Gettin' My Nerd On

 
Fair warning....this is most likely the nerdiest music-related blog post you'll ever read.  I'm quite certain about that.  Normally, I leave work at work, and my ability to do so is one of the things I pride myself on.  However, when the wife and kid are out of town....this is what you get.  A music blog post about chemicals.

You read that correctly.  Chemicals.  It's my job, so it's time to start mixing business with pleasure...if you know what I mean.  Honestly, it's ok if you don't because I'm not even certain I know what I mean.  So here we go...my top songs named after chemicals/elements/and alloys!  WOOHOO!

 1.  Radiohead - Polyethylene (Parts 1&2) (buy)

Ahh....this is the song from a bygone day in which Radiohead played primarily guitars on their albums.  It's also the track that inspired this great endeavor.  You can find it on the Airbag/How Am I Driving? EP released a few months after their OK Computer album (my favorite album of all time).  Polyethylene is a plastic made by combining a crapload of ethene molecules together.  So take the image above and multiply it by a couple of thousand.  Add them all together and what do you get?? Plastic.  Add some titanium dioxide (my current job) to it and what do you get?? White plastic.  It just got real up in here.

2.  Nirvana - Lithium (buy)

Elements....seriously, where would we be without them?  Lithium was probably my favorite song off the Nevermind album.  It or "In Bloom".  We're splitting hairs here if you force me to choose.  Lithium...what can I tell you about it?  Well, its got three protons and it's reactive as hell.  It's a metal, but you can cut it with a knife.....if you dare!  It'll probably catch fire if it touches water though, so don't rinse that lithium-cutting knife in the sink.  Lithium compounds are used to treat schizophrenia.  It's also used a source of tritium....which I'm pretty sure was the energy source everyone was after in the Spider-Man 2 movie....except that it was colored gold....and shaped like a soccer ball....and I think James Franco kept it in a safe in his office.

3.  Radiohead - Melatonin (buy)

Again with the Radiohead.  I knew there was a reason I liked this group so much.  Melatonin....or as you most likely know it, N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine (holla back now, IUPAC!!).  It's one of Radiohead's softer numbers and as Radiohead songs go....very meh. 

4.  The Smashing Pumpkins - The Crying Tree of Mercury (buy)

I'm not sure what Senor Corgan was getting at by naming a song "The Crying Tree of Mercury", nor do I feel he grasped the severity of what he was proposing.  Mercury is like CCCRRRAAAZZZYYYYY toxic.  A tree that cries Mercury would literally be terrible.  There wouldn't be enough thiols in the world to clean up that mess.

5.  Wilco - Hell is Chrome (buy)

This one's kind of a stretch.  Chrome is basically a thin layer of chromium (cleverly named, huh?) placed on the surface of some metals.  Close enough.  Seriously, though....we should all be thankful that chrome is in our lives.  Can you imagine what rims would look like on tricked-out Hondas without Chrome?  Shudder....

 

6.  Beastie Boys - Brass Monkey (buy)

Alloys.  This monkey is made of copper and zinc.  What proportions?  Who knows...the Beastie Boys don't exactly state the copper-to-zinc ratio.  It's a wonder they ever made it in the music industry.

RR

Top Ten Albums of 2011

I loved 2011.  From a music standpoint, it was one of my favorite years in recent memory.  I suppose the phrase that comes to mind is something along the lines of "Quantity vs Quality".....or something like that.  I suppose this is meant to raise the question as to whether you'd rather have a large number of something mediocre or a much smaller amount of something fantastic.  It's a fair question/debate/discussion.  But, for 2011 I would turn the phrase around a bit to something like "Quantity of Quality".  I think 2011 gave us a very balanced attack of well-above average albums.

Each year, since 2007, I've put together a list of my favorite albums of the year (ranked 1-10).  This year, however, was easily the most difficult list to organize since I began creating lists.  For example, the albums ranked 2-5 on this year's list could all essentially be interchangeable.  Usually, I have a pretty easy time arranging the top few albums with all the tough decisions coming later in the list.  This year produced quite a jam of awesome records that all were vying for the runner-up slot (#1 was easy for me this year).  In addition to the troubles I had formulating the upper echelon, the lower tiered albums were equally as difficult.  I had a pretty easy time breaking down my overall list to 13.  But it was incredibly difficult to knock off the final three (listed here as Honorable Mentions).  Finally, I also debated where to include three standout EPs I obtained this year.  In previous years, I've lumped the top EPs in with all the other top full lengths.  There were so many great full albums this year though, so I've simply listed three EPs that are certainly worth your time and attention.  So, enough rambling from me on how I constructed a list that most people won't ever read or care about.....here's the list:

EPs (in no particular order)

Surfer Blood - Tarot Classics (buy)
Now, Now - Neighbors (buy)
Dirty Gold - Roar (buy)

Surfer Blood put out one of my favorite albums of last year.  If they had put out a full length that was consistently as good as their 2011 EP Tarot Classics, it likely would've fallen somewhere in the Top 3 range.  Now, Now and Dirty Gold's EPs represent debuts by very young bands.  Now, Now's EP Neighbors is kinda unique in that it includes acoustic versions of the two standout tracks on the EP, which offers a nice contrast to the very not-acoustic originals.  As for Dirty Gold's EP Roar.....you won't likely find a more chill album/EP in all 2011.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

Radiohead - The King of Limbs (buy)
Beirut - The Rip Tide (buy)
Real Estate - Days (buy)

I'm as surprised as the next person that Radiohead didn't make it into my Top 10.  They're essentially #11, which is still pretty good, but I'm guessing this says more about my ridiculous expectations for Radiohead than it does the actual quality of the album.  This reminded me more of a Thom Yorke solo album than a Radiohead album.  Maybe I'll change my tune after I get to hear the songs live.

The list: 

10. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation (buy)

Youth Lagoon's The Year of Hibernation is an album that came along very late in the year for me thanks primarily to my little brother. Because I haven't been listening to it for that long I was hesitant to put it on the list.  But I loved it instantly.  Their album reminds me of another killer lo-fi group from a couple years ago....Grizzly Bear.  If Youth Lagoon go on to make anything else like what Grizzly Bear have proven capable of, we'll be in for a fun ride. 

9.  Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome (buy)

Daniele Luppi soundtracks spaghetti westerns.  Danger Mouse kinda does everything.....now including his version of spaghetti western soundtracks. This album is very easy to get lost in.  I had to fly a lot in 2011 and I distinctly remember it soundtracking a number of airport visits for me.  Not exactly a western.....but still. 

8.  Wilco - The Whole Love (buy)

I was beginning to wonder if Wilco still had it in them.  Sky Blue Sky was OK, and Wilco [the album] was much less than OK for me.  I wanted another Wilco album that I could really jam out to.....and I finally got it.  The 7+ minute opener "Art of Almost" is exactly that......jam worthy.  Wilco's still got "it".  I was stupid for doubting them.

7.  tUnE-YaRdS - w h o k i l l (buy)

tUnE-YaRdS put out one of the most unique albums I've heard since some of Animal Collective's best work.  Its rare that an album that could very clearly be described as "experimental rock" still manages to have hooks and melodies as approachable as w h o k i l l. 

6.  Tennis - Cape Dory (buy)

This spot on the list begins a series of albums that all sound very reminiscent of the 50's, 60's, and 70's.  The title track is to this album is one of my favorite songs of the year. 

5.  Cults - Cults (buy)

Honestly, I found the 5 and 6 spots on this list to be somewhat interchangeable.  Very 60's inspired 2011 indie rock.  This has been a trend that's been emerging for a while (I was big into the Sandwitches' and Dr. Dog's album the past couple years) and it really seemed to gain even more steam this year.  You won't find catchier songs on any album this year than you will with Cults breakout LP. 

4.  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost (buy)

Every Girls album or EP has wound up on one of my year end lists and Father, Son, Holy Ghost is no different.  The entire album is great, but it simply could've made the list due to its standout track "Vomit".  This track begins with a very crisp lone electric guitar and ends in a gigantic gospel-inspired sing-a-long.  It's my runner up for Song of the Year behind the title track of #1 album on this list.

3.  Bon Iver - Bon Iver (buy)

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver described this album as a "soundscape"....meaning that the music is/was the primary focus of the album with only secondary thought given to the words.  That's exactly how I listen to music.  I focus on (and get lost in) the music and often don't ever pay attention to lyrics.  It was a perfect explanation for a spectacular album that hits right at the heart of what I personally enjoy about music. 

2.  Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine (buy)

Take everything I just wrote about the Bon Iver album and Toro Y Moi did that just a little bit better with his second LP Underneath the Pine.  His second album in as many years....http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=1252546758057154439&postID=3697086907173576496Underneath the Pine represents tremendous growth from the first LP Causers of This, which I found inaccessible.

1.  Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (buy)

 2011 was an incredibly special year for me, primarily due to the birth of my son.  Helplessness Blues soundtracked the entire thing.  In fact, the very first time I heard the title track was the exact same day I found out my wife and I were having a boy.  I vividly remember listening to the song a good 10+ times that evening.  To this day, I can't listen to it without a feeling of sheer joy.  Its a special album for a special time in my life.  The opening line to the album, "So now I am older than my Mother and Father when they had their daughter.  Now what does that say about me?".  That's a lyric that I totally understood at the beginning of the year, and thus set the tone for my album experience.  It has since gone on to soundtrack a series of "firsts" for my son.....first holidays, giggles, etc.  Its an album that I will always cherish and cannot wait to listen to with my son 10-15 years from now and explain to him what I think of when I listen to it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Times They Are A-Changin'

They say you can't buy anything with a dollar anymore....and I suppose "they" are probably right.  $2 though?  $2 can buy you access to 10s of 1000s of songs.  The place?  Daytrotter.com

Daytrotter is a site that's been around for the better part of a decade for the purpose of distributing (in a legal way) music from lesser known bands.  They host a small music studio in Rock Island, IL in which bands stop on their way across the country to record live performances of both popular and previously unreleased songs.  These songs then get posted on Daytrotter's website for your listening pleasure.

Here's the catch though.....back in the day (circa 2008) Daytrotter was totally free.  This served to make the site extra awesome, because now you could obtain 5-6 tracks from a large number of bands FOR FREE.  Sigh....those were the days.  Today?  $2 a month.  I mean, you aren't exactly going to have to sacrifice a rent check to afford the $2 a month....but it ain't free.

Regardless....you get an awful lot though for your two bucks.  The site has grown substantially over the past few years allowing them to record performances of more (and bigger) artists.  It seems like they try to post a performance a day.  They allow both streaming AND downloading access to thousands of songs from bands with varying degrees of popularity.  For example, the two most recent sessions are from a lesser known singer-songwriter Charlie Faye and a slightly more popular rock band named Wilco.

I'm listening to the Wilco session right now.  You can find the session here.  Its decent.  Four tracks from this year's The Whole Love including the awesome, acoustic "One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)".  The tracks aren't terribly different from what you'd find on the album, however.  I find that a bit disappointing.

Anyways, there's tons of great music to be found on their site and they're currently offering a free seven day trial.  Its not one of those free trials where you have to give your credit card and then remember to cancel after seven days either.  Nope....just give them an email address and you have total access to the site.  If you can't tell, I definitely recommend the site to people that are well versed in indie rock and also to those just looking to find something a little different.

2007 Revisited

Visit any music blog or music-related website this time of year and you're virtually assured of finding some sort of "Best of" music count down: Best Albums, Best Songs, Best Videos, etc.  This blog will certainly be no different in that aspect......minus the top videos (I don't really ever watch videos anymore).  As we get closer to the end of year, I will eventually countdown my Top Ten albums of 2011.  I've been doing this the past four years and it's always my one of my favorite music-related activities.  Back in 2007 I listed and wrote about my top albums of Ought Seven on my former music blog.  Every year after that just involved exchanging emails with friends.

The thought processes associated with forming my 2011 list has me contemplating what sort of considerations should go into making a Top Ten list.  Should I consider how excited I was when I listened to the album for the first time?  Should I only rank albums according to how I feel about them at that point in time?  If so, that really puts albums that came out over the past month at a real disadvantage to albums that came out at the beginning of the year and have had ample opportunity to grow with me.  Or does it help the chances of recently released albums because they're more fresh? Should I consider re-listenability as it stands today?  Or would I project what the re-listenability of an album might be like 5 years from now?

I enjoy thinking about these kinds of things and realize there's no perfect formula.  However, asking these questions has inspired me to go back through the years and reconsider my previous Top Tens.  This post is, thus, the first in a series that will re-evaluate my previous lists in order to get a feel for how my listening (or ranking) albums has changed.

Below I've listed the original albums found in spots 1-10 back in 2007 and their replacements if I were making that list today (which I suppose I am).  Enjoy and let me know your thoughts below on any of these  (or any other) albums and how they've grown or fallen with you over the past few years.

10. Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
New: Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Soundtrack

It was a pretty easy decision to knock this Ryan Adams album off the list.  Ryan Adams is proof to me that it is possible to have too much of a good thing.  His prolific nature has diluted the quality of his work to the point where I'm hesitant to try his next big project.  Rumor has it his newest album is great and sounds much like his earlier work (which I think is a good thing).....but I'm almost too tired to give it a try. In its place I have Eddie Vedder's work on the Motion Picture Soundtrack for Into the Wild.  I doubt this would make too many people's list if they were re-doing 2007, but I've had some pretty amazing times over the past couple years and I can remember more than one being soundtracked by this soundtrack.

Eddie Vedder -Tuolumne

9.  Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
New: No change

I had this one right where it should be....as I still break this one out from time to time.  Its opening track, "Don't Make Me a Target" is still tops on my list of Spoon songs. 

8.  Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
New: Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

Interestingly, this new list saw Wilco and Arcade Fire exchange places.  This Wilco effort has dropped a bit in importance to me over the years (though I still prefer it to 2009's Wilco [the album]).

7.  Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
New: Beirut - The Flying Cup Club

The seven spot on this list is an interesting one.  Beirut suffered the first go-around simply due to the fact that I hadn't begun listening to them yet.  Or if I had, I hadn't paid much attention.  The European sound apparently took a bit of time to grow on me.  Since then I've become quite a big Beirut fan and this remains my favorite of all their work.  Of all the albums on the original list, I had the most difficult time deciding what to do with this Andrew Bird album.  When this album came out.....I really did listen to it regularly.  So it wasn't exactly misplaced the first time.  It hasn't withstood the test of time like the others on the list.  That being said, it isn't the only album to completely fall off the list.  Of all to be completely dropped, this remains my favorite.  It probably would fall into an Honorable Mentions category if I took the time to do one.  So...let's just call it #11.

Beirut - Nantes 

6.  Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
New: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Arcade Fire won a Grammy this past year for Album (or Record....I can't never exactly remember which is which) of the Year for an album that I'm not entirely sure was their best album.

Arcade Fire - My Body is a Cage 

5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
New: No Change

Loved Band of Horses then.  Love Band of Horses now. 

4. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
New: Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida

Of all the bands I listened to regularly back in 2007, Okkervil River has taken one of the biggest hits....evidenced by it dropping off completely from the new list despite being ranked #4 back in 2007.  I can't exactly put my finger on why they've fallen.  Each album they've done (including this year's I Am Very Far) typically has 2-3 standout tracks and the 7-10 tracks I couldn't care less about.  Ola Podrida, however, I still love.  This album was #2 on my original list and falls to #4 here, which should by no means be taken as a sign I listen or care about it less.  It simply falls due to the strength of the albums that moved up on the list.  I should mention how monumentally disappointed I was with Ola Podrida's follow-up to this album.....but this one was amazing.

Ola Podrida - Day at the Beach 

3. The National - Boxer
New: Avett Brothers - Emotionalism

I didn't listen to The Avett Brothers in 2007.  That was my mistake.  Emotionalism is easily my favorite work or theirs and it belonged on the list originally.

2. Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida
New: Radiohead - In Rainbows

If I ranked Radiohead records this would probably fall #2 only behind OK Computer.......and for me that's really saying something. The fact that this album fell out of the top spot is only indicative of how much I love the new #1 album.....not that I was losing interest in In Rainbows. 

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows
New: The National - Boxer

I. Love. This. Album.  It's spectacular.  I cannot think of an album I've listened to more in the past four years or a song I've listened to more than "Fake Empire".  If I'm ever trying to tell a friend about The National, I'm almost hesitant to start them with this album because in my opinion it doesn't get any better.  I'd almost rather start them out with 2006's Alligator or last years High Violet and let them "stumble" onto this one themselves.  Funny thing is....back in 2007 I'd probably have tried to make some case about Alligator and Boxer being interchangeable.  I'm glad I didn't try to do that.

The National - Fake Empire  

New List
1. The National - Boxer
2. Radiohead - In Rainbows
3. The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism
4. Ola Podrida - Ola Podrida
5. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
6. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
7. Beirut - The Flying Cup Club
8. Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
9. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
10. Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Soundtrack

RR