My Top 8 Records of 2016 & Then Some

Unlike the last few busy years, I really sought out new music in 2016. Maybe I was looking for respite from the shit year it’s been, or maybe I took an old co-worker’s comment to heart.

After posting that I didn’t like a particular Top 40 single, a now-benched music industry vet surmised that it was time to give up; that pop music was no longer being made for my demographic or sensibilities, so I should stop keeping up with all things new. That struck me as sad. Imagine going through life thinking that every good song had already been written? I can’t. Granted, they might be harder to come by these days.

Though I tried, I could only really think of eight records that perked up my ears in 2016, and my favorite should come as no surprise. Call me basic, but without fail, any new Deftones record will likely be my favorite release of the year.

Live shows were a weird thing for me in 2016. Usually they are my comfort zone, a pastime that has as much to do with culture as it does socializing. But because of my dad’s cancer battle, I often found myself too emotionally spent to attend some concerts I’d really been looking forward to.

But then, I couldn’t think of skipping Nails’ blistering set at Marlin Room on the day my dad died. Catharsis, I guess? I also randomly met actor Chris Bauer (True Blood's Andy Bellefleur) that night. Guess my life will never be boring.   

I’m the muthafuckin’ Starboy. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Top 8 Records of 2016

Deftones - Gore

Opeth – Sorceress

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree

Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us

Whores. – Gold.

Oathbreaker - Rheia

The Kills – Ashes & Ice

Neurosis – Fires Within Fires

Honorable Mentions:

The Sword – Low Country

Death Angel – The Evil Divide

Lady Gaga – Joanne

Lord Satan strike me down, but I kind of like Metallica's Hardwired... To Self-Destruct. 

Nah: Into Another – Omens; PJ Harvey – The Hope Six Demolition Project

Band I’m Glad I Discovered this Year: Couch Slut

Bands I Marginally Care About That Released Albums I Only Found Out About While Researching This List:

Planes Mistaken for Stars; Ignite; Skunk Anansie; Tricky; Massive Attack; Voivod; Dustin Kensrue; Metal Church; Kvelertak; Band of Skulls; The Monkees; Taking Back Sunday, Miniature Tigers, and at least two Elvis Presley “unearthed” collections.

Jam:

Dispatches From The CD Mines

Along with the basic patriotic duties I took part in over Memorial Day weekend (Fleet Week sailor wooing, beer, tube meats), I made a point to listen to the haphazardly piled promo CDs stacked on my stereo. Some won't be released for a month, others have been hovering there since January; all got a fair listen (OK, maybe not all. I've got a dozen or so records left to go through). While I don't plan on reviewing them in detail, I jotted down some notes below.

Up next: the horde of digitally delivered promos currently clogging my iPod (Eminem, Virus, Oceano). I do it so you don't have to.

Good:

Iron Age's The Sleeping Eye of the Watcher — A little more sophistication than I expected from these TXHC Cro-Mags worshippers.

John Doe and the Sadies' Country Club — Who knew the famed X vocalist had a yearning for honky tonk crooning? With an all-star band behind him, John Doe takes on several country classics to great success.

Genius: The Ultimate Ray Charles Collection — So perfect for a relaxing Sunday.

Amesoeurs' s/t — I have no idea how this record came into my possession, but this shit rules. Part ethereal female vocals with shoegaze guitars, part blast beats and black metal, Amesoeurs do it all, and in French. Apparently they've been around for a minute, but this was my first encounter with them. Get familiar.

Not-So-Bad:

Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm — Though I'm still forming a final opinion on this one, I'm proud to announce that J Mascis & the original band in no way f'd up on Farm.

Los Straitjackets' The Further Adventures of Los Straitjackets — Salsa-flavored instrumental surfer rock. Plus I finally got to hear the band whose name I'd seen so often.

Riverboat Gamblers' Underneath The Owl — My 18-year-old cousin—and countless Warped Tour fans—would probably love this.

Meh:

The Number Twelve Looks Like You's Worse Than Alone — This one just hopped too many Hot Topic trends to leave any kind of impression of what they're about.

Tom Morello/Boots Riley's Street Sweeper Social Club — If you think the formula of skinny RATM riffs + Saul Williams' Niggy Tardust persona works, then you might just like this.

Twangy:

Justin Townes Earle's Midnight at the Movies — Not bad by any means, just a little too folksy for my taste.

The Bottle Rockets' Lean Forward — Akin to pop country from Margaritaville. Not my steez at all.

Awful:

Dirtfedd's The American Nightmare — Bad spelling, even worse meathead metal.

Perfect Albums: Live

After spending my weekend in awe of Mastodon's complete Crack The Skye live performance—and reading about ATP New York 2009's plans to have several bands perform respective classic albums in their entirety—I began thinking about which records I'd love to see performed live.

The following Top 10 albums are listed in no particular order and are there for my own sonic amusement—picked for their superb tracking, ability to transition well to a live stage and, most importantly, the probability of the event actually happening. I'm always open to hearing other peoples' selections, so please comment back with your choices. And for more Mastodon pics, come over here.

1. Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen



2. Monster Magnet - Dopes To Infinity

3. PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love

4. At The Gates - Slaughter of the Soul

5. Carcass - Necroticism...

4. Cursive - The Ugly Organ

5. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

6. Deftones - White Pony

7. Eyehategod - Take As Needed For Pain

8. Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting

9. Faith No More - The Real Thing (Hey, it was good enough for The Sword!)

10. Rancid - Let's Go

2008's Finest: Music Edition

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