Today I present to you the first in a series of posts covering our top 50 albums of 2012. These lists take a long time to compile, so, to save my sanity, I’ve split it into a five-part countdown, beginning with 50 through 41. As these things go, it’s all subjective — best-of lists are compiled based on what we feel at this particular moment in time.
Case in point: At this time last year, my top three albums were: 3. Dream Diary by Jeremy Jay, 2. Music Sounds Better With You by Acid House Kings, and 1. Apocalypse by Bill Callahan. Given a year to mull these over, within the top twenty I’d have to also consider placements for Wooden Shjips, Youth Lagoon and Craft Spells. Not to mention A Classic Education. (more…)
Last weekend Andi and I visited Anacortes and walked around the dock, discussing our future as polo-shirt-wearing yacht owners and shopping for the ideal water home. Sure, this fantasy may never come to pass, and while I may find myself in a polo shirt now and again, that doesn’t mean the boat life is for me. Still, seeing middle-aged to retirees playing cards on the stern and barbecuing sure made the life seem relaxing. (more…)
Carrousel is not a band you’d expect to hail from Tallahassee. That’s ludicrous. They sound like they should hail from Paris, Glasgow, or somewhere exotic. Why, you might ask?Carrousel’s music can be described as the thoughtful romantic marriage of dream-pop and orchestral folk. (more…)
And like that, half the year is gone. For the doomsdayists, that means less than half a year until it all comes crashing to an end. In light of being prepared, I picked up a new little toy this last week: a beastly, black on black 1979 El Camino. The thing has a 350 V8, gets terrible gas milage but is in great condition. It growls and twists its body when you hit the accelerator. It makes you tingle. (more…)
This was supposed to be a productive week, those hours after work. But I ended up doing what any solid music nerd would: procrastinate by going through my records and singles, rediscovering old favorites and discovering new treasures hidden within my collection. We listened to The Smiths on repeat for a few days. I dug out an old single by The Rondelles. (more…)