Best of 2014 Part 3

Running a little late-ish today, but have no fear, I am here! Let's just take a quick minute to assess the final Hobbit movie, The Battle Of The Five Armies, that I watched last night. Quick summary: disappointing. Probably my least favorite of the six Peter Jackson Middle Earth films. It was entertaining, went by fast, but to me it felt sloppy, rushed, just a bit too messy. I liked the Lord of the Rings films. For me the pacing of the Hobbit trilogy was way off. It's a shame. The visuals were stunning as always, but didn't make up for the mediocre writing. Anyway go see it for yourself, at least there's some really cool action scenes. Dain's dwarves were pretty cool.

Music time.

#15

Pharoahe Monch

PTSD

Hip-hop is getting ever more divisive. People pulling in all kinds of different directions, both in terms of production and lyricism, and lots of different sorts getting into it. Even white Australian girls are into it, maybe I'll give it a try some day. My preference is more old-school classic styles. Tight lyrics, solid beats, nothing too whack. A little gangster, but never over the top.  

This album fills all the requirements and more. The Pharoahe is one of those few who can stand with the old school kings. Of course it makes sense since he's been around for more than 20 years, and yet only four solo albums are on his discography. This one might be his best. The production sounds like a Roots album (some of them were in on it) and the lyrics are unmistakably Monch. It's versatile with both big heavy grungy tracks and slower more thoughtful offerings. For me it's one of the best hip hop records of the last five years. 

Broken Again

Damage

Rapid Eye Movement

#14

Swans

To Be Kind

They`ve done it again. Why, god, why? Two years ago these deranged individuals put out a record that I described as "slow torture, a creeping dread, a shrouded evil", and I loved it. In my opinion this one isn't quite as good, but some have argued that it is in fact better. Either way, it's another astonishing adventure into introspective anarchy. You can't listen to this every day, or even once a week, unless your therapist really needs the money.

So why is this here? Look, the world isn't smiles and chocolates. You can't listen to Backstreet Boys all day. If that's you, fine, carry on living the lie. I moved out of the cave a long time ago (the allegory, not necessarily the place). Sometimes you need to expand your mind beyond its comfort zone, and this is the kind of record that does it. In fact let's take that a bit further. There is no other band on the planet who takes you through the metaphysical gauntlet like Swans. Nobody.

Just A Little Boy

Oxygen

To Be Kind

#13

Hey Rosetta!

Second Sight

Close to as completely opposite as it gets from that darkness is the gleaming light of these superb rockers from Newfoundland. It's been three years since their last record and it seems the years have been kind. I liked that last one, but this one is a significant step up in their evolution. The signature strings have largely been set aside for more guitars and a more expansive percussion section, and the rest is a more mature sound and some of their best song writing since "Plan Your Escape".

The first single sounded different at first, and by the time of writing this it's become one of my favorite tracks of the year. There are unmistakable hints of Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon throughout the album, and maybe even a little of The Drones, which is never a bad thing. Pedals and effects have never been overly prevalent, and again they're used sparsely, but they really enhance the ambiance on tracks like "Neon Beyond". It's an excellent album, and again one that could well rank higher on the list after a few more months of reflective absorption.

Kintsukuroi

What Arrows

Harriet

EP #5

Lusine

Arterial

I very nearly moved this up the list at the last second, but I'm going to live with my choices and move on. After hearing the first single from this one I had a feeling it would be there or thereabouts on my list, and sure enough it was a keeper. Jeff McIlwain is an accomplished and industrious producer who has kind of ghosted (pun intended) under the eyes of the mainstream for a while, and though this release is unlikely to change that, it's possibly his most refined work to date. This is more thinking music, glitch-hop IDM at its best. Highly recommended.

Eyes Give In

Quiet Day

Forks

Almost to half time... keep up!

Best of 2014 Part 2

I kinda forgot, yesterday, to mention some of the albums that didn't quite make it. This year felt like the spectrum of what is 'popular' expanded just a little bit further. Flying Lotus put out a far-out album that got a lot of critical acclaim. I'm not a big fan but I can appreciate its artistic merit. Lots of 'alternative hip-hop' ended up on best-of lists, and some 'neo-soul' albums. The new D'Angelo has been making waves recently, again not really my thing, but whatever floats your boat.

Once again it felt like there were a lot of really good albums, but nothing that came off as an instant classic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's worth considering as we venture further into the digital age where kids all over the world have virtually free exposure to, well, everything ever. Who will be the next great genre definer?

I digress. Taylor McFerrin, son of Bobby, put out a really impressive debut LP. Other stand-outs that were close, but no cigar, included (but not limited to) Glass Animals, FaltyDL, Beef Terminal, The Juan MacLean, Badbadnotgood, and Tom Petty. Special mention also to Apollo Brown who dropped an awesome collection of hip hop beats that I couldn't quite squeeze in. I enjoyed the new Joris Voorn album, and James Curd's funky house grooves on "Damage Is Done" was my favorite EP that didn't make my charts. So there you have the honorable mentions. Now back to the headliners.

#18

Smashing Pumpkins

Monument To An Elegy

This one kind of came out of nowhere for me. I wasn't expecting its arrival, particularly after the bizarro "AEGEA" vinyl that Billy Corgan put out earlier in the year, but it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's fair to say that Corgan is a bit out in space these days. Well, maybe that's not fair to say, it's not like he hasn't always been there, and then again aren't we all a little bit? Anyway thankfully this album did not sound like that pre-recorded noise, it sounded like a rock album.

I might come back later on and think I rated this too highly. There's some valid criticism being throttled at it. It's real short, like barely over a half hour, and a couple tracks are a little on the synth-pop side of things, but I still dig it. The songs that rock, really f'in rock. Tiberius rips the album into life and sounds almost as good as anything the Pumpkins have ever put out. It's interesting to note that the band is basically just Corgan these days. He even brought in Tommy Lee to play drums on the record. Anyway check it out. You might not be as impressed with it as I am, and I'm perfectly ok with that. It's a free country. Not everyone was born to rock.

One And All

Anti-Hero

Tiberius

#17

Tensnake

Glow

I like disco. There. I said it. If you've been following the blog at all, or even just my year end lists, you'll be well aware of that by now. Not that this is pure disco, it's not, but there are a lot of elements that certainly feel like it. This album is sort of this year's Disclosure, only not quite as big, and maybe mixed with some Classixx. It's just a helluva lot of fun. The production is slick and bouncy, and the choice of guest vocalists sounds spot on wherever it's called for.

It's not easy to put out a dance record these days. Most people throw out EPs or singles, so I feel like you have to laud a good one when it comes around, and this one is really good. At least a half-dozen tracks are killer singles in their own right, and there isn't any jarring issues with the song order. Even though it spans genres, it flows like an album should. I give it two thumbs up. Throw it on your favored portable music device and do some dancing in the street.

Feel Of Love

58 BPM

See Right Through

#16

Ought

More Than Any Other Day

Eight tracks is all we get on this album, so savor every little bite. There's a good chance you've never heard of them, unless you've got your ear to the hipster wheel, but that's ok. Now you have. They're young fellas from Montreal who sound a great deal like the Talking Heads, and probably a little Velvet Underground mixed with Battles. It's pulsing, groovy, trippy madness and it's super fun to rock out to.

For a debut it's massively promising, but also kind of scary. They could descend further into madness, in fact they should, and who knows what they might churn out. Can they reach the heights of their esteemed forefathers, or will the flutter into obscurity? Does it even matter? Does any of this matter? Have I eaten too much turkey? Get the damn record. Thank me later.

Today More Than Any Other Day

Habit

Pleasant Heart

EP #6

Louis La Roche

Dusty Cassette

Louis, aka Brett, maintains his #6 spot on the EP charts with another French disco house special, only this time he juices that classic '80s synth soul ballad sound to maximum levels. It's got huge, ubersaturated, chunky bass goodness that just makes you want to groove. At just over 20 minutes you can get through it on the way to the grocery store, or maybe on a short bus ride. He's taken that old beat up tape deck and given it a fresh coat of dust, and it works perfectly. 

Wondering

Ghost

The Way She Makes Me Feel

Part threeeee tomorrow, but first - Hobbits!

Bilbo Baggins - Back Home

So I was going to post Leonard Nimoy's "Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins", but then I guess I already did a couple years ago. Instead I found this band, I do believe it will suffice.

Christopher Lee - In The Willow Meads Of Tasarinan

Here's one that I did know about. Christopher Lee probably would have made a pretty awesome Treebeard, but I suppose he did just fine as Saruman.

Ed Sheeran - I See Fire

So it was "Hobbit Day" a short while ago, which apparently is celebrated on the anniversary of the release of The Hobbit. I am a Tolkien fan, and am looking forward to the upcoming completion of the movie trilogy (despite its glaring incongruencies with the book), but this seems like taking things a bit too far. Meh, who am I to judge? Might as well just jump on the bandwagon. Happy belated Hobbit Day! Here's a relevant song with millions of views that I had no idea existed.

The Hobbit Production Video #9

We're so close now... can't wait.

Leonard Nimoy - The Ballad Of Bilbo Baggins

I can't believe there is a legit video for this song.

The Hobbit Trailer 2

...and now you're ready to see this one. Released today.

The Hobbit Production Video 8

In case you missed this one...

The Hobbit production video 7

Part 7 of this great series.

The Hobbit production video 6

This video has re-enforced two things for me:

1) I must must MUST go to New Zealand.

2) I am disturbingly excited to see a movie about little people with hairy feet.

The Hobbit production video 5

Right, back to fantasy land. This is part 5 of the Hobbit production blogs. So awesome. Can not wait to see this movie, but I suppose I'll have to, so I will. Peter Jackson has come full circle in this one, he's put back on pretty much all the weight he lost before. Apparently there's no room for diets or exercise in Middle Earth.

The Hobbit production video 1

For Middle Earth fans - Peter Jackson has posted four video blogs of the ongoing production for The Hobbit, which is due in theaters next December. Well, part one anyway, since it's been split into two movies. This is particularly exciting for me as that was probably my favourite J.R.R. Tolkien book and I loved the Lord of the Rings movies. Let's just hope the world doesn't end before it comes out.

Looks like Mr. Jackson has gotten a bit slack on his yogurt diet...