Best Albums of 2013

In alphabetical order by title:

• Camper Van Beethoven, La Costa Perdida*

"For 30 years and counting, Camper Van Beethoven have existed in a parallel-universe borderland, coming across like a punk band perpetually on a Balkan bluegrass bender. But they finally bring it all back home to their native California on 10th album, La Costa Perdida, recalling '60s-vintage West Coast pop filtered through their timeless, idiosyncratic prism."--David Menconi, SPIN, January 14, 2013

• Henry Plotnick, Fields

"11-year-old Henry Plotnick, like Mozart before him, is a childhood virtuoso, and his debut album Fields illustrates his indebtedness to his own teachers: Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Keith Jarrett, and Cluster." --Paul Gleason, Caught in the Carousel

•  The Dangers, Gold

" . . . the influence of The Kinks and The Beatles runs as strong as ever through the band’s power pop gems." --Vanessa Franko, The Press-Enterprise

• Jonathan Segel, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

If you like Adrian Belew, George Harrison, Sparklehorse, and Lou Reed, you will love Jonathan Segel.

•  Felsen, I Don't Know How to Talk Anymore

 

“Felsen's 'I Don’t Know How To Talk Anymore' - it’s the band’s most potent and thought-provoking album yet. There are individual gems, including the title track, as well as 'Gunfighting at Dawn,' 'Tierra Del Fuego' and 'Lorazepam.' But Andrew Griffin and company have also succeeded in making the album a cohesive entity. Powerful songs."--San Jose Mercury New 

• Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Under the Covers Vol. 3

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs have great taste in music. They cover favorite songs from the '80s including Girls Talk by Elvis Costello, More Than This by Roxy Music, and Train in Vain by The Clash. What makes this album special is that all of the songs are easier to sing along to than the original versions. If you like to sing, you will love this album.

*Since "la" is an article, I alphabetized this album under "c" for Costa.

The Bangles, Matthew Sweet, Cracker, and Marian Anderson

The Bangles in the 1980's:

The Bangles in 2009:

The Bangles are one of my favorite bands from the 80's. I included Hero Takes a Fall in all of my aerobics class tapes and I was blown away by their 1986 show at the historic DAR Constitution Hall.

Like The Beach Boys, The Bangles' vocal harmonies are just as tight live as they are in studio. Plus, the band members play instruments, sing, and look great all at the same time.

As you can see, I used to try to imitate Susanna Hoffs's hairstyle:



I also used to try to do that looking off to the side thing that Susanna Hoffs does.

I used to wear lots of bangles, too!

ANYWAY . . .

The reason I'm thinking about The Bangles so much is that I was pleasantly surprised to see Susanna Hoffs's name printed in the liner notes of the new Cracker album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey. She co-wrote the beautiful love song, Darling One.

ps. The Bangles are back on tour with new music! For concert information, visit thebangles.com.

pps. A couple of years ago, Susanna Hoffs paired up with the wonderful Mr. Matthew Sweet for an album of duets. Check it out here.



ppps. Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend is one of my all-time favorite albums.

Sweet, Matthew. Girlfriend [Sound Recording] / Matthew Sweet. NY: Volcano, 1991.

pppps. A little bit about the DAR Constitution Hall . . .

When the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) refused to allow Marian Anderson to sing at their venue, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the prestigious organization and invited Anderson to sing before 59,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, 1939. The DAR begged Anderson to perform for them a few years later, and she graciously accepted the apology and sang to a full house in 1942.