Enjoy: 2012 Faves

Hope to post more often in 2013. 2012 was pretty crazy.

5 years ago (perhaps my favorite song of the 00′s)

I would’ve linked you to the official video but they sped the song up for some reason…cool video though.

20 years ago (this is for you, eco. good luck in MI)

5 years ago

20 years ago (you forgot about this one…)

5 years ago (no whips no chains just dancing dancing dancing)

20 years ago

5 years ago (new album out next week, yipyip!)

20 years ago

Here’s my initial post.

Due to the nature in how I’ve broken up the years in previous entries (5,10,20-year marks), 2012′s Way Back Whensdays will only feature songs from the 5 and 20-year marks: 1992 and 2007. And, come October (the actual anniversary month of the first Way Back Whensday), I’ll bring this series to a close. Thanks for entering the vortex with me.

5 years ago:

20 years ago:

My favorite record of the year:

Cold Cave’s Cherish the Light Years
This record, oh, this record. Sexy, dirty, inspired and dark synth pop.
Recommended for fans of old New Order and non-derivative retro.
Standout tracks: Confetti, Villains of the Moon

Followed closely by:

Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
They can’t make a bad record and you can suck it if you didn’t like To the 5 Boroughs.
Recommended for fans of Beastie Boys and rap that isn’t retarded.
Standout tracks: Too Many Rappers, Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament

And then:

Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up
This record will defy you at every turn. Brilliant.
Recommended for fans of experimental light-years-ahead awesome shit.
Standout tracks: Free Press and Curl, Swerve

Can’t forget:

Zola Jesus’ Contatus
Find a comfy seat, pour a glass of whiskey, turn off the lights, and turn this up loud. Haunt.
Recommended for you, me, and everyone we know.
Standout tracks: Seekir, Vessel

And, oh yeah:

Fucked Up’s David Comes to Life
From start to finish: grand. It’s a punk-rock opera for the love of jeebus, but it’s so far beyond punk rock…I dunno, I think this band is pretty amazing.
Recommended for adults who aren’t afraid of their emotions.
Standout tracks: Pick any. Killer record.

Other records I liked quite a bit and I think you’ll like:
Girls: Father, Son, Holy Ghost (I was/am surprised at how much I enjoy this.)
Das Racist: Relax
Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring for my Halo (this record is on heavy rotation for me as of late.)
EMA: Past Life Martyred Saints
Future Islands: On the Water
YACHT: Shangri-La
Austra: Feel It Break
M83: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming!
Real Estate: Days
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972

5 years ago

10 years ago (do you remember how great this record was/is?)

20 years ago (jam)

5 years ago (interesting album this)

10 years ago (may they long live)

20 years ago (it’s a bit difficult today to convey how different this album sounded to everything else going on at the time. DJ Muggs’s lush and intricate soundscapes. B-Real’s antagonistic and nasal vocals, and Sen Dog’s (Mellow Man Ace’s brother) powerful expultations (yes, english nerds, i just made up that word – it’s an exultation that must needs expelled – like the only way Sen Dog could truly express his joy was to let it build to a point PUFFIN’ ON A BLUNT! where he could no longer hold it in and he was just lucky to time it perfectly for whatever song they GET YOUR FACE DOWN! happened to be working on – and yes, his non-expultative work was nice as well, but not as WHEN THE SHIT GOES DOWN! fun as when he played the punctuative hype man.) gangsta rap fans loved it. latino rap fans loved it. alt-rap fans loved it. and for some reason – perhaps it was the weed – metalheads ended up loving this record. i kid about the weed. i really think non-rap devotees liking this record had more to do with the blending of rap and rock genres that had been gaining momentum around this time. this records falls into a web spun by early RHCP, Fishbone, Beastie Boys, UDS, and FNM’s The Real Thing (and to a lesser degree Run DMC and Aerosmith’s Walk This Way). Cypress Hill’s debut sits in that web, as will House of Pain’s, Rage Against the Machine’s, and the pinnacle of what will become known as rap-rock: the Judgement Night soundtrack, which took as its conceit the logical conclusion reached by following these prior albums’ leads. that record then delivered that conceit to an awaiting mass audience via a Hollywood vehicle – which then spewed all the crap-rock bands that sullied the late 90s and early 00s (shudder, shudder). (no, there’s no real accounting here for what happened to 311 after ’94 but i will save that for a later date.) at any rate, i wore this tape out.)