Top 10 CDs of 2016 - #10 - #6

Finally, with just a couple days to spare, my Top 10 of 2016, Number 10 – 6.

For those landing here for the first time, not sure who I am or why you are reading this, I am just a singer/songwriter who loves music more than most love life. HERE is the Preamble I posted yesterday, go read that, so you can understand this next section.

EPs – since I do not include EPs in my Top 10 CDs of the year, I did want to mention a few artists who released EPs that would have probably made the list, had they added a few more incredible songs: The River Kittens, The Sleep Rubies, The Wild Reeds, and William Wild.

 #10 Explosions in the Sky – The Wilderness

This spot is always the hardest for me because there are approximately 20 albums all fighting it out for the final position on the Top 10 list. This year an instrumental band won, despite my clear, and unapologetic, love for great singers. Like many I learned about Explosions in the Sky through the Friday Night Lights movie and subsequent TV show. As a collector of football movies, I was a fan of both and became a fan of the music. With the exception of my collection of jazz recordings, the only other instrumental CDs I own are all from Explosions in the Sky, and I own everything they’ve put out. Their music speaks to the closet looper in me. The kid that recorded his first full length on an old 4-track using anything he could get his hands on to add layers and textures to the recording. So, I had to show this incredible four piece some love. The Wilderness is everything you would expect from Explosions. What they have created is much more than a painting on a canvas. It is a movie with expansive soundscapes that open up the mind and beg it to create the visuals and emotions that accompany the soundtrack.

#9 Warpaint – Heads Up

I forget when I first learned about Warpaint, but I’ve been following them for a while now. Their 2014 self-titled release was probably #11 for the year, just outside of my Top 10. What helped them crack the top 10 this year was clear and decisive growth. This album shows maturity of voice and confidence of direction. They are doing their thing, and I am pretty sure they give zero fucks if anyone has a problem with their direction. You can always tell when a great band is being controlled by the machine because they put out some bubble gum piece of shit album that sounds like they are trying to sell CDs to the cool kids at the junior high lunch table, not the kids sitting in the back of the cafeteria writing poetry and losing themselves in their doodles. While I acknowledge a recording is an opportunity to expand beyond what a band can do live, it shouldn’t cause the listener to question the voice of the artist. Although Head Up is a great example of a band pushing themselves, of pushing boundaries, you can tell they are the ones driving the car, and the roadtrip they are taking us reminds us why we love to be on the road.  

#8 Beyonce – Lemonade

Every time I put a curveball on the list I feel like I need to spend some time explaining, and for those that follow my blog, my Facebook page, or my Twitter page this selection may seem like a curveball. Those that really know me know my music collection is pretty diverse. What you see me posting daily is usually what I listened to the night before as I was going to bed. My wife has some very definitive opinions on what sleepy-time music is, so I am usually posting things on the softer side. That doesn’t mean that that is all I am listening to. While this is my first Beyonce CD, I do have a pretty good collection of female R&B singers, lots of Erykah Badu, India Arie, Lauryn Hill, and Alicia Keys. To this point, Beyonce always seemed to be speaking to a younger generation, but as folks get older the gap diminishes. Lemonade is powerful. It speaks to the musician in me. It speaks to the lover of big voices and expertly placed runs. It speaks to the poet soul that loves a good story. Most importantly it speaks to the step-dad who wants to encourage his very independent little girl to continue to be strong and brave, to never take shit from a man because no one deserve that. In all honesty, this could have been my #1 of the year. It is that strong, but it just didn’t get the same amount of spins as some of the other CDs. As I am listening to it now, I am not sure why, probably because it is too powerful for sleepy-time music.

#7 Daughter – Not to Disappear

I was bouncing between videos on KEXP; I heard Elena Tonra’s voice and the atmospheric guitars, and I was hooked. I went to my friend iTunes and bought everything I could. I am pretty sure I listened to nothing but Daughter for the entire month of February. It is rare that an album released in January makes my Top 10 list. The CD has to maintain relevance for 12 months, as I am continually distracted by new releases, but Not to Disappear did not disappear (Yeah, I just did that; come on, you telling me you weren’t thinking it? Please). I’ve mentioned this in other Top 10s, but I love when a recording gives space to the instruments. It’s so easy to set the beat and let it carry the song, but when there is space and movement it gives life to the songs. Daughter does an excellent job of allowing things to breathe in this recording. In addition to Tonra’s distinctive voice and the energy of the recording, when you peel away the instrumentation the lyrics are incredible:

No Care

No one asks me for dances because I only know how to flail
I always hit like I'm drowning, dead arms around him
I'd rather stand still, hold tightly to the walls

No care, no care in the world
No care, no care in the world
I don't care, I don't care anymore
I don't care, I don't care

Love you in a panic because I prefer to sit on fences
Spit-kissing on my sickbed
I'm not searching for replacements
But we are like broken instruments
Twisted up and wheezing out the runnels
Sleepless folks watching light grow
Through their early morning windows

I don't care, I don't care anymore
I don't care, I don't care

Oh, I'm too drunk to fight, hurlings curses at your surface
Because I'm aware, because it hurts that I'm in love again
And you have kissed my neck so your arguments are insane
Fighting over the way something was said
Well, I'm still here like a cheap threat

No care, no care in the world
No care, no care in the world
I don't care, I don't care anymore
I don't care, I don't care

Oh, there has only been one time where we fucked
And I felt like a bad memory
Like my spine was a reminder of her
And you said that you felt sick
I was so heavy hearted, lying side-on with you afterwards
How I wanted you to promise we would only make
How I wanted you to promise we would only make
How I wanted you to promise we would only make love
But my mouth felt like I was choking, broken glass
So I just slept it off
You see, my mouth felt like it could talk the end of us
So I just slept it off, slept it off

No care, no care in the world
No care, no care
I don't care, I don't care anymore
I don't care, I don't care

Ah, I'm too drunk to fight
I only wanted you to promise me we would only ever make love
But my mouth felt like I was choking, broken glass
So I just slept it off
Wanted you to promise me we would only ever make
Wanted you to promise me we would only ever make love

#6 Rachael Yamagata – Tightrope Walker

It was September 2008, Hotel Café was coming to Blueberry Hill, and I was going to see Rachael Yamagata for the first time. She did not disappoint; I’ve seen her five times since, including a roadtrip to Indianapolis, and she never disappoints. She is prolific, a sought after collaborator that is equally powerful behind 88 keys, 6 strings, or a microphone stand. Had I been doing a Top 10 list in 2008, Elephant… Teeth Sinking into Heart, would probably have been #1. I wore that album out. Listening to Tightrope Walker, I am sad that I haven’t had a chance to listen to this more. It is Yamagata at her best. The instrumentation strikes a beautiful balance between luscious acoustic instruments (“I’m Going Back” has some of the best strings I have heard recorded) and driving electro-pop. Her songwriting is earnest and thoughtful, and her voice is the smoke cloud where dreams are born.

As to prevent the post from being TOO long, I will give you #5 - #1 tomorrow. 

Stay tuned!!!

Preamble: Top 10 CDs of 2016

Well, it’s that time again. The time when I remember that I actually have a blog – oh my pour unused blog. The time when I ramble in an effort to let you know what albums I think were the best in 2016. But not so fast. First we need to cover some details about my list, talk about music consumption, and ease you into the music that got me moving in 2016.

I posted my first public top 10 list in 2009, over the last seven years the requirements of the lists have remained pretty consistent, but for new readers I like to provide a quick review. My list tends to be singer/songwriter heavy. I am a singer/songwriter, so it stands to reason that I enjoy listening to other singer/songwriters. As in years past, to make the list, I have to own the CD. Like most, I subscribe to a variety of streaming services, so I end up listening to a lot of music, but in order to be considered for the top 10, the recording had to be so good that I opened the wallet and dropped coin for the CD.  Other factors that are taken into consideration, vocal quality – what can I say, I like big voices, unique voices, solid voices – total spins, lyrical content, and the ability to pull it off live. I realize the last shouldn’t be in consideration for album of the year, but it’s my list, so… Also, I will not consider EPs. Don’t get me wrong, I like EPs. I listen to EPs, but they always leave me wanting more. I understand that that is often the point, leave them wanting more has long been the motto of many a performer, but I want to be satiated by the music. I want to be fat-full. Laying on the couch in a tryptophan stupor, full. I want a post-orgasmic state where the body can do nothing but tingle as the mind reflects on what just happened. That rarely happens in four songs.

So, let’s talk about what has changed for me – consumption. For years I’d sit in my office and work the day away as Pandora spoon fed me new artists that they felt were similar to artists that I was already enjoying. I learned about a lot of new artists that way. Well, I changed jobs this year, and my new employer blocks all streaming services. ALL. STREAMING. SERVICES. However, YouTube is wide – the fuck – open. As a result, YouTube has become my new radio, and sites that share consistently great new artists like Audiotree, KEXP, and NPR Music have really had an impact on what I am listening to this year.

Now, before I get into my actual list, we need to address the incredible elephant that is in the room. I am a 42 year old dad that hasn’t toured with a band in 5 years. I work my 7 to 3, spend my free time coaching my son’s 2^nd grade football team and playing fantasy football. Sure I go to concerts frequently, will even travel with the family to see bands we love, and I still play the occasional solo show, mess around making crazy experimental loops in the basement with the kids, and have friends over once and a while for a good jam to knock off the rust, but my hip-factor is as fleeting as my hairline. While I’d love to claim to be current with the new musical trends and groups, every once and a while great new artists slip by me and they miss their shot at the list. If I am being completely honest, the three artists that got the most play this year did not release full lengths in 2016 – Julien Baker, William Wild, and Sylvan Esso.

Although I knew the name Julien Baker because she made just about everybody’s 2015 list, I consider her to be an Audiotree find. It was the end of the year. I was reading other people’s lists, and I didn’t think it was right to rearrange my list just because everyone else was infatuated with this girl, so I didn’t really dig in. Well, I was wrong. I should have. I watched her Audiotree performance and was mesmerized. Six string, one voice, and some ambient delays. She is incredible. She is intelligent. She is thoughtful. She is everything I love about singer/songwriters. I just kept replaying the video. I bought the Sprained Ankle CD, bought the Audiotree recording and she entered into weekly rotation. I have listened to her CD at least once a week since first watching the video.

By the time I found William Wild, I was already allowing Audiotree to think for me. Daily I go out and look for the new releases, and no matter what it is, I listen. Sometimes its thick sludge rock, sometime hip-hop, sometimes it is new artists still struggling with keeping pitch, sometimes it is seasoned pro’s that are graciously offering up themselves to hungry ears, sometimes it is new cats whose voices are gifts. That was William Wild, aka Garrett Sale. If I had a formal tracking system, I’d bet William Wild and Julie Baker are tied for most plays this year. Like with Baker, I purchased everything I could from William Wild. While the rest of the world was on a collective conscious journey to merge electronic and folk-rock, Garrett and crew keep it pure, understated but expert production featuring heavenly guitar tones and all the pedal steel my happy ears could handle, and as mentioned his voice is a gift. It is the kind of voice that makes other singers wish they sang like him.

While Julien Baker and William Wild definitely got the most plays at home, Sylvan Esso most certainly got the most plays at work. There is nothing better than making sense out of rows of data, fully in the zone, and chair dancing to the fresh grooves concocted by Nick Sanborn while losing myself in Amelia Meath’s incredible voice. I have not created an Excel chart, PowerPoint presentation, or status report in 2016 without the assistance of the Sylvan Esso dance party. Unlike the other two artists, I found Sylvan Esso during my weekly Tiny Desk Concert search which often results in me falling down an illuminated rabbit hole of Tiny Desk performances, as YouTube serves me up artist after artist. Most become background for my work, but not Sylvan Esso. They took over the moment and produced multiple queries as I sought to learn more about this band. Like the others, I purchased everything I could find and wait patiently for more.

So, while none of them can make the official Top 10 CDs of 2016, these three were my top new finds of 2016.  Tomorrow I will unveil the official 10-6, and on Friday I will give you 5-1.

Stay tuned!

Don't Hate Me because I am Not Native: Fish Fries and the Labyrinth

I moved to St. Louis in December of 1998, a fresh eyed Californian grateful to be on a full ride. One thing that was immediately apparent was the massive amount of Catholic influence. I knew one Catholic in high-school, but it definitely appears to be the dominant religion here.

This influence colors the region in a variety of ways, there are Saints everywhere you look, and Lent means Friday Fish Fries. Somehow I managed to miss out on that action for the first 18 years of living here, but yesterday I changed all that.

To be honest, I may have attended one early on, but it was college, and I wasn’t a Saint, so things can be fuzzy at times.

But, before we get to fish fry, let me tell you a little story about a 37 year old watching Labyrinth for the first time.

For a while my circle was doing weekly movie nights. When they found out I had never seen the Labyrinth they lost their minds. HOW. COULD. I. HAVE. NOT. SEEN. THAT. MOVIE? Clearly, it was next week’s selection. As we piled into Julie’s and Vinnie’s living room, sprawling ourselves across coaches and chairs, I was ready to have my mind awakened, to witness the missing piece to my childhood, to experience cinematic greatness. What I saw was one of the most ridiculous, corny, films I had ever seen. The acting was horrible, and the production was abysmal, but they LOVED it. It was as if the seed that had been planted so many years ago, rooted itself so deeply, that it was altering reality. The memory of the magic was far greater than the reality of the movie itself. The only thing we could agree on was there was some SERIOUS moose knuckle going on. 

That was my fish fry.

From an outsider’s perspective, I think the fish fry is more about nostalgia than great food. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t awestruck. I didn’t find myself lamenting over the flavors tangoing across my tongue. I didn’t stare down at my plate wondering how they made this magical fish like I have done when eating meals at Niche, Home (RIP), Southern, Juniper, Three Flags Tavern, and Quincy Street Bistro, to name a few. For the locals, the diehards, you are probably thinking I didn’t go to a good one. Well, that may be, but I went to the one that got the most votes on my SM poles, so some people clearly think it is good. And no, I will not say where I went. That is not the intent of this post.

The point is, I suspect the memories of those early fish fries, the running around the gym floor with your friends while your parents talked politics in their best Charlie Brown voices, the first bites of freshly fried fish after waiting in the eternal line, the greasy French fries that filled your hungry little bellies, those moments of freedom and satiation left such an indelible impression that you still look forward to the experience thirty years later. This, folks, is the magic of the mind.

Will I go again?

Sure.

Teddy thought it was the best fish he had ever had, and Wendy Mae loved her shrimp. I don’t want to take that from them, but I’ll be going in knowing it is the Labyrinth, not Dead Poets Society.