Warrior

Taco Bell

Somehow Taco Bell you managed to combine my Taco Bell List with my #6 on the Worst People in the Word List.  By tailoring your business choices to things I despise you have assured we will never cross paths.  Well done.

 My Taco Bell list originated when I said to myself, “Self, you know there is no reason to ever go to Taco Bell again.” (And I hate the d-bag in the new triple steak Taco Bell ad who orders Taco Bell at a fancy steak restaurant.  That really reaffirmed calling it the Taco Bell list.) 

2011 music

The following is a list of music I listened to over the past year and generally liked.  Again, these may not all be 2011 albums, just things I found over the past year.  

In no particular order:
Emeralds - Does it look like i’m here
Fang Island - Fang Island
Beach House - Teen Dream
Mogwai - Hardcore will never die but you will
Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
Little Boots- Hands
Pains of being pure at heart - belong
Fucked Up - David Comes to Life

Admiral Fallow - Boots met my face
Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce committee part 2
The Antlers - Burst Apart
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Smith Westerns - Dye it Blonde
Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital
Starfucker - Reptilians
Washed Out - Within and Without
Bon Iver- Bon Iver
The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
The Black Keys - El Camino

It was the year I discovered the Drive by Truckers, or more accurately discovered I liked Drive by Truckers.  At one point I would have said their album Go Go Boots was my album of the year.  Overall, I found this year underwhelming music wise.  There were things I found pleasant to listen to, but nothing jumped out at me for most of the year.  That is until Bon Iver’s album.  I wore this album out.  I have not done that for a long time; listening to one album over and over.  Really, really great. Calgary and Holocene are just wonderful songs.  So Bon Iver gets my coveted album of the year award.  Also I liked the M83 and Starfucker albums a lot.  This year I didn’t really have an anti-album of this year.  I knew Destroyer and tuneyards weren’t for me.  Their albums this year confirmed that.  I didn’t like REMs latest (and turns out final) album but that wasn’t a surprise.  The Rapture and Trail of the Dead disappointed, but I didn’t hate them.  So I’ll just give the award to Vampire Weekend again.  Wankers.

Revisionist History?

I was looking at metacritic’s top scores for current music releases.  The top10  albums on the list (with one exception) are all reissues of older music of some type.  There is no way these were all universally hailed upon initial release.  As an example Siamese Dream did not receive perfect 10 out of 10 scores the first time it went through reviews in 1993.  I’m just curious what music of today that is considered a quality record but has detractors will be universally lauded in 2031.

Goodbye R.E.M.

So R.E.M. broke up today, a decade+ after they said they would.  They were my first favorite band.  They sound tracked my high school years, my family’s move to Columbus and college.  Automatic for the People is the first album I bought at midnight.  (Remember when they used to do that?)  My wife and I were introduced by “It’s the End of the World…” at our wedding reception.  R.E.M.’s IRS back catalog is peerless.  Their initial work with Warners isn’t to shabby either.  But things change.  I remember when Bos tossed Reveal out of his car window because of how much he disliked it.  Its always the ones you love that hurt you most.  People say it was Bill Berry leaving.  I don’t think it made a difference.  They had released over a decades worth of outstanding music.  How could anyone keep up the pace?  Most bands are lucky to have one good song.  They had 10 albums of great songs. They haven’t released music that mattered to me since 1996, so R.E.M. breaking up today shouldn’t really matter.  But it does.