Category Archives: Marnie Stern

Listmania ’12! Music Round-Up

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2012 was yet another year of austerity for Shades of Caruso. Unsurprising. This was, after all, a year in which the global economic meltdown even brought about the cancellation of a universally popular but prohibitively expensive TV show like CSI: Miami – the show so important and groundbreaking that it led to the creation of this blog. If the endlessly dynamic and gestalt-shattering adventures of Horatio Caine are no longer considered profitable enough to keep on the air, then what hope the rest of us? As belts were tightened disposable income vanished, and it looked like I wouldn’t be able to buy enough music to justify a post celebrating anything. In 2011 I vanished into a jazz hole for most of the year; this year I couldn’t even afford to do that.

And then came Spotify, many years after everyone else began using it, and that all changed. The tenner a month I spent on that was possibly the best money I spent all year, transforming a dour work environment into a wonderland of musical exploration. I could listen to even more jazz! I could try out albums I would never have bothered with otherwise! I could go back and catch up on stuff I should have heard years ago! The other night I was justifiably unhappy as I read yet more bad press about the poor, beleaguered BBC, before Spotify swooped in and gave me the chance to compare the Menier Chocolate Factory cast recording of Sunday In The Park With George with the original Broadway recording. This might seem like small consolation at 4 in the morning, but to realise that the lovely Daniel Evans version of Finishing the Hat was actually not even as lovely as Mandy Patinkin’s rendition, with more grandiose orchestral backing, was a revelation.

At times this year I’ve wondered how I’d get through the night, but Spotify turned this around. Yes, the funding model for bands is appalling, and I appreciate that the system is not anywhere near perfect yet, though some of the bands I’ve enjoyed this year might even have made something in the region of $3 at the very least thanks to repeated listens. You’re welcome, Grimes, by the way. Hopefully this can be resolved soon; I can’t afford to buy all of the albums I’ve enjoyed this year, but I’ve tried to pimp out the stuff I’ve loved, in the hope that someone else would pick up my financial slack. Nevertheless, the guilt I feel is almost completely wiped out by the relief I feel at keeping my interest in music alive. The amount of variety I’ve experienced as a result means all of my lists here are larger than usual; a consequence of the revolution in my head.

Best Albums:

20. Blunderbuss - Jack White

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19. Slaughterhouse - Ty Segall Band

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18. Nootropics - Lower Dens

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17. Put Your Back N 2 It - Perfume Genius

perfumegenius

16. Bend Beyond – Woods

woods

15. The Only Place – Best Coast

bestcoast

14. Just To Feel Anything – Emeralds

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13. Cancer For Cure – El-P

cancerforcure

12. Lonerism - Tame Impala

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11. Reign of Terror – Sleigh Bells

sleighbells

10. Among The Leaves - Sun Kil Moon

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9. Lost Songs - …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

andyouwill

8. Celebration Rock - Japandroids

japandroids

7. Major – Fang Island

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6. Total Loss - How To Dress Well

totalloss

5. America - Dan Deacon

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4. Visions – Grimes

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3. Spooky Action at a Distance - Lotus Plaza

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2. Shields - Grizzly Bear

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1. Channel Orange – Frank Ocean

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Best Singles:

10. Dark Parts - Perfume Genius

9. Myth – Beach House

8. Anchor - Tu Fawning

7. Year of the Glad – Marnie Stern

6. I’ll Be Alright – Passion Pit

5. The House That Heaven Built - Japandroids

4. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

3. I’m Shakin’ – Jack White

2. Thinkin About You - Frank Ocean

1. Sleeping Ute – Grizzly Bear

Best Album Tracks:

20. Anchor – Future of the Left

19. Goddess Eyes II – Julia Holter

18. Five Seconds – Twin Shadow

17. Hollywood Forever Cemetary Sings - Father John Misty

16. Wait - DIIV

15. The Place I Live - Mount Eerie

14. Backseat Freestyle – Kendrick Lamar

13. Is It Honest? – Woods

12. Drones Over Bklyn – El-P

11. Catatonic – …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

10. Half Gate – Grizzly Bear

9. Asunder - Fang Island

8. Lots - Dan Deacon

7. & It Was U – How To Dress Well

6. Be Above It – Tame Impala

5. Crush – Sleigh Bells

4. Bad Religion – Frank Ocean

3. Monoliths – Lotus Plaza

2. Monkey Riches – Animal Collective

1. Genesis – Grimes

Best Album Cover of the Year: Clear Moon – Mount Eerie

mounteerie

Hear me out. It might seem like a really boring cover, but this image of a mountain on a bright moonlit night, shrouded in mist, when coupled with the atmospheric sounds of this exceptional album, have propelled me into a reverie many times this year, transforming any number of sullen tube trips into magical journeys. It might not be an iconic image, but it captures the sound of the album so perfectly it’s like a window into frontman Phil Elverum’s head.

Worst Album Cover of the Year: Tempest – Bob Dylan

tempest

Worse than Good As I Been To You. Worse than Empire Burlesque. There are just no words.

Disappointment of the Year: Centipede Hz – Animal Collective

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Were it by any other band I would have loved this but Animal Collective are coming off a trio of albums so impressive they topped my lists in each of the years they were released. Not a bad album, per se, but only the mighty Monkey Riches supplied their usual chaotic uplift.

Most Hypnotically Troubling Album of the Year: Among The Leaves – Sun Kil Moon

Mark Kozelek might not be the biggest artist in the world, and might even survive in most people’s minds as little more than a punchline, but to his fans he’s a constant, the writer of songs both epic in size and intimate in scope, a droning (in a good way) background noise to our lives. It’s impossible to love him and not know that the guy is often pretty spiky and unhappy, but Among The Leaves, the latest on his own Caldo Verde label and a continuation of his post-Admiral Fell Promises “minimalist” period, finds him even more troubled by, and resentful of, his lack of success, reminiscing about happier times in a way so excoriating and unpleasantly honest that it becomes almost masochistic to listen to. Nevertheless, his lyrics have become sharpened to a point and those sparse arrangements are now counterpoints to that frankness, and if the soundscapes of his past might have disappeared as a result of budgetary constraints, the new phase in his career might bring about a critical renaissance. If people can handle the escalation in the scale of his self-loathing, that is.

Favourite Vocal Performance of the Year: No One Like You – Best Coast

Favourite Middle-Eight of the Year: Regalia – Fang Island

Most Darkly Funny Track of the Year: UK Blues – Sun Kil Moon

Most Emotionally Wrenching Track of the Year: Set It Right – How To Dress Well

Best Opening Track of the Year: I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was The Greatest Night Of My Life - Sun Kil Moon

Best Closing Track of the Year: In The End Is The Beginning - Lower Dens

Best Throwback To The Glory Days Of Tangerine Dream: Everything Is Inverted – Emeralds

Most Gratefully Received Return To Form: The Sound Of the Life Of The Mind – Ben Folds Five

Best Video of the Year: True Thrush – Dan Deacon

Best Albums I Heard This Year For The First Time, And Yes, I Know Some Of These Are Shocking Omissions But Gimme A Break, At Least I Got There In The End, Okay?:

20. Q. Are We Not Men? A. We Are Devo - Devo

19. The Golden Age of Apocalypse - Thundercat

18. Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel – Atlas Sound

17. Low – David Bowie

16. Open and Close – Fela Kuti

15. Requiem For My Friend – Zbigniew Preisner

14. Post-Nothing – Japandroids

13. Alligator – The National

12. Childish Prodigy – Kurt Vile

11. White Light / White Heat – The Velvet Underground

10. Ghosts of the Great Highway – Sun Kil Moon

9. Swim - Caribou

8. Talking Heads 77 - Talking Heads

7. Freedom of Choice - Devo

6. King of the Beach – Wavves

5. Tarot Sport - Fuck Buttons

4. Plastic Beach - Gorillaz

3. I Get Wet - Andrew WK

2. Treats – Sleigh Bells

1. Alive 2007 – Daft Punk

And for those who have Spotify and want to give any of these a try without having to deal with YouTube’s ads, here’s a link to a playlist of 60 songs.

FAO those who are waiting for the multipart Listmania! film lists (and much to my surprise, apparently there are people waiting on them, which is massively flattering), I’m working on them up until the last minute to pack in as many movies as possible. They should be done by the time the next scheduled apocalypse comes around. Or at least earlier than the UK release of the majority of the most critically acclaimed films of the year yes I know I complain about this every year but goddamnit my Twitter timeline is all Django this and Bigelow that and I’m allowed to pout, okay?

Listmania ’10! Music Round-Up

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Whenever I do these stupid-ass lists I always try to keep the numbers down, and the music list is usually easy. I might only listen to about 20 albums a year, and it’s hard to find more than ten that I really love. This year I’ve had to do a top 15 because it’s been the best year of music I can remember, and I know I should’ve listened to even more, or given certain albums more times (I know Cosmogramma by Flying Lotus needs more than the hasty listen I gave to it). Even more annoying is that that crazy bastard Yeezy only went and released the most critically-acclaimed album of the year in December, and like an idiot I didn’t bother listening to the various streamed tracks earlier in the year because I wanted to wait to hear the whole damn thing in one go. As a result I have only listened to it about seven times in its entirety. That it still ranks so highly here is a testament to its obvious brilliance.

The only other thing making me a little hesitant about this list is that I found out this morning that somehow I have been listening to Joanna Newsom’s incredible triple album in the wrong order. Having thought that it was a little odd to have the last disc be composed of almost exclusively slow and mournful songs, it now makes perfect sense. Sadly I haven’t had time to listen to the whole thing in the proper order: as I’m an album snob who thinks the track order is an essential aspect of the work, who knows if that would affect its position here? The world awaits any future amendments to this post, I’m sure. Anyway, here is the conservative list of an almost middle-aged white man with not enough hip-hop in his music collection, a man who wishes Animal Collective could release an album every year, and whose only experience of playing music is playing Rock Band, which is ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME AS PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT so there, musicians with a stick up their arse. #annoyedbymusiciansdissingmyfavouritegame

Best Albums:

15. Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern

14. The Monitor – Titus Andronicus

13. The Wonder Show of the World – Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Cairo Gang

12. The Courage of Others – Midlake

11. Does It Look Like I’m Here? – Emeralds

10. High Violet – The National

9. Crazy For You – Best Coast

8. The ArchAndroid – Janelle Monae

7. Contra – Vampire Weekend

6. Fang Island – Fang Island

5. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West

4. Have One On Me – Joanna Newsom

3. This Is Happening – LCD Soundsystem

2. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire

1. Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter

Best Album Tracks:

10. Risky Biz – Marnie Stern

9. Goodbye – Best Coast

8. Desire Lines – Deerhunter

7. Troublesome Places – Bonnie “Prince” Billy and the Cairo Gang

6. Esme - Joanna Newsom

5. Bring Down – Midlake with Stephanie Dosen

4. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire

3. Treeton – Fang Island

2. I Want To Be Well – Sufjan Stevens

1. Lost In The World – Kanye West and Bon Iver

Best Singles:

10. Rocket - Goldfrapp

9. Revival - Deerhunter

8. Boyfriend - Best Coast

7. Cold War – Janelle Monae

6. Four Score and Seven – Titus Andronicus

5. This Too Shall Pass – OK Go

4. We Used To Wait - Arcade Fire

3. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National

2. Runaway – Kanye West feat. Pusha T

1. Radar Detector – Darwin Deez

Best Album Track That Will Soon Be Released As A Single: Run - Vampire Weekend

Best Opening Track: Dance Yrself Clean – LCD Soundsystem

Best Closing Track: He Would Have Laughed – Deerhunter

Best Video: Drunk Girls – LCD Soundsystem

Best Song From A TV Show: Gunfight Epiphany – Rob Duncan (the theme tune to Terriers)

Best Animal Collective-Related Song: Stick To My Side – Pantha Du Prince (feat. Panda Bear)

Coming soon: way too many blogposts about my movies of the year. (ETA: In case some humorless musician sees my earlier comment and is enraged by my Rock Band moaning, I was being facetious about the game while being totally serious about sticks up arses.)

All Hail the Fingers Of Fury!

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If a writer has writers’ block, then a blogger will suffer from Blogger Clog, and that’s certainly the case here. There are numerous reasons for my infrequent posting, perhaps most importantly this goddamn illness, which, while little more than a cold, has been hanging around for weeks. Hard to be prolific when one side of my head feels heavier than the other. On top of that is a much busier than usual week at work which has drained me of much energy, and oh God this election this fucking election it’s driving my brain crazy with the excessive checking of the politiblogs, so much so that, even though I’ve been enjoying his updates, if Andrew Sullivan writes “know hope” one more time I’ll either turn violent or cry or cry violently. It’s the classic split between his faith and my atheism; he can know hope all he likes, but I’ll not relax until Obama’s inauguration. People who know me will be very familiar with my fatalistic tendencies. ::takes break from hard minute’s blogging to check fivethirtyeight.com::

Another reason, which is probably the main one if I was willing to sit and poke at my ossified brain in order to find out, is my attempt to finish reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Though I’m wary of saying anything about it for fear of angering her many many fans/followers/cultists, I have to say it is about to defeat me. No, Randian visitors, her worldview has not dominated mine, as if it had been dismantled and bested by a philosophy of vast strength and power, like the machines that conquer and crush the rocks and mountains of the earth. I’m just, well, really really really fucking bored by now. Her insanely florid prose might have amused me before, but by now, after being shouted at in a self-pitying and mean-spirited tone for 700 pages, I might not be able to make it. But I must! For am I not a human being? Is not my mind the Alpha and Omega, the force that can harness nature and bend it to my will, able to withstand this mighty onslaught, bearing the winds and rains of her ideas and rising, triumphant, like a Titan, like the owner of himself and his destiny, masterful and immortal? Fuck you, book! You shall never defeat me!

However, I do just want to get it over and done with by now, if only because I need a break from it. I’m glad I’m reading it, especially at a time like this, when one presidential candidate is bellowing “Socialist!” and running from person to person like Kevin McCarthy in the first two versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and the world’s most powerful Objectivist, Alan Greenspan, is talking about how there is a flaw in the world that makes his free market ideals untenable (I’m totally paraphrasing; please don’t correct me, people). Before reading Atlas Shrugged I would have thought his comment rather cheeky, blaming people for the market disaster and not The Market itself, but now I see his point (though I don’t necessarily agree with it). If I’m reading Atlas Shrugged right (again, don’t comment, I don’t need clarification just yet), the Objectivist creed would work just fine as long as everyone was “moral” by Rand’s code, but after many many years Greenspan has apparently discovered that people (i.e. traders and bankers and economists and anyone who deals with money anywhere in the world ever) won’t abide by that code of behaviour, and will in fact take as many short cuts as possible to fill their pockets with as much Fat Bank as they can. I see where he’s coming from. I think he’s a bit tapped to be suddenly saying, “Oh, it’s humanity’s fault for this and not mine for coming up with a system of economics that doesn’t take into account actual human behaviour as it really actually exists for reals, but instead bases its assumptions about what people are like on the idealised ramblings of a writer from the 50s who had a weird thing for dominatory industrialists and smokestacks and trains going into tunnels and which therefore cannot possibly work,” but I do see where he’s coming from. Thanks for the recession, jerkwad.

So yeah, it’s been interesting to listen to Republican and conservative thought with a new, deeper understanding of where it’s coming from, and to finally comprehend why followers of that creed hate taxation as much as they do even though I think they’re wrong, and so I do owe a debt of thanks to Ayn Rand for giving me such a long-winded peek into that mindset. Sadly, my brain is dying from the melodrama and the hate and the victimhood, and I just want to get it over with so I can move onto something fun (I got John Hodgman’s new book two days ago and it’s begging to be read). Until then, time I would devote to blogging is being taken up with enduring the endless Rand-ting, so it’s like another blog slowdown, and one I really don’t want to endure but will because I’m stubborn like that and hate leaving books unfinished (especially when I’m 700 pages in). I will get back to the planned post about Mad Men, and some Face/Offs I’ve been looking forward to as soon as I can, but for now, I must complete this mammoth task.

In the meantime, here is the other thing that has totally possessed my mind over the last week, but luckily it’s a thing that is making the brain very very happy. Marnie Stern, super-genius guitarist, has just appeared on my Radar of Unbelievable Awesomeness with her new album This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (which is a phrase attributed to Zen philosopher Alan Watts, according to AV Club). It is absolutely incredible, easily on my 2008 best list along with Re-Arrange Us by Mates of State and The Family Afloat by Bound Stems and several other lovely works. Stern’s guitar playing is unlike anything I’ve heard before, and strumming along to it would be the most insane Rock Band challenge ever (especially as Zach Hill’s drumming is almost as complex and frenetic). This is her new single, Transformer, and it should be number one across the planet.

Even better is her song Ruler, which you can find on her MySpace page. Thank you for keeping the book cooties from smothering my brain, Marnie Stern.