Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012. Show all posts
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — 0 comments

buffaBLOG's Best of 2012: Staff Picks - James Wild


It was really hard for me to pick favorites this year. Though I agree with both Mac and Steve G. that this year lacked by comparison in quantity of good albums and good songs, the quality of music produced this year, I believe, reached new heights. When it comes to choosing albums, songs, and shows what are the boundaries? Are there any? I listen to Mixtapes, EPs, whatever. Can an EP count as an album? Shut up. OK there a few things I tried to abide by. One being that my "Favorite Shows" are my favorite shows that I saw in Buffalo in 2012--this is buffaBLOG after all. Everything else are my real favs. There are a few surprises. Here is the music that aroused me in 2012.

Favorite Albums of 2012

1. Beach House - Bloom
Bloom topped many people's "best-of" lists in 2012, This haunting and epic portrait of life I did not fully comprehend until seeing Beach House live at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. After gluing the live translation of this work into my brain went on repeat in my earbuds. Earbuds didn't do it justice. The music on this album is so rich and so beautiful, that it would be hard for even an armadillo to ignore. This needs to be listened to at a high quality level. It makes a difference. Bloom speaks to me more than Beach House's last album Teen Dream. Not the soupy lyrics--but how the sound speaks to me-- how the guitar cries out to my heart!  I think something that you can listen to and enjoy from start to finish is what makes a great album. Bloom is enjoyed fully only after side B plays all the way through, and you hear the needle bumping the bridge of the record.

2. Purity Ring - Shrines

Perhaps one of my most memorable moments at Mohawk Place was talking with Megan James and Corin Roddick of Purity Ring after their show in August 2011. They were so energized and wanting to talk with the small crowd after the show. Since then they have received much deserved attention. When Shrines came out I had already heard just about every song on it. Their debut album was mostly the songs I was already too familiar with. So why did it not detract anything from me liking it? Because it is of thoughtful composition. A great album celebrates the process of evoking emotion from the listener. Shrines is another album from 2012 that does that for me. 


3. Phèdre - PHÈDRE
The most known unknown. Phèdre is a mysterious Toronto based "band" that unleashed this sexually imbued music as their debut, and it is truly one of my favorites from this year. The songs are short. There aren't that many. Phèdre drowns pop music in a vat of red wine and gold glitter.  The feeling I get when listening to this is comparable to the same bit of glory that occurs when doing a tiny bump of K after a long night of using MDMA, which I'll never ever do again Mom.  Often when I hear "In Decay" I find myself erect as if Zoey Deschanel was nibbling on my earlobe. 


Honorable Mention:

The Game - Jesus Piece
Though only a few weeks old, this was the rap album I was waiting for! I really liked releases from 2 Chainz, and Kendrick, and Rick Ross this year, but none of them were comparable to this as a FULL album. This is the type of Hip-Hop album that I listened to in high school, provocative story telling. It has everything you could ask for. For me it was a toss-up between this and 2 Chainz-Based on a T.R.U. Story. I chose this because I knew it would turn some heads, just as it turned my head when I first heard it only a few weeks ago. The Game basically admits to knowing who killed Biggie on the album. He doesn't snitch, but he is extremely deliberate about everything. Consider that the only thing I really relate to is defining one's own character. I have never driven a phantom before.



Favorite Songs of 2012

1. Major Lazer - "Original Don" (Flosstradamus Remix)
This was the song...er...track that started it all. I mean the Fosstradamus remix. In my opinion it started the Trap<->EDM movement that flourished this year. I happened to like the original  Major Lazer song too, but this remix literally took over and was played at every hip dance party. Admittedly it lost it's luster as it became overplayed. And the "Damn son, where'd you find this?" sample got to be downright annoying, but the impact that this song had on an entire movement that is still going on is undeniable.



2. 2 Chainz - "I'm Different"
Truly my favorite song of the year. 2 Chainz basically explains to the world why he is unique. The way that he raps is idiosyncratic. "I'm Different" is a shinning example of that.



3. Girl Unit - "Club Rez & Ensemble" (Club Mix)
Girl Unit is more known for their more bassy singles. When they put out the Club Rez EP this year I was delighted. To any lover of EDM music I urge you to listen. There is a cacophany of styles and sounds in these two particular songs is so well thought out. "Club Rez" takes me to a nightclub in my fantasy land. It is the type of song that makes you raise your head and hands towards the sky in a direct connection with the gods. And "Ensemble" is equally as hair raising, from the dancefloor of a celestial discotheque.





Favorite Show of 2012

2 Chainz at Town Ballroom on December 3, 2012
Every time I see a Hip-Hop show I always set the bar very low. There's too many variables, shitty sound, bad mics, arrogant performers. 2 Chainz put on the best Hip-Hop show I have seen in Buffalo. He commanded the stage like a good actor. Esentially he is an actor. Maybe that's why I like him so much, because of what a charachter he is. That night's performance was intelligent and catered to Buffalo. Per his instagram and twitter he seems to genuinely enjoy and put in the effort needed for his performances, and he certainly did so for Buffalo that evening.

I was so blessed to see so much good live music this year. I even got to see the Lumineers in front of a packed small crowd at Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto at NXNE, and now they're nominated for two Grammys including Best New Artist! Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago was absolutely amazing. But the best part about this year is how much local music scene is bubbling. Seeing and hearing bands and DJs do their thing in their city is so gratifying for Buffalo and for all of us. Here's to good fortune, good health, and good music in the next year!
james wild
, , , , , — 0 comments

Calling All Hardy Boys and Nancy Drews: GRAMMY Mysteries


After surveying the list of nominees for 2012, the strangeness of the 55th annual GRAMMYs’ selections were instantly striking. Were the nominations inspired by critical consensus, Billboard popularity, or merely personal voter taste? And why did it seem, as in years past, that the judges were unaware of the actual year the music they selected was from? Why, again, were the options for Best New Artist comprised of artists who had already released records years before? Just what are the GRAMMYs out to celebrate and who are they hoping to appeal to?

 Mystery #1: The Case of the Same Sound, Different Genre

 El Camino by the Black Keys is a groovy joyride of an album. It’s more than licensed to drive on the GRAMMYs’ highways. The Album of the Year nominee was released, however, in December of 2011. Furthermore, the Black Keys previously were categorized by the GRAMMYs as an alternative act, winning Best Alternative Music Album for Brothers (bafflingly beating out Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs for the award although The Suburbs were handed Album of the Year). They are now in the running for Best Rock Album and were not considered for Best Alternative Music Album, though Tom Waits, rarely classified as “alternative,” was. Additionally, Jack White’s White Stripes-sounding solo release was labeled as a Rock Album, despite the White Stripes’ consistent placement in the Alternative Music category. Has the alternative genre been reconsidered by the Recording Academy for sociological reasons or do the changes reflect some other form of enigmatic politicking that subtly serves record sales?

 Mystery #2: The Case of the Rapidly Aging Definition of “New”

 Last year, Bon Iver was notably given the award for Best New Artist. In the year prior, Esperanza Spalding beat out Justin Bieber for the same commendation. In both cases though, Bon Iver and Spalding had popular careers and followings established long before being declared “new.” For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver was a massive hit in 2008. Bon Iver received his Best New Artist award for Bon Iver, Bon Iver in 2011. This year, fun. are up for Best New Artist, in spite of debuting an LP in 2009, while most of their fellow nominees are blatant 2011 acts. Is “new” now defined by when members of the Recording Academy have heard of a band? And if so, how had they not heard of these bands if they are touted as industry experts?

 Mystery #3: The Case of the Hat-Picked Nominees

 According to besteveralbums.com’s calculations, based on critical lists the most acclaimed albums of 2012 were Bloom by Beach House, Blunderbuss by Jack White, Channel Orange by Frank Ocean, good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar, and Shields by Grizzly Bear. The best-selling albums of 2012 released in 2012 were Red by Taylor Swift, Babel by Mumford & Sons, Tuskegee by Lionel Richie, Believe by Justin Bieber, and Blown Away by Carrie Underwood. Of the aforementioned albums, three were considered for Album of the Year (Blunderbuss, Channel Orange, and Babel). The other two selections, Some Nights and El Camino, were both highly successful chart-topping records. Acts like Beach House, Kendrick Lamar, and Grizzly Bear, however, were uniformly snubbed. None of this was unexpected.

 More unexpected and quite confusing are the nominee selections for nearly every other category. Critical darlings like Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike were omitted from Best Rap Album nominations. Mumford & Sons received a nomination for Best Americana Album despite being very very British and did not receive a nomination for Best Folk Album. Films like Midnight in Paris from early in 2011 were nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media alongside movies from midway through 2012. Music videos from albums nominated for GRAMMYs last year (such as Foster the People’s Torches) were given recognition. The Recording Academy appeared absolutely obsessed with “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson for no identifiably justified reasons, showering the track with three nominations. The difference between Song of the Year and Record of Year came across as puzzling as ever, apparently with the former focusing on quality lyrics. Which clearly explains why “Call Me Maybe” is nominated for Song of the Year but not Record of the Year, and “Thinkin Bout You” is nominated for Record of the Year but not Song of the Year.

 But who can unpack and unfurl the logic of the GRAMMY nominations? Who can penetrate the haze of their incoherent mysteries? Can the Recording Academy even explain them? Can you?




Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)