The Flipside 50-Top Albums of 2014

Yes folks, that time of the year, time to reflect back on the past 365 days of ear candy. I'll be airing the radio show Sunday December 7 at 4pm with the top 50 albums of the past 12 months on Guilford College radio with Flipside 5th annual countdown of the top albums of 2014 (yes, this is number 5).

Excessive as it seems, this is the year for excess. The number of very good albums to great albums was staggering. In putting the list together, I considered almost 200 albums, many would have landed on this list in years past but this was deep. Deep enough to expand from 30 to 50 albums? You bet. Enough to fill four hours of air time on a college radio station, you kidding?

Those who assume the digital age has killed of the rock album not so fast....

This is the culmination of 12 months of dark rooms and empty car rides to the office. Enjoy......

50 tie Mutant Message by My Divine Right

50 tie Before There Were Pictures by Pale Lights

50 tie Wild Onion by Twin Peaks

49 Sunswimmer by New Madrid

48 I'll Be the Tornado by Dads

47 Beauty and Ruin by Bob Mould

46 Atlas by Real Estate

45 American Interiors by Gruf Rhys

44 Innocence by Pontiak

43 Martyr Privates by Martyr Privates

42 Wooden Aquarium by Mazes

41 Debt by Baked

40 With Light and With Love by Woods

39 Plowing Into the Field of Love by Iceage

38 Drop by Thee Oh Sees

37 Tomorrow's Hits by the Men

36 Suck My Shirt by the Coathangers

35 Sun Structures by Temples

34 Do the Beast by The Afghan Whigs

33 Call 4 Fun by Actual Water

32 Into Sixes by Connections

31 Content Nausea by Parquet Courts

30 Water Liars by Water Liars

29 English Oceans by the Drive By Truckers

28 Mended With Gold by the Rural Alberta Advantage

27 Commune by Goat

26 A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye by Cool Ghouls

25 Modern Vices by Modern Vices

24 Here and Nowhere Else by Cloud Nothings

23 Salad Days by Mac DeMarco

22 Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady

21 Morgan Delt by Morgan Delt

20 For the Recently Found Innocent by White Fence

19 Weirdon by Purling Hiss

18 Burn Your Fire For No Witness by Angel Olsen

17 Can't Love by Turn to Crime

16 Badillac by Together Pangea

15 The Conquering Sun by Gord Downie and the Sadies

14 Lost In a Dream by War On Drugs

13 Manipulator by Ty Segall

12 Ultimate Painting by Ultimate Painting

11 Benjamin Booker by Benjamin Booker

10 New Gods by Withered Hand

9 Black Moon Spell by King Tuff

8 Wooden Head by The Proper Ornaments

7 The Best Day by Thurston Moore

6 Famous Graves by Cheap Girls

5 Under Color of the Official Right by Protomartyr

4 Way Out Weather by Steve Gunn

3 Love by Amen Dunes

2 Sunbathing Animal by Parquet Courts

1 To Be Kind by Swans



Let the debate begin....

Happy New Year All! We'll have more new music to kick around in 2015.

Yes, its been quite a while since my last post. Almost a year. But a good year it has been.  Join me for a trip through the spectacular albums of 2014 on WQFS, 90.9fm, Guilford College Radio on Sunday December 7. Depending on the amount of air time I can get, it will be the top 30 albums starting at 6pm ET or top 50 albums starting at 4pm. We'll let you know as we get closer. Stay tuned.

http://www2.guilford.edu/wqfs/stream.php

The Top Albums of 2013

Another year passes by and we work tirelessly on year end lists. I heard it referred to as Listageddon in one blog and granted I didn't originate the term, I'm going to run with it.  2013 was a good year for music with so much good music out there in the world, especially R&B, I could only find myself retreating back into the world of indie/alt/genre-typecast rock. With the music industrial machine kicking out singular downloads on the various digital media, surprisingly there was no shortage of good full length albums. The list created for the Flipside was reduced to 30 from over 80 album releases, which formatted with use of a shoe horn, was designed to fit a two hour show on the radio which will be airing on December 15 on WQFS from 6-8pm(EST). The show will become the first podcast of the Flipside after 3 years of promises and the last six months getting sound quality to a point where I wouldn't be embarrassed to publish it.

Here it is, the Top 30 Albums of 2013:

As usual, the list starts with a tie, the only two EP's in the group.

30(tie) The Orwells "Other Voices"
         played "Other Voices"

30(tie) Misty Miller "Girlfriend"
          played "Devil"

29. Johnny Marr "The Messenger"
        played "European Me"

28. Palma Violets "180"
        played "Best of Friends"

27. Cool Ghouls "Cool Ghouls"
         played "Natural Life"

26. Swearin' "Surfing Strange"
         played "Parts of Speech"

25.Speedy Ortiz "Major Arcana"
         played "Tiger Tank"

24. Deerhunter "Monomania"
      played "Dream Captain"

23.Frightened Rabbit "Pedestrian Verse"
        played "Holy"

22. Diarrhea Planet "I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams"
        played "Kids"

21. Kurt Vile "Wakin' On a Pretty Daze"
         played "Never Run Away"

20. Queens of the Stone Age "Like Clockwork"
         played "I Appear Missing"

19. Obits "Bed & Bugs"
         played "Spun Out"

18. Waxahatchee "Cerulean Salt"
         played "Waiting"

17. Little Green Cars "Absolute Zero"
        played "Harper Lee"

16 The Men "New Moon"
        played "Electric"

15 The Veils "Time Stays, We Go"
          played "Turn From the Rain"

14(tie)Connections "Private Airplane"

14(tie)Connections "Body Language"
         played "Nightwatch" off Private Airplane

13. Elephant Stone "Elephant Stone"
         played "Masters of War"

12. My Bloody Valentine "MBV"
         played "If I Am"

11. Phosphorescent  "Muchacho"
       played "A New Anhedonia"

10. Purling Hiss "Water On Mars"
        played "Mercury Retrograde"

09. Parquet Courts "Light Up Gold"
       played "Master of My Craft"

08. Throwing Muses "Purgatory/Paradise"
         played "Sunrayvenus"

07. Yo La Tengo "Fade"
       played "Paddle Forward"

06. Mazes "Ores & Minerals"
        played "Sucker Punched"

05 Polvo "Siberia"
        played "Light Raking"

04. Savages "Silence Yourself"
        played "Husbands"

03. Mikal Cronin "MCII"
          played "Weight"

02. Superchunk "I Hate Music"
        played "Void"

01. Wooden Wand "Blood Oaths of the New Blues"
           played "Supermoon (the Sounding Line)" & "Dungeon of Irons"

http://soundcloud.com/dropnamer1/ flipside-best-albums-of-2013

Best of 2013
Prequel to Listageddon.

The list is finished. As if there was even a good time to make a list, the end of the year is typically that time. Make the list for the Jolly old elf, New Years resolutions, none can compare to the album lists that are tirelessly executed every year by self proclaimed and so called know it alls like myself. This is the fourth year that I am publishing a year end list to appease the Rob Gordon in me. It makes for great radio in a Kasey-countdown kind of way. On December 15 for 6-8pm on WQFS, Guilford College Radio, I will counting them down again.The fourth annual Flipside Top Albums of 2013. Thirty in all. Join me, if you will.

First, consideration given for Reissue of the Year and Cover album of the Year

Reissue of the Year:
Magnolia Electric Co.-Magnolia Electric Co. (Original release 2003)

Honorable Mention: Breeders- LSXX

Cover Album of the Year:
(tie)Tommy Keene-Excitement At Your Feet

(tie)Various Artists-Songs for Slim

This year I won't be able to a best of the rest show, this is what didn't make the cut of the 74 total albums considered for the list of 30. Some surprises at the ones that didn't make it. This is the first year Ty Segall didn't make it onto the list.

David Bowie-The Next Day
Radar Brothers-Eight
Ty Segall-Sleeper
Jackson Scott- Melbourne
Joanna Gruesome-Weird Sister
Language of Shapes-Language of Shapes(11/2012 release)
No Age-An Object
Overseas-Overseas
Future of the Left-How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident
Jason Isabell-Southeastern
Grouper-The Man Who Died in His Boat
Dead Confederate-In The Marrow
Sky Larkin-Motto
The Mantles -Long Enough To Leave
Hookworms-Pearl Mystic
Girls Names-The New Life

And so much more...

Stay tuned on the 15th to hear it all.

Back and better than ever........

Attention All, new postings coming soon up to and possibly including a podcast.