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The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2011

December 27, 2011 By Mark Leave a Comment

This list may fly in the face of most “best of” lists for 2011. Excluded are the overrated Bon Iver, James Blake, and the array of wince-inducing rap projects that have been embraced by particular hipster circles. Included are some albums that have been relentlessly bashed by the indie blogosphere, but ones we loved, such as The Strokes, Radiohead, and White Lies, as well as some that were completely ignored this year (Feersum Ennjin and Saul Williams).

We don’t call ‘em the best, just our favorites. These are the records that got the most plays on our iPods this year, our favorite albums of 2011:

1. Modeselektor – Monkeytown

2. Tapes ‘n Tapes – Outside

3. The Strokes – Angles

4. Radiohead – The King of Limbs

5. Feersum Ennjin – Feersum Ennjin

6. The Antlers – Burst Apart

7. Panda Bear – Tomboy

8. Wilco – The Whole Love

9. Saul Williams – Volcanic Sunlight

10. Atlas Sound – Parallax

11. TV On The Radio – Nine Types of Light

12. Puscifer – Conditions of My Parole

13. SONOIO – RED

14. Battles – Glass Drop

15. Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2

16. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

17. REM – Collapse Into Now

18. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

19. White Lies – Ritual

20. The Decemberists – The King Is Dead

Most Disappointing Albums of 2011:
Dredg – Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy
Ladytron – Gravity the Seducer

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: atlas sound, battles, beastie boys, feersum ennjin, m83, modeselektor, panda bear, PJ Harvey, Puscifer, radiohead, rem, saul williams, SONOIO, tapes N tapes, The Antlers, The Decemberists, the strokes, tv on the radio, white lies, wilco

Album Review: Nine Types Of Light

May 11, 2011 By Mark Leave a Comment

Return to Cookie Mountain is one of my all-time favorite records, so I’m with the minority of those who were not completely enamored by the band’s last release Dear Science. Yet, in Nine Types of Light, TV on the Radio has made a bold, unpredictable masterstroke that defies the characterization of a major label band. It’s as if TVOTR has found a recipe for songwriting that pleases the suits at Interscope, but, more importantly, remains loyal to fans who have followed the band into stardom.

Nine Types of Lights is a record from a band with absolute confidence in their craft. While a move from Brooklyn to LA during the recording process may have signaled that something has changed or needed changing, guitarist/producer Dave Sitek’s LA studio appears to have provided little interference on the band’s fifth full-length effort. They certainly brought Brooklyn’s soul with them on standout tracks like “Keep Your Heart” and “You.” The former would have fit nicely in the track listing for Return to Cookie Mountain, while the latter is my early pick for favorite track of the year. And “Caffeinated Consciousness” serves as a thunderous album closer, a stark contrast to “Lover’s Day” on Dear Science or the never-really-ending (14 “untitled” tracks)Return to Cookie Mountain. Maybe this communicates that the band is more sure of themselves these days and slightly less melancholy as Kyp Malone chants “We’re the tail-end of the sun | To a greener hideaway | Where in peace I found my fun” … probably not. It sounds more like the band just has more confidence that humanity will find its way out of the mire.

In the end, Nine Types of Light sounds like a more reserved revisiting of the formula that made me such a huge fan of the band when I first heard the stunning “Staring at the Sun” on the end credits of Entourage (not a true story). While it didn’t affect me as much or hit the creative peak that Return to Cookie Mountain did, it’s undoubtedly on my short list for favorite albums of 2011 so far. The band also made a 60-minute-long film to accompany the album and features each track. Watch and listen to Nine Types of Light in its entirety below:

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: tv on the radio

MP3: “Caffeinated Consciousness” by TV On The Radio

March 10, 2011 By Mark Leave a Comment

TV On The Radio share another track off their upcoming Nine Types of Light album (due April 12). You can download “Caffeinated Consciousness” from the widget on our homepage or stream it below:

Filed Under: MP3s Tagged With: tv on the radio

Album Review: Heligoland

January 25, 2010 By Nicholas Leave a Comment

With their fifth studio album release, has Massive Attack yet again made an ‘awe-worthy’ record with Heligoland? This album starts out with a nice chilled out track featuring Tunde Adebimpe from TV on the Radio, and “Paradise Circus,” which features that porn-laden music video, may deserve repeat listens. Heligoland has many featured artists on it; one being the always-chosen vocalist, Horace Andy (he was also featured on the track “Angel” off Massive Attack’s third studio album Mezzanine). The album also includes drum tracks contributed by the recently deceased Jerry Fuchs from !!!. However, the duo seems to have lost their gothic sound from past albums, which makes Heligoland just “another Massive Attack album.”

There isn’t one track on the album that I can honestly say, “I really want to listen to that song again.” Heligoland has a deluxe version available on iTunes with six remixed versions of songs off the album. Is it sad to say that the remixed songs are the best part of the album? Besides that, there will also be a vinyl release of the album available shortly. And the next thing to look for from Massive Attack is an upcoming EP that will be released May 2010. It will feature tracks from previous tours that are not included on this album. Though most of the Massive Attack albums are great to listen to, this one is surely one to fall asleep to.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: !!!, horace andy, massive attack, tv on the radio

Fishpork’s 100 Favorite Tracks of the 2000s

November 11, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

This is an attempt at the impossible. Here are our 100 favorite songs of the past decade (featuring multiple tracks from Animal Collective, The Knife, Radiohead, and Elliott Smith). Our top two choices are more like 1a and 1b. Be patient, as the page needs to load the embedded songs.

1. Panda Bear – “Bros” (2007)

2. The Knife – “We Share Our Mother’s Health” (2006)

3. Animal Collective – “For Reverend Green” (2007)

4. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait For The Others” (2009)

5. The Knife – “Heartbeats” (2003)

6. Grizzly Bear – “The Knife” (2005)

7. LCD Soundsystem – “Someone Great” (2007)

8. TV on the Radio – “Staring at the Sun” (2003)

9. Crystal Castles – “Crimewave” (2008)

10. Beirut – “Ciloqut” (2007)

11. Thom Yorke – “Harrowdown Hill

12. Animal Collective – “Derek” (2007)

13. Nine Inch Nails – “Me, I’m Not” (2007)

14. Beck – “Lonesome Tears” (2002)

15. At The Drive-in – “One Armed Scissor” (2004)

16. Animal Collective – “Grass” (2005)

17. Deerhunter – “Nothing Ever Happened” (2008)

18. Atlas Sound – “Recent Bedroom” (2008)

19. Panda Bear – “Comfy in Nautica” (2007)

20. System of a Down – “Chop Suey” (2001)

21. Animal Collective – “Peacebone” (2007)

22. Battles – “Atlas” (2007)

23. Error – “Jack the Ripper” (2004)

24. Enon – “Pleasure and the Privilege”

25. Elliott Smith – “Son of Sam” (2000)

26. Animal Collective – “Did You See the Words” (2005)

27. The Knife – “Marble House” (2006)

28. LCD Soundsystem – “All My Friends” (2007)

29. Thom Yorke – “Analyse” (2006)

30. The Flaming Lips – “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell” (2002)

31. Girl Talk – “Smash Your Head” (2006)
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32. A Perfect Circle – “Judith” (2000)

33. Radiohead – “Idioteque” (2000)

34. Tapes N’ Tapes – “Manitoba” (2006)

35. TV On The Radio – “I Was A Lover” (2006)

36. Radiohead – “Reckoner” (2007)

37. Fever Ray – “Coconut” (2009)

38. Animal Collective – “My Girls” (2009)

39. Built to Spill – “Things Fall Apart” (2009)

40. Wilco – “I’m Trying to Break Your Heart” (2002)

41. Modest Mouse – “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” (2000)

42. Animal Collective – “Leaf House” (2004)

43. Modeselektor – “Happy Birthday” (2007)

44. Arcade Fire – “Wake Up” (2004)

45. Autolux – “Blanket” (2004)

46. MGMT – “Time to Pretend” (2007)

47. Built to Spill – “Conventional Wisdom” (2006)

48. Wilco – “Side With the Seeds” (2007)

49. Elliott Smith – “Happiness/The Gondola Man” (2000)

50. Avey Tare – “I’m Your Eagle Kisser” (2007)

51. Department of Eagles – “Waves of Rye” (2008)

52. Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes” (2009)

53. Radiohead – “2+2 = 5″ (2003)

54. Dredg – “Sang Real” (2005)

55. While Lies – “Farewell to the Fairground” (2009)

56. Grizzly Bear – “Ready, Able” (2009)

57. Matisyahu – “King Without a Crown” (2005)

58. Modest Mouse – “Paper Thin Walls” (2000)

59. Dillinger Escape Plan – “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” (2002)

60. Elliott Smith – “Twilight” (2004)

61. Deerhunter – “Flourescent Grey” (2007)

62. Holy Fuck – “Lovely Allen” (2007)

63. LCD Soundsystem – “Never As Tired As When I’m Waking Up” (2006)

64. The Notwist – “Boneless (Panda Bear Remix)” (2008)

65. Liars – “Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend” (2004)

66. The Mars Volta – “Inertiatic E.S.P.” (2003)

67. The Notwist – “Solitaire” (2002)

68. Of Montreal – “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” (2007)

69. Queens of the Stone Age – “Tangled Up in Plaid” (2005)

70. Radiohead – “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” (2007)

71. Saul Williams – “Raised To Be Lowered” (2007)

72. Autolux – “Great Days for the Passenger Element” (2004)

73. Sigur Ros – “Untitled 8″ (2002)

74. Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs – “Maps” (2003)

75. Portishead – “Threads” (2008)

76. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” (2005)

77. Ugly Casanova – “Things I Don’t Remember” (2002)

78. Animal Collective – “Brothersport” (2009)

79. Radiohead – “Pyramid Song” (2001)

80. Nine Inch Nails – “Only” (2005)

81. El-P – “Flyentology” (2007)

82. Queens of the Stone Age – “No One Knows” (2002)

83. Ghostface Killah – “Shakey Dog” (2006)

84. Modest Mouse – “Missed the Boat” (2007)

85. UNKLE – “Persons and Machinery” (2007)

86. Amon Tobin – “Verbal” (2002)

87. The White Stripes – “Denial Twist” (2005)
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88. Tomahawk – “Captain Midnight” (2003)

89. Modest Mouse – “Bukowski” (2004)

90. Sigur Ros – “Hoppipolia” (2005)

92. Fuck Buttons – “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” (2008)

93. Bon Iver – “Skinny Love” (2008)

94. Built to Spill – “In Your Mind” (2001)

95. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (2007)

96. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – “We Are Rockstars” (2008)

97. Dub Trio – “Not Alone” (2006)

98. Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”

99. The Walkmen – “In the New Year” (2008)

100. Nine Inch Nails – “The Great Destroyer (Modwheelmood Remix)” (2007)

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: a perfect circle, amon tobin, animal collective, arcade fire, at the drive-in, atlas sound, autolux, avery tare, battles, beck, beirut, bon iver, Built To Spill, crystal castles, deerhunter, department of eagles, dillinger escape plan, does it offend you yeah, dredg, dub trio, el-p, elliott smith, enon, error, fever ray, ghostface killah, Grizzly Bear, holy fuck, lcd soundsystem, liars, matisyahu, mgmt, modeselektor, modest mouse, nine inch nails, of montreal, panda bear, portishead, queens of the stone age, radiohead, saul williams, sigur ros, sufjan stevens, system of a down, tapes N tapes, teh notwist, the flaming lips, the helio sequence, The Knife, the mars volta, the white stripes, thom yorke, tomahawk, tv on the radio, ugly casanova, unkle, white lies, wilco, yeah, yeahs

Fishpork’s Favorite Albums of the 2000s

October 15, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

Compiling a list of your favorite albums for an entire decade is quite the challenge, especially when that decade was as strong as the 2000s were. Six of our favorites come from two bands (Animal Collective and Radiohead), and two were from this past year (Veckatimest and Merriweather Post Pavilion). This list is by no means a definitive statement of the best music from last decade. Instead, these are our favorite albums that were on heavy rotation in our iPods and scrobbled endlessly on Last.FM.

1. Strawberry Jam (2007) – Animal Collective

2. Silent Shout (2006) – The Knife

3. The Moon and Antarctica (2000) - Modest Mouse

4. Kid A (2000) – Radiohead

5. Figure 8 (2000) – Elliott Smith

6. Veckatimest (2009) – Grizzly Bear

7. De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003) – The Mars Volta

8. Future Perfect (2004) – Autolux

9. The Eraser (2006) – Thom Yorke

10. Person Pitch (2007) – Panda Bear

11. Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) – TV on the Radio

12. Sea Change (2002) – Beck

13. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) – Wilco

14. High Society (2002) – Enon

15. The Loon (2006) – Tapes N’ Tapes

16. Microcastle (2008) – Deerhunter

17. Feels (2005) – Animal Collective

18. Sound of Silver (2007) – LCD Soundsystem

19. In Rainbows (2007) – Radiohead

20. Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009) – Animal Collective

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: animal collective, autolux, beck, deerhunter, elliott smith, enon, Grizzly Bear, lcd soundsystem, modest mouse, panda bear, radiohead, tapes N tapes, The Knife, the mars volta, thom yorke, tv on the radio, wilco

MP3: “Give Blood” by Rain Machine (Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio)

July 21, 2009 By Mark Leave a Comment

TV on the Radio’s bass player and falsetto co-vocalist Kyp Malone has a new solo project called Rain Machine that will release on September 22. Download the first track “Give Blood’ here or stream it below:

Filed Under: MP3s Tagged With: Kyp Malone, tv on the radio

Album Review: Dark Was The Night

May 4, 2009 By Mark Leave a Comment

Compilation releases rarely get much consideration on end-of-year lists, but this year’s Dark Was The Night will defy that logic. Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National, the album’s proceeds go to the Red Hot Organization, a charity that raises money for HIV and AIDS. The double-length effort will not engage all the way through, as there are some snoozers mixed throughout. It’s obvious that many of the artists appearing on the album saved their best work for their own records (see Arcade Fire’s “Lenin”). However, the standout tracks make the album somewhat worthy of all the praise it has received so far this year.

Standout songs include the epic “You Are The Blood” by Sufjan Stevens. The 10-minute track is a reworking (and improvement) of a song by the Castanets, who appear on Steven’s Asthmatic Kitty label. An additional remix of the song appears on disc two, titled “Blood Pt. 2.” The track features a reworking of Steven’s song by Canadian hip hop artist, Buck 65. 2009 seems to belong to Brooklyn-based indie favorites Grizzly Bear, who appear on disc one twice. The band’s “Deep Blue Sea” is a whispery, melodic gem, and “Service Bell” is a haunting collaboration with ex-tourmate Feist. The most surprising track is a solo effort by TV On The Radio mastermind David Sitek. “With A Girl Like You” is a Trogg’s cover highlighted by Sitek’s usual tight production, an anthemic horn section, and baritone vocals. Although the album does not provide the grandiose indie rock statement that many bloggers have written about, there is enough good stuff here to keep listeners engaged for weeks.

A live performance of several songs on the album took place this past Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. Check out three of the better tracks from the album here:

http://www.myspace.com/darkwasthenight

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: arcade fire, buck 65, david sitek, feist, Grizzly Bear, radio city music hall, red hot organization, sufjan stevens, the national, tv on the radio

February’s Fresh Pork Cuts

February 3, 2009 By Fishpork Leave a Comment

Mark’s:

Fever Ray – “Triangle Walks”
Sufjan Stevens – “You Are The Blood”
Lotus Plaza – “Red Oak Way”
The Flaming Lips – “Anything You Say Now I Believe You”
Animal Collective – “What Would I Want Sky”

Pete’s:

Morrissey – “Mama Lay Softly on the RIverbed”
Dälek – “We Lost Sight”
Lotus Plaza – “Whiteout”
TV on the Radio “Heroes” (Bowie Cover)
Fever Ray – “Concrete Walls”

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: animal collective, Dalek, fever ray, lotus plaza, morrissey, sufjan stevens, the flaming lips, tv on the radio

The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2008

December 4, 2008 By Fishpork 6 Comments

Remember this era in music. It’s a special one. We’re going to look back and talk about it like we talk about the 60s or 70s. I used to miss all the great bands that came out of the 90s, but my longing for the hay days of grunge and industrial has since dissipated. Go ahead and disagree, but this is a renaissance period for music. This year was no exception. In fact, it served as an endless discovery period of great bands and classic albums. However, our favorite album of 2008 was not a difficult choice at all. Here is our list of favorite albums of 2008:

Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
TV on the Radio – Dear Science
Eric Avery – Help Wanted
Elf Power – In a Cave
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
Nine Inch Nails – The Slip
Tapes N’ Tapes – Walk It Off
Atlas Sound – Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV
Portishead – Third
Sigur Ros – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power – Dark Developments
Ladytron – Velocifero
The Notwist – The Devil, You + Me
First Wave Hello – God Bless, Devil You
Fuck Buttons – Street Horsssing
David Byrne & Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Honorable Mentions:

Dub Trio – Another Sound is Dying
Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Health – Disco

Most Disappointing Albums:

Beck – Modern Guilt
SexTapes – SexTapes
UNKLE – End Title . . . Stories For Film

Most Overrated Albums:

Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Cold Play – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Fishpork will post our favorite songs and live shows of the year next week. Check back soon!

Filed Under: Featured, Lists Tagged With: amanda palmer, atlas sound, crystal castles, deerhunter, dub trio, elf power, eric avery, First Wave Hello, fuck buttons, girl talk, guns n' roses, HEALTH, ladytron, mgmt, nine inch nails, of montreal, portishead, sigur ros, tapes N tapes, the notwist, tv on the radio, vic chesnutt