Ten Favorites of the Year
Maybe it's a little early to put a top favorites list on a blog that I just started yesterday, but I thought, fuck it. Besides, this isn't a favorites of the year, this is more like stuff that I got this year that I really liked. Could be from this year, or it could be from 3o years ago. Anyhow, here it is in no order:
Circle "Forest" (2004) & "Alotus" (2003) - I saw these guys blow away Cul de Sac at SXSW this year before I left Texas for the (temporary) pay raise in Alaska. The best way to describe the show was like a more rockin' Neu! meets Judas Preist, and was a great relief after Cul's boring artiness. I bought "Forest" at the show, and later got "Alotus". "Alotus" is my favorite of the two, mixing more of what I saw live: bizarre operatic vocals and hypnotic, but abrasive krautrock. "Forest" is a much tamer beast, invoking the quiet and meditational feel of being in the middle of a forest, however, there's also the unease of being in an unpredictable and potentially dangerous environment. This feeling of unease reaches a peak on the final track "Jaljet".
Om - Okay, I haven't bought the newest one, and I didn't really care for the first one, but they played at the same SXSW showcase with Circle and Cul de Sac and were the headliners. Had to mention them because they put on a great show, and captivated the audience with their mantra-like epic doom metal.
Clipse "Hell Hath No Fury" (2006)- Yeah, this one is making all the top charts, but it really is a great rap album. I don't want to say much more than this about it: "Trill" sounds like Front 242 meets the dirty south. Serious!
Tragedy "Nerve Damage" (2006)- Third album by this Portland, Oregon band. Don't know if I like it as well as 2002's "Vengeance" because of the lack of Todd Burdette's Lemmy-ish death metal growl on most tracks (bassist Billy Davis takes on more vocal duties this time), but the great songwriting is still there. Get if if you like d-beat, but progressive, hardcore, and, of course, Motorhead and Discharge.
Three 6 Mafia "Mystic Stylez" (1995) & "Chapt. 2: World Domination" (1997) - I hadn't been listening to much new rap lately except what I heard on the radio in '06. However, I did decide to check out the back catalogs of some artists. The most impressive had to be the Three 6 Mafia. "Mystic Stylez" in particular is some dark and mean Memphis rap that has a similar atmosphere to the Wu Tang Clan's "Enter the Wu Tang", but much grimmer and violent. However, it still retains a dreamy atmosphere made for a blunt. "Chapt. 2..." is less impressive and slightly slicker, but still great and ominous. Both are worth getting if you want to get your dirty south history lesson on.
Horna "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" (2005) - Not the newest Horna album, but I couldn't get enough of this piece of furious Darkthrone worship. This coulda been a continuation of Darkthrone's "Transilvanian Hunger", but made in the cold forests of Finland instead of Norway. For fans of raw black metal.
Weakling "Dead as Dreams" (2000) - I bought this years ago when I saw The Fucking Champs in Texas (I think one of the members was in Weakling). I couldn't quite figure it out at the time, but it really hit me hard this year. Epic, and almost post-rock in its dynamics, this is some serious "ahead of its time" black metal from San Francisco.
Benighted Leams "Ferly Centesms" (2004) - Well, there's some black metal screams at the beginning, but, for the rest of the album, you just get some low mumbling about god-knows what. Bizarre structures, trebly guitar noise and muffled drum shuffling, occasionally gives way to some quiet graveyard atmosphere. There's a lot of demented and fucked up black metal floating around these days, however, it's rare when all the elements come together for something that is not only truly unique, but also catchy. Let the evil consume you.
Jamie Foxx "Unpredictable (Chopped and Screwed by O.G. Ron C.)" (2006) - Featured on O.G. Ron C.'s "Fuck Action 43" (he screws only r & b ballads on this long runnning mix-tape series), this, for me, is the standout track mainly because I like the original so much. When Ludacris comes in for the requisite rap guest spot, he proudly proclaims (slow like molasses style) "Next stop is the G-spot -- LUDA!"
Smog "A River Ain't Too Much To Love" (2005) & "Supper" (2003) - I was never much of a Bill Callahan fan until my friend turned me onto "A River..." this summer. This is some of the best singer-songwriter type of stuff I've heard in a long time. Callahan's deep, conversational singing style suits his sometimes sarcastic, but always sincere lyrics. Reaches an apex on standouts like "Rock Bottom Riser", "Drinking at the Dam", "Our Anniversary", and "Say Valley Maker".
Peace!
Circle "Forest" (2004) & "Alotus" (2003) - I saw these guys blow away Cul de Sac at SXSW this year before I left Texas for the (temporary) pay raise in Alaska. The best way to describe the show was like a more rockin' Neu! meets Judas Preist, and was a great relief after Cul's boring artiness. I bought "Forest" at the show, and later got "Alotus". "Alotus" is my favorite of the two, mixing more of what I saw live: bizarre operatic vocals and hypnotic, but abrasive krautrock. "Forest" is a much tamer beast, invoking the quiet and meditational feel of being in the middle of a forest, however, there's also the unease of being in an unpredictable and potentially dangerous environment. This feeling of unease reaches a peak on the final track "Jaljet".
Om - Okay, I haven't bought the newest one, and I didn't really care for the first one, but they played at the same SXSW showcase with Circle and Cul de Sac and were the headliners. Had to mention them because they put on a great show, and captivated the audience with their mantra-like epic doom metal.
Clipse "Hell Hath No Fury" (2006)- Yeah, this one is making all the top charts, but it really is a great rap album. I don't want to say much more than this about it: "Trill" sounds like Front 242 meets the dirty south. Serious!
Tragedy "Nerve Damage" (2006)- Third album by this Portland, Oregon band. Don't know if I like it as well as 2002's "Vengeance" because of the lack of Todd Burdette's Lemmy-ish death metal growl on most tracks (bassist Billy Davis takes on more vocal duties this time), but the great songwriting is still there. Get if if you like d-beat, but progressive, hardcore, and, of course, Motorhead and Discharge.
Three 6 Mafia "Mystic Stylez" (1995) & "Chapt. 2: World Domination" (1997) - I hadn't been listening to much new rap lately except what I heard on the radio in '06. However, I did decide to check out the back catalogs of some artists. The most impressive had to be the Three 6 Mafia. "Mystic Stylez" in particular is some dark and mean Memphis rap that has a similar atmosphere to the Wu Tang Clan's "Enter the Wu Tang", but much grimmer and violent. However, it still retains a dreamy atmosphere made for a blunt. "Chapt. 2..." is less impressive and slightly slicker, but still great and ominous. Both are worth getting if you want to get your dirty south history lesson on.
Horna "Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne" (2005) - Not the newest Horna album, but I couldn't get enough of this piece of furious Darkthrone worship. This coulda been a continuation of Darkthrone's "Transilvanian Hunger", but made in the cold forests of Finland instead of Norway. For fans of raw black metal.
Weakling "Dead as Dreams" (2000) - I bought this years ago when I saw The Fucking Champs in Texas (I think one of the members was in Weakling). I couldn't quite figure it out at the time, but it really hit me hard this year. Epic, and almost post-rock in its dynamics, this is some serious "ahead of its time" black metal from San Francisco.
Benighted Leams "Ferly Centesms" (2004) - Well, there's some black metal screams at the beginning, but, for the rest of the album, you just get some low mumbling about god-knows what. Bizarre structures, trebly guitar noise and muffled drum shuffling, occasionally gives way to some quiet graveyard atmosphere. There's a lot of demented and fucked up black metal floating around these days, however, it's rare when all the elements come together for something that is not only truly unique, but also catchy. Let the evil consume you.
Jamie Foxx "Unpredictable (Chopped and Screwed by O.G. Ron C.)" (2006) - Featured on O.G. Ron C.'s "Fuck Action 43" (he screws only r & b ballads on this long runnning mix-tape series), this, for me, is the standout track mainly because I like the original so much. When Ludacris comes in for the requisite rap guest spot, he proudly proclaims (slow like molasses style) "Next stop is the G-spot -- LUDA!"
Smog "A River Ain't Too Much To Love" (2005) & "Supper" (2003) - I was never much of a Bill Callahan fan until my friend turned me onto "A River..." this summer. This is some of the best singer-songwriter type of stuff I've heard in a long time. Callahan's deep, conversational singing style suits his sometimes sarcastic, but always sincere lyrics. Reaches an apex on standouts like "Rock Bottom Riser", "Drinking at the Dam", "Our Anniversary", and "Say Valley Maker".
Peace!
posted by Daug at 2:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home