Best of 2013

Kentaro

Best 13 of 2013.  In alphabetical order.

Acid Mothers Temple & Space Paranoid - Black Magic Satori
Akimbo - Live to Crush
Bass Drum of Death - s/t
Crocodiles - Crimes of Passion
The Darling Downs - In the Days When the World Was Wide
Dirty Beaches - Waterpark OST
Dream Boys - s/t
The Fall - Re-Mit
Fuxa - Dirty D
My Blood Valentine - mbv
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away 
No Joy - Wait to Pleasure
Watutsi Zombie - WZ

EPs, Singles, Splits, Tapes, Reissues

The Clean - Vehicle Reissue
The Fall - 5 Albums Beggar's Banquet Reissues (The Frenz Experiment, I Am Curious Oranj, Hit The North, Singles, Seminal Live)
The Fall - The Remainderer EP
KING BROTHERS - Blood & Soul Tour-only CD Single
Pink Playground - Amethyst Milk Tapes Vols. 1-3
Pink Playground/ Circle Hour split
Snoy EP 7" Reissue
V/A - Yellow Loveless

Keith

Top Eight New-To-Me Media of 2013

Because five is too little and ten is too many. I did more than just listen to music and read comics this year so there are multiple lists.

Music:

1. Deathspell Omega - Kénôse & Paracletus

2. Split Enz - True Colours

3. João Gilberto (1973) - João Gilberto

4. Drexcia - Neptune's Lair

5. Big Star - Discography

6. Pete Swanson - Man With Potential

7. Expo 70 - Where Does Your Mind Go

8. Enya - Enya

Movies:

1. 1960s Trilogy (Days of Being Wild, In the Mood for Love & 2046) - Wong Kar-wai

2. Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick

3. Nostalghia - Andrei Tarkovsky

4. Angst - Gerald Kargl

5. Red Desert - Michelangelo Antonioni

6. Bob the Gambler - Jean Pierre Melville

7. Mister Lonely & Spring Breakers - Harmony Korine 

8. Detropia - Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady

Novels:

1. 334 - Thomas M. Disch

2. Three Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez

3. The Motion of Light in Water & Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany

4. V. - Thomas Pynchon

5. The Broken Sword - Poul Anderson

6. Crash & High Rise -  J. G. Ballard

7. Bridge Trilogy - William Gibson

8. When We Were Orphans - Kazuo Ishiguro

Comics:

1. Metabarons - Alejandro Jodorowsky & Juan Giménez  

2. Bread and Wine - Samuel R. Delany

3. Corto Maltese - Hugo Pratt

4. Megg and Mogg - Simon Hanselmann

5. Private Eye - Marcos Martin & Brian K. Vaughan

6. Pompeii - Frank Santoro

7. You Are There, It Was the War of the Trenches & West Coast Blues - Jacques Tardi

8. Grandville - Bryan Talbot

Tim B

Movies of 2013:

Upstream Color

Books of 2013:

My Struggle Volume Two, Karl Ove Knausgaard

Best Hummus of 2013:

Butternut Squash and Scallion 

Best Soup:

Red Lentil and Tamarind

Albums of 2013

Self Titled, Radioactivity
             
 I could have told you that this was my favorite album of the year without hearing it.  Jeff Burke writes songs that just do it for me. They are fast, poppy, clever, sappy, and introspective.

 Inhumanistic, Mind Spiders
              
This album relies more on synthesizers and drum machines than their past albums. It is also the most science fiction themed, and also the most rocking album they’ve made. Aesthetically, this band is perfect. They write smart, dark garage rock songs influenced by Devo and science fiction movies.

Embracism, Kirin J. Calinan

This album goes back and forth between kind of abrasive, industrial sounding songs, to synth-pop songs.  While I prefer the synth-pop songs this whole thing is great. Calinan’s voice is impressive and his lyrics are surprising.

Love In Arms, Gabriel Bruce

 I’m a sucker for pop music sung by dudes with deep voices. He sings like Leonard Cohen, or Nick Cave, but his jams are catchy and totes dancey.  Also, he’s got enviable dance moves.

MCII, Mikal Cronin
              
Based on his association with Ty Segall, I expected this to be a reverb drenched, rowdy garage rock album.  I did not expect a straight up power-pop album. It was a welcome surprise, and one I wish occurred more often.
  
True EP, Solange
              
This is only seven songs long, so I don’t know if it belongs on the list.  However, this is great pop music.

Cupid Deluxe,  Blood Orange

I don’t know, this dude reminds me of Prince. He combines a lot of different things, but maintains a distinct sound. The songs are relaxed and always satisfying. 

The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, Neko Case
              
I don’t think this is Neko Case’s best album, and I don’t think she’s trying anything new. If someone asked me what album to listen to by Neko Case I would not say this album, but I’ve always liked her voice and lyrics and this album is great simply for providing me with more of both.

Floating Coffin, Thee Oh Sees

One weekend a friend and I went to see this band in Montana. We got lost, killed a raccoon drove for eight and one half hours, locked the keys in our car and missed all but the last song.  The song they played was “Minotaur” from this album. At the time I thought it the best Thee Oh Sees song I’d ever heard. Now I consider “Floating Coffin” the best Thee Oh Sees album I ever heard. 

The Hunt Begins, The Hunt

Nearly every year when the weather starts to get cold I start listening to post-punk. Then one day I said to myself, I said, “I wish there was a post-punk band that sounded kind of like Interpol, but maybe with a little bit less production and a little bit more aggression.” Surely there are tons of bands that fit that description, but because it’s a genre, or sub-genre, or whatever that I’m not particularly familiar with, I didn’t know of any. Somehow that day I stumbled upon this band/album and it pretty satisfied my craving. The Interpol comparison might be unfavorable, uninformed, and unfair to The Hunt, but whatever. This album is, like, hella cool. 

Honeys, Pissed Jeans

Run Fast,  The Julie Ruin

Dogboss

1. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

2. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

3. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

4. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

5. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

6. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

7. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

8. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

9. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

10. Sepultura Beneath the Remains

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f36RkDbQFlA

Cole

This list goes to 11:

1. Bongripper/Conan - Split

              http://bongripper.bandcamp.com/album/bongripper-conan-split

              http://thequietus.com/articles/11743-conan-bongripper-split

              One track from each artist, comprised of minimalist, heavy, ridiculously down-tuned doom.

2. Conan - Mount Wrath: Live at Roadburn 2012

              http://burningworldrecords.bandcamp.com/album/conan-mount-wrath-live-at-roadburn-2012

              Conan’s sets on two separate days at Roadburn Fest. The live tone and performance really sets this release apart from some of their others.

3. Spider Kitten - Cougar Club

              http://spiderkitten.bandcamp.com/album/cougar-club

              Psychedelic and heavy, with almost Bowie-esque vocals sometimes.

4. Light Bearer - Silver Tongue

              http://lightbearer.bandcamp.com/album/silver-tongue-2

              Just some more good atmospheric post metal from the UK.

5. MakingFuck - S/T

              http://makingfuck.bandcamp.com/

              Featuring members of (possibly-defunct) Nine Worlds from SLC. Slow and sludgy, with a cello in place of bass.

6. Nonsun - Sun Blind Me

              http://nonsun.bandcamp.com/album/sun-blind-me

              Slow, heavy doom and drone.

7. Oxtongue - Where the Light is Mute

              http://oxtongue.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-light-is-mute

              Minimal, crushing, angry, etc.

8. TENTACLE - Ingot Eye

              http://tentacle666.bandcamp.com/album/ingot-eye

              Sounds like some sort of procession sometimes. Fuzzed-out doom with distraught vocals the rest of the time.

9. Vestiges/Panopticon - Split

              http://wearevestiges.bandcamp.com/album/vestiges-panopticon-split

              Blackened/atmospheric/post/black metal all around.

10. Vit - The Dry Season

              http://vitmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-dry-season

              Black metal with bits of folk and deranged accordion interspersed.

11. Windhand - Soma

              http://windhandva.bandcamp.com/album/soma

              Some good traditional doom. Great tone, riffs, vocals. Just a good doom album.

 

Internet Comment

Violent Future

DISLICH on CVLT NATION

Het Dummy,

Dislich was being put on CVLT NATION becuz why not? They are smart for and are doing a The Misfits cover album. Album: Earth A.D.

We are Doing "Hell Hound" from that et al.

We are also doing another song for that, idiot. That one you can't know for yet. It the bon(er)us. Don't be stupid. You hear it.

Cvlt Nation also write one thing about us: http://www.cvltnation.com/dislich-stone-guardian-review/ and we are to think thatis the coolest. Thanks friend ones!

You will check this out. I will repost for you later. its Gonna have that link you know. This is one update.

Dislich is fast and approaching a mess, maybe a van, we hit a dear in Pullman. The radiator broke. We have some new songs, and our "set 2" is almost done and stuff. This means a new album. Our albums are our sets. The new album will have...: more d-beat. You don't like d-beating? Fuck you. We like it more. Don't push me.

My future is in an oblong box.

SCUZ anagram?: SUCZ thus, SCUZ SUCZ.

Smuts Cassettes

http://controlforce.bandcamp.com/album/demo

I somehow ended up with a dozen Smuts Demo cassettes. I thought they were all gone. If you want one I'll just charge you shipping. Or if you're around Seattle I'll give you one:

ctrlforce@gmail.com

FIRE!!!!!!!!

Fuuuuuuuuck...

Ian Patrick Corrigan

Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

Favorite Albums 2013

It's almost X-mas in July, which is my official halfway through the year marker, so here's the list of my favorite new-to-me albums I've gotten into in the first half of 2013, in mostly reverse chronological order. I've also been purposefully re-listening to a lot of old favorites I haven't heard in years, but that could be its own list:

João Gilberto - João Gilberto (the 1973 one)
Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch
Teenage Fanclub - Songs From Northern Britain
Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque
Pete Swanson - Man With Potential
Junior Murvin - Police and Thieves
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Split Enz - True Colours
Razor - Evil Invaders
Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
Violent Future - Demo
Naomi Punk - The Feeling
Steve Roach - Structures From Silence

New Vipe

Here's one of the new Vipe songs with bass, drums, and one track of guitar. I think it sounds pretty sick. Ryan and I recorded bass and drums for ten of the songs a couple months ago and now Ian and Ryan are adding guitar to those and recording guitar and drums for six more.

Pseudo Youth Demo

(Click the pic for the link.)

Tim and I recorded this a few months back when I was living in Boise and he came down to visit. I finished mixing it this afternoon. It's just three fairly short songs.

We were trying to make pop rock songs that didn't sound like Tim Blood while still doing a lot of the things we like about pop rock that happened to be part of Tim Blood. I guess the most noticeable difference is the drum machine and keyboard. We always talked about having an organ player in Tim Blood but it never happened so this was kind of fun.

As a "real" release I wouldn't be happy with it, but as a demo I think it's nice. If anything else ever happens with this "band" it'll happen really slowly.

Panther Force Possessed By Metal

Recent Bandcamp search "buzz".

Clyde Webb, Blah Blah, Vipe, Blah Blah

I can't sleep so here's an update. 

I'm moving again. Maybe some more music will come out of it. I've been breaking my rule about being prolific. 

I've been working occasionally on a post about 10 albums I think are "near perfect". I might never finish it but having the list is nice. More importantly:

http://clydewebb.bandcamp.com/album/into-it-im-growing-up

I'm surprised no one has talked about this already. Clyde "went electric" and made an album with Ryan in Moscow a few months ago. I think Ryan took a bunch of pics he might post when he has time. It's definitely his best yet. I played a few of the songs with him in "Clyde Webb and the Seans" a year ago or so. It was a lot of fun but when we tried to record it turned out terrible. This album sounds way better than we ever did. Also a lot of the songs I heard every night on the summer tour we did together but they sound way better electric. I'm just rambling but really I'm just glad it was made so I can listen to it. To me it's easily the best thing he's ever done and that's exciting.

Feel free to not read any of the rest of this:

There's new Vipe stuff in the works. I have to mention it occasionally so I don't forget about it or something and also to get other people excited about it. Ian and I have written about 15 or so songs. Vipe was the easiest and surprisingly most satisfying musically overall of any band I've ever done. There was plenty of difficulty getting stuff to work but I always thought the music worked too easily well and came off sounding how we wanted. It always felt like we were pushing ourselves without any of the baggage that sometimes comes with that. Getting along and getting the recordings together was always a stressful hassle but whatever.

My songs are mostly from stuff that was initially written for other projects but came out sounding like Vipe songs more than anything. Actually I don't know how much they sound like Vipe as much as they were written in the Vipe frame of mind. Once I decided they were Vipe songs they changed a bit. I don't know, they were written all over the place and are kind of varied but to me they sound super cohesive. Who knows, varied and cohesive probably mean different things in my mind than they do to someone else's ears. I also have some ideas for more jammy parts which we never did as much as I think we might have wanted to. Either way, lot's of blast beats and 4/4 so, you know, rock and roll. 

Ian wrote six songs a year ago or so. I think he wrote a few more that turned into a couple Smuts songs and maybe something else. Either way the six songs sound to me like more extreme versions of his stuff from the Downsided split. But they're also weirder in a different way. I'll have to just see how they come together.

I don't know when it'll get started and it will probably be a year after that when it gets finished at the rate stuff's been going. It also might end up being two releases depending on how it goes recording. If it happens it will probably be a continuation of the first two recordings but maybe more removed. As in more dissimilar from the second recording than the second was from the first. Mostly because of the amount of time between them. It's like I (and I assume everyone else) has already had ideas for a hundred new recordings instead of the dozen or so between the first two. 

I feel like musically Vipe was always solid but the recordings always turned out weird and were recorded under kind of strange, stressful circumstances. Or maybe the circumstances were normal but the way we came at the music was different? I think the circumstances this time are going to be a lot stranger. With the bands I've been in, most of the time we each record our parts days or weeks apart from each other but have practiced together quite a bit before recording. The last Tim Blood wasn't that way cause we weren't all in the same town and I don't think this new Vipe will be either cause we're even more spread out. 

Despite everything I feel like if it happens it will be the best thing we've done. I have too many ideas and trust everyone too much for it to not come together well. If the genre concept for the first recording was "hardcore and skate punk" and the concept for the second one was "post punk, proto grind and skate punk" then the concept for this is maybe "thrash, screamo, jangly alternative, grind and skate punk... and hardcore".

Just A Couple Updates

New stuff up on the Control Force Bandcamp page!!

http://controlforce.bandcamp.com/

Dishlich's demo and both Smuts releases. Just some aggressive rock music. Dislich played their first two shows with Smuts in Moscow and Spokane on Monday and Tuesday. They'll probably end up being Smuts last two shows. It was a fun time of reunions.

I'll let someone in Dislich write about their demo. It's Ryan from most Control Force bands, Sol from Cougar LS, Crue from Swellbows and Joe and Mellisa who have been living at the CTRLFORCE HQ for a couple years now. You probably know all these people if you're reading this. Sick grinding rock.

The Smuts Demo has been on a Smuts Bandcamp since January but I finally put it on the Control Force page. The newest Smuts EP was recorded for our mini tour which ended up only being in Olympia, Moscow and Spokane. It's five new songs that were originally gonna be part of an 18 song full length. I'm glad we decided to record the songs we'd learned as a tour ep cause it'll never happen now. There's one unfinished outtake from recording that's just missing vocals. It might get put up someday. Who knows what will happen to the rest of the songs that were written. Also the best thing about it is the Master of Disguise cover art by Cle.

There might be some old releases put on the Bandcamp page in the next couple days and some new recordings of old songs that never got finished are in the works.