RECORD YEAR: GREAT MUSIC IN 2012
by Adam Perry for Boulder Weekly
12/27/2012
The state of original music in this country is wonderful. It could be argued that, although corporate-owned mainstream radio has eschewed what’s clearly good, honest music, for what will sell (and what’s released by labels owned by the aforementioned corporations), we are currently able to enjoy more great original music than ever before. It’s just a little harder to find it.
Which brings me to an apology. I’m sorry for kicking off my fifth annual “Best Albums of the Year” column for Boulder Weekly with a complaint, but “12-12-12,” aka Concert for Sandy, really got my blood boiling.
Sure, a benefit concert of any kind is good news. But I’d love to know why the organizers of “12-12-12” chose to stage a concert in New York City, centered around raising awareness and money for the effects of a hurricane that hit New York and New Jersey, with not one band from New York or one formed in the last 20 years. Heck, most of the acts were sexagenarian Englishmen.
Point is: Respect the old, but at least give the new a chance. And don’t look at video of 68-year-old Roger Daltrey singing shirtless at “12-12-12,” making us all feel like we’d just accidentally walked in on our grandfathers showering.
I hear a lot of people, young and old, lamenting rather than listening. Saying “There’s no great music anymore. It’s all been done.” Bullshit. There is something exciting for every kind of ear. So for the fifth year in a row, I’ve done a lot of research for the lazy kind of ear that complains but doesn’t seek. Here, in no particular order, are 10 remarkable new albums from 2012 worth digging into.
Adam Perry 