Seasonal Music: A Farewell to Summer

Yesterday saw Flatted Third reach its highest pageviews per day since I started this thing, so I thought I would continue the trend of "Seasonal Music." There are only four shifts from season to season each year; I have to take advantage of it.

This list concerns saying goodbye to summer with some of my favorite tracks from the summer of 2012. Not all of these songs have been released this year, but they certainly will remind me of this past summer. I've decided to break them up into zany, wacky, crazy, bats in the belfry categories for fun, so I hope you guys enjoy!

Wait, Is This Still Metal: Baroness - "Little Things"

Yes, I guess it is - either way, I really enjoyed this track. There is little to no distortion on the guitars, coherent lyrics, and vocal harmonies, but it is definitely still metal - I don't know how else you could classify it. When I first heard Yellow & Green, I was confounded by it. I had no idea what to make of it, drawing me closer and warranting more and more listens. Gerry even wrote an excellent article about the state of metal concerning this record. By the end of the summer I had purchased the double LP and can say with confidence it will breach my year end list somewhere around the top 25. And man, oh man, that guitar solo at the end...

That Girl/Boy Won't Stop Bothering Me - I Told Her I Was Drunk: Joyce Manor - "Constant Headache"

Yeah, I know the self-titled album came out last year, but Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired came out this year and that's what drew my attention to the earlier release, so I don't know, suck a brick or something - the latter Joyce Manor record was mentioned in my "Albums You May Have Missed" article. "Constant Headache" is a great one night stand song, and it will hopefully send the message to that girl or boy who keeps bothering you. Summer flings are often volatile and misguided by hormones, so make sure you use protection!

Super Sped Up Party Montage: Dan Deacon - "True Thrush"

This song is just so much fun. I reviewed America and found it Deacon's most ambitious album so far. The video is a load of fun, too, so make sure you don't just play the song and open another tab. It feels like a party in fast forward, an overload of instruments and chants flooding the ears. It's only fitting that I got the drunkest on the Fourth of July this summer and this is off of an album called America...or is that irony? I don't even know anymore.

The Best Rap Chatter: Danny Brown - "Bruiser Brigade feat. Dopehead"

This song is just straight shit-talking. I fucking love it. It's crass, hysterical, and features the best chatter in a song, maybe ever: "If you ain't pulling a nigga dick out, slapping yo' face wit' it, throwing this bitch in yo' mouth, sucking dicks with bubbles, fucking all night, and drinking protein shakes in the morning, get the fuck outta here!" I have screamed that countless times this summer. It is the perfect song to roll up to a random house party where most of you are already drunk, only because you didn't "forget the brew."

I Don't Have Any Plans, So I Think I'll Just Cruise: Das Racist - "Luv It Mayne (Featuring Fat Tony & Bo P)

With an infectious hook, excellent production and features, and the expected weird raps from Das Racist, "Luv It Mayne" is perfect to bump through your car speakers as you roll through the center of town. And the best part is screaming out "If gonna baaalllllllllooooooo" at random pedestrians - believe me, you have to try it.

Drunken Party Anthem: Chief Keef - "I Don't Like (feat. Lil' Reese)"

Let's face it, there's not much to this song. I do believe my friend thought the first thing Chief Keef doesn't like, in a litany of don't likeable things, was a "fart nigga." I don't care what he's saying because it's a lot more fun to make up what the two incoherent rappers don't like - A SHIP NIGGA THAT'S THAT SHIT I DON'T LIKE. The beat's pretty good, I guess; well, Kanye liked it enough to make a remix.

The Beach at Night, and Shit: Beach House - "Lazuli"

It's easy to pass off Beach House as the band that made the same album three times, but they're not bad albums, especially both Teen Dream and Bloom. You can practically hear the moonlight splash off the ocean in "Lazuli". I guess this song would also work as a companion on a rainy day you had beach plans on too, if you're into that sort of thing.

I Had Beach Plans, but Now It's Raining Out: Bear vs. Shark - "Baraga Embankment"

Yeah, I know it specifically says "pouring rain" in the song, but that doesn't discredit the dreary disappointment in the song. It also sounds like you were so upset your beach plans where cancelled that you lost faith and killed everyone in your house, but hey, we've all had those days, especially during the summer of 2012.

The Ninth Summer Song on This Playlist: Sonic Youth - "Plastic Sun"

The first live video, ruining what I had going on here, "Plastic Sun" is the quintessential anti-summer song. It's anything but poppy, which is perfect for those days where you want to just stay inside and brood. It's also a scathing comment on the pop acts of the early 2000s: always something I'm down to bump.

The Quintessential Anti-Summer Song: Andrew Jackson Jihad - "Hate, Rain on Me"

If you think I'm lying, then listen to the damn song. It opens with a beer cracking open and embraces hate. Sometimes, you just want to shoot the sun, ending all summer songs. And with the changing of seasons -- Emo is coming! -- it's perfect to say, "Fuck you, summer. Go away until I cannot bear the cold anymore. I'm emotional, and stuff."

So there it is: a farewell to summer. Goodbye, summer 2012, you have been nothing short of low expectations and mistakes.

Cross Section: Brand New and Crime In Stereo

For Long Island, no music scene was more fruitful than that which emerged in the late 90s and early 2000s. Bands like Bayside, Glassjaw and Taking Back Sunday found much - if a little undeserved - success a realm that, for whatever reason, reached past high school. Then there was the massive success that was Brand New. Ask nearly anyone who was in high school between 2002 and 2009, and they can easily list off their favorite Brand New cuts. Brand New’s success is no surprise. They started off with an above average pop-punk album and continually challenged themselves with each release in an effort to evolve. There was also the presence of Jesse Lacey, an oft frustrating front man who had a very contentious relationship with his fans. This relationship, I think, made the fans that much more rabid. While Lacey was known to be unwilling to give them an inch, his fans would go exponential lengths for him in an effort to gain attention. Mixed with the fertile soil that was the Long Island scene, it would have been more surprising if Brand New wasn’t a smash hit.

Residing in a hardcore corner unbeknownst to most whose introduction to Long Island was Your Favorite Weapon was melodic-hardcore band Crime In Stereo. Crime In Stereo was started by Alex Dunne; he was a member of post-hardcore band The Rookie Lot, in which Jesse Lacey played as well. Dunne chose to go the more aggressive route and Crime In Stereo quickly became a much adored Long Island Hardcore band. Brand New and Crime In Stereo’s career trajectory have many similarities. They both released four albums, one of each were genre-defying. They both challenged themselves continuously throughout their careers. They were both stalwarts of the mid 2000s punk scenes, in their respective scenes of course. So, two years after Crime In Stereo’s break-up and three years after Brand New’s final full-length release (by their own accord) which career holds up better to scrutiny? Let’s compare.

Freshman Album: Finding Sturdy Ground

Your Favorite Weapon: Released in October, 2001 this album is often cited as a crucial release, although upon relistening to it, I’m unsure why. The album starts off strong enough with “The Shower Scene,” a by the numbers angsty pop-punk song that, at least, is not embarrassing to listen to. From there, though…things get dicey. We have “Jude Law and A Semester Abroad,” a song that’s lyrically mysoginistic where victim blaming and violent images of women dying in plane crashes abound. “Mixtape” name drops the Smiths like (500) Days of Summer, but it’s somehow more annoying. “Last Chance to Lose Your Keys” is about masturbating but isn’t tongue in cheek? Curious. The only song I can really give kudos to is “70x7,” but even that is only because of the anecdotal evidence that Jesse Lacey absolutely hates that song. And if anyone ever says “Soco Amaretto Lime” is a good song but doesn’t mention the shit production, I’ll punch them in the dick.  So, generously, I’ll say “this album has not aged well at all.”

Explosives and The Will To Use Them: Similarly, Crime In Stereo’s first album is also their weakest, but not nearly as strikingly as Brand New. Explosives lives up to its name as  the album immediately kicks into gear with a gang shout “We’re all going to hell!” and then barrels through the next 12 songs in a blistering 28 minutes.  This album, while it slows down occasionally, never has an acoustic break (thank Christ) and packs a punch right up until “Arson At 563,” which demonstrates CIS’s knack for knowing exactly how to close an album. Here, you can even notice the staggering difference in lyrical content. Brand New obviously is hungup on ex-girlfriends and very contentious towards everything. Even though I’d assume that Crime In Stereo is the angrier of the two, Crime In Stereo’s lyrics exude a kind of waywardness towards their “trainwreck of a life.” They comment on more societal issues (“No Gold Stars for Nationalism”) where Brand New resigns to bitching about high school. This is a good album, but our own Kyle Murphy put it best when he called Explosives a “very good b-sides” record in the kitchen of the party that time we became friends.

Sophomore Record: Defining Genres

The Troubled Stateside: Like Brand New, Crime In Stereo’s sophomore release is easily their most revered amongst fans old and new. This defines Long Island melodic hardcore. Easily accessible yet unstoppably aggressive The Troubled Stateside takes stabs at everything from center to far-right republicans, lazy kids living off their parents money, and most importantly, the state of their own lives as a post-grad. The shotgun blast that is “Everything Changes Nothing Is Truly Lost” calls out faux-art students hiding from loan collectors. “Sudan” comments on the mundanity of suburban life, but somehow manages to remain captivating and relevant. That’s a lot harder to do that it sounds; there are few things more banal than the frustration of suburbia. Then, there’s the closing trifecta. “Dark Island City,” the pseudo instrumental into “For Exes,” arguably the best song they ever wrote, and then the grand finale “I, Stateside.” This album kills it, and many would argue that this album was when Crime In Stereo peaked. I wouldn’t disagree.

Deja Entendu: Let’s just get this out of the way: Deja Entendu is light-years better than Your Favorite Weapon in every way, shape, and form. It’s structured better, paced better, and sounds better. Similarly to The Troubled Stateside, it starts off with a short introduction track that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The tone is wholly different from that of Your Favorite Weapon; instead of angsty, the band comes off as resentful. But of whom? No longer of the girls that left Lacey masturbating on a Saturday night, but Brand New’s own fanbase. A friend of mine posited recently that Lacey has always been equally resentful of his fanbase and resentful of himself. By and large, Lacey’s music taste has always seemed more aimed towards indie rock, but here he is stuck making music for kids who listen to New Found Glory. His love of the Smiths, Modest Mouse, and Built to Spill is well known and you can spot the influence. However, his lyrics always seemed more directed than Morrisey’s devil-may-care English self-commiserating. Where Issac Brock’s song writing style is defined by his interpolation of American colloqiualisms, Lacey’s attempt at playing with idioms seems clumsy and he lacks the metrical sensibility (and guitar chops) of Doug Marsch. So, it’s no wonder that Lacey comes off as resentful in songs like “I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t.” But, where the previous angst stunted the song writing, it only helps the effort here. I also have to applaud Lacey’s use of challenging images here.  Perhaps one of the most complex allegories, the band constructs an uncomfortable five minutes describing a date rape from the point of view of the rapist: the events parallel a band being preyed on by a label. We’re also treated to the violent images of soldiers getting their throats slit in “Good To Know If I Ever Need Attention All I Have to Do Is Die.” Awful song title but great song. Unfortunately, once again Brand New falls short of Crime In Stereo in closing the album. Acoustic closers may do it for every one else, but I am partial to the idea of putting “Play Crack the Sky” before “Good To Know…” Like The Troubled Stateside, many people decree this as Brand New’s strongest effort. This time though, I think nostalgia is crippling people’s judgement.

Junior Record: Long Island Burns

The Devil And God Are Raging Inside of Me: Ah, the third record: always apt for a comeback from the sophomore slump, yes, but what happens when you’re second album didn’t flop? You experiment. Following a three-year break and nine leaked songs, Brand new finally released The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me in November 2006. The album was decidedly a departure from previous material. It was louder. More abrasive. More sinister. Often uncomfortable. Lacey and co. had moved into a time when their friends began to die and they began to grow even more resentful of their fanbase; evidenced as their playing of “Degausser” twice in a row at Bamboozle 2007. However, The Devil and God channeled all of that unrest into Brand New’s strongest record of their career.  First and foremost, this record is LOUD. Howling shrieks cascade into explosive wall of sounds. They continue to challenege themselves, taking chances with their songwriting structure and futher obfuscating their lyrical content. Some similar themes are still there (lost love in “Not The Sun”) but overall, everything about this album is stronger. My main complaint, once again, is the closing track. Do we really need an acoustic closer every album? Regardless, I do genuinely enjoy “Handcuffs,” but again, it would have fared better in the middle of the album. That decision notwithstanding, I feel The Devil and God is Brand New’s defining album of their career.

…Is Dead: Following in Brand New’s developmental footsteps, Crime In Stereo decided to attempt a departure from the melodic hardcore mold they had conquered previously. The roots of hardcore are still there, but overall the band’s scope is much larger. Do I dare refer to this album as “cerebral?” “XXXX” (For Exes, four x’s. Get it?) answers that rhetorical question right off the bat: pounding drums open the track and soon we’re hearing lead singer Kristian Hallbert pleading for a challenge. “Say I won’t” as if an entire mission statement for the album emerges in those three words. No sooner this soaks in are we thrust into the weird, decidedly druggy jam “…But You Are Vast,” and then as we blink and we’re smoking cigarettes for our first time to “Small Skeletal.” Like Brand New, this is an album that has burned an image into my mind permantely in “Unfortunate Tourists.” Post-coital sitting on the edge of a bed. An unfortunate tourist in an unforgiving foreign land. Personal thoughts aside, you have the faux-nostalgic “Nixon” (Brand New are you writing this down?) and then the creepy and quiet “Vicious Teeth.” The album does not end as powerfully as The Troubled Stateside did, but the “Orbiter”/ “Choker” combo is a strong one regardless. Now, can I definiteively say The Troubled Stateside is better than …Is Dead? Not at all. The Troubled Stateside is endlessly more accessible, true, but …Is Dead is challenging in all the right ways. Both are phenomenal albums.

Senior Record: Life's a Train Then You Die

I was trying to describe you to someone: I know the title was named after a poem, but it is a truly beautiful name for a record. My friend, however, likes to refer this album as “Live In Tokyo” because of the somewhat bizarre cover art. I was… is a very bizarre album. The sound is cohesive, no doubt, but there are some puzzling moments that still somehow work. “Queue modernes” kicks off the record, takes a cue (eh? See what I did there?) from Brand New with an ethereal ambiance that blows into a jam. There’s the closest thing to an acoustic to electric song Crime In Stereo ever released in “Young;” a song that’s brutal none the less. They don’t relent on political commentary (“Republica”), it’s just a bit more subtle than before. Perhaps a bit too much. The most confusing moment in the entire record is a cover of  their own “Dark Island City” that actually builds on the original and fits within the context of the album. Then Crime In Stereo puts forth the best closer they ever wrote; a perfect end to their career with “I Cannot Answer You Tonight.” It’s the only song on the record that harkens to their early days without compromising their sound. No other song even attempts it. Is this album a dissapointment? I loved it when it was released, but three years later I rarely spin it. I’d rather just listen to their earlier work. Sometimes when I’m sad I’ll throw on “Young,” or attempt to cheer myself up with “I cannot answer you tonight,” but when Crime In Stereo announced they were breaking up, there was a sense of calm about the announcement. They didn’t end on a high note, per se, but you could track their sound and their trajectory and Live In Tokyo had a sense of finality about.  Crime In Stereo Is Dead. Long Live Crime In Stereo.

Daisy: Another final (?) album that was the source of great controversy, Daisy actually packs one hell of a punch. The record is as loud as The Devil and God but way dirtier. If you had told me that the band that wrote “Sudden Death In Carolina” would open their fourth record with a sample from a 1920’s opera singer, I would have punched you right in the mouth. But then again, here we are. Like Crime In Stereo, Brand New was not content to stagnate. This record is often overlooked because it pretty much completely eschews everything that made Brand New likable. There are no catchy sing-alongs here. You can check your angst at the door; this is unadulterated anger and frustration now. What’s that? You’re too soft for a forty-five minute blitzkrieg of sound? Well…I guess they put Noro at the end of the record for you. If Brand New had released this under a different name, I’m sure the praise would have been unanimous. Alas, precedent cripples judgment once again and a solid album is overshadowed by its overzealous older brother.

Post Script: Conclusions Upon Graduating

Brand New and Crime In Stereo are seminal early 2000s bands. Without Brand New, we actually may have been spared a bunch godawful pop-punk bands. The reach of Crime In Stereo has yet to be determined. I have no doubt both will be cited as heavily influential in the coming years, but to what extent? When melodic hardcore inevitably comes back into the forefront, will people be name dropping Crime In Stereo offhand as much as they do Cap’n Jazz for Emo? Will Daisy be the impetus for a noisey, and hopefully listenable, pop-punk music?

In terms of preferences, I think my allegiance is clear. I will always live and die by Crime In Stereo whereas Brand New remains a band I love, but love to be critical about even more. What are your thoughts?

Leaky Pipes: A First Look at Dinosaur Jr.'s I Bet on Sky

When you see Dinosaur Jr. is releasing another album, their tenth, you know what to expect going in: J Mascis's slurry ennui, ripping solos, solid musicianship, and a good listen - this is exactly what I Bet on Sky amounts to. The album is concrete, nothing special, nothing that will top a year end list, nothing that will change how you think about the indie rock stalwarts.

I Bet on Sky does have its highlights, obviously, but they never shine bright enough to lift the entire effort above average. "Watch the Corners", the album's first single, is a great romping track -- the video is equally awesome, having been produced by Funny or Die and featuring Tim Heidecker as an angry dad -- but nothing feels new about it.

Referencing Farm, Dinosaur's 2009 effort, I noticed it had a little pep and energy to it, with songs like "I Want You to Know" and "There's No Here", but it also had lazy balancing songs "Said the People" and "Plans" that built and undulated. I Bet on Sky seems to have J, Lou, and Murph's half-attention; no one really steps out. Sure, there are some added keyboards in songs and Lou sings lead a few times, but nothing reinvents the wheel here.

Assuring the exercise is not entirely wasted -- and that I finish my compliment sandwich -- "Almost Fare" adds some extra country instrumentation and provides an entertaining listen; it's a fun song that would fit perfectly into a spring into summer playlist. Album highlight "What Was That" starts with a usual Mascis epic guitar riff, but then tumbles into a hefty Lou Barlow bass jam, finally finishing with the band implementing some attack and release, much like what can be found on You're Living All Over Me. "See it on Your Side" is an excellent closer, as it makes everything before it seem like it was just the legendary band stretching before a big finish; I guess it's always important to go out big.

So as we near the 25th anniversary of You're Living All Over Me, we find a band still playing together, since reuniting in 2005, and sometimes trying new things. But when I first listened through I Bet on Sky, I found myself trying to find just what exactly makes Dinosaur Jr. so important, often reviewing their older material, and getting caught up, forgetting to reference forward to I Bet on Sky; all of this created a really disorientating process -- I think I'll go listen to Bug and You're Living All Over Me.

Final Grade: C+

P.S. You can check out the album, streaming in its entirety, over at NPR.

Track Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars - "Hawk Highway"

Last year, Cymbals Eat Guitars put out Lenses Alien, an album that I believed to fit in more with an "Honorable Mention" than a "Best of" list. Continuing that album's sound is "Hawk Highway", although the track would certainly have been a highlight from last year's release - it could have fit perfectly anywhere in the lackluster second half, save the excellent "Wavelengths". The single is part of a mini-documentary web series called Masters From Their Day which pair up a band with a legendary producer - in Cymbals' case, it's the same producer from Lenses Alien, John Agnello. The band records a new single using the producer and everybody goes on with their lives. What makes "Hawk Highway" noteworthy is that it expands and refines the better aspects of Lenses Alien, providing hope for another solid release from the band in the near future. The lyrics, as is the case with Cymbals, are heavily coded and probably about space or sock puppets, but Joe delivers them in such an interesting way that it doesn't really matter what they are. You can pick up the single for free here, or watch the mini-doc below.

Track Review: Mount Eerie - I Walked Home Beholding

Phil Elverum is a busy dude. He's already put an album this year, Clear Moon, and now he's released a second single -- the first bearing the new album's title -- from another album due out next month, Ocean Roar. The second single is fittingly called "I Walked Home Behoding", sounding very much like a contemplatively observing walk home after a long night. Elverum is famous for his use of nature in his lyrics and artwork, often achieving a raw, powerful sound, but both singles from Ocean Roar have seen him dialed back a little bit. Clear Moon was typical Elverum fashion, like if The Microphones focused on a clearer sound. A glacial march, "I Walked Home Beholding" is what Bon Iver's "Beth / Rest" could have been, had it any dignity or tact. The track features spacious keyboard and just enough percussion - finger snaps and light cymbals . What can be derived from "I Walked Home Beholding" is yet another great release in an already impressive catalogue from Phil Elverum and whatever he chooses to call his band. Check out the single below, and Ocean Roar next month.

Leaky Pipes: A First Look at Centipede Hz

The band that launched a million blog posts, everyone's favorite neo-psychedelic-folk-pop-rock band, that band that Avey Tare and Panda Bear play in, Animal Collective, released their latest album, Centipede Hz, about two weeks before its proper release via radio station - I wrote an opinion article about what the early stream meant last week. It shouldn't be a surprise that people ripped the stream, sorted the MP3s, and leaked webrips of the album. I refrained from downloading until a proper album rip was leaked, and it has been, obviously. So I have previewed the album a few times and this is what I have concluded: they still deserve every decible of buzz, but may be grounding out.

It pains me to say that I'm an Animal Collective fan - as soon as you admit it, you're grouped in with the "hipsters." They certainly are what most people consider the quintessential "hipster" band -- if you're wondering why "hipster" is always quoted, check out this article on Flatted Third. But it's not hard to be a fan of the enigmatic band; they've released solid, original material for about a decade now. With a track record including Sung Tongs, Feels, Strawberry Jam, Merriweather Post Pavilion, and Fall Be Kind, Animal Collective will be a band that continues to draw attention until the music begins to lack, which Centipede Hz may be the flag boy for. Fall Be Kind, the band's last proper release, followed the almost mainstream breakthrough of Merriweather Post Pavilion with slow, minimal, and effective, while Merriweather found a band adding as many instruments as could fit, certainly more electronics than earlier releases. This shift to what sounded like the electronic version of Campfire Songs left fans wondering where the AnCo would go next. Well, Centipede Hz continues to build of the progress of Merriweather, with poppier, maximized songs, but also features some meandering jams. This leaves Fall Be Kind as strictly an exercise and not a progression for later releases.

The return of Deakin, who sat out during both the recording and touring of Merriweather Post Pavilion, Centipede Hz creates some beautiful production, samples, and song bridges. Also, to much surprise, Deakin even sings lead on a track, the stomping "Wide Eyed", which ends with a Person Pitch-esque time shift at the end. Although the bridge from "New Town Burnout" to "Monkey Riches" is as beautiful as it is mechanical, making the track seem as though they are cut from the same clothe, "Wide Eyed" does nothing for the album. The Deakin cut lies in the middle of the record and just sort of stays at the same pace with random stops and starts, never really sounding interesting or beckoning multiple listens. Deakin's return is certainly a give and take, but it's always nice to reinforce the use of "collective" in the band's title.

The record begins with "Moonjock", a 7/4 romp that could have seen a spot on Merriweather. From there, the band jam packs instruments and melodies into the excellent single "Today's Supernatural", but this is where the album takes an interesting turn with "Rosie Oh". The song is collected and smooth, sounding like a dialed back "For Reverend Green". "Applesauce" is a trippy-go-happy Avey song that doesn't fail to deliver pop like you've never hear it before. The first four songs establish the head of Centipede Hz as an excellent effort.

"Wide Eyed", as mentioned before, lacks anything special, but the trio of "Father Time", "New Town Burnout" and "Monkey Riches" pick the album right back up. Even with the seventeen minute, three song recovery, the album dips again with "Mercury Man", a song with a weak beginning but extremely strong, bass-filled finish - it's not a bad song, but it could have been a lot shorter, as a lot of the other songs on Centipede Hz could be, and is a testament of poor album flow.

"Amanita" finishes off the album, named after a genus of mushrooms that offers some of the most deadly species. The song details a hiking trip that dips further and further into bright and colorful depths, until everything is washed away in delay, a fitting end for an album that is as dense as it is frustrating.

It's too bad "Honeycomb" or "Gotham" didn't make the cut because I really enjoyed those singles. The latter featured a sound commonly found on Feels, my personal favorite of the AnCo catalogue; it would have fit perfectly in the meat of Centipede Hz, easily able to replace Deakin's "Wide Eyed" or even the tail end's "Mercury Man". "Honeycomb" would have a much more difficult time fitting into the record, as it comes off as a standalone single.

It seems that when you strip away all the excess production and instruments, Centipede Hz is just solid, almost traditional songs in an inconsistent package. That isn't to say that it's a bad release, just something a fan wouldn't list as his or her favorite. This comes as a disappointment, to me at least, because I really enjoyed both Merriweather and Fall Be Kind for two completely different reasons. And I would have loved to have seen how those two sounds meshed. Oh well.

Grade: B

P.S. Check out this great interview by Stereogum with the band about the recording process, and watch the band's video for "Today's Supernatural" below:

LA Weekly's Lists, "Hipster" as a Genre and Why Music Doesn't Need Negativity

For those of you unfamiliar with LA Weekly, it's kind of an alternative-internet-tabloid-blog concerned with LA. Simple enough, right? Well, what the website is more known for is their lists concerning The Top 20 Worst Bands of all Time, The Top 20 Whitest Musicians of all Time, or The Top 20 Musicians of all Time, in any Genre. And while these lists are obviously constructed with tongue in cheek - their grandiose best of all time, in any genre list has William Hung as its number one - the most recent list calls out a whole group of music admirers, "hipsters," polarizing the interwebz.

The Top 20 Worst Hipster Bands of all Time, a list detailing "hipsters" "lemming-like" ability to follow trends blindly, sees the ilk of bands like MGMT, Sleigh Bells, and TV on the Radio, all of which are primarily associated with the generalized branding of "hipster" -- I will continue to put that title in quotes because I still have no idea what it means or intends to mean -- all thrown under the flexfuel tourbus. It's not that I disagree that some bands can, or will be, labeled as "hipster" bands, but I can't help to think of how this affects music.

From 2004-2005, I experienced a shift in what I considered to be music. Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Franz Ferdinand, and Silent Alarm comprised what I consider to be the albums that took indie rock mainstream. These were the albums, accompanied by excellent singles, that opened everyone's eyes to a different brand of music not clouded by major label interference. "Indie" was the term coined, a term of endearment. Now, we have a "hipster" brand of music. "Hipster" is identified with trust fund babies, poor fashion taste, and fixed gear bicycles. It doesn't come off too nicely. Anything can now be dismissed as "hipster" and ignored. But what it so different about "Indie" and "Hipster?"

Here's where the surprising bands on the list come to play. Bright Eyes, The Black Keys, and Death Cab for Cutie are all bands who were well established before I ever heard the term "hipster" to identify a kind of music. Ben Westhoff, the list's editor, described the term as such:

On its surface hipsterdom seems to be an individuality-grab, but most of today's 20 and 30-something bands from Silver Lake and Williamsburg sound shockingly similar. They're all playing variations of retro garage and soul music -- or bringing glockenspiels and choirs on incestuous nationwide tours -- all the while clad in vintage garb likely infested with lice. We're not saying that they should be outlawed by, like, Congress or something. Just that they should be avoided. Here then, is our field guide to the worst offenders.

"Variations of retro garage and soul" seems like something a "hipster" would describe his band as, but how different and vague these references are makes it seem like a spontaneous, uninspired insult. I'm not saying the list isn't funny or entertaining, I just don't see the need for it.

Much like Spin's "Worst New Music" section, I can't seem to justify publishing such a negative attack on music. I might say something along the lines of "That band suck," but I would never go through the process of insulting someone's art, then broadcasting it. I understand the irony of publishing this piece - it's not lost on me - but it doesn't take an editor years of practice and performing to put out a shitty list. And to Spin, assign a letter grade or a badge of honor, don't admonish and brand.

Catch Up: 5 Albums You May Have Missed from 2012

It's nearly impossible to listen to everything noteworthy that comes out in a given year. Hell, I often find bands I love after they have broken up or a member died. What you should never do is catalogue a year, then forget about it. There's no shame in buying a DeLorean, going back a year, and finding an album you love - well, maybe there's some shame in all that 80's tail that'll be heading your way, aged and still dreaming to be the girl in the White Snake video. So here are some of the year's best music that, may not have been missed by all sites, but didn't get the proper coverage they deserved.

Joyce Manor - Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired 

Now, for most people I know, they are already well aware of this record - I have had it in heavy rotation in my car, and all of my other friends' cars who let me DJ. It's Long Island Pop-Punk, but the same way Brand New was Long Island Emo with Screams (L.I.E.S.); it's intelligent, original, and moving. There's even a cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star" that doesn't make you want to rip your hair out! It seems Absolute Punk was right...wait, what? Well, their community still sucks, giving the record a mere 72/100. The production is decidedly less lo-fi from the band's previous release, which really helps bring out all the subtle inflections that make this release so exciting and fresh. 

Joey Bada$$ - 1999

The album sounds like the title suggests: a return to the golden years of hip-hop. Featuring boom-bap beats, guest spots from the larger Progressive Era crew, and Joey's time tested - not necessarily by him - flow and style. 1999 feels comfortable all throughout. It's hard to believe he's only 17. With beats ranging from J Dilla, MF Doom, and Statik Selektah, this is a noteworthy mixtape, in a era where the lines between album and mixtape are beginning to blur more than ever. Album highlight "Survival Tactics" attracted the attention of Pitchfork and the website did a feature on the rapper. The best part is you can download the mixtape here for free. Yay, internet! 

Suis La Lune - Riala

Easily the least accesible on this list, the Swedish Screamo band crafted one of the densest listens this year thus far. The vocals aren't overly harsh, as they are washed clean with reverb, and there are moments when they wane and strengthen in emotional fatigue and vigor. What's so great about this album is that every song is flooded with excellent guitar harmonies and arrangements. At about 3:09 on "In Confidence", there is a major movement from the melancholia to an almost ecstatic feeling. The song feels extremely special, warranting multiple listens. The album shouldn't come as a surprise success to fans that have followed the band, as they have always released really solid material. I'm just kind of upset my copy of this record is the white first pressing, not the second pressings of black and clear splattered...

∆ (Alt J) - An Awesome Wave

If you were wondering how I typed a ∆, read the band's name again. Hip geometrical shapes aside, Alt-J created a sharp, technical album for 2012. The band's debut album, An Awesome Wave is exactly what I would like Maps & Atlases to sound like, if they continued the more poppy approach to mathy music like they seem to be. They even have a "Power" inspired music video for album standout "Tessellate". The vocals sound very familiar to Devendra Banhart, but the textured, swimming instrumentation and arrangements supporting the vocals is what sets the band apart. It's the perfect poppy album to pitch Math Rock to your friends! And isn't that what every fan needs?

blu - UCLA

If you consider yourself a hip-hop head, then you know who blu is. What makes this release such an under the radar one is how it was released, and now its difficulty to locate. The album randomly appeared on the mercurial rapper's Bandcamp page, boasting that it was entirely produced by underground hip-hop stalwart Madlib. Stones Throw then released a statement saying Madlib had nothing to do with the project. Despite the claim, the album does sound like it could have been produced solely by Madlib. And a single, "EZ", was released, then with Madlib's credit. All the controversy does nothing to discredit a great album from one of the underground's most consistant rappers.