Making a year end list can be a like packing for a long trip. For this long trip into the past, music writers are taxed with looking back over a year’s worth of albums, which can reach easily into several hundred records. You start packing–oh, I’m definitely taking that cardigan and this pair of pants. Pretty soon, your suitcase is full, and somehow you’ve left out Nick Cave’s new album. Now what’re you gonna do? I guess you write a post about it.
Before we begin, it should be noted that most of the albums here are attributable to the fact that our main year-end list was culled from data from my iTunes most played tracks; most of these are albums that I never received review copies for, instead using advance listening streams, and thus may not be in my iTunes library.
1. The Flaming Lips – The Terror
The Flaming Lips’ new album The Terror surprised many, who prattled on endlessly about how dark the album was. It seemed to be all anyone took from the record, which ranks high on the list of the Lips’ most cohesive efforts. I found the record to be austere and foreboding, yes, but also masterfully constructed and impeccably recorded.
2. Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City
Okay, this is a glaring omission, but I’ll be honest—I just don’t get it. I like this band. I’ve used their infectious pop songs on mix CDs more than once. But I just don’t get it. I’m willing to admit that the hype certainly turns me off to a degree, but I also just think there are so many bands making superior music. The guys are clearly intelligent, and the world beats aspect is fascinating, but so was it when Paul Simon did it on Graceland. I just don’t feel a strong desire to listen to this band the way many music writers seem to.
3. Nick Cave – Push the Sky Away
For one of the biggest names in music in the past half century, I heard a surprisingly little amount about Nick Caves most recent effort Push the Sky Away. The album is a masterwork. The only reason it didn’t rank on my most played list was that I didn’t buy a copy until after I reviewed it. This is one of the albums that I used the advance stream on NPR for review purposes. For a week, it was ALL I listened to. The title track is full of solemn hope and inspires perseverance. The album as a whole employs dark and beautiful imagery as it unfurls, one deeply poetic song after the next.
4. Bill Callahan – Dream River
I still haven’t heard this album. I know! I know! I want this record in my most played list. I want it in my favorite albums list. I say this because before I even listen to it, I know how great it must be. I’m a huge fan of what Bill Callahan has achieved in his career and many of his songs are ones to which I return often. If there’s one thing I learned in working on my year-end lists, it’s that I need to hear this album.
5. of Montreal – Lousy with Sylvianbriar
This is by far the “smallest” release on this list. of Montreal leaves behind some of their spastic tendencies and deliver a record full of country twang and 60s psychedelia on Lousy with Sylvianbriar. I’m liking it a lot and didn’t want to leave it out, but I just got the album for review and haven’t been able to spend much time with it. Considering this, I couldn’t really put it on either my favorites or most played list. Lousy with Sylvianbriar has appeared on several year end lists, and so I think it warrants a spot at least here, recognizing its quality and my own omission of the album. It’s one to check out for sure.
6. My Bloody Valentine – mbv
See number 4 above. Almost every sentence can apply. I haven’t heard it, and I want to take this moment to apologize to the music community at large for such an offensive act of neglect.
7. Boards of Canada – Tomorrow’s Harvest
I remember first reviewing and listening to Boards of Canada when I ran my first blog Urban Pollution. I don’t remember them garnering this much attention then, but I guess this is almost a decade later. This is another album I just never managed to get a copy of for review. I haven’t even heard that much about it, though it cropped up here and there on year-end lists. Is it any good? Let me know.
8. Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
It seemed that people either loved or hated this album. It’s one on this list that I actually listened to quite a bit and planned a review and just never wrote. Using advance listening streams can just be problematic for being thorough in a review and writing about details of the songs. Usually, you can’t skip easily from one track to another. That said, I did like this release pretty well. Although it still missed my top 25 favorite albums of the year.
Some might not consider this a glaring omission. Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ fourth full-length studio album received mixed reviews in general. Certainly there were some misfires on the album, but as a whole I found much to like about it. This is a band that’s aging, but their live show still possesses intensity and Mosquito was proof that they can still crank out solid jams.
10. Kanye West – Yeezus
This album has topped so many of the year-end lists I’ve read, it has to be considered an omission. After all, less prominent rappers ProbCause and Tyler the Creator made my most played list. Kanye was another victim of being so big that a small blog is never going to receive a promotional copy for download. I listened to the singles a ton when they came out and have heard the album through a few times. It’s great. Amazing even. And I still don’t own a copy. Another thing I need to get on, I suppose.
So there you have it. Pop Press International acknowledges the top 10 glaring omissions from our year end lists. Also, who is Haim and where did they come from? Until next time… which will be tomorrow, I guess. Happy listening!
