Best Albums of 2012: A Weekend Review Special Edition

By Chris Moore:

 

The TOP TWENTY ALBUMS of 2012

 

I ask myself year to year why I continue to make “best music of the year” lists.  The only answer that I consistently return with is that watching the Grammys and reading Rolling Stone, I observe that the best music being made each year is not properly represented on the screen and in the pages of the mainstream.  Thus, this is my small gesture of thanks to those who, year in and year out, continue to entertain me as a listener, inspire me as a singer/songwriter, and enrich my experience as a human being.  Below, you’ll find my picks for the top twenty albums of 2012.  If you’ve missed any, I hope you’ll consider checking them out.  As always, I’d love to hear your feedback or additions you would make to this list, so please consider adding to the conversation below.  After all, what greater joy is there than engaging in debate and sharing in the admiration of our favorite music?   

 

1)  That’s Why God Made the Radio – The Beach Boys

2)  The Sound of the Life of the Mind – Ben Folds Five

3)  Tempest – Bob Dylan

4)  Magic Hour – Scissor Sisters

5)  Moms – Menomena

6)  The Idler Wheel… – Fiona Apple

7)  Glad All Over – The Wallflowers

8)  Safe Travels – Jukebox the Ghost

9)  Those Around Us – Jim Fusco

10) Go Fly A Kite – Ben Kweller

 

11) Harakiri – Serj Tankian

12) Ten Stories – mewithoutYou

13) King Animal – Soundgarden

14) Port of Morrow – The Shins

15) Blunderbuss – Jack White

16) Rize of the Fenix – Tenacious D

17) Rooms Filled With Light – Fanfarlo

18) II – Bad Books

19) The Next Logical Progression – Gift of Gab

20) Sounds from Nowheresville – The Ting Tings

 

Honorable Mention:

Old Ideas – Leonard Cohen

Clear Heart Full Eyes – Craig Finn

The Circle in the Square – Flobots

thefearofmissingout – thenewno2

The BEST DEBUTS of 2011 (The Year-End Review Awards)

By Chris Moore:

This year, we’ll start with the notable debuts.  Or, more appropriately, the notable debut (singular).  I listen to a great deal of music every year, and even this only scratches the surface of a solitary droplet in the oceans of new material released, so I should preface this with the disclaimer that there may indeed be other, excellent debuts that I’ve missed.  If there are any that you know about, I encourage you to leave that information in the comments section below, and I’ll check it out asap.

 

That being said, the award for best debut of 2011 goes to Yuck, a band that I picked up because I thought the album cover was kind of cool and quirky.  At first, I was hesitant, as this is low-fi, distortion-heavy garage rock.  However, tracks like “Suicide Policeman” gave me a shock and all but dared me to listen more carefully and not find substance.  By the second listen, I was taken with Yuck’s raw but purposeful style, and it is without reservations that I pass them along to you here.

1) Yuck – Yuck

 

The TOP FIFTY SONGS of 2011 (The Year-End Awards)

By Chris Moore:

At last, we arrive at the second most important list of the year: the top fifty songs.  This is the list that takes me the longest every time, even more time than the albums list.  This might be helped in part because I start writing my best albums list as early as summertime, but it’s also because I find albums easier to evaluate and rate than individual songs; oftentimes, songs shift and flux up and down over the year.

This year, my greatest challenge was finding a place for two of my former (mOu) and current (the DKBH) bandmate Mike Fusco’s new releases.  I typically avoid having one artist hog the top spots, but the truth was that I couldn’t honestly deny “Modern-Day Pocahontas” the top spot, and I tried but couldn’t come to terms with placing “Chasing Pigeons” any lower than second, even below such outstanding tracks as Brett Dennen’s “Sydney” or Wilco’s “Born Alone.”  If this reduces the authenticity of my list, then so be it: this is my honest assessment of the best fifty songs of 2011.

1)  “Modern-Day Pocahontas” – Mike Fusco

2)  “Chasing Pigeons” – Mike Fusco

3)  “Sydney (I’ll Come Running)” – Brett Dennen

4)  “Born Alone” – Wilco

5)  “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.” – Noah and the Whale

6)  “Arlandria” – Foo Fighters

7)  “Give It All Back” – Noah and the Whale

8)  “Rox in the Box” – The Decemberists

9)  “Hello” – Gerry Beckley

10) “Buckner’s Bolero” – The Baseball Project

11) “All That You Are” – Goo Goo Dolls

12) “Lost All My Ambition” – Mike Fusco

13) “Suicide Policeman” – Yuck

14) “Jejune Stars” – Bright Eyes

15) “Uberlin” – R.E.M.

16) “New Year’s Eve” – Tom Waits

17) “Codex” – Radiohead

18) “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog) – Brett Dennen

19) “Black and Yellow” – Wiz Khalifa

20) “Lonely Boy” – Black Keys

21) “Two Against One” – Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi, and Jack White

22) “Rope” – Foo Fighters

23) “Ambulance” – Eisley

24) “Face in the Crowd” – Joseph Arthur

25) “Feel” – Gerry Beckley

26) “This is Why We Fight” – The Decemberists

27) “Jardin Du Luxembourg” – The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger

28) “Till I Get There” – Lupe Fiasco

29) “Dawned on Me” – Wilco

30) “Fire Fly” – Childish Gambino

31) “Release Me” – Jack’s Mannequin

32) “Tangie and Ray” – The Fruit Bats

33) “Season’s Trees” – Danger Mouse, Danielle Luppi, and Norah Jones

34) “Us Against the World” – Coldplay

35) “Surprise, Surprise” – Brett Dennen

36) “Triple Spiral” – Bright Eyes

37) “Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart” – Fountains of Wayne

38) “Wonder Why” – Vetiver

39) “Art of Almost” – Wilco

40) “Don’t Carry It All” – The Decemberists

41) “Don’t Call Them Twinkies” – The Baseball Project

42) “You and Me” – Parachute

43) “Police Station” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

44) “Titty’s Beer” – Colt Ford (feat. Trent Tomlinson)

45) “Don’t Try and Hide It” – The Dodos

46) “I Don’t Want to Be a Bride” – Vanessa Carlton

47) “Ruined” – Hannah Fair

48) “Because the Origami” – 8in8

49) “Bad As Me” – Tom Waits

50) “Fly Solo” – Wiz Khalifa

 

Honorable Mention:

“Factory of Faith” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Raw (How You Like It)” – Common [late entry]

“Keep On Knocking” – The Cars

“Damn These Vampires” – The Mountain Goats

Best Debuts of 2012: A Weekend Review Special Edition

By Chris Moore:

The BEST DEBUTS of 2012

 

Both of my favorite debuts this year weren’t true debuts, but rather they were solo debuts by artists well-established as the front men of bands: Jack White of the recently defunct White Stripes and Craig Finn of the Hold Steady, which is currently on hiatus.  Neither topped my year-end best albums list, but both were exciting nonetheless and suggest much promise for future solo efforts. 

 

Blunderbuss – Jack White

Clear Heart Full Eyes – Craig Finn