Here is a rundown of my Favorite Things This Year (Music Division):
1. Guided By Voices-Reunited with THREE great albums. "White Flag." "Waves." "Chain to the Moon." These are the things I live for. Honestly, just reuniting and putting out one decent album would have made the number one spot. But these three albums exceed expectations and I am glad there is more coming in the new year.
2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse-Reunited with TWO albums. The covers album Americana came first and was a great way to get reacquainted with this wonderful band. But man, Psychedelic Pill is the stuff of dreams. It is The Horse stretched and rambling in 2012. "Ramada Inn" might be my favorite song since "I'm the Ocean."
3. Emmylou Harris-I've been a fan for a few years, but this year she became one of my favorite artists. Everyone talks about the voice, which is heavenly, but she also has a gift in picking out great songs from other artists and making them her own. See: "Every Grain of Sand."
4. Thin Lizzy-Jailbreak-Renewed interest in this band came in March, but this was my album of the summer. Perhaps my favorite single moment was sitting on my porch after midnight in a light storm listening to it. I can smell the humidity.
5. Cheap Trick-In Color-This one could probably show up on every year end list for the rest of my life.
6. Bob Mould-Silver Age-Bob Mould's Sugariest set of songs since Copper Blue backed by Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster.
7. OFF!-It was a frustrating year at work. This album was the perfect stress relief in the car on the drive home. Who knew hardcore could age this well?
8. Ice Dragon-Couple of great albums and singles by these guys, but I think I liked Dream Dragon the best. All of their albums are different yet unmistakably Ice Dragon. This one is like a demented, psychedelic take on folk. They are on Bandcamp and you should definitely check them out.
9. Robthebank-They reunited! I love buying an album and knowing all the words to the songs before I even hear it. Great album that I was sure was lost to time.
10. Motel Beds-Dumb Gold-I got into these guys about a year ago and their new album is great. Maybe this will be the year they get more well deserved attention.
11. John's DJ Set-He owned it. If you are getting married/having a house party/need someone to follow you around with a boom box, call John. I even got him to play "Ripple."
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