XHUXK'S TOP 100+ ALBUMS OF 2010!

I'll bet some of the 100+ albums that xhuxk liked the best this year are really good! I wonder what they are?

I can't wait to find out!

#1: Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs (he didn't get around to hearing it till this year).

Okay, what the hell. Caveats: (1) I only listed albums I actually heard, and I didn't actually hear Yelawolf or Mel Waiters or Shanagan Electro or Christian Mistress or Kverlertak or either E.via EP or the second disc of Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude yet; (2) The further you get down the list, the less reliable the order probably is; and (3) I won't have the time or energy to defend my #3 album on this thread, or anywhere else on ILM probably. (I've written about it some in other places.) Anyway:

1. Bob Seger – Never Mind the Bullets Here's Early Bob Seger (Myonga CD-R reissue)
2. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)
3. Ke$ha – Animal + Cannibal (RCA)
4. Bigg Robb – Jerri Curl Muzic (Over25Sound ‘09)
5. Jace Everett – Red Revelations (Western Boys/Hump Head)
6. Jamey Johnson – The Guitar Song (Mercury)
7. Traband – Domasa (Indies Scope)
8. Luther Lackey – The Preacher’s Wife (Ecko)
9. Flynnville Train – Redemption (Evolution)
10. Chely Wright – Lifted Off The Ground (Vanguard)
11. (Various) – Fire In My Bones: Raw + Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel [1944-2007] (Tompkins Square reissue ’09)
12. (Various) – G.I. Disco (BBE mix)
13. Joe Cuba – El Alcalde Del Barrio (Fania reissue)
14. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Folk Singer (Collectors' Choice Music reissue)
15. (Various) – Classic Sounds Of New Orleans (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
16. John Mellencamp – The Early Years (MMRX reissue)
17. The Endtables – The Endtables (Drag City reissue)
18. (Various) – Ayobaness! The Sound Of South African House (Out Here)
19. Radar Favourites – Radar Favourites (Reel Recordings reissue)
20. The Orlons – The Wah-Wahtusi/South Street (Collector’s Choice reissue)
21. (Various) – Keb Darge and Little Edith's Legendary Rockin' R&B (BBE mix)
22. Was (Not Was) – Pick Of The Litter 1980-2010 (Microwerks reissue)
23. Leo Zero – Disconnect (Strut mix)
24. Pylon – Chomp More (DFA reissue ‘09)
25. Sweet Angel – A Girl Like Me (Ecko)
26. Laura Bell Bundy – Achin’ & Shakin’ (Mercury)
27. Henry Threadgill Zooid – This Brings Us To Volume 1 (Pi '09)
28. (Various) – The Roots Of Chica 2: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (Barbés reissue)
29. Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey/Garvey's Ghost (Hip-O Select reissue)
30. Danny Krivit – Edits By Mr. K: Vol. 2: Music Of The Earth (Strut mix)
31. Scott Morgan – Scott Morgan (Alive NaturalSound)
32. Henry Threadgill Zooid – This Brings Us To Volume II (Pi)
33. Frank Zappa – Greasy Love Songs (Zappa reissue)
34. Dwarr – Animals (Drag City reissue)
35. (Various) – Salsa Explosion! The New York Salsa Revolution 1969-1979 (Strut/Fania reissue)
36. Lee Brice – Love Like Crazy (Curb)
37. RockTits – Heavy Cosmic Groove Mix (aordisco.blogspot.com mix)
38. Joan Soriano – El Duque De La Bachata (¡Aso)
39. This Moment In Black History – Public Square (Smog Veil)
40. Walter Gibbons – Jungle Music (Strut mix)
41. The Fall –Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
42. Colt Ford – Chicken And Biscuits (Average Joe’s)
43. Far*East Movement – Free Wired (CherryTree/Interscope)
44. Kenny Chesney – Hemingway's Whiskey (BNA)
45. M.I.A. – Maya (XL/Interscope)
46. Electric Six – Zodiac (Metropolis)
47. Coati Mundi – Dancing For The Cabana Code In The Land Of Boo-Hoo (Rong)
48. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Celebrity (Collectors' Choice Music Reissue)
49. Katrina And The Waves – Katrina And The Waves (CGB reissue)
50. Bob Blank – The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985 (Strut mix)
51. Raymilland – Recordings ’79-’83 (BDR reissue)
52. The Sword – Warp Riders (Kemado)
53. Wounded Lion – Wounded Lion (In The Red)
54. Jerrod Niemann – Judge Jerrod And The Hung Jury (Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville)
55. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Buried Behind The Barn (Alternative Tentacles reissue)
56. Shinyribs – Well After Awhile (Nine Mile)
57. Jas – Live At Jerome’s (Gulcher)
58. Dave Douglas & Keystone – Spark Of Being (Greenleaf Music)
59. Cankisou - Lé La (Indies Scope)
60. Jefferson Airplane – Setlist: The Very Best Of Jefferson Airplane Live (RCA/Legacy reissue)
61. Chubby Checker – It’s Pony Time/Let’s Twist Again (Collector’s Choice reissue)
62. Art Museums – Rough Frame (Woodsit EP)
63. Tutu And The Pirates – Sub-Urban Insult Rock For The Anti/Lectual 1977-1979 (Factory25 reissue)
64. Chin Chin – Sound Of The Westway (Slumberland reissue)
65. Method Actors – This Is Still It (Acute reissue)
66. Einstürzende Neubauten – Strategies Against Architecture IV: 2002-2010 (Mute reissue)
67. (Various) – Deep South Soul: 15 Southern Soul Hits! (Ecko)
68. John Jackson – Rappahannock Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
69. Shakin’ Street – 21st Century Love Channel (Pervade Productions ’09)
70. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Nut (Collectors' Choice Music reissue)
71. Grong Grong – To Hell ‘N’ Back (Memorandum/Aberrant reissue)
72. Blessure Grave – Judged By Twelve Carried By Six (Alien8)
73. Chrome Dome – Chrome Dome (Lexicon Devil EP)
74. Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick, Barry Dransfield – Morris On (Fledg’ling reissue)
75. Terry Knight And The Pack – Terry Knight And The Pack/Reflections (Collector’s Choice reissue)
76. Steve Winwood – Revolutions: The Very Best Of (Island reissue)
77. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Rush To Relax (Goner)
78. (Various) – Diplo Presents Dubstep: Blow Your Head (Downtown mix)
79. Buraka Som Sistema – Fabriclive 49 (Fabric mix)
80. Ebo Taylor – Love And Death (Strut)
81. Katrina And The Waves – 2 (CGB reissue)
82. Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment B. Endarkment (Hint: There Is No C) (Thirty Tigers/Bordello)
83. Bizingas – Bizingas (NCM East)
84. Kermit Ruffins – Happy Talk (Basin Street)
85. Tim Woods – The Blues Sessions (Earwig)
86. (Various) – Blues Mix: Volume One Super Soul Blues (Ecko)
87. DJ Spinna & BBE Soundsystem – Strange Games & Funky Things Volume 5: Smoking '70s Soul and Rare Grooves (BBE mix)
88. Earl Gaines – Good To Me (Ecko)
89. Syl Johnson – Complete Mythology (Advance Sampler) (The Numero Group promo reissue)
90. (Various) – Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 (Matador)
91. Da-Exclamation Point -- (Un)released Recordings 1980-81 (Factory 25 reissue)
92. Jason Moran and the Bandwagon - Ten (Blue Note)
93. Marrow – Sunshine Enema (Marrowcell)
94. Trace Adkins – Cowboy’s Back In Town (Universal)
95. Merle Haggard - I Am What I Am (Vanguard)
96. Kleenex/Liliput - Live Recordings, TV-Clips & Roadmovies (Kill Rock Stars reissue)
97. (Various) – Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
98. Stone River Boys – Love On The Dial (Cow Island)
99. Ches Smith & These Arches – Finally Out Of My Hands (Skirl)
100. Heart – Red Velvet Car (Legacy)
101. Home Blitz – Out Of Phase (Richie)
102. Selena Gomez & The Scene – A Year Without Pain (Hollywood)
103. Rick Schaffer – Necessary Illusion (Tarock)
104. Kevin Dunn – No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985 (Casa Nueva reissue)
105. Dr. John and the Lower 911 – Tribal (429)
106. Rhett Frazer Inc. – Escape From Dee-Troyt (Digi-Soul '09)
107. Randy Houser – They Call Me Cadillac (Show Dog)
108. Elizabeth Cook – Welder (Thirty Tigers)
109. The Mother Truckers – Van Tour (World)
110. Rosehill – White Lines And Stars (Cypress Creek)
111. Andy Cohen – Built Right On The Ground (Earwig)
112. Jeff Eubank – A Street Called Straight (Drag City reissue)
113. Death – Spiritual Mental Physical (Drag City reissue)
114. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Wages (SideOneDummy)
115. Dierks Bentley – Up On The Ridge (Capitol)
116. Johnny Flynn – Been Listening (Thirty Tigers/Transgressive)
117. Honey Ride Me A Goat – Udders (Lexicon Devil)
118. Jason Boland & The Stragglers – High In the Rockies: A Live Album (Apex Nashville/Thirty Tigers)
119. Trombone Shorty – Backatown (Verve Forecast)
120. Johnny Winter And – Live At The Fillmore East 10/3/70 (Collector’s Choice reissue)
121. (Various) – Indies Scope 2009 (Indies Scope ’09)
122. Kid Rock – Born Free (Atlantic)
123. Janiva Magness – The Devil Is An Angel Too (Alligator)
124. Reba McEntire – All TheWomen I Am (The Valory Music Co.)
125. Chico Mann – Analog Drift (Wax Poetics)
126. Legendary Shack Shakers – Agridustrial (Colonel Knowledge)
127. Chuck Brown – We Got This (Sweet Venture)
128. Colt Ford – Live From Suwannee River Jam (Average Joe’s ’09)
129. (Various) -- Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History Of Black Jewish Relations (Idehlson Society reissue)
130. Crawlspace – Ignorance Is Bliss (Gulcher)
131. Spoek Mathambo – Mshubu Wam (BBE)
132. Vex’d – Cloud Seed (Planet Mu)
133. Intocable – Classic (Sony Music Latin ‘09)
134. Votum – Metafiction (Armoury/Mystic)
135. Elephant9 – Walk The Nile (Rune Grammofon)
136. Z'ev – As/If/When (Sub Rosa reissue)
137. Ratt – Infestation (Roadrunner) (Various) – Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
138. Drive-By Truckers – The Big To-Do (Atco)
139. Major Lazer – Lazers Never Die EP (Interscope/Downtown/Mad Design EP)
140. Jon Oliva’s Pain – Festival (AFM)
141. Garotas Suecas – Escaldante Banda (American Dust)
142. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now (Capitol/EMI)
143. (Various) – Next Stop Soweto: Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz In South Africa 1963-1984 (Strut! Reissue)
144. John Morales – The M&M Mixes (BBE mix album ‘09)
145. Little Big Town – The Reason Why (Capitol)
146. Trailer Choir – Tailgate (Show Dog/Universal)
147. ARE Weapons – Darker Blue (Defend)
148. Bot Ox – Babylon By Car (I'm A Cliché)
149. Darryl Moore – Whereimat (SomeOthaShip)
150. The Sediment Club – The Sediment Club (Softspot 7-inch EP)

Uh, this is not actually part of the Ratt album, believe it or not (no idea how it got there -- it's at #97, too!):

(Various) – Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)

136. Z'ev – As/If/When (Sub Rosa reissue)
137. Ratt – Infestation (Roadrunner) (Various) – Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)

:)

The Mel Waiters southern soul 2010 cd is a bit uneven so don't sweat not including it. Some great songs on it though.

The Mel Waiters southern soul 2010 cd is a bit uneven

So are 99.33333 percent of the albums I listed! (Just, some are more uneven than others.)

1. Bob Seger – Never Mind the Bullets Here's Early Bob Seger
16. John Mellencamp – The Early Years

lol?

2. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)
3. Ke$ha – Animal + Cannibal (RCA)
6. Jamey Johnson – The Guitar Song (Mercury)
41. The Fall –Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
45. M.I.A. – Maya (XL/Interscope)
52. The Sword – Warp Riders (Kemado)
66. Einstürzende Neubauten – Strategies Against Architecture IV: 2002-2010 (Mute reissue)

^^ things i have actually heard in full from yr list

time to get listening...!

Bob Seger, Mellencamp? No, not lols. Yeah, seems like 2010's got more uneven albums than usual, though many would make excellent EPs. (I was really hoping to P&J the Books, but six keepers out of 14 tracks? No way, gotta be at least 70% of the tracks,and really strong ones.) Disc 2 of Dirty Water is indeed worth checking xhuxk! The Can track doesn't get good til the end, but can see why he might have picked it, the Hamill track is the only dogshit on the whole thing (although the title track seems so-what now; guess the label wanted it? But then he picks one by the Seeds I hadn't heard)

Caveat #4: Once you get past #105 or so, I make no guarantees that copies of these albums will still be in my house five years from now. (But they're all still here now, which counts for something.)

Disc 2 of Dirty Water is indeed worth checking xhuxk!

The copy I got had Disc #1 on both discs!! (They later sent me a download to make up for it, but uh, you know how that goes. Told them I'd get to it "eventually.")

the title track seems so-what now

Totally disagree! At least, it's way better than those interminable live MC5 and Stooges outtakes. (Or the song by the Jook, who I never even heard of before. But at least that was kinda cute.)

I am OUTRAGED that Lady Antebellum placed higher than Little Big Town. I am voice-recognition-dictating a letter to my congresswoman as I type this.

That was a total challops, I know! But basically, LBT has one great song, and lots of okay-so-what ones I can live with but don't really care about. LA has one great song, one almost-great song, one more I liked on the radio, and lots of okay-so-what. So LA win.

I'd actually vote Little Big Town "Most Disappointing Of The Year" if it wasn't for the Hold Steady, probably. (Third place: Kid Rock.)

34. Dwarr – Animals (Drag City reissue)

Love to see this on there. I can say that I'm honestly surprised that I really like two of the albums in the top ten (Jamey & T-Swift). Not because I think xhukx has questionable taste, but because his stuff is usually super obscure to me.

Oh, I have questionable taste, all right. (I even question it myself sometimes.)

Maybe my tastes are getting less obscure in my old age, I dunno. (Last year, three of my Top 10 made the Pazz & Jop Top 40, no lie.)

xhuxk, have you ever thought about separating your EOY list into a reissues/comps list and one of strictly new releases? just speaking as a reader it would be a lot easier to kind of parse it or get a sense of what's what.

xhuxk, have you written about the T. Swift record anywhere? personally, it bores me silly and/or infuriates me (contradiction, moi?), but i would nonetheless like to see what you have to say about it.

have you ever thought about separating your EOY list into a reissues/comps list and one of strictly new releases?

Um...no. But you can if you want. Can't be that hard! Except I'm always confused about where to put the "mixes," almost all of which should count as reissues, probably. (The reason there's a bunch of reissues clumped starting at #11, btw, is because I wanted to put my 10 Pazz & Jop albums in the top ten, and Seger is the only "reissue" I voted for.) (30 points, obv.)

have you written about the T. Swift record anywhere?

Sort of. Did a Taylor/Ke$ha comparison essay at Rhapsody, plus a few sporadic comments at Singles Jukebox. (Also, a Taylor essay for Rhapsody the week before her album came out, except I hadn't heard the album yet.) None of them are great; all Googlable, probably.

Did a Taylor/Ke$ha comparison essay at Rhapsody

link?

nevermind; found it myself

http://blog.rhapsody.com/2010/12/taylorkesha.html

Can someone mediafire that Seger comp? The ilx mail isn't going through to myonga (I hope).

I didn't know about these Allan Sherman reissues, would like to hear.

("Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh" was a childhood favorite of mine, but I really don't know anything else by him.)

Taylor's weak links, for what it's worth: "Sparks Fly," "Last Kiss,"

soooo wrong about both of these tunes; can't complain much though, b/c the other 99% of that taylor/ke$ha piece is otmfm

You didn't like the Stooges live track on Dirty Water!? Williamson and the Ashetons, a cyclone x peyote conga line. Please listen again. I wasn't that disappointed by Hold Steady and Kid Rock, because I wasn't expecting that much, but they got their keepers. Hold Steady had some ridiculous duds like "Rock Problems", but pull some good arrangements out of Finn's butt. Glad they're more about guitars than those leaky keys these days (and added a third guitarist for the tour). Finn's voice and familiar but still antsy surviving characters suggest a more raffish Prairie Home Companion, spinning by the all-night diner on black ice, real ready to cash in that stolen copper wire (hey, that's my town) Even some of the dumbest Rod Seger retreads on Kid Rock's album build some real momentum, and how often does that happen? So many artistes say it all in the first verse and moneyshot chorus.

Okay, I'll re-listen to the Stooges track. Maybe it's just not car music. (Only place I've listened to that CD, though my car's on a 100% Beefheart kick this week.)

Anyway, since this thread is here, my top ten 2010 singles (could go a lot longer, but I'd miss too many things and get a headache):

1. Coati Mundi – Bundas Bom (Rong)
2. Intocable – Estamos En Algo (Sony Music Latin)
3. Sweet Angel – A Girl Like Me (Ecko)
4. Sunny Sweeney – From a Table Away (Republic Nashville)
5. Pastor Mbhobho – Ayobaness (Outhere)
6. Far*East Movement feat. The Cataracs and Dev – Like A G6 (Cherry Tree/Interscope)
7. Mallary Hope – Blossom In The Dust (MCA Nashville)
8. Cali Swag District – Teach Me How To Dougie (Capitol)
9. Laura Bell Bundy – Giddy On Up (Mercury)
10. Vybz Kartel ft. Popcaan and Gaza Slim – Clarks (Chrome)

What's the Z'ev like?

Noisy, duh! But to my ears nowhere near as musical about it (i.e., useful as backgroud drone while getting work done or reading) as the Neubauten. Still somehow charming, though.

Anyway, an exchange from Rolling Hard Rock thread:

Ha ha, speaking of unearthed tapes, just got a CD recorded 1978-1982 in the mail by Z'ev! Pretty sure George knows who this guy is, from back in his noise days. "L.A. percussion typhoon," not hard rock in any earthling sense, but as I recall he was doing the beating-on-pots-and-radiators thing before even Einsturzende Neubauten or Test Dept. thought of it. I used to own an LP by him back in the early '80s; not sure I ever played it all the way through though. Guess I'll try to play this one; good luck. "Technical info: Radical de-tuning of drums - LOW's producing HIGH's. Use of stainless steel, titanium, military aluminum -- HI TEMP/PRESSURE in their production creating a multiplicity of complex signals not available in LO TEMP/PRESSURE metals. Same holding true for plastics." Etc. Scott, you definitely have to include this one in your Decibel noise column.
― xhuxk, Saturday, November 13, 2010 5:22 PM

i am! it's going in my next column.
― scott seward, Saturday, November 13, 2010 5:31 PM

I had his first LP. Him, Monte Cazazza and Factrix. They were the dudes. Fun times alienating people in the grad school apartment.
― Gorge, Saturday, November 13, 2010 11:57 PM

I don't think Scott's column ever came out, though (unless I missed it again -- didn't seem to be one in Decibel's year-end issue.)

Anyway, on more objective terms, the Z'ev CD has three performances, all live -- 11 minutes, 19 minutes, 25 minutes. So they're not exactly what you'd call memorable "songs", per se'. I'm not sure whether his early '80s LP(s) were like that or not; it's been a while. Honestly, truth is I'm probably just happy to have a Z'ev record again. Wouldn't really recommend that anybody go buy it, though.

Oh, I probably won't. I was just wondering if it was something different from his usual. I've probably said it before but my favorite Z'ev/Stefan Weisser recordings were some conversation cut-ups (with added noise in some cases) but out on Subterranean Records but not reissued on CD as far as I know.

If you haven't already heard them, I would recommend trying more of those Fania singe-artist compilations. If you like the sort of songs (all extremely well known, incidentally) collected on something like that Salsa Explosion compilation, I don't see why you wouldn't like a lot of those single-artist compilations (usually with "A Man and His Music" or something similar as sub-title).

You might be right. But thing is, I don't have that high a tolerance for (or interest in) salsa. Just don't see myself spending much more time than I already do listening to the genre. And in cases like that, sometimes a various-artist sampler is plenty for me (unless it's somebody I really like a lot, like say Joe Cuba, or Eddie Palmieri.)

And now I'm starting to think I overrated that Z'ev CD, even at #136! Except really, pretty much all the art music (jazz, noise, electronic, goth drone, improv, whatever) albums on that list are judged by how often I pull them out to play in the background when I'm getting stuff done. Some I get more addicted to than others. But I don't tend to listen to them much closer than that, usually. (Though when I do, with the Neubauten last week for instance because I was writing a review, of course I often notice things that I didn't when I was just using them for Muzak.) Anyway, that's why they never really have a shot at my Top 10, probably.

And I don't know whether I recommend that anybody buy any new albums. I'd be kind of a hypocrite if I did, seeing how I get pretty much all new stuff for free, and pretty much the only stuff I buy is $1 vinyl. (Bought too much of that this year, but still.)

I don't have that high a tolerance for (or interest in) salsa.

Okay, I guess I have trouble understanding how someone can like "El Todo Poderoso" and not what a lot more. Sorry, I'm just sort of a genre-nut about this.

what=want

I think we'll have the same #3! I placed Jamey higher, and I haven't heard Taylor yet. Other interesting items include the two Threadgills and the Jason Moran, which I've been digging, and the Cameo/Parkway reissues. Haven't heard the ones you listed, but I recently got some others by the Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, and John Zacherle, who was kind of a sicko. Good stuff!

Also, I've got that Burning Spear double, but on Mango, not sure when it came out. Does the new one have extra stuff or something? The Mango's pretty bare-bones.

Electric Six was solid as always. And my kid went through a six-week period of happily watching that Liliput/Kleenex DVD, so there's a recommendation for all you parents.

Anyhow, thanks for listing regularly throughout the year. Even though we've probably just got the two top 10s in common, I checked out a lot of good stuff off your lists, as usual.

Man, I love and respect the Allen Sherman choices.

"I don't think Scott's column ever came out, though (unless I missed it again -- didn't seem to be one in Decibel's year-end issue.)"

i just wrote it! i missed a month because the poll issue is bigger and i got bumped. i think that might have happened last year? or some other time. i'd be happy if i did that column every other month let alone every month. i appreciate the space. it's a lot of fun.

new split album on my fave label utech has one half of the lp devoted to new thing by z'ev and aaron turner from isis. i really like it. i wrote that up too, so i have double z'ev action this month. see, that wouldn't have happened without the extra time. its kismet.

2, 6, 7, 32, 45, 100, 140 in common. Lots more I haven't heard, obviously.

Hey Dr. Phil -- Pretty sure the Hip-O Burning Spear reissue is just-the-facts-no-pointless-rarity-filler as well, though to be honest I never even heard Marcus Garvey before this year, so I'm no expert on the issue. (Used to own Garvey's Ghost on vinyl -- probably bought it based on Greil Marcus's Stranded appendix recommendation -- but got rid of it a long time ago.)

Those Dovells, Dee Dee Sharp, and Zacherlee collections sound like they'd be lots of fun! And yeah, I checked out some non-hit Zacherlee tracks while putting together a Halloween proto-shock-rock playlist for Rhapsody. He was a trip. I should check out more.

Agree about Electric Six's reliability, too. They've got to rank with the most consistent acts of the past decade, and music critics, as far as I can tell, have basically ignored them since their debut. Here's my Rhapsody review of their new one; if you click on the two previous albums on that page (Kill and Flashy), I reviewed those, too. Seems nobody else wants to!

http://www.rhapsody.com/electric-six/zodiac-2#albumreview

Finally, here's a list of also-rans/honorable mentions that didn't make my Top 150 (even though I'm sure at least a couple are probably better than that Z'ev CD. Like I said, distincitions when you get this marginal aren't easy.) Anyway, I still own my copies of all these, too, at least for the time being (unless they're ones I've only listened to on Rhapsody): Val Halla, Rudi Zygaldo, White Wizzard, Helloween best-of, David Brinston, Colt Ford '09 EP, O.Rex reissue, Redskins reissue, The Compleat Dancing Master, Josh Turner, Los Saicos reissue, Herpes EP, Gogol Bordello, James Otto, Uriah Heep re-recordings album, Monster Magnet, Dirty Little Rabbits, Lloyd Miller & the Heliocentrics, Sir Charles Jones covers album, Screaming Females EP, Jimmy Edgar, Gary Allan, Gil Scott-Heron, Toby Keith, Stereo Total, Girl In A Coma, Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks Christmas album, Stone Temple Pilots.

Lord have mercy, my review of "Zodiac" ALSO mentioned Nazareth and "Baker Street" (as well as Captain Beefheart and Jamey Johnson):

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/131588-electric-six-zodiac/

I haven't been writing for PopMatters too long, but to their credit, it seems like somebody there gives every Electric Six album a pretty good review.

i didn't know about those allan sherman reissues, but i love that you rate my son, the folk singer well above the other two. that really was his masterpiece. "the ballad of harry lewis," "my zelda" and "shake hands with your uncle max," among others, made it essential listening in the jewish home i grew up in.

i might quibble with your rating the uneven my son, the celebrity overmy son, the nut, which has "you went the wrong way, old king louie" along with the hit, but it's a small quibble, and i note that the way you have 'em makes allan sherman a perfect candidate for acts whose entire output has always been on the decline thread. and, oh wait, i see you actually nominated him there. ok then.

separated into new music & reissues, comps + mixes per shiplo, missed a few, still didn't make it easier for me to parse

new

2. Taylor Swift – Speak Now (Big Machine)
3. Ke$ha – Animal + Cannibal (RCA)
4. Bigg Robb – Jerri Curl Muzic (Over25Sound ‘09)
5. Jace Everett – Red Revelations (Western Boys/Hump Head)
6. Jamey Johnson – The Guitar Song (Mercury)
7. Traband – Domasa (Indies Scope)
8. Luther Lackey – The Preacher’s Wife (Ecko)
9. Flynnville Train – Redemption (Evolution)
10. Chely Wright – Lifted Off The Ground (Vanguard)
25. Sweet Angel – A Girl Like Me (Ecko)

26. Laura Bell Bundy – Achin’ & Shakin’ (Mercury)
27. Henry Threadgill Zooid – This Brings Us To Volume 1 (Pi '09)
31. Scott Morgan – Scott Morgan (Alive NaturalSound)
32. Henry Threadgill Zooid – This Brings Us To Volume II (Pi)
36. Lee Brice – Love Like Crazy (Curb)
38. Joan Soriano – El Duque De La Bachata (¡Aso)
39. This Moment In Black History – Public Square (Smog Veil)
41. The Fall –Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
42. Colt Ford – Chicken And Biscuits (Average Joe’s)
43. Far*East Movement – Free Wired (CherryTree/Interscope)

44. Kenny Chesney – Hemingway's Whiskey (BNA)
45. M.I.A. – Maya (XL/Interscope)
46. Electric Six – Zodiac (Metropolis)
47. Coati Mundi – Dancing For The Cabana Code In The Land Of Boo-Hoo (Rong)
52. The Sword – Warp Riders (Kemado)
53. Wounded Lion – Wounded Lion (In The Red)
54. Jerrod Niemann – Judge Jerrod And The Hung Jury (Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville)
56. Shinyribs – Well After Awhile (Nine Mile)
57. Jas – Live At Jerome’s (Gulcher)
58. Dave Douglas & Keystone – Spark Of Being (Greenleaf Music)

59. Cankisou - Lé La (Indies Scope)
62. Art Museums – Rough Frame (Woodsit EP)
69. Shakin’ Street – 21st Century Love Channel (Pervade Productions ’09)
72. Blessure Grave – Judged By Twelve Carried By Six (Alien8)
73. Chrome Dome – Chrome Dome (Lexicon Devil EP)
77. Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Rush To Relax (Goner)
78. (Various) – Diplo Presents Dubstep: Blow Your Head (Downtown mix)
79. Buraka Som Sistema – Fabriclive 49 (Fabric mix)
80. Ebo Taylor – Love And Death (Strut)
82. Ray Wylie Hubbard – A. Enlightenment B. Endarkment (Hint: There Is No C) (Thirty Tigers/Bordello)

83. Bizingas – Bizingas (NCM East)
84. Kermit Ruffins – Happy Talk (Basin Street)
85. Tim Woods – The Blues Sessions (Earwig)
88. Earl Gaines – Good To Me (Ecko)
90. (Various) – Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010 (Matador)
92. Jason Moran and the Bandwagon - Ten (Blue Note)
93. Marrow – Sunshine Enema (Marrowcell)
94. Trace Adkins – Cowboy’s Back In Town (Universal)
95. Merle Haggard - I Am What I Am (Vanguard)
98. Stone River Boys – Love On The Dial (Cow Island)

99. Ches Smith & These Arches – Finally Out Of My Hands (Skirl)
100. Heart – Red Velvet Car (Legacy)
101. Home Blitz – Out Of Phase (Richie)
102. Selena Gomez & The Scene – A Year Without Pain (Hollywood)
103. Rick Schaffer – Necessary Illusion (Tarock)
105. Dr. John and the Lower 911 – Tribal (429)
106. Rhett Frazer Inc. – Escape From Dee-Troyt (Digi-Soul '09)
107. Randy Houser – They Call Me Cadillac (Show Dog)
108. Elizabeth Cook – Welder (Thirty Tigers)
109. The Mother Truckers – Van Tour (World)

110. Rosehill – White Lines And Stars (Cypress Creek)
111. Andy Cohen – Built Right On The Ground (Earwig)
114. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Wages (SideOneDummy)
115. Dierks Bentley – Up On The Ridge (Capitol)
116. Johnny Flynn – Been Listening (Thirty Tigers/Transgressive)
117. Honey Ride Me A Goat – Udders (Lexicon Devil)
118. Jason Boland & The Stragglers – High In the Rockies: A Live Album (Apex Nashville/Thirty Tigers)
119. Trombone Shorty – Backatown (Verve Forecast)
122. Kid Rock – Born Free (Atlantic)
123. Janiva Magness – The Devil Is An Angel Too (Alligator)

124. Reba McEntire – All TheWomen I Am (The Valory Music Co.)
125. Chico Mann – Analog Drift (Wax Poetics)
126. Legendary Shack Shakers – Agridustrial (Colonel Knowledge)
127. Chuck Brown – We Got This (Sweet Venture)
128. Colt Ford – Live From Suwannee River Jam (Average Joe’s ’09)
130. Crawlspace – Ignorance Is Bliss (Gulcher)
131. Spoek Mathambo – Mshubu Wam (BBE)
132. Vex’d – Cloud Seed (Planet Mu)
133. Intocable – Classic (Sony Music Latin ‘09)
134. Votum – Metafiction (Armoury/Mystic)

135. Elephant9 – Walk The Nile (Rune Grammofon)
137. Ratt – Infestation (Roadrunner) (Various)
138. Drive-By Truckers – The Big To-Do (Atco)
139. Major Lazer – Lazers Never Die EP (Interscope/Downtown/Mad Design EP)
140. Jon Oliva’s Pain – Festival (AFM)
141. Garotas Suecas – Escaldante Banda (American Dust)
142. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now (Capitol/EMI)
145. Little Big Town – The Reason Why (Capitol)
146. Trailer Choir – Tailgate (Show Dog/Universal)
147. ARE Weapons – Darker Blue (Defend)

148. Bot Ox – Babylon By Car (I'm A Cliché)
149. Darryl Moore – Whereimat (SomeOthaShip)
150. The Sediment Club – The Sediment Club (Softspot 7-inch EP)

reissues mixes & comps

1. Bob Seger – Never Mind the Bullets Here's Early Bob Seger (Myonga CD-R reissue)
11. (Various) – Fire In My Bones: Raw + Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel [1944-2007] (Tompkins Square reissue ’09)
12. (Various) – G.I. Disco (BBE mix)
13. Joe Cuba – El Alcalde Del Barrio (Fania reissue)
14. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Folk Singer (Collectors' Choice Music reissue)
15. (Various) – Classic Sounds Of New Orleans (Smithsonian Folkways)
16. John Mellencamp – The Early Years (MMRX reissue)
17. The Endtables – The Endtables (Drag City reissue)
18. (Various) – Ayobaness! The Sound Of South African House (Out Here)
19. Radar Favourites – Radar Favourites (Reel Recordings reissue)

20. The Orlons – The Wah-Wahtusi/South Street (Collector’s Choice reissue)
21. (Various) – Keb Darge and Little Edith's Legendary Rockin' R&B (BBE mix)
22. Was (Not Was) – Pick Of The Litter 1980-2010 (Microwerks
23. Leo Zero – Disconnect (Strut mix)
24. Pylon – Chomp More (DFA reissue ‘09)
28. (Various) – The Roots Of Chica 2: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (Barbés reissue)
29. Burning Spear – Marcus Garvey/Garvey's Ghost (Hip-O Select reissue)
30. Danny Krivit – Edits By Mr. K: Vol. 2: Music Of The Earth (Strut mix)
33. Frank Zappa – Greasy Love Songs (Zappa reissue)
34. Dwarr – Animals (Drag City reissue)

35. (Various) – Salsa Explosion! The New York Salsa Revolution 1969-1979 (Strut/Fania reissue)
37. RockTits – Heavy Cosmic Groove Mix (aordisco.blogspot.com mix)
40. Walter Gibbons – Jungle Music (Strut mix)
48. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Celebrity (Collectors' Choice Music Reissue)
49. Katrina And The Waves – Katrina And The Waves (CGB reissue)
50. Bob Blank – The Blank Generation: Blank Tapes NYC 1975-1985 (Strut mix)
51. Raymilland – Recordings ’79-’83 (BDR reissue)
55. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Buried Behind The Barn (Alternative Tentacles reissue)
60. Jefferson Airplane – Setlist: The Very Best Of Jefferson Airplane Live (RCA/Legacy reissue)
61. Chubby Checker – It’s Pony Time/Let’s Twist Again (Collector’s Choice reissue)

63. Tutu And The Pirates – Sub-Urban Insult Rock For The Anti/Lectual 1977-1979 (Factory25 reissue)
64. Chin Chin – Sound Of The Westway (Slumberland reissue)
65. Method Actors – This Is Still It (Acute reissue)
66. Einstürzende Neubauten – Strategies Against Architecture IV: 2002-2010 (Mute reissue)
67. (Various) – Deep South Soul: 15 Southern Soul Hits! (Ecko)
68. John Jackson – Rappahannock Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
70. Allan Sherman – My Son, The Nut (Collectors' Choice Music reissue)
71. Grong Grong – To Hell ‘N’ Back (Memorandum/Aberrant reissue)
74. Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick, Barry Dransfield – Morris On (Fledg’ling reissue)
75. Terry Knight And The Pack – Terry Knight And The Pack/Reflections (Collector’s Choice reissue)

76. Steve Winwood – Revolutions: The Very Best Of (Island reissue)
81. Katrina And The Waves – 2 (CGB reissue)
86. (Various) – Blues Mix: Volume One Super Soul Blues (Ecko)
87. DJ Spinna & BBE Soundsystem – Strange Games & Funky Things Volume 5: Smoking '70s Soul and Rare Grooves (BBE mix)
89. Syl Johnson – Complete Mythology (Advance Sampler) (The Numero Group promo reissue)
91. Da-Exclamation Point -- (Un)released Recordings 1980-81 (Factory 25 reissue)
96. Kleenex/Liliput - Live Recordings, TV-Clips & Roadmovies (Kill Rock Stars reissue)
97. (Various) – Classic Appalachian Blues (Smithsonian Folkways reissue)
104. Kevin Dunn – No Great Lost: Songs, 1979-1985 (Casa Nueva reissue)
112. Jeff Eubank – A Street Called Straight (Drag City reissue)

113. Death – Spiritual Mental Physical (Drag City reissue)
120. Johnny Winter And – Live At The Fillmore East 10/3/70 (Collector’s Choice reissue)
121. (Various) – Indies Scope 2009 (Indies Scope ’09)
129. (Various) -- Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History Of Black Jewish Relations (Idehlson Society reissue)
136. Z'ev – As/If/When (Sub Rosa reissue)
143. (Various) – Next Stop Soweto: Vol. 3: Giants, Ministers and Makers: Jazz In South Africa 1963-1984 (Strut! Reissue)
144. John Morales – The M&M Mixes (BBE mix album ‘09)

Awesome! You've performed a useful service, zvookster (for me, if nobody else). My only quibble is that some of the comps besides the Matador and Dubstep ones (Ayobaness, for instance) should probably count as "new" music. But hey, it's more than I could do. (For what it's worth, I count mixes and reissues among "regular" albums now because that's what Pazz & Jop does. Back when there were different categories, I would've kept track of them separately through the year. But now they're all eligible together, so...)

And factvchecking cuz, outside of "Hello Muddah Hello Faddah!" and maybe "Here's To The Crabgrass," I don't really hear any songs on My Son The Nut that I'd rank with my favorites on My Son The Celebrity ("Al N' Yetta," "Get On The Garden Freeway," "Harvey And Sheila," and especially the unbelievable "When I Was A Lad," which perfectly predicted Mad Men by four decades. Check the lyrics linked below if you don't believe me.) So yeah, near as I can tell, Sherman got worse with each album.

http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/allan-sherman-lyrics/when-i-was-a-lad-lyrics.html

Fwiw, if anyone cares, here are the comps that zvookster listed among reissues that probably really qualify as "new":

18. (Various) – Ayobaness! The Sound Of South African House (Out Here)
67. (Various) – Deep South Soul: 15 Southern Soul Hits! (Ecko)
86. (Various) – Blues Mix: Volume One Super Soul Blues (Ecko)
121. (Various) – Indies Scope 2009 (Indies Scope ’09)

2011:

1. Cauldron – Burning Fortune (Earache)
2. Gentlemans Pistols – At Her Majesty’s Pleasure (Rise Above)
3. Nazareth – Big Dogz (Eagle)
4. Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres (Constellation)
5. Randy Montana – Randy Montana (Mercury)
6. John Waite – Rough and Tumble (Frontiers/No Brakes)
7. Carl Marshall – Love Who You Wanna Love (CDS ’10)
8. Blood Ceremony – Living With The Ancients (Rise Above)
9. Them Bird Things – Wildlike Wonder (Playground Music Finland ‘10)
10. Vektor – Outer Isolation (Heavy Artillery)

11. Gates Of Slumber – The Wretch (Rise Above)
12. Argus – Boldly Stride The Doomed (Cruz Del Sur)
13. Midnight Chaser – Rough And Tough (Heavy Artillery)
14. Kentucky Headhunters – Dixie Lullabies (Red Dirt Music)
15. Yaron Herman Trio – Follow The White Rabbit (ACT)
16. Ghost – Opus Eponymous (Metal Blade/Rise Above)
17. The Dirtbombs – Party Store (In The Red)
18. Opeth - Heritage (Roadrunner)
19. Stealing Angels – Stealing Angels (Skyville promo)
20. Buraka Som Sistema – Komba (Rough Trade/Enchufada)

21. Eric Church – Chief (EMI Nashville)
22. Badmouth – Heavy Metal Parking Lot (RamboMusic)
23. GD&TOP – GD&TOP (YG Entertainment Korea ’10)
24. Pistol Annies – Hell On Heels (Columbia)
25. David Nail – The Sound Of A Million Dreams (MCA Nashville)
26. The Band Perry – The Band Perry (Universal Republic ‘10)
27. Muhal Richard Abrams – SounDance (Pi)
28. The Ex – Catch My Shoe (Ex)
29. Miranda Lambert – Four The Record (RCA Nashville)
30. Kultur Shock – Ministry Of Kultur (Kultur Shock)

31. SNSD – Girls Generation (1st Japan Album) (Nayatuwave Japan)
32. Ms. Jody – Ms. Jody’s In The House (Ecko)
33. Woods Of Ypres – Woods 4: The Green Album (Earache)
34. Gerod Rayborn – Call Before You Come!!! (Ecko/New Groove ‘10)
35. Gutbucket – Flock (Cuneiform)
36. Luther Lackey – Married Lyin’ Cheatin’ Man (Ecko)
37. Toby Keith – Clancy’s Tavern (Show Dog-Universal)
38. Selena Gomez & the Scene – When The Sun Goes Down (Hollywood)
39. Merle Haggard – Working In Tennessee (Vanguard/Hag)
40. Endangered Blood – Endangered Blood (Skirl)

41. Thompson Square – Thompson Square (Stoney Creek)
42. Premonition 13 – 13 (Volcom Entertainment)
43. Garland Jeffreys – The King Of In Between (Luna Park)
44. Black Spiders – Sons Of The North (Dark Riders)
45. Kindred The Family Soul – Love Has No Recession (Shanachie)
46. Designer Drugs – Hardcore/Softcore (Ultra Music)
47. Saviours – Death’s Procession (Kemado)
48. James Carter – Caribbean Rhapsody (Emarcy/Decca)
49. Sool J – Electro Sool J (CBH Korea EP)
50. Brantley Gilbert – Halfway To Heaven Deluxe (The Valory Music Co.)

51. Mike And The Ravens – From Pillar to Post (Playground Finland)
52. Honey Ear Trio – Steampunk Serenade (Foxhaven)
53. Britney Spears – Femme Fatale (Jive)
54. Dennis Coffey – Dennis Coffey (Strut)
55. El Debarge – Second Chance (Geffen ’10)
56. Sunny Sweeney – Concrete (Republic Nashville)
57. Rocket From The Tombs – Barfly (Fire)
58. Carl Sims – Hell On My Hands (CDS)
59. Rainbow - SO 女 (DSP Media Korea EP)
60. Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Shoot! (Rune Grammafon)

61. HyunA – Bubble Pop! (Cube Entertainment Korea EP)
62. Left Lane Cruiser – Junkyard Speed Ball (Alive)
63. Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone – Departure Of Reason (Thirsty Ear)
64. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Cotonou Club (Strut)
65. Marika Hughes – Afterlife Music Radio: 11 New Pieces For Solo Cello (DD)
66. Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures – Both/And (Meta)
67. Electric Wizard – Black Masses (Metal Blade/Rise Above)
68. Lauren Alaina – Wildflower (Mercury/Interscope)
69. Manilla Road – Playground Of The Damned (Shadow Kingdom)
70. Kandi – Kandi Koated (Asylum/Warner Bros. '10)

71. Elder – Dead Roots Stirring (MeteorCity)
72. Kode9 & The Spaceape – Black Sun (Hyperdub)
73. Wolf – Legions Of Bastards (Century Media)
74. The Baseball Project – Vol. 2: High And Inside (Yep Roc)
75. Tom Russell – Mesabi (Shout! Factory)
76. Electric Six – Heartbeats and Brainwaves (Metropolis)
77. Steel Magnolia – Steel Magnolia (Big Machine)
78. Mary Mary – Something Big (Columbia)
79. Dick Destiny – La Puta (Dick Destiny)
80. Too Slim and the Tail Draggers – Shiver (Underworld)

81. Korpiklaani – Ukon Wacka (Nuclear Blast)
82. Joe Fiedler Trio – Sacred Chrome Orb (Yellow Sound Label)
83. 2NE1 – 2nd Mini Album (YG Entertainment Korea EP)
84. Those Darlins – Screws Get Loose (Oh Wow Dang)
85. (Various) – Reggae’s Gone Country (Elektra/VP)
86. Jim Jones Revue – Burning Your House Down (Punk Rock Blues)
87. Sarandon – Sarandon’s Age Of Reason (Slumberland)
88. Roach Gigz – Roachy Balboa Round 2 (Goomba)
89. Blame Sally – Speeding Ticket And A Valentine (Ninth Street Opus)
90. Black Tusk – Set The Dial (Relapse)

91. Vijay Iyer, Prasanna & Nitin Mitta – Tirtha (ACT)
92. Donnie Ray – Who’s Rockin’ You? (Ecko)
93. Steve Coleman And Five Elements – The Mancy Of Sound (Pi)
94. Girl In A Coma – Exits & All The Rest (Blackheart)
95. Big Freedia – Scion A/V Presents: Big Freedia (Scion A/V EP)
96. New Keepers Of The Water Towers – The Calydonian Hunt (Meteor City)
97. The Dunn Boys – Volume 1 (The Dunn Boys)
98. Justice – Audio Video Disco (Elektra/Vice/Ed Banger)
99. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
100. Chucha Santamaria Y Usted – Chucha Santamaria Y Usted (Young Cubs)

------------------------------

2011 Reissues:

1. (Various) – Dirty Water 2: More Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero)
2. (Various) – Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude (Year Zero ‘10)
3. Human Switchboard – Who’s Landing In My Hangar?: Anthology 1977-1984 (BarNone)
4. The Raincoats – Odyshape (WeThree)
5. Anvil – Monument Of Metal (The End)
6. (Various) – Fac.Dance: Factory Records 12” Mixes and Rarities 1980-1987 (Strut)
7. (Various) – Born Again Funk (Numero Group ’10)
8. (Various) – Keb Darge & Little Edith’s Legendary Wild Rockers (BBE)
9. Mars – Live At Artists Space (Feeding Tube)
10. ZZ Top – Live In Germany 1980 (Eagle)
11. Father’s Children – Father’s Children (Numero Group)
12. The Mixtures – Stompin' At The Rainbow (Linda/Minky)
13. Angry Samoans – 1978: I’m In Love With Your Mom (Angry Samoans EP)
14. (Various) – Fania Records 1964-1980: The Original Sound Of Latin New York (Strut)
15. (Various) – Bustin’ Out 1984: New Wave To New Beat Volume 4 (Year Zero)
16. Ebo Taylor – Life Stories: Highlife & Afrobeat Classics 1973-1980 (Strut)
17. (Various) – Nigeria 70: Sweet Times: Afro-Funk, Highlife & Juju From 1970s Lagos (Strut)
18. (Various) – Joey Negro Presents The Soul Of Disco (Z)
19. Drive-By Truckers – Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009 (New West)
20. Judas Priest – The Chosen Few (Columbia/Legacy)

you forgot bon iver...

Love that Matana Roberts album, also nice to see the Vijay Iyer popping up on a list.

Can we convince you to vote in the ILM poll this year? There's still time to nominate anything in your top 25 that's not there already.

(same question to you, Scott)

you forgot bon iver...

He must have done this wrong, because it doesn't look like every other list.

4. Matana Roberts – Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres (Constellation)

wow.

Youtube and Spotify heaven--didn't know the Ex had a recent-ish album!

Xhuxk more metal than previously. could the 3rd edition of STH be in the works?

Happy to see Woods of Ypres on here. Not because I've heard the record but because I used to work with their frontman/songwriter Dave Gold, who was killed in a car crash a couple weeks back. Great guy, terrible loss.

could the 3rd edition of STH be in the works?

While ILM was down, I got a copy of the 2nd edition and found that repeated small doses significantly eased my withdrawal symptoms.

El Debarge?

Rainbow!

Nazareth!!!?

I want to live in Chuck's crazy alternate reality where UFO and Ready for the World are still putting out A+ material.

Different Rainbow.

Had no idea that David Gold was killed in late December. That's horrible. Bizarrely, Woods Of Ypres' single, "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery", made my Pazz & Jop singles top 10. I apparently filed my ballot just a couple days before he died.

could the 3rd edition of STH be in the works?

Would totally do this, if somebody paid me -- but not another lame "updated version"; I want to do Son Of Stairway -- 500 metal albums not previously included. So if anybody knows anybody...

blog it, man--subscription only.

also: wouldn't Ian at Bazillian Points be interested?

http://dickdestiny.com/blog1/2012/01/30/free-music-and-art/

Gratis copy of #79, La Puta

2012:

1. Dev – The Night The Sun Came Up (Universal Republic)
2. Taylor Swift – Red (Big Machine)
3. Fraktus – Millenium Edition (Staatsakt)
4. Elfin Saddle – Devastates (Constellation)
5. Treponem Pal – Survival Sounds (Juste Une Trace)
6. Thunderkraft – Totentanz (Svarga)
7. Grand Magus – The Hunt (Nuclear Blast)
8. Jerrod Niemann – Free The Music (Sea Gayle/Arista Nashville)
9. Mekong Delta – Intersections (Steamhammer)
10. Bushman’s Revenge – A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza (Rune Grammofon)

11. Spiders – Flash Point (Crusher)
12. Angel Witch – As Above, So Below (Rise Above)
13. Tim Berne – Snakeoil (ECM)
14. Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill (Southern Ground)
15. El Doom & The Born Electric – El Doom & The Born Electric (Rune Grammofon)
16. 45 Grave – Pick Your Poison (Frontier)
17. Venomous Maximus – Beg Upon The Light (Occulture)
18. Bible Of The Devil – For The Love Of Thugs & Fools (Cruz Del Sur)
19. The Shrine - Primitive Blast (Tee Pee)
20. Mark Stewart – The Politics Of Envy (Future Noise Music Inc.)

21. Bhi Bhiman – Bhiman (Boocoo Music)
22. 3 Inches Of Blood – Long Live Heavy Metal (Century Media)
23. (Various) – Blues Mix 6: Super Southern Soul (Ecko)
24. Amy Gore & Her Valentines – In Love (Space Lion)
25. Lord Fowl – Moon Queen (Small Stone)
26. Gideon Smith & The Dixie Damned – 30 Weight (Small Stone ‘11)
27. Christian Mistress – Possession (Relapse)
28. Van Der Graaf Generator – A Grounding In Numbers (Esoteric ‘11)
29. Them Bird Things – Pachyderm Nightmares (Playground)
30. Thomas Rhett – Thomas Rhett EP (The Valory Music Co. EP)

31. Kid Rock – Rebel Soul (Top Dog/Atlantic)
32. (Various) – Blues Mix 8: Juke Joint Soul (Ecko)
33. Timmy’s Organism – Raw Sewage ROQ (In The Red)
34. Jah Wobble & Keith Levene – Yin & Yang (Cherry Red)
35. Bridgit Mendler – Hello My Name Is… (Hollywood)
36. Pharaoh – Bury The Light (Cruz Del Sur)
37. Èva Polgár and Sádor Vály – Mondrian Variations: Piano And Samplerworks (Ektro)
38. Freedom Hawk – Holding On (Small Stone ‘11)
39. Goat – World Music (Rocket)
40. E.via – E.viagradation Part 1: Black and Red (Dline Art Media EP)

41. Abrahma – Through The Dusty Paths Of Our Lives (Small Stone)
42. Black Music Disaster – Black Music Disaster (Thirsty Ear)
43. Darrell Scott – Long Way Home (Thirty Tigers/Full Light)
44. King Mob – Force 9 (King Mob)
45. Kenny Garrett – Seeds From The Underground (Mack Avenue)
46. Kip Moore – Up All Night (MCA Nashville)
47. (Various) – Blues Mix 9: Southern Soul Blues (Ecko)
48. Larman Clamor – Frogs (Small Stone)
49. Saint Vitus – Lillie: F-65 (Season Of Mist)
50. Royal Thunder – CVI (Relapse)

51. Rick Springfield – Songs For The End Of The World (UMe)
52. The Sword – Apocryphon (Razor & Tie)
53. Altar Of Oblivion – Grand Gesture Of Defiance (Shadow Kingdom)
54. Amadou & Mariam -- Folila (Nonesuch)
55. Hellwell – Beyond The Boundardies Of Sin (Shadow Kingdom)
56. Azaelia Banks – 1991 (Interscope EP)
57. Turnpike Troubadors – Goodbye Normal Street (Bossier City/Thirty Tigers)
58. Bison B.C. – Lovelessness (Metal Blade)
59. The Revelations Feat. Tre Williams – Concrete Blues (Decision ‘11)
60. Bullet – Full Pull (Nuclear Blast)

61. Tygers Of Pan Tang – Ambush (Rocksector)
62. Skånska Mord – Paths To Charon (Small Stone)
63. Kix Brooks – New To This Town (Arista Nashville)
64. Jovanotti – Italia 1988-2012 (ATO)
65. Laid Back – Cosyland (Terrorbird EP)
66. Anders Nilsson – Night Guitar (Sound At One)
67. Dr. John – Locked Down (Nonesuch)
68. Bryan Clark & The New Lyceum Players – Southern Intermission (Rainfeather)
69. Ryan Shaw – Real Love (Dynotone)
70. Metz – Metz (Sub Pop)

71. Honky – 421 (MVDaudio)
72. Witchcraft – Legend (Nuclear Blast)
73. Drew Nelson -- Tilt A Whirl (Red House)
74. 3:33 – In The Middle Of Infinity (Parallel Thought)
75. Ke$ha – Warrior (Deluxe Version) (RCA)
76. Elephant9 With Reine Fiske – Atlantis (Rune Grammofon)
77. Donnie Ray – I’m Goin’ Back (Ecko)
78. Lionel Richie – Tuskegee (Universal)
79. Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Between The Ditches (SideOneDummy)
80. Huinca – Sic Semper Tyrannis (Digmetalworld)

81. Dwight Yoakam – 3 Pears (Warner Bros./Via)
82. T-Ara – Funky Town (Core Contents Media EP)
83. Kadavar - Kadavar (Tee Pee)
84. Accept – Stalingrad (Nuclear Blast)
85. Ulver – Childhood’s End (Kscope)
86. Little Big Town – Tornado (Capitol)
87. ZZ Top – La Futura (Republic)
88. Witch Mountain – Cauldron Of The Wild (Profound Lore)
89. After School – Playgirlz (Avex)
90. Wounded Lion – IVXLCDM (In The Red ‘11)

91. Crazy Lixx – Riot Avenue (Frontiers)
92. The Devil’s Blood – The Thousandfold Epicentre (Metal Blade)
93. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – There Is A Bomb In Gilead (Alive)
94. Baroness – Yellow & Green (Relapse)
95. Sigh – In Somniphobia (Candlelight)
96. Van Halen – A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)
97. O.B. Buchana – Let Me Knock the Dust Off (Ecko)
98. Fernanda Ulibarri - Át☼ma (Cosmica)
99. Sun Gods In Exile – Thanks For The Silver (Small Stone)
100. Busy Signal – Reggae Music Again (VP)

5. Treponem Pal – Survival Sounds (Juste Une Trace)

12. Angel Witch – As Above, So Below (Rise Above)
28. Van Der Graaf Generator – A Grounding In Numbers (Esoteric ‘11)
49. Saint Vitus – Lillie: F-65 (Season Of Mist)

96. Van Halen – A Different Kind Of Truth (Interscope)

i wonder if xhuxk and i will be the only Dev votes in Pazz & Jop (although i guess i dunno if he voted)

i do love this list. just when i thought i's never want to see another list as long as i live too. chuck is special in the head though. its just fun to read even if you don't listen to any of them.

worth it just to know that Crazy Lixx exists.

"Used to love their Voivod-gone-insustrial vibe. Didn't know they were still around..."

the band didn't even know they were still around.

Another year, another xhuxk list of a hundred album from a year in which I listened to about that many myself, but none of which appear here!

That said, I do keep meaning to check out Metz.

my brother is playing some of chuxx pixx on his radio show. sounds good. good way to hear stuff too. till midnight anyway.

http://www.wgxc.org/

Ha, right Scott -- Me being "special in the head" is a nice diplomatic way to put it.

Anyway. 2012 albums by Angel Witch and Saint Vitus come surprisingly close to living up to their past work, I'd say. Van Der Graaf come less close (no sax player anymore, for one thing -- double-CD Present from 2005, when David Jackson was still with them, was probably better), but they were the more interesting band in the first place, which kind of evens things out. I actually think that Treponem Pal album is the best I've ever heard by them, even if (like Angel Witch, and Tygers Of Pan Tang for that matter) they have only one original member left. (And I had no idea they were still around, either). Van Halen's album is probably (give or take Diver Down at least) their most marginal ever with Roth singing on it. But it's still better than the ones he doesn't sing on, and some people like it a lot more than I do.

I did vote in P&J, after agonizing over it. (Was eventually convinced by a few people that the aggregate ballots are what matters these days, and it would've been depressing to be left out of that after 30 years. Plus it's not like the poll died when I got got fired, so why should I care so much about killing it off now?) Not sure if somedude and I will be the only Dev voters, but if the Voicers tabulate ballots correctly (which I'm not at all counting on) at least one or two 2011 votes for last year's (actually superior) import version ought to be carried over.

Metz is as indie-rock as I got this year, I guess. I know a couple people who really hate that record, but I think it's kind of fun.

Finally, here are my 20 Favorite 2012 Reissues:

1. (Various) – Tension: Spanish Experimental Underground 1980-1985 (Munster)
2. Feedtime – The Aberrant Years (Sub Pop)
3. (Various) – Giant Single: Profile Records Rap Anthology (Profile/Legacy)
4. Coven – Worship New Gods (Shadow Kingdom)
5. Pagan Altar – The Time Lord (Shadow Kingdom)
6. (Various) – Country Funk 1969-1975 (Light In The Attic)
7. Rat At Rat R – Ameri$ide: Rock & Roll Is Dead Long Live Rat At Rat R (Ektro)
8. Mission For Christ – The Complete Sessions (Ektro)
9. Manilla Road – Invasion (Shadow Kingdom)
10. Thin Lizzy – Thin Lizzy (Light In the Attic)
11. (Various) – Personal Space: Electronic Soul 1974-1984 (Chocolate Industries)
12. (Various) – Listen, Whitey!: The Sounds Of Black Power 1967-1974 (Light In the Attic)
13. (Various) – Strange Passion: Explorations In Irish Post-Punk, DIY And Electronic Music 1980-83 (Finders Keepers)
14. (Various) – Fac.Dance O2: Factory Records 12” Mixes & Rarities 1980-1987 (Strut)
15. Alfonso Lovo – La Ginatona (Numero Group)
16. Fela Kuti – Live In Detroit 1986 (Knitting Factory)
17. Laibach – An Introduction To…Laibach (Mute)
18. Bleeding Hearts – What Happened? (Aztec Music)
19. Crime and the City Solution – A History Of Crime: Berlin 1987-1991 (Mute)
20. (Various) – Eccentric Soul: A Red Black Green Production (Numero Group)

I'm still tabulating. It'll be done right.

Also, I never warmed to Dev, but since Red was my #2, too, you could check out my #1, which was Emma Hewitt's Burn the Sky Down. If the pattern holds, you won't warm to that either.

From lists I've seen, Red is a lot people's #2 -- people whose tastes have almost nothing else in common. It's really weird.

And it slipped my mind that you're doing the math, Glenn: I'm totally out of the loop on the new regime. Good news, actually.

there's probably not a lot inherently in common with any group of critics who vote for a multi-platinum blockbuster

True. Just seems funny that on so many lists including mine, Red is the runner-up -- Not first, not third, always second. But maybe I'm just imagining things.

that Niemann album sure holds up.

Yeah -- When I just think about that record, it seems like corniness should do it in. But every time I put it on to doublecheck, I'm surprised how much I still like it.

That Bleeding Hearts album is $45+ on Amazon, sheesh! What can you tell us about them besides the fact they're from Australia circa '78? Mission for Christ?

Bleeding Hearts discussed by me herein (along with Feedtime, actually):

http://www.spin.com/articles/aussie-effect-8-essentials-oz-rock

Mission For Christ: No Trend-associated D.C. hardcorers getting funky/dubby in the mid '80s. Which is an improvement.

Okay, found this on Ektro site:

In the pantheon of obscure U.S. punk, Mission for Christ has remained an intriguing mystery. Aside from stray blogs hyping the group's infamously scarce 7-inch, "Pennies from Hell," plus a cursory reference in Steve Blush's book American Hardcore, precious few online or printed recollections of the band have surfaced. Until now, all anyone knew was that the shadowy participants hailed from Washington, DC, and that they were close associates of the city's most antagonistic musical export, the notorious No Trend.

For summer 2012, Ektro Records is shedding some much-needed light on the subject. Commissioned by the label with curatorial assistance from yours truly, The Complete Sessions reprises MFC's nine-song 1983 demo cassette (which spawned the aforementioned single) and adds six previously unheard compositions dating from the following year. Extensive audio restoration vivifies the unruly material, while detailed liner notes place the names behind the noise in a helpful historical context.

Centered around bassist John Gibson (aka JC Agnatha), MFC featured a rotating cast that was equally well-versed in full-throttle punk, go-go funk, and art-damaged junk. Active when DC was too often portrayed as an urban wasteland split by racial and geographical divides, this loose-knit project flaunted an absurd, topical, and gleefully bizarre mesh of styles that recklessly disregarded subcultures, colors, and easy definitions. Its personnel casually bridged the disparate scenes that boiled over in their backyards, using dissonance, dub, and Dadaist nonsense to aesthetically fit in with the varied likes of Bad Brains, Scream, Void, 9353, Half Japanese, Outrage, the Psychotics, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, and anonymous street-corner percussion ensembles.

Alas, nobody could locate tapes of MFC’s final incarnation from 1985, after No Trend mastermind and guitarist Frank Price had come aboard. Still, we're damn lucky to have rescued the 15 fantastic tracks comprising this CD (produced by Government Issue's Tom Lyle), and we're eternally grateful to Gibson for being gracious enough to share them with us.

Praise the lord, man; Christ is risen!

Wow and Jeezuz H. Christ on the Oz rock piece, I only have Feedtime and need to hear the rest!

Okay, so how do you get those Aztec releases? I've looked everywhere, and Bleeding Hearts is not in stock anywhere (for under $45). Can't order from their site, and they seem to be on some sort of 12 week vacation. Freakin' Aussies. ImportCDs says they can ship eventually but lately what happens is they take my money and give me nothing for months on end.

Lots of interesting things on this list, but it was especially nice to have a reminder that I needed to check out the Christian Mistress album.