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