what now

 

Vibing on the vibrant new Brittany Howard record, What Now. 

The awesome "Power to Undo" is so unabashedly Prince, but also her own.

top 10 albums of 2015

Goodbye '15.

10.

Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color

9.


Ghost Culture - Ghost Culture

8.

Julia Holter - Have You in My Wilderness

7.


Anderson & Roe - The Art of Bach

6. 

The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness

5.

Amason - Sky City

4.

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

3. 

Kamasi Washington - The Epic

2.

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

1.

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly




My Spotify playlist of the best music of 2015.

top 10 albums of the year: #10

Time for year-end lists! Here begins my Top 10 Albums of 2015.

A look back at 2014.

10.

Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color


From the title track's gorgeous rollick to the shredded blues-rock of "Don't Wanna Fight" to the oasis that is "The Greatest"--Sound & Color is definitely no sophomore slump and highlights this jovial band's originality and spunk and Brittany Howard's towering vocals.

“The first album we just went in and recorded because they were songs we had already been playing for two or three years,” says Howard. “But with the second, we had time to sit in the studio so we could make the record we actually wanted to make. It was frustrating at times because we were challenging ourselves, but that is what I want from this entire endeavour, to be challenged.” -Brittany Howard

top 10 singles of 2012

It's that end-list time of year again!

Here are the tunes that helped me endure '12.  What songs did you love?




10.
Alabama Shakes - "Hold On"

Fronted by Brittany Howard's gravelly voice, somehow they made the sentiment of the cliched song title fresh and emotionally resonant.




9.
Breakbot - "1 Out of 2"
A mix of French nu-disco and the Doobie Brothers "What A Fool Believes."




8.
Danny Brown - "Grown Up"
Whistful rap about getting old.




7.
Bruce Springsteen - "We Take Care of Our Own"
Another moving anthem from The Boss that became a memorable campaign song for Obama's reelection.




6.
Solange - "Losing You"
With a lush mix of "Twin Peaks" synths and snappy percussion, Solange proves she's not her sister's beat biter.




5.
M.I.A. - "Bad Girls"
The singer / rapper infuses worldbeat and her savvy lyrics into another relentlessly addictive track.




4.
Jack White - "Love Interruption"
Mixing woodwinds (bass clarinets yo) with an agonized, desperate vocal (Ruby Amanfu did the backups), White created a song that seethes within its minimalist design.




3.
Grizzly Bear - "Yet Again"
A rambling tune of relationship woes and glimmering guitars.






2.

Frank Ocean - "Pyramids" & "Thinkin Bout You"
Ocean's "Pyramids" is a 9 minute epic that mixes story, soul and mesmerizing electro.  "Thinkin Bout You" is definitely the prettiest, most aching single of the year.  When he hits those falsettos... lord.





1.
Twin Shadow - "Five Seconds"
I played this track out: new wavy and relentless.

My Spotify playlist of the best music of 2012.