2015: The Year in Rear View - Top 30 album picks for the year.

Low and behold we just emerged from the tail end of a year in the twenty first century that was actually praiseworthy, music-wise anyway.   In 2014 I struggled so arduously to come up with a legit roster of my top album titles that year, I subsequently buckled and instead made a list of my most listened to albums of that year, be they current or otherwise.  Luckily, 2015 didn't give me the same excuse.  Chalk that up to so many returning and established favorites like Ben Folds, Mew, Motion City Soundtrack, Passion Pit, The Church, Silversun Pickups, not to mention a reunited Swervedriver and Failure!  None of the above delivered their career-best mind you, but still managed to convey genuinely commendable titles in most instances.

'15 saw the emergence of white-hot upstarts in the guise of Meat Wave (think Hot Snakes meets the Wipers), the urgent dream-pop revisionism of Weed and Infinity Girl, Viet Cong's inventive guitar melees, and the relatively conventional pop of Britain's Fickle Friends whose "Velvet" would likely qualify as my favorite song of the year were I to compile a ranking of such.  Elsewhere EZTV brought something toothsome to the power pop dinner table with their first record, Calling Out, Philly's Beach Slang fulfilled the promise of two '14 eps on their premiere full length, and Brooklyn's Regal Degal truly arrived with their vibrato-laden, post-punk stunner Not Now.  

Key among the welcome spate of newcomers was St. Lenox, the aka for Andy Choi whose soaring, soulful timbre conjured up everyone from Stevie Wonder to Jeff Buckley.  This compelling early 2015 arrival (and my #3 pick) Ten Songs About Memory and Hope boasts slice-of-life songcraft to die for, independent of Choi's devastating pipes.  Also filling out my top three is the euphoric second ep from one of my current addictions, Great Good Fine Ok, 2M2H's sly incorporation of urban-contemporary grooves into a frenzied techno-pop pastiche could break them big in 2016.  For the first time in eons, I had an overriding favorite pick for my album of the year.  If Neon Indian's 2012 stunner Era Extrana was a surreal melding of shoegaze-cum-electronica, VEGA INTL. Night School found headmaster Alan Polomo shifting a bouquet of samples and shifty, labyrinthine grooves straight to the dance floor in ways that Prince could only hope to encounter in his wildest fever dreams.

2015 was the year that Deerhunter and Tame Impala moved me firmly into their camps, via some successfully sonic tweaking on Fading Frontier and Currents, respectively.  Juliana Hatfield reunites with her two boy buds Todd Philips and Dean Fisher for a new JH3 album and it just might be the best thing she's put her name on in a good ten years or so.  Nai Harvest's latest is  a deliriously skilled distorto-punk pop mini-masterpiece.  And finally, one more notable title.  Do try to check out Funeral Advantage's Body is Dead.  It's smoothed-over, dream pop bliss that's sure to propel it's way to the upper echelons of your chill-out soundtrack.  And about that list...it's directly below.  BTW there is no "sampler" or audio companion to accompany this entry.   I've offered such in years past only to have it struck down by some of the higher ups.

01. Neon Indian - VEGA INTL. Night School (Mom + Pop)
02. Great Good Fine Ok - 2M2H ep (Ultramusic)
03. St. Lenox - Ten Songs About Memory and Hope (Anyway)
04. Nai Harvest - Hairball (Top Shelf)
05. Regal Degal - Not Now (Terrible)
06. Meat Wave - Delusion Moon (SideOneDummy)
07. Funeral Advantage - Body is Dead (Native Sound)
08. Mew - +/- (Play it Again Sam)
09. Juliana Hatfield Three - Whatever, My Love (American Laundromat)
10. Weed - Running Back (Lefse)
11. Tame Impala - Currents
12. Fickle Friends - Velvet ep + singles
13. Swervedriver - I Wasn't Born to Lose You (Cobraside)
14. EZTV - Calling Out (Captured Tracks)
15. Motion City Soundtrack - Panic Stations (Epitaph)
16. Failure - The Heart is a Monster
17. Ben Folds and yMusic - So There (New West)
18. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - The High Country (Polyvinyl)
19. Deerhunter - Fading Frontier (4AD)
20. Viet Cong - s/t (Jagjaguwar)
21. Marietta - As it Were & Cuts ep
22. Passion Pit - Kindred
23. Beach Slang - The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us (Polyvinyl)
24. Infinity Girl - Harm (Topshelf)
25. Ringo Deathstarr - Pure Mood (Real Cool Trash)
26. Slanted - Forever 
27. Tenement - Predatory Highlights (Don Giovanni)
28. Fire in the Radio - Telemetry (Wednesday)
29. The Church - Further/Deeper (Unorthodox)
30. Silversun Pickups - Better Nature (New Machine)

Honorable mentions:
Maritime - Magnetic Bodies/Maps of Bones
Urban Cone - Polaroid Memories
Beach House - Depression Cherry
Heat - Rooms
Poncho - s/t ep 
Killing Joke - Pylon
Royal Headache - High
Twerps - Range Anxiety 

And of course, there's all the new records I meant to investigate but never did: Built to Spill, Pleasure Leftists, Wire, Tommy Keene, Car Seat Headrest, Doleful Lions...overwhelmed as usual. 

Kent State - Past Lives 3x split cassettes (2012) - An overview

Although there were some genuinely prescient folks among us to foretell the reemergence of vinyl as the music format of choice (for audiophiles anyway), virtually no one spoke even in jest about tapes coming back on the market.  And for good reason I suppose, with the fidelity of those antiquated, mini-reel-to-reels being inferior to records and CDs...but nostalgia and novelty have a funny way of creeping back into our lives.  No, you won't find cassettes, either blank or pre-recorded, vying for space next to spindles of CD-Rs at your favorite big box store, but they've very quietly materialized in extremely limited runs via a handful of indie imprints.  Once the antitheses of said audiophiles, current titles on tape are if anything coveted by that very niche, thanks in part to taste-making labels like Burger Records, but I digress.  Kent State, a Baltimore crew I introduced you to last summer, have flicked their collective Dolby switches to "ON" and recently issued no less than three separate cassettes, all under the banner of Past Lives, splitting the difference with one of three unrelated contemporaries: Doleful Lions, Airlooms, and At the Heart of the World, on each cartridge.  All tapes feature one side of three new Kent State songs, with the opposites bearing two to three cuts from the aforementioned.  Artwork and cassette shell color are also exclusive to each and are really something to behold.  As for the music...

Kent State aren't indie rock's "great white hope," so much as it's great white noise.  Their allotment of songs on Past Lives are doubly raw, raucous, and sprawling than those appearing on the Walk Through Walls ep. With a din-addled roar that frequently out-bludgeons Sonic Youth, even KS' smothered harmonies fall prey to a certain amount of dissonance of their own.  A very heady brew that goes well with the likes of Cloud Nothings and Male Bonding.  And what of the other three combos?  I've been touting the virtues of Doleful Lions surreal, yet often poignantly sun-kissed verses for what feels like an eternity now.  A deep, pithy catalog have they, but if you're just looking for a taste, their two selections here are as gratifying a place to dive in as anywhere.  Airlooms were an unknown quantity until I encountered them here sharing a side with Kent State.  Soaring melodicism and unruly squalls of feedback reign in glorious abundance with these blokes on the case.  Vaguely akin to Chamberlain or Kings of Leon, that is if those groups had the creative gumption to record in the pit of the Grand Canyon, if not a 747 hangar.  You can get a whiff of more of their goosebump-inducing tuneage from their Bandcamp page linked above.  Regarding At the Heart of the World, you might say I don't have a place in my "heart" for shronk and screaming.

Getting back to the main event, I would encourage you to explore the remainder of Kent State's growing body of work, which can all be had at Bandcamp, and is also where you can make a wise investment and purchase this limited three-tape set. 

There is hope for the hopeless now. 2011: The year in rear view, Top 25 albums, plus: Best of the Blog mix for the year past

To anyone who espouses the notion that my musical persuasions are solely relegated to the past (specifically the '80s and '90s) you're right...and wrong.  The emphasis on Wilfully Obscure is and will likely remain retro, but I'm still enthused about new music from both emerging and classic artists.   I thought I'd run down twenty-five of my favorite releases of 2011, not only as a way to catalog them for my own remembrance (in the event senility sets in later in life) but for your amusement and recommendation as well.  2011 was not a banner year for music, but in fact slightly superior to 2010 which I conveniently summarized.  On the proverbial one-to-ten scale, there were in fact no tens, or nines, or even eight and a halves (save for maybe my top pick).  Nonetheless there was plenty to pique my interest and maintain my curiosity, thanks to a clutch of inspired newbies.  A little synopsis follows each title on my hallowed and coveted album list.  Bear firmly in mind that your results may very. 

In addition there are short lists (in no particular order) for honorable album mentions, and some of my favorite reissues of 2011.  Towards the end of this lengthy diatribe, I've also included a link where you can download a  "Best of the Blog" compilation featuring songs from twenty of my most cherished blog entries and retro discoveries for the year, including a handful of songs from albums not previously featured.  A huge thanks goes out to anyone who has contributed in any small way to Wilfully Obscure over the past year.  You have sincerely made this a more robust and substantive site.

Top 25 albums of 2011:

01. Farewell Continental – ¡Hey Hey Pioneers! (Paper and Plastick) - Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack goes the co-ed route with Kari Gray turning in the most neurotic and endearing rock album of the year.  Bravo.
02. Maritime – Human Hearts (Dangerbird)- Ex-Promise Ring frontman Davey von Bohlen follows up 2007’s Heresy and the Hotel Choir with a record that’s nearly as visceral and inspired.
03. Doleful Lions - Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison! - Space age hooks paired with an often surreal indie rock stride.  Many happy returns.
04. Parachute Musical – Kill It Cut It Down - Probably my favorite singer/songwriter album of year.  Piano rock bliss.
05. Yuck – s/t (Fat Possum) - Everything you've heard about them is 200% true and then some.
06. Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)- Delirious, engulfing dream-pop revisionism that virtually none of their ‘90s forebears had the smarts to come up with on their own.
07. Tim and Jean – Like What - Passion Pit-inspired techo pop from this prodigious and infectious Australia duo.  Too bad it didn't see the light of day in North America.

08. Street Chant – Means (Arch Hill) - This sucker picks up where Dinosaur Jr.’s Bug left off, and furthermore, is indicative of the trajectory Sonic Youth should have charted in following up Goo.  Nearly as revelatory as Yuck, and that’s saying quite a bit.

09. Pocket Genius – Nordic - Wasn't expecting something this potent after a decade hiatus.  Pocket Genius bear the charismatic nonchalance and zesty reverb of The Replacements, Doughboys and Soul Asylum, in an oddly unique context.  

10. Neon Indian - Era Extraña - True blue innovators.  In the electronica venue, they are currently without peer. 

11. Saves the Day – Daybreak (Razor & Tie) - This was my most anticipated album of 2011, and even though it didn’t quite live up to my lofty expectations, Chris Conley is still the consummate melody weaver.
12. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light - A milestone for Dave Grohl and Co.  The Foo Fighters are the only arena band whose concerts I’m not embarrassed about attending. 

13. Shy Mirrors – Sailed Blanks (Big School) - The Superchunk and Weezer (blue album-era) aesthetic is alive and kicking up a storm.
14. The Strokes – Angles (RCA) - Returning a few years late, and IMO a song or two short, Justin Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr’s inspired recent solo endeavors spilled over into their fourth platter, giving the Strokes the shot in the arm they were overdue for.
15. Under Electric Light - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - A sublime fusion of shoegazer headiness, suave keyboard-enhancements and breezy melodies. Thoroughly transporting songs.
16. Male Bonding – Endless Now (Sub Pop)- Not as wall-to-wall bonkers as they were on 2010’s static laden Endless Now, but still plenty nervy and voracious.
17. Patrick Stump - Soul Punk - Soul? A few notches shy. Punk? Not a trace. Savvy? Like you wouldn’t believe.
18. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Belong (Slumblerland) - The not-so-difficult second album. Irresistible.
19. Foster the People – Torches - 2011's soundtrack to summer
20. Joey Cape – Doesn’t Play Well With Others - Another devastating helping of acoustic missives from the brainchild of Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut
21. Office of Future Plans – s/t (Dischord) - Burning Airlines with a little cello thrown in? Works for me. Welcome back Jay.
22. The Drums - Portamento (French Kiss) - Doesn't match last years debut, but strives to anyway.
23. Sea Lions – Everything You Always Wanted to Know... (Slumberland) - A stirring update of classic C86-era Brit Pop with a bevy of old school hipster influences to die for.
24. Wire – Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag) - Still on the cutting edge after all these years, delivering a record that distills many of the key sonic attributes of their five-decade long run.
25. Lunch - s/t ep - fuzzy indie rock newbies drawing on a cornucopia of '90s influences.  Check out their song "Turn Around" streaming on a number of websites. 

Runners up:

Rival Schools – Pedals

Graham Repulski – Into an Animal Together

Iron & Wine – Kiss Each Other Clean

Sway – This Was Tomorrow

Samiam – Trips

Stuyvesant – Fret Sounds

The Forms – Derealization ep

Sloan – The Double Cross

The Cars – Move Like This

The Active Set – 11

Real Estate – Days

Dot Dash - Spark>Flame>Embers>Ash

Janes Addiction – The Great Escape Artist

High Tension Wires – Welcome New Machine

The Feelies - Here Before

Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes
Muler - Hope You Found a Home
The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

 

Recommended reissues and compilations:

Nirvana - Nevermind super deluxe edition

Jesus and Marcy Chain - discography reissue series (Edsel) 

Bitch Magnet - three CD discography (Temporary Residence) 

Radio Dept - Passive Aggressive, Singles 2002-2010

Lagwagon - Putting Music in It's Place box set (Fat)

Ben Folds - The Best Imitation of Myself - 3 cd deluxe edition

Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass deluxe

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Tape Club (Polyvinyl)

Sebadoh - Bakesale deluxe (Sub Pop)

The Modulators - Tomorrow's Coming (Kool Kat) 

Although it's well out of my price range (and I've only heard the main album portion), it's a safe bet to say that the Beach Boys Smile Sessions box takes the cake in terms of deluxe reissues for 2011. 

Finally, here's the tracklist and link to our 2011 best of the blog mix:

01. Humidifier - Nicotine
02. Slumber - Valliat

03. Dissonant Blue - Practical Harmony

04. Beauty Constant - It's One Life (demo)
05. Beat Clinic - Brenda on the Big Bed

06. Rhythm Corps (Method) - Solidarity (1984 vers)

07. Alter Boys - Piles

08. Ups and Downs - Painted Sad

09. Pedaljets - Sensual Cardboard Event

10. Reaction Formation - Galesburg Bound

11. The Spliffs - Merry-Go-Round

12. Not Shakespeare - Turnaround

13. Blanket of Secrecy - Love Me Too

14. Five Cool What - Rescue Me

15. Brave Tears - Flippin' Through

16. Delusions of Grandeur - Carousel

17. 100 Flowers - Roof Tops

18. Naomi's Hair - Tilt-a-Whirl

19. Trusty - Bus Stop

20. I-Rails - Sticks and Stones

http://www43.zippyshare.com/v/X73uHFwO/file.html

Doleful Lions - One summer, on Bandcamp...

It goes without saying that the business model of the brick and mortar record/cd store has been trounced by a myriad of digital outlets which literally hundreds of millions of music listeners are more than welcome to flock to.  Even so, the advent of iTunes already seems a bit passe for some of us with more discriminating tastes, which is where the burgeoning Bandcamp comes into the picture.  The truth of the matter is that iTunes, Emusic, and Amazon downloads function every bit as much of a middle man as do distributors of physical music media.  Bandcamp's approach is downright organic by comparison, in the respect that music is sold directly to fans by the artist on their terms, not on the whims of bottom-line driven record execs. 

The Doleful Lions, admittedly an outfit with a micro-fanbase, are nonetheless a model example of Bandcamp entrepreneurship, who after waiting the better part of a year to release their eighth record (due in no small part to indie label politics) have resigned themselves to delaying a physical release indefinitely, and instead have marketed said album (Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison!) via the revolutionary portal in question.  For the meager sum of $6.66 Let's Break... can be permanently ensconced in that warehouse of ones and zeroes you call your hard drive, iPod, or perhaps even an MP3 player of another sort.  In addition to the new full length, the Lions (actually pared down to one full time member at this point, Jonathan Scott), have been so enthused about this new outlet, they're selling digital files of their first album, 1998's Mitch Easter produced Motel Swim, plus an album's worth of outtakes, alternate versions and live tracks (What Was On The Floor Of Jonathan's Car- And How It Got There).  There's even a companion ep to the new album, Lucifer, The Light, free for the taking I might add, that offers acoustic versions of three primo album cuts and another trio of otherwise unavailable songs exclusive to this collection.  To get a better handle on the Doleful Lions in general, here are a few morsels I penned in a brief article for issue 68 of Big Takeover magazine:

A Doleful Lions song can manifest itself in the form of a hissy 4-track demo, benign and consoling as a lullaby, or it can come in the guise of a dense, fever-dream swirl of amped-out psychedelic rock and them some.  There are a myriad of shades teaming in between these extremes, but frontman Jonathan Scott imbues his songs with indelible melodies that are as winsome as his prose is often puzzlingly surreal.  The Doleful Lions story begins in earnest in 1997, when Jonathan relocated from Chicago to Chapel Hill, NC where he began mailing demos to scores of indie labels who specifically advertised in this very publication.  Comprised of several alternating lineups, five Lions albums ensued, as did two collections of endearing lo-fi bedroom recordings, Song Cyclops Vols. 1 & 2, all surfacing on the Champaign, IL based Parasol Records.  He has since uprooted back to the Prairie State, specifically the southwest Chicago suburb of Plano.

Jonathan has no magic formula to reveal regarding his heightened melodic astuteness, the quality of which rivals that of the Apples in Stereo or Alien Lanes-era Guided By Voices.  “I’m constantly playing with chord progressions and singing.  I should have a recorder on all the time ‘cos I come up with stuff all day long.”  Nonetheless, on Beausolelil … he weaves a staggering array of hooks together on a mile-high loom, yielding a sublime musical tapestry with exemplary cuts like “Deadbeat at Dawn,” and “Funeral Skies For Burst Patriot,“ ranking among his finest. 

Tracks:

A Viper In Hiding (from Motel Swim)
Deadbeat at Dawn (from Let's Break Bobby Beausoleil Out Of Prison!)
Julie's Video (acoustic, from Lucifer the Light ep)
Sun-Hawk City (Not Ian Stuart, Robert Scott Version) (from What Was on the Floor...)

Look What You Don't Know... 2010: The Year in Rear View - Top 20 album list and more.

It may shock some of you, this retro-fitted blogger partakes in music past the mid-90s.  Plenty of it in fact, as evidenced by 2008 & 2009 year end rundowns.  Much like those years, there was a modicum of challenge in tabulating twenty albums from this year that I felt truly enthusiastic about.  As was the case with Passion Pit's stunning 2009 entry Manners, 2010 had a far and away front runner via Ben Folds collaborative LP with High Fidelity author Nick Hornby titled Lonely Avenue.  Hornby reportedly did all the lyrical legwork, while Ben masterminded the compositions, though you'd swear on a stack of bibles moon-high that the character sketches and oddball vignettes populating Lonely Avenue was the trademark prose of Ben himself.  The album doesn't rest on the strength of the songwriting alone, rather Ben's sublime melodies bolster Avenue with a vitality that hasn't been so utterly consistent since the first two Ben Folds Five platters.  And don't get me started on how viscerally intoxicating the ballads are.     

Speaking of intoxicating, The Drums and Hooray for Earth gave us some slyly updated techno-pop, and it's damn shame that the buzz surrounding the first of those two outfits was so fleeting and ineffective.  Adam Marsland's impromptu, banged-out-in-a-day Hello Cleveland was occasionally frivolous, but by and large packed some serious staying power.  Killing Joke came through with their best album in some twenty years, and a reinvigorated Superchunk didn't miss a beat on Majesty Shredding, arguably outdoing some of their late '90s albums.  Gavin Guss, formally of Tubetop issued his solo debut in 2010, Mercury Mine, and one of the only notable pure power-pop records on my list, slighty edging out a band he derived considerable inspiration from, The Posies.  Amusement Parks on Fire continued their amped-out, post-punk onslaught on their third album, Road Eyes, with London's Male Bonding following suit.  Once again, it was a real banner year for Sub Pop, who gave us LPs by Beach House, Retribution Gospel Choir, Happy Birthday, and the aforementioned Male Bonding...

...BUT what about a dozen of my once reliable standbys that released new albums year: The Thermals, Damien Jurado, Someone Still Loves Your Boris Yeltsin, Ted Leo, Rogue Wave, Band of Horses, Manic Street Preachers, Two Hours Traffic, Pete Yorn, Interpol, Rooney, and even Tobin Sprout?  Yes, they all hit the shelves, but considerably shy of the dartboard as well.  In years past most of the aforementioned would breeze into my top-20 album roll quick as an eyelash, but 2010 was the year I had to gauge otherwise.  Though generally better than tolerable, the offerings from these once consistently satisfying crusaders were regrettably less than stimulating or outright sub-par...and by and large not even deserving of a worthy mention.  These folks disappointed the hell out of me, and I  hope they can rekindle some of their former moxie in the years to come.  Ok, bitchfest over.  Boy, that was cathartic

But wait, there's more!  I've also tabulated a list of my favorite 20 songs of the year, though not necessarily ranked in order of preference.   As with the albums, there was a glaringly obvious fave song of the year as well, courtesy of an upstart Perth, Australia duo, Tim & Jean.  Presumed prodigies of Passion Pit, and with only a pair of publicly released tunes to their name (an album is to follow this year) Tim & Jean's "Come Around" is an immediate and mesmerising Casio-fueled blast, bearing an irresistible groove and a blue-eyed savviness beyond their years.  A bit out of character for the music I pimp on Wilfully Obscure, but try it on for size and you'll become a convert.   I won't be shocked if some of you want to hurl the book at me for some of my song picks, but then again I've never been one to cater to hipsters.  There's a lot of overlap between my album and song lists, but that's often how it works out. 

I haven't even had the chance to touch upon my suggested reissues for 2010, but when I can catch my next breath later this week I'll try to share some pertinent links and online reviews.  Thank you class of '10. 

Top 20 albums of 2010:

01. Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue (Nonesuch)

02. The Drums - s/t (Island)

03. Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life (Sony)

04. Adam Marsland - Hello Cleveland (Karma Frog)

05. Amusement Parks on Fire - Road Eyes (Filter)

06. Best Coast - Crazy for You (Mexican Summer)

07. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts (Sub Pop)

08. Superchunk - Majesty Shredding (Merge)

09. Burning Hotels - Novels (Miss Press)

10. The National - High Violet (4AD)

11. Beach House - Teen Dream (Sub Pop)

12. Gavin Guss - Mercury Mine (self-released)

13. The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth (Kanine)

14. Killing Joke - Absolute Dissent (Spinefarm)

15. The Posies - Blood Candy (Ryko)

16. Hooray for Earth - Momo ep (Dovecote)

17. The Besnard Lakes - Are the Roaring Night (Jagjaguar)
18. The Gamits - Parts (Suburban Home)

19. Joey Cape - Doesn't Play Well With Others (self-released, online)
20. Happy Birthday - s/t (Sub Pop)

Bubbling under:

The Ultimate Fakebook - Daydream Radio is Smiling Static

The Lives of Famous Men - Marigold Maxixe ep

Retribution Gospel Choir - 2 (Sub Pop)

Small Black - New Chain (Jagjaguar)

Rogue Wave - Permalight (Brushfire)

Robert Pollard - We All Got Out of the Army & Moses on a Snail
Ghost Shirt - Domestique (Anyway)

Smith Westerns - s/t (Fat Possum)

Teenage Fanclub - Shadows (Merge)

15 Riveting Reissues (in no particular order)

Thrush Hermit - Complete Recordings box set

REM - Fables of the Reconstruction deluxe ed. (Capitol)

Weezer - Pinkerton deluxe ed. (Geffen)

Carnival Season - Misguided Promise: Carnival Season Complete (1984-89) (Arena Rock)

Kimberly Rew - The Bible of Bop

Finger - Still in Boxes (Second Motion)

Tommy Keene - You Hear Me - A Retrospective 1983-2009 (Second Motion)

Green - s/t (Lion)

Black Tambourine - s/t (Slumberland)

Bad Religion - LP disocography box set (Epitaph)

Power of Dreams - Immigrants, Emigrants and Me deluxe ed.

The Vaselines - Enter the Vaselines (Sub Pop)

The Nils - The Title is the Secret Song (Real Big North)

Steve Kilbey - Monsters 'n Mirages box (Second Motion)

The Bodines - Played (Cherry Red)

Top 20 singles/songs: (in no particular order, except the first five)

Tim & Jean - "Come Around"

NOFX - "Cokie the Clown"

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby "Belinda"

Drums - "Skippin' Town"

Japandroids - "Younger Us"

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists "Gimme the Wire"

Killing Joke "In Excelsis"

Project Film - "Kapture"

Hooray for Earth "Comfortable, Comparable"

Bad Religion "Avalon"

Apples in Stereo - "Hey Elevator"

Doleful Lions - "Deadbeat at Dawn"

Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Say No to Love"

Parachute Musical "No Comfort"

Kings of Leon "The Immortals"

Weezer - "Where's My Sex?"

Adam Marsland "The Night I Bought Mickey Dolenz a Beer"

Posies "The Glitter Prize"

The Lives of Famous Men "Cartographers of Little Renown"

The Mary Onettes "The Night Before the Funeral"