The list is coming

On its way…….the top 12 albums of the year

I was talking to a friend a few weeks back, a casual music fan at best, and the subject of new releases came up. Admittedly, being a casual fan, he was in the camp of “well, besides (insert favorite band here), everything else is just awful”. It’s not the first time I have heard this in my life. And while I agreed with his assessment that his favorite band DID put out a pretty spectacular album in 2013, that he was missing the boat on some fantastic issues from the course of the year. Some known bands, some new bands, some indie bands…..this year was a GREAT year in music. So much so, that I have to expand my normal “Top 10” thought process, to a Top 12. I even toyed with 15, but then the write ups would get draining and drab, so thought better of it. (I will list a few “near misses” when the first part of the list comes out) A couple of thoughts right away:

1. If you came here thinking that Arcade Fire was going to be on the list……you are reading the wrong blog. For the 3rd record in a row, I gave them my best listen. I WANTED to like the new record (as if it would let me eat at the cool kids table), I really did. I just can’t. I GET the appeal, I GET the fandom….I just don’t get the music.
2. When it came to ranking the top 3, it took a couple of re-listens to settle on the order. (they were always the top 3, I just changed my mind 6,000 times as to the order) As I write this, I still have time to change it 6,000 MORE times….but I don’t think I will. In the words of great speech writers, I believed “it is locked”. (unless, of course, something comes out prior to releasing the list that blows the whole list up….)
3. As far as 4-12…..well that changed order (and the bottom changed entrants) 6,000 times….X 10. That speaks to the breadth of awesome that came out this year. The difference between 4 and 15 is very minimal, and led me to nit-pick. Just know, that anything in the 12, is not just good, but at least VERY GOOD to GREAT.

Now, the standard judging rules apply. Those are:

1. No Best Of records – Obviously. Even if they tacked on a couple of new tracks, can’t evaluate.
2. No Live records – Live records tend to be BEST OF’s in front of an audience.
3. No COMPS – Needs to be a band and a full LP (which, this year was a tough omission, as the Sound City soundtrack is phenomenal)

Lastly, as with anyone’s “Top Whatever #” list, this is purely subjective. I don’t really pay attention to mainstream reviews; I like to listen not only with my ears, but also my gut. What I like may be different than what you do. There are a lot of diverse sounds on the list, so I am hoping that at least one of the albums will speak to everyone who reads.
The capsules will start posting towards the end of November, once I feel comfortable that nothing new coming out in December could create an issue. Thanks as always for the read.