Tracks like "What Color is Blood" and the aforementioned opener are pure Television "She's Rolling" and "Instant Disassembly" are vintage Velvet Underground while "B and W" and the blistering title track are classic Ramones. Powerful, visceral, and absolutely undeniable.įor the Courts, they come back a year after their sterling (and Sunshine chart topping) debut with an album that is quintessentially New York, the perfect distillation of some of that city's best (and my favorite) bands. Whether it's the slight feint of "Bodies Made Of," which sets the tone and intent for the Courts, momentarily brandishing the hammer before pummeling you to death with it three minutes later with "Black and White," or the immediate sledgehammer of "Cheap Talk" for DFA, the effect of these albums is immediate. And like the aforementioned, the impact of their arrival comes instantaneously. Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal Death From Above 1979 - The Physical World: Figuring out who would sit atop the list this year was easy - both of these hit like lightning in a dry field and left embers that quickly built into an inferno an uncontrollable, obliterating fire that raged for months. It's Bobby's annual musical tapas - take a nibble of this and that and let me know what you think. It's a typically expansive and diverse list - albeit lighter on electro, rap, and Southern than in recent years, in lieu of brash, raucous punk in several cases - but hopefully there's still enough for everyone to pick on. It also includes two sophomore returns from two of my all-out favorites - one ten years in the making - which also happened to be the two albums I listened to more than every other album on this list combined. So what follows is the top 21 albums I stumbled upon over the year, including an Arby's five for five - five bands who've previously made the year end list, and five that were discovered at the annual pilgrimage home to Lolla. I also wrote more this year than in either of the last two years combined, which hopefully kept all three of my faithful readers busy sampling music as I found it.įor while there wasn't as much as last year - that was a bumper crop that appears once every five to ten years - there was plenty to keep me occupied (if not outright happy) over the year. The lady and I joined the ranks of the land-owning gentry (next up country clubs and luxury sedans), there were trips to scenic environs like Portugal and Pittsburgh (sister settings, to be sure), and there were infrequent (but quality) outings with friends and family on both sides of the (common law) marital fence. For as many things stayed the same - unending frustration and hours at work, no matter one's title, logic, or efforts chronic lack of sleep and relief, no matter the hour of repose or amount of bourbon - a lot of things changed for the better.
Well, it's that time of year again, folks - the season of Black Fridays, Green Mondays, and Purple Thursdays that also happens to be the time your often absent narrator (as well as real-life husband and friend) finally steps away from the office to collect his thoughts on the year and its soundtrack in music.
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