A year of favorites

Arkansans put eclectic spin on what was music to their ears

The beat goes on … year after year, song after song, new music flows from artists new and old. Now that 2014 is here, we pause to look back at the sounds of 2013, asking a selection of Arkansans about their favorites.

Michael Keckhaver, media editor, Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture

The Next Day, David Bowie, Columbia

David Bowie’s always peculiar take on popular music has been missing in action for a decade. Swearing his cohorts to secrecy and recording in stealth mode, Bowie has sprung upon us his most compelling and fascinating album since Scary Monsters and perhaps his most self-referential album ever. Assembling a cornucopia of stellar sidemen (bass god Tony Levin and stalwart Earl Slick, among others), Bowie has created an emotive history lesson that maps his entire oeuvre. Juxtaposing a plethora of snappy and rocking tunes with some of his most disturbing lyrical imagery ever, Bowie combines the apocalyptic rocking of The Rise and the Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars with the fractured landscapes of Low and the jumping dance floor sleaze of Station to Station to emerge with something ultimately modern. The Next Day is a complex album packed with irresistible hooks and addictive choruses and chants. The funereal “Dirty Boys” features a haunting baritone sax solo by Steve Elson. “I’d Rather Be High” is a psychedelic whirlwind of painful admission. “If You Can See Me” is an anti-melodic anomaly that references Bowie’s Eno/Berlin days. With the deluxe version, you get a second disc of additional songs (and two remixes) as fine as the primary album. At 67, Bowie proves he has still got something provocative to say. I place The Next Day in Bowie’s top five.

Kathy Webb, executive director of Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

Guilty Pleasures, Renee Fleming, Decca

I love Renee Fleming and see her whenever possible. This has been a difficult and challenging year for me, and I find her voice and music comforting and uplifting. Two of my favorite songs on this album are “Flower Duet” and “O Danny Boy.”

Levi Agee, motion graphics designer and 3-D animator for Stone Ward and programmer for the Little Rock Film Festival Trouble Will Find Me, The National, 4AD

I got burned by the Arcade Fire’s decidedly different and dancy album Reflektor, which isn’t growing on me like the rest of their discography, so I really needed a baritone voiced, moody and sometimes anthemic rock album to get me through 2013. Trouble Will Find Me filled that void. I never really got into The National until lead singer Matt Berninger’s rendition of the “Rains of Castamere” dirge at the end of a Game of Thrones episode. I have a high threshold for albums I buy …. I need at least 75 percent of the songs to grip me in some way. I find something to love in every song on this album. The opening track “I Should Live in Salt” is one of the saddest and most poignant songs I’ve heard in a long while, lamenting a couple’s argument. Like many of the songs on the album, it is inexplicably heartbreaking and comforting.

And Caitlin Rose’s The Stand-In (ATO) is also one of the year’s best and could use more attention. It works really well as a female complement to The National’s Trouble Will Find Me.

Melissa Tucker, editor of Bourbon & Boots

The Civil Wars, The Civil Wars, Columbia

When an album starts with the tragic, gut-wrenching “I wish I’d never, ever seen your face” refrain of “Wish You Were the One that Got Away,” you’re in for a cathartic trip through the dark halls of heartbreak. This sophomore effort is haunting and painfully honest. Written and recorded during a tumultuous time for the now-estranged folk rock duo, the emotions are raw and real.

On the first half, tracks like the gritty “I Had a Girl” and the ambivalent “Same Old, Same Old” ping-pong between love and hate and ultimately settle in the gray anguish in between. On “Dust to Dust,” it’s a longing for the past, with, “Let me in the walls you’ve built around, we can light a match and burn them down.” Then feelings veer into reckless abandon with “Eavesdrop” — “I can’t pull you closer than this. It’s just you and the moon on my skin.”

The second half hints at reconciliation, but it’s more of a halfhearted step into surrender, rather than a real resolution. It’s especially telling in the melodic “D’Arline” — “I could get over you, but please don’t ask me to” from a lover who has no idea where to send his words.

This album is ideal for those who hit a roller coaster relationship patch in 2013 and would welcome a place to wallow.

Kevin Brockmeier, novelist

White+, White+, Maybe Mars

The most enjoyable album I discovered in 2013 was a very late 2012 release: White+, by a young Beijing drum-and-synthesizer duo of the same name — a “hardware electronica band,” they call themselves. Their music is composed out of keyboard and pedal improvisations — loops, drones, chugs, shimmers, wobbles, pulses, distortions and samples, much of it digitally warped and manipulated — along with live percussion and the occasional abstract vocal accompaniment. If that sounds mathy or tuneless, I promise it is anything but. The songs are joyful, melodic and bright and, if you dance, I would guess, surprisingly danceable.

The album was released by the Chinese indie rock label Maybe Mars. Copies aren’t easy to find, but you can download or stream it through tenzenmen.com, which is a sort of online clearinghouse for underground Australasian music.

For Christmas I always send my literary agent the most pleasurable and interesting CD I’ve discovered over the course of the year. (You can’t give a literary agent a book, after all.) This year [I sent her] White+ in the mail.

Mimi San Pedro, chief operating and marketing officer, Hortus Ltd., P. Allen Smith Companies

“Carry On,” fun., Fueled by Ramen

I love the sound of this band. It doesn’t sound like anything else out there today. It’s fresh, but also very familiar. Their songs are like anthems for their generation. They remind me of a band from my generation — Queen. fun., with three band members, write and perform grandiose pop theatrical music with such passion. Now, that’s talent!

Dave Hoffpauir, teacher at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Social Work and drummer with several central Arkansas bands

Antivenin Suite, Isaac Alexander, Max

Hallowed Ground, Chris Michaels, Max

Free Flying, Fred Hersch & Julian Lage, Palmetto

I’m claiming a three-way tie.

Issac Alexander’s Antivenin Suite is the best pop record I have heard in years. The songs are beautifully written — great chords and lyrics; the playing is terrific, featuring a cast of East Nashville’s best musicians. Isaac’s vocals/vocal melodies are beautiful and haunting. Isaac is an Arkansas treasure who deserves a much larger audience.

Chris Michaels’ Hallowed Ground sounded simple initially, but has grown in richness and depth with every listen and is anything but simple. “Come On In” is so personal you feel like you are intruding by listening. “Locks & Keys” should be a rock ’n’ roll standard. Michaels is the best musician I know.

New York City jazz pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Julian Lage’s Free Flying has gorgeous playing and arrangements. I heard a very moving NPR piece about Hersch having to teach himself to play all over again after suffering a stroke during a rough patch in his ongoing battle with AIDS. To be able to literally start over again and teach yourself to play with such facility and beauty after such a debilitating blow is a powerful and courageous narrative. I was very inspired, so I started buying his recordings from both periods in his career. Free Flying is a beautiful live recording of originals and standards … inspired and inspiring.

Alyse Eady, KTHV-TV, Channel 11, THV This Morning news anchor

Magna Carta Holy Grail, Jay Z, Roc Nation/Universal

Jay Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail is my top 2013 album. I’ve always liked how he’s not afraid to tackle the tough issues in his songs. If you love a great hip-hop beat, his music is a great place to start. This album features an all-star list of collaborations with artists like Beyonce, Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, Nas and Frank Ocean.

I couldn’t go anywhere in the River Market on Friday or Saturday nights without hearing the first track, “Holy Grail,” blasting with people jumping up to hit the dance floor.

It’s a great mix of songs … whether you’re wanting some easy listening or a jam session, Magna Carta Holy Grail has you covered.

Graham Gordy, film writer, producer, director, actor

Muchacho, Phosphorescent, Dead Oceans

Let’s Be Still, The Head and the Heart, Sub Pop

The Weatherman, Gregory Alan Isakov, self-released

It was a good year for music, so I can’t narrow it to one album. My favorite song was Phosphorescent’s “Song for Zula.” All of this said, one of the great pleasures of my job is making discoveries as I’m researching places and eras for stories. This [past] year I fell in love with some long-forgotten singers like Mac Davis, Tony Joe White and Bettye Swann.

Rod Bigelow, executive director, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

“What Does the Fox Say?” Ylvis, WEA

This song is a favorite not because of the music, but because of the response. You can talk to people of any generation about it — from a 5-year-old to a 50-year-old — and it elicits a reaction, whether that’s curiosity, intrigue, inspiration, finding it perplexing, or simply entertaining. Visual art can elicit the same response, and become a conversation starter.

Garbo Hearne, director, Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing/Hearne Fine Art

Songversation, India.Arie, Motown

India.Arie has always had a positive message with self-affirming lyrics and beautifully composed music. As an artist, she challenges her fans to love themselves and others and I absolutely love that.

In 2009, India.Arie took a break from music to do some soul searching and came back [in 2013] with Songversation. She felt she was boxed in by the music industry and had lost sight of her own goals as an artist. My favorite track on this new album is “Just Do You.” In the song, she encourages listeners to take chances and follow through on their goals because we all know — you can’t win if you don’t even try! It’s the perfect song (and album) for any occasion, especially ringing in the new year.

Bruce Moore, city manager, Little Rock

12 Years a Slave soundtrack, Columbia

My favorite album of the year is the soundtrack from 12 Years a Slave. The movie — one of the best ever — is steeped in history and drama. The soundtrack is unbelievable and inspiring. From Alicia Keys’ “Queen of the Field” to John Legend’s “Roll Jordan Roll,” the music transformed the time period but also gives the moviegoer an appreciation of the spirit of never giving up in the face of adversity. It is a lesson we should cherish daily.

2013 gave us some good music, albeit none as good as my childhood (and still) favorite, the Rev. Al Green. One song brings a smile to my face: Katy Perry’s “Roar.” My son Luke loves to shout ‘‘You’re gonna hear me roar!’’ every time the song comes on. The lyrics have a good, strong message and the song is fun to listen to with Luke. The video reminds Luke of the Little Rock Zoo.

John Jeter, music director, Fort Smith Symphony

Spontaneous Christmas, Doug Cameron

This holiday album is a very hip and classy new take on Christmas music featuring Doug Cameron and many of his wonderful musical friends, including Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary.

The music speaks to young and old and the variety of styles is excellent, from traditional carols to modern holiday classics, all superbly arranged by Doug and recorded to the highest standards. It was a labor of love project for these artists and it shows. I was so impressed by this recording that I asked him to arrange it for symphony orchestra. He is doing so and the Fort Smith Symphony will perform the orchestra world premiere of “Spontaneous Christmas With Doug Cameron” next December.

Style, Pages 41 on 01/12/2014

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