Critical Beatdown Round 3: 2009 Wrap-up

Destroyer, "Bay Of Pigs"
AM: Hard to say what this is, or why Dan Bejar might have undertaken it, though the first line provides a clue. So vastly different from the wooze-pop of his last two albums...and so much worse. The vocals are great, but the song has no kick before the guitar comes in around seven minutes. 2.5/5

NS: Like a lot of 13-minute songs, this one has a lot of chaff, and it takes the beginning in particular a while to get going. Still, there are plenty of good musical ideas which pop up occasionally, and I especially like the apocalyptic imagery, which is evocative and playful in a manner similar to Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime." 3.5/5

DJ Quik & Kurupt, "Nine Times Out Of Ten"
AM: Doomed to be compared to "Grindin," but like that song, damn good. Barely more than Kurupt's tense, terse rhymes and a drum machine, the latter of which practically ruptures space-time. 5/5

NS: This beat is a grower. Augmented by a Neptunes-ish drum pattern and a female vocal sample, Kurupt proves his lyrical worth even as his flow lags somewhat behind. Tests the limits of what I find refreshingly minimal in rap, but still an enjoyable listen. 3/5

Grizzly Bear, "Two Weeks"
AM: I really tried to resist the prim, wussy sounds of Grizzly Bear--hated Yellow House, saw them open a generally boring show. And yet..."Two Weeks." It sounds like a lost Wings single, played at 25 rpm. That's a compliment. 4.5/5

NS: Man, those pianos sound punchy, don't they? Yet another example of Grizzly Bear's inimitable instrumental touch, which finds no equal in any other band. The high vocals kill me every time, and as usual Grizzly Bear's drummer proves his mettle with a gentle instrumental flair unmatched in the business. 4.5/5

Flo Rida, "Right Round"
AM: I'm not sure if there's a rapper out there with less cred than Flo Rida. He leaves no imprint on this song whatsoever. Thankfully Dr. Luke has enough sense to dress up his graft in cool noises. 3/5

NS: Would I have at least enjoyed the sample this song is based on more had I never listened to the original Dead Or Alive song? Would I have liked the Watchmen movie if I hadn't read the original comic? Probably. Doesn't change the fact that awareness of this lazy piece of musical thievery does indeed color my critical judgment. Sorry. 1/5

Drake (Feat. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Eminem), "Forever"
AM: I resent Drake--he came from the world of Canadian teen soaps, never really proved himself before superstardom, and seems to be hedging his bets between singing and rapping. Remarkably little gets accomplished in this song's six minutes, unless you count lazy guest verses or faux-epic beats. 2.5/5

NS: The highest compliment I can give this song is that it is indeed a perfectly calibrated companion to the Lebron James documentary it features on. The force and punch of the beat on this song is beyond what popular radio is accustomed to, and I can imagine it becoming a perfect stadium jam. Of the rappers, Kanye is oddly the weakest. 4/5

Wale, "Pretty Girls"
AM: The only song I've heard off Attention Deficit with the horn-assisted smoothness of last year's killer Mixtape About Nothing--it brings back aptly-titled production team Best Kept Secret. Alas, not as lyrically intelligent as MAN's "The Manipulation," but this is a beat made for riding. 4/5

NS: I love this song despite its cruel intentions (essentially, to mock ugly girls at the expense of prettier ones). Horn samples pop up all the time in rap songs these days, but I've never heard a horn sample that sounds like this. Everything about the song, from aforementioned horns to Wale's delivery, is sheer quality. 5/5

Vampire Weekend, "Horchata"
AM: Much better than that other single, though not quite Ezra's guest spot on The Very Best's "Warm Heart Of Africa." Progresses from one nice bit to the next, the jumpy orchestral section being the best. 3/5

NS: I'm not a Vampire Weekend hater by any means, but I have to say that, despite some really good songs, they often indulge in certain musical practices that I find extremely lame. Unfortunately, this song has several of them, chiefly a sensibility that can be described as "overly chipper." 2/5

Fucked Up, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
AM: If nothing else, proof that FU understand internet-era humor. The cacophony is toned down, but it's pretty fun. My favorite guest is Bob Mould. 3.5/5

NS: Weirdly righteous. I congratulate Fucked Up in finding the hidden awesome core of a song I simply assumed was irredeemable. Fucked Up is a band of many talents. David Cross' line, aping Bono, got a big laugh out of me. Merry Christmas. 4/5


Stay tuned for 2009's final Critical Beatdown, our Single Of The Year nominations.

The Favorite Music of Nathan Sacks, 2009

1. Future Of The Left, Travels With Myself and Another
With harder riffs, a fiercer and more macabre sense of humor, and a singer who possesses the rare gift of turning screams of disgust and anguish into catchy hooks, no album excited or amused me more (check out the conversation about great prison breaks in American film in "Lapsed Catholics"). Funny, provocative and unsettling, this album and its first song, "Arming Eritrea," became the Bible by which I now choose to deal with condescending individuals in D.C.

2. Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
I've written in-depth about this album before. Suffice to say it more than makes up for its lack of any cohesive musical or narrative structure with sheer artfulness and craftsmanship on the part of Rae, Ghost, Meth, Deck and the rest. Hundreds of beautiful moments, anchored by Rae's streetwise sense of detail and buoyed by the still-fecund mind of the late J. Dilla.

3. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest
Not a bad song in this collection of sly, virtuosic tone poems, proving that experimental music utilizing devotional church-type harmonies is the kind of gambit that virtually requires repeated listens. Primo art rock, and tuneful, too.

4. Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
I've written about this album in-depth as well. I can't account for its middling reception from critics, except to note that most of them seem to think that Homme doesn't have the chops or the songwriting skills to merit playing with a rhythm section of Grohl/Jones' caliber. These critics are stupid and completely, 100% wrong about Homme. This album is an intense, enormously rewarding journey in the most classic rock sense.

5. Tyondai Braxton, Central Market
This experimental, orchestral solo work from Battles' leader basically jettisons whatever remote pop instincts that group had in favor of more virtuosic passages of avant-garde noise. I enjoyed it enormously in the same way I enjoy a lot of Frank Zappa's longer fusion works. Not necessarily tunes that are containable in one's head, but eminently listenable if you are in the mood. If you're a fan of 10+ minute songs, this has one very good one.

6. The Almighty Defenders, The Almighty Defenders
What looks to be a one-off collaboration between the Black Lips and the King Khan & BBQ Show has yielded this enormously impressive album. These soul-influenced lo-fi punkers and their songs of heartbreak and transcendence make this album the best of the year to drink alone to.

7. The xx, xx
This band gets my award for "debut album of the year that doesn't sound at all like a debut album." Smartly sequenced and immaculately produced, this album proves that all you need to carry a tune is a boy, a girl, and a bass, and everything else is merely timbre.

8. Passion Pit, Manners
I understand that this album is basically the aural equivalent of high-sugar junk food, and some of the songs are only a few D.O.C. samples away from becoming straight jock jams. Still, as I always say, one can't argue with effectiveness. The opening 25 seconds of "Little Secrets"? There's nothing that came out this year that gets me more pumped.

9. Morrissey, Years Of Refusal
Morrissey's solo work this decade has yielded a lot of quality returns, but a lot of it still has the sort of jangle-by-numbers quality that has marred (heh heh) most of his post-Smiths oeuvre. Though Jeff Beck's work on "Black Cloud" is lax and "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris" is too damn short, this album may be the best and most creative he's ever made, and the final two tracks in particular may be his best solo songwriting, ever.

10. Wale, Attention Deficit
Not a perfect album, unfortunately, which may make it sound like I am trying to affect some annoying sort of critical hometown boosterism now that I have relocated. I assure you this is not the case. Wale's flow isn't 100% spot-on, but he is one of the most intelligent and likable new rappers out there, and I guarantee you no other rap album sounds like this: if you want to know what D.C. contributes to the rap game sonics-wise, and you need an introduction, best start here. There will be more to come.