The Year in Tweets: Music

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The 13-yr-old me wouldn't recognize the 31-yr-old me's music tastes.

I finally figured it out. My favorite genres of songs are as follows...

Songs about heroin, real or metaphorical. Songs where a black rapper menaces white ppl, esp. cops. Songs by, for & about teen girls.

So I guess I don't really listen to everything.

Tupac hasn't released a new album in awhile. I wonder what he's been up to.

Decemberists: New sound is old sound: short, sweet, sepia-toned. Melodies shine, slide guitar sparkles, old-timey wordplay reigns supreme.

Robyn: Dance pop that actually makes me want to dance. Too bad I'm late to the party again.

Sugarland: Country music for people who hated country music before discovering Sugarland. Another CD of classic rock riffs & sassy singin'.

Adele: Brand-new album already sounds classic. Young soul makes old soul sounds. A voice like this cannot be tamed.

No one could croon a rap hook quite like Nate Dogg. RIP.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day w/ Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks." As if I needed an excuse to listen to music.

Eisley: Kids grow up, get divorced, rock out. Sad & Smarter songs are true. Less gorgeous, more aggressive, new sound seems transitional.

This new #Eisley CD is growing on me. Like grass in your yard when the snow melts away.

Currently listening to another country icon, Dolly Parton. God, she's great. So sassy! My education continues.

If a female singer can be described as sassy, chance are I'm a fan. Even that lil Rebecca Black has pluck!

moxie, pizazz, zeal & etc.

As I continue to listen to both of their albums on repeat, it's clear Kaiser Cartel is my favorite band of the last year.

I can't defend Katy Perry as a singer, artist or sex symbol. But damn, Teenage Dream is like magic or something.

Bright Eyes: So distracted by insane man's skits I forgot to mention music. It's more poppy, less rootsy, more melodic... less memorable.

Leave the skits to the rappers, Bright Eyes!

On second thought, I'm being too hard on Bright Eyes. It's not their fault my expectations were higher.

Lupe Fiasco: Political party music. It's got a nice beat. Dems & Reps & their enemies can dance to it.

REM: Return to form. Everybody still hurts. Monster riffs from jangly survivors. (Really, expectations met.)

Beethoven: Most deaf.

Beastie Boys: 3 wisecrackers are wiser now, still droppin' science, passin' mics, and etc, still exceeding everything I ever expected.

Best Coast: Simple but not simplistic. Cute but not cutesy. Slightly grungy or at least, like, reverb-y. I waited too long to listen again.

Britney: Every time she comes back, I pretend I don't care. Then I get the album & play it on repeat for a month. Then I resume pretending.

The Head & The Heart: Folsky, woodsy indie rock. The band name is literal; it's where the harmony hits you.

Avett Brothers: Folksy, woodsy, mossy, enchanted, etc. More great music to get lost in (like a forest!), wherever & whenever.

Eisley, Eisley, Eisley... I wish I could get my favorite band trending.

#Eisley #Eisley #Eisley

Bon Iver: More abstract yet expansive than before. It's growing on me slowly.

Radiohead: It took even longer to grow on me, months. Better than I initially thought but...

Radiohead: They're repeating their droning non-guitar experiments & I'm repeating my dissatisfaction.

Lady Gaga: Not as avant garde as she thinks, but heavier, more industrial & more exciting than you're probably thinking.

Lady Gaga: Has anyone compared it to Ace of Base yet?

My Morning Jacket: Wow. Best surprise of the yr so far. Beauty & shock & classic-rock epicness. 1st listen floored me like nothing else.

Foo Fighters: They're back! Return to form! Rawk! At least the 4th best FF album! Damned w/ faint praise, but solid as hell.

Thompson Square: Splits the difference between Lady Antebellum (honey) & Sugarland (raw sugar).

The Band Perry: Dixie Chick w/ background bros. Sass & sap & songs that stick.

Paul Simon: Unsurprising: Another beautiful comeback record. Shocking: Guitar album of the yr?

Weird Al: His parodies still amuse my inner 13-yr-old, but it's his originals that amaze my inner 32-yr-old. No joke.

Baseball Project: No sophomore slump here. Each & every song is a triple, at least.

Waking up to Nat King Cole on the turntable.

Watch the Throne: This is monocle music!

Watch the Throne: The soundtrack to playing Monopoly with actual money.

Watch the Throne: Music to burn dollar bills to.

Watch the Throne: I can't tell if it sounds good, or if it just sounds expensive. Thoughts?

Mumford & Sons: Is there still room on the bandwagon? The banjo makes me jump. The songs roll along like steam-powered carts.

This week's turntable: Carole King & Billy Joel. Unfortunately not at the same time.

Death Cab for Cutie: Still winsome after all these years. Headphone music for lonely hearts.

Civil Wars: Their voices intertwine like bodies in sheets. Whispered prayers for mended hearts.

Civil Wars: If I were either singer's partner, I would not approve of this band. Joy & John Paul are way too intimate!

Rootsy, folksy, acoustic, harmonic... I've listened to this stuff a steamboatload this year. What to call it, Americana?

REM: I'm missing them way more than I thought I would.

St. Vincent: Weeks later, she's still melting my face. She's also implanting her gorgeous melodies directly into my brain.

The Runaways are the best jailbait rock band of all time!

She & Him Xmas album: Totes cozy. It's not too early to celebrate, is it?

Cake: The return of deadpan rock/pop... funk? How do u classify? Why do I luv it? When did I forget they're 1 of my faves?

Cake: Despite or because they sound exactly the same?

Not that I've been listening to it or anything, but the last Avril Lavigne album is surprisingly profane for, well, an Avril Lavigne album.

Bjork: Beats & strings & wildwoman howls. Listenable, even likeable, but law of diminishing returns and all that.

Tori Amos: Classical song cycle about goddesses or something. Listenable, even likeable, but see previous tweet.

MyMorningJacket & DeathCab: Still listening to both on repeat. Shocking! MMJ revives classic rock. DeathCab's still like sad and stuff.

Florence + Machine: Expansive, pseudo-mystical, big-bigger-biggest. Sound is great, songs r just good. I miss her old eclecticism.

Lykke Li: Fantastic solo female pop-rock, sure. But overrated by indie critics who don't listen to any other solo female pop-rock.

Feist: The album I never knew I wanted her to make. Not as immediately poppy, but richer, more rewarding. Perfect for lonely times.

Miranda Lambert: My fave country star kills me w/ kindness this time. Killer riffs, killer metaphors, but less, um, killing.

Pistol Annies: Miranda Lambert forms a posse, gets drunk, burns down a house. Adorable! That's the Miranda I fell in love with.

Sunny Sweeney & Ashton Shepherd: 2 more country chicks I just discovered. My ghost from Christmases past continues shaking his head.

The Year in Tweets: Music

Here's most of what I listened to this year, in 140 characters or less...

Katie Herzig: Charming singer/songwriter cuts to the bone, aided by a cello. Nothing I haven't heard b4, which is probably why I luv it.

Roseanne Cash: Smoother than Daddy, but no less haunting.

Kate Miller-Heidke = Jill Sobule + Nellie McKay + Gwen Stefani. But totes herself. Totes original. Catchy, quirky, charming, etc.

The Sundays: Why didn't anyone mention them before? 90s alt rock band w/ femme lead singer? Just like Mazzy Star? Where have I been?

Tom Waits: Growly troubadour, barroom bard. Why o why did I wait so long?

Willie Nelson: Another American treasure worth finding.

Grizzly Bear: Another party to which I finally showed up, much too late to be fashionable. Pitchfork-tested, Matthew-approved.

Scar Jo/Pete Yorn: Almost as great as She & Him. Don't understand why hipsters ignored em. Scar Jo is husky, Yorn brings the pop. Harmony!

Carrie Underwood: So loud, so sassy... so awesome?

Country music: I guess I'm a fan now. Shit.

She & Him: More vintage radio gold. Zooey wows w/ voice, woos w/ library card liner notes.

Charlotte Gainsbourg: Chanteuse seduces in English & French. A bed of lush strings & room-quaking beats. (Best Beck album since...?)

Rolling Stones: I hereby take back everything bad I ever said about em. This band rocks. Who knew?

Gorillaz: D. Albarn throws world dance party. Snoop, Mos Def, Lou Reed show up. Even tho ur not cartoon, ur wanted on the dance floor.

Lady Gaga: Overexposed? Sure. Edgy? Not as much as she thinks. Catchy? As hell. That's why I care. Monster hooks + underrated vox = fanboy.

Plus her song Speechless is Elton John-esque. Already sounds like a classic 2 me. 4 better or worse, she's here 2 stay. (Sorry, h8ers.)

Ke$ha, on the other hand, is just awful. Grating voice, uninteresting persona, sophomoric songs.

Gang Starr: Essential hip-hop. RIP Guru.

Natalie Imbruglia: International pop tart's going stale continues. Pleasant voice, pleasant tunes, but dance jam lacks the sting of Torn.

Hole: I love it, I'm disappointed, it sounds too much like old stuff & not enough, Love creaks & still sounds fierce... I am not objective.

Hole: Thinking about it a lot, listening to it a lot less.

MarioMedina/Amps4Buddha: Best instrumental experimental metal artist I've ever heard.

Mad Titans: Best instrumental surf punk band I've ever heard.

STP: Instead of ripping off other bands, they're ripping off... STP. Plus Bowie, Aero & other classic rawkers.

STP: And yet, of course, it's growing on me. I figured it would. I'm a sucker. Those chords!

Hold Steady: I finally get it! Thanks to the slide guitar and @NicholasLHoneck 's persistence. Boozy, bluesy rock.

Court Yard Hounds: Dixie Chicks + bluegrass - Maines' mouth = more rustic, less rousing sound. Not backwoods, but back-porch country.

Kate Nash: Foul-mouth Brit chick betrays her past: doo-wop, riot grrl & even spoken word. Often thrilling, often WTF. More piano please.

MGMT: Trippier than ever, 60s psychedelia, kinda sorta indie pop.

Rufus Wainwright: Stripped-down songs sound painful to write, beautiful to listen to. But I kinda miss the ornamentation.

Erykah Badu: Eccentric genius grooves accessibly.

Eminem: Guess who's back? Spits hot fire. Hungry again. Simple beats & complex rhymes. No skits, accents, pop culture jokes. Purist rap.

Big Boi: Underrated 'kast-mate doesn't need Andre. (Does need an editor, esp. for skits.) Nowhere near Speakerboxxx, but good summer fun.

The Roots: Late nite TV hasn't dumbed em down. Somehow it's made em sharper, harder. Keepin it real w/out getting preachy. Rap album of yr.

hip-hop: Luv its essence (beats & poetry), hate its devolution (autotune, party rap, sexism, etc.). Gimme the golden age! Yes, I'm cranky.

Juniper Tar: Another fantastic opener. A fantastic local band.

Arcade Fire: Grandiose, yet intimate. (You know, for the kids.) Believe every word, every chord, even hype. Great 3rd album rumbles forward.

Band of Horses: Chiming guitars, honeyed vox, lovely songs for a slow afternoon.

Kaiser Cartel: Boy/girl duo sings to me directly. After a month of heavy rotation, they're nowhere near finished revealing their secrets.

Kaiser Cartel: Who do they sound like? Swell Season + Mazzy Star. How does it feel? The rush of discovering a new fave band.

Lady Antebellum: Pleasant country pop, no more, no less.

Merle Haggard: As Haggard as his name implies, in spite/because of his age.

Christie DuPree: Eisley's lil sis sings equally ethereally. Only the production needs more maturation.

Band of Horses, Black Keys, Broken Bells: Great year for good (not great?) indie B bands. Keys: Blast it! Bells: Doesn't burn, but simmers.

Weezer: Lacks the emotional depth of first 2 & sugary superficiality of last 2. Maybe the haters r right now. Damn. Lotsa hooks, but why?

Stars, Grace Potter: 2 more good, if not great, women-fronted indie bands. This is what I listen to.

Janelle Monae: Space funk? Outkast for ladies? Jams & torch songs & other indescribables? Affirmative.

The National: Deep, dark indie rock. A better word: brooding. I shouldn't have been so skeptical.

Nick Hornby: After obsessing about music for yrs, the author tries writing it. I hope he doesn't quit his day job, but he totally could.

Ben Folds: Sounds like self, even w/ someone else's words. Sentiment, smarm & smarts combined. I expect he'll continue exceeding my hopes.

Jenny & Johnny: They're having fun now. I am too. A loose record, not a sloppy one. Garage-y & hook-y & other made-up-words-y.

KT Tunstall, Nellie McKay: Old faves return w/ new-ish sounds: dance-y (KT), vaudeville-y (Nellie). Yeah, I need some better adjectives.

Taylor Swift: can write a song about me anytime.

Taylor Swift: "Dear John": Dissing John Mayer while biting his style? Hilarious. Brilliant.

ODB + Radiohead = LOL. Girl Talk, you crazy!

Spacehog? Toadies? Girl Talk has impeccable taste in 90s 1-hit wonders. But where's the New Radicals?

Kanye West: Crazy good, or just crazy?

Kanye West: Most ambitious pop album of the yr. Best? I'm still making up my mind. Do I really need this much opulent arrogance?

Kanye West: Arrogant opulence?

My biggest problem w/ the Kanye West album will be trying to fit 1 of these 6-minute tracks on a mixtape.

Lissie: My emasculation continues. Another female singer who whispers in my ear. Another beautiful indie pop record.

Adam Lambert: A danceable Freddie Mercury? A harder-rocking Mika? Not that there's anything wrong with either.

The Year in Tweets: Music

Since none of you (approximately) are on Twitter, here are my 140-character reviews of all the music I listened to this year.

Lily Allen: Songbird grows up, gets poppier, sells out? The sass remains the same, so no. Topics: Boys, surreal life, Dubya.

Neko Case: Personified tornadoes, animals, heartbreak. Torch songs as enveloping as burnt electric blankets. Favorite for 2009's No. 1.

U2: Typically massive, but newly, bravely intimate. They sound like bands that sound like U2. Bono still makes Jesus weep.

Decemberists: Huzzah! Old-timey folk-rock by lit geeks for lit geeks. Best concept disc since Mechanical Animals. Murder ballads slay.

Adele: Another white Brit chick appropriates soul. Sweeter than Wino, better than Duffy.

Ray LaMontagne: Gritty yet smooth, warm & inviting, the sound of the last of ur favorite cup of coffee. Plus, u can actually hear the wood.

Fleet Foxes: Backwoods beards sing songs of beauty. Perfect background for computer-based job.

Taylor Swift: Sugary sweet & adorable, sure. But also insightful beyond her years. I'll proselytize for her to all u country haters.

Vampire Weekend: Sounds like stuff that white ppl like: sweaters, libraries, boarding school singalongs. Neither as good nor as bad as…

…you’ve read.

Baseball Project: Anyone heard this? Indie all-stars dream of Mays, curse T. Williams & thank Curt Flood. Humming fastballs. Catchy. Jangly.

Ditty Bops: 3 albums in, they're cute as ever. 2 pretty voices, prettier songs, a barnful of pretty old-timey instruments. Sweetness.

Eminem: Dope beats, dope rhymes, but somewhat disappointing. I'm almost as sick of Shady as he is.

Ben Folds acappella: Strictly for diehards & acappella enablers. Do I love it? Duh.

Green Day: Same ambition & pop/punk hooks. American Idiot II pretty much. Rawk!

Tori Amos: Crystalline, magical, sounds like the 90s. A record w/ grooves (but few standout songs). The muse is back, if she ever left.

Pearl Jam: Legendary up to & including No Code. Snooze-inducing afterwards. What happened to the riffs? To the reverb on Eddie's vox?

Thriller: As amazing as ever. R.I.P.

Regina Spektor: Cute, quirky - but not too much. She's too good for marginalization, at least for guys (me!) in luv w/ chick pianists.

Kings of Leon: Kings of classic-sounding rock. Not yet classic, but on the road to same. Arena ambitions - what's wrong w/ that?

Wilco: Good, but great? Consistently consistent.

Early Neko Case albums: They keep getting older, but her amazing voice stays the same. A lil bit country-er, but u know what? That's fine.

Mos Def: Call it a comeback. Bob your head in bangin' contemplation.

Q-Tip: Call it a comeback. Hearkens back to late-Tribe spirit.

Meth & Red: Blah-ckout 2. Is misogyny still funny?

Abbey Road: Still my favorite album, artistic creation, human achievement ever.

Per every music mag ever, (old artist's new album) is their best since (old artist's last good album).

Having said that, Blueprint 3 is clearly Jay-Z's best since The Black Album.

Bjork live album: Makes me wish I was rich enough to see her. Makes me wish I lived in Iceland. Makes me wish she still wrote pop tunes.

Marilyn Manson albums: He keeps making em, I keep buying em. Songs sound relevant (scary, good), even if he's not.

And by "buying em," of course, I mean, "checking em out of the library and burning em."

Brandi Carlile: As raw & heartfelt as always, but... melodies aren't as head-sticking yet.

Miranda Lambert: Country spitfire cleans up nicely, remains authentic, gun-toting, crazy. Country for ppl for who don't think they like it.

A Fine Frenzy: Too adult-contempo for most of my friends, but perfectly poppy for me. Chick, piano, melody, etc.

Monsters of Folk: Pro: Monsters of harmony. Con: Monsters of writing better tunes on their own than in a supergroup.

Swell Season: Real-life loss of chemistry hurts. After few listens, songs start to grow. Sadly, not as majestic as Once.

Nellie McKay sings Doris Day: New chanteuse sings old one's tunes. Funny, jazzy, loungey, smooth. Hopefully more new Nellie tunes soon.

Florence + the Machine: Big-voiced Brit makes epic pop. Lungs indeed. Debut of the year. (Again, I'm the target audience tho.)

Muse: Pretentious. Over the top. But kinda awesome.

Weezer: Far from Pinkerton, but pure pop pleasure.

John Mayer: Some would call his blues/pop bland, but this guy calls it bloody good. Guy's got chops & songcraft skillz.

Norah Jones: Lil bit funky & not just for her. New songs swing where old ones smoldered.

Paramore: Pop songs packaged as teenage angst? I am totally cool w/ this.

Jill Sobule: No less quirky in her old age. No less melodic or deserving of audience. Rustic sound is new for her. Tunes are fun as usual.

St Vincent, The Bird & The Bee, Bat for Lashes: The kind of CDs I always buy & love. Songs that burrow in2 my brain. Written by women 4 me?