Introducing the 2012 edition of the Musical Bacon Calendar. Every year here at the Bacon Review, I collect my personal top 31 favorites from the year (specifically, November 2011-October 2012) and try to apply some sort of order to the list. Invariably, the list is in flux up until the #1 album is announced on New Year’s Eve, and this year was no different.

2012 was a strange year for music.

The live music scene was on fire: Springsteen, Radiohead, Jeff Mangum (twice!), David Byrne, Sigur Rós, Roger Waters, Elvis Costello… the list goes on and on. That’s more mind-blowing live music than one person should really be allowed to see in a single year.

But only two of those bands have albums that make this year’s calendar. A lot of bands that I’ve loved over the years came out with much fanfare but ultimately unworthy new albums (Beth Orton, Cat Power, Animal Collective, The Flaming Lips, Ben Gibbard…). They did not make the cut. For the first time, I got to travel to Austin for the SXSW Music Festival, and while I had a blast getting to experience a lot of new music there, most of those corresponding albums didn’t have staying power in my musical cue. And once again, like last year and very much unlike 2009 and 2010, I don’t have a clear #1 favorite here at the first of the month. I’ll be forced to land on something by New Year’s Eve, and I definitely have ten solid albums that make up the Top 10 in the calendar, but I find myself looking for (and failing to find) a way to logically categorize and rank them, pointing to an undeniable #1. Only time will tell who wins out in the end.

For now, on to the #31 pick!

#31 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

When Derek Edward Miller and Alexis Krauss first appeared on the Musical Bacon Calendar two years ago (at #12), they were there as the result of a very fast word-of-mouth launch of their debut album, Treats. Now, a little more seasoned, and a little more road weary, Sleigh Bells have released a second album that’s, unsurprisingly, not as good as the first. However, this summation is not a slight on the new album, Reign of Terror, which is quite good. It’s merely the result of Treats being so good that no second album would have matched its success.

Gone is the initial shock of “WHAT IS THIS NOISE?!” leaving the listener with a feeling of “Yep, that’s what I expected.” This album doesn’t push any boundaries — they’ve done all that already. Now they’re just settling into what they know. The true test will be the third album, whenever that may be. You can only sit in the same mold for so long.

Pounding guitar, drums and cheerleader vocals: these are Sleigh Bells forte. If this is the first time you’re hearing Sleigh Bells, by all means pick up Reign of Terror. Just like Treats, it will floor you from the very first strum of the guitar. The video above, for “Demons,” the 7th song on the album, is an apt representation of the entire Sleigh Bells catalog. Like it? Buy them all and blow your speakers out.

There you have it, we’re underway! Welcome to the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar, everybody.

__________________________________________

2011 Musical Bacon Calendar
2010 Musical Bacon Calendar
2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

These Sufjan Stevens videos get more and more bizarre, which, considering what we’ve seen so far, is really saying something. Here’s the first of 7 videos in his “Friendship Slay Ride” series.

Can’t say I laughed out loud at any of these, but I definitely watched each one through to the end in mouth-dropping amazement.

The other 6 can be found here:

Friendship Slay Ride 2 of 7
Friendship Slay Ride 3 of 7 — my favorite
Friendship Slay Ride 4 of 7
Friendship Slay Ride 5 of 7
Friendship Slay Ride 6 of 7
Friendship Slay Ride 7 of 7

Also note if you have tickets to see his show on the “Surfjam Estabanopolis Christmas Spectacular Seasonal Affective Disorder Sing-a-long Sensation” tour, Sufjan has given special instructions on his website.

New Frightened Rabbit album, Pedestrian Verse, coming February 5, 2013. Here’s one of the songs from the album, “Dead Now.” A montage video, not much to it really. But still: NEW FRIGHTENED RABBIT!

Thanks to Sufjan Stevens, it’s going to be one of the most bizarre and twisted Christmases ever. Looking forward to the start of Christmas-music season on November 23, which means the Bacon Calendar won’t be too far behind.

Here’s Trent Reznor’s How to Destroy Angels with “Keep It Together” from the band’s just-released An omen EP._

It’s oddly exciting to hear Trent’s voice after so many years of not really paying attention to him. This song leaves a little to be desired. I felt it building to something, but never really paying off.

Tease.

Sticking with the expectedly bizarre, here’s Sigur Rós with a long-form music video called “Valtari,” featuring dancers having choreographed courtship and consummation to clips from four Sigur Rós songs, all from their 2012 album of the same name.

Bjӧrk, “Mutual Core,” from last year’s Biophilia, of which the official remix album Bastards comes out next week.

(do check out that home page when you get a chance. It’s bizarrely beautiful.)

I left SXSW back in March very excited about Cold Specks, based entirely on — I kid you not — a 15 minute set. But then I got her debut album I Predict a Graceful Expulsion a couple months later, and was thoroughly unimpressed.

But now, here we are, 7 months after SXSW, and my head is back in the game. This new video for “Hector” is just right, and the song is great, too. Enjoy!

Well that’s fun. I know pretty much zero about Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, but this video for their song “Hoshi Neko,” from their 2011 album YT//ST, is a good use of stop-motion animation. This is what David Lynch or Tim Burton would do if they were making music videos in 2012.

Heard this for the first time this morning and have now played it on repeat 5 times. Such a great, simple song by this new-to-the-scene Irish band Little Green Cars. The video’s full of unhappy hipsters (cf), but the song is so good, I’m ok with that.

(also — since when did bands start performing on Dr. Phil, especially as part of their first US tour?)

I missed this performance by Magnetic Fields front man Stephin Merritt at KEXP earlier this year. Words cannot express my love for this man and his gorgeous music.

I have tickets to see Sufjan Stevens’ “Surfjohn Stevens Christmas Sing-A-Long: Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant on Ice” show when it comes to town in the beginning of December. Seeing this video makes me equally excited and frightened for what’s in store.

Thank god Sharon Van Etten released this new video from her early 2012 release, Tramp. I put this album down shortly after SXSW and forgot to pick it up again. Until now. Good stuff.

Take the best parts of Passion Pit, Tilly and the Wall and Mates of State and you end up with Norway‘s Team Me, at least that’s what it seems like from the only song I’ve heard of theirs, “With My Hands Covering Both of My Eyes I Am Too Scared to Have A Look At You Now.”

Great song. Pretty crazy video, too.

I’ve not heard of the Wooden Sky, but this video, and this song, “I’m Your Man,” from their album Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, is downright haunting.

That guitar. Those chords. That SOLO.

Must learn more.

There goes Grizzly Bear, “Yet Again” with the crazy music videos. This song’s from their recently-released album Shields.

I really like the place Jon Hamm has taken in pop culture, willing to make himself look like a fool day in and day out. Here he is in Aimee Mann’s awesome new video for her song “Labrador” from her new album Charmer.

The video is a complete scene-for-scene remake of ’Til Tuesday’s hit “Voices Carry,” with some comic twists. As you probably already know, Aimee got her start as the lead singer in ’Til Tuesday, and that video came out in 1985. This new version of the video has Aimee reprising her role, with Jon Hamm directing, and Superchunk/Mountain Goats’ Jon Wurster as her love interest. Also starring Ted Leo, Michael Hausman, Daniel Ralston and Leah Giblin.

Chris Hardwick, Rob Corddry, Anna Kendrick and Fraggles: nothing could signal the triumphant return of Ben Folds Five better. “Do It Anyway” is the first single from the band’s recently released fifth full-length, The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind. I like Ben Folds’ solo work, but I’m super excited that he got the band back together.

David Byrne and St. Vincent, with “Who” from their forthcoming collaboration Love This Giant. This video is pretty much exactly what I thought a video with these two wackadoo performers would be like.