Intro by Fense: Each year I look forward to posting Nate's top album picks. First, he uses phrases like "silly-good." But it's mostly because he always has a different perspective, sometimes finding obscure items to drop in or checking out albums I wanted to hear but didn't have a change to for some reason or another, other times dropping in albums from genres I typically ignore (um... hip hop). This year he went one step further and gave us his top 15 local songs as well. (BONUS!!!) Read on and let us know your favorite pick of 2012! [...]
Finally, I present to you my top 10 records of 2012. Once again, we begin with a pair of honorary mentions - the recent single that's leading into my most anticipated album of 2013, and an album I know would have made the top 50 had I checked it out in advance of compiling and publishing the first half of this list. * * * * * Honorary Mention: Common Sentiments (73 Single) by Typhoon With A New Kind of House , Typhoon [...]
Continuing the countdown to my favorite record of 2012, today I present numbers 11 through 20. Honorary Mention: Trails And Ways I've already dubbed Trails And Ways one of my favorite new bands of 2012. This statement comes with a disclaimer, as there are plenty of phenomenal new bands scattered throughout my top EPs and LPs lists for 2012: by far my favorite new band without a proper release. With a lone 73 single (I believe) and a few digital singles under their belt (including strong [...]
It's day three of my top 50 countdown, meaning we're in the middle and doing #30 down to #21. Par with how the previous two have gone, we begin with a pair of honorary mentions. * * * * * Honorary Mention: Pet The Ghost (73 Single) by Darlings I loved Darlings' self-titled LP from 2009 and their follow up EP, Warma in 2010 was pretty phenomenal as well. My first highly anticipated album of 2013 came when the band gave us [...]
Yesterday we saw my list from 50 to 41. Today, the countdown to my number one album of 2012 continues with Deer Creek Canyon by Sera Cahoone at number 40... but first, a few honorary mentions. Above is the cassette player I picked up last weekend. I think 2013 will see a large resurgence in the cassette as a novelty ironic item. In particular, don't be surprised if more labels start selling these and including digital downloads within the cassette packaging. * * * * * [...]
Today I present to you the first in a series of posts covering our top 50 albums of 2012. These lists take a long time to compile, so, to save my sanity, I've split it into a five-part countdown, beginning with 50 through 41. As these things go, it's all subjective - best-of lists are compiled based on what we feel at this particular moment in time. Case in point: At this time last year, my top three albums were: 3. Dream Diary by Jeremy Jay, 2. Music Sounds Better With You [...]
While everyone else goes ape sh*t over EPs by Lana Del Rey and Ke$ha, well, we took a different approach and didn't listen to those artists this year. Instead, last night, I ran through my entire library on iTunes and settled on my top 15 EPs of 2012. Yeah, as these lists go, I'm sure I'm missing some pretty great ones in here that will leave me slapping my forehead later, but whatevz. It's all subjective anyway, right? We begin with New York band Beast [...]
On occasion, you just need something fun to play on your stereo. If you're in that quirky, smiley sort of mood, this list is for you. Today I present to you, my reader, five quirky songs that make me immensely happy. One is from a band you might not expect (with exception to them being one of my all-time favorite artists), one a garage-y masterpiece, a few pop gems, and even a crazy little Christmas song. So yeah, I'm in a quirky mood. I get that way sometimes when certain songs pop up on my playlist, [...]
I got a package the other week from HHBTM full of new releases from the Athens, GA-based label. Mike at the label was kind enough to pass along the latest albums he's releasing. Four records to be exact: new LPs from Eureka California, Orca Team, Sweater Girls, and Tunabunny. I've been a fan of HHBTM for ages, dating at least back to 2006, if not further. Anyway, here are some details on each of the records. Oh yeah, and while clearing out my record cabinet the other day, [...]
I cannot stress this enough: I LOVE getting cool vinyl in the mail. The only thing better is when it's completely unexpected, as took place with a recent package from Common Wall Media . The label just released Bogan Via's new EP, Wait Up , on October 29. Common Wall also sent along Put Your Sunshine Away , a forthcoming release by Gospel Claws out November 20. These are both on CD, but here's the bonus: I also received a 73 single from each band on colored wax! [...]
Music videos can be total sensory overload. Not only do you get great audio from bands that have often spent insurmountable time mastering a song they have created, adding to them videos can open a similar avenue with interesting visual storylines and themes. Some have plots, some have twists, and some have neither; others are funny or thought-provoking; all within this list are great in their own right. Check out 15 of my favorite (in no particular order, other than the order they were added to the list) indie music videos of 2012... so far... and let me [...]
The Bimmer has been giving me a few issues of late but they're slowly getting fixed, along with a few odds and ends that have been on the car's To Do List since I got it. I parked at KSVR on Friday and after cutting the ignition, pulling the key and stepping out of the car, it chugged on for a nearly ten additional seconds. I see a spendy carburetor rebuild in my near future. The good news is that once that's tackled, it should be a smooth running (albeit ugly) [...]
The Bimmer is back! Yep, that's my beater baby, sitting pretty and lonely at around sunset on Friday night in the Skagit Valley College parking lot, where KSVR is located. A few vacuum leaks fixed and she's running much better. I'm now awaiting a new vacuum advance unit, on its way from Germany. Once in, it should be tip top. I decided to do something a little different on tonight's show. Rather than playing back-to-back songs by an artist, I instead selected an artist to highlight a few [...]
Damn. The Bimmer done broke down. Once it warms up, it refuses to hold an idle. I did some research over at BMW 2002 FAQ and found that it could be one of a number of things: a faulty ignition coil, a fuel mixture issue, the carb needs tuning, the timing is off... the list goes on. So yesterday I took it to the shop to get a once-over. Hopefully the damage to my pocketbook won't be too extensive. The good news is that I have a new daily driver. It's [...]
Last weekend I did something a bit taboo. No, nothing that bad. What I did was this: I took my email inbox, and I cleared it. I archived everything - over 15,000 unread messages. It had just gotten a bit too out of control. Then, this week, I checked ALL my emails, filtered out what I wanted to cover, and pulled some select ones to add to my radio show. Understand this: going through sometimes up to 100 emails in an evening is very time consuming. You have [...]
We've had seven sunny weekends in a row, which must be some kind of record for the Northwest. As such, it's been the perfect time to take out the Bimmer. And in related news, Andi's dad thought it would be a fun project to spend a weekend sanding it down and giving it a new paint job. Score. Now on to music: Stuarto, the host leading into my 10pm Friday night show at KSVR and KSVU, and I have been concocting plans. These brief quarter-hour strategy sessions that take place [...]
Last weekend was my grandmother's Celebration of Life. It would have been her 92nd birthday. We all had margaritas (it was also Cinco de Mayo; I had three) and told funny stories about her life. It was a blast, a good closure and celebration to a woman who meant a lot to a lot of people. Upon returning on Monday, I took a trip out to Anacortes and The Business, picking up the new Cloud Nothings LP, Attack On Memory , which served as inspiration for tonight's show. [...]
The time has come to ramp up training for the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride). Last weekend, I took a ride out toward La Conner along my normal route, which takes me down McLean. This particular road is on the path toward the famous Skagit Valley Tulips, and being in the middle of the Tulip Festival, traffic was anything but light. It's satisfying, passing a line of 30+ cars, stopped due to heavy traffic. You don't get that much in the country. On with the music... Receiving the [...]
I didn't post at all on FensePost last week. That's crazy. I had been on a roll, pumping out posts on a daily basis, then I hit a wall and needed an immediate break. But my breaks are typically filled with, well, something else. They're aren't true breaks , in the informal-synonym-for-vacation sense of the word. That's right, it was pledge week at KSVR and KSVU. Being pledge week, I came in Wednesday night and sat in on Jackson Stewart's Blue Boulevard and we [...]
This was supposed to be a productive week, those hours after work. But I ended up doing what any solid music nerd would: procrastinate by going through my records and singles, rediscovering old favorites and discovering new treasures hidden within my collection. We listened to The Smiths on repeat for a few days. I dug out an old single by The Rondelles. I got Andi into Crystal Stilts. And despite all this recounting of the past, of all the listening to albums already in my collection, I [...]
Fensepost
Listen to the Japanese Song that Grimes is Obsessed With
Stream: Disclosure – When A Fire Starts To Burn
Deadmau5 Returns With Techno Track "Monophobia" After Being Absent For Months
