new-to-me media of 2012: part 2 of an ongoing series

Mostly just albums (and one EP) this week, but a lot of them:

    10. The Weeknd - Echoes of Silence
    11. Sharon Van Etten - Tramp
    12. Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours
    13. Cher Lloyd - Sticks + Stones
    14. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
    15. Thomas Köner - Nuuk
    16. Michael Jackson - Thriller
    17. Bark Psychosis - Hex
    18. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (aka Brite Futures)
           - Glistening Pleasure
    19. Coma Cinema - Abandoned Lands
    20. Coma Cinema - Stoned Alone
    21. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

A few embarassing ‘you haven’t listened to that?’ ones this week (Sinatra and the Rolling Stones, but most obviously Thriller) as well as my first 2012 album (the Tramp leak) and the first 2011 music I listened to after 2011 finished (Echoes of Silence, which I’m liking a lot more than the previous Weeknd mixtapes, Sticks + Stones, and Abandoned Lands).

Pretty good, as a whole; the only one I’m not planning on revisiting is the Abandoned Lands EP, which, though I found its divergence from the style seen on Blue Suicide as well as Stoned Alone somewhat interesting, ultimately was one that I was ambivalent towards at its best moments and far too uncomfortable with during others (particularly the title track, which I couldn’t even bear to listen to all the way through). Also, on that note, I should mention that last week I forgot to list Disgraceland, a (very short) 3-song EP by Elvis Depressedly, a side project of Coma Cinema’s Mat Cothran. Upon listening to it, I haven’t quite figured out what makes them different enough from Coma Cinema that he felt fit to release them under a different name; perhaps upon listening to more of the Elvis Depressedly material I’ll detect a pattern, or perhaps it’s a completely arbitrary distinction.

Haven’t seen any movies, haven’t started any books (although I’m still loving Best Music Writing 2011 and will be finishing it soon). The only other thing of note is one new entry in the ‘other people’s playlists’ category: Ian’s visceral and harrowing (and very good) mix “Over Our Bodies” (mildly shocking imagery in the link!).