***RM Top Albums of 2012*** deadline Jan 27

[Fuzzcharger]

Do you two watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy? How about The View?

haha!

No. I've never watched The View. But I did watch Grey's for a long time. And I'm gonna tell you what - those first two seasons are some of the best I've seen on network TV.

And John Mayer can fucking play guitar.

[epilogue]

Do you two watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy? How about The View?

haha!

No. I've never watched The View. But I did watch Grey's for a long time. And I'm gonna tell you what - those first two seasons are some of the best I've seen on network TV.

And John Mayer can fucking play guitar.

[epilogue]

Jesus fuck, am I really "bammering" John Mayer? I need a nap.

Or a beer.

[Kevin Davis]

Did any of you people listen to the new John Mayer album? I know that most of you probably scoff at even the idea of giving his music a chance but "Born and Raised" is a really fantastic album. Give it a few listens. Hear the complexities and intricacies in the song writing and guitar playing. I think it is clearly his best album and I can't believe that no one else here would feel the same.

I actually like a lot of John Mayer's stuff. Haven't heard the new album in full, only in clips. But I really like it. I'm excited to hear the whole thing.

I think his velvety, pretty boy voice will always be an obstacle for me, but I like large chunks of both "Continuum" and "Battle Studies." He's definitely an artist who has grown and matured beyond his reputation, and I think he incorporates that cliched blues/funk/rock guitar style into much catchier material than the people he emulates.

[PHATJ]

Did any of you people listen to the new John Mayer album? I know that most of you probably scoff at even the idea of giving his music a chance but "Born and Raised" is a really fantastic album. Give it a few listens. Hear the complexities and intricacies in the song writing and guitar playing. I think it is clearly his best album and I can't believe that no one else here would feel the same.

I actually like a lot of John Mayer's stuff. Haven't heard the new album in full, only in clips. But I really like it. I'm excited to hear the whole thing.

I think his velvety, pretty boy voice will always be an obstacle for me, but I like large chunks of both "Continuum" and "Battle Studies." He's definitely an artist who has grown and matured beyond his reputation, and I think he incorporates that cliched blues/funk/rock guitar style into much catchier material than the people he emulates.

Kevin, have you listened to the "Born and Raised" album? I also liked "Continuum" and "Battle Studies" but I think that "Born and Raised" is a good step above both of those. "Born and Raised" took a few listens before I really got into it though. It had to grow on me and I needed to become a little familiar with the material. On first listen it does feel really smooth and at times fluffy and I wasn't too impressed. Once I started hearing the nuances of the songs and the extremely high quality of musicianship and songwriting started to more thoroughly reveal itself to me, I absolutely loved what I was hearing.

Way too many people refuse to listen to his music because of dumb reasons like "That "Your Body Is A Wonderland" song got super popular and it was soooo annoying" or "what the hell is wrong with his face when he is singing?" or "all he cares about is dating famous chicks" or whatever. All that stuff has basically nothing to do with who the guy is now as a song writer and musician. The new record is by far his most mature release to date and the song quality is very high. Also, the man can fucking play the guitar like no one's business.

[Kevin Davis]

I haven't heard it, PHATJ. I've never really sought his material out, but have often found that it transcended my admittedly superficial expectations of it whenever it came my way by chance. But the way you're describing your experience with "Born and Raised" is pretty reflective of how my experience with him has been, so I will check it out first chance I get.

[PHATJ]

I haven't heard it, PHATJ. I've never really sought his material out, but have often found that it transcended my admittedly superficial expectations of it whenever it came my way by chance. But the way you're describing your experience with "Born and Raised" is pretty reflective of how my experience with him has been, so I will check it out first chance I get.

Give it a try. Actually give it a number of spins and let it get a little comfortable, and let me know what you think. I voted it my favorite album of 2012, and I don't expect anyone else to go that far, but I think you'll like what you hear. I'm sure you'll respect where he has gone as a musician.

[lefty]

Outside of his first album, I like John Mayer quite a bit. His talent and guitar work really redeems the overly pop sound he tends to have. Still, I'm usually hesitant to actually admit I listen to him because it seems that most people still think of him as the guy that sang "Your Body is a Wonderland," or they just think he's a douche.

[lefty]

My list:

1. Patterson Hood - Heat Lightening Rumbles In the Distance
2 Gaslight Anthem, The - Handwritten
3. Glossary - Long Live All of Us
4. Cheap Girls - Giant Orange
5. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Live From Alabama
6. Band of Horses - Mirage Rock
7. Todd Snider - Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
8. American Aquarium - Burn.Flicker.Die
9. Lucero - Women & Work
10. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Americana
11. Heartless Bastards - Arrow
12. Punch Brothers, The - Who's Feeling Young Now
13. Trampled By Turtles - Stars and Satellites
14. Avett Brothers, The - The Carpenter
15. Baroness - Yellow & Green
16. Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back
17. Dinosaur Jr. - I Bet on Sky
18. John Mayer - Born and Raised
19. Japandroids - Celebration Rock
20. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
21. Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
22. Glen Hansard - Rhythm & Repose
23. Arliss Nancy - Dance to Forget
24. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Psychodelic Pill
25. Wrecking Ball

[kreng]

01. Abul Mogard - Abul Mogard (instrumental, ambient, noise, industrial) (bandcamp)
02. The Caretaker - Patience (After Sebald) (instrumental, dark ambient, experimental,electronic, 78rpm samples) (bandcamp)
03. Damien Jurado - Maraqopa (singer songwriter, folk, indie) (spotify)
04. Mark Lanegan Band - Blues Funeral (singer songwriter, alternative, blues) (spotify)
05. James Blackshaw - Love Is The Plan, The Plan Is Death ((mostly)instrumental, acoustic, guitar, folk, experimental) (spotify)
06. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! ((mostly)instrumental, post rock, experimental) (spotify)
07. Jessika Kenney & Eyvind Kang - The Face Of The Earth (Vocal, Jazz, Experimental, Strings, Avant Garde) (spotify)
08. Swans - The Seer (Post-Punk, industrial, experimental, noise rock, no wave) (spotify)
09. Matt Elliott - The Broken Man (singer songwriter, folk, experimental) (spotify)
10. Luke Roberts - The Iron Gates At Throop And Newport (singer songwriter, folk, indie, americana) (spotify)
11. L A N D - Night Within ((mostly)instrumental, doom dark jazz, elektro)
12. Richard Hawley - Standing At The Sky's Edge (singer-songwriter, crooner gone psychedelic rock) (spotify)
13. Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - The Mystery Of Heaven ((mostly)instrumental, lute, dark folk, DUTCH) (spotify)
14. Lilacs & Champagne - Lilacs & Champagne ((mostly)instrumental, experimental, psychedelic, downtempo, electronic) (spotify)
15. Benjamin Herman - Deal (instrumental, nu jazz, soundtrack, DUTCH) (spotify)
16. Bersarin Quartett - II (instrumental, Ambient, downtempo, electronic, minimal) (spotify)
17. From The Mouth Of The Sun - Woven Tide (instrumental, ambient, experimental, neoclassical, drone) (spotify)
18. Greg? Haines - Digressions (instrumental, modern classical, piano, ambient, experimental) (spotify)
19. Necro Deathmort - The Colonial Script ((mostly)instrumental, experimental, noise , industrial, doom, dub) (spotify)
20. Troy Schafer - Evening Song Awaken (instrumental, neoclassical, avant-garde, experimental) (bandcamp)
21. Matteo Uggeri, Luca Mauri, Francesco Giannico - Pagetos (instrumental, field recordings, ambient, electro acoustic, experimental) bandcamp
22. John Zorn - Templars-In Sacred Blood (free jazz, experimental, noise, MIKE PATTON)
23. Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion (progressive experimental, minimal, ambient) (spotify)
24. The Alvaret Ensemble - The Alvaret Ensemble (Ambient, classical, doom jazz, foreign poetry, DUTCH)
25. The Evens - The Odds (post post punk, indie) (spotify)

missing out, some close call, some not.
In alphabetic order:

Air - Le Voyage Dans La Lune
Anoice - The Black Rain
Arcana - Emerald
Astral & Shit - Subtile Corpus
Astrïd - High Blues
Ballaké Sissoko - At Peace
Carlos Cipa - The Monarch And The Viceroy
Christoph Berg - Paraphrases
Comus - Out Of The Coma
Danny Norbury - Bluebeard
Dirty Three - Toward The Low Sun
Evan Caminiti - Dreamless Sleep
Father Murphy - Anyway Your Children Will Deny It
Floratone - Floratone II
François Houle 5 + 1 - Genera
Gareth Dickson - Quite A Way Away
Goat - World Music
Grails / Pharaoh Overlord - Black Tar Prophecies Volume 5
Grinderman - Grinderman 2 Rmx
Hexvessel - No Holier Temple
Ilyas Ahmed - With Endless Fire
John Zorn - Mount Analogue
John Zorn - Music And Its Double
John Zorn - Nosferatu
John Zorn - The Concealed (Esoteric Secrets And Hidden Traditions Of The East)
John Zorn - The Gnostic Preludes
Jon Porras - Black Mesa
Jon Porras - Orilla Oscura
Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch - Concerning The Entrance Into Eternity (interchangeable with 13)
King Creosote - To Deal With Things EP
Leonard Cohen - Old Ideas
Matthew E. White - Big Inner
Max Richter - Recomposed By Max Richter: Vivaldi - The Four Seasons
Metallic Taste Of Blood - Metallic Taste Of Blood
Moon Ate the Dark - Moon Ate the Dark
Nadja - Dagdrøm
Nadja & Vampillia - The Primitive World
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Psychedelic Pill
OM - Advaitic Songs
Oren Ambarchi & Robin Fox - Connected
Richard Skelton - Verse Of Birds
Richard Youngs - Core To The Brave
Six Organs Of Admittance - Ascent
Slant Azymuth - Slant Azymuth
Sun Kil Moon - Among The Leaves
The Caretaker - Extra Patience (After Sebald)
The Cinematic Orchestra - The Cinematic Orchestra Presents In Motion #1
Tindersticks - The Something Rain
Travis & Fripp - Discretion
Travis & Fripp - Follow
Trembling Bells & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Marble Downs
Wovenhand - Live At Roepaen
Wovenhand - The Laughing Stalk

[BurtReynolds]

1. Pinback - Information Retrieved
2. Shins, The - Port of Morrow
3. Grimes - Visions
4. Jack White - Blunderbuss
5. Sword, The - Apocryphon
6. Darkness, The - Hot Cakes
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!
8. Swans - The Seer
9. Baroness - Yellow and Green
10. Mark Lanegan - Blues Funeral
11. Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls
12. Primus - Green Naugahyde
13. Heartless Bastards - Arrow

eh...i dont feel too strongly about anything else.

Im pretty sure El Camino was 2011.

[PHATJ]

Glad some people actually had the balls to admit to listening to and enjoying John Mayer. His work deserves the recognition.

El Camino was released in December of 2011 and was on a lot of lists last year.

[epilogue]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

[BurtReynolds]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

they weren't. until last year. it sounds like Primus.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

they weren't. until last year. it sounds like Primus.

its a good album, and they played it in full when i saw them in Richmond, but i was thinking the album came out at the end of 11

[epilogue]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

they weren't. until last year. it sounds like Primus.

Man, Pork Soda was the shit back in the day.

[washing machine]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

Primus was one of the more entertaining shows I saw in 2012.

[BurtReynolds]

I didn't know Primus was still making music.

Primus was one of the more entertaining shows I saw in 2012.

I really wish I would have gone to that 3D show.

[mf]

yeah Primus was 2011. awesome album though

[lefty]

Im pretty sure El Camino was 2011.

I live in Kentucky. We get things 6 months later than the rest of the world.