Building Castles on the Beach

Where have I been? Who cares.  What's up today? Nostalgia for the go-go Nineties. Brought to you by Dave at Dave Wrote This .  Because the calendar in my head only works in terms of what I listen to at certain points in time, naturally I've chosen to count down the best of the decade in music. For my personal life, it was college, marriage, babies, Seattle. But for my musical tastes, prepare your ears for some politically correct trip hop madchester shoegaze neo soul grunge. As well as some jargon and description that makes little sense to the uninitiated. I was out of the country in 1990. Sadly, I didn't hear much music that wasn't church hymns or Brazillian samba, both of which can get a bit repetitive. Thus, this year I will skip. 1991: The Dream Academy, A Different Kind of Weather No contest here. This was the first album I bought upon my return from my mission to Brazil. The Dream Academy was a brilliant band unfortunately pigeonholed as a one-hi...

I just watched the movie We Bought a Zoo , and I'm not ashamed to admit I cried. Granted, it was a single, shallow tear welling in the far corner of my left eye, but I'll count it. That brings the total to five. I've cried at five movies in my life. But that's not the point. The point is that, though my twelve-year-old daughter called it "the most touching movie" she's ever seen, it is a gooey gumdrop of a movie, and I would never have cried had it not been for Jonsi. Jonsi hails from the Icelandic band Sigur Ros (which means Victory Rose in Icelandic), and I cannot gush about them enough. Several years ago, I heard this song late one night on a Denver radio station which I never listen to but did that day. It was kismet. The song was the "Untitled 3" track from the album ( ) . (That's the album title: two parentheses. For those in the know it's called "the parentheses album.") The song builds slowly with the repetition of...

I realize this is a strange thing to post after not posting anything for a while (if you missed yesterday's Comeback Post , be sure to check it out), but this song popped up recently on my iPod. I didn't realize I even owned it. Turns out it's on some random collection of 80's super-memorable power-dance hits CD I ended up with somehow, complete with all-time classics from Terence Trent Darby and Will to Power. (Tell me what songs they sing and I'll give you a cookie.) I'll tell you why I'm writing about this, but first listen to Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time," especially those of you who've never heard it and have been missing out your whole worthless lives: So I found myself contemplating what in the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks possesses a comedian at the peak of celebrity to record such a sexy beast of a song. It's as if all along he was paying it forward, giving future comedians fodder ripe and ready for parody. I...

I have been offered the Liebster Blog award from two fellow bloggers: McKenzie at The Ubiquitous Perspective  and TJ at They Won't Get Us .  If I recall my seventh grade teacher, Frau Cathcart, correctly, "Liebster" means something like "Sweetheart" in German. That's sweet, right? Apparently the Liebster Blog award is to be passed on to blogs with fewer than 200 followers. Perhaps this is what's stoking my ennui this evening because the fact that I fall into that category makes me a tad sad. I've been at this for more than a year now, and it seems like any momentum I might have had has stalled. And every time I look over and see that Networked Blogs widget with my own little icon as my one follower, I get a little more glum. I only decided a couple of weeks ago to put that on my blog space, and I don't know what else to do but have it sit there waiting for some action, but it still reeks of desperation, doesn't it? I know it's mostly...

This particular list began over the summer when I realized how much I was enjoying the new Duran Duran album. I really haven't listened to any new Duran Duran since "Ordinary World" in 1993. But All You Need Is Now sounded to me like the album that should have followed Seven and the Ragged Tiger . After the pleasant Duran Duran surprise, over the next few months these albums dropped from other 80's alumni. None of them are recreating any hit sounds of the past, and they're not breaking much new ground here, either. They are not regaining a once-held popularity, or you all would have heard of them by now. However, they all deserve some accolade for persevering through the years and still creating some great, memorable music. Without further ado, The Sticktoitiveness Awards go to: Duran Duran, All You Need Is Now If you don't know who these guys are, then never mind. You can go back to your Drake and Rhianna. Erasure, Tomorrow's World...

Each week, follow through on this becomes more difficult. I would never survive some kind of NaNo or ABC challenge certain bloggers can't get enough of. But it's done. Here's some more of the best music from this year. Ladytron, Gravity the Seducer After four or five albums of icy dance tunes, Ladytron put out their most sophisticated album. Still icy, still dancey, but they've added layers and atmospherics that kind of make them sound all grown up. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Belong  Their first album showed that these guys were the rightful successors of shoegaze goodness that hit a high 20 years ago with My Bloody Valentine and oozed around the nineties until The Jesus and Mary Chain were done. With their second album, they continue in the tradition of hooky melodies buried under fuzzy bass and guitar feedback. Must listen to loudly and repeatedly. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy St. Vincent is Annie Clark, and (forgive the obscu...

I'm a day late and way more than a dollar short, but I'll continue with my December recounting of music from 2011 blogfest or whatever, whether you like it or not. I'll try to keep it short. (Remember, I'm not in it for the videos. Ignore them. Just click play and turn up the volume.) Destroyer, Kaputt Super smooth production for another throwback sound. This time it's the seventies, mixing horns aplenty with a contemporary electropop sound. If that doesn't make any sense, just give the meandering "Bay of Pigs" a listen for 11 minutes of bliss. Florence + the Machine, Ceremonials Some people say Adele is the voice of the century. I say it's Florence Welch. Each song builds to a worthy climax of a crashing sounds and her perfect, brawny voice. Friendly Fires, Pala I liked their first album, but there was something too forced about the efforts. Pala , however, sounds so easy, so fluid. Friendly...

So begins my own blogfest of one. Wherein each Monday in December I present some of the best albums of the year in alphabetical order. Bon Iver, Bon Iver A couple of years ago, Bon Iver's album For Emma, Forever Ago was widely hailed as a neo-folk masterpiece. It was nice, but this self-titled album from 2011 is better. Building off of the stripped-down sound of For Emma , Bon Iver includes layers of horns and keyboards over an ambient sound that's highlighted by Justin Vernon's illustrious vocals. The whole thing has definite retro vibe to it, which is a commonality among many of my favorites this year. The last song, called Beth/Rest, is a shameless, unironic take on 80's pop, complete with Casio keyboards and sax solos. I would have hated this had I heard it in the 80's. Now I love it. Apparently, on the "Delux" version of the album, each song comes with video accompaniment, and each is a visual treat complementing the music beautifully. You s...

Dave over at Dave Wrote This has initiated a blogfest stemming from his exhaustive recounting of his faves from each year of the past decade. He has good taste, probably because he's British. And he has a lot to say about Buffy . I really can only remember the past by recalling the music I regarded at the time. So I'll list some decent albums from the last decade. It should be an interesting exercise to lead me into my own Best Music of 2011 Extravaganza every Monday in December. Despite the morass of music I listen to, the following albums stand out as...outstanding. Give a listen. Travel through my time portal to the past... 2009 Passion Pit Manners Icy synths and high falsettos. Passion Pit takes the best parts of the 80's new wave revivalist sound and perfects it. Great dance beats, sing song melodies. Ear candy in the best of terms. 2008 Ladyhawke Ladyhawke Immediately hooky, Ladyhawke is the dance music I wish would sw...