Top Albums of 2012 (picked by labels, artists, & blogs)

[bballarl]

Also, it hurts my soul that the Grimes album is getting jocked so hard. That album is aggressively mediocre.

Also also: Mac DeMarco is genuinely terrible.

[TallGuyCM]

Yeah, that Pallbearer album is great. I need to go revisit it, it's been a few months.

[bmack86]

Realization while making the list: Not a single one of the bands in my top 50 played Coachella this year. Time to skip this festival.

[TallGuyCM]

But surely several will play the festival next year!

[bmack86]

Yeah. But then all the bands I'm loving in 2013 that are releasing new, forward-thinking music will not be on the lineup and they will be playing fests like FYF, Fun Fun Fun, ATP, Hopscotch and all the other great regional things that have increasingly sprung up.

Edit: Another nice discovery - Of my top 5, the only act I was familiar with prior to 2012 was Killer Mike, and that was only because he was on that Outkast song back in 2000.

[icedKeg]

Also also: Mac DeMarco is genuinely terrible.

I quite like it.

[Miroir Noir]

The AV Club:

1. Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
2. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
3. Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory
4. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
5. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel . . .
6. Jack White - Blunderbuss
7. Swans - The Seer
8. Bob Mould - Silver Age
8. Titus Andronicus - Local Business
10. P.O.S. - We Don’t Even Live Here
11. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City
12. Divine Fits - A Thing Called Divine Fits
13. Miguel - Kaleidoscope Dream
14. Grizzly Bear - Shields
15. Rush - Clockwork Angels
16. Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
17. The Men - Open Your Heart
18. Field Music - Plumb
18. Future of the Left - The Plot Against Common Sense
20. The Walkmen - Heaven
21. Sun Kil Moon - Among The Leaves
22. Cat Power - Sun
23. Bob Dylan - Tempest
24. Dion - Tank Full Of Blues
24. Pilot to Gunner - Guilty, Guilty

[bug on your lip]

wow... that is one bore of a list

[bmack86]

At least they put Bob Mould on there though.

[TomAz]

Hey maybe Rush could headline Coachella 2013.

[Miroir Noir]

I've always kinda wanted to attend a Rush show for anthropological reasons.

[bmack86]

To be fair, I also saw the Rush album on a couple metal lists. People are calling it their best thing in decades. For me, that isn't much in the way of praise.

[bug on your lip]

Rush would be awesome at Coachella.. i think the people who dog them must not know how to play a musical instrument

[bmack86]

You were saying?

[Miroir Noir]

Hipster Runoff's Most Overrated Bands of 2k12 [Don't Believe the Buzz] (SPOILER ALERT: It is Grimes)

[TallGuyCM]

Yeah. But then all the bands I'm loving in 2013 that are releasing new, forward-thinking music will not be on the lineup and they will be playing fests like FYF, Fun Fun Fun, ATP, Hopscotch and all the other great regional things that have increasingly sprung up.

I thought about this a bit today and realized this - most every other festival has a 3-4 month jump on Coachella for current music, if not greater. I mean, pretty much every band that's playing Coachella next year is booked by now, and we have very little idea what 2013 is going to shape up like at the moment. So it's a lot easier for festivals like Pitchfork (July), ATP (September), and FYF (September) to capitalize on what have proven to be the solid acts of that particular year. So it's kind of unfair to hold that against Coachella.

I mean, just the likelihood of Nick Cave playing Coachella next year is enough to get me really excited!

[TomAz]

NY Times dudes.

Jon Pareles

Ben Ratliff

Nate Chinen

Jon Caramanica

[TallGuyCM]

Swans and Scott Walker take the top two spots over at The Quietus.

[xanman86]

Swans and Scott Walker take the top two spots over at The Quietus.

Good list but where are Grizzly Bear and Frank Ocean?

Nice, looks like Bish Bosch is finally on Spotify so I can give it a better listen. It wasn't really working as driving music for me.

[TallGuyCM]

Good list but where are Grizzly Bear and Frank Ocean?

It's not really that type of blog. They skew more toward the experimental.

[wmgaretjax]

some lists with good music on them: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/

[Spooks]

Matador staff lists plus members of Fucked Up, Esben and the Witch, Ceremony, Yo La Tengo, Pavement and etc contribute...

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matabl...012-favorites/

[mountmccabe]

I thought about this a bit today and realized this - most every other festival has a 3-4 month jump on Coachella for current music, if not greater. I mean, pretty much every band that's playing Coachella next year is booked by now, and we have very little idea what 2013 is going to shape up like at the moment. So it's a lot easier for festivals like Pitchfork (July), ATP (September), and FYF (September) to capitalize on what have proven to be the solid acts of that particular year. So it's kind of unfair to hold that against Coachella.

I would make agree if year-end lists only included albums released at the end of the year. As it stands I don't think the actual creation and publications of the lists affect anything. Plus to the extent that that does go on (which is non-zero, admittedly) Coachella could roll based on mid-year lists.

I am in a position similar to Bryan's in that of my tentative top 20 only one played Coachella in 2012. [It is two if you count St Vincent without David Byrne but I don't.] But all this really notes is that 2012 was a remarkably shitty year line-up for Coachella (per my tastes) even with some top tier names like Pulp and Jeff Mangum.

But there may be more to it as from my 2011 top 20 there were 5 bands that played Coachella in 2011 and another 4 that would play Coachella in 2012.

I mean, just the likelihood of Nick Cave playing Coachella next year is enough to get me really excited!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is a great get and I do not want to miss their tour in 2013.



But this is all off-topic.

[TallGuyCM]

I would make agree if year-end lists only included albums released at the end of the year. As it stands I don't think the actual creation and publications of the lists affect anything. Plus to the extent that that does go on (which is non-zero, admittedly) Coachella could roll based on mid-year lists.

I wasn't really referring to Coachella finding bands off of year-end lists, but more getting bands that are selling well/are looking like they're having a good year. Since Coachella is all but booked at this point for next year, they won't have the advantage of gauging the successes of the first half of 2013 bands like many other festivals will and booking them.

[Miroir Noir]

How many acts from our assorted 2011 lists played Coachella 2012 though? I can't blame the fest for not having more relevant 2012 acts that weren't on their tour cycle yet.

[SoulDischarge]

Now we're getting somewhere.

RA's Top 10 Compilatons
10. The Burrell Brothers - The Nu Groove Years 1988-1992
9. Various Artists - Only 4 U: The Sound of Cajmere & Cajual
8. Various Artists - Shangaan Shake
7. Various Artists - Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 2
6. Various Artists - A Compilation
5. Various Artists - American Noise
4. Various Artists - Minutes In Ice
3. Drexciya - Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller Vol. I - III
2. Various Artists - New Jack Techno
1. Various Artists - Trevor Jackson Presents Metal Dance

RA's Top Online Mixes
10. Smallpeople - Little White Earbuds Talking Shopcast 14
9. Beneath - FACT Mix 328
8. Daphni - Live from the Bussey Building October 5 2012
7. Akkord - Electronic Explorations Mix 183
6. Morphosis - mnml ssgs mx fnl
5. Bok Bok - NSMIX001
4. Nicolas Jaar - Essential Mix
3. Rrose - E.P.153 (Electronique.it)
2. Dixon & Ame - Boiler Room x Innervisions DJ Set at ADE 2012
1. Rustie - Essential Mix

RA's Top DJ Mixes
10. DJ Deep - Kern Vol. 1
9. Maya Jane Coles - DJ-Kicks
8. Zip - Fabric 67
7. Norman Nodge - Berghain 06
6. Slow to Speak - Classic House Grooves: Dope Jams New York City
5. Tiga - Tiga Non Stop
4. Nick Hoppner - Panorama Bar 04
3. Andrew Weatherall - Masterpiece
2. Ben Klock - Fabric 66
1. Levon Vincent - Fabric 63

[TallGuyCM]

How many acts from our assorted 2011 lists played Coachella 2012 though? I can't blame the fest for not having more relevant 2012 acts that weren't on their tour cycle yet.

Exactly my point.

[icedKeg]

Consequence of Sound:

1. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
2. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
3. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
4. Cloud Nothings – Attack on Memory
5. Swans – The Seer
6. Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music
7. Beach House – Bloom
8. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
9. Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
10. Action Bronson – Blue Chips
11. Lambchop – Mr. M
12. Sharon Van Etten – Tramp
13. Angel Haze – Reservation EP
14. John Talabot – ƒin
15. Matthew E. White – Big Inner
16. Death Grips – The Money Store
17. Grimes – Visions
18. Miguel – Kaleidoscope Dream
19. Bat for Lashes – The Haunted Man
20. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
21. Chromatics – Kill for Love
22. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
23. Ty Segall – Slaughterhouse
24. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
25. El-P – Cancer For Cure
26. Liars – WIXIW
27. METZ – METZ
28. Purity Ring – Shrines
29. How to Dress Well – Total Loss
30. Scott Walker – Bish Bosch
31. TNGHT – TNGHT EP
32. Cat Power – Sun
33. Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror
34. Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
35. Tig Notaro – Live!
36. Future – Pluto
37. The Henry Clay People – Twenty-Five for the Rest of Our Lives
38. Beak – >>
39. Crystal Castles – (III)
40. Grizzly Bear – Shields
41. Tame Impala – Lonerism
42. The Men – Open Your Heart
43. The Smashing Pumpkins – Oceania
44. Joey Bada$$ – 1999
45. Allo Darlin’ – Europe
46. Code Orange Kids – Love Is Love // Return to Dust
47. Bob Mould – Silver Age
48. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
49. Flying Lotus – Until the Quiet Comes
50. Nas – Life Is Good

http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/1...the-year-2012/

[bmack86]

Exactly my point.

I tried responding to this in the morning but I had to leave before I finished my response. 2011 is not a great example at all either, as most of my favorite 2011 albums were not represented either. And basically I agree with John that the last lineup, despite some great names, was by and large shitty. And I felt largely the same way about 2011. And at this point I don't expect 2013 to cater to my tastes any more than they have in the past two years. We've gone different routes, Coachella and I.

[TallGuyCM]

I tried responding to this in the morning but I had to leave before I finished my response. 2011 is not a great example at all either, as most of my favorite 2011 albums were not represented either. And basically I agree with John that the last lineup, despite some great names, was by and large shitty. And I felt largely the same way about 2011. And at this point I don't expect 2013 to cater to my tastes any more than they have in the past two years. We've gone different routes, Coachella and I.

Oh I've definitely felt the same way about the past two years, that's the reason I haven't gone. I'm right with you on that. I was just trying to point out that for Coachella it's hard to book bands that will make your favorite 2013 albums when the festival lineup is decided in 2012.

Moving on...