I keep coming back to the Lumineers as one of my favorites from 2012. |
I finally got into Mark Lanegan's 'Blues Funeral" and like it. |
New rave for 2013: Stealing Sheep, a great all girl band from Liverpool. Also like the electronica beats of Django Django. |
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Bongo , really enjoying Here We Go Magic's new release , A Different Ship. Thanks for that great recommendation !! |
Here we go magic. Same producer as Radiohead. |
Either KISS - Monster or Dokken - Broken Bones |
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Sunken Condos - Donald Fagen |
It's not rock, but Brian Eno's ambient Lux is getting me through the Holiday angst. Nice sounding DMM double LP.
Other worthy LPs include Neil Young Psychedelic Pill, Soundgarden King Animal, Calexico Algiers, Mekons Ancient & Modern(2011). Trying but so far failing to care about John Cale Shifty Adventures in Nooky Wood. |
Black Stone Cherry between the devil and the deep blue sea |
Dave Mathews Band Away From The World not bad IMO at all. Also enjoying Green Day Uno. Not new music but new reissues, the Blur titles are great. |
I'm inclined to vote against the new Neil Young and Crazy Horse, "Americana."
Not the most rabid Neil fan (though I follow many of his musical descendants), but I was intrigued by the song list of folk classics like "O Susannah" on this one. Unfortunately, I didn't find the re-imaginings particularly compelling. Won't make it into heavy rotation.
IMHO, of course.
John |
Has anybody seen GB open for Radiohead? Shields is an excellent LP, but may go too far in the direction of turning GB into a cover band for the RH sound. |
Kieth the Grizzly Bear album is special. By far the best music they've made, to my ears. Really really good record, enjoy! |
How is Grizzly Bear? Have it and the Sons album on order. |
2009's "Embryonic" by The Flaming Lips is one of my favorites in recent years and worth a plug here. |
You are welcome, Toddnkaya.
If you like female singers, you might try Jessie Baylin's latest disc. She is very good.
Neal |
Bob Mould's Silver Age is his strongest in a string of recent good ones-- including 2012 vinyl reissues of two seminal Sugar albums. Mould is a kind of thinking man's Josh Homme, with rock roots as deep as Frank Black but without the recognition factor of the Pixies. The LP recorded at Hyde Street Studio is natural, both monolithic and finely detailed. R&R isn't dead, at least not this year. |
Dgarretson...Love that record! Quite a swing from his brooding J.Tillman stuff which is also great. Talented dude. |
Father John Misty (aka Joshua Tillman) FEAR FUN. He's grown gonads since the Fleet Foxes, aborbing what he needs of the psyche folk scene, Beatles, Gram Parsons, Dead. Interesting inversion of the Pastor persona. A well-recorded LP with occasional sibilance that might be my Acutex M420. |
If you need a laugh... I was enjoying the Beach House,but could not understand the GUY singer. After about 5 sides I noticed it was a 45 rpm record. Even better now! |
Nglazer, thank you for the Ben Howard recommendation!!!!
I am REALLY enjoying Every Kingdom from Spotify!
Only one album on Spotify , are there any other releases?
Highly recommend everyone take a spin of Every Kingdom. |
Ry Cooder's Election Special. Kudos to Cooder(and Guthrie and Thompson before him) for taking on "the bastards." In this and the last album he has evolved compositionally and vocally, with much more vocal authority than on the early albums. Some guitar work has Keith Richards-like grit, and of course the debt to Woody is clear.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/arts/music/for-ry-cooder-a-dogs-life-and-a-deal-with-the-devil.html
What's so great is that Cooder manages to take up political themes, but always through the lens of an authentic bluesman and never with shallow agitprop like some Annie De Franco and Billy Bragg. This one tops my list so far. Nice if expensive vinyl. |
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Since this is a "best rock" thread, in the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that the Freedy Johnston CD only contains a handful of rock songs. The balance is more in the plaintive, singer-songwriter FJ ballad style.
Marty |
Beach House fans might also try their earlier "Teen Dream." Great that Freedy Johnson is back. |
New releases from Brendan Benson (What Kind of World) and Freedy Johnston (Rain On The City) are both very good. I'm not sure that either one ranks with the respective best from these artists, but both are still a cut above most rock that I hear these days.
Also second the Jack White (Blunderbuss) recommendation.
Marty |
Thanks to all for the Beach House "Bloom" recommendation. I would have walked past it in the store today ,but remembered the name and picked it up. Enjoying it! |
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Ditto on Beach House's Bloom. Also, Jessie Baylin's new disc is very fine, as is Ben Howard's.
Neal |
The Cave Singers album called , New Witch is fantastic!!! |
Mark Knopfler- Privateering realsing 03 Sept has to be the best of 2012. Few tracks on various radio stations and also on itunes are very promosing |
That new Jimmy Cliff is the real deal. I heard an interview with Jimmy on NPR. Really nice. Sounds like his early stuff. |
Really love the new Beach House album "Bloom". Also, the new Jimmy Cliff album. Both are on heavy rotation. |
Loomis, thanks. I'll check out Bevis Frond. Admittedly the folk and freak folk scene has been of late a richer vein than R&R-- as witnessed by this week's release of Bonnie Prince Billy Now Here's My Plan. A few other good ones include The Walkmen "Heaven"(which IMO gets the nod over Mumford & Sons), Beachwood Sparks Tarnished Gold(a welcome reunion of one of the better indies), and Fionna Apple's The Idler Wheel.
Now getting closer to R&R, Neil Young's under-rated Americana is damned good Crazy Horse. Patti Smith's Banga is her freshest sound in along while. IMO she does authenticity without mawkishness better than anyone left from the '70s, and this is most certainly R&R. The liner notes alone are worth the price.
All on vinyl, of course. |
i know i sound old and jaded, but i gotta agree with the rock-is-dead folks. lots of good electronic and folkie stuff (thanks to richardstacy, dgarretson et.al.for good recs) but nuthin' much in the mainstream. i took a look at amazon's 50 best of 2012 and (jack white and alabama shakes aside), almost none of 'em were actually rock. the best i've heard this year is "leaving of london" by the bevis frond, which is neither groundbreaking or different--he's been cranking out this stuff for years, but i love it. for the unitiated, bevis frond is the nom de plume of a very british songwriter/guitar shredder named nick salmon (sp?), usually likened to syd barrett. lots of long acid jams, but also hooky pop and folkie tunes of surprising wit and delicacy. very mannered, english vocals; such a great guitarist you don't always grasp how good the songs are. fans of pink floyd and hendrix will like this--check out "an old vice" on youtube or wherever.
have a great weekend y'all. |
I think Jack White's 'Blunderbuss' solo album is the best rock album to come out in years. It's an instant classic and I wouldn't be surprised if it takes home a grammy. As a bonus, it was mastered to near perfection and I've read in several reviews that the vinyl is amazing. |
The Great Lake Swimmers new release The New Wild Everywhere is very strong!! Kind of mellow soft pop, but great songwriting on every number. |
Since Richard went for one song, I'll go for 70...
I just picked up World Party's new 5 CD set "Arkeology".
At a glance, this looks like a straight up money grab..5 CDs of previously unreleased material from the vault and...yikes..a calendar. However, there are only 5 or 7 tracks that IMHO should have definitely stayed buried, while the balance varies between good and very good. There's not a ton of inspired material here, but for those who dig Karl Wallinger's take on recycling the best of the '60's (specifically The Beatles, The Stones, and Dylan) this is a welcome trove of unfamiliar music. Some really good live tracks and covers, too.
Maybe not the best of the year, and definitely not for everyone, but a happy surprise for those who miss this band.
Marty |
Here's one for ya'll...it's just one song, not an album.
It's only available in the audiophile dreaded 320kbs but
hey, it's free! You can download it here
http://www.theafghanwhigs.com/
The Afghan Whigs covering Frank Ocean's Lovecrimes. Oh hell
yea.
Or watch it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
list=PL955C7451DC5BE34E&v=Rq_SoNctIvI&feature=player_embedde
d
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
list=PL955C7451DC5BE34E&v=Rq_SoNctIvI&feature=player_embedde
d
I never thought those guys would ever play together again.
Unlike a lot of the old dude reunion stuff going on these
days, Dulli and the boys are still badass, maybe even more
so. Can't wait for 10/5 in NYC! |
Pete Townshend Quadrophenia Demos 1 & 2 (released on vinyl EPs in 2011 & 2012) argue that at his peak Pete was the Beethoven of R&R. 60% of The Who release is on these demos. What was saved or cut makes for a fascinating schematic of process toward the commercial release. Excellent SQ but disappointing that it costs two EPs to get it all. |
The Shins, Port of Morrow is real fine! |
Rock, What is rock? I gave up on rock twenty five years ago, and I don't miss it. Plenty of great progressive bands,alt. country, alt. folk, new jazz, classic jazz, jam bands,to keep me more than happy. I am discovering new bands almost weekly. |
I agree that rock has been pretty much crap this year. |
Damien Jurado's album Maraqopa is outstanding !! Style would be psychedelic folk. It's a concept album, a dream he had,so it is best to listen to it in it's entirety. |
The 2005 CD of Richard Thompson Live from Austin City Limits was a well-mastered recording, but the New West re-release on double LP is impeccable. A great uncompressed recording of a great power rock trio(hear Shoot Out the Lights.) Danny Thompson's upright bass is more of a deep anchor than on CD. RT is in full voice and simply shredding the guitar. |
Richard_stacy, just picked up Father John Misty "Fear Fun" on vinyl (finally out) and it came with complementary 5 song CD named "The Demos" all acoustic renditions of:
01. Funtimes In Babylon 03:37
02. Nancy From Now On 03:48
03. Sally Hatchet 02:38
04. Nothing Hurts Worse 04:09
05. Everyman Needs A Companion 05:02
(recording is lo in fidelity... but interesting nevertheless) |
Father John Misty "Fear Fun" (aka Josh Tillman from Fleet Foxea)
Review and some samples here: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16597-fear-fun/ |
It hasn't really been a stellar year for rock to date to my ears, I must say, but the rock album's I've really liked so far have been
Japanroids - Celebration Rock
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball
Dr. John - Locked Down
Dr Dog - Be the Void
I just listened to Patti Smith's new album last night just once and it's pretty darn good, but I need to spin it a few more times.
The best record I've heard this year is sort of beyond category, I guess it's a jazz vocal record but it's more like a free jazz take on jazz, hip hop and rock (I mean it has covers of songs by Suicide and The Stooges on it), is Neneh Cherry and The Thing's collaboration, The Cherry Thing, although it's not officially out in the States until next week. Not really a rock album tho'. |
