A very late (and kind of crappy) 2012 Best Of List

Okay.  Evan is right.  There is absolutely nothing learned from publishing a "best of" list.  But as the weeks drift by, I'm feeling really bad about not putting something together.

To start things off, how much does the new iTunes suck?  Man.  This thing is impossible to use.

Next, stuff that kind of sucked (or at least disappointed).


Grizzly Bear - Shields
As I said to Evan a few months ago.  " Listen to Southern Point. And then Speak in Rounds. And tell me those aren't the same fucking song."  I'm just not really interested in these guys.

The XX - Coexist
We saw these guys at Zulu records just after the last record came out.  It was like it was their first show ever (I almost spelled that "furst") and they profusely thanked every single person that clapped.  Like we were actually doing something special.  Anyhow.  That has nothing to do with this album.  I just wanted to mention it.  This album is booooooring.

And I'll finish this part off with the list of stuff that was just disappointing.  AC Newman.  Beach House.  Animal Collective.  Islands.  M. Ward.  You're just not holding my attention, people.


Stuff that didn't suck.

Dan Deacon - America
I love Dan Deacon.

Cloud Nothings - Attack on Memory
Even on their truly great songs (Wasted Days, Stay Useless, No Future/No Past) they seem to jam something in that doesn't make sense.  But, still, a great album.  Not liked by any female that I know.  Granted, I don't know very many.

The Walkmen - Heaven
Hey hey.  They play here tonight!  Not their finest album but always worth a mention.

Ty Segall - The Bag I'm In
Man.  What a great song.  Thanks for pushing this on me Evan.

Mac Demarco - 2
Okay.  The fact that this guy has all the basic trappings of...shit...what's that surfer dude's name that all the girls like?  Ah, yes.  Jack Johnson.  Despite the fact that this guy has all of the trappings of Jack Johnson (mellow sort of surfy vibe, similar voice), he doesn't suck.  This album is amazing and it makes me wonder why Jack Johnson is so terrible in comparison.

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
I think the Hallmark of a truly great artist is that they bring in people that otherwise wouldn't listen to their type of music.  I would argue that Frank Ocean isn't really "R&B", even though there are elements, for sure.  But I honestly can't even take anybody's "best of" list seriously if this album isn't number one.

There it is.  My crappiest list ever.  But a list nonetheless.

Sledding

We went sledding over Christmas.  It was a lot of fun.  I put my back out and could hardly move for 24 hours.  Interestingly, my camera rolled over 10,000 shots during this shoot, so my file numbers are all screwed up.  Okay.  Not interesting.

 This gives you an idea of the kind of air we were getting.  And why my back was ruined.