My Favorite Albums of the Year: 2012

Swans - The Seer

I started scribbling about albums I enjoyed this year, yet imagined it would be more trouble than it actually was to create the below lists. The Top 10 pretty much fell into place; and why bother with synopses no one will read?

Favorites (in order)

Swans - The Seer

Primitive Weapons - The Shadow Gallery

Burning Love - Rotten Thing to Say

Royal Thunder -CVI

Katatonia - Dead End Kings

Kowloon Walled City - Container Ships

Baroness - Yellow & Green

The Secret - Agnus Dei

El-P - Cancer 4 Cure
Gypsyhawk - Revelry & Resilience

Impressive (no particular order)

V.O.D. - The Cursed Remain Cursed
Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
Brokaw - Interiors
Gojira - L’Enfant Sauvage
The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre 
Gentlemans Pistols - s/t
High on Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis
Testament - Dark Roots of Earth
Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Blood Lust
Lita Ford - Living Like a Runaway
Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Xibalba - Hasta La Muerte 
Ceremony - Zoo
Sacred Reich - Live at Wacken
Black Breath - Sentenced to Life
Torche - Harmonicraft
Overkill - The Electric Age 
For Today - Immortal 
Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65 
Early Graves - Red Horse
Nas - Life is Good
Satan's Wrath - Galloping Blasphemy
Napalm Death - Utilitarian 
Human Toilet - s/t
 

Just Alright
(no particular order)

Demon Hunter - True Defiance
Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine
Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay
C.O.C. - s/t
Ke$ha - Warrior 
Cat Power - Sun 
Garbage - Not Your Kind of People
Best Coast - The Only Place 
Rick Ross - God Forgives, I Don't

Meh
The Sword - Apocryphon
Madonna - MDNA
Silversun Pickups - Neck of the Woods


Good Singles 
The Afghan Whigs - "Lovecrimes"
Ke$ha - "Die Young"
Rihanna - "We Found Love"


Still Haven't Listened To: 
Mark Lanegan - Blues Funeral 
Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror 
Jack White - Blunderbuss 
Pitbull - Global Warming 
The Killers - Battle Born 
Soundgarden - King Animal

Randoms
• Live Bootleg of the Year: Into Another's set from the CA Revelation 25 show.
• Turbonegro and The Gallows should consider a vocalist exchange program. Seriously.

• Musician with the best Instagram account: hands down, Stallone's Juan Montoya.

DMX Saves Xmas... And Gives Me Metrics

I'm full of weird ideas. And sometimes they pan out. Like the video you're about to see below of rap legend and crack enthusiast DMX performing an energetic, beat-boxed version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

We printed the lyrics for him in advance, not thinking that Dark Man X would be familiar with such a mundane Christmas tune. He quickly eschewed the help. Lyrics? "I GOT THIS." And what he proceeded to make was nothing short of magic.

You're Welcome, World. Happy Holidays!

xoxoxo,
Heathen Jew Z