Best of 2016: Albums

To be honest, it was kind of hard to make the top ten this year and I really could have interchanged any of the top six albums because unlike the last few years there was no clear cut favorite album of the year for me. With that out of the way, here are the album I enjoyed the most from 2016.


10) Blood Orange - Freetown Sound

With third album the name Blood Orange, Dev Hynes made a very bold decision. Hynes once again is the primary composer and musician for Freetown Sound but he takes more of a backseat vocally as he recruited an amazing collection of female singers including Empress Of, Debbie Harry, Carly Rae Jepsen, Nelly Furtado and Kelsey Lu to provide a large amount of the vocals. The album changes tonally throughout the 16 tracks but somehow manages to remain cohesive.

Listen to Best to You

9) Lewis Del Mar - Lewis Del Mar

There's a hint of Alt-J and Tune-Yards in this debut effort from the New York City based duo Lewis Del Mar. That being said, the album felt like a breath of fresh air from an artist I wasn't familiar with before this year. From the opening track 'Such Small Scenes', I was instantly intrigued by the direction of the album.

Listed to Painting (Masterpiece)


8) Miike Snow - iii

I've been a fan of Miike Snow since shortly after the self-titled debut album was released in 2009. However, this year it was taken to another level with iii which is a great album that I was able to see performed live (most of it anyway) during a great concert at Pappy & Harriet's. iii has the great hooks you've come to expect from Miike Snow but also some slower and somber moments in terrific songs like 'I Feel The Weight' which never feels out of place.

Listen to I Feel The Weight

7) Explosions In The Sky - The Wilderness

Almost exactly five years after the release of their last studio album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, one of my absolute favorite bands returned with The Wilderness. For the unindoctrinated, Explosions In The Sky has no vocals and they generally don't write in songs as much as they do movements like a classical composer. The Wilderness has nine tracks which is more than any previous album and they are shorter than the typical Explosions In The Sky songs but remain incredibly powerful. The first time I gave the entire album a dedicated listen was five days after it was released as I walked along the beach in San Diego shortly after being laid off from my old job and it was a life affirmed experience. I was then lucky enough to see them live for the 8th time the next month at the Ace Hotel. I've mentioned it before but if you have a chance to see them live it will be something you will not regret.

Listen to Disintegration Anxiety


6) Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow

I first became aware of Nothing in 2014 when their debut full length album Guilty of Everything came out and made my list of favorite albums that year. Tired of Tomorrow expands on the shoegaze soundscape they created in the first album and is more accessible without compromising the unique sound that makes them so great.

Listen to Vertigo Flowers

5) Yeasayer - Amen & Goodbye

From the opening notes of the very Pink Floyd esque intro track 'Daughters Of Cain', I was completely on board with Amen & Goodbye. Nearly a decade since their debut album All Hour Cymbals, Yeasayer has released what I feel is there most complete effort. Yeasayer as been tagged with the labeled of experimental rock which I think it generally misused when a band or artist can't be categorized into a traditional genre of music but in Amen & Goodbye they do experiment with a wide variety of sounds (including the theremin heavy track 'Uma') and the results of their experimentation are fantastic.

Listen to I Am Chemistry


4) Bon Iver - 22, A Million

If the second Bon Iver album was considered a departure from the first record, then the most recent album 22, A Million is from a different planet. Not everything on the album completely lands with me this time around but most of it does and several of them are among the best songs I heard this year even though they're difficult songs to reference in conversation like '8 (circle)' and '22 (OVER S∞∞N)'.

Listen to 33 "GOD"


3) Flock of Dimes - If You See Me, Say Yes

For fans of Jenn Wasner like myself, 2016 was a sweet relief. Not only did Wasner and her collaborator Andy Stack release a new Wye Oak record entitled Tween appropriately titled as it's somewhere between an EP and a full length LP, but Wasner also released her debut solo album under the moniker Flock of Dimes. You may not know her by name but there's a good chance you've heard Wasner's angelic voice as the Wye Oak song Civilian of the album of the same name has been listened to tens of millions times after being featured on an episode of The Walking Dead. If You See Me, Say Yes is full of expertly crafted melodies accompanied by Wasner's angelic voice that seeming floats above the music.

Listen to Semaphore


2) Jim James - Eternally Even

One year after releasing the seventh studio album with My Morning Jacket, frontman Jim James released his second solo album Eternally Even. As a member of My Morning Jacket, James has helped write a few of my favorite songs of the last 10-15 years (as well as a couple of my favorite late night talk show performances) and now he's created one of my favorite albums. Eternally Even is just one mellow groove song after another that flow so well together they practically melt into each other. It's album that feels like it could've been recorded in the late 1960s and should be able to continue to stand the test of time.

Listen to Here In Spirit


1) Hammock - Everything and Nothing

I remarked before on previous lists that when you listen to dozens or hundreds of albums every year, being able to remember where you were and what you were doing when you first heard an album is general a good sign of the impression that it left on you. I remember Everything and Nothing was released on April 1st along with about half a dozen albums I really had been anticipating including two which also made this list (Amen & Goodbye and The Wilderness) but Everything and Nothing is the album that I kept coming back to as the year went on. I'm generally of the opinion that no album should be over an hour long but this is the exception that proves the rule as it glides for 76 minutes of sonic bliss.

Listen to Glassy Blue


Honorable mention:

The 1975 - I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
Beach Slang - A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings
Car Seat Headrest - Teens Of Denial
Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!"
Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
Francis and the Lights - Farewell, Starlite!
Frank Ocean - Blonde
Glass Animals - How To Be A Human Being
John K. Samson - Winter Wheat
Peals - Honey
The Radio Dept. - Running Out Of Love
Weezer - Weezer (White Album)

Best of 2016: Songs

Sames rules apply as per usual: no repeat artists or multiple songs from the same album. You can listen to my Best of 2016 Spotify playlist here that has all these songs and over a hundred more released in 2016. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this year was gonna measure up but I had to cut some songs I thought were really, really good to make this list of my 30 favorite.


30) M83 - Solitude
29) Sleigh Bells - I Can Only Stare
28) Everything Everything - I Believe It Now
27) Young The Giant - Amerika
26) Classixx - Just Let Go (feat. How To Dress Well)
25) Sundara Karma - Loveblood
24) Chairlift - Moth to the Flame
23) Jack Garratt - Worry
22) Car Seat Headrest - Vincent
21) Miike Snow - Heart Is Full
20) Frank Ocean - Ivy
19) Har Mar Superstar - Anybody's Game
18) James Blake - I Need A Forest Fire (feat Bon Iver)
17) Beach Slang - Punks In A Disco Bar
16) Flock of Dimes - Minor Justice
15) All Human - Desert Fox Cubs Play Under a Sky Full of Stars
14) Follin - Roxy
13) Day Wave - Stuck
12) Dinosaur Jr. - Be a Part
11) Childish Gambino - Redbone
10) Local Natives - Fountain Of Youth
9) Lucius - Born Again Teen
8) Hammock - Everything and Nothing
7) Grouplove - Enlighten Me
6) Nothing - Vertigo Flowers
5) Glass Animals - Youth
4) Weezer - Jacked Up
3) Yeasayer - I Am Chemistry
2) Blood Orange - Best to You
1) Bon Iver - 33 "GOD"

So Your Asshole Friend Without Kids Wants To Give You Parenting Advice...

As you can probably guess from the title, I understand the audacity of writing this but I felt it was worthwhile regardless.

Today I was out for a morning walk with my dog Arrow listening to the most recent album by Explosions In The Sky when I had a bit of an epiphany.

Before leaving on the walk, I had emailed my mom who had asked me twice already for a Christmas list. I doubt it's normal for a 34 year old man to send a Christmas list to his mom but for better or worse that's the relationship I have with my mom. It has become harder each year to come up with a list because the kind of tangible things I used to collect like DVDs and CDs have become more or less obsolete in the streaming world. I also have a job that pays me decently so when there's something I feel I really want or need, then I usually buy it for myself. I told my mom I wouldn't mind a Movie Pass or movie gift card and I could use a new pair of walking shoes because my current pair has a hole in the heel likely caused by slipping them on and off without untying the laces. However, this year, partly inspired by my friend Travis who came up with a similar arrangement for he and I, I told my mom she could just make a donation to a charity for me.

I suggested the charity Friends & Helpers which I made a physical donation to last night. It's a charity that works with domestic abuse victims who are primarily women and children who have had to flee their homes. During the holidays Friends & Helpers works to give those victims a Christmas to restore some normalcy to a family going through a traumatic time. I drove out to Sunflower School in Glendora, CA dropped off a bag with a couple of movie theater gift cards, a baseball glove, a football, a soccer ball and a few packs of baseball cards. I'm a little out of touch so I don't know if young children have any interest in baseball cards but I figured it wouldn't hurt. The volunteers met me at my car and helped me to take the items out of my trunk then gave me a clipboard to write down my information and I was on my way. It was quick and easy.

There's no right or wrong way to donate your time, money or energy to a charitable cause but this felt more special to me because I was Christmas shopping for a young boy or girl. I realized after the fact my gifts might have been a little too catered towards boys but I'll work on that next time. It was more fulfilling than just clicking a button or writing a check.

Now back to the aforementioned epiphany; I realized during my morning walk that when I was a young boy, my mom would take me and my brother Aaron to pick out toys around Christmas but they weren't for us. We were as spoiled as a middle class family could get around Christmas, don't get me wrong but we would buy some presents to take to a shelter for abused women and children. I don't remember the exact name of the shelter and I wouldn't post it anyway because the name denoted the location and I remember my mom telling me the location was a secret so the abusers couldn't locate their victims. The memory of doing this hadn't crossed my mind for over 20 years until I realized I had done the same thing which brings me to the advice portion of this post.

Most of you who have children will spoil your kids because you love them more than anything in the world and that is okay. You should let your children know they are loved and I'm not trying to preach some pie in the sky ideology that says material gifts don't equal love. One of the most important things my mom did for me was showing love, compassion and empathy for other people which is something that became so ingrained in my psyche I ended up following her example without even realizing it.

This week after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, was Giving Tuesday which is sadly a lot less well known than the shopping holidays. I think part of it has to do with the fact that if you're anything like me, first of all- sorry, but secondly, it feels awkward to talk to someone about giving to a charity because maybe you'll think they'll judge you as someone who is only giving for the recognition. Over the last 24 hours, I've realized donating to charity is not something that only needs to be between you and your accountant when you file your taxes at the end of the year. So, don't feel the need to hold back from sharing if you do something charitable or see something charitable that inspires you but most importantly, share the process and experience with your children because it will help shape them into the men and women they will eventually become.

If this comes across as preachy and pious as it seems in my head, I hope my intentions are understood. I don't write this thinking I'm holier than thou. I can be angry, bitter, depressed or self-indulgent and sometimes all at once. I'll watch the David Foster Wallace commencement speech and try to be kinder to people then find myself honking and yelling at a stranger mere hours later but then I make a concerted effort to try again.

If you're looking for a first step in donations, I'd recommend checking a site like GuideStar just to make sure your hard earned money is going towards the charity and not to pay a board of directors who decides a good use of your money to send out nickels and address labels to contributors. The two charities I personally have donated to recently are Friends & Helpers and charity: water. As I was walking back towards my house and formulating these thoughts I felt a great sense of optimism because even though the country feels as angry and divided as it's been in a long time, the overwhelming majority of people are good and the friends of mine with children are raising them with love, compassion and empathy, and as long as we have that-