Look! Justin Hawkins of The Darkness had the faces of the members of Queen — as seen on the cover of their gayest album, Hot Space — tattooed on his fingers! Now that is dedication. Also, why is John Deacon missing an eye?
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Tame Impala, Lonerism
People who’ve taken a lot of psychedelics (raises hand) and listened to way too much music while lounging in a room lit only by a black light bulb will often talk about how certain albums sound like they were made while the band was on drugs. Tame Impala’s sophomore album, Lonerism, is drugs.
Read my awesome review of Lonerism at This Link.
The Darkness, Hot Cakes
Hot Cakes is my favorite Queen album since A Night at the Opera.
Read my amazing review of Hot Cakes at This Link.
Little Barrie, King of the Waves
Little Barrie’s King of the Waves was Number One on the list for most of the year until The Darkness nudged it from the top spot, only to be further nudged by Tame Impala. This only means it was a pretty fucking great year for Rock & Roll.
Read more of my opinion on how Little Barrie Saved Rock in 2012 at This Link.
The SheepDogs
It is my belief that The SheepDogs operate in this realty via adept use of a well-oiled Time Machine. Read more about my hypothesis at This Link.
Mott Boroff, Filling In The Cracks EP
My mind was blown away last year by the discovery of Matt Boroff, an artist who refers to himself as a “Gold Medalist in the Best Kept Secret Olympics.” Read more at This Link.
The Killers, Battle Born
I like This Album.
Bento, Diamond Days
I was in the process of reviewing Diamond Days when I was unexpectedly evacuated from my apartment due to the storm surge of Hurricane Sandy. Drama! Bento is the solo project by Ben Gillies, former drummer for Silverchair. I interviewed Ben once and he was hilarious. If you enjoyed Siverchair’s artsy fartsy 2007 Swan Song, Young Modern, you will probably dig this album.
The Vaccines, Come of Age
The first time I played this CD each song managed to distinguish itself from the next, so it gets to be on this list.
Lita Ford, Living like a Runaway
No pain, no gain. Guitarist and Rock Godess Lita Ford bounces back from a messy divorce to make the album of her career. My indepth review of Living Like a Runaway can be found at This Link.
Mike Viola, Acousto De Perfecto
If real musical talent – quality songwriting, musicianship, charisma – were still rewarded with popularity and financial success in the way they were back in the ‘70s, Mike Viola would be as revered as Elton John and sell out bigger concert tours than Lady Gaga.
Read more from me about Mike Viola and Acousto De Perfecto by clicking Here.
Serving It Up Hot!
Can you believe it’s been seven years (seven years!) since British glam rock revivalists The Darkness released a new album? I can’t, because that means it’s been more than seven years since I had a brief but truly memorable phone conversation with legendary producer/ engineer Roy Thomas Baker. Baker was in the studio with The Darkness at the time, producing what would become their sophomore CD, One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back.
The nut of that conversation was that Baker turned down my request for an interview with Modern Drummer magazine regarding his groundbreaking work with numerous influential drummers. Despite a presumed awareness that Modern Drummer was neither Tape Op nor Mix, but a magazine about drummers and drumming, Baker told me straight up that he “couldn’t imagine why” he would even consider doing an interview for any magazine that wouldn’t put him on the cover. Just being serious. Continue reading Recommended Listening: The Darkness, Hot Cakes
If you’re one of the thousands of avid fans who read this blog religiously, you might recall that in the summer of 2008, Geoffrey and I took an urban field trip to the new Ikea in Redhook, Brooklyn, which opened that June, in order to provide residents of the NYC Metropolitan area with a warehouse-sized shopping facility at which to purchase cheap and interesting furniture and household accessories.
Continue reading IKEA’s Swedish Meatballs Lunch: Tasty Treat of The Day!
