2013: In Memories

(Some cheesy background music as you read this post)

Well,it's been a great year. I feel like I had more fun naturally than I have had in years. This means I don't remember doing as much fun stuff... as much as I remember having fun doing anything I was doing. And for the record, I did darn fun stuff too.
Every season I went through this year was my first season since 2009 without any clinical stress issues. There was a lot of inner rebirth shtuff going on throughout the year.
Here's me and some homies from the summer- Willy C, Robo Rob, Mandrew, Roommate Jake- at "top of the world." Just a few of the many amazing people I met this year.

I didn't do much for the first couple of months. Nothing really happened. But I'm cool with that.
I fell in love with the spring colors in Logan.

Met these guys & gals this fall semester. 
This fall semester was my only semester as a journalism major here at USU. I worked harder than ever and I guess it payed off. I wrote a bunch of articles for a blog on the local music scene and got to meet some great local bands. I passed Prof. LaPlante's class!
Meanwhile, these homies kept me entertained. Still do.

A hike in the Wellsvilles with some buds.
It was an epic time.
This is just a great picture.
This was taken in the span of 7 weeks where I worked at the ICON factory which had me at work by 5:30 working 10-11 hours a day. I do not miss that.

I fell in love with the fall colors in Logan.
This is a part of Logan known as "the island." It's not really an island, but it's really pretty & it's where I lived for 8 of 12 months this year. From my apartment, I've either walked or ran by everything in this picture.

I attended my first general conference with a random group of people from our ward. It was a truly great spiritual experience and a kinda weird social experience.







My bro Keith got his Masters in Special Ed from some college I've never heard of. This picture is from the last time I saw him before he and his fam moved to Calgary. 
So far I've gone the whole year without seeing my bro Todd & his fam in Wisconsin. I'll be seeing them around Christmas time.

I saw a Flaming Lips show this summer with some random chicks who wanted to see a Flaming Lips show. They were troopers and the show was LEGIT.
Not sure how this wound up being the last picture on the thing, but it is. Anyways, I'll be starting my theatre studies at Utah State University next year while working for The Statesman.
2013 was a GREAT year and it's not even over yet!

MY 25 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2013

Listing songs is hard because there are millions to chose from. Listing albums is hard because I don't have the time to listen to an entire album... somehow, I do.
I've listened to all the albums listed below and plenty more. I wish I had listened to even more though. I don't know everything about music and there are probably plenty of bands that earn a spot on here I may have never heard of. Even having attending an amazing Flaming Lips concert this summer, I wasn't a big fan of the album they released this year. I gave the #25 spot to a guy from SLC who isn't popular in any way at all, but I legitimately enjoyed hearing his album more than other folks there. I listen to too much music recommended by critics and not enough recommended by friends. Any recommendations out there?

25: GOTHEN  GOTHEN

24: WE ARE THE 21ST CENTURY AMBASSADORS OF PEACE & MAGIC  FOXYGEN

23: PAIN IS BEAUTY  CHELSEA WOLFE

22: FADE  YO LA TENGO

21: DORIS  EARL SWEATSHIRT

20: CUPID DELUXE  BLOOD ORANGE

19: THE NIGHT'S GAMBIT  KA

18: SHAKING THE HABITUAL  THE KNIFE

17: LOUD CITY SONG  JULIA HOLTER

16: IMMUNITY  JON HOPKINS

15: YOU'RE NOTHING  ICEAGE

14: DREAM RIVER  BILL CALLAHAN

13: RUN THE JEWELS  RUN THE JEWELS

12: VIRGINS  TIM HECKER

11: YEEZUS  KANYE WEST

10: SILENCE YOURSELF  SAVAGES

9: MBV  MY BLOODY VALENTINE

8: WAKIN' ON A PRETTY DAZE  KURT VILE

7: WONDROUS BUGHOUSE  YOUTH LAGOON

6: SUNBATHER  DEAFHEAVEN

5: PSYCHIC  DARKSIDE

4: REFLEKTOR  ARCADE FIRE

3: SETTLE  DISCLOSURE

2: RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES  DAFT PUNK

1: MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY  VAMPIRE WEEKEND

MY 25 FAVORITE SONGS OF 2013

I hate making lists for songs because it's not like I've heard every song worth hearing in the entire world. I almost ffel like I'm just picking my favorite songs from my favorite albums. I'll probably disagree with my own opinion a year from now. I don't like making song lists...
But I'm gone do it anyway.

25: THE WIRE -HAIM
Because ripping off of Fleetwood Mac is harder than it looks. This band is pretty over-rated, but if you want a perfect pop track that will be stuck in your head all year, you found it here.
"You know I'm bad at communication."

24: A TOOTH FOR AN EYE -THE KNIFE
The best moments on the new album from The Knife are the ones where they sound the least like their older material. I love the unique Indian/African rythms on this track.
"On my doorstep, a screaming hand. I'm telling you stories. Trust me."

23: BRING THE NOIZE -M.I.A
I wasn't a huge fan of the new M.I.A. album, but this song is one of her most powerful to date.
"It's not me and you, it's the banks!"
 
22: LOVE IS LOST (HELLO STEVE REICH MIX) -DAVID BOWIE/"BY JAMES MURPHY"
This sounds almost nothing like the "Love Is Lost" Bowie originally gave us. That was a good song and all, but I like it a lot better with Mr. James Murphy at the helm, sampling Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" and Bowie's own "Ashes to Ashes."
"Say hello, hello."

21: CONTROL -Big Sean (ft Jay Electronica & KENDRICK LAMAR)
Pusha T's "Nosetalgia," also ft Kendrick, almost made this list. It's a better song by all means, gotta love Pusha T. Big Sean sucks. But Kendrick's verse on here is unforgettable.
"I got love for you all, but I'm tryna murder you!"

20: SONG FOR ZULA -PHOSPHORESCENT
In my mind, it takes a lot to earn the title of "songwriter." Matthew Houck matches all requirements. His voice just breaks my heart on this track...
"My heart is wild and my bones are steam and I could kill you with my bare hands if I was free."

19: NEW SLAVES -KANYE WEST (ft Frank Ocean)
Kanye West hates the world and he's very crude. This is pretty standard "trap" music. This isn't news, but sampling Gyöngyhajú Lány is.
"All you blacks want all the same thing!"

18: SAN FRANCISCO -FOXYGEN
The first time I listened to Foxygen, I couldn't decide whether they were trying to sound like The Rolling Stones, Donovan or Lou Reed. This is not a bad problem to have. Catchy. 60s vibe.
"We were stating on this hill that Jesus came from Israel."

17: ALL YOU'RE WAITING FOR -CLASSIXX (ft Nancy Whang)
I really tried getting into electronic dance music this year. And I did.
"Somebody needs a little more everyday."

16: YA HEY -VAMPIRE WEEKEND
This is slow, joyful, classy, extremely catchy, raggae-esque, quirky pop song about Jesus. Why wouldn't this song be on this list?
"America don't love you." "Ya Hey! Deo Annotate!"

15: SHUT UP -SAVAGES
I only know enough about 80s gothic post-punk to know that these guys sound a lot like Joy Division or Siouxsie and the Banshees. Which is something the world kinda needs.
"You're living like the bullets to the sun."

14: SHE FOUND NOW -MY BLOODY VALENTINE
My Bloody Valentine release their first piece of new music in nearly 22 years, and this was the first thing we heard. Pure Magic. (+ dig the lack of rhythm for 5 minutes of your life)
"I wonder how that you find out..."

13: AIRGLOW FIRES -LONE
This year's finest release from R&S records sounds like... elevator music... at a club...
"What?"

12: CHAMAKAY -BLOOD ORANGE
I freaking love this song. It's as smooth and silent as R&B can get with it still getting away with being called "R&B." The instrumentation is enjoyably fluffy, as is the production.
"I see you're waiting for a girl like me to come along... baby, go your own."

11: GOD MADE THE WORLD -COLD CAVE
Everybody and their dog wants to make an 80s synthpop hit these days. I don't think Wesley Eisold aims for the "hit" factor on this  as he tries to refine the sounds of 80s darkwave. He nails them both here. This song is just so darn depressing and uniquely stale... yet so easy to dance to.
"God made the world, but I made this song."

10: RETROGRADE -JAMES BLAKE
James Blake's voice on here is sexier than ever. Am I aloud to say that? Anyways, Blake polished up his soul & pop senses on this track, yet still manages to give you the chills like his classic old stuff.
"Suddenly I'm hit!"

9: HANG ON TO LIFE -ARIEL PINK (ftJorge Elbrecht)
I can't believe how high this song is ranked. Ariel Pink has this ability to make his songs sound like background music to crappy 80s TV programs. And I love it. It's one of his dreamiest, most emotionally dramatic tracks he's made. This song needed to happen.
"You screwed the pooch, now face it."

8: WAKIN' ON A PRETTY DAY -KURT VILE
Kurt Vile is a songwriter. He's a long-haired stoner-rock guitarist. He's both. You'd probably be more likely to hear this song on a classic rock radio station than on this list. This is a song for everyman. I haven't heard an acoustic guitar sound this crisp in a long time.
"Don't worry 'bout a thing. It's only dying"

7: REFLEKTOR -ARCADE FIRE
There's a noise at the climax of this song- about 4 minutes in- I've never heard that noise before. Meanwhile... this song is epic, catchy, funky, dark- Arcade Fire did not disappoint this year.
"We fell in love when I was 19, and now we're staring at a screen."

6: WHITE NOISE -DISCLOSURE (ft AlunaGeorge) 
Disclosure's album Settle was one of my favorites of the year. Every song on their sounds the same: They all sound like hits. This one I think had the most guts (bass?) to it and the synth echoes are the murkiest. #2 hit in the UK- never heard it on US radio once.
"I know you're smart. You spin me round like a knot."

5: MUTE -YOUTH LAGOON
This song blew my mind the first time I heard it, and was a personal favorite of mine throughout the year. On this album, Trevor Powers sometimes tries too hard to sound weird, but his voice on this track is the sound of emotional, youthful wonder. Sick guitar riff through the second half of the song, too. Epic, psychedelic, lo-fi stuff.
"I never listen, I never listen..."

4: BLURRED LINES -ROBIN THICKE (ft Pharrell Williams & T.I.)
The definition of the "feel-good hit of the summer." You know every line. You know what he's talking about. You can play it on your sister's keyboard (and you don't even know how to play keyboard.) It has more cowbell. It's so simple- almost too simple. While Katy Perry was working her butt off to make her annual radio-perfect turds of music, Robin Thicke was doing something other pop stars should be doing: Nothing. Pop stars take themselves too seriously. If you're worried about making money, just play 4 chords on the keyboard and sing about sex. 
"Baby, can you breathe? I bought this in Jamiaca!"

3: GET LUCKY -DAFT PUNK (fy Pharrell Williams)
We're up all night to get lucky.
"We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky! We're up all night to get lucky!"

2: DOIN' IT RIGHT -DAFT PUNK
Oh hey, look, it's Daft Punk again! This song is ranked so highly because I thought it was going to suck. I love Panda Bear and I love Daft Punk. When I heard about the collab, I thought it would be Daft Punk trying to be weird and hip. Instead, we have the perfect copy-and-paste set up for one of the most memorable songs of 2013. Or 1983. Lennox's voice always sounds distant, as it does here. This time, his voice is trying to reach the other end of the dancefloor- a dancefloor covered by everybody dancing (you, your dad, French robots).
"If you lose your way tonight, that's how you know the magic's right."

1: STEP-VAMPIRE WEEKEND
This is only Vampire Weekend's third album and Ezra Koenig sounds like he's the oldest, wisest man in the business. This song covers all memories of ex-girlfriends (and random 90s California hip-hop groups) you need. Koenig delivers line-after-line on this song. http://rock.rapgenius.com/Vampire-weekend-step-lyrics  Does name-dropping make you a truly great artist? No. Only if you're being sincere. This song is nostalgic as a yearbook but built like a museum: Just smile, think about the good old days and don't anything.
"Everyone's dying, but girl, you're not old yet."

Some Lists Before I Make My End-of the-Year Music Lists

I've noticed a few leading music critics have already done their lists for 2013's album of the year.
I plan on making a list of MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2013, and even a short list for SONGS.
I am 100% sure what it's going to look like. I will have it up in about a week.
But until then, I thought it'd be appropriate to share a couple of different lists...

8 ALBUMS FROM LAST YEAR THAT I STILL ACTUALLY LISTEN TO:
#8- Godspeed You! Black Emperor- 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
#7-  Death Grips- The Money Store
#6- Beach House- Bloom
#5- Fiona Apple- The Idler Wheel...
#4- Swans- The Seer
#3- Japandroids- Celebration Rock
#2- Frank Ocean- Channel Orange
#1- Kendrick Lamar- good kid, m.A.A.d city
(i also listen to the occasional Flying Lotus, Converge, Tame Impala and Cloud Nothings these days)

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF THE NEW DECADE:
#10- my #2 album from this year 2013
#9- Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues 2011
#8- Frank Ocean- Channel Orange 2012
#7- Destroyer- Kaputt 2011
#6- my #1 album from this year 2013
#5- LCD Soundsystem- This Is Happening 2010
#4- Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010
#3- Kendrick Lamar- good kid, m.A.A.d city (this is my #1 on a good day) 2012
#2- Beach House- Teen Dream (same here) 2010
#1- Bon Iver- Bon Iver 2011

WHY DID I POST THIS? TOP 3 REASONS:
#3- I think about this a lot more often than I'd like to admit
#2- Needed a break from homework
#1- Actually, I'm getting back to that RIGHT NOW.

"Reality" song titles

I plan on recording some self-written songs on my laptop that only require an acoustic guitar + vocals. (and maybe a vibraphone) I guess I'd call it a project and I guess I'd call the project "Reality" and I guess these are some song titles I'd be using.

"Our Hero Tries Something New"
"Memory Maker"
"Falselife"
"October/Abandon" (inst)
"The Maturity Wars"
"Our Hero Takes a Week Off & Misses Everything Important"
"Just a World"
"WI" (inst)
"Ageless"
a very personal song ("fighting the fire with wood?")
"Reality"

*I really want a vibraphone for half of these songs.

My Personal Hipster Victories

I have apparently been getting my name out in the world of hipster things.
I'm cool like that.
and of course, i listed them...
#9-I have the top comment on a youtube video of a high school a cappella choir covering The Dirty Projectors' "Cannibal Resource."
#8-Whenever Anthony Fantano answers the stupid stuff I post on his wall (ex: Me- "Is there a count for how many times a Fugazi album has been in the background of your reviews this year?" Him- "Nobody is counting that.")
#7-I talked on the phone at work with a guy from Eau Claire, WI. He was friends w/ Justin Vernon's mom. His kids went to high school w/ Justin Vernon.
#6-I had an email interview with the man who does official college radio promoting for tons of indie bands. To name a few: M83, Destroyer, Wilco... this guy was friends with Jeff Tweedy
#5-Just weeks before Lou Reed passed away, I had the top comment on a youtube video for The Velvet Underground & Nico full album.
#4-Whoever works the LCD Soundsystem Facebook page commented on something I posted on their wall last week (They said "why thank you!" ...If this Facebook page is ran by James Murphy, this might move up to #1.)
#3-I stood next to the lead singer of Swearin' (Allison Crutchfield) at a Japandroids show. Told her she did a great job, gave her a high 5 and we rocked out.
#2-I have the top comment on youtube for the official video of Grizzly Bear's "While You Wait for the Others."
#1-The lead singer for Japandroids (Brian King) walked by me before the show (with his girlfriend), noticed my Vancouver Canucks jersey and stopped to say, "Hey dude, nice shirt!" Thanks.

"Cannibal Resource" a capella cover

"While You Wait for the Others" official

Whole album.

Funerals

There are 3 ways I talk about the classic album Funeral. 1- Musically/critically speaking. 2-My personal connection with it. 3- The message of the album. This is a blog about that 3rd one.
I never fully understood Arcade Fire's Funeral until this summer, my first summer in a few years without any clinical stress disorder issues. I don't want to talk about who the band is now or who they've been for the last few years, but I'd like to talk about people dying.
The band recorded the album after a series of recent deaths of their family members. Making music is hard to do in a time of mourning, but perhaps it's easier when your music mourns with you.
Funeral covers all post-traumatic emotion, the fear and the comfort that follows it.
The first song starts with an organ that sounds like it had already been playing, and we just started listening in abruptly. The first word of the album is "and." It's as if Win Butler has already gotten a lot off his chest, but he and his band can go on for another 45 minutes.
The album has a lot of themes:  Family, death, youth, lies, neighborhoods, love, babies, sleeping, light, shadows... as familiar as these themes seem, you never know when they're going to bring up which topic.
The album kicks off at the end of tears and the beginning of a comforting revelatory experience. You can always just "dig a tunnel" if things go wrong. There's even a moment or two of fear in Win's voice, but everything turns out okay in the end. Track 2 is a harsh return to reality and full of panic, realizing the world is still a scary place and the past is real. Track 3 is some much-needed comfort food, mostly slow, but turning into something energetic by the end. Track 4 doesn't stop the energy at all, just turns it into something dark. The blood just started pumping in track 3, and it was a joyful experience. In track 4, the power goes out ("in the heart of man"). It's an anxious run through the neighborhood trying to find the light again. Track 5 is very slow, very quiet, and even includes the household familiar sound of a boiling kettle. The character figures out what he wants with his life, if only for a few minutes.
Track 6 keeps the same slow pace, but the volume builds up and the original patience eventually crashes into a something that reminds me of tantrums I used to have as a toddler. The sprint apparently ends at a mountain top where track 7 takes place. A banner is waving from above reminding us to never grow up and staying young is the only way to hold on to good feelings through sucky adulthood. Track 8 is a dreamy tack with samples that sound like a stream you'd find in meadow. It's refreshing, but it doesn't make any sense. Track 9 has a throbbing beat throughout, while the band ponders if everything in this world is "just a lie." The original chord progression is a major key that's uplifting, but there's an unexpected minor chord progression that throws you off-guard. The beat doesn't stop, but what started out as inspiring ends on a dark note. Track 10 is the finale. Very slow. It's the lonely ride home at 1 a.m. Classic theatrical build (soft/loud/not as soft/very loud/prolonged diminuendo). It ends so softly, I'm still not sure what the final note is. Perhaps it ends right where it began.
I'm sure that the depressive feeling of thinking nobody cares about you comes after a loved one loses a life. Considering these guys were just some random people making a debut album in Canadian city with little rock history, I'm sure Arcade Fire felt this way commercially as well. But they worked their butts off on it anyway.
Despite the darkness and fear that comes with Funeral, it's a reminder that you have something to live for. You may be thinking negative thoughts and feel confused everyday, but somebody's hearing you. You can pray. You can talk to a friend. You can talk to a stranger. You can record it in a studio so millions of strangers can hear you.
And of course, you can always dig a tunnel.
You shouldn't have to feel alone at a funeral.