Measuring time without a watch: I figure that this must be the main value of all these (decade- and) year-end lists.  We know a year has passed, but these lists give us another coherent way to account for time beyond conventional chronometrics, through a kind of historical-cultural matrix instead.  Of course, we gauge our events [...]

As a preface and caveat I would like to admit that I missed a lot of Bloomington shows in 2009. I’ve picked five of the most awesome shows I did attend to write about here.

Beach House at the John Waldron Arts Center: I expected to be wowed at this show since Beach House would be [...]

Looking upon the completed version of this “best of” list, I realized that I’ve moved on.  Already ready to proclaim the Beach House, Lindstrøm & Christabelle, Charlotte Gainsbourg, King Midas Sound, and Tracey Thorn (revisit) that I’m listening to right now to be my “favorites” of the moment.
But I guess that is the point: media [...]

First, live:  I see a lot of shows. Its really hard to choose.  In roughly chronological order…
Gentleman Jesse + Paul Collins Beat @ Bear’s Place (Jan 2009) There was a snowstorm. It was midweek. But a small crowd came out and  was completely floored by this amazing performance from a legend and  the winner of [...]

jj no. 2 The soundtrack to my summer, heard it at too many parties and in too many cars…but still not enough
Neon Indian Psychic Chasms The soundtrack to my summer, pt 2. Me and (noted Bloomingtonian) Jon Coombs jamming this in the middle of Indiana outside some greasy pizza joint, again through the corn fields [...]

Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle To be honest, Callahan could probably release anything and I would love it.  He’s one of my favorite lyricists and there’s a sort of wryness to his voice that has got me since I heard “Julius Caesar” way back.  Another sort of honest statement is that [...]

Here is a top 9 in alphabetical order, then a few more records I liked, then some other things:
1. Akron/Family Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free (Dead Oceans) Music doesn’t belong in boxes. Tributaries intersect regularly to create new styles and reinvent the old. But in the ’90s, the concept of genre-bending/splicing/smashing seemed to become [...]

UGK 4 Life While far from the year’s best album and definitely not its best story, UGK’s (possible) final album is by far the most important musical anything in my world this year. Pimp C is probably the only artist for whom I consider myself a fanboy, and his death has left a major void [...]

It took me until the beginning of this year to finally get to the point where the overload of music and its attendant discourses provided by the internet made me feel like my critical sensibilities were completely shutting down, like I was unable to like, or even distinguish, anything anymore.* So I stopped reading music [...]

Bat For Lashes Two Suns (Astralwerks/Parlophone) Sounds like a modern British and/or old American western version of the best Tori Amos album that never happened.
Bear In Heaven Beast Rest Forth Mouth (Hometapes) Post-wave-psych-pop-rock-tronica?  This album is great.  And I’m quite pleased the @marathonpacks review pointed it out to me.
Beirut March of the Zapotec/Holland EP (Ba [...]