The Best of 2011: Part One

First of all, I’d like to issue a formal apology. It’s directed at my readers, for sure, but mostly at myself since that’s the main reason I keep adding to this blog – I’m terribly sorry for not posting anything for the last 4 months. It’s really inexcusable. It makes me feel good to write about music that moves me, and though it makes me feel even BETTER to know a few people are reading this stuff, I would still post it if that wasn’t the case. But really, I’d like to make it a goal to post stuff at least 3 times a week, so that’s what I’m going to aim for from here on out. Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments on RGH – you make my day, and I will have more for you to look at very soon! First off, I will begin my “Best of 2011” column right here, where I will post 3-4 capsule reviews of my favorite 2011 albums in each section. Let’s begin!

Matador Records

Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

Kurt Vile’s wheezy vocal drone has likely caught the ears and hearts of many a disaffected hipster in the past few years. When it comes to his music and general attitude, Vile fits today’s Rock and Roll nativity scene perfectly – he has the balls to point out bullshit going on in the world, but also possesses this Elliott Smith-esque sense of responsibility, as if anything bad happening around him were all his fault. It’s this dichotomy of anger suppressed by an almost laughable guilt that creates Vile’s most usable energy and gives his tunes a bottle-up-and-explode quality

The Top Ten Record Makers of Today

As we enter this new decade, it is already apparent that in the rock production world, a changing of the guard is at hand. There is a whole new batch of producers, engineers, songwriters and arrangers that are setting a new standard for music today, and thanks to them, it seems we’ll have many more years of memorable tune-age to expect. This list compiles the people who, in my mind, currently stand out as the ones to watch, for their future potential as much as their already impressive achievements.

Listening Log: March 3rd 2010

Island 1969

Kill Rock Stars 1995

3/4/10

Albums of the Day: Nick Drake Five Leaves Left
Elliott Smith Elliott Smith

I found it fitting that the I-Pod album shuffle randomly paired these two albums. Not only are the artists pretty similar musically and thematically, but these albums represent similar facets of their respective careers.

Record Geek Heaven’s Top 50 Albums of the Decade (part 2)

Now to finish it off!

25. Bjork—Selmasongs (2000)

Like the film Dancer in the Dark did for the musical, “In the Musicals” reinvents the musical number. It has all the rising, uplifting trajectory of the best Rogers & Hammerstein tunes without being cheesy and overbearing like those were. Sure, musicals were the thing back in the forties, but it can be safely said that their popularity and credibility are slipping these days.

The Top 100 Albums of the Decade (part 8)

Kill Creek—Colors of Home
Second Nature, 2001

If Kill Creek’s previous album, Proving Winter Cruel, was bleak, then Colors of Home is downright dreary. To play off a popular cliché, it feels right at home on one of those days in Kansas where the sky turns yellow-green before a tornado. The fact that Kill Creek hails from Kansas may have something to do with this distinction

Top 100 Albums of the Decade 2000-2009 (part 3)

Sloan—Pretty Together
Murderecords, 2001

Maybe it’s the fact that they are Canadian and American audiences just can’t stomach them, maybe their songwriting is just too saccharine for most American tastes—who knows. Whatever the reason, Sloan will never get what they deserve from America.