TOP ALBUMS OF 2014

TOP ALBUMS OF 2014 (WIP, not in order)

Ben Frost - A U R O R A
Down Hazard - Afterparty
How to Dress Well - "What is this Heart?"
Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like a Bell
BadBadNotGood - BBNG3
Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love
Run The Jewels - RTJ2
Todd Terje - It's Album Time!
Wild Beasts - Present Tense

Albums I still need to listen to that might take a spot:

Aphex Twin - Syro
White Lung - Deep Fantasy
Swans - To Be Kind
Flying Lotus - You're Dead!
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Grouper - Ruins
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
Iceage - Plowing into the Field of Love


In the end my top 10 list will probably look much different  and be more stylized but this is just a rough draft.

2014: EVEN MORE SCORES

The Antlers - Familiars: 7/10

Sharon Van Etten - Are We There: 8/10

Hundred Waters - The Moon Rang Like a Bell: 8/10

clipping. - clppng: 6/10

How to Dress Well - "What is this Heart?": 9/10

Death Grips - Niggas on the Moon: 7/10


I'll do a post on the yung lean show next I swear.

2014: More Scores

tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack: 8/10

Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams: 7/10

Owen Pallett - In Conflict: 7/10

Ought - More than Any Other Day: 8/10

Lykke Li - I Never Learn: 7/10

Chromeo - White Women: 5/10

BADBADNOTGOOD - III: 9/10

Perfect Pussy - Say Yes to Love: 8/10

Young Fathers - Dead: 7/10


Albums I still need to listen to:

Swans - To Be Kind

Marissa Nadler - July

Sharon Van Etten - Are We There

La Dispute - Rooms of the House

2014 Scores #3

Todd Terje - It's Album Time: 8/10

Lindsey Stirling - Shatter Me: 7/10

The Hotelier - Home, Like Noplace Is There: 8/10

Mac DeMarco - Salad Days: 7/10

Cloud Nothings - Here and Nowhere Else: 8/10

Liars - Mess: 7/10

Kelis - FOOD: 6/10

Below: My favorite songs from these albums

2014 albums

2014 scores #2

So yeah, I've been super lazy on that Kelela/Majical Cloudz review so here are some quicky scores of recent albums I've listened to.

Wild Beasts - Present Tense: 8/10

Real Estate - Atlas: 5/10

St. Vincent - S/T: 7/10

Planningtorock - All Love's Legal: 6/10

Death Vessel - Island Intervals: 7/10

Yellow Ostrich - Cosmos: 7/10

Mark McGuire - Along the Way: 6/10 

Ricky Eat Acid - Three Love Songs: 8/10 

Shabazz Palaces

The first concert of the year that I actually loved? Hell yeah.

Accurate depiction of me last week

       Heck, most of last week was pretty damn good in terms of concerts: Audion, Shabazz Palaces, Kelela and Majical Cloudz, ending with Mark Kozelek. (The latter two I will be reviewing shortly). God damn I love Noise Pop, it's a lot like SXSW except not in the sweltering heat and it doesn't cost 600 chuckle fucking dollars for a badge.

But I digress. Review time.

Opener #1: Extra Classic

        The best way I can describe this band is a chilled out Stevie Nicks.

       By that I mean it's classic rock with a female singer and a chilled out groove. I'd call it reggae-esque, but that's pushing it. Cool tunes and the singer had a great voice. Would see again.

Opener #2: Cities Aviv

WHAT?! 

SAY AGAIN I CAN'T HEAR YOU

WH... WHAT?!

BRRRRRRRRRRRR

        I tweeted that this guy could've been the best rapper in the world but I couldn't understand him underneath the massive amounts of bass and shitty samples. Most of which he was struggling to maintain. After I sent that tweet, he actually rapped without the heavy beat and I was able to hear him and guess what: he wasn't that great. I even had a guy with his girlfriend walk in front of me while I was sitting down and mention "Man, this guy blows." before leaving.

Headliner: Shabazz Palaces

       Awesome.

He knows what's up.

 
       The thing that made this whole thing work was teamwork. Both of the guys worked perfectly off each other, dancing in sync as well as the beat. This was everything that Cities Aviv wasn't. Well put together, clear and concise, and they looked like they were having just the best of time. 

       Halfway through the performance, Tendai gestured to Butterfly and said "This guy. Best rapper alive." and he isn't half wrong. He sounds like the kind of guy who practiced and trained for the years between now and Digable and he even looks young. 

Overall:

       The last time I saw these guys was back in 2011 at Treasure Island when Black Up was just released and it was refreshing to see them in a much smaller venue where they belong. It was also great to know they are working on a whole lot of new material which will be on an album in June/July, and it all sounds just as good.

Score: 9/10




         

Audion

I don't trust when websites post set times any more.

The noise pop website said that the Audion concert was going from 9 pm to 11 pm. So I assumed that doors open at 8, opening DJ starts at 9 and ends 30 minutes later and Audion was going to come on around 9:45  and end around 11-11:30. Best case scenario is that there would be no DJ and Audion would just go from 9-11. That would be great

NOPE!

 Opening act: Some DJ I don't know or care about.

       What ended up happening was doors opened AT 9, and a DJ played from 9:30 to friggin 11:15. Boring, repetitive beats for nearly 2 hours and I was just SICK of it. I'd go on, but just read my Pat Mahoney post, I don't want to go on about it again. Same old shit.

Headlining act: Audion

Just look at this thing:

LOOK AT IT.

This was it after the show ended and the lights went up. Here it is in action:

Fuck yes.

        Before he went on, only the two flaps on the sides were visible as they did some tests on the projectors. I only saw glimpses of the giant geometric triangle sphere while the DJ was off to the side but to see it in action was quite a bit more impressive. The sides of each of the triangles were covered in LED lights and two projectors shone on each of the triangles different trippy images throughout. It was quite a light show, but the thing that got me excited was the fact that Matthew himself seemed so happy about the whole thing. You can't really see him in the pictures above but he was smiling the whole way through.

Overall:

       Was I a little bit peeved at the long ass'd DJ set? Yes.

       Did it effect my experience? Yes.

       Did I still enjoy myself? Very yes.

Score: 7/10


(Edit: This concert was also free. Yay free!)

 Audion – Audion X

Magic Trick.

Another free concert review? Another free concert review!

*insert enthusiasm here*

        This time my tickets were generously won from Amoeba San Francisco through a twitter contest, and despite my lack of knowledge of Magic Trick, I was quite excited from what I heard from their latest album. This was also the album that actually got me to use Spotify so I could actually listen to it. Yes, I finally gave in.

Opener #1: Joseph Childress

       The best way I can possibly describe this band is just straight up rock and roll.

       A little on the harder side, which is weird because if you listen to his album it's all very subdued and quiet. Still, they all seemed like they had a great time playing and it kept my attention. For the most part.

Opener #2: Kevin Morby

       Another very solid opener, a bit more subdued than the first one and the second guitarist was replaced with a keyboardist

         Pleasant stuff. I remember some of the songs having a slight Vampire Weekend and I appreciated that. The keys melded well with the rest of the band, almost to the point where I almost couldn't hear them. They had less stage presence than the first opener, but the tunes were nice enough to keep my interest the entire time.

Headliner: Magic Trick

       Hooray! They only played songs off their new album. Normally I'd complain about this, but that's all I had listened to of theirs.

There is another keyboardist slightly off to the left.

        Since they only played their latest album from beginning to end, it was a bit short, but I like concise concerts. They played what was fresh and new and they played it well, even though the ending of Crazy Teeth goes on a little longer than I hoped. I enjoyed the vocal harmonies, don't get me wrong, but hearing the two female singers sing "We like pretty girls" over and over again kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies for some reason.

Also horns. Yay horns!

       Also I'm pretty sure the guy playing the Trumpet was riding the white pony while playing, but that's just me.

 Crowd:

       Middle aged white dudes filling about 3/4ths of the place. Not much to say. 

Overall:

       Again, free concert, can't complain. Each band brought their own brand of pleasant folk n' roll and I was never bored. Also it never felt like each band went on too long so I never felt like they were stretching their time. Good times had by all.

Score: 7/10

Magic Trick Concert Playlist

Thundercat!

       So yes. After my 3 paragraph blog post on how DJ sets bore me to tears and sometime stress me out, my next review is about a DJ set. One which I actually paid money for. Because I'm super smart.

SUPR SMRT.

       In my defense, my primary motivation wasn't Erkyah Badu's set at all, I even left before she went on. I was there to see Thundercat blow my mind once again, but this time in a (very very slightly) bigger location. The last time I saw him was last year at the Independent and that was one of my favorite concerts of the year, so does this stack up?

Opening Act: Starship Connection

Funky!

Super funky!

        As you can see, it was a 3 piece band consisting of a guy on turntables, a keyboardist and a guy on what I can only assume is a drum machine. They were great. They lay down some sick grooves and generally kept the place going for the hour they were up there. I will always respect a band that mixes it up and has fun doing it, and seeing them all work so well together made it all so much more watchable.

       Only problem I had was the hour run time. Maybe it's just me, but an hour seems like a long time for an opener.


"Headlining Act": Thundercat

       Short version: Not as good as his Independent performance, but still amazing.

You cannot deny how happy this man looks.

 
        It's really not his fault. The Independent is just a better venue in general and the place was less packed in over there. Also it was more "His concert" that time than this one.

        But I swear it was still really, really good! As you see in the picture above he really puts his all into his playing along with his keyboardist and drummer who all get their turns doing their solos. It's a technical feat to see them and it's something you can groove to. He played a good mixture of both his albums and moved in and out of songs so smoothly they melded into each other. Was it a bit jammy? Yeah, but in a good way, he kept things interesting.

Crowd:

       Mostly polite, not too many pushers or shovers, and people actually asked if I could move instead of just shoving in front of me, which I enjoy greatly. Too bad part of the reason I left was because it was crowded as balls and the only way I can accurately describe the smell was an Osh Hardware Store. Kind of musky and dirty.

Overall:

What can I say. Thundercat always puts on a great show no matter where you see him and just because the venue was crowded didn't ruin anything. Fun times.

Score: 7/10 

Looking back on 2013 in scores

Quicky post because I feel like it, but here are the 2013 albums I would give a 9 or higher.

Mutual Benefit: Love's Crushing Diamond (My only 10/10 of the year)
Janelle Monae: The Electric Lady
My Bloody Valentine: M B V
The Haxan Cloak: Excavation
Bill Calahan: Dream River
Tim Hecker: Virgins
Oneohtrix Point Never: R Plus Seven
Run the Jewels: s/t 
Arcade Fire: Reflektor
Darkside: Psychic

Pat Mahoney.

        Okay quick blog post about last night's show. 

        I got some tickets from DFA Records on Twitter last night after correctly guessing the band that Pat drummer for on their first album (Les Savy Fav for those who don't know) around 2 yesterday. It was for a new project for both the Mezzanine (a weekly show) and Pat Mahoney (Museum of Love). I believed that it was going to be a live show with some DJ's opening up for them but I was quite mistaken.

        I was going to go and explain the entire situation but let me just boil it down to this: DJs bore me. So very, very much.

       I tried to reason all night why I wasn't having a good time. There was a beat in the air, the dance floor was pretty open (not many people showed up) and I was energized. I worried about what was wrong even when Pat himself started DJing and got a good groove going with his partner DJ "I-Didn't-bother-looking-up-his-name". I mostly spent the time looking at the turntables and analyzing what they were doing with the various vinyl and electronics that they were fiddling with.

      Around 11:45 I realized what the problem was. To me, a DJ set is like free form Jazz. It's experimenting, trying out new things and building up a show, but there aren't any real songs. To me it doesn't feel like a real concert as it is just a dance hall where the DJ is not to be payed attention to. But I can't do that. When I go to a concert I enjoy songs and sets and knowing the music before hand. I can't take pleasure in a constant beat over R&B samples, it brings me no joy.

      I can see why people might like it, but it's just not for me. If you can find a reason why I'm wrong/dont get it, message me.

Random scores #1

Random scores of albums I've listen to this year:

ceo: Wonderland - 7/10

Sun Kil Moon: Benji - 8/10 

Behemoth: The Satanist - 8/10

Angel Olsen: Burn Your Fire for No Witness - 6/10**

Warpaint: S/T - 4/10

Dum Dum Girls: Too True - 7/10**

A Silver Mt. Zion: Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything - 7/10**

Against Me!: Transgender Dysphoria Blues - 6/10**

Temples: Sun Structures - 9/10

Alcest: Shelter - 8/10**

Have a Nice Life: The Unnatural World - 7/10**

James Vincent McMorrow: Post-Tropical - 6/10

** means I've only listened to the album once all the way through and/or I can't remember most of the songs. If I listen to them again I might change my score.

Karmin. Because why not.

  Let me start off this review by showing you a picture of me at home before I left.

And here's me right outside the building.

And here's me right before the concert.

                                                     Feeling the magic all up in thurrrrrrrrr



                                           
       Okay, that last picture might not have been me, but it perfectly shows my exact feeling going into this concert and knowing I'm really only in there because "Hey, why the fuck not". Also because I love using that picture and have never had the chance to use it.

       So yes, this concert was free. I got it from the wonderful people at http://do415.com/. My random flooding of every magazine in the Bay Area that had a contest for free tickets led me to this. Going to see Karmin, an act that only interested me because I actually enjoy Broken Hearted and can tolerate her other songs. Also free apples at the Fillmore.

       If you don't know, Karmin is known for this:

 
       You may have heard it once or twice. To me at least, it was one of those songs that I listened to on the radio and just attributed to as a throwaway single from P!NK or Katy Perry that gets played on loop for a bit until their next song. It's cute, it's poppy, and it translated well live. 

BUT WHAT THE FUCK EVER GET ON WITH IT. HOW WAS THE CONCERT?

The Opener: Bryce Vine.

He sucked. A lot.

 
                                           Behold Youtube celebrities. This is your creation.

      Okay I know that isn't exactly "professional" but I'm not a professional dammit. This guy was unbelievably pathetic. He's the hate-child of Niga Higa and a kids bop CD from the early naughts. All of his songs were him poorly rapping over the worst sampling I've heard. His name is perfect, he's just like a really bad Vine account: short, annoying and loud. It consisted of him and a DJ on a table with his name on it in bright rainbow colours. Ick.

      To be honest, the only thing that kept me in that building was the fact that I already wasted 3 bucks driving here and I wanted to see something decent at the end of this. Fillmore shows end up being shorter than most so along with Bryce only getting a 30 minute set, there wasn't a second opener. This concert started at 8 going to end around 10 so fuck it, I've stayed longer and later for worse shows. 

Also Flappy Bird.

                                            30 minutes in the poster room led to this. Thanks Bryce.

The Headliner: Karmin

       Not too bad actually.

       As performers they worked well in getting the crowd going. It's all cheeseball pop, but it's not painful pop. Amy Heidemann has a half-decent flow and never seemed too nervous or out of place, and she worked well with her partner Nick Noonan.

                                                                     No, not him.

       You see, there are two ways I will hate a concert: either it will bore me or annoy me. I knew going in that it probably wasn't going to be boring, but I was afraid that either them or the audience would be too annoying. I was relieved to find out that they were able to perform their songs with a certain level of professionalism and grace and they kept it interesting the whole time. The backing band all knew their shit and Noonan rocked it on the trombone. And as I said before, Heidemann has a decent flow and is actually a really great singer.

                                              Also red and white. GOD I LOVE RED AND WHITE.

The Crowd:

       More often than not, shows that send tickets out for free usually do so to fill space or to put butts into seats. This was very much the case in this concert, but the half full floor was able to get a good vibe going. The general age range was from around 16-30, along with some kids I saw with their parents straggling along. They were never too rowdy or annoying, and seemed to have a decent time. I'd add a picture of them, but my crappy camera phone just picked up darkness.

                                   It's good to know Karmin's biggest influence played here once.

Overall:

      I can't complain. Pop music has never really been my jam but in a place like the Fillmore a lot of things kind of click. It was entertaining, the color scheme was a personal like, and I had a good time. That's all I could have asked for.

Score: 6/10

 

First post here we go

Apparently I chose the "Cancer patient in remission" art style, because it just screams for my first post to be filled with inspirational quotes and hopeful wishes. It looked good in it's tiny example picture in the options menu okay?

I'll talk about music and concerts and things here when I get the chance/inspiration/NEEEEEEEEED.