Greetings From Nerd Israel
Oooooooooh! The most exciting interwebby event of the year for us iPodal geeks: The NPR Top Albums of the Year Countdown!
My picks thus far, which I'm having an incredibly difficult time narrowing down (feel free to comment as to what should or should not be here; but please, my list is SO much better than Pitchfork's)
Supremely Awesomest Album That Is Crazy Innovative and Fun and I Will Never Tire Of, Not EVER:
Through the Windowpane- Guillemots- Broadway-style avant garde pop, nuff said. This is the best album of the year.
Album that I Still Laugh Out Loud Every Time I Hear It:
Art Brut-Art Brut- who also gets the distinction of supremely awesomest concert this year (Wolf Parade would be the other completely rawkingest), if only because after attending the first one having had a little too much whiskey (I still have the gigantic scar on the back of my leg), they graciously came back around to promote the same album, and that show was even AWESOMER (so I'm told). Also, I like to play this album at work to weird out my non-musicky co-workers. "Why is he so excited about seeing her naked? I don't get it."
Best Album That Makes Me Cry A Bit:
The Crane Wife- The Decemberists- Yes, I know we all hated the spectre of Stupid Chris Walla and the non-talent of Laura Veirs, but I still cry when I hear The Crane Wife 2 & 3, and one night, I actually made my roommate stop writing her thesis to listen to Sons and Daughters. She wiped a tear from her eye and said it was the most hopeful she'd felt about all the shit going down in a long time. And yet it manages not to be overly kumbayah. God I love Colin Meloy, fucking genius bastard. Oh, and how much do I love it that The Decemberists signed onto a big label and then totally delivered on the goods to their fans? Oh, and they also win prettiest scenery at a concert this year. Also, I think Jenny Conlee might be one of my favorite people ever. Also, sea shanty prog rock! Must stop gushing1.
Best Album With The Word Ziggurats and Also Has The Sweetest Cascading Piano Arrangements:
Destroyer's Rubies- Destroyer
Best Album Whose Lead Singer Endlessly Intrigues Me:
In Fields We Will Lie: Nethers- she has the most amazing voice, and at the concert, she started out very shy and unsure of herself, btu when she settled in, the performance was mesmerizing. Also, I think she's very pretty.
Best Album That I Don't Believe the Drummer Who Played The Concert Was The Same Guy Who Played On the Album, No Matter What People Tell Me:
The Loon- Tapes n' Tapes- seriously, at one point Tape 1 had to turn around and count the beats. It still completely Rawks. Also, I think the drummer looks like Mark from Step By Step, that show with Suzanne Sommers that was on Friday nights way back in my day.
Best Album It Took Me A Couple Of Trys To Get, But Now I Think It's Gee-nee-us:
>Return To Cookie Mountain: TV On the Radio- the inclusion of "cookie" in the title should have tipped me off to its sweetness.
Best Album That Sounds Just Like What's Going On Inside My Head:
Beast Moans- Swan Lake- seriously, that's what's going on up there.
Best Album That Was Completely Awesome And Brilliant And Should Be Re-Recorded with the Pared Down Instrumentation from the Tour:
Ys- Joanna Newsom- I'm reticent to include her, though, because of her encore snubbery. But she's just so damn good.
Best Album With The Song That I Would Get Arrested For:
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass- Yo La Tengo- A while back, I read a story that I meant to include in the Goo Report about a diamond theif in India who got caught only because he went to the same famous nightclub three nights in a row and threw down enormous amounts of cash for the DJ to play the same song over and over for several hours. Somebody thought something was fishy, and called the cops. Hee! If that were me, I would totally pick Mr. Tough off this album.
Artist That I Wish I'd Known About Last Year, Because I Would Have Nominated Last Year's Album, But This Year's Release Was Littered With Way Too Much Lilith Fair Shit:
Regina Spektor- Oh, how I love Soviet Kitsch. But I'm really not so much a fan of Samson or the Boo-Boo Song from Begin to Hope. But she's just as talented onstage as she is on the record. Flawless preformance.
Best Album That I Really Liked But Am Glad I Didn't Pay For (Sorry):
Pussycats- The Walkmen- it's really as meticulously recreated as they claim. But I have the original Harry Nilsson, so it's not liek I was missing out. Still, if I were a famous musician-type (never made it past the dubious claim to fame of having been in a band that opened for the band that opened for Prince), I would amuse myslef in such a fashion.
Best Album That Sadly Does Not Make the Best Album List Due to the Inclusion of the Incredibly Insipid Songs Chips Ahoy, You Can Make Him Like You, and Chillout Tent:
Boys and Girls in America- The Hold Steady-That said, We DID have some Massive Nights, didn't we? The Hold Steady make me wish I'd lived in Minneapolis longer.
See? With so many choices, how's a goo to narrow down?
1. I have a water bottle that is decorated solely with Decemberists stickers. I could go on for a really, really long time about them.
My picks thus far, which I'm having an incredibly difficult time narrowing down (feel free to comment as to what should or should not be here; but please, my list is SO much better than Pitchfork's)
Supremely Awesomest Album That Is Crazy Innovative and Fun and I Will Never Tire Of, Not EVER:
Through the Windowpane- Guillemots- Broadway-style avant garde pop, nuff said. This is the best album of the year.
Album that I Still Laugh Out Loud Every Time I Hear It:
Art Brut-Art Brut- who also gets the distinction of supremely awesomest concert this year (Wolf Parade would be the other completely rawkingest), if only because after attending the first one having had a little too much whiskey (I still have the gigantic scar on the back of my leg), they graciously came back around to promote the same album, and that show was even AWESOMER (so I'm told). Also, I like to play this album at work to weird out my non-musicky co-workers. "Why is he so excited about seeing her naked? I don't get it."
Best Album That Makes Me Cry A Bit:
The Crane Wife- The Decemberists- Yes, I know we all hated the spectre of Stupid Chris Walla and the non-talent of Laura Veirs, but I still cry when I hear The Crane Wife 2 & 3, and one night, I actually made my roommate stop writing her thesis to listen to Sons and Daughters. She wiped a tear from her eye and said it was the most hopeful she'd felt about all the shit going down in a long time. And yet it manages not to be overly kumbayah. God I love Colin Meloy, fucking genius bastard. Oh, and how much do I love it that The Decemberists signed onto a big label and then totally delivered on the goods to their fans? Oh, and they also win prettiest scenery at a concert this year. Also, I think Jenny Conlee might be one of my favorite people ever. Also, sea shanty prog rock! Must stop gushing1.
Best Album With The Word Ziggurats and Also Has The Sweetest Cascading Piano Arrangements:
Destroyer's Rubies- Destroyer
Best Album Whose Lead Singer Endlessly Intrigues Me:
In Fields We Will Lie: Nethers- she has the most amazing voice, and at the concert, she started out very shy and unsure of herself, btu when she settled in, the performance was mesmerizing. Also, I think she's very pretty.
Best Album That I Don't Believe the Drummer Who Played The Concert Was The Same Guy Who Played On the Album, No Matter What People Tell Me:
The Loon- Tapes n' Tapes- seriously, at one point Tape 1 had to turn around and count the beats. It still completely Rawks. Also, I think the drummer looks like Mark from Step By Step, that show with Suzanne Sommers that was on Friday nights way back in my day.
Best Album It Took Me A Couple Of Trys To Get, But Now I Think It's Gee-nee-us:
>Return To Cookie Mountain: TV On the Radio- the inclusion of "cookie" in the title should have tipped me off to its sweetness.
Best Album That Sounds Just Like What's Going On Inside My Head:
Beast Moans- Swan Lake- seriously, that's what's going on up there.
Best Album That Was Completely Awesome And Brilliant And Should Be Re-Recorded with the Pared Down Instrumentation from the Tour:
Ys- Joanna Newsom- I'm reticent to include her, though, because of her encore snubbery. But she's just so damn good.
Best Album With The Song That I Would Get Arrested For:
I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass- Yo La Tengo- A while back, I read a story that I meant to include in the Goo Report about a diamond theif in India who got caught only because he went to the same famous nightclub three nights in a row and threw down enormous amounts of cash for the DJ to play the same song over and over for several hours. Somebody thought something was fishy, and called the cops. Hee! If that were me, I would totally pick Mr. Tough off this album.
Artist That I Wish I'd Known About Last Year, Because I Would Have Nominated Last Year's Album, But This Year's Release Was Littered With Way Too Much Lilith Fair Shit:
Regina Spektor- Oh, how I love Soviet Kitsch. But I'm really not so much a fan of Samson or the Boo-Boo Song from Begin to Hope. But she's just as talented onstage as she is on the record. Flawless preformance.
Best Album That I Really Liked But Am Glad I Didn't Pay For (Sorry):
Pussycats- The Walkmen- it's really as meticulously recreated as they claim. But I have the original Harry Nilsson, so it's not liek I was missing out. Still, if I were a famous musician-type (never made it past the dubious claim to fame of having been in a band that opened for the band that opened for Prince), I would amuse myslef in such a fashion.
Best Album That Sadly Does Not Make the Best Album List Due to the Inclusion of the Incredibly Insipid Songs Chips Ahoy, You Can Make Him Like You, and Chillout Tent:
Boys and Girls in America- The Hold Steady-That said, We DID have some Massive Nights, didn't we? The Hold Steady make me wish I'd lived in Minneapolis longer.
See? With so many choices, how's a goo to narrow down?
1. I have a water bottle that is decorated solely with Decemberists stickers. I could go on for a really, really long time about them.
posted by The Goo at 12:23 PM
2 Comments:
You don't like You Can Make Him Like You!? Oh man. I thought it was one of the best songs on the album. "Cover yourself like a bruise" -- them's lyrics.
FanTAStic lyrics, just thought the music was kinda grating. Secretly, I get really sick of the Decemberists "Perfect Crime", too, even though I'm told it's a fucking brilliant song.
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