[BEST OF 2011] favourite albums #20-1 !!!!

blog 2011/12/13 - [BEST OF 2011]  TOP 20 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR!

This is it folks, the best of the best!
3 hours of MP3s covering my favourite albums that this year has offered up to me. 


Notes:
 - My list is of course rather Canadian heavy, but that is perfect for Canadians because you have probably have a chance to see many of these people on tour.  And great for everyone else because you will hear some magical sounds that you might not have been exposed to otherwise.
 - You can buy the Yamantaka // Sonic Titan album at http://yamantakasonictitan.bandcamp.com
 - And remember:  These albums make the perfect holiday gifts.
 - holiday music post, the final post of the year, coming soon!
 - TURN UP THE SPEAKERS, FLICK ON THE SUBWOOFER


CAITLYN'S FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2011

1)  Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!
2)  Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting
3)  Tune-Yards - W H O K I L L
4)  Beirut - The Rip Tide
5)  Jessica Lea Mayfield - Tell Me
6)  The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
7)  The Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck
8)  Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
9)  Hey Rosetta! - Seeds
10)  The Antlers - Burst Apart
11)  Tom Waits - Bad As Me
12)  Yuck - Yuck
13)  Action Bronson - Dr. Lecter
14)  Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
15)  Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
16)  M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
17)  Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
18)  Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - YT-ST
19)  Feist - Metals
20)  St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

21)  EMA - Past Life Martyed Saints
22)  Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
23)  Big K.R.I.T. - ReturnOf4Eva
24)  Cults - Cults
25)  James Blake - James Blake
26)  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
27)  OST - The Book Of Mormon
28)  Aurelio - Laru Beya
29)  Class Actress - Rapprocher
30)  Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia
31)  Nicholas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
32)  Sidi Toure - Sahel Folk
33)  The Horrors - Skying
34)  PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
35)  Sandro Perri - Impossible Spaces
36)  Bon Iver - Bon Iver
37)  Braids - Native Speaker
38)  Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
39)  Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings
40)  The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts

#01-20: http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20111213.zip
#21-40: http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20111212.zip
Best experimental/instrumental albums:  http://djcpi.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-of-2011-experimentalinstrumental.html
2011, Year In Review:  http://djcpi.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-of-2011-2011-in-review.html

And in case you want some more cream-of-the-crop albums as last-minute stocking-stuffers, a quick review of my top albums from prior years that you really should own by now...
2010:  The National - High Violet
2010:  Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
2009:  Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
2009:  The Antlers - Hospice
2008:  Rae Spoon - SuperiorYouAreInferior
2008:  The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride
2007:  El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
2007:  Beirut - The Flying Cup Club


THIS WEEK'S TRACKS

Action Bronson - Moonstruck
Action Bronson - Shiraz
Beirut - Goshen
Beirut - Santa Fe
Bill Callahan - One Fine Morning
Bill Callahan - Universal Applicant
Elbow - Dear Friends
Elbow - Lippy Kids
Elbow - Open Arms
Feist - Graveyard
Feist - How Come You Never Go There
Gang Gang Dance - Glass Jar
Gang Gang Dance - MindKilla
Hey Rosetta! - New Sum (Nous Sommes)
Hey Rosetta! - Yer Spring
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Our Hearts Are Wrong
Jessica Lea Mayfield - Run Myself Into The Ground
Lykke Li - Get Some
Lykke Li - Sadness Is A Blessing
M83 - Claudia Lewis
M83 - Intro (ft Zola Jesus)
Okkervil River - Hanging From A Hit
Okkervil River - Wake and Be Fine
St. Vincent - Neutered Fruit
St. Vincent - Surgeon
The Antlers - French Exit
The Antlers - Putting The Dog To Sleep
The Decemberists - Rise To Me
The Decemberists - This Is Why We Fight
The Mountain Goats - Estate Sale Sign
The Mountain Goats - High Hawk Season
Tom Waits - Satisfied
Tom Waits - Talking at the Same Time
Tune-Yards - Bizness
Tune-Yards - My Country
Yamantaka __ Sonic Titan - Hoshi Neko (single version)
Young Galaxy - B.S.E.
Young Galaxy - Blown Minded
Young Galaxy - Cover Your Tracks
Yuck - Holing Out
Yuck - Sunday


EXUENTE!  http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20111213.zip


Stay on top of everything new at http://djcpi.blogspot.com

More info:

DJ mixes

Blog archives

CPI fan page

Buy me books

Friend me on Last.FM to see what I am listening to

Enjoy!

~CPI

[BEST OF 2011] favourite albums #40-21

blog 2011/12/12 - [BEST OF 2011]  Favourite albums, # 21 - 40

Let's get it started!  I am declaring my favourite 40 pop albums of the year, and here's the first 20.

No apologies, the awesomeness speaks for itself!



CAITLYN'S FAVOURITE ALBUMS OF 2011 #40-21...

21)  EMA - Past Life Martyed Saints
22)  Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
23)  Big K.R.I.T. - ReturnOf4Eva
24)  Cults - Cults
25)  James Blake - James Blake
26)  Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
27)  OST - The Book Of Mormon
28)  Aurelio - Laru Beya
29)  Class Actress - Rapprocher
30)  Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia
31)  Nicholas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
32)  Sidi Toure - Sahel Folk
33)  The Horrors - Skying
34)  PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
35)  Sandro Perri - Impossible Spaces
36)  Bon Iver - Bon Iver
37)  Braids - Native Speaker
38)  Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
39)  Cloud Nothings - Cloud Nothings
40)  The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts



THIS WEEK'S TRACKS

Aurelio - Lubara Wanwa
Aurelio - Mayahuabá
Big K.R.I.T. - Country Shit (remix)
Big K.R.I.T. - Rise And Shine
Bon Iver - Calgary
Bon Iver - Minnesota, WI
Book Of Mormon OST - Hello!
Book Of Mormon OST - I Believe
Braids - Plath Heart
Braids - Same Mum
Class Actress - Keep You
Class Actress - Missed
Cloud Nothings - Heartbeat
Cloud Nothings - Should Have
Cults - Bumper
Cults - Go Outside
Dan Mangan - About As Helpful As You Can Be Without Being Any Help At All
Dan Mangan - Post-War Blues
EMA - Anteroom
EMA - California
Girls - Forgiveness
Girls - Vomit
James Blake - Lindisfarne II
James Blake - Unluck
Nicolas Jaar - I Got A Woman
Nicolas Jaar - Keep Me There
Patrick Wolf - Bermondsey Street
Patrick Wolf - The City
PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder
PJ Harvey - Written on the Forehead
Sandro Perri - How Will I
Sandro Perri - Wolfman
Sidi Touré - Bon Koum
Sidi Touré - Haallah
The Go! Team - Buy Nothing Day
The Go! Team - T.O.R.N.A.D.O.
The Horrors - Changing The Rain
The Horrors - I Can See Through You
Youth Lagoon - July
Youth Lagoon - Seventeen


check back tomorrow for another bucket of fish:  http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20111212.zip


Stay on top of everything new at http://djcpi.blogspot.com

More info:

DJ mixes

Blog archives

CPI fan page

Buy me books

Friend me on Last.FM to see what I am listening to

Enjoy!

~CPI

[BEST OF 2011] experimental/instrumental albums

blog 2011/12/08 - [BEST OF 2011] Best of instrumental and experimental albums


Let's get things started!  Wooot!

Experimental, contemporary instrumental, noise, classical, it's all here!  Why?  Well I generally listen to this stuff in a way separate from most pop music (i.e. contemporary song structure, usually with vocals).  Instead of focusing on genres, I am all about categorizing music on the CONTEXTS IN WHICH I UTILIZE IT.

For example:
Dance music and hiphop:  For the most part, I utilize these genres as a DJ and am purging mercilessly, which is why a lot of it does not make my best-of-2011, which focuses on COHESIVE ALBUMS.  Often my favourites will just get played at my gigs.
Pop music:  general listening, particularly in the car.
Experimental/instrumental:  I usually listehn to this stuff alone (because my wife's not too in to it,) and often with more specific focus.

I have assembled the playlist file in the post to descend from my favouritest, down.


CAITLYN'S FAVOURITE INSTRUMENTAL / EXPERIMENTAL ALBUMS OF 2011!!!!!!!!
1)  Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2; Judges
2)  Vladislav Delay Quartet - Debut
3)  Maps And Diagrams - The Town Beneath The Sea
4)  Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile - The Goat Rodeo Sessions
5)  Fourcolor - As Pleat
6)  Deaf Center - Owl and Splinters
7)  Balam Acab - Wander Wonder
8)  RxRy - A (Alpha)
9)  Ø - Heijastuva
10)  Kronos Quartet, Kimmo Pohjonen & Samuli Kosminen - Uniko
11)  Kid Koala - Space Cadet
12)  Jim O'Rourke - Old News #5
13)  VA - Tasogare Live in Tokyo
14)  Natural Snow Buildings - Chants Of Niflheim
15)  Daniel Menche - Feral
16)  Field Rotation - Regenzeit 10
17)  Taylor Deupree & Marcus Fischer - In A Place Of Such Graceful Shapes
18)  Cut Hands - Afro Noise 1
19)  Demian Johnston & Kevin Gan Yuen - Keep Your Hands
20)  Stephan Mathieu - A Static Place
21)  Stephan Mathieu - Remain
22)  Gianlucca Becuzzi - [In]visible Fields (2 CD)
23)  Reve Steich - Stunning for 18 Miles
24)  Being - Quiet Rain
25)  Vampillia - Alchemic Heart
26)  Bellows - Handcut
27)  Valerio Tricoli & Thomas Ankersmit - Forma II
28)  Loscil - Coast; Range; Arc
29)  Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
30)  Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I

AND YES, the playlist is like 6 hours long.  For large works that are a single track, I have excerpted them to give a sense of what they are about.
Please listen deeply, and then go purchase your favourite releases from this list!



THIS WEEK'S TRACKS

Balam Acab - Apart
Balam Acab - Oh, Why
Being - Partical Stream
Being - Quiet Rain (The Boats Remix)
Bellows - Traccia 01
Bellows - Traccia 05
Colin Stetson - A Dream Of Water
Colin Stetson - Judges
Cut Hands - Ezili Freda
Cut Hands - Welcome To The Feast Of Trumpets
Daniel Menche - Feral One
Deaf Center - Close Forever Watching
Deaf Center - New Beginning (Tidal Darkness)
Demian Johnston & Kevin Gan Yuen - Told Outloud Indoors
Earth - Descent To The Zenith
Field Rotation - Regenzeit
Fourcolor - Carmine Fall
Fourcolor - Quiet Gray 1
Gianlucca Becuzzi - For E.A.P
Jim O'Rourke - Detain The Man To Whom
Julianna Barwick - Cloak
Julianna Barwick - Envelop
Kid Koala - Main Title Theme (Open Your Book)
Kid Koala - Recyclotron (Page 110)
Kronos Quartet, Kimmo Pohjonen & Samuli Kosminen - Uniko III. Sarma
Kronos Quartet, Kimmo Pohjonen & Samuli Kosminen - Uniko VI. Emo
Loscil - Névé
Maps and Diagrams - Lorentzen
Maps and Diagrams - Ukiyo-e
Minamo - Live In Tokyo April 11 2010
Natural Snow Buildings - Chants Of Niflheim Part II
Ø - Heijastuva
Reve Steich - Stunning for 18 Miles (excerpt)
RxRy - Elipsis
RxRy - Stag
Stephan Mathieu - Remain (excerpt)
Stephan Mathieu - Schwarzschild Radius
Taylor Deupree + Marcus Fischer - In A Place Of Such Graceful Shapes (excerpt)
Valerio Tricoli & Thomas Ankers - Zwerm Voor Tithonus
Vampillia - Sea (excerpt)
Vladislav Delay Quartet - Des Abends
Vladislav Delay Quartet - Santa Teresa


love and noise and noise and love:  http://thetastates.com/mp3s/blog/blog20111208.zip


Stay on top of everything new at http://djcpi.blogspot.com

More info:

DJ mixes

Blog archives

CPI fan page

Buy me books

Friend me on Last.FM to see what I am listening to

Enjoy!

~CPI

[BEST OF 2011] 2011 in review

2011 in review
Wow, another year!  They are positively cascading away from me.  All downhill from here…  Are you reading this?
I'm doing things slightly different now.  A few changes this year:  I am only going to bother with the top 40 albums.  Not 50.
I am not going to bother with listing my favourite mixtapes (because obviously they are the ones I made), nor best EPs nor reissues.  I will still post a selection of my favourite experimental records.
I will write less about the albums.  I will write more about myself.  I will offer a schedule.
Dec 07: this.
Dec 08: best of instrumental & experimental
Dec 12: BO2011:  40-21
Dec 13: BO2011:  20-1
Dec 15: annual holiday music post



So what did I accomplish this year?
I spent most of my time on the Chosen Families series and am incredibly proud of them.  Download them ASAP if you have not already…
The development of my "dreamer beats" aesthetic has resulted in mixes that are very rewarding for me.  They are their own little worlds that span genres and conventions, but give me the emotional hooks I am looking for.  All the while being as smooth as possible.
CPI - Directions To My Special Place (chosen families 1)
CPI - Glittering, Waiting (chosen families 2)
CPI - Always More Than This (chosen families 3)
CPI - Oh, Glorious Perversions (chosen families 4)
Combine that with last year's Moonchild (in memoriam) and you have over 7 hours of musical mixes that you probably can't find anywhere else.  If there's anyone else doing this, I'd love to know because I would want people making stuff like this for me.

I released a new single by Lesbians On Ecstasy featuring bounce sensation Big Freedia, including my own DJ edit of it.   Check the video and get the MP3s.

I have an art book collection which you can browse over at Librarything,  I just set up my profile there this year.  I like to get my books as cheap as possible though, so to assist I created a new tool.
Amazon Used Deals Finder scans anyone's wishlist and finds the best deals on it, and as well tracks historical trends in an item's used price.
It's pretty damn cool, even if like my mixes, I have no idea how to promote it and get it in to the hands of those who need it.
But that is how I work:  focus on a project, make it as best I can, dump it online to be obscured by the sheer volume of the internet and then move on to the next.

I set up a lot of different sites.  Like http://caitlynpascal.com for starters.  I also got on twitter at and tumblr.

In Ottawa, in collaboration with Ad-ver-sary, I started a new noise & experimental performance series called Pitch Black.  Check us out at http://PitchBlackNoise.ca if you are in to weird sounds and/or want to perform for us.
My jadedness about queer clubs/DJs in Ottawa boiled over and I decided fuck it, I'm starting my own.  It will be called Q-Bounce and shall debut in January.   QUEER BASS UNDERGROUND.  Http://q-bounce.ca to get on board for that.  CPI favourite Rae Spoon will be performing at the opening night.
I also still run an LGBT-focused underground documentary series called Divergence Movie Night, http://DivergenceMovieNight.com and we just finished our SIXTH YEAR.
Q-Bounce will be a joint fundraiser for Divergence Movie Night and the amazing people at the Venus Envy Bursary Fund.  Pitch Black and Q-Bounce will be quarterly.  For the next year or two I will probably move DMN to being bimonthly, just so I can fit it all in sanely.

I had the magical opportunity to score a new sound-piece for contemporary dancer Lana Morton.  It debuted in May.

Posted 63 mp3 blogs.
Uploaded a bunch of youtube videos.
We had 11 Divergence Movie Night screenings.
Curated 2 art shows.



THE FUTURE

There is just SO MUCH MUSIC nowadays, it's pretty foolish to think you can ever be on top of it.
This year I spent most of my time listening to new music, let's say a few hundred albums from 2011, and still there are tonnes of BEST OF lists out there with albums I have never heard.
I found a crapload of amazing music. And that also means there is also a crapload of amazing music out there that I didn't hear.
It is exciting! And terrifying!
Every once in a while I feel I have to abdicate some internal desire to check out everything that people hold high and exclaim about. Every once in a while I have to remember to go back and listen to records that didn't just come out this year.
My joy received from hearing great music must be tempered by the realization that there is far more amazing music out there than I will ever properly consume. That the vastness of talent out there is well beyond my grasp.  That I barely even listen to classical genres, that I barely watch any contemporary dance!  The world spins fantastically.
Back in the pre-Internet days, the music world consisted of what the 2 or 3 awesome records shops had stocked and what ended up on traded mixtapes you dubbed. It seemed much more containable.  You felt like you could hold it in your hands if you tried hard enough.
I want to feel more content with the reality that I am just scraping the surface, to just be happy with that, and enjoy that small amount with as much prescience (and fidelity!) as I can reasonably accommodate.

I do not know how much longer I will continue doing this blog.  I am not really sure if a significant number of my friends use it at all.  Every day 10 new music blogs spring up by people who know how to wite and have more time on their hands.
Even if sometimes I feel like a mid-size fish, the world is a gigantic pond, and so it can feel discouraging to continue.  Do people still download these?  Do I still bring anything to the table?



ALL I ASK
If I can ask for one holiday gift, please just pass my new mixes along to whomever might enjoy them.  I put a lot of work in to them.
If you can write about them, or know someone that can, please please please any press is great.  No blogs write about my mixes.  The internet is a deafening silence.

The blogs are filled with mixes that just don't interest me.  Bleeding-edge tracklists that aren't interesting and shoddy mixing.  Poorly thought-out transitions and massive key clashes abound.
I feel like I've produced something worthwhile.  The music world reflection tells me otherwise.
I've written to over a hundred music blogs in the past, but no replies.  There are thousands of people flogging their unheard masterpieces out there.

If you can signal boost, in any capacity, it would be greatly appreciated.

At the very least, I am going to keep working on my mixes since in the end I make them for me and me alone.  I got addicted to the joy of having other people love them too, and it is a harsh crash when expectations aren't met.
I will continue to work on producing local events here for my communities.  At least with that the change can feel palpable.  I'm not the anonymous millions on the internet flogging their toss-off mixes, I am actually doing real things with real people.
Real movement, real smiles.

Thanks for sticking with me for so long.  Let's see what 2012 has in store.