The 11 Best Songs By The Animal Collective

Being cut off from the internet is like being cut off from your feet.  And I mean that literally in a Cary Elwes/Saw kind of way.  Not only is my computer's internet not working...but my cellphone internet capabilities have been turned off.  Not being able to look up obscure trivia is like not be able to get up from the couch and walk into the kitchen for a glass of water.  And to think, people lived like this for thousands of years.  I can't do anything anymore.  I can't find a gas station.  I can't find movie times (I had to buy a newspaper...and I'm not going to even get into how long that took me to find).  I can't play Scramble...I've heard there's a board game...but who would I find to play with me.  Because I have no internet...there's no tracks to upload.  I'm putting this up via a work computer...so don't go telling my boss and I'll reward you all greatly when my internet access returns.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By The Animal Collective:

1. Did You See The Words? (Feels)
2. Bluish (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
3. Summertime Clothes (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
4. Banshee Beat (Feels)
5. What Would I Want? Sky (Fall Be Kind)
6. My Girls (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
7. Prospect Hummer (Prospect Hummer)
8. Peacebone (Strawberry Jam)
9. Turn Into Something (Feels)
10. Water Curses (Water Curses)
11. Kids on Holiday (Sung Tongs)

Buy Animal Collective's new album, Centipede Hz, now!!!

Record Store Day Recap (only a month late)

As I jump back into the world of blogging (I promise, baby, this week I'll be different), I figure I need to address the biggest music event of the past few weeks...Record Store Day.  I've been going every year and when I used to get to the store about 30-minutes prior to opening, I was upset that I was 5th or 6th in line.  But every year the line has been getting longer, forcing me to get there earlier.  This year I arrived earlier than I had ever been there...almost 3-hours prior to opening and I was 20th in line.  As alarming as that was, by the time the store opened, there were over 250 people in line...which made me a little less bitter about my placement.  I got just about everything I wanted.  Of the three items I didn't get (The Civil Wars 7", the Brad 7", and the Flaming Lips - Heady Fwends) only CW and Brad were sold out. I was bummed about the CW...and less about the Brad.  Although I was most upset about the Flaming Lips, which never even got shipped.  Even stranger...in LA, the three stores I checked out didn't get copies.  What's even stranger is that the Flaming Lips was the widest release of any Record Store Day release...over 10,000 were made.  That's close to the actual sales figures of their last album...so why in the world was it so hard to find?

That said...the rest of the day and the following two weeks began a scavenger hunt of about a dozen stores...all in hopes of finding the one gem I overlooked.  And yes, I found a few.  Overall, the 7" dominated this year with the longer album being bigger let downs (Flaming Lips production included).

So here are my 11 favorite releases of the Day...and I've heard quite a few.

My 11 Favorite Releases of Record Store Day 2012:

1. Jeff the Brotherhood - Upstairs 10-inch - Strangely, it's probably one of the few albums that didn't even come close to selling out.  I've seen it at dozens of stores...yet it might be the most enjoyable and best vinyl capture of the day.  It's really just a great underrated band jamming the fuck out...but captured on vinyl it's like being in the room with them.  This is what exclusive releases should be all about...something that would never make it as a usual release because it's so up close and intimate it's unplayable except to the people who actually give a shit.

2.  Chris Robinson and the Brotherhood - Blue Suede Shoes 7" - I bought this two weeks after RSD as an impulse buy because it was half off.  The two new songs (not on the new album) are as rocking and raw as anything Chris has done in decades...a definite find.

3.  Feist & Mastodon 7" - A release that should have never happened.  But it's so weird, raw, unlistenable but unresistable...it's a collector's dream.  Can't listen to this one enough.

4.  Arctic Monkeys - R U Still Mine 7" - Where the fuck did this come from?  Maybe the best release by the Monkeys since their debut.  Hopefully this is a good sign that we should expect other great things by them.

5. The Electric Anthology Project of Dinosaur Jr. LP - It's going to be released normally in the coming weeks...but this has to be the most fun of any of the releases.  It's Dinosaur Jr. meets the Breakfast Club.  It's fucking odd...and great at the same time.

6.  Horrible Crowes - Live At Amoeba 7" - This was another album I bought a couple days after RSD.  I was not a huge fan of the actual HC album...it was tolerable.  But these live couple of songs capture the band ripping it up live that is fantastic and deserves many repeat listens.

7.  Ryan Adams - Heartbreak 7" - After last year's super boring album...Ryan at least shows he still has something still in the tank.

8.  Ra Ra Riot - Valerie 7" - Though their are two covers on this record...the Valerie cover is so exceptionally good...it's worth the price of admission all on it's own.

9.  The Flaming Lips - Heady Fwends LP - I never actual got a physical copy...but I have heard this release.  I can't say I'm blown away...or even that upset that I didn't get a copy.  But it's just that crazy that it's worth seeking out to listen to...just once.

10.  Jay Farrar - New Multitudes 10-inch - A companion to possibly one of the best actual albums of the year.  These four songs feature a couple of demos that rock as hard as anything on the album.

11.  Animal Collective - Traverse Temporal Gyrus LP - I don't know if I liked this...or love this...or hate this.  Again, this is what is great about RSD...they can feature album that should never be released in any other fashion except to hardcore fans.  Sure it's experimental bullshit...but I have a copy and you don't.

The ones that got away...

1.  Flaming Lips - Heady Fwends - I have it digitally...but sure wish I had a physical copy.

2.  Brad - Waters Deep 7" - had no idea this would sell out so fast.  Had no idea anyone knew who they were.

3.  Civil Wars - Covers 45 - I've heard the Billie Jean cover...but have sleepless nights dreaming about hearing that Portishead cover.

4.  Mike McCready/Star Ana - A co-worker got a copy and I have to say I'm quite jealous...heard it's pretty good too.

5.  Atmosphere & Aesop Rock - The album had a freaking C-side!  Yes, it had 3 sides!!  That's just epic.

6.  Shabazz Palaces - Live - Just wish I had it.

The 11 Most Anticipated Summer Albums of 2012

As we move into a new year, one of the strangest pieces of news has been revealed.  Album sales in 2011 actually went up for the first time in almost a decade.  Granted it was mostly due to Adele's incredibly popular album...that still proves that the album as a musical format is still very viable.  And while all the news articles still like to pronounce the death of rock and how pop has taken over...there were still more rock albums in the Billboard 200 than any other genre.  This year, there were 47 rock albums on the list.  Second place went to country with 39 albums.  Pop comes up third with 35 albums.  (I still think Bruno Mars is really rock...but I put him in pop).  Hip-hop/rap is fourth with 26.  What's also interesting to note...rock music is comprised of a lot of different bands while the pop albums were all made by the same handful of artists (Bieber, Swift, Adele, Gaga, Kesha, Selena Gomez).  Good for those artists but you take them out of the equation...and pop doesn't have much going on.

Let's see what 2012 brings....

Here are the 11 most anticipate albums of summer 2012:

1.  Soundgarden - TBA (Sept)
2.  MGMT - MGMT (Sept.)
3.  Animal Collective - TBA (Sept)
4.  Grizzly Bear - TBA (August)
5.  Mumford and Sons - TBA (August)
6.  How To Destroy Angels - TBA (July)
7.  Sigur Ros - TBA (July)
8.  The Offspring - Apocalyptic Guides and Inferno Themes about Nothing (July)
9.  Public Enemy - Most of My Heros Don't Appear on Stamps/Evil Empire of Everything (August)
10.  Regina Spektor - What We Saw From the Cheap Seats (July)
11.  Skrillex - Voltage (July)

The 11 Best Songs By Animal Collective

The music industry has been on a roller coaster ride for the past decade, and no one, not fans, not the artists, nor the industry insiders have any clue where it's headed...or for how long.  Right now, all we can do is throw our hands in the air, scream, and hang on for the ride.  This weekend we witnessed the bi-polar yet beautiful chaotic mess that is music.

On Saturday, the old school music dinosaur that I am, pulled myself out of bed at the unGodly hour of 9AM to go stand outside a record store for 2 hours.  I was 10th in line, which made me nervous initially that I wouldn't get the over-priced 7-inches on colored vinyl containing tracks I already owned digitally.  But I was more relieved when the line ballooned to about a 100-rabid music fans, knowing I was in slightly better shape than them. No one waits in line to buy music anymore, which made this moment so much more fulfilling. Walking out of that store with my 4 top choices and 11 total pieces of an ancient art form felt like a victory. I got albums I really wanted (Foo Fighters, Decemberists, Ryan Adams, Fucked Up, and White Flag), some I didn't know I wanted (Regina Spektor, Mumford and Sons, Fistful of Mercy).  I didn't get Pinback or Deftones...but I did get the uber rare Kode9.  I went home to listen to my spoils...but something distracted me along the way...

I learned early Saturday morning that I could watch the big acts at Coachella streamed live via youtube channel.  Dubbed by the online community as "Couchella," I found myself glued to my computer enjoying my favorite bands without the obnoxious screaming of the shirtless drunk guy.  Showstealers would have to go to Mumford and Sons, The National, Arcade Fire, Cage the Elephant, and Kanye West, which made wish I had been there.  Then of course, there were the letdowns like The Strokes, Kings of Leon and She Wants Revenge...who made me glad I could just switch to another channel.

This weekend celebrated the past, the present, and the future of music.  From the record, to the outdoor festival, to the streamed live feed of the show for those too broke and without the time to spend three days in the blazing desert.  There's no telling if Record Store Day will last or the internet will eventually render it meaningless.  But for the moment...for today, they both exist in a beautiful harmony.

Animal Collective hit the tri-fecta this weekend.  A slot at Coachella...an new album by lead singer Panda Bear...and an exclusive Record Store Day release.  We may not know where the industry is headed...but it looks like Animal Collective will be definitely be one of the first to get there.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By Animal Collective:

1.      Did You See The Words? (Feels)
2.      Bluish (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
3.      Summertime Clothes (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
4.      Banshee Beat (Feels)
5.      What Would I Want? Sky (Fall Be Kind EP)
6.      My Girls (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
7.      Prospect Hummer (Prospect Hummer EP)
8.      Peacebone (Strawberry Jam)
9.      Turns Into Something (Feels)
10.   Water Curses (Water Curses EP)
11.   Kids on Holiday (Sung Tongs)

Buy Panda Bear's new solo album, Tomboy...now!!!

The 111 Best Albums of 2009

Well, here it is...the annual epic 111 best albums of 2009...as voted on by you. Usually it's a close race...but this year, Animal Collective ran away with it. In fact, the entire top ten was leaps and bounds above the rest. And...if you have a problem with the list...then blame yourselves...you're the ones who voted.

See ya, next decade!!

Here are the 111 Best Albums of 2009:

1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. The xx - xx (Crystalised BBC)
3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
4. The Antlers - Hospice (Kettering)
5. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (1901 live)
6. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (The Bride)
7. Wilco - Wilco (the Album)
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz (only $5.00)
9. Metric - Fantasies (Help Im Alive)
10. Girls – Album
11. St. Vincent – Actor
12. Pearl Jam – Backspacer
13. Japandroids – Post Nothing
14. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
15. White Rabbits - It's Frightening (Percussion Gun daytrotter)
16. Modest Mouse – No One’s First and You’re Next
17. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
18. Built To Spill - There is No Enemy
19. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
20. Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
21. Morrissey - Years of Refusal
22. The Dead Weather – Horehound
23. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
24. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
25. Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant
26. Regina Spektor - FAR
27. Fanfarlo – Reservoir
28. Various Artists – Dark Was The Night
29. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware
30. Passion Pit – Manners
31. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
32. Mos Def – The Ecstatic
33. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
34. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
35. K’naan – Troubadour
36. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
37. M. Ward – Hold Time
38. Sunset Rubdown – Dragon Slayer
39. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
40. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
41. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
42. Samantha Crain - Songs In the Night
43. David Gray – Draw The Line
44. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
45. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (Know Your Enemy Colbert Report)
46. The Pains of Being Pure of Heart – POBOH
47. Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are
48. Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
49. Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be
50. The Swell Season - Strict Joy
51. Why? – Eskimo Snow
52. Julian Plenti - …is a Skyscraper
53. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains (Cold Spring)
54. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Ticket Taker)
55. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
56. Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today
57. Fun. – Aim and Ignite
58. The Horrors – Primary Colours
59. Conor Oberst – Outer South
60. Crystal Method - Divided By The Night (only $5.00)
61. Miike Snow – Miike Snow
62. The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
63. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
64. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3.0
65. The Mountain Goats – Life of the World To Come
66. Dan Deacon – Bromst
67. Florence and the Machine – Lungs
68. Weezer – Raditude
69. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
70. Say Anything – Say Anything
71. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
72. Trail of Dead – Century of Self
73. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
74. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
75. Handsome Furs – Face Control
76. Wavves – Wavves
77. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light (only $5.00)
78. Maxwell – BLACKsummer’s Night
79. Von Bondies - Love, Hate and Then There's You
80. Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day (Straight Into A Storm)
81. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
82. Muse – The Resistance
83. The Mars Volta – Octahedron
84. Cut Off Your Hands – You and I
85. Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati
86. Brand New – Daisy
87. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
88. The Black Crowes - Before The Frost...Until the Freeze
89. The Fray – The Fray
90. Roman Candle – Oh Tall Tree In The Ear
91. Band of Skulls - Baby Darling Dollface Honey
92. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
93. Placebo – Battle For the Sun
94. Various Artists – Ghana Special (1968-91)
95. Gogol Bordello – Live from Axis Mundi
96. Flyleaf – Memento Mori (only $5)
97. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
98. Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major (only $5.00)
99. Jack Penate – Everything Is New
100. Levon Helm – Electric Dirt (only $5)
101. Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
102. Dananananaykroyd – Hey everyone!
103. El Grupa Nueva De Omar Rodriguez Lopez – Cryptomnesia
104. Raekwon – Only Built For Cuban Linx P2
105. Wale – Attention Deficit (only $5.00)
106. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
107. Matt & Kim – Grand ($5.00)
108. Memory Tapes – Seek Magic
109. Drake – So Far Gone (only $5.00)
110. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
111. Tegan and Sara – Sainthood

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

May get the next 11 out tomorrow...if not...off on a mini-vaca...will continue on Monday.

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

78. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer (2005)
- JG's first solo album since his Zero 7 years is a haunting yet beautiful folk record.

79. Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)
- Beck drafts super-producer Dangermouse (whose impact is felt through this list)...to create an album suited for radio play in the 70s on AM...but somehow feels fresh and new for this decade.

80. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)
- The indie supergroup featuring Neko Case, A.C. Newman, Ban Bejar (Destroyer) may be the best release any of them have done. Just a solid example of what happens when great minds think alike.

81. Pete Yorn - Musicforthemorningafter (2001)
- Pete Yorn's debut literally came out of nowhere. There was a very little buzz about this guy prior to the release...and being on Sony...there was very little thought that this might be anything more than a major label's attempt at woeing the indie crowd. But over the past decade...Pete has remained diligent about his craft, keeping it his own. And over that period...his debut has only ripened with age. (Lose You)

82. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (2000)
- Possibly the release that legitimized the underground hip-hop movement. Though none of their other releases...solo or as a group...came close the originality or personality of this debut, the album continues to be a heralded landmark on the hip-hop landscape. (Lausd)

83. Kings of Leon - Only By Night (2008)
- Six months ago...I may not have included this...but the album has fought and clawed its way in critical and commercial success. Something that is no small feat in today's music industry. But that aside, it's just a good rock record. Not as strong as maybe their last release...but their music has matured as they have.

84. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007)
- Though it lacks in life and "fire" that the debut had...it's still a collection of intensely constructed songs...dark but vibrant...morid but alive. Even when they're a half-step off their game...they're still a full step in front of everyone else. (Antichrist Television Blues)

85. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (2008)
- The one thing severely lacking from the 2000s are the pure old fashioned rock records. A few bands tried to carry the rock n roll torch...but very few came close. But on MMJ's release from last year...it was like the band was harnessing the past and everything that made them what they are. It may be too early to tell how great this record is...and who knows...a couple years down the road...I could see this album hanging out near the top. (The Librarian)

86. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
- This year's front-runner is a ecclectic mix of the future of music. Many people are struggling to grasp this album, which only means it's one that takes time. And any album with that kind of attention needed is one that is usually worth the time invested.

87. Kanye West - Graduation (2007)
- Maybe the weakest of KW's non-autotune releases...is still a masterful hip-hop album and a scolding lesson of what can be accomplished with smart production. And any album that samples Daft Punk should always get an honorary listing.

88. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000)
- ES' last official release before his death shows the singer growing and expanding. He may have conquered on tunes that were simple bare bones kid & and a guitar folk...but Elliott wasn't satisfied being just that. He was ready to challenge what he was capable of doing and where he could go...too bad we'll never know what he could do. (Somebody That I Used To Know)

Buy the best of the 2000s now!