Favorite Edition 2012: Quarter final

Five years ago, my listening habits changed pretty dramatically.

I turned 35, and I decided to get out of the rat race for finding the next big thing. MP3 blogs hyped bands based on a single download. A Pitchfork reviewer would sneeze, and the entire indie rock ecosystem would crumble. The 80s revival refused to die.

So I retreated into catalog, and the number of new releases I would seek out dropped by half. I still bought the same amount music, but the distribution between old and new skewed to the former.

And that makes 2012 an odd year. It’s the first in half a decade where newer releases dominated. There’s just one qualification — most of those new releases came from Musicwhore.org regulars. The Great Catalog Shift also meant a drastic reduction in discovering new artists.

Still, it’s heartening to be in a position where I’m scrambling to cut albums off the favorite list than squeezing in something just to fill space.

Over the next few days, I’ll be writing about the albums on this list.

  1. Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
  2. Jeremy Denk, Ligeti/Beethoven
  3. … And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Lost Songs
  4. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Landmark
  5. ZAZEN BOYS, Stories
  6. Tokyo Jihen, Shinyawaku
  7. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE
  8. Duran Duran, A Diamond in the Mind
  9. Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour
  10. Gossip, A Joyful Noise

Honorable mention

  • Tokyo Jihen, Tokyo Collection
  • Café Tacvba, El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco
  • TOUMING MAGAZINE, TOUMING MAGAZINE FOREVER
  • Molotov, Desde Rusia con Amor
  • OBLIVION DUST, 9 Gates of Bipolar
  • Aaron Roche, !BlurMyEyes
  • FLiP, XX Emotion
  • Grizzly Bear, Shields
  • William Brittelle, Loving the Chambered Nautalis
  • Dead Can Dance, Anastasis
  • Lana Del Rey, Born to Die
  • LOSTAGE, ECHOES
  • The Smashing Pumpkins, Oceania
  • The Magnetic Fields, Love at the Bottom of the Sea

Catalog

  • Fugazi, Repeater + 3 Songs
  • Dead Can Dance, Aion
  • Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Edwin Outwater, conductor, From Here on Out
  • John Lunn, Downton Abbey
  • itsnotyouitsme, Everybody’s Pain is Magnificent
  • Oriental Love Ring, In This World

Reissues

  • In Tua Nua, The Long Acre (Remastered)
  • In Tua Nua, Vaudeville (Remastered)
  • The Old 97’s, Too Far to Care (Deluxe Edition)
  • Midnight Oil, Essential Oils