Top 10 albums 2017
(stream and download – Episode 109)
Conan
1. Oxbow – Thin Black Duke
2. Lardo – Sinking
3. christian fitness – slap Bass Hunks
4. Mountain Goats – Goths.
5. SEMINARS – Pricks Die Young
6. Magpies – Annex
7. Crystal Fairy – s/t
8. Dead Rider – Crew Licks
9. Out – Swim Buddiess
10. Fever Ray – Plunge
Josh
1. Palm – Shadow Expert ep
2. Power Trip – Nightmare Logic
3. Maximum Busy Muscle – s/t
4. Bon Air – the Blue Line
5. Fox Face – Spoil + Destroy
6. Radioactivity – infected/Sleep
7. Julie Byrne – Not Even Happiness
8. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory
9. God Eaters – Xuma
10. Arto Lindsay – Cuidado Madame
all numbering relatively arbitrary
Josh #10: arto lindsay – ilha dos prazeres
Arto Lindsey
Josh: Danger Lady, this is fantastic, very much in the vein of what his recent solo career has been like. It’s this very odd combination of the Brazilian music he’s been playing for a number of years, but he’s still doing weird atonal guitar and he’s singing more melodically but it still sounds like Arto Lindsey. So there’s definitely an experimental edge to it… he played in Chicago… a few months ago with the Beauty Pill and it was just incredible.
Conan: Oh, I thought you meant he played in the BAND Chicago. I was like: where’s that record?
Josh I’d pay good money for that.
Conan “huh, they took an unexpected left turn on that one!”
It was an amazing show and this is a relaxing and romantic kind of record, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect.
Conan #10: Fever Ray – This Country
Conan: Number 10 for me is a band called Fever Ray, which is 1/2 of the Knife. This is the second Fever Record, I really love the first one it’s a weird, moody, messed up record. I dig it a lot, I dig this one as well, it’s kind of more of the same. I know some people that listen are super not down with Electro stuff or anything remotely that isn’t guitar bass and brash drums and stuff.
Josh: Geez, they are going to hate a lot of my countdown.
Conan: But I think everything that she does is wildly innovative and interesting. We talked a little bit during the break about that last the Knife record. It’s a harsh listen, but it’s awesome and I love that for a band that became so popular off of what was a very simple electro-poppy song with universal appeal, they just say: “ok, that’s done, we’re doing this now!”. I feel to a lesser degree perhaps, the same stuff happens with the Fever Ray material. I like that her viewpoints are LITERALLY written on her face for this record.
Fever Ray – This Country
Josh #9 god eaters – Signs of the Times
Josh: number 9 is a band we’ve discussed previously, as we’ve definitely played with them, seen them recently and they played Conan’s 40 birthday Party, the God Eaters.
Conan: To be perfectly clear, they would be on this list even if it was not for all of that friendship and cross pollination.
Josh: Oh yes, the friend rock, the only reason there are so many friends on this list is that that is what I listen to. That doesn’t have any affect on how amazing they are, and how much you should check them out.
Conan: Yes, this record kicks ass, this would definitely be on my list as well… I guess it would be a conflict of interest, because they play with *ME* as well. But I love it too.
Josh: Oh, don’t doubt that next year when we do this the Body Futures record will probably be on mine.
Conan: Right, so the God Eaters, it’s your pick… but one of the things I like about them is that they are a difficult band to describe. In mood and feel they remind me of the Minutemen, without sounding that much like the Minutemen.
Josh: Yes, and we were talking about this just recently so if you do listen to the show on a regular basis you will have heard something that sounds just like this. It’s how their sound is psychadelic in that it becomes enveloping, and there is some of that with the Minutemen as well. That there is so much going on with so few elements, but there is a lot happening within it. I feel like they echo some of that. Although they sound nothing like the Minutemen at all. It’s the precepts.
Conan: It’s a hell of a record, I’m sure they’ve already outdone it at this point. This is Zuuuma… that’s how you pronounce it right?
Josh: I would think so.
Conan: Hopefully it’s not exzema. Maybe it’s excema?
Josh: maybe, but the song we’re going to listen to is called Signs of the times.
Conan #9
Out – Wound Up.
Conan: This is a record, I feel was very popular amongst our circles, but needs to be heard by more people. It’s most of the band Minutes, but they should be given due difference on their own. It’s the band OUT, or OOT of you are Canadian.
This is off a record called Swim Buddies, because I guess hanging out and going to the pool or the river or something is at thing people like to do right?
Josh: Sure! They seem to like doing it.
Conan: Yeah! They like it.
Josh: But yeah, they discussed a little bit of our lists beforehand and…
Conan: NO DUPES!!! NO DUPES!!!
Josh: Exactly, we’re trying to get as many different songs out to you as possible, but they certainly would have been on my list. They are a fantastic band, they have a TRIUMPH.
Conan: Yes, they have a triumphant aspect to what they do… it comes from the fugazi/hoover-esque DC world, but there is definitely an element of what they do that… especially when they are all singing together… excuse me… SANGING.
Josh: Sanging! Sanging those unison vocals.
Conan: It’s a good record man, all the songs are pretty rock solid and there are some fist pumpers. This is put out by former guest of the show Jon Solomon.
Josh: friend of the show!
Conan: others have said it more eloquently myself, but to reiterate, this would have been on both of our lists if not for the NO DUPES rule.
Josh #8 Vince Staples – Homage
Josh: Number 8! I am still woefully underinformed when it comes to modern hip hop. I try my best to keep up with it, i’ve got some friends that try to keep me up with it. This is one that really stuck with me. Vince Staples, big fish theory. Just has a real fresh, awesome, noisy, weird fun sound. He has great flow. his lyrics are fantastic, there’s a real unique thing going on here. I listen to this one a lot.
Conan #8 Dead Rider – The Listing
Conan: my number 8 is from a little band from Chicago called Dead Rider. This is yet another in a series of records that… A good friend of mine once said: “I don’t know how music like this is made by humans.” i’m inclined to agree.
Josh: I feel that way about a lot of Dead Rider stuff, yeah.
Conan: It’s disconcerting, immediately familiar, but yet suddenly bizarre, everything about this band is just bad ass. This record managed to sneak through without me knowing about it. And suddenly i’m like: I’m in! I’m buying it immediately. Then I just listened to it on bandcamp and didn’t and decided that I really did need to buy it. It’s great, there are a lot of different moods to Dead Rider. It was hard to pick a song, but I picked this one specifically because the last movement has an auction announcer in it.
Josh: they call it an Auctioneer.”
Conan: yeah, yeah… Auctioneer. Thanks, Josh.
Radically unique and interesting band, super awesome… this is the listing!
josh #7 Julie Byrne – i Live Now As A Singer
Josh: My number 7, the album is called “Not Even Happiness” and the artist is Julie Byrne. This is a really wonderful, very mellow, beautiful… not really singer-songwriter thing, it’s there but there are interesting textures going on. The songs are so good, and her voice is so wonderful. I think Acme records had it as their record of the day when it came out, an instagram or a facebook post or something…
Conan: shout out to Acme records!
Josh: What Up Acme Records? Clicked on it on a whim, looked it up on bandcamp… and it’s just great late night listening.
Conan #7: Crystal Fairy – Crystal Fairy
This is a record, I think a lot of people forgot about. The Crystal Fairy record came out really early in the year. This is the collaboration between Buzz and Dale of the Melvins and former guest of the show Teri of Le Butcherettes… oh, and Omar from at the drive in, Mars Volta, and all that.
Josh: oh, sure why not!
Conan: It’s bad ass! To a certain degree it kind of sounds like a Melvins album with Teri singing. I’m totally ok with that. She’s one of my favorite front people period, former quest of the show. This is pretty much a product for me.
Josh: test marketed directly for Conan Neutron
Conan: I was trying to think of there was a way to make this more for me?
Swap out Omar for David William Sims or something?
Josh: Guest appearance by Malcolm Young?
Conan: Yeah! he managed to sneak in a guest appearance before he died. Anyway, this is Crystal Fairy… off of the album Crystal Fairy, with the song Crystal Fairy.
Josh # 6 Radioactivity – Infected
Josh: this is a 7″, not a full length. This is more indicative of the fact that I got into Radioactivity this year. They’ve been around a couple of years. Kind of an offshoot of the Marked Men
Conan: Oh yeah, ok!
Jiosh: so there were two big offshoots I got into… Mind Spiders last year, and this year I was DJing Tony Weber’s art opening at the Black Bird. Tony Weber who is in Heavy Hand
Conan: Who put out a great record this year too!
Josh: he was doing an art opening at the BlackBird and I was DJing and he came by with some records, after putting all his art up, he joined me for some records and one of the ones he played was off the last album and I was like: “What the fuck is this? It’s tightly wound… not really garage rock, got some of that vibe but too well produced. Tight and dry, and fast. It feels like everybody is playing their instruments at the fastest possible tempo all at once. It’s very well united and the songs are catchy as fuck.
…
Conan #6 Magpies – Next Three Exits
Conan: Next song for me is former guest of the show, very RECENT guest of the show. Hank Donovan’s band Magpies…
Josh: very recent indeeed.
Conan: Not as recent as the last guest, but very recent indeed. Great record! So this is Magpies from Missoula Montana, I think a lot of people slept on this. In fact, I *KNOW* a lot of people slept on this.This scratches the itch of people pining for the more rock based Sonic Youth stuff. That just likes cool, weird guitar rock. Co-ed vocals. Everybody killing it. I like the rest of their stuff, I like everything they’ve done. I think this is the best thing they’ve done.
I think it’s a really great record. That’s my story and i’m sticking to it.
Josh: and that’s the WAY it is…
Josh #5 Fox Face – Toxic
Josh: speaking of recent guests of the show, my number 5 is spoil and destroy from fox face.
Conan: awesome record, picked up the vinyl copy of that recently.
Josh: Super great record.turned out fantastic…
Conan: I wish we could have played more of it on the show when we had them on!
Josh: But now is your opportunity to play a little more.
I mean, you heard a couple songs from it that night if you go back to that episode it’s still there.
but I wanted to play their cover of Britney Spears: Toxic
Conan: oh yeah! it’s pretty bad ass.
Josh: I love it, I love how it’s still obviously that song, but they transform it and make it theirs. It’s a transformative cover.
Conan: first time I heard it, I was like: “what is this? I feel like I know this? OH! It’s Toxic.”
Josh: I think I told this story in the episode, but i’ll tell it again… first time I heard them play it was at a PRF in Chicago and Lindsay says: “I hope you guys likes Britney Spears”, and everybody chuckles they look at each other like: “Why are they laughing? This is serious.” And then they played this amazing song.
Conan #5 SEMINARS – Gaslight / Blacklist
Conan: Alright, we’re only halfway through… calm down
#5 is alive, baby!
He’s got laser lips
Laser lips?
That’s his insult to the other robot. Your Mother, Laser lips!
Oh man, i haven’t seen short circuit in awhile.
You know the Indian dude in short circuit isn’t Indian?
Josh: oh yeah, he apparently took that role and did a lot of research to get the accent right. Apparently he put everything into it…
Conan: You could also just hire an Indian dude. I mean that’s probably what I would do, but if you want to do it the hardest way possible and insult an entire culture.
ANYWAY, speaking of insulting!
hahaha
This is SEMINARS – Pricks die young. Let’s get something straight here people. this is a kick ass rock and roll record, this is mean and hard. If you are into riffs, things that are powerful and immediate and in your face. Songs that get in and get the fuck out. This is your record. This is another one I feel like people should be more hyped on.
Come on people.
This is James from Police Teeth, it doesn’t have any of the Police Teeth pop hooks or anything, but it’s got all those Police Teeth riffs though. SEMINARS has grown into it’s own band, and this is their best record.
It kicks ass, and i’m very pleased to have it on my #5 pick for 2017 play this loud, go break some parking meters and put a brick through a bank window
Josh #4: Bon Air – the Blue Line
Josh: …and here’s another record you should get right now
Conan: number four, you shall adore.
Josh: you should go get all these records right now, spend $10 each on bandcamp i’m sure you can find them all there. Well most of them anyway.
Conan: Click through our buy link to…. no, we don’t have that.
I don’t give a shit about that.
#4 is Bon Air: the blue line.
Bon Air!
It’s a hell of a record, it’s good wistful power-pop that rocks harder than that.
Conan: A little Sugar in there… both the sweetener and the band.
Sam does a very interesting thing where he splits his guitar into a bass, he has a splitter and it’s a whole thing where it’s a two piece and it has a bigger sound than that.
You don’t have to know any of that stuff to listen to this by the way.
Josh: It’s true, i’m trying to think of things to talk about. Besides: “This band is real good, I like ’em!”
Conan: It’s real good, I listen to it, you should listen to it, it’s real good.
Josh: I really do love them, the songs are so fantastic and i’m going with the title track. I bring up the power-pop again because a lot of it was home recorded and it sounds fantastic, but this and another song were recorded at Ardent studios, home of Big Star.
Conan: oh yeah! Of course.
Josh: and on this track, Sam actually played Chris Bell’s guitar.
Conan: Well, fuckin’ A.
Josh: and this song is so wonderful… it’s called the Blue Line
Conan #4: Mountain Goats – Shelved
Conan: number 4 for me is a record by a band I dearly love, who quite frankly haven’t put out a record I dearly love in awhile.
Josh: REALLY!?
Conan: Yeah.
Josh: REALLY, that’s interesting.
Conan: This is the Mountain Goats The last record I really loved by them were All Eternal’s Deck, which I thought was fantastic. I thought the last couple were fine, it’s ok.
Josh: I dearly loved Beat the Champ. I thought that was a top 5 record for them.
Conan: It’s got some tunes, there’s a little light jazz aspect to it I wasn’t loving so much. liked the show, loved some of the songs. but the latest record… GOTHS.
Josh: GOTHS!
Conan: top to bottom bad ass, and also kind of different somehow then anything they’ve done before but also very indicative of what they do.
Josh: Well, there’s no guitars right.
Conan: Yeah, and it’s very much a celebration not just of goth culture, but chosen family subcultures in general.
Josh: Which is not something he hasn’t written about before.
Conan: Yes, but it’s a slightly different way. It’s really cool. This song has a part that straight up sounds like New Order and I never would have expected it from a Mountain Goats record. And i’m totally into it, I think this is something where if you are a casual Mountain Goats record it might be time to check in with this record. I think it’s bad ass and one of John Darnielle’s best and I say that as not a fan of the last couple records.
Josh: Disagree hard!
Conan: Hey, I love the artist. I don’t know what to tell you.
that’s one of the nice things about the Mountain Goats.
I still love the Mountain Goats
There are records of his that other people are particularly huge on that i’m like: “that’s ok. it’s fine” but he’s always a good songwriter and he’s doing different things. If you are inclined to him at all, there’s a Mountain Goats record for you out there and this might be it.
Conan: I think this might be… so this is Shelved, my favorite song off of the Mountain Goats record called: GOTHS.
Conan: that is the Mountain Goats with shelved off of GAWTHS, which is my number 4 slot… some pronunciation right
Josh: that’s what they call them out here.
Conan: Got some gawths going down to the bat cave
Josh: Oh ya! The basement is just fulla gawths, oh boy.
Conan: Oh you got Goths, you gotta spray for that.
Josh: aw jeez.
Conan: You gotta fumigate!
John Darneielle, Come on the show.
Josh: Please, yes, alright… I was going to say that I promise we won’t be this punch drunk but.
Conan: I promise nothing.
Josh: Right.
Josh #3: Maximum Busy Muscle – Failure
Josh: We’re up to my number 3, it’s Maximum Busy Muscle.
Conan: MAximum… BIZZEEE… Mus-CLE.
Josh: from Athens, GA… we got to see them at a number of PRF events, one of their drummers is Erika of Motherfucker
Conan: conflict of interest of alert. Also: former guest of the show!
Josh: But she’s a later addition to the band, they started as a TWO piece. Just guitar and the drums with Mary, and just evolved into this wonderful four headed thing.
It’s kind of funny, the Motherfucker press line is “fist in the air rock”, this is a total headbanger. Some of these songs… especially this song we’re going to play Failure. Is the protoypical song on the record for me… immediately your head is banging… I’ve got short hair and i’m still doing it!
Conan: “I can’t even headbang properly and i’m still doing it so hard right now!”
Josh: But then there is so much more beyond that there’s so much to listen to with the way the drummers interact, how they interact with Adam on bass. All kinds of crazy shit, so it’s heavy and fun. If you took all the ponderous stuff out of early Don Cab. It just rips! it’s a ripper.
I love this record, i’m so glad that it finally got done and I got a hold of it, and you can get a hold of it too on the bandcamps.
Conan: A lot of what they do kind of reminds me of some of the stuff that Big Business does. In a good way, where it’s a heavy groove but something anchors it and it goes around a thing or idea. I can’t believ eI didn’t pick up this record, I was literally in the room when they got them and I just gapped on it. Cool story.
Josh: Cool story, buddy. Well, I suggest you join the rest of the people and pick up this record. This song is called failure.
Conan: alriiiight, that’s failure off of Maximum Busy Muscle
Josh: It’s a rocker
Conan: Right, if you are into that kind of thing, i’m not… i’m more of a light jazz dude.
Josh: yeah, I bet you are. Is that your next pick.
Conan: Here’s some light jazz everybody!
Conan #3: christian fitness – Bruce Hated Puppies
Conan: I think there’s been a christian fitness record on every best of since I started doing them, I think… i’ll probably get a correction soon. Motherfucker puts out a lot of records, and they are all great! It’s Andrew Falkous, aka: Falco of Future of the Left and mclusky. He’s appeared on the show so many times, I’ve LITERALLY lost count. One of my favorite human beings and artists. This is off the record: Slap Bass Hunks.
Josh: How great is that? How great is that?
It’s pretty wonderful. I feel like if you know mclusky and Future of the left, you know what you’re getting into with christian fitness, but I mean that in a good way. It’s like a pleasant surprise, like being given a cupcake.
Josh: yeah!
Conan: Except the cupcake is incredibly sardonic and shouting.
Josh: that’s cool, i’m still going to eat it.
Conan: “I’m still going to eat you!”
This is a strange analogy.
Josh: In a weird way, but it’s still good
I feel like Flco would probably appreciate it.
Anyway, this is the song on Slap Bass Hunks that is the biggest earworm for me. This is one I invite you to listen to, get on bandcamp…
Josh: Bandcamp is great.
Conan: We love bandcamp.
This is Bruce hated Puppies, off Slap Bass Hunks by Christian Fitness.
Those songs get in… get out… and do exactly what they are supposed to do. As Tony Ash said to me: “What a weird chorus! I love it, but what a weird chorus!”
And he’s NOT WRONG.
Josh: He’s not wrong!
Josh #2: power trip – if not us then who
Conan: what you got next for us? We’re down to the NUMBER TWO RECORD OF 2017!
Josh: as much as that matters… it’s definitely on my top 10 list and whatever.
Conan: People love arbitrary designations, we’ve established this.
Josh: I can’t get used to it! So my number two slot is Power Trip, which is an awesome thrash band. That I heard about from a bunch of people I generally trust.
Conan: I thought you were going to say: “Generally ignore!” “I heard about it from a bunch of people I generally ignore.” “This time it was ahhhh… valid.”
Josh: But yeah, it came up in a discussion of thrash, modern thrash, whatever. And this was pointed out to me by a few people, it’s a fucking great record, this is from a record it’s called Nightmare Logic. It has that classic thrash sound, it rests in between Dave Mustaine and Kerry King, Vocals are more shouted than sung, there’s a modern element there. Best thing about it, it’s 38 minutes long
Conan: that’s the correct length, nobody is looking for a 72 minute thrash record.
Josh: Naw, it’s cool man. It’s just a really good, invigorating record. I like to put it on while i’m in traffic jams. When I have to pay attention and focus and crank it up fucking loud!
Conan: Fuckin’ wail!
Josh: This record is called if not us then who. Also pay attention to the lyrics when you can make them out, because they are very good and smart.
Conan: Alright, power trip!
Conan: That’s a very mysterious ending there.
Josh: echo out.
Conan: that was power trip, if not us then who, off of the record Nightmare Logic.
Josh: yes it is.
Conan: Yes, True. Correct statement
Josh: definitely check that out if you like metal of any kind. If you like good things.
Speaking of good things!
Conan: speaking of Good things!
Josh: Good, good things!
#2: Lardo – Nothing
Conan: I know this next one would have been on your list as well.
Josh: It was.
Conan: NO DUPES!
Josh: no dupes.
Conan: this is another former guest of the show. I realized that Brian Pennington was the first show that you co-hosted with me.
Josh: It was. And I want to point that out actually, for a lot of this list we keep saying “Former guest of the show” that’s because we get good fucking guests on this show.
Conan: And we like stuff that doesn’t suck.
Josh: That’s right!
Conan: It isn’t just because we like our buddies bands. There’s a reason why we talk to these people, we like what they do.
Lardo, it blows me away that a big label hasn’t snapped them up and said: “Whatever you want to do, we’ll put it out!” because everything they do is fucking gold.
Josh: And they just barely seem to care in the best way. “oh, we made a record.” “oh, you just crapped this record out? no you didn’t!” it’s so good.
Conan: I still can’t believe that they haven’t given Pennington a free Bit Commander!
Josh: I know!
Conan: the sound clips for the Earthquaker Devices sound page for this pedal should be this record and the first Lardo record.
Josh: Yeah! This is what you can do with that.
Conan: Right, and this is one of the reasons I love them, because they take when I feel has become a staid and conservative genre, noise rock. And they turn it on its ear, there’s hooks to it. And there’s weird fucked up guitar that sounds nothing like a guitar that’s going.
Josh: but manages to be catchy at the same time.
Conan: It manages to be catchy at the same time, they are a hell of a band, this is a hell of a record, they are in my #2 slot, this is the band Lardo off of the record Sinking and the song is called Nothing.
Conan: ok, there we go Lardo with nothing, that’s off of the record Sinking. Get that at your local bandcamps… man, I might not have bought the vinyl for that. i’ve got to look and see, I listen to that all the time. that was my #2 of 2017.
Josh: that was your number two, which means it’s time for my NUMMMMBERRR ONE RECORD!
Conan: I can probably do a drumroll here… I can make that happen.
Josh: sure. Ok, ok… wait for it.
Conan: Waaaaaait for iiiiiit… waaaaait for it.
(drumroll)
Josh: is there gonna be a crash?
Conan: *pssssh*
Josh: there we go.
Conan: oh! there’s apparently a doorbell after that.
(doorbell noise)
Josh: “hello, it’s the number one record! At the door.”
Conan: “Number one record calling, can I speak to the lady of the house please?”
Josh: Alright, so my number one record iiiiiiis…
(drumroll)
Josh #1: Palm
It’s Palm!
Conan: PALM!
Josh: The Shadow expert ep, I was so excited to hear this record. Thrilled! Knowing that this is their second record. They haven’t been around for too long.
Conan: You played one of the songs from this record didn’t you?
Josh: yes, I did.
Conan: I don’t remember which episode.
Josh: It was awhile ago. I played them on the show before, because I was so excited about this. Just knowing that the next generation of noise is getting into the weeiiiird shit.
Conan: Yeah, that’s always nice to see.
Josh: The rhythms are off kilter, the singing is melodic but odd, the interlocking things that reminded me very much of Rob Crow’s band Heavy Vegetable
Conan: oh sure!
Josh: And anybody that is doing that kind of thing these days, is in a weird spot that makes me very happy.
Conan: yeah, I think everything I picked was pretty much old dude music, except for MAYBE Fever Ray. I’m not sure if the kids like Fever Ray, so at least somebody is staying relevant.
Josh: Alright, so the song is called Trying, it’s off of the record Shadow Expert, a preview of their upcoming LP, even though that has new songs. But they’re already… well… we’ll talk about this after the song.
Conan: Alright, this is Palm, Shadow Expert…Trying… there will be a test!
Conan: Ok, cool! That was your number one, that was Palm. Those kids, they are progging out in the best possible way.
Josh: Yeah. Yeah, that indie prog thing. Again, it taps one of those buttons I love so much, which is just: “You went to the practice space and you sat down and you wrote… That?!”
Conan: Yeah, I mean, it’s awesome that… I think there are a lot of bands that like Deerhoof, but not a lot of bands really take the same lessons from them. They have that mix, the Rob Crow world, a little King Crimson in there. If King Crimson played punk rock.
Josh: So Red.
Conan: Yeah, basically Red era King crimson. Yeah.
Josh: They are already working on their next record that will be out pretty soon. There are a couple of tracks up on their bandcamp, and it’s even weirder they are using guitars and drums to trigger samples. Just doing weird shit. I love that this is already weird enough and it’s just going to ramp up from there.
Conan: FU, it’s getting weirder!
Josh: That’s fucking great.
Conan: it is fucking great. So go get that on bandcamp… that’s on there.
Josh: blue vinyl too.
Conan: Oxbow – Thin Black Duke
Conan: My #1 record of 2017 is…
*drumroll*
Oxbow
Again: former guest of the show, Eugene Robinson. Really amazing record, it took them a long time to make this and it shows… it’s dense, there’s a lot to it. I’ve always liked Oxbow, I’ve liked everything they’ve done. I think their first two records are great… and they also give me headaches.
Josh: yeah, sure.
Conan: …and I mean that as a compliment. When I heard they were doing an acoustic record, I was like: “whaaaaaa? REally?” That was amazing, everything they’ve done has been wonderful. But this is… this is their best record. It blows me away every time, it unveils itself in very weird ways, and it’s a fantastic record that I listen to constantly. I considered doing one of the deeper cuts because there is a lot to do this one, but boy… if that first song isn’t one of my favorite god damn things. A Cold and Well-lit place, it’s my jam
Josh: sometimes something grabs you and takes you right where you need to be.
Conan: Yeah! It’s great. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, this record is great. It’s awesome. Oxbow, Thin Black Duke, Cold Well-Lit Place, #1 record of 2017, Protonic Reversal.
This is how it go:
Conan: #1 record of 2017, for me. Mr. Conan Neutron
Josh: There we go, that’s our lists.
Conan: That’s our lists, Go buy them records.
Josh: I gotta say, we are two people that listen to a lot of music and if we say these are the twenty records that worth your time first. Not the only twenty!
Conan: Not the only twenty, but definitely twenty that you absolutely need to pay attention to for sure.
Josh: We don’t go into this lightly, although we may go into the numbering lightly. We put some consideration into this and hopefully you all will get as much joy out of these records as we did.
Conan: Absolutely, and thank you for listening to the show, Thanks for caring that… we care?
Josh: Caring about our caringness?
Conan: Thanks for caring enough to listen to us talk about the music that meant so much to us in 2017. Anything else?
josh: Keep staying tuned in for… 2018?
Conan: 2018!
Josh: See what records happen then.
Conan: of course, and stay tuned to Protonic Reversal. Radioneutron.com for the archives, every week 8PM Eastern, 7PM Central, 6PM Mountain, 5 PM Pacific only on Radio NOPE!
Josh: Except for the times that we don’t do it then.
Conan: Except for the times that we don’t do it then.
Josh: Just like thiiiis.
Conan: exactly, catch you later.
