Ronen Givony, music director
Ten favorite albums:
Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed
Perfume Genius: Put Your Back N 2 It
Julia Holter: Ekstasis
Zammuto: s/t
Hangedup & Tony Conrad: Transit of Venus
Daughn Gibson: All Hell
Pepper Johnson: Flat Country
Fredrik Ullen: Liszt/Messiaen piano music
Anya Alexeyev: Carlos Seixas keyboard sonatas
Matthew E. White: Big Inner
Honorary mentions:
Brian Eno: Lux
Sigur Ros: Valtari
Andy Stott: Luxury Problems
Peter Hill: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
Peaking Lights: Lucifer
Four Tet: Pink
Lisa Smirnova: Handel keyboard suites
Father John Misty: Fear Fun
MV & EE: Space Homestead
The Men: Open Your Heart
Thee Oh Sees: Putrifiers II
Laurie Spiegel: The Expanding Universe
Favorite concerts:
Einstein on the Beach at BAM, Brooklyn
Boredoms at ATP, Butlins, UK
Angela Hewitt playing Bach at LPR, NYC
Max Richter at LPR, NYC
Zammuto at Glasslands, Brooklyn
Sigur Ros at Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Parts & Labor farewell show, 285 Kent, Brooklyn
The Walkmen 10th anniversary show, Union Transfer, Philly
New Order at Roseland, NYC
Mitsuko Uchida playing Schubert at Carnegie Hall, NYC
Andrew Bird at Riverside Church, NYC
Chris Clark at Millennium Park, Chicago
Julia Holter & Sarah Cahill at LPR, NYC
Rhys Chatham & Oneida at Merkin Hall, NYC
Bjork at New York Hall of Science, Queens
Johann Johannsson: The Miners’ Hymns, Winter Garden, NYC
Alexandre Tharaud playing Scarlatti at LPR, NYC
The Clean & Times New Viking at LPR, NYC
Lambchop at LPR, NYC
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Matt Duane, Head Sound Engineer / Production Coordinator
Favorite shows @ lpr in no particular order.
Propagandhi
Gentleman
Bonobo, Mike Slott, Machinedrum, FaltyDL, knomad
Julia Holter
Built to Spill
Gilles Petersen
Favorite releases in no particular order.
murlo – quartz ep
archie pelago EP on mister saturday night records
kuhn – kings ep
krueger – 40 oz bounce ep
the heatwave – call me a yardie remix
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Dustin Nelson, marketing director
favorite albums:
Beak – >>
Godspeed You Black Emperor – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!
Jozef van Wissem and Jim Jarmusch – Concerning the Entrance to Eternity
Roomful of Teeth – Roomful of Teeth
Fennesz – AUN
Valgeir Sigur∂sson – Architecture of Loss
Nico Muhly’s DRONES
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light
Moonface – With Siinai
The Dirty Three – Toward the Low Sun
Lambchop – Mr. M
Olafur Arnalds – Living Room Songs
Sunn O))) – ØØ Void
Favorite Shows:
1. Einstein on the Beach – BAM
2. Gavin Bryars; Sinking of the Titanic at LPR
3. Parts & Labor at the Knitting Factory
4. Codeine at LPR
5. Ursula Bogner / Dan Friel at LPR
6. Refused at Terminal 5
7. Bjork at New York Hall of Science
8. Lambchop w/ Yo La Tengo at LPR
9. The Hives at The Studio at Webster Hall
10. David Byrne and St. Vincent at the Williamsburg Waterftont
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Zan Emerson, Marketing Coordinator
Favorite shows of 2012:
1. Parts & Labor (last show) w/ Oneida – 285 Kent
2. METZ & Pop. 1280 – Death By Audio
3. Einstein on the Beach – BAM
4. Gavin Bryars’ Sinking of the Titanic – LPR
5. Ty Segall & Thee Oh Sees – Death By Audio
6. Bitch Magnet & Moss Icon – LPR
7. Refused – Terminal 5
8. Codeine – LPR
9. No Age – Death By Audio
10. Man Forever – LPR
Favorite Albums of 2012
1. METZ – s/t
2. Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
3. Ty Segall – Twins
4. Mad Scene – Blip
5. JC Satàn – Faraway Land
6. Cosmonauts – If You Wanna Die Then I Wanna Die
7. Time To Go – The Southern Psychedelic Moment: 1981-86 – Various Artists (Flying Nun Records compilation)
8. The Music Tapes – Mary’s Voice
9. Cheater Slicks – Reality is a Grape
10. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel…
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Andrea Grant, bartender
Dusted at LPR, and their album Total Dust
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Beca Grim, office assistant / box office
1. Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city
Fellow box office staffer, Joey, gave me such a hard time for my reluctance with this album. All I’d heard of it for a while was that he talked about his penis in it… like, a lot. A lot of penis talking. And after finally caving and listening, I find that yeah, he talks about his penis some in the album, but there is so much more than that. Each track rides on a fluid beat, backstroking alongside his velvet flow. I can’t wait to hear what this kid brings us in 2013.
2. Dirty Projectors, Swing Lo, Magellan
Check it—the art kids got soggy in romanticism. This pop record is a beautiful, complex work. I try to get tired of it, but I suspect that might just be impossible. Le swoon. It’s an audio equivalent to summer’s lovely rooftop soirees.
3. Menahan Street Band, The Crossing
Funky! Here’s an instrumental release with swagger. Here we have a bliss-out album, but spun aggressively with a soul-fused 180. It’s acerbic enough to frost the blades of your boot spurs with some light rust but has the sweetness to stone you oblivious of that fact.
4. The Gaslamp Killer, Breakthrough
Turntable maestro TGK calls in help from a slew of his talented buds on Breakthrough like Daedelus and Mophono. The most impressive of which is San Diego yoga teacher and closet singer Gonjasuki—his voice is downright eerie.
5. Dusted, Into The Atmosphere
Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt’s solo project slays. His lyrics are deeply personal and resound the same sense of almost-forgotten nostalgia the band’s name suggests.
6. Levek, Look A Little Closer
Florida does something right! (I’m from Tallahassee so I can say these things.) Busdriver-turned-musician David Levesque concocts an album muddling tropicalia, psychedelia and some of the warm sunshine from his homestate. It’s a happy listen, no arguing that.
7. Ty Segall Band, Slaughterhouse
West Coast rager Segall does it again. Just like he always does.
8. Frank Ocean, Channel Orange
Why yes, I do agree with the rest of the Internet. Orange is a unique love record, with spellbindingly sticky hooks and choruses.
9. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Mature Themes
God, this guy is weird. And I’m just so so so thankful for that. His commitment to lo-fi is impressive, and this release is no different.
10. Wild Nothing, Nocturne
Jack Tatum has so many feeeeeeeeelings but that’s cool because dang, those are feelings we all have but almost never can convey as clearly or gorgeously.
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Forrest Wu, box office
This year has produced more new artists, albums and videos than one person can absorb in a lifetime, probably, but I still gave it a shot. Here are ten reasons why 2012 has been good to eyes, ears, laptops, and queers.
Nite Jewel, One Second of Love
“One Second of Love,” the first single from Nite Jewel’s album of the same name, shares little else with the rest of the release- but that’s cool. While the thumping rhythm of the track adds a pleasantly danceable buzz to Ramona Gonzalez’ wistful lyrics, the rest of the album relaxes with an expensive cocktail, evoking k.d. lang at the disco with broad strokes of synth.
The video for “One Second of Love” suggests Martha Graham’s influence, from the willowy choreography to the powder blue dresses, recalling Graham’s costumes for Copland’s Appalachian Spring.
Alisa Weilerstein, Daniel Barenboim, & Staatskapelle Berlin, Elgar & Carter: Cello Concertos
If there were ever an artist to execute Elgar’s momentous Cello Concerto in the late Jacqueline du Pré’s inimitable wake, it would be Alisa Weilerstein. Barenboim, du Pré’s late husband, sets the emotional bar high, and Weilerstein delivers an emphatic interpretation worthy of the concerto’s powerful legacy. The second movement, in particular, writhes with passion.
Here’s a quick excerpt. Homegirl has mad thumb position chops.
Le1f, Dark York Mixtape
This guy’s flow is the craziest I’ve heard this year, and I heard Death Grips’ The Money Store. Le1f’s butch queen baritone drips with swagger, and Le1f can vogue like the ballroom is aflame. Dark York is equal parts grime, glitter, and defiance.
Take notes from the “Wut” video. You’ll astound guests at your next family gathering with these sickening steps.
Perfume Genius, Put Your Back N 2 It
Mike Hadreas is a cutie. We can all agree on that. But the success of Put Your Back N 2 It, his second release under performing moniker Perfume Genius, can be attributed purely to content. His startlingly honest songwriting pairs neatly with his earnest tenor and plaintive accompaniment, which is kept at an endearing minimum. The album is relatively quiet, but whispers volumes.
The video for “Hood” is somehow deeply disconcerting. You should watch it.
alt-J, An Awesome Wave
I’d be remiss not to mention alt-J, recipients of this year’s Mercury Prize and current lords of the music blogosphere. The album is expertly envisioned and beautifully produced, and for a voice that Nylon compared to Adam Sandler, I’d still listen to Joe Newman warble all day.
All of the videos from An Awesome Wave are tight, but “Tessellate” paints a hood School of Athens that enraptures the gaze.
Dan Deacon, America
Dan Deacon, who you may know from being the bomb.com, released America in August. Never one to rest on his many, many laurels, Deacon continues to take oblique contemporary classical concepts and get you dance to them. America is influenced by Deacon’s own patriotic orientation, but you won’t find any contrived references here.
Try and watch the video for “True Thrush” and not lol. Try it.
Mykki Blanco, Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss Mixtape
Did you get to see the fabulously gritty Mz. Mykki Blanco open for Micachu at LPR in October? Either way, New York City’s non-binary grand supreme has made 2012 all hers, most recently with the Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss mixtape. The clear figurehead of the queer rap movement (you know, the one that very few queer rappers seem to want to affiliate with,) Blanco is revamping a historically heteronormative scene from the top town, with her top down.
“Wavvy,” is the mixtape’s first video single. See Mykki. See Mykki run (from cops.) See Mykki spit lyrics in the back of a moving truck. See Mykki’s ferocious wig.
St. Lucia, St. Lucia EP
Having recently relocated to Brooklyn from South Africa, St. Lucia (or Jean-Philip Grobler) dropped an eponymous first album in March. The six-track EP captures the pop zeitgeist of 2012, but maintains a tuneful, engaging listen. Grobler delivers all the musical monosodium glutamate of your local top forty station without any of the incessant kickdrum or predictable drops. Yum.
Moreover, the video for “We Got it Wrong” might be my favorite this year. No, it is. It definitely is.
Lukid, Lonely at the Top
Lukid’s Lonely at the Top requires no sticky green supplement to blast you into space. Luke Blair folds something special in among his atmospheric hooks and quietly enigmatic loops; it’s a certain mood, sorrowful but stoic, that will make your eyelids flutter and your pulse race.
The video for “USSR” is a digital dreamscape. Werkdiscs, Lukid’s label, also represents a new breed of art collective, and the visuals accompanying Lukid’s music are consequently the realness.
Bright Future, From Earth With Blood
This year doesn’t end until after December 31st- I’m pretty sure- so Bright Future’s From Earth With Blood, which doesn’t come out until the 21st of this month, still has a place on this list. Brooklyn-based producer Frank Midnite has already shared tracks from the upcoming release, which comes as a download or in a very limited cassette run. Midnite’s taste for cosmically energized disco and smoky vocal washes feels like forgetting a dream as you wake up from it.
A video for “The Optimist,” The EP’s first single, dropped in November- but I’m still partial to a fan-made video for “Mit Dir,” a cover of a Robert Gorl song from 1984.
posted by dustin