2011 Crate Digging Retrospective (Pts 1-4)

Well, it’s close enough to December, I suppose. I was going to do another album, but nothing really sparked my interest, so I figured it’d be nice to go ahead and jump into the retrospective list-type substance. In the next couple weeks, we’ll discuss the best songs and the best albums of the year. But this week, I kind of wanted to talk about those old albums we might have revisited, rediscovered, or discovered for the first time in 2011. Let’s call this our 2011 Crate Digging Retrospective.

Pat Benatar – “Heartbreaker”

From: Brandon Hall
To: Natalie Snoyman, Sarah Braunstein, Chris Mollica

Hi, Natalie, Sarah, and Chris!

I’m really excited to hear what you’ve been listening to this year. Since starting AV in April, I’ve pretty much only listened to the albums we’ve already discussed at length. I listened to Dookie all the way through, got reacquainted with Pinkerton, and probably said way too much about Hounds of Love, though I easily have a few thousand more words left in me on that subject.

There are a few albums and artists I managed to put some serious hours of listening into that we never got the chance to discuss here. Pat Benatar was actually one of those artists. For some reason, I don’t remember where the urge came from right now, I just felt like I wanted to rock out to some Patty B. (Has anyone ever referred to Pat Benatar as Patty B? No, right? I bet I just offended an awful lot of people who will never read this.) Anyway, I won’t speak at length on the subject, because I just grabbed her greatest hits, but goddamn that was some cathartic shit. “Heartbreaker,” “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” “Love is a Battlefield,” and “We Belong” are still fucking killer tracks. The breakdown in “Heartbreaker” about two minutes into that glam-rock, Queen-aping headbanger of a track still gives me chills. Of the 20 or so tracks on that greatest hits album, about 10 or 11 of them are show stoppers. 50% might not seem so great, but a 20 track greatest hits album is kind of bloated. Having 10 show stopping songs in a career is a pretty awesome run. Also, it’s kind of wild how well the songs hold up. There’s a classic 80s rock vibe to a lot of the songs, which is to be expected, but songs like “We Live for Love” sound downright contemporary and very few of the songs fall victim to what we think of as 80s cheese, by which I think I mean crappy synthesizers and funk bass.

The same cannot be said of Bonnie Raitt, who I decided to check out for the first time after Justin Vernon of Bon Iver tried to make her and Bruce Hornsby cool again with his album, Bon Iver, and the cover/medley of Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and “Nick of Time.” Raitt’s Nick of Time won four Grammy’s in 1990 including Album of the Year. (Incidentally, she won it over Fine Young Cannibals’ The Raw and the Crooked, also nominated that year (srs.), and I won’t even begin to list the absolute gads of seminal, important, still-very-relevant albums that came out in 1989 that weren’t so much as glanced at by the Grammy’s, which begs the question: were the Grammy’s ever relevant? Like ever? I’m kind of under the impression that the Academy Awards, at some point (maybe in the 30s?) made some objective sense. Anyone have any clue when the last time was that the Grammy’s had a clue?)

Bonnie Raitt – “I Can’t Make You Love Me” from Luck of the Draw

Bon Iver’s Bon Iver is an album I’m interested to discuss in the coming weeks, one that definitely has not aged well save for a few songs, and I think it has quite a bit to do with the fact that that chintzy, cheesy 80s synthesizer crap does not age well. Raitt’s “Nick of Time” was a huge hit but listen to the beginning of that song and tell me your gag reflex doesn’t kick in just a little bit. [ed: apparently EMI doesn’t want you to hear this song either! You can see the video here – the only place I was able to find one and I’m sure EMI will track it down and kill it soon enough.] I dug into two of her albums from around the same time, Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw and two things were pretty consistent: the song writing was typically excellent, the song compositions, on the other hand, typically involved a highly criminal use of the synthesizer and the funk bass. “I Can’t Make You Love Me” from Luck of the Draw is a pretty undeniably awesome song, but for that goddamned accompanying Cassio synth. Even the Hornsby ivory tickling isn’t all that grating. As a rule, the closer Raitt gets to acoustic on these albums, the more tolerable the songs. But Jesus, fuck, those are the exceptions. I can only wonder what Raitt’s legacy would be if she hadn’t let her songs be so egregiously defiled, if she hadn’t succumbed to this 80s infatuation with all the cool effects you can make a keyboard do. “Ooh! Look at this one – it sounds like chimes!” “Oh sweet! It has a drum beat already programmed in it! That should save on the cost of a session drummer. And it sounds so real, too!” Ugh.

Bon Iver – “I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time” Cover

Also, WTF, Justin Vernon? Srsly? You’re into Bruce Hornsby and Bonnie Raitt? I can’t tell if he’s being sincere or just being cute. Liking something so easy to hate definitely earns you cool points, I suppose. And considering the sound of Bon Iver, it seems he probably really does dig that sound, which, okay. Maybe he’s really into Dean Koontz and Tom Clancy novels, too. Who wants to put money on macaroni and cheese being his favorite food? Any takers on PB&J?

Spending so much time with Bonnie Raitt has made me think that Justin Vernon is kind of lame. This was not a positive event for me in 2011. I really want to like the dude. He made “Skinny Love” fergodsakes. And “Holocene.” But, yeesh. If you list Bruce Hornsby and/or Bonnie Raitt in your OK Cupid profile, I’m probably on to the next one.*

Talk Talk – “Ascension Day” from Laughing Stock

I’ve spent so much time on Bonnie Raitt, that I won’t spend too much time on the artist that I just discovered for the first time this year thanks to a reissue, but I can’t not mention them. The band is Talk Talk and I discovered them thanks to their reissue of Laughing Stock this year and the really awesome writeup in P4K about the album. I can’t say anything that wasn’t better said in that article, but Laughing Stock just absolutely blew my mind in a way that so very few albums manage to do. It came out in 1991, the same year as Luck of the Draw and they couldn’t be further apart. Laughing Stock is expansive and experimental and forward thinking. It buries itself in the recesses of a shadowed world, before exploding in fits and rages of jazz and classical infused post-rock freak outs. It flutters in the dark and silent spaces of a macabre, sullen reverie and has few if any true predecessors in the world of pop or rock. None that I can think of, at least. Maybe some Floyd or Wyatt or Arthur Russell, but even those are stretches. The sound developed on their last two albums laid the foundation and remain touchstones for every post-rock album that came after them. I practically wore my CD out before grabbing 1988’s The Spirit of Eden and 1986’s The Colour of Spring. That Talk Talk were releasing these albums at the same time Bonnie Raitt was crapping all over hers seems almost unfair. Unfair because the sound everyone thinks of when they cringe at the thought of the 80s is the one Raitt flooded our radios with. I knew all the words to “Something to Talk About” when I was 9, but didn’t hear word one of the Pixies until I was in college (Doolittle also came out in 1989), and didn’t hear Laughing Stock until I was almost 30.

The lesson as always, the radio and the Grammy’s are our enemies and should die a horrible, bloody death.

How about you guys? What dusty old albums caught your ears this year?

“We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder,”
Brandon

*[Unless you’re really hot, obv. Exceptions can be made.]

From: Natalie Snoyman
To: Brandon Hall, Sarah Braunstein, Chris Mollica

For the last three years, I’ve put together a musical retrospective of sorts. Y’know, putting together a list of 20 or so songs I really enjoyed from that specific year. However, there are always two or three tracks I find myself desperately wanting to include but won’t because they were not released during the year in question. Anal? Perhaps. But when I set rules for myself, I try to follow ’em, okay? I find it’s a good exercise to force myself to only select songs from a specific year, but I’ll be the first to admit I find myself wanting to bend the rules just for this one song. But I don’t. As a result, this Crate Digging Retrospective is a nice release. Thanks, Brandon.

So let’s get into it. The following five albums would have surely made it onto the “Best of 2011” list had they actually been released in 2011 :

Sean Nicholas Savage – “Rowdy River of Love”

1) Sean Nicholas Savage, Movin Up in Society, 2010.

I first heard this record in the very earliest part of 2011 — just about three weeks after I sent out my 2010 retrospective. Naturally, I was a little devastated when I heard “Rowdy River of Love” and immediately thought, “This is so going on ‘Best of 2011′” only to discover that to do so would be a glaring inaccuracy. Alas, Movin Up in Society was released last year. In 2010, Sean Nicholas Savage released this folky record AND Mutual Feelings of Respect and Admiration — his attempt at a disco record. Trust me when I say both records are quite outstanding but I found myself returning to the former all year long. It’s a really lovely, bare bones release that features perfect melodies and arrangements. Lucky for me (and my retrospectives), Mr. Savage’s prolific tendencies continued into 2011; once again, he released two albums this year.

Arthur Russell – “What It’s Like”

2) Arthur Russell, Love is Overtaking Me, 2008.

In 2010 I joined a band. Before I joined this band, I listed them as one of my favorite bands. Not everyone can say they played in one of their favorite bands. Sometimes we wore masks in this band. The mask I wore was some sort of fox-bird creature and it was made especially to fit my face. In order to make it fit so nicely, my bandmate applied a layer of plaster to my face and I was ordered to lie on the floor of my apartment for 30 minutes without being able to move my mouth. As you can imagine, this made speaking a little difficult. So we decided to listen to some music during these 30 minutes in order to fill the silence. I chose to listen to Arthur Russell’s Love is Overtaking Me, an album that sat in my collection for a few years without receiving the amount of attention it deserves and quietly demands. Both my bandmate and I really loved this album and once we removed the plaster from my face, we talked about Russell’s melancholic voice and warm lyrics for the rest of the evening. This is a great album.

Gonzales – “Gogol”

3) Gonzales, Solo Piano, 2004.

This is an incredible instrumental album with amazingly delicate, rich compositions. To be honest, listening to this album just makes me so envious. I long to be able to play the piano like this.

Maher Shalal Hash Baz – “Epignosis”

4) Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Return Visit to Rock Mass, 1996.

This is the band’s second release and it’s over two and a half hours long. I recently found myself walking through Golden Gate Park on an extremely foggy night and decided this album would keep me good company. I’ll just say I made the right decision. To be honest, this isn’t a very accessible album. It is, however, one that I have been returning to on a near-daily basis, if only to revisit “Epignosis,” a fantastic, super energetic song. There are so many layers to this release and I appreciate the band’s approach to playing music in an imperfect way. Something to think about, anyway.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – “Joan of Ark”

5) Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Architecture & Morality, 1981.

I found this record for $2.99 at Record Surplus in Los Angeles, which is a truly amazing record store — they alphabetize the dollar bins for crying out loud! Back to the album. Of course, this band has been around for awhile and while I had heard this album before, it never sounded as good as it did in 2011 when it played on my record player in the apartment I now miss so much. The 7+ minute-long “Joan of Arc” is by far my favorite track on this album. This is a song I would dance to, which is saying a lot. I’m not really sure what that says about me. I mean, it’s a pretty cold, pretty precise song. But hey, maybe that’s how I like to dance. And hey, have you seen Andy McCluskey’s dance moves? They’re fantastic. Bonus: the cover art for Architecture & Morality is top notch.

Sigur Ros – “Festival”

Honorable mention: Sigur Rós, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, 2008.

“Festival” is one of those songs I will always want to hear played more loudly. Last night I had the pleasure of watching Inni at the Roxie Theatre here in San Francisco. It’s a beautiful film that perfectly captures the brilliance behind this band and I’m still reeling from it.

Stayed tuned for “Best of 2011,”
Natalie

That Dog – “Never Say Never”

From: Sarah Braunstein
To: Brandon Hall, Natalie Snoyman, Chris Mollica

Brandon, hold up. You never mentioned that you’ve been whiling away the hours of 2011 listening to Bonnie Raitt. If Justin Vernon said that Loutallica’s Lulu was the best thing he heard all year and we all just needed to spend some more time with the album in order to see the light, would you do it? Ok, I’m just angry because I’ve had “Something To Talk About” stuck in my since reading your entry and I haven’t even heard that song in over 10 years.

Sorry, just had to say it. That’s all the criticizing I’ll do this time around.

Unlike Natalie, I haven’t done much musical retrospecting over the years. I mean, every December I’ll talk about my favorite albums of the year with one (Brandon), maaaaaybe two people if I’m feeling particularly conversational, but that’s the extent of my list-making. I generally take this time of year to hang out on the lists of other publications, blogs, and know-it-alls in order to fill the gaps of albums that I overlooked. Well, “overlooked” probably isn’t the right word. I’ll readily admit to missing some of “the best” albums of 2011 because of self-imposed listening ruts – also known as playing Let England Shake on repeat – or from finding myself newly in possession of great albums from years past. “What albums?” you ask. I’ll get to that but first, every list needs a title.

<clears throat>

“I’m sorry 2011, I couldn’t hear what you said because I had That Dog turned up too loud: A list of seven albums that might have been made in 2011 based solely on Sarah Braunstein’s iTunes play counts followed by a brief FAQ about the list”

1) That Dog, Retreat From The Sun (1997)

2) Phosphorescent, Pride (2007)

Phosphorescent – “Wolves”

3) Talk Talk, Laughing Stock (1991, re-issued in 2011)

4) Mirah, C’mon Miracle (2004)

Mirah – “We’re Both So Sorry”

5) Warpaint, The Fool (2010)

Warpaint – “Undertow” (Live via yourstru.ly)

6) Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985)

7) Unrest, Imperial f.f.r.r. (1992)

Unrest – “Imperial”

FAQ:

Q: Is this list comprehensive?
A: No, this list is not comprehensive because, well, that could get boring for you. Also, I just returned home after working 12 hours to find my Chicago apartment without HEAT (what kind of shit is that?!) and can’t type for too long for fear of frostbitten fingers.

Q: Are the albums in any particular order?
A: No. The albums are in no particular order.

Q: Why seven? Why not 5 or 10?
A: Is music divisible by 5? Didn’t think so.

Q: Why didn’t you write more about these albums?
A: Because just the fact that I listed them like my opinion matters at all should be enough to make you go out, get the albums, and listen yourself. Right? Isn’t that the point of these things?

“I do believe you’re blushing”
Sarah

From: Brandon Hall
To: Sarah Braunstein, Natalie Snoyman

I totally forgot about That Dog! We discovered them this year? Man, what a long year.

Dude. Did you notice Let England Shake didn’t even make Paste’s top 50!? I knew there was a reason I’ve never given Paste a cent of my money. Jebus.

Also, ha! That is a hilarious picture of Justin Vernon. Sure makes the whole Bonnie Raitt thing make a little more sense.

And yes, if Justin Vernon had told me to spend more time with Lulu, I would have. And I would have come to the same conclusion: it rapes koalas.

B

Van Morrison – “Astral Weeks”

From: Chris Mollica
To: Brandon Hall, Natalie Snoyman, Sarah Braunstein

A Jazzy, Brooding Year or Apologies for Not Being a Revolution

I’m with you, Natalie. Years ago, I played my part in creating a greatest hits of the year mix. Sure, the resulting disc was awesome, but it was filled with far too many compromises. Kinda like building a tree house with your parents.

Child: “What do you mean the slide can’t go on the balcony?”
Parent: “No slide. Also, no balcony.”
Child: “I feel like you’ve lost a critical understanding of this project.”

Ever year I fall in love with some older album which feels like it fits perfectly into my life. To leave those songs off a “year ender” feels like giving the year short shrift. Who wants a tree house without a balcony or a slide?  I want anything that I claim to be “my year end blahbiddy blah blah” to feel like my year or at least reflect it.

This year’s disc would be a beast anyway.  2011 has been very good to me with new, old and returning favorites. I’m lucky to be a part of these Audiovoles. Without a doubt they have led to this being one my most eclectic years of music. It also leads to overlap.

F-that!  Great music is great music. So here’s four older albums that I truly appreciated this year. They have a similar feel, but couldn’t be more different.

“And I’ll be satisfied not to read between the lines.”
Chris

Keren Ann – “Not Going Anywhere” (Live)

From: Brandon Hall
To: Natalie Snoyman, Sarah Braunstein, Chris Mollica

Christ, guys. You’re totally blowing our cover. We obviously look like friends who all share the same music since we keep repeating albums!