#honorable mentions (list of all of the albums I occasionally listen through in order):

[brown-little-robin]

1. Are you an albums person or a singles person?

generally "singles"! I take, judge, and sort songs one by one. Only a very, very few albums do I consider as wholes. Usually I just steal and repurpose my favorite songs from them.

[letsdothistom]

Air Guitar and 85 MPH!

I was going to spend my second “blog” discussing pretentiousness in Santa Fe or New Mexican food and green chile in general.  But since I came up with something a little more fun, I guess I’ll save the talk about ordering water in a bowl and drinking it with a spoon for a different time.  On my drive back to Oklahoma I thought of a topic that always shows its face when I’m on a road trip.   I often forget about it until the next time I’m in the car or just don’t put much thought into it once I’ve opened the car doors and let the dog out to deal with his pent up energy as I unload the car.  Not to mention the obligatory hour I have to spend re-aquainting myself to the cat, who is certain that I have disappeared forever this time.

The topic that came to me is road trip songs.  

I love road trips.  You may think I’m crazy but settling into the driver seat, snacks on the passenger seat,  the basset hound panting in my face, his front feet on the console, anticipating our newest adventure, is the best.  Within a pretty short time, he tends to realize that this is just another day-long roady and roughs up his blanket in the backseat and settles in for the ride. Giving me weird basset hound glances in the mirror.  Not sure if it’s the music or he just wants some pork rinds.

Now these road trips of mine usually arent extravagant or exotic.  Unless you consider driving state highways through Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming or any other of the fly-over states I tend to travel as being exotic. (Personally I’d choose these drives over just about any other you could propose to me).  The great thing about these road trips, aside from seeing so many wonderful historically relevant places (as well as plenty of non-relevant places), and feeling a oneness with wide open spaces, is the time you get to yourself to hone your listening skills.  

Those of you that know me, know that I have many preferences when it comes to music.  As Cheech says in Up In Smoke, “we play everything from El Chicano to Santana”.  I love it all.  Some more than others, but I probably have a song or two from every type of playlist or genre that you can think of.  Add to that the fact that if there is a specific location I’m aiming my car to (often there is not), I will jam songs from or about that location.  For instance, while driving the empty roads of New Mexico it will be Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly soundtrack.  Wyoming is of course Chris LeDoux country.  On my way to Kansas City to eat BBQ, it’s Joe Williams singing “Kansas City” or Charlie Parker and K.C. Blues.  Memphis is Sister Rosetta Tharpe (you can keep Elvis, I am not a fan.  Yeah, I said it).  West Texas?  Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads, of course!  Down south, it’s Big Maybelle, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters.  You get the idea.  It may seem strange but there is something that touches my soul in listening to those songs that are native to an area.  Whether or not I actually do learn anything, it feels as though I have.

With that weird little eccentricity out of the way, let me add that of course there are some staples of any road trip, for me at least.  These are songs, albums and artists that I listen to, to fill in all the  empty spaces of those relatively uneventful miles, musically or otherwise.  Maybe it’s Def Leppard or ACDC or Beyonce or Ariana Grande for you.  For me these are easy.  I can not even begin to guess how many miles have been eaten up by Merle Haggard, or The Count Basie Orchestra.  I am not scared of extreme opposites.  Hundreds upon thousands upon tens of thousands of miles have been chewed up by these two musical groups, and yes, I’m aware that I am probably the only person living who can claim that.

The millennials reading this will have no idea about this next category.  There use to be these things called albums.  Albums were a group of songs, recorded (usually around the same time), and released as a unit to the masses.  These units were sold as vinyl records, cassette tapes, 8-tracks, or CDs.  Those of us a little older can attest that 90 percent of these albums had 2-4 songs that we liked and a bunch of other average or barely tolerable songs that you listened to whether you liked them or not (if you didn’t have control of the radio in the car).  Sometimes, you even grew to enjoy a few of those songs.  On rare occasions though, you found an entire album, yes the whole thing! that you enjoyed.   For all of us oldies, these albums are near and dear to our hearts.  They vary from person to person, but these are a few I can put on and just let them play, enjoying almost every song:  Van Halen-1984, Blood Sweat and Tears-Greatest hits, Nirvana-Nevermind, George Strait-Strait From The Heart, Muddy “Mississippi” Waters-Live, Art Blakey-Moanin’,  U2-Joshua Tree, Miles Davis-Kind of Blue, Steve Miller Band-Greatest Hits 74-78, IceT-Greatest Hits to name a few of my favorites.

All of these categories are important to a good road trip.  You must have a combination of all of them.  Yeah, I know, all of you XM/Sirius users are claiming that you don’t need any of them.  You got genres on every channel, and all you ever need with all those fancy channels.  To those of you in that camp, I say “HOGWASH!”  Why Hogwash?  Well no matter how specific these channels are, or how much you enjoy the carefree toggling between your favorite genres, no road trip is complete without those irreplaceable, epic, nostalgic songs that nearly blow out your speakers and get your ears ringing whenever you choose to rock them.  And how the hell are you supposed to play these favorites 2, 3, 10 times in a row with your XM radio?!  You can’t. So without further palaver, I’m gonna lay my favorites out and would love to hear some of yours.  

Rich’s top 20 Road Trip Jams (if you have any sense, you will build this playlist!-yeah I know it’s not gonna float everyone’s boat but if nothing else, listen to it, you might find some music that you don’t normally dig.)  And for the record, none of these songs ever get bumped off the list, new ones just get added to it occasionally.  As weird as it may be, here is my list:

Honorable Mentions.  These songs get me thinking about all the great road trip songs and my musical wheels start turning.  It’s on when I hear any of these songs.

Runnin on Empty-Jackson Browne, Hello Walls-Faron Young, Blues in Hoss Flat-Count Basie, Night In Tunisia-Ella Fitzgerald, Gimme All Your Love-Alabama Shakes, Miles and Miles of Texas-Asleep at the Wheel, China Grove-Doobie Brothers, Come Down-Anderson Paak, Crosstown Traffic-Jimi Hendrix, El Paso-Marty Robbins, Ida Red-Bob Wills and Sunshine of Your Love-Cream.  Those get me started but here is when it gets real.

20-16  These are like the kindling for me.  Getting the fire lit, and starting my descent into the next hour of driving, without really remembering the road I’ve just driven or the scenes outside the window.  

20)  Suavecito-Malo   Ok, Ok, it wouldn’t seem like a fire starter, but...

19)  Magic Man-Heart This one should get your blood flowing

18)  Keep on Rockin’ Me-Steve Miller The best roady to choose from SMB

17)  Watermelon Man-Herbie Hancock You might not have soul if you don’t love this

16)  When My Train Pulls In- Gary Clark JR Great Long Jam.  incredible guitar riffs

11-15  These are a small step up, adding logs to my fire

15)  Me and Mrs. Jones-Billy Paul So there’s always a song that you love to sing while you are alone in your car, and you think you sing it just as well as the artist

14)  Stairway to Heaven-Led Zeppelin Ok so of course I have it, but this is a really, really great song no matter how many times it is played.

13)  Ev’ryday I have the Blues-Count Basie and Joe Williams The definition of a foot stomper.

12)  Luckenbach, TX-Waylon and Willie One of the best country songs translates to a great road song.

11)  The Story- Brandi Carlisle Not a song liable to be on many lists, road trip or not.  My sister introduced me to this years and years ago and it barely misses the top 10

6-10  Ok, we are really cookin with gas now.  These are legendary roadies in my book.  The dog gives me a look, here we go again.

10)  Rooster-Alice In Chains Gets my grunge on.  I love everything about this song.  Probably one of the biggest contributors to hearing loss in my right ear.

9)   Six Days on the Road-Dave Duncan All those over-the-road truckers can’t be wrong, this is the best of all truckin’ songs.

8)   Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down-Merle Haggard   My favorite country singer and a whole lot of my favorite country music instrument, the steel guitar.  Damn I love this song

7)   Ticket To Ride-Beatles There are tons of Beatles songs to choose from and this isn’t my favorite, but it is my favorite on the road

6)   867-5309-Tommy Tutone This is my favorite 80s song.  And when I hear that guitar riff at the beginning...Jenny, Jenny who can I turn to?

2-5  These are huge, the fire is roaring and I have no concerns as to what is going on at this point.  I’ll be singing, playing drums, air guitar.  The dog has now tried to cover his ears due to the volume.

5)   Jamie’s Cryin-Van Halen Im not sure why, because there are tons of Van Halen songs to choose from, but for whatever reason, this one is my favorite while on the road

4)   North To Alaska-Johnny Horton   Ok, another one you may not expect at all but damn this is a fun song.  I physically can’t help whaling “big nuggets they’re finding” every time!

3)   Pink Houses-John Cougar Mellencamp    Im not a globalist. ‘Murica!!

2)   Sweet Child of Mine-Guns and Roses    This should be on everyones list. Road songs or any other.  Simply one of the best songs ever.  

Number 1!!!

So all the previous songs are great.  I love them all, and many, many more.  This is an elaborate list for me.  If you know me, you know I love lists, and don’t make them without deep thought.  But Ironically, the battle for the top spot isn’t even close.  I LOVE Sweet Child of Mine, and Pink Houses.  I might play them 2 or 3 times in a row, but the battle for number one isn’t much of a battle.  Not because these others arent great but because number one is so unbelievably spectacular in the car.  I can’t help singing to it, playing air guitar, drum solo in my car, volume literally turned up 3 or 4 times during the song, ears ringing and can’t even hear myself singing, and just when you don’t think it could be any better, it gets better!!!  There are times I may play this song 5, 6 times in a row if things are cookin.  I can barely keep the needle under 85 mph! The number one song for the road is:

1)  More Than A Feeling- Boston  I really built it up, and with good reason. Rock ballad, guitar anthem, unbelievable vocals, harmony soft, loud, louder, high, higher, drums...what else can I say?  This is simply the best road trip song ever!!

Ok, that’s it.  Maybe it was anti-climatic for you, but I got jazzed just listing the songs.  I may go take a drive just to hear the playlist!  I’d love to hear everyone else’s playlist that they take on every trip.  Maybe I’m missing some good road trip songs!  

I hope the dog never figures out how to jump out of the car while it’s moving.

[karaokeadvice]

Karaoke Review: The Request Room, Northampton, MA

This week we kick off a new feature here at Karaoke Advice: Karaoke Review! We’ll be running reviews of all the places we as karaoke fans go to sing and listen to karaoke! This week dear friend and fellow karaoke connoisseur Tim Hulsizer introduces us to The Request Room of Northampton, MA. I (Karen) LIVE IN Northampton and didn’t know this kind of beautiful, kind of weird place existed until Tim clued me in. Now he’s gonna clue you in, too. Do you have a karaoke establishment you’d like to review for Karaoke Advice? Get in touch!

Deep in the urban wilds of Western Massachusetts sits the 28,000-person hamlet of Northampton, a cultural cornucopia of artists, merchants, multicultural restaurateurs, and an Urban Outfitters shoved into an old building that looks like it used to be a Post Office. [Editor’s note: It was a bank!] And I’d be remiss if I forgot to mention the music scene. A plethora of clubs and theaters dot the downtown of this charming little city and musicians of every caliber pass through here when they’re in New England.

Above one such venue lies a secret karaoke hotspot that few know exists: The Request Room. According to an article published in 2017, The Request Room began as a live piano karaoke party streamed online on Tuesday nights, a chance for organizer Josh Sitron to take live requests from Facebook and try to perform them with friends in his studio “13 Queen” above the Calvin Theatre. Eventually that fell by the wayside but the occasional Thursday and Saturday evening karaoke sessions remain. Now a Members Only happening, one must be introduced to the Request Room by a friend before you can start showing up on your own. It’s barely a step away from open admission but keeps the atmosphere friendly, as though you’re in the living room at a party, just as he intended it all along.

It’s this atmosphere that keeps me coming back to Request Room. If schedules allow, a few of us from southern NH will pile into the car and attend together, paying the sliding scale entrance donation of $5 or $10 depending on what we can afford. We always know we’ll see mostly familiar faces, some known from an area choir called Rock Voices, some met through the Request Room itself. Occasional emails announce which Thursday or Saturday it will be happening that week.

There are voices so sweet they must surely be professionals and, like any good karaoke experience, there are mediocre talents like myself. There are a few retired people. An occasional college student appears. There’s even a local lawyer with a dead-on Mick Jagger impression that’s always a delight to watch. You can bring water in but food is strictly prohibited. Beer, cider and wine are available for a $5 donation per drink. With the summer heating up, air conditioning has become available and by popular demand they’ve added a few extra seating options.

An evening at the Request Room is as relaxing or energetic as you care to make it. The lighting is low and the space isn’t large enough for more than a couple dozen people. When the drinks start flowing the conversation gets livelier but the age of the crowd trends higher than most karaoke experiences so you probably won’t be getting into any fisticuffs at 13 Queen.

You couldn’t ask for a friendlier, more talented host than Josh. Quick with a quip or a clever musical flourish, this master of the keys can play nearly anything you throw at him. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the place is how open your choice of song is. If the internet has the tabs someplace [the musical tablature, a/k/a chords and lyrics], Josh will attempt it for you. If he isn’t familiar with something he may look up the official song and listen for a few seconds to get the rhythm and tempo, then it’s off to the races.

When people are in the mood, the songs can be as simple as “Sweet Caroline” or “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” just like you’d hear in any American karaoke bar. But there are also nights where a quieter, more esoteric mood takes hold and you’ll find someone singing an album track by Emmylou Harris or an old favorite from Lucinda Williams. This world of possibilities has given me the chance to sing songs I never thought would happen at karaoke, like Britpop hits that never got to America and indie rock tunes that were never a hit in the first place. It’s a real thrill to sing that unknown song you’ve always adored to a supportive crowd of friends old and new.

This brings me to a couple of...well, not negatives, per se, but let’s call them Things You Should Know. The first is that you will occasionally have evenings at the Request Room where you wish somebody would break up the mood with something a bit more rocking. It’s the nature of the beast; piano doesn’t generally lend itself to a Black Sabbath song as much as it does a Jackson Browne or Adele ballad. I recall a recent evening where we were noticing this and when my friend got on the mic she blurted out, “You’re all bumming me out tonight!”

The second thing is knowing where you are in the batting order. There’s a sign-up sheet each night but it’s in the back of the room and isn’t adhered to particularly strictly. There isn’t really a space to have it sit by the piano and Josh isn’t the type of guy to holler out the next name anyway. It goes against the charming atmosphere he’s worked so hard to create. The list is mainly adhered to on the honor system but never completely so someone who really wants their next song may jump on the mic at any moment. Most people don’t care and the rest of us don’t want to be the jerk who tattles on them. It’s a little thing but I can’t deny being a bit frustrated sometimes.

Oh, and by the way: the first time you sing, there’s a good chance you’re going to be terrible. If you’ve never worked with live accompaniment, it takes a few tries to adapt to the process. Do you lead Josh or let him lead you? Is he going to play that instrumental break the same way you’ve heard it on the studio recording or not? Just keep showing up and once you learn the ropes, you’ll be surprised at how well it goes the next time. More so than any other karaoke experience, you’ll get out of the Request Room what you put into it. Sing on, my friends.

If you’d like to join us for mirth, music, madness and memories at The Request Room, let us know and we’ll pass along your email address to the esteemed Josh Sitron and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

[shipinthewoods]

look.ship Presents: The Best Music of the Year, 2017 -- I’m sat in my office trying to sum up 2017 as a whole. So far, all I’ve come up with is: Like 2016, but worse. Which, while reductive, is true. I don’t think it’s worth either my or your time to hash out why 2017 was mostly trash, because, frankly, it’s totally obvious, and will be covered ad nauseam in other year-enders. I do think it’s worth pointing out that, for all the bad, it’s possible that we’ve already begun a long, laborious course correction thanks to the hard work and bravery of those who will no longer accept the status quo nor remain silent. 2018 will be interesting. And difficult, but difficult isn’t always bad. Although, it could be bad. Like, really bad. Who knows? Musically, this was a phenomenal year. Culturally speaking, the underground was vital, galvanized, queerer, and less commodifiable than ever--awake, engaged, prodding gleefully at the fringes of human experience. As most of you know, I occasionally write for The Quietus. Over there, they’ve spent much of the year exploring what they’ve termed New Weird Britain, an amorphous, loosely defined movement of diverse, idiosyncratic artists engaged in exploring the complete potential of their specific place and the experiences they might have in it. It’s a holistic approach, in terms of both topic and execution. There’s room for everything from the landscape to history to alternative religion to politics to sex to etc. It’s brilliant. The real deal--not just white-bread garage rockers playing at being strange-o. But what I think--or at least, what I hope is that what John Doran, Luke Turner, &co. have identified is their regional variant of a global phenomenon. Maybe 2018 is the year New Weird bubbles over. New Weird Everywhere. We’d all be better off. This year, we’ve decided to do things a little differently here at look.ship. In lieu of breaking down our albums-of-the-year list into shortlists organized by genre, we’ve ranked the top 25 of our 75 selections in order to give you a better idea of what dominated our editor’s home stereo (and make the list a bit more digestible). The remainder of the selections are arranged in alphabetical order. It should be noted that these are not runners up or honorable mentions or somehow lesser than. Though definitively not comprehensive--how could we listen to everything?--this is our list of the best records of the year, period. On some level, given the constant apples and oranges comparisons inherent in such an endeavor, we still think ranking albums is a little bogus. Ranking beyond 25? That becomes a frustratingly arbitrary exercise. However, selecting our album of the year was easy. Nothing came close to Hiro Kone’s Love Is the Capital, 38 nearly perfect minutes of desolate soundscapes, crystalline industrial techno, and incisive political bangers. A supremely confident record of rare grace and generosity, it demands the listener’s complete attention and begs to be repeated, proving more rewarding with every listen. (For more, feel free to click through to my interview with Hiro Kone -->here<--)   In addition to our albums of the year, you’ll find our top ten live recordings, compilations, and reissues; top ten EPs & 12″s; live performances of the year; and labels of the year. Where possible, we've included Bandcamp embeds. Otherwise, we've used Soundcloud or YouTube, which really mucked up our formatting. Read on to explore the wide array of sounds that made 2017 worth tolerating.

-- Albums of the Year, 2017: Top 25 -- 1. Hiro Kone – Love Is the Capital (Geographic North)

Love is the Capital by Hiro Kone

2. Bjørn Torske & Prins Thomas – Square One (Smalltown Supersound)

Square One by Bjørn Torske & Prins Thomas

3. Fever Ray – Plunge (Mute / Rabid)

4. Equiknoxx – Colón Man (DDS)

5. Perc – Bitter Music (Perc Trax)

Bitter Music by Perc

6. Virginia Wing & XAM Duo – Tomorrow’s Gift (Fire)

Tomorrow's Gift by VIRGINIA WING and XAM DUO

7. Bicep – Bicep (Ninja Tune)

Bicep by Bicep

8. Country Florist – Waveland (Drawing Room)

Waveland by Country Florist

9. Moon Diagrams – Lifetime of Love (Geographic North / Sonic Cathedral)

Lifetime of Love by Moon Diagrams

10. Andrew Hung – Realisationship (Lex)

Realisationship by Andrew Hung

11. Forest Swords – Compassion (Ninja Tune)

Compassion by Forest Swords

12. Colleen – A flame my love, a frequency (Thrill Jockey)

A flame my love, a frequency by Colleen

13. NoinoNoinoNoino – 8 (Caoutchou)

8 by NoinoNoinoNoino

14. The Cyclist – Sapa Inca Delirium (Hypercolour)

Sapa Inca Delirium by The Cyclist

15. Clark – Death Peak (Warp)

16. Mount Kimbie – Love What Survives (Warp)

17. Lindstrøm – It’s Alright Between Us As It Is (Smalltown Supersound)

It's Alright Between Us As It Is by Lindstrøm

18. James Holden & The Animal Spirits – Animal Spirits (Border Community)

19. JASSS – Weightless (iDeal)

20. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – The Kid (Western Vinyl)

The Kid by Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

21. Blanck Mass – World Eater (Sacred Bones)

World Eater by Blanck Mass

22. Ninos Du Brasil – Vida Eterna (Hospital Productions)

Vida Eterna by Ninos Du Brasil

23. Expressway Yo-Yo Dieting – Undone Harmony Following (Type)

24. Snapped Ankles – Come Play the Trees (The Leaf Label)

Come Play The Trees by Snapped Ankles

25. Gnod – JUST SAY NO TO THE PSYCHO RIGHT-WING CAPITALIST FASCIST INDUSTRIAL DEATH MACHINE (Rocket Recordings)

JUST SAY NO TO THE PSYCHO RIGHT-WING CAPITALIST FASCIST INDUSTRIAL DEATH MACHINE by Gnod

-- Albums of the Year, 2017: 26 - 75 -- Auburn Lull – Hypha (Azure Vista)

Hypha by Auburn Lull

Basic Rhythm – The Basics (Type)

The Basics by Basic Rhythm

Ben Frost – The Centre Cannot Hold (Mute)

The Centre Cannot Hold by Ben Frost

Blondes – Warmth (R&S)

Warmth by Blondes

The Body & Full of Hell – Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (Thrill Jockey)

Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light by The Body & Full of Hell

British Sea Power – Let the Dancers Inherit the Party (Golden Chariot)

Coldcut & On-U Sound – Outside the Echo Chamber (Ahead Of Our Time)

Outside The Echo Chamber by Coldcut x On-U Sound

Dale Cornish – Aqal (Entr’acte)

Aqal by Dale Cornish

Dalham – Waves (Public House)

Waves by Dalham

Dominowe – SiyaThakatha (Gqom Oh!)

Dominowe - SiyaThakatha by Dominowe

Downtown Boys – Cost of Living (Sub Pop)

Cost of Living by Downtown Boys

Emptyset – Borders (Thrill Jockey)

Borders by Emptyset

Escape-ism – Introduction to Escape-ism (Merge)

Introduction to Escape-ism by ESCAPE-ISM

Feature – Banishing Ritual (Upset The Rhythm)

Banishing Ritual by FEATURE

Golden Teacher – No Luscious Life (Golden Teacher)

No Luscious Life by Golden Teacher

Great Ytene – Locus (Faux Discx)

Locus by Great Ytene

Grey Hairs – Serious Business (Gringo)

Serious Business by Grey Hairs

H. Hawkline – I Romanticize (Heavenly)

Hey Colossus – The Guillotine (Rocket Recordings)

The Guillotine by Hey Colossus

Institute – Subordination (Sacred Bones)

Subordination by Institute

Jack Cooper – Sandgrown (Trouble In Mind)

Sandgrown by Jack Cooper

James Place – Voices Bloom (Umor Rex)

Voices Bloom by James Place

Jon Brooks – Autres Directions (Clay Pipe)

Autres Directions by Jon Brooks

Karen Gwyer – Rembo (Don’t Be Afraid)

Rembo by Karen Gwyer

Kedr Livanskiy – Ariadna (ариадна) (2MR)

Ariadna (ариадна) by Kedr Livanskiy

Kelela – Take Me Apart (Warp)

Kelly Lee Owens – Kelly Lee Owens (Smalltown Supersound)

Kelly Lee Owens (Extended Version) by Kelly Lee Owens

Kemper Norton – Hungan (Self-released)

Hungan by Kemper Norton

Kevin Morby – City Music (Dead Oceans)

City Music by Kevin Morby

Liars – TFCF (Mute)

Mogwai – Every Country’s Sun (Temporary Residence / Rock Action)

Every Country's Sun by Mogwai

Nathan Fake – Providence (Ninja Tune)

Providence by Nathan Fake

Nidia Minaj - Nídia É Má, Nídia É Fudida (Principe)

Nídia é Má, Nídia é Fudida by NÍDIA

Panayotis – Hawaiiprus (Honest Electronics)

Hawaiiprus (HE04) by Panayotis

Part Chimp – Iv (Rock Action)

Phillippe Hallais – An American Hero (Modern Love)

The Proper Ornaments – Foxhole (Slumberland / Tough Love)

Foxhole by The Proper Ornaments

Protomartyr – Relatives in Descent (Domino)

Relatives In Descent by Protomartyr

Richard Dawson – Peasant (Domino)

Shackleton & Anika – Behind the Glass (Woe To The Septic Heart)

Behind The Glass by Shackleton with Anika

Shinichi Atobe – From the Heart, It’s a Start, a Work of Art (DDS)

Spoek Mathambo – Mzansi Beat Code (Teka)

Mzansi Beat Code by Spoek Mathambo

STILL – I (PAN)

I by STILL

Teengirl Fantasy – 8AM (Planet Mu)

8AM by Teengirl Fantasy

Terry – Remember Terry (Upset The Rhythm)

Remember Terry by Terry

Tim Darcy – Saturday Night (Secretly Canadian)

Saturday Night by Tim Darcy

TLC Fam – Isbethelo seGqom (Gqom Oh!)

TLC Fam - Isbethelo seGqom by TLC Fam

Turinn – Eighteen and a Half Minute Gaps (Modern Love)

Ulrika Spacek – Modern English Decoration (Tough Love)

Modern English Decoration by Ulrika Spacek

The World – First World Record (Upset The Rhythm)

FIRST WORLD RECORD by The World

-- Top Ten Live Recordings, Reissues, & Compilations -- 1. Blood Sport – Live at Café OTO (Howling Owl)

Live At Cafe Oto by Blood Sport

2. Normil Hawaiians – More Wealth Than Money (Upset The Rhythm)

3. Bamboo – The Dragon Flies Away (Upset The Rhythm)

4. Maximum Joy – I Can’t Stand It Here on Quiet Nights (Silent Street)

I Can't Stand It Here On Quiet Nights: Singles 1981-82 by MAXIMUM JOY

5. Dub Syndicate – Ambience in Dub: 1982 – 1985 (On-U Sound)

Ambience In Dub 1982-1985 by Dub Syndicate

6. Hood – The Cycle of Days and Seasons / Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys (Domino)

7. Jay Glass Dubs – Dubs (Ecstatic)

8. Various – Mutual Ground (Honest Electronics)

Mutual Ground (HE03) by Various Artists

9. The Knife – Live at Terminal 5 (Rabid)

10. Pye Corner Audio – Sleep Games (Ghost Box)

-- Top Ten EPs & 12″s -- 1. Blood Sport – “Harsh Realm” / “Boiled in Dust” (Return To Disorder)

2. Dale Cornish – Cut Sleeve (Halcyon Veil)

Cut Sleeve by Dale Cornish

3. The Bug – “Bad” / “Get Out the Way” (Ninja Tune)

Bad / Get Out The Way by The Bug

4. Panayotis – Sawaiiphur (Honest Electronics)

Sawaiiphur (HE06) by Panayotis

5. RAW SILVER – Thanatos (Honest Electronics)

Thanatos (HE05) by RAW SILVER

6. Forest Swords – “Congregate” / “Free” (Ninja Tune)

Congregate by Forest Swords

7. Total Control, Laughing at the System (Alter)

Laughing At The System by Total Control

8. Café Ale – Transformative Nature (Geographic North)

Transformative Nature by Café Ale

9. Holy Fuck – Bird Brains (Innovative Leisure)

Bird Brains EP by Holy Fuck

10. Fujiya & Miyagi – EP3 (Impossible Objects of Desire)

FUJIYA & MIYAGI by Fujiya & Miyagi

-- Live Performances of the Year -- Steven Warwick and Benjamin Wardell performing "Figuring Space (on the Mezzanine)" to close out Lampo's season at the Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago -- Cattle live at Supernormal, Braziers Park, Oxfordshire, UK

-- Labels of the Year -- Geographic North Gqom Oh! Honest Electronics Smalltown Supersound Upset The Rhythm

-- Label of the Year, Emeritus -- Faux Discx

-- In the next couple of weeks, keep an eye out for special episodes of SHIP/SHAPE/SUNDAY featuring our favorite recordings of 2017. – Bernie Brooks is the editor-in-chief and bloggist of look.ship. *Everything* he writes or compiles or otherwise makes–or has *ever* written, compiled, or otherwise made–for A Ship In The Woods is editorial content, and as such reflects his opinion alone, not necessarily that of Ship as an organization. Actually, this applies to all the content on look.shipinthewoods.com, regardless of who wrote or said it. He can be e-mailed: bernie [at] shipinthewoods [dot] com -- Image of Steven Warwick and Benjamin Wardell performing at Stony Island Arts Bank by Bernie Brooks.

[butimnotacriticthough]

Friday Five: Best of 2017

I couldn't let Gerard down.

You gonna quit parading the Friday Five out here on this 'limited time only' ish like it's the McRib. https://t.co/VGilAQNFae

— O. Gerard Droze (@VerbalCryogenic) July 25, 2017

He really came at me sideways but I deserved it so I had to prove him wrong.

As you know I don't like doing lists. I don't like lists because lists come with a level of ranking and BINACT is anti-ranking. Equal opportunity love from me over here. Today you are getting a list but this is in NO PARTICULAR ORDER. These are my five favorite projects of 2017 so far: 

At What Cost x Goldlink- Yes this is a fun album. Yes it has summer jam after summer jam. Yes Goldlink has an interesting flow. But what REALLY hit home for me was reading this interview and listening to the album again. Goldlink is a product of his hometown and it shows in his music. I aspire to be like Goldlink in almost every way. Listening to this album past the fun beats reveals a deep story about life in his hometown and growing through pain. I emphatically urge you to listen to At What Cost if you haven't already. If you have, play it once more (and inevitably leave it on loop because it's easy to do).

Mama x Phay- If you're sick of me pushing this project, you probably haven't listened to it yet. I found out about Atlanta's Phayweather back in February and wrote about it April. The project is still a part of my regular listening rotation. Mama is a heartfelt journey through the ups and downs of Phay's life. Throughout the album his mother's narration serves as a guiding tool for his decision making and maturation process. Next time you see me tweet about this, check it out.

De Mim, Pra Voce x Sango- From me to you is the title's translation. If you know me you know I've been rocking with Sango since my early Soundcloud days. His mixes have gotten me through many a dorm room twerk session. His influences range from Brazilian favela music to R&B bops. If you need something to listen to on a road trip or liven up a kickback, this is an easy go to.

Blkswn x Smino- The reason I haven't written a formal review on this project is because after a zillion listens I still can't articulate my thoughts properly. This small blurb with have to suffice. Smino's ariose wordplay is intoxicating. It easily calms my mood to a comfortably drunken state like an occasional warm shot of tequila (or your drink of choice) before bed. This is another one that I can leave on repeat all day. ALL DAMN DAY. I was ecstatic when I found out he's touring with SZA and the stop closest to me is in Charlotte. The show is right after NYCC but I still might try and swing myself up there. Help a sister out if you know someone with an extra ticket, haha.

Reflected x Axnt- This small EP from one of BBTB's headlining DJ's is one of my favorite independent projects so far. He has mastered the use of flipping a sound bite and transforming it into an entire song. I've been impressed with him since the first time I heard him spin in Charlotte for Kyle's King Wavy stop. His ear for production detail is impeccable. Try his latest release out and tell me what you think. 

**Honorable mentions

Big Fish Theory x Vince Staples- It just dropped so I haven't listened to it enough.

Carpoolparty x Hot Tapes- I JUST found out about them two weeks ago. I'm in love.

Phantom 2017 x Play Randy- Unfortunately this segment only has five spots. 803 the Clique made it hard to choose just one this year.

Don't be afraid to use my comment button. It's there for a reason! Still selling 'Support Local' shirts to reach my 100 sold goal. Go cop one. Survey is open until next Wednesday. Leave some feedback for ya girl. Subscribe to the newsletter for all the juicy updates. BINACT revamp is coming!