Our annual top ten lists by your hard working knowledgeable fun and talented Disc Jockeys of KBOO! These are listed by the order in which they were turned in, so make sure to keep checking back, as we add more lists to the list! Happy New Year!
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Jamillah, host of Guess Who's Coming To Radio, Every Other Thursday 8-10pm
1. robert glasper experiment- black radio (blue note)
2. vijay ayer- accelerando (ACT)
3. meshell ndegeocello- Pour Une Âme Souveraine (naive)
4. the central park 5- (ken burns and sarah burns and david mc mahon) (sundance selects/florentine films)
5. georgia anne muldrow- seeds (some otha ship connect)
6. esperanza spalding- radio music society (heads up international)
7. sy smith- fast and curious (psyko!)
8. michael jackson- bad 25 (MJJ productions/epic legacy)
9. khari cabral- clementine sun (koch)
10. hiatus kaiyote- tawk tomahawk
11. little shop of horrors (director's cut)- dir. frank oz (geffen/warner bros.)
SHAMON!
Jack “ I host Pastures of Plenty but I like all kinds of music” Bohl's Top Ten
Pastures of Plenty airs Wednesdays 5:30 am -7am
1.Chuck Prophet- Temple Beautiful
San Francisco rocker pays homage to his home with local character’s stories set to brilliant 1970s inspired indie flavored guitar rock.
2.Jonathan Wilson- Gentle Spirit (2011)
Another 1970s inspired album featuring mostly mellow pastoral/hippie anthems I find oddly compelling
3.Laura Gibson- La Grande
Portland fragile voiced singer songwriter gets assertive and even occasionally rocks with great Portland musicians and unique arrangements
4.Bonnie Raitt- Slipstream
Return to form featuring rocking songs with her terrific road band (my favorites) and Joe Henry produced slower songs with terrific studio musicians
5.Lloyd Jones Struggle- Doing What It Takes
Portland blues guitarist still has a top-notch band with horns and Hammond B3- and he’s still one of the best blues songwriters
6.Blackie & the Rodeo Kings- Kings & Queens (2011)
Typically terrific outing by Canadian rock supergroup, featuring duets with great female singers
7.Ruthie Foster- Let It Burn
I heard two songs from this while in Music Millennium and was hooked. Terrific band and soulful arrangements of 1970s classics and originals
8.Shook Twins- Window (2011)
Portland Identical twins blend genetically fused harmonies and rootsy accompaniments into self- proclaimed quirky folk
9.Boy & Bear- Moonfire (2011)
Catchy Australian folk-pop, kind of a more rocking Fleet Foxes
10.Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer- Little Blue Egg
Tracy discovered a box of tapes of songs recorded at their Portland home that yielded these gems of their “post-modern mythic American music”. The 5 song ”Joy My Love” companion CD of songs from that same box of tapes is even better.
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Andy Hosch, Africa O-Yé - 10 excellent African/World Music 2012 releases
Africa O-Yé - Thursday 2pm - 4pm
I'm not going to try to rank these selections, but here are 10 great new albums
which came into the KBOO music library during 2012 [labels in brackets]
• v/a: "Bambara Mystic Soul: The Raw Sound of Burkina Faso 1974-1979" [Analog
Africa]
• v/a: "Subway Salsa: The Montuno Records Story" [Vampi Soul]
• Antibalas (NYC) / "Antibalas" [Daptone]
• Orchestre Super Borgou de Parakou (Benin) / "The Bariba Sound 1970-1976"
[Analog Africa]
• Koo Nimo (Ghana) / "Highlife Roots Revival" [Riverboat]
• Sidi Toure / "Koima" [Thrill Jockey]
• Krar Collective / Ethiopia Super Krar [Riverboat]
• Arnaldo Antunes, Edgard Scandurra & Toumani Diabaté / "A curva da cintura"
[Mais Um Discos]
• Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars / Radio Salone [Cumbancha]
• Amadou & Mariam (Mali)/ "Folila" [Nonesuch]
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Don Jacobson – Host of Movin' On (Second and Fourth Fridays, 12 noon to 1:30 pm) Africa O'Ye
(Fifth Thursdays, 2 to 4 pm) Pastures Of Plenty (Fifth Wednesdays 5:30 - 7:00 am)
Ten?
Jody Stecher: WONDERS & SIGNS [Self]
(VA) PORTLAND FOLK [Portland Folkmusic Society]
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen: HOME BY DARK [Compass Rose]
Carolina Chocolate Drops: LEAVING EDEN [Nonesuch]
Stan Rogers : BETWEEN THE BREAKS...LIVE! [Borealis]
Maria Dunn: PIECE BY PIECE [Distant Whisper]
Stefan Grossman: COUNTRY BLUES GUITAR [Stefan Grossman Guitar Workshop]
Foghorn Stringband: OUTSHINE THE SUN [Self]
Paddy O'Brien: MIXING THE PUNCH [New Folk]
Folk City: AMERICANA [Self]
Carolina Chocolate Drops: LEAVING EDEN [Nonesuch]
Pete Seeger and Friends: PETE REMEMBERS WOODY [Appleseed]
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DJ Sesqui - Hosts Astral Traveling twice a month Sundays 6:30 - 8pm
Top 10 2012
1."Light On The Water" - Selah feat. Edith Hill
2.."Tokuta" - Jungle Fire
3."Guaguanco In Japan" - Jose "Chepito" Areas
4."Love Come Down" - Barry Biggs
5."Rencontre" - Georges Thurston
6."Safety Hertz" - Sam IrI
7."Coisa No.1" - Baden Powell w/ Jimmy Pratt
8."Second Hand Love" - Bob Andy
9."Hieroglyphics" (Tall Black Guy Remix" - Maylee Todd
10."Esubiri Ebo Mi" -King Sunny Ade
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PDX BioLogic – Hosts The Soundbox every other Saturday 10pm - Midnight
10 LPs for 2012 - not in any order - but stuff released in 2012 that I played on The Soundbox. This doesn't count reissues, singles, or other old mixes that I unearthed in 2012. It would take a long time to rank pre-2012 music that I played a LOT in 2012.....that is a list unto itself.
And I am still thinking on my top 10 songs of 2012. So while I'm thinking of that... here are my favorite 2012 album releases that stayed in my Soundbox playlist, in my headphones, in my house speakers, in my car. Again, NOT IN ORDER.
1.Channel Orange - Frank Ocean
2.Vodka & Ayahuasca - Gangrene
3.Russian Roulette - The Alchemist
4.Ohnomite - Oh No
5.Bite Marked Heart (ep) - Brother Ali <it moved me enough that I listed his ep over his lp he released this year>
6.Good Kid M.A.A.D. City - Kendrick Lemar
7.Key To The Kuffs - JJ DOOM
8.R.A.P. Music - Killer Mike
9.awE naturalE - Thee Satisfaction
10.The Heist - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
* XXX - Danny Brown (This was released late 2011 - but I didn't get the vinyl until 2012, and I've been playing the hell out of it all year)
*Life Is Good - Nas (amazing work by a veteran favorite of mine. Almost unfair to give a top 10 spot to Nas. He's a given with me. So i chose to make room for Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.)
Erin Yanke – Host Life During Wartime Wed 11pm – 1am Top Ten-ish, Alphabetical Order
ATENTADO - Dias de Rabia – Mini LP – La Vida En Es Mus. Described as a “Radical Hardcore Assault”, raw, straightforward, and ragin full on! Yes, that is a lady vocalist, maybe she is in a cave with all the echo, maybe not. It works.
BIMARKS – The Golden Years LP - Mata La Musica Disco
Maybe I was full of rage this year, or just had a fierce need for catharsis, what with all this hardcore on the list. Bimarks do it almost the best (The Best: Lebenden Toten), the ferociousness is not fake, and yes, someone will get hurt. Such is life.
CYCLOPS-Eye Can’t Take It 7” - Johnny Cat Records
They're from Cyclops Island, and sing songs like “I Have One Eye”. Johnny Cakes can Do No Wrong.
FROZEN TEENS - Self Titled LP – Do Ya Hear We?
We were on tour, and played with them at a wild house show in Minneapols. We got the demo, and wore out the tape in Idaho. So stoked on this full length, continuing to rock and rule, capturing the timeless catchiness and despair of Minneapolis like Husker Du, Dragnet, and others before.
NEEDLES - Desesperación 7" – Iron Lung Records
This just came out on December 15th, and is incredible! Harsh and deep and will make you totally freak out. Thrilled! I have waited all year for a song like “Truth”.
NEON PISS – Self Titled LP – Deranged Records
I lost my adjectives for this kind of record about 10 years ago, which is to say I love it and it's catchy and sticks with you, and it's totally just punk, without subgenres, or cliques. Also: political, kind of accessible, deep, interesting, and sticks in your head like nothing else. Amazing live band, especially at Fuckits.
REPLICA – Demo – Self Released
The 5 song demo blew my mind, as did their live performances, one which was lucky enough to be broadcast on KBOO! Thoughtful and cool people destroying generic hardcore, with joy! We are so lucky to be in on it.
SHEARING PINX-Night Danger LP - Divorce
Awesome weirdo punk. Lots going on, deep, dark, and good bad, not evil.
SICKOIDS – Self Titled LP - Residue
I fell for this record as a perfect example of the kind of hardcore that I found right after the hardcore I grew up with. This is cathartic, tough but not macho, and mixes it up enough to feel familiar and then throw you off right when it counts.
TY SEGALL BAND – Slaughterhouse LP – In The Red
Ty spent this year releasing more records than I could keep up with, so maybe there's a better one, but this is good enough for me. Fuzz and Howl under the influence of heat. The song “Slaughterhouse” rules. “Muscle Man” and “Mary Anne” tie for my next favorite.
TOTAL CONTROL – Henge Beat LP – Iron Lung Records
"Taking pills to remember to take pills to forget." Creepy songs, trippy songs, post punk dance numbers, the whole shebang is amazing. I love this record so much! (This is where I sneak in an honorable mention for the EDDY CURRANT SUPRESSION RING Double LP that also came out this year... also great current Australians, but you probably already know about them).
Rolf Semprebon - Sounds Unsound top ten list for 2012 Sound Unsound, very other Sunday Morning Midnight -3am
Ask me three weeks from now and I'd probably have a completely different list.. Almost all these albums had several cuts aired on the show.. ..
10. Reines D'Angleterre - Globe et Dynastie (Bo'Weavil)
9. Motion Sickness of Time Travel - self titled (Spectum Spools)
8. Maximin Berangere - No One Is an Island (Sub Rosa)
7. Lau Nau - Valohiukkanen (Fonal)
6. Nurse With Wound/Graham Bowers - Rupture (Dirter)
5. The Gray Field Recordings - Nature Desires Nature (Reverb Worship)
4. Neneh Cherry & the Thing - The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound)
3. Alamaailman Vasarat - Valta (Nordic Notes)
2. Volcano the Bear - Golden Rhythm/Ink Music (Rune Grammofon)
1. Neung Phak - 2 (Abduction)
And here are nearly a dozen other releases that could have been on this list, since it's really hard to whittle things down to 10....
Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Bum Bum (Alien Transistor)
The Brothers Unconnected - Unrock the House (Unrock)
Can - The Lost Tapes (Mute)
Philip Kelan Cohran/The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble - self titled (Honest Jon's)
Group 1850 - Mother No-Head:Their 45s (Pseudonym)
Andrew Liles - Schmetaling Monster of Rock (Dirter)
Pauline Olvierios - Reverberations (Important)
Plvs Vltra - Parthenon (Spectrum Spools)
Sabbath Assembly - Ye Are Gods (Svart)
Soap&Skin - Narrow (Play It Again Sam)
X-TG - Desertshore/The Final Report (Industrial)
Rich of Portland General Eclectic Airs Monday Morning 3:00 - 5:30am
Top 10 of 2012
1. Jimmy Cliff - Rebirth. Produced by Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy), the 64 year old Cliff knocks it out of the park. His voice has never sounded better as it soars and croons through 13 songs ranging from autobiographical to political.
2. Chuck Leavell - Back To The Woods. Longtime sideman (Allmans, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton) steps into the spotlight, pays tribute to the blues, gets nominated for a Grammy.
3. Dr John - Locked Down. Produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys and has his band's trademark dirty, crunchy sound. A chunky, spicy gumbo.
4. Mickey Hart - Mysterium Tremendum. The Dead's percussion master tapped into the rhythms of the universe, then wrote songs to them. You could listen to the album in the time it would take him to explain how he did this.
5. The Pines - Dark So Gold. Atmospheric Americana at it's finest from these Midwesterners. A hypnotic slow burn.
6. Jerry Joseph & The Jackmormons - Happy Book. Most solid studio release yet from this longtime local stalwart and his trio. Best local release of the year.
7. Lymbyc Systym - Symbolyst. Tough to categorize, joyous to listen to. Percussive, ambient, jazzy,.eclectic. A massive step forward for this band.
8. moe. - What Happened To The La Las?. A very well realized and consistent jam rock studio album from this Buffalo, NY quintet. Really not as easy a trick to pull off as it sounds.
9. Victor Wooten. Sword And Stone/Words And Tones. The Flecktones' bass maestro's twin CD's are two sides of one groovy, funky coin. An album so nice, he made it twice.
10. Dangermuffin - Olly Oxen Free. - The fourth CD from these SC road warriors, and easily their best. Tuneful, jammy, with warm vocals and hum along hooks.