2012 TOP 10 RECORDS SO FAR

When I sat down to write this post yesterday, I was ready to straight blast on Frank Ocean's channel Orange. I was going to say how much less interesting it is than his 2011 mixtape, Nostalgia, that he sounds like Musiq with less soul, and that after the Weeknd's murderous 2011 mixtapes, everything else "new" in R&B just sounds like "old" R&B. I was going to say that, as if by a deliberate formula aimed at mediocrity, great beats were always paired with weak choruses, and vice versa. I was going to conclude with the admission that I have eaten crow on album review before (808s and Heartbreak; Watch the Throne), and that I would give this one a few more listens before I really made up my mind.

What can I say? I'm glad I didn't write that bullshit!

Just the same, even though channel Orange is more than OK in my book now, I'm going to continue with the plan of sharing my favorite new records of the year so far. If, for whatever reason, you want to hear anything other than channel Orange sometime soon, go with one of these.

Favorite Albums of 2012 (So Far) (Yes, in order):

Chromatics - Kill for Love

Turned on this record at the beginning of the year. The streets have never looked the same.

Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do

 channel Orange's P4k reviewer said that Frank Ocean is one of the best singer-songwriters working today. If you want to believe that, don't listen to a Fiona Apple album.

fun. - Some Nights

I hate saying that I liked this band before they were famous. But. I did.









Beach House - Bloom
Passion Pit - Gossamer
Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days
Baroness - Green & Yellow (for when you want to hear the exact, constitutional opposite of Frank Ocean)
JJ - High Summer (EP)
Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Mount Eerie - Clear Moon