Best of 2010 – Honorable Mentions

2010 was a surprisingly great year for music. It was really hard to come up with a list of top five albums this year. It’s one of those years where when I look back on it I’m not sure how well I will be able to defend my opinions. 2008 comes to mind and I’d like to say the Heathers album had more impact over the long run than Off With Their Heads. Not that the Off With Their Heads album isn’t great, but both Heathers and Pygmy Lush are much more important bands in my life and their albums still resonate with me. At the time Off With Their Heads was giving me the emotional “FUCK YOU” that I needed.

So there are some other albums that I found really great this year, many I wrote about, but I wanted to give another nod to and take a minute to explore. They are definitely bands and albums that I think are worth your time (all 20 of you) and want to make sure they are cataloged in the cosmic fabric of my stupid memory, here on the internet for anyone to see.

1. Camu Tao – King of Hearts, Def Jux.
It is fitting that Camu Tao serve as the final bookend in the Def Jux catalog, at least as long as Def Jux is in a deep coma. Camu was the guest star on so many Def Jux album and was working on his debut for years before his untimely death. This collection is a sketch book of music by an artist that was clearly a visionary. I have no doubt in my mind that were this fleshed out to the Camu’s full vision that it would be the most damaging, punishing, amazing album from 2010. King of Hearts was on its way to being a legendary debut that changed hip-hop. Sadly, we will not get that opportunity from Camu. I can only hope some young kid picks this up and takes this shit where it needs to go.

2. ONSIND- Dissatisfactions, Plan-It-X
That whole riot-folk movement seems to have ended, memories of Juno and Kimya Dawson fading from the teenage lexicon of geek cool. There is some bitter sadness you might detect from me on this topic. Perhaps this scene didn’t really get the just recognition due. But no matter, it’s still going strong and One Night Stand In North Dakota (ONSIND) make one of the most compelling “post-riot folk” music. They are amazing singers, filled with political vigor and made a really dynamic, clean sounding album. The sexual and gender politics are not surprising, but the poetic language they use to forward and express these ideas is. This is a pretty crucial bit of music for anyone that wants to learn how to write good songs.

3. Coliseum – House of Cards, Temporary Residence
Part of what I love about House of Cards is how well it presented live. The recording is fantastic, as one would expect and the songs are really strong, but Coliseum is just one of those bands that must be seen live. Unfortunately when the album that is essentially the live band’s business card can not ever capture how awesome the band is, it can easily get lost in the shuffle. This probably happened with House of Cards but it shouldn’t. It’s loud and pushing and chock full of awesome riffs and great, powerful vocals. It is flawless from start to finish.

4. Defiance, Ohio – Midwestern Minutes, No Idea
It’s hard to say really how I feel about Defiance, Ohio and Midwestern Minutes. I think it’s because they are a band I like more than I realize consciously. I really like this band. They are sincere, and honest and beautiful and politically powerful, because their lyrics and stories aren’t about vague concepts but the human condition. There is nothing abstract about Defiance, Ohio. They are truly a beautiful group that should be heard even more than they are. They also probably had the option of going the route of Against Me and making more rock oriented records, but they continue down the very difficult path of DIY punk. It is a shame that DIY equates to less professional or less authentic in our culture because Defiance, Ohio is a band I truly believe needs to be heard by more people. Not that I want to share those sweaty, crowded spaces with more people and not have those intimate shows that are totally amazing. But Defiance, Ohio are a powerful band and this is their most accessible album yet. By accessible, I mean most focus and best produced. The songs have always been this good. It’s not slick, in fact it sounds more natural and true to anything Defiance, Ohio have done previously. They are a band that are overlooked too often and having them in the Honorable Mentions category  feels like a scam on my part. But that should not detract you, this is a great record.

5. A Stick and a Stone – Opal Nightly, Exotic Fever
Perhaps one of the most exciting new artists I have heard in a long time, Elliot Harvey is a musical genius. When he told me earlier this year that he had very little formal training, I was totally shocked. Harvey makes timeless music that is inspired not so much by genres but movement in sounds. He is a capable, creative musician whose hands master many instruments. Expect great things from A Stick and A Stone. This is an artist you need to hear.

6. Jonsi – Go, XL Recordings
Some people are just too talented to contain, too creative to pigeon-hole, too intense to fully realize. Jonsi, he’s out of this world. American modern rock culture has done a decent job incorporating the lexicon of Icelandic artists. But man, I have a feeling we could do a lot better. Go is an amazing pop album, complete with Jonsi’s dreamlike vocals. I haven’t seen any of the live presentations of this album, but I am really looking forward to it, because the visuals that I have caught look amazing.

Soundtrack to the March to Keep Fear Alive

Tomorrow,  thousands will descend on Washington DC for the March to Keep Fear Alive. For all of you unemployed idiots out there like me, you might need a soundtrack to keep you shuddering in your boots. KYS has got you covered here with ten great songs about fear. If you ask nice, I might make you a CD.

1. The Years, The Fears, The Sleep – Defiance Ohio
2. You Are Right To Be Afraid – Beauty Pill
3. Fear is a Man’s Best Friend – J. Robbins
4. Too Scared – Del Cielo
5. The Fear – Lilly Allen
6. The Fear is Back in Town – Milemarker
7. I’m Afraid of Everything – Braid
8. Fear of Commitment – The Measure (SA)
9. When I Was Afraid – The Thermals
10. Let’s Get Terrified – Dead Mechanical

If I had my shit together and all my music was on one hard drive I’d have mediafired this for you, but well, I am not that well organized. Suck it.

Content Content Content

Defiance, Ohio
Midwestern Minutes
No Idea Records

Well, it was bound to happen. This is the first time I’ve reviewed three albums by the same band. That it’s Defiance, Ohio is probably not a coincidence. Though they don’t remember I am sure, I actually had the privileged of opening for them a few years ago. I didn’t know anything about them at that point, a friend of mine put on the show (The Max Levine Ensemble also played and that was really cool too). The kids loved the hell out of them. I was confused about this whole “folk punk” thing, but gave them the benefit of the doubt, traded my CD for theirs (The Great Depression) with their merch dude (a local of DC) and went about my merry way. Five years later, Defiance Ohio are pretty fucking popular with the kids and I still have about 20 copies of my first EP and don’t play shows anymore.

For what it’s worth, The Great Depression is one of punk rocks finest moments from the first decade of this, the last century. And when Defiance, Ohio followed it up with the flawless The Fear The Fear The Fear a year later I knew this was a great band of immeasurable talent. And they fucking rock. I just saw them play last night to a packed, but intimate crowd here in Washington DC and the place was going ape shit. Kids were singing along, bouncing off each other (and me) and the band was spot on. Certainly they are more punk than folk, but mostly, they are just a great band with a unique sound.

So, I’ve had Midwestern Minutes for less than 24 hours now and above all I can say this, it is their most intimate, soothing album to date. Dare I say, this is their least punk album to date. While they have embraced instruments and arrangements closer to country, the approach has always been more inline with three chord punk anthems. They just sounded more friendly on acoustic guitars and banjos. But Midwestern Minutes is more Bright Eyes then Black Flag. When “The Reason” rolls pass, it’s hard to imagine the musicians are the same from days past. This is a band that has always given a shit about their songs for sure, but now they sound all grown up.

This album has great potential to reach a wider audience outside the DIY punk kids. But it’s all on musical merit alone. Defiance, Ohio aren’t doing anything differently then they’ve ever done. Midwestern Minutes sounds more like Defiance, Ohio then they have ever sounded. But the core remains. By albums end, the touching, sad “Everyone Else on the Other Side” is as pure a song as ever could be written. This sorrowful ballad about mental health speaks of madness, compassion and loss. It speaks from position of experience and an understanding that these experiences are not under the sole authority of the individual. Defiance, Ohio is a band for the people. They’ve never been inaccessible in any way, even when bashing it out. But once again they’ve graduated beyond anyone’s expectations. The songs are made by the band, but they belong to everyone.

Trash Talk
Eyes and Nines
Trash Talk Collective

Trash Talk is a popular band that seems to be hated by hardcore purists. But, if I have come to understand anything from trudging along in the ghettos of punk rock and hardcore for the better part of 15 years, it’s one thing. Purists don’t know shit about music. They have latched on to a genre, and glamorize and exhalt the worst examples of said genre for the sake of “being down” or “being true” at the sake of fidelity and listenability.  And it’s preposterous at best and exudes a deep suspicion of insecurity from a total fucking poser.

My relationship with hardcore started in 1995 with Damnation AD’s No More Dreams of Happy Endings. For my ears this was the first time that hardcore lived up to its name. The album was heavy, dark, pounding and sonically awesome. Before I heard this unsung gem from DC’s straight edge boys I found hardcore mostly jocular and pathetic. Bands either wanted to be Minor Threat (which they weren’t) or they wanted to be Metallica (which was boring as fuck). Damnation AD was both and the record sounded great. In fact, they were kind of fucking scary. The album cover was all weird and dark, the guitars were disjointed but cutting. The album was fantastic. And for the longest time, I tried to get into other hardcore bands, but nothing sounded good. In fact the only album that even came remotely close, and I mean this in the loosest sense, was Texas is the Reason’s Do You Know Where You Are? which was influenced more by Jawbreaker and Jawbox then Youth of Today or Judge (two bands whose albums sonic fidelity leave so much to be desired I fail to see how this genre ever even got off the ground).

So when people hate on Trash Talk and their new album Eyes and Nines I think they’re just a bunch of fucking pussies. This album is heavy as shit and sounds fucking excellent. Why? Because it was recorded in a state of the art studio with working equipment. It’s heavy as Sabbath wanted to be, as fast as Minor Threat was, and as pissed off as Converge’s Jane Doe. The fact that this album is made by four stoners from Sacramento, California is stunning. What is even more stunning is that these pot head thrash freaks have also created this buzz by being the hardest working band in America’s hardcore scene. Armed with a relentless tour schedule, Trash Talk self releases their own records and has had the brilliance to create a web store ordering presence the rivals most major labels. Dear stupid kids in shitty bands, you want to make it in this day and age? Take note of Trash Talk and do the following: 1) Write good songs and then make them better by actually thinking about them. Don’t just recycle the recipe add yr own shit to it. 2) Tour Everywhere, Always. Forget girlfriends/boyfriends , your parents, a place to live, your record collection. Everything. Buy a van, some decent equipment and never come home. 3). Do what you do better, louder, faster, heavier and more dangerous and evil then anyone else around. 4) Don’t give a fuck what anyone has to say.

Eyes and Nines clocks in at 17 minutes in 10 songs which actually manages to be three minutes longer than their last “album”. And while they don’t go crazy with weird shit, there is enough spice to make this more exciting and palatable then 99.99% of all other “hardcore” being made. Some of it is simple creativity in mixing. Some of it’s just concise song writing. It’s not much really, a bit of a wah-wah pedal here, maybe some flange there and some good layered vocal performances make Eyes and Nines the most promising hope for hardcore. It’s palatable, but it doesn’t lose it’s edge. Sure, suburban punks can swallow this down, it’s clean and cutting. But Eyes and Nines is still an explosive, battering display of hardcore goodness.