From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #264 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, December 4 2011 Volume 16 : Number 264 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Best of 2011 [Paul Jensen ] Re: Best of 2011 [Bowen Simmons ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2011 21:50:04 -0600 From: Paul Jensen Subject: Best of 2011 1.) Florence + the Machine: "Ceremonials" I wasn't a big fan of her debut, "Lungs", but could easily appreciate the enormous talent that Florence Welch possessed. Her new album "Ceremonials" seems to address the issues I had with "Lungs", and the result is one of the most impressive albums of the year. Her vocals are a bit more controlled, not as shout-y, and the song cycle feels like a journey. There's a cohesiveness to "Ceremonials" that her debut lacked. The artistic success of this album reminds me of Alanis Morissette's "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" - both sophomore albums are cathartic, lengthy, poetic and timeless. 2.) Tennis: "Cape Dory" So where "Ceremonials" is cathartic, lengthy and poetic - here we have the complete opposite. :) A terrific little debut album from a husband-and-wife duo from Colorado. They spent several months sailing off the East Coast - the Florida Keys, South Carolinas - and they wrote songs about their adventures on the open waters. This album is breezy, light, sunny, catchy - sure to brighten your mood. Most songs on this 10-track album clock in at about 2 and 1/2 minutes but have such strong hooks you'll be coming back for more. (fans of Camera Obscura or El Perro del Mar will likely enjoy this album) 3.) Active Child: "You Are All I See" About 95% of the artists I listen to are female. But sometimes I'll fall for a guy.. and here we have Active Child. This album is marvelous. Very difficult to describe - I'm nearly at a loss for words. Not many men have voices I'd call "ethereal", but Active Child does it. Give this album a shot, I bet you'll be intrigued. (try track: "See Thru Eyes") 4.) Kate Bush: "50 Words for Snow" This album, I think more than any of her others, shows Kate Bush as a true storyteller. Even if you don't listen to the songs, just read the lyrics to "Lake Tahoe", "Misty" or "Snowed in at Wheeler Street" and you'll be taken on a journey. This is a dense album that requires some patience from the listener, and I love that. Definitely rewards the effort put into it. 5.) Julianna Barwick: "The Magic Place" 6.) Austra: "Feel it Break" 7.) Anna Ternheim: "The Night Visitor" 8.) Matthew Robert Cooper: "Some Days Are Better Than Others" 9.) Marissa Nadler: self-titled 10.) Patrick Wolf: "Lupercalla" 11.) Lotte Kestner: "Stolen" 12.) Lia Ices: "Grown Unknown" Misses: Tori's new album hasn't connected with me yet... Maria Taylor's "Overlook" has some good tracks, but is a bit forgettable... Keren Ann's "101" was a bit of a letdown... Just couldn't get into PJ Harvey's new one, despite all the praise... Sigur Ros' "Inni" didn't excite me... Can't wait to see everyone else's picks! Paul - -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "This is the time. And this is the record of the time." -Laurie Anderson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:37:38 -0800 From: Bowen Simmons Subject: Re: Best of 2011 My top albums (so far). All of these have gotten multiple plays without making me in any way tired of them. Kate Bush, "50 Words for Snow". Love the idea. There is much to love in the execution, but having cycled through it several times, I think that Bertie's vocals on Snowflake are too clearly untrained and unsteady to help the song, however much his mother loves him, and Elton John is overripe and trying too hard. Even with its faults, in the right mood, this is a pretty mesmerizing album. Jane Siberry, "Meshach Dreams Back". Jane continues to seriously break away from her old stuff, but play this album after the two previous albums in this trilogy ("Dragon Dreams" and "With What Shall I Keep Warm") and they add up to a pretty amazing experience, much stronger together than individually. (Incidentally, I can't believe I was ever less than enthusiastic about "With What Shall I Keep Warm"  few albums have ever grown on me the way that one has. That the Ecto guide doesn't even have an entry on WWSIKW is a scandal. Doesn't being an Ectophile Goddess count for anything any more?) St. Vincent, "Strange Mercy". Easily her best work, I think. I was not enthused about "Actor", her second album, but she came back from that sophomore slump in a big way, I think. Full of acoustic surprises and interesting details. I just found it delightful listening. Heather Nova, "300 Days at Sea". I just love Heather Nova. She is far from the most experimental artist I own, but her consistently high quality is pretty amazing. The bottom line for me is that I never tire of listening to her. She also has her 2011 tour live self-bootlegs on her site for all her shows on the tour. That's totally cool. Kate Havnevik, "You". Very much what you might expect as a second album after "Melankton", in both a good and bad way, but since I really loved "Melankton", pretty much all good for me. Nerina Pallot, Year of the Wolf. Not a lot of depth, but I'm always open for a quality pop experience, and this nails that for me. Yours, Bowen On Dec 3, 2011, at 7:50 PM, Paul Jensen wrote: > 1.) Florence + the Machine: "Ceremonials" > > I wasn't a big fan of her debut, "Lungs", but could easily appreciate the > enormous talent that Florence Welch possessed. Her new album "Ceremonials" > seems to address the issues I had with "Lungs", and the result is one of > the most impressive albums of the year. Her vocals are a bit more > controlled, not as shout-y, and the song cycle feels like a journey. > There's a cohesiveness to "Ceremonials" that her debut lacked. The artistic > success of this album reminds me of Alanis Morissette's "Supposed Former > Infatuation Junkie" - both sophomore albums are cathartic, lengthy, poetic > and timeless. > > > 2.) Tennis: "Cape Dory" > > So where "Ceremonials" is cathartic, lengthy and poetic - here we have the > complete opposite. :) A terrific little debut album from a husband-and-wife > duo from Colorado. They spent several months sailing off the East Coast - > the Florida Keys, South Carolinas - and they wrote songs about their > adventures on the open waters. This album is breezy, light, sunny, catchy - > sure to brighten your mood. Most songs on this 10-track album clock in at > about 2 and 1/2 minutes but have such strong hooks you'll be coming back > for more. (fans of Camera Obscura or El Perro del Mar will likely enjoy > this album) > > > 3.) Active Child: "You Are All I See" > > About 95% of the artists I listen to are female. But sometimes I'll fall > for a guy.. and here we have Active Child. This album is marvelous. Very > difficult to describe - I'm nearly at a loss for words. Not many men have > voices I'd call "ethereal", but Active Child does it. Give this album a > shot, I bet you'll be intrigued. (try track: "See Thru Eyes") > > > 4.) Kate Bush: "50 Words for Snow" > > This album, I think more than any of her others, shows Kate Bush as a true > storyteller. Even if you don't listen to the songs, just read the lyrics to > "Lake Tahoe", "Misty" or "Snowed in at Wheeler Street" and you'll be taken > on a journey. This is a dense album that requires some patience from the > listener, and I love that. Definitely rewards the effort put into it. > > > 5.) Julianna Barwick: "The Magic Place" > 6.) Austra: "Feel it Break" > 7.) Anna Ternheim: "The Night Visitor" > 8.) Matthew Robert Cooper: "Some Days Are Better Than Others" > 9.) Marissa Nadler: self-titled > 10.) Patrick Wolf: "Lupercalla" > 11.) Lotte Kestner: "Stolen" > 12.) Lia Ices: "Grown Unknown" > > > Misses: > > Tori's new album hasn't connected with me yet... > Maria Taylor's "Overlook" has some good tracks, but is a bit forgettable... > Keren Ann's "101" was a bit of a letdown... > Just couldn't get into PJ Harvey's new one, despite all the praise... > Sigur Ros' "Inni" didn't excite me... > > > Can't wait to see everyone else's picks! > Paul > > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > "This is the time. > And this is the record of the time." > -Laurie Anderson > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #264 ***************************