Best of 2016

Again, I'm the worst at maintaining this thing. But I wanted to get in my annual list of what I dug this year. You may or may not agree, but if you don't Blogger is free so you can also have your say! I definitely lean to the rock side of things, I always have and as I get older, it gets further ingrained. Here we go.

16. Bon Jovi - "This House Is Not For Sale"

What can I say, you can teach an old dog new tricks. Or at least re-package the same tricks with a few new band members and a renewed sense of song craft/lyric writing. I wrote about this in my last post so won't dwell on it too much, but I really enjoy this record and they rush-released a live album of their London promotional appearance couple of months after it was released which encouraged me to buy tickets to their Toronto show in April. Side note, I saw Bon Jovi with my dad the first time when I was 10 in 1986 and my daughter, who will be 10 in March, is coming with me in April. The circle is complete!

Key Tracks: This House Is Not For Sale, Living With The Ghost, God Bless This Mess, Reunion


15. Iggy Pop - "Post Pop Depression"

The album title is pretty awesome and the record itself is also pretty impressive. Produced by Josh Homme, who also leads the band, it has Iggy's signature snarl, but also the density that Homme's bands dabble in. Even more impressive is the live album, again from London, that was released a few months ago, where this album, as well as the hits, get very good treatment from Iggy, Josh and company.

Key Tracks: Break Into Your Heart, American Valhalla, Sunday


14. Billy Talent - "Afraid Of Heights"

I saw Billy Talent live for the first time in the summer when they opened for Guns 'N Roses in Toronto and they were very impressive. I have generally been a fan of the hits and it so happened that this album dropped right after that show, so I picked it up. I want to say that this is a more "mature" effort from the band, but I'd rather say that it's a muscular effort, filled with great musicianship and some solid lyrics and melodies.

Key Tracks: Afraid Of Heights, Ghost Ship Of Cannibal Rats, Rabbit Down The Hole


13. Against Me! - "Shape Shift With Me"

The follow-up to my fave album of 2014 doesn't disappoint. At first, I wasn't feeling this one too much, but after repeated spins, the songs definitely are there. The messages are more straight forward compared with those on "Transgender Dysphoria Blues", but the songs are no less affecting.

Key Tracks: Crash, 333, Haunting, Haunted, Haunts


12. Kings Of Leon - "WALLS"

Again, I wrote about this one in my last post, so won't dwell too much, but I like how the Kings got their groove back on this one. I'm also glad I'll be going to see them live for the first time in January!

Key Tracks: Reverend, Waste A Moment, Around The World, Walls


11. Catfish & The Bottlemen - "The Ride"

I remember I read that the album from the Australian band DMAs was "totally like" Oasis. I have that album, and it is good, but to me, it doesn't sound like Oasis. Catfish's "The Ride" sounds like Oasis. Maybe it's because they share the same producer as the last two Oasis albums in Dave Sardy, or maybe it's because the band respects Oasis, but there are a couple tunes on this one that you could definitely (not maybe) equate with the brothers Gallagher. And there is definitely nothing wrong with that from where I am sitting.

Key Tracks: 7, Twice, Soundcheck, Oxygen


10. The Tragically Hip - "Man Machine Poem"

This is likely the band's last album and I respect them for staying true to themselves. Their last few albums did nothing for me truthfully, but this album, produced by members of Broken Social Scene, has a groove to it that the band hasn't had in years, if not, ever. Plus Gord Downie's lyrics/poetry fit the music perfectly. If this is a swansong, then they have gone out on top, dancing to the beat of their own drum.

Key Tracks: What Blue, Ocean Next, Machine, Tired As Fuck


9. Garbage - "Strange Little Birds"

There is always room for Garbage on my list. I love Shirley Manson and I love this band. While I was definitely into their comeback album "Not Your Kind of People", this album, like the Hip's, marches to the beat of its' own drum. It lacks the commercial sheen of their past work, and I feel the band is better for it. The songs are given a chance to breathe and they unfold like short stories, mostly dealing with darkness and gloom, but, hey, I'm okay with that. Here's to their next record, hope they continue down this path.

Key Tracks: Even If Our Love Is Doomed, Blackout, Night Drive Loneliness


8. Hiss Golden Messenger - "Heart Like A Levee"

I was told to purchase this album from Stephen, an owner of Dead Dog Records in Toronto. I've known him for 8.5 years as he used to run the Sunrise Records at Yonge and Bloor, where I work. I trust him implicitly, so when he says I will like an artist/record, I tend to listen. I'm glad I did, because this album is hitting a Ryan Adams / solo Dan Auerbach / mellow "Brothers"-era Black Keys sweet spot for me. Thanks again Stephen!

Key Tracks: Heart Like A Levee, Biloxi, Tell Her I'm Just Dancing


7. Radiohead - "A Moon Shaped Pool"

I immensely dislike "The King Of Limbs". I have tried to listen to that album many times and I just can't get through it. I heard Burn The Witch before "Moon Shaped Pool" dropped and thought "meh". So I downloaded the album when it came out, sat through Burn The Witch and got to Daydreaming. Then Decks Dark and Ful Stop and Identikit. And I thought, okay, this band isn't dead to me. When they want to rock, they definitely can and when they want to write a great melody, they definitely can. While this is my fifth fave Radiohead album overall, it is a welcome return to form.

Key Tracks: Daydreaming, Identikit, Decks Dark


6. Brian Fallon - "Painkillers"

I am a huge Brian Fallon fan, whether it be Gaslight, The Horrible Crowes or solo. This is his first official solo album and it delivers. He and Butch Walker make a great team. The songs are singer-songwriter but very catchy and as always, the lyrics deliver. Hoping that Gaslight eventually returns, but if not, more records like this will do.

Key Tracks: Painkillers, A Wonderful Life, Smoke


5. PUP - "The Dream Is Over"

The lead singer of PUP was told he'd never sing again before he made this album, thus the title of this record. Well, he proved everyone wrong and I'm certainly happy about that. In my life, I enjoy what I term "bratty" records. Loud, somewhat abrasive, but bursting with life. And this record ticks all these boxes. I keep thinking about what I would do if someone told me my dream was over. I'd like to think I'd write something like this, middle finger defiantly in the air.

Key Tracks: DVP, Doubts, The Coast 


4. Hamilton Leithauser + Rotsam - "I Had A Dream You Were Mine"

Total dream team here. I like The Walkmen and I love Vampire Weekend. When you put two of the principals together you get this dream pop gem that combines rock, folk, doo wop, pop, chamber pop, etc. Such a refreshing album for me this year and I've only had a couple of months with it. But it hits you right on impact.

Key Tracks: A 1000 Times, Sick As A Dog, Rough Going (I Won't Let Up), In A Black Out


3. Weezer - "Weezer (The White Album)"

Weezer is on a damn roll and I couldn't be happier. Their comeback record, "Everything Will Be Alright In The End", came in 2nd in my 2014 list and they are top 3 this year. This is just an infectious LP, everything that is right about Weezer, they are hitting on again. A definite summer album that you can play all year round. I'm really looking forward to their next step.

Key Tracks: Do You Wanna Get High?, Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori, California Kids, Endless Bummer


2. David Bowie - "Blackstar"

Seriously, am I wrong not putting this as number 1? It is a great album, but my number 1 is also great. I mean, what can you say about this album? It is challenging but rewarding. David Bowie wrote an album that described his death, released it and then passed away. He made his death an art project and I respect him even more for this.

Key Tracks: Lazarus, I Can't Give Everything Away, Sue (Or in a Season Of Crime), Blackstar


1. Jimmy Eat World - "Integrity Blues"

This is the album that I've been waiting for Jimmy Eat World to release since "Futures". Dense, muscular, heavy, mellow, all of this at the same time. And, I love the Bowie record, but this is home for me. I relate to these lyrics and to this band and that makes this my most essential record in this rather fucked-up year.

Key Tracks: Get Right, Pass The Baby, Pretty Grids, Sure and Certain


Other Music Stuff that Ruled this Year:

Oasis vinyl re-issues: Yes! Allowed me to complete my collection. All sound mega, but my faves are "The Masterplan" and "Be Here Now".

Oasis "Supersonic" doc: Yeah, I love Oasis. This doc is killer. It's on DVD/Blu ray now, so do yourself a favour and grab it (could make for a great stocking stuffer).

Bruce Springsteen's River Tour: Caught this in Detroit and jeez, this man is a revelation. Played "The River" in its entirety (about 2 hours) and then played almost two hours worth of hits and didn't leave the stage. The man is 67 I believe.

I Am The Resurrection

Soooo, I seem to be the worst really in maintaining the blog. But here it goes, back with another post and will hopefully end 2016 strong as I have a few more stories in me.

Back to this post though. I've noticed a trend this year, one that makes me feel good about music. The trend is...bands you sort of gave up on stepping up to the plate and really driving it out of the park. Like anyone really, musicians aren't perfect. You may love some of their work completely but then there is the inevitable fade as they want to try new things that may or may not jive with you or your changing tastes / life stages. There are a few bands that I used to be completely obsessed with where I am now having a hard time getting into their new stuff or 'direction' (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Keys and Incubus being three off the top of my head). The 5 bands I am going to write about today also fell into this bucket, that is, until they released their latest albums.

Green Day "Revolution Radio"

I became a fan of Green Day, like many, with the release of "Dookie". I was in high school and this record had everything I liked at that time - catchy tunes, swearing, rebellion. Potentially, nothing has changed since then! "Insomniac" followed and I also enjoyed this record. "Nimrod" I bought right before New Year's Eve 1998 (I believe) and I remember listening to Hitchin' A Ride and Good Riddance driving back from a friend's after a New Year's Eve bash, completely hungover. Great times. "Warning" for me is an underrated record. More acoustic, potentially less commercial, though I'm not sure why, given all the songs are pretty catchy. Minority was the first single and it grabbed me right out of the gate. Upon purchasing the album, Macy's Day Parade became a fave. It still is to this day. There is more maturity on this record and maybe that is why it didn't appeal to the masses; Green Day and I were growing up together.

Of course, "American Idiot" was the game changer, a rock opera, where they channeled the rebellion of "Dookie" and the maturity of "Warning" and just went for it. Huge record, lots of Grammys. This tour was the first and only time I've seen the band live and they certainly put on a show. I just recently pulled this album out and listened to the whole thing for the first time in God knows how long and it still is a great album, even if you still hear the big hits in heavy rotation. I mean, Jesus Of Suburbia, what a song.

"21st Century Breakdown" didn't do much for me at all. A few good songs, but the 5 year gap between it and "American Idiot" and the feeling that the band was trying a bit too hard to re-capture "AI" glory didn't add up for me. "Uno", "Dos", "Tre", a triple album blitzkrieg was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. I have listened to all three of these albums. Likely culling the best material into one album might have been a better plan, though the songs Carpe Diem, Oh Love and Dirty Rotten Bastards are pretty good. These came out in 2012, I believe and then Green Day sort of disappeared. Billie Joe was going through issues and they took a much needed break.

That was until this year. "Revolution Radio" was announced and Bang Bang was the first single. To be honest, this song is not my fave, so I wasn't really sure what direction the new album was going to go in. I downloaded it on Google Play the day it came out and listened. Then I re-started and listened again. To me, the band sounded revitalized, definitely rocking. Catchy tunes still intact. Attitude still intact. Some maturity and no "concept" to try to understand. Just 12 good songs, ones that I want to re-visit and that my kids like as well! Highlights here are Forever Now, Youngblood, Bouncing Off The Walls and Say Goodbye. Green Day back in early 1990's / 2000's form and I couldn't be happier.

blink-182 "California"

I'm going to start off by saying that "Take Off Your Pants & Jacket" is one of my favourite albums ever, period. blink carved out a very nice career writing catchy, pop punk anthems, sung by two front men with very distinctive voices. I know I liked Dammit in university, but I became a true blink fan in the summer of 1999 when I heard What's My Age Again? The protagonist was 23, as was I at the time, so it just spoke to me. I promptly picked up "Enema Of The State" and have continued to support the band since. blink sort of pulled a Green Day in going for maturity on their self-titled release in 2003, which I was on board with, but then they announced a hiatus, with Mark and Tom heading out separately and we were given +44 (decent) and Angels & Airwaves (not my thing at all).

So when they announced they were getting back together and putting out "Neighborhoods", I was pretty excited. And ... that record is just kind of okay. It has some decent songs but sounds like two separate bands, little cohesiveness. I actually thought their "Dogs Eating Dogs" EP was more cohesive. But then Tom DeLonge quit and there you go, that's it. Except it wasn't. Enter Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, a band I have to admit I have heard zero songs from. And they toured together and then made a record, "California". And it's actually good. Really better than it has any right to be. The songs are punchy and have life to them, even if they lack some maturity. My faves are Sober, Bored to Death and Los Angeles. It sounds like blink again, so hopefully they are back for the long run.

Jimmy Eat World "Integrity Blues"

I'm also going to start off this section by saying that "Futures" is one of my favourite albums ever, period. It is in my Top 10 and some days it might be in my Top 5. I remember when "Chase This Light" came out in 2007...it never really had a chance with me. Now, I have grown to enjoy that record quite a bit but after "Futures", the sheen and the pop sensibilities of it didn't really compute. I wanted punchy, moody, really "Futures" Part II. Then "Invented" came out and I was a bit meh on that one. The less said about "Damage" the better. Before and including "Futures", I regarded Jimmy Eat World as a strong 'album' band. "Clarity" and "Bleed American" are stellar.

Big Casino from "CTL" was a strong effort, one of my favourite songs by the band and a huge first single. Same with My Best Theory from "Invented", again, good song. Ditto I Will Steal You Back from "Damage". But overall, these last two albums had some clunkers on them. So when the band dropped Get Right this year after taking a self-imposed year hiatus, I listened intently. Again a strong single. Then they dropped Sure & Certain, You With Me and You Are Free, all before the "Integrity Blues" album came out. All of these songs are strong, so I started to get a bit excited. I downloaded the album at midnight on October 21st and listened to about half of it that night. It sounded good. I listened to the whole thing on my drive to work the next day and was pretty much blown away.

"Integrity Blues" reminds me a lot of "Futures". It's dense, somewhat mid-tempo, but the break and perhaps the "Futures" anniversary tour helped the band I think. Everyone sounds rejuvenated and the lyrics are deep; Jim Adkins has written a great set of songs here. The sequence of Pretty Grids / Pass The Baby / Get Right is just perfect. You would never know the band was on it's 9th record, they sound so fresh and the production is perfect. The title track is symphonic goodness, bleeding right into the epic closer Pol Roger. This is definitely one of the best records of the year in my books and I'm hoping that this is nice building block for the band to move forward with.

Kings Of Leon "WALLS"

I would like to say that I don't feel Kings Of Leon have released a bad album, but I haven't felt overly excited for a new record from them until "WALLS". "If Only By The Night" was of course their commercial breakthrough, though I prefer "Because Of The Times" as it was released right around the time my daughter was born, so great memories. Also, the songs on that album are banging. On Call, Charmer, Arizona, My Party, Fans, so may great tunes. But you can't argue with the songs on "IOBTN" either. Everyone knows the hits; the album cuts are solid also - Closer, Crawl, Notion. Solid.

"Come Around Sundown" isn't awful, it's just not fully exciting. The mood is a bit downtrodden for most and while it contains moments, it is sort of in neutral the whole way. I thought "Mechanical Bull" was a step-up but i re-visited it a few weeks ago as I started thinking about this blog and found it to be a little underwhelming overall. I heard Waste A Moment from "WALLS" on the radio and felt that excitement; it is a 3-minute charge of guitars, a catchy chorus, everything I enjoy really. Then they dropped Reverend and Around The World and I was completely on board. Terrible album artwork aside, the 10 tracks that make-up this record are tight, catchy and focused. The band is working with a new producer, Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire) and I think it has rejuvenated them. All in KOL are players and the production really isolates each member so you can hear what each are bringing to each song.

I'm going to see KOL for the first time in January, glad that they have their back catalog, but also excited to hear the new ones in the mix.

Bon Jovi "This House Is Not For Sale"

For those of you who have read my previous posts, you know that my second Bon Jovi post was less than positive. Since 2000, I felt the band have been going down the easy road, clamoring for pop hits vs. creating songs with any personality or substance. I felt Richie Sambora leaving the band was a death stroke that they wouldn't recover from. I'm happy to say that listening to "THINFS", that I was wrong, completely wrong.

I think the first single, the title track, dropped in early August and I quickly downloaded it. I listened intently and immediately, the lyrics worked for me. I got the sense that JBJ was writing from a personal place vs. the usual "get up off your knees" / every man places that I felt plagued the last few albums. Phil X's guitar playing is simple and tasteful. The riff is solid and it inspired me to learn the chords for this one on guitar. And I actually can play most of it, and it actually sounds decent. They then dropped Knockout (at first, meh, I've grown to enjoy it), Labor Of Love (solid ballad) and Born Again Tomorrow. All 4 songs sounded good, much better than anything off of "What About Now", which I feel is the bottom of the barrel for Bon Jovi albums.

While we are on this topic, the "fan album", "Burning Bridges" (contractual obligation), they released in 2015 was actually not half bad. Some of the songs seemed to actually have personal meaning to JBJ, which elevates things for me with this band. In particular, try Teardrop To The Sea, Fingerprints and We Don't Run.

Anyway, the full "THINFS" album was due to come out October 21st, but then got moved back to November 4th for some unknown reason. But, as luck would have it, I went to a store (I will protect their identity) in Toronto on the 21st and saw the vinyl sitting on the shelf so it was a no brainer purchase. When I got home, I gave it a spin and am happy to say that this is Bon Jovi's best album since "These Days" (1995), bar none. It is obvious listening to the whole album that JBJ is writing from a place close to him, there are definitely a few songs about the Sambora defection (i.e. Living With The Ghost, Devil In The Kitchen), and it suits him and the band. Phil X is good, and I feel on the next record, he will bring a lot more to the table (when he is allowed to). JBJ said the band had "nothing to prove" with this album, but they did to me. They had to prove that they actually still cared about the music vs. the world tours, etc. I'm very happy the band pulled this off and made it about the music again, I didn't feel they had it in them.

The one criticism I have is that the production on some songs is very muddy; many instruments competing with each other with little space. The band should give a thought to maybe bringing in someone new on the next one, John Shanks is a little tired. Perhaps Markus Dravs would be a good choice! But, hey, at least Bon Jovi has new songs now that I would gladly hear live, mingling with the old war horses. My daughter is also a fan and is asking when the band is coming in concert...so I guess we will be riding that steel horse once again.

Until next time...