DO YOU BOYS LIKE MU-ZAK?

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May 2012

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31
		HOLIDAYS
May 28 - Memorial Day

Guardian Angels
Kia Purity's Site
Surtur's Fuge of the Damned
Malachit Room
The Nisan Sanctuary

[Neo~ID]

Is it a bit ironic that both this and last year's music threads are on the same page? Shame on all of you; stop having real lives.

Anyway, this is the year-end music list! Make a list! Post that list!. If you don't, I'm going to come to your house... and murder you!

1) Fleet Foxes - Sun Giant EP/Fleet Foxes
 

Without a doubt, my favorite album of the year. This is a band that is supremely confident in their sound, and it shows. Robin Pecknold's voice is both haunting and soulful, and is aided by the group's penchant for vocal harmonies.

2) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago


The story of how Justin Vernon came to record For Emma, Forever Ago is a remarkable parallel to the album's lonesome, wistful feel. Vernon locked up himself in a Wisconsin cabin in the winter of 2007, and this was his self-recorded result. I recently had the opportunity to see Bon Iver in concert, and it was truly one of the best performances I've ever seen.

3) Wolf Parade - At Mt. Zoomer


An impressive follow-up to an astronomically successful first record, Wolf Parade seemed to have critics confused by the direction they decided to take with Zoomer. For me, this record was a grower; it took a few listens before I was sold on it, but since then, it's been in heavy rotation on ye olde iPod.

4) The Dutchess and the Duke - She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke


Despite the influx of faux-indie-noise rock this year, their were a few records from new acts that managed to avoid being completely annoying. One of these surprises was The Dutchess and the Duke, whose reliance on simple instrumentation and song-writing give their first record a simple, head-bobbing twang.

5) Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line


They're like Vampire Weekend without the bullshit. I am okay with this!

6) She & Him - Volume One
7) Laura - Yes Maybe No EP
Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
9) Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Volume 1
10) Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams

[BlurYamaneko]

aw yeah I love year-end lists.

10. Perfume - GAME
Perfume, man.  Three Japanese girls running around doing silly dances, singing about chocolate discos (I don't even want to know what that involves), with some blippy bloopy electronic dance tunes in the background.  Why does this work so well?  I think it's to do with Yasutaka Nakata's keen ear for melody, really.  There are tons of bands in japan that are kind of like this but none of them quite pin it down as well as Perfume.  And it's odd, even people who should know better (like my friend Mai who called them "the shame of japan" when I forced her to listen to them) get won over by them sooner or later.  I'm not sure how this happens.  They've been a bit of a phenomenon in 2008.  This album's weakness is that it just seems too long, like the songs stick around a little longer than they should.  The advantages are in two tracks, Macaroni and GAME, which next to the other stuff sound a bit less playful and more... I dunno, purposeful.  I was going to say serious but, no, not really !  Take me take me's alright too.  For comedy (or torture) purposes, you can't beat the middle of Polyrhythm.  God.

9. Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Coldplay, man.  It's always the same: Coldplay drop an album and I don't really care.  But then I hear a single, think it sounds good, check out the album and go "whoa, this is good stuff."  Then three weeks later it's over and it's on to the next thing.  When Viva la Vida dropped I thought that was going to change.  It's a fairly solid album, though just like Perfume the songs feel a bit too long, especially between Lost and Viva la Vida.  They're not that long really but they feel like it, maybe due to the 'hidden' tracks after track 5 and 6 or whatever.  From Viva la Vida through to the end, though, it's great, and likewise, I like tracks 1-3 a lot.  A good album, better than X&Y (which I also liked), and better than Parachutes, but I'd need to think about whether it'll beat Rush of Blood to the Head or not.  Hmm...

8. Owl City - Maybe I'm Dreaming...
Haha, this album is so stupid.  I love the lyrics, how much sugary melodrama can you shove into fifty minutes?  That said, sometimes it's not too bad - the lyrics to Skydiver are nice, and now and then the album DOES stop being cheesy as all hell.. for about ten seconds.  It's really catchy, sounds nice n airy, and is just pleasant.  It's not going to change anyone's life (just like the Shins), and damned if it's not beyond embarassing how much it begs to be the Postal Service (my favourite is on track 4 where dude autotunes his voice upwards to sound like a girl).  But hey, at least it's not trying to hide it - I often say this, and it's not even a joke, but I listened to this album and had The District Sleeps Alone Tonight in my head for a week.

7. Ikimono Gakari - Life Album
Not much to say about Life Album, Ikimono Gakari doesn't really do anything special, just have some nice catchy pop tunes that hit the spot for me.  Here I like track 2 a lot, Sesihun Line stomps around and I love it, Hana wa Sakura is pretty nice, better than the sum of its parts really (..or something).  Miso Soup is something of a silly stevie classic now.  Very easygoing album, and I like it just fine.

6. moumoon - moumoon
moumoon (that's moo-moon !) is such an... unassuming band.  Every time I hear a new song by them I always think "this is kind of boring, not as much fun as their other songs."  And this can go on, sometimes for weeks, and suddenly I'll hear it again and I'll be all about it.  When this album came out last month it was much the same, I was thinking this album's not bad but...  not as good as I'd come to expect.  This thing is really subtle in a way though, every song just gets into you after a while.  So in the last week or so I've been all about it, it's really strong and I like everything on it a fair amount, apart from the last track that seems not to fit, really.  Tiny Star would've been a great closer, too.  Japanese artists always do this, augh.  Anyway, a quite subtle pop album that somehow gets better all the time.  Even though there's nothing special about it per se (I always say this about moumoon in general), in the end it's a really sweet, fun and catchy album.  There's even a track that reminds me of Imogen Heap in there.

5. The Flashbulb - Soundtrack to a Vacant Life
Holy tracklist.  I listened to this less than any album on here (this seems to be a recurring habit with flashbulb) but it's always a good time.  I love the drums and how 'organic' it is (stock phrase for an album by an electronic dude that has REAL INSTRUMENTS tm).  Like Kirlian Selections, it just sounds talented, smart and on-the-ball, though unlike Kirlian it doesn't seem to travel all over the place at random.  It seems more tied together, and I really get into that.

4. Why? - Alopecia
Over half a year down the line and I'm still not sure what this album... actually is.  It's a bit hip-hoppy, kind of indie-ish... some of it sounds quite twee really, sometimes melodic and pop-ish.  The lyrics?  "you took off your bra to wrap the wound though the man was dead and there was no need," is... more or less par for the course.  This album is always talking about being dead.  It's fascinating... kind of.  I just know I like it a whole lot.  It's nice and short, too, kind of like Moon Safari or Out of Time (albums I always give the nod to being just the right length for what they bring to the table), and Yoni's voice rules somehow.  There's something really cool about his flow, whether he's rapping or singing, that in some places you can listen along and catch every word, but if you try to even remember it just a few seconds later, let alone recite it, well, good luck.  A weird album in many ways, and in many ways a really really good one.

3. Utada Hikaru - Heart Station
Definitely my most anticipated album of the year, Heart Station wasn't exactly a disappointment, though it did get beaten out by two kind of unexpected releases.  This is quite a strange album though, the only one album in the world where I'd be happier hearing individual songs than hearing it all the way through, and for that it just hasn't sat comfortably with me despite how awesome I find everything on it.  It's odd, track-for-track I like it more than #2 at least, but all together, it falls just short.. It's probably down to the lack of flow (after track 2 it's out the window), this album's mood and pacing changes about six times.  That said, it still has my two favourite songs from 2007 (Flavor of Life and Kiss and Cry), and one of my favourites from 2008 (Stay Gold), and it never exactly drops the ball.  Just needs to flow better and I guess, sound less like a bunch of songs and more like an album !

2. ayaka - Sing to the Sky
This album took me by surprise.  By the time 2008 rolled around I was getting a little tired of ayaka and more excited by lots of artists.  Come June, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from Sing to the Sky, and track for track, it ain't got much on Heart Station or Alopecia.  Somehow though, it just -clicks- in a big way when I listen to it.  Songs that are really mediocre on their own (and I'm talking about half of the tracks here) just work, and I'm not sure why.  And then once you get to the last quarter of the album it just starts to rule hard, with the unexpected gem of Konya mo Hoshi ni Dakarete rounding everything off on a beautiful high (if you don't count track 16 anyway !).  I never stop being in love with this girl's voice and it's never better than the last quarter of this album.  Unexpectedly, and unreasonably, awesome.

1. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
There's just... nothing I don't like about this album.

I first heard this in July and it's been more or less a fixture since then.  An album that I thought would be too gimmicky, that would get too boring, whatever, all turned out to be misconceptions.  Every time I listen to music now I'm thinking 'man that'd sound great in girl talk' or 'I want to make a mash up with this!!' or whatever.  And I know it's going to take years for me to stop thinking this way.  Dammit.  I think Greg Gilles is awesome, and this album is a freakin' joy.

---

For you guys, I'd definitely recommend the Why? album, and you might get into the Flashbulb, it tends to explore a load of different flavours and I dig that.  Dunno if you go for the j pop or not, and for some Girl Talk is just too much of a gimmick to really fit on a best-of list, but I take it as I like it and I like it a lot.  Woo hoo ~  I didn't get really into a lot of albums this year (or the ones I did were from other years), but I enjoy the top five especially a lot.

[Franz]

DO YOU BOYS LIKE MEX-I-CO?!

...I'll post mine later. Other than Coldplay, I haven't heard of a single damn thing you guys posted.

[kostjan]

#5 Ronski Speed - Pure Devotion



The album cover is definitely something that wouldn't be out of place during a "pride" parade, but other than that, beautiful melodies and gorgeous vocals in this eurotrance release...

#4 Sarah Brightman - Symphony



Sarah might be getting older, but her beautiful voice works still, and her latest album is mostly highest quality stuff since her subliminal La Luna disk almost 8 years ago... For those who love soprano voices...

#3 Mirco de Govia - Iconic Path



Extremely melodic, extremely ambient, extremely beautiful.. A music to listen with your eyes closed, as you are emerged into an amazing journey.

#2 Sasha - Invol2ver



The followup for the 2004 Involver, expectations were high, given the amazing original disk that is considered by many to be the reference of porgressive house.. Well, Sasha did it again, and I like this follow up even more.. Amazing deep soundscapes, a true voyage!

#1 V-Sag - Feather



Might be a bit too commercial, but damn, this disk is so well executed! The music is amazingly mastered, sound just oozes quality, making even bad speakers sound good, and good speakers sound divine... Amazing vocal by Alexandra McKay, my discovery of the year when it comes to beautiful, powerful voice. highly recommended!

[TheContact]

Honestly, I'm still catching up on music released in 2008.  But right now, I think Bon Iver's album is leading the way for me, followed by Wolf Parade, and then Fleet Foxes (which kinda reminds me of Crosby/Stills/Nash).

[kostjan]

Let's see... It's end of 2009, and nobody started a new thread about their top yet... Heck, even I'm too lazy to do it, because nobody cares about the music type I listen to...

[Nyuna]

Hm, I've been listening to OC Remix stuff and rediscovering more "old" music (particulary Russian), so I don't know whenever it would make an sense for me to post any type of list anyway... Though new music reccomendations are always interesting.

[Neo~ID]

Jeez, man, give me a couple of days to get done with my finals and I WILL MAKE YOUR DREAM A REALITY.

That is how cool I am.

Let's see... It's end of 2009, and nobody started a new thread about their top yet... Heck, even I'm too lazy to do it, because nobody cares about the music type I listen to...