From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #292 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Sunday, January 1 2012 Volume 16 : Number 292 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- tops of '11 (and happy 2012!) [JoAnn Whetsell ] Re:tops of '11 (and happy 2012!) [Alexander Johannesen ] Happy New Year (and my best of 2011) [Neile Graham ] Vienna Teng Fundraising for new play [Jeffrey Hanson Subject: tops of '11 (and happy 2012!) Happy 2012 everyone! I hope it's as good as 2011 was (if 2011 was good for you) or better (if 2011 wasn't that great). As always, I'm thankful for music's place in my life and for ecto's. And, this year, for Spotify. It's allowed me to hear a lot more music this year. Hopefully next year I will have more money to support artists through live concerts and actually buying their music. Without further ado, my best of 2011. Which I spent a long time whittling down to a mere 15 albums. So there are a lot of albums I really enjoyed that aren't listed here. But these were the most interesting, most enjoyed, most artistic, and usually some combination of the above. Everything's in alphabetical order. The Elite 8 When I went to make my list this year, these 8 albums jumped to the front of my mind. For quality, being interesting, and having enjoyed them a lot (and looking forward to enjoying them more in the future) Tori Amos - Night of Hunters Austra - Feel It Break Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys The Decemberists - The King Is Dead Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials PJ Harvey - Let England Shake My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind The Very Nearly These 2 albums didn't jump right into my head like the 8 above, but I slapped my forehead when I realized I'd forgotten them. They're both wonderful. Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore Melissa Ferrick - Still Right Here The Runners Up Peter Bradley Adams - Between Us (just incredibly beautiful; whoever thought "London Bridge Is Falling Down" could be so lovely?) Brandi Carlile - Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony (this version of "Turpentine" was my my go-to song for catharsis this year) Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes (finally became a fan this year) Paul Simon - So Beautiful Or So What (a couple of less than stellar songs, but what is good is sooo good) Tune-yards - W H O K I L L (finally became a fan this year after hearing them in concert. My friend Pam is not on ecto, but I'll thank her anyway.) The Ones That Got Away There are a number of albums I haven't even heard yet. Of those, the ones I'm most curious about are Ane Brun - It All Starts With One (reviews don't seem to be very good, but I adore her) Veda Hille - Young Saint Marie Mary Lydia Ryan - Sunshine & Second Chances Has anyone heard these? Thoughts? Flavorpill has a funny list of stereotypes based on people's favorite albums of the year at http://flavorwire.com/243565/stereotyping-you-by-your-favorite-album-of-2011? utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Day%204%20%28Thursday%29&utm_ca mpaign=Unified%20Mailer. Here are some ectoish ones: Julianna Barwick  The Magic Place Earnest scholarly types who will happily use the word ethereal in everyday conversation. Bjvrk  Biophilia Well-to-do 30-somethings who shop exclusively at Whole Foods and still think iPads are just the coolest things ever. tUnE-yArDs  w h o k i l l QuIrKy gIrLs wItH bRoKeN k e y b o a r d s. Kate Bush  50 Words for Snow Aunties in long skirts who live in the country and are often described by the rest of the family using words like eccentric and/or phrases like black sheep. St. Vincent  Strange Mercy Brooklyn-based daughters of aunties in long skirts who live in the country and are often described by the rest of the family using words like eccentric and/or phrases like black sheep. That's it! Hugs and confetti to everyone. JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2012 11:29:31 +1100 From: Alexander Johannesen Subject: Re:tops of '11 (and happy 2012!) Hiya, I'm only a little into Ecto (the rest is occupied by baroque, classical and nordic jazz), so my list will be short and sweet, I think ; 1. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes (powerful, haunting, dirty, different) 2. Sarah Blasko - As day follows night (charming, sweet) 3. Kate Bush - 50 words for snow (beautiful, different) 4. Gotye - Making mirrors (wonderfully near, charmingly distant) 5. Kimbra - Vows (mostly pop, slightly ecto, all amazing potential) Happy Happy year, Alex (down-under) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:10:39 -0700 From: Jeffrey Hanson Subject: Best of 2011 This was an interesting year in that I didn't discover my usual number of new/exciting artists--and the artists I played the most, are very popular artists--but, given that, here are my favorites of the year: Jane Siberry - Meshach Dreams Back For some reason, this album has really completed the cycle for me--sure its new agey and talky, but this album really filled out the 3-album song-cycle and is everything Jane at her best--quirky, great harmonies and multi-layered vocals. I really liked this one. Eivor - Larva (just discovered it late 2011 but came out in 2010) Eivor's video of Hounds of Love (check it out on youtube if you haven't seen it), really made me stand up and pay attention to her--I particularly like the drums on the track and the way they build and build). I'd seen Eivor before at Folk Alliance years ago and was used to her less polished, more folky, all of which I like--but the smooth, excellent production on this new album suits her well and takes her out of the trad folk world and makes her a major pop star. Really like this whole album. Surprised this hasn't garnered more attention both on list and in the media. Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials Florence often got compared to Kate Bush when her first album came out, and while I don't think she is quite the genius Kate is--I do think she's one of the most amazingly creative singers--this is very solid album--still don't think Florence has reached her peak yet though. Mimi Goese and Ben Neill - Songs for Persephone - This album grew on me--at times traditional, at times a bit strange--but very captivating. Brian Keane - 90 Miles an Hour Brian is not very ecto, but is one of the few male Texan singer-songwriters I thoroughly enjoy. His lyrics are always somewhat tongue in cheek--he has a very clever way with words and this album should be checked out by anyone who likes the Texas singer-songwriter scene. Casey Stratton - The Vigil - This EP by Casey is all about mourning the loss of a loved one after a long painful death (actually written about his cat). The instrumentation is beautiful and similar to my favorite work by him--Messages Sending--this doesn't quite reach the beauty of that release, but Casey was definitely my most played artist this year. Lady Gaga - Born This Way - yeah, she's way popular, and yeah, I kind of loved this album. Sheer, fun, pop. Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow - Kate and her quite, reflectiveness--love parts of it, but it does get a bit monotous. If you like Aeriel you'll like this album, but I wished she sounded like she was having more fun. I miss her vocal abandon. This is very controlled. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes - Lykke Li showed such huge promise on her first release--this is still quite good, but didnt' quite live up the potential I'd hoped for. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow - great folky duo--at times remind me a bit of Over the Rhine--good to see they seem to be getting quite a buzz around them. Having a duet with Taylor Swift on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games certainly won't hurt their career either--especially since it sounds more like their song than one of Taylor's. Other great mentions--Over the Rhine's The Long Surrender--listened to it a lot this year and actually came out officially this year, but I think I got my copy late last year. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 15:47:55 -0800 From: Neile Graham Subject: Happy New Year (and my best of 2011) Hi, all-- Happy New Year, and thanks for the introductions to great music! My Top Dozen of 2011 (in alpha order):  Beirut, The Rip Tide (his best album yet)  Kate Bush, 50 Words for Snow (a little uneven, but mostly gorgeous and brilliant)  Claire Diterzi, Rosa la Rouge (powerful and evocative)  Feist, Metals (up to the mark of her previous releases)  PJ Harvey, Let England Shake (took me a while to appreciate her vocal style here, but the power of her songwriting was never in question)  Lia Ices, Grown Unknown (wonderful quirky pop)  lamb, 5 (a brilliant relaunch of the band)  Inga Liljestrvm, Black Crow Jane (perhaps even more powerful and evoative than her previous work)  Agnes Obel, Philharmonics (a charming discovery)  Oy, First Box Then Walk (so inventive and so much fun)  tUnE-yArDs, WHOKILL (bigger and better all the time)  The Unthanks, Last (as always, dark and haunted) Also enjoyed:  Jenny Hval, viscera (not sure how much I love this yet; it's certainly intriguing) Disappointments:  Bjvrk's Biophilia (I would say only half of it is that memorableI certainly haven't been drawn to listen to it much)  Fallulah, Black Cat Neighborhood (enjoyed its pop energy for a while, but it didn't stick with me other than the weirdly timed "Bridges")  Jorane's Une Sorcihre Comme Les Autres (covers, most of which I just didn't find as compelling as her own songwriting) Best discoveries (some belated):  Emma McKenna (She has an odd voice that may be an acquired taste, but I loved it from the start. It's so expressive, and a match for her powerful, evocative songwriting.)  Pylons! (How come Jim knew about them but I didn't?)  Eliza Rickman (charming and promising quirky pop)  Lia Ices, Oy, Agnes Obel (see above)  That Natural History Museum has more tracks available at Carol Keogh's set on Soundcloud. This made me SO happy. May 2012 be a great year for music for us all! My best to you. - --Neile ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:16:10 -0700 From: Jeffrey Hanson Subject: Vienna Teng Fundraising for new play For those interested, Vienna Teng is part of an indiegogo campaign to fundraise to put together a new musical play about a female bhudda--sounds intriguing. http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Fourth-Messenger-FA ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #292 ***************************