Editor's note: For our best of 2012 coverage, we decided to reach out to some friends of the blog to get an idea of what made the year in music so great for them. For today's installment in the guest series, Don Burtless, founder of local food and restaurant blog Buffalo Eats, submitted his list. Beginning morning, Buffalo Eats will launch their own best of 2012 coverage.
The way I enjoy and experience food is pretty close to the way I enjoy and experience music. I have a couple standards that I'll always enjoy and love, but I get a real rush trying things that are new and exciting. I don't have a favorite restaurant or a favorite band, but that doesn't mean I ever stop trying to find one.
I really enjoyed 2012 in music, I found some new artists who I really enjoy and attended a couple concerts for groups that I've wanted to see for a long time.
Here's my "Top 10 Favorite Music-related things from 2012" (in no order)....
1. Wild Nothing's Nocturne - I really really enjoyed their debut album Gemini and thought their EP Golden Haze was near perfect. So when I saw they were releasing a new album this year, I was really excited and nervous. It's been rare for me to enjoy sophomore releases, the lead track 'Shadow' is one of my top 5 singles of the year.
2. Sigur Ros live at Echo Beach - I've wanted to see Sigur Ros live for over 10 years. Since I first listened to ( ) and couldn't comprehend what I was hearing, it was my goal to see them live at least once. It wasn't the empty church setting that I've dreamed about, but standing on a beach on a gorgeous summer night in one of my favorite cities works too.The way I enjoy and experience food is pretty close to the way I enjoy and experience music. I have a couple standards that I'll always enjoy and love, but I get a real rush trying things that are new and exciting. I don't have a favorite restaurant or a favorite band, but that doesn't mean I ever stop trying to find one.
I really enjoyed 2012 in music, I found some new artists who I really enjoy and attended a couple concerts for groups that I've wanted to see for a long time.
Here's my "Top 10 Favorite Music-related things from 2012" (in no order)....
3. Signing Up for Spotify Premium - This isn't exactly something new, people have been signing up for similar services for years now. But I didn't realize how awesome it would be to have such a large music selection at my finger tips. I've downloaded less "free" music and have listened to older bands that I've always wanted to try (Dinosaur Jr has been a fun discovery). It's changed the way I've discovered new (and old) music. Now if they can just stream higher quality music and fix all of their horribly incorrect data, then it will be perfect.
4. Japandroids' Celebration Rock - I love this album. It's just fun and
5. Childish Gambino live at Town Ballroom - Don't let the comedian/actor frontman fool you, his album Camp was pretty damn good. His live show lived up to his album, the crowd was really into it and the energy/performance was great.
6. Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city - I've only been listening to this album for the last couple of weeks, but it's some of the best hip hop I've heard in years. 'Swimming Pools', 'Poetic Justice' and 'Backseat Freestyle' have been on constant repeat since I downloaded this album.
8. Drake live at Darien Lake - This might seem like a joke but this show was legit. His album last year was one of my favorites and his stage show was over the top, but in an entertaining way. Sure the crowd was lacking and watching 12 year old white suburban girls say the n-word was disappointing but I still enjoyed Drake's performance.
9. Passion Pit's Gossamer - When I started listening to this album stream on NPR, I was sure that I'd hate this album. Their first album had great singles but I could never continuously listen through the album. This album grew on me like crazy, 'I'll Be Alright' is great and the Pitchfork profile got me sucked in even more. I might not listen to the album next year, but it definitely dominated a large portion of 2012.
10. Cloud Nothing's Attack On Memory - My biggest regret of 2012 (music wise) was not going to see them perform at the Ninth Ward. I wasn't familiar with Cloud Nothings before this year, but this album sold me. I love the simplicity and for some reason their sound on this album reminds me of some of the old emo bands I loved in high school (Sunny Day Real Estate, Appleseed Cast) but with more energy and grit. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get another shot to see them live.
4. Japandroids' Celebration Rock - I love this album. It's just fun and
sometimes that's all I really want. This is another album that really elevated the band from their debut, another rare feat. I don't like to run or work out much, but if I did this would be my go to 'energy' album.
5. Childish Gambino live at Town Ballroom - Don't let the comedian/actor frontman fool you, his album Camp was pretty damn good. His live show lived up to his album, the crowd was really into it and the energy/performance was great.
6. Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city - I've only been listening to this album for the last couple of weeks, but it's some of the best hip hop I've heard in years. 'Swimming Pools', 'Poetic Justice' and 'Backseat Freestyle' have been on constant repeat since I downloaded this album.
7. Listening to more local music - As I've gotten to know the crew at buffaBLOG over the years, I've really tried to pay more attention to what's going on in my backyard. This year I made a conscious effort to really listen to more local music, check out bandcamp/sound cloud pages and keep a close look at the blog. Whether it's listening to Early Attic, Dr. Ooo, Lazlo Hollyfeld or All Blondes Go To Heaven, I've been very impressed with what I've heard.
8. Drake live at Darien Lake - This might seem like a joke but this show was legit. His album last year was one of my favorites and his stage show was over the top, but in an entertaining way. Sure the crowd was lacking and watching 12 year old white suburban girls say the n-word was disappointing but I still enjoyed Drake's performance.
9. Passion Pit's Gossamer - When I started listening to this album stream on NPR, I was sure that I'd hate this album. Their first album had great singles but I could never continuously listen through the album. This album grew on me like crazy, 'I'll Be Alright' is great and the Pitchfork profile got me sucked in even more. I might not listen to the album next year, but it definitely dominated a large portion of 2012.
10. Cloud Nothing's Attack On Memory - My biggest regret of 2012 (music wise) was not going to see them perform at the Ninth Ward. I wasn't familiar with Cloud Nothings before this year, but this album sold me. I love the simplicity and for some reason their sound on this album reminds me of some of the old emo bands I loved in high school (Sunny Day Real Estate, Appleseed Cast) but with more energy and grit. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get another shot to see them live.
~Don Burtless
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