I've never been one for carving skateboards -- mainly because we have no hills in Columbus -- but this thing looks really fun. Let's see if they'll send me a demo...
Artist: The Blue Van Track: "Silly Boy" Album:Man Up Listen
Nice try, Samsung. I will never buy your phone -- any phone for that matter -- yet I thought about it because of the cool song you included in recent commercials for the Behold model.
Contrary to popular belief around my apartment, the song was not by Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale, who has said he plans to continue that band with other band mates. No, this is the lead single from a new album by The Blue Van, talented rock dudes from Denmark. Good track, this one.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will host its 44th Annual Winter Hike at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17. The guided trek (with refreshments!) follows the six-mile path from Old Man's Cave to Ash Cave, two of Hocking Hills State Park's most amazing resources. [Hike details]
Most know of the region -- but don't know much about it. To be honest, I wasn't that familiar with the most popular attractions before this weekend, when I organized a sightseeing tour with some friends. We hit Old Man's Cave, Conkle's Hollow and Rock House.
Check out the photos below for a glimpse into the beautiful region and its peculiar geology. Look for a full preview of the annual hike in Thursday's Alive.
This is a dynamic record that, in hindsight, should've been on my year-end albums list you have been voraciously reading. This song in particular is a gem of a dancer -- poignant, groovy and far deeper than it needs to be. It's as if the band wants to dance through sadness: The beat comes in waves, the cries linger in the background and soon you're shaking it to forget.
10 Beck Modern Guilt Listen
Not since the Dust Brothers produced Odelay has a producer worked so well with Beck. This time around, the Scientologist enlisted Danger Mouse, half of Gnarls Barkley and creator of the infamous mash-ups of The Gray Album. This time around, the result is a gritty rock album that expertly mixes Beck's outhouse folk sound with subtle electronic underlays.
9 Moon High Moon High Listen
For days, I couldn't get past "Gathering Song," which Chris DeVille and I featured on Alive: Amplified, the paper's 2009 local music comp. Once I did, much more unfolded: a quiet album of folk from a very promising Columbus group. The songs are soothing, soft and expertly played -- a folk album for those often turned off by the freakier things modern folk-rock groups are doing.
8 Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes Listen
What can be said about this album has been already: It's a lush, magnificent record about pastoral things that uses the power of vocal harmony better than anyone since The Roches.
7 The Bug London Zoo Listen
Five times through this record, your life seems lame, slow and somewhat square compared to the fiery things going on in London. Producer Kevin Martin enlisted an A-list of emcees and toasters at the cutting edge of deep house, dancehall and British hyperdub: noisy, layered genres that come clash together with the energy of the snottiest-nosed punk. It's the sound of getting messed up on cough syrup then struck by lightning.
6 Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago Listen
Justin Vernon, the man behind Bon Iver, is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. So, you know, hooray for Eau Claire. Expect a thriving scene of delicate singer-songwriters to emerge in the wake of this absolutely fantastic album I'm sure to play if I ever find a girlfriend cheating on me with my best friend. Vernon chooses sparse arrangements for much of this record, and his bare-bones, I'm-recording-by-myself-in-a-cabin approach serves to highlight the songs' rich literary depth and almost uncomfortable intimacy.
Music madness continues with my 20 favorite albums. Look for the top crop Friday. Have a great New Year's Eve. If you're looking for something to do, DeVille and I will be joining the Drowsy Lads for a show at Claddaugh Irish Pub in the Brewery District.
20. Pennywise Reason to Believe Listen
Besides its affiliation with MySpace Records, the main argument against this record from the SoCal skate-punk standby is that it sounds like every album they've released so far. (Purists will say it doesn't sound as edgy as About Time, but the thinking is, "Yeah, dude, this is kind of the same stuff.") Well, I've loved their previous albums. I don't fear change -- but I don't always need it. In similar fashion to Bad Religion's 2007 classic New Maps of Hell, Pennywise sounds re-energized on Believe. And that's a good thing.
19. The Epochs The Epochs Listen
"Thunder & Lightening," the name of the opening track, is exactly what you get on this solid indie-rock debut. It borrows from the arena-rock vocal and production style of Phil Collins, and that's OK.
18. Brightblack Morning Light Motion to Rejoin Listen
If you read this blog, you know the deal with this freak-folk outfit: Hippies take to the woods with some instruments and lots of grass and make sleepy, repetitive songs with beautiful, shimmering layers. This time around, all instruments were powered by solar. And they're even more obsessed with crystals. And rainbows. And something called "hologram buffalo."
17. Dengue Fever
Venus on Earth Listen
So much of pop music is based on shared experience that it's often hard to identify with -- and therefore enjoy -- songs sung in a foreign language. I guess that makes the eerie, cabaret rock of this Cambodian band all the more powerful for making the list. In her native tongue and English, vocalist Chhom Nimol alternates between lounge crooning and gut-wrenching wails, and the band draws heavily from indie, surf and out-there acts like Combustible Edison. Its power is never lost in translation.
16. Willits + Sakamoto Ocean Fire Listen
Even harder to understand than pop music from Cambodia is the work of Christopher Willits and Ryuichi Sakamoto, a pair of experimental musicians who teamed up to make an album that sounds, as the title implies, like slow-burning flames riding an endless ocean. At times it's so simple that it becomes almost excruciatingly complex. It twists, turns, reforms and then sits in peace. It's not one to bump in the car -- or anywhere people are around to bother you -- but few albums have as much vitality.
Here are the best songs of the year. Tomorrow and Thursday, look for the top 20 albums. Also, DeVille's got plenty of music stuff on his blog.
10. R. Kelly
“Hair Braider” Hair Braider single Listen
Kelly seduces the woman who braids his hair, then sings about it. His genius lies in an ability to create hit singles with a smooth beat, that unmistakable saccharine voice and the minutia of his very bizarre life.
9. Brightblack Morning Light
“Hologram Buffalo” Motion to Rejoin Listen
This hippie duo changed little from their 2006 debut, and that’s fine by me. Literally billowing from your speakers, this freak-folk chorus of guitars, organs, drums and chants is as calm as a swinging hammock, as intoxicating as a pre-surgery morphine haze.
8. Dizzee Rascal
“Dance wiv Me”
Dance wiv Me single Listen
Rascal’s at his most groundbreaking when his vocals and back-alley beats are nearly indecipherable, but this foray into electronic dance hits with disco-centric Calvin Harris will thrill clubs on both sides of the pond.
7. Lil Wayne
“I’m Me”
The Leak EP Listen
Most oscillate about the overall strength of Wheezy F. Baby’s full-length Tha Carter III, but there’s no questioning this EP. “I’m Me” has everything memorable about the Cash Money star: epic synthesized beats; gravel-throated boasts; and a dark, creeping sense of dread.
6. Fleet Foxes
“White Winter Hymnal” Fleet Foxes Listen
Very much a hymn, it’s lush in all the right ways, beautiful where it needs to be and perfectly played throughout. The band’s debut is required for anyone fond of folk, rock and the delightful things in between.
20. The Epochs
"Thunder & Lightning" The Epochs Listen
Yeasayer took the weirder, worldlier parts of Genesis to new heights in 2007. This year, The Epochs borrowed from the band's next era -- namely the stark, stadium styling of Phil Collins. This is a bombastic opener to a solid rock record.
19. Katy Perry
“I Kissed a Girl” One of the Boys Listen
I'm assuming that I adore Katy Perry the way my dad might've liked Joan Jett: a really hot chick who's kind of goofy but makes good records. Everyone heard this record, and everyone danced to it. Some, like me, even in public.
18. Beck
"Orphans" Modern Guilt Listen
Beck's more popular single, "Gamma Ray," will show up on more year-end lists. But this opener bears the hallmarks of the Danger Mouse production that made this record great and proves my favorite Scientologist shows no signs of slowing down.
17. The Hold Steady
“Sequestered in Memphis” Stay Positive Listen
As fun as it is to see The Boss, I wasn't there in the beginning and, thus, will never be able to fully appreciate what it means to sing along with "Born to Run." Instead, I have The Hold Steady. And that's fine with me.
16. The Kills
“U.R.A. Fever” Midnight Boom Listen
When The Velvet Underground tore into audiences with White Light/White Heat, the idea was to destroy popular romances of rock, sex, drugs and New York City. The Kills, on the other hand, make wearing skintight leather and being strung out sound kind of fun. Hats off to this duo for using a telephone ring as a beat and not sounding lame.
I'll be going home later today to see my family for Christmas. Blogging will be sporadic at best for the rest of the week. Next week, though, is the mother lode: the 20 best singles and 20 best albums of the year, complete with links, pics and reviews.
Just to whet your appetite: My favorite album hasn't been mentioned in any year-end lists. I'll tell you why it should be all over the place.
Yesterday, assistant editor Melissa Starker brought in delicious baked goods. Today, this Christmas card from her and husband Bob, who's a top-notch graphic designer. The birth of Jesus re-imagined as a comic book-style war for the universe. This holiday season rules!
