The Academy of Joey Awards 2012: The Best Music of the Year!

2012 is wrapping up and that means that it's list season. Lists of the best food, movies, stupid things said by Michele Bachman, etc. are popping up everywhere and, not one to be left out, I'm compiling a list of the only thing in pop culture I actually pay attention to/give a rat's ass about: Music!

Your other option was a list of the best psychological studies of 2012 so be thankful it's not that.

Here are my picks for the best of the best of my little slice of the music world. Feel free to let me know what some of your favorites are or bitch about me not picking your favorite artist because *GASP* different opinions!!!

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Get ready for the shocked gasps when you see that my pick for the artist of the year is...

METRIC

Have you all recovered from this surprising revelation? I know, me picking Metric for the best overall artist is earth shattering but you need to calm down. COLLECT YOURSELF, GODDAMMIT.

Okay good. This was without question the year of Metric. Now before you go all, "But [insert breakthrough act/shitty pop artist/old school artist who had a hit here]..." let me explain. Yes, Metric's most recent album, Synthetica, didn't crack the top 10 on Billboard sales but hot damn, they came in at number 12. Pretty good for a band that runs their own label, effectively putting out their own records and not getting help from the major label music machines. They sold out shows all over the world, they played VH1's Divas thingy, they headlined festivals, they grabbed the attention of Rhianna (who could take notes from Metric on how to make less awful music), and scored a film with Howard Shore. They may not be topping charts but they're doing their own thing, winning fans on their own terms, and they're showing the world that you CAN stay true to yourself and be successful in the entertainment industry.

And they had the honor of hanging out with us after their Minneapolis show.

 Now, considering I saw them three times this year (two of which were in a different country), I don't think it'd be fair to include them for consideration for the rest of the categories as they'd sweep them all so I am removing Metric from the running for the rest of my picks... but know that everything they do is perfection.

 LIVE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

I go to a lot of concerts so this category is always a difficult one for me to pick. Throw in Osheaga, the music festival I went to this year, and things get even more difficult.

 STARS

I managed to see these guys twice this year (Once at an intimate show at the Triple Rock and once when they opened for Metric) and hot damn do they put on an excellent show. Their energy and awkward dance moves is infectious. Amy and Torquill have voices that melt together to produce something more beautiful than Ryan Gosling's abs. They also are genuinely thankful for all the love from the audience and, on top of it, Amy is the most adorable person on the planet. Also, my favorite jam off The North, their most recent release, "Hold On When You Get Love and Let Go When You Give It" is even more stellar live than it is recorded.

Honorable mentions

The Ting Tings: It was tough not to pick these two. Despite only having two members, they manage to put on a show that's full of pure rock goodness. I honestly never sweat that much in my life from all the dancing. I was exhausted, but didn't want it to end.

Sleigh Bells: If I were to describe everything a rock show should be, it would be a Sleigh Bells show: Loud guitars, hot chicks (in the form of their lead singer, Alexis Krauss), crowd surfing WHILE STILL SINGING AND PLAYING GUITAR by both Alexis and Derek, rowdy dancing... I was honestly shocked by how great these two were.

Doomtree: I usually am not a fan of rap but these guys are so freaking great. They have high energy, deep lyrics that aren't just "fuck a ho and drank some Patron," and Dessa. Dessa is her own category of awesome.

Feist: This lady puts on a show. Not only does she interact with the audience, but she has them participating in various aspects of her show. She played multiple instruments and wowed the crowd of 40 thousand at Osheaga. And, in a personal favorite part, she stopped mid song to accept a palm tree that had been passed up through the crowd as a gift from a fan. Why they picked a palm tree is a mystery, but it was awesome regardless.

BEST NEW ARTIST

Another difficult category to pick for me. There were a ton of great new artists that came to my attention this year. However, I think one sticks out a little more than the rest.

KIMBRA

Most of you probably know Kimbra from her song with Gotye, "Somebody That I Used To Know," but she's a great artist in her own right. This spritely little Kiwi has an amazing voice and does all sorts of interesting things with her vocals. She also has the coolest outfits I've ever seen. I read somewhere that she makes most of her clothes herself... Multitalented! I look forward to seeing what she has to offer in the future!

Honorable mentions

Hey Ocean: These guys were the first band I saw at Osheaga and it was a great way to kick off the festival. Super high energy and Ashleigh Bell is a great vocalist. There's a great video of them doing a cover of "Sprawl II" by Arcade Fire that I suggest you check out.

Polica: A great local band from Minneapolis that I also saw at Osheaga (and saw on the plane there... and awkwardly ran into them at the festival). They use a lot of autotune but unlike most uses of autotune, it's not to make up for a lack of vocal prowess. It actually enhances the music and live, Channy is able to let her impressive vocal abilities shine through.

blondfire: These guys have been getting a lot of hype regarding their song "Where The Kids Are" and they absolutely deserve it. The music video for the song is whacky and the song is catchy as hell (and a great song to snowboard to!). But they're more than just a one hit band. Check out their other music, as well. It's pretty great!

SONG OF THE YEAR

Ahhh, the best single song of the year. With the sheer volume of music released this year, how to pick just one song?

"PUSH AND SHOVE" BY NO DOUBT (FEAT. BUSY SIGNAL AND MAJOR LAZER)

Gwen Stefani is probably the only white girl on the planet who can get away with talking about hustling and not sound like she's trying too hard. This song is a sort of bizarre mash up of genres. It's a bit pop, a bit dance, a bit reggae. The lyrics are kind of quirky but in the context of the song, they work. This sounds like it would end up as a musical hot mess but it actually works... Really, really well I might add.

Honorable mentions

"Somewhere to Hide" by Shiny Toy Guns: Shiny Toy Guns' latest release is a great album overall (more on that in a bit) but this song stands out to me and, in my opinion, is a wise choice for their most recent single. Singer Carah Faye Charnow does an absolutely killer job on vocal, perfectly blending her powerful pipes with the completely danceable beat.

"The House That Heaven Built" by Japandroids: These guys have been getting a lot of attention this year and even sold out THREE shows in Minneapolis. This song is largely what has been driving this hype. It's a really simple, repetitive rock and roll jam that's infectious and will remain stuck in your head all day.

"I Don't Recall" by Lavender Diamond: I heard of Lavender Diamond a few years back and wasn't overly impressed by them (I also think their name is rather tacky). However, this song is so full of emotion and realism that I decided to give them a second chance. The vocals are sincere and the lyrics, despite their simplicity, manage to express everything they need to without frills.

 ALBUM OF THE YEAR

This is the category that I would consider my biggest honor. A whole album, with 12ish songs that are actually worth listening to, is rare. So who put forth the best effort this year?

 HALCYON BY ELLIE GOULDING

I'm going to admit something I probably shouldn't: Sometimes I cry from how perfect Ellie Goulding is and how much I love her. Now that I've outed myself as absolutely pathetic, we can move on. Halcyon is an absolute treasure. Despite being a pop artist, Ellie doesn't really do what anyone else is doing in pop music today. She plays with her vocals and reaches soaring high notes on the opening track, "Don't Say A Word," and "Hanging On." She mixes her airy voice with dubstep beats on numerous songs and, on songs such as "Explosions," and "I Know You Care" she uses minimal instrumentation and REALLY shows off that she can sing. My personal favorite, "Only You," starts out with a strange autotuned vocal section and moves on to be largely based on a repetitive beat that wiggles in your brain long after the song has finished. For those who get a physical copy with bonus content, the album comes with a bonus track, "I Need Your Love." This song features Calvin Harris and has some of the best synthesizers I've hear in a long time (and it's great to snowboard to!).

Honorable mentions

  

III by Shiny Toy Guns:  STG fans have been waiting years for this album, which features the return of Carah Faye on vocals and man, does she make the wait totally worth it. Their other lead singer, Chad, does just as great of a job. The band manages to infuse a lot of rock influences with electronic dance music and the result is a hard rocking, futuristic treat for your eardrums.

Sounds From Nowheresville by the Ting Tings: The Ting Ting's first album had a lot of great singles but didn't flow as well as album as Sounds does. This album is a great sophomore release and Katie White even gets a chance to prove that she actually can sing on tracks like, "Day To Day." I suggest giving the acoustic version a listen in addition to the original.

Give You The Ghost by Polica: I believe I said everything I need to say about Polica in their Best New Artist honorable mention, but I'd really like to stress it again: Go give them a listen. Their debut album is gorgeous and I'm sure you'll be seeing them on my favorites lists in future years.

So that's it! Those are my picks for favorite music for this year. Looking ahead, 2013 already looks exciting with the Joy Formidable, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tegan and Sara, Lady Gaga, and more set to release new material and many exciting concert tours, including Fleetwood Mac, Stars, and, hopefully, No Doubt! I hope everyone has a great 2013 and that the music gods are just as wonderful to us as they were this year!

On a side note, this is my 100th blog! Woo hoo! Given my sporadic blogging, I'm surprised I've managed to somehow bust out 100! 

Gotye and Kimbra 4/4 @ Epic

My power concert series continues!!! Last night was the sold out Gotye and Kimbra show. I found out a few hours before that I won VIP upgrades so I got to watch the whole show from a side booth. It was an awesome experience and there were some super cool people who were there to watch the show with us.

Kimbra went on first and was absolutely amazing. The woman has some pipes! She was belting it out and dancing around the stage the whole time. "Cameo Lover" was a favorite of mine as I got to dance along with her.

Gotye hit the stage after Kimbra's set and was incredible as well. In addition to singing, he played drums and keys so he was always busy. He brought out Kimbra for "Somebody That I Used To Know" and that was a magical experience.

The big gripe that I had with the show had nothing to do with the performance but with the audience. It seemed like almost no one in the pit was moving the whole time and they weren't responding to the performers' energy. I can only imagine how frustrating that must have been for them as it was pretty frustrating for me. I'll never understand why people go to shows and don't get into it. I mean, how can you not?! Even if you don't know the music that well you can still bop along.

Anyway, that's a quick update. Today is Ellie Goulding's acoustic performance at the Mall of America. I'm legit giddy to see her again. Should be a great show!

The Joy Formidable 3/19 @ The Fine Line

The first rule of good journalism is to admit your biases. Actually, it's probably to avoid stories where your biases would come into play. Or maybe it's respect for the story? I have no idea. But thankfully, this isn't a lesson in journalism. My point is that it's hard for me to write an unbiased review of last night's the Joy Formidable show at the Fine Line in Minneapolis because they happen to be one of my favorites at the moment (and, if they keep it up, they're well on their way to making a permanent appearance on my favorites list).

Because I was smart and spend an exuberant amount of money on music related things, I purchased a "special ticket" and was able to have one of the coolest experiences of my life because of it. The "special ticket" allowed me to get in to watch part of the sound check... where the band invited people who were interested to come on stage!!!

 

J + Rhydian

After spending a few minutes living out my dream of being a rock star, we got to have a meet and greet with the band. They were absolutely charming and super nice to all their fans (even though I'm sure I freaked Ritzy out by telling her that she was even cuter in person... WHAT?! SHE IS!!!). I managed to get a picture the guy in front of me was nice enough to give to me signed AND I got a picture with the band.

 A new supergroup I christened "The Joey Formidable"

God, I'm clever.

All in all, one of the coolest experiences of my life thus far. Showtime came around and I managed to get front row, center... which, surprisingly, was in the middle of a group of pretty rad optometrists. Who knew your eye doctor liked such good music?! The first to take the stage was Exit Music from New York. They were good but nothing I was overly excited about. Their sound was a bit mellower than the other two acts so they seemed a little out of place.

Following them was A Place To Bury Strangers, who have the title of loudest band from New York (how they earned that title is a mystery to me) and holy queen of Shiva were they great. I'd never heard any of their music before but they brought the noise. It wasn't just noise of the sake of being loud, either. Their music was really melodic and actually had substance. I've never seen a band play until the bass player's strings broke but they did... Thoroughly impressed!

Next, the main act: The Joy Formidable bounced to the stage and quickly reminded me of why I was looking forward to seeing them again. These guys have so much energy that you can't help but get into. A special treat this time around was being close enough to pick out all of Ritzy's, their singer, facial expressions... She makes quite a lot of interesting ones!

What most impressed me was that they all looked like they were genuinely having fun up there. The chemistry between Rhydian and Ritzy was infectious and was especially apparent when Ritzy jumped on his back, still playing her guitar.

Oh, and did I mention that Ritzy continued her tradition of massacring the stage during Whirring, their final, climactic song during the encore, by not only tossing her guitar at the on stage gong but knocking over Matt's drumset at the very end. HOW BADASS IS SHE?! Super badass is the answer to that question.

Another highlight was hearing their new song, Silent Treatment, for the first time. It's a lot quieter than their other music but you can really hear the emotion as Ritzy sings. In fact, I thought she was going to cry a few times during it. It made me really excited for the new album to come out which, incidentally, they announced is finished. While they gave no indication of a release date, I'm hoping it will be soon as I already want to see them again, not even 24 hours later.

Next month, I have my whirlwind concert tour with the Ting Tings, First Aid Kit, Kathleen Edwards, Cults, the Head and the Heart, Howler, Dessa, and Lights. WHEW!!! It's going to be a long, but awesome, month! Stay tuned!

This must be it, welcome to the new year

I'm not a fan of making New Year resolutions for two reasons: The first is that I never keep them. Remember that year I resolved to stop swearing? Didn't last a fucking week. The second is related to the first and stems from me being a psychology nerd. Anyone who mentions to me that they're going on one of those d-words that is related to changes in your eating habits in an attempt to loose weight gets a stern lecture about how said d-words don't work and they really should be making lifestyle changes instead. I hate to hit you with the beating stick of reality but you're not going to be able to eat healthy for six months and then go back to eating the processed, sugar pumped, deep fried, greasy shit you did before and be able to keep the weight off. The psychological literature also suggests that people who attempt to diet will ultimately fail when placed in a cognitively taxing situation.

Wow, it sounds like I'm writing a research paper.

Obviously this applies to other areas of life besides just the d-word. This is why instead of making a New Year resolution, I'm making a NEW YEAR LIFE STYLE CHANGE.

Gwen is excited about lifestyle changes.

I realize I'm a bit late to the party but I really wanted to think this one over seeing as, unlike a resolution, this is going to be a permanent change, I wanted to make sure it was just right. Finally, while I was supposed to be meditating during yoga tonight (Whoops!) I thought of something absolutely perfect.

I do this thing where I'll meet someone, we'll be friends for a while, and then they'll mysteriously become really busy, not contact me on their own, and generally, you know, be a lousy friend. Instead of just moving on, I'll keep trying to be their friend. Well, no more! I'M FINALLY GROWING A PAIR.

 

When this happens, I'm going to tell them they're an asshole and send them a flaming bag of poop and then delete them from my life.

No, I'm totally kidding. What I am going to do, however, is stop making an effort with people who don't make one with me. So when one of these yayhoos makes an appearance in my life, instead of desperately clawing at them and showering them with baked goods, trying to make plans with them, and searching for amusing videos of little girls being headbutted in the ovaries by a raging sheep, I'm just going to stop contacting them.

That's not to say I'll IGNORE them. You have to REALLY send me into a raging whirlwind for me to ignore you. If we run into each other, I'll still be like, "OH HEY GURL HOW YOU BE?!" But I'm not going to go out of my way to see them. I'm not going to text them and be like, "Let's hang out!!!" And I'm definitely not going to spend my time looking for ovary hating sheep. If they really want me in their life, they'll put forth some effort. Friendships are a two way street and it's not healthy for one person to put in ALL of the effort. No one ends up happy that way. It took me a long time to realize this and I'm not saying the lifestyle change will be easy. But I think in the end, it'll ultimately be worthwhile.

On a lighter note, I'm starting to figure out my busy concert going schedule for the year. I love going to live shows but unfortunately this little thing called "college" sometimes get in the way. Oh, that and money. Boo. Here's a short selection of what I have planned so far:

Jan. 29th- Los Campesinos!

April 2nd- The Ting Tings
April 7th- First Aid Kit (possibly, assuming someone will go with me)
April 16th- Cults

Coachella?!?! (Dependent on funds and line up)

May 4th- Neon Indian

June 23rd-24th- This mystery festival that's supposedly happening in Minneapolis

July 20th-21st- First Avenue's festival

August 3rd-5th- Lollapalooza, dependent on funds and line up

Now, clearly there's a large gap in there and my calendar is not near as full as I'd like it to be. Hopefully I'll be making that change as the year really gets going and more artists start touring.

If you're excited about an upcoming show, let me know in a comment! And let me know how you're going to be changing your life this new year!