Best Music of January
By turboman 11 Comments
Please reply and tell me if you liked this or not.. it's really important for me to know if stuff like this is useful to anyone... tell me about some music you've heard, etc... :)
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Things That I've Missed:
There hasn't been any albums this month that I feel that I might have missed out on. Kanye West's VH1 Storytellers is the only thing of interest to me that I've missed out on. The Los Campesinos album sounds good also from what I've heard.Best Songs:
The way I want to format this is to make it more of a playlist than a "Top 5" kind of deal. For now, these may seem like their just songs out of the best albums.. I'll try to get better at finding just singles from all over as the months go on if I feel like doing this again."Before Destructions" by Spoon
"Heaven Can Wait" by Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Used To Be" by Beach House
"Cousins" by Vampire Weekend
"Out Go The Lights" by Spoon
"Trick Pony" by Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Silver Soul" by Beach House
"Norway" by Beach House
"California English" by Vampire Weekend
"Who Makes Your Money?" by Spoon
"Giving Up The Gun" by Vampire Weekend
Best Albums:
4. "IRM" by Charlotte Gainsbourg
Chances are, you've probably seen Charlotte before, and didn't know she was a singer on the side. Charlotte is an amazing French actress that I'm sure is going to be in many great movies in the future(her resume for now includes Antichrist, 21 Grams, and The Science of Sleep). She has a pretty voice, but the album interests me a bit more due to the production being led by Beck. Beck contributes many things throughout the album from backup singing to playing various instruments. It's a bit hit and miss throughout for me, but there are a good handful of songs that stand up with some of Beck's better songs from the past decade.
3. "Contra" by Vampire Weekend
Contra was not the album I wanted Vampire Weekend to follow up the self-titled album with. After hearing it, I'm about half and half with enjoying and not enjoying it. I respect the need of the band moving forward from just being fun pop-rock, but making lyrically retarded songs like "Horchata" isn't the way to move forward. Still, this album is very nicely produced, and there are another handful of great Vampire Weekend songs to be found here. I know I didn't rank the songs, but "Giving Up The Gun" is my personal favorite song so far this year.
2. "Transference" by Spoon
Three years ago, Spoon's "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" was my favorite album of the year in 2007, and I've stuck with that CD for a long time after then. Spoon is one of the few formulaic bands(think ACDC), where they don't stray away too far from what makes them work. Transference is the furthest they've ventured out, and it works for the most part. This is Spoon at their most reserved, no where close to as "YOU'VE GOT TO HEAR THIS" as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but it doesn't have to be all the time. (Side note: I might be fine with that because of them touring in my area with Deerhunter.. can't wait for the live show)
1. "Teen Dream" by Beach House
Ok, I've had this album since November. It leaked onto the internet way before it's time to get a proper release, but none if this is really important. I saw Beach House live when they toured with Grizzly Bear, and thought that they were just a nice band that were pretty mellow and cool. Then they played "Norway" of their upcoming CD, and in my book they went from mellow to the real deal. Now that their CD is out, I've listened to it just about every morning on my drive to school. It's a great way to gather all your thoughts after your sleep and truly appreciate the beauty of "Teen Dream". Yes, it does take a fair amount of patience to listen to, but once you understand how great the guitar, keyboards, and soft drums mix Victoria Legrand's voice, you should be on board with Beach House.
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Please reply and tell me if you liked this or not.. it's really important for me to know if stuff like this is useful to anyone... tell me about some music you've heard, etc... :)