this alien year end list 2011

ALBUMS

 

1 mirrors - lights and offerings: this is the album that caused the most excitement for me this year. the band teased very effectively for months leading up to the release (demos, EPs, a video here, new track there). can't say enough how much i love this album, and really hope they get on the road here in the states before too long (and before anymore members leave the group).

2 monarchy - around the sun: still loving this one everytime a track comes up on shuffle. they recently started teasing bonus tracks, as well, encouraging me to buy the hardcopy CD.

3 the sound of arrows - voyage: love.

4 beirut - the riptide: the only reason devotchka's 100 lovers didn't make the list.

5 moby - destroyed: very lush, very moby, very worth checking out.

SINGLES

1 blondie - "horizontal twist": okay, it wasn't actually a single, but it's the track that makes me play my [music device] the loudest. sounds more like debbie harry's last solo album, rather than a bonus track from one edition of blondie's panic album. (three non-US editions of the album included six different bonus tracks, some of which should have been on the album, like this one.)

2 patrick wolf - "together": love the song, love the keyboards, love the fox-wrapped video.

3 waylayers - "hear no lies": i want to hear more from these guys, looking forward to an album release.

4 the vaccines - "if you wanna": the greatest song intro in recent years; the album was not a disappointment.

5 the sound of arrows - "and beyond": b-side instrumental track that really struck a chord.

6 creature - "so high": should have made these guys into some sort of superstars.

EVENTS

1 blondie - panic of girls: really don't need to post anymore about this release and tour. just glad it finally, FINALLY, came about.

2 psychedelic furs - talk talk tour: i'd never seen the furs until this year. so nice to see veterans playing energetic shows for adoring fans.

3 val emmich & the veeries - aide memoire kickstarter campaign: val and his band gathered funding for this gorgeous album from the fans via kickstarter. the campaign gave contributors an inside look in the making of the album, with lots of extra goodies, depending on one's contribution level. every band who values their fans (as much as val does) should do this (for the fans) at least once, and not just out of desperation for funding.

OLDIES DOING THEMSELVES WELL

all of the following released strong albums that were consistent with what the casual fan would expect, and generally reinforced the fact that the 80's was the greatest decade.

1 the cars - move like this

2 duran duran - all you need is now

3 alphaville - catching rays on giant

4 R.E.M. - collapse into now

5 lindsey buckingham - seeds we sow

6 new york dolls - dancing backward in high heels

REDISCOVERIES

1 human league - hysteria: the comeback album that (only kind of) disappointed was the league's credo (it has its moments!), but that disappointment did send me back to re-listen to their classic stuff.

2 hambi & the dance - heartache: bargain bin find in the 1980's, that i liked well enough, sounds more relevant today than it did then. (didn't know of the relationship to a flock of seagulls until several months after i initially purchased it.)

3 go-go's - beauty and the beat: everyone knows this one, of course. i don't know what took me back to it again a few weeks ago. immense love for it, though.

4 laura branigan - the platinum collection: so here's the deal: i'm not a huge fan of branigan, though i found her death a couple years ago sort of affecting. this collection really shows how bad musical arrangements could be back then...one wishes that someone would give these songs a new layer of instrumentals to give her songs the chance they deserve.

5 annabel lamb - the flame: another bargain bin find in the 80's; nice to hear this old friend again this year.

ANTICIPATING

1 adam ant - tour stop, new album feb 2012.

2 waylayers new album?

3 new mackintosh braun

4ummm...

val emmich live

val emmich performed an acoustic set at a small venue in san diego, california, lestat's west. unfortunately, lestat's doesn't have much of a following in the city, so one has to know a performer will be there, in order not to miss it.

but emmich played well to the audience he had, with just a couple of missed lines in the set (he later said that he got thrown off mid-performance) which seemed only to draw in the girls-and-good-boys crowd...a "real" event for us all. at one point, val even dedicated a song ("E.S.T.") to a facebook follower who couldn't attend the show...tried to call her to play a song via cell phone, but there was no service, so we'll hope she caught that in spirit.



after the show (well, while the next act was onstage), i waited out front to grab an autograph. emmich came out, we chatted for several minutes, and attempted to engage lestat's resident dog (to no avail).

one gets the impression that emmich flunked rockstar school, he works hard to stay connected with his fans. he's very deserving of the devotion we give him.

val emmich, san diego

val emmich will be performing in san diego wednesday night. i am really looking forward to this.

val emmich album leaks

i'm very much looking forward to the new album by val emmich...for the next several days, he's going to leak a song from the album up till the release date. you can listen to them at this link:

http://www.valemmich.com/contest/audioplayer.html

highly recommended...very highly.

Val Emmich - E.S.T.

i am so looking forward to hearing val emmich's new album...here's a sneak listen:



not sure how i first became aware of him, but this song is what brought me in:



i grew up in such a sheltered existence (intentionally so), till i was about 24, so it surprises me that young people can recognize, and then express feelings so eloquently.

i grew up in the wrong generation. i'm convinced of that. but that is not to say i'd want to do it all again. no thanks.

val

dear project leader:

this alien has long been a fan of the album little daggers by val emmich, but, for whatever reason, never posted about it. so, in anticipation of a new album being released very soon (hooray!), here's one of several favorite tracks from little daggers.

the whole album plays fairly close to this song, yet each track is its own little treasure.


got a habit now, val emmich