Favorite Five Albums of 2012

Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do – I’ve never been huge on Fiona before this, and the older she gets and the longer the albums titles get, the more annoying it gets. That said, she floors me on this one. There’s a maturity to her work now that gives her a base to work from, and her talent is undeniable.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leaving Eden – If you’ve heard them, I shouldn’t have to say anything. If you haven’t, that’s your damn problem.

The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Their Heady Fwends – “Gimmick” albums always tend to be a disappointment (I’m not just thinking of the Judgment Night soundtrack, but I can start there). The good thing is, The Flaming Lips tend to be a “toss in the kitchen sink, too” kind of band, so adding lesser known acts (Neon Indians, New Fumes), up-and-comers (The Tame Impalas, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros) and fellow freaks (Biz Markie, Ke$ha, Yoko Ono, Nick Cave, Jim James) seems like a very natural thing.

Fun., Some Nights – I’m a bit surprised to be finding this here, but so it is. Some Nights is pure pop end-to-end, but ranges stylistically from the piano showmanship of Billy Joel to the over-the-top glam of Queen. These guys should be interesting for a while.

Murder By Death, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon – When you listen to an album and think of names like Johnny Cash, The Pogues and Tom Waits, that’s never a bad thing.

Favorite 5 albums of 2012 (for now)

Little late on this, but it’s been a busy writing month. So here I go …

Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do – I could see this being my favorite album of the year by the time 2013 rolls around. I could also see me running from Idler in fear by the end of the year. There’s rarely middle ground with Ms. Apple, and this album is no exception. There are times she loses me lyrically, but the piano on this disc is just mesmerizing.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, Leaving Eden – There just aren’t enough bluegrass bands with full-time beat boxers. 2009’s Genuine Negro Jig is one of my favorite discs of the past five years, and their take on Blu Cantrell’s Hit ‘Em Up Style is hands down my fav cover over that same time period. I have a feeling Leaving Eden could earn the kind of love with a little more time.

The Flaming Lips, The Flaming Lips and Heady Friends – Me loving this disc isn’t surprising. I tend to love everything Wayne Coyne and Co. put out. Their previous disc, Embryonic, and their take on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (with help from Peaches, Henry Rollins, etc.) were a taste of what was to come. Heady Friends sees appearances by Yoko One on the unnerving Do It!, the long-overdue Jim James’ collaboration That Ain’t My Trip and the disc’s opener and shining star, 2012 [You Must Be Upgraded] with Biz Markee and Ke$ha.

Japandroids, Celebration Rock – I love fuzzy, distorted guitar rock. Celebration Rock at times reminds me of Social Distortion, at times the best of early … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. I’d much rather end an album thinking I want more – like with Celebration Rock – than feel like four or five songs could have been cut from the bloat.

Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE – I don’t often respond positively to R&B albums. The last album I cared for by a male R&B artist was Maxwell’s BLACKsummer’snight in 2009, and before that, it would have been D’Angelo’s Voodoo from 2000. I’m not sure I’ll love this album in a week or a month. But there’s something … seductive and gripping about what Ocean is doing here. What hurts it is that it could probably be 3-4 songs shorter.