20 discos 2013 (Amarillo)

1. Arcade Fire - Reflektor

2. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

3. Phosphorescent - Muchacho

4. Yast - Yast

5. Foxygen - We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

6. Washed Out - Paracosm

7. Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

8. Daughter - If You Leave

9. Public Service Broadcasting - Inform - Educate - Entertain

10. Deerhunter - Monomania

11. Majical Cloudz - Impersonator

12. Kurt Vile - Wakin On a Pretty Daze

13. Bill Callahan - Dream River

14. Yo La Tengo - Fade

15. Local Natives - Hummingbird

16. Lost Animal - Ex Tropical

17. James Vincent McMorrow - Post Tropical

18. Caveman - Caveman

19. Keaton Henson - Birthdays

20. When Saints Go Machine - Infinity Pool

@amarillo_leiner

Best Music of 2013 by MM

2013 is almost over.... An important year for me, moved to a new city, changed jobs, experienced a new commute, and for sure started a new chapter in my life as I adventured into a new decade...game is not over when you reach 40...I know that now.

Lots of music...that has not changed...

Below, my list, the music that accompanied me in 2013. 

As always, I start with my favorite 20 albums of the year followed by an additional 20 recommendations.

This is the music I listened to in 2013. I hope you did too...

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)

Top 20 albums

Rating	Artist		Album		MM Score
1	The National		Trouble Will Find Me		96.92
2	Atoms for Peace		Amok		93.84
3	Public Service Broadcasting		Inform - Educate - Entertain		93.64
4	Typhoon		White Lighter		93.49
5	Arcade Fire		Reflektor		91.90
6	Palma Violets		180		90.91
7	Caveman		Caveman		89.09
8	Lost Animal		Ex Tropical		88.58
9	Daughter		If You Leave		88.00
10	Keaton Henson		Birthdays		87.14
11	Foxygen		We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic		86.98
12	Hebronix		Unreal		86.67
13	James Blake		Overgrown		85.30
14	YAST		YAST		85.00
15	Washed Out		Paracosm		84.44
16	Phosphorescent		Muchacho		84.00
17	Night Beds		Country Sleep		84.00
18	King Krule		6 Feet Beneath the Moon		83.87
19	On An On		Give In		83.64
20	Yuck		Glow and Behold		83.63

Additional 20 recommendations

Rating	Artist		Album		MM Score
21	Porcelain Raft		Permanent Signal		83.45
22	Shout Out Louds		Optica		83.08
23	Volcano Choir		Repave		82.50
24	Bill Callahan		Dream River		82.50
25	London Grammar		If You Wait		81.81
26	Arctic Monkeys		AM		81.66
27	Yeah Yeah Yeahs		Mosquito		81.33
28	Bombino		Nomad		80.52
29	Brass Bed		The Secret Will Keep You		80.00
30	Jagwar Ma		Howlin		80.00
31	Jon Hopkins		Immunity		80.00
32	Lucius		Wildewoman		78.18
33	Youth Lagoon		Wondrous Bughouse		78.00
34	Outfit		Performance		78.00
35	Jim James		Regions of Light and Sound of God		75.56
36	Mikal Cronin		Mcii		74.00
37	Kurt Vile		Wakin On a Pretty Daze		70.00
38	Haim		Days are Gone		67.27
39	Charlie Boyer & The Voyeurs		Clarietta		67.27
40	Vampire Weekend		Modern Vampires of the City		65.57

Additional 20 recommendations

Bombino - Nomad

Bombino's "Nomad", produced by Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) show us once more that language is not an issue when the main message, the intentions and motivations of an artist are much greater. His music is unique, a coarse blend of the euphoria of the music from the Tuareg region along with the melancholy of Omara Moctar's voice.

The album is a jewel, a perfect sequel to his 2011 breakthrough "Agadez". More than anything, "Nomad" is an open invitation for us to move a little from our musical square and often limited box, our comfort zone, and walk away a block or two,,,

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)

1/2 - 2013 - Amarillo

Aquí van mis 10 discos favoritos en lo que va del 2013 con un playlist de spotify al final para su deleite... seleccioné un track de cada uno.

1. Trouble Will Find Me - The National

2. Muchacho - Phosphorescent

3. YAST - YAST

4. We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic - Foxygen

5. Hummingbird - Local Natives

6. Caveman - Caveman

7. If You Leave - Daughter

8. Ex Tropical - Lost Animal

9. Monomania - Deerhunter

10. Impersonator - Majical Cloudz

PLAYLIST

Best Music Mid-2013 by MM

About a month ago on June 1, I decided to stop listening to new music... 

I collected my 2013 albums I had at that time (39) and listened to every song, rating them on a scale from 1 to 5. In the end, after all, the result pretty much reflects in a true way what I have enjoyed the most during the first 6 months of this year, a very prolific one in terms of music. 

My selection for best 20 albums below...plus clips from my top 10.

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)

Rating	Artist		Album		MM Score
1	The National		Trouble Will Find Me		96.92
2	Atoms for Peace		Amok		93.84
3	Palma Violets		180		90.91
4	Caveman		Caveman		89.09
5	Lost Animal		Ex Tropical		88.58
6	Daughter		If You Leave		88.00
7	Keaton Henson		Birthdays		87.14
8	Foxygen		We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic		86.98
9	YAST		YAST		85.00
10	Phosphorescent		Muchacho		84.00
11	Night Beds		Country Sleep		84.00
12	On An On		Give In		83.64
13	Shout Out Louds		Optica		83.08
14	Yeah Yeah Yeahs		Mosquito		81.33
15	Brass Bed		The Secret Will Keep You		80.00
16	Youth Lagoon		Wondrous Bughouse		78.00
17	Jim James		Regions of Light and Sound of God		75.56
18	Mikal Cronin		Mcii		74.00
19	Kurt Vile		Wakin On a Pretty Daze		70.00
20	Vampire Weekend		Modern Vampires of the City		65.57

The National - Humiliation

Atoms for Peace - Ingenue

Palma Violets - Best of Friends

Caveman - In the City

Lost Animal - Greylands

Daughter - Youth

Keaton Henson - Lying to You

Foxygen - San Francisco

YAST - Believes

Phosphorescent - Song of Zula

Keaton Henson - Birthdays

Birthdays is the second album of multi-talented British artist Keaton Henson. At just twenty-four years old, Henson has already attracted attention as a visual artist.

As a musician, his debut album Dear… introduced Henson's astonishing talent to the world.

In Birthdays Henson confuse us all with a collection of deeply emotional tunes on personal confessions of love, despair and loneliness. The album is filled with lyrics that we tend to attribute to mature artists, those that have walked life and have experienced complex and evocative situations. Keaton Henson delivers these messages in an unexpectedly precise way, and the opening track "Teach Me" and "Lying to you" are perhaps among the best songs we will face this year.

Birthdays, is available now on Anti-. I urge you to get it soon.

I leave you with "Teach Me", as it appears in the album and a clip of "Lying to you".



Enjoy


MM

(@MMLeiner)

Teach Me

Lyinng to you

"Give In" by ON AN ON

Life is funny and irony sometimes directs the course of things. For over ten years, 5-membered indie band “Scattered Trees” produced three albums, and pursued several successful and somewhat ambitious U.S. tours. In 2012, life happened and the band broke up.

With time already scheduled in Dave Newfeld’s (Broken Social Scene) Toronto studio, three of the five members decided to step up and put their heart into a ghostly new sound filled with synthesizers, electro beats and loud guitars. The end result is ON AN ON, a trio comprised of Nate Eiesland, Alissa Ricci, and Ryne Estwing and Give In, their ten-track debut album is a textural journey into an ethereal dream, one that speaks perhaps of their common loss, but above all, it represents more than anything, a new perspective, a clean slate for Eiesland, Ricci and Estwing.

The album is out and was released in January of this year. It is worth it, no doubt about it.

I leave you with their majestic opening track Ghosts.

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)

The Secret Will Keep You - Brass Bed

I thought on writing a post on Brass Bed and their upcoming album “The Secret Will Keep You”, though honestly the first paragraph on the band’s description from Off The Air Recordings says it all...

“Listen through the ethereal haze that Brass Bed has created on The Secret Will Keep You, and you will find a soulful band suspended in a moment of frustration and anxiety. It's the sort of frustration that comes from growing old and realizing that the light at the end of the tunnel may just be the remnants of some dying star. You were a kid once. Maybe [your] dad put you on his knee and said "Kiddo, you sure are handsome, smart, and talented. The sky is the limit if you set your mind to it!" Well the truth is, that was kind of bullshit. Chances are, you were only one of those things if any of them at all, and you'll spend your life amid the great unwashed, grasping at whatever straws you can to express a promised individuality that's slowly turning out to be lie. They also didn't tell you that your dream job, your dream girl, your dream you, were really all just that: dreams.

The Secret Will Keep You is a cold awakening from that fever dream sound...”

In other words, the album is great and it is out on April 23rd, 2013 by Crossbill Records and Off The Air Recordings. I leave you with 3 links to tracks of the upcoming album...a great opening track ”Cold Chicory”, plus “A Bullet for You” and “I’ll be there with bells on”.



Enjoy


MM

(@MMLeiner)

Cold Chicory 

A Bullet for You  

I’ll Be There With Bells On

AMOK - Atoms for Peace

Dividing his time between Radiohead and a solo career, just because he can do all that and do it well, Thom Yorke has offered us the best in music throughout the years. As a solo artist, he focuses on electronic-driven tunes where his vocals are simply one of many layers that guide you through his mind, one of a musical Midas King that turns everything into gold.

Yorke’s latest achievement has morphed into Atoms for Peace, a new project, a new band with collaborations that include Flea, Joey Waronker, Nigel Godrich and Mauro Refosco. The name of the band comes from a 1953 quote from Dwight Eisenhower and it is also included in Yorke’s previous solo album The Eraser.

The band has recently released an album entitled AMOK....We have seen great things in music this year already and we’ll see more for sure. However, very likely only a few will withstand the pass of time the way the music made by Thom Yorke will.

We should be grateful we live in Yorke’s time.

I leave you with a clip from Ingenue, track 3 of this great album.

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)

Optica by Shout Out Louds

Hard to describe when something just sounds familiar. When music tells you way more and the lyrics and chords bring you to a known place.

This is often what happens to me with the music from the Swedish band Shout Out Louds.

Without fear of dating myself, their over-worked, artificial, sweet sweet 1980s dominated sound brings me back...back to a place where dance floors and walkman dominated the scene, where music production was non existent and originality was not part of the vocabulary. Somehow, though, I found myself addicted to their music, and their fourth album Optica is not the exception.

For someone that claims to continuously seek for new trends in music, it is hard to say that Shout Out Louds bring something new to the table. Though perhaps that is the point, and the nostalgia of times well gone makes it just OK.

The album is out today...and I would not be surprised if it also is available on cassette tape.

Leave you with 14th of July, Walking in Your Footsteps, plus a link to NPR where you can listen to the album in its entirety

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)


NPR's First Listen - Optica - Shout Out Louds

YAST (youth and student travel)

Nice surprise...

Artists: YAST

Album title: YAST

Release date: January 30, 2013

Label: Adrian Recordings / Double Sun

"Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe it's actually a necessity to have your roots in a steel-producing town like Sandviken to acquire a deep enough longing for somewhere else, if you happen to be dreamy, alternative guys who play music. YAST, the lo-fi romantics, are just that. The band was formed in 2007 by Carl Kolbaek-Jensen, Tobias Widman and Marcus Norberg. In 2008, they were lured down to Malmö and a couple of years ago Markus Johansson and Niklas Wennerstrand, the drummer and bass player from the postrock band Aerial, joined forces.

In February 2012, they released their first single “Believes”. It was the first in a single trilogy, consisting of "Believes", "Strangelife" and "Stupid", leading up to their upcoming debut album. A trio of perfect dreamy pop songs which in their nonchalant but humble way are placing themselves on music blogs all over the world. Rarely has a Swedish band had a better start to their career. In addition to this viral attention, they have played tons during the year including together with related artists such as TOY, The Drums, Tame Impala and DIIV. Plus a UK tour and several festivals.

"Describing YAST can be hard, but also really easy. On the one hand, it's just plain and simple pop with a verse, chorus and solo. Songs about love, loneliness and confusion. With stolen melodies in a language a three year old could understand. On the other hand, it's our love, our loneliness and our confusion. It took just over a year and a half to record the album. But it feels like the first seed for what would finally become a record was sown back in 2008 when we moved to Malmö. We have the people we got to know there to thank for everything, and the city itself to thank for all the inspiration. But basically, this is a love album, about good and less good relationships, based on true events. And if it reaches out and touches people in any way, then we're happy.”"

 (double sun recordings website)

Foxygen- We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic

The California band Foxygen led by Sam France and Jonathan Rado has released their album "We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic" via Jagjaguwar.This represents their second album, a follow up of their first full-length studio album, "Take the Kids Off Broadway", released (and totally missed by us) in July 2012.

In a little more than four weeks, the band has put now a fresh and daring album with deep influences from old classics including The Clash, Bob Dylan and The Beatles with a nice, soft layered sound, encompassing a fun and fresh approach to classic rock with a twist of psychedelia.

I leave you with a clip from "San Francisco", an annoyingly Wes Anderson-ized clip of their first single. Plus a link to their recent presentation at NPR’s World Cafe Live.

New music, new year, new City, 2013, here we go.

Enjoy

MM

(@MMLeiner)


NPR'S World Cafe Live

The Ghost of Piramida (official screening)

Screening oficial en el mítico 319

16-02-2013 20:00

Attend

Best Albums of 2012 - From the MUSICAL SOULMATE crew.

For over 4 years, MUSICAL SOULMATE has comprised of a group of friends that among many things collectively share and enjoy music. Some live this on a daily basis, fueling their friendship in a unique way, developing a sense of community hard to find somewhere else.

Music plays constantly filling the room and certainly playing a unique role in all this. In a strange way the level of an album increases when is heard in the apartment on Amsterdam 319. Others, like myself (not so lucky) are only exposed to this a few days per year, cherishing every moment of it.

Below, the recommendations of "the crew", which this year strangely differ from each other giving us a glimpse of the individuality of each crew member, all critical for this blog.

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)


VANE

1.Grizzly Bear / Shields
2.The Antlers / Undersea
3.Porcelain Raft / Strange Weekend
4.Alabama Shakes / Boys and girls
5.The Walkmen / Heaven
6.Bear in Heaven / I love you it's cool
7. Fanfarlo / Rooms filled with light
8. Lost in the trees / A church that fits our needs
9. Lee Fields and the Expressions / Faithfull man
10. Sharon van Etten / Tramp

ALE

1. Grizzly Bear - Shields
2. Porcelain Raft - Strange Weekend
3. The Antlers - Undersea
4. Bear in Heaven - I Love You, It's COol
5. Chromatics - Kill for Love
6. Wild Nothing - Nocturne
7. Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/ Golden Mile
8. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
9. Glen Hansard - Rhythm and Repose
10. The Tallest Man on Earth - There's No Leaving Now
11. M. Ward - A Wasteland Companion

JONSI

1.Grizzly Bear / Shields
2.Porcelain Raft / Strange Weekend
3. Tame Impala / Lonerism
4. Bear in Heaven / I love you, it's cool
5. Sharon van Etten / Tramp
6. Liars / Wixiw
7. Pond / Beard, Wives, Denim
8. Perfume Genius / Put Your Back N 2 It
9. The Walkmen / Heaven
10. Mac De Marco, 2
11. Alt-J - “An Awesome Wave
12. Merchandise / Children of Desire,
13. R Hawley/ Standing at the Sky's Edge
14. Efterklang / Piramida,

BARBS

1. Fanfarlo - “Rooms Filled with Light”
2. Lost in the Trees  - “A Church That Fits Our Needs”
3. Grizzly Bear - “Shields”
4. The Maccabees - “Given To The Wild”
5. Efterklang - “Piramida”
6. Alabama Shakes - ”Boys and Girls”
7. Alt-J - “An Awesome Wave”
8. The Walkmen - “Heaven”
9. Here we go magic- "A Different Ship”
10. Bear in Heaven - “I love you, it's cool”
11. Porcelain Raft - “Strange Weekend”

CHINOCONSUEGRA

1. Alt-J - “An Awesome Wave”
2. Grizzly Bear - “Shields”
3. Alabama Shakes - ”Boys and Girls”
4. Fanfarlo - “Rooms Filled with Light”
5. The Shins - "Port of Morrow"
6. The Walkmen - “Heaven
7. Sharon Van Etten - "Tramp"
8. Bear in Heaven - “I love you, it's cool”
9. Efterklang - "Piramida"
10. Django Django - "Django Django"

HAPPY 2013 from MUSICAL SOULMATE

Wishing you the best for 2013...a clip from my favorite song of my favorite album in 2012.

Enjoy,

MM

(@MMLeiner)