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***April Thirtieth Two Thousand and Thirteen***


I have nothing witty to say about this.  Look it's a different fruit than the fruit on his shirt!

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The monthly instagrammery.


Burt jumping.  Cary, NC. 


Cadillac Coupe de Ville.  Cary, NC. 


This year's azaleas.  Cary, NC. 


Bracket fungi (not lichens as I've always called them).  Marion, NC. 


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Links about lynx:

Two great skate videos...
1.  Into the Thicket - a concept video of sorts featuring Chris Haslem and friends skating a mini ramp built not just in
     the woods, but into the woods. 
2.  Alain Goikoetxea - don't ask me how to pronounce the name of this Basque skater, but his footage is the work of
     giant balls.  Epic park rippage.  Put out by Volcom. 

Some rad photos of salt mines around the world.  A trip to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia has long been on my wish list,
and this just moved it up a couple of places. 

Put another collection of band photos into the Photo journal, as well as a few photos from a trip to Tom's Creek Falls. 

The Music reviews for this month - Hayden, the Mary Onettes, Maston, Mount Moriah,
and more.  Low output this
month.  Fuck it. 



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Jacco Gardner

The Pinhook
3/7/2013

Jacco Gardner
(pronounced Yakko, like the character from "Animaniacs") is a young kid from the Netherlands who
looks a little bit like Dmitri Martin and sounds a whole lot like the Zombies.  This is true of his recently released record
(that is quite good), and after seeing him live it's clearly true of him live as well.  The whole package holds up to the
comparison, but it's the ample use of harpsichord that really puts it over the top.  I was so excited for this show I bought
a ticket, thinking that internet buzz I had perceived on the guy would lead to a potentially packed house.  Turns out I was
way way off...there might have been 30 or 40 people there max.  Truly, this was everyone's loss, as this was probably
my favorite show of the year so far.  And I guess it also goes to show that internet jabber doesn't necessarily equal
butts in the seats.  Jacco and his band played the bulk of his new record "Cabinet of Curiosities," and it sounded just
as good live as it does recorded.  There might not have been many folks there but everyone seemed to genuinely be
enjoying it.  I assume he was on his way to SXSW as it was that time of the year, and hopefully the crowds got bigger -
because this is music that needs to be heard. 


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Chelsea Light Moving
Kings
3/6/2013

Kings was pretty full but based on it not being sold out and packed to the gills, I'm guessing a lot of people still don't
realize that Chelsea Light Moving is the new band of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore.  It's also possible the kids don't
even know who Sonic Youth are either, but those are stupid kids not to be considered.  I was standing at the bar and
saw the lanky Moore walk in the club - a weird feeling, seeing someone of his rock icon status just milling about.  I'm
not usually one to get star struck (save the time I saw the dad from "Teen Wolf" in that bar in Wilmington), but this was
a scenario where I could have easily turned into a blubbering idiot going on and on about how important Sonic Youth
was to my musical development.  He's surely heard it countless times, and for good reason - that band literally
changed lives. 

Chelsea Light Moving put on a good show.  They played more or less all of their self-titled album, which pretty much
sounds like early-to-mid-nineties Sonic Youth.  Seeing Moore up there, rocking out like a man half his age, it felt like
seeing Sonic Youth on a small stage in my opinion.  And he seemed to really be enjoying playing such a small venue,
with considerably less pressure - he was very gregarious, joking with the band and the crowd in ways I'd never seen
him do when playing with the Youth in large venues.  I have no idea if this band is just a one-off whim or the future of
Thurston Moore, but either way this will go down as a great memory for me, to see an artist of this caliber in such an
intimate setting.


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"See this system here? This is Hi-Fi... high fidelity. What that means is that it's the highest quality fidelity."

A couple of small collections this time around.  First, a few songs from various Peel sessions...
Led Zeppelin - Communication Breakdown (Peel Session)
Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love (Peel Session)
The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl (Peel Session)
The Mummies - High Heel Sneakers (Peel Session)
The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (Peel Session)
The Only Ones - No Peace For The Wicked (Peel Session)
The Smashing Pumpkins - Siva (Peel Session)
XTC - Radio in Motion (Peel Session)

...and then some random selections from the subscription-based Sub Pop Singles Club.
Codeine - Realize
Fugazi - Song #1
Modest Mouse - Never Ending Math Equation
Rocket From The Crypt - Normal Carpet Ride
The Mountain Goats - Store
The White Stripes - Party Of Special Things
Ugly Casanova - Diggin' Holes in Water





***March Thirty First Two Thousand and Thirteen***


  

Spring is here.  Time for the annual fish dinner.  All rejoice. 


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Small boxy iPhone photos.


Neighbor's cat.  Cary, NC.


State Fairgrounds Flea Market.  Raleigh, NC. 


Surly swan.  Cary, NC. 


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Lyncs -

The Japanese are everything that is right in skateboarding these days.  This video is proof. 

People used to take photos of their dead relatives.  Hey, any excuse to dress up fancy for the camera.  It looks pretty
much as creepy as it sounds. 

Okunoshima Rabbit Island is a Japanese island full of rabbits.  I WANT TO GO TO THERE.  Yet again, the Japanese
have figured out how to rule in life. 

The Photo journal delivers some snaps from a trip to Raven rock State Park.  And a collection of randoms. 

The Music reviews for this month - Low, Chelsea Light Moving, Jacco Gardner (so good!), some punk seven inches,
and more. 


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The Kingsbury Manx
Schoolkids Records
3/3/2013

I used to go to in-stores all the time when I lived out in the Bay Area, but they just don't seem as popular in this neck of
the woods.  Finally one worth an afternoon jaunt happened though - the Kingsbury Manx were promoting their new
album "Bronze Age" at Schoolkids by playing some songs.  As with all shows I've seen by them, the place should have
been packed but just a few dozen people showed up.  There may not be another band more under-appreciated than
the Manx, both locally and (I'm assuming) nationally.   Thy sounded great, or as great as you can in a record store not
designed for live performances.  They performed a lot of songs from the new record they were there to promote, with
a few older tracks sprinkled in.  Most notably, they played my very favorite song of theirs "Pageant Square," and it took
all of willpower not to sing along.  I wasn't the only one having a good time - a number of band members seemed to
have their kids with them, one of which vacillated between dancing to the music and heckling his father.  An afternoon
well spent by all.


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Efterklang
with Nightlands
Kings
3/1/2013

It's not often I go to shows on a whim in my advanced age, but it was Friday night, I was fat and happy from stuffing
myself with sausages from the Capital Club next door, so why not.  Hell, even the old lady came with me, as rare an
occurrence as panda bears fucking!

Nightlands was the first band, and my main impetus for being there.  It's the work of Dave Hartley, best known as the
bassist for the fantastic War on Drugs.  When we stepped in the room they were already playing, and I was pleasantly
surprised to see my dude Brad from Megafaun playing with the band.  I knew he was friends with all those War on
Drugs peeps, so why not add a little extra guitar to the proceedings?  I had never heard Nightlands before - they had
a very pleasant indie soft rock sound, maybe in the vein of an American version of the Clientele.  the wife's impressions
were there must have been a rule that you have glasses to be in the band, and the drummer looked bored.  I neither
would or could argue against either of those points.  Good band though - I'd definitely see them again. 

Danish band Efterklang were the headliners.  Apparently they are huge overseas, but in the North Carolina they only
get a half-full Kings.  They definitely had the feel and sound and "professionalism" of a big-time band.  I remember
liking their record "Magic Chairs" that came out a few years back, but not being too thrilled with their more recent out-
put.  It all sounded pretty good live, sort of a sparse, dramatic pop - the kind of sparse where the lack of music is
almost used as an instrument itself.  There were six band members (seven if you count the bassist's mustache as a
separate entity), but the one dude back near the drummer had a bank of electronics set up including four (!?!) different
Apple laptops and seemed to be doing most of the musical heavy lifting.  The band were excellent performers, the front
man in his dapper suit was particularly effective, and even if I wasn't a huge fan I enjoyed myself.  For a show I just went
to on a whim, I count that as a success. 


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Jonathan Richman
Cat's Cradle
2/16/2012

The wife doesn't get the appeal of Jonathan Richman, but the man's music is like crack to me.  It makes me extreme-
ly happy that he continues to tour so much, because it gives me the chance to see him perform every year or two.  I got
there a little early after stuffing myself silly at Carrburitos, and was worried the might be sparsely attended - there had
been some winter weather that day, and even a hint of slick roads freaks folks out around here.  But by the time
Jonathan took the stage, the place filled out nicely - not packed, but well attended especially for a venue the size of the
Cradle.  Things started out rough - the man runs his own PA on the stage, and he just could not get satisfied with the
settings.  After a few minutes he got settled though and lit into a nice set of his more recent songs.  Sure, I'd love to
hear A LOT more of his older material, but like usual all we got was his classic "I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar," a
damn fine song that always gets the crowd pumped up...or at least as pumped up as anyone gets at a Jonathan
Richman show.  Other highlights included "Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild," "Old World," an epically long ver-
sion of "No One Was Like Vermeer," "Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow," plus a few of his foreign
language songs whose titles I never remember.   Lots of dancing from Jonathan, some sleigh bell shaking, and no
shortage of mellow Tommy Larkin drum solos.  All in all, a great time as usual. 


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"Breakfast, shmreakfast. Look at the score, for Christ's sake. It's only the second period and I'm up 12 to 2. Breakfasts
come and go, Rene, but Hartford, "the Whale," they only beat Vancouver once, maybe twice in a lifetime."

Adam Franklin - Autumn Leaf.  Solo work from the frontman of Swervedriver.  Sounds like...a mellow Swervedriver. 
Bonus: It Hurts To See You Go

Born Ruffians - Hedonistic Me.  I have nothing interesting to say about this band but I like this song. 

King Khan & The Shrines - Land Of The Freak.  King Khan records are like an awesome mixtape of the various
punk and garage sub-genres over the last fifty years. 
Bonus: Welfare Bread

I bought a Roy Orbison box set so I would expect there will be a lot more of his songs posted here.  He was a genius.
Love Storm (Demo Recording)
One More Time
Pretty One
Problem Child
Tryin' To Get To You

I may not listen to Stereolab as much as I did in the nineties, their music from that era is still some of my favorite ever. 
Cybele's Reverie
French Disco
Jenny Ondioline
Ping Pong
Wow and Flutter





***March Twelfth Two Thousand and Thirteen***



Sad news abounds - Max, the mascot and patron saint of this website, the dog pictured just below the title in the
sweater has passed away this month.  He was an awesome dog and will be greatly missed.  I made him a little
memorial page in the
Photo Journal section.





***February Twenty Eighth Two Thousand and Thirteen***


 

Spring training has begun!  God I love baseball.  And hot dogs.  Especially hot dogs. 


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Instagramps.


American Tobacco Trail.  Apex, BC. 


Dog paws.  Cary, NC. 


Random cassettes.  Raleigh, NC. 


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Lite on the sausage links this go around...

But I highly recommend this skate video "Dog" - some cat with way too much time on his hands took all of the Girl
Skateboards
and associated companies random footage and tour videos from the last few years and edited it all
together like a regular full-length video with parts.  It's damn entertaining. 


Check the Photo journal for another batch of band photos.  No, seriously, band photos!

Music reviews this month - Tyvek, Floating Action, Neil Halstead, Redd Kross, Lace Curtains,
and more. 


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Ty Segall
with Ex-Cult
Kings
1/30/2013

I'm not sure if it's stimulus overload or what, but Ty Segall releases so many goddamn records that I find it hard to be
a big fan, despite my liking his music every time I hear it.  It usually takes me a while to digest new music, and before
I even get around to one of his new records he's released two more new ones and then I don't even know what to start
with.  The only one of his recently that I really latched on to was the Ty Segall Band release "Slaughterhouse" - Ty
Segall Band being different from just Ty Segall in that they use some different band members I guess, but sound ex-
actly alike.  Or something like that.  All that said, I'd put off seeing him live long enough, so it was off to Kings.


I often mention feeling old at a show, but this was one of the youngest crowds I had been a part of in a very long time. 
There were some other olds hanging in the back, but I worked my way up front to take photos and was surrounded by
children with underage marks on the back of their hands, and other without them that must have really convincing fake
IDs.  It is exactly these sort of rambunctious younguns that kept me from coming out to previous Segall shows, but
sometimes you gotta just say "fuck it" and jump into the fray.  And they were fine for the most part - a little moshier than
my tastes, lots of Beatlemania-type screaming, and any number of them have apparently not discovered deodorant yet,
but those are minor gripes.  As for the music, Ty and company put on a damn fine show.  Their recorded music mostly
runs along the typical garage punk lines, but live they are much heavier, almost into stoner rock territory.  I'm pretty sure
they even played a song off that new Fuzz seven inch (yet another of Ty's bands, in this one he plays drums or some-
thing I think), or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part because that platter is white hot.  After finally seeing
them live it helped me see what all the fuss was about. 


The opening act was Ex-Cult, and while many folks I've talked to are of mixed opinion about them, I dug it.  Imagine
catchy the sort of catchy pop-punk that might be featured on a label like Dirtnap, only with a singer who I could be con-
vinced is Henry Rollins' kid.  What I'm saying is they were like a poppy version of Black Flag, and that's alright with me. 
It would have been even more alright if they also played a cover of "TV Party," but we were not that lucky.  And now I'm
going to go watch the awesome video for "TV Party."



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Willie Nelson
DPAC
1/18/2013

Willie Nelson might be 79 years old, but he plays with the dedication and passion of those a quarter of his age. 
I don't typically go to shows of this nature (aka big, expensive shows in large venues), but you never know how many
more chances you're going to get to see a performer like Nelson.  And while it definitely wasn't cheap, there isn't really
a bad seat in the house at the Durham Performing Arts Center (also known as the DPAC for obvious reasons).  We
were right around the middle of the third (top) level and you could still easily make out what was happening on the
stage even without the aid of the two large projection screens on each side of the room. 


Willie played about an hour and a half and given that he has released 4,217 number one singles, you can sorta guess
how great the set was - all the usual suspects were represented.  But a few things I found interesting and/or funny:


 - Instead of having roadies grabbing guitars and re-tuning them, Willie has a guy that just runs out  fresh bandana every
   few songs. 

 - There were upwards of three percussionists on the stage for any given song.  The drummer proper was playing a
   snare only, but the other two had a giant bin full of every noise maker you ever played with in elementary school music
   class. 

 - About the only time Willie spoke to the crowd all night is when he said "Let's play one for Waylon," and then knocked
   out a bad ass version of "Good Hearted Woman."


Go see him while you've got a chance people.  I don't expect we'll ever see another Willie Nelson in our lifetimes.

(Image found online - I didn't have my camera and there were no eagles present at this particular gig, at least not on
stage.)


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"The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not interested in caring about people. I once worked
with a guy for three years and never learned his name. Best friend I ever had. We still never talk sometimes."


Kelley Stoltz - Ever Thought Of Coming Back.   Stoltz has a keen ability to take the pop sounds of the sixties and
recycle them into some great current music. 

Bonus: Prank Calls
Bonus: The Rabbit Hugged The Hound

Lucero - Johnny Davis.  I wouldn't have guessed adding horns to Lucero's brand of gruff country rock would work,
but I'll be damned if it doesn't sound great. 

Bonus: What Are You Willing To Lose

Richard Buckner - Believer.  Three tracks from my very favorite Buckner record, "Since."  One of my favorite records
by anyone really. 

Bonus: Goner w/Souvenir
Bonus: Jewelbomb

Weezer - Say It Ain't So.  Hey, remember when Weezer were super fuckin' awesome?  Me too.  I miss that a lot. 
Bonus: Susanne

A few more select joints from Daytrotter...
Constantines - Trans-Canada
Dinosaur Jr - Crumble
Man...or Astroman - 9 Volt
Pontiak - Maker
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Funk 49 (James Gang cover).





***January Thirty First Two Thousand and Thirteen***


The new year is upon us - it's time to get down to business.  Important business. 


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Instagrammery of the month.


Burt in the snow.  Cary, NC. 


Lichen.  Cary, NC. 


Mouse, twisted.  Cary, NC. 


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Linkery of the month. 

Lot's of great skote videos this go around...

Zoo York released a short promo video called "True East" which I didn't get too excited over until Brandon
Westgate's
part at the very end (starts around 6:10), and it is one of the best things I've seen in years.  So many big
ollies!  Travis Glover (starts at 5:13) is also pretty damn good, and also understands the ollie.  Not much from Suski
unfortunately. 

This Vans video set in Hawaii is noteworthy for multiple reasons: More Julian Stranger footage than has been re-
leased in years; John Cardiel skating; Wallos is apparently still skateable, but just barely; Seriously, did you see
where I mentioned Julian Stranger is skating in this...a lot?!?

A small Dennis Busenitz interview accompanied by a fantastic video.  Calling a Busenitz video fantastic  is a bit re-
dundant though. 

My one photo link - apparently the Ebony building never got updated from it's seventies glory days, and it is glorious
I'd pay a nice chunk of change to be able to tour & photograph this time capsule of a very different time. 

No Photo journal for the first time in ages, but I did upload new Burt and Mouse snaps.  I know you've all been waiting
patiently for those. 

HOLY SHIT I FINALLY FINISHED UPLOADING ALL MY OLD REVIEWS.  It certainly took me long enough.  As for
Music reviews this month - Fuzz, Rosebuds, Rites of Spring, Spider Bags, Starflyer 59,
and more. 
 

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Marc Maron
Goodnights
1/11/2013

Two comedy shows in one week!  It's like I've died and gone to laff heaven.  We're doing good to get two good comedy
shows in a year around here, and 2013 has provided two good ones in the first month...my mind is dizzy just thinking
about it.  This time out we saw Marc Maron, and in the proper comedy club of Goodnights.  And let it be said that
Goodnights is perfectly fine, but I much prefer seeing comedians in rock clubs/non-traditional locations. 

Regardless of venue, Maron was great.  Unlike Hannibal Burress earlier in the week, Maron doesn't so much tell jokes
as relay humor-inflected stories from his own life.  Now how much is true and how much is embellished for the sake of
humor I have no idea, but it definitely feels more storyteller than stand-up.  My face and sides may not have hurt like they
often do after a comedy show, but I enjoyed it just as much.

(Photo ganked from the onlines - Marc did not perform with a cat.)

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Hannibal Buress
Lincoln Theatre
1/9/2013

Wherein I attempt to review a comedy show, even though I'm bad at not only reviews but especially at reviewing com-
edy.  The review: Hannibal Buress was really funny.  I laughed a lot. 

The thing is, live comedy is not the sort of thing I'm going to go into without already loving the comedian.  So barring
disaster, I'm always going to love whoever I go see perform.  With Hannibal, I've listened to his live comedy albums a
number of times (especially "My Name Is Hannibal" from 2010), and seeing him live very much measured up to those
recordings.  The first two-thirds of the show was a typical stand-up, he tells jokes and we laugh so much it makes your
mouth hurt.  The one different part of this gig is Hannibal had a DJ with him, which seemed dd and awkward him just
hanging out back there for the first part of the set.  But for that last piece, the DJ played an integral part, playing snip-
pets of hip hop songs while Hannibal made fun of the lyrics.  That might sound a little cheeseball but it worked really
well, and might have been the funniest part of the night. 

My review continued: Hannibal Buress A+++ comedian, would laugh again.


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Whatever Brains
Slims
12/1/2012

So there isn't really any reason for me to write another poorly worded Whatever Brains review, so I'm going to keep
this brief:  they were awesome as always.  Slims was packed, and the band was bleeding into the crowd off of the tiny
stage.  It was another two keyboardists performance giving a heavy carnival punk vibe, I have no idea if this is a perm-
anent arrangement and I doubt the band does either.  The highlight of the night was the final song, when they undertook
a very Whatever Brains-ish cover of the Turtles' "Happy Together" that they never let end - just when you thought the
song was dying down they would restart it again.  They must have played it three or four times in a row, getting sloppier
and more ridiculous with every pass.  It was glorious, and a perfect example of why I love this band. 



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"One of these dogs clamped his jaws on her forearm, he wouldn't let go until the firemen showed up and had to stick
his finger in his ass."


Birds Of Avalon - Earthbound.  An older BoA track, but a keeper. 

Bon Iver - Calgary.  I may have posted some songs from the sophomore Bon Iver record already, but so what. 
Bonus: Perth

Bowerbirds - Sweet Moment.  "The Clearing" made my also-ran list of best records of the year, and it just gets better
with each listen.  Ask me in a year and it's likely to be even higher. 
Bonus: Tuck the Darkness In

Dead Boys - All This And More.  I didn't even bother including "Sonic Reducer" because everyone should have that
one memorized. 
Bonus: What Love Is

Some random older Daytrotter tracks, as I haven't downloaded any of their new sessions since they started charging.
Gayngs - By Your Side (Sade cover)
Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers
The Fruit Bats - Singing Joy to the World
The Rosebuds - Border Guards

Pujol - Mayday.  I can never decide how I feel about Pujol overall, but I love these two songs. 
Bonus: Scully

Russian Circles - Mlàdek.  Post metal up your post ass.  Jesus that is stupid, ignore me please. 

Sloan - Worried Now.  A classic sloan track from my college years that I had totally forgotten about until recently. 





***January Eleventh Two Thousand and Thirteen***



HEY LOOK REALLY DUMB & POINTLESS YEAR END LISTS!!!
(That I absolutely love making and reading but realize are mostly worthless...but so is everything else on this website.)


Top 7 records of 2012!!!
(Listed alphabetically, the way the cool kids do it.)


Gentleman Jesse - Leaving Atlanta (Douchemaster)
More power pop genius from one of the catchiest songwriters out there today.  No sophomore slump here. 
I'm Only Lonely
What Did I Do
Word Gets Around


Lambchop - Mr. M (Merge)
On their 4,653rd release, Lambchop produces yet another masterpiece. 
Gone Tomorrow
Kind Of


Perfume Genius - Put Your Back N 2 It (Matador)
If forced to give an answer of my very favorite record of theyear, I'd probably go with this one.  Haunting.  It sticks with
you for days after each listen.
Hood
No Tear
Take Me Home


Spider Bags - Shake My Head (Odessa)
This band is the very essence of rock and roll.
Friday Night
Keys to the City


Spiritualized - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light (Fat Possum)

More brilliant orchestral pop from the master - he sees music on a scale most can't fathom.
Life Is A Problem
So Long You Pretty Thing


Terry Malts - Killing Time (Slumberland)

I listened to this super obsessively for the first half of the year; not as much on the back end but it's still a great release.
I Do
Something About You
Waiting Room


Whatever Brains - Whatever Brains (Sorry State)

I always call this band unclassifiable, and never has that been more true than on their latest vaguely art-punk record.
Embedded In A Tree
I'm Going Martin


Honorable mentions of 2012
(Also in alphabetical order, and split into two parts - the "almost made it to the top" group and the "almost made it to
the group that almost made it to the top" group.)


Group One:
Allo Darlin' - Europe (Slumberland)
Chromatics - Kill for Love
(Italians Do It Better)
El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
(Fat Possum)
Hunx - Hairdresser Blues
(Hardly Art)
Jeff the Brotherhood - Hypnotic Nights (Warner Bros)
Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
King Tuff - King Tuff (Sub Pop)
La Sera - Sees the Light (Hardly Art)
Jason Lytle - Dept. of Disappearance (Anti)
The Sea and Cake - Runner (Thrill Jockey)
 
Group Two:
Aesop Rock - Skelethon (Rhymesayers)
Best Coast - The Only Place (Mexican Summer)
Bowerbirds - The Clearing (Dead Oceans)

Ed Schrader's Music Beat - Jazzmind (Load)
Gross Ghost – Brer Rabbit (Grip Tapes)
Hiss Golden Messenger - Poor Moon (Tompkins Square)
Nate Hall - A Great River (Neurot)
Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d. City (Aftermath)

Mean Jeans - On Mars (Dirtnap)
Moonface (With Siinai) - Heartbreaking Bravery (Jagjaguwar)
Nada Surf - The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (Barsuk)
OFF! - OFF! (Vice)
Spider Fever - Spider Fever (Windian)
Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse (In the Red)



Best Reissues of 2012
Lee Hazlewood – The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes and Backsides (1966-71) (Light in the Attic)
Boyd Rivers - You Can't Make Me Doubt (Mississippi)
  (Not technically a reissue as the music had never been re-
leased, but it was recorded 30ish years ago.)
And of course all the Archers of Loaf and Superchunk stuff...


Top 5 Records That Might Have Made The List If I Had Gotten Around To Listening To Them Because
There Are Just Too Many Goddamn Records Out And I Only Have Two Ears:

Clinic - Free Reign (Domino)
The Evens - The Odds (Dischord)
Neil Halstead - Palindrome Hunches (Brushfire)
The Intelligence - Everybody's Got It Easy But Me (In the Red)
Oneida - A List of the Burning Mountains (Jagjaguwar)


Top 15 songs of 2012!!!
Allo Darlin' - Capricornia
Chromatics - These Streets Will Never Look the Same
El-P - Oh Hail No
Father John Misty - Nancy from Now On
Fucked Up - Year of the Tiger
Islands - This Is Not A Song
Jeff the Brotherhood - Sixpack
Killer Mike - Reagan
King Tuff - Bad Thing
La Sera - Break My Heart
Steve Moore - Enhanced Humanoid
Nada Surf - Waiting For Something
Perfume Genius - Hood
The Sea and Cake - On and On
Spiritualized - So Long You Pretty Thing

And as a bonus, even though it's a few decades old, the
song I listened to more than any other this year...
by a large margin:
Bobby Charles - I Must Be in a Good Place Now

All of these songs are sitting in a zip file you can download here.



Best Shows of 2012!!!


(Again, in alphabetical order, mostly out of laziness in not wanting to think about ranking them.)

The Afghan Whigs at the Cat's Cradle - 10/21/2012
.  The first of three "bucket list" shows I saw this year.  The
"light show" was sone blinding bullshit but they sounded amazing.

Allo Darlin' at Local 506 - 4/27/2012.  The best pure pop band I saw all year.  Maybe the best I've seen in a few
years...shame there was only a couple dozen people there to witness it.  Photos here

Archers of Loaf & Pipe at the Haw River Ballroom - 5/11/2012
.  Beautiful venue and great performances by both
bands, but way too many c-bag fans at this one. 
Photos here.

Chain and the Gang at Kings - 4/11/2012.  If I get to see Ian Svenonious perform live in whatever band he might be
on the road with at any given moment, that is an automatic entry into best shows if the year. 
Photos here

Godspeed You! Black Emperor at the Cat's Cradle - 10/4/2012
The second of three "bucket list" shows I saw this
year.  Epic and mesmerizing, but my old ass would have liked a seat.


Hopscotch Music Festival in downtown Raleigh - 9/6 to 9/8/2012 (reviews of day one here, day two here, and day
three here).  I'm just lumping this whole thing together as one entry because everything I saw was great, but the highlights
were Jon Mueller's Death Blues, Screaming Females, Built to Spill, The Mountain Goats death metal covers, Oneida,
and especially the combination of Nobunny and Danny Brown playing back-to-back.  Photos for
Day One, Day Two,
and
Day Three

Jeff the Brotherhood at Berkeley Cafe - 6/13/2012.  Maybe not as exciting as the packed Slims show during
Hopscotch the year before, but still excellent.  Photos here.

Lambchop & Crooked Fingers at Motorco - 4/14/2012.  Actually saw Lambchop twice and Crooked Fingers a
few times, but this was the best outing for both.  You could hear a pin drop while Lambchop played.  Photos here.

Spiritualized at the Cat's Cradle - 5/12/2012
The third of three "bucket list" shows I saw this year.  Finally achieved
a life goal of hearing "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in space" performed live.  Photos here.

Terry Malts & Spider Bags at the Pinhook - 4/17/2012.  Terry Malts was one of my favorite albums of the year, and
it was nice to hear those songs live after listening to the record so many times.  . 
Photos here.


Top 4 movies of 2012!!!



These are listed alphabetically because I can't even comprehend how to compare one film's awesomeness to another. 
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" had the best cinematography and incited the most emotion.  I also watched it in a the-
ater all by myself.  "Cabin in the Woods" had the biggest surprises and twists, and was the best written.  So glad I
managed not to spoil the ending for myself before watching.  "Django Unchained" was the love story of the year.  And
as an added bonus, asses got kicked.  But not nearly as many asses as in "The Raid: Redemption", which is nothing
but ass kicking from start to finish..."Die Hard" meets hyper-stylized kung-fu films. 


Top 10 honorable mentions of 2012
(in alphabetical order)


21 Jumpstreet
Argo
The Avengers
Bernie
The Innkeepers
Looper
Miss Bala
Moonrise Kingdom
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Sleepwalk With Me



Best 5 movies I saw this year that came out in a different year

Cul-De-Sac (1966)
The House of the Devil (2009)
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Take Shelter (2011)
Warrior (2011)





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