Alright, let's start this thing. Music is the thing I know how to write well about the least, so, please, don't excuse my unceremonious nature when talking about these tunes—but also don't say anything negative because I refuse to listen to anyone who would say I'm wrong or snobby, for I know very well that I'm usually both of those.
In no particular order, but with obvious bias written in appropriate entries, here're the things I enjoyed listening to the most this year, 2015:
ABSOLUTELY NUMBER 1: Alive! At the Village Gate 1962 - Coleman Hawkins
Yeah this was probably one of the best things I listened to this year that I think would be the most generally appropriate thing to share with you, the Reader. Jazz is pretty cool sometimes, and Coleman Hawkins is probably even just as cool.
Real talk: this is basically a big ol' cover album (though, how much of jazz and bebop wasn't? (rhetorical—I don't actually know, please don't tell me though)). With some old spirituals (Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho is probably the absolutely number 1 best song on the album, jsyk) and other popular numbers from around that... decade or so, like Mack the Knife and Bean and the Boys (those are nice, you'd recognize them, probably, I swear!), this live album is a collection of Really Good Stuff that you should Listen To. This is the kind of warm music you'd listen to in a cafe or bar that had a lot of wooden furniture and yellow lights. The chair's soft and you're just whiling away your time, listening to this, maybe tapping your foot and thinking. Or something. That's what this sounds like.
I really like Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho and feel like I need to link it here and be done talking about this album, though, because, I can't really.... accurately talk about music. And there's more music to talk about..!!
Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, and He Did a P Good Job If It Sounded Anything like This When He Did It
ACTUALLY, THIS IS MY #1 BUT I WANTED TO SOFTEN YOU UP: Happy End (はっぴえんど)
I chose the entire band's discography for this, but it's not cheating, because I make up my own rules on my own blog that I update once a year-ish. So, yeah. Happy End was a band that was around for a couple years after 1969 who made a couple albums and then fell apart, largely in part to their disillusionment with America—they were, as a lot of young Japanese fellas during the time, kinda enamored with western culture. As their success grew they were recognized by some higher-ups in America and offered a shot to make an album with a record company... Things didn't really pan out and because they didn't speak much english they were taken advantage of and yeah, they broke up and broke hearts across Japan with their wholly unique (at the time) sound.
I read that in a blog post I can no longer find earlier in the year, so I paraphrased and got most of it right. But that's not why I'm telling you to listen to them! I just wanted to prove that they were real, maybe to you.. maybe to myself.
Anyway, if you were the type that found yourself listening to J-Rock and J-Pop like ME in middle school/high school/dark moments in your college career/etc. (I FREELY ADMIT IT), but find yourself wanting to hear something a little more folksy because you're in your mid-twenties and That's A Thing Right Now, you might like these guys. If we're Facebook Official Friends then you'd probably seen me post numerous times about them when I first discovered them, but you should really check em out if you haven't.
I have a suggestion for listening to them: burn some on a CD, get in your car, make sure it's like 90 something degrees that day, and drive around with the windows down. This is that Summer Music, that Sweet Lovin' You Need, that Pick-Me-Up-Why-Don't-You we all inevitably need in this collapsing economy. American Culture won't last very much longer, and soon all will rust and things that you thought used to mean so much to you will pale in the cold light of the Trump-Clump-Cult's all-consuming empire, but... you'll always have catchy tunes like this until the Electromagnetic Pulse that'll kickstart the second stone age pops.
tell me why this doesn't sound like some summer day in your misspent youth, i want you to tell me to my face
#8 In the Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson
This was my eighth fave album this year.
I wasn't really into rock and stuff in 6th-7th grade when everyone was buying their black Dickies jackets and covering them with patches from bands like "Poison" and "ACDC" and "Gunmetal Sex Roses" (the latter of which should totally be a band), but I'll always remember that that happened. Do you guys still have those jackets?? They probably still fit, they were HUGE. No, instead, I got a patch of a hyper-realistic mushroom and tried to put it on my backpack because I like the Mario Brothers and was a Huge Nerd.
Anyway, I thought this album would remind me of those days, in a way—a lot of kids listening to music with mature subject matter we all pretended to understand, like girls, drugs, different roads you could take in Hell, uh... sex?? I think I got it all. But it didn't, thank goodness.
Instead, it felt like listening to some weird medieval fan fiction set to music. I was reading a lot of Chaucer at the time (ann appropriately-timed humble brag) and could only imagine lowly bards with skull-caps singing these songs. Imagine my horror when I saw that they all actually are very hairy men. Maybe don't click that, though, if you want to have the same vision I did while listening to their (very difficult to secure outside of a physical CD) albums. I've only listened to the one, but it was really wonderful. It's also really moody too, which is probably why everyone in 6th grade loved it. I'd post a song right here, but, the band's really touchy with internet (which I feel only helps to play towards my head-canon of them being a group of luddites cast back in time to play music for a ruddy king whose heart is cold and dead), so, here's that picture I was talking about earlier. I'll link it again. Please don't look at it, though.
THE BEST: 1967-1975 - Prokofiev - Piano Concerto 3, Ravel - Piano Concerto in G, Gaspard de la nuit (Martha Argerich, Claudio Abbado)
To summon more memories from my Formative Years (just 6th grade, my catalyst and crucible), when I was sad or writing (usually those coincided) I would lock myself in the bathroom as this was the only place in the whole house I could get absolute darkness in the middle of the day. I would take out my Handy-Dandy Walkman and turn the volume waaaaay up and listen to, on repeat, the Manfred Symphony by Tchaikovski, because, that's who I was back then.
In the dark I would be able to sculpt incredible landscapes and plot-arcs according to the music I was listening to, and Manfred served me well for many years. It's still one of my favorite pieces of music to listen to while trying to be creative or sort through difficult thoughts (I also couple it with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 when I need some ~spice~). You can thank Geneon's Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, a cyber-punk anime with a much healthier dose of Boy-Love than I initially noticed, for these classical piece recommendations, as that was like my Bread and Butter. A moody space anime based on my favorite novel of all time??? sign ggn;krme e upp (don't click that link around children, please. let them grow in heathy environments before you expose them to potentially harmful, degenerative memes.)
Anyway, all that being said, I believe I've found the next most important album for my Life (as I'll be digesting this album for the rest of it). Claudia Abbado and Martha Argerich, the latter a mystery to me and the former quite popular on the classical station I listen to on my way to/from work daily (KUSC, 91.5 FM, etc.), work together to perform works from Prokofiev and Ravel in a way wholly ethereal. If I had time/enough sanity to justify sealing myself in a completely pitch-black room, I'd run headlong in with this massive collection. The first 30 minutes alone have enough swell and passion to completely Mess You Up.
I want to grow old with this album.
we live in an era where you can just listen to this whoooole performance for free, please abuse this
BEST FEEL GOOD MUSIC FOR WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL YOUR BEST/GOOD - Katamari Damacy Original Soundtrack
"Oh no... a video game so und tr a ck . . . zach i, gotta, go ,,,,"
It's okay, you can leave. I'll sit here and wait for you to come back. I'll stick around and talk to everyone else who stayed about this really great Japanese album.
"haha...!! it's japanese, huh??..... [sweating] zach i forgot to eat lunch and my hypo's acting up rn, so, lol, i'll brb???? i'll be back before you finish talking about this ... uh anime??? right?
??????"
.... .. . . ... . . . .
For those of you who stayed, let's talk about How Good This Album Is. Prior to this album, it was extremely rare for games to have as much lyrical work as this one did—especially not music that was so bizarre. Never before, I CLAIM, WILLING TO DIE HERE ON THIS HILL, has a game soundtrack so brilliantly complimented the game itself. You've got your dub-stepping call of duties, your "wah wah wah"-ing mario games now, and you've even got that lurid jpop shrieking through garbled neon menus in all your anime games nowadays, but Lord Knows we'll probably never have something as charming and wholesome as Katamari Damacy ever again.
The game itself focuses on you creating new stars and planets after your irresponsible father, the King of Cosmos, sambas through the galaxy and destroys most of them besides Earth. You are sent to Earth to collect all its excess (a big talk on materialism in our culture I will omit because Your Ears Will Burn) and crumple them together to make new Space Stuff.
That plot should make you like all hot and bothered, now imagine having the perfect soundtrack to accompany you while you set about restoring the universe, all the while being cajoled by your father. Yes! It does exist. And it's incredible. The album can stand very well on its own, too, otherwise I probably wouldn't be evangelizing here right now. Through many rough spots in college and times since then where I've felt the cold grip of [insert any number of discussions on the presidential election, syrian refugees, the police, my career, what i want to eat for lunch, etc., here], I've turned to this album to bring myself cheer. Its upbeat pace and incredible (!!!!!!) instrumental accompaniment is enough to pick you up off your feet and get you back on track for... whatever your track is leading to, I guess!!
Like all the other pieces I wrote about, I'm not very good at explaining the finer details, so suffice it to say: you should definitely check some of these out (my faves being Katamari on the Rocks, Que Sera Sera, and Gin & Tonic & Red Red Roses).
you could be better, this is your chance
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Some Honorable Mentions (mostly video game ost's because i knew i wouldn't be able to keep you interested that long in my already weird selection):
A Love Supreme - John Coltrane - i would try if i could write about music better. def check it out, tho.
Pokemon Trading Card Game (Game Boy Color) OST - woof. WOOF. [hoot and hollers loudly]
UNDERTALE OST - Toby Fox - i'm gonna write a lot about this game so i'll save you the hassle of skipping past more writing about the best game of 2015
Trigun OST - Tsuneo Imahori - my theme song collection
~ ~ ~
Anyway, that really concludes what I've got to say about Music I listened to in 2015. Join me tomorrow for a thrilling discussion on Video Games! A thing you might be embarrassed about, but join me in embarrassing myself! People like that.
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