@djsnack's Dozen Best Albums Of 2012

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Another year in the books, and another year of discovering great new music.  To me, the trend of the year is the ghostly intamacy of where great new artists have taken R&B and Hip-Hop.  While there were some great Indie and Alternative albums, it really are the bedroom artists that, even as they get bigger, keep creating dance music for the soul.  This trend is reflected in the albums I fell in love with.  Here's my countdown of the top 12, with a Spotify playlist of all 12 at the bottom.  Let me know what grabbed your ear this year.

 

12. The Haunted Man by Bat For Lashes - Best effort yet for Natasha Khan.  The theme of loving a flawed man is interesting, as men in general have to come to grips on their lowering of power and control in this world.  Plus, her adventerous hooks are great.

11. Delta Spirit by Delta Spirit - Saw these guys live at SXSW.  Very fun alternative rock sound.  Sounds great driving down a Texas highway.

10. The Bravest Man In The Universe by Bobby Womack - So brutal are these songs as Bobby looks back at his flawed life.  Daman Albarn breaths new life into his sound through humanistic bleeps and bloops.  

9. Mixed Emotions by Tanlines - Really fun synth pop.  If I had a late night TV show, I'd want them to be my house band. 

8. Kill For Love by Chromatics - Dirty disco that sounds like a late night road to nowhere.  The cover of Neil Young's "Into The Black" should absolutly not work, but somehow it completely does.

7. Put You Back N 2 It by Perfume Genius - My favorite singer-songwriter album of the year.  The topics covered, like child abuse and prostitution, are just brutal.  But the music is just so hopeful that you feel like the song's subjects do find peace.  

6. Celebration Rock by Japandroids - Big, loud beer-drinkin' music.  It really does celebrate the best of a wasted youth.  And that isn't celebrated enough in our culture today.

5. Trilogy by The Weeknd - Technically this is a reissue, as this is the combination of all 3 Weeknd releases from last year packaged as one and remastered.  But hearing all 30 songs together is overwhelmingly powerful.  These tales of casual sex and drug use are gripping because the helplessness is palpable.

4. good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar - What a debut.  I'd say it's the best one since Kanye dropped College Droupout ten years ago.  He weavs through east coast Native Tounge influence to the clear Dr. Dre gangsta rap ties.  I highly recommend the the delux edition so you can check out the extra bonus cut "The Recipe" with Dre.  Best weed song since Three 6 Mafia's Stay High.

3. Coexist by The xx - The first song, with just a solo female voice and simple guitar pluck sets the mood for this extremely minimal album.  But the highlights are when the production weaves in and out of amazing dance beats muted to a feeling rather than a sound.  It's like being inside the head of someone standing in the middle of a club, wondering how the hell they got there, and where the should go next.

2. Visions by Grimes - I love Claire Boucher because she doesn't hide all her pop influences.  She has no problem saying she wants to sound like Mariah Carey or that her favorite album of the year is Justin Biebers.  She knows there are eternal truths in pop music that make them pleasureful to most people.  But how she took those influences, threw them in a blender, then spit them out with a keyboard and an iPhone are shocking.  This album is both sweet and savory.

1. Channel Orange by Frank Ocean - First, I am so thankful Frank did what he did and came out prior to the drop date of this album.  I can't imagine listening to it, and not imagining the real love and lust he is describing in songs that are clearly about a man.  Gay love is no different than hetero love in my book.  It's universal.  I see it every day with the care and affection close friends have with their significant others.  So Frank being honset in his storytelling makes these tracks that much more emotionally charged.  This soul album is a classic on the level of D'agelo's Voodoo or Marvin Gaye's Here My Dear.  You can play it at a party.  You can play it alone.  You can play it in the company of the one you most want to be with.  It's everything an American album should be in 2012.

If you don't have Spotify, you should.  Once you do, here's a playlist so you can listen to them and tell me with an informed ear I am crazy for loving these albums.  

 

New Order, A Few Notes

Seeing New Order live was a bucket list show last night. Here's a quick few notes.

- The Palladium was the perfect place to see them. The old industrial feel was straight up Madchester style. Their music belongs in such a space.

- Bernard is great, but a true charismatic front man he isn't. You can tell that Ian Curtis while they were Joy Division and Peter Hook in New Order up until this tour were the true rock stars. But his guitar parts are amazing, and the songs themselves are undeniable.

- The encore of 4 Joy Division tracks was fantastic. The juxtaposition of the New Order gloss and Joy Division grime was a treat. Hearing them rip through Transmission gave me the chills. Just how big could they have been if Ian could have held it together?

- The light show was fantastic. Thin colorful beams vibrating with the bass was a great trick to draw the music into your optics.

- Temptation is now my favorite New Order track. Going into the show it was True Faith, and even though that song was amazing live, Temptation was epic. Sing alongs, clapping breaks, and people just going ape shit to the beat. Just a classic moment.

Why Facebook Posts Aren't Sales Snipes

I have a friend from college that recently started a new career. I know this because of Facebook. He and I’ve used the service to argue about politics, music, and the Cleveland Browns for a few years now. If it weren’t for Facebook, we’d may be talk once a year over email when a reunion is being planned.

From what I can tell of his new job, it is a home-based virtual sales job that relies on the salesmen to recruit others to work under them. It strikes me as an Amway type of company. I know this much about it because a couple of times a week, he uses Facebook to try and convince people to join him. The first time I didn’t mind.  The second, it was a bit off-putting.  At this point, it makes me uncomfortable.  I haven’t probed him about the work he is doing, but by posting what are essentially ads on my feed, he’s leaving a bad taste in my mouth.  It’s like he is walking up to me at a party, and selling instead of conversing.  If he wasn’t a good friend with fun memories as a base for our relationship, I’d probably hide him from my wall. 

After his last one saying the first three people who reply to his post will get this wonderful work opportunity, it finally hit me.  This is what most brands are doing!  They are littering my experience with awful, self-serving ads.  The latest trend are pictures that have nothing to do with their brand, used as a big “Like” hook.  If I wasn’t in digital marketing, I’d unlike a lot of these brands.  Instead, I endue them jumping into my dinner party conversation, just to talk in a complete self-serving, narcissistic way.  I hate that guy, and I hate that brand. 

The dinner party analogy is the same one used brilliantly by Paul Adams of Facebook in this presentation.  He says most brands are using Facebook to invite them create an awesome party, but then inviting a bunch of strangers.  He calls for these brands to first build relationships though lightweight interactions that are conversational, not sales-y or clearly fishing for business.  Then, once you’ve built trust, then you through the party.  It will be much more successful. 

This is such a different marketing idea than what we are used to.  This is thinking about the long view to build loyalty, not just sales

now, now, now.  I hope my buddy reads this post, and thinks about how hitting his friends over the head with sales posts just doesn’t endure him to friends who may actually be interested in his offer.  I hope some brands I love do to.  

NBC Teaches You To Use Your Best Product As A R&D Lab

A couple of weeks ago I went to see NBC Sports Marion Taormin and Lora LeSage speak at a DFW Interactive Marketing Association lunch.  While I was disappointed the two couldn't pull back the curtain to let the room know some of the amazing content/marketing integrations planned for the games in a few weeks (understandably so, since they were in a room filled with oversharers that would love to spill the beans on an upcomming Coca Cola or Samsung campaign), I did come away with one great nugget.  While talking about the ambitious plan to show every Olympic event live using digital properties to fill in the gaps between their broadcast networks, Ms. Taormin mentioned that NBC considers The Olympics their R&D playground.

It's clear this is true.  Just look at all the articles already talking about how the 2012 games will be the most social, digital, etc.  All of this is expected given the consumer demmand growth in these areas.  But I give NBC a lot of credit for not being satisfied with just riding the wave, instead trying and testing the limits of what is possible.  How many companies would take a billion dollar product and use it as a testing ground for new features and benefits in real time?  They seem to understand that some of the things they try during these two weeks will be failures.  Instead of being petrified into doing 'proven' steps, they are excited to be innovative, knowing the successes that rise to the top will become the standard for broadcasing in the future.  By doing this in real time with a global audience, there will be no second guessing what works and what doesn't.  

How many companies would take their signature product, and open it up to so many unproven features while it is in the spotlight?  How could the companies you work for/with learn from this fearlessness?

 

 

Happy America Start-Up Day

I received this gem in my email this morning from one my favorite marketing and technology loudmouth's Hugh Macleod. Very inspiring words. We all love our forefathers because of the way they figured out this nation from nothing. They took the best ideas from their previous 'jobs', crafted amazing manifestos that inspired, made tactical changes as needed, failed fast, and ultimately succeeded.
To this day, the best ideas in our country that benefit the most people have this same DNA. Despite bumps and bruises, we continue to move forward in this great nation together.

Happy Birthday America.

Tweet Thoughts: 2012 Albums Worth A Listen (So Far)

Since we’re at the halfway point for the year, I figured I’d throw out there what albums have inspired multiple listens.  These are in no particular order.  Go past the tweet reviews, and check out the Spotify playlist that has all the albums for easy access/enjoyment.  What did I miss and should check out?

Grimes “Visions” – Swirling with magic in the form of beats and pixie vocals.  I’m amazed how well this album works.  Infinitely creative.

Schoolboy Q “Habits and Contradictions” – Dirty, dark, and strangely beautiful.  It feels very intimate, making it a fascinating late night listen. 

Craig Finn “Clear Heart, Full Eyes” – A small, Texas record from the lead singer of The Hold Steady.  Feels like driving to Austin. 

Jack White “Blunderbuss” – Best album since The White Stripes days.  He makes it seem so easy, that you always expect more.  But the best moments are in his restraint.

Alabama Shakes “Boys and Girls” – Like many, I thought the lead singer was a man the first time I heard it.  Sticks to you like humidity in the best way possible.

Japandroids “Celebration Rock” – Album about being young, drinking, and hanging out with friends?  Yes please!

Delta Spirit “Delta Spirit” – Really great alternative rock/pop record.  They would have opened up for REM back in the day instead of Toad The Wet Sprocket.  And been more entertaining.

Tanlines “Mixed Emotions” – Synth pop done right.  Feels like standing in the hot sun if you stayed up all night to see it. 

The Men “Open Your Heart” – Keeping good rock alive.  More depth than I expected.

The Shins “Port Of Morrow” – Quintessentially Shins, but love the Danger Mouse influence.  Makes for my fav Shins album yet.

Perfume Genius “Put Your Back N 2 It” – Sadness drips off each note soaking the heart with warmth.  Powerful.

Sleigh Bells “Born To Lose” – Not as high energy as the first, but better lyrics.  Fav cover of the year.

Lotus Plaza “Spooky Action at a Distance” – Indie shoe-gazing with crisp, shiny guitars. 

Spiritualized “Sweet Heart Sweet Light” – Velvet Underground influenced gospel epic jams.  Uplifting.

Sinead O’Connor "How About I Be Me (And You Be You)" – Lots of female artists try to be her (Fiona Apple) but she remains the master of raw female angst.  Best work in decades. 

Bobby Womack “The Bravest Man In The Universe” – Not a throwback album.  It is rooted in today’s sound, and Bobby’s voice brings weight to heart’s regrets that only a living legend could.

Hot Chip “In Our Heads” – If only every moment in life could be as joyful as this album.  I’d join their cult of sunny beats in a heartbeat.

 

A 4th Of July Spotify Playlist

With Independence Day coming up soon, I decided to put together a playlist of American artrists my whole family (from 60 to 6) could enjoy around the pool.  So that means clean versions of hip hop classics along with songs that go back to Elvis. What did I miss?