Top 5: Albums of 2011

Soo....I totes lied about updating my blog while I was Maine.  Oops.  Sorry, got busy.

But now I'm back south in Virginia after a crazy experience doing documentary radio at the Salt Institute in Portland, Maine.  And I'm back to what's really important...making Top 5 lists!

Which maybe will help me in my life goal of being a relevant alt/indie blogger, surpassing the fame of Carles or Aquarium Drunkard

I realized while compiling this list that I've actually listened to a ridiculous amount of music this year.  Probably not as much as I feel I should have, but enough that narrowing this list down to five was actually quite difficult.

So, without further ado....my Top 5 of 2011.

5. tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l

I got irrationally pissed off at this band that I had to look on Wikipedia to make sure I typed out their name and album correctly with the correct lower-case and upper-case spacing and whatnot.  But this album is crazy and amazing, fusing together different musical genres and playing around with different arrangements.  Horns come in and out.  Sound cuts out sharply and comes back in.  In "Gangsta", vocalist Merrill Garbus layers her voice to sound like a police siren.  There's a sense of calculated randomness to the proceedings which turned me off at first, but then after 2-3 listens I was completely sucked in.

4. Wild Flag - Wild Flag

I was a big Sleater-Kinney fan and was super-stoked when I went to see Wild Flag in concert this year, curious to see a sort of girl band super-group, taking Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss from the aforementioned Sleater-Kinney, along with Mary Timony from Helium and Rebecca Cole who played with The Minders.  This band made me so happy and this album is pure, catchy, energetic rock.

3. Destroyer - Kaputt

Please forgive the video posted above, which starts out like an ad for American Apparel and then just gets weirder.  Kaputt combines elements of smooth jazz (a genre I normally find repellant) with 70s/80s-esque dream pop to create a rich collection of songs that wash over you.  I feel like it's something that shouldn't work but it totally does.

2.  Active Child - You Are All I See

Active Child is the moniker of Pat Grossi.  And I have a hard time describing this album, but the best sort of genre description I can come up with is "ethereal R&B".  There's beautiful orchestrations, and Grossi's vocals sound sort of church-like, if that makes any sense.  Everything here is lush and ghostly.  Also, Grossi plays the harp.  THE HARP.  You gotta love the harp.

1. Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps

It's the Twilight Singers and motherfuckin' Greg Dulli.  There's no way this could NOT be my favorite album of 2011.  After most of the members of TS took time to do the Gutter Twins (the Dulli/Mark Lanegan collab of awesomeness), they came back this year with an album that was well worth waiting for.  Dynamite Steps is a dark, hypnotic brew of solid, cinematic rock songs, the perfect soundtrack for a bar fight with your ex-lover who did you wrong or a melancholic last call on your last day on Earth.

In related news, the freakin' AFGHAN WHIGS are reuniting for at least two shows this year - one in London and one in New Jersey.  I need to find a way to go.

Top 5: Fleetwood Mac

Interesting fact about myself - Fleetwood Mac was my first favorite band.  I was 11 or 12.  My dad listened to them all the time and, as a result, I listened to them all the time too.  Other kids were listening to the Spice Girls (OK, I did too, but beside the point), which I was bouncing along to Rumors and Tusk.  Not sure why.  Maybe it was their harmonies, their catchy, funky, melodic tunes, Mick Fleetwood's beard, or my desire to marry Lindsey Buckingham (see my "Top 5: Weird Crushes" list).  A lot of it, I think, had to do with how much I loved Stevie Nicks.

                                              

Stevie Nicks had an amazing, unique voice - a little bit gravely, a little bit vulnerable, yet strong at the same time.  I loved her witch-y, mystical persona, her personal, other-worldly lyrics...and her shawls, of course.  It's still a childhood fantasy of mine to BE Stevie Nicks.  Minus the coke addiction and tendency towards having affairs with Mick Fleetwood and Don Henley.

But at any rate - here are my Top 5 Fleetwood Mac songs!

5. "Second Hand News" from Rumours

4. "What Makes You Think You're the One?" from Tusk

3. "Gypsy" from Mirage

2. "Rhiannon" from Fleetwood Mac

1. "The Chain" from Rumours

Top 5: Michael Jackson Videos

As I'm sure you're all aware (unless you, literally, live under a rock), Michael Jackson passed away this past week at the age of 50. Like a lot of people, I was shocked and saddened by his sudden death. Because, despite everything, the man did create some of the best pop music ever, tunes that I grew up with and still enjoy getting jiggy too this day.

But, along with awesome tune-age, Mr. Jackson was a master at the art of the music video and it was, undoubtedly, a medium that helped make him a cultural icon. So, with that, I bring you my Top 5 Favorite Michael Jackson videos. And yes, I realize "Thriller" is not on this list. But, honestly, that video scared the living bejeezus out of me when I was a small child, and I still haven't quite gotten over it.

# 5 - "You Rock My World"

The song is so-so, coming around at a time when Jackson was trying to make a sort of "comeback" in the era of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. However, the video is classic MJ, and is humorous and entertaining. As is typical, it's a kind of mini-movie, with Jackson and his pal, Chris Tucker, fighting over a girl, who's involved with some gangster (played by Michael Madsen), escalating into some crazy dancing and hijinx that occur in a sketchy bar, owned by Marlon Brando. Say what you will about Michael Jackson, but if he can convince Michael Madsen AND Marlon Brando to be in his video, I'm sold.

# 4 - "Beat It"

Obviously this is an iconic music video, with an appearance by the famous Orange Jacket. But I love it mainly because it shows that any conflict between rival gangs can all be solved through the POWER OF DANCE. Possible a lesson that Michael learned after watching "West Side Story" one too many times. Either way, awesome video.

# 3 - "Smooth Criminal"

Fedoras, awesome 1920s gangster style outfits, tommy guns, and the impressive, defying-gravity lean (shown above). What's not to love? And, again, the problems of mobsters can be solved also through the POWER OF DANCE. Really, that's the main lesson to be learned from Michael Jackson videos, people.

#2 - "Leave Me Alone"

This video shows Michael Jackson riding through a rollercoaster/rocketship car through a crazy, animated, amusement park while being confronted with headlines and reminders of all the crazy rumors about him. Along with dogs in suits, iguanas, and all manner of bizarre things. I thought this video was incredibly cool when I was a little kid. I still think it's a neat, creative video and shows MJ's ability to poke fun of himself and be a little tongue-in-cheek.

#1 - "Remember the Time"

This is another one of those epicly long, mini-movie kind of music videos. It starts off in Ancient Egypt with a Pharoah (played by Eddie Murphy) and his Queen (played by David Bowie's wife Iman), hanging out in their...pyramid/palace or whatever. The Queen proclaims that she is bored and Pharoah Eddie Murphy summons one of his henchmen (played by Magic Johnson) to bring in all manner of performers to entertain her. She is unimpressed with the first few, ordering them to be executed, until..at long last...Michael Jackson shows up to save the day! Of course, Iman starts giving MJ lustful looks, and jealous Eddie Murphy orders his henchmen to chase MJ around the palace to kill him. But it all ends happily with a kick-ass dance number. But not before Jackson and Iman share an awkward kiss...only to be rivaled by Jackson's even more awkward kiss with his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Still, awesome video and who doesn't love Ancient Egypt and excellent celebrity cameos?