BRIGHTS BLOG

Playing along with the idea that time is real and linear, I’ll say, “Can you believe it? Another year gone by!” I hope 2011 didn’t suck too hard for anyone. Regardless, I hope 2012 is way better than 2011, though unfortunately it is our last year ever since the world is scheduled to end. I read that somewhere, so it’s totally true.

Last year on New Year’s Eve, Jose made sure our intimate group of loved ones gathered to celebrate the turn of years agreed upon a choice song to play right at the start of the new year. We chose, “Everything in Its Right Place” by Radiohead. At twelve midnight, we dropped the needle on the record and allowed that haunting song to set the tone. Now that I look back, I can see that that particular  song was kind of prophetic for 2011, and I think choosing a song carefully to start your year is a swell tradition. (Thanks, Jose!) So in light of this, I would recommend all of us do this tonight. Choose your first-moments-of-the-year song carefully (thank you in advance if it happens to be by B&TB). Tie it to your hopes and dreams. Let it represent where you would like to go or your favorite way to feel or whatever … No rules. No judgments. Even if your song choice is this:

Whatever floats your boat, dude. Love and light always. -Bernadoo. And for no reason, here is a drawing of a turtle dove.

Top 50 Albums of 2011 – Part Two (25-1)

25. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
24. Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
23. Curren$y - Covert Coup
22. Braids - Native Speaker
21. Delicate Steve - Wondervisions
20. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
19. Javelin - Canyon Candy
18. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
17. Beirut - The Rip Tide
16. The Rapture - In The Grace of Your Love
15. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
14. The Throne - Watch the Throne
13. Real Estate - Days
12. Björk - Biophilia
11. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
10. Feist - Metals
9.   tUnEyArDs - w ho k i l l
8.   Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
7.   David Thomas Broughton - Outbreeding
6.   Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows
5.   Julian Lynch - Terra
4.   Man Man - Life Fantastic
3.   Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
2.   The Roots - Undun
1.   James Blake - James Blake

Top 50 Albums of 2011 – Part One (50-26)

50. Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
49. COOLRUNNINGS - Dracula is Only the Beginning
48. Battles - Gloss Drop
47. The Decemberists - The King is Dead
46. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
45. Ponytail - Do Whatever You Want All the Time
44. Tennis - Cape Dory
43. The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
42. Wilco - The Whole Love
41. Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture
40. bibio - Mind Bokeh
39. Jozef Van Wissem - Joy That Never Ends
38. Little Wings - Black Grass
37. Grouper - A | A : Alien Observer
36. Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer
35. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
34. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - It’s a Corporate World
33. Vieux Farka Touré - The Secret
32. Iron and Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
31. BOBBY – BOBBY
30. Cults - Cults
29. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
28. Beyoncé - 4
27. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
26. Panda Bear - Tomboy

Music Video of 2011

Cults – “Go Outside”

My friend James showed me this video and it absolutely blew my mind, and that was before I had even seen the full PBS documentary about the Peoples Temple. This video does use a bit of new footage (which at first I didn’t realize, hence the absolute mind-blowing) but mostly borrows from the film with some bits of really successful syncing. This video was responsible for getting me to mail in a Netflix DVD that had been collecting dust on my TV stand for like four months so I could get the Jonestown DVD. Uh, the song is also good! (although I can’t help but be reminded of “Lola” by the Kinks)

Top Live Shows of 2011

The subject sort of says it all. Although I will just say…part of me really hates when people record what will ultimately become a shaky, low-res video with blown-out sound while they could be taking in a show with their ears and eyes…part of me loves the fact that I can easily find some documentation of every event I’ll ever attend…

Note: None of the following videos are mine, and where noted are from nights other than the actual one I went to.

Enjoy (?):

10. Dave Matthews Band – 9/17 – Randall’s Island in New York, NY

“Bartender”

9.   The Fiery Furnaces – 5/5 – Rockwood Music Hall in New York, NY

“Black-Hearted Boy” (video from the night before)

8.   Ween – 10/31 – Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, NY

“Polka-Dot Tail”

7.   Bon Iver – 8/10 – Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY

“Holocene”

6.   Doveman with Rufus Wainwright and GOASTT – 5/26 – le poisson rouge in New York, NY

“Across The Universe”

5.   Man Man – 5/31 – Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY

“Van Helsing Boombox” (video from the night after)

4.   Jeff Mangum - 11/6 – Landmark Loews Theatre in Jersey City, NJ

“King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1″ > “King Of Carrot Flowers Pts. 2 & 3″

3.   Feist – 11/2 – Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, NY

“The Circle Married The Line”

2.   tUnE-yArDs – 9/20 – le poisson rouge in New York, NY

“Riotriot” > “Bizness”

1.   Animal Collective – 7/12 – Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY

“Did You See The Words?”

Song of 2011

Talib Kweli – “Cold Rain”

Talib Kweli – Cold Rain

“Highest play count on my iPod” kind of says it all.

Album Cover of 2011

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Fortunately, this totally-not-digital work of art by Gregory Euclide was captured step-by-step in this two-part making of video, so I won’t even have to say anything:

New Band of 2011

BOBBY – http://www.partisanrecords.com/artists/bobby

Vermont-based experimental folk band featuring members of Mountain Man (which is also an experimental folk band, perhaps most notable for being a part of Feist’s most recent touring band).Read the bio that explains their name to find that BOBBY (the band) appears to serve Bobby (a fictional character in need of accompaniment for his “sad dances”). It’s like BOBBY : Bobby :: Ween : Boognish.

The cover art was what drew me to this originally. It turns out the artwork is taken from a book by Keith Smith called Bobby, that just happens to be about an “imaginary friend”…although according to Wikipedia, the “story” of the band was written before the band happened upon the 1985 art book. Yeah, sure…Wikipedia…

Anyway, just listen.

“Friend Crush” – by Friends
A song so goddamn catchy and youthful

Friends is a band from Bushwick who got together casually during the bedbug epidemic in the city and became kinda famous in five minutes, or so that’s the story. Their single “Friend Crush” has been stuck in my head since first listen. There are a few reasons why I like this number: lots of space in the arrangement, a very cool bass line, a simplistic keyboard hook with some lush synth layers that flush it out toward the end, and a melodic, echoey girl vocal, particularly memorable on the choruses. (That’s what choruses, should be right, memorable?) Though I think what I like best is how understated the lyric is: “I want to be your friend. I want to ask your advice on a weekday. I want to plan something nice for the weekend.” But this lyric coupled with the particular melody over which it is sung suggests something else, like “If we don’t make right now, I’m going to die.”

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfamBoa_zYQ

“Grounds for Divorce” – by Elbow
A song of maturity

Sweeping generalization? British music is better. Don’t hate. But seriously. I’m not sure a song like “Grounds for Divorce” by Elbow could come from an American. We are not Oscar Wilde-like enough, and who here has the kind of time to craft something like this let alone sit and listen to it?  How can this explode on YouTube? I digress. This tune is simple and sophisticated at the same time, elegant and rugged, orchestral and raw. Four and a half minutes long. The blues factor is well executed—successfully haunting and miserable. The lyric witty and jaded. The arrangement is smart, sexy, and polished. There are hooks all over the place and none are forced or contrived. When I grow up, I could only hope to write a song like this; when I really grow up, I could only hope to arrange it and produce it like this. Elbow is so grown up. So is divorce. Now give me a Manhattan. No cherry, goddamn it. Get another one ready while I slurp it down! Play this song on repeat while I brood!

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxczVhG0os8&ob=av2n