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defrogIt’s a tradition here at Team Frog International to post our favorite record albums of the year. That’ll happen tomorrow.
Meanwhile, also in accordance with tradition, here are some miscellaneous awards that are basically an excuse to mention other albums I got this year.
It builds up suspense, you see. Because I know this is the list you’ve been waiting for all year.
THE 21ST BEST ALBUM OF 2013
Gemma Ray
Down Baby Down (Series Aphonos / Bronze Rat Records) Ray takes cues from Link Wray, John Barry, Sinatra/Hazlewood and Ennio Morricone, and distills them into atmospheric songs with a mid-60s feel and lots of vibrato guitar. Think Anna Calvi without the drama and you get the idea. It’s the kind of thing you can almost imagine David Lynch sticking onto a movie soundtrack (if he still made movies) if it was a little more noir.
BEST SINGLE
Sockweb, “I Want Pancakes”
In which Adam “Blackula” Young records a grindcore song with his six-year-old daughter, Joanie “Bologna” Young, who wrote the lyrics. It’s a grindcore duet. And it’s brilliant. You can listen to it here if you don’t believe me.
BEST COMPILATION
Various Artists
Overdose Of The Holy Ghost (Z Records) This is a great idea for a comp – late 70s/early 80s gospel songs rooted in funk and disco. A few names may sound familiar (Shirley Caesar, BeBe & CeCe Winans) but most are more obscure (at least to the secular demographic). It’s a fascinating and educational collection if you like disco/early 80s R&B, even when some songs are obviously cribbing from well-known hits to reach a wider audience. Sure, the “gospel” bit will frighten some people away. But then so will the “disco” part. Their loss.
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Rodriguez
Searching For Sugar Man (Light In The Attic) I’d never heard of Rodriguez before the documentary came out, and as flawed as the doc is, it definitely sold me on his status as one of the most criminally underrated singer/songwriters in American music. Rodriguez’s lyrics of social criticism and observation are as sharp as any of his peers in the early 70s. A good intro to the man’s music, although considering he only ever released two albums, and both have been re-issued by Light In The Attic, you might as well buy both of them instead.
BEST REISSUE
The Beatles
On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Apple) I’ve always liked Volume 1 of the BBC recordings because it’s the closest thing you’ll hear to a Beatles live album without all the screaming girls. This one is arguably even better because it includes even more clips from radio interviews than Volume 1, so it feels more like listening to a radio broadcast at times, which is cool – at least to grumpy old men like me.
BEST BOX SET I CAN’T AFFORD
Various Artists
There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971 (Light In The Attic) It’s four CDs of every track Hazlewood recorded for his own LHI label, plus key tracks from the acts he signed. (Or, if you get the deluxe version, you get digital copies of the entire LHI library). You also get a DVD of Cowboy In Sweden. Obviously I don’t have a copy of it because I’m not made of money. But this is the one box set I’d love to own one day.
BEST COVER ART
Polysics, Weeeeeeeeee!!! (Ki/oon)
In a word: bullhorns.
Also, Bowie’s The Next Day was just too obvious a choice.
Tomorrow: the list!
Shout it out loud,
This is dF
Meanwhile, also in accordance with tradition, here are some miscellaneous awards that are basically an excuse to mention other albums I got this year.
It builds up suspense, you see. Because I know this is the list you’ve been waiting for all year.
THE 21ST BEST ALBUM OF 2013
Gemma Ray
Down Baby Down (Series Aphonos / Bronze Rat Records) Ray takes cues from Link Wray, John Barry, Sinatra/Hazlewood and Ennio Morricone, and distills them into atmospheric songs with a mid-60s feel and lots of vibrato guitar. Think Anna Calvi without the drama and you get the idea. It’s the kind of thing you can almost imagine David Lynch sticking onto a movie soundtrack (if he still made movies) if it was a little more noir.
BEST SINGLE
Sockweb, “I Want Pancakes”
In which Adam “Blackula” Young records a grindcore song with his six-year-old daughter, Joanie “Bologna” Young, who wrote the lyrics. It’s a grindcore duet. And it’s brilliant. You can listen to it here if you don’t believe me.
BEST COMPILATION
Various Artists
Overdose Of The Holy Ghost (Z Records) This is a great idea for a comp – late 70s/early 80s gospel songs rooted in funk and disco. A few names may sound familiar (Shirley Caesar, BeBe & CeCe Winans) but most are more obscure (at least to the secular demographic). It’s a fascinating and educational collection if you like disco/early 80s R&B, even when some songs are obviously cribbing from well-known hits to reach a wider audience. Sure, the “gospel” bit will frighten some people away. But then so will the “disco” part. Their loss.
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Rodriguez
Searching For Sugar Man (Light In The Attic) I’d never heard of Rodriguez before the documentary came out, and as flawed as the doc is, it definitely sold me on his status as one of the most criminally underrated singer/songwriters in American music. Rodriguez’s lyrics of social criticism and observation are as sharp as any of his peers in the early 70s. A good intro to the man’s music, although considering he only ever released two albums, and both have been re-issued by Light In The Attic, you might as well buy both of them instead.
BEST REISSUE
The Beatles
On Air: Live At The BBC Volume 2 (Apple) I’ve always liked Volume 1 of the BBC recordings because it’s the closest thing you’ll hear to a Beatles live album without all the screaming girls. This one is arguably even better because it includes even more clips from radio interviews than Volume 1, so it feels more like listening to a radio broadcast at times, which is cool – at least to grumpy old men like me.
BEST BOX SET I CAN’T AFFORD
Various Artists
There’s a Dream I’ve Been Saving: Lee Hazlewood Industries 1966-1971 (Light In The Attic) It’s four CDs of every track Hazlewood recorded for his own LHI label, plus key tracks from the acts he signed. (Or, if you get the deluxe version, you get digital copies of the entire LHI library). You also get a DVD of Cowboy In Sweden. Obviously I don’t have a copy of it because I’m not made of money. But this is the one box set I’d love to own one day.
BEST COVER ART
Polysics, Weeeeeeeeee!!! (Ki/oon)
In a word: bullhorns.
Also, Bowie’s The Next Day was just too obvious a choice.
Tomorrow: the list!
Shout it out loud,
This is dF
