"Arts and Leisure" by Action Bronson

Song: Arts and Leisure (ft. Kool AD)
Artist: Action Bronson
Album: Blue Chips
Also try:  Das Racist, Ghostfunk, Curren$y's Priest Andretti
Commentary: This is another great mixtape of 2012. I picked this track because it also featured Kool AD, famed member of Das Racist (RIP). Action Bronson's not slouching here either.

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"Crazy in Love" by Anohni & The Johnsons

Song: Crazy in Love (Beyoncé cover)
Artist: Anohni and The Johnsons
Also try: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Anohni, Devendra Banhart, Anohni on Hercules and Love Affair's self-titled album
Commentary: Anohni does some incredible covers, especially of Bob Dylan. Today's song brings out the reflexive desperation of Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love." Anohni's voice does the heavy lifting, building a poignant tune out of fluttering instrumentation.

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"Oblivion" by Grimes

Song: Oblivion
Artist: Grimes
Album: Visions
Also try:  John Maus, Gang Gang Dance
Commentary: This song is making some year-end lists. So is the music video. It's pretty fun. The K-pop influence stands out to me, in a great way.

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"Between Friends" by Captain Murphy

Song: Between Friends (ft. Earl)
Artist: Captain Murphy
Album: Duality
Also try:  Flying Lotus, Joey Bada$$'s 1999, El-P
Commentary: I'm reviewing mixtapes of 2012, so there might be some more rap coming. I'll try to throw in some other genres too. This one goes out to anyone who has wished someone would just lay out some verse over Flying Lotus beats. Also it makes me really excited for Earl Sweatshirt to release an album.


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"Diddy Wah Diddy" by Ty Segall Band

Song: Diddy Wah Diddy
Artist: Ty Segall Band
Album: Slaughterhouse
Commentary: A great song off of one of my favorite albums of the year. Ty Segall lets out some raucous rock 'n' roll here, screaming all the while. It's catchy, but interesting. For a guy with 3 albums in 2012, and all pretty decent, it's cool that some is quite good.

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"Molly and Tenbrook" by the Stanley Bros.

Song: Molly and Tenbrook
Artist: The Stanley Brothers
Also try: The Carter Family, Doc Watson, The Louvin Brothers, Dock Boggs
Commentary: The grand old time these bros are having? It's contagious. You do worry about poor Molly though. Thankfully, Wikipedia assures us that Mollie McCarty, in fact, lived for years after losing to Ten Broeck.
Choice lyrical sample: "The women all a-laughin', the child'n all a-cryin' / The men all a-hollerin', 'ol' Tenbrooks a-flyin''"

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"Grandfathers' Stories" by حمزة علاء الدين (Hamza El Din)

Song: Grandfathers' Stories (Annun Sira')
Artist:  حمزة علاء الدين (Hamza El Din)
Album:  Al Oud
Also try: Ali Farka Touré, Ry Cooder, Omar Bashir, Blind Willie Johnson
Commentary:  My mom asked me whyy this song doesn't have any words, but I wasn't done crying. I also used to think it was "Grandfather's" but now I see it was not just one grandfather, which I like.

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"Hogging All the Islands" by Soul Junk

Song: Hogging All the Islands
Artist: Soul Junk
Album: 1958
Also try: Jonwayne, Danielson Famile
Commentary: This is one of the top 5 stuck-in-my-head songs. Of my life.
Choice lyrical sample: "as I slay this Hessian track with Slavic imagery, and a case of fatal acne / Call Acme under warranty if your scanner can't track me"

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(it's less than 4 min, not 6 1/2 min.)

"Doesn't Matter (If You Love Him)" by Ital

Song: Doesn't Matter (If You Love Him)
Artist: Ital
Commentary: A nice combo, for me, of repetition and hooks. Would stand to benefit from some experimental techniques or something far out.

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Ital - Doesn't Matter (If You Love Him) from Planet Mu on Vimeo.

"Graveyard Shift" by Uncle Tupelo

Song: Graveyard Shift
Artist: Uncle Tupelo
Commentary: There are a lot of Uncle Tupelo songs I would want to post, but "Graveyard Shift" sums up their seminal style pretty well. As someone who enjoys the countless ways rock music and American folk tradition collide, I quite appreciate Uncle Tupelo.

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"El Touchy" by Luie Luie

"It is a wonderful idea for people to get together and touch."
Song: El Touchy
Artist: Luie Luie
Commentary: Don't be surprised if more music from Irwin Chusid's magnificent compilation, Songs in the Key of Z, show up here. Outsider music is fascinating. Luie Luie is really feeling it here; it's hard not to want to do El Touchy. Did you hear that ending?

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"Soup Boys (Pretty Drones)" by Heems

Song: Soup Boys (Pretty Drones)
Artist: Heems
Commentary:Himanshu Suri (of Das Racist) dropped a new solo mixtape last week and I like it better than his first, also of 2012. I like this track particularly, although I don't know what the drones thing is all about (Urban Dictionary has a lot of entries for 'drone'). The unmanned assassin ones? [Update: official vid now up. It was indeed the unmanned assassin drones in the video. Some are modest; some flaunt.]

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"Beware" by Death Grips

Song: Beware
Artist: Death Grips
Commentary: With two rad albums out this year, Death Grips is in the running for my favorite artist of the year. I also enjoyed the stunt of releasing NO LOVE DEEP WEB in opposition to the label's wishes. This track is raw (not to mention the video).

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"You Think You're A Man" by the Vaselines

Song: You Think You're A Man
Artist: The Vaselines
Commentary: Happy Election Day.

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"Malkaus" by The Panthers

Song: Malkaus
Artist: The Panthers
Commentary: A fine offering from the Sublime Frequencies Sampler, Vol. 2. Pakistani take on 60s rock and roll. Take over, Panthers!

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"Candylane" by Gonjasufi

Song: Candylane
Artist: Gonjasufi
Commentary: Groove-tastic jam. Probably an easier song into Gonjasufi's oeuvre, since it's not much of a showcase of the "timeless, incredible filth" that is Sumach Ecks' voice. (extra bonus if your youtube also suggests "White boy drops a sick beat" as a related video)

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"57821" by Janelle Monáe

Song: 57821
Artist: Janelle Monáe
Commentary: People kept telling me to check out The ArchAndroid, but my first 3 listens fell on ears that get bored with songs too reminiscent of "pop" music. I totally missed the genre-jumping genius of Janelle Monáe. My fav critic calls this song "one of the most poignant moments in the recording history of her generation" (Scaruffi). I don't rate music by its poignancy, so I won't argue.

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"Rock Bottom Riser" by Smog

Song: Rock Bottom Riser
Artist: Smog
Commentary: Good coalescence of song and video. Bill Callahan's baritone will warm you up if it's cold where you are today too.

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Smog - Rock Bottom Riser from pictureDRIFT on Vimeo.

"Numb" by Clams Casino

Song: Numb
Artist: Clams Casino
Commentary: Chill and trill. Real easy to get some work done to, but also holds up to a careful listen.

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"Lord Kill the Pain" - Red House Painters

Song: Lord Kill the Pain
Artist: Red House Painters
Commentary: I don't get it when bands' first albums are out-of-this-world incredible. How do they do that? Mark Kozelek apparently did it in '92 by recording a 90-minute demo and passing it around. Bold.

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"Kuk kuger"

Song: Kuk kuger
Commentary: You won't find a finer archive of Turkish oral narrative than the Uysal-Walker Archive of Turkish Oral Narrative (http://aton.ttu.edu/).

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"Punks in the Beerlight" - Silver Jews

Song: Punks in the Beerlight
Artist: Silver Jews
Commentary: In 2005, I was both amused and bemused by this video. I still am. I listen to other bands besides Danielson now, though. The Silver Jews are (were) another reason to love Drag City. David Berman legitimized country music for me (it was important not to be Southern in suburban KY).

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My Little Home in Tennessee

Song: My Little Home in Tennessee
Artist: The Carter Family
Commentary: I played a LOT of songs for my friend, Joe, on our 1000-mile road trip. He only liked this one. There were a couple songs he said were okay when I pressed him, but when "My Little Home in Tennessee" came on, he stopped mid-sentence and asked me to restart the song. It was a high point of our fun trip.

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"For the Mekons et al." - Palace

Song: For the Mekons et al.
Artist: Palace
Album: Hey Drag City
Commentary: Released on a 7", but I like the compilation and love Drag City. I found this sampler in my older brother's CDs and fell in love with not only the record label, but that Kentucky artist, Will Oldham.

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"More News From Nowhere" - Nick Cave

Song: "More News From Nowhere"
Artist: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Album: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Commentary: Instead of being poppy by being upbeat and rollicking, this song gives you an incessant guitar hook and lyrics that grab your hand and take you right along with them. I always feel cool when I close my eyes, sing, and pretend I'm Nick Cave.

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"Lazy Confessions" - The Moldy Peaches

Song: Lazy Confessions
Artist: The Moldy Peaches
Album: The Moldy Peaches
Commentary: It was about a decade ago that a friend played this for me (also that this album was released). I had probably heard next to nothing left-of-the-dial (I was in middle school) and it kind of blew mind. I laughed at him, called him crazy, but took careful note of the band's name to look into later.

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"Until the Quiet Comes" - Flying Lotus

Artist: Flying Lotus  
Album: Until The Quiet Comes
Commentary: New goals: make rad music like Flying Lotus and dance like the guy in the second half of this video. (watch this full screen, HD) 

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Tuvan Throat Singing

Artist: unfortunately, these talented artists are not named here. Nor is their song. They are Tuvan though.
Commentary: I haven't quite come to terms yet with the idea that no matter what I do, someone on YouTube does it better. I'm working on my throat-singing, but it of course does not approximate this wonderful igil and throat-singing beach duet. New surf rock?


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"I Used to be Funny" - Nick Diamonds

Song: I Used to be Funny
Artist: Nick Diamonds
Album: I Am an Attic
Commentary: I used to be clever. But that was a long time ago. Poignant little number from the legend behind Th' Corn Gangg.

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"Baby" - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Song: Baby
Artist: Justin Bieber Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Album: Mature Themes
Commentary: Super album. Definitely also plug into "Kinski Assassin" and "Symphony of the Nymph". Groove-tastic. Pretty sure this is a cover of the Biebs. Or the Emerson bros (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONIJXHvoynw ).

edit: Don't forget Ariel Pink's a creep and a real jerk tho.

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"Aristocats" - JonWayne

Song: Aristocats
Artist: JonWayne
Album: JonWayne Fucks Disney

Commentary: People look at me funny when I sing "Everybody Wants To Be A Cat" like it plays in this remix, but it's the only version I know. Recommended if you like your hip hop glitchy and mashed up with Disney songs.
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"Nude As The News" by Cat Power

Song: Nude As The News
Artist: Cat Power
Album: What Would The Community Think

Commentary: I've had Sun for over a week, but I was afraid to listen to it in case it wasn't as awesome as her older stuff. I've heard it now and I like it. One listen didn't quite get "Nude As The News" out of my head.
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