Music in Movies: A Fraternal Affair

“Music is the soundtrack to the crappy movie that is my life.”

-Chris Rock

If your life was a movie, what songs would you use for the soundtrack? Would you stick to a more classical Hollywood style where character dialogue is the foreground, or would you go for a more poetic approach, using the musical lyric to drive your (arguably) captivating narrative? For the music lover, this question can be extremely difficult to answer and narrow down a proper list of fifteen or so songs. That being said, this question gives light to the weight that music has in film. Soundtracks are inevitably essential to most movies and I argue often act not as a sibling, but as a twin, reflecting an identical image of a screenplay through the musical form.

As a part of our attempt to be more cultured last summer, my older brother and I embarked on a quest to watch all twenty-three James Bond movies in order from 1962’s Dr. No to 2012’s Skyfall. Talk about sibling “bonding.” Puns aside, we found that the Bond theme songs, as well as other action movies such as the Bourne trilogy, often have a reoccurring motif in its movie soundtrack that reflects and enhances the “feel” or the mood of the film. However, these examples clearly aren’t the only films that have such an ample musical impression. In any genre, if observed, one can often find a direct correlation between a film’s soundtrack to its particular theme/message. Although this correlation can be ambiguous, the role that music plays in movies is nothing short of substantial.

But what about the movies that don’t have a soundtrack-driven/backed storyline? With documentaries and movies that scarcely use pieces of music, the essence of the music being used is heightened. These songs are used to enhance our watching experience and are thus imprinted into our minds, triggering a specific response to the pictures expressed on screen. I will never forget the graphic images that accompany Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” in Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling For Columbine that finishes with the lasting line “…oh yeah” while footage of the second plane hitting the twin towers in New York City rolls like a  eerie nightmare (link to scene at bottom of post). Likewise I will never forget the haunting climax in the 2010 French drama Of Gods and Men where Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite booms from a radio over the Trappist monk’s symbolic supper, serving as the only track for the film’s soundtrack (link to scene at bottom of post). Both these scenes are memorable because of the essence of the music; the irony and the melancholy of the relationship between the songs used and the footage on the screen promotes a genuine and extraordinary emotional reaction.

Then of course are the movies that are soundtrack-driven. Take the 2011 silent film The Artist, whose Ludovic Bource soundtrack, not the brilliant acting of Jean Dujardin, I think should be credited as the most substantial reason for its success and Best Picture Academy Award (see example in link at bottom of post). One of my favorite movies and genres, The Artist, and most classic silent films are treasured because of their great acting, but I argue that when you take out the soundtrack, you lose 75% of the emotion. Ultimately, you lose the film itself.

Now I don’t want to take away credit from those interpreting the screenplays, but I will say the really good actors are those that don’t need a soundtrack. One of my personal favorite actors of all-time, Daniel Day Lewis, is one of them. What I find are some of his best acted scenes, the “poor little rabbit” scene from Gangs of New York, the “Daniel vs Eli” scene from There Will Be Blood and the “immense power” scene from Lincoln, all are portrayed without music (links at bottom of post). It’s acting in its purest form. It’s beautiful. It’s poetry. Of Gods and Men, a film I referenced earlier in regards to its use of the Swan Lake Suite, doesn’t have music in the rest of its 122 minute length, and it’s an absolutely astounding film (and one of my favorites), winning the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Moreover, you don’t always need a great soundtrack to make a great film, but I think it certainly helps. A look at the list of Best Picture winners is a look at most of the greatest movie themes/soundtracks in history. So what happens when Speilburg is without Williams? Jackson without Shore? Nolan without Zimmer? Abrahms without Giacchino? Lord knows what would've occurred if they didn't collaborate.

But I’m sure glad they did.

Links:
BFC: Wonderful World: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imOU9SK_q0I

OGAM: Swan Lake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrYLJzA1eNs

The Artist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vipC25SWI6U

Daniel Day Lewis:
Poor Little Rabbit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrkw1UgX3q0
Daniel vs Eli: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UejQlR-P9E

Immense Power: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zym58tsKmbI

My Top Ten Favorite Movie Soundtracks:

1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King – Howard Shore

2. Forrest Gump – Various Artists

3. O Brother Where Art Thou – Various Artists

4. Once – Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová

5.  I’m Not There – Various Artists

6. Into the Wild – Eddie Vedder

7. The Artist – Ludovic Bource

8. Hugo – Howard Shore 

9. Pulp Fiction – Various Artists

10. Wonder Boys – Various Artists

Honorable Mention:
Mean Streets - Various Artists, The Graduate - Various Artists, The Departed - Various Artists

My Top Ten Favorite Original Movie Themes/Songs:

1. Raiders March (Raiders of the Lost Ark)– John Williams

2. Everything else by John Williams. Seriously. Everything.

3. Falling Slowly (Once) – Glen Hansard

4. The entirety of the Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit soundtracks –Howard Shore

5. Fare Thee Well (Inside Llewyn Davis) –Marcus Mumford & Oscar Isaac

6. Live and Let Die (Live and Let Die) – Paul McCartney

7. Time (Inception) – Hans Zimmer

8. The Magnificent Seven (The Magnificent Seven) - Elmer Bernstein

9. Things Have Changed (Wonder Boys) – Bob Dylan

10. Society (Into the Wild) – Eddie Vedder

Honorable Mention:
Streets of Philadelphia (Streets of Philadelphia) - Bruce Springsteen, Lose Yourself (8 Mile) - Eminem, Goldfinger (Goldfinger) - Shirley Bassey, As Time Goes By (Casablanca) - Dooley Wilson

Top 12 Albums of 2012: The Final Four

Written below are the final four albums on my "Top 12 of 2012" list. Because I also include selections for honorable mention, other notable albums and my personal favorites of the year, my reviews on the last four are not as long as the first eight. Hope you enjoy!-B.B.

-Due to the various musical genres/backgrounds of these selections, the following are not ranked in any specific order-

Blunderbuss-Jack White

Genre: Rock

Regarded as one of the best guitarists in twenty-first century music, Jack White delivers in Blunderbuss, his first solo-album since the official dissolving of The White Stripes in early 2011. Well known for his unique ability to craft songs of various styles and thick lyrics, White displays a wide collection of sounds in Blunderbuss that range from garage rock, to blues and folk.  Recently divorced, White’s songs are mostly about collapsing relationships, and his lyrics are displayed in a direct and sometimes hysterical (see track “Trash Tonque Talker”) manner. The album isn't repetitive or simple; Blunderbuss has a very distinct and special blend of complex melodies and reflective lyrics. Overall, this is a monster start for what should be a prominent solo career for Jack White.

Notable Tracks: “Love Interuption,” “Sixteen Saltines,” “Freedom at 21,” “I’m Shakin’”

Other Notes:

-Rolling Stone named Blunderbuss the third best album of 2012

The Carpenter-The Avett Brothers

Genre: Folk Rock

In The Avett Brothers' first studio album release since 2009’s I And Love And You, The Carpenter is not only one of the year’s best albums, but sheer proof of why this band is one of the best Folk Rock bands of the past decade. Tracks “The Once and Future Carpenter” and “Live and Die” are both the first two songs, and the hits of The Carpenter, and they show the Avett’s tapping into the folk roots of their earliest albums. Scott and Seth Avett’s lyrics are pleasant as ever and provide substantial beef for the album’s theme of balancing life and death. Brilliantly simple, The Carpenter is a folky favorite and easily one of the most important records of the year.

Notable tracks: “The Once and Future Carpenter,” “Live and Die,” “Winter in My Heart,” “Pretty Girl from Michigan,” “Through My Prayers,” “Life”

Other Notes:

-The Carpenter was listed at number forty-one on Rolling Stones’s top 50 albums of 2012

good kid, m.A.A.d city-Kendrick Lamar

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Arguably the best Hip-Hop/Rap album of the year,  good kid… shows raw precision by Kendrick Lamar in his third career (of three years) studio record. Kendrick Lamar plays himself as a 17-year-old teenager in album and writes thoughts on driving around Los Angeles in his mother’s caravan with his gang-affiliated “homies.” This narrative is the mainstay throughout the record and it accentuates a sense of excitement, shedding light on a personal side of the talented wordsmith. Using this story-line for his album and then using vivid lyricism to execute street-life themes is what makes Kendrick Lamar’s album a standout in 2012.

Notable Tracks: “Poetic Justice,” “Backseat Freestyle,” “The Art of Peer Pressure,” “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” “Real,” “Compton”

Other Notes:

-good kid… was the best selling debut from a male artist in 2012

-good kid…  was named the best album of the year by BBC, Complex, Fact, New York and Pitchfork Media

-good kid… was ranked as the second best album of the year by Billboard, the Chicago Tribune, MTV, Spin, and Time

-good kid… is listed at number six on Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of 2012

Rhythm and Repose- Glen Hansard

Genre: Folk

Hauntingly emotional. That’s what first came to mind upon listening to Glen Hansard’s newest album Rhythm and Repose. It’s a superb solo outing for the Irishman, where he explores serious melancholic rumination. But Rhythm and Repose does show resolve, most notably with the ending hollers in “High Hope” and desperate cries in “Bird of Sorrow.” Collectively, Rhythm and Repose is the most emotional album of the year, and a staple in Glen Hansards ever popular discography.  Glen Hansard’s music is tormenting in the record, and his passionate pleas of love help him burst into the best of 2012 category.

Notable Tracks: “You Will Become,” “Maybe Not Tonight,” “High Hope,” “Bird of Sorrow,” “Song of Good Hope,” “Come Away to the Water”

Other Notes:

-Track 12, “Come Away to the Water” was covered by Maroon 5 and used in the Hunger Games movie soundtrack

2012 Honorable Mention:

Europe- Allo Darlin’

Celebration Rock-Japandroids

The Haunted Man-Bat For Lashes

The Only Place-Best Coast

Away From The World-Dave Matthews Band

Blak And Blu­-Gary Clark Jr.

Shields-Grizzly Bear

My Head Is An Animal­-Of Monsters And Men

Rebirth-Jimmy Cliff

Old Ideas-Leonard Cohen

Other Notable Albums of 2012:
Allen Stone-Allen Stone

!Uno!-Green Day

Psychedelic Pill-Neil Young

Life is Good-Nas

Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now-Justin Townes Earle

Some Nights- Fun.

Night Visions­-Imagine Dragons

Gossamer-Passion Pit

Attack on Memory-Cloud Nothings

Boys And Girls-Alabama Shakes

An Awesome Wave-alt-J

The Lion The Beast The Beat-Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Signs and Signifiers-JD Mcpherson

The Lion’s Roar-First Aid Kit

Blown Away-Carrie Underwood

Hard 2 Love-Lee Brice

Punching Bag-Josh Turner

Night Train-Jason Aldean

Dustin Lynch-Dustin Lynch

Welcome to the Fishbowl-Kenny Chesney

Uncaged- Zac Brown Band

Alive at the Vanguard-Fred Hersch Trio

Hot House-Chick Corea & Gary Burton

Blue Moon-Ahmad Jamal

Unity Band-Pat Metheny

Magic Triangle/Leap of Faith-Dave Douglas

Comme Ci Comme Ca-Fred Wesley

Locked Down-Dr. John

R.A.P. Music-Killer Mike

­Sun-Cat Power

Django Django-Django Django

My Personal Favorite 12 Albums of 2012:

-The following are ranked in regards to what I liked best from 2012-

1. Babel-Mumford & Sons

2. The Carpenter­-The Avett Brothers

3. There’s No Leaving Now-The Tallest Man on Earth

4. The Lumineers-The Lumineers

5. Boys & Girls-Alabama Shakes

6. Break it Yourself-Andrew Bird

7. Here-Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes

8. Wrecking Ball-Bruce Springsteen

9. Young Love-Mat Kearney

10. Away From the World-Dave Matthews Band

11. Older Than My Old Man Now-Loudon Wainwright III

12. The 2^nd Law-Muse

Favorites Honorable Mention:

The Sound Of the Life of the Mind-Ben Folds Five

The Lion The Beast The Beat-Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Early in the Morning-James Vincent McMorrow

Born and Raised-John Mayer

Rhythm and Response-Glen Hansard

Spirit Family Reunion-Spirit Family Reunion

Port Of Morrow-The Shins

The Lion’s Roar-First Aid Kit

Home Again- Michael Kiwanuka

The Burgh Island EP-Ben Howard

In the Open EP-Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Psychedelic Pill-Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Blak And Blu-Gary Clark Jr.

Dustin Lynch-Dustin Lynch

Blue Moon-Ahmad Jamal

Best Friends-Ladyhips

Comme Ci Comme Ca-Fred Wesley

Blunderbuss-Jack White

Top 12 Albums of 2012: The Middle Four

-Due to the various musical genres/backgrounds of these selections, the following are not ranked in any specific order-

The 2^nd Law-Muse

Genre: Progressive Rock

With the release of The 2^nd Law, not only does Muse display one of their most impressive studio-album performances in their 18 year existence, but gives 2012 a gem of an album. Often compared to the likes of Radiohead and Queen, Muse paves new paths in The 2^nd Law that still show the band’s raw eclectic experimentation, while presenting refined hints of U2 to yes, even dubstep. With their sixth studio album, the English trio of Matthew Bellamy (guitars, vocals), Chris Wolstenholme (bass) and Dominic Howard (drums) show the band is still truly undefinable. My definition? Ridiculous, wild but mainly enchanted progressive rock, where the musicians are talented enough to sound like three totally different bands in one thirteen track album. The main theme and title of The 2^nd Law derives from a discussion between economists on a BBC show that Bellamy watched last summer. Referring to the second law of thermodynamics, in which the laws of physics state that an economy based on endless growth is unsustainable, The 2^nd Law touches on society’s neglect for the maxing out of the world in which we live (see tracks “Survival” and “Explorers” for direct example this theme). Overall, The 2^nd Law is as impressive as it is sporadic. Packed with powerful bombshells, catchy melodies and reflective wisps, The 2^nd Law is an undeniably significant record of 2012. 

Notable Tracks:”Supremecy,” “Madness,” “Panic Station,” “Survival,” “Animals,” “Explorers”

Other Notes:

-The 2^nd Law is listed at number forty six on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 50 albums of 2012

Babel-Mumford & Sons

Genre: (Arena) Folk Rock

Mumford & Sons' deliver yet another alluringly bombastic performance for folkies and music lovers alike with their sophomore record Babel, in which the talented Englishmen yet again prove why they're one of the best live bands around. While it follows suit in the americana spirit of their well-received debut in Sigh No More, Babel has a fuller sound than their previous record, as the band includes a horn section and the fiddle playing of Ross Holmes, who has most famously worked with Texas bluegrass band Cadillac Sky. The bigger sound coincides with the band's passion for live music, in which it seems they have almost created a new genre dubbed "Arena Folk." They recorded most of the tracks on the album live, and all four band members play multiple instruments on the record, proof of their dynamic musicianship*. Front man Marcus Mumford crafts elegant lyrics, which include everything from bold biblical allegories to internal grapplings, interweaving ideas of great literature (the band has admitted to taking a line from Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall) and his clever mind along the way. While “I Will Wait” is their catchy crowd pleaser, the likes of “Whispers in the Dark” and “Below My Feet” provide insightful and vivid reflections that all can learn to appreciate. Nonetheless, every track on Babel has some kind of profound statement to make, and with banjo in hand, the bearded crew pulls it off with fiery style and genuine passion. While Mumford & Sons have been reported as planning to change their sound for the future**, there’s no question that Babel's sound stands out in 2012.

Notable Tracks: All of them. Kidding (not really). “Lover of the Light,” “Whispers in the Dark,” “Ghosts that We Knew,” “Hopeless Wanderer,” “Below My Feet,” “Broken Crown,” “Not With Haste”

Other Notes:

-Babel was ranked number eleven on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 50 albums of 2012

-Babel was nominated Album of the Year for the Grammys

*Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, ukulele, mandolin), Ted Dwane (bass, vocals, guitars, drums, percussion), Ben Lovett (piano, vocals, keys, accordion, harmonium, drums, percussion), Winston Marshall (banjo, vocals, guitar, mandolin, dobro, bass)

**http://www.gigwise.com/news/78516/mumford-&-sons-to-swap-folk-for-synths-on-third-album

Bloom-Beach House

Genre: Dream Pop

Beach House’s newest album Bloom, while one of the most blogged about records of the year, is also one of the year’s best. Incredibly cohesive, consistent and original, the duo of Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand provide a fresh indie sound that hits you like a feather and stings like ice. It’s a sound of smoked tainted scarves, hand-me-down pearls and second-hand shoes. To put it simply, Bloom is a hipster goldmine. At least until it’s cool. But, in accordance with its genre, Bloom does indeed have charm, and plenty of it. Certainly enough to crack the top 12 anyway. Beach House’s newest album’s strength is in its storytelling. Bloom incorporates strong elements of nostalgia and it toys with ideas of stagnant youth and the bittersweet deposits that remain once it’s gone. For example, the track “Wild” explores an adolescent look on broken families, while in “Myth,” Legrand asks “What comes after this momentary bliss?” Overall, while on paper Bloom may not have the look of an in-season flower, Legrand and Scally illuminate the heavy words into songs of an infinite universe and ultimately, create one of the best records of the year.

Notable Tracks: “Myth,” “Wild,” “Lazuli,” “Other People,” “Wild”

Other Notes:

-Pitchfork Media ranked Bloom as number seven on its list of the top 50 albums of 2012

-Bloom was number twenty-eight on Rolling Stone’s list of the top 50 albums of 2012

-Rolling Stone named the track “Other People” as the nineteenth best song of 2012

Tempest-Bob Dylan

Genre: Folk Rock

My second legend on my top 12, Bob Dylan, at age 71, released his 35^th album of his career with Tempest, and it can be described as his darkest yet. I admit, as his voice has gotten grungier, and his personality even stranger, I was quick to dismiss Tempest as a record worth listening to this year. But after a few listens, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Dylan’s latest record. The album starts with “Duquesne Whistle,” an evoking of the gospel legend bound for glory where he uses a metaphor for what is deepest and securest internally to him. The tune, which he co-wrote with Robert Hunter, amazingly shows what has been so vividly evident in Dylan’s music over years: making vast expressions through a simple sound. The album in general is a selection of religious songs, all written by Dylan (with the exception of the aforementioned “Duquesne Whistle”), and what Dylan has described as a record where “anything goes and you just gotta believe it will make sense.” The result is pure Dylan lyrical brilliance. You chuckle at laughable descriptions but ponder his eloquent wordplay and allegories. The final track of the album “Roll On, John” serves a powerful tribute to John Lennon, but also is a reminder that Dylan is one of the last of the great songwriters of the ‘60s. And as his final act rolls on, Tempest is impossible to ignore as yet another great example of the prodigious songwriting of Bob Dylan.  

Notable Tracks: :”Duquesne Whistle,” “Tin Angel,” “Pay in Blood,” “Tempest,” “Roll On, John”

Other notes:

-Rolling Stone named it the number four album of 2012

-The Track “Pay in Blood” was named the ninth best song of 2012 by Rolling Stone

Top 12 Albums of 2012: The First Four

Here is the first installment of my three-part blog series of what I perceive to be the Top 12 Albums of 2012 and why I chose them. While some of these are actually not my favorite records of the year, I chose these albums based on the criteria of their importance to their genre, their impact on today's music as whole and finally their popularity in major music critic sources and the common population. Nevertheless, I spent hours listening to and debating over 2,000 songs from various records of all genres released in 2012 to compile this list. As it was a challenge to choose the top 12 albums from well over 100 albums, on January 1st, when I publish my final four selections, I will also include a list of other notable albums released in 2012 as well as state my personal favorites of the year. Enjoy!-B.B.

-Due to the various musical genres/backgrounds of these selections, the following are not ranked in any specific order-

Wrecking Ball-Bruce Springsteen

Genre: Rock

It is vividly evident in music throughout the past century that some of the best albums ever recorded were driven by rage with the plummeting of societal and political morality. As Springsteen’s political awareness blossomed in the early ‘80s, most notably of course with his records Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A., the inclusion of his political/societal frustrations in his music certainly hasn’t been missing since, found most recently in his post-9/11 healing sentiments in The Rising (2002). However, never has Springsteen released such a pained, angry and musically tempestuous record as 2012’s Wrecking Ball. Perhaps inspired by his folk cover filled 2006 record We Shall Overcome:The Seeger Sessions, Springsteen delivers a well-crafted selection of accusing and irate protest songs in response to America’s ever-growing greed, corruption and hypocrisy. From the muddy chain-gang working class march in “Shackled and Drawn”, to the fiery congressional indictments in “Death to My Hometown”, Wrecking Ball is an anthem for economic justice, and in its election year release, an honest political album. Musically, Wrecking Ball is classic Springsteen rock-and-roll, loaded with startling textures (including elements of folk-rock and Irish rebel music) and backed by the massive punch of the E Street Band.  Arguably the best record Springsteen has released in thirty years, Wrecking Ball is Bruce at his finest and a true staple in his legendary discography. Wrecking Ball makes it clear that even at age 63, Bruce is still boss.

Notable Tracks: “We Take Care of Our Own”, “Shackled and Drawn”, “Death To My Hometown”, “Wrecking Ball”, “Land of Hope and Dreams”, “American Land”

Other notes:

-Rolling Stone named Wrecking Ball as the number one album of 2012

-Wrecking Ball was nominated for one Grammy (Best Rock Album)

-Track 1, “We Take Care of Our Own”, was nominated for two Grammys (Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song) and was used heavily by President Barrack Obama during his campaign

-The tracks in Wrecking Ball will most likely be the final recordings of saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who died in June of 2011.

Here-Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes

Genre: Folk-Rock

One of the most peculiar bands of today (if you have seen them live or have seen videos, you’ll understand), Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes have only improved since their 2009 debut record Up From Below. Here reiterates the band’s hippy belief in communal love, but don’t be fooled, the themes in the record go much deeper than Woodstock openness and kumbaya optimism. See “I Don't Wanna Pray,” where front-man Alex Ebert recognizes a creator that he doesn't feel indebted to while simultaneously acknowledging a strong fondness for. The record is full of excessive ideas on love and religious imagery, a fact that may show why the album was overlooked and dismissed by many critics. Nevertheless, Ebert & co create a refreshingly mellow folk-rock sound in Here that takes the listener on a dazed trip to a campfire in the’60s.  And yet, one cannot contend that with its beautifully crafted melodies, insightful lyrics, graceful musicianship, and yes, even the intellect of Manson bearded Alex Ebert, Here ranks high in 2012’s most noteworthy releases.

Notable Tracks: “All Wash Out,” “Man on Fire,” “I Don’t Want to Pray,” “That’s What’s Up”

Other notes:

-Ranked #7 on Rolling Stone magazine’s best albums of 2012


The Idler Wheel Is Wiser The Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do-Fiona Apple
Genre: Alternative
Easily recognized as having the longest album name to receive serious attention this year, The Idler Wheel... is without doubt Fiona Apple's best record in her fifteen year career. One of the highest rated albums of the year from nearly every major music critic source, The Idler Wheel... is also Apple's most revealing album. Born into a family of show business (her parents are singers/actors and her sister is a cabaret singer in New York) and challenged with being raped as a 12 year old, suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder and heavy drinking, Apple explores everything from first love, to hopeless love, to desolate love in her newest release. This album certainly isn't one you can like upon first listen. Entirely acoustic, The Idler Wheel... requires serious dissecting of the twisted lyrical and musical construction before the listener can truly appreciate the record's value. Its complexity nonetheless is what makes this record so creepily stunning. Her genius is even incorporated in the title: An idler wheel is the part of an engine that's connected to all the other parts but doesn't actually propel anything (thank you, Wikipedia), showing a metaphor for those who may seem like they're doing nothing when they're actually feeling everything at once. Likewise, whipping cord is used to repair fraying ship ropes, and as Apple states in an interview with the NY times* "If you're going to use the rope-if you're going to live-it's going to get frayed." Vocally dramatic, spacious and majestically unstable, Fiona Apple crafts pure brilliance in The Idler Wheel... and her masterpiece has thrust her musical status into categories of critically acclaimed and well-respected.

Other Notes:

-The Idler Wheel… was nominated for one Grammy (Best Alternative Album)

-The Idler Wheel… was named the best album of 2012 by Time Magazine, Stereogum, Spinner and NPR Music’s Fresh Air

-The Idler Wheel… was number five on Rolling Stone’s “Best Albums of 2012”

-Track 1, “Every Single Night” was ranked at number seven on American Songwriter’s “Top 50 Songs of 2012”

-Track 10, “Hot Knife,” ranked at number twelve in Rolling Stone’s “50 Best Songs of 2012” list

*http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/arts/music/fiona-apples-new-album-the-idler-wheel.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Channel Orange-Frank Ocean

Genre: R&B

Channel Orange, in its young age, is already a classic to many R&B listeners and can be argued as the best R&B record in the past decade. Frank Ocean develops a rare combination of smooth musical make-up with cunning lyrics that would even make Ottis Redding, Marvin Gaye and the greats proud. In its entirety, what makes Channel Orange so unique and yet so powerful is its substance. Frank Ocean by no means has the vocal elegance of present or past R&B legends, but his imaginative lyrical polish offsets any stylistic inadequacies. A victim of Hurricane Katrina, he speaks from experience, and delves into the mixed blessings of endless wealth and prosperity (see tracks “Sweet Life” and “Super Rich Kids”). It’s an album on which identity and ego fervently collide, rather than interweaving and moving forward as one. Ocean’s style is by no means a musical epiphany to the R&B scene, but Ocean’s matchless smoothness in Channel Orange is what makes it one of 2012’s best records.

Notable Tracks: “Thinkin About You,” “Pyramids,” “Super Rich Kids,” “Sweet Life,” “Lost”

Other Notes:

-Channel Orange earned several Grammy Nominations for 2013, including Album of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album, Best New Artist and Record of the Year (for “Thinkin About You”)

-Channel Orange won the Album of the Year award at the 2012 Soul Train Music Awards

-Channel Orange was named the best album of 2012 by The A.V. Club, Billboard and Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Paste among others

-Metacritic cites Channel Orange as both the “top-ranked” and “best-reviewed major album” of 2012, as well as “one of the best-reviewed albums of the past decade”