The Final Countdown: Albums of the Year - Numbers 25 to 18

Howdy.

So, not just The Final Countdown of this year's best albums (best  by my standards, that is) but a final countdown to the end of 78s Don't Wobble. I'm at the very least mothballing this blog for an indefinite period (think Fugazi's indefinite hiatus as a starting point) or bringing it to a permanent end following the chart rundown that'll bring us to my personal number one album of the year.

Now, as with other years this is based on the records I've heard and loved in 2012 and if there's something that's not on there that you like, then I've either not heard it or not enjoyed it enough for it to be included. Got it? Good. If there's a glaring omission that I personally have forgotten about, then I clearly haven't cared enough to remember it. So, on we go with numbers 25 to 18....

25. Sam Willis - Winterval 

2012 seemed to be the year where I rediscovered my dormant-since-1997 love of dance music. Probably inspired by my experience at Festival Number 6 where I caught excellent sets by Andrew Weatherall, Derrick Carter and Francois K, I've enjoyed electronic music more this year than in many previous years. Weatherall is probably an excellent reference point for Sam Willis' first solo album. The DJ half of Walls has, on Winterval, channeled the sound of minimal house music circa Sabres of Paradise's Haunted Dancehall and Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works. It's a record with a clear narrative, and while there are plenty beats to be found, it's more about emotion, textures and melody for Willis. An exceptional dance record.



24. Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill

After having the Horse on ice since 1996's Broken Arrow (the last NY record to bear the name "and Crazy Horse") this year saw the release of not one but two NY and Crazy Horse records. Americana was a slightly daft distraction of Young and his old mates racing through feedback-damaged versions of American standards and seemed simply to pave the way for this two-disc epic. Psychedelic Pill hangs on two epic numbers: the near-30min jam of 'Driftin' Back and the controlled riffing of 'Walk Like a Giant' are evidence enough that Young, with Billy Talbot, Frank Sampedro and Ralph Molina were back on electric form, sticking two fingers up to all-and-sundry and showing that when it comes to amped soloing and psych excursions, there's never really anything better than these old warhorses.



23. El-P - Cancer for Cure

While not the best hip-hop record of 2012, Cancer for Cure served as a reminder of how brilliant El-P can be at his best. More focused than 2007's I'll Sleep When You're Dead, Jaime Meline is joined by Killer Mike, Paul Banks and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire on a brutal and unforgiving meditation on death that serves as a reminder that this is the man responsible for the unmatched genius of Company Flow. Futuristic beats that still manage to sound antiquated, El-P spitting rhymes with an anger he's not had for a while and guest spots that don't detract from the main event all add up to fine, fine record.



22. Dark Dark Dark - Who Needs Who

The breakup of the romance between band members Nona Marie Invie and Marshall LaCount is writ large over the Minneapolis band's latest record. A collection of songs that veer from folk, to piano ballads to Eastern European jigs, the focus is generally on Invie's gorgeous voice and piano as she becomes accuser to LaCount's guilty party. Never an easy listen, it's impressive that the band managed to hold themselves together long enough to write Who Needs Who, and we should be eternally grateful that they did.



21. How To Dress Well - Total Loss

Tom Krell returned with his second full-length record of minimal R&B, an album full of intense sadness and -as the title suggests - loss. Combining his love of vocal harmony groups like Jodeci and Boyz II Men with his love of ambient acts such as Brian Eno and Grouper, and the orchestral work of Michael Nyman, Krell has produced something that's both claustrophobic (probably due to his muffled vocal delivery) and welcoming. You'd be hard pressed to find a more meticulously produced record in 2012: the beats are clear and crisp, the ambient noise never anything more than necessary and when he sings clearly Krell has the voice of an angel. This was heady stuff, and the exciting thing is that HTDW is only likely to get better and better.



20. Peter Broderick - www.itstartshear.com

The first of two releases in a year from the genius that is Peter Broderick, this album exists for all time via the website of the same name: www.itstartshear.com. Containing videos and audio, liner notes that explain the history behind each track and an overall comment on download culture, the actual music could have been overwhelmed by the concept but thankfully that's not the case. Another combination of Broderick's beautiful voice and playing, ably assisted by the excellent Nils Frahm, it's warm and welcoming and contains some of Broderick's finest writing to date; he's an artist to be cherished.



19. Death Grips - The Money Store

In all the fuss that came with the leaking of Death Grips' second album of 2012, NO LOVE DEEP WEB, and discussions over whether it was a marketing ploy or proper DIY punk ethics from the band, people tended to forget just how brilliant and visceral The Money Store was. The trio of virtuoso drummer Zach Hill, MC Ride and Andy Morin produced the angriest album of the year, packed full of samples, insane drumming, mangled synths and as many crazy noises as you could possibly fit on an album. Unfocused, messy, brainless, but a fascinating and addictive listen all the same.



18. Swans - The Seer

Primal. Intense. Ambitious. Cathartic. All words we can associate with the brilliant second studio album from Michael Gira's Swans since he "got the band back together" in 2010. Nearly two hours in length it's a battle between beauty and hideousness captured by the endless battle between noise and melody that's been the focus for the entire existence of Swans. Single songs contain more ideas than most bands have in their entire careers and you have to admire Gira's still-burning passion for the music he makes. Not perfect in terms of musical content, but it's an incredible testament to a singular vision and for that it deserves your full attention.

Introducing - Ali Young

Hi there!

Been a while, huh? Well, enjoy it while you can as this post is probably the first of the final three or four blogs you'll see on 78s Don't Wobble. It's going to be a fond farewell to the site come the end of the year as I can't really devote much time to it anymore, as you can see from one post in the last six months. It was fun while it lasted though, eh?

Anyway, it's been even longer since I posted any kind of original content on here, so as part of the closing down ceremonies I've taken the opportunity to introduce you to someone new.....Ali Young.

Ali's an Los Angeles-based singer songwriter who reminds me at times of Juliana Hatfield (circa Only Everything)and plies a fine, still developing, blend of power pop and you can find her EP Love Animal here:

http://www.aliyoungmusic.com/

After mentioning on Twitter that I'd never interviewed anyone that was a bastard, Ali kindly offered to take that role...what follows is not the "bastard" interview - although she did supply that version - but a little Q&A just to get to know more about her and her music....

So, are you a Los Angeles native, or were you lured there by stories of Laurel Canyon and/or the Viper Room?

I’ve lived in LA for over 5 years now, so I’m starting to “go native.” I was lured by my husband. He’s an actor [Kevin Sussman, best known for his recurring role on Big Bang Theory]. We moved here from Brooklyn, New York. My life’s transit also includes: Chicago, IL and Santa Fe, NM. 

You will rarely find me West of La Brea, which is the side of town with Laurel Canyon and the Viper Room. Silverlake, where I live, is considered by most to be the heart of the LA music “scene.” I don’t think there’s any empirical data on that... But in my opinion, the best venues for indie artists are on this side of town:  the Bootleg Theater, the Satellite, the Echo. It’s all skinny jeans and tattoos around here. Oh!  That’s a good way to distinguish me as a non-Angeleno. I am “blank” - no tattoos. 

Have you always made music on your own, or have you played in bands?

I have always done my own thing. I released an EP as Real George in 2009, which you can find on iTunes. It’s kinda Cowboy Junkies-esque. It was my first recording project. I was trying to come up with an artist name like Bat for Lashes or Cat Power... I failed miserably at creating an alias moniker. People would be like “Real whaaat?” “Why?

I do try to keep a steady roster of players. But people go on tour or they get into motorcycle accidents... I always play with accomplished musicians. I am lucky to live in a community of supportive artists. It’s definitely an upside of LA.

When did you start playing music, did you come from a musical household?

I grew up under a baby Baldwin watching my mother’s feet working the pedals and showered in Chopin. I fucking love dynamics. I played piano when I was young; then was classically trained on Flute; sang in Chorale; took classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music... When I was 13, I was in a prestigious music competition and was accompanied by a renowned concert pianist.  Mid-performance I totally forgot the notes, had a breakdown and never really recovered. After that, I had such performance anxiety that I just quit being a serious musician. The only reason why I was able to try performing in public again is because seven years ago a friend told me about beta blockers - a prescription drug. They kept me from sweating and trembling- until last week... I just did my first show without a pill! I didn’t tremble - or die. The fear is that I will actually die on stage - and shit my pants on the way down. Wait - did you ask me if I came from a musical or a neurotic household?

If we can steal the Pitchfork 5-10-15-20 idea, what was the music you listened to as a child (the music parents/siblings listened to, the music you discovered yourself at a young age), as a high school kid and then beyond – college, moving out on your own etc?

At 5, I was all about Magical Mystery Tour. I was really into the illustrated-booklet-insert-thingy. I mean, deeply and oddly into it. I , of course, didn’t know what acid was. But I was so stimulated by the music and the images that I licked the pages. I got into so much trouble for ruining my mom’s album. 12 years later I discovered acid and... it wasn’t great like Magical Mystery...

At 10, I was a massively morose dork. I loved Jacques Brel Alive and Well in Paris. My favorite songs were “Timid Frieda,” “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” and “My Death.” I think a parent today would probably put their child on pills if they came home and found their child jumping from the sofa, throwing themselves on the floor and belting “My death! Angel or devil! I don’t care!” Dear lord...

I had a fake ID when I was 14 and kinda “ran wild” with older kids. So, as a young teen, I was on the Chicago “scene”: stage diving at Fishbone concerts; moshing in nightclubs to Nitzer Ebb; and sneaking out in the middle of the night to frat parties at the Northwestern University campus where DJs played everything from Depeche Mode to Chicago Deep House music. Weekends I’d go to Wax Trax and mull around the store so I could listen to what they were spinning. It was stuff you couldn’t hear on the radio. I will never forget when this punker-tool who worked behind the counter, shamed me with an eye roll when I asked if they had a particular Prince import.  I was young and insecure so I back pedaled: “Uhm... I mean... Front 242.”  I have since realized that a deep abiding love for Prince is nothing to be ashamed of.

My college years were bleak. I joined a sorority. Got into 70’s disco, Parliament / Funkadelic (not so bad) and the Grateful Dead (WTF). Still, good music did not escape me completely: Hum, Wilco, the Sea and Cake, Slint, Janes Addiction, The Pixies - those are a few favorites that have stuck with me.  This still doesn’t make up for the embarrassment of admitting that I went to a lot of Dead shows.

In my 20’s I discovered Yo La Tengo, Cat Power, Massive Attack, Sun Ra, Erik Satie and the Velvet Underground. Yo La Tengo is the single most defining band for me. I have listened to the song “You Can Have It All” an inordinate number of times - probably as much as any single Beatles song. I adore the sentiment of the lyric - complete selflessness and abandon. (Sure. It’s a cover...) Plus it’s boppy without a shred of cheesiness. I appreciate that YLT is just three people and they get such a big, lush and textured sound. Ira Kaplan is genius with his guitar tones.

Who do you admire, who/what inspires you as a singer/writer? And that doesn’t have to be restricted to music...

I admire the usual suspects - Leonard Cohen chief among them. And it’s helpful to remember that this man wrote both “Hallelujah” and “Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-on.”  I want to get as close as I can get to the level of artistic expression that is realized in the song “Hallelujah.” But so far I’ve written a bunch of “Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-on” songs. Except I’m not a lothario. I’m a woman that got her heart broken a few too many times. So my songs are more like “He’s Got a Hard-On for Someone Else.”

If you could take one (maybe two) records to a desert island, what would it be?

Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Django Reinhart & Stephane Grappelli - Souvenirs

Christoph Poppen - Morimur

And I would get all three recorded on one record / disc so that nobody could accuse me of breaking the one-record-on-a-desert-island rule.

So, the Love Animal EP...without wanting to delve too deep into personal matters, it sounds like it was inspired by a difficult period, or unsuccessful (or maybe volatile) relationships, would that be accurate?

These are certainly songs about difficult relationships - and mature relationships -  but not necessarily mine. There is a part of songwriting where you are recounting observations and imagining experiences. But there is also a part where it’s just what words fit into this meter? And what is the mood that has been set up by the chords and the tempo.  Sometimes the music vibes the lyrics. For example: 'Make Believe' - I was just playing around with that bouncy brush rhythm and was making a joke about how you could scat triplets to it. From the idea of “scat” came the line “Scatter around the ashes.” Then it was just a matter of ‘what comes next’? The ground will soak them up! Then it was a matter of shoe-horning a theme into it. Death of a relationship was the obvious thing.

.......................But, look, I know that I write a fuck-ton of break-up songs that tend to be hopeless - mostly it’s because I am dramatic (remember Jacques Brel) by nature.

Not that I’m saying it’s without its positivity, as ‘Drift’ seems to have an urge to move on...do you try to find the positives in any situation, or is that an impossibility sometimes?

So... Here’s the thing. There is a dichotomy between me and my songs. For the most part, I am a joyous and whimsical person. Though I do get depressed. In fact, I have been told to cut my stage banter because I’m funny and then I start playing my brand of “Winter Kills.” (YAZ reference - the most gothy sad song I can think of...).  Maybe I am exorcising the gloom out of me through song? To answer your question: Yes. I do try to find the positives and sometimes that is impossible. Just gotta keep trying...

BTW - I have refocused on writing more hopeful and lovely songs that are not about love-gone-wrong. Or, at least, songs that are appropriate for car commercials - cuz momma needs a new pair of shoes!

Do you currently make a living through music? Are you part of a community of musicians in LA – do you have “sounding boards” that you’re able to try new ideas out on?

I currently don’t make a living through music. It’s my avocation. And if I ever do, I’m not so much into being an artist, myself.  I’d love to write songs for singers with big voices - in any genre. I have done some instrumental music that was placed in indie films - very sparse, Thurston-Moore-type guitar noodles. And a song from the “Real George” project got a placement in a film. It would be great if I could get gigs like that on the regular - but it’s difficult because even Thurston Moore is looking for those types of gigs since nobody is making money in music these days.

I know many musicians. But I actually haven’t really used them as “sounding boards” - that’s a fantastic idea. A whole bunch of people are gonna have some rough demos in their inboxes tonight.

Are you working on new material at the moment? Are you planning on touring outside of LA?

I am always writing new songs.  I’m thinking of releasing home demos on Soundcloud - super lo-fi recordings. Hopefully they will be charming enough so that the seed of the song is appealing despite...

I will be in NYC later this month playing at the CMJ music festival.  That will be interesting because it’s just me, my guitar, a looper and some beats tracks.  All of the songs have been re-envisioned for this set-up and have become (if you can believe it) much darker. The pop sheen is totally gone.

I would love to play the UK in the spring and there is a high likelihood that that will happen since my husband and I have to be there for a convention.  I think it’s the Bristol Convention...

If you missed Ali at CMJ, then I'm sure you can catch her in LA sometime soon, should you be in the area...

As a treat, here's a couple of answers with Ali being a bastard:

So, are you a Los Angeles native, or were you lured there by stories of Laurel Canyon and/or the Viper Room?

I'm not limited, or defined, by a city or a region - or even the the earth. I'm fucking intergalactic.

When did you start playing music, did you come from a musical household?

I have been a musician my whole life and all of my past lives. Baby, I was resurrected this way.  The music in my soul is too big for one lifetime. And if you missed my Lady Gaga reference just a moment ago, I feel sorry for you.

A charming insight into what Ali might turn out like should success ever go to her head.....