Best of 2013: #8 - Yuck - Glow and Behold (Fat Possum)

2013 could have been the year Yuck faded into obscurity. After a strikingly good debut self-titled album in 2011, Yuck had become one of the bands to watch coming out of the UK. But, their lead singer Dan Blumberg abruptly left the band for a solo career. The band regrouped, with guitarist Max Bloom taking on lead singer duties. Few bands survive losing their lead singer and continue on with the same sound. Fewer still will put out a follow up album as solid as Glow and Behold. Yuck play the droning, melodic style of post-punk similar to the shoegaze movement, like My Blood Valentine, and the morose new wave style of The Cure. Glow and Behold is a showcase of the melodic and wan style of shoe-gaze, but often seems almost happy in places. The album peaks with the shimmering "Memorial Fields" and the poppy "How Does it Feel", which adds some Burt Bacharach horns into the mix. One of the best in shoegaze this year and a welcome addition to the growing field of new bands adopting this style.

Best of 2013 - #9 - The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO (Jagjaguwar)

The Besnard Lakes are fronted by a husband and wife team from Montreal. Their music is spacy, melodic and more than a touch menacing. They remind me a lot of Mogwai, if Mogwai dropped most of the guitar noise and added more vocal harmonies to their work. I picked their album Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse as my favourite album back in 2007. Their follow up, 2010's Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night, I found lacking and uninspired. It wasn't til this past year that I felt they had reclaimed the greatness they had in 2007.The album's name comes from a mangled foreign language to English translation of a review of one of their past albums. Here's the soaring "Colour Yr Lights In":

Best of 2013 - #10 - !!! - Th!!!er (Warp Records)

We begin taking a closer look at some of my favourite music of 2013, beginning with my #10 pick, !!!. !!! (usually pronounced chk chk chk), are a New York based band that seems to show up on my annual top ten lists whenever they produce a record. Their sound is a high energy mix of rock, electronics and funk. 2013's effort, Th!!!er (perhaps a tribute to Michael Jackson there?) was a more melodic effort than previous albums, much less percussive and in your face. Only a couple of tracks really bust out with pounding funk rhythms. Perhaps the band is getting softer with their age? Who knows. Th!!!er was an enjoyable listen, even if a step behind their previous albums. Here's "One Boy/One Girl":

My favourite albums of 2013

I heard a fellow music lover and DJ say they disliked doing Top 10 lists for the year's music, but did one anyway because it's expected of him as a DJ and taste-setter of sorts. I'm mixed on the concept. Some years it seems tedious, but most years, it's quite a lot of fun. It's nice to look back at the past year and re-discover and even re-enjoy some of the music you loved in the past year. It's also fun to look at what others think. It's also kind of fun to see what the bigger, more predictable sources think. Like which musician in their 60s that Rolling Stone will praise this year (it's Paul McCartney) and what mainstream rapper Pitchfork will chart in the Top 10 (It's Kanye West at #2).

Here's my list. We'll be taking a closer look at the these albums in the coming couple of months. I'll also be counting them down on my radio show on January 10th, 8 PM Pacific at www.thex.ca.

1) Savages - Silence Yourself (Matador)
2) Chvrches - The Bones of What You Believe (Glassnote)
3) The Thermals - Desperate Ground (Saddle Creek)
4) Chelsea Light Moving - Chelsea Light Moving (Matador)
5) John Grant - Pale Green Ghosts (Partisan)
6) Jay Arner - Jay Arner (Mint)
7) Darkside - Psychic (Matador)
8) Yuck - Glow and Behold (Fat Possum)
9) The Besnard Lakes - Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO (Jagjaguwar)
10) !!! - Th!!!er (Warp)

Honorable Mentions: Austra - Olympia (Paper Bag), Low - The Invisible Way (Sub Pop), Body/Head - Coming Apart (Matador), Cults - Static (Columbia), Dark Horses - Black Music (Last Gang)

Least favourite thing of the year, probably the neo-folk movement. The most immediately grating song I heard this year was Avicii's "Wake Me Up!"

What say you? What did you like or dislike in this past year musically?

Who we lost in 2013

Musicians (and a few non-musicians) we lost in 2013, along with some video and music goodness.

Patti Page
Steve Knight (Mountain)
Leroy Banner (Ohio Players)
Patty Andrews (Andrews Sisters)
Ann Robson (Safire)
Cecil Womack
Reg Presley (The Troggs)
Mo-Do
Shadow Morton
Tim Dog
Tony Sheridan
Mindy McCready
Magic Slim
Cleotha Staples
Jewel Aikens
Stompin' Tom Connors
Alvin Lee
Peter Banks (Yes)
Claude King
Clive Burr (Iron Maiden)
Jack Greene
Jason Molina
Deke Richards
Scott Hardkiss
Jimmy Dawkins
Oophoi
Chi Cheng (Deftones)
Scott Miller (Game Theory)
Rita MacNeil
Cordell Masson (Parliament)
Christine Amphlette
Richie Havens
George Jones
Chris Kelly (Kris Kross)
Jeff Hanneman (Slayer)
Alan O'Day
Ray Manzarek
Joey Covington (Hot Tuna)
Bobby Bland
Alan Myers (Devo)
Paul Smith
T-Model Ford
Tim Wright (Pere Ubu)
Zev Asher
Jack Clement
Edyie Gorme
Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult)
Marian McPartland
Sid Bernstein
Ray Dolby
Phil Chevron (The Pogues)
Jan Kuehnemund (Vixen)
Cal Smith
Noel Harrison
Gypie Mayo (Yardbirds)
Lou Reed
Cheb i Sabbah
Chick Willis
Ray Price
Lord Infamous (Three 6 Mafia)

Jello Biafra speaks truth

I've been putting a bunch more music into my iPod and came across my copy of Incredibly Strange Music Vol. 2. This was put out by the people at Re/Search, who put out some stellar books in the 80s on counter culture. I'm particularly fond of the Industrial Culture Handbook, which opened my eyes to a number of weird things in music. The ISM volumes, or course, cover odd music, mostly from the 40s to 60s. Jello Biafra, of Dead Kennedys fame, wrote the liner notes for ISM Vol. 2. It kind of nails down why I search out the music I do, and why I enjoy digging through boxes of old records:

"From early one, I developed a sense of humor about records and music that weren't necessarily 'cool'. Starting in the 9th grade, I got fed up with radio that I began buying records just on the basis of which covers looked the most interesting. Thrift store singles broadened me even more. My tastes continued to widen; I'm always looking for that left-field idea that would help make my own songs different...

I keep expanding and discovering more and more sounds, i blunder into new things. Hybrids and blends are the most intriguing, especially when they're unintentional. Part of the reason I search for weird rock-ethnic-experimental music hybrids is: they inspire me to come up with new material. The more bent and unexpected, the better - you never know what you may find, and what sort of catalyst/inspiration it could be. If you want to get into the weirdest of the weird, you have to take chances. For those who stay curious, there are always new frontiers..."

Here's some music from the compilation. Ken Nordine's experiments in "word-jazz", an odd mix of jazz and free-association poetry

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees 2014

We got the nominees list for 2014's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a week or two ago. Let's take a look at who made the grade!

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: A seminal blues band, Butterfield was a hugely influential blues harp player that also dabbled in jazz and psychedelic rock. Good pick, but likely won't be inducted this year.

Chic: This is the second year that Chic has been nominated. Chic, with Nile Rodgers at the helm, were one of the best disco bands. While disco hasn't aged well, Rodgers has kept himself busy in electronic music, having shown up on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories this past year.

Deep Purple: Strange they're not in the Hall already. Stoner rock before it was stoner rock, heavy blues influence on their music. Maybe it's because they're kind of associated with just one song, "Smoke on the Water"?

Peter Gabriel: An early member of Genesis, Gabriel left the band early and went his own weird way. Has worked in prog, psychedelic, new wave, roots and jazz. Amazingly eclectic artist that deserves to be in the Hall.

Hall and Oates: This is my sentimental favourite this year. I apologetically love Hall and Oates blue-eyed soul and vocal harmonies. They'll get in, but probably not this year,

KISS: The first slam dunk of the list, KISS brought theatricality to a new level with their stage shows and their glam-tinged hard rock. Also set the standard for marketing a band's image to death (KISS coffins anyone?). Gene Simmons will be a brilliantly, unsufferable douchebag during the induction too.

LL Cool J: A lot of hip-hop has been inducted in the past few years, LL Cool J looks to be the odds-on favourite for this year. He's one of the biggest names in rap to come out of the New York scene, and also has the crossover R&B appeal too. He'll likely get in.

The Meters: New Orleans based funk and blues masters made several classic albums in the 60s. They've been up for induction before, but I doubt it's their year.

Nirvana: The other shoo-in this year, and in their first year of eligibility. Nirvana set the entire world of music on its ear in 1991 and their short but inspiring career launched the Seattle scene, changed rock radio forever and arguably made indy rock socially acceptable.

NWA: The other hip-hop group in nomination this year, and one of the most influential bands from the Los Angeles gangsta rap style. Very confrontational for the time, but Dre and Ice Cube has both lightened up a lot (Ice Cube does family movies now, hard to believe the guy who rapped "Fuck Tha Police" had that in him). Likely will be skipped over for LL this year.

The Replacements: This is the most interesting pick this year. The Mats were musical chameleons and a stalwart of the 80s scene in Minnesota. Oddly iconoclastic, they were equally at home in punk and in indy rock. They were also famous for their drunken and drug-addled concerts.

Linda Ronstadt: Another sentimental favourite. Ronstadt's work might be dismissed as schmaltzy and poppy. Anyone doubting her range should listen to her version of Warren Zevon's "Carmelita". Due to health problems, this singer now can't sing anymore. She'll likely get it.

Cat Stevens: Strange he's not in either. Cat Stevens is a legend in folk rock circles and in the 60s rock and roll/folk style. "Peace Train" alone should be his ticket in. Maybe he's been delayed to the Yusuf Islam thing back in the 90s?

Link Wray: Consummate surf-rock and instrumental electric guitarist. Likely not his year though.

Yes: Massively influential prog rockers, with a hit career spanning into the mid 80s. Maybe, but not likely this year.

The Zombies: Huge pop-psychedelic band with a massive back catalogue. I like this band for this year's ceremony.

My picks for inductions: KISS, Nirvana, LL Cool J, The Zombies, Cat Stevens, Linda Ronstadt.