JUST WHAT WE NEEDED, ANOTHER BEST OF 2014 LIST: THE MUSIC

Well, here we are again.

If there’s one thing I can say about 2014 in terms of new music, it’s this: there wasn’t a whole lot out there that really excited me.

Indeed, this is the first time in ages that I thought I might have to do just a Top 10 instead of a Top 20, as I wouldn't have enough new music to do the latter. As it is, I ended up with just 21 albums/EPs, so in a way this is more of a list of everything I felt was worth spending money on (and even then, one of them was given to me for free).

Part of this was due to budget constraints – which is ironic, because I now use iTunes to buy a lot of music, which is far cheaper than buying CDs from Amazon. But the temptation with iTunes is to buy more because it’s cheaper. So I do have to watch it. That said, I didn’t often come across music that made me think, “I MUST HAVE THIS.”

Maybe it was just a slow year. Or maybe I’ve finally become like my friends who have decided that all modern music sucks and the only good “new” music is old music you haven’t heard before. I’m not convinced of that. Then again, most “new” music I like is really either old bands who are still around or new bands looking to recreate old music.

Anyway, we’ll put the theory to the test in 2015.

Meanwhile, here’s what I listened to this year.

DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought/acquired/downloaded/streamed between December 2013 and November 2014, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else. Also, the rankings on this list are sort of like Whose Line Is It Anyway: everything's made up and the points don't matter.

TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs OF 2014

1. The Cambodian Space Project, Whiskey Cambodia (Metal Postcard)
2. Shonen Knife, Overdrive (Damnably)
3. Primus, Primus and The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble (ATO/Prawn Song)
4. Tinariwen, Emmaar (Anti-)
5. The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger, Midnight Sun (Chimera Music)
6. The Budos Band, Burnt Offering (Daptone Records)
7. The Bombay Royale, The Island Of Dr Electrico (Hope Street Recordings)
8. Bob Mould, Beauty And Ruin (Merge)
9. Dan Sartain, Dudesblood (One Little Indian)
10. Holly Golightly And The Brokeoffs, All Her Fault (Transdreamer)
11. Nanowar Of Steel, A Knight At The Opera (Nanowar CC)
12. Tom Vek, Luck (Moshi Moshi)
13. Archie Bronson Outfit, Wild Crush (Domino)
14. The Pancakes, Sometimes When We Cry (Rewind Records)
15. OFF!, Wasted Years (Vice)
16. Special Thanks x Mix Market, Rock 'n' Roll (K.O.G.A. Records)
17. The Raveonettes, Pe'ahi (Beat Dies Records)
18. Blonde Redhead, Barragán (Hostess)
19. Allah-Las, Worship The Sun (Innovative Leisure)
20. Neil Young, A Letter Home (Reprise/Third Man)

( Inquire within for more details )

And there it is.

Same time next year,

This is dF

DON'T TURN YR BACK

I don't really want to get back into the whole “Black Lives Matter” debate, since I’ve pretty much said what I have to say about it.

But in the wake of the NYPD cop killings and some cops turning their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio – as if it were all his fault that Liu Wenjian and Rafael Ramos got killed – I feel compelled to add something, which is this:

I think the back-turning – and the subsequent debate where people make a point of supporting the police at the expense of the people protesting police brutality – is a good illustration of the overall problem.

To me, it indicates a clear “us vs them” mentality on the part of the back-turners. You can support the police, or you can support the “Black Lives Matter” protesters and get cops killed. You can’t do both. Yr either with us or against us.

This is the mentality that’s causing the tensions in Ferguson and elsewhere in the first place. It’s also a mentality based on several false premises: (1) BLM protesters are anti-police, (2) BLM protesters are therefore directly responsible for any idiot who decides to go kill some cops and (3) said idiot represents the will of the entire BLM movement.

That is not true. It’s also intellectually lazy. No one in charge of the BLM movement has ever declared open season on the police. Dingbats like Ishmael Brinsley don’t represent their views anymore than Darren Wilson represents every single cop in St Louis (or even America) or this guy represents the whole of Christianity.

The BLM movement is calling for accountability of police behaving badly, to include racist behavior (which is a reasonable demand, since police accountability benefits everyone regardless of race, so it’s not like there’s nothing in it for you, Whitey). This is not mutually exclusive to supporting the police. It’s entirely possible to support the police AND hold bad and/or racist cops accountable. It’s not about taking sides.

But I guess many cops (and their supporters) don't see it that way. Like much of the US, they’ve developed a “wartime” mentality towards law enforcement that feeds that “us vs them” viewpoint. (It also explains all the military equipment). That’s a shame, because the unintended message they're sending is this: (1) Cops’ lives matter more than people killed by cops, and (2) Never question our tactics. Ever. Respect us, or else.

Which isn’t really helpful. (It’s also not a new thing, I know – that meme has been around for decades – but recent events have thrown it into sharp relief again.)

Anyway, here’s a good column explaining why the police need to rise above that mentality, and why disrespecting de Blasio (who is technically their commander in chief) is indicative of a disregard for the chain of command, which in itself is a significant part of the problem.

I’d also recommend this article on the current state of the US military, which seems to operate under a similar unspoken agreement with its supporters as the police: we’ll defend you, just don’t tell us how to do our job or criticize the way we do it. A simple thank you will suffice.

Justify my love,

This is dF