The world (and Kanye, and Aziz) loves ‘Niggas In Paris‘. I get it, it gets to the heart of the $LOL$ Rich Nigga attitude that Kanye and Jay Z were going for; but ‘That’s My Bitch‘ has Kanye’s perfectionist million-dollar production, a ridiculously catchy synth riff and classic Kanye lyrics (“seen by actors, ball players and drug dealers / and some lesbians that never loved niggas”).

#30 (tie). Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

With hints of Bowie and Laurie Anderson, Kate Bush made a record that is more wintery than winter. The 50 words make a Kate Bush amount of sense, but that’s the lark—like Haruki Murakami, she makes the weird normal and the normal weird. ‘50 Words For Snow‘ is…kafkaesque?

#30 (tie). Tyler, The Creator – Tron Cat

Tyler’s radical post-racial (and post-societal) hiphop expands on the culture-changing modus operandi of late-80s N.W.A. It’s challenging as hell, even for a desensitized postmodern culture, but that’s exactly what socially relevant music should be. ‘Tron Cat‘ references wetbacks, rape and Hitler; and Tyler himself might be satan. Good luck with that.

#29. Mogwai – San Pedro

It’s easy to forget that post-rock didn’t always get wet for crescendos and Friday Night Lights soundtracks. Mogwai started this game, and even though ‘Mogwai Fear Satan‘ is gone fishin’, they can still occasionally go down to Pound Town. Post-rock.

#28. Hype Williams – William Shotgun Sprayer

Hype Williams is eerie and elusive, and his music comes from a Psilocybin-soaked, Oxycodonian world with no space/time continuum. This song soundtracks death and birth, and it probably plays somewhere in the background as life is lived as well.

#27. Young Prisms – Sugar

Young Prisms exist on that post-My Bloody Valentine plane that every spacey band since 1991 has been unable to escape from. But there’s a certain postmodernism on this song—a repetitive, naturalistic laconicism—that builds off of MBV into slightly uncharted territory.

#26. Tom Vek – On A Plate

It’s been six years since Tom’s last album, but he is as snide and cool—and detached—as ever. This record is kind of heavy, but it also isn’t. The synth is a tigress and the album is perfectly titled: Leisure Seizure.

#25. Wilco – One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)

Apparently we have Jane Smiley’s boyfriend to thank for twelve minutes of Jeff Tweedy waxing religion atop an elegiac mist of acoustic guitar and wandering bass. ‘One Sunday Morning‘ is not too long, or too short, or too self-serious. It’s kind of perfect. Wilco is in vintage form here.

#24. The Decemberists – This Is Why We Fight

The Decemberists can be eye-rollingly haughty at times, so the sincerity of this record was a pleasant surprise. ‘This Is Why We Fight‘ is a legitimate anthem, and Colin Meloy manages to keep the pretense low (though the outro might beg you to disagree).

#23. Bright Eyes – Jejune Stars

I am still not willing to give Conor the neo-Bob Dylan label, but he does seem to be maturing well. The People’s Key is his best album yet—even if Denny Brewer’s hippie soliloquies can be a bit off-putting—and ‘Jejune Stars‘ is effortless and heavy and fantastic. Spiritual.

#22. Bill Callahan – America!

Bill’s linguistic command is superb, and the snide wordplay in this song is just phenomenal: (“All the lucky suckle teat / Others chaw pig knuckle meat / Ain’t enough teat, ain’t enough teat, ain’t enough to eat”).

#21. Das Racist – Michael Jackson

Hip Hop has been undergoing a post-racial rebirth (see Tyler, The Creator) over the past few years, and dudes like Das Racist are one of its prime reasons. On ‘Michael Jackson‘, Heems and Kool A.D. ditch their freestylish flow to show off the Good Times and ironic pop hooks that come so naturally to them.

#20. Kreayshawn – Gucci Gucci

‘Gucci Gucci‘ is arguably the most vapid musical expression of postmodernism western society has come up with; regardless, it’s fan-fucking-tastic. And it says exactly what it needs to say about our culture. Don’t let scholars—or anyone else—convince you that this song has no merit. It does; it’s important; it’s wonderful.

#19. The Soft Moon – Repetition

The Chernobyl Nightmare World that The Soft Moon reside in is absolutely terrifying. Somehow they took the influences of Suicide, Throbbing Gristle, et al., and made them scarier and more poppy at the same time. ‘Repetition‘ repeats. A lot. It is a seriously insane piece of music. And yet it’s so beautiful.

#18. John Maus – Head For The Country

‘Head For The Country‘ is a lovely song by an Ariel Pink disciple who probably watched John Hughes films instead of Stan Brakhage shorts. The 80s have been done to death over the past decade, but Maus found a way to reinvigorate them with arthouse intentions.

#17. J Mascis – Is It Done

Hearing J Mascis’ voice on top of acoustic guitars is unsettling; his voice sounds frail—even fragile(?)—but these songs are haunting and beautiful, and surprise Mascis solos come out of nowhere. (And they somehow fit in perfectly.)

#16. Wye Oak – Civilian

“My God,” is the only thing to say about this song. Transcendent, maybe. Or intense. Somehow it has a (nonexistent?) time and place connected to it, like a withering wind that wears down as time marches on.

#15. Dirty Beaches – Lord Knows Best

‘Lord Knows Best‘ marries Suicide and Elvis perfectly and beautifully. It is stirring and wistful like a little boy drowning in a pond; it would fit in a Jim Jarmusch film; and for some reason I hope that Macaulay Culkin has heard it.

#14. Hooves – No Use For Dying
My BFFs wrote a song about getting old and being a loser dj at a bar while the world passes you by. The album isn’t finished yet, so here is a YouTube version. The video is bleak (so is getting old).

#13. Starfucker – Mystery Cloud

Sadly, I only discovered this year that Starfucker is the brainchild of Joshua Hodges (he also created one of my favorite albums of the past decade—Sexton Blake’s Plays The Hits!). ‘Mystery Cloud‘ shows off Hodges’ velvety smooth voice with a backdrop of spacey fireworks that sound a lot like love.

#12. WU LYF – We Bros.

The hollowed-out mixture of Explosions In The Sky and Modest Mouse on WU LYF’s “we-recorded-this-in-a-church” debut is both glimmering and grim; an augury of death and an anthem of rejoice.

#11. Handsome Furs – What About Us

The adorable couple that is Handsome Furs got all cute on us and wrote an album while they traveled through third world countries, using synth instead of guitar (it’s inspired by Eastern European electronic/industrial and includes found sound). If you’re thinking that sounds a lot like Mates Of State or something, don’t worry, this is dark as shit—like, Jean-Claude Van Damme Movie dark.

#10. PJ Harvey – In The Dark Places

On a concept album about World War I, ‘In The Dark Places‘ is possibly the most depressing of all. With tales of death and crosses and guns, Polly Jean brings us through the killing fields and into the hellward minds of men.

#9. Salem – I’m Still In The Night

These unlikable douchebags have given a soundtrack to the aimless, egoless members of Generation Y. The soul-crushing purposelessness of this song paints a stark—but honest—picture of suburban sprawl (or American Pragmatism, or both).

#8. Fucked Up – Under My Nose

Fucked Up is ushering in the new breed of punk (complex, overdubbed, no less vigorous). ‘Under My Nose‘ brings Siamese Dream to mind with its melodically-driven guitar tracks. Listening to beautiful punk is weird, but, it’s where we’ve come and it’s all been worth it.

#7. Moonface – Return To The Violence Of The Ocean Floor

Another part of the Wolf Parade family tree (this one belongs to Spencer Krug and his synth); for some reason this album—and this song in particular—always reminds me of the scene in The Royal Tenenbaums where Richie and Royal are walking arm in arm at the graveyard and Royal asks, “Why did you choke out there that day, Baumer?”

#6. Tom Waits – Bad As Me

A carnival of raspy folk devils and drunken vagrants soundtracked by a New Awlins speakeasy has become a familiar song structure for Tom Waits. His bag of tricks is well-worn, but his are tricks worth using. He’s Tom Fuckin’ Waits.

#5. Starscream – Galeforce

‘Galeforce‘ starts out sluggish, slow and lost but finishes with a soul-raping Titanic crescendo that can never be turned loud enough. Rockets and bombs (and hailstorms) are less climactic.

#4. The Hood Internet – Go Hahahaha (Das Racist vs. Cults)

The Dudes With The Worst Name Ever have made some absolute shit (the consequence of being such prolific producers and remixers), but this unbelievable mix transcends both originals (Das Racist’s ‘Hahahaha Jk?‘ and Cults’ ‘Go Outside‘). I cannot imagine a more flawless mashup.

#3. Gang Gang Dance – MindKilla

The consequence of shamanism and indie electronica; spiritual leaders and (drugs?). Gang Gang Dance. Orgasmic sensory overload. ‘MindKilla‘ transcends nationalistic and cultural boundaries and connects to a global consciousness. It sounds like a Burning Man diary entry, but it’s true.

#2. Kurt Vile – Society Is My Friend

Kvile is so mellow and cooler-than-you’ll-ever-be (those beautiful locks!); it’s like rolling up the detachment of JMC with Thurston and soundtracking it with Dylan songs. Society is my friend, but I wish Kurt Vile was.

#1. The War On Drugs – Baby Missiles

A song about gay sex that channels Bruce and Dylan (Brucewave) with postmodern nonchalance is not something I ever thought I would need. It’s the best song of the year. 2011.

The Fugs – The Fugs (1966)
The Fugs’ were one of NYC’s earliest garage/proto-punk bands, influencing everyone from the Velvets themselves—Sterling Morrison considered them an “authentic Lower East Side band”—to punk (obvi) to just about everyone in the modern DIY indie landscape—most notably The Brian Jonestown Massacre (practically a Fugs cover band) and Black Lips.

Norman Mailer’s The Naked And The Dead inspired the band name—it’s a euphemism for “fuck”!—and their lyrics are 100%-drilled-to-the-bone old-time-Rock’N'Roll sex sex sex, which of course meant that Lester Bangs was a huge fan. While worshipping the sex-hounding Troggs in his infamous glamour-crushing ‘James Taylor Marked For Death‘ essay, he digressed on The Fugs’ ‘I Want To Know‘ in typical Bangs eloquence (“a very youthful song of discovery and new nooky I think I’ll start playing it when I get up in the morning”).

They were just a bunch of anti-Vietnam druggie poets (“New York’s most fantastic protest rock and roll peace – sex – grass – psychedelic singing group who write all their own material utilizing the artistic and literary heritage of the low East Side of New York combined with the civil rights and peace movements.”), but their albums were considered so vulgar and sexual (e.g.; “I don’t even hear them / Because I’m high / and I’m gettin’ almost as much pussy as the spades” from ‘Doin’ All Right’), they got the attention of our boy J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. This letter (from 1969) forwarded Virgin Fugs—which “contains 11 numbers by the group which are vulgar and repulsive and are most suggestive”.

The Fugs features Ginsberg-written liner notes and everything that pissed off The Man and made The Fugs influential (tongue-in-cheek sexplay, devil-may-care attitude, and druggy anarchist poetry with simple-and-catchy pop-song overtones). It’s a record that most people don’t realize was being made in 1966, and it undoubtedly gave plenty of lost little kids the childhood ammunition that would guide them to CBGB in the 70s.

Kvile has been on fire this year; ‘Early Dawnin’‘, which appears on Vile’s exceptional In My Time 7″, combines the emotional fragility and acoustic-electropop tendencies of a Benoît Pioulard or Sufjan Stevens with the devil-may-care cool of Adam Green or Evan Dando.

#15. (Tie) Perfume Genius – Mr. Peterson

One of the most emotional songs from an incredibly emotionally-charged record; ‘Mr. Peterson‘ details the story of a gay relationship between a student and his teacher that ultimately results in the teacher’s suicide. Mike Hadreas’s delivery is somehow both full of emotion and completely detached, giving this song a white-knuckled tension that is only accentuated by brilliant lyrics like “He made me a tape of Joy Division / He told me there was a part of him missing / When I was sixteen / He jumped off a building”.

#14. Caribou – Jamelia

‘Jamelia‘ features an intense tribal vocal melody that sounds oddly at home with the song’s backing bubble-bouncing synths and wintry timbre. Random orchestral and keyboard glitches give additional intensity to its climactic buildup, which is somewhere between danceparty and hypnotized.

#13. Women – Eyesore

Women have a stunning mastery of dissonant melody—rivaling Engine Down mastermind Keeley Davis’s—and ‘Eyesore‘ displays this at its fullest. The sluggish track features a slowly building vocal arc that playfully dances atop a dissonant guitarscape and waltzy drum fills, but never really resolves the tension, which is sort of Women’s game.

#12. First Aid Kit – When I Grow Up

The B-side to First Aid Kit’s ‘Ghost Town‘ single, ‘When I Grow Up‘ emphasizes the surreality of the Fever Ray original while staying true to its bleak temperament. I like to think of this song as the soundtrack to a timelapse of a frozen Disko Bay sunset; with First Aid Kit’s version playing during the day while Fever Ray’s takes place when the sun sets.

#11. Warpaint – Undertow

Warpaint is the hip band right now, but honestly, they deserve it. I admit, the dark and sexy sedation of ‘Undertow‘ did not hit me on first, second or even fifth listen, and the rest of the album took even longer. But when that perfect moment finally hit, it was damn near impossible to turn this song off repeat. Plus, every time I listen to this band, I am given a reason to remember the film Rules Of Attraction (starring former Warpaint member Shannyn Sossamon), which in turn gives me reason to laugh at one of the most hilariously self-indulgent film scenes ever (Dawson Leary James Van Der Beek taking a dump).

#10. Deerhunter – Desire Lines

I got a chance to see Deerhunter in October, and they opened with a near-8 minute version of ‘Desire Lines‘, which only intensified the shoegazey hypnotism of the breakdown. I think it’s odd that a Lockett Pundt-sung song can sound so “Deerhunter”, but this might be the most quintessential Deerhunter song on Halcyon Digest.

#9. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Get Out Of Here

Pitchfork called Les Savy Fav’s latest album a victory lap, which I think misses the point. The fact that the last few years of Les Savy Fav seem so effortless—yet somehow poppy but punky but artsy but experimental—doesn’t mean they’re mailing it in; it’s the opposite: these dudes are really, really good at writing songs. I cannot point to a single song off either of their last two albums that I would consider a poorly written, lazy effort. I think because they have become so easy to listen to, their artsy tendencies can go unnoticed. Somehow Tim Harrington can make an unconventional art-punk song sound like a Can’t-Stop-Believin’ style singalong. That’s the genius of this band.

#8. Beach House – Walk In The Park

I saw Beach House at Pitchfork 2010, and it is uncanny how much Victoria Legrand resembles Nico—both in looks and in sound. ‘Walk In The Park‘ became a hypnotic anthem for me in large part because I was introduced to it during a period of major life transitions last winter, but also because it is simply an incredibly well-written bit of happy/sad indie pop bliss.

#7. oOoOO – Sedsumting

oOoOO is my favorite band from the Witch House fringe genre, and though that genre has probably run its course, I will be listening to this song for a long time. oOoOO generally stays away from the slowed down hip-hop favored by other witch housers (Salem), focusing instead on tight songwriting that happens to be valium-paced.

#6. Salem – Killer

The retards in Salem are undoubtedly the douchiest people making music right now. If you haven’t seen the atrocious live performance of them at Levi’s Fader Fort Tent, you are probably a happier person. [Warning, seriously do not watch that video if you like this band but are unable to appreciate music made by douchebags.] Fortunately, I learned how to separate idiots from great music back in my Smashing Pumpkins days; and as much as I’d love to punch these guys in the face, I cannot deny my love for this song.

#5. Kanye West – Power

Kanye’s Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is not perfect, despite Pitchfork’s willful, godlike praising of it—and of Kanye in general over the years—but aside from Chris Rock’s laughably terrible appearance, it is definitely an outstanding record. Other than the fleeting Nicki Minaj (BRILLIANT) and Bon Iver moments, my favorite track is easily ‘Power‘, with its biting lyrics and awesomely megalomaniacal tone. ‘Power‘ is so overconfident, but Kanye’s cleverly sculpted rhymes give this song’s message—and Kanye’s supreme ego—all the cred it needs. And how amazing is that synth riff?

#4. Crystal Castles – Vietnam

Crystal Castles seem to be the Bob Dylan of electronic indie these past few years. (That is, zigging when everyone else is zagging, and doing it brilliantly every time. Don’t confuse that statement with a comparison of Dylan’s historical importance or decades-long genius, though. Also, CC seem to be similarly assholish, albeit in a much more annoying way.) On this year’s record, CC has shed most of their 8bit/chiptune skin to experiment with a darker trance sound that at times sounds like something Sasha & Digweed—or even a hard trance dj like DJ Micro—might have once played. And they did it at the peak of the genre’s popularity.

#3. Abe Vigoda – Beverly Slope

Abe Vigoda is one of the few bands whose switch to a more poppy sound seems to have been welcomed with open arms. Their latest record is loaded with melodic hooks, of which ‘Beverly Slope‘ tops my list. This song is pretty reminiscent of a lot of the neo post-punk that has been coming out in recent years (Sound Team, any post-Interpol band, etc., etc.), but with those superior Smell style tendencies we all love so much.

#2. Japandroids – Heavenward Grand Prix

Japandroids have been releasing singles all year long in lieu of a full-length, and every single one of them has been amazing. ‘Heavenward Grand Prix, though, is on another level. What I especially love about this song, and a lot of recent Japandroids songs, are the 90s space-rock/math-rock/post-hardcore influences. I have no idea if these dudes were into bands like Hum, Girls Against Boys, or Shiner, but I have certainly been noticing some (good!) similarities lately.

#1. Health – USA Boys

Health is one of the absolute best bands alive right now. Their Tweets are hilarious; they have played two of the best shows I have ever seen (once in front of about 15 people when Crystal Castles inexplicably canceled and most of the crowd left; and once in front of a sold-out crowd at 7th St. Entry—two completely different experiences that were amazing on equally different levels); and even their remixes are incredible. ‘USA Boys‘, one of the best moments at that 7th St. Entry show, as well as one of the best songs they have written, exhibits all of Health’s strengths simultaneously: an unstoppable hook; apocalyptic, dancey beats; and watery, hypnotic vocals, all backed by an experimental art video.

You can find part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here and part 7 here.

	#30 Islands – Arm’s Way (2008) ANTI- Former Unicorn Nick Diamonds gets more poppy and less weird on Arm’s Way, but that’s not a bad thing. Diamonds’ hooks are everywhere: the lyrics tend toward macabre; (“Creeper in my home crawled in through the window/I grabbed the kitchen knife couldn’t stick it in no/Creeper had his own shining in the moonlight“), and best of all, that beloved Unicorn eccentricity is still there.
	#29 The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) Warner Bros. The Flaming Lips’ catalogue includes Zaireeka—a 4-disc album intended to be played on four different stereos simultaneously; a front-to-back remake of Dark Side of the Moon; production work for Steve Burns (of Blues Clues fame); years of bizarre costumes and an obsession with robots and UFOs. With the Lips’ love of all-things-weird as context, Yoshimi doesn’t come across as weird for weirdness sake (these songs are seriously good); but Wayne Coyne’s absurdism—as should be expected—is all over it.
	#28 Santogold – Santogold (2008) Downtown Records Santogold (now Santigold)’s debut is a ridiculously catchy, genre-bending mashup of indie-disco, dub and hip-hop (a less in-your-face M.I.A.). Production help includes M.I.A.’s own Diplo and Switch, and Spank Rock makes a guest-appearance on the dub-stepping reggae update, ‘Shove It‘. This record has attitude, but more importantly, it’s a four-on-the-floor dancefloor destroyer.
	#27 Minus The Bear – Menos El Oso (2005) Suicide Squeeze Records Menos El Oso showcases Minus The Bear at their absolute best. Waves of whammy-bar reverb turn every one of these songs into a sun-drenched, boozy jam. Jake Snider’s lyrics are typically day-in-the-life (“A swimming pool with no bodies/Is a problem that we can fix/Dropped his clothes on the chase lounge and asked/’Are you gonna come in?’“), which just adds to Menos El Oso‘s perpetually wasted vibe. The band released an outstanding remix album—titled Interpretaciones Del Oso—as well.
	#26 Witch Hats – Cellulite Soul (2008) In-Fidelity Grungy, debauched, and sloppy as hell; this is Witch Hats. Cellulite Soul—the band’s debut—is a lurching bonfire of post-punk and sneer. Album opener ‘Before I Weigh‘ has the pace of sludge and the sweet, sweet nectar of gloom. The rest of the album is similarly vagrant: ‘Hellhole‘ would make a great backdrop for a prison beating; ‘Doors Film‘ is eight minutes of bad acid.
	#25 New Order – Get Ready (2001) London Eight years after Republic and over 20 years after Ian Curtis’s suicide, New Order finally broke completely free from Joy Division. Get Ready RIPs the band’s post-Joy Division synth-pop palate in favor of crawling, shoegazy distortion. Sumner’s vocals are detached, hypnotic; ‘Crystal‘—New Order’s career apex—is a mind-melting anthem of fragility. Sumner’s lyrics have never been his strongpoint—and they certainly aren’t here either—but that simply doesn’t matter.
	#24 At The Drive-In – Relationship of Command (2000) Grand Royal Records Relationship of Command (At The Drive-In’s final record before splitting into Sparta and The Mars Volta) featured breakneck tempos; split-second time changes; intense, poetry-slam lyrics; and the spastic insanity of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López. As PCP-insane as this record is, though, it’s still poppy as fuck. You’d be singing along to mosh-pit anthems like ‘One Armed Scissor‘ and ‘Sleepwalk Capsules‘ even if you were on fire.
	#23 Pidgeon – Might As Well Go Eat Worms (2008) Cloud Recordings A schizophrenic post-Pixies drug den, Might As Well Eat Worms—Pidgeon’s second criminally underrated album—is a brilliant postmodern adaptation of Black Francis/Kim Deal-ish back-and-forth. Its songs constantly evolve and devolve into strange comedowns and out-of-nowhere harmonies; bits and pieces that coil and weave from shrieks to lullabies and back again.
	#22 Blonde Redhead – 23 (2007) 4AD Blonde Redhead’s followup to the startling pop sensibilities of Misery is a Butterfly—23 expands Misery’s Murakami-dreamworld with more death, more gloom and more shoegaze. Makino’s voice is angelic and delicate; and often simply bone-chilling. The highlight of the record, ‘Spring and By Summer Fall‘, is an icy shoegaze anthem that thunders melody and mood; grabs your soul and doesn’t let go.
	#21 The Microphones – The Glow Pt. 2 (2001) K Records As much as I appreciate the prolificacy of Phil Elvrum—one of the more genuine artists you’ll find today—he will probably never come close to matching The Glow Pt. 2. That’s not necessarily a putdown, it’s just that this album is so…perfect. This is a record dripping with raw emotion, gorgeous melodies, haunting themes; and Elvrum is behind every stunning second of it. The Glow Pt. 2 is as close as lo-fi indie rock will ever come to its own SMiLE.

Wavves – King of the Beach (2010)
[Fat Possum]

San Diego beach-punks Wavves’ brand new album, King Of The Beach, has already received rave reviews from Pitchfork; a great first step following last year’s public meltdown and stinging criticism from members of Black Lips and Psychedelic Horseshit.

King Of The Beach dials down the fuzz to focus on surfy Beach Boy harmonies and nostalgic references to the 80s (Nintendo, Super Soakers, baseball cards).

The pot-fueled cover for the album (my favorite cover of the year) was designed by friend-of-the-band Kelly Seagraves. I caught up with her to talk about her inspirations for the cover.

How’d you get hooked up with Wavves? Did you know them?

Yes, I’ve been friends with Billy Hayes (drummer) and Stephen Pope (bassist) for a pretty long time. I did a mural of Stevie Wonder in Billy’s house while he was on tour with Wavves, and the whole band seemed to like it. When they got done recording the album, Billy suggested that me and his girlfriend, Margaret Graves – who collaborated with me on the cover – come up with something. So we started brainstorming.

What inspiration did you have for the cover? Did you have any specific instructions from the band or the label?

I hadn’t met Nathan when Billy asked us to do the cover, so I just asked him, “Well what does this dude like?” Billy gave me a short list. Weed, California, skateboards, cats. When he told me Nathan had a cat named “Snacks”, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. The cover is essentially a portrait of some dude’s cat, but I wanted him to look ancient. Like something you’d see on an Aztec calendar stone. I gave him a black halo, magical weed leaf, and an All-Seeing Eye to ward off evil. Margaret did the blinged out step-pyramid background.

Everything was kind of inspired by 2012 mysticism and drug culture. Snacks is now totally equipped for the apocalypse. Shamanized.

Take me through your process. Do you freehand, or is it all digital? Or a mixture of both.

I freehand everything, paint it, ink it, scan it, then make it look sharp.

Do you have an all-time favorite album cover?

I guess I’d have to say [Michael Jackson's] Thriller. It’s not fancy, but it’s classic, and something about having that image around makes me feel empowered.

When I look at the King Of The Beach cover, I can’t help but think of World 2 on Super Mario 3. Did you ever beat that game?

Holy shit. That was my favorite level. Mario motifs. Yeah, it’s all subconscious now. Mario life.

Do you have any sketches or drafts or other stuff you didn’t get to use for this (or for the Post-Acid cover) that you’d like to share?

A few things. We did stuff specifically for the inside of the album too, so I hope people check that out. Some of the little patterns and flourishes are from older drawings. You can see that stuff at my blog.

Quick! What’s the best episode of Saved By The Bell?

The one where Jessie freaks out on pills. “I’m so excited! I’m so excited! I’m so scared!” Really hits the nail on the head.

Other work from Kelly:

I woke up to thunder today, thanking everything holy that it might not be as hot outside. (Not the case! It was hotter than hell) But heat doesn’t matter when a day full of amazing music awaits, and Day 3 was my most anticipated lineup of the entire weekend.

After an awesome late breakfast at The American Depot near Austin, I arrived at the festival just in time to see up-and-coming blog favorite, Best Coast. Led by Bethany Cosentino, Best Coast was a beautiful way to start the day. The crowd was in full-on beach mode, tossing giant beach balls back and forth as Bethany played through most of her upcoming album, including ‘Crazy For You‘ and new single ‘Boyfriend‘. Her voice sounded stunning and angelic, reminiscent of early-50s girl groups. I already loved these songs, but they were even better live.

I left Best Coast’s set early to check out Girls on the A stage. Main Girl Christopher Owens looked ridiculous and amazing in his long-sleeve tropical Hawaiian shirt tucked into tan khakis. They opened with ‘Laura‘—a perfect fit for a sunny Sunday afternoon—and continued with more laid-back beachy jams until playing a sedated version of ‘Lust For Life‘ near the end of the set. Owens seemed legitimately nice (and humbled) too—at one point shooting video of the crowd, telling everybody to “say hi to mom”.

Beach House continued the relaxing summer vibe on the C stage with an absolutely mesmerizing show. They gathered one of the bigger crowds of the afternoon; played ‘Walk In The Park‘ and ‘Norway‘ back to back to hypnotize us all; and finished with a ravishing version of ‘10 Mile Stereo‘ that ended to massive cheers while Victoria Legrand held the final note for 20-some seconds. The stage décor (silver confetti streamers à la Warhol’s Silver Factory) and Legrand’s deadpan, hypnotic vocals reminded me of Nico, which I’d never thought before.

Lightning Bolt hit the A stage next, and it was absolutely: ear-splitting, eye-melting, awesome. If anyone was going to die this weekend, it was going to be during this show, which redefined loud. I still have no idea how these two guys can make that much delicious noise. Drummer Brian Chippendale was the highlight of the show (wearing a mic-outfitted mask and virtually destroying his drumset with ridiculous fills).

Photo by Marty Perez

I had planned to check out the beginning of Major Lazer before heading over to Neon Indian, but Major Lazer’s show was so insane and amazing that there was no way that was happening. Instead of leaving, I moved closer to the stage. Diplo and Switch (Major Lazer’s two main culprits) were outrageous; this was a partyx3. Switch, has to be completely insane at this point; he came out wearing purple suspender-pants and a bleached Mohawk, taking pulls of Hennessy. There were Chinese dragons (later replaced by ballerinas), half-naked dancers, and seXXX-energy everywhere. Rolls of toilet paper thrown into the crowd; goose-stepping ballerinas; oh my god, this is happening. The show was 100% localized, and Switch gave shout-outs to Chicago and Pitchfork in nearly every song. Diplo was killing it on the breakdowns, (a cardboard sign near his DJ decks accurately stated, ‘Diplo Rulz’) and by the end of the show Switch had the crowd waving shirts in the air as he climbed a 10-foot ladder only to take off his pants and jump to the ground.

Pavement finished off the night—and the festival—with a set heavy on classics and heavy on mood. Stephen Malkmus’s slacker hooks were an absolutely perfect comedown from the hi-heat, hi-energy weekend. They started off the set with ‘Cut Your Hair‘, and played just about everything else, including ‘Shady Lane‘, ‘Stereo‘ (which Malkmus dedicated to Pitchfork security), ‘Trigger Pull‘ and ‘Silent Kid‘. Hearing the solo on ‘Stop Breathin’‘ as the Festival came to a close was incomparably awesome.

Top 7 music moments of the weekend:
7. Modest Mouse opening with a 9-minute version of ‘Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes‘
6. Liars covering Bauhaus
5. Pavement playing the solo of ‘Stop Breathin’‘ as the Festival began to shut down.
4. Major Lazer attempting crowd-seizures during ‘Keep It Goin’ Louder‘
3. Beach House playing ‘Walk In The Park‘/’Norway‘ back to back
2. LCD Soundsystem’s four-on-the-floor stomper, ‘All My Friends‘
1. Nine members of Titus Andronicus and Hallelujah The Hills finishing off ‘…And Ever‘

Other loose ends:
-Oldest Festivalgoer: about 60
-Youngest Festivalgoer: about 3 months
-Most ironic band t-shirt: Billy Ray Cyrus
-Best day: Sunday
-Biggest disappointment: Panda Bear
-Overall favorite band/show: Wolf Parade

Top 5 shows:
5. Modest Mouse/Pavement (tie)
4. Major Lazer
3. Beach House
2. Titus Andronicus
1. Wolf Parade

Photos by Jules Ameel

The first chills-inducing moment of the day came from Titus Andronicus. On a stage decorated with American flags, Titus slayed the mid-90s heat with cameos by tourmates Hallelujah The Hills, including a full set with Andy Dick-lookalike/keyboard guru Elio DeLuca. These guys turned the stage into a party; I counted 9 people playing during the anthemic ‘…And Ever‘. Trumpets turned choruses into monsters, guitarist Amy Klein had The World’s Biggest Smile Ever glued to her face for the entire show, and Stickles was swimming in sweat by the time the set was up. At one point I looked over to see a guy with the longest handlebar mustache I have ever seen, fully decked out in an overcoat and longpants (in other words, exactly the type of Civil War-era dude Titus sang about on The Monitor).

By the time Titus finished, the heat had almost taken me to the grave, so I checked out some of the vendor tents, which featured dozens of stands manned by great poster artists and booths loaded with enough vinyl to make my hands tremble. Amp was giving away free screened t-shirts, and Toyota Antics (whatever that is) was offering free screened tote bags. I grabbed both.

Wolf Parade was the highlight of the day. The guitars were razor sharp, the songs were somewhat faster…and it was LOUD. Spencer Krug’s yelps seemed to have much more protopunk influence in a live setting. (I definitely got some Stooges and New York Dolls vibes at times.) Awesomely, the band played plenty of older stuff, including a thundering version of ‘Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts‘. They finished things off with the entire 10 minutes of ‘Kissing the Beehive‘, which led to all kinds of freakouts—including dancing makeout sessions in the crowd.

LCD Soundsystem brought the night to a close with a rave-up danceparty extraordinaire. James Murphy pulled no punches, going huge early—the second song was ‘Drunk Girls‘—and turning it to 11 from there. He had the crowd losing its mind 15 minutes into the set with a MONSTROUS version of ‘All My Friends‘ (one of the Festival’s highlights). People were hula-hooping, a six-year-old was dancing on her dad’s shoulders, the crowd was loving every second. The obvious comparison here is Depeche Mode, but LCD more than held their own tonight. After more than an hour of nonstop danceable jams, Murphy put an end to the night with the comedown of ‘New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down‘, which seemed strange at first (but was ultimately perfect).

I went down to P4k fest this year to blog for the wonderful RadioK. Here is what went down:

Finally, Pitchfork 2010 begins! After eating a 2 p.m. breakfast at Louie’s Diner in Oak Park, I made my way over to the Festival—just as Tallest Man on Earth began his set. His vocals were absolutely spot on; an absolute perfect fit to begin the day. Most of Tallest Man’s set was from the new album, The Wild Hunt, but he played some older stuff as well.

Following Tallest Man, oddly, was El-P, but it took me only a few El-P songs to transition from Tallest Man’s sleepy folksy mood to hardcore hip-hop. He absolutely destroyed his set, bringing probably the most intensity of the day.

Photo by Marty Perez

I was super stoked to see Liars, whose performance-art-piece of a set was as weird as I was hoping. Frontman Angus Andrew was (creepily?) decked out in retro gym shorts and a Men At Work Tee, wailing around with limp wrists and frantic yelps while the band played almost entirely Sisterworld material. Andrew opened the set by telling the crowd to “have a go at the water station in my pants” anytime they felt like getting on stage. I’m just guessing, but I doubt that would have gone over well. His antics seemed vaguely Iggy Pop-ian, though an older woman next to me noted that she heard—and saw—some Korn (yes, that Korn) influence. Toward the end of the set, they broke into a cover of Bauhaus’s ‘In The Flat Field‘, which they seemed more energized by than their own songs. They closed out with a hypnotic version of ‘Proud Evolution‘.

Modest Mouse closed out the night with an amazing show, opening things off right with a superb, near-nine-minute version of ‘Tiny Cities Made of Ashes‘ that sounded almost like an entirely different song. The band almost looked like Broken Social Scene up there at times, with up to seven people playing at once—including trumpets, standup bass, an accordian and Brock’s own banjo. By the fourth song—a sexily slow rendition of ‘Satellite Skin‘—the crowd was throwing glowsticks and dancing and singing along. Other highlights included a Tom Waits-y version of ‘The Devil’s Workday‘ and several songs from The Moon and Antarctica. Modest Mouse definitely played more older material than anyone else on Day 1. After leaving the stage, they came back for a two-song encore, with a haunting version of ‘Gravity Rides Everything‘ and ending things for a good with the kick-in-the-balls of ‘Black Cadillacs‘.

Other odds ‘n’ ends:

-Thank God I saw no one wearing a Greenman suit. Hopefully this means the trend is finally over.

-The crowd was decidedly non-hipster. My Hipster Bingo Card was left virtually untouched.

You can find part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, and part 6 here.

	#40 Kings of Leon – Because of The Times (2007) RCA Kings of Leon’s gateway to full-fledged radio-ready arena rock; Because of the Times still has that southern grit (‘Charmer‘), but the brothers-and-cousin are clearly making the shift toward Cheap Tricky sheen here. ‘Knocked Up‘ and ‘Ragoo‘ are both excellent mashups of the band’s old and new tendencies.
	#39 Minus The Bear – Planet Of Ice (2007) Suicide Squeeze Records Planet Of Ice gets a little more proggy than previous Minus The Bear records…and its production sheen is nearly blinding (it works here, but was perhaps an early warning sign for the dreadful followup, OMNI). The blithely sexual lyrics remain; and amidst a sea of neo-prog guitar solos is an after-afterparty for those who don’t dig on LMFAO or 3OH!3.
	#38 The Organ – Grab That Gun (2004) Mint Records Grab That Gun—The Organ’s lone LP—is a voyeuristic joyride through every little sister’s teenage diary. The band’s namesake (yes, an organ) provides a warm breath of CPR for the album’s ultra-simplistic, razor-sharp guitar melodies and not-quite-drama-queen lyrics. Several blistering, hopeless jams from the outstanding Sinking Hearts EP appear—in updated, more fully realized forms—as well.
	#37 Brand New – Deja Entendu (2003) Triple Crown Deja Entendu contains all the trademarks of a post-hardcore record—narratives posing as song titles (e.g., ‘Good To Know That If I Ever Need Attention All I Have To Do Is Die‘); confessionalist songwriting and choked-up vocals; a focus on atmospheric aesthetics. But Brand New is also poppy, and that emo/pop-punk vibe means we can sing along and fake our tears at the top of our lungs. This record is pretty high on my nostalgia scale.
	#36 Spoon – Girls Can Tell (2001) Merge The first of Spoon’s albums to fire on all cylinders. (No single Spoon ingredient seems that great in and of itself, but together…together Britt Daniel’s dry delivery melts into churning rhythms, cymbal crashes dissolve into perpetual jams, choruses form what seem like endless grooves.) On Girls Can Tell, these parts are meticulously calculated, meaning this “whole” adds up to a whole lot—from classics (‘Everything Hits at Once‘, ‘Take the Fifth‘) to Spoon’s version of a ballad (‘1020 AM‘).
	#35 Auxes – Sunshine (2008) Lovitt Records Auxes bear heavy Les Savy Fav influence; but Sunshine isn’t just an LSV knockoff—it’s got punk charm (Dave Laney was an original Milemarker member). And Laney’s raspy vocals are a perfect fit for these lurching bits of hardcore-cum-punk. These tracks—13 in 34 minutes—stagger and jerk with just enough swagger to dance to. ‘Greeting Card Perfume‘ pays homage to Tom Waits, while anthems like ‘Brother‘ and ‘Radio! Radio!‘ recall Milemarker.
	#34 Black Lips – 200 Million Thousand (2009) Vice Records Notorious for puking and pissing and making out onstage, Black Lips’ music actually transitions surprisingly well to a non-live setting. 200 Million Thousand contains all the drug references you’d expect (e.g., ‘Drugs‘) and the vocals are AM-ready (check out the doo-wop of ‘Trapped in a Basement‘); Black Lips are well-versed in music history (knowledgable on African protopunk, attempting to tour the entire world—Iraq and China included) and it shows.
	#33 Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004) Merge It would be impossible to overstate the influence or the acclaim that followed the release of Funeral. A conceptual chamber-pop record about death—featuring a collective of Canada’s best musicians—comprised of high emotions and brilliantly composed songs. Yes, Win Butler and Co. became the critical darlings of the decade with this release, but this record (somehow both somber and uplifting) deserved every bit of praise.
	#32 Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (2008) RCA Only By the Night solidified Kings of Leon’s shift to full-fledged arena rock (you’ve heard Sex on Fire every time you’ve walked into an Urban Outfitters or American Apparel). I am probably in the minority on this, but I prefer the radio luster of these songs over the Taper Jeans Girls of earlier albums. The stadium-ready, starry-eyed opener ‘Closer‘ might be the best track in Kings of Leon’s arsenal.
	#31 Blonde Redhead – Misery is a Butterfly (2004) 4AD Kazu Makino’s voice is otherworldly—something between a dream and a birdsong—giving Blonde Redhead’s hypnotic music an enchanting dreamscape straight out of a Murakami novel. Misery is a Butterfly was the first Blonde Redhead album to seize on the band’s strong pop capabilities, and the result is startling and gorgeous; a murderous fairy tale.