looking for something specific? search our archives:
[2016 Recap] A Few Of My Favorite Things
bless Topsters for assembling this graphic infinitely easier than prior years
Surpriiiiseee!! I'm going to do my year end wrap up differently than most of the ones I've seen. Mostly because I have so many to share, but mostly because I like to let the music do the talking and help you get better connected to the artists themselves. Instead of recaps of each record, I'm going to point you to my favorite tracks so if any of these are new to your ears you'll have the best starting point I can give you.
Personal Observations for 2016
This was a weird year for me in terms of listening/discovery habits. Instead of fighting against music consumption trends, I decided to play along. I dove head first into my Discover Weekly playlist. I even followed some of my friends' in order to see what I would find and set up an IFTTT recipe to archive everything recommended to me so I could go back and reference it later if I wanted. I barely touched my SKOA inbox, which probably upset a lot of publicists. Anyway, according to Last.FM's data (since Spotify never ended up sending me mine), I listened to 1,919 new artists this year, which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. But really when you think about how much music Discover Weekly puts in front of you, it's really less than what everyone had the potential to check out (which is 1,560 if you figure we get 30 new tracks a week for a year). I am in the 98th percentile in music listening per Last.FM (meaning I listen to more music than 98% of people who still scrobble to Last.FM) and I found myself panicky and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music that Spotify thinks I can get through on TOP of the music I already love and want to enjoy, or the random rabbit holes I end up falling into that typically bring me great new baby bands. I guess most people approach Discover Weekly differently than I do, letting artists come and go as they please, but knowing the transformative power that music possesses, I'm always wary of passing on an opportunity to be affected and share those experiences with others.
It's crazy to think that 20% of what stuck with me this year was randomly generated by The Algorithm and not delivered to me by humans. I almost said that the human delivery was through cosmic forces, but really, if music finds its way to your ears/hearts by friend or by Algorithm, both are cosmic in a way, no?
This is my struggle at present. I value the connection that happens when a humans experience music together, whether it be by recommendation or attending shows together. I worry this experience will continue to be diminished the more we silo ourselves into our algorithm-based echo chambers. I really hope I'm just out of touch and someone will point me to where this is the opposite, but I can't ignore how self-serving shows feel now every time I treat myself to a Night Out. This has been on my heart/mind too much lately to ignore it, so expect some changes to how things go down on the site (starting with making more time for this now that my new job isn't crazy busy for awhile).
What music moved you this year? Did you like some of these records but different tracks? I'd honestly love to know so please drop me a comment. Also if you want more than favorite tracks out of me for these records, feel free to bug me on Twitter I am happy to share!
My Favorite Things Of 2016
Golden Days: Remembering Loved Ones Through Music Even After They're Gone
Growing up I had a friend named Clint. He was the drummer for a hardcore band in Central Florida (which is where I grew up). He was my first "musician friend" and one of my favorite people to share music with on the planet. We weren't the kind of best friends that hung out incessantly, but when we spent time together at shows or playing music for each other it was like it had been mere minutes not months since we last saw each other. As #teens living in a state notorious for its plethora of retirees, we were huge fans of all things Fueled By Ramen because it felt like there was a glimmer of hope that Florida wouldn't suck forever. People used to tease him a lot that he looked a lot like Patrick Stump, singer of Fall Out Boy, which as a huge fan of Take This To Your Grave at the time he wore as a badge of honor.
Clint and I stayed in touch after I headed to Nashville for college, reuniting during holiday breaks to share the records we had discovered while we were apart. Just before I headed home for Christmas in 2005, he excitedly called me to play, "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage", from Panic! At The Disco's debut album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Just like him, I was hooked within seconds. I made sure to grab the record before I headed south so that when we hung out we could sing along to the record together driving around - a thing we always did.
Even after I moved to New York in 2006. Our ritual stayed the same. Any time I was in town we hung out and played music for each other. In 2007, homegrown label Fueled By Ramen became an imprint label of Warner Music Group and yours truly was called in as a temp executive assistant to help them set up their New York offices. That Christmas I came home with the latest FBR releases to give him, including the deluxe box set version of AFYCSO. We continued to keep in touch despite going back to Florida less and less, checking in when a band we both loved released new material to share our critiques of it. Most of the time it was us gushing to each other about our favorite songs on the records.
In the fall of 2009, Clint very abruptly passed away. It was a very sudden thing that literally no one could have seen coming. He was my first close friend to die, so it hit me incredibly hard. I was so upset that I had to leave work early and could barely walk to the subway to go home. I wasn't able to attend his funeral, so I mourned in the most fitting way - by listening to the music we shared with each other: hand crafted mixes I made him and vice versa, records that I knew were his favorite, anything I could get my hands on.
Despite it being almost 7 years since Clint's been gone, my habitual desire to talk to him about records from artists we both loved hasn't gone away. About a month after his passing, Paramore released their third studio album, Brand New Eyes. That first time I felt the kneejerk reaction to text/call him but couldn't was hard, but it has gotten easier to acknowledge as a beautiful learned behavior that I hope I have somewhat successfully both demonstrated and inspired in others. Memorizing and publicly lauding an album is a wonderful thing, but the level of intimacy that comes from very intentionally sharing music with someone is something that no algorithm can reproduce (not yet anyway).
This past New Music Friday, PATD released their 5th studio album, Death Of A Bachelor. Of all the FBR artists that have released albums since he passed, I'm always the most anxious to hear their albums immediately. I think it was because of that eager phone call in 2005. Either way, the trail of singles leading to DOAB's release had me anxious to feast my ears on it. It's been fun to watch this band evolve over the years. Singer Brendon Urie's voice continues to blow my mind just as much as it did with that first taste in '05, if not more. I'd like to think that Clint would share this sentiment.
Like I have with all of their previous records, I've carefully poured over every word and note, taking a mental inventory of sorts of what I think Clint would appreciate. I'm fairly certain that this would have been his favorite of the ones that have been released since his passing. It's been an equally difficult and exciting few days binge listening to the record, especially with all of the recent deaths that the music community is still recovering from. Even still, I hear songs like, "Victorious" and can practically see him air drumming in his red pickup truck with carefully chosen band stickers. I think of how we'd laugh at the absurdity of our attempts to falsetto as well as Urie during, "Emperor's New Clothes", "Death Of A Bachelor", or "Hallelujah".
At the time of publishing this, I'm still unable to get through the entire record without crying a little bit because I know he would have appreciated this record as much as I do. This usually happens during, "Golden Days", which appropriately enough features a line that Urie's voice soothingly reassures that, "time can never break your heart but it can take the pain away", which to an extent it has been the case of missing one of my favorite music comrades. That said, knowing that even after someone is gone that it's possible to still feel connected to them through music both old and new is something that will always be priceless to me.
Death Of A Bachelor is in stores worldwide. Panic! At The Disco is heading out on tour with Weezer this summer. You can head here for dates.
[Listen] Dillon Francis - 'Money Sucks, Friends Rule' (Full Album Stream)
NEW.
MUSIC.
TUESDAY.
NEW.
DILLON.
FRANICS (a week early!)!
I am a very happy Kibbe today, let me tell you! I have been waiting for this album since the first time I heard "When We Were Young" a few months ago. MTV got the hookup on a full album stream a week before the album officially drops next week (October 29th) courtesy of Columbia Records/Mad Decent. I'm only two songs in at the moment and already I'm very upset that I am confined to my desk at work instead of blasting this in Kibbtopia and dancing around like a crazy person.
Have a listen to Money Sucks, Friends Rule below. Be sure to pre-order the album on iTunes here if you haven't already because that is the right thing to do. I personally will probably pony up for the deluxe version, but I will be waiting on that until after the dust settles on the damage I do at CMJ this week (more on that later btw!).
Be sure to catch Dillon Franics on his 'Friend Rule' tour next month starting in Nashville!
DILLON FRANCIS ‘FRIENDS RULE’ TOUR:
11/17 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
11/19 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
11/20 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
11/21 Washington, DC Echo Stage
11/22 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live
11/25 Wallingford, CT Dome at Oakdale
11/26 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
11/28 Boston, MA House of Blues
11/30 Montreal, QC New City Gas
12/1 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall
12/3 Royal Oak, MI Royal Oak Music Hall
12/5 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom
12/6 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre
12/8 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom
12/9 Madison, WI Orpheum Theatre
12/10 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
12/12 Broomfield, CO 1st Bank Center
12/13 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue
12/15 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
12/18 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
12/21 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium
1/16 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
[Watch] Dillon Francis - "I Can't Take It" (Lyric Video)
DILLON FRANCIS ON TOUR:
**Denotes headline date
8/29 New Orleans, LA Mardi Gras World - Mad Decent Block Party
8/30 New Braunfels, TX Whitewater Music Amp - Mad Decent Block Party
8/31 Dallas, TX Club Zouk - Mad Decent Block Party
9/5 Calgary, Canada Millennium Park - Mad Decent Block Party
9/19 Berkeley, CA Greek UC Berkeley - Mad Decent Block Party
9/20 Eugene, OR Cuthbert Amphitheater - Mad Decent Block Party
9/21 Vancouver, Canada ONE Amphitheater - Mad Decent Block Party
9/27 Fairburn, GA TomorrowWorld
11/12 Miami, FL Norwegian Pearl Ship - Mad Decent Block Party
11/17 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works**
11/19 Asheville, NC Orange Peel**
11/20 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore**
11/21 Washington, DC Echo Stage**
11/22 Baltimore, MD Ram’s Head Live**
11/25 Wallingford, CT Dome at Oakdale**
11/26 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory**
11/28 Boston, MA House of Blues**
12/1 Toronto, ON Danforth Music Hall**
12/5 Chicago, IL Aragon Ballroom**
12/6 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre**
12/9 Madison, WI Orpheum Theatre**
12/10 Kansas City, MO Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland**
12/12 Broomfield, CO 1st Bank Center**
12/13 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue**
12/18 Oakland, CA Fox Theater**
12/21 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium**
1/16 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center**
[Album Review] Various Artists - 'Batman: Arkham City - The Album'
When you think of DC's Dark Knight. Batman, you automatically think of Gotham Cities night backdrop, darkened alleyways and the worlds most sadistic villains. So why is it when it comes to soundtracks and album's based on the series films or games, labels choose the strangest selection of songs? We'll let the whole Prince soundtrack slide because he's well….Prince. Duh. Normally when I think of Batman soundtracks the first song that comes to mind is Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" and I have no bad things to say about that song because it's still a classic. But besides that song being amazing and all, the "pop" soundtrack for our dark superhero doesn't seem all that fitting.
When you think of DC's Dark Knight. Batman, you automatically think of Gotham Cities night backdrop, darkened alleyways and the worlds most sadistic villains. So why is it when it comes to soundtracks and album's based on the series films or games, labels choose the strangest selection of songs? We'll let the whole Prince soundtrack slide because he's well….Prince. Duh. Normally when I think of Batman soundtracks the first song that comes to mind is Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" and I have no bad things to say about that song because it's still a classic. But besides that song being amazing and all, the "pop" soundtrack for our dark superhero doesn't seem all that fitting.
So let fast forward to present day, because I know everyone wants to avoid talking about the Batman & Robin film, let alone the soundtrack. After 2009's successful action, adventure game Batman: Arkham Asylum, The Dark Knight and associates return for the series' follow up sequel Batman: Arkham City. Unlike the first game, Warner Bros. decided to approach the sequel with a more marketable approach and release the game's score as well as an album inspired by the game on their imprint Watertower Music and bring in some of modern day's popular rock bands such as Panic! At The Disco, Coheed and Cambria, System of a Down's Serj Tankian, AFI vocalist Davey Havok's side project Blaqk Audio, Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno's side project ††† (Crosses), Daughtry and many more.
As stated, earlier when you think of Batman you think of a dark setting but when you see a band like Panic! At The Disco, who are more theatrical rock, involved on a Batman related project, it just makes you scratch your head a bit and ask why? Don't get me wrong though, this in no way should prevent you from checking out the album at all. It's a wonderful collective of artist and songs, especially cuts like the heavy tune "Trophy Widow" by The Damned Things, The Boxer Rebellion's "Losing You", A Place to Bury Strangers' "In The Shadow", Blaqk Audio's "Afterdark" which is one of the songs I could definitely hear fitting in with the game's setting, same as other tunes like †††'s "The Years", Raveonettes' "Oh, Stranger", Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Shadow on the Run" and Serj Tankian's "Total Paranoia". You could take a majority of those songs and remove the vocals and they would fit in with overall atmosphere of the game.
Overall, I like to think of the album as just another compilation rather than a soundtrack or album that is being accompanied to the franchise's latest entry. A majority of the album is very enjoyable, however, the comic nerd in me just can't picture some of it in the game's setting but if you can get past that then you got yourself a nice rock/electronic album for your ears to vibe to. So go give it a try and check out some of the standout tracks we listed above. The album is now available at physical retailers and via major electronic retailers such as iTunes and Amazon. If you are looking into nabbing the game, as most of us are, and you dig the soundtrack, look into getting the Collector's Edition of the game which features a digital redemption code for the soundtrack and features an additional exclusive track. Nice!
Sample all tracks on the album below...
- Panic! At The Disco "Mercenary" Idolator
- Coheed and Cambria "Deranged" IGN
- The Duke Spirit "Creature" NME
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Shadow On The Run" Rolling Stone
- Blaqk Audio "Afterdark" Alternative Press
- Raveonettes "Oh, Stranger" AOL/Spinner
- (Crosses) "The Years" Consequence of Sound
- The Damned Things "Trophy Widow" Guitar World
- Daughtry "Drown In You" E!
- The Boxer Rebellion "Losing You" Filter Magazine
- Serj Tankian "Total Paranoia" Revolver Magazine
We give Batman: Arkham City - The Album 3 out of 5 Awesome SAWSES! It's not Seal's "Kiss From A Rose" but its definitely a worthy rock compilation.
[Listen] Check Out 2 Tracks From The Batman: Arkham City Album by Panic! At The Disco & Blaqk Audio
On October 4th, Warner Bros imprint Watertower Records is set to release the soundtrack to the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. The upcoming album, i will not call this a Soundtrack, features 11 new original tracks from artists such as Coheed and Cambria, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Damned Things, The Boxer Rebellion, Serj Tankian, Blaqk Audio, Panic at The Disco and more. Check out the full tracklisting after jump.
Thanks to Alternative Press and Idolator, you can check two tracks from Panic At The Disco and AFI frontman's Davey Havok's side project Blaqk Audio off the upcoming album below. After listening to both tracks, they don't really fit the dark Batman vibe and sound like they would fit in with Toby Mcquire's emo Spider Man 3. But hey, new music from some of your favorite bands is new music. Right? Lets hope.
If you are also looking forward to picking up this awesome game as I am, the Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content. Pretty nice. If you are just into this for the music, head here now to preorder the album.
Blaqk Audio - "Afterdark"
On October 4th, Warner Bros imprint Watertower Records is set to release the soundtrack to the highly anticipated forthcoming videogame Batman: Arkham City. The upcoming album, i will not call this a Soundtrack, features 11 new original tracks from artists such as Coheed and Cambria, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Damned Things, The Boxer Rebellion, Serj Tankian, Blaqk Audio, Panic at The Disco and more. Check out the full tracklisting after jump.
Thanks to Alternative Press and Idolator, you can check two tracks from Panic At The Disco and AFI frontman's Davey Havok's side project Blaqk Audio off the upcoming album below. After listening to both tracks, they don't really fit the dark Batman vibe and sound like they would fit in with Toby Mcquire's emo Spider Man 3. But hey, new music from some of your favorite bands is new music. Right? Lets hope.
If you are also looking forward to picking up this awesome game as I am, the Batman: Arkham City Collector's Edition of the game will include a download code for the album along with additional bonus content. Pretty nice. If you are just into this for the music, head here now to preorder the album.
Blaqk Audio - "Afterdark"
1. Panic! At The Disco - Mercenary
2. Coheed and Cambria - Deranged
3. The Duke Spirit - Creature
4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Shadow On The Run
5. Blaqk Audio - Afterdark
6. The Raveonettes - Oh, Stranger
7. (Crosses) - The Years
8. The Damned Things - Trophy Widow
9. Daughtry - Drown In You
10. The Boxer Rebellion - Losing You
11. Serj Tankian - Total Paranoia
[Watch] Panic! At The Disco - "Let's Kill Tonight" (On The Road Video)
To keep fans up to date with the hap, Panic! At The Disco aka Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith have uploaded this video for their track "Let's Kill Tonight". The video isn't the final official piece but instead one of those, behind the scene, life on the road style things. You know the one by now. Give it a watch at the top.
[Watch] Panic! At The Disco - "Ready To Go" Live on Leno
Panic! At The Disco also did the rounds last night and hit up The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and put in a solid performance of their track "Ready To Go" from their latest studio LP Vices & Virtues. Check out the performance at the top via The Audio Perv.