the trouble with writing
i should really be more diligent. but whatever.
i've been trying to think of the best songs, albums and gigs of the year, but it's impossible to narrow it down. i mean i had settled on five albums, but then i keep remembering others that seem great but i haven't spent enough time with them, so i can't honestly say that i think they're better than the others i initially picked, but i feel they deserve attention...
the albums i marked as being the best are... spank rock - yoyoyoyoyo, thom yorke - the eraser, mstrkrft - the looks, sufjan stevens - the avalanche and clipse's hell hath no fury. even though i haven't heard that one. but i know it's good. i ordered it, so it's on its way, and if it isn't as good as i expect it to be, i will publicly retract the above. but the other four are magnificent.
but then i start to think about album's like alex smoke's paradolia, and cat power's the greatest, and broken social scene's self-titled album, james holden's the idiots are winning and coldcut's sound mirrors, and these keep coming to mind, and i feel like i've let these people down. well not really, because they'll never know... but it bugs me...
then i start to wonder about the point of writing about music. it is IMPOSSIBLE to put into words what i feel about this or that, and yet i'm trying anyway. but even then i'm not even sure why i'm writing in the first place. am i trying to help people find music that i think is great? am i trying to impress people by showing that i like cool music? because that's entirely pointless. and saying something cool is as inane as saying something is good. both completely meaningless words in this (or any other) day and age.
oh well.
my gigs of the year are just as difficult to pin down. i know what the two best were. no question about it, they were daft punk at marlay park and jeff tweedy in vicar street. both combined musical excellence with a specific mood - that at daft punk being total and utter fun (another ridiculous word but it's the only way of describing that night) and at jeff tweedy being, well, melancholy - and led to an experience that will linger in my mind longer than any other. these were both more than just gigs. daft punk made leaving america early more than worthwhile, and made up for all the crap times i had gone through this summer, while jeff tweedy chronicled the end of the most important relationship of my life so far.
but as well as that i was at AMAZING gigs from the likes of (in alphabetical order, of course!): Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif, Architecture in Helsinki, Blackalicious, Bonde do Role, Broken Social Scene, Coldcut (Live), Damien Rice, Death Cab For Cutie, Devendra Banhart , Diplo (DJ Set), Elbow, Erol Alkan (DJ Set), Final Fantasy, Iron & Wine, Jens Lekman, Mogwai, Nickel Creek, Sufjan Stevens and Wilco. and more. these are the best gigs i went to. and that's saying something. blackalicious was the best hip-hop show i'll ever see, bonde do role was crazy, broken social scene were awesome, coldcut were legends on stage, death cab were the nicest rock band you'll ever see, diplo blew my mind (twice), elbow seemed to enjoy themselves more than anyone else i saw all year, final fantasy held everyone in a trance, iron and wine were a lot louder than you'd expect, mogwai were an unexpected treat, nickel creek covered radiohead AND britney spears, sufjan was epic, and wilco were just bloody brilliant.
but how can one possibly compartmentalise that into a few words? even in saying the above i've left out so many minor details that added up to create each and every hour or two in itself...
ugh.
i've been trying to think of the best songs, albums and gigs of the year, but it's impossible to narrow it down. i mean i had settled on five albums, but then i keep remembering others that seem great but i haven't spent enough time with them, so i can't honestly say that i think they're better than the others i initially picked, but i feel they deserve attention...
the albums i marked as being the best are... spank rock - yoyoyoyoyo, thom yorke - the eraser, mstrkrft - the looks, sufjan stevens - the avalanche and clipse's hell hath no fury. even though i haven't heard that one. but i know it's good. i ordered it, so it's on its way, and if it isn't as good as i expect it to be, i will publicly retract the above. but the other four are magnificent.
but then i start to think about album's like alex smoke's paradolia, and cat power's the greatest, and broken social scene's self-titled album, james holden's the idiots are winning and coldcut's sound mirrors, and these keep coming to mind, and i feel like i've let these people down. well not really, because they'll never know... but it bugs me...
then i start to wonder about the point of writing about music. it is IMPOSSIBLE to put into words what i feel about this or that, and yet i'm trying anyway. but even then i'm not even sure why i'm writing in the first place. am i trying to help people find music that i think is great? am i trying to impress people by showing that i like cool music? because that's entirely pointless. and saying something cool is as inane as saying something is good. both completely meaningless words in this (or any other) day and age.
oh well.
my gigs of the year are just as difficult to pin down. i know what the two best were. no question about it, they were daft punk at marlay park and jeff tweedy in vicar street. both combined musical excellence with a specific mood - that at daft punk being total and utter fun (another ridiculous word but it's the only way of describing that night) and at jeff tweedy being, well, melancholy - and led to an experience that will linger in my mind longer than any other. these were both more than just gigs. daft punk made leaving america early more than worthwhile, and made up for all the crap times i had gone through this summer, while jeff tweedy chronicled the end of the most important relationship of my life so far.
but as well as that i was at AMAZING gigs from the likes of (in alphabetical order, of course!): Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif, Architecture in Helsinki, Blackalicious, Bonde do Role, Broken Social Scene, Coldcut (Live), Damien Rice, Death Cab For Cutie, Devendra Banhart , Diplo (DJ Set), Elbow, Erol Alkan (DJ Set), Final Fantasy, Iron & Wine, Jens Lekman, Mogwai, Nickel Creek, Sufjan Stevens and Wilco. and more. these are the best gigs i went to. and that's saying something. blackalicious was the best hip-hop show i'll ever see, bonde do role was crazy, broken social scene were awesome, coldcut were legends on stage, death cab were the nicest rock band you'll ever see, diplo blew my mind (twice), elbow seemed to enjoy themselves more than anyone else i saw all year, final fantasy held everyone in a trance, iron and wine were a lot louder than you'd expect, mogwai were an unexpected treat, nickel creek covered radiohead AND britney spears, sufjan was epic, and wilco were just bloody brilliant.
but how can one possibly compartmentalise that into a few words? even in saying the above i've left out so many minor details that added up to create each and every hour or two in itself...
ugh.
posted by Aidan at 8:25 PM
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