In Afternoon Air

Monthly Mix: February 2013

This month was the first in a long, long time where I actively sought out new music and really forced myself to find things I’d never heard before. It worked, as I discovered some top notch stuff. While this mix contains some of my class go-tos (Beach Fossils, teen suicide), I was able to work in some newer stuff I’ve been digging recently like the new fthrsn and R.L. Kelly. This set is pretty cohesive and just works for February. It didn’t really snow so they aren’t snow songs, but it was miserable a many, many points, so it works for that.

MONTHLY MIX: FEBRUARY 2013

1. Beach Fossils - “Taking Off”
2. Youth Lagoon - “Mute”
3. R.L. Kelly - “You’re Not The Only Monster From Hell”
4. fthrsn - “My first love”
5. Alex G - “Sandy”
6. Infinity Crush - “stumble pretty”
7. teen suicide - “worthless”
8. Gary - “Mineola”
9. Summer Schatzies - “Final Solution”
10. Archers of Loaf - “Plumbline

Stream at 8tracks.

In Afternoon Air: Feb. 1, 2013

DIIV — “(Druun)” — Oshin
Beach Fossils — “Careless” — Clash The Truth
Gary — “Anything” — House of a Thousand Horses
Parquet Courts — “Stoned and Starving” — Light Up Gold
Bleached — “Next Stop” — Ride Your Heart

The Men — “Electric” — Electric 7”
Ty Segall — “So Alone” — Ty Segall
California X — “Mummy” — California X
The Wipers — “Mystery” — Is This Real?
Spook Houses — “Bad Sound” — Trying

teen suicide — “have you been eating that sandwich again” — i will be my own hell because there is a devil inside my body
Merchandise — “Anxiety’s Door”
Colleen Green — “Time in the World” — Sock It To Me
Sunset Theme — “I Told You I Don’t Love You”
Youth Lagoon — “Dropla” — Wondrous Bughouse

Veronica Falls — “Teenage” — Waiting For Something To Happen
Dent May — “2099” — 2099
Ducktails — “Letter of Intent” — The Flower Lane
La Big Vic — “All That Heaven Allows” — Cold War
Waxahatchee — “Peace and Quiet” — Cerulean Salt

Julian Lynch — “Carios kelleyi I” — Lines
Beliefs — “Gallows Bird” — Beliefs
Julia Brown — “library” — to be close to you
Chromatics — “Ceremony (New Order cover) [feat. Ida No]” — Black and White
Amanda Zivkovic — “Take It”

Autre Ne Veut — “Play By Play”
Taylor Swift — “Red” — Red
The Brian Jonestown Massacre — “Open Heart Surgery” — Bravery, Repetition and Noise
Modest Mouse — “Polar Opposites” — The Lonesome Crowded West

Feb. 1, 2013: In Afternoon Air by Inafternoonair on Mixcloud

Stream on MixCloud here. Download for a week here.

Monthly Mix: January 2013

I slacked off hardcore at the end of last year and failed to deliver monthly mixes at the end of November and December, so I’ve returned on 2013 and resolved to supply what I promise and actually, like, stay up on this stuff. There’s no underlying theme to this mix other than it’s a ton of good songs I’ve found in the past month and really want to share with everyone. Plus, I think they go together quite well, and they’re good for any type of weather or feelings.

MONTHLY MIX: JANUARY 2013

1. Sunset Theme - “I Told You I Don’t Love You”
2. Gary - “Anything”
3. teen suicide - “benzo”
4. Colleen Green - “Time in the World”
5. Parquet Courts - “Stoned and Starving”
6. Ducktails - “Letter of Intent”
7. La Big Vic - “All That Heaven Allows”
8. Dent May - “2099”
9. Youth Lagoon - “Dropla”
10. Julia Brown - “library”

Stream at 8tracks.

Top 25 Songs of 2012

I already posted my Top 15 Albums of 2012 and wrote about them here, and now I’m doing the same with songs. Except I won’t write about them. They should be pretty self-explanatory and have no doubt had a huge impact on me over the past 12 months. I just don’t want to bog you down with nonsensical commentary when I don’t know how to describe something.

25. VAR — “In Your Arms” — Total Muere II
24. Sunset Theme — “Front Seat” — I’m Not There EP
23. PAWS — “Catherine 1956” — Cokefloat!
22. Yuno — “Sunlight”
21. Purity Ring — “Fineshrine” — Shrines

20. Solange — “Losing You” — True
19. King Tuff — “Bad Thing” — King Tuff
18. Ty Segall Band — “I Bought My Eyes” — Slaughterhouse
17. Japandroids — “Continuous Thunder” — Celebration Rock
16. Wild Nothing — “Nowhere” — Nowhere 7”

15. Aphids — “Tired” — Quarters & Wax
14. teen suicide — “the same things happening to me all the time even in my dreams” — i will be my own hell because there is a devil inside my body
13. Ty Segall — “The Hill” — Twins
12. Twerps — “Work It Out” — Work It Out 7”
11. The Men — “Candy” — Open Your Heart

10. Beach House — “Wild” — Bloom
9. teen suicide — “don’t like me” — DC snuff film
8. The Babies — “Alligator” — Our House on the Hill
7. Woods — “Cali in a Cup” — Bend Beyond
6. The Fresh & Onlys — “Yes or No” — Long Slow Dance

5. Ty Segall & White Fence — “I Am Not A Game” — Hair
4. Swearin’ — “Kenosha” — Swearin’
3. DIIV — “How Long Have You Known?” — Oshin
2. Japandroids — “The House That Heaven Built” — Celebration Rock
1. Cloud Nothings — “Stay Useless” — Attack on Memory

// TOP 15 ALBUMS OF 2012 \ 

Top 15 Albums of 2012

So, yeah, it’s time for lists everybody. I know I’m missing something — whether it’s a single song or a genre (rap, hip hop, I’m sorry) — but this is what I came up with. 2012 has been dumb, fun, stupid, ridiculous, unreal, dark and awesome year, and these records reflect that, even if my choices get pretty obvious.

15. Ty Segall Band — Slaughterhouse
The first of multiple appearances on both lists for Mr. Segall, Slaughterhouse just obliterated everything in its path. It’s full, intense and feels desperate at times. The full band, possibly live approach added a darker, edgier feel to it, and some of the songs — especially “I Bought My Eyes” — are classics.

14. teen suicide — i will be my own hell because there is a devil inside my body
Other than Ty Segall, Sam Ray’s teen suicide project (RIP) graces my list the most. i will be my own hell, the second release this year for the duo-turned-trio-turned-quartet, built on earlier teen suicide themes and really made me think about emo again. After all, it’s hard to describe some of these songs without using that label. Listening to this album just makes things feel surreal sometimes, like I’m in an alternate universe where I’ll never be happy again. Not that that’s a bad thing.

13. Terry Malts — Killing Time
This was a late entrant to the race in about the last month or so. I recorded a Terry Malts live set back in April and was pretty down with it, but since November, I’ve been putting Killing Time on heavy rotation and really diving into it. It’s yet another band that makes me wish I could live in California and make music instead of what I’m doing now.

12. PAWS — Cokefloat!
Kind of weird cover art aside, this Glasgow-based trio just plays straight rock songs. They roll through with the occasional big time corniness or awkwardness, but the stellar tracks — “Catherine 1956” and “Jellyfish” and “Miss American Bookworm” — carry it and make you remember it.

11. Swearin’ — Swearin’
Fewer things made me feel as free or as happy as this album did back in August. It’s the only thing I could listen to and still feel like a real person sometimes. “Kenosha” is one of the best songs of the year, while “Hear to Here” is beyond solid. The combination of male and female vocals along with the lyrics (“The bluer the water, the closer to hell”) proves its worth.

10. The Men — Open Your Heart
Punk songs are cool songs, and Open Your Heart has plenty of them. Plus, the quartet does a good job mixing up their selection with some longer, more instrumental tracks and alt-country gem, “Candy.” Also, the shredding.

9. Ty Segall & White Fence — Hair
So that last post mentioned shredding, but Hair is the absolute definition of shredding. Ty Segall and Tim Presley don’t stop, mixing all of their own styles together plus almost anything else they can come up with. The live versions of these songs floating around some sessions online are to to die for. So much swag.

8. Woods — Bend Beyond
I’d always felt Woods was always one step away from putting together a masterpiece. The previous releases could be too heavy on the psych jams, like Sun and Shade, or just full of short, whimsically dark pop songs, like At Echo Lake. In Bend Beyond, Jeremy and Jarvis combine the best of both worlds with a collection of songs that seem perfect for driving around California to or just laying back and listening to while looking up at the stars.

7. Beach House — Bloom
Apparently, the Baltimore duo was criticized by some for not departing enough from the formula it perfected on Teen Dream. Well, I’m not one to complain about that. Bloom just builds on those ideas and flushes them out even more. A bit of a brooding album that has its climaxes, it’s an emotional roller coaster at times, which worked out for me.

6. Ty Segall — Twins
So Slaughterhouse was loud and proud and Hair was experimental and coming from all directions at once, but Ty Segall puts everything together on Twins. It’s a collection of songs that just shreds toward one focused point. That point is different for everyone, but there’s just something unrestricted and open about the way it’s put together. Like much of Ty’s stuff, it’s refreshing.

5. teen suicide — DC snuff film
After this dropped back in February, there was really nothing else I could possibly listen to. It puts together all of my favorite genres and molds them into something new and different. Every time I would go through these tracks, something new would strike me or something different would get stuck in my head. It worked, and I’m grateful for this album.

4. The Babies — Our House on the Hill
Now we’re getting to the point where very little separates the final four albums. If Our House on the Hill had come out earlier in the year, it could very well be higher on this list. But since it came out later, I haven’t really had as much of an opportunity to dive into it. I do know most of the songs from live performances and the INTERNET, but listening to the interplay of the tracks and just how they work together is something I take in each time out. Plus, we get to hear Kevin Morby curse pretty hardcore on “Mess Me Around,” which is always a treat.

3. Japandroids — Celebration Rock
The most sing along worthy album of the year, Japandroids just nail it. It could be easy for people to hate on them for being corny and over the top and insincere, but they just make me feel too good for that to be possible. None of the songs on here drag. Each is epic in its own right. The only bummer is that it only times in at eight songs, exactly like Post-Nothing. There could have been, like, two more in the bank guys? Actually, that probably would have been too overwhelming. Rock on.

2. Cloud Nothings — Attack on Memory
Everyone that knows me or has read anything I’ve ever written about music knew that this album was going to be really, really high up. I can’t quite say I’ve ever listened to anything that makes me feel the way Attack on Memory does. It’s one of the darkest things I’ve ever heard, yet it came out at the happiest point of my life. I could still relate to it. Now, one year minus 12 days after hearing it for the first time (its leak was the best Christmas present ever), it still holds so much meaning. Dark events may have changed exactly what it is to me, but the angst is something I’ll remember forever. Dylan Baldi really, really out-did himself with this one, and I can’t wait to hear what they do next. At the same time, “Wasted Days” is all anyone ever needs to hear (in the good way).

1. DIIV — Oshin
For the second straight year, a band I saw on New Year’s gets the No. 1 slot while Cloud Nothings takes the No. 2 slot. I’m too predictable. Oshin was something completely new to me in 2012, even though I spent a good portion of 2011 hating on Z. Cole’s new project. I just thought it was Beach Fossils lite. But through a series of live shows and this album, it’s so much more. Every time I listen to it, I can remove myself from everything and just sort of float through life. It’s something to look for in an album, and DIIV delivers.

// TOP 25 SONGS OF 2012 \