555 Enterprises 2.0: December 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

Sunday, December 30, 2018

60 Year Vintage: Birth of the Modern 1958

Top Notch Sonics of 1958

1. Bernard Hermann- Vertigo OST

2. Nina Simone- Little Girl Blue

3. The Everly Brothers- "All I Have to Do Is Dream"

4. The Chantels- "Maybe"

5. Blossom Dearie- Give Him the Ooh La La

6. Edgar Varese- Poem Electronique

7. Peggy Lee- "Fever"

8. The Playmates- "Beep Beep"

9. Bo Diddley- Bo Diddley

10. Connie Francis- Who's Sorry Now?

11. Link Wray- "Rumble"

12. Dwight Pullen- "Sunglasses After Dark"

13. The Champs- "Beatnik"

14. Lloyd Price- "Stagger Lee"

15. The Stanley Brothers- "Orange Blossom Special"

16. John Coltrane- Soultrane

17. Buddy Holly - "I'm Gonna Love You Too"

18. The Coasters- "Three Cool Cats"

19. James Brown- "Try Me"

20. Chuck Berry- "Run Rudolph Run"

21. Johnny Cash- The Fabulous Johnny Cash

22. Screamin Jay Hawkins- At Home With Screamin Jay Hawkins

23. Julie London- Blue Moon

24. Floyd Tillman- "This Cold War With You"

25. The Platters- "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"

Saturday, December 29, 2018

50 Year Vintage: Tabs, Pills, Joints,and Liberation: Musical Snapshots of 1968

Top Long Players of 1968

1. The United States of America- The United States of America

2. The Beatles- The White Album

3. Os Mutantes- Os Mutantes

4. The Zombies- Odessey and Oracle

5. The Rolling Stones- Beggars Banquet

6. David Axelrod- Song of Innocence

7. Tom Dissevelt and Kid Baltan- Song of the Second Moon

8. Scott Walker- Scott 2

9. Salvatore Martirano- L's GA, Ballad Octet

10. Van Morrison- Astral Weeks

11. The Velvet Underground- White Light/White Heat

12. Blue Cheer- Outsideinside

13. Silver Apples- Silver Apples

14. Various- Tropicalia ou Panis et Circencis

15. July- July

16. Grateful Dead- Anthems of the Sun

17. Nico- The Marble Index

18. Joni Mitchell- Song to a Seagull

19. The Kinks- The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

20. Jose Feliciano- Feliciano!

21. International Harverster- International Harvester

22. Deep Purple- Shades of Deep Purple

23. Letta- Free Soul

24. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown- The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

25. Townes Van Zandt- For the Sake of a Song

Top of the Pops and Deep Cuts of 1968

1. The United States of America- Coming Down

2. The Velvet Underground- Sister Ray

3. Desmond Dekker- The Israelites

4. The Rolling Stones- Street Fighting Man

5. The Zombies- This Will Be Our Year

6. Scott Walker- Plastic Palace People

7. Silver Apples- Program

8. Marvin Gaye- I Heard It Through the Grapevine

9. Deep Purple- Hush

10. The Paragons- Left With a Broken Heart

11. The Turtles- You Showed Me

12. The Beatles- Happiness is a Warm Gun

13. Jimi Hendrix- Voodoo Chile (Slight return)

14. The Equals- Baby Come Back

15. Grateful Dead- Dark Star

16. Savage Rose- A Girl I Knew

17. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown- Fire

18. Erkin Koray- Mechul

19. Van Morrison- Sweet Thing

20. Delia Derbyshire- Pot Au Feu

21. Terry Callier- Look At Me Now

22. The Doors- Five to One

23. Aretha Franklin- Since You've Been Gone

24. Sandie Shaw- The Same Things

25. Betty Wright- Girls Can't Do What the Guys Do

26. Pink Floyd - Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun

27. Kaleidoscope- Jenny Artichoke

28. Booker T & The MGs- Soul Limbo

29. Gladys Knight and the Pips- Just a Closer Walk With Thee

30. Dusty Springfield- Son of a Preacher Man

31. James Brown- Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

32. July- The Way

33. Billy Nicholls- Girl from New York

34. Blue Cheer - Just a Little Bit

35. Tommy James and the Shondells- Crimson and Clover

36. BJ Thomas- Light My Fire

37. The Peddlers- On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

38. Jerry Butler- Never Gonna Give You Up

39. Nazz- Open Your Eyes

40. The Who- Magic Bus

41. Fleetwood Mac- Albatross

42. Judy Street- What

43. Dorothy Ashby- Action Line

44. The Free Design- I Found Love

45. Voices in Latin- Tea for Three

46. Julie London- Louie Louie

47. Serge Gainsbourg- Requiem Pour Un Con

48. Tyrannosaurus Rex- Deborah

49. France Gall- Nefretiti

50. Gordon Lightfoot- The Last Time I Saw Her

Friday, December 28, 2018

40 Year Vintage: Speed, Soul, Flashing Lights, New Waves- 1978

Top Albums of 1978

1. Throbbing Gristle- DOA: The Third and Final Report

2. Devo- Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

3. Buzzcocks- Another Music in a Different Kitchen

4. Ultravox- Systems of Romance

5. Blondie- Parallel Lines

6. Ambassadeur International- Mandjou

7. Kraftwerk- The Man-Machine

8. Various- No New York

9. Harold Budd- The Pavillion of Dreams

10. Black Devil- Disco Club

11. Talking Heads- More Songs About Buildings and Food

12. Big Star- Third/Sister Lovers

13. Magazine- Real Life

14. Haruomi Hosono & Tandanori Yokoo- Cochin Moon

15. Brian Eno- Ambient 1: Music for Airports

16. The Jam- All Mod Cons

17. The Clash - Give Em Enough Rope

18. Steve Reich- Music for 18 Musicians

19. Karen Young- Hot Shot

20. Japan- Adolescent Sex

21. John Carpenter- Halloween OST

22. The Rolling Stones- Some Girls

23. Public Image- Public Image

24. The Cars- The Cars

25. Roy Ayers- You Send Me

Top Tracks of 1978

1. Buzzcocks- "Ever Fall In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"

2. Kraftwerk- "Neon Lights"

3. Public Image- "Public Image"

4. Heatwave- "The Groove Line"

5. Big Star- "Kangaroo"

6. Sylvester- "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"

7. Elvis Costello & the Attractions- "What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding"

8. The Cure- "10:15 Saturday Night"

9. Karen Young- "Hot Shot"

10. Erotic Drum Band- "Love Disco Style"

11. Cheryl Lynn- "Got to Be Real"

12. The Normal- "Warm Leatherette"

13. Japan- "The Tenant"

14. Earth Wind and Fire- "September"

15. The Records- "Starry Eyes"

16. Siouxsie and the Banshees- "Hong Kong Garden"

17. Gang of Four- "Damaged Goods"

18. The Cars- "Just What I Needed"

19. Two Man Sound- "Que Tal America"

20. Blondie- "Heart of Glass"

21. Magazine- "The Light Pours Out of Me"

22. Black Devil- "No Regrets"

23. The Rezillos- "Someone's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight"

24. The Bombers- "Everybody Get Dancing"

25. Dinosaur- "Kiss Me Again"

26. Foxy- "Get Off"

27. Human League- "Being Boiled"

28. Grateful Dead- "Fire On the Mountain"

29. The Mekons- "Where Were You?"

30. Roy Ayers- "Sweet Tears"

31. The Undertones- "Teenage Kicks"

32. Devo- "Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy"

33. The Who- "Who Are You"

34. Human Egg- "Love Like This"

35. The Cramps- "Human Fly"

36. Ryuichi Sakamoto- "Plastic Bamboo"

37. Luv You Madly- "Fleurette Africaine"

38. The Police- "Roxanne"

39. Bohannon- "Summertime Groove"

40. Donna Summer- "Last Dance"

41. XTC- "Statue of Liberty"

42. Talking Heads- "Warning Sign"

43. Queen- "Bicycle Race"

44. 999- "Homicide"

45. The Walker Brothers- "The Electrician"

46. Smokey Robinson- "Why You Wanna See My Bad Side"

47. The Only Ones- "Another Girl, Another Planet"

48. Be-Bop Deluxe- "Electrical Language"

49. Stiff Little Fingers- "Suspect Device"

50. The Fall - "Repetition"

Thursday, December 27, 2018

30 Year Vintage: College Collage, Collagen, and Construction- 1988

Top LPs of 1988

1. Sonic Youth- Daydream Nation

2. My Bloody Valentine- Isn't Anything

3. Ministry- The Land of Rape and Honey

4. Public Enemy- It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

5. Spacemen 3- Playing With Fire

6. 808 State- Newbuild

7. Jane's Addiction- Nothing's Shocking

8. Cocteau Twins- Blue Bell Knoll

9. Faust- 71 Minutes Of…

10. Hugo Largo- Drum

11. Stetsasonic- In Full Gear

12. Mr Fingers- Ammnesia

13. Galaxie 500- Today

14. EPMD- Strictly Business

15. Loop - Fade Out

16. Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane

17. Cowboy Junkies- The Trinity Sessions

18. Dog-Faced Hermans- Humans Fly

19. Ultramagnetic MCs- Critical Beatdown

20. The Feelies- Only Life

21. Mudhoney- Superfuzz Bigmuff EP

22. Prince- Lovesexy

23. AR Kane - 69

24. Metallica- …And Justice for All

25. Pailhead- Trait

Top Trax of 1988

1. Public Enemy- "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"

2. My Bloody Valentine- "Lose My Breath"

3. JVC Force- "Strong Island (The Blue Mix)"

4. Sonic Youth- "Teenage Riot"

5. Jamie Principle- "Baby Wants to Ride"

6. NWA- "Fuck Tha Police"

7. Talking Heads- "Nothing But Flowers"

8. A Guy Called Gerald- "Voodoo Ray"

9. Pixies- "Where is My Mind"

10. De La Soul- "Potholes on My Lawn"

11. And Also the Trees- "From the Silver Frost"

12. Young MC- "Bust a Move"

13. 808 State- "Flow Coma"

14. Stetsasonic- "In Full Gear"

15. Inner City- "Big Fun"

16. Brian Wilson- "Love and Mercy"

17. Bam Bam- "Where's Your Child"

18. Living Colour- "Cult of Personality"

19. EPMD- "I'm Housin"

20. They Might Be Giants- "Ana Ng"

21. Q. Lazzarus- "Goodbye Horses"

22. Siouxsie and the Banshees- "Peek-A-Boo"

23. Leonard Cohen- "Everybody Knows"

24. Neneh Cherry- "Buffalo Stance"

25. Cowboy Junkies- "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"

26. Hugo Largo- "Grow Wild"

27. Model 500 - "Interference"

28. Unique 3- "The Theme"

29. Prince- "Alphabet St"

30. Spacemen 3- "Revolution"

31. Big Daddy Kane- "Ain't No Half-Steppin"

32. Royal House- "Can You Party (Club Mix)"

33. Fastbacks- "Wrong Wrong Wrong"

34. Biz Markie- "Visions"

35. The Vaselines- "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam"

36. Al B Sure- "Night and Day"

37. The Jesus and Mary Chain- "Sidewalkin"

38. JJ Fad- "Blame It on the Muzick"

39. Enya- "Watermark"

40. Monie Love- "I Can Do This"

41. Dinosaur Jr- "Freak Scene"

42. Erasure- "A Little Respect"

43. REM- "Orange Crush"

44. The Pogues - "If I Should Fall from Grace With God"

45. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult- "The Devil Does Drugs"

46. Nirvana - "Big Cheese"

47. 1000 Homo DJs- "Apathy"

48. Lil Louis- "The Original Video Clash"

49. Doug E Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew- "Keep Risin To the Top"

50. Laurent X- "Machines"

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

20 Year Vintage: Ravers and Bangers of 1998

Top Albums of 1998

1. Boards of Canada- Music Has the Right to Children

2. Herbert- Around the House

3. Hum- Downward is Heavenward

4. Outkast- Aquemini

5. Air- Moon Safari

6. Cat Power- Moon Pix

7. Lauryn Hill- The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

8. Gas- Konigsforst

9. Massive Attack- Mezzanine

10. Urban Tribe- The Collapse of Modern Culture

11. Boredoms- Super AE

12. Neutral Milk Hotel- In An Aeroplane Over the Sea

13. Destiny's Child- Destiny's Child

14. Total- Kima, Keisha, and Pam

15. Fatboy Slim- You've Come a Long Way, Baby

16. Dalek- Negro Necro Nekros

17. Jay-Z- Vol 2…Hard Knock Life

18. The Beta Band- The Three Eps

19. Radiohead- Airbag/How's My Driving

20. Pole- CD 1

21. Wagon Christ- Tally Ho!

22. Gabrage- Version 2.0

23. Miss Kittin and the Hacker- Champagne EP

24. Various- Sushi 4004: The Return of Japanese Clubpop

25. Belle and Sebastian- The Boy With the Arab Strap

Top Tracks of 1998

1. Neutral Milk Hotel- "In an Aeroplane Over the Sea"

2. Boards of Canada- "Telephasic Workshop"

3. Destiny's Child- "Get on the Bus"

4. Lisa Germano- "Reptile"

5. Air- "Kelly Watch the Stars (Moog Cookbook mix)"

6. Herbert - "So Now"

7. Lauryn Hill- "Doo Wop (That Thing)"

8. Noreaga- "Superthug"

9. Massive Attack- "Angel"

10. Adult.- "Dispassionate Furniture"

11. PJ Harvey- "Sweeter Than Anything"

12. Aaliyah - "Are you That Somebody"

13. Mu-Ziq- "Brace Yourself (Remix)"

14. Beck- "Nobody's Fault But My Own"

15. Thievery Corporation- "So Com Voce"

16. Cat Power- "Color and the Kids"

17. Miss Kittin and the Hacker- "Frank Sinatra"

18. The Pastels- "One Wild Moment (Stereolab mix)"

19. Total- "Trippin"

20. Brandy and Monica- "The Girl is Mine (The Architechs mix)"

21. The Beta Band- "She's the One"

22. Susumu Yokota- "Amanogawa"

23. Garbage- "Special"

24. Fatboy Slim- "The Rockafella Skank"

25. Quasi- "California"

26. Fennesz- "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)"

27. Busta Rhymes- "Gimme Some More"

28. Grace Jones and the Radio Science Orchestra- "Storm"

29. The Stone Roses- "Fool's Gold (Grooverider mix)"

30. Monifah- "Touch It"

31. Handsome Boy Modeling School- "Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II)"

32. Chicks on Speed- "Eurotrash Girl"

33. Stephen Emmanuel presents Colours- "Hold On (Se22 mix)"

34. Beastie Boys- "Intergalactic"

35. Belle and Sebastian- "Sleep the Clock Around"

36. Klimperei & Pierre Bastien- "Morceau En Forme Des Pinces"

37. Plone - "Plock"

38. Madonna- "Frozen"

39. Elliott Smith- "Waltz # 1"

40. Timbaland ft Jay-Z- "Lobster & Scrimp"

41. Rage Against The Machine- "No Shelter"

42. Meat Beat Manifesto- "Oblivion/Humans"

43. Gus Gus- "Purple (Sasha vs The Light mix)"

44. Ice- "Trapped in Three Dimensions"

45. Solvent- "My Blue Car"

46. Little Computer People- "Little Computer People"

47. Whitney Houston- "It's Not Right, But It's Okay"

48. Armand Van Helden- "You Don't Know Me"

49. Kenickie- "Stay in the Sun (Fridge mix)"

50. Super_Collider- "Darn (Cold Way O'Love)"

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

10 Year Vintage: The Best of 2008

I'll be taking the vintage blogs on somewhat of a hiatus, in that I'm not going to be as comprehensive in terms of territory as I usually am. I find myself becoming obsessive and this year I didn't even really get through a good deal of music I wanted to hear but had not before. It doesn't help that the years in question- '68, '78, '88, '98, and '08 were thriving years for music production- an explosion of sounds and peak years in psychedelic/rock, punk, disco, hip-hop, et al. So, I may still post here and there but might not make it as central a pursuit as previous years. I hope to still deliver some year end bests for the next few years though to deliver a fairly extensive (though still incomplete!) superlative index of the last 60 or so years.

I had previously made a list of 2008 during the year in question (see side window). While somethings have definitely remained steady, it's clear I missed quite a bit, even as I was regularly reviewing music and mostly listening to new stuff.

So here's the top 25 LP, 10 EPs, and 50 singles from 2008:

Top LPs of 2008

1. Grouper- Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill

2. High Places- High Places

3. Flying Lotus- Los Angeles

4. Cut/Copy- In Ghost Colours

5. The Bug- London Zoo

6. Oneohtrix Point Never- Transmat Memories

7. Actress- Hazyville

8. Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One

9. Nite Jewel- Good Evening

10. Legowelt- The Rise and Fall of Manuel Noreaga

11. Pocahaunted- Island Diamonds

12. Max Tundra- Parallax Error Beheads You

13. Zomby- Where Were U in 92?

14. Portishead- Three

15. Wale- The Mixtape About Nothing

16. Grace Jones- Hurricane

17. Burial Hex- Initiations

18. Kanye West- 808s and Heartbreak

19. Diplo and Santogold- Top Ranking

20. Burning Star Core- Challenger

21. Coil - The New Backwards

22. David Byrne & Brian Eno- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

23. Fennesz- Black Sea

24. Yo Majesty- Futuristically Speaking…Never Be Afraid

25. Various- Round Black Ghosts

Top EPs of 2008

1. Belong- Colorloss Record

2. Fleet Foxes- Sun Giant EP

3. Factory Floor- Planning Application

4. Oneohtrix Point Never- Ruined Lives

5. Memory Cassette- Rewind While Sleepy

6. One Day As A Lion- One Day As A Lion

7. Kanji Kinetic- Shock Tactics

8. Zomby- Zomby EP

9. Air France- No Way Down

10. Kid606- Die Soundboy Die

Top Singles of 2008

1. Fever Ray- "If I Had a Heart""

2. Grouper- "Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping""

3. Nite Jewel- "Artificial Intelligence""

4. Zomby- "Spliff Dub (Rustie Mix)""

5. Sun Araw- "Horse Steppin""

6. Various Production- "Lost (Actress mix)""

7. Beyonce- "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)""

8. Max Tundra- "Will Get Fooled Again""

9. Grace Jones- "Corporate Cannibal""

10. Cut/Copy- "Lights and Music""

11. Jamie Foxx ft Kanye West and The-Dream- "Digital Girl""

12. Portishead- "Machine Gun""

13. T.I. feat Kanye West and Lil Wayne- "Swagga Like Us""

14. Joker- "Snake Eater""

15. DJ Sprinkles- "Ball'r (Madonna-Free Zone)""

16. Kanye West ft Mr. Hudson- "Paranoid""

17. M83- "Kim & Jessie""

18. Darkstar- "Need You""

19. Friendly Fires ft Au Revoir Simone- "Paris (Aeroplane mix)""

20. Deerhunter- "Nothing Ever Happened""

21. Mala- "Miracles""

22. Black Kids- "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (The Twelves Mix)""

23. Kid Cudi vs Crookers- "Day N Night""

24. Estelle ft Kanye West- "American Boy""

25. Fleet Foxes- "White Winter Hymnal""

26. Shackleton- "Death is Not Final""

27. Yo Majesty- "Grindin and Shakin""

28. Sigur Ros- "Gobbledigook""

29. The Advisory Circle- "Fire, Damp & Air""

30. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti- "Can't Feel My Eyes""

31. Ratatat- "Mirando (Animal Collective mix)""

32. Flying Lotus- "RobertaFlack""

33. Erykah Badu- "The Healer""

34. Ancient Methods- "Second Method""

35. Fatima- "Wildchild""

36. Leila ft Martina Topley Bird- "Why Should I""

37. Britney Spears- "Womanizer""

38. Lil Wayne- "A Milli""

39. Coldplay- "Viva La Vida""

40. Koushik- "Bright and Shining""

41. Christina Aguiliera- "Dynamite""

42. Factory Floor- "Bipolar""

43. Dabyre feat AG- "Get Dirty""

44. Trina feat Killer Mike- "Look Back At Me""

45. Palms- "Der Koenig""

46. Peverelist- "Clunk Click Every Trip""

47. Untold- "Test Signal""

48. Mike Slott- "Knock Knock""

49. Scuba- "Twitch (Jamie Vex'd mix)""

50. Santogold- "Lights Out""

Friday, December 14, 2018

Visual Fives of 2018

5 Best New Shows
Lodge 49
Pose
Corporate
Homecoming
Haunting of Hill Hill House

5 Other Best New Shows
Random Acts of Flyness
Maniac
Barry
Succession
The End of the Fucking World

5 Older Shows at the Top of Their Game
High Maintenance
Better Call Saul
Superstore
Bojack Horseman
The Americans

5 Best Season Twos
Atlanta: Robbin' Season
Good Place
American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace
Glow
Big Mouth

5 Best Films of Those I saw
Sorry to Bother You
Hereditary
Blindspotting
Isle of Dogs
Annhilation

Sonic Fives of 2018

All these end-of-year lists providing a good deal of frustration about all that I didn't listen to this year. Lots to catch up on. Feel more out of the loop than I have in years. Nevertheless, here's some music stuff I enjoyed:

5 Delightful contortions of pop
Charli XCX- Pop 2
Sophie- Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
Tirzah- Devotion
Let's Eat Grandma- I'm All Ears
Janelle Monae-Dirty Computer

5 That Bang Incredibly Hard
Amnesia Scanner- Another Life
Shygirl- Cruel Practice EP
AJA-AJA
Florentino- Fragmentos
Nine Inch Nails- Bad Witch

5 soundtracks
Various Artist- Black Panther
Colin Stetson- Hereditary
Johnny Greenwood- Phantom Thread
Johann Johannson- Mandy
Johnny Greenwood- You were never really there

5 Mooooods
Mary Lattimore-Hundreds of Days
Advisory Circle- Ways of Seeing
Arp- Zebra
Antonio Mendez- Highland Drive
Casino Versus Japan- Suicide By Sun

5 hauntresses and huntresses
Jenny Hval- The Long Sleep
Penelope Trappes- Peneloppe 2
Grouper- grid of points
Gazelle Twin- Pastoral
Lolina- The Smoke

5 Mindalterations
Oneohtrix Point Never- Age Of
Palmbomen II- Memories of Cindy
Beak- >>>
DJ Taye- Still Trippin
Gnod- Chapel Perilous

(1)5 hip-hop songs
Anderson .Paak- "Bubblin"
Pusha T- "Infrared"
Valee ft jeremih- "Womp Womp"
Playboi Carti feat Nicki Minaj- "Poke It Out"
Rich the Kid ft Kendrick Lamar- "New Freezer"
Vince Staples- "No Bleedin"
Migos- "Stir Fry"
Drake- "Nice for What
The Carters feat Offset and Quavo- "Apeshit"
Tyler the Creator- "Okra"
Rae Srummend feat Juicy J- "Powerglide"
Malibu Ken- "Acid Ken"
Meek Mill ft Miguel- "Stay Woke"
Kendrick Lamar & SZA- "All the Stars"
Cupcakke- "Cartoons"

5 songs by people not mentioned yet
Summer of Haze- "P A C I F I C A"
Bambara- "Doe-Eyed Girl"
James Blake- "Don't Miss It"
Abyss X- "Lyrical Waxing"
Skee Mask- "50 Euro to Break Boost"

5 other songs by acts not mentioned yet
Brian Eno & Kevin Shields- "The Weight of History"
Childish Gambino- "This is America"
Lana Del Rey- "Venice Bitch"
US Girls- "Rosebud"
Make & Model- "Change of Heart"