Thursday, January 30, 2014

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013

The Great, The Good, and The Interesting!

12 YEARS A SLAVE

Shortcut links:
• BEST MOVIES: 2013
• BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2013
• BEST TV: 2013

Note: This will often spotlight directors for special merit.
But Auteur Theory is a shoebox; films are a collaborative effort with everyone involved.

"And... Action!"

B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 3

E R O S

✭✭✭✭✭
• BEFORE MIDNIGHT ⇧
After the warm-up of BEFORE SUNRISE (1995) and BEFORE SUNSET (2004), this brave film bristles with a bold maturity that is wondrous, bruising, and poignant.

✭✭✭✭✭
• BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (France)
One of the most resonant and engaging romance stories that I've ever seen.

• HER
The nuances of cyber-love. I didn't think this would work, but it is excellent and inspired at every turn.

T H I N K

✭✭✭✭✭
• 12 YEARS A SLAVE ⇧
THE movie, of any year.
A true story of repression and liberation in the slavery South.
Required viewing for anyone with a brain and soul.

• KILL YOUR DARLINGS
The true story of the murder that brought Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs together.

• THE EAST ⇧
Brit Marling scores again; the star/co-writer/co-producer (ANOTHER EARTH, SOUND OF MY VOICE) fights the power with this smart thriller.

• DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Harrowing true story of a man's battle against AIDS,
and the corrupt government and drug companies that let it run rampant for profit.

• THE FIFTH ESTATE
An interesting, generally well-rounded drama about Wikileaks.
Benedict Cumberbatch.
[see also documentary, "We Steal Secrets" (2013)]

• MANDELA: Long Walk To Freedom
Idris Elba and Naomie Harris.
A fast-paced highlight reel of an important life, with just enough character.

• THE BUTLER
A broad strokes overview of the Civil Rights struggle told through one man's family, with strong moments.

• MUHAMMAD ALI'S GREATEST FIGHT
The behind-the-scenes story of how The Greatest's conscientious objection to the Vietnam War nearly tore up the Supreme Court.

➤ • The Struggle For the Moral Soul: MARTIN LUTHER KING and Civil Rights

✭✭✭✭✭
• FRUITVALE STATION ⇧
An excellent film, devastating.
The true story of a struggling young man in Oakland and what the Law did to him.

• TO THE WONDER
No to defeatist existentialism.
Yes to epic visuals, a majestic score, and a truly wondrous Olga Kurylenko.

• MUD
A coming-of-age thriller in the Southern swamps. Great cast.

• CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
A cargo ship is seized out of desperation.
Gripping, intense, multi-sided.

• A HIJACKING (Denmark)
A Danish parallel to CAPTAIN PHILLIPS;
Instead of action, this focuses on the Corporate nickel-and-diming of the hostages' lives, and its toll.

• ALL IS LOST
Redford.
The elder man and the sea, or, The Naturalist vs. Nature.

✭✭✭✭✭
• WADJDA (Saudi Arabia) ⇧
A must-see. A young Saudi girl is determined to get a bike, even though only boys can have them.
Youthful hope vs. the stranglehold of religious sexism in Saudi Arabia, by female director Haifaa al-Mansour.

• THE GRANDMASTER (Hong Kong)
A Wong Kar-wai (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE) spectacle with Tony Leung and goddess Zhang Ziyi.
Gorgeous martial arts epic interlaced with war, revenge, and heartbreak.

• RENOIR (France)
A quiet drama about Jean Renoir's later years (and the origins of his filmmaker sons) that does a remarkable job emulating the light and impressionism of his work in its cinematography.

• MUSEUM HOURS (Austria)
Understated story of new friends bonding over discussions of life and culture in an art museum.

• THE SELFISH GIANT (U.K.)
Brutal dramedy about two hardscrabble boys doing all the wrong moves to survive.

• THE LAST MATCH, a.k.a., 'La Partida' (Cuba/Spain)
Two young Cuban men discover their attraction to each other, and the dangers of others' reactions.

• THE PAST, a.k.a., 'Le Passe' (France/Iran) ⇧
✭✭✭✭✭
The director of A SEPARATION (2011) scores again.
An effortlessly complex human drama more gripping and surprising than any suspense thriller.

• NO (Chile)
Engrossing dramady about the populist voting drive in 1988 to purge the dictator Pinochet from power.

S M I L E

• IN A WORLD ⇧
Lake Bell (writer/director/star) wants to be the first great female Movie Trailer narrator.

• SAVING MR. BANKS
When Walt Disney met P.L. Travers, and the havoc of bringing MARY POPPINS to film life.
Emma Thompson, practically perfect in every way!

• INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
Coen Brothers. A shaggy dog story about the early-'60s Folk movement, with left-field moments and stunning music by star Oscar Isaac.

• THE WORLD'S END (U.K.)
Never watching spoiling trailers has served me well again!
This seemed like a routine buddy comedy, until 30 minutes in when everything suddenly went... insane.

• THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Or, 'A$$hole Chic (A Satire)'.
The most fiercely absurdist Scorsese has been since his cult flick AFTER HOURS.

• GIMME THE LOOT
A couple of NYC graffiti artists need money and manage to goof up everything they touch.
Interesting cast, odd turns, and zany moments.

• R100 (Japan)
A man signs a contract with a dominatrix agency, who begin to attack him at all times like ninjas.
The fun film gets exponentially wilder right into the huge finale.

D R E A M

✭✭✭✭✭
• GRAVITY ⇧
A quantuum leap forward in cinema craft, as seismic as 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and STAR WARS.
And a beautiful rebirth parable underneath.

• STAR TREK: Into Darkness
This is an excellent reinterpretation -and escalation- of classic elements, fresh with new possibility.
Any naysayers are fools.

• THOR 2: The Dark World
The only Superman film done right this year.

• ELYSIUM
This is how most of us live right now; mass poverty with no healthcare, overlorded by The Rich on high.
This is real life.

• PIERCING BRIGHTNESS (UK)
Experimental indie; thin story with good craft.

• PACIFIC RIM
Robots vs. Monsters!
I haven't been a Kaiju movie afficianado, but this Del Toro film is magnificent!

• THE HOBBIT: The Desolation of Smaug ⇧
Tauriel!

Underrated, Dept.:

• OBLIVION
This film constantly plays notes from other classic SF films, knowing your familiarity and feinting clever with them.
Feels like reading a good SciFi short story.

• AFTER EARTH
A dsystopic future parable starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden.
Some wonkiness, but in general it's very enjoyable.

N I G H T M A R E

✭✭✭✭✭
• UPSTREAM COLOR ⇧
The creator of PRIMER returns with a sharp headtrip film that demands every moment of your concentration and imagination.
Excellent craft, mindbending smarts, and the ever-versatile Amy Seimetz.

• EUROPA REPORT ⇧
"All these worlds are yours except Europa. Attempt no landing there."
-Arthur C. Clarke, "2010: ODYSSEY TWO"

• CARRIE
There are two films interpreting Stephen King's classic book; both are worth your time.
Director Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY) skips DePalma's Hitchcock stylings in favor of focusing new nuance to characters and actions in every scene.

• THE TRUTH ABOUT EMANUEL
Thoughtful, twisty psychological Indie by writer/director Francesca Gregorini.

• SIDE EFFECTS
Soderbergh's quietly subversive homage to a particular Hitchcock film, with merit all its own.

• STRANGER BY THE LAKE (France)
At an isolated cruisers beach, a man sees the guy he cares for murder someone.

G R A P H I C
I M A G E S

• BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (France) ⇧
✭✭✭✭✭
> Four Color Films review
This brilliant film is based on Julie Maroh's graphic novel, "Le Bleu est une Couleur Chaude", thoroughly expanded and deepened.

• IRON MAN 3
> Four Color Films review
Fun but uneven mix of IRON MAN and KISS KISS BANG BANG.
(Slighting Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebecca Hall was foolish.)

• THOR 2: The Dark World
> Four Color Films review
An antidote to MAN OF KILL.

• AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
The best DOLLHOUSE writers combine the better parts of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and ALIAS with the Marvel mythos.

A R T F L I X

• STEVEN UNIVERSE ⇧
Ultra-Pop zaniness!

• TOY STORY HALLOWEEN (TV special)
Every time they sequel TOY STORY, it only improves!

• MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
Pixar makes films for adults who remember the wonder of being a kid.

• FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
Studio Ghibli. Nuff said.

• ERNEST AND CELESTINE (France)
Exquisite watercolor film that warms you like a splendid meal.

• RIO 2096: A STORY OF LOVE AND FURY (Brazil)
Hand animated allegory about the oppressive history of Brazil, challenged across 600 years by an immortal and his reincarnated love.

B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 3

✭✭✭✭✭
• THE AFRICAN AMERICANS (PBS mini-series) ⇧
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. gives an excellent and always timely overview of the crucial history and contributions of Africans in the United States.

• WE STEAL SECRETS: The Story of WikiLeaks
An admirable journalistic attempt to show all sides of the Julian Assange and Bradley Manning controversies.

• INEQUALITY FOR ALL
Robert Reich reveals how the economy is a grift machine.

• FIRE IN THE BLOOD
In the '90s, drug companies blocked access to affordable anti-AIDS medicines, causing the deaths of millions of 'third world' people.

• FAR OUT ISN'T FAR ENOUGH: The Tomi Ungerer Story
A children's book author/illustrator deals with uncomfortable truths and gets hammered by reactionaries.

• STORIES WE TELL
A journalist discovers her hidden parentage, and examines all the roots and repercussions of this.

• ROOM 237
We bring our own meanings to everything;
revel in these unique interpretations of Kubrick's THE SHINING (1980).

• MUSCLE SHOALS
Rival to Motown and Stax, the Muscle Shoals studio made many of the greatest Rock and Soul songs ever.

• SOUND CITY
A seedy studio, a magic mixing board, and a history of great music.

B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 3

(The season number follows each title.)

D R A M A

✭✭✭✭✭
• RECTIFY 1 ⇧
The best show on television.
Has a zen understanding of human joy and pain that is often breathtaking.

✭✭✭✭✭
• MASTERS OF SEX 1 ⇧
How Masters and Johnson liberated the libido! Lizzy Caplan is a force.

✭✭✭✭✭
• BREAKING BAD 5
A shattering and elegant close for one of Television's greatest shows.

• THE KILLING 3
Grim, ambitious, fearless performances, Amy Seimetz.

• LOW WINTER SUN 1
An urban crimed drama starring Mark Strong, remaking his original British series.

• MAD MEN 6

• BATES MOTEL 1
The co-showrunner of 'Lost' remakes PSYCHO as TWIN PEAKS.

• TOP OF THE LAKE (mini-series)
A murder in the remote woods. Jane Campion does TWIN PEAKS in New Zealand.

• HANNIBAL 1
At last, the spotlight shifts from Hannibal Lecter to the game-changing and very first empathic investigator, Will Graham (RED DRAGON, 1981)!
Now Moriarty has the Holmes that disappeared from the subsequent books.

W O N D E R

• THE RETURNED (a.k.a., Les Revenants/ They Come Back) 1 (France) ⇧
Parallels the spirit of Stephen King in poetic depths that the bubble-dum UNDER THE DOME never will.

• GAME OF THRONES 3
Brutal.

• AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. 1
It'll never beat Kirby or Steranko, but I like it.

• ALMOST HUMAN 1
Cop and robot partner. Formulaic, but good leads.

• SLEEPY HOLLOW 1
Crazed fun.
With more retcon backstory than Supergirl.

U K

✭✭✭✭✭
• ORPHAN BLACK (Canada/BBC) 1 ⇧
Tatiana Maslaney.
The clone odyssey. Same genes, different dreams.

• DOCTOR WHO 7
Thank you, Matt Smith, for your livewire run.

• MISFITS 5
Final season fo the punk 'superheroes'. The first two seasons mattered most.

• THE FALL 1
Gillian Anderson gets spotlight in a taut, bracing murder procedural set in Ireland.

• BROADCHURCH 1
David Tennant. Jody Whittaker.
A death devestates a coastal town, as two detectives battle each other.

• RIPPER STREET 2
A Whitechapel police precinct, grappling in the wake of the Ripper murders.
COPPER is good, but RIPPER STREET is great.

• BLACK MIRROR 2 ⇧
The acidic anthology set 'five minutes in the future' tops itself with another trio of brutal, cautionary speculative fictions.

• "DOCTOR WHO: An Adventure in Space and Time"
A splendid take on the making of the original First Doctor serials (1963-'66).
David Bradley is marvelous as Willam Hartnell. So much so that he should portray the First Doctor at some point on the current series.
(Update: And he did, on the 2017 Christmas Special.)

C O M E D Y

• ENLIGHTENED 2 ⇧
Destroy evil corporations. Save your soul.

• ELEMENTARY 2
The fine American parallel to SHERLOCK hits its stride, with more mythos and exponential depth.

• ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT 4
From wobble to stand to jog to sprint; an odd season that regains its original glory full-on by the end.

• STEVEN UNIVERSE 1
The beach! Pizza! Super powers! Aliens! Plus songs!

© Tym Stevens

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

BEST MUSIC: 2013, with Music Players!

T H E
J U L I E
R U I N

ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!

Nevermind those suburban-angst
'Best Music' lists that taste like paste!

These tunes will fission your vision
and unloosen your caboosin'!

Shortcut to Music Players:
• BEST ALBUMS: 2013
• COOL SONGS: 2013
• BEST RE-ISSUES: 2013

B E S T
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 3

BEST ALBUMS 2013
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.
This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.

• Jacco Gardner, "Cabinet of Curiosities"
Psychedelic Pop masterpiece.
Imagine Syd Barrett, Paul McCartney, and Brian Wilson jamming in 1967. Beautiful, ornate, haunting, wondrous.

(See also: "Sgt. Pepper", "SMiLE", "Odessey And Oracle", "Pipers At The Gates Of Dawn")

• Rock Candy Funk Party, "Octopus-E"
Funky grooves
Instant party mover.

(See also: Galactic, The New Mastersounds, Orgone)

• Paul McCartney, "NEW"
Pop master class.
Channeling all of his classic strengths in new ways. Ambitious, adventuresome, impressive.

(See also: Elliott Rhodes, Squeeze, Joey Molland, Fugu)

• Janelle Monae, "The Electric Lady"
Soulful futurism.
Janelle continues expanding the frontiers of groove and soul.

(See also: Prince, Santigold, Martina Topley-Bird)

• Colleen Green, "Sock It To Me"
LoFi Pop.
A canny knack for guitar riffs and catchy melodies, with some edges.

(See also: Bleached, Peach Kelli Pop, La Sera)

• Charles Bradley, "Victim of Love"
Classic Soul.
The best sounds from the early-'70s, made now and timeless.

(See also: James Brown, O.V. Wright, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields And The Expressions)

• The Julie Ruin, "Run Fast"
Revolution Indie-Pop Style Now.
Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill) return in a quartet diverting attitude into new latitudes.

(See also: Bikini Kill, Frumpies, Sleater-Kinney)

• Popecitelji, "Sijalica"
Serbian Funk.
Funk strut with Prog dexterity.

(See also: Defunkt, James Blood Ulmer, Material)

• Elvis Costello + The Roots, "Wise Up Ghost"
Acid redux.
A very meta project, with Elvis' deep cuts remade/remodeled in textured revamps, with new trenchant social barbs.

(See also: Barry Adamson, The Avalanches)

• Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band, "Take Me To the Land of Hell"
Avant Pop.
Ever fluid, always progressing. Yoko makes angular dance and pop workouts for the hips and the hip.

(See also: David Bowie, Cibo Matto, Buffalo Daughter, eX-Girl, Deerhoof)

➤ 'Why We Love YOKO ONO (Or Should)!', with 2 Music Players!

• La Femme, "Psycho Tropical Berlin"
Epic Electrodelic.
French collective astounds with a potpourri of ye-ye, psychedelia, coldwave, and mutant disco grooviness.

(See also: The B-52's, Casino Music, Pepe Deluxe)

• The Liberators, "Power Struggle"
Aussie AfroBeat.
Funk attack with serious polyrhythms and social consciousness.

(See also: Fela, Antibalas, Here Lies Man)

• White Fence, "Cyclops Reap"
Garage blitz.
Tim Presley's noisy, slippery, unhindered Garage Rock.

(See also: Syd Barrett, Ty Segall, Oblivions)

• Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "II"
Neo-Psych tripscapes.
Ruban Nielson's mercurial project, here epic and tuneful and trippy.

(See also: GUM, Pond, Temples)

• Habibi, "Habibi"
Girl Group Psyche.
Beat band with Spector harmonies, Iranian flourishes, and snappy melodies.

(See also: La Luz, Beverly, Bleached)

• TECLA, "We Are the Lucky Ones"
Pop potpourri.
Tecla Esposito unleashes a dolly mixture of world, dance, psyche, and electro sounds.

(See also: Jessie Bulbo, Imani Coppola, Mitski)

• Thee Oh Sees, "Floating Coffin"
Acidhead progbop.
NeoPsyche's most restless and endlessly contortioning band.

(See also: Comets On Fire, Dungen, Meatbodies)

• Red Baraat, "Big Talk"
Dance fusion.
A pile-up of funk, big band, brass bands, and international wedding music. It's got a good beat, and it's easy to dance to.

(See also: Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Soul Rebels, 3 Mustaphas 3)

• Queens of the Stone Age, "...Like Clockwork"
Stoner Glam.
The heaviosity of Black Sabbath with the precision of Kraftwerk.

(See also: Kyuss, Desert Sessions, Them Crooked Vultures)

• V V Brown, "Samson and Delilah"
Imperious Coldwave.
If the Borg were assimilated by Grace Jones.

(See also: Malaria!, Eurythmics, Kas Product)

• Franz Ferdinand, "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action"
Indie PostPunk.
Getting warmer and more melodic as they go.

(See also: Joy Division, Interpol, Arctic Monkeys)

• Valerie June, "Pushin' Against a Stone"
Country Soul.
If Billie Holiday had been from the Tennesse hills, and sang for church hoedowns.

(See also: Karen Dalton, The Black Keys, Yola)

• White Denim, "Corsicana Lemonade"
Indie Prog.
A tryst of pop, soul, psyche, jazz, and boogie. For starters.

(See also: Spoon, Guerilla Toss, Bop English)

• Calibro 35, "Traditori di Tutti"
ItaloRock Soundtrack.
Like every great '60s Cinecitta soundtrack at the same time.

(See also: Luis Bacalov, Osanna, Robert Johnson And Punchdrunks)

• The Woggles, "The Big Beat"
Beat / Garage.
Pogo at the Go-Go.

(See also: The Fleshtones, The Cynics, The Len Price 3)

• Willy Moon, "Here's Willy Moon"
Rockabilly HipHop.
Early Rock rhythms with club beat precision.

(See also: Imelda May, Gnarls Barkley, JD McPherson)

• Wire, "Change Becomes Us"
Post-PostPunk.
Buzz buzz in your eardrum.

(See also: Pylon, Elastica, Parquet Courts)

• The Computers, "Love Triangles, Hate Squares"
Garage / Soul.
The love child of garage punk crash and juke soul flash.

(See also: Stax Records, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Detroit Cobras)

• The Relatives, "The Electric Word"
FunkRock Gospel.
After four decades, the gospel vocal group returns, backed by a scorching funky rock band.

(See also: The Temptations, Funkadelic, Robert Randolph And The Family Band)

• F#ck Buttons, "Slow Focus"
Indie Electro.
If Hans Zimmer got down at the dance club.

(See also: Kluster, Cabaret Voltaire, MGMT)

• The James Hunter Six, "Minute By Minute"
Classic Soul.
Early-'60s Soul made mint fresh for the ages.

(See also: Sam Cooke, Georgie Fame, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Monophonics)

• Jagwar Ma, "Howlin"
Dance Psyche.
Beats for your hips, haze for your head.

(See also: Stone Roses, Primal Scream, Black Grape)

• M.I.A., "Matangi"
Sri Lankan HipHop.
Complex, political, varied, driving.

(See also: Ari Up, Money Love, Lady Sovereign)

• Savages, "Silence Yourself"
PostPunk.
Brittle and brilliant, cold and perfect cool, clang and driven throb.

(See also: Siouxsie And The Banshees, Xmal Deutschland, PJ Harvey)

• David Bowie, "The Next Day"
Iconoclast.
Bounding past boundaries, eliminating limits, multiplying beyond divisions. Look! Up in the stratosphere... it's Bowie!.

(See also: Eno, Roxy Music, Sparks, Bauhaus)

• Mikal Cronin, "MCII"
Garage Pop Folk.
Ty Segall's running buddy sets his own good run.

(See also: The Beatles, White Fence, BC Camplight)

• Bleached, "Ride Your Heart"
Pop Punk.
Guitar-roaring greatness that you'll hum in your head all day.

(See also: The Donnas, Mika Miko, Thee Tsunamis)

• Youth Lagoon, "Wondrous Bughouse"
LoFi Pop.
Psychologi-delica.

(See also: Pink Floyd, Flaming Lips, Perfume Genius)

• Pretty Lights, "A Color Map of the Sun"
Electro Soul.
Gospel, soul, brass, and funk get prismed through new dance circuitry.

(See also: M.A.R.R.S., The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers)

• Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Mosquito"
PostPop.
Treating each album as a dare to pervert expectations, the band goes mellower, funnier, odder, sweeter.

(See also: Pere Ubu, Bush Tetras, Keren O)

• Black Joe Lewis, "Electric Slave"
Blues Rock.
Why just sing soul, rock, blues, and funk when you can roar them like a maelstrom, laughing?

(See also: Wison Pickett, Gary Clark Jr, Cedric Burnside)

• Har Mar Superstar, "Bye Bye 17"
Soul.
After hamming around in style shifts, Sean Tillman comes into his inner Soul Man fully.

(See also: Sam Cooke, St. Paul And The Broken Bones)

• Alice Smith, "She"
Soulful exploration.
Rock'n'Soul's best unsung chameleon, after an absence, returns mellower, matured, melodic.

(See also: Fiona Apple, Norah Jones, Lianne La Havas)

• The Most, "Auto Destructive Art"
Beat / Mod.
Bash out tuneful tunes, bash your guitar to smithereens. You know you want to.

(See also: The Who, Komeda, Supergrass)

• La Luz, "It's Alive"
Girl Group Surf.
Sparkling surf guitar with luscious harmonies over lasting tunes.

(See also: The Beach Boys, Honey Ltd., The Surfrajettes)

• Bombino, "Nomad"
Desert Blues.
The Nigerian guitarist continues to dazzle with his intricate and galvanic soundscapes.

(See also: Tinariwen, Mdou Moctar, Songhoy Blues)

• The Mergers, "Monkey See, Monkey Do!"
Beat / Mod.
Merseybeat beat beat beating mercilessly, so twist and shout.

(See also: Muck And The Mires, The Beat Rats, The Weeklings)

• Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, "Give The People What They Want"
Timeless Soul.
With the Daptone Records label, and her band The Dap-Kings, Sharon Jones leads the way for making classic soul for the new century.

(See also: Lady Wray, Clairy Browne And The Bangin' Rackettes, Tanika Charles, Seratones)

C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 3

All the REAL MUSIC
beyond the box!

Nevermind Gloss Pop, Stepford Idols, Karaoke Choruses ("woh-oo-oh"), Ego Brats, Emo Prats, Plinky Folk, Brittle Bombast, Vegas Country, Smug Thug, Mope Noodling, De-mixed Throb, and Robot-o-Tune schlock! >

Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
Boogie smooth with more grooves
than a tire factory!

COOL SONGS 2013
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

*(The Player is limited to the first 200 songs.
Hear the unlimited Playlist here.)

This jukebox is sequenced into groups of sound, instead of randomly.
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Rockabilly! Surf! Beat! Garage!

Beatlesque! Psychedelic! Classic Rock! Glam!

Blues! Country! Soul! Funk!

World! Riot Grrrl! Alt-Rock! Electro!

Cinerama! RESIST! Cover Songs!

Sharon Jones; White Denim;
Habibi; V V Brown

13 hours of mind-swirling, booty-whirling music, featuring the following fine folks in this exact order!:
• Rockabilly! • Straight 8s, Sweet Jeena And Her Sweethearts, Horst With No Name, Los Mambo Jambo, Barbara Clifford, Bang Bang Babies, Sallie Ford And The Sound Outside, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, and Screamin' Rebel Angels.

• Surf! • Marnie, Habibi, Chris Stamey, La Luz, Wavves, Kelley Stoltz, The Mokkers, Holy Wave, Nick Capaldi, and The Younger Lovers.

• Beat / Garage! • Jack Bartlett, The Mergers, The Gone, September Girls, Filhos da Judith, The Bye Bye Blackbirds, Palmyra Delran, The Most, Sirsy, The Len Price 3, Persian Claws, The Woggles, The Go, Kate Nash, White Fence, Shannon And The Clams, Mikal Cronin, Courtney Barnett, Night Beats, King Khan and the Shrines, Oblivians, Eleanor Friedberger, The Dirtbombs, Sailors of Neptune, Vampire Weekend, and Nicole Willis And the Soul Investigators.

• Beatlesque / Psychedelic! • Foxygen, Neils Children, TECLA, Youth Lagoon, Jacco Gardner, Paul McCartney, James McCartney, Julian Lennon, Ty Segall, Beady Eye, Johnathan Rice, Smith Westerns, thenewno2, The Geezers, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Föllakzoid, Catholic Spray, Wampire, Capsula, and Thee Oh Sees.

• Classic Rock / Glam! • The Black Angels, J. Roddy Walston And The Business, Samantha Fish, Rose Windows, Os Mutantes, Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, The Limiñanas, Black Sabbath, Blood Ceremony, Pond, Purson, Fuzz, Bosnian Rainbows , Crocodiles, Feeding People, SUUNS, Wooden Shjips, Crystal Stilts, The Stooges, Jake Bugg, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cheap Time, Jacuzzi Boys, Diane Coffee, Junip, Portugal. The Man, and Big Eyes.

• Blues! • Black Joe Lewis, Cassie Taylor, Willis Earl Beal, Skinny Girl Diet, DARKSIDE, Summer Twins, and Beth Hart.

• Americana! • Cass McCombs, Kamara Thomas And the Ghost Gamblers, Lucky Jim, Sarah Jarosz, Oscar Isaac, Aoife O'Donovan, Pharis And Jason Romero, and Valerie June.

• Soul! • Booker T., John Németh, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, Myron And E, Latasha Lee And the BlackTies, Charles Bradley, Clairy Browne And The Bangin' Rackettes, The Cactus Channel , Lady, The Computers, Robert Randolph And The Family Band, The Ballantynes, Elvis Costello And The Roots, Alice Smith, Nostalgia 77, Gina Sicilia, Har Mar Superstar, Alice Russell, Jesse Dee, The James Hunter Six, The Child of Lov, Gregory Porter, Mayer Hawthorne, and Janelle Monae.

• Funk! • Popečitelji, Red Baraat, Pigbag , My Neighbour Is, Monkey Business, Lord Echo, Pretty Lights, The Relatives, Rock Candy Funk Party, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, and Trombone Shorty.

• World! • Bombino, The Fontanelles, Bams, The Liberators, Menagerie, Melt Yourself Down, and The Maneken.

• Riot Grrrl! • Frightwig, Anna Calvi, Deap Vally, Bleached, The Plastic Ono Band, Savages, Geri X, Marnie Stern, Colleen Green, PINS, Angel Olsen, Peach Kelli Pop, Midday Veil, Cherry Glazerr, Carmonas, Joanna Gruesome, Deap Vally, Skinny Girl Diet, and Juana Molina.

• Alt Rock! • Franz Ferdinand, Cate Le Bon, Candy Claws, White Denim, Jagwar Ma, The Julie Ruin , Queens of the Stone Age, Wire, The Bots, Glow Kit , TV On The Radio, David Bowie, Adam Ant, Lorde, Robert Pollard, and MGMT.

• Electro! • Rodion G.A., V V Brown, Clutch Douglass, JD Samson And MEN, Austra , Fuck Buttons, Gazelle Twin, Stubborn Heart, Goldfrapp, and The Feeling of Love.

• Cinerama! • Foals, Forest Swords, Dirty Beaches, David Lynch, La Femme, Calibro 35, Petra Haden, Miss Chain And the Broken Heels, and Los Coronas.

• RESIST!! • M.I.A., Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, The Sweet Vandals, Anders Osborne, and Huey And The New Yorkers.

• Cover Songs! •
List = Original By / Cover Artist
Songs are sequenced in the chronological order of the Originals.

Traditional / Buika • Screamin' Jay Hawkins / Willy Moon • The Beatles / Redd Velvet • John Barry / Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings • John Barry / Mark Lanegan • Van Dyke Parks / The Dirtbombs • Creedence Clearwater Revival / John Fogerty + Foo Fighters • Creedence Clearwater Revival / John Fogerty + Jennifer Hudson • George Harrison / Hurray For The Riff Raff • Rush / Cyril Neville • Sesame Street / The Pointer Sisters / Maylee Todd • Led Zeppelin / An Apple A Day • Lindsey Buckingham / Matthew Sweet And Susanna Hoffs • Talking Heads / Kishi Bashi • Bruce Springsteen / Drop The Lime.

B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 3

Quality is timeless.

BEST REISSUES 2013
by Tym Stevens
This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.

• 1960s •

• The Beatles, "On Air: Live At The BBC, Volume 2"
This follow-up to Volume 1 (1994) brings more unreleased live hits and unrecorded cover versions.

• Dan Penn, "The Fame Recordings"
Dan Penn was a crucial writer and player for many Soul acts recorded in Muscle Shoals, and this collection of demos proves him just as worthy.

• Various Artists, "Los Nuggetz: '60s Peru Punk, Pop, and Psychedelic from Latin America"
Garage Rock had impact all around the world, and this collection of Peruvian snarl is a gas gas gas.

• Honey Ltd., "The Complete LHI Recordings" (1968)
Produced smartly by Lee Hazlewood, this rare album by the angelic choral group finally gets a remastered release. Dream pop, Cali Soul, and luminous harmonies.

• Sly & The Family Stone, "Higher!" box set (1965-1975)
A four-disc overview of the greatest Funk band, from early rarities to their apex in the mid-'70s.

• 1970s •

• Various Artists, "Music For Dancefloors: The KPM Music Library"
'Library Music' is collections of general musical cues made in the late-'60s and the '70s for lease to television and radio. Crate-diggers discovered the funky and rockin' treasure troves, and now they see mainstream release.

• Swamp Dogg, "Total Destruction of Your Mind" (1970)
The soul maverick's best and most funky album.

• Stark Reality, "The Stark Reality Disc" (1970)
The sons of Spike Jones form a FunkRockJazz band and create freak-out covers versions of his songs for a kids record.

• Apple And The Three Oranges, "Free And Easy" (early-'70s)
A rare act of funky grooves with a New Orleans beat.

• Elvis Presley, "Elvis At Stax" (1973)
When he had proper material and a righteous fire, Elvis was always on the One.

• Piero Umiliani: Digital reissues
"The Disco Funk Sessions, vol. 1
"The Disco Funk Sessions, vol. 2" ('70s)
"Synthi Time" (1973)
Umiliani and Piccioni were the grooviest members of the Italian film soundtrack composers, and these club grooves and forward electronica prove it.

• Various Artists, "Cosmic Machine: French Cosmic And Electronic Avant Garde 1970-1980, Vol. 1"
Free your mind and your astral body will follow.

• Graham Central Station, "Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt-It" (1975)
The best of Larry Graham's funk band albums, essentially his "Stand!".

• Fleetwood Mac, "Rumours" (1976)
Still one of the finest albums made.

• Alessandro Alessandroni: Digital reissue, "Inchiesta" (1977)
The guitarist and whistler for all of Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks was also a fine composer himself.

• Ndalani 77 Brothers, "Kenya Special"
From the explosion of African rock in the mid-'70s.

• The Clash, "Sound System" box set (1977-1982)
A 7-disc compilation of all of the prime Punk band's recordings.

• Marianne Faithfull, "Broken English" (1979)
Not so much a comeback as a rebuke, her brutal and expansive album still stuns.

• 1980s •

• John Carpenter, "The Fog" soundtrack (1980)
Carpenter also scored his horror films, with chilly and moody coldwave that still brings shivers.

• Willam Onyeabor, "World Psychedelic Classics: Who Is William Onyeabor?" (1978-1983)
Off the radar, the Nigerian keyboardist made experimental synth-pop, before retreating into the church and mystery.

• Rodion G.A., "The Lost Tapes" (late '70s-early '80s)
ProgPsycheRockElectro. Created under brutal repression in Romania, these driving futurisms will startle and thrill you.

• Various Artists, "Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story"
Under producer Bill Laswell (of Material), this pivotal label released seismic no-wave, French new wave, hiphop, and African synth-funk.

• Günter Schickert, "Kinder in der Wildnis" (1983)
Abrasive and ambient by turn.

• Various Artists, "Mutazione: Italian Electronic And New Wave Underground 1980-1988"
Italy was a driving force in electronic music, from Italo-Disco days to the advent of Industrial.

• Thee Mighty Caesars, catalog reissues (1985-'86)
Billy Childish pumps out Garage Rock albums and rotating bands like you draw breath.

• The Gories, "The Shaw Tapes: Live In Detroit 5/27/88"
The Garage rockers who gave us Mick Collins (The Dirtbombs) and Dan Kroha (The Demolition Doll Rods), and who inspired The White Stripes.

• 1990s •

• The Breeders, "Last Splash", a.k.a., "LSXX" (1993)
Kim and Kelley Deal's apex. A massive, and deserved, mainstream success that they've spent their remaining career perversely running away from.

• Nirvana, "In Utero: 20th Anniversary" (1993)
"Our little group has always been, and always will until the end." >

© Tym Stevens

"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"

Thursday, January 30, 2014

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2013

B E S T M O V I E S : 2 0 1 3

E R O S

T H I N K

S M I L E

D R E A M

N I G H T M A R E

G R A P H I C I M A G E S

A R T F L I X

B E S T D O C U M E N T A R I E S : 2 0 1 3

B E S T T V : 2 0 1 3

D R A M A

W O N D E R

U K

C O M E D Y

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

BEST MUSIC: 2013, with Music Players!

ALL THE REAL MUSIC!

B E S T N E W A L B U M S : 2 0 1 3

C O O L S O N G S : 2 0 1 3

All the REAL MUSIC beyond the box!

B E S T R E I S S U E S : 2 0 1 3

• 1960s •

• 1970s •

• 1980s •

• 1990s •

What's all this?

Subscribe To

Translate

⚪ s p o t l i g h t

ANDOR, The New Revolution

m o v i e s / t v

⭕ p l a y l i s t s_𝟏

⭕ p l a y l i s t s_𝟮

⭕___h o l i d a y s

b e a t l e s

" - e s q u e"

c a n o n

c o m i c s

c u l t u r e

★ b e s t ______ m o v i e s / t v

★ b e s t ______ m u s i c

★ b e s t _______ c o m i c s

Popular Posts

Blog Archive

Followers

Art, Records, Films, Comics I Love:

Links