As we run down the last month of 2012 (which has been a strong year for music), I thought I’d share with you some of my highlights for 2012 in no particular order:
Singles
Kendrick Lemar – The Art of Storytelling
Ben Pearce – What I Might Do
Killer Mike – Reagan
Soul Khan – Soulstice 4
Major Lazer – Right Between The Eyes
Albums
Dan Mangan – Oh Fortune
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
Bobby Womak – The Bravest Man In The Universe
Perfume Genius – Put Your Back N 2 It
Cody ChesnuTT – Cody ChesnuTT
thisisnothappening.net 
Nice. Bloody hell, I could be here all night really. I’ve probably listened to more music this year than I have any other year, and I spend every day doing it! Off the top of my head:Albums:Hot Chip – In Our HeadsMatthew Dear – BeamsGrizzly Bear – ShieldsJack White – BlunderbussBen Folds Five – The Sound Of The Life Of The MindClock Opera – Ways To ForgetSimian Mobile Disco – UnpatternsNew Build – Yesterday Was Lived And LostThe Two Bears – Be StrongLeftroom Presents – Laura JonesSingles: (don’t really listen to/buy them outside electronic stuff)Hot Chip – Don’t Deny Your HeartNew Build – Do You Not Feel Loved?The Two Bears – WorkHuxley & Sam Russo – Jamma’s Basement
Funnily enough, I compiled by top 10 albums on Twitter yesterday. And here they are as a handy list:http://storify.com/DavidHAllison/my-top-10-albums-of-2012It has been a funny old year, hasn’t it? My top 3, I’d say, were streets ahead as favourites.I’m planning to do singles next week, so I’ll post them here when I do.
This year … its been odd for me. Not had as much opportunity to listen to music as usual. I don;t think 2012 has been a great year to be honest but that feeling could be because of the above? Who knows?Albums for me are;Perfume Genius – Put Your Back in 2 itGrizzly Bear – ShieldsDirty Projectors – Swing Low MagellanWild Nothing – NocturneAriel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Mature ThemesHowever … albums that I have listened to lots and loved this year include;David Bowie – Station to Station, Van Morrison – Astral Weeks, King Creosote + Jon Hopkins Diamond Mine, Simian Mobile Disco – Un patterns God Bless The Brothers
oooooh and the Talking Heads album innit
And yes, thank you to the Brothers for introducing me to the glory of Talking Heads, Van the Man, First Serve, Bowie, and Jon Hopkins & King Creosote, possibly my favourite of the lot. Utterly beautiful.
And another favourite single, Tom Demac’s Obstructing The Light on Hypercolour, woozy, hypnotic brilliance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkCTSCfDs14
So … I got Kendrick Lamar for Xmas. It is great. Awesome even. I still have general issues with Hip Hop that I am not going to overcome … but I cannot get away from the fact that I can’t stop listening to this album. I was thinking the other day that if I there was a guitar band that I liked the general sound of, beats, feel, hooks etc BUT they were talking about ‘bitches’ all the time … I wouldn’t give it a 2nd listen. It would feel far more repellant than it does when heard on Hip Hop. This differentiation, from a moral standpoint is wrong. It is hypocritical of me to ignore my own values simply because of the musical genre. Either that or I could use some horrible educated, middle class reasoning to defend my hip hop consumption? (which is what I think I probably used to do). So, where is the defendable socially conscious hip hop? It’s there … if you want to find it but you end up missing out on what you love about hip hop in the first place.Just some random thoughts for early 2013 for you.Killer Mike is on heavy rotation too and probably slightly better socially speaking that Mr. Lemar?
I still need to give this a whirl. I struggle with hip hop these days a bit, but the Channel Orange album is brilliant. But then I love old school stuff, and that’s as bad as it gets in some ways. Yes, there’s De La, but I also have Ice Cube and NWA and Dre. Hmmm. But then a lot of the stuff I love – De La, Jurassic 5 et al, isn’t offensive, it’s brilliant. You don’t need a load of hos and bitches all the time. Brother Joseph, you surely have Lupe Fiasco and Q-Tip stuff?
I full agree with you brother Joseph. There is no arguement about my love for Hip Hop but I too am not a big fan of the hoes and bitches stuff. With that Kendrick is something different.. and that’s what makes it good. There is some great Hip Hop out there. The Apollo Brown and Guilty Simpson album is getting non stop rotation from me at the moment. That said so is the Alpine album and Dan Mangan album….. I LOVE MUSIC!
Really liked your post, Joey. So true. There is a double standard going on, but then I guess you have to give a bit of leeway for an artist’s context – both in terms of their own background and of the history of the kind of music they make. But only so far – nothing weirdly middle-class about that.Still haven’t got the Kendrick L album, and have to be honest that what I’ve heard hasn’t grabbed me. But I think I really need to give it a go…