The Best of 2019: The Best New Albums I Heard

Western Stars is far from the best Bruce Springsteen album I've ever heard. He's had so many great ones.

In truth, though I think the album he released this year--his first studio recording since 2014's High Hopes--is pretty stellar, simply in terms of listening pleasure it's not even my favorite Springsteen album to come out in 2019.

That would be his latest archival live set, recorded on December 15, 1978 at San Franciso's Winterland.

But Springsteen put together a new album of material recorded as far back as 2012 that sounds remarkably cohesive, while also sounding like little he's ever released.

As you'll see below, another old favorite, The Who, surprised with a late 2019 album that--again--not ranking close to their all-time best, is solid enough to rank high this year.

Sadly, I only heard of my #2 album below because the man mainly behind it, David Berman, took his life shortly after its release and just before he was to start a tour. A shame, as while it isn't exactly filled with uplifting lyrics, it's a rather powerful last testament.

Anyway, of what I heard--which really wasn't that much nor that diverse--here's what I've determined to be: 

My Favorite New Rock Albums of 2018

1. Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars (Spotify link)

2. Purple Mountains - self-titled (Spotify link)

3. The Who - Who (Spotify link)

4. The Twilight Sad - It Won't Be Like This All the Time (Spotify link)

5. Mannequin Pussy - Patience (Spotify link)

6. Miranda Lambert - Wildcard (Spotify link)

7. Tool - Fear Inoculum (Spotify link)

8. The Black Keys - "Let's Rock" (Spotify link) 

9. Fontaines DC - Dogrel  (Spotify link)

10. Cage the Elephant - Social Cues (Spotify link)

11. Beck - Hyperspace (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

Wilco - Ode to Joy (Spotify link) 
Coldplay - Everyday Life (Spotify link)
Billie Eilish - When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go (Spotify link)
Taylor Swift - Lover (Spotify link)
The Muffs - No Holiday (Spotify link)


Reissues, Live Albums, etc.

R.E.M. - Monster (25th Anniversary) (Spotify link)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Live Archive Recordings
Available via live.brucespringsteen.net and Nugs.net. These are the ones I purchased:

● Tampa 4/22/08
● Los Angeles 9/27/85
● Passaic, NJ 9/19/78
● San Francisco (Winterland) 12/15/78
● Houston 5/6/14
● Coventry, UK 6/3/16

Of these, San Francisco 1978 would be my top recommendation.

The Best of 2018: The Best New Albums I Heard

This seems like apt category in which to admit that I've been a broken record.

For years, perhaps decades now, I've been complaining that there have been relatively few new artists in a rock vein that have gotten me excited--especially on an ongoing basis.

Yes, there are acts such as Ash and Maximo Park and Arcade Fire who have popped up on multiple "Best New Albums of (Year)" lists, but all are at least a dozen years old.

Late last year, as I was rummaging through albums I had gleaned might be worthy of "Best of 2017" consideration, I discovered Life Without Sound by the Cloud Nothings.

After several listenings, I decided it was the best album I'd heard all year, and it topped my list.

But not only can't I say that I returned to it often this year, until the past couple weeks I was oblivious to the Cloud Nothings releasing a follow-up, Last Building Burning.

And I don't like it nearly as much.

So with relatively few albums that catch my attention--and fancy--throughout the year, I try my best to listen to several in a cluster of December weeks, and see what I like best.

But though I am trying to gauge the merits--as per my preferences, which lean toward guitar-driven hard rock--of any particular album, I realized I somehow also should factor in what I'm likely to stick with and return to.

This year, my favorite discovery was a band called the Struts, who are unabashedly retro, with a singer and sound that recalls--without matching--Queen and a Cuisinart of other classic rock influences.

Noting that they would be opening for the Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field in late July, I listened to and loved their then-only album, Everybody Wants, which was released in 2014, and re-issued in the U.S. in 2016.

Their new album, Young and Dangerous, was released in late-October, and likewise has several songs that are unabashedly fun. It also has some that are, candidly, rather dumb and not so great, and I can't call the album a masterpiece.

Still, it is the 2018 album I've most enjoyed hearing, and presumably the one I will continue to most often. So while I don't think it historically good, it tops my list of:

My Favorite New Rock Albums of 2018

1. The Struts - Young and Dangerous (Spotify link)

2. Elvis Costello - Look Now (Spotify link)

3. Superchunk - What a Time to Be Alive (Spotify link)

4. Ash - Islands (Spotify link)

5. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs (Spotify link)

6. The Vaccines- Combat Sports (Spotify link)

7. David Byrne - American Utopia (Spotify link)

8. John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness (Spotify link)

9. Kyle Craft - Full Circle Nightmare (Spotify link) 

10. Paul McCartney - Egypt Station (Spotify link)

11. Judas Priest - FIREPOWER (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer (Spotify link)
The Chills - Snow Bound (Spotify link)
Mitski - Be the Cowboy (Spotify link)
Paul Weller - True Meanings (Spotify link)
Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour (Spotify link)
Cloud Nothings - Last Building Burning (Spotify link)
Albert Hammond Jr. - Francis Trouble (Spotify link)

Reissues, Live Albums, etc.

John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once (Spotify link)
The great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane died in 1967, and even in just the past few years, there have been many archival releases and reissues, typically featuring Trane performances. 2018's release of Miles Davis & John Coltrane, The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 being just one example. Both Directions at Once is a bit different, as it is from a recording session Coltrane did with his classic quartet in 1963, but whose tapes had long been lost. Hence, almost all of it is of material never heard. And it is brilliant.

David Bowie - Glastonbury 2000 (Live) (Spotify link)

Midnight Oil - Armistice Day: Live at the Domain, Sydney (Spotify link)

R.E.M. at the BBC (Spotfiy link) - Several discs worth of live in studio and live in concert recordings.

The Beatles - The Beatles (White Album) Reissue, featuring Esher Demos (Spotify link) - The Esher Demos are acoustic recordings the Beatles made prior to working on the actual album versions. And they sound wonderful.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Live Archive Recordings
Available via live.brucespringsteen.net. These are the ones I purchased:

● East Rutherford, NJ (without ESB) 6/24/93
● Boston 11/19/07
● Freehold (solo) 1996
● Roxy (LA) 7/7/78
● Wembley Arena (London) 6/5/81
● Chicago 9/30/99
● Helsinki 6/16/03
● Leeds 7/24/13

Of these, London '81 would probably be my top recommendation.

Pearl Jam has also long released official bootlegs of their concerts--which can be found here--and having attended their two Wrigley Field shows in Chicago (August 18 & 20, 2018), I enjoy owning them.

Ours Go to 11: The Best Rock Bands of the 21st Century (of Acts Largely Arising Since 2000)

Inspired by my heading to see The Killers, for the 4th time, tonight at the United Center, I thought I'd rank the rock bands--and solo acts who perform in a rock band vein--that I've liked best of those arising largely in the 21st Century.

Technically, some may predate Y2K, but typically only with a relatively little-known indie album or two. This does my best to gauge both the bulk and best of their work in the new millennium, recorded and in concert.

1. Arcade Fire

2. The Killers

3. The White Stripes + all Jack White incarnations

4. System of a Down

5. Coldplay

6. Maxïmo Park

7. LCD Soundsystem

8. The Black Keys

9. Linkin Park

10. The National

11. Mumford & Sons

Plus 11 more

The New Pornographers

Muse

Arctic Monkeys

Gorillaz 

Kings of Leon

My Morning Jacket

The Strokes

The Len Price 3

The Hives

Franz Ferdinand
The Fratellis

The Best of 2017: The Best New Albums I Heard

If there were any albums released in 2017 bound to be considered classics--at least in a rock vein, with apologies to Kendrick Lamar and Run the Jewels, acclaimed and respected but not to my tastes--I am either unaware or unappreciative.

Certainly, the paucity of my CD purchases has much to do with my preponderant listening via Spotify--for which I have a premium subscription--but I still can be compelled to buy a physical album.

Yet I did so only for the new U2 (Songs of Experience) and Taylor Swift (Reputation) albums, neither of which I cared for nearly as much as hoped.

 Sure, it was nice that some old favorites--Robert Plant, Ray Davies, Blondie, Billy Corgan, Paul Weller--put out some decent material, but it didn't really come close to their best work.

The same can also be said for more contemporary favorites like Arcade Fire and Maximo Park.

And while there certainly were albums I listened to during the year, particularly to prep for concerts I attended--and there were several stellar ones of those, per a list coming soon--for the most part the list below is culled from what I liked best in a barrage of listening over just the past few weeks.

My #1 album was released in January but I only first heard it in December. It's by an artist I've never much cared about before. Yet I found it to be the most exciting and consistent album of the year.

So make of this list what you will.

It's likely I may not much remember, or champion, these albums in years to come. And perhaps I'll discover some works I missed or undervalued that would significantly change the ranked order.

But in a year that once again saw the passing of far too many rock greats--Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Chris Cornell, Gregg Allman, Chester Bennington, Walter Becker, Grant Hart, Gord Downie, Malcolm Young, Tommy Keene, Fats Domino, Pat DiNizio--these were:

My Favorite New Rock Albums of 2017

1. Cloud Nothings - Life Without Sound (Spotify link)

2. The National - Sleep Well Beast (Spotify link)

3. Robert Plant - Carry Fire (Spotify link)

4. Arcade Fire - Everything Now (Spotify link)

5. Maximo Park - Risk to Exist (Spotify link)

6. Ray Davies - Americana (Spotify link)

7. Lorde - Melodrama (Spotify link)

8. Blondie - Pollinator (Spotify link)

9. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black (Spotify link)

10. Gorillaz - Humanz (Spotify link) 

11. Billy Corgan - Ogilala (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

Paul Weller - A Kind Revolution (Spotify link)
War on Drugs - A Deeper Understanding (Spotify link)
The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions (Spotify link)
LCD Soundsystem - American Band (Spotify link)
Liam Gallagher - As You Were (Spotify link)
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy (Spotify Link)

Special Mention

As in 2016, the new "albums" I listened to and liked the most this year aren't represented on the above list. I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and while the Boss didn't release any new music in 2017, via live.brucespringsteen.net he put out official recordings of all of his February concerts in Australia with the E Street Band, as well as several archival live sets.

These are the ones I bought--as downloads, though CDs are also available--and I love them all:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
● Brisbane 2/14/17
● St. Louis 8/23/08
● Helsinki 7/31/12
● Albany 2/7/77
● Rochester 2/8/77
● New York 7/1/00
● Stockholm 7/3/88

If you only want one, I'd recommend St. Louis 8/23/08.

Pearl Jam has also long released official bootlegs of their concerts--which can be found here--and though long-delayed, their two Wrigley Field shows in Chicago (August 20 & 22, 2016) are now available and quite good.

Metallica likewise releases all their shows, and though their setlists in 2017 were pretty static, I enjoy having a recording of the Chicago / Soldier Field concert I attended on June 18. (LiveMetallica.com)

The Best of 2016: The Best New Albums I Heard

2016 will undoubtedly go down as one of the saddest years in pop music history.

This is principally due to the passing of many legendary, groundbreaking artists across various genres, including David Bowie, Prince, Merle Haggard, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey (of the Eagles), Maurice White (of Earth, Wind & Fire), Paul Kantner (of Jefferson Airplane), Sharon Jones, Buckwheat Zydeco and Leon Russell, among several others.

In a recent post, I listed many of these losses, only for the rock world to soon suffer another with the recent death of Greg Lake, sadly following his Emerson, Lake & Palmer bandmate, Keith Emerson, earlier in the year.

And at least per my purview, it's also been a rather distressing year in regards to new music in a pop/rock realm. (I did however see several great concerts, the subject of an upcoming Best of 2017 post.)

Certainly, there has been some good music recorded and released, as I'll cite below, but not only did there not seem to be any galvanizing, zeitgeist-achieving albums--even beyond those I might have favored--according to Billboard nobody sold more CDs in 2016 than...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Certainly, the way music is heard, distributed and purchased has vastly changed, with streaming on services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal combining with paid downloads via iTunes, Amazon, etc., to generate more revenues for record companies than physical CDs.

But although I do quite a bit of listening through Spotify--roughly an hour a day, on average--for which I pay $120/yr. for their Premium service, I am old school enough to only consider those albums I purchase on CD as those I actually "own."

And in 2016, I only bought three CDs of new music.

One was David Bowie's Blackstar, which was released on his 69th birthday, January 10, which wound up being just two days before he died. Bowie is one of my all-time favorite artists, and the album is a rather astonishing last testament. (Another stellar new album by an iconic artist, Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker, preceded Cohen's death by just a couple weeks.)

Although I'd say I admire Beyoncé's artistry and voice (on multiple levels) beyond my personal fandom, I was intrigued enough by her lyrically-candid Lemonade album--which was accompanied by a video album--to purchase it, especially as it isn't on Spotify.

And I bought Eric Clapton's I Still Do, which I quickly lent to a friend and am not sure I ever saw again.

So although I listened to a good number of new albums, including recently, primarily they were the latest releases of artists I've long enjoyed (and typically well short of their career best).

Hence, I can't really suggest this list is all that holistically exploratory or revelatory, but for whatever it's worth, here are:

My Favorite New Rock (Mostly) Albums of 2016

1. David Bowie - Blackstar (Spotify link)

2. Bob Mould - Patch the Sky (Spotify link)

3. The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome (Spotify link)

4. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (Spotify link)

5. Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression (Spotify link)

6. Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not (Spotify link)

7. Beyoncé - Lemonade (not on Spotify)

8. Metallica - Hardwired...To Self-Destruct  (Spotify link)

9. Elton John - Wonderful Crazy Night (Spotify link)

10. Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool (Spotify link) 

11. Twin Peaks - Down in Heaven (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

Eric Clapton - I Still Do (Spotify link)
Paul Simon - Stranger to Stranger (Spotify link)
Savages - Adore Life (Spotify link)
Drive-By Truckers - American Band (Spotify link)
Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book (Spotify link)
The Hamilton Mixtape (Spotify link)

Special Mention

Truth be told, the new "albums" I listened to and liked the most this year aren't represented on the above list. I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and while the Boss didn't release any new music in 2016--save for the Chapter & Verse companion to his Born to Run autobiography, which includes five early, unreleased songs from before he was known, along with several familiar tunes--he did put out official recordings of every concert he performed with the E Street Band this year.

These shows can be purchased and downloaded at live.brucespringsteen.com (CDs are also available). I got several and loved them all, including:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
● Chicago 1/19/16*
● Milwaukee 3/3/16*
● Columbus 4/12/16*
● Brooklyn 4/23/16
● Milan 7/5/16
● East Rutherford 8/23/16
● Chicago 8/28/16*
● Washington, DC 9/1/16*
* = shows I attended

Pearl Jam has also long released official bootlegs of their concerts--which can be found here--but for whatever reason have not issued the two shows I saw at Wrigley Field this year. I imagine several of their other 2016 gigs were quite stellar, but I haven't downloaded any.

The Best of 2015: The Best New Albums I Heard (and Some Great Old Ones)

When it comes to hearing, obtaining and maintaining collections of music, I am both old school and new school.

I still have, on numerous shelves in my condo, over 2,000 physical CDs, and though far less so than in years past--due to both new technology and perceptions of modern musical quality--I continue to buy hard copies of most albums I acutely want to "own."

There are some inconsistencies to this--primarily regarding official concert "bootlegs" released by Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, for which I will pay simply to download--but generally I only feel like I own, or even "have," an album if I can hold it in my hands. 

But I use Spotify voluminously, and even pay $10 for the Premium ad-less version, so in giving me access to pretty much every album ever recorded, with the same ease of access as provided by iTunes or the AmazonMusic app--which provides me free "Auto-Rip" MP3s of any physical CD I buy through Amazon.com--the notion of albums I own or have has been forever transmogrified, especially as I do the bulk of my listening via digital files, even if I have the physical CD. (I'll either have imported the CD into iTunes--and perhaps then onto my iPhone--or have Amazon MP3s or simply listen to Spotify, even for albums I physically own.)

I used to believe that there was something slightly unscrupulous about using Spotify, as the concept of hearing full albums you didn't pay for--and even free Spotify users can do so--has been taboo for the majority of my 47 years.

Except of course for records you borrowed from the library and recorded onto a Maxell cassette, albums a friend copied for you whether onto cassette or later CD, Napster downloads and various other means of getting free music.

But Spotify seemed to be sanctioned piracy, and it felt kind of wrong--and in many cases, likely still is--that artists weren't being equitably compensated for their creations, at least versus the album royalties of old. Certainly, there have been numerous--and recent--reports about how millions of listens on Spotify have earned the recording artists mere pocket change. And Taylor Swift and Adele have opted to keep their gazillion-selling latest albums off Spotify, and The Beatles' entire catalog was unavailable on steaming platforms until just last week.

See article here

Yet, I recently read that record labels now make more money from streaming services such as Spotify than they do from purchased downloads or physical album sales.

And with the Beatles providing further validation that streaming is a fully legitimate form of musical distribution, it feels even less necessary to buy CDs, even if I intrinsically like having something tactile, with cover art and liner notes and printed lyrics.

So I undoubtedly still will, but sparingly, especially as the $120 I pay Spotify yearly equates to 12  CDs in physical form. 

All of which is a long-winded way of getting to the point that, of albums newly released, I bought a total of two CDs in a rock vein in 2015. One was Blur's first album in 12 years and the other was Adele's mammoth-selling 25, which I'm guessing she doesn't regret keeping off Spotify, and which proves that physical CDs still can sell.

(Just to mention it, perhaps for my own future knowledge, besides the reissues mentioned below and two previously released Beatles reissues, the only old CD I bought in 2015 was King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King, which is not on Spotify.)

Anyway, here's what I liked best of what I heard anew in 2015, including mostly rock artists but--given the relative sparsity of those--also a few Broadway cast albums that provided great listening pleasure. And yes, I'm aware that Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly is almost universally praised as the Best Album of 2015 elsewhere, but with all due respect, I never got into it as I'm not a big rap fan. Though I may continue to explore it from time to time.

On Spotify.

The Best New Albums I Heard in 2015

1. Blur - The Magic Whip (Spotify link)

2. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Chasing Yesterday (Spotify link)

With my top 2 picks, some may appreciate the inherent allusion to the Blur vs. Oasis "Battle of BritPop" 20 years ago.

3. Hamilton - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Spotify link)

4. Adele - 25 (Not on Spotify)

5. Ash - Kerblammo (Spotify link)

6. Paul Weller - Saturns Pattern (Spotify link)

7. Keith Richards - Crosseyed Heart (Spotify link)

8. Florence + the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Spotify link)

9. Wilco - Star Wars (Spotify link)

10. Darlene Love - Introducing Darlene Love (Spotify link)

11. The Waterboys - Modern Blues (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

- Finding Neverland - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Spotify link)
- Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe (Spotify link)
- Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free (Spotify link)
- Titus Andronicus - The Most Lamentable Tragedy (Spotify link)
- The Visit - Original Broadway Cast Recording (Not on Spotify)

Special Mention

Bruce Springsteen - The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (Spotify link)
As I wrote about here, the entire box set commemorating 1980's The River album is terrific. But had simply the 11 previously unreleased outtakes been put out as a new Springsteen album, it would rank #1 on the list above.

Bruce Springsteen - Archival Concerts - Philadelphia 1975, Nassau 1980,
East Rutherford 1984, Los Angeles 1988, Columbus 2005, Rome 2013
Each concert above was individually released in 2015--plus Cleveland 1978, released late 2014--and most represent the best music I acquired during the year. All are great; my top recommendations would be 1) Cleveland 2) Nassau 3) Rome 4) Los Angeles. Downloads or physical CDs can be bought through: live.brucespringsteen.net

Pearl Jam - Nov. 4, 2015 Santiago, Chile - official concert bootleg
Unlike previous tours, Pearl Jam hasn't released recordings of every show on their recent South American trek, but this Santiago show is a great listen with a rabid crowd. A Buenos Aires show is also available. Shop here for downloads or physical CDs.

Best Reissues:

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti (Spotify link)  
Led Zeppelin - Presence (Spotify link)
Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door (Spotify link)

The Best of 2012: The Best New Movies I Saw

The greatest challenge, for me, in ranking the Best Movies of a given year, at the end of that year, is a matter of time.

By this, I don’t mean—primarily—the difficulty of comparing a film I saw literally minutes ago with one I watched in early January. Certainly, faltering recollect can be an issue, but I rate all movies in a database shortly after seeing them and refer to those ratings when making a list such as this.

But more problematic is trying to figure out which movies should be eligible for consideration. For instance, the film that is topping many Best of 2012 critics lists—Zero Dark Thirty—won’t be released in Chicago until early 2013. I haven’t seen it and can’t put it on my 2012 list, but am I going to remember that it should, presumably, be on the Best of 2013 list?

Basically, for my purposes, the year of Chicago release—and not just at a film festival—is what I go by, rather than the calendar year criteria used by most professional critics and the Academy Awards. So foreign films—including three that were 2011 Academy Award nominees—that opened in Chicago in 2012 are fair game.

Of course, confusing matters even more is that although I saw about 50 new releases in 2012—out of 280 total films that I watched—I certainly don’t presume to have seen every worthwhile new movie from this year. And while some of the ones I missed were films I had adequate chance to catch in a theater, or even perhaps on DVD, others were pictures that may have only played for a week or two at the Music Box or Century Centre Cinema.

So what all this mishegas adds up to is my need to precede my primary Best Movies of 2012 lists with a couple of other lists.

2011 Movies seen in 2012 that could have made my Best Movies of 2011 list:
Take Shelter, The Ides of March, Drive, 50/50, Terri, In A Better World (F), Incendies (F), The Help, The Interrupters (D), Sing Your Song (D), Bill Cunningham New York (D), Bobby Fisher Against the World (D)

Notable 2012 Movies Not Seen (first 2 not released in Chicago)
Zero Dark Thirty, Amour, The Sessions, The Master, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Holy Motors, Cloud Atlas, End of Watch, Sister, Prometheus, Hitchcock, The Deep Blue Sea, Your Sister's Sister, Rust and Bone, Killer Joe, Premium Rush

The Best New Movies I Saw in 2012
(F) = Foreign Film; (D) = Documentary

1. A Separation (F)

2. Argo

3. Monsieur Lazhar (F)

4. The Kid with a Bike (F)

5. Flight

6. Les Miserables

7. Moonrise Kingdom

8. Skyfall

9. The Impossible

10. Arbitrage

11. Life of Pi

12. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (D)

13. Bernie

14. The Imposter (D)

15. Safety Not Guaranteed

16. Silver Linings Playbook

17. Ted

18. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (F)
 
19. Looper

20. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Honorable Mention

The Dark Knight Rises
Footnote (F)
Hell and Back Again (D)
Marley (D)
Lincoln
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Queen of Versailles (D)
The Amazing Spider-Man
Django Unchained
Haywire
Safe House
Chronicle
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
The Avengers
The Bourne Legacy
The Hunger Games
Compliance
Shut Up and Play the Hits (D)
Bully (D)

Other 2012 Films Seen

Jack Reacher, Killing Them Softly, Seven Psychopaths, 21 Jump Street, The Vow, Dark Shadows, The Dictator, Underworld Awakening, Total Recall, Rock of Ages, Goon

My Friend Dave’s Top 12

Like me, Dave saw plenty of movies in 2012, both new and old, but notes that The Master, Skyfall, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty are among those he has not seen. His top pick is a movie that opened in Chicago in fall 2011, but had such a short and limited release that he didn't hear of it until after it was gone and only came to see it in 2012.

1) Margaret
2) A Separation
3) Argo
4) The Kid with a Bike
5) Silver Linings Playbook
6) Moonrise Kingdom
7) Django Unchained
8) Bernie
9) Killing Them Softly
10) Looper
11) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
12) Compliance

The Best of 2012: The Best Musicals I Saw on Stage (i.e. the best productions)

In a year that didn’t include any trips to New York or London, and therefore no 4-shows-in-3-days clusters, 27 seems like a good number of musicals to have seen on stage.

And though this included few brand new musicals—excepting two World Premieres (Kinky Boots, Hero) and a recent Broadway-bound creation (Bring It On)—12 shows were ones I saw for the first time, while the other 15 were new productions of musicals I’ve long liked (or at least had seen before).

Of the repeats, five done at the community theater or college level were more satisfying than some elaborate Broadway in Chicago touring productions.

My biggest musical disappointment of 2012 was American Idiot, based on the Green Day album of the same name. I love the band, I love the album, I love the songs, but I thoroughly disliked what I perceived as a mish-mash of a musical without any narrative structure. (You can see my review of it here, and of Bring It On here.) I won’t bother telling you about the other musicals I didn’t much like, but below are the ones I did.

I always like to note that I am really ranking the productions I saw, not necessarily the musicals themselves. But whereas the runner-up on my list was an absolutely sensational rendition of one of my all-time favorite musicals, it lost out to an outstanding production of a show I like even better. So some unscientific blend of source musical and specific production come into play in ranking The Best Musicals of 2012, from among those I saw on stage:

1. Les Misérables – Broadway in Chicago (my review)

2. Sunday in the Park with George – Chicago Shakespeare Theatre (my review)

3. The Book of Mormon – Broadway in Chicago (my review)

4. Jersey Boys – Broadway in Chicago (my review)

5. Kinky Boots – Broadway in Chicago (World Premiere) (my review)

6. A Chorus Line – Paramount Theatre, Aurora (my review)

7. South Pacific – Broadway in Chicago (my review)

8. Show Boat – Lyric Opera of Chicago (my review)

9. Hairspray – Drury Lane Oakbrook (my review)

10. Singin’ in the Rain – Drury Lane Oakbrook (my review)

Honorable Mention (in preference order)

- Sister Act – Broadway in Chicago (my review)
- Fela! – Broadway in Chicago (my review)
- Hero – Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire (World Premiere) (my review)
- A Little Night Music – Village Theatre, Glen Ellyn (my review)
- Spring Awakening – Northwestern University (my blog post)
- Brigadoon – Starlight Theatre, Wilmette (my blog post)
- Woody Sez – Northlight Theatre (my review)
- My One and Only – Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire (my review)
- Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas – Broadway in Chicago (my review)
- Legally Blonde – Devonshire Playhouse, Skokie 
- The Producers – North Shore Theater of Wilmette (my blog post)

The Best of 2012: The Best Concerts I Attended

It makes sense that I would like most concerts I attend, especially because at this point, there are very few artists I am inspired to check out for a first time. Seeing live acts whose music I like and who have previously impressed me in concert, leads—not so surprisingly—to a pretty high percentage of shows I’d deem “great” or better.

Still, it is pretty gratifying as I look back on a year in which I attended 36 concerts, that I rated 10 of them @@@@@, 11 more @@@@1/2 and another 9 @@@@. That makes for 30 of 36 shows that I really liked, with the handful of lesser ones including free festival performances and a Merle Haggard gig that was impeded by audio issues at the awful Congress Theater.

In fact, the only concert that truly disappointed me in full—i.e. beyond wishing some different songs were played and/or the pacing was a bit better—was one by Madonna. You can read my review of that show here, but I was actually anticipating it to be good as I had seen and liked her three previous times.

There was only one artist I saw multiple times in 2012, and the four shows by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band would, honestly, hold down the top four slots on my list below. But rather than have the Boss monopolize 40% of the top 10, I’ll group all four of his shows as #1. However, that still leaves 17 gigs that I gave @@@@@ or @@@@1/2 vying for the nine remaining berths before Honorable Mention. And all I have to really separate them at this point is my eroding memory. So know that everyone listed below up to and including Dinosaur Jr. could easily be considered a Top 10 concert.

And even some of the acts toward the bottom of this Best of 2012 list may have made a case for Top 10 status if but for a few small adjustments. Radiohead and Wilco should have sprinkled a few poppier selections into their setlists; Prince shouldn’t have kept the United Center house lights off for 45 minutes after his set ended, then played “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” after most people left (me included) after the lights came up; and I would’ve liked the always great Garbage even more if it weren’t for my discomfort in the jam-packed and sweltering Metro.

I won’t include Tributosauras—who I saw do Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers—below, even though I really enjoyed their show at Skokie’s Backlot Bash, and I suspect I liked the Rev. Al Green a bit more from the lawn at Ravinia than pavilion dwellers have shared. But everyone else here not only belongs on my Best Concerts of 2012 list, but perhaps even a bit higher than I ranked them.

Note: I will cite opening acts in cases where I enjoyed them in their own right, but my rankings are based solely on the performance of the headliner. All venues are in Chicago area except as noted.

1. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – September 7 – Wrigley Field (my review)
Also, September 8 – Wrigley Field, April 12 – Palace of Auburn Hills (my review), November 3 – KFC Yum! Center, Louisville (my review).

2. Coldplay – August 8 – United Center (my review)
This surprises me, too, but they were unsuspectingly fantastic.

3. Elvis Costello and the Imposters – September 15 – BMO Harris Bank Pavilion, Milwaukee (my review)
Opening act Willy Porter was also terrific.

4. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – October 11 – United Center (my review)

5. Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators – September 28 – Riviera Theatre (my review)
Another show that pleasantly surprised me by being as great as it was. Opening band Foxy Shazam was the strangest act I’ve ever seen, but surprisingly tuneful too. Another opener, The Lovehammers, were also good.

6. The Killers – December 21 – UIC Pavilion (my review)
I also really liked opening act Tegan and Sara

7. The Who – November 29 – Allstate Arena (my review)

8. Willie Nile – April 28 – Fitzgerald’s (my review)
Nile was backed by the Nicholas Tremulis Orchestra, who also opened the show

9. The Hives – June 30 – The Vic (my review)

10. The Beach Boys – May 22 – Chicago Theatre (my review)

Honorable Mention (in preference order)

- System of a Down – August 15 – Allstate Arena (my review)
- Peter Gabriel – September 27 – United Center (my review)
- Red Hot Chili Peppers – May 28 – Allstate Arena (my review)
- Maximo Park – September 17 – Schubas (my review)

- Roger Waters – June 8 – Wrigley Field (my review)
- Aerosmith with Cheap Trick – June 22 – United Center (my review)
- Dinosaur Jr. – June 23 – Green Music Fest (my review)
- Weezer – July 27 – The Venue at Horseshoe Casino (my review)
- The Zombies – July 31 – Viper Alley (my review)
- Van Halen – April 1 – Allstate Arena (my review)
- Radiohead – June 10 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (my review)
- Wilco – July 3 – Adler Theatre, Davenport, IA (my review)
- Prince – September 24 – United Center (my review)
- Smashing Pumpkins – October 19 – Allstate Arena (my review)
- Garbage – August 7 – Metro (my review)

The Best of 2012: The Best Albums I Heard

2012 was once again a year in which I didn’t hear much in the way of newly recorded music that changed my life.

Or even substantially enhanced it.

This is not for lack of trying.

There are few things that I want more than to discover new music that I find invigorating. Toward that end, I bought at least a couple dozen albums in 2012—either in physical or digital form—and listened to many more via Spotify. I regularly perused reviews from Rolling Stone, AllMusic.com, Metacritic and various newspapers, magazines and websites. I checked out best sellers and new releases on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. I paid attention to who played at Lollapalooza, Pitchfork, Bonnaroo, Coachella and other festivals, even streaming much of them on YouTube. I watched a lot of live gigs on Palladia. And I read numerous Best of 2012 opinions, both mid-year editions and especially of late.

Based on all this, I have sampled a lot of new music, at least within styles I tend to like. And between releases by cherished favorites—Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Garbage, Alejandro Escovedo, Dinosaur Jr., Bob Dylan, Soundgarden, Rush, Jack White and more—as well as newer bands oft cited as releasing stellar albums in 2012—Fun., Tame Impala, Japandroids, Howler, Divine Fits, The Lumineers, Titus Andronicus—there has been very little that, especially across an entire album, has made me go “Wow!”

Yes, there have been some decent albums and enjoyable songs, but for me, a truly great album is one that I come back to again and again—upon its initial release or my discovery, but also in years to come.

Looking back now at my picks for the Best Albums of 2011 and 2010, the above criteria has really only applied to my top pick in 2011 (Adele – 21) and perhaps just half of my top 10 in 2010.

And while I genuinely enjoy all the albums I cite below to some extent, at this point I suspect only my top 2 picks will prove to have shelf life in my musical universe. So you may wish to listen on Spotify before buying any of them.

But without any further ado, these are the albums I liked best in 2012:

1. Maxïmo Park – The National Health
I feel somewhat sheepish about awarding the top slot to a band so little known in America, but other folks’ Best Albums of 2012 lists are full of artists with which I’m not familiar. Maxïmo Park’s 2005 debut, A Certain Trigger, still ranks as my favorite album of the ’00s and after a couple lesser ones, I thoroughly enjoy The National Health from start to finish. (Spotify link)

2. Bruce Springsteen – Wrecking Ball
It says a lot about The Boss that I like at least 10 of his previous albums better than this one, yet I still think it’s an excellent record with interesting sounds and a lot to say. (Spotify link)

3. The Hives – Lex Hives
They may not be the buzz band they once were, but the Swedish band continues to produce infectious, Ramones-like rapid fire rock songs. And Lex Hives is full of them. (Spotify link)

4. Paul Weller – Sonik Kicks
The Modfather has been on quite a hot streak in the 21st Century, with Sonik Kicks his 6th stellar studio album of the millennium. (Spotify link)

5. Kelly Hogan – I Like to Keep Myself in Pain
A longtime bartender at Chicago’s Hideout, Hogan proved captivating in an opening set for Wilco in Davenport in July, and though her album doesn’t scale Adele-like heights, she’s an impressive vocalist in a somewhat similar vein. (Spotify link)

6. Susanna Hoffs – Someday
The Bangle beauty showcases strong songwriting throughout her latest solo album. (Spotify link)

7. Neil Young – Psychedelic Pill
With a 27 minute song to open the album and two others clocking in over 16:00, this new work with Crazy Horse isn’t easy to listen to—in full—while driving. But two of the epics, “Ramada Inn” and “Walk Like a Giant” are among the album’s best songs, and there’s more than enough here to remind why Neil Young is one of the greatest rock artists of all-time.

8. Taylor Swift – Red
I’ve never cared about Swift’s romantic melodramas and subsequent musical salvos, but I find her to be one of the few present day musical artists to actually possess impressive artistry. Red showcases a rather impressive range of songwriting and singing styles. (Spotify link)

9. Bob Mould – Silver Age
According to reviews, I was supposed to like Mould’s new album as much as 1993’s great Copper Blue, released with Sugar. I don’t, but he fell short of past glories a bit more satisfyingly than did the Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, Soundgarden, Garbage and others I had high hopes for. (Spotify link)

10. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
In listening to a lot of artists cited in other Best Album of 2012 lists, the Japandroids seem to be the best of what I’ve heard. The guitar buzz created by the Vancouver duo admittedly fits into my sweet spot, though so far I like their sound more than their songcraft. (Spotify link)

Honorable Mention

Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas (Spotify link) 
Bob Dylan – Tempest (Spotify link)
Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky (Spotify link)
The Killers – Battle Born (Spotify link)
Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth (Spotify link)
Slash with Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators – Apocalyptic Love (Spotify link)

Highly worthwhile live albums/DVDs

Blur - Parklive (Spotify link) 
Led Zeppelin – Celebration Day

My Favorite Concert Performers of the '00s

Rather than try to rank specific concerts--both because my memory ain't that good and I could easily fill all 10 spots with Springsteen shows--I will list my favorite concert performers of the decade, most of whom I saw at least twice if not more.

1. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - I saw the Boss + ESB 26 times (plus 4 other Bruce shows). They were never less than great and often transcendent. Even in their 60s no one does it better.
2. Pearl Jam - Sharing a "never the same show twice" ethos with Springsteen and select few others, they have been consistently spectacular as a live act. Beyond 10 PJ shows in the decade, I also saw a solo Eddie Vedder performance that was truly special.
3. Green Day - From a 2001 show at Milwaukee's Eagles Ballroom to a 2009 show at the United Center--plus 2 in between--Green Day has found ways to stay true to their punk rock origins whether trying to revive their career or packing arenas once they did.
4. The Rolling Stones - I was fortunate to see the Stones 6 times between 2002-2006 and they were never less than magnificent, even throughout the coldest concert I've ever attended, in October 2006 at Soldier Field
5. Paul McCartney - Like Bruce and the Stones, he may be old, but he still knows how to put on an exciting show that everyone seems to love. And the quality of the material he's released since 1997 may surprise you, yet it's not as good as the Wings stuff, and that's not as good as the Beatles' stuff. Combined they made for 4 incredible shows.
6. Radiohead - I've sometimes begrudged them for withholding what fans may most want to hear--e.g. in my 6 shows (5 this decade), I've yet to hear Creep--but I have never failed to enjoy and admire their performances, which include the best lighting design in the business
7. U2 - I've been disappointed with the last 2 albums, and all 9 shows seem to be highlighted by the same core songs (Pride, Streets, Sunday Bloody Sunday, With Or..., etc.) but I still love 'em. Although the massive stage stadium shows of 2009 were my least favorite of the decade.
8. Foo Fighters - Just a tremendous live act, although some of their material of late hasn't thrilled me.
9. The Killers - I only saw them twice and liked them better on the 2007 Sam's Town tour than I did in 2009, but to me they clearly outshined Coldplay as the best band of the '00s that didn't exist prior to the decade. Their new live DVD is really good.
10. AC/DC - I never saw them as a kid, but the 2 times I saw them (2001, 2008) were as good as I could have hoped. They do what they do as well as anyone can do it.
Ours go to 11. The Flaming Lips - Only saw them once and loved 'em; am seeing them again on December 11 at the Allstate Arena

Honorable Mention:
Van Halen - the David Lee Roth tour was excellent; the Sammy Hagar tour not as much
Velvet Revolver - saw them just once but they were surprisingly awesome
Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan - including 2 Billy Corgan solo shows, I saw them more than anyone except Bruce. The 2000 Pumpkins shows were great and the pre-album 2002 Zwan shows were outstanding
Elton John/Billy Joel - I saw their Face2Face shows on 3 separate tours and loved them all
R.E.M. - Their popularity has shrunken in the US, but they remain a stellar live act
Ray Davies - One of the best songbooks in rock; two magnificent theatre shows and a not as good free performance at Taste of Chicago
Metallica - If you like it loud, they still bring it
David Byrne - Saw him on 2 tours; both were among the most imaginative performances I've seen
Steely Dan - I had never seen them until a show each in 2008 & 2009; was surprised at the depth of their songbook and how good they sounded live
Fleetwood Mac/Lindsey Buckingham - I enjoyed the Fleetwood Mac arena shows I saw in 2003 & 2009, but Lindsey solo at the Park West was even better
Stereophonics - A few shows were disappointing, but at their best this "huge in England, small in US" Welsh band was tremendous

Others of Note:
The Who, Garbage, The Cure, Wilco, Madonna, BoDeans, The Fratellis, David Bowie, Brian Wilson, System of a Down, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Dixie Chicks, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Ash, Paul Weller, John Fogerty, Ash, Neil Young/CSNY, The Eagles