Top 10 Albums of 2012
10) Passion Pit “Gossamer”
9) Mumford & Sons “Babel”
8) Death Grips “The Money Store”
7) Crystal Castles “III”
6) Cloud Nothing’s “Attack On Memory”
5) 2 Chainz “Based On A T.R.U. Story”
4) David Crowder Band “Give Us Rest or (a requiem mass in c [the
happiest of all keys])”
3) Baroness “Yellow & Green”
2) Kanye West “Cruel Summer”
1) Deftones “Koi No Yokan”
Radiohead live in Broomfield
Sorry for the hiatus. I have been busy seeing some really good music this year.
The more bands I see live the less I want to see live.
When I was in high school I would shell out money for virtually any band, regardless of if I had heard of them or not.
Some shows were good, most were not. Regardless, as I have aged my appetite for live music has narrowed.
Today the number of band’s I am willing to pay top billing for I can count on one hand. They are Beck and Radiohead.
For my birthday my wife managed to score two floor tickets to Radiohead’s Broomfield date at the First Bank Center. Needless to say I was thrilled.
We showed up for the show about an hour in advance in hopes of getting a good spot on the floor. It was clear I was not alone. The line was already wrapping around the building.
We hopped in line and enjoyed the sunny evening. By the time the doors opened an hour later the line have tripled in size looping around the facility and stretching back towards the parking lot.
As soon as we got in I booked it towards the floor and secured a spot about 20 feet back from the stage on right side of the auditorium. The First Bank Center is a smaller facility as it is and tickets for the event had sold out in minutes.
Other Lives opened and were really good. I had not heard of them before the show, but am a fan now. They are out of Oklahoma and are on par with Radiohead’s laid back melodic style of music.
Then came the main event.
Radiohead took what turned out to be a highly elaborate stage complete with rotating giant video monitors that hovered above our heads. I was actually too close to fully appreciate the stage presentation because some of the projectors were above or even slightly behind us.
Thom Yorke took center stage belting out a varied mix of hits. They started off with “Bloom” and “Little By Little” off of King of Limbs before getting into a rendition of “The National Anthem.”
The show was heavy on the new material between King of Limbs and In Rainbows. While to be expected they mixed in some classics such as “Karma Police,” “True Love Waits,” and “Everything in it’s Right Place.”
I was disappointed they didn’t play “Videotape,” but an encore that included a fantastic version of “True Love Waits/Everything In It’s Right Place” was great.
The truth is you can’t really be picky with Radiohead because every song is a hit and delivered with meticulous precision. You could see the effort the group put into the 23-song set that included two encores. All while making it look truly effortless.
Even while watching it, I knew it was one of my top five shows of all time.
Radiohead’s Broomfield’s setlist for March 13, 2012
The show started at 11:01pm EST.
- Bloom
- Little by Little
- The National Anthem
- The Gloaming
- Morning Mr. Magpie
- Staircase
- Separator
- Codex
- Nude
- Karma Police
- The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy
- Bodysnatchers
- Feral
- Lotus Flower
- Reckoner
- Street Spirit (Fade Out)
- Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (Encore #1)
- There There
- Lucky
- True Love Waits/Everything In It’s Right Place
- Give Up The Ghost (Encore #2)
- Myxomatosis
- Idioteque
The show ended around 1:00am EST
Source: http://thekingoflimbspart2.com/radiohead-setlists/radiohead-setlist-denver-colorado-3132012/
Top Ten Albums of 2011
10) Pusha T – “Fear of God II: Let Us Pray”
Pusha T continues to elevate the hip-hop game here with a truly fantastic release. Hard hitting and heavy from start to finish each song if full of signature beats combined with Pusha’s rapid fire lyrics. Mixed well and combined with some eclectic guest spots – 50 Cent and Rick Ross, lend to a suburb LP.
9) Neon Indian – “Era Extrana”
Trippy, spacey, airy, spooky, juicy; just pick your adjective to describe the Austin, Texas bred electro band. This third offering is chock-full of fun beats and crazy sounds that entertain. Soothing yet unsettling, “Era Extrana” shows a distinct growth for the band.
8 ) The Decemberists – “The King is Dead”
One might think that the Decemberists style may grow old like Arcade Fire. However, this album came as quite a surprise. Still the Decemberists to a “T,” “The King is Dead” provides some new depth to this band and delivers both crooning ballads and smooth rock.
7) TV on the Radio “Nine Types of Light”
TV on the Radio has always been good, but with their fourth album the band seems to have found a groove. This album is filled with one catchy song after another that lead the listener through a journey that is unlike any the band has presented before.
6) Sbtrkt – “SBTRKT”
This London-based dubstep came out of the gates hot this year with this blistering debut album. Think Burial on acid. This album spread like”Wildfire” as even Drake remixed the hit song. The ethereal sound combined with infectious beats, makes for a great first effort from this group. Innovative and experimental in nature, it will be interesting to see where Aaron Jerome, the DJ, will go from here.
5) Kayne West & Jay Z – “Watch the Throne”
This album got a lot of press, but all the hype aside this is an epic album. Combining the talents of Jay-Z and Kanye West could very well be considered a PR stunt, but the combined talents of these two hip-hop moguls is unparallel. The sprawling epic songs defy conventional verse, chorus, verse styles creating an amazing mix of lyrics and beats.
4) Adele – “21”
After “21” came out Adele was launched into a whole new league, especially in the UK where it’s the bestselling album of the century. Her soulful pop music is carried by her amazing voice. This is just one of those albums that seems timeless. Adele saved the best for last on this album with “Someone Like You.” It is a breathtaking song that encompasses all of what Adele can do.
3) Radiohead – “King of Limbs”
This album is a bit of a departure from Radiohead’s traditional sound. Diving deeper into more dub and ambient territory, “King of Limbs” adds some texture to latent beats that build across the album. It is innovative, provocative, subtle, sweet and basically phenomenal music.
2) Mastodon – “The Hunter”
From the first track this album hits hard. Heavy bass and straight forward power chords make for a sound reminiscent of classic Queens of the Stone Age. However, the album harkens back to classic heavy hard rock. Songs like“Curl of the Burl” comprise the blistering album.
1) Bon Iver – “Bon Iver”
This album is unreal start to finish. When it came out it was all I listened to for a month solid. Forget that it was nominated for four Grammy’s, just listen to “Holocene,” it is hauntingly good. A sonic soundscape that is sparse yet dense, quiet yet loud and sad yet enduring. However Justin Vernon does it, this takes album of the year by a mile.
Top 10 albums 2011 playlist: MOG or Spotify
Top 10 albums of 2010
Top 10 albums of 2009
Top 10 albums of 2008
Bush, Chevelle & Filter Live in Broomfield
Straight out of the 90’s, I will always have a soft spot for all three of these bands, but Bush especially.
It was 17 years ago when I went first saw Bush in Denver at Fiddler’s Green as part of their “Sixteen Stone” tour.
It was my first concert, and when we showed up to buy tickets the day of they were sold out. However as we were standing at the ticket window they opened up five more rows of seats that just happened to be in the front. I got first row tickets and experienced the show of a lifetime.
A lot of time and shows have passed since then. To give you some perspective Veruca Salt opened for them. So when I scored some free tickets to this show I thought it would be fun to come full circle and see Bush again.
The show was in Broomfield at the First Bank Center. Filter, the only one of these three bands I had not seen before, and they were one of the most enthusiastic opening opening bands I have seen. They played all their hits such as “Take a Picture.”
Gavin Rossdale has improved his stage presence and his voice is still as powerful as ever. They opened with the new song “Mirror of signs” before jumping straight into the classic “Little Things.”
While the new material is good, the older hits were still the crowd favorites. Highlights included “Everything Zen,” “The Chemicals between us,” “Machinehead,” and “The Afterlife” where Rossdale ran around the entire stadium though the crowd.
Nearly three hours long, the highlight of the show was a three-song encore that included a cover of “Come Together” by the Beatles and “Glycerine”
A lot has changed since Bush first burst onto the scene. When I first saw them there weren’t iPhones everywhere recording the show from hundreds of angles. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the fantastic force that Bush brings to the stage with each song.
Setlist
1) Mirror of Signs
2) Little Things
3) I Believe in You
4) Greedy Fly
5) Everything Zen
6) The Chemicals between us
7) Sound of winter
8 ) Speed kills
9) The heart of the matter
10) All night doctors
11) Swallowed
12) Afterlife
13) Machinehead
Encore:
14) Come together (Beatles cover)
15) Glycerine
16) Comedown
*Setlist courtesy of Eric Young
Best albums of 2011 thus far
Fall is in the air and that means that the time for 2011 new releases is drawing to an end. With that in mind here is a look, in no particular order, of contenders for this year’s best albums. Weigh in and vote for yourself.
Adele – “21”
Bon Iver – “Bon Iver”
Death Cab for Cutie – “Codes and Keys”
The Decemberists – “The King is Dead”
Neon Indian – “Era Extrana”
Fucked Up – “David Comes to Life”
Kayne West & Jay Z – “Watch the Throne”
PJ Harvey – “Let England Shake”
Beady Eye – “Different Gear, Still Speading”
Radiohead – “King of Limbs”
TV on the Radio “Nine Types of Light”
Shabazz Palaces “Black Up”
Paul Simon – “So Beautiful or So What”
Primus – “Green Naugahyde”
Beastie Boys – “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2”
White Denim – “D”
Kasabian – “Velociraptor!”
Lil Wayne “Tha Carter IV”
Is Facebook Music a game-changer?
Music is about to get a bit more “social” with a new move by Facebook to integrate a range of streaming music services into the social media site.
The concept is simple. Users of music streaming sites such as MOG and Spotify have the option to link their accounts to Facebook which will then post what they are listening to in a ticker. Their Facebook friends can see what they are listening to in real time, and if they subscribe to the same service, stream the same song right there on Facebook.
The service is still rolling out, but right off the bat it looks interesting, but has its flaws. The ability to see what friends are listening to is great when they are discovering awesome new bands, but can be embarrassing if they go into a three hour long Brittany Spears session.
Then there is the problem of having to subscribe to the same streaming music service that friends use. Right off the bat Spotify, being free, seems to be dominating, but it is a pain to have to open your respective music site and manually play the song. It defeats the entire purpose of integration.
The whole concept is sharing music on a bigger level, and provides the social aspect that many of these services are now lacking.
The idea, in theory, is great but will it work in reality? Time will tell, but this is another nail in the coffin for not just compact discs, but downloading music. Clearly streaming, most likely from a social centralized site such as Facebook, with various companies is the future – music on demand is a digital buffet.
July’s Hits
One thing I have enjoyed with MOG, aside from streaming music 24/7, is it presents a list of everything I have listened to. It also puts those songs into categories of top songs, albums and artists that I’ve been checking out.
Here are the hits for July:
Top Songs:
- Welcome To My Hood (Remix) by DJ Khaled
- Welcome To My Hood byDJ Khaled
- Money by DJ Khaled
- A Million Lights by DJ Khaled
- Sleep When I’m Gone byDJ Khaled
- Legendary by DJ Khaled
- I’m Thuggin by DJ Khaled
- My Life by DJ Khaled
Top Albums:
- We The Best Forever (Explicit Version) byDJ Khaled
- In The Mountain In The Cloud by Portugal The Man
- Diamond Eyes (Deluxe)(Parental Advisory) by Deftones
- The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon
- H•A•M (Edited Version) by Kanye West
- Within And Without by Washed Out
- LP1 by Joss Stone
- Around The Fur byDeftones
- Universal Pulse by 311
- We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves by John Maus
Top Artists:
- DJ Khaled
- Saigon
- Jennifer Lopez
- Kanye West
- Joss Stone
- 311
- Simon & Garfunkel
- They Might Be Giants
- John Maus
- Poco
Just for fun let’s compare to what Spotify says were my hits last month. It only breaks it down by top songs and artists.
Top Artists
- Beady Eye
- DJ Khaled
- Brett Dennen
- Flux Pavillion
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Nikka Costa
Top Songs
- The Edge of Glory – Sultan & Ned Shepard Remix by Lady Gaga
- Floating (Time isn’t working on my side) by Portugal The Man
- The Cantina by The Sea and Cake
- Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel
- The Roller by Beady Eye
- Sydney (I’ll Come Running) by Brett Dennen
Studying Spotify
The folks over at Spotify must have read my last post because that same week I received three invitations to the new streaming music service here in the U.S.
I immediately signed up and downloaded the mobile app for my iPhone. There I encountered my first disappointment. To use the mobile app you must subscribe and pay for the site’s upgraded service.
So I am tethered to the computer for now. But I was hopeful, if the site is a good as it is rumored to be I was ready to pay and switch from my current streaming music provider MOG.
Almost immediately I was frustrated again. Rather than just use a site online, the company requires you to download their program to your computer which you then launch from your desktop. All other streaming sites I have ever used are web-based.
After taking the time to install the program, I created a profile and signed in. A note on this step, you can’t change your screen name that you choose so take care. It almost is a moot point because to use any of the site’s social options you are forced to use Facebook, which is your main ID.
But I digress.
Initial impressions after logging in were great. The site looked really clean. Great interface and new music was right up front. Everything is easy to play, just click and boom music. The ads are horrible as they move and interrupt the music, but hey it’s free so I can get past that.
I was prepared to dedicate hours to exploring the site and all it had to offer. It took me all of 10 minutes. Spotify is so limited in what it can do.
I’ll start with the strengths. It offers all you can listen to free streaming music. The share options are easy, and playlists are really simple to create. And that’s about it. If you want to check out new releases or listen to some classics, yeah this site is great. But Spotify is supposed to be social and make sharing music with friends fun.
This is where the negatives come in. Spotify social permits you to link to Facebook. I did this and found only two of my friends had done the same. I assume this is because the site was still hard to access. Since then my “social” group on Spotify has grown to four people. This may change when the site opens up but really it does not matter.
To find a user who you’re not friends with on Facebook or who does not have Facebook you have to know their screen name. The point here is that I already know what my friends listen to, I want to be able explore a larger social network as in everyone signed up to Spotify and see what they are listening to then choose who I want to follow based on their tastes.
The bottom line is the site’s biggest strength tuned into its biggest weakness.
The ability to share with my four social friends on the site is great. I can simply click, drag and drop albums or songs into their inbox.
Beyond this the library has a ton of holes and is missing a great deal of music, but again it’s free so for someone who does not want to pay this is the best option.
For those willing to pay, almost every other streaming service I have tried – Napster, Rhapsody, MOG – all beat this.
With the high hopes I had for Spotify, It’s sad to report it’s not all that it was hyped up to be. Even Pandora beats it in respect to streaming radio.
Spotify premiers in U.S.
It’s the day music lovers have all waited for.
Spotify is available in America. But as it is with all things that seem too good to be true, the streaming music service that was supposed to change the game is already exposing its flaws.
Spotify is a free streaming music service that has been available in limited countries for a number of years now. For some time the record companies here stateside haggled and hemmed and hawed over legal rights.
For the longest time it seemed as if the service would never make it here. In that time competition has grown. Services such as Napster, Rhapsody and MOG have taken chunks out of the streaming service market. Each has their strengths and weaknesses.
Spotify was supposed to come in and crush them all. Or so they would have you believe. The biggest disappointment is for now the only way to use Spotify is to pay or to get a special invite.
The biggest claim by Spotify, as you can see in the video below, is that it is all the music in the world at your fingertips for free. But no, it’s not true here in the U.S.. An impact of the record companies I would guess.
Thus the site makes you enter your e-mail for a special invite. This is frustrating because more than two years ago I gave Spotify my email for updates on its U.S. launch. Not only were there no updates, but they gave no advantage to those who signed up in advance of the launch.
We will see if the site can overcome these initial foul-ups. I would even be willing to pay for the service if it is that much better than current sites, but not without a free trial period.
It’s not looking good for the site to start for Spotify.
In related news, MOG has unveiled a new beta user interface for its site. After using it, I must say it is much better than the previous layout. The new site is cleaner and permits users to have “favorite” songs and albums as well as manage their music in a left-hand tab system.
However, the best improvement is an embedded player that eliminates multiple windows to play a song or album.
The Liner Notes 