Hey everyone! Ive waited it out and checked the internet and I can confirm that yes this is the LAST best of 2014 list published on the internet, its that late. There will be no more 2014 lists after this one, everyone who is everyone has done theirs already. So you might as well stop checking and just dig in to what I have to offer.
Despite saying I have checked the internet for 2014 lists, i only skimmed the headers, I havent actually read any 2014 lists yet this year, call it laziness, lack of interest whatever, but what you'll get below is my most listened to albums of last year it will not be effected by any cool list bias cos I havent read any cool lists, and I am not cool. The list below is pure, unfiltered, virgin OPINIONS. Not to be confused with opinions of a virgin, you can get that from nme.com. BOOM!
Before I sink my nuts into some albums I wanted to give some honorable track mentions by artists that didnt make it into my album list because a) They didnt release an album b) There album wasn't good enough c) I didnt hear their album.
Foxygen - How Can You Really
One of the tracks of the year for me, sadly the album was let down by being an overblown pompous mess, if Foxygen stuck to the tunes they've proven they can write like No Destruction, Shuggie and San Francisco they could have an album of non-stop hits. But they do like to ramble on like old hippies sometimes so hey thats why they're here and not in the album list. WATCH THE VIDEO ITS AMAZING.
Ed Harcourt - The Way That I Live
Dont let the title to the video of the above put you off, I haven't started taking sponsored ads in my blog. This track by Ed Harcourt was hidden in full view of a million dollar christmas advert by Burberry featuring an on-screen debut of young Romeo Beckham. Its got 8m views on Youtube and was my tip for UK Xmas No.1 so naturally it topped out at no.88 and disappeared from the chart completely within 1 day. ONE DAY! Wtf England?
Its beautiful, its got that drunken raw vocal reminiscent of Shane Macgowan on Fairytale of New York and its by one of the most under-appreciated singer-songwriters of our generation, it had all the boxes checked for a "GET ED TO XMAS NO.1 CAMPAIGN" but it didnt, bah humbug!
Eagulls - Possessed
I took a friend to see these at the beginning of the year at the Mercury Lounge, he went along completely blind to who they were having never heard a single note. What sold him was my simple description of "Like a screamy version of The Cure" or it may have been the free ticket, I cant remember. After an hour of getting his ears assaulted in one of NYC's smallest and best venues, he turned to me and said that the description was spot on, at least I think thats what he said, I couldnt hear him cos they had just blown away any remnants of hearing ability I had left. Fantastic live band and a very good debut album too.
Jungle - Busy Earnin'
CHOOOOOON! That's all I have to say about this. Actually no its not, im really annoyed that I cant get this album (legally) in the US and I forgot to buy it while in the UK at Christmas. OK, now Im done, listen to it and jiggle your head from side to side like Im doing now.
Perfume Genius - Queen
This purely makes the cut for the line "No family is safe, when I sashay". Jokes, Perfume Genius' album has got a lot of plaudits this year, so I definitely recommend checking it out, I struggled to find songs on it though that were as likeable as this one.
Its about this time in the blog that i realise there's a TON of stone cold tunes I want to put here that arent in any of my top albums so in order to save time can i just make sure you're all on board with the following tracks Thunder Clatter - Wild Cub, Back to the Shack - Weezer, Bread for Brat - The Hidden Camera's and im sure Ronson's instant classic Uptown Funk and Hozier's Take Me To Church dont even need hyperlinks right?
ALBUMS
Did anyone else notice that 2014 was quite front loaded as far as quality music goes? Pretty much all of my favourite music happened in the first half of the year and then it went a bit quiet really after that. Because of this I've lived with most of the albums below for what seems like a very long time and therefore they feel like ancient classics rather than artists latest releases.
Before I get into my top 10 here's some albums that didnt make it but I still really enjoyed this year. Stars - No One is Lost, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbot - What Have We Become, Jessie Ware - Tough Love, St Vincent - St Vincent, Alt-J - This is All Yours, Karen O - Crush Songs, Sun Kil Moon - Benji and finally Spoon - They Want My Soul.
10. Damon Albarn - Everyday Robots
The fact that I forgot about this album in my first draft of this blog sums up my feeling towards it really. I love Damon, he was undoubtedly my gig of the year at Governors Ball this year, his passion live is unmatched, hes just a joy to watch and as he interspersed the set with Gorillaz and Blur tunes you didnt get the lull of some of the more miserable tracks on this record. The reason it makes the top 10 over some other more complete albums is that there is 4 very good tracks on this album (Everyday Robots, Lonely Press Play, Mr Tembo and Heavy Seas of Love) which outshine songs on the records i mentioned above. Unfortunately the rest of the album I found to be too safe, too plodding and not very interesting im afraid.
9. Slow Club - Complete Surrender
I cant tell you how happy I am to have Slow Club in my top 10. Long time Sheffield indie hero's broke free from their folk shackles this year and released the diva in Rebecca Taylor to produce a blistering motown soul record which showcases her amazing vocal range. She's also hilarious on Twitter, a Sheffield Wednesday fan and a total babe *swoon*.
8. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
Getting this years "I TOLD YOU SO" award from the wife is this album from Jenny Lewis. After years of subtly pushing Miss Lewis into my consciousness it became a lot harder to resist in 2014 as she released an album packed full of sing-along pop / country hits. It didnt take long for each song to worm its way into my brain as I found myself singing along almost unwittingly, she's just that catchy.
7. Jack White - Lazaretto
The Willy Wonka of Vinyl really earned his title this year by releasing this fantastic successor to Blunderbuss his debut solo LP. A more fun record to his previous, Ol' Jacky White tells stories about Three Women he has on the go, Drinking and being sent to an isolation hospital where people get treated for leprosy.... OK maybe it wasnt all fun. He spits out rhymes like a west coast rapper on some tracks and just seems to be having a jolly good time. The result is his best record since his White Stripes prime. Lordy, Lord!
6. Embrace - Embrace
Well hello old friend, welcome to the new world, this is called Facebook and this is called Twitter here's how you use them... oh wait no dont do that with it, no that's a bit intrusive, ouch! OK if you want I spose.... What's a forum? Despite the Social Media hullabaloo that came with this return from the yorkshire boys, of which I have a lengthy past, this album is an absolute triumph which must be celebrated, by the old fans, by new fans and certainly by the band itself. It sounds like Nine Inch Nails if they were coached by Simon Cowell and still manages to come out sounding great. By that I mean it has the industrial noise and dark tones of NIN but its unashamedly cheesy pop still at its heart, which is why Embrace will never be cool! But goddamnit they're talented and I dont care who knows.
5. Kevin Drew - Darlings
Get the body butter baby lets go party all alone... Thats the line that starts this album and it pretty much sets the tone. Sexy, full of humour, its Broken Social Scene condensed and concentrated. If you're a BSS fan and you dont own this album go and get it, cos its just as good if not better than their full band albums. It might be not be as large, or as sprawling as a BSS album, its more focused and thats a very good thing. Its got the hooks, its got the melody and its certainly got the best of Kevins lyrics.
4. Bombay Bicycle Club - So Long, See You Tomorrow
Where in blue hell did this come from?!? I've followed BBC for a very long time, and I will never forget the first time we saw them at the Barfly in Camden, they were first on the bill at 12.30pm for the XFM All Dayer about 7 years ago I think. There were about 10 of us in the room, 6 of which were me and my friends. A bunch of nerds took the stage and produced some insanely catchy guitar music which literally made my jaw drop, i turned around to look at my friends and they all had the same expression. This album produced that expression 7 years on, a complete departure musically from that cold day in January but still very much them nerds putting out track after track of what I can only describe as indie r'n'b pop?! The album is packed full of singles, and has rightly propelled them onto Radio 1 A-lists, Festival headliners and sell out mega tours. Well done boys!
3. Kelis - Food
11 years after Kelis brought her Milkshake to the yard she returns with a full compliment of entrees in this concept album based on food accompanied by Food Network shows and recipe books et al. Of course to hark back to her biggest hit 11 years ago is a little unfair, Kelis has gone through several re-inventions since then, not forgetting her fantastic house album of a few years ago. One constant in all her re-inventions though is her soulful vocals, so it shouldnt be any surprise that she has finally made an all-out soul album. Its certainly no surprise that its bloody great because if you didnt know already Kelis is a goddess and can do no wrong.
2. Broken Bells - After the Disco
Yep. Broken Bells. Broken Bells? Yes. Im as surprised as you are that this is my no.2 pick for the year. Truth is, I didnt really like Broken Bells first album, y'know the one that everyone else did? So why then do I like this 2nd album so much when it appears to have been completely ignored by everyone in the music press (how would I know if I havent read any 2014 lists, you ask? Good question...). The answer is very simple, its way more upbeat than the first album and i'm a sucker for disco funky indie which Dangermouse has now pretty much nailed. Its a mixture of Gorillaz and Black Keys' El Camino, in fact this album really could've been the latest Black Keys album but im guessing after hearing the latest Black Keys album Dangermouse decided to give his Broken Bells project all of the good tunes rather than them cos that new album is utter shit! In the hands of The Shins vocalist what would've been a bluesy funky romp turns into a funky disco romp and its glorious. All killer no filler.
1. The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! This is not just my album of the year, its approaching one of my favourite albums in the last 10 years. Its completely dumbfounding, by all rights I should hate it. The singer sounds like a cross between Dylan / Springsteen (not my faves), the length of the songs are bordering on prog-rock levels, there's a fair amount of lead which by any other band I wouldve wrote off as fret-wanking pointlessness. BUT, but... GODDAMN its so good it makes me want to cry. Its totally all about the music, I have paid no attention to the lyrics, the rhythm and melodies are very repetitive and rarely has a chorus of such. But by each iteration of the verse something new will appear, a lick of a guitar or a slight change in the way he delivers the lyric and it just propels it forward. Because of this repetitiveness you feel every change of tempo, every little nuance that differentiates it from the last verse and its totally exhilarating. I listened to it most during summer on my way to singing lessons in Montclair, NJ, it was always dark and it was a good hours drive round trip and it's absolutely perfect for those conditions - dark and driving. Completely useless for trying to practice my vocal warm ups as its not really a sing along album, but totally great for rocking out banging on the steering wheel as the groove of each track is intertwined into every part of your body and you find yourself shifting in your seat, bobbing your head, tapping your fingers, tapping your foot (not the one on the accelerator) and then yelping when he gets excited and the outro of An Ocean In Between in the Waves kicks in. Months after playing it constantly I read a great article, I think on pitchfork, about how mentally unstable he was during the recording process and how it was such a difficult album to finish it almost killed him. It blew my mind that such a masterpiece can come from such difficult circumstances. So... yeah... go listen to it, a man almost died creating it you heathens.
Biggest Disappointments
Some of my favourite artists released albums this year and only a couple made the top 10. Two albums I havent even mentioned so Im calling them out here. First of all The Black Keys album Turn Blue is the biggest let down, after Brothers and El Camino I expected great things, but Turn Blue just feels rushed. It sounds like the leftovers from El Camino which didnt make the grade, I can only summise that the record label told them they wanted another album to capitalise on El Caminos success. What you got was a great single (Fever) and then a watered down MOR insult of an album to people who paid good money.
Lastly I'll end with Ryan Adams, his latest self titled album is so boring I couldnt name you a track off it other than the lead single Gimme Something Good. That single was ok, it certainly didnt excite me for the album and it turned out to be a good indication for what was a severely underwhelming comeback. Live though he's still got it, and some of the tracks off the new album did sound better when we heard them at the Hammerstein Ballroom late last year, but still, I havent returned to it since then and doubt I will.
Tuesday, 6 January 2015
Thursday, 16 October 2014
My 10 Most Influential Albums
This started out as a Facebook post, I was asked to list my 10 most influential albums and to nominate others once done. So after a lot of thought I set to writing..... about an hour later i realised I had quite a lot more than a facebook update, and with my blog sitting here dusty it made sense to do it here instead.
Thanks to Frank for nominating me, he was obviously unaware he would unleash this beast onto the world, but here we are mate, deal with it!
Choosing the albums that had the biggest influence on you is a lot harder than naming your BEST 10 albums, i took the word "influenced" very literally. So these albums may not be my favourite albums of all time (although some of them would probably make it) its just they are responsible for shaping me and my music taste over the years.
In no particular order....
Bad - Michael Jackson. I think Jacko is at the centre of my
pop heart, and is why I crave a good hook in most things i listen to.
The Bends - Radiohead. Its one of the best rock albums of
all time, how can it not influence you, its got riffs aplenty, its unique and
there's no filler.
The Blues Brothers OST - Im putting a few compilations on
here, cos its these that really spark interest in other genres that arent
getting played on the radio at the time you're growing up that influenced my
taste. At a very young age I saw the Blues Brothers film and it opened the door
to explore blues, soul and funk.
Moseley Shoals - Ocean Colour Scene. I KNOW im going to get stick for this, and
deservedly so. But I would say this is the first album i can remember singing
over and over and over again, the timbre of the singers voice seemed to match
my own (albeit not as good) and it made me dream about being a singer. I used to go to the bathroom (better accoustics obv) and sing Its My Shadow into the mirror as loud as possible as soon as I had the house to myself. *watches any remaining street cred I had wash away down the gutter*
Norman Jay Good Times Vol.5 - Another compilation and a somewhat vain attempt at making up for my last confession - if you
dont have any Norman Jay in your life, go get some, he has the best record
collection in the world, if The Blues Brothers OST was my entry level into
great Soul, Blues and Funk, this was the deep cuts mixed in with some incredible house music. A mixture of hidden gems
and stone cold classics.
Kitsune Maison Vol.6 - I'd already dipped my toes into
electro by this point through Digitalism and Goose and a couple of others. But
when I found Kitsuné I fell deeply in love, so many bands I was unaware of
producing amazing funky dance music. Ive bought pretty much every compilation
since this one and they're still knocking it out the park.
Boxer - The National. Ive never listened to an album that
has moved me so much on first listen, after spending a day with it I went back
and bought their back catalogue, b-sides and everything i could get my hands
on. Probably my favorite album of all time and how can it not be influencing me, I still listen to it constantly.
Bang Bang Rock and Roll - Art Brut. Im a big fan of humour in music and Art Brut are one of the best at it. Its a bit of a tightrope having funny lyrics though, im not a fan for instance of Weird Al or Lonely Island, its got to be the music first and the lyrics have to be smart and funny. If its a parody then no thanks. Art Brut balance it brilliantly and make hilarious punk pop, theyve never really bettered this debut album as a whole but still continue to make some killer songs and live they're something else.
1977 - Ash. 2nd "Britpop" album in the list, Britpop kicked off as i was starting to earn cash at 14 / 15 doing paper rounds and washing dishes. Pretty much all the money I earned went on these cassettes and cd's so they had a massive influence on my musical taste. This album was inspirational cos Tim Wheeler, Rick and Mark were just leaving school as it was released, a few years older than me, with Star Wars and Kung fu references it was effortlessly cool. They were also my first proper gig at the Sheffield Octogan on this tour, and started my love affair for live music, it was still one of the best gigs ive ever been to. I'd also say along with Oasis they made me want to pick up a guitar and learn to play.
Definitely Maybe - Oasis. *sigh* I don't feel comfortable with this choice for a number of reasons, 1) I was struggling for a 10th album, 2) its a bit obvious, 3) I had to ask myself was it really influential to me? I think the reason im even asking myself these questions is that Oasis pissed all over their legacy with their progressively mediocre music after their first 3-4 albums and their increasingly idiotic frontman. HOWEVER, enough time has passed now for me to push all that crap to the back of my mind and focus on this album, at the time of release it was incredibly influential. It wasn't just the fantastic tunes and the working class swagger that spoke to me, they wore their influences on their sleeves, sometimes a little too much admittedly.
Through Oasis everyone my age got (back) into The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, T-REX, David Bowie, the list goes on, they ripped them all off with astounding success. Without Oasis and Blur and the whole britpop scene my generation wouldn't have had that kind of exposure to some of Britains best music, I'm not saying we wouldn't have heard of The Beatles without Oasis, but would we have had as MUCH exposure to those older bands and formed the bond with them we did if they hadn't made them relevant and cool to us kids? I'm not sure they would have on that scale.
Friday, 20 December 2013
The Best of Two Thousand and Thirteen
Hello you!
Come on in, take a seat and make yourself comfortable as I take you through some of my favourite music of 2013.
Firstly Im going to get something off my chest apparently last year I placed Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere no.6 in my top albums, this year that same album was released in the US and it could quite easily be my favourite album of 2013. I have lived with it longer, seen it live and it is truly a masterpiece, they have been my breakthrough artist of the year as theyve gone from a mildly successful UK indie band to two tours of North America selling out (admittedly small) venues but winning hearts along the way. HOWEVER, They are controversially not eligible for my top spot this year due to it originally being released in the UK in 2012. However, you should go check them out, they have fantastic complex rhythms, beautiful lyrics with serious subject matter (some bands might stop at just 1 track about domestic violence, but no, they have a song about rape too) and an amazing singer who hits notes you're not expecting to be hit at times they do. Does that make sense? No. OK. Strap in, theres more of that to come.
"And like for every victim
It seems the pain will not subtract or even calm
All this protracted by a state
In which the poor conviction rate for rape
Can often leave a woman feeling
More at blame than able"
"WOAH I just came here for an end of year music list Patrick, I didnt want to be faced with societal issues of misery and woe" Sorry guys, those of you who are regular visitors of my annual blog (is that possible?) will know to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, anyone remember the year I didnt do a list?!? Minds were blown.
Anyways, let me lead you to a happier place. Dent May makes bright pop, hook laden songs that take you back to sunnier climes and this is my favourite track of his and one of the catchiest songs of the year.
Before I get into the albums I wanted to highlight a few great tunes from new bands that Ive really loved this year but not necessarily had a strong enough album (or I didnt get round to buying it yet). First up is Parquet Courts, when I first heard these I thought they had to be British, they had a dry humour and a rabble rousing 80's punky sound to them that i immediately loved, but they were probably more influenced by The Strokes.
The Orwells are another great young band I saw this year support FIDLAR, and they blew me away. Completely mesmerising front man who is a perfect mix between Axl Rose, Kurt Cobain and Robert Plant - but thats just the hair. They sound like a million other bands granted, and they're not doing anything special, its just great scuzzy rock n roll sung by young kids who dont give a fuck and they have a fair few tunes to back them up. Plus LOOK HOW YOUNG THEY ARE.
Right lets get to the meat of this blog cos Im already tiring - Albums. 2013 was a renaissance year for music. I had so many of my favourite bands release stuff it was quite frankly a bit silly, pretty much all of them were great too, which made my list this year incredibly difficult. If I had time I would write about my love for them all, but I dont, and you certainly dont.
Outside my top 10 albums you have acts like Matthew E White, whos combo of gospel, folk and soul is a wonder to behold and I can see that album topping a few peoples lists this year, also just outside is Phosphorescent who I heard for the first time this year but has been going for a long while, Song for Zula was a radio friendly chart hit and the album has some crackers on it. Sitting really close to the top 10 is the wonderful Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a triumphant comeback - Mosquito which has some belters on it including one of the songs of the year in Sacrilege. But there are 10 better albums.... apparently.
10. Foals - Holy Fire
This is a good album and a band evolving from a great 2nd album, its elevated to a fantastic album by the presence of 2 monster singles - Inhaler and My Number. Foals have come along way in 2013, deservedly playing to massive crowds, they're no longer math rock nerds, their sound is huge and they are getting the attention that the sound warrants. Here's a song that I sung non-stop for the first 6 months of the year. If you havent heard it before, prepare for a happy 6 months cos its never getting out of your head.
This is not the official video, its the song set to a Village People video and its AWESOME.
9. Ski Lodge - Big Heart
Yes, the singer sounds like Morrissey, yes its because he loves him, which is sweet innit. Great debut album from these Brooklyn boys, a dark humour pervades over the 11 tracks of 3minute pop songs of lost love, even though it sounds like he's not enjoying it, the wisecracks seem to suggest otherwise.
Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.
8. FIDLAR - FIDLAR
With song titles such as Cheap Beer, Stoked and Broke, Whore and Cocaine you can kinda get a feel for what this band is going to be like. Its skate punk ladies and gents, juvenile boys talking about drinking and smoking weed. I fear Ive lost some of you already but hear me out, if you liked Blink 182 you will love FIDLAR, if you didnt you are gonna really hate FIDLAR. Not convinced? Watch this video of Nick Offerman pissing on things.
7. Everything Everything - Arc
There's a lot of very raucous laddy rock n roll this year that I didnt realise til I put em up in this list. Anyways, here are some lads from Manchester who sing about tits and bitches... Not true, sorry. Everything Everything are very eloquent, intelligent song makers, their debut album Man Alive was scattered with brilliant tracks about using photoshop to make yourself look handsome and one about Princess Dianas phantom head. This years Arc continued where that left off, with Cough Cough and Kemosabe, they make angular indie-pop that sounds like nothing you've heard before and the singers falsetto and speed he delivers the lines are a sight to witness. You really have to check out this album and see them live, one of the best live acts Ive seen this year.
6. Kanye West - Yeezus
This sticks out like a sore thumb in this list, I realise that. But hear me out. Ive always liked Kanye, I like the fact that he is SO insane, so egotistical, so billigerent and unwavering in his admiration of his self and this album is all of that and way more things too to get upset about. But despite the insanity the man has continued to write utter choons. There's 3 tracks in a row on Yeezus which may be the best sequential tracks on an album this year, Black Skinhead - I am a God - New Slaves. After that 1-2-3 you are pounded into submission by such harsh drums, lyrics, bass, noises, screams. Its powerful stuff and its a statement of intent from an artist embracing his insanity and rolling with it. There's no-one in this world that could have made this album but Kanye. He is a god, and he likes croissants to be delivered in a timely fashion.
5. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
Maybe its because I love LCD Soundsystem, and maybe its because I found The Suburbs to be quite stoic and trad at first, but when I first heard Reflektor a massive smile spread across my face. Arcade Fire live has always been a fantastic experience, they go out of their way to make gigs special, their music comes alive and everyone is part of the experience, but if you'd only heard them on record (especially the last 2 albums) you'd be forgiven for thinking they're a bit serious and dare I say it dull. Us fans knew this wasn't the case, we've witnessed the joyous sing-alongs, the energy that each one of their million members puts into each performance like it was their last. So on hearing Reflektor I immediately thought ITS PARTY TIME! There was a change to their PR too, they launched on SNL, were involved in a skit or two and then did a half hour special directly after featuring Michael Cera! Which wasnt embarassing, but genuinely funny. A feat rarely achieved by a band. I loved they were putting their fun live experience out there, into their music, on TV, in interviews, cracking gags on Colbert, tricking the audience at gigs, massive over-sized paper macher heads, mandatory costume dress code for secret gigs... The album launch was one of the most exciting I can remember for a band that I follow. Thankfully the album does all that marketing noise justice, its really fun, infusing beats and rhythm from Haiti thanks to their two new members (thats a 1,000,0002 members now if you're counting) James Murphy does a great job coaxing this out of the band yet still keeping it very Arcade Fire.
4. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
When you have a poor 2nd album but yet still manage to amass the fanbase Vampire Weekend have I always fear the worse. Ive seen so many of my favourite bands become indie rock superstars after a poor 2nd album and the 3rd arrives with even more MOR blandness which goes onto conquer the world and everyone on Radio 1 and V-fest start singing the choruses of dreadful indie by numbers en masse (im looking at you Kings of Leon). I was therefore prepared to file Vampire Weekend in that "Dead to me" section of my brain on the release of this record. Imagine my surprise when Diane Young hit the waves though with its fucked up Chuck Berry chorus, weird noises and just general oddness. It's brilliant, a breath of fresh air. Then Ya Hey also started to be spread around and again I started to remember why I loved Vampire Weekend originally, they had recaptured everything they stood for and moved it up a notch. So its with great relief that this album is wonderful, and at every point it surprises you with something new.
3. Arctic Monkeys - AM
If you're from Sheffield and support Sheffield Wednesday it is somewhat expected of you to adore Arctic Monkeys, but since that first album smashed them into the worlds musical windscreen Ive been indifferent to their offerings if im honest. Ive loved some singles (Crying Lightning, Brianstorm...) but never really loved the albums. When I heard R U Mine for the first time I added it to the list of amazing one-off singles that I knew they were capable of, but still didnt expect a great album to follow. Especially as nothing else emerged for ages until Do I Wanna Know? That track sidled up to me like a confident hot girl dancing at a club, shimmying up to me to get my attention, look at me she said with her eyes, not in an OTT Showgirls type of way, just confident in her own ability, but very sexy still, "Hey Paddy, Im different to the others" she seemed to say...*ahem* Anyways, I digress... It was different to their usual sound, a side to them that with Josh Homme on production never materialised. It wasnt an all out rock song, it was sexy, slinky, sparse. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High picked up where the DIWK? left off. Abandoning crushing riffs for a more funky, catchy sing along melody. It was the sound of a band who had finally embraced their massive talent of writing catchy tunes rather than purposely trying to alienate people after their debut thrust them into unwanted limelight. See them live now and they are every bit comfortable rock stars, a stark contrast to when I first saw them at Brixton Academy during the Whatever People Say I am... tour, where they looked like scared boys. Alex Turner is finally a quiffed up, polished, rock star, the one we all demanded he was 8 years ago but he never wanted, and best of all it suits him. AM is their best album since Whatever People Say I Am... and its all killer pop songs.
2. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady
Oh Janelle, let me count the ways I love you so 1. A female role model in the R&B / Pop world in 2013 is hard to come by. 2. Eccentricity that doesnt mean sticking your tongue out / showing your tits / genuine fear for their mental stability. 3. Top class tunes. Janelle Monae can do no wrong in my book, she creates enough mystery around her persona to keep you guessing who she actually is, but gives enough away to still make her feel human. The Electric Lady is less sci-fi than The Arch Android despite references to her alter-ego Cindy Mayweather occasionally thrown in to keep the fandroids happy. It even manages to survive a little bloating on the tracklist, in truth it could be 4 songs lighter but I'm not taking away points for that as there is some of the finest R&B, funk, soul and pop you'll hear all year on this album. It starts in earnest with Givin Em What They Love, a gorgeous slice of funk that her buddy Prince would kill to have for his own album. Q.U.E.E.N was the first single, a pop anthem for pop haters, then came Dance Apocalyptic, the female version of Hey Ya by Outkast does it a little disservice, it recalls Jackson 5 at their most fun. She even manages to make the eternal bore, the new darling of modern R&B - Miguel sound great on Primetime, a complete swoonfest of a song which I should hate its very sinew as it sounds like it would fit on a Whitney Houston album. It could quite easily have been a cheesy ballad, yet she injects so much heart into it and with very simple airy production the song breathes down your neck as it seduces you into loving it. Its one of the finest love songs of our generation and I HATED it at first! Janelle Monae is the alternative crowd's Beyonce, intelligent pop music that will get you shaking your booty (the booty dont lie) and then make you want to start a revolution with the below, which perfectly sums Janelle Monae up.
1. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
We're here, again, no.1, The National. My favourite band produce my favourite album of 2013, plain sailing right? Wrong! I was really worried about this album, for some strange reason they introduced it to the world with first single Demons and then Dont Swallow the Cap, arguably two of the worst songs on the album. The former, Demons, is possibly the only song of theirs in a 6 album span that I still, to this day, actively dislike. It embodies everything my hater friends dislike about The National in one song that I never understood UNTIL I heard it! Its monotone, its miserable, there's no discernible melody and it makes me want to self harm! Dont Swallow the Cap didnt really move the needle much either, although it was slightly cheerier. Why you would launch your album with them I have no idea. Inbetween hearing those tracks and the album launch we attended the Tribeca Film festival which The National were opening with their rockumentary (hilarious by the way, go see it) and then played a small private set after where I heard two other new songs Sea of Love and I Should Live in Salt. These gave me a new sense of hope, the latter was haunting and beautiful in a way that only The National can do I should live in salt, for leaving you behind. Sea of Love built and built into an awesome crescendo, again a sound and technique that the band have mastered over the years, they were classic tracks. Once I got the album it was a slow burner, doubt lingered that I would love it as much as their previous efforts. My friends reassured me that i would get it eventually, they said that The National albums were always slow burners for them, but for me, they never were. I fell in love with the band from the opening piano riff of Fake Empire and then proceeded to buy their entire back catalogue, I have never had such an immediate affection to a band as much as The National. So for me to experience a slow burner of an album from them was new. But boy did it burn, over time favourites emerged, Pink Rabbits with that tumbling piano riff, not dissimilar to Fake Empire, but a more drunken, tumbling effort and the heartbreaking lyrics
You didn't see me I was falling apart,
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
Ugh! Just writing that line makes me want to cry! The whole album is peppered with these moments, sometimes its a line like that or its the sheer epic sound that builds up and then floors with you an outro that elevates the previous 3 mins of gorgeousness to stratospheric levels. Lyrically and sonically its their finest album, an absolute masterpiece that builds you up with arms aloft only to shatter you onto the floor, heartbroken, an uncontrollable weeping mess. Its beautiful, its intricate, its loud, its quiet, its like the ride it took me on to grow to love it, its a complete rollercoaster. Everything is better, Matts vocals, the orchestration, the writing, the production, and when you're already pretty much perfect in all these areas to say its BETTER is the highest praise I can think of. I seriously cant recommend it enough, I know they're not to everyones taste, but that just makes them even more special.
Come on in, take a seat and make yourself comfortable as I take you through some of my favourite music of 2013.
Firstly Im going to get something off my chest apparently last year I placed Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere no.6 in my top albums, this year that same album was released in the US and it could quite easily be my favourite album of 2013. I have lived with it longer, seen it live and it is truly a masterpiece, they have been my breakthrough artist of the year as theyve gone from a mildly successful UK indie band to two tours of North America selling out (admittedly small) venues but winning hearts along the way. HOWEVER, They are controversially not eligible for my top spot this year due to it originally being released in the UK in 2012. However, you should go check them out, they have fantastic complex rhythms, beautiful lyrics with serious subject matter (some bands might stop at just 1 track about domestic violence, but no, they have a song about rape too) and an amazing singer who hits notes you're not expecting to be hit at times they do. Does that make sense? No. OK. Strap in, theres more of that to come.
"And like for every victim
It seems the pain will not subtract or even calm
All this protracted by a state
In which the poor conviction rate for rape
Can often leave a woman feeling
More at blame than able"
"WOAH I just came here for an end of year music list Patrick, I didnt want to be faced with societal issues of misery and woe" Sorry guys, those of you who are regular visitors of my annual blog (is that possible?) will know to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, anyone remember the year I didnt do a list?!? Minds were blown.
Anyways, let me lead you to a happier place. Dent May makes bright pop, hook laden songs that take you back to sunnier climes and this is my favourite track of his and one of the catchiest songs of the year.
Before I get into the albums I wanted to highlight a few great tunes from new bands that Ive really loved this year but not necessarily had a strong enough album (or I didnt get round to buying it yet). First up is Parquet Courts, when I first heard these I thought they had to be British, they had a dry humour and a rabble rousing 80's punky sound to them that i immediately loved, but they were probably more influenced by The Strokes.
The Orwells are another great young band I saw this year support FIDLAR, and they blew me away. Completely mesmerising front man who is a perfect mix between Axl Rose, Kurt Cobain and Robert Plant - but thats just the hair. They sound like a million other bands granted, and they're not doing anything special, its just great scuzzy rock n roll sung by young kids who dont give a fuck and they have a fair few tunes to back them up. Plus LOOK HOW YOUNG THEY ARE.
Right lets get to the meat of this blog cos Im already tiring - Albums. 2013 was a renaissance year for music. I had so many of my favourite bands release stuff it was quite frankly a bit silly, pretty much all of them were great too, which made my list this year incredibly difficult. If I had time I would write about my love for them all, but I dont, and you certainly dont.
Outside my top 10 albums you have acts like Matthew E White, whos combo of gospel, folk and soul is a wonder to behold and I can see that album topping a few peoples lists this year, also just outside is Phosphorescent who I heard for the first time this year but has been going for a long while, Song for Zula was a radio friendly chart hit and the album has some crackers on it. Sitting really close to the top 10 is the wonderful Yeah Yeah Yeahs with a triumphant comeback - Mosquito which has some belters on it including one of the songs of the year in Sacrilege. But there are 10 better albums.... apparently.
10. Foals - Holy Fire
This is a good album and a band evolving from a great 2nd album, its elevated to a fantastic album by the presence of 2 monster singles - Inhaler and My Number. Foals have come along way in 2013, deservedly playing to massive crowds, they're no longer math rock nerds, their sound is huge and they are getting the attention that the sound warrants. Here's a song that I sung non-stop for the first 6 months of the year. If you havent heard it before, prepare for a happy 6 months cos its never getting out of your head.
This is not the official video, its the song set to a Village People video and its AWESOME.
9. Ski Lodge - Big Heart
Yes, the singer sounds like Morrissey, yes its because he loves him, which is sweet innit. Great debut album from these Brooklyn boys, a dark humour pervades over the 11 tracks of 3minute pop songs of lost love, even though it sounds like he's not enjoying it, the wisecracks seem to suggest otherwise.
Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.
8. FIDLAR - FIDLAR
With song titles such as Cheap Beer, Stoked and Broke, Whore and Cocaine you can kinda get a feel for what this band is going to be like. Its skate punk ladies and gents, juvenile boys talking about drinking and smoking weed. I fear Ive lost some of you already but hear me out, if you liked Blink 182 you will love FIDLAR, if you didnt you are gonna really hate FIDLAR. Not convinced? Watch this video of Nick Offerman pissing on things.
7. Everything Everything - Arc
There's a lot of very raucous laddy rock n roll this year that I didnt realise til I put em up in this list. Anyways, here are some lads from Manchester who sing about tits and bitches... Not true, sorry. Everything Everything are very eloquent, intelligent song makers, their debut album Man Alive was scattered with brilliant tracks about using photoshop to make yourself look handsome and one about Princess Dianas phantom head. This years Arc continued where that left off, with Cough Cough and Kemosabe, they make angular indie-pop that sounds like nothing you've heard before and the singers falsetto and speed he delivers the lines are a sight to witness. You really have to check out this album and see them live, one of the best live acts Ive seen this year.
6. Kanye West - Yeezus
This sticks out like a sore thumb in this list, I realise that. But hear me out. Ive always liked Kanye, I like the fact that he is SO insane, so egotistical, so billigerent and unwavering in his admiration of his self and this album is all of that and way more things too to get upset about. But despite the insanity the man has continued to write utter choons. There's 3 tracks in a row on Yeezus which may be the best sequential tracks on an album this year, Black Skinhead - I am a God - New Slaves. After that 1-2-3 you are pounded into submission by such harsh drums, lyrics, bass, noises, screams. Its powerful stuff and its a statement of intent from an artist embracing his insanity and rolling with it. There's no-one in this world that could have made this album but Kanye. He is a god, and he likes croissants to be delivered in a timely fashion.
5. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
Maybe its because I love LCD Soundsystem, and maybe its because I found The Suburbs to be quite stoic and trad at first, but when I first heard Reflektor a massive smile spread across my face. Arcade Fire live has always been a fantastic experience, they go out of their way to make gigs special, their music comes alive and everyone is part of the experience, but if you'd only heard them on record (especially the last 2 albums) you'd be forgiven for thinking they're a bit serious and dare I say it dull. Us fans knew this wasn't the case, we've witnessed the joyous sing-alongs, the energy that each one of their million members puts into each performance like it was their last. So on hearing Reflektor I immediately thought ITS PARTY TIME! There was a change to their PR too, they launched on SNL, were involved in a skit or two and then did a half hour special directly after featuring Michael Cera! Which wasnt embarassing, but genuinely funny. A feat rarely achieved by a band. I loved they were putting their fun live experience out there, into their music, on TV, in interviews, cracking gags on Colbert, tricking the audience at gigs, massive over-sized paper macher heads, mandatory costume dress code for secret gigs... The album launch was one of the most exciting I can remember for a band that I follow. Thankfully the album does all that marketing noise justice, its really fun, infusing beats and rhythm from Haiti thanks to their two new members (thats a 1,000,0002 members now if you're counting) James Murphy does a great job coaxing this out of the band yet still keeping it very Arcade Fire.
4. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
When you have a poor 2nd album but yet still manage to amass the fanbase Vampire Weekend have I always fear the worse. Ive seen so many of my favourite bands become indie rock superstars after a poor 2nd album and the 3rd arrives with even more MOR blandness which goes onto conquer the world and everyone on Radio 1 and V-fest start singing the choruses of dreadful indie by numbers en masse (im looking at you Kings of Leon). I was therefore prepared to file Vampire Weekend in that "Dead to me" section of my brain on the release of this record. Imagine my surprise when Diane Young hit the waves though with its fucked up Chuck Berry chorus, weird noises and just general oddness. It's brilliant, a breath of fresh air. Then Ya Hey also started to be spread around and again I started to remember why I loved Vampire Weekend originally, they had recaptured everything they stood for and moved it up a notch. So its with great relief that this album is wonderful, and at every point it surprises you with something new.
3. Arctic Monkeys - AM
If you're from Sheffield and support Sheffield Wednesday it is somewhat expected of you to adore Arctic Monkeys, but since that first album smashed them into the worlds musical windscreen Ive been indifferent to their offerings if im honest. Ive loved some singles (Crying Lightning, Brianstorm...) but never really loved the albums. When I heard R U Mine for the first time I added it to the list of amazing one-off singles that I knew they were capable of, but still didnt expect a great album to follow. Especially as nothing else emerged for ages until Do I Wanna Know? That track sidled up to me like a confident hot girl dancing at a club, shimmying up to me to get my attention, look at me she said with her eyes, not in an OTT Showgirls type of way, just confident in her own ability, but very sexy still, "Hey Paddy, Im different to the others" she seemed to say...*ahem* Anyways, I digress... It was different to their usual sound, a side to them that with Josh Homme on production never materialised. It wasnt an all out rock song, it was sexy, slinky, sparse. Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High picked up where the DIWK? left off. Abandoning crushing riffs for a more funky, catchy sing along melody. It was the sound of a band who had finally embraced their massive talent of writing catchy tunes rather than purposely trying to alienate people after their debut thrust them into unwanted limelight. See them live now and they are every bit comfortable rock stars, a stark contrast to when I first saw them at Brixton Academy during the Whatever People Say I am... tour, where they looked like scared boys. Alex Turner is finally a quiffed up, polished, rock star, the one we all demanded he was 8 years ago but he never wanted, and best of all it suits him. AM is their best album since Whatever People Say I Am... and its all killer pop songs.
2. Janelle Monae - The Electric Lady
Oh Janelle, let me count the ways I love you so 1. A female role model in the R&B / Pop world in 2013 is hard to come by. 2. Eccentricity that doesnt mean sticking your tongue out / showing your tits / genuine fear for their mental stability. 3. Top class tunes. Janelle Monae can do no wrong in my book, she creates enough mystery around her persona to keep you guessing who she actually is, but gives enough away to still make her feel human. The Electric Lady is less sci-fi than The Arch Android despite references to her alter-ego Cindy Mayweather occasionally thrown in to keep the fandroids happy. It even manages to survive a little bloating on the tracklist, in truth it could be 4 songs lighter but I'm not taking away points for that as there is some of the finest R&B, funk, soul and pop you'll hear all year on this album. It starts in earnest with Givin Em What They Love, a gorgeous slice of funk that her buddy Prince would kill to have for his own album. Q.U.E.E.N was the first single, a pop anthem for pop haters, then came Dance Apocalyptic, the female version of Hey Ya by Outkast does it a little disservice, it recalls Jackson 5 at their most fun. She even manages to make the eternal bore, the new darling of modern R&B - Miguel sound great on Primetime, a complete swoonfest of a song which I should hate its very sinew as it sounds like it would fit on a Whitney Houston album. It could quite easily have been a cheesy ballad, yet she injects so much heart into it and with very simple airy production the song breathes down your neck as it seduces you into loving it. Its one of the finest love songs of our generation and I HATED it at first! Janelle Monae is the alternative crowd's Beyonce, intelligent pop music that will get you shaking your booty (the booty dont lie) and then make you want to start a revolution with the below, which perfectly sums Janelle Monae up.
March to the streets cuz Im willing and Im able,
Categorize me, I defy every label
And while you're selling dope, we're gonna keep selling hope
We rising up now, you gotta deal you gotta cope
Will you be electric sheep? Electric ladies, will you sleep?
Or will you preach?
1. The National - Trouble Will Find Me
We're here, again, no.1, The National. My favourite band produce my favourite album of 2013, plain sailing right? Wrong! I was really worried about this album, for some strange reason they introduced it to the world with first single Demons and then Dont Swallow the Cap, arguably two of the worst songs on the album. The former, Demons, is possibly the only song of theirs in a 6 album span that I still, to this day, actively dislike. It embodies everything my hater friends dislike about The National in one song that I never understood UNTIL I heard it! Its monotone, its miserable, there's no discernible melody and it makes me want to self harm! Dont Swallow the Cap didnt really move the needle much either, although it was slightly cheerier. Why you would launch your album with them I have no idea. Inbetween hearing those tracks and the album launch we attended the Tribeca Film festival which The National were opening with their rockumentary (hilarious by the way, go see it) and then played a small private set after where I heard two other new songs Sea of Love and I Should Live in Salt. These gave me a new sense of hope, the latter was haunting and beautiful in a way that only The National can do I should live in salt, for leaving you behind. Sea of Love built and built into an awesome crescendo, again a sound and technique that the band have mastered over the years, they were classic tracks. Once I got the album it was a slow burner, doubt lingered that I would love it as much as their previous efforts. My friends reassured me that i would get it eventually, they said that The National albums were always slow burners for them, but for me, they never were. I fell in love with the band from the opening piano riff of Fake Empire and then proceeded to buy their entire back catalogue, I have never had such an immediate affection to a band as much as The National. So for me to experience a slow burner of an album from them was new. But boy did it burn, over time favourites emerged, Pink Rabbits with that tumbling piano riff, not dissimilar to Fake Empire, but a more drunken, tumbling effort and the heartbreaking lyrics
You didn't see me I was falling apart,
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
Ugh! Just writing that line makes me want to cry! The whole album is peppered with these moments, sometimes its a line like that or its the sheer epic sound that builds up and then floors with you an outro that elevates the previous 3 mins of gorgeousness to stratospheric levels. Lyrically and sonically its their finest album, an absolute masterpiece that builds you up with arms aloft only to shatter you onto the floor, heartbroken, an uncontrollable weeping mess. Its beautiful, its intricate, its loud, its quiet, its like the ride it took me on to grow to love it, its a complete rollercoaster. Everything is better, Matts vocals, the orchestration, the writing, the production, and when you're already pretty much perfect in all these areas to say its BETTER is the highest praise I can think of. I seriously cant recommend it enough, I know they're not to everyones taste, but that just makes them even more special.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
My Experience With the American Health System...
Let me preface the upcoming rant by saying I love America and its people, everyone I have encountered during the following experience were, nice, pleasant people. It may not be these people that are at fault, it is the system. The US health care and insurance system is CRAZY. Add onto that my own company's HR department incompetency and you have a hot mess of confusion for an expat.
I earn a good wage, I work for a very big corporate company and I have, what I am told by other Americans, '"very good" health insurance.
Coming from the UK it's all very complicated. When I first came over to the US, I signed up to my companies insurance scheme provided by United Healthcare. I was told it was going to be $200 a month to insure me and my wife. Not bad I thought, if that's what it takes to avoid the crazy prices for drugs and care here. There was a lot of documentation that came with it and about 3 different websites, 1 of which I had to take a short Health Risk Assessment for and sign up to 1 other program to be eligible for an improved insurance deal called the Advantage PPO. I chose to do a "Health Coach" program which involved me speaking to a person over the phone once a month about how much exercise I had done and how I was definitely going to do more next month. Either way it ticked the boxes and I got a better insurance deal for some strange reason. The deal mentioned deductibles, out of pocket costs, in network and out network. I didn't understand any of that. I spoke to colleagues, read documentation and thought I had a basic grasp of it eventually.
My first doctors trip was last year and it was just to get a new asthma inhaler. Surprise no.1, I had to pay $25 just to see a doctor - this is called a co-pay and is pretty much standard I found out later. I waited about 45 mins to get in & he asked a few questions took a few tests and then prescribed a few different inhalers for me to try. Pretty much a standard doctors visit. I trundled on down to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and showed them my Health Insurance card. After checking their system I was told my insurance doesn't cover prescriptions. "Are you sure? I asked - I have a very good insurance program, or so I'm told". He was sure and was about to charge me $100 + for an asthma inhaler, I said I'd pass and stormed off to talk to my insurance provider.
Surprise no.2., my main insurance didn't cover prescriptions; however, I had another company who covered prescriptions (I found out after hours on the phone to our useless HR) and the card / details had gotten lost in the post. They had another website I needed to register with, so that's 4 websites now and three different companies to deal with my various insurance (I haven't even dared find out about dental yet! That's different too!).
While these two things were annoying and very confusing apart from a few other admin errors in my first year, financially it wasn't THAT bad, a few $25 fees here and there to see the doc and that's it.
This year that changed. I wanted to join the gym at work - it's $10 / month and is pretty new so I went and did a Health Risk Assessment again (a pre-requisite every year), as I had asthma they said they'd need a doctor's approval. OK I thought, I'll give the boy a call, fax it through he'll sign it off and bingo I'll be lifting weights in no time.
No such luck, he asked to see me. Fair enough, I thought, he's thorough and doesn't have my full life's medical history. I went there expecting to be charged the usual $25 but as it was my 1st visit of the year I apparently qualify for a FREE full body check up! Sweet! This time I waited about an hour, I walked into the office handed him my consent form to sign and said I just want to join the gym, I haven't suffered from asthma in months and its pretty much under control. Just sign it and I will be out of here! Nope. We did the full body check up. I wont go into detail but lets just say he was very *cough* *cough* thorough. It took over an hour, a little excessive I thought just to get sign off for asthma at the gym. All the tests were done and I passed with flying colours, fit boy! I asked for his signature on my consent form, but he said he needed to wait for the blood results to come back, so to come back and see him next week.
I did just that, next week I returned and waited another HOUR AND A HALF, all blood results came back good so I thought I was good to go. Then he said that there was something in my EKG that he'd like to investigate further, it was probably nothing, in fact it was, and I quote, "99.9% of the time" nothing, especially for men my age and fitness level. OK, I like those odds, but what was it that he wanted me to do? "I'll refer you to a heart specialist, just to be sure".
Two weeks later I arrive at the heart specialists and sat in the waiting room, which can hold about 40 people. I was number 30, approximately. I looked around at my audience, they didn't look happy. They were hot and frustrated. After half an hour an old man dressed as a sailor (?) got up and started angrily gesturing something in Spanish to the lady behind the desk, he turned round to the room as if to get some support and thats what he got, more grumbles in spanish I didnt understand, but I got the gist, people had been waiting a while. Another half hour passed and I was starting to get very annoyed with the infomercial i'd seen for the 10th time and the recurring local news items. I'd also had to jump to the aid of at least 3 old people who had walked in and barely been able to walk the 10ft from the door to the desk without collapsing. This was not a healthy room and being the youngest person in there by a good 40 years and the only one who could walk without falling down I was made an honorary member of the emergency staff for the time I was sat waiting. An hour and half passes and I get up and ask whats going on, "oh you're next sir" I was told and sure enough I was moved inside to another room where I was told I was going to have a heart scan, another EKG (despite the last one being just 2 weeks ago), blood pressure test and a stress test. I asked how long that would take, she said "about an hour and a half." WHAT? Why?! Its just how long it takes to see all those people for all those tests. I said I couldnt afford another hour and a half off work so is there a way I could do some now and the rest of the tests at a later date. We agreed that was a good compromise and I reluctantly made another booking for the week after for my stress test and scan.
The next week I slip out of work again (no evening time scheduling) and open the door to the waiting room, to my horror its even busier than the last time. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgggh!! People are talking amongst themselves relaying their own horror of how long they waited today, its a far more vocal crowd than last week but thankfully the TV was off so I didnt have to sit through the local news....
2 HOURS I WAITED THERE.
It was so long I had to go and move my car cos I had a 2 hour park limit. When I was finally called in I was in a hideous mood, they did a scan of my heart and I can only imagine that it was bursting out my chest from sheer anger, they put me in another shitty room while they got the next test ready and 15mins later I was hooked up with wires attached to my chest and on a treadmill running. This was the stress test. I ran for 20mins at increasing levels of speed and by the end I was pretty tired. At least it was over though. The doctor came in with my list of results (about as long as his arm) and declared I am completely fit. There is nothing wrong with you, in fact you are in very good health. Great news, anyone else would be happy with that news Im sure, I wasnt, I knew all along I was fine, but the great American health service had just earnt themselves a few thousand dollars from my insurers for getting me to jump through their hoops all because I wanted a signature to join the gym.
I couldnt help but feel like I was taken advantage of by my need for a signature.
But thats not where my story ends. You'll notice that I didnt mention costs during the heart specialists appt, thats because at no stage of any of my appointments with the doctor or my heart specialist were costs mentioned, I was not given options as to whether I would like a) b) or c) tests and this is the cost YOU will incur for each, I was not told that my insurer would only cover PART of any costs, In fact the only cost that was mentioned in the total of my EIGHT hours in "care" was that my physical was free.
I therefore naively thought i have very good insurance, im sure they'll cover it. Boy, was I wrong.
About a month after, I got a confusing bill from the heart specialist, it seemed to total up something like $3000 of tests and said that my insurance paid for some of it but $150 is due by me. I didnt really believe that, so looked online at one of my several websites as I thought that I would be covered somehow, maybe in a savings acct or something, or something to do with a deductible (still not really sure what that was). I noticed while doing that though that my deductible was now $1000, I seem to remember that being $500 last year. I looked further into it and after further investigation I realised that I was no longer on the Advantage PPO - the better insurance plan, I was, in fact, paying more / month for a worse plan. I still havent figured out the extent of how worse this plan is, all I know it costs me $40 / month more, my deductible has doubled and it doesnt appear to cover all of the tests I had for my heart.
I couldve swore I jumped through those hoops which allowed me to get onto this better insurance plan though. Hoops that are put there by my own companies HR btw. I hadnt been told at any point that I had been downgraded, nor had I been told that I COULD be downgraded. I called up HR and they put me through to one of the companies that runs one of the websites that are something to do with health. They said they had no record of me doing the health coach course or the assessment. I claimed that I had, and I had proof of the calls, but no proof of the assessment but Im sure they could get it up on their system. "Actually sir, the company that did the assessments last year was not us, your company chose a different provider last year". I then went on another round of different help desk calls to find out who it was that did do the health assessment last year and eventually got told of another company whose website I did have access to at some point which now no longer exists. I emailed the company in question and as of right now I have never heard back from them. So Im stuck on the Standard PPO shitty insurance for the remainder of 2013.
I called up the heart specialist to pay my debt;
"would you like to pay all your bill sir?"
- Sure, $150 wasnt it?
"Actually no Sir, its $550"
- Errrr, what?
Apparently I had not received the 2nd bill for an additional $400 which my insurer had originally said they would pay and then decided actually no, they dont want to.
By this point, I wanted to cry. I dont even LIKE going to the gym and its cost me HOURS of frustration, confusion and anger and now its going to leave me $550 out of pocket for a non-existent health issue.
It shouldnt be me thats crying though, America - you are being robbed on every level by your country, its the most corrupt, unfair public service I have ever had the misfortune to experience. When people diss the British national health service, they throw back stuff like "long wait times", "Poor quality service" "Dirty hospitals". The fact is I experienced all these things in America and I pay a HELL of a lot more for it here than I do on the NHS. The NHS wouldnt send me around the houses to get a gym signature, they only treat people that really need treating cos they're not making money by treating non-existent illnesses like in America and they dont have the resources to mess about like they do here.
If you live in Britain and you dont like the NHS - firstly, at least the NHS is your base level, you can pay to get better service on private health. Secondly, spend some time in the US and you wont say a bad word about our system ever again.
UPDATE
So, the saga continues, I had the above written for a while and never got round to posting until today when I got a mail from my useless HR / Health affiliate program through work. It said this "Advantage PPO eligibility extended to July 31st for 2014."
Now, "extended", gives the impression that there was a deadline to begin with that we were all aware of. I was not. This was the first I had heard of the deadline and the hoops I had to jump through to qualify again for the better insurance plan. Reading further, there were only 3 things that were possible to do now that you had enough time to complete before the deadline:
- Health Risk Assessment
- Physical Examination
- Biometric Examination
You have to have all these completed by 30th June and sent to X company so they have time to process it for the 31st July, so it wasnt really an extension for US, it was just an extension for them!!
I was apoplectic with rage, NO WAY was I getting put on the shitty insurance scheme again because of their complete lack of communication. I clicked the link to go through to ANOTHER different website and registered with this one. I swear this is the 5th different website to do with my health / benefits I have access to and I have no clue what each of them are for, there isnt 1 company that has an overview of everything, my company certainly doesnt and it would explain why I never hear about anything Im supposed to. I completed my HRA and it knew I had a physical this year (so some systems must talk to each other). So now I just have to get a Biometric Test and send off the results by next friday and Im in the exclusive club.
Wish me luck.
Ending note.
The sad thing is, my experience and rage is nothing compared to the millions of Americans who cant afford basic insurance, or those that can afford it, but still end up facing bankruptcy because their medical bills AFTER insurance are too much for them to afford. This is not a system for a developed country. Its broken and corrupt and it needs fixing.
I earn a good wage, I work for a very big corporate company and I have, what I am told by other Americans, '"very good" health insurance.
Coming from the UK it's all very complicated. When I first came over to the US, I signed up to my companies insurance scheme provided by United Healthcare. I was told it was going to be $200 a month to insure me and my wife. Not bad I thought, if that's what it takes to avoid the crazy prices for drugs and care here. There was a lot of documentation that came with it and about 3 different websites, 1 of which I had to take a short Health Risk Assessment for and sign up to 1 other program to be eligible for an improved insurance deal called the Advantage PPO. I chose to do a "Health Coach" program which involved me speaking to a person over the phone once a month about how much exercise I had done and how I was definitely going to do more next month. Either way it ticked the boxes and I got a better insurance deal for some strange reason. The deal mentioned deductibles, out of pocket costs, in network and out network. I didn't understand any of that. I spoke to colleagues, read documentation and thought I had a basic grasp of it eventually.
My first doctors trip was last year and it was just to get a new asthma inhaler. Surprise no.1, I had to pay $25 just to see a doctor - this is called a co-pay and is pretty much standard I found out later. I waited about 45 mins to get in & he asked a few questions took a few tests and then prescribed a few different inhalers for me to try. Pretty much a standard doctors visit. I trundled on down to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription and showed them my Health Insurance card. After checking their system I was told my insurance doesn't cover prescriptions. "Are you sure? I asked - I have a very good insurance program, or so I'm told". He was sure and was about to charge me $100 + for an asthma inhaler, I said I'd pass and stormed off to talk to my insurance provider.
Surprise no.2., my main insurance didn't cover prescriptions; however, I had another company who covered prescriptions (I found out after hours on the phone to our useless HR) and the card / details had gotten lost in the post. They had another website I needed to register with, so that's 4 websites now and three different companies to deal with my various insurance (I haven't even dared find out about dental yet! That's different too!).
While these two things were annoying and very confusing apart from a few other admin errors in my first year, financially it wasn't THAT bad, a few $25 fees here and there to see the doc and that's it.
This year that changed. I wanted to join the gym at work - it's $10 / month and is pretty new so I went and did a Health Risk Assessment again (a pre-requisite every year), as I had asthma they said they'd need a doctor's approval. OK I thought, I'll give the boy a call, fax it through he'll sign it off and bingo I'll be lifting weights in no time.
No such luck, he asked to see me. Fair enough, I thought, he's thorough and doesn't have my full life's medical history. I went there expecting to be charged the usual $25 but as it was my 1st visit of the year I apparently qualify for a FREE full body check up! Sweet! This time I waited about an hour, I walked into the office handed him my consent form to sign and said I just want to join the gym, I haven't suffered from asthma in months and its pretty much under control. Just sign it and I will be out of here! Nope. We did the full body check up. I wont go into detail but lets just say he was very *cough* *cough* thorough. It took over an hour, a little excessive I thought just to get sign off for asthma at the gym. All the tests were done and I passed with flying colours, fit boy! I asked for his signature on my consent form, but he said he needed to wait for the blood results to come back, so to come back and see him next week.
I did just that, next week I returned and waited another HOUR AND A HALF, all blood results came back good so I thought I was good to go. Then he said that there was something in my EKG that he'd like to investigate further, it was probably nothing, in fact it was, and I quote, "99.9% of the time" nothing, especially for men my age and fitness level. OK, I like those odds, but what was it that he wanted me to do? "I'll refer you to a heart specialist, just to be sure".
Two weeks later I arrive at the heart specialists and sat in the waiting room, which can hold about 40 people. I was number 30, approximately. I looked around at my audience, they didn't look happy. They were hot and frustrated. After half an hour an old man dressed as a sailor (?) got up and started angrily gesturing something in Spanish to the lady behind the desk, he turned round to the room as if to get some support and thats what he got, more grumbles in spanish I didnt understand, but I got the gist, people had been waiting a while. Another half hour passed and I was starting to get very annoyed with the infomercial i'd seen for the 10th time and the recurring local news items. I'd also had to jump to the aid of at least 3 old people who had walked in and barely been able to walk the 10ft from the door to the desk without collapsing. This was not a healthy room and being the youngest person in there by a good 40 years and the only one who could walk without falling down I was made an honorary member of the emergency staff for the time I was sat waiting. An hour and half passes and I get up and ask whats going on, "oh you're next sir" I was told and sure enough I was moved inside to another room where I was told I was going to have a heart scan, another EKG (despite the last one being just 2 weeks ago), blood pressure test and a stress test. I asked how long that would take, she said "about an hour and a half." WHAT? Why?! Its just how long it takes to see all those people for all those tests. I said I couldnt afford another hour and a half off work so is there a way I could do some now and the rest of the tests at a later date. We agreed that was a good compromise and I reluctantly made another booking for the week after for my stress test and scan.
The next week I slip out of work again (no evening time scheduling) and open the door to the waiting room, to my horror its even busier than the last time. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgggh!! People are talking amongst themselves relaying their own horror of how long they waited today, its a far more vocal crowd than last week but thankfully the TV was off so I didnt have to sit through the local news....
2 HOURS I WAITED THERE.
It was so long I had to go and move my car cos I had a 2 hour park limit. When I was finally called in I was in a hideous mood, they did a scan of my heart and I can only imagine that it was bursting out my chest from sheer anger, they put me in another shitty room while they got the next test ready and 15mins later I was hooked up with wires attached to my chest and on a treadmill running. This was the stress test. I ran for 20mins at increasing levels of speed and by the end I was pretty tired. At least it was over though. The doctor came in with my list of results (about as long as his arm) and declared I am completely fit. There is nothing wrong with you, in fact you are in very good health. Great news, anyone else would be happy with that news Im sure, I wasnt, I knew all along I was fine, but the great American health service had just earnt themselves a few thousand dollars from my insurers for getting me to jump through their hoops all because I wanted a signature to join the gym.
I couldnt help but feel like I was taken advantage of by my need for a signature.
But thats not where my story ends. You'll notice that I didnt mention costs during the heart specialists appt, thats because at no stage of any of my appointments with the doctor or my heart specialist were costs mentioned, I was not given options as to whether I would like a) b) or c) tests and this is the cost YOU will incur for each, I was not told that my insurer would only cover PART of any costs, In fact the only cost that was mentioned in the total of my EIGHT hours in "care" was that my physical was free.
I therefore naively thought i have very good insurance, im sure they'll cover it. Boy, was I wrong.
About a month after, I got a confusing bill from the heart specialist, it seemed to total up something like $3000 of tests and said that my insurance paid for some of it but $150 is due by me. I didnt really believe that, so looked online at one of my several websites as I thought that I would be covered somehow, maybe in a savings acct or something, or something to do with a deductible (still not really sure what that was). I noticed while doing that though that my deductible was now $1000, I seem to remember that being $500 last year. I looked further into it and after further investigation I realised that I was no longer on the Advantage PPO - the better insurance plan, I was, in fact, paying more / month for a worse plan. I still havent figured out the extent of how worse this plan is, all I know it costs me $40 / month more, my deductible has doubled and it doesnt appear to cover all of the tests I had for my heart.
I couldve swore I jumped through those hoops which allowed me to get onto this better insurance plan though. Hoops that are put there by my own companies HR btw. I hadnt been told at any point that I had been downgraded, nor had I been told that I COULD be downgraded. I called up HR and they put me through to one of the companies that runs one of the websites that are something to do with health. They said they had no record of me doing the health coach course or the assessment. I claimed that I had, and I had proof of the calls, but no proof of the assessment but Im sure they could get it up on their system. "Actually sir, the company that did the assessments last year was not us, your company chose a different provider last year". I then went on another round of different help desk calls to find out who it was that did do the health assessment last year and eventually got told of another company whose website I did have access to at some point which now no longer exists. I emailed the company in question and as of right now I have never heard back from them. So Im stuck on the Standard PPO shitty insurance for the remainder of 2013.
I called up the heart specialist to pay my debt;
"would you like to pay all your bill sir?"
- Sure, $150 wasnt it?
"Actually no Sir, its $550"
- Errrr, what?
Apparently I had not received the 2nd bill for an additional $400 which my insurer had originally said they would pay and then decided actually no, they dont want to.
By this point, I wanted to cry. I dont even LIKE going to the gym and its cost me HOURS of frustration, confusion and anger and now its going to leave me $550 out of pocket for a non-existent health issue.
It shouldnt be me thats crying though, America - you are being robbed on every level by your country, its the most corrupt, unfair public service I have ever had the misfortune to experience. When people diss the British national health service, they throw back stuff like "long wait times", "Poor quality service" "Dirty hospitals". The fact is I experienced all these things in America and I pay a HELL of a lot more for it here than I do on the NHS. The NHS wouldnt send me around the houses to get a gym signature, they only treat people that really need treating cos they're not making money by treating non-existent illnesses like in America and they dont have the resources to mess about like they do here.
If you live in Britain and you dont like the NHS - firstly, at least the NHS is your base level, you can pay to get better service on private health. Secondly, spend some time in the US and you wont say a bad word about our system ever again.
UPDATE
So, the saga continues, I had the above written for a while and never got round to posting until today when I got a mail from my useless HR / Health affiliate program through work. It said this "Advantage PPO eligibility extended to July 31st for 2014."
Now, "extended", gives the impression that there was a deadline to begin with that we were all aware of. I was not. This was the first I had heard of the deadline and the hoops I had to jump through to qualify again for the better insurance plan. Reading further, there were only 3 things that were possible to do now that you had enough time to complete before the deadline:
- Health Risk Assessment
- Physical Examination
- Biometric Examination
You have to have all these completed by 30th June and sent to X company so they have time to process it for the 31st July, so it wasnt really an extension for US, it was just an extension for them!!
I was apoplectic with rage, NO WAY was I getting put on the shitty insurance scheme again because of their complete lack of communication. I clicked the link to go through to ANOTHER different website and registered with this one. I swear this is the 5th different website to do with my health / benefits I have access to and I have no clue what each of them are for, there isnt 1 company that has an overview of everything, my company certainly doesnt and it would explain why I never hear about anything Im supposed to. I completed my HRA and it knew I had a physical this year (so some systems must talk to each other). So now I just have to get a Biometric Test and send off the results by next friday and Im in the exclusive club.
Wish me luck.
Ending note.
The sad thing is, my experience and rage is nothing compared to the millions of Americans who cant afford basic insurance, or those that can afford it, but still end up facing bankruptcy because their medical bills AFTER insurance are too much for them to afford. This is not a system for a developed country. Its broken and corrupt and it needs fixing.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Best songs of 2013 you might not have heard...
Hello! Im breaking free from my annual blog post cos if you havent noticed already 2013 has been amazing for music and if i wait til the end of the year to cover it I'll spend most of 2014 writing about it, and no-one will want to read it by the time I finish.
Im not gonna cover bands that are established as I assume a lot of people have already heard their releases (Foals, Vampire Weekend, The National, Daft Punk, YYY's....) these will probably appear on my end of year list though. This blog I'm picking out strong tunes from lesser known bands, cos there are some right corkers. No words, just videos, cos im a busy man aint I. Here goes:
Generationals - Put a light on
Wavves - Demon to Lean On.
Surfer Blood - Demon Dance
Ski Lodge - Just to be like you
Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.
Waxahatchee - Peace and Quiet
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good at being in trouble
Phosphorescent - Song for Zula
Foxygen - Shuggie
Im not gonna cover bands that are established as I assume a lot of people have already heard their releases (Foals, Vampire Weekend, The National, Daft Punk, YYY's....) these will probably appear on my end of year list though. This blog I'm picking out strong tunes from lesser known bands, cos there are some right corkers. No words, just videos, cos im a busy man aint I. Here goes:
Generationals - Put a light on
Wavves - Demon to Lean On.
Surfer Blood - Demon Dance
Ski Lodge - Just to be like you
Ski Lodge - Just To Be Like You (Official Music Video) from Dovecote Records on Vimeo.
Waxahatchee - Peace and Quiet
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - So Good at being in trouble
Phosphorescent - Song for Zula
Foxygen - Shuggie
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Best of 2012
Hark people! Hark I tell thee, for it is my now annual blog post you are reading! Every year I say Im going to write more than my end of year music post and every year I have failed to break the 2 posts a year. So from now on I will just make this an annual blog, kinda like the Shoot annuals but about music and in digital form. Im sure there were music annuals, is Melody Maker still doing there's?
About 3/4 of the way through the year I posted something on Facebook bemoaning the lack of good albums and new artists in 2012 and I got a shit load of abuse and a few recommendations from people who had some fair shouts. I listened to all those recommendations and a few of them were indeed very good. What I found was though that while there was good music in 2012, there wasnt a LOT of amazing consistent albums.
I'm not saying there were no good albums in 2012, Im just saying for me, it was harder to find them, and there werent many that were consistently great. If I found a new band I liked, they tended to have 1-2 great tracks and then it tailed off. On albums from established artists I adored there would be a few good tracks and the rest didnt hold my attention (Hello Bloc Party and Maccabees).
Before you all say, "Oh you're getting old", "You obviously havent listened to enough.." etc etc. Firstly, I dont believe age plays any bearing on music taste, I think with age some people open up to more genres, some people close their doors to anything past their hey day. With me its neither at the moment, Im only 31 for fucks sake, I dont believe Im opening up to classical nor am I pining for a Britpop revolution (Although if Northern Uproar were to tour in NYC I would be first in line). I like what I've always liked, a relatively broad range of indie, rock, electro, soul, hip hop, funk and good dance music.
One thing I will concede is in this digital age my listening and purchasing habits have changed. I firmly believe I have developed mild ADD and find it really hard to stick on an album 2-3 times in the space of a week. I get bored very easily and Im constantly looking for new stuff. So that maybe a reason why I havent gotten into a lot of albums this year. Also, with the ability to listen to albums before I buy on streaming services like Spotify Ive found myself picking singular tracks out to save cash if the majority of the album doesnt hit me. Ive done that more with new artists, I still buy whole albums from acts I have a bond with like Jack White, Richard Hawley, Maccabees, Bloc Party etc. However, with the exception of Jack White of those I wish I had listened to beforehand as I couldve saved some cash by just picking out 2 tracks from each of them. The Richard Hawley album was particularly bad, like early Verve (and those that know me, know of my Ashcroft disdain).
Saying ALL that, I do have a lot of great music from 2012, and here are my favourite tracks:
Jennifer - Little Comets
Little Comets are savagely unknown. Their second album came out towards the back end of the year and has some great tracks on it and is very consistent. Its called Life is Elsewhere and is one of my faves of the year.
The Suits, The Law and The Uniforms - Graveyard
Graveyard have a few albums out now and I heard this for the first time on an NPR podcast this year off their Lights Out album and just love the Led Zep / ACDC vibe. Great fun, but couldnt get into the album.
Til I Met Thee - Cody ChesnuTT
Cody ChesnuTTs first album in a decade after he released the much lauded The Headphone Masterpiece. Landing on a Hundred is the new LP and its really great. Obvious comparisons to soul greats such as Marvin Gaye, this album is far more concise than his previous effort and has some brilliant tracks on it. Thoroughly recommend checking it out.
Losing You - Solange
To be honest I havent followed Solange Knowles (yes that Knowles) career that closely, I have however followed Dev Hynes pretty closely and love his Blood Orange stuff. Solange seems to be his muse and this has Dev Hynes sound all over it. I recommend checking out Blood Orange if you like this. Start with Dinner below which was also released this year and listen out for more Solange / Blood Orange stuff in 2013.
Dinner - Blood Orange
Blood Orange / Dev Hynes has a knack of releasing awesome sounding tracks that dont necessarily have that killer chorus, which drives my wife insane, they always seem to be leading somewhere but never quite make it. But its that subtlety in his tracks that make me love him. No album in 2012 from Blood Orange, just this track paired with Bad Girls on the flip side, which is also on the Solange Knowles record, I think he wrote it and gave it her though.
Rashida - Rufus Wainwright
I was trying to put lesser known artists as videos and then just mention the more popular stuff I liked at the bottom in a list, but I cant resist putting this up as I think if you were like me and loved old Rufus like Want and Poses but got a bit disillusioned by the last couple of albums and the ridiculous cost of going to see him live you may have not bothered with his latest album - Out of the Game. So if you were like me, please go and buy this album now, Its probably my most listened to album of 2012. Mark Ronson does a terrific job of wringing out the best of Rufus and backed by Ronsons band the sound is fantastic. I would go as far as saying its my favourite Rufus album.
Like Ice Cream - Divine Fits
Everyone loves an indie supergroup right? Divine Fits are made up of Spoons Britt Daniels, Wolf Parades / Handsome Furs Dan Boeckner and Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks (No, me neither). The album has some signature Spoon catchy riffs spliced with some neat electro hooks. I think this track may have been my most played this year and the album is very good too.
Man on Fire - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's
What is it with bands using normal people dancing in there music videos? Professional dancers are out on the street giving hand jobs for crack while these supermarket workers, fork lift truck drivers and AmDram nutjobs are all strutting, kicking and jerking their way to infamy! I blame Fatboy Slim, but Black Keys did it in 2011 too with unbelievable success on Lonely Boy. There's been loads more but my fave is the Geordie Dancer from Soccer Am. Oh yeah, Edward Sharpe, its great, the albums great, go buy it, then buy the album before that, then go see them live (I still havent).
The House that Heaven Built - Japandroids
I didnt like this song at first, it felt really dated and cheesy. But it was on Sirius XM U a lot and very slowly its sheer balls-out-unashamedly-fists-in-the-air-sing-yer-heart-out-rock-n-roll won me over. Now I cant stop playing it.
Laura - Bat for Lashes
Words cant describe how much I love this song, probably too much. Its beautiful, heartbreaking and it gives me goosebumps.
AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It
I honestly have no idea if AlunaGeorge is well known or not, I cant remember where I first heard it and I havent heard it mentioned or played on the radio over here, for all I know this could've hit no.1. Its got over a million views on youtube. As Eddie Argos once said, popular culture no-longer applies to me. All I know is that I know I like it (see what I did there?). Its a fantastically catchy 2-step / R&B track with a cutesy vocal, whats not to like?
Watch the Corners - Dinosaur Jr
Ive always been aware of Dinosaur Jr but Ive never really invested a lot of time in them, then this song came on the radio and I immediately loved it. It sounds like an instant classic. Its just simple catchy indie rock really. Just great songwriting which Im sure Dinosaur Jr fans have known for a very long time but something I discovered this year, slap me for being slow.
Man I could go on, Im really enjoying listening to these again! If you want to listen to a lot more check out my spotify playlist here. So many more awesome tracks. So little time.
I'll finish off with a quick list of my top albums, I might write more about these another time, but history dictates I probably wont:
1. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game
3. Hot Chip - In Our Heads
4. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's - Here
5. Jack White - Blunderbuss
6. Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere
7. Divine Fits - This is Divine Fits
8. Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred
9. Hospitality - Hospitality
10. Passion Pit - Gossamer
Hope you enjoyed the read - comments / abuse welcome!
I'm not saying there were no good albums in 2012, Im just saying for me, it was harder to find them, and there werent many that were consistently great. If I found a new band I liked, they tended to have 1-2 great tracks and then it tailed off. On albums from established artists I adored there would be a few good tracks and the rest didnt hold my attention (Hello Bloc Party and Maccabees).
Before you all say, "Oh you're getting old", "You obviously havent listened to enough.." etc etc. Firstly, I dont believe age plays any bearing on music taste, I think with age some people open up to more genres, some people close their doors to anything past their hey day. With me its neither at the moment, Im only 31 for fucks sake, I dont believe Im opening up to classical nor am I pining for a Britpop revolution (Although if Northern Uproar were to tour in NYC I would be first in line). I like what I've always liked, a relatively broad range of indie, rock, electro, soul, hip hop, funk and good dance music.
One thing I will concede is in this digital age my listening and purchasing habits have changed. I firmly believe I have developed mild ADD and find it really hard to stick on an album 2-3 times in the space of a week. I get bored very easily and Im constantly looking for new stuff. So that maybe a reason why I havent gotten into a lot of albums this year. Also, with the ability to listen to albums before I buy on streaming services like Spotify Ive found myself picking singular tracks out to save cash if the majority of the album doesnt hit me. Ive done that more with new artists, I still buy whole albums from acts I have a bond with like Jack White, Richard Hawley, Maccabees, Bloc Party etc. However, with the exception of Jack White of those I wish I had listened to beforehand as I couldve saved some cash by just picking out 2 tracks from each of them. The Richard Hawley album was particularly bad, like early Verve (and those that know me, know of my Ashcroft disdain).
Saying ALL that, I do have a lot of great music from 2012, and here are my favourite tracks:
Jennifer - Little Comets
Little Comets are savagely unknown. Their second album came out towards the back end of the year and has some great tracks on it and is very consistent. Its called Life is Elsewhere and is one of my faves of the year.
The Suits, The Law and The Uniforms - Graveyard
Graveyard have a few albums out now and I heard this for the first time on an NPR podcast this year off their Lights Out album and just love the Led Zep / ACDC vibe. Great fun, but couldnt get into the album.
Til I Met Thee - Cody ChesnuTT
Cody ChesnuTTs first album in a decade after he released the much lauded The Headphone Masterpiece. Landing on a Hundred is the new LP and its really great. Obvious comparisons to soul greats such as Marvin Gaye, this album is far more concise than his previous effort and has some brilliant tracks on it. Thoroughly recommend checking it out.
Losing You - Solange
To be honest I havent followed Solange Knowles (yes that Knowles) career that closely, I have however followed Dev Hynes pretty closely and love his Blood Orange stuff. Solange seems to be his muse and this has Dev Hynes sound all over it. I recommend checking out Blood Orange if you like this. Start with Dinner below which was also released this year and listen out for more Solange / Blood Orange stuff in 2013.
Dinner - Blood Orange
Blood Orange / Dev Hynes has a knack of releasing awesome sounding tracks that dont necessarily have that killer chorus, which drives my wife insane, they always seem to be leading somewhere but never quite make it. But its that subtlety in his tracks that make me love him. No album in 2012 from Blood Orange, just this track paired with Bad Girls on the flip side, which is also on the Solange Knowles record, I think he wrote it and gave it her though.
Rashida - Rufus Wainwright
I was trying to put lesser known artists as videos and then just mention the more popular stuff I liked at the bottom in a list, but I cant resist putting this up as I think if you were like me and loved old Rufus like Want and Poses but got a bit disillusioned by the last couple of albums and the ridiculous cost of going to see him live you may have not bothered with his latest album - Out of the Game. So if you were like me, please go and buy this album now, Its probably my most listened to album of 2012. Mark Ronson does a terrific job of wringing out the best of Rufus and backed by Ronsons band the sound is fantastic. I would go as far as saying its my favourite Rufus album.
Like Ice Cream - Divine Fits
Everyone loves an indie supergroup right? Divine Fits are made up of Spoons Britt Daniels, Wolf Parades / Handsome Furs Dan Boeckner and Sam Brown from New Bomb Turks (No, me neither). The album has some signature Spoon catchy riffs spliced with some neat electro hooks. I think this track may have been my most played this year and the album is very good too.
Man on Fire - Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero's
What is it with bands using normal people dancing in there music videos? Professional dancers are out on the street giving hand jobs for crack while these supermarket workers, fork lift truck drivers and AmDram nutjobs are all strutting, kicking and jerking their way to infamy! I blame Fatboy Slim, but Black Keys did it in 2011 too with unbelievable success on Lonely Boy. There's been loads more but my fave is the Geordie Dancer from Soccer Am. Oh yeah, Edward Sharpe, its great, the albums great, go buy it, then buy the album before that, then go see them live (I still havent).
The House that Heaven Built - Japandroids
I didnt like this song at first, it felt really dated and cheesy. But it was on Sirius XM U a lot and very slowly its sheer balls-out-unashamedly-fists-in-the-air-sing-yer-heart-out-rock-n-roll won me over. Now I cant stop playing it.
Laura - Bat for Lashes
Words cant describe how much I love this song, probably too much. Its beautiful, heartbreaking and it gives me goosebumps.
AlunaGeorge - You Know You Like It
I honestly have no idea if AlunaGeorge is well known or not, I cant remember where I first heard it and I havent heard it mentioned or played on the radio over here, for all I know this could've hit no.1. Its got over a million views on youtube. As Eddie Argos once said, popular culture no-longer applies to me. All I know is that I know I like it (see what I did there?). Its a fantastically catchy 2-step / R&B track with a cutesy vocal, whats not to like?
Watch the Corners - Dinosaur Jr
Ive always been aware of Dinosaur Jr but Ive never really invested a lot of time in them, then this song came on the radio and I immediately loved it. It sounds like an instant classic. Its just simple catchy indie rock really. Just great songwriting which Im sure Dinosaur Jr fans have known for a very long time but something I discovered this year, slap me for being slow.
Man I could go on, Im really enjoying listening to these again! If you want to listen to a lot more check out my spotify playlist here. So many more awesome tracks. So little time.
I'll finish off with a quick list of my top albums, I might write more about these another time, but history dictates I probably wont:
1. Alt-J - An Awesome Wave
2. Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game
3. Hot Chip - In Our Heads
4. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's - Here
5. Jack White - Blunderbuss
6. Little Comets - Life is Elsewhere
7. Divine Fits - This is Divine Fits
8. Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred
9. Hospitality - Hospitality
10. Passion Pit - Gossamer
Hope you enjoyed the read - comments / abuse welcome!
Sunday, 15 January 2012
2011 with no lists.
Hark! I am writing a 2011 review and there will be no lists! I also intend to begin all my blog posts with Hark from now on.
No lists? Yeah! Fuck convention! See that rule book? *struggles to rip it up and throws it at closed window*
Instead Im gonna highlight a few tracks I loved in 2011, some soundtracked important moments in my life, some were just great tracks. Some were not even released in 2011 - what was that? A jaw dropping? Yeah! You heard! Some songs in this blog will be OLD, maybe from 2010 or 2009 and shit. Im such a goddamn rebel. But it will be mainly my favourite stuff of 2011, it WILL be informative. Strap in.
So I turned 30 in 2011 and threw a party on a boat on the thames which will go down as one of the best nights of my life, surrounded by the people I love most. I chose all the music all night long and they couldn't escape. It was like a bigger version of having control of the car stereo, that captive audience you've always craved to play your favourite tunes to. It was ace, and a band that ive loved since my last landmark birthday; The Strokes had released an awesome single the month previous - it was played, it was received indifferently.
The Strokes Under Cover of Darkness.
Shame the rest of the album sucked.
This was also played that night and was received a hell of a lot better, in fact it was raucous. Not really known as a party band but what the heck I threw it in there, we sang and we shouted FUCK a lot, I dont remember a great deal from this night, but I'll remember this for a long time :)
The National - Mr November
May came and we went to our favourite festival The Great Escape, in Brighton. Ive already posted a lot of tracks from the bands who played there in this blog (Yuck and Cults went on to make 2 of my favourite albums of the year) but the next track is by a band I didnt get to see due to clashes, but I reckon this could be my favourite track of 2011.
SBTRKT - Wildfire
My favourite artist of the year was Patrick Wolf and he was responsible for some of my favourite gig moments of 2011 as he's someone me and my friends all love and have loved for a while. We stood gobsmacked at the Bloomsbury Ballroom together when he first played some of the new songs and we danced irish jigs to The Libertine at the album release party at The Garage. Its been amazing seeing him grow over the past few years to this happy confident performer. The album Lupercalia celebrated his new found love and happiness. Its a brilliant album and Id recommend it to anyone, this is one of my favourite tracks on it.
Patrick Wolf - Bermondsey Street
In July we saw Pulp reform at Wireless in Hyde Park, it was a cracking line up and by this time I kinda knew Id be moving to the states soon so me and my mate Romi decided to have a lads day. TV on the Radio were playing as well as Foals whom we both adored. It was wicked, I wasnt expecting TV on the Radio to be SO good, it was one of the best live performances of the year and it highlighted how strong the new album is, its definitely in my top 10 if i was doing a list, which im not remember. Foals were sweaty bouncy and joyous as always, but I enjoyed TV on the Radio more as it was unexpected. Pulp.... well lets just say it was emotional :) This day was also the day I paid attention to Metronomy. They were really catchy, I got the album afterwards and it went on to be my favourite album of the year.
TV on the Radio - You (This video is brilliant too)
Metronomy - Corrinne
I guess the reason Im doing my annual music review in this fashion this year is I had two major life changes, turning 30 and moving to America. I'd say moving to the states was probably the hardest decision ive ever had to make it, leaving your friends and family is not fucking easy, but what it did was show me how lucky I am to have them all. Massive outpourings of love were commonplace in the latter half of the year and I wondered if i'd made the right decision a few times. In the first month we were here we went to the CMJ festival, Pitchfork had a free bar on a hotel roof in Brooklyn on a glorious late summer sunshine with DOM and Neon Indian playing. I do miss England and all my family and friends, but it is sexy living in America.
DOM - Living in America
OK some new shit, the first proper gig we went to in the US was at the Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. You enter what appears to be a storage lock up through the most inconspicous of doorways. There was free vodka for 2 hours and that was the main reason I was there if Im honest, Id trusted the wife with researching the bands and all credit to her, she'd done a stirling job. Dominant Legs are the guitarist from Girls side project so they had some pedigree (not that I know many Girls tracks). They make great 80s hook-laden pop songs, I bought the album from the merch stall afterwards as I was so impressed, I rarely do this in fact I cant remember ever doing it. It may have been the 5 double vodkas I had consumed in 1 and a half hours but I was positive at that time they were the next best thing. It turned out to be a cracking album, not since I had returned from a night out with a 6ft Vinnie Jones cardboard cut out had a split second drunken decision been so rewarding.
Dominant Legs - Hoop of Love
2 quickfire tracks now as Im tiring and Im sure you are too. But stick with me, I got some good un's left.
Discovered these rather lazily in a best of 2011 list, apparently the blog in question hadnt got the memo that lists were passe and there was a new maverick way of reviewing a year musically which would take the world by storm. The Weeknd stopped me in my tracks I hadnt heard anything like them before, the nearest likeness I had was The XX, but people were describing them as Hip Hop, and they were, but more bare and soulful. Stripped down R n B, with some cracking lyrics a great voice and sound. The best thing was all their stuff is FREE. Seriously go here now and download House of Balloons, thats my favourite, if you like that get the rest, theyre good too, especially the Dirty Diana cover on Echoes of Silence.
The Weeknd - Wicked Games
From sublime stripped back R n B Im moving onto a Christmas song, by 2 indie band members. 2 bands (Editors and Razorlight) I couldnt give a monkeys about really, but my friend Keith sent me this album and I dont know whether it was the need for something Christmassy or the christmas drinking sessions but I decided to give it a listen. Funny Looking Angels is a class album, Tom from Editors was made to sing xmas songs and frankly I dont know why hes sat wasting his time with those Editors chaps when clearly he should be carving out a career as the new Nat King Cole. Theres a number of great tracks on the album but this video is recorded right in front of where I used to work in London and it was really comforting hearing a new song i loved, with the video set in a part of the world I love at a time of year I love spending with the family and friends. Happy Christmas everyone!! *This would have had way more impact if I couldve done this blog before Christmas...
Funny Looking Angels - When the Thames Froze
No lists? Yeah! Fuck convention! See that rule book? *struggles to rip it up and throws it at closed window*
Instead Im gonna highlight a few tracks I loved in 2011, some soundtracked important moments in my life, some were just great tracks. Some were not even released in 2011 - what was that? A jaw dropping? Yeah! You heard! Some songs in this blog will be OLD, maybe from 2010 or 2009 and shit. Im such a goddamn rebel. But it will be mainly my favourite stuff of 2011, it WILL be informative. Strap in.
So I turned 30 in 2011 and threw a party on a boat on the thames which will go down as one of the best nights of my life, surrounded by the people I love most. I chose all the music all night long and they couldn't escape. It was like a bigger version of having control of the car stereo, that captive audience you've always craved to play your favourite tunes to. It was ace, and a band that ive loved since my last landmark birthday; The Strokes had released an awesome single the month previous - it was played, it was received indifferently.
The Strokes Under Cover of Darkness.
Shame the rest of the album sucked.
This was also played that night and was received a hell of a lot better, in fact it was raucous. Not really known as a party band but what the heck I threw it in there, we sang and we shouted FUCK a lot, I dont remember a great deal from this night, but I'll remember this for a long time :)
The National - Mr November
May came and we went to our favourite festival The Great Escape, in Brighton. Ive already posted a lot of tracks from the bands who played there in this blog (Yuck and Cults went on to make 2 of my favourite albums of the year) but the next track is by a band I didnt get to see due to clashes, but I reckon this could be my favourite track of 2011.
SBTRKT - Wildfire
My favourite artist of the year was Patrick Wolf and he was responsible for some of my favourite gig moments of 2011 as he's someone me and my friends all love and have loved for a while. We stood gobsmacked at the Bloomsbury Ballroom together when he first played some of the new songs and we danced irish jigs to The Libertine at the album release party at The Garage. Its been amazing seeing him grow over the past few years to this happy confident performer. The album Lupercalia celebrated his new found love and happiness. Its a brilliant album and Id recommend it to anyone, this is one of my favourite tracks on it.
Patrick Wolf - Bermondsey Street
In July we saw Pulp reform at Wireless in Hyde Park, it was a cracking line up and by this time I kinda knew Id be moving to the states soon so me and my mate Romi decided to have a lads day. TV on the Radio were playing as well as Foals whom we both adored. It was wicked, I wasnt expecting TV on the Radio to be SO good, it was one of the best live performances of the year and it highlighted how strong the new album is, its definitely in my top 10 if i was doing a list, which im not remember. Foals were sweaty bouncy and joyous as always, but I enjoyed TV on the Radio more as it was unexpected. Pulp.... well lets just say it was emotional :) This day was also the day I paid attention to Metronomy. They were really catchy, I got the album afterwards and it went on to be my favourite album of the year.
TV on the Radio - You (This video is brilliant too)
Metronomy - Corrinne
I guess the reason Im doing my annual music review in this fashion this year is I had two major life changes, turning 30 and moving to America. I'd say moving to the states was probably the hardest decision ive ever had to make it, leaving your friends and family is not fucking easy, but what it did was show me how lucky I am to have them all. Massive outpourings of love were commonplace in the latter half of the year and I wondered if i'd made the right decision a few times. In the first month we were here we went to the CMJ festival, Pitchfork had a free bar on a hotel roof in Brooklyn on a glorious late summer sunshine with DOM and Neon Indian playing. I do miss England and all my family and friends, but it is sexy living in America.
DOM - Living in America
OK some new shit, the first proper gig we went to in the US was at the Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. You enter what appears to be a storage lock up through the most inconspicous of doorways. There was free vodka for 2 hours and that was the main reason I was there if Im honest, Id trusted the wife with researching the bands and all credit to her, she'd done a stirling job. Dominant Legs are the guitarist from Girls side project so they had some pedigree (not that I know many Girls tracks). They make great 80s hook-laden pop songs, I bought the album from the merch stall afterwards as I was so impressed, I rarely do this in fact I cant remember ever doing it. It may have been the 5 double vodkas I had consumed in 1 and a half hours but I was positive at that time they were the next best thing. It turned out to be a cracking album, not since I had returned from a night out with a 6ft Vinnie Jones cardboard cut out had a split second drunken decision been so rewarding.
Dominant Legs - Hoop of Love
2 quickfire tracks now as Im tiring and Im sure you are too. But stick with me, I got some good un's left.
Discovered these rather lazily in a best of 2011 list, apparently the blog in question hadnt got the memo that lists were passe and there was a new maverick way of reviewing a year musically which would take the world by storm. The Weeknd stopped me in my tracks I hadnt heard anything like them before, the nearest likeness I had was The XX, but people were describing them as Hip Hop, and they were, but more bare and soulful. Stripped down R n B, with some cracking lyrics a great voice and sound. The best thing was all their stuff is FREE. Seriously go here now and download House of Balloons, thats my favourite, if you like that get the rest, theyre good too, especially the Dirty Diana cover on Echoes of Silence.
The Weeknd - Wicked Games
From sublime stripped back R n B Im moving onto a Christmas song, by 2 indie band members. 2 bands (Editors and Razorlight) I couldnt give a monkeys about really, but my friend Keith sent me this album and I dont know whether it was the need for something Christmassy or the christmas drinking sessions but I decided to give it a listen. Funny Looking Angels is a class album, Tom from Editors was made to sing xmas songs and frankly I dont know why hes sat wasting his time with those Editors chaps when clearly he should be carving out a career as the new Nat King Cole. Theres a number of great tracks on the album but this video is recorded right in front of where I used to work in London and it was really comforting hearing a new song i loved, with the video set in a part of the world I love at a time of year I love spending with the family and friends. Happy Christmas everyone!! *This would have had way more impact if I couldve done this blog before Christmas...
Funny Looking Angels - When the Thames Froze
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