Eric Fine Poop ’12

Posted By: EricF January 23, 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you by favorite records of 2012. It wasn’t easy admitting to all of these R&B records, but dammit, I am comfortable in my music skin!

cover of Kelly Hogan – I Like To Keep Myself in Pain   Buy New or Used via Amazon
1. Kelly Hogan – I Like To Keep Myself in Pain Genres aside, her beautiful voice, slight twang, and vibrant melodies make this a winner.

cover of Best Coast – The Only Place   Buy New or Used via Amazon
2. Best Coast – The Only Place Ah, a nice breath of fresh air. Jangly pop to soothe the soul. A real warm record.

cover of Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE   Buy New or Used via Amazon
3. Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE I will admit it – I really loved some of this record and it is what I listened the most this year.

cover of Redd Kross – Researching The Blues   Buy New or Used via Amazon
4. Redd Kross – Researching The Blues Great hooks, solid background singing, and completely melodic.

cover of Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself   Buy New or Used via Amazon
5. Andrew Bird – Break It Yourself A sweet, straighter Rufus Wainwright. I am just getting up to speed on his violin prowess.

cover of The Sea & Cake - Runner   Buy New or Used via Amazon
6. The Sea & Cake – Runner I thought their best years where behind them. I was very mistaken. Still tight; they can still generate their own breezy atmosphere.

cover of Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan   Buy New or Used via Amazon
7. Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan An expansive, diverse gathering of songs that somehow work together.

cover of Grizzly Bear – Shields   Buy New or Used via Amazon
8. Grizzly Bear – Shields At times volatile and ready to explode melodically; at other times completely mainstream and pedestrian.

cover of Stew & The Negro Problem   Buy New or Used via Amazon
9. Stew & The Negro Problem – Making It Not sure how I missed out on Stew previously, but the dude knows how to write a song with big hooks.

cover of Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill   Buy New or Used via Amazon
10. Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Psychedelic Pill Opening track is 27 minutes long. 4 songs over 8 minutes. Really? Yes, really, and his most inspired effort in years.

11. Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky Definitely aided by reliving my youth and celebrating the 20th Anniversary of You’re Living All Over Me live with a who’s who of 90’s indie rockers. With zero expectations going in, I was pleasantly surprised.
12. Esperanza Spalding – Radio Music Society Ambitious, broad, and soulful, this neo-soul/jazz LP features a stellar band.
13. Robert Glasper – Black Radio The opening track “Lift Off” featuring Shafiq Husayn and Mic Check is Gil Scott Heron for the new millennium. “Why Do We Try” featuring Stokley Williams sounds like a modern Stevie Wonder cut.
14. The Bad Plus – Made Possible More diverse than their previous records, this is their tightest collection of originals to date.
15. Christian Scott – Christian aTunde Adjuah A comprehensive mixture covering almost every era of jazz in a meaty, double album.
16. Pat Metheny Band – Unity Band Harking back to 80/81, this new incarnation is a pure jazz classic.

ETC., ETC., ETC…

The Temper Trap – The Temper Trap; Sun Kil Moon – Among The Leaves; Calexico– Algiers; Neil Halstead – Palindrome Hunches; Aimee Mann – Charmer; Mark Eitzel – Don’t Be A Stranger; …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Lost Songs; Hot Chip – In Our Heads; Animal Collective – Centipede Hz; Ben Gibbard – Former Lives; Jack White – Blunderbuss; Brendon Benson – What Kind Of World; Bob Mould – Silver Age

Reissues, Box Sets, Compilations, Live Recordings, other stuff…

1. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico Not sure it could get any more definitive, but the live recordings from this box set are truly historic.
2. Paul Simon – Graceland Wow, 25 freakin’ years old!!! And just as fresh. A record way ahead of its time.
3. Sugar – Copper Blue/Beaster Bob Mould ages quite well. Read his autobiography. I feel like even he doesn’t understand the impact he’s had on music throughout his career.
4. My Bloody Valentine – EPs 1988-1991 Sonic masterpieces that sound as relevant now as they did when they were released 20 years ago,
5. The Kinks – The Kinks at the BBC A great collection of live material when the band was at their peak.
6. Marvin Gaye – Trouble Man Recorded 40 years ago, this never gets old. This new version has tons of alternative takes.
7. The Jackson 5 – Come and Get It: The Rare Pearls An amazing assortment of unreleased material. Truly timeless. “Feelin’ Alight”, oh yeah…
8. fIREHOSE – lowFLOWs: The Columbia Anthology (’91-’93) Not their finest years, but better than most performers best.
9. Alex Chilton – Free Again: The 1970 Sessions A perfect bridge between The Box Tops and Big Star.
10. Donny Hathaway – In Performance A legend whose name can easily be thrown in circles with the likes of Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding, he died a tragic death way too early.

A change is in the air. I can smell it. I’d like to believe it is not a matter of age, but one of choice. My tastes, desires and needs are shifting. There was more R&B then previous year, more general listening and more reflection. Hope I can build off of this for the upcoming year. It should be easy – there is plenty of inspiration at home to look at.

Eric Fine
… NYC, still…


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