Category: Music

Hi ho, folks! The end of the year is approaching, and it’s time to roll out my “Best of” lists for the year! I decided to start with music this year, because my TV list is a giant mess. Seriously. If the TV list was a middle school book report, I’d give poor Ms. Kilgore a heart attack. She’d have to buy a hundred red pens to edit it for me! So enjoy the music list first!

As always, remember that this list is about complete albums and not individual songs. Yes, there may be songs from 2012 that I liked better than anything on this list… but, as a whole, the following ten albums are my favorite of the year!

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#10: Brian Eno – Lux

As I said in my Best Albums of 2010 piece, I’ve never been a fan of Eno’s pop music (aside from his work with Roxy Music, of course). His other works, like Ambient 1 and Discreet Music are two of my all-time favorite albums, period. I put Small Craft on a Milk Sea on my “Best of 2010” list, and am doing the same for this year’s Lux. I actually hesitated with this one, though. Where Ambient 1 and Discreet Music were groundbreaking albums, this one isn’t his best. It’s pretty good, technically speaking, but it just doesn’t leave much of a lasting impression. Having said that, mediocre Eno is better than 90% of the other crap out there, so he makes the list with this album, too!

#9: Madness – Qui Qui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da

I’ve been a Madness fan since “Our House” hit the US charts back in 1982. I rushed out to buy the single, then bought every album and EP of theirs I could find. And while a lot of 80s bands are still releasing new albums of mediocre material, Madness never really went away, culturally speaking. I really dug 2005’s The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1, but just didn’t warm up to 2009’s The Liberty of Norton Folgate. In fact, I deleted the album from my digital collection just a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da is a return to form. Whereas Liberty seemed like a love song that only invited Londoners to the party, this new disc is for everyone. It’s pretty solid – especially the opening tracks –  and is surely worth a listen on your part.

#8: The Vaccines – Come of Age

I don’t know why, but I just love The Vaccines. Certainly they crank out catchy guitar-pop tunes with awesome hooks… but I think it’s their cheekiness that really sells me on them. The first time I heard “Post Break-Up Sex” I was almost in stitches; they did a pretty good job of capturing the… awkwardness one feels immediately after a break-up. So when heard that they had a new disc out, I rushed to find it… and it didn’t disappoint. Songs like “Aftershave Ocean” and “Teenage Icon” encapsulate everything I love about the band. They almost make me feel like a teenager all over again, but at the same time their often sarcastic lyrics make me appreciate being older.

Continue reading “My Top Albums of 2012”

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending November 24, 2012:

1) Marsheaux – “Empire State Human”
2) Kate Nash – “Do Wah Doo”
3) Japan – “Cantonese Boy”
4) Virginia Astley – “Some Small Hope”
5) Jessica Bailiff – “Helpless”
6) Ambra Red – “Beauty 606”
7) Asobi Seksu – “Thursday”
8) Ladyhawke – “Magic”
9) Katy Perry – “The One That Got Away”
10) Blouse – “Videotapes”

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending November 3, 2012:

1) Ambra Red – “Oh Boy”
2) Marsheaux – “Empire State Human”
3) My Mine – “Hypnotic Tango (Radio mix)”
4) Modern English – “Life in the Gladhouse”
5) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Telegraph”
6) Gary Numan – “Films”
7) Ministry – “Revenge”
8) Book Of Love – “I Touch Roses (Long Stemmed version)”
9) Visage – “Fade To Grey (12″ Version)”
10) Kim Wilde – “Suburbs of Moscow”

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending October 27, 2012:

1) Roxy Music – “Angel Eyes”
2) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Enola Gay”
3) Modern English – “Life in the Gladhouse”
4) Katy Perry – “Teenage Dream”
5) Serge Gainsbourg – “Ah! Melody”
6) Serge Gainsbourg – “En Melody”
7) Serge Gainsbourg – “Valse de Melody”
8) Kim Wilde – “Water on Glass”
9) Tears for Fears – “Mad World”
10) Serge Gainsbourg – “Je t’aime…moi non plus”

Sorry I haven’t posted one of these lately… I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts instead of music!

From the home office in London, here’s the Top 10 song chart for the week ending October 20, 2012:

1) Adele – “Skyfall”
2) Jessica Bailiff – “Helpless”
3) Ladyhawke – “Magic”
4) Class Actress – “Careful What You Say”
5) Foretaste – “Goodbye Horses”
6) Peter Gabriel – “Solsbury Hill”
7) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Enola Gay”
8) Roxy Music – “Angel Eyes”
9) Roxy Music – “Same Old Scene”
10) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Telegraph”

According to Last.fm, as of Wednesday of this week I’ve officially listened to my new favorite band, Marsheaux, 1,000 times since December 11, 2011:

That’s an average of 3.22 Marsheaux songs a day over 311 days! Obsessed? Perhaps!

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending September 9, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) The Raveonettes – “She Owns The Streets”
2) Marsheaux – “Inside”
3) The Raveonettes – “You Hit Me (I’m Down)”
4) Paul Young – “Love Of The Common People”
5) Thermostatic – “Close Your Eyes”
6) A Fine Frenzy – “Blow Away”
7) Saint Etienne – “I’ve Got Your Music”
8) The Raveonettes – “Downtown”
9) Madness – “It Must Be Love”
10) Cocteau Twins – “In the Gold Dust Rush”

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending September 2, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) The Raveonettes – “She Owns The Streets”
2) Saint Etienne – “I’ve Got Your Music”
3) Ambra Red – “Beauty 606”
4) Washed Out – “Call It Off”
5) Julia Holter – “Moni Mon Amie”
6) Marsheaux – “Summer”
7) Class Actress – “Careful What You Say”
8) Ramones – “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment”
9) Pet Shop Boys – “Always On My Mind”
10) Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ – “Saddle on the Side Of The Road”

Here’s my top 10 song chart for the week ending August 26, courtesy of the home office in London:

1) Marsheaux – “Summer”
2) Class Actress – “Careful What You Say”
3) The Jam – “In the Crowd”
4) The Magnetic Fields – “Swinging London”
5) Marsheaux – “Empire State Human”
6) The Watson Twins – “Just Like Heaven”
7) Asobi Seksu – “Perfectly Crystal”
8) Junica – “Living In My House” (featuring Pip Brown)
9) Foretaste – “Alone With People Around”
10) Public Image Ltd. – “Deeper Water”