John

word slinger

My top 15 of 2015

Best Sonic Youth meets Dead Boys album: Deaf Wish - Pain
Best I’m-sorry-Dave-I’m-afraid-I-can’t-do-that album: Battles - La Di Da Di
Best Elevator meets Sabbath album: Crosss - LO
Best engineer-as-self-saboteur album: Fake Palms - Fake Palms
Best we-plead-insanity album: Lightning Bolt - Fantasy Empire
Best maybe-not-their-best-album-but-they’re-my-favourite-band-so-who-cares album: METZ - II
Best Elliott-Smith-plays-clarinet album: Andy Shauf - The Bearer of Bad News
Best Talking-Heads-if-they-went-to-U-of-M album: Ought - Sun Coming Down
Best indie-rock-as-Genius-page-fodder album: Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect
Best they’re-baaaaaaaaack album: Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love
Best fart joke punk album: Soupcans - Soft Party
Best Deafheaven-are-NOT-the-future-of-metal album: Sumac - The Deal
Best if-Cindy-Sherman-was-a-pop-star album: U.S. Girls - Half Free

Best live show, period: Yonatan Gat
Best reissue: Unwound - Empire

My favourite artists are: Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes, Dirty Three, Low, Unwound, Super Furry Animals, John Coltrane, Isis, Tchaikovsky, Do Make Say Think, PJ Harvey, Rufus Wainwright, Brad Mehldau

My all-time favourite album is: JOHN COLTRANE - A Love Supreme

The first album I ever bought was: HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS - Sports on LP

On Saturday nights, I throw down to: THE WALKMEN - Bows + Arrows

On Sunday mornings, I recover to: BRAD MEHLDAU - Elegiac Cycle

The show that made me fall in love with/believe all over again in music was: Neutral Milk Hotel at the Horseshoe Tavern, 1998

My favourite album so far this year is: DAVID BOWIE - Blackstar, FIELD MUSIC - Commontime

The best show I've seen so far this year is: Can I say myself?

The band that should come out of retirement is: Drive Like Jehu...and they did!