Starting next week, we're into full holiday high gear. It's been a fun year here at CoolDad Music. I've heard some great stuff, seen some great shows, and met some really fantastic people. I'll be putting together at least one year-end post of my own, but I'm going to try and get a few more perspectives on the year up here as things wind down.
Before getting started, I decided I'd get Mike V's take on the whole concept of year-end lists. He has some opinions as you might expect, and -- Bonus! -- he even threw in his own list of top albums of 2013.
Mike and The Everymen have been great friends of the blog throughout the year and have been taking a well-deserved sort of mini break as they get ready for 2014. With their second full-length LP in the can and a newly-signed record deal, though, I'm sure they'll be coming back stronger than ever.
CDM: We're coming to the end of the year, so that means -- probably any day now -- we'll start to see everybody's year-end lists for albums, songs, whatever. NME will put out something deliberately annoying and unbelievable. Rolling Stone will include a bunch of records that nobody under the age of -- well, my age -- will have even heard of. P4K will drag their list out over the course of a week or more. What do you think of year-end lists?
MV: I think -- like with anything in today's hyper-circuit of content -- setting yourself apart and, unfortunately, getting those clicks is as just as important as the content itself. So maybe it is up to the NME to do something completely fucking stupid (such as claiming that The Strokes debut is THE FOURTH FUCKING GREATEST RECORD EVER FUCKING MADE) or Pitchfork to roll out their list over days and weeks or The Rolling Stone... well... actually The Rolling Stone list is about as relevant as T.J. Hooker.
Since most people practice in the same general circles and most common-minded outlets will generally be publishing somewhat similar lists, people have to do something to set themselves apart from one another. So what can you do, right? You can come up with some scheme to make your list stand out from the rest. In the end, it is what it is I guess.
As for the lists themselves, I've always loved year-end lists if they proved interesting, a little different and have opened my eyes to something new. But who really wants to read the same fucking year-end list over and over again (looking at you Pitchfork, Consequence Of Sound, Stereogum, et al)? When the holidays start to roll around, I tend to troll metal boards, hardcore and punk sites, and experimental destinations for year-end stuff. I could probably tell you what Pitchfork's top 25 are right now, so why not go out of my comfort zone and find that black metal record I never knew I needed, ya know? I'm not on those sites every day, so having that filter makes getting those outsider goodies that much easier. On the negative side, of course, year-end lists always give me a sense of which outlets I should probably just stop reading. Example: The Rolling Stone proving to you time and time again just how fucking out of touch they are by lauding Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon and Sting to no fucking end.
But of course there is no better year-end list than that of your music loving pals. We used to make each other mixtapes. Now we just send each other links. Might as well make each other lists. Ask a pal what his favorite records of the year are. He might just open your eyes to something even Pitchfork hasn't heard about yet.
Having said that, here is ol' Mikey's Best Of 2013 list... in no specific order.
Yo La Tengo - Fade (Matador)
Marnie Stern - The Chronicles Of Marnia (Kill Rock Stars)
Rhye - Woman (Loma Vista)
Anna Calvi - One Breath (Domino)
Charles Waters Quartet - Chroma Colossus: 13 Visions Of The City (Amish)
Washed Out - Paracosm (Sub Pop)
The Brooklyn What - Hot Wine (self-released)
Potty Mouth - Hell Bent (Old Flame)
King Khan And The Shrines - Idle No More (Merge)
Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio - Gala (12XU)
Queens Of The Stone Age - …Like Clockwork (Matador)
Brother JT - The Sveltness Of Boogitude (Thrill Jockey)
Stephen Malkmus And Friends - Ege Bamyasi Record Store Day Exclusive (Matador)
Ovlov - Am (self-released)
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