#7 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Valtari by Sigur Rós

Consistency isn’t always a good thing. Sigur Rós, from Iceland, have done a great job of evolving, keeping from growing stale. The band’s last album, 2008’s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, was a major departure from their previous, über-quiet albums, and proved the band could throw happiness, bounciness and excitement into the mix. In fact, it was that album that got me fully vested in the band, having liked what they’d done to date, but never being won over enough to listen to their albums with any regularity. After that album, Jónsi, the band’s lead singer and main songwriter, released a solo album, Go, which was on the 2010 Musical Bacon Calendar. That album felt like an extension of the 2008 album, continuing with his newly-discovered high energy levels.

And now he, back with the band, has come full circle. This new album, Valtari, is full of quiet, meditative lows and rapturous crescendos, making it seem like the band never took that departure. Thankfully, I’ve now grown appreciative of their earlier work, and can now enjoy the quiet as much as the bouncy version of the band.

To me, Sigur Rós is best heard as the accompaniment to a visual landscape, looking out the window from 30,000 feet. Whenever I fly somewhere, Sigur Rós is there with me, my go-to flying music. Their quieter albums are the perfect complement to the ebbing sleep one falls into when taking long flights. Consequently, I think of Sigur Rós as a band that, quite literally, transports. Reinforcing this idea of band as a soundtrack to life (and sleep) in the clouds, and to help sell the new album, the band hired big name directors and actors to create 16 videos for the album, dubbed the Valtari Mystery Film Experiment:

Sigur Rós have given a dozen film makers the same modest budget and asked them to create whatever comes into their head when they listen to songs from the band’s new album Valtari. The idea is to bypass the usual artistic approval process and allow people utmost creative freedom. Among the filmmakers are Ramin Bahrani, Alma Har’el and John Cameron Mitchell.

Each director was given $10,000 and full artistic license. Surprisingly — or perhaps not, given the type of music Sigur Rós is known for — quite a few of the videos feature slow-motion, meditation-like visuals. All of the videos are a bit self-consciously pretentious, but if you have an appreciation for art, some rather interesting imagery did come out of the experience, including:

• “Fjögur píanó,” shown above, featuring a fully naked and dancing Shia LaBeouf and directed by Alma Har’el.
• Aidan Gillen (Carcetti from HBO’s The Wire) having a conversation with a snail in “Ekki Múkk,” directed by Nick Abrahams.
• John Hawkes (Sol Star from HBO’s Deadwood) and Elle Fanning (from the film Super 8, sister to Dakota) as father and daughter who have lost each other (and their lives?) in “Leaning Towards Solace,” directed by Floria Sigismondi.
• Absolutely breathtaking landscape shots in “Dauðalogn” by Henry Jun Wah Lee.
• Comically disturbing Heimlich maneuver coaching, in “Ég anda” by Ragnar Kjartansson.
• Whitney Museum-showing photographer Ryan McGinley, in his version of “Varúð” showing beautiful long-range shots of New York City, with his friend Jessica Tang skipping through the city, barefoot with golden tinseled hair.

I don’t recommend sitting and watching all 16 videos in one extended viewing, unless you’re willing to gouge your eyes out at the end. They’re good in small bunches. Great visuals, amazing sound, but one can only take so much depression and quiet. Once you’re done watching, or just listening, you can then retreat back to the 2008 album or Go to balance you back out. And give this new album a try net time you’re on an airplane, and let me know if it works for you as well as it does for me.

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8. The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
9. Heaven by The Walkmen
10. State Hospital EP by Frightened Rabbit
11. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#8 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Hip hop is not my forte. I find it quite difficult to write about hip hop, because while I’ve enjoyed various hip hop and rap acts over the years, I don’t have the history needed to draw the lines of connection between new and old artists. So please forgive me if my review of the awesome album at #8, The Heist, by Seattle’s own Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, is little more than “I LOVE THIS ALBUM.”

My love of Macklemore started back in early 2011, with the death of beloved Mariners sportscaster Dave Niehaus. Macklemore wrote a touching tribute to Niehaus that literally brought a tear to my eye. He even got to perform the song in tribute to Niehaus on the grass at Safeco back on April 8, 2011. It’s a touching song for a good man, and it won me over to what Macklemore was trying to accomplish.

Fast forward to this past October, when Macklemore and Lewis released The Heist, which features “My Oh My” — the Niehaus song — and 17 other fantastic songs. The music that Ryan Lewis puts together to flow up and down behind Macklemore’s intelligent rhymes is sublime, at once leading the song and taking a back seat at the same time.

If you’ve liked hip hop in the past, you’ll find it hard to not like this album. The album alternates between comical songs, like “Thrift Store” above, and music-with-a-cause, like “My Oh My” and the popular “Same Love,” a rare pro-homosexuality and gay marriage song from the hip hop community. It does have it’s moments of base, teenage humor mixed in with the soapbox songs, making it difficult to recommend the album for everybody. But overall, this is an immensely likable album.

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9. Heaven by The Walkmen
10. State Hospital EP by Frightened Rabbit
11. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#9 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Heaven by The Walkmen

A few years ago, a friend of mine described to me what we all should do when determining the best bands of all time. The criteria is simple: have they come out with four drop-dead amazing albums? If a band hasn’t come out with four amazing albums, then they can’t make the cut. If you think about it, it does a good job of narrowing the field. U2, the Talking Heads, R.E.M., Radiohead, and obviously the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin all qualify. (This is by no means a comprehensive list, so please forgive me for leaving off your favorite band.) Neutral Milk Hotel (makers of my favorite album of all time), Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, and Fleet Foxes are disqualified due to a lack of material. And then there’s a gray area of prolific bands with questionably “amazing” albums. How do the Mountain Goats rate? Built to Spill? The Decemberists? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Now let’s talk about Heaven, the seventh studio album by The Walkmen. I love The Walkmen. They seem to flounder in relative obscurity, cranking out amazing album after amazing album. The last two albums, You & Me and Lisbon, are fucking great. And this new one, Heaven, is worming its way into the permanent playlist as well. Bows + Arrows, from 2004, is still one of my favorites, but I don’t think of it as “amazing.”

The Walkmen are so close to joining the short list. I often find myself wondering why so few people appear to have listened to this band. What about you? Heard of them? Listened to them? Why not? Do so. NOW. This is modern day rock & roll at its finest.

Lots of quiet moments pepper the album Heaven, much like you’d want the real Heaven to sound like. Check out this other video, for “The Love You Love,” also from the new album, for a prime example of the awesome lows.

Guitar-driven, straightforward, beautiful. It really doesn’t get this consistently great in modern-day rock & roll.

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10. State Hospital EP by Frightened Rabbit
11. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#10 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

State Hospital EP by Frightened Rabbit

I’m not going to write much about this EP. By now, as a reader of my writing, you’ve probably grown accustomed to my fanaticism about Frightened Rabbit. If you haven’t given them a listen because of me up to this point, then I don’t believe I can say anything more that will sway you to change your mind.

And besides, this is just a 5-song EP. A FUCKING BRILLIANT 5-song EP. The title song will also be part of their February 2013 full-length release, Pedestrian Verse, which will undoubtedly be on the 2013 Bacon Calendar. The band has yet to release an album that hasn’t blown me away.

Buy everything this band has ever created. That is all I ask.

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11. A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits
12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#11 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits

Sometimes an album appears to go unnoticed, no matter how much I thought it would achieve great success. This album, A Thing Called Divine Fits, was one of those albums. It was created by what could be called a “super group” — where two successful groups unexpectedly form one collective and put out an album together.

Divine Fits, a combination of parts from Spoon (lead singer Britt Daniel), Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs (lead singer, guitarist Dan Boeckner), and the New Bomb Turks (drummer Sam Brown), should have killed. This album is solid from start to finish, taking on a similar format as Wolf Parade, where Boeckner sings lead, then the next song Daniel takes over. I’m not sure if the songwriting is broken up similarly, but I don’t really care.

All the songs are great, the guitar solos are awesome, and at times the album sounds like an extension of all of the bands mentioned above. That is due mainly to the unique sounds of the lead vocalists, but even the chord structures and drum beats feel very familiar. These guys’ other bands are so beloved, it’s astounding to me that this album hasn’t taken off more than it has.

Maybe it’s a slow burner. Maybe they have terrible PR, and nobody has heard of it. Maybe people think it sucks and my positive opinion of the album is an outlier. I hope that the band continues to work together and create interesting music. And I hope they come back through town (I missed them the last time). This is not a lineup people should be ignoring. Do your part. Download now.

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12. Some Nights by fun.
13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#12 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Some Nights by fun.

Quick: name the most embarrassing album you still qualify as “good” and listen to at least once a year. For me, that album is the Counting Crows’ August and Everything After, which came out my freshman year in college and clearly had some profound effect on my 19-year-old brain. Ever met a college freshman? They think they have the world by the balls. Looking back now, nearly 20 years in the future, that was clearly not the case (nor do I have the world’s balls in my hand today, either). But there lives August, the 7,000,000+ selling album, with well-meaning songs of love and loss.

Some Nights, by the (uncapitalized, full-stop) band fun., is that type of album. I imagine many many people twenty years from now still listening to this album, hitting play on their thumbnail-implanted music listening devices, and reminiscing about the strange-but-fun college days.

This album is unapologetically over the top. Foot stomping, resounding choruses, anthemic refrains that make you want to stand up and sing along at the top of your lungs. And that’s precisely why I like it. There are clear influences of Queen in some of the songs, but without the depth. And there are some aspects of it I wish weren’t there — like the heavy-handed usage of auto tune, which I personally don’t mind, but makes it difficult for me to convince somebody else to listen to it. And there’s even a song I purposefully skip over (“It Gets Better”) when listening to the album (something I almost never do for any other album I listen to), because to me it’s just shy of the sound of nails scraping on a chalkboard.

But overall, this is a great album. It even has the song of 2012, “We Are Young,” which doesn’t get this rating because it’s the best song, it’s merely the song that saw the most airplay. It was in numerous commercials, and I swear the chorus was stuck in my head for about 24 days after I got back from seeing the band at Sasquatch! 2012. They were the highlight of the festival, the surprise I didn’t expect to love so much. I had this to say about their performance:

“This may be the biggest crowd we’ve ever played to!” shouted clearly excited (and perhaps a little overwhelmed) lead singer Nate Ruess. The band is somewhat infamous for a song you’ve most likely heard due to massive commercial licensing, “We Are Young,” from their 2nd album Some Nights. Its the kind of song that seeps into your subconscience and won’t budge.

The band fills a niche I didn’t see as being devoid of talent until now. They’re a reimagined Queen, and Ruess is definitely Freddie Mercury, back from the dead. His dynamism, combined with the rest of the band’s enthusiasm for the material, makes for a fantastic show. A couple of the members of the band were extreme multi-instrumentalists, mastering keyboards, sax and trumpet with aplomb. Filled out with drums, another guitar and bass, the six of them all appeared to be having the time of their lives on stage. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you sell a song.

If you can recall “We Are Young” (shown above) and can enjoy listening to it, I suggest downloading Some Nights. This will not be the last we hear of fun. And, who knows, you may be wanting something to remind you of this time 20 years from now.

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13. Tramp by Sharon van Etten
14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#13 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Tramp by Sharon Van Etten

Here comes another new artist to the Calendar for 2012. Up until two months ago, I’d forgotten about this album. Tramp came out towards the beginning of the year, and I was very excited about it. I even got to see Sharon Van Etten perform at SXSW a couple times, and she was fantastic both times. But then I returned to Seattle in mid-March, and somehow got distracted, putting this album on the proverbial shelf.

Rediscovering it in October, I was able to rekindle my love for Ms. van Etten and her sultry voice. She is yet another indie-rock performer out of Brooklyn, but don’t hold it against her. Her music is slow, but not annoyingly so. It’s as if the songs are slower in an effort to really help you feel where they’re coming from. This slowness, and the minor key that most of the songs are in, give the album a decidedly dark atmosphere that makes you want to cozy up to the fire with a stiff glass of 18-year single malt in your hand.

Tramp isn’t van Etten’s first album, and it definitely won’t be her last. She had two prior releases to this album, but those albums didn’t hit my radar. This album was helped along by a star-studded guest appearance cast. It was produced by Aaron Dessner (from the National), and featured him, his brother Bryce, and Zach Condon (from Beirut), among others, brought in to give Sharon a little bit of a push. Their influences are tough to pick out, with the exception of Condon’s, whose distinct upper-range warble can be heard throughout the fantastic duet “We Are Fine.”

Overall, this album is a winter album. Perhaps that’s why I neglected to listen to it after returning from Austin in March. And why I find it so appealing now. Give it a listen and judge for yourself.

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14. Fear Fun by Father John Misty
15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#14 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Fear Fun by Father John Misty

Sometimes not starting out on center stage is a good thing. Dave Grohl, Jonny Greenwood, Phil Collins (sorta) — all of these guys started out as second fiddle, only to reach great acclaim as a solo artist by coming out from behind the shadow of their lead singers.

Josh Tillman, known as “J. Tillman” in fave-of-the-Bacon-Review Fleet Foxes, is working on his own claim to fame. After coming out with a couple of solo albums before his stint in the Foxes, to little notice, Tillman has rebranded himself Father John Misty. And as silly as that name is, it’s turning out to be a brilliant move.

Having seen the Foxes a few times, I’ve gotten to see Tillman’s sense of humor via the between-song banter. The guy is damn funny. So I have to assume that the new moniker is intentionally ridiculous. I will not try to defend it. But the music Tillman has produced under the new moniker is worlds above anything prior.

About the only thing Tillman brings over from the Foxes (with whom he wrote very little) is reverb. You won’t find any 5-man harmonies here. What you get is a traditional folk-rock album with a little southern twang thrown in, making the whole thing feel as if it belongs in a different era.

But then you listen to it a few times, you start to learn the lyrics and are struck by how dark the album is. Tillman must be haunted by some pretty evil demons. Watch the above video, for “Nancy From Now On.” There’s a dominatrix, some uncomfortableness, and even a physical manifestation of Tillman leaving the past behind, in the form of his locks being sheared off.

And if the video above doesn’t make you cringe enough, you can check out the other two videos from Fear Fun, each of which presents the dark lyrics from Tillman’s songs in a visually arresting manner. There’s the lovely Aubrey Plaza, acting our her aggressions, only to be thrown into the back of a “child molester” van by a barefoot Tillman for the song “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings.” Or the hyper-violent video for “This Is Sally Hatchet,” in which Josh, his finger gushing blood from an apparent shotgun wound, cuts that finger off with a pizza cutter. Good times.

Overall, this album feels like only a beginning. Tillman is going to be making music for a long time, and he’s just getting started. Get in on the ground floor.

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15. Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent
16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings 23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#15 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Love This Giant by David Byrne and St. Vincent

We’re now officially over the hump! The top 15 of 2012, and the better half of the list. Kicking things off with a bang, too, here at #15. Sometimes two artists you love get together and produce something magical. It doesn’t happen often, but the ones that come to mind — Thom Yorke teaming up with PJ Harvey on her song “This Mess We’re In,” Paul McCartney with the surviving members of Nirvana from the upcoming Dave Grohl-directed Sound City documentary soundtrack on the song “Cut Me Some Slack”, even David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s “The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth” — really are fantastic. But those are all single songs.

Even more rare are full album collaborations. Love This Giant, by David Byrne and St. Vincent, is one of those rare and magical happenings. St. Vincent, the name under which the amazingly talented Annie Clark performs, appeared on the 2009 Bacon Calendar with her great album Actor. David Byrne, former lead singer/songwriter of The Talking Heads and master of media, hasn’t appeared on the list before, but I’ve loved the Heads for a very long time, and many of Byrne’s solo albums as well.

They are both known to be quite eccentric and unique. Throw them together and they’ve created an album so unlike any other, it would never be mistaken for just a David Byrne album or just a St. Vincent record. This couldn’t have existed without the both of them.

The album is commanded by an 8-piece horn section. Each song has a melody sung fully by Byrne or Clark, but their usual guitars take a back seat to the percussion and these horns. It’s difficult to really convey how arresting it sounds. I got to see them perform the album live a couple months ago, and it was as if they’d brought the album to life, literally, on stage. Eight horn players, carrying each tune while doing a crazy dance routine, as well as performing some key David Byrne, Talking Heads, and St. Vincent songs. It was fantastically great, much like this album.

Well worth a download, check it out if you’re a fan of either of the artists, or simply want to hear something different. You won’t be disappointed.

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16. To The Treetops! by Team Me
17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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#16 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

To The Treetops! by Team Me

Having arrived on the east side of Scandinavia for the artist at #18, we now move to the opposite side of the peninsula, to Norway, for the band at #16. Team Me was another happy discovery thanks to an awesome music video for their song “With My Hands Covering Both Of My Eyes I Am Too Scared To Have A Look At You Now.” They’ve been around for a little under two years, starting with their Norway-only Team Me EP in February of last year. Their debut album, To The Treetops!, was released in October 2011 in Norway, but didn’t make it to the states until March of this year.

From everything I’ve read, the band is HUGE in their homeland of Norway, resulting in the band receiving the “Best Pop Group of 2011” at the Norwegian Grammys (otherwise known as the Spellemann awards). And this album is so good, I’m very surprised to see how little they’re being covered here in the states. They did a brief tour in March surrounding SXSW (which I sadly did not see them at), but beyond that — nothing. There’s not a single article about them over on Pitchfork (which is my sad little bar for “known” or “not known”). What gives?

This album is quite fun. It has equal parts Passion Pit and Mates of State, two bands to which I have much love. And I don’t know what it is about those Scandinavians — just like The Tallest Man On Earth, Team Me doesn’t sound like they hail from a country where English isn’t the first language. This album is invigorating. It could probably fit into your running mix quite well. Electronics, multi-layered vocals, happy kids — it’s all there for your enjoyment. Give it a listen.

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17. The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

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2009 Musical Bacon Calendar

#17 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

The Master: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood

Given yesterday’s news, I’m finding it hard to separate my throwaway thoughts about music from: my mounting hatred for the shooter, the gun-owners among us and the ineffectual government I happily voted into office; my deep sympathy for the victims, their families; and my growing sense of dread and helplessness because of the impossibility of keeping my son — all children — everybody — 100% “safe.”

I tried to ignore it, to move on without acknowledgment, resulting in a handful of pithy and, now, upon reflection, guilt-inducing tweets, as well as a few posts about music that seem oh so unimportant now. So forgive me if this post tries to draw a line — no matter how tenuous — between what I’m currently listening to and to what is happening in the world all around us.

I cope through music.

Here, where I’m finally giving myself a chance to reflect, I determined the band I was originally going to write about for #17 wasn’t right for my state of mind. So that album now moves up the charts so something more in tune can move down to this more appropriate spot.

The soundtrack to P.T. Anderson’s disturbingly wonderful The Master, created and curated by Radiohead’s lead instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood, is strangely perfect for right now. For those of you who have not seen The Master, I recommend it, especially if you can see it right now, in our current collective malaise.

It’s not an especially exciting movie, but the lead characters in the movie are so off kilter, suffering from some mental imbalance, crippling dependencies or delusions of grandeur, that the movie proves especially poignant for right now. The people are brilliantly portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, and these are career defining performances from actors who have had numerous such moments already in their lifetimes.

Another key character in the movie is Greenwood’s equally disturbing soundtrack, eerily perfect for my current mindset. It has an amazing ability to engender and/or feed my sense of melancholy that very few albums could achieve at this very moment. Each song, with only a couple of exceptions, is hard to tie to the exact scene within which it was played in the movie. You remember the tune, but you can’t quite put your finger on what visuals were playing under it when you first heard it.

The soundtrack is also entirely listenable on its own, provided you share in my desire to prolong the happy-sad feelings. This is a mark rarely achieved by a soundtrack, and while Greenwood wrote the entire score, its longevity will inevitably be attributed in part to the unsettling, memorable characters created by Anderson and acted by Hoffman, Phoenix and Adams.

Of course, this soundtrack and now the bridge I’ve drawn between it and the horrific events that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, don’t solve anything. It doesn’t do anything to make me feel I’m keeping my family safer, nor does it help me understand why my elected officials pretend to have their hands tied, powerless against the conversely powerful gun lobby. But it helps a little.

And there are a couple of other, more concrete ways to ease the pain, to help you feel like you can affect change, if ever so slightly:

1. Donate to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

2. Tell your state representatives to melt the guns. Be sure to follow these brief guidelines, posted on the Brady Campaign’s website:

Tips for contacting elected representatives:

Identify yourself as a constituent: Politicians are most interested in the opinions of people who can vote for them. Identify yourself as a constituent of the legislator you are contacting.

One issue at a time: Whether writing, visiting or calling your legislators, focus on a single topic - like closing the gun show loophole. You’ll be more effective and receive a faster response.

Be specific: Ask the legislator to take specific action, like sponsoring or voting for a piece of legislation. Ask for a written response that gives your legislator’s position on the legislation, and your request.

Be brief: Make your points quickly and concisely to have the greatest impact.

Be polite: Be respectful when contacting your legislators. It is important to contact legislators even if you know they will disagree with your position. They need to hear from you, but always be respectful. Those who agree with you need to hear from you too.

And lastly, go see The Master and give the soundtrack a listen. Chances are it probably won’t give you the same small sense of satisfaction it gives me, but there’s no harm in trying.

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18. There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth
19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

merlin:

Neutral Milk Hotel - “Holland, 1945” (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea; Merge Records; 1998) [MP3]

Certain songs stab your heart.

And, tonight, my favorite Neutral Milk Hotel song stabs me more than a little.

Especially, given how so many of the things we face—things kids can’t understand, let alone control—can have such a sudden and terrifying influence on all of our lives.

And, how astonishingly scant power each of us grownups has to fix any of those awful things once their heinous damage has been inflicted.

Kills me.

But now we must pack up every piece
Of the life we used to love.
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on.
 
And here’s where your mother sleeps.
And here is the room where your brothers were born.
Indentions in the sheets,
Where their bodies once moved but don’t move anymore.
 
And, it’s so sad to see the world agree
That they’d rather see their faces filled with flies.
All when I’d want to keep white roses in their eyes.

Perfect.

#18 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

There’s No Leaving Now by The Tallest Man On Earth

Kristian Matsson, from Sweden, sounds like he grew up in Everytown, USA. He doesn’t have a lick of accent from his native country. Billing himself as The Tallest Man On Earth, he produces some of the most spare, moving folk music you’ll ever hear.

The Tallest Man On Earth appeared on the 2010 Bacon Calendar. Looking back, I unfairly ranked The Wild Hunt at #25 that year. I wonder if I’ll regret putting his new album, the every-bit-as-good There’s No Leaving Now, here at #18.

If you have ever liked any Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie songs, you will like The Tallest Man On Earth. Guaranteed. If you despise those artists, you can equally count on despising this album, too. Just a man, his guitar, and little bit of backing instrumentation, raw and unplugged.

He even has what I consider to be a trademark of Jeff Mangum on this album: at the end of the last song, the deeply moving “On Every Page,” after the music has ended, you hear Matsson stand up from what sounds like an old creaky whicker chair. It’s a nice touch, and I hope it truly is a nod to the best album of all time. Unfortunately there were no music videos made for the new album (from what I can tell), so the video above is instead a live performance from the KEXP studios. One of the many reasons I donate regularly to my favorite radio station.

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19. Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats
20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

Another day, another pop song by a New Zealander that I can’t get out of my head. Here’s Kimbra with “Come Into My Head” from her 2012 album Vows, which sadly did not make it to my playlist early enough to be considered for the 2012 Bacon Calendar. No idea if it’s worthy, but I’m disappointed it couldn’t be considered.

Thank you, Matt, for calling this to my attention!

#19 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Transcendental Youth by The Mountain Goats

There seem to be less new artists on this year’s Calendar. I haven’t done a true comparison from year to year, but it feels as if I’m writing more “this new album from one of my favorite bands…” statements than ever before. And here’s another one, this time from long-time faves The Mountain Goats.

John Darnielle, the sole source behind all Mountain Goats music (but not always the only performer on the songs), is one of the most prolific musicians around. He has released 9 full-length records in the last 11 years, and is showing no sign of slowing down. Not all of them have stuck with me, but each of them are worthy of repetitive listens to determine if it should remain in the permanent playlist. My favorites have been Tallahassee and All Hail West Texas (both from 2002), We Shall All Be Healed (2004), Heretic Pride (2007). And all signs are now pointing to the new album, Transcendental Youth, becoming the 5th in the Top 5 Mountain Goats albums.

The Mountain Goats have changed over the years, from solo singer/songwriter songs recorded directly into a boom box tape recorder 15 years ago, to the nicely-produced albums of today. But the death, despair, and all-around general malaise Darnielle sings about, all with a wry smile, have remained pleasingly consistent. The new album is no different, with song titles like “Harlem Roulette,” “Counterfeit Florida Plates,” and “In Memory of Satan” bringing the dark humor.

If you like your acoustic-guitar folk rock with a bite, then you should definitely check out the Mountain Goats. But be warned: Darnielle has a massive, rabid following, that will sing along with every single song he performs, regardless of how old it is. They all seem to know all the words to all the songs. I guess he just knows how to bring out the crazy.

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20. A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees
21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

Well that’s a totally throw away song that I instantly love and know I’ll probably hate it in 6 months.

But for now, have some fun: Willy Moon, with his song “Yeah Yeah” from the album… um… I guess he doesn’t have one. Just three songs, in 2 years, according to wikipedia. Hm. Doesn’t hurt to get featured in an iPod ad, either.

#20 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

A Church That Fits Our Needs by Lost In The Trees

And now for something depressing.

There are sad songs about breakups. There are sad songs about being unemployed. And there are sad songs about being repressed. But none of those match the sadness found in songs about death. A Church That Fits Our Needs, the new album from Lost in the Trees is about death. Specifically, the suicide of the lead singer/songwriter Ari Picker’s mother in 2008.

The band’s previous album originally came out in 2007, and flew under the radar, unnoticed. I haven’t yet gone back to listen to it, but I would wager that it’s a drastically different album from Church. Picker internalized his mother’s suicide, and took 4 years from her death to come out with the new album. The result is a beautiful, orchestral, melancholy masterpiece not unlike The Cure’s Disintegration.

This is not a comparison I throw around lightly. Disintegration is one of those albums permanently lodged in my Top 10 of All Time. Church has a few years to grow on me before it could ever reach that status, but for those of you out there that don’t already have a space filled in your proverbial best-of list with Disintegration, then you should definitely give Church a try.

I got to see the band perform live shortly after this album came out, back in March. I wrote about it over at Another Rainy Saturday:

The band is often compared to Radiohead in their arrangements, but the story and instrumentation place them closer to Cloud Cult in my mind. Like Cloud Cult, Lost in the Trees’ emotional pulchritude (yep, I said it) stems from the tragic death of an immediate family member, in this case the suicide of Picker’s mother. The rawness created by the tragedy enabled Picker to channel feelings typically pushed far, far away in everyday people.

Strangely, and happily, the dark subject matter did not dampen the spirits of the band as they performed. There was much laughter on stage. While most of the audience impatiently awaited the headliner, those of us paying attention were left with a great sense of elation and release that made for a truly moving performance.

I like feeling melancholy. Oddly enough, feeling melancholy makes me happy. I don’t want to feel it all the time, and I definitely would not be called a “depressed” person by any stretch of the imagination (the glass is always half full over here), but albums like this turn something on (or off?) in me that puts me in a happy sad place. It’s a wonderful feeling, and this album is a wonderful album by doing that for me. Give it another year or two, and I’ll circle back to see if I should have ranked this album higher than #20 on this year’s countdown. #20 is a more accurate representation of how much I listened to this album compared to numbers 1-19. But number of times listened doesn’t always equal “good.” We’ll see.

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21. Hospitality by Hospitality
22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

#21 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Hospitality by Hospitality

Treacly. That’s the best way to describe Brooklyn trio Hospitality. Wikipedia calls it indie pop, which I suppose is as accurate a description as you can get. Amber Papini’s childlike “story-singing” — in the best Belle & Sebastian imitation she could muster — is infectious. Mix that with her guitar playing and Brian Betancourt on bass and Nathan Michel on drums, and you’ve got the makings of a fun time.

The above video, for their “hit” song “Friends of Friends,” is what really hooked me on these guys back in February 2012. The video stars Alia “Maeby Fünke” Shawkat, tying the band however loosely to Arrested Development, and thereby making it a near sure thing that I’d like them. The brain is a mysterious valley of connectedness.

There’s not much more I can write about this album, sadly. It’s just plain good. You will enjoy it. You cannot NOT enjoy it.

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22. Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings
23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

#22 on the 2012 Musical Bacon Calendar

Free Dimensional by Diamond Rings

I admit to having a fairly narrow range of what I like to listen to. But I always have outliers, bands that don’t fit into that indie rock label. Diamond Rings is one of those outliers. This is the most poppy band on the Calendar by far, and this isn’t their first appearance here.

They’re also a band I got to see perform this year, the year dubbed the Best Year In Live Music EVAR. When I saw the band back in sweaty August, I wrote:

Their entire set comprised of songs from Diamond Rings’ new album, Free Dimensional, out October 23. And even though I hadn’t heard the album yet, except for lead single “I’m Just Me,” it was clear that it’s worlds ahead of his debut album. Where that album was plinky-plonky, the new album is produced.

That’s not to say if an album has been crafted by a capable producer then it is much better than not. On the contrary: I usually brandish the “produced” label when referring to something that has too much of it. Free Dimensional is not that. But then, that’s also one of pop music’s strengths: high production value.

John O, the force behind Diamond Rings, is a unique performer. He has an amazing ability to come out on stage and just do his thing. Whether he’s by himself or with a group, it does not matter. When you download it, be sure to give this album a fair shake. Listen to it a couple times before giving up on it. You won’t be disappointed.

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23. History Speaks by Deep Sea Diver
24. A Different Ship by Here We Go Magic
25. Negotiations by the Helio Sequence
26. Moms by Menomena
27. The Sound of the Life of the Mind by Ben Folds Five
28. Shields by Grizzly Bear
29. Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon A Sun by The Wooden Sky
30. Fragrant World by Yeasayer
31. Reign of Terror by Sleigh Bells

What is the Bacon Calendar?

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

The Local Natives finally have a new album coming out, four years after their much-loved debut, Gorilla Manor. The new album, Hummingbird, was produced by Aaron Dessner of the National, and if the rest of the album is like “Breakers,” I’ll be very very pleased.