Our Annual Orgy of Self-Congratulation, Grandstanding & Overconsumption : Matador Artists & Staff Select Their 2013 Favorites
(close personal friend of the Matador family, Ryan Seacrest salutes Dick Diver on their strong showing in the 2013 staff and artists poll)
Around this time every year, your
Anthony Anzaldo, Ceremony
FAVORITE SHOW
Feb 9, Negative Approach at The Great American Music Hall and April 23, Prince at the DNA Lounge
SINGLE
Drake - Hold On We're Going Home
Chris Brokaw, Come
---Marrying Kathy Lindenmayer, August 16, Poulsbo, WA.
---Slow-dancing with Kathy as Mission of Burma played "Trem Two" at our wedding party, September 20, Somerville MA.
---Kicking out the jams with COME, THE LEMONHEADS, and WREKMEISTER HARMONIES.
---Becoming STEPFATHER to Joshua Ulysses Lindenmayer and UNCLE to Daniel Christopher Barber.
---The box of 101 cd's and 2 cassettes I received in the mail from Maurizio Bianchi.
---My first synthesizer.
---The phantasmagorical charcuterie that is OLYMPIC PROVISIONS.
---The continually stunning and inspiring work of SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER, Seattle WA.
---Taking a chartered boat ride around Manhattan with my wife and my great buddy Roddy Bogawa after we took MOMA by storm.
---All the love, good tidings and great cheer I received from my family and friends all year.
Daniel Copeman, Esben and the Witch
Leviathan - A documentary about commercial fishing in the north atlantic. Brutal, honest and harrowing, the whole documentary has no melodic score or tangible narrative. It is all shot on go pro cameras and sonically is almost exclusively derived of the audio from said cameras. The shots are long, close and uncompromising. Its a genuinely intense experience to watch. Phenomenal.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor statement after winning the Polaris prize. If you have not already, just read it. A vital, incredible band.
The Wasp Factory opera by Ben Frost - I saw this at the Royal Opera House earlier this year and musical and from a stage production point of view it was just mind blowing. A fantastically well constructed and paced piece of theatre. Ben Frost is a man who can do little wrong in my eyes and this was no different.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Push The Sky Away and Hookworms, Pearl Mystic - Probably collectively our two favourite albums of 2013 both in van and in headphone staples.
I should not really put something us related in here but fuck it, this year we went to the Twin Peaks diner and the coffee was awful but we did not give a shit, life dream ticked off.
One last special mention to this as the best piece of music journalism of the year. Hats off John Doran.
Georgia Hubley, Yo La Tengo
dinner at au pied de cochon MONTREAL FEBRUARY
martin short in atlantic city APRIL
steve gunn/time off JULY
jumping in the lake at Oak St Beach CHICAGO JULY
dinner at cotogna SF JULY
maxwell's closing block party JULY
brooks headley's tour diary in lucky peach AUGUST
jody stephens and luther russell at musack benefit LA AUGUST
the world's end NYC AUGUST
superchunk at bowery ballroom NYC SEPTEMBER
swamp dogg at ponderosa stomp NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER
2 meals at Sylvain in NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER
Jonas Mekas Diaries, Notes & Sketches aka Walden @ Tate Modern Liverpool DECEMBER
dinner at NOPI London SIX HOURS AGO
James McNew Yo La Tengo
$75 Bill, Whiskey With Hail cassette
Uncluded, Hokey Fright LP
Obnox, Canabible OH EP
Fushitsusha, Namaewo Tsukenaide Hoshii Namaewo Tsuketeshimauto Subetede Nakunatte Shimaukara LP, and Mada Atatakaiuchino Konoimani Subetenonazowo Sosogikomou LP
People of The North, Sub Contra LP
Brokeback, Brokeback and The Black Rock LP
Run The Jewels s/t
Steve Gunn, Time Off LP
Shintaro Sakamoto, Don't Know What's Normal EP
William Tyler, Impossible Truth LP
Ed Askew, For The World LP
Glenn Jones, My Garden State LP
Mudhoney, The Vanishing Point LP
Thurston Moore, London
1. FEEDING TUBE RECORDS
– a GREAT record store at 90 King St. Northampton, MA 01060 USA
Run by Ted Lee (pictured) and Byron Coley this place has bins of excellent 2nd hand LPs that hit all the right poon points – from no wave kraut confusion to cbgb t-head winghead pyschosis to folk femme velvet sexx aktion to noise (is dead). Also deep book section with mimeo poet vibration. Oh and sometimes gigs in the back room (for yr pleasure). Bonus: the John Fahey original paintings which adorn the walls – worth the trip.
2. The Analog Ghost Records label has released a limited edition Xmas tunes comp LP called ‘Comfort & Joy’ featuring Mike Watt, Terry Riley, Wooden Wand, Wckr Spgt and others. It can also be ordered as a cassette (with alternate Jad Fair artwork). Proceeds go to providing resources for homeless youth. This is why we do record labels! Or at least one of the (good) reasons
3. I suppose Patti opened the gates with Just Kids raising the bar for literate memoirs from punk origins (even though her book is decidedly pre-punk. A purported sequel is promised) but their seemed to be a bit of bliss revisionism in the pages, which is fine as romantic device but it was thrilling, and equally engaging, to have more of a raw and compulsive rock read from the post punk revolution from Richard Hell – I Dreamed I was a Very Clean Tramp and Morrissey – Autobiography. They are interestingly dissimilar yet both are hell bent on putting punks in their place whilst contemplating the personal process of creative endeavor with sincere and awkward grace/thought.
Bob Nastanovich, Pavement
1. Gloom Balloon--You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Disaster/Fix The Sunshine pts. 1-7 (Maximum Ames)--Patrick Tape Fleming's glistening new album. Check it out.
2. Mumford's--Immediate Family (Maximum Ames)--Brand new action the Ames party machine.
3. Dolfish--Live Shows--In 2013, I had the pleasure of tour managing and playing a little bit with my buddy Max Sollisch from Cleveland. Loved it. He even wrote a ditty for Yahoo! in April (back when they were cool (as in pre-Pogue and pre-Couric)) called "Dollar Store". Max strides into a Detroit studio soon to record his new album.
4. The Wheelers--The Wheelers (Maximum Ames)--Didn't think bands wanted to blister and shred any more. They do.
5. Pennyhawk--"Of Course You Don't Need Glasses" video--I love this video. You can watch it on YouTube. Kate Kennedy is a whiz.
6. Leslie and the LYs--Live Shows--Sweeping the USA during the months of January, February and March. Don't miss it. Check your local listings. They'll be popping up everywhere.
7. Grass Widow--Internal Logic (HLR Label)--Okay, I'm a year behind. But, I'm only one year behind.
8. Love Songs For Lonely Monsters--Live Shows--The up and comers.
9. Ramona and the Swimsuits--Live Shows--The funnest of the fun.
10. Christopher The Conquered--Live Shows--The spark plug. Proof that these lists are not necessarily in any order.
Andy Nelson, Ceremony
Long
Darkside - Psychic
DJ Koze - Amygdala
Drake - Nothing Was The Same
Framtid - Defeat Of Civilization
Iron Lung - White Glove Test
Joanna Gruesome - Weird Sister
Julia Holter - Loud City Song
Kanye West - Yeezus
Nils Frahm - Spaces
Radiator Hospital - Something Wild
Short
Bad Side - Everybody Wants Something From Me
Demdike Stare - Testpressing #002
Good Throb - Culture Vulture
Keluar - Ennoea
Permanent Ruin - Hell Is Real
The Repos - Lost Still Losing
Royal Headache - Stand And Stare
Terekke - Yyyyyyyyyy
Tony Molina - Dissed And Dismissed
Trade - SHEWORKS005
Carl Newman, The New Pornographers, A.C. Newman
Music:
Jeffrey Novak 'Lemon Kid'
Thee Oh Sees 'Floating Coffin'
Okkervil River 'The Silver Gymnasium'
Peter Gutteridge 'Pure' re-issue
White Fence 'Cyclops Reap'
TV:
The Returned ('Les Revenants')
Orphan Black
Breaking Bad
Comedy Bang Bang
Top Of The Lake
Books:
Karen Russell 'Vampires in The Lemon Grove
George Saunders 'Tenth Of December'
Kate Atkinson 'Life After Life'
Hari Kunzru 'Gods Without Men' (I know it didn't come out this year)
Real Life:
Being a dad to a toddler has been pretty amazing.
Devon Welsh, Majical Cloudz
ALBUMS:
Dirty Beaches - Drifters/Love is the Devil
Tim Hecker - Virgins
Deafheaven - Sunbather
My Bloody Valentine - MBV
Autre Ne Veut - Anxiety
Dean Bein, True Panther Sounds
ALBUMS
Aero Manyelo - Kasi Vibes (Outhere Records)
Cass McCombs - Big Wheel And Others (Domino)
Courtney Barnett - A Sea Of Split Peas (Milk! Records)
Danny Brown – Old (Fool's Gold)
DJ Rashad - Double Cup (Hyperdub)
Earl Sweatshirt, “Doris” (Tan Cressida/Sony)
Forest Swords - Engravings (Tri Angle)
Jensen Sportag- Stealth Of Days (Cascine)
John Talabot - DJ Kicks (K7)
Jon Hopkins - Immunity (Domino)
Julianna Barwick "Nepethe" (Dead Oceans)
Kanye West, “Yeezus” (Def Jam)
Kurt Vile - Walkin On A Pretty Daze (Matador)
The Knife - Shaking The Habitual (Rabid)
Logos - Cold Mission (Keysound)
Lonnie Hallie - Keeping A Records of It (Dust To Digital)
Oneohtrix Point Never - R Plus Seven (Warp)
William Onyeabor - Who is William Onyeabor? (Luaka Bop)
MIXTAPES/EPs
Alex Coulton - Murda / Break Pressure 12" (Black Acre)
Audio Push - Come As You Are
Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap
Devil - Harbinger
Justin Bieber- this year's singles....
Kevin Gates - Stranger Than Fiction
Lil Durk - Signed To The Streets
Lloyd Banks - F.N.O.
Master P - Al Capone
Mike WiLL Made It - everything....
Sophi - Bipp/Elle (Numbers)
Tirzah - I'm Not Dancing (Greco-Roman)
Tink - Bo$$ Up
Suicideyear - Japan
Visionist - I'm Fine (Lit City Trax)
Young Thug - 1017 Thug
Nils Bernstein, Matador Records
Top 5 Albums of 2013
Nils Frahm - Spaces
Castevet - Obsian
Majical Cloudz - Impersonator
Mikal Cronin - Mc II
Neko Case - The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I
Fight, The More I Love You
Top 5 Mexican Distillates Of 2013
Tuxca
Sisal
Comiteco
Charanda
Mezcal Gin "PA+9" from Pierde Almas
Jane Chardiet, Matador Direct
1) Pharmakon - Abandon (Sacred Bones)
2) Humanbeast- Venus Ejaculates Into The Banquet
3) Raspberry Bulbs- Deformed Worship
4) Secret Boyfriend- This is Always Where You've lived
5) Phemale- City Silk
6) Gag- This Punk Shit is Cool but I Want to be Rob Zombie when I'm 28
7) Sofia Reta- Bad Luck
8 Profligate- The Red Rope EP
9) Merchandise- Totale Nite
10) Destruction Unit- Deep Trip
Steve Cross, Remote Control Records
10 tracks my teen self wants to kill me for enjoying this year
Spirit –Urantia
David McWilliams - Lady Margaret
Steve Miller - Journey from Eden
Boz Scaggs - Angel Lady
Emmanuelle Parrenin - Thibault Et L'arbre D'or
5th Dimension - (Last Night) I Didn't Get To Sleep At All
Philippe Sarde - Le Cortege Et Course
Bread - Guitar Man
Al Balabil - Al Bisal Ma Bitoh
Lindsay Buckingham - Play In The Rain (Continued)
Stuart Davie, Matador Records
The best things I saw this year:
The final season of Breaking Bad
Light Show @ The Hayward Gallery (video)
Kurt Vile @ London Barfly
Yo La Tengo @ The Barbican
This sign in my building
The finish line of Brighton Marathon
Fucked Up @ Netil House
Majical Cloudz @ Electrowerkz
Queens of the Stone Age @ Download Festival
A bag full of left-over rider booze that fuelled my Latitude festival
10 birthday cakes in one day for Dean Fertita (possibly more)
Savages at the Mercury awards show
Matador at #1 in the UK charts (for a day or two at least)
This motivational sign, mid-way through a half marathon
Albums:
Barn Owl - V
Pan American - Cloud Room, Glass Room
Crash Of Rhinos - Knots
Deerhunter - Monomania
Twin Peaks - Sunken
Nils Frahm - Screws (2012, I was late to the party)
Songs: Ohia - The Magnolia Electric Co. (10th anniversary)
Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold
Tobias Jesso Jr - Demos
Matt Harmon, Beggars Group
Holden - The Inheritors (Border Community)
Dead C - Armed Courage (Ba Da Bing)
Bill Callahan - Dream River (Drag City)
Iceage - You're Nothing (Matador)
Cut Hands - Damballah 58 (Blackest Ever Black)
Ensemble Economique - Fever Logic (Not Not Fun)
Helena Hauff - Actio Reactio (Werkdiscs)
Tim Hecker - Virgins (Kranky)
William Winant - Five American Percussion Pieces (Poon Village)
Mikal Cronin - MCII (Merge Records)
Peter Broderick - Float re-issue (Erased Tapes)
Rashad Becker - Traditional Music of National Species Vol 1 (PAN)
Ben Vida, Meredyth Sparks, Anthony Elms - Extraction (Future Audio Graphics)
Kuupuu - Sisar (EM)
Ákos Rózmann - Images of the Dream and Death (ideologic Organ/Editions Mego)
Haxan Cloak - Excavation Part 1 (Tri Angle)
Magical Cloudz - Impersonator (Matador)
Felicia Atkinson - With Her Own Hands (Shelter Press)
Catherine Herrick, Beggars Group
Catherine's Impartial (ie Non BGMR) Top 10 Amplified Live Experiences of 2013 In Chronological Order:
Prince Rupert's Drops - Secret Project Robot - January 18
Big Freedia - Brooklyn Bowl - January 25
John Mulaney - Carolines on Broadway - February 24
Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes - Main Squeeze (Little Rock, AR) - March 12 (photo attached)
Endless Boogie - Knockdown Center - July 4
Prince and the New Power Generation - City Winery - August 22
Jinx Monsoon in The Vaudevillians - The Laurie Beechman Theatre - August 27
RuPaul's Drag Race: Battle Of The Seasons - Gramercy Theatre - September 8
Sparks - Webster Hall - October 28
Excepter - Body Actualized Center - November 1
Helen Johnson, Matador Direct
Records:
Magic Markers – Surrender To The Fantasy LP (Drag City)
Crystal Stilts – Nature Noir LP (Sacred Bones)
The Limiñanas – Costa Blanca LP (Trouble In Mind)
Amor De Dias – The House At Sea LP (Merge)
Body/Head – S/T 12” (Open Mouth)
Sidi Toure – Alafia LP (Thrill Jockey)
Steve Gunn – Time Off LP(Paradise Of Bachelors)
Prince Rupert Drops – Run Slow LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
Kiki Pau – Pines LP (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond)
Cate Le Bon – Mug Museum LP (Wichita)
Ty Segall – Sleeper LP (Drag City)
Michael Chapman - Wrecked Again LP (Light In The Attic)
Zachary Cale – Blue Rider LP (All Hands Electric)
Honey LTD. - The Complete LHI Recordings LP (Light In The Attic)
Shows:
Body/Head (Kim Gordon/Bill Nace) w/ Sightings - Union Pool
Body/Head – MOMA
White Out & Zeena Parkins – The Stone
Prince Rupert Drops – Secret Project Robot
Eye Banker (Doug Shaw/Tim DeWitt) – Secret Project Robot
Yo La Tengo – Town Hall (played one mellow and one heavy set)
Charlemagne Palestine – Issue Project Room
Keiji Haino – Issue Project Room (two shows, one vocal & one guitar)
Keiji Haino & Lorren Mazzacane Conors – Whitney Museum
Richard Youngs - Issue Project Room
Graham lambkin & Jason Lescalleet – Issue Project room
Crystal Stilts – Webster Hall
Tara Jane O’Neil (w/ Samara Lubelski, Marcia Bassett & Ryan Sawyer) – Clocktower Gallery
Sidi Toure – BAM Cafe
Thurston Moore & Tom Surgal performing live to the Film ‘Street’ by James Nares
Other Good Things:
Playing a ‘Metal Mountains’ show in Turners falls MA ‘ Spirit In the Boot #4 ‘ with Red favorite, Willie Lane, Samara Lubelski & Joshua Burkett reading.
Kim Gordon Art Opening – White Columns
WFMU Record Fair
…and as always, my cats……
Natalie Judge, Matador Records
Ten albums I like a lot from 2013, in no particular order, not including anything i've worked on:
White Fence - Live in San Francisco
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away
Jon Hopkins - Immunity
Arctic Monkeys - AM
Mutazione - Italian Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980-1988 - Various artists
Thee Oh Sees - Floating Coffin
Factory Floor - Factory Floor
The Fat White Family - Champagne Holocaust
These New Puritans - Fields of Reeds
Deerhunter - Monomania
Best artwork award of 2013 goes to the aforementioned Thee Oh Sees:
Personal highlights:
Dog, Flat, 30, Queens #2, Savages at Mercury's, Japan.
Christian Klenke, Beggars Germany
1. Travelling to the Carpathians
2. Kirin J Callinan live at Reeperbahn Festival
3. "The NeverEnding Story - long version" finally released!
4. Disclosure - "When a Fire Starts to Burn"
5. My Bloody Valentine still are My Bloody Valentine
6. First half of "Gravity"
7. A cold beer on a warm summer's night at Rome's Gianicolo hill
8. Sebadoh still writing surprisingly splendid songs ("Final Days")
9. Dancing to Richard Sanderson's "Reality" in a pink shower of confetti (at Engtanzparty, Berlin Festival)
10. BRMC live in Amsterdam
Sonya Kolowrat, Beggars Group
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Mikal Cronin - MCII
Night Beds - Country Sleep
Moon Duo - Mazes
Death Grips - Government Plates
(image if ya want http://img.sxsw.com/2013/bands/4178.jpg )
Cate LeBon - Mug Museum
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
Prince Rupert's Drops -Run Slow
Inside Llewyn Davis - Soundtrack + movie
Joel RL Phelps - Gala
Dave Martin, Matador Direct
New Records:
1. Carousel - Jeweler's Daughter - TeePee
2. Disappears - ERA - Kranky
3. Oblivians - Desperation - In The Red
4. Cheap Time - Exit Smiles - In The Red
5. Jeffrey Novak - Lemon Kid - Trouble In Mind
6. Bare Mutants - The Affliction - In The Red
7. Bassholes - Boogieman Stew - Columbus Discount Records
8. Counter Intuits - S/T - Pyramid Scheme Records
9. Implodes - Recurring Dream - Kranky
10. Endless Boogie - Long Island - No Quarter
11. Human Eye - 4: Into Unknown - Goner
12. Brother JT - The Sveltness Of Boogietude - Thrill Jockey
13. Life Coach - Alpha Waves - Thrill Jockey
14. Crystal Stilts - Nature Noir - Sacred Bones
15. Mick Turner - Don't Tell The Driver - Drag City
16. Amor De Dias - The House At Sea - Merge
17. Native Cats - Dallas - Ride The Snake
18. Actuers - S/T - Public Information Records
19. Dick Diver - Calendar Days - Chapter Music
20. Pampers - S/T - In The Red
21. True Sons Of Thunder - Stop And Smell Your Face - Little Big Chief Records
22. Connections - Private Airplane & Body Language - Anyway Records
23. Alan Licht - Four Years Older - Editons Mego
24. Guitar Wolf - Beast Vibrator - Guitar Wolf Records
25. Mordecai - College Rock - Richie Records
Singles:
1. Shockwave Riderz - S/T 12" - Faux Totem Records
2. Gotobeds - Ipso Facto b/w Television Addict - Mind Cure Records
3. Talbot Adams - Red Diamonds b/w Not Even Europe - Spacecase Records
4. Obnox - Smoke Woody Haze 12" - 12XU Records
5. Carousel - On My Way b/w Warriors - Mind Cure Records
6. Buck Biloxi & The Fucks - Holodeck Survivor b/w Not Getting Stabbed - Total Punk Records
7. Cheap Time - Goodbye Age b/w Soon Over Soon - Total Punk Records
8. Strapping Field Hands - Sitting On Her Whiskers b/w Impossible To Say - Richie Records
9. Dinosaur Jr. - The Only Other Way b/w The Lung (Live) - Skullcandy
10. Shock - The Fucker b/w Dr. Smegmatic - Shock Records
New Old Music:
1. Real Enemy - Life With The Enemy - Mind Cure Records
2. Hawkwind - Leave No Star Unturned - Dirter Promotions
3. The New Bomb Turks - !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! & Tape Worm Blues - Crypt Records
4. Snapper - S/T - Flying Nun / Captured Tracks
5. Human Expression - Love At A Psychedelic Velocity - Mississippi Records
6. Eleventh Dream Day - New Moodio - Comedy Minus One
7. Scorched Earth Policy - GoingThru A Hole In The Back Of Your Head - Siltbreeze Records
8. Victor Dimisch Band - S/T - Siltbreeze Records
9. Devo - Hardcore Devo Volumes 1 & 2 - Superior Viaduct
10. The Flesh Eaters - No Questions Asked - Mono Records
11. Neil Michael Hagerty & The Howling Hex - The Hildreth Tapes - Golden Lab Records
12. 39 Clocks - Pain It Dark - Luxury Product
13. Sector Zero - Guitar Attack b/w Hiding In My Car - Goner Records
14. Peter Jefferies - The Last Great Challenge In A Dull World - De Stijl Records
15. Peter Gutteridge - Pure - 540 Records
16. The Renderers - Measured Strychnine Invitations - Exiled Records
17. Venom P Stinger - Meet My Friend Venom / What's Yours Is Mine / Waiting Room / Walking About - Drag City
18. C.C. Riders - Monsieur Jeffrey Evans & His C. C. Riders - Spacecase Records
19. Skullflower - Kino Volumes 1-4 - Dirter Promotions / Shock Records
20. True Believers - Accept It b/w Death By Freezing / Gusto Hungry - Hozac Records
21. Ego Summit - The Room Isn't Big Enough - 540 Records
22. Epicycle - You're Not Gonna Get It 1978-81 - Hozac Records
23. Spinal Tap - Soundtrack - The Control Group
24. Urinals - Negative Capability - In The Red
25. Afflicted Man - I'm Off Me 'ead & High Speed & The Afflicted Man - Get Stoned Ezy - Permanent Records / Guerssen Records
Hector Montes, Beggars Group
California X - California X - Don Giovanni
Clinic - Free Reign II - Domino
Mikal Cronin - MCII - Merge
The Dead C - Armed Courage - Ba Da Bing
Eluvium - Nightmare Ending - Temporary Residence Ltd.
The Focus Group - The Elektrik Karousel - Ghost Box
His Name Is Alive - Dragons Look Out Your Window (s/r)
Jon Hopkins - Immunity - Domino
Milk Music - Cruise Your Illusion - Fat Possum
My Bloody Valentine - mbv - s/r
The Native Cats - Dallas - Ride The Snake
Pissed Jeans - Honeys - Sub Pop
Shockwave Riderz - 12” + Cassette - S/R
Wire - Change Becomes Us - Pink Flag
YVETTE - Process - Godmode
Robby Morris, Matador Records
records, in no order, by: dean blunt, wolf eyes, nick cave and the bad seeds, steve gunn, nils frahm, bill callahan, dick diver, connections
live: kanye west, destruction unit (for the same reasons)
Gonzalo Schiaffino, Everlasting / Popstock
#2013InSongs
Badfinger – Baby Blue
The Ballet – All the Way
Bass Drum Of Death – Shattered Me
The Black Angels – Always Maybe
Black Joe Lewis – Vampire
Blank Realm – Cleaning Up My Mess
Brother JT – Somebody Down There
David Bowie – Where Are We Now?
The Excitements – Ha, Ha, Ha
Gabo Ferro – Volver a Volver
Gap Dream – Greased
Guadalupe Plata – Milana
Har Mar Superstar – Lady, You Shot Me
Janelle Monáe – Givin Em What They Love [feat. Prince]
Jason Isbell – Songs That She Sang In The Shower
John Grant – GMF
Julio de la Rosa feat. Ana Franco, Dani Llamas, Enrique Bunbury, Hannot Mintegia, Miguel Rivera, Nahúm García & Nieves Lázaro – La Fiera Dentro
King Khan & the Shrines – Better Luck Next Time
Low – So Blue
Lower Plenty – White Walls
Mad Season – Black Book Of Fear
Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood – War Memorial
Mazes – Notes Between F&E
Mick Harvey – I Wish That I Were Stone - Act 2
Mikal Cronin – Weight
Nadine Shah – Runaway
Night Beats – At the Gates
North Mississippi Allstars – Rollin 'n Tumblin
Obits – I'm Closing In
Paul McCartney – Cut Me Some Slack
Primal Scream – 2013
The Sadies – Another Yesterday Again
Steve Mason – Oh My Lord
Surf City – It's a Common Life
Tijuana Panthers – Tony's Song
Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Swim and Sleep
Wooden Shjips – These Shadows
Wooden Wand – Southern Colorado Song
#2013InAlbums:
DAVID BOWIE - The Next Day (Sony)
BROTHER JT - The Svelteness Of Boogietude (Thrill Jockey)
HAR MAR SUPERSTAR - Bye Bye 17 (Cult Records)
JASON ISBELL - Southerneastern (Thirty Tigers)
JULIO DE LA ROSA - Pequeños Trastornos Sin Importancia (Ernie Records)
MARK LANEGAN & DUKE GARWOOD - Black Pudding (Heavenly Recordings)
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS - World Boogie Is Coming (Songs From The South)
TY SEGALL - Sleeper (Drag City)
NIGHT BEATS - Sonic Bloom (Reverberation Appreciation Sociaty)
MAZES - Better Ghosts (Fat Cat)
MAD SEASON - Above (Reissue - Sony)
VELVET UNDERGROUND - White Light/White Heat (Reissue Universal)
#2013InConcerts:
GUADALUPE PLATA - El Sol (Madrid - 22Feb13)
JULIO DE LA ROSA - Teatro lara (Madrid - 17Oct13)
DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT - (Madrid - Circo Price 5Sep13)
NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS - (Madrid - Caracol 10Oct13)
#2013InTV:
BREAKING BAD
HOMELAND
THE WALKING DEAD
DEREK
Naomi Scott, Beggars Group
Some non-beggars albums I've enjoyed this year (in no order):
Pissed Jeans
YVETTE
Shannon & The Clams
Amon Amarth
David Bowie
Yancey Boys
AlunaGeorge
Moonface
Janelle Monae
Sky Ferreira
Earthless
Blood Orange
Karaoke Jams of the year:
Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball
Boy Meets Girl - Waiting For A Star To Fall
Heart - Alone
En Vogue - Free Your Mind
Alannah Myles - Black Velvet
Netflix finds of the year:
Beauty Is Embarrassing
Wigstock
Butter
Mike Birbiglia's My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
Beauty And The Beast (1987 Ron Perlman/Linda Hamilton version)
Gabe Spierer, Beggars Group
Savages - Silence Yourself and LIVE: I have not fallen for a band this hard in a long time. It was borderline awkward. Best live band in the world. I won't miss a show until they break up.
Kanye West - Yeezus and the Yeezus Tour: the album is weird, beautiful, dissociative, insanely self-indulgent, self-congratulatory and spectacular. The live show is all those things plus it's GIGANTIC - a budgetless Broadway trainwreck/revelation. We bought shirts. Best show I saw in 2013 not performed by Savages.
JAY-Z - Magna Carta Holy Grail: really, really liked the record and don't totally understand why people were so put off by the materialist braggadocio (like it's new from him?)...maybe it was the Samsung thing...I will say I'll always remember the record being announced in a TIMEOUT-LENGTH commercial during Game 5 of the NBA Finals...one game before THE CRAZIEST SHIT I HAVE EVER SEEN HAPPEN IN A BASKETBALL GAME (controlling for the magnitude of the circumstances): Game 6 of the NBA Finals was probably my favorite thing this year. The greatest shooter ever (and my favorite player ever) hitting the clutchest shot ever to save the legacy of the greatest player of his generation (and maybe the greatest player ever - it's getting to be a conversation, and re: Ray Ray saving LBJ's legacy, James was pretty majestic himself in that fourth quarter). Plus they ended up taking out the Spurs who Fuck The Spurs Forever. I'll never forget it.
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2: Again, I can't understand why the reviews were so shit. If you're judging the album outside the established context of the guy's almost two-decade career (you know that the lyrical content will be dumb to really really dumb, that some beats will be a revelation and others will literally be a joke, etc), I suppose you might miss THE RAPPING, which at times on MMLP2 can scarcely be believed. Devastating. And I actually like most of the songs, just generally.
Danny Brown - Old: for whatever reason I can only judge this record in the context of Pusha T's wildly overrated My Name Is My Name, even though the two albums are basically unrelated. I couldn't wait for the latter but when it arrived nearly alongside the former it just couldn't get any run on my iPhone. I didn't realize Brown was capable of such diversity (I only knew about THE DANNY BROWN VOICE) nor did I expect a record I would revisit so much. And since I gave Eminem a lot of credit for his rapping pyrotechnics, a note on how lazy Pusha sounds on MNIMN: he phones in almost every individual rhyme on that thing. No idea what you people are hearing. I'm still a fan though - if there's an entry point I'm missing can someone tell me what it is?
Neko Case - "Man" and "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu": two songs I repeatedly cherrypicked from a very good album.
A$AP Ferg - Trap Lord: if for no other reasons than "Shabba" and "Lord", a great back-to-back early in the record. Sort of like Neko Case but I actually listened to the whole album sometimes.
Baroness -Yellow & Green: I'm pretty sure this came out in 2012 but I listened to it A LOT this year, plus it's really long and sort of sounds like Foo Fighters.
Ka - The Night's Gambit: the tiniest little rap record of the year. Super unique with inventive, weird beats and near-whispered raps. Is "dusky" a word? Am I using it right?
Kevin Gates - Stranger Than Fiction: I know The Luca Brasi Story is the one most people liked and the one you'll see on some lists but this was my jam. Either way the dude is talented and "Thinking With My Dick" is the funniest song of the year.
Dick Diver - Calendar Days: so good, so pop, so Kiwi (even if they're Australian).
Michael Cronin - MCII: I just listened to this a hell of a lot. Every time I did I thought "well I don't love this"...but I put it on as much as anything so I feel like I might have been wrong.
Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City: I'm a huge fan of the band but this might go down as my favorite of the first three albums. I'm not sure what to say about "Step", "Hannah Hunt" or "Hudson" except that all three just HAUNTED me in their own way.
A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP: not sure what it was about the A$AP crew but they had some of the great sequencing triumphs in rap this year....the "Fuckin' Problems", "Wild For The Night", "1Train" run was the best back-to-back-to-back of 2013.
Sampha - Dual EP: I'm just surprised I liked this as much as I did. I didn't know it was my thing. Nothing against Sampha. He's great. I just didn't see it coming. For me. It's gorgeous and the songs are terrific. Also - on Fallon with Drake. Wow.
Iceage - You're Nothing: as someone told me that Lombardi told them, "it sounds like it could all fall apart at any second but somehow it never does". And amid all of that "chaos": some of the best melodies and songwriting of 2013. Sensational.
Deerhunter - Monomania: especially "Back To The Middle", "The Missing", "Blue Agent" and "Monomania". But, the whole thing.
Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork and hearing "My God Is The Sun" (+4) for the first time at SXSW on the roof of the Omni with Natalie and Robby, and learning that Matador was going to put the record out: I think this is the only one of "these" on this list. Sue me. It was big!
Kleenex Girl Wonder - Let It Buffer: Another classic from my just-about-my-fave...He writes indie rock lyrics like a rapper (as I believe he mentions on the record) and songs with as much heart and wit as anyone. I don't just keep saying this for fun. He's one of the greats. Speaking of back-to-back-to-back(-to-back)s: "Mr. Big Philosopher", "William Roberts", "BFF", "Exeunt.". The first KGW full-length on vinyl since Ponyoak (right?) and a worthy reentry in the format.
Chrissy Stuart, Mattitude Music
Cars, Cigars, and Son in Cuba
Bestia's Bone Marrow
Atoms for Peace at Fai Do Do
Fried Clams at The Bite in Menemsha
50 Mile Bike Ride in Colorado with My Dad
Cayo Largo, Cuba
DARKSIDE AT THE ROXY
Sampha & Drake`
Bad Sports - Bras
Snowshoeing in the Redwoods
Kayne West - Yeezus
Blake Thomas, Beggars Group
Trailer: World War Z - Paramount
Beer: Snake IPA cask - Flying Dog
Burger: Hillstone
Album: Phosphorescent - Muchacho
Laugh: Matt De Jong
Live: Deerhunter - Webster Hall
Video: Manhattan - Cat Power
Booze: Blanton's Gold - Buffalo Trace
TV: Breaking Bad - AMC
Sandwich: East Villy Cheese Steak - Whitmans
Song: 'Wakin on a Pretty Day' - Kurt Vile
Movie: The Conjuring - New Line
Looking forward to: Endless Boogie/Malkmus and the Jicks show
Mike Venutolo-Mantovani, Matador Direct
Top 14 for '13
1. ovlov - am (Exploding In Sound)
2. Brother JT - The Sveltness Of Boogitude (Thrill Jockey)
3. Rhye - Woman (Loma Vista)
4. Yo La Tengo - Fade (Matador)
5. Marnie Stern - The Chronicles Of Marnia (Kill Rock Stars)
6. Anna Calvi - One Breath (Domino)
7. Charles Waters Quartet - Chroma Colossus: 13 Visions Of The City (Amish)
8. The Brooklyn What - Hot Wine (self-released)
9. Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio - Gala (12XU)
10. Stephen Malkmus And Friends - Ege Bamyasi Record Store Day Exclusive (Matador)
11. King Khan And The Shrines - Idle No More (Merge)
12. Queens Of The Stone Age - …Like Clockwork (Matador)
13. Potty Mouth - Hell Bent (Old Flame)
14. Washed Out - Paracosm (Sub Pop)
Song O The Year
Hop Along - Sister Cities
Web Gem
Groupie Dirt
Eli's Interceptions
1. Pick six vs Dallas
2. Pick six vs Chicago
3. Pick six vs Oakland
Viral Sensations
1. It's Too Damn Hot!!
2. Oh My Dayum
3. Trumpet Fight
Patrick Amory, Matador Records
steve gunn - time off
patrick leigh fermor - the broken road
dick diver - calendar days
vintage postage stamps
alan garner - boneland
akavetala
guy halsall - worlds of arthur
interior with mirror
forbrydelsen
bron|broen
front free endpaper
stephen king - doctor sleep
fuchsia - fuchsia song
Gerard Cosloy, Matador Records,
Bottomless Pit - Shade Perennial (Comedy Minus One)
Ooga Boogas - s/t (Aarght)
Spray Paint - s/t (SS Records)
Spray Paint - Rodeo Songs (SS Records)
Martha's Vineyard Ferries - Mass Grave (Kiam)
Radioactivity - s/t (Dirtnap)
Running - Vaguely Ethnic (Castleface)
Jeffrey Novak - Lemon Kid (Trouble In Mind)
Destruction Unit - Void (Jolly Dream)
Destruction Unit - Deep Trip (Sacred Bones)
Chris Corsano / Bill Orcutt - The Raw & The Cooked (Palilalia)
Sun Kil Moon/The Album Leaf - Perils From The Sea (Calo Verde)
Endless Boogie - Long Island (No Quarter)
Ex-Cult - Ex-Cult (Goner)
Dick Diver - Calendar Days (Chapter Music)
Cuntz - Solid Mates (Homeless)
Impalers - s/t (540)
Counter Intuits s/t (Pyramid Scheme)
A Giant Dog - Bone (Tic Tac Totally)
Mordecai - College Rock (Richie)
Lloyd Pack - At Home With The Lloyd Pack (L'Esprit De L'Escalier)
Buck Biloxi & The Fucks - s/t (Red Lounge)
Pampers - s/t (In The Red)
Chris Forsyth - Solar Motel (Paradise Of Bachelors)
Bassholes - Boogieman Stew (Columbus Discount)
Gary Wrong Group - Knights Of Misery 12" (Total Punk)
Thalia Zedek Band - Via (Thrill Jockey)
The School Of Radiant Living - s/t (Radiant)
7"'s
Gary Wrong Group/Wizzard Sleeve - "Halloween Violence" (Jeth Row/Pelican Pow Wow)
Gas Rag - 'Human Rights' EP (Beach Impediment)
Gotobeds - "Ipso Facto" (Mind Cure)
Buck Biloxi & The Fucks - "Holodeck Survivor" (Total Punk)
Manateees - "Neat Freak" (Pelican Pow Wow)
Wet Lungs - s/t 7" EP (Twistworthy)
reissues
Chance - In Search (Paradise Of Bachelors)
Dark - Dark Round The Edges (Machu Picchu)
Peter Gutteridge - Pure (540)
Victor Dimisich Band - s/t (Siltbreeze)
Venom P. Stinger - Meet My Friend Venom / What's Yours Is Mine (Drag City)
Craig Leon - Nommos (Superior Viaduct)
Dump - Superpowerless / I Can Hear Music (Morr Music)
Afflicted Man - I'm Off Me 'Ead (Permanent)
live :
Rusted Shut (Mohawk, Austin)
Cuntz (Death By Audio, NYC, Buccaneer, Memphis, Mohawk, Austin)
Destruction Unit (Beerland, Austin, Hotel Vegas, Austin)
Tyvek (Empty Bottle, Chicago)
Wizzard Sleeve (Empty Bottle, Chicago, Hi-Tone, Memphis)
Cheater Slicks (Beerland, Austin, Empty Bottle, Chicago)
Total Control (Holy Mountain, Austin)
Protomartyr (Beerland, Austin, Bottom Lounge, Chicago)
Richard Buckner (Hotel Vegas, Austin)
Hoax (Mohawk, Austin)
The Rats (Mohawk, Austin)
Iron Maiden (Circuit Of The Americas Speedway, Austin)