Mark’s Top Five of 2013
Time to once again tap into my inner Cusack and reveal my Top Five Albums of 2013.
5. Antiphon by Midlake
After the departure of lead vocalist and founding member Tim Smith, Midlake has been born again with a much more powerful sound reminiscent of Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. I saw them when they came through town and they were amazing. Here is the title track.
4. State-by Todd Rundgren
The wizard returns to original material with a true gem that works nicely as a companion piece to his 2004 release, Liars. Vintage Todd!
3. The Next Day by David Bowie
Seriously, WTF happened to David Bowie? He vanishes for 10 years and then makes one of the best albums of his career. With the January release, I truly got to enjoy it all year. There isn’t a bad track on the whole LP. Here is one of my favorite tracks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYZyY1lMcLA
2. AM by Arctic Monkeys
The lads from Sheffield can’t seem to make a bad record. NME made it their album of the year and graced it with a rare 10 out of 10. AM is more laid back than their previous records but still packs a wallop lyrically. Alex and his stories…
Here is a live version of the first single, “Do I Wanna Know?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWRkk4rf7l8
1. San Cisco by San Cisco
The best album of 2013 belongs to Fremantle, Western Australia’s San Cisco. Much of their music was released late last year but they didn’t secure a record deal here until early this year. I have played this disc so much that it is nearly worn out. My 14 year old daughter loves it and can’t get enough of all the catchy pop hooks and down under bliss. Parts of it remind me of the 80s but yet it still sounds very fresh. I’d urge you to check out all their EPs as they have many tracks not on the album.
Here is the track that helped them get a US record deal.
Happy 2013 everyone!
Markadelphia’s Best of the Noughties
The last decade of music was fucking amazing. One would think that being the Brit Rock maniac that I am I would be all about the 90s. While I did enjoy that decade, the music that came out in the last ten years made me wish it was a woman that I could kiss deeply and shower her with love and affection.
So what were the best ones? Here is my Top Ten with comments followed by my other 40 to round out the Top 50 CDs of the Noughties!
10. The Coral – Roots and Echoes (2007). Haunting, beautiful and brilliant. The best album of their career. Also contains my son’s favorite song of all time–“Cobwebs.” A psychedelic kiss…
9. Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires (2008).
Like Ennis Del Mar, I can’t quit this album. They musically illustrate what it’s like to “Jump in the Pool” on the track of the same name. Wow! Every track is a dime. And they are a great live band. See them.
8. Mercury Rev – The Secret Migration (2005). From the first sound of this disc, the listener begins a sacred feminine journey that is a kiss to be cherished forever.
7. Coldplay – Parachutes (2000). Their first album is still my favorite. “High Speed” is the very definition of dream pop. Memories of those I love wash over me when I hear it…
6. The Kooks – Inside In/Inside Out (2006).
A stunner of a debut. Pop bliss wrapped in an amorous red bow.
5. The Fratellis – Costello Music (2006). Sometimes you hear a record for the first time and yet you have known it your whole life. This is one of those records. “Her’s is the tonic and mine is the gin”–mega…
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am Not (2006).
The heirs to the Beatles and Oasis. This disc is filled with love soaked Brit tales that are guaranteed to warm the heart and make us all Holy Knights of the British Empire.
3. Sterephonics – Just Enough Education To Perform (2001). Their finest album. NME will never forgive Kelly for “Mr Writer” and I think that is fucking wonderful.
2. The Subways – All Or Nothing (2008). The album that has defined my life. I think Billy and I are kindred spirits. Listening to this record is an answer to the question “Just what is Mark’s romance with women and music all about?”
1. Brian Wilson – Smile (2004).
An album 38 years in the making. Even in 2004 (just as in 1966), the concept of this album is light years ahead of its time. Brian Wilson is a genius. He is the American John Lennon. I was fortunate enough to see this album performed live in its entirety. It left me with no doubt that there is a higher power because, in addition to being the best show I have ever seen, Smile is one of the purest forms of beauty I have ever heard.
The rest of the best…
11. The Verve-Forth, 12. Keane-Hopes and Fears, 13. Doves-The Last Broadcast, 14. Snow Patrol-A Hundred Million Suns, 15. The Subways-Young For Eternity, 16. Delays-Faded Seaside Glamour, 17. Joe Jackson-Volume 4, 18. Ryan Adams-Love Is Hell, 19. The Kooks-Konk, 20. Coldplay-X and Y, 21. Snow Patrol-The Final Straw, 22. Stereophonics-You Gotta Go There To Come Back, 23. Doves-The Last Broadcast, 24. Saint Etienne-Finnesterre, 25. Travis-The Invisible Band, 26. U2-All That You Can’t Leave Behind, 27. Todd Rundgren-Liars, 28. Planet P Project-Go Out Dancing Pt.1, 29. The Last Shadow Puppets-The Age of the Understatement, 30. Kings of Leon-Holy Roller Novocaine EP, 31. Tom Petty-The Last DJ, 32. Doves-Some Cities, 33. Stereophonics-Language, Sex, Violence, Other, 34. Phoenix-United, 35. The Libertines-Up The Bracket, 36. Muse-Black Holes and Revelations, 37. Green Day-American Idiot, 38. Neil Young-Silver and Gold, 39. Beck-Guero, 40. Starsailor-Love Is Here, 41. Captain-This is Hazelville, 42. Kaiser Chiefs-Employment, 43. The Strokes-Is This It? 44. The Vines-Highly Evolved, 45. Paul McCartney-Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 46. Stereophonics-Keep Calm and Carry On, 47. Yeah Yeah Yeahs-EP, 48. Neil Finn-One Nil/One All, 49. John Starkey-Live at Jitters, 50. Oasis-Dig Out Your Soul
A Bloody Rager: Arctic Monkeys at First Avenue
A few years back, a couple of guys on my tennis team were talking. Let’s call them Jim and John. Jim, the older brother of John, was talking about a party that John had recently while their parents were away. Jim was in his 20s and John had just finished his first year at UW-Madison.
“Mark, you should have seen what I came home to on Saturday night,” Jim said laughing. John started to chuckle.
“I come home to do my laundry and this kid,” Jim said pointing at John, “was having a bloody rager!”
He then went on to describe the large crowd that piled into the Eden Prairie, MN home of Jim and John’s parents. They drank, smoked, yelled, danced, and were basically all up in that bitch. I cracked up at Jim’s perfect and simple definition.
Over the years, I, too, have experienced many “bloody ragers” and have many fond memories from each one of them. Whenever I go to a show, depending upon the band of course, there is always a fair amount of raging that goes in the pit. The club smell always puts me right into the mood. It’s like vodka…perfume…sweat…red bulls…cologne…all mixed up in a glorious din.
It had been awhile since I was at a rager and, honestly, wasn’t expecting one when The Arctic Monkeys announced a show at First Avenue. Their new album, Humbug, sounds like…well…like they spent time with my 8th grade class in 1981 doing bong hits and listening to Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC. Alex Turner, front man of the band, in a recent interview in NME confirmed this by stating that he and the lads from the Sheffield band had been hanging out and listening to a lot of Black Sabbath whilst recording this record. “Hanging out,” mmm? So, that’s what the kids are calling it these days.
They looked every bit the part of my eighth grade class as they came out on stage and opened with “Dance Little Liar” from the new record…long hair…band t-shirts…jeans. What happened to those posh, Kinks-looking dudes, who sang of bigger boys and stolen sweethearts? Obviously, they were still there as they ripped into the second track of the evening, “Brainstorm.” This was the moment when the rager was born.
Cups of beer, sweaty bodies, and hair flew everywhere as the pit at First Avenue became a swirling mass of humanity. I was off to the side (right next to the forbidden staircase) and stuck my proverbial toe in the water a few times. It was fucking great. When they played “Still Take You Home” from the first record, we all shouted “YOU KNOW NOTHING!” when Alex, sporting a Vines T shirt (mega:)), asked us in the lyric, “What do you know?”
“I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor” was next which turned the rager into a bloody rager. I took an elbow to the ribs, spilled half my Smithwicks on my trainers, and received a lateral deltoid to the chops but I didn’t care. I was in that place…a place that I will be in until I’ve fallen and can’t get up. My home…
They played several songs from the new album which sounded great live. I’ve always found the remarkable bands to be the ones that have an album which becomes more vibrant when they play live. And then you go back, listen to the record and love it more! This turned out to be true for Humbug and I was pleasantly surprised. As they closed the set proper with the beautiful “Fluorescent Adolescent,” I started to move towards the exit. My friends looked at me and said, “What about the encore?”
“The Arctic Monkeys don’t play encores,” I chuckled. I had seen them two times before. Once in Chicago and once here and they always just played extra long sets. Alex has been quoted several times as saying that encores “were for wankers.” I got a couple of steps away and noticed that the lights had not come up. People were still cheering…raging…was I (gasp) the maniacal music guru (double gasp) wrong?
Happily I was. They came back out and played an encore comprised of “Red Right Hand,” “My Propeller” and “505.” The crowd went berserk again. And the rager…oops…sorry….the bloody rager was back.
Bliss:)
For another take on the show and some fabulous pics check out my friend (and fellow Brit Rock addict) Brody’s music blog. Check TicketMaster for the Arctic Monkeys show near you.
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Check out Humbug
