2022 Album Roundup Series; November Showcase

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's some great music to accompany your family feast, including music from:

Death's Dynamic Shroud - Darklife (2022) Lunatic Soul - Through Shaded Woods (2021) Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012) Absolutely Free - Aftertouch (2021) Lizzo - 'Cuz I Love You (2019) Wet Leg - Wet Leg (2020)

Post on Lunatic Soul's Fractured

2022 Album Eliminations: Tier 6 Part 3

The final tier of the year before finals!  This set was actually pretty straightforward for me, with one exception: Lindsey Buckingham VS. Snail Mail.  Valentine really took its lumps this year: It was eliminated in Tier I when it ended up in a showdown with Cynic.  Unfair, really, which is why it got a second chance at life in Tier 5 and knocked out a lot of serious contenders, not the least of which was black midi!

But for the first time, Snail Mail ran up against an adversary writing in a similar style, and Lindsey Buckingham is, in my opinion, an overlooked genius.  And even in the twilight of his career, he still has it.  The b-side tracks on the album have the elegance of pre-Revolver Beatles, never mind the fact that he just burns it as a guitarist.  Snail Mail put up a fight, but the judges rule for Buckingham.

Eastman Jazz Ensemble - Live! VS. DOMi & JD Beck - NOT TiGHT
DOMi & JD Beck - NOT TiGHT

E

David Bowie - Scary Monsters (& Super Creeps) VS. Porcupine Tree - CLOSURE/CONTINUATION
Porcupine Tree - CLOSURE/CONTINUATION



Skhivosani - დამწვრისები VS.Goro Yamaguchi - Kinkoryu Shakuhachi
Goro Yamaguchi - Kinkoryu Shakuhachi

Watch Yamaguchi play HERE
'
Avalanche Kaito - Avalanche Kaito VS. Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems
Avalanche Kaito - Avalanche Kaito

E

Sault - Air VS. Afrorack - The Afrorack
Sault - Air

Snail Mail - Valentine VS. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham

This will be the last elimination post for 2022.  For the next month, I will be sorting through the finals bracket and come up with my Top 20.

The 2022 Top 20 Elimination Bracket will be composed of:

- The Mid-Year Top 12

- A similarly derived Fall Top 12

- 6 saved albums from the Spring

- 6 saved albums from the Fall

- All 6 November albums

Basically, I am going to listen to all the best music from this year for the next month.  Could be worse!

Bobgoblin's 12-Point Master Plan: Never Sell Out

A look back at a relatively obscure classic from 1998, The 12-Point Master Plan by Bobgoblin.

Relevant links: Text post on Bobgoblin's Love Lost for Blood Lust, my 2016 Album of the Year

2022 Album Roundup Series: October Showcase

Music I have had in rotation during October, including albums by:

Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham (2022) DOMi & JD Beck - NOT TiGHT (2022) Afrorack - The Afrorack (2022) Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems (2022) Skhivosani - დამწვრისები (2022) David Bowie - Scary Monsters (& Super Creeps) (1980)

Post on Hama's Houmeissa Post on Venetian Snares Traditional Synthesizer Music Post on Living Colour's Vivid Post on Fishbone's In Your Face

2022 Album Eliminations: Tier 6 Part 2

 

A couple of contentious decisions here, some of which probably run counter to all logic.  For example, earlier this year, I dismissed the Eastman Jazz Ensemble.  A return to the album, however, revealed a level of excitement in the recording that I didn’t remember from before.  That, along with a certain sense of personal connection with contemporary big band recordings that I have not felt in a while, edged it over the clear genius of Relaxin’.

The second, and the hardest, choice I had was with the black midi VS. Snail Mail showdown.  I have not connected with Hellfire in the same way as I have black midi’s previous recordings, but I still have the sense that I still just don’t quite "get it".  Like LIVE!, Valentine was eliminated in January and got a fresh start in the 5^th tier showdown, and with its return came a greater appreciation of Snail Mail’s unique songwriting strengths.  It really spoke to me at a time I still found myself confused by black midi, so I let Valentine pass.  Hellfire received a coveted Fall Save, though, and will return in the playoffs. 

Eastman Jazz Ensemble – LIVE! VS. Miles Davis – Relaxin’

Eastman Jazz Ensemble – LIVE!

Paul Slavens – Alphabet Girls V. 2 VS. Colleen Green – Cool

Paul Slavens – Alphabet Girls V. 2

 

Kate Bush – The Hounds of Love VS. Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou

Kate Bush – The Hounds of Love

 

Bali Gamelan Sound – Otonan, Gender Wayang VS. Limina – Hidden Spaces

Limina – Hidden Spaces

 

black midi – Hellfire VS. Snail Mail – Valentine

Snail Mail – Valentine

 

Bjorn Riis – Everything to Everyone VS. Cardiacs – On Land and In the Sea

Bjorn Riis – Everything to Everyone

2022 Album Roundup Series: September, Triptychs, and Ecosystems

Some music I was listening to during the Solstice of 2022, including music from:

The Lickerish Quartet - Fables From Fearless Heights (2022) Alex Anthony Faide - Particles of the Infinite (2022) Nilufer Yanya - Painless (2022) Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity (2021) Lemon Demon - Spirit Phone (2016) Loris S. Sarid - Seabed-Sunbath (2022)

Yes' Relayer: Remembering Alan White

A look back at Yes' seventh album, 1974's Relayer, with a special focus on the contributions of the late Alan White.