The office I work in resembles a used CD store. A used CD store with several desks scattered about, whole walls obscured by Bob Dylan and Coldplay posters, and decorative ornaments salvaged from the dumpster next door. It’s like a music-lovers bachelor pad, only we still get work done around here. If we didn’t, our magazine would go out of business. I listen to music all day long. In fact, I have several mail bins from the post office sitting on the floor by my desk, full of CD’s patiently waiting their turn. The publicists are not as patient. They call me all the time, wondering if I’ve gotten a chance to listen to such-and-such CD. It’s their job to pester and I assure them I’ll listen to their client’s CD, if I can find it (I’m sure it’s languishing at the bottom of one of these mail bins, I have no idea which). Some of the music is good, some of it’s not so good, and some of it makes me want to throw myself headfirst from the second-story window beside my desk onto the sidewalk below. But, here’s the deal, some of it is great. And if you work here long enough, you’ll occasionally hear a masterpiece, like Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose or Midlake’s Bamnan & Slivercork. That’s part of what makes the job such a dream. Without any further throat-clearing, here are the CDs from this past year that made me glad I reached into the dusty mail bin instead of just plugging in my iPod and listening to Guns’N Roses. Cheers!
- 1. Midlake – Bamnan and Slivercork (Bella Union)
- 2. The Fiery Furnaces – Blueberry Boat (Rough Trade)
- 3. Bjork – Medulla (Elektra)
- 4. Sam Roberts – We Were Born In A Flame (Lost Highway)
- 5. n.Lannon – Chemical Friends (Badman)
- 6. Paul Westerberg – Folker (Vagrant)
- 7. A.C. Newman – The Slow Wonder (Matador)
- 8. Juana Molina – Tres Cosas (Domino)
- 9. Griffin House – Lost + Found (Nettwerk America)
- 10. Loretta Lynn – Van Lear Rose (Interscope)