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The Self-Hating Hipster’s Top 50 Albums of 2013

26 Mar

2013 Albums
Two years ago (and change) I compiled a list of  the Top 11 Albums of 2011.  Last year I put together the Top 12 Albums of 2012.  Both articles were compiled of selections culled from lists of approximately 40 albums respectively.  After not publishing an article in six months I decided that those once dedicated SHH readers deserved something much more comprehensive for 2013.  Instead of publishing a predictably titled Self-Hating Hipster’s Top 13 Albums of 2013 three weeks into January of 2014 I would, as I am wont to do, aim way too high and likely disappoint myself–a Top 50!

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“Blurred Lines” – Frumpy Cat #3

13 Aug

Robin Thicke

I can’t help but play Robin Thicke’s runaway single “Blurred Lines” (featuring Pharrell Williams and T.I.) at least once every other day.  I must say though that Continue reading

Kurt Vile & The Violators at the 4Knots Music Festival (6/29/2013)

29 Jul

4 Knots BookletI turned my girlfriend on to Kurt Vile last year when I played “Baby’s Arms” for her (on my stereo…I can’t finger-pick a guitar for shit) from his 2011 Continue reading

Wilco’s 2013 Solid Sound Festival at Mass MoCA (6/22/2013)

17 Jul

2013 Solid Sound Field Guide

I bought tickets for Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival this year on April 19th, exactly ten minutes after my paycheck cleared.  The Solid Sound Festival was a weekend-long event with concerts beginning on Friday June 21st.  Due to Continue reading

The First Quarter of 2013 in Music

14 Jun

Almost exactly three months ago I posted this article with a list of twenty albums in alphabetical order which I had purchased in the first quarter of 2013.  The intent was to have the article out by mid-April.  In classic SHH fashion I decided that it would be better to do a review of twenty albums Continue reading

The Joy Formidable at Upstate Concert Hall (4/14/2013)

2 May

The Joy Formidable TicketIt’s only a few weeks late!

Since the old Northern Lights venue in Clifton Park, NY has changed hands and been renamed The Upstate Concert Hall the shows have gotten a lot better.  1) It seems as though they have finally put some capable person in charge of the acoustics so that they don’t sound absolutely awful at every show, and 2) They actually attract acts worth seeing; there are still bullshit stoner cover bands which wrangle the desperate, scene-less 40&50-somethings, but NYC’s A$AP Rocky was in Upstate New York a few months back, Foals play there this coming Monday and Wales’ The Joy Formidable Continue reading

Dirty Projectors at Skidmore College (4/13/2013)

23 Apr

Dirty Projectors Ticket

I was thrilled when I heard that Dirty Projectors would be playing at Skidmore College in Saratoga, NY, a mere 30 minute drive.  I had been to the venue before some years ago for a Wilco show.  It’s a gymnasium but the acoustics are surprisingly sharp.

My girlfriend, two friends and I arrived unfashionably early Continue reading

Record Store Day 2013

20 Apr

Record Store Day 2013

Photo by Nicki Bertsch

April 20th is a day that is (in)famous for a number of reasons.  It’s Hitler’s birthday.  It’s the anniversary date of the Columbine school shooting.  Pot-smokers celebrate 4/20 by getting rather ripped.  Today the nation celebrated the capture of the Chechnyan bomber who had terrorized Boston, MA since Monday.  And, on a sunnier note, April 20th, 2013 marked the sixth annual Record Store Day, a day of frivolous spending for audiophiles. Continue reading

Hook – Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division

18 Apr

Unknown Pleasures Inside Joy Division

Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division by Peter Hook (2013)

This is a book that I was so excited about that I pre-ordered it twice (a drunken oversight as the book’s publication was backed out a few months).  Not only was there a new back-story to one of my all-time favorite bands, it was told by the band’s bassist.   Continue reading

Al Di Meola and Gonzalo Rubalcaba at The Egg (4/7/2013)

16 Apr

Al Di Meola Ticket & LP

Above:  My ticket to the show atop Al Di Meola’s 1976 debut Land of the Midnight Sun.

I have to say that I’m glad that I subscribed to The Egg’s email list some months ago because I’m not sure that I would have heard about this show otherwise. Last Sunday night two legends of jazz in Al Di Meola and Gonzalo Rubalcaba played at the Swyer Theatre within The Egg. Continue reading