
This is the last testament of the legendary Yellow Swans (and all other 1000 name varations) and although I was not one of their major fans this is their best to me. An impressive way to go out. Similar to the album that comes after it on this list but a bit more melancholy. I've never been in harsh noise or noise for noise sake. I suppose I didn't have a bad enough childhood or something. But this kind of melodic noise I could listen to forever. That's why it dominates my top picks. At first noise is noise and then there is a certain level it reaches where it becomes something different. Where it so intense that it doubles back on itself and becomes a new kind of quiet. The eye of the storm and and that perhaps? This is ambient music for a hurricane.

2. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Love is a Stream (Type)
I agree with everything Jim says about this. This is a monster and a monument. A friendly monster and a kind monument. Will be hard for him to top this or for anyone to top this ever. It's probably too noisy for many of you but its the most beautiful life affirming noise.

1. Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect (Kranky)
Bum ba Dum! Stars of the Lid could have a mondo huge BM on a Skateboard and then push it towards high school jocks hanging out in cool cars at an abandoned gas station and it would still be my number 1. This is up there with any other and all of their amazing releases. It's a soundtrack for a movie about bees dying. I don't know how it works there but it works fine here in my grubby lil' mind.

Phew! Well, that list was pretty much incredible. And what a huge rodsworth of lists I just did done with those! Time for bed. Hope there is something here you could find and like for future findlikes.

TV APPEARING PATTINSON

2010-12-22T18:10:00.002-05:00

Not that any of you need this, because you already have all of these appearances memorized like that backs of your palms.... but here are MY top ten Robert Pattinson 2010 TV Appearances....

10. March 2nd - The View (with Emilie de Ravin)

09. March 2 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

08. June 14th The Today Show

07. June 15th - Jay Leno

06. March 1st - The Today Show

05. March 9th - The Early Show

04. June 23rd - Jimmy Kimmel Live

03. May 13th - Oprah

02. May 19th - Ellen Degeneres Show

01. Mar 1 - The Show with Jimmy Fallon

My favorite top 8 accessories of the year.

2010-12-22T15:23:00.015-05:00

Number 8. Arabian stallions with pink jewels.
First, I'll admit it, i love(d) horses as a child girl. Really, I did. Probably once a week growing up I would have seriously vivid dreams about riding horses in the city where i grew up, or in fields or in the woods... and every now and again, i have similar dreams. so, no duh about why these are in my top 8 most fabulous most favorite accessories of the year. Nostalgia mixed with with priss. Grand.

Number 7. T-Rex.
Recently, I have stumbled upon the news that the Tyrannosaurus Rex may not have been a vicious hunter at all, but maybe just a scavenger. i'm not kidding. and it makes sense. the Evidence is undeniable. Large nasal cavities for much smelling, tiny, beady eyes (not good for seeing) and little bitty baby arms aren't much for killing. However, those LEGS. Holy shit, watch out - they can run to their meal faster than other little jerks. These beauts were on sale at Claire's and I knew once I saw them, they'd be a big hit at the library. I might be the most hip librarian under 30.

Number 6. This Crown: all the kings and queens.
Met a girl named Katie Harris this year. She's a young one. Like 19 or some ridiculously age.
I can't help it. I work at a restaurant with kids, I meet and befriend most of them. She is girlfriend to my manager and she makes jewelry. Good jewelry too. It's unique and gathered from antique stores or paper items - she's savvy and thus makes jewelry i connect with. I like it and i'm not afraid who knows it. I wore this necklace on my first day of work at the library. It rules, so do i.

Number 5. Black Balls (Inappropriately big studs)
I like black earrings, they basically go with everything. But,i also like quirk. Seriously. You didn't know that about me? These earrings are huge. I'm serious. Huge. They are awesome. Even though they aren't flashy or bright, they still get the attention of people who love earrings because of their size. I like to wear them with more colorful clothes or just your basic tank. Versatility is a must for earrings in my household.

Number 4: Aang's Staff necklace. (Talk about the best)
Okay, maybe slightly nerdy, but i say, who gives a care? I watched this whole series this year. Blew my mind from left to right and all over the place. Matt Plett told me for one thousand years that I need to start the series,and boy oh boy, am i glad i did. I couldn't stop watching. I immediately arranged myself as part of the water tribe. (well, duh, everyone knew that about me) but to wear the Aang's symbol around my neck well, it let's everyone know that i love the series. (i usually wear it with an open neck as to show it off).

Number 3. Green Blue and their sparkly friends. AKA: bling.
These big stones sparkly like tomorrows future in diamond mines free of blood and dust. That's why I wear them. These puppies are summer time tinks all the way. I have all sorts of colors, like 3 pinks, blues, and greens. And even reds! I like their color; I like their size. I can't deny it, they seem juvenile (like all my options) but when someone loves, does that love hide away?

Number 2: Thunder bird burn the skies. Wedding attire.
It takes one special necklace to accompany to my best friends' wedding. Seriously. I could have chosen any befitting option. But i didn't. This necklace speaks to me, it's light weight and gorgeous. it represents power and maybe sometimes war and always awesome fear. plus, it's pretty and i like to wear moccasins.

Number 1. Yellow studs are the best lovers. These are my default. And i swear, library or B. antonio's, someone always, always always mentions them. Yellow looks good with my skin tone, i can sleep in these, i can wear them with my favorite color shirts, look good with skinny jeans or green, green pants. these are the winners,no holds barred, hands down, and of course, they've always been the winner forever.

Top 36ish Drone/Ambient/Ex-spearmintal Jamez of 2010: Part 1 36ish - 21

2010-12-22T12:50:00.000-05:00

Yep, So I ended up blabbling my huge mouth a lot and this list became huge. So I'm doing you the further kindness that Jim never offered of 5 lists, count 'em 5 of year end fav. muzaks. Of course the real reason to split up into so many lists is so that I can sneak in more releases than I could if I just made one list of 50. Anyway....

This year, like every year I suppose, was an amazing year if you were into lo-fi synth jams, drones, ambient, and experimental music in general. If you were not into this I suggest you attempt to be into it. Slow it down bro. All of it. your whole life. Just sit down and have a long listen. True sound will find you.

My list is 2 parts. 36ish-21 I would classify and "Pretty Great". 20-1 will be classified as "Awesomely Great hey cool" Basically any of the 36-21 could be substituted for each other and the same for 20-1. So basically there are only two ranks here: 1 and 2. Enjoy

36ish. Honorable Mention: Polymer Slug - Simple Displays Of Control (Digitalis Limited) / Panabrite - Wizard Chimes (Gift Tapes)

I just got both of these but they seem really great. Lo-Fi Synth stuff.

35. Barn Owl - Ancestral Star (Thrill Jockey)

Honestly I was disappointed. Barn Owl are my boys of boys, my men of men. They talk some serious game and they bring the beautiful dark but healing heavy guitar drone. But this was not as good as I hoped. Don't get me wrong. It's still good, and its still on my list here. But I was hoping for a little more mind-blowing. I still love you though Barn Owl.

34. Brother Raven - Timewinder (Taped Sounds)

My Favorite BR release is from last year but this one is also very nice. A little bit of everything, its very lo-fi keyboards and synths having fun. a little rough but not to harsh. a slowly bubbling cauldron of fun.

33. Colored Mushroom and the Medicine Rocks - At Red Frosting (Wagon)

As this stars John Elliott of the Emeralds if you like the Emeralds you will probably like this. A quick and good 26 minutes of Synth fun, some parts sweeping some parts doing little runs around and having little bippy boppies.

32. Nova Scotian Arms + Motion Sickness of Time Travel - The Fire Cult to Your Dream Child (Hooker Vision)

This is awesome for 6 reasons:
Exhibit A: NSA (Grant) and MSoTT (Rachel) are husband and wife drone makers (aaaawwww!).
Exhibit B: They are also the owners of the label they release on, Hooker Vision, which is an amazing name for a record label.
Exhibit C: Their catalogue numbers are the letters HIV and then a number (i.e. HIV064)
Exhibit D: Hooker Vision's tapes are cheap and they give the sold out and old ones away as free downloads.
Exhibit E: I've never met them but they seem like really nice people.
Exhibit F: Last but not least this split album is really long, but really great. It's only this low because I haven't really listened to it enough yet. But its really great, creative and varied in its sounds.

31. Keith Fullerton Whitman - Generator (Root Strata)

At this point KFW has proven himself to be a true bad ass of the game. he's got chops in pretty much every area of experimental music and a bunch of hot releases to prove it. Here we find him doing some Music Synthesis. This could be a little to abstract for those of you that do not just love hearing synthesizers forever and ever. It's also kinda long. But if you like the sounds of these sounds you will love this soundly albuminium.

30. Sundrips - Slow Futures (Dial Square)

Both Sundrips and Slow Futures are pretty good names for what this music sounds like. There is nothing insane or incredible about it, its just nice droney pleasant times.

29. Deep Magic - Soul Vibration (DNT)

Magic is neat. As Jim pointed out Deep Magic is good. They had several great releases this year. I think I like this one the best. Probably because its really long so it has enough time to drone me out.

28. Golden Retriever - Static Rain (Gift Tapes)

Some nice analog synth here, It's basically here because of a killer A Side. The B side is good too but The A Side is awesome.

27. Mist - Glowing Net (Wagon, Pizza Night)

More John Elliot here, plus the great Sam Goldberg. Again recommended if you like Emeralds. Relaxing krautrocky synth ambient.

26. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here? (eMego)

Some of you might be surprised to find this only at 26. Why not say 3 or 5? I don't know. It's a really great album, I know. And 26 doesn't really mean 26. I liked it a lot. The only problem is that for me the first half is front loaded with the better stuff. It's kinda like the Barn Owl. It's a really good album but for some reason I was expecting more and was not as blow away as I wanted to be. Anyway good to see it on Jim and even Matt's list. This was good. I think they will build on this and the next album will be even more betterer and perhaps mindblowing. As a side note, Where the heck has Steve Hauschildt been? His solo stuff is definitely my favorite, but he didn't release anything this year. Come on Steve!

25. EN - The Absent Coast (Root Strata)

I was surprised not to see this on Jim's list. Actually it seems to have been forgotten or unknown but most people. But it should not be so! This is quality ambient here. Beautiful times with a few crackly times and some occasional gentle piano covered in fuzz. Some part reminds me of a more serene and stars of the lidified Ellen Fullman and her long stringed instrument (not to distract from EN but Ellen Fullman is an awesome genius you should love or at least appreciate!!!) Anyway, I know i say this about every album here but this is really great.

24. Infinite Body - Carve Out The Face Of My God (Post Present Medium)

This year had a lot of good noisy/static drone and ambient releases (as you will see later in the list). This one is no exception. It's great. This might have been higher but for some reason I forgot about it for a few months. This is definitely infinite body finding his groove. His previous releases were decent but this is a major step up. nice job.

23. Pete Swanson - Feelings in America (Root Strata)

Pete Swanson is one half of the now defunct (I really just wanted to say defunct) Yellow Swans. We were all sad when we found out the were calling it quits and left us with such an awesome parting gift but since Pete has kept cranking things out on his own its really no big deal. The top dog on this release is the first track "The Fermata" it starts out gentle before building slowing (over 16 minutes) into a full head of noisy noise before tapering off. It's a really great track. It's pretty noisy but if you like Yellow Swans at all you'll like it. The other track is decent too but I love "The Fermata"

22. Noveller - Wolf (FTAM)

I just got into Noveller this year. I thought her albums from 2010 were okay but I didn't love them. Actually I listened and I wasn't really into her and kinda forgot about her. But then I downloaded Wolf here which is actually a 7". and it was awesome. really awesome. It's way too short but I love it. After that breaking the Noveller ice for me, behold a new realm opened and I discovered Noveller for real. But here's the deal, she was most awesome in 2009. Except this 7" which is 10 minutes of bad to the bone which I'd like to thank for opening my eyes. I now await 2011 Noveller.

21. Secret Abuse - Craftsman Rhythm (Folktale)

Secret Abuse is Jeff Witscher who you will meet again later in this list. Secret Abuse is one of Jeff's best personas but there was only one Secret Abuse release this year and it was this short short 7". Even though short, It's another great entry into this year's mountain of noisy staticy ambient goods.

Whew! Well only the second half remains. It's actually done just not turned into post form yet. That means you dreams come true in not that long. Wow Exciting! Stay Tuned...

warm up, like Calisthenics

2010-12-22T00:46:00.002-05:00

This is my latest grocery list.
Read it and weep because i'm having a party.

Lil weenies (2 bags)
2 bags of chippies for dippies
choc. chip cookies chocolate chips
BBQ?
Toothpicks?

this list is just to wet your whistle. bait your appetite for all that is coming forth. also, check out this cleave? you likes?

tap tin releases by this guys

2010-12-22T00:17:00.015-05:00

some mans strive for greatness, whether its on the field swinging away for the fences, in the locker room pumping your muscles full of liquid heat, on the go enjoying a quick meal with all of the fixings, or making riffs go round and round in a endless cycle of "hey hun, come listen to this." "oh, yeah george. you're right. goddamn that's good."

so here's the best of the best according to this baseball fan

noumb 5.

'living with yourself"

this was MM's official release of the year. it's good too. you should listen to it (especially #4 Brain Storm (for Erin))

now that's a dog that can bark.

noumb 4.

'guitar meditations'

this is some of the longer things out there. good for a drive or a walk or a read. this will take you all the way home and back

around the bend.

nuuuuumbbb 3.

'between family'

i original stumbled across this album on www.hotornot.com, and quickly rated it hot.

after i listened to this twice my teeth fell out, but i collected them don't worry.

number 2.

'mark mcguire'

don't know what this is officially called (this is not the actual art work), but it's a three guy, which utilizes acoustic guitar for a delightful change. sounds mostly like pretty snow sounds.

whomber 1

'tidings - amethyst waves' 'vacation days'

sorry but there was a tie.

couldn't be helped. these are both wonderful listens and you should go pick them up first thing at your local Barnes & Nobel.

both four tracks, both glassy goodness. 2010 will definitely go down in infamy as the year of the mcguire, and if yo ask me, these are the wind beneath his wings.

Top 10 Hip-Hop + R&B Albeems of All Time (if all time were just 2010)

2010-12-21T11:00:00.001-05:00

Jim's list including lots of ambient and drone stuff made me excited to post that list but its the longest and therefore the most work so its last. So here is the 3rd of my 4 lists: Hip-Hop 'n R&B. Some naysayers are saying that this wasn't a good year for Hip-Hop but I feel like I always hear that. I think there were plenty of good Hip-Hop jamz this year and I wasn't even paying that much attention. Of course many of my choices here were self released or on tiny unknown labels so maybe people are just looking in the wrong place. So in your naysaying face. Beholn!

10. The Globetroddas - The Love (Non-Label)
Do you love raps about being a good dad? Who doesn't?! This is only an EP but I hear full length newness is forthcoming!

9. Bop Alloy - Substantial & Marcus D are Bop Alloy (Non-Label)
Substantial is one of my favorite current MCs. He does a lot of sweet guesting on other people's stuff which is usually better than his own Albums (especially when he raps over Nujabes (RIP!) beats. But here he comes correct. I've never heard of Marcus D before but Bop Alloy has some promise for future good times. Plus they call their music "Chillaxation" (which is actually a pretty decent stab at the sound). How could you not be into that?

8. J.R. & PH7 - The Update (Soulspazm Records)
Their first album, The Standard, is one of my favorite recent hip-hop albums. Great beats from these Germans with a host of cool friends (Supastition, Black Milk, Skyzoo, etc...).

Well, now they are back again with a different cast of cool bros (Theory Hazit, Strange Fruit Project, Elzhi, Oddisee, etc...). I just got this cause I didn't know it was out but it seems to be totally great, I'm not sure how it compares with The Standard. After more listens it maybe could also be higher on this list.

7. Tiff the Gift - Cool, Calm, Chill (Digi Crates Records)
Yeah! I wish I listened to more Female MCs but I feel like I don't know that many that I really like a lot. But Tiff the Gift, who I never heard about ever, and totally came out of nowhere for me, is the real deal. Really solid album. Good Rhymes, nice beats. I really like her voice. Gets better with each listen and good all the way through the album.

6. Jazz Addixx - Soul Expansion (Unreleased And Remixes) (Non-Label)
Really good jazzy hip-hop. This is not a proper release but they are coming with one soon and I'm very excited for that. Just really good beats and rhymes. Solid stuff.

5. Blee - Cosmos Road (Non-Label)
I first checked this out because Substantial and Supastition (among others) rap on it. But it turns out to be even better than that. First of all, Blee is a Korean beatmaker which is cool for me as I always look for more good Korean music. And second, this is some seriously good jazzy hip-hop, with emphasis on jazzy. This is a really, really, good album that I recommend to all jazz hip-hop fans (which should be all of you). Love the samples. Great beats. Lot's of good guest MCs. Sometimes some serious throwback stuff that makes me feel like I'm in the 90s in a good way. Sometimes gets some of that serious boom bap. Somehow it really manages to sound both very fresh and new and also classic and old. This should probably be higher. Dude's got lots of promise. Also I heard that he's making a mixtape using only Black Jazz Records (the label) samples which is automatically awesome.

4. Aloe Blacc - Good Things (Stones Throw) At first I was torn. On the one hand this is a great album. On the other hand, his last album was amazing and was a kind of R&B that no one else is/was really doing. But, dang, this is a good album, so there is not really any need to worry about that. He's a good singer and this thing is filled to the brim with good old classic vibes. For some people that was a negative, because, I guess, not enough forward thinking or something, but I don' t believe in music as a forced evolution of progress. A sound like this could be repeated and remade forever and it would still be both relevant and a great listen. So there.

(P.S. This is not the cover of the album but I thought it was more awesome.)

3. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)
Nothing to really say here. It's Big Boi. Finally. And it's not a horrible failure. Not only that but really great. yep.

2. Black Milk - Album of the Year (Fat Beats)
Black Milk is one of the best beat-makers currently active anywhere. And his albums are always good, but they sometimes felt long or dragged on when I listened to them. But Album of the Year shows he is just getting better and better. This one I can listen to all the way through without getting bored or tired. Congratulations Black Milk, you've really done it now.

1. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part Two (Return Of The Ankh) (Universal Motown)
This marks both the first time I admit to liking Erykah Badu and also Eryakah Badu's best moves. "Window Seat" was what really got me but after that I just kept gettin' got. And then I went back and started to love her past too. But serioulsy, top notch good times here. I guess a lot of you won't like this but you should. Or at least download and listen to "Window Seat". On repeat. Forever.

Yep, 3 down, 1 to go. Coming eventually soonish, my last and fav list: Top 36ish Drone, Ambient, and Experimental Jamz of 2010

List! Part Two! 20-1!

2010-12-21T09:26:00.007-05:00

Part 2 of my list starts now. The stuff on the first part of my list could probably be classified by me as "very good." The stuff on this list is more along the lines of "whoa. yeah. all right!" These are releases that I really loved and listened to lots.

20. Infinite Body - Carve Out the Face of My God

Great drone album that is sometimes quite noisy, other times as smooth as can be. I think he's better at the noisy parts, in particular the wonderful "Sunshine," which for its first half is simply pulsating blasts of staticy euphoria.

19. Arp - The Soft Wave

For me, Arp is kind of reminiscent of a more minimal, less emotive B. Fleischmann. This album is very gentle and smooth. It's also very accessible; I feel like everyone could easily get into this. Also, listen to the second half of "Grapefruit." It totally sounds like a Books song.

18. The Books - The Way Out

Speaking of which, The Books are back with more of the same. Mostly the same anyway. There's a lot more singing and normal songish stuff on this album, which is both good and bad. Ultimately, for me, they're still the most consistently excellent guys out there.

17. Adam Michalak - Seven Colors

This is a really good album featuring some wonderful field recordings. The reason it's this high on the list, however, is because I love love love the opening track, "First Color." I recommend putting it on repeat and staring at the ceiling.

16. Sean McCann - Open Resolve

This entry is a placeholder for all the stuff Sean McCann released this year. He suffers on this list from his own prolificacy. By my count, he released 13 things this year. There's just not enough time to listen to them all. I can tell you this though: the ones I've been able to listen to in-depth are awesome and all over the place, spanning folk, drone, and noise. Continent and Lower Decks are also great.

15. Concern - Cæsarean

No surprises here, just solid, top-notch drone. Acoustic instruments and field recordings are used to create an organic, immersive experience.

14. Benoit Pioulard - Lasted

Benoit Pioulard insulates the spaces in and around his otherwise textbook folk songs with bits of gentle noise. Sometimes, as is the case on title track "Lasted," his songs pause right in middle and drone for time a before resuming their traditional structures. This is a step up from his previous album. He also gets bonus points for visiting Ft. Wayne this year.

13. Joseph McNulty - Trail Running

One of a number of great tapes released on Roll Over Rover this year, McNulty gets some help from label-runner Sean McCann here. Some of the samples go on a bit long, but mostly they have a positive effect. I love how some of the songs break down into catchy folk tunes at the end (one is even a Beatles cover).

12. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

Bradford Cox writes these incredible pop songs that sound totally effortless. Like he could write them in his sleep. This is my favorite album by them.

11. Motion Sickness of Time Travel/Nova Scotian Arms - The Fire Cult to Your Dream Child

I saw someone use an excerpt from a Borges story as a description for this tape, and I feel this is very appropriate. It really evokes the feeling of being trapped in some kind of massive, neon labyrinth. Sometimes desperate and lost, sometimes peacefully wandering, the unknown always lurking behind the next corner. Great tape!

10. Swanox - Dawnrunner

Great drone-folk that for the most part is heavier on the drone than the folk. What an amazing, mesmerizing adventure of foresty sounds.

9. Deep Magic - Planetary Roots

This is a relatively recent release, but I knew the first time I listened to it that it would be high on this list. This sounds exactly like the rainforest. Listen to the second track and tell me it doesn't sound like the rainforest. Oh man that second track. Definitely my song of the year if I were doing that list. Absolutely gorgeous.

8. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal

Great album by a top dronester. This album is saturated in nervousness and anxiety, which provides a sense of urgency and makes every turn taken feel significant. Hate that first track though. Hate it.

7. The Fun Years - God Was Like, No

First of all, definitely the best album title of the year. The Fun Years are masters at finding great samples and looping them forever. This ability is on full display here. Wonderful album that always feels like it's over too soon.

6. Brian McBride - Effective Disconnect

Brian McBride is one of the guys in Stars of the Lid, which is relevant because this sounds exactly like Stars of the Lid. That's a good thing, by the way. It has that same mysterious quality that keeps me utterly transfixed in spite of (or maybe because of) the slow pace and intentionally unobtrusive nature of the sound. They can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

5. Max Richter - Infra

I think this is easily Max's best album. It feels more fully formed and cohesive than Postcards, while remaining every bit as heart-achingly beautiful.

4. Yellow Swans - Going Places

I didn't know about Yellow Swans until this year, but it sounds like they're generally considered to be tops in the noise world. This is apparently their final album as Yellow Swans, although they haven't slowed down at all in terms of releasing other music (Pete Swanson has some great solo releases this year). This is probably the most abrasive thing on my list. However, in spite of the harsh noise, it gives off an undeniable feeling of hospitality and optimism. I get the sense when I hear this that they've got something awesome to show me, and that everyone's welcome.

3. Emeralds - Does it Look Like I'm Here?

I feel like a lot of people are dissin' on this because it's not nearly as grand in scope as some of their other releases. This is dumb. I feel like the shorter song lengths have enabled to them to really dial in and pack so many good ideas into one album.

2. Marc Codsi - Faded Postcard

This album really has an amazing variety of sounds. It features areas of peaceful tones, harsh static, field recordings, and chopped up vocal samples. And that's just for starters. This probably got more listens than anything else, due to the way in which each track is so distinct from the rest.

1. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Love is a Stream

Oh boy...this is sooo good. It's basically a case study in everything I love about music. Basically I think music should just try to be as beautiful as possible and not concern itself with all these other fake factors that don't have any bearing on whether it's good or not. I guess that's pretty hard to quantify, but you know it when you hear it. And I hear it on this album. It's just pure, delicious sound. It's as though someone took the loudest and most euphoric moments from Loveless and stretched them to an hour. I find myself constantly turning the volume up when I listen to this. I love it! Maybe you will too!

Finally done with this list. Thanks for nothing everyone. I'm thinking I might do a list of best new board games next.

Top 11 Electronic, Dupstep, Dance, House and similarities Jamz of 2010

2010-12-21T01:31:00.000-05:00

Okay list Part 2:

For the first 1/2 of 3/4s of the year I didn't really pay that much attention to Electronic music of this kind, or at least not as much as I usually might. Then I got either the number 1 or number 3 on this list and I suddenly remembered how much I love it. But I felt behind and lazy and my internet is slow so I only pursued it somewhat. Then year end lists started popping up and I decided to check out some more what was an incomplete list (basically my top 6) suddenly became a top 11 and I'm once again listening to lots of electronic music with plans for more listening.

11-8 I just got so I don't really have many comments about except that they are worth a listen if you're inclined, especially Teengirl Fantasy.

11. Actress - Splazsh (Honest Jon's)

10. Scuba - Triangulation (Hotflush)

9. Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)

It's Pantha du Prince! I didn't even know they had a new one out. I'm not sure about it yet but its goodish at least. Check out "Lay in a Shimmer" or "Satellite Sniper" which on the first few listens are the standouts for me.

8. Teengirl Fantasy - 7 AM (Merok Records)

This is really good but I don't know it enough yet to say much. But I think you should check it out. Really. go ahead.

7. Michael Mayer - Immer 3 (Kompakt)

I love Michael Mayer's (head of Kompakt Label)(Kompakt being home to The Field and Gui Boratto among many many other sweet dudes) Immer mix series. If you don't know it and you like house music (the mellow kind) you should check out 1 and 2 especially 1. I didn't even know there was a third one until last week. This is really good and would be higher if I hadn't just found it. May be too boring or classic for some of you but for you true blue house lovers its great.

6. Slugabed - Ultra Heat Treated (Planet Mu)

I don't know what genre people are calling this, Wonky? Who cares right? Anyway its too short but its great. Hard jamming electro-wonko-good times! Seriously just check it (and any other tracks you can find) out. Really good. you love that.

5. Chromeo - Business Casual (Atlantic)

This got no love. Chromeo seems to generally get no love. Which is weird because they were doing their thing, and doing it well, before it was trendy and then not trendy again to do that thing. I think its wierd they are on a major label, both because that's dumb but also I can't imagine it really being a sound business move for "the industry". And despite the panning reviews this is them still being really good at what they do. Smooth slightly sleazy electro disco jams soup for the pregnant teenage soul.

4. Rustie - Sunburst (Warp)

This one had me from the cover. I mean come on look at that. Also He's from Scotland, which is fun. This is another case of what is possibly called "Wonky" which is apparently the aftertaste of some kind of dubstep mixed with what reminds me of French loud house or in Rustie's case also sometimes Russ Chimes, kinda sorta. If you don't like the track "Hyperthrust" then get outta town.

3. James Blake - CMYK / Klavierwerke (R & S Records)

Seems like a friendly lad. Two very different 12 inches but also clearly still by the same artist. I believe the hype and I highly anticipate whenever he gets around to a full album. CMYK is kinda R&B laced Post-Dubstep (what?). Klavierwerke is totally different and more minimalistic fidget-house-like. They are both very fidgety but with lots of space. and lots of good. Get on it if you haven't already.

2. Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)

I thought FlyLo was okay but couldn't see the big deal really until this. Which seems to be the opposite reaction, as people made of big deal of him before but seemed to just kinda like this album as opposed to loving it. But I love this awesome mess of good gold. And its seriously a golden brown mess. Do you like many styles of music and wish you could listen to all of your albums at once but it not be just noise? You win! If this were not the digital age, this album would have taken like 300 years to make. Also its awesome and I anticipate liking it for 300 years. It's so good I moved it up from 5th to 2nd as I was writing this!!! This might move up to number 1 if I write anymore! If it's too crazy to get into right away for you, start with "Do The Astral Plane". I don't know if it's the best track but it's probably the most immediately catchy. But really its a whole album listen album not a track listen album.

1. Mount Kimbie - Crooks & Lovers (Hotflush)

What a great album. This is like the sunrise after a long dub-step night. The other side of the Burial coin, where you come out a dream that felt like 1000 years of darkness and wake up from the light that shines through the cracks in the blinds and the camera does an artificial lens flare added in post production. Lots of people liked this but very few put it at the top. Maybe because there is nothing insane or shocking about it. It's just a very, very solid album which is also a logical progression of sound from the past into the future. I think I will listen to this a lot after many other things fade away. Maybe. or not. But its one of the best of 2011.

Up next: Top 10 Hip-Hop + R&B Jamz of 2010

and then finally a little later: Top 36ish Drone, Ambient, and Experimental Jamz of 2010