My year end review

I cannot decide what my favorite record of the year is!

Not an easy choice.

There is so much music that I listen to.

From Jazz to Rock to Classical Orchestra to Heavy Metal.

My tastes are quite eclectic!

So how do I figure this out?

Well some of the criteria is the following:

1) Number of times played? Am I obsessed?

2) Did I see this artist/band live in concert?

3) Does it stir up a lot of emotions each time?

Ultimately, I have broken it down to 7 specific albums and 1 favorite song!!!

Number 7 is BECK – MORNING PHASE

He’s moved beyond his slacker-hipster days of Loser. I have embraced the soft side of Beck with this soft, mellow and acoustic vibe. These songs SOUND like the morning in the winter while drinking a cup of hot coffee. Way to step out of your comfort zone!

Number 6 is THE WAR ON DRUGS – LOST IN A DREAM

I hear the Dylan, Petty, Pink Floyd and Dire Straights influences here. Really dreamy music for sure. I am transported to another time and place every time I pop this record into my ears.

Number 5 is A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW – SEA WHEN ABSENT

This became a more recent obsession of mine. It has a real addictive sound. Shoe gaze, trippy, mellow, synth pop is some magical stuff for the brain! It reminds me of the band My Bloody Valentine with that Cocteau Twins vibe from the 80’s. Amazing vocals and mind blowing digital effects mixed with grungy guitars.

Number 4 is ST VINCENT – ST VINCENT

What can I say? See these posts of mine:

https://themusicbard.wordpress.com/2014/12/05/she-sure-can-shred/

https://themusicbard.wordpress.com/2014/07/21/i-was-stabbed-with-emotions-at-a-pitchfork-festival/

Miss Annie Clark is a Rock Goddess!!!!

Number 3 is DUM DUM GIRLS – TOO TRUE (These ladies are so AMAZING!!!)

Read this article of mine:

https://themusicbard.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/dum-dum-girls-filled-me-with-joy-at-the-empty-bottle/

Number 2 is WARPAINT – WARPAINT

(I hate to be lazy but….read this previous article of mine too)

https://themusicbard.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/a-dreamy-night-at-the-vic/

But the truth is….this really was my favorite album of the year because of how rich, potent, spine tingling it is!!! Until……

THIS ALBUM CAME OUT!!!

Number 1 is PINK FLOYD – THE ENDLESS RIVER

Holy Cow!!! This was the surprise release of the year! Only my favorite band of all time suddenly came to life after 20 years in absence!!!! Here’s a long spiel:

Firstly if you’re a hard core fan of the Roger Waters era then this probably isn’t for you. Their aren’t many bands who have lost their main writer and reinvent themselves. But David, Rick and Nick did just that. Roger thought he was bigger than the FLOYD! That was a big mistake and firing Rick Wright was also a bad idea.

I’ve always been a fan of Rick and I recommend you take a listen to his solo project Broken China, for me it was sheer brilliance from Rick. For me it’s about paying respect to a Great musician and the quiet man of the Floyd. Yes you could say this is a collection of pieces that where put aside from The Division Bell but does it matter??…. Nope!

This album is a fitting tribute to Rick. David and Nick have given a lot of thought producing a highly pleasurable listening experience, listen hard enough and it will transform you back to your youth. To the band: it’s been a great journey. You will in years to come be regarded as one of the Greatest Rock bands of all time.

Richard Wright RIP

But now I wish to make mention of my favorite song this year…….

FAVORITE SONG…….Jenny Lewis – Just One of the Guys

Once in a band called Rilo Kiley as their singer, she walks away from the all night parties with the boys. Now in this deep, layered, tonic rock tune things get real! Lewis’ addictive melodies and smart, heartbreaking lyrics about aging, loneliness and being without a child certainly make a huge mark in her career! This is a welcome back moment for this indie Rock queen!!!

2014 has been an awesome year! Believe me, I had so many favorites but these were calculated precisely and are logically my biggest ones! See you next year!!!!!

She sure can shred!

I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my life and a few nights ago I saw one of the most amazing shows this year in fact this particular show was the BEST performance of the year 2014. It was a double feature at the historic Chicago Theater. The two bands were Future Islands and St. Vincent. I was quite pleased with the opening act, that being Future Islands. It was very energetic and any of those songs performed could’ve been pop singles. They had kind of an 80s pop, bluesy but yet fast paced moving performances. The lead singer liked to do a very unusual dance where he was kind of gyrating and doing this pelvic twists almost moving around like an animal.

St. Vincent was a completely different experience yet also interesting and strange. St. Vincent is the name of the band created by a woman named Annie Clark who comes from New York. She is a singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and beautiful singer. Her voice is angelic yet her brilliant guitar playing is raw and vibrant. In fact quite honestly I will say that Annie Clark (St. Vincent) is the most amazing female guitar player that I have ever witnessed in front of a stage audience in my entire life. She certainly is more avant-garde bazaar strange. Also she’s a recent pupil of David Byrne who is best known for his work with the Talking Heads. But she brings something new to this generation of music. She brings back the arts, the intensity, the performance that makes you stand up and cheer, that it breaks the mold. It’s not your everyday rock performance, it’s a dramatic show on stage. She moves and acts like a robot on stage on purpose but once that guitar is strapped to her body and her hands move around the strings plucking and sliding up and down the neck it’s like something monstrous has been unleashed and she just explodes all over the place as if you wonder “is this the same person who was just singing a sweet ballad only moments earlier?”

She is young, she is beautiful, her engagement with the crowd at a few times was very real and down-to-earth and then suddenly the lights go out and the strobe lights come on and the drums start pounding and it’s like she just goes right back into character. What kind of character? It’s hard to describe. Like an alien robot one minute and then the next minute just a normal New Yorker gal. Its more than a rock show, it’s art. She went so crazy at one point that she tumbled off the stage, climbed onto an audience members’ back and started to roam around the crowd while still jamming on her guitar. I snapped a photo of that moment. (see above) Go see her live! In the meantime, I have included a video that really demonstrates her awesomeness!!!

I was stabbed by a pitchfork festival

It began with a car ride
Into the city
On a warm and pleasant
Friday afternoon

Water bottles
Blanket
And a backpack

Don’t leave the ticket on the dashboard
Time to go for a hike
Through the concrete jungle
Then stand in line
Before the Pitchfork gates

Is this the right line?

The music vibrates in the background
As bags are checked for cannabis
Paraphernalia and weapons
Bar codes are scanned

“That’s a really colorful looking blanket,” the old man says

Port-O-Johns are everywhere
Some serious shit is about to start!

A basketball court
Is a social one?
With vendors
Giant Twinkie Man dancing around
Long line for a free shirt
Silk screened
Cool graphic arts
Ice cream
Cupcakes
Video games

All of this enjoyed without spending
A single dime

Guy waving a NICE big flag
Handing out granola bars
Saving the wallet from depletion

A couch made out of green grass
They’re giving away sweat bands and bandannas
Stickers
Free codes to download
Local tunes

If you want to drink beer
Buy tickets
Get a bracelet

Big pretzel
Sitting on a pool
Of Wisconsin beer cheese
Johnny Appleseed
Made some hard cider
Yummy

Hipsters with beards
Gothic girls in black
Tight leather pants (in the humidity)
Wild colorful hair
Tattoos galore!

A young man reciting poetry
At a tent
Extremely long line
To fill up your empty bottle
With some pure water

It’s a festival for three days
Positive vibes are promoted
Comfortable atmosphere
Many fun experiences
There are maps
Helping everyone figure out
Where to go
Or get lost at a record show
With over a dozen vendors
Selling their wax covered goodies

Three stages
Over forty artists and acts
Tons of music

There are unique and rare finds
Treasures
Its for the music lovers
Getting exposed to some really cool stuff

Who is this band?

Neneh Cherry…did you know she’s related to Eagle Eye? She’s only played in the U.S. one other time? That’s crazy! She played her nostalgic tune “Buffalo Stance” from the late 80’s in a very modern rhythmic way. But she also promoted her first album in 18 years that is really funky, smooth, jazzy, soulful and kind of trip-hop. By the way…I met her and got her autograph. It was cool.

Sharon Van Etten…her music is gloomy especially for this summer fest. But you know what? Who cares! She was awesome!! I totally dig her albums! ARE WE THERE and TRAMP where worth showcasing? She has a pretty voice and plays the guitar rather well. AWESOME!

Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks…weird music side project of the band Animal Collective!

Circulatory System…really heady music and psychedelic stuff in a Beatles dipped in an acid bath sorta way. But good.

Beck…hushed melancholy of new and then jacked up energy of his wacky old hits! (it worked!) I’m a loser Beck so why don’t you THRILL me?

Cloud Nothings…I dig thier stuff, just a little boring for me….live anyway.

tUnE-yArDs….nothing like I ever heard before! British girl named Merrill Garbus. When she’s performing her art live, Garbus creates trippy drum loops on the spot, and combines these with the ukuleleas well as vocals, in addition to electric bass. But its really tribal sounding. Like Jamaican or African sounding but also really poppy!

Hundred Waters….similar to Sigur Ros but more feminine and its like dream pop and relaxing.

Factory Floor….definitley sounds really acid housey and some audience members decided to participate in the fun! Check out this clip: http://youtu.be/C2pEmFzW3Ik

Giorgio Moroder….he’s a living Italian legend. Godfather of EDM and synth disco! He mixed up some cool Donna Summers and Daft Punk tunes! The crowd went wild for him!

BUT NOW…..THE ONE….THE ONLY……ST. VINCENT!!!! Holy crap is she freaking awesome!!! Annie Clark is the best guitar player I have heard in more than a decade. She is such an actress on stage freaking out acting like a robot princess and then collapses on stage, drops her guitar, gets pissed off and then gets happy when a new guitar is presented to her. Lots of smoke, colors and thrashing on those fuzzy wuzzy guitars that she mechanically plays with such a rocking smooth attitude! She invents brand new sounds that most guitar noises don’t make. Best live show I have seen. Pink Floyd at soldier field 20 years ago is the only other show that was as good as this. And she only played for an hour. She’s a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. On stage she just had 2 other people: a drummer and co-guitarist/synth player to back up her wild and crazy show! My words cannot possibly do her justice. She WAS the reason I went to the Pitchfork Music Festival. Loved it!

 

Then I fell apart from my brain exploding
And then I shattered mentally
A night drive home with Syd Barrett tunes to comfort me
To sleep off the intense buzz
with memories of blissfulness
In my head……