Countdown to 30: My Favorite Album From 2012

 2012

I gave my retrospective on the albums of 2012 a lot of thought and I think my choices stand up, so I'm going to go in the same order for this year. I guess don't read that article if you don't want this reveal spoiled for you.

The Ben Folds Five reunited in 2011 after being broken up for three years. In 2012, they released The Sound of the Life of the Mind, their first original album since 1999. The band as a whole was unsigned, so they launched a PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign to get the money to release the album. That goal was met twice over within the campaign's first week. 

Ben Folds had collaborated with author Nick Hornby on 2010's Lonely Avenue and Hornby returned to write lyrics for the title track, "The Sound of the Life of the Mind." There is a ballad entitled "Sky High" composed by drummer Darren Jessee. All other songs are written by Ben Folds. 

"Erase Me" kicks off the album with chunky, fuzz guitar mixing with aggressive keys. "Draw a Crowd" is an upbeat, comical song. "Hold That Thought" isn't quite a ballad, but "Thank You For Breaking My Heart" definitely is. The latter is absolutely heartbreaking. But at least you'll know that it's in there. "Do It Anyway," the album's lead single, is a terrific mantra over Folds' signature piano style. Folds has stated that the inspiration was a combination of quotes on cards his mother used to give him for birthdays and a concert-goer who yelled "do it anyway!" after folds explained that his upcoming ballad wasn't going to be the kind he could "stand on the piano and, you know, shake my a** to." The video features the Fraggles of Fraggle Rock and some human celebrities of course. These explanations seem a little disjointed, but the songs on the album are not.

Two members of the recently disbanded Tally Hall released albums in 2012. 

Andrew Horowitz was first with sketches by what he officially called edu. At the time, the album was only released on a cassette with handwritten liner notes, but within the last few years, he finally refined and reissued it digitally and on vinyl as Sketches 3D. If there was ever an album that worked perfectly on cassette, this was it. Sketches is what a friend might record for you on their cassette recorder- if they're a very skilled songwriter and musician friend, that is. Horowitz always had the most heartfelt lyrics in Tally Hall, and the warm tunes on this album are a perfect display of that. Every song is cute and sweet and his cover of "Rainbow Connection" is the most genuine one I expect to hear. "Daisy Fingers," "Miss Melody," and "HEY YOU!" are my favorite tracks, but it's hard not to love all of them.

The next member of Tally Hall to release a solo work was Joe Hawley, who also decided to use a pseudonym, but in keeping with the bizarre nature of most things Hawley has a hand in, his pseudonym was ミラクルミュージカル (which translates to Miracle Musical). He released Hawaii: Part II, a simultaneously strange and masterful album. Hawley dances between vaudevillian sounds, sweeping orchestral music, and use of vocoder. A few earlier Tally Hall demos found themselves polished up for this album, most notably "The Mind Electric." Hawley has explained the album by telling a local access show called Band "When our family went to Hawaii in the summer of 1997, I heard this music in my mind and I knew I had to make it at some point." I'm glad he, Ross Federman, and Bora Karaca managed to bring it to life. 

For me, one of the most anticipated albums of 2012 was Some Nights by fun. Their first album was so good that I couldn't wait for what lay in store. 

Leading up to the release of the album, fun. released "We Are Young," the fun. song that finally rocked the world. "We Are Young" featured the great Janelle Monáe in the shoes Rachel Antonoff used to fill, as the occasional female vocalist. The song itself was doing fairly well on the charts, but then it was used on Glee, which was a bump that used to be great for indie bands in terms of commercial success. Sure, it meant that the concerts were now riddled with tweens who knew them for one song, but the band being successful has to be the main goal. Then the song was featured in a Superbowl commercial for the Chevy Sonic (which I remember seeing as it originally aired, through the glass door of a house I was delivering pizza to) and at that point if you hadn't heard the song before, even you knew it. This song went to #1 in the U.S. and the U.K., partly swept up in the trend of indie/alternative artists making it big on mainstream radio (see: Gotye, American Authors, Vance Joy) and partly based on the quality of the song itself. You see, after Aim and Ignite, fun. decided that they wanted something that would actually be commercially successful. They enlisted Jeff Bhasker as the producer. That wasn't an easy task, as Bhasker was the producer for Beyoncé. He worked with Alicia Keys, Jay Z and Kanye West and would go on to work with Bruno Mars, Lana Del Rey, and would work with Mark Ronson on one of the upcoming albums of the year. "We are Young" was the song that sold him on fun. Nate Ruess sang it for him (acapella I think?) and he suddenly became interested in working with the band. 

With Bhasker's help, Some Nights hit #3 on the U.S. Billboard hot 200, reaching #1 on the rock, alternative, and vinyl charts. fun. won best new artist at the Grammy's (I don't know how that award works, but I can't understand how they counted as "new") and "We Are Young" walked away with song of the year. They had three hit singles from the album, with the best one, "Carry On," unfortunately not seeing as much success on the charts, presumably because everyone was sick of being overexposed to their work by then. The titular "Some Nights" is tied with "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morrisette as being most likely to be accidentally played on the radio unedited because no one expects an f-bomb from such a huge hit song.

Before I go on too long, I'll just wrap this one up by saying that, while this album was disappointing for me compared to Aim and Ignite, it's still very good. Bhasker is a good commercial producer, but of course his polish was far different from the indie glow Redd Cross's Steven Shane McDonald put on their first album. I absolutely adore, "Carry On." It's on my list of cry-worthy songs (I have probably cried to it myself). My review mostly holds up, other than the fact that I praised Bhasker's production but said the album was "experimental" and held up my hopes for their third album that has not come to be so far.

It's probably clear to you that I'm a big fan of Death Cab for Cutie and Benjamin Gibbard. Gibbard's Former Lives came out in 2012 and brought something a little bit different to the table. Officially, Former Lives is Gibbard's first solo album, although his work as ¡All-Time Quarterback! was definitely at least as much solo work, if not more. Former Lives is a great deal more polished and mature. Several tracks were recorded on Garageband, which makes that fact all the more impressive. Much of the album is light and acoustic, but with a full, rich sound. 

Former Lives features guest vocals from Aimee Mann and Zooey Deschanel, and appearances from other musicians in addition to Gibbard. Deschanel lends her dreamy vocals to "Something's Rattling" and Latin American group Trio Ellas provide accompaniment. Aimee Mann is featured on the duet "Bigger Than Love," her voice blending with Gibbard's perfectly. 

"Lily" shows off Gibbard's voice and his talent for writing metaphorical, romantic lyrics. My favorite piece of poetry though, is "Oh, Woe," a song about trying to pull yourself out of depression. It's upbeat, but the lyrics make it clear that the narrator is struggling. A standout line for me is "you're nothing like the way you looked//in all those famous songs and books" as the narrator has clearly romanticized sadness, but realized it's a great deal more crushing than he had imagined. Second favorite line is "it's been a basement of a year//and all I want's for you to disappear." 2012 was a basement of a year for me.

Finally, my favorite album of 2012 comes from a band whose albums have consistently been in my top albums of the year, but who got pushed just slightly to the front of the fray in 2012, partly thanks to the confusing energy someone with OCPD gets when they are in a new relationship. 

Mia Pharaoh by Miniature Tigers is my favorite album from 2012. Mia Pharaoh shows the band trying on a new sound, but it's in no way a turn-off. Ahead of the album, the single "Boomerang" was made available to fans. It acted as a sonic bridge between the earlier albums and Mia Pharaoh. 

Synthesizers and late '70s/early '80s influence drive the sound for the album. Frontman Charlie Brand also moved past the “Like or Like Like” phrase of his songwriting and on to songs like “Sex on the Regular” and “Female Doctor.” Between poppy, upbeat songs are slower, dreamier tracks like "Cleopatra" and "Ugly Needs." There is an ethereal dreampop quality to the songs that aren't as up-tempo.

In my first apartment, 2012.

"Afternoons With David Hockney" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and acts as a strange ode to English artist David Hockney, who seems to be source of inspiration for Charlie Brand (who also provides album art for Miniature Tigers albums).

Mia Pharaoh dips and dives through sounds and tempos, flowing smoothly. The lyrics are as strange as they typically are for Miniature Tigers, but the sound is very slightly more polished and commercial. Their contemporaries were moving toward '80s sounds, which they would do eventually on Cruel Runnings. 

I loved blasting this album. We had an early summer in 2012, and I remember riding around in my truck with my windows down, playing this album and lying to myself that life was good. I got to see the guys support this album a few times, including once as openers for fun. It was a good era for the band. I love "Boomerang," ever the most catchy track on the album, but many of the songs are earworms. There was something nostalgic about this album even when it first came out, but at this point, looking back nine years later, it definitely is nostalgic.

Anyway, leaderboard!

Join me tomorrow for my favorite album from 2013!

Interview: Rob Cantor

Rob Cantor has been a musician and songwriter for many years now. As a member of the band Tally Hall he worked on two albums and since then he's been entertaining people with comedic tracks such as "Shia LeBeouf." Mr. Cantor also just released his debut solo album Not a Trampoline, and he was kind enough to share a few words with me about the album and his career in general.

Rob Cantor

No More Blood From a Clone: What are some of your biggest musical inspirations?

Rob Cantor: Like all of humanity, I love the Beatles. I also love the Beach Boys, Queen, Paul Simon, Elliott Smith, Dan Wilson, and many, many more. 

NMBFC: Most people will know you either from “Shia LaBeouf” or from Tally Hall. Are you alright with being known that way, or would you rather have started fresh with this album?

Rob Cantor: I don't think this album is incongruent with "Shia LaBeouf" or with anything Tally Hall released, and I'm proud to be "known" from either of those endeavors. Not a Trampoline has a bit more depth than "Shia LaBeouf," for instance, but it's also not afraid to be silly and stupid at times...I think there's plenty of overlap.

NMBFC: If you had to categorize Not a Trampoline as a particular genre, how would you describe it?

Rob Cantor: The album is pretty varied. Most of it could be called alternative rock, though there are certainly outliers. "In Memoriam," for example, would not work very well on KROQ.

NMBFC: Would you say the tone of this album is: comedic, serious, or whimsical?

Rob Cantor: Yes. All three, I hope.

NMBFC: How has it differed having mostly complete creative control over your work rather than having to share it with a band? Is it harder or easier or just different?

Rob Cantor: Good question. At first, it was terrifying. I was very used to funneling my ideas through a four-man quality control machine. I knew if an idea was approved by the rest of the Tally Hall guys, it must have some merit. When I started working with my producer Gregtronic on this album, there was no such safety net. It was paralyzing for a minute- I second-guessed everything. But after a while, I grew increasingly comfortable with autonomy, and now I really like it. It's a lot quicker, I'll say that...in Tally Hall, ideas might be bandied about for months or years before any kind of execution ever came into being. The same is not true of making a solo album, and the ability to be decisive is quite nice.

NMBFC: Where does the title “Not a Trampoline” come from?

Rob Cantor: The title is factual- this is an album of songs, not a trampoline. Jumping on songs is not only impossible, it's unsafe. DON'T DO IT.

NMBFC: What’s your favorite track on Not a Trampoline?

Rob Cantor: Hmmm...my favorite track seems to keep changing. Early on, it was "Flamingo"- I enjoy the simplicity and the absurdity. At the moment, it's "All I Need Is You." My friend Randall Maxwell and I made a music video for it, and it breathed new life into the song for me.

NMBFC: “Ghost” seems to come from a pretty personal place. Is there anything you can share about it?

Rob Cantor: Ghost is about regrets. We've all got 'em!

NMBFC: Was there any particular inspiration behind the distinct sound on “The Rendezvous”?

Rob Cantor: The sound of "The Rendezvous" was a collaborative effort between my producer Gregtronic and Andrew Horowitz, my bandmate in Tally Hall. Greg and I had an early version that was dancier and less distinctive. It wasn't really fitting with the rest of the songs, and we'd all but discarded it. Andrew heard that early version, and liked the song. He insisted we give it another go. He took the session file and tweaked our arrangement. He added new sounds and took some away- he revitalized the track. When he sent it back, we knew it belonged on the album.

NMBFC: I’m sure some people will recognize “I’m Gonna Win” from an early Tally Hall song. Can we discuss the creative process behind the development of this song into what it is now?

Rob Cantor: We were just trying to do justice to a wonderful song, written by my bandmate Joe Hawley.

NMBFC: What other contributions did you get from your previous bandmates?

Rob Cantor: Andrew Horowitz and I wrote "Perfect" together, and he co-produced the track. He also added production and keyboards on "The Rendezvous." Ross Federman helped write the drum part for "Old Bike," and Joe Hawley graciously let me record his song "I'm Gonna Win." All four of the guys gave me great feedback on the whole album throughout the recording process.

NMBFC: Who is the female vocalist featured on the album?

Rob Cantor: The female singer on "The Rendezvous" is called Madi Diaz. She's a very talented vocalist, and also a great songwriter. She has a new record coming out soon, and you should definitely take a listen. I've heard some of the tracks, and they are super cool.

NMBFC: Is music definitely your career at this point, or is there still a plan b?

Rob Cantor: Music is, and has been for many years, my sole career. There is no Plan B!

NMBFC: That's good to hear. What do you hope the response to this album will be?

Rob Cantor: I hope the response is "HOORAY."


If you'd like to check out Not a Trampoline, it can be previewed and purchased at Bandcamp.

Album Review: Not a Trampoline by Rob Cantor

Rob Cantor isn't new to the music business, but Not a Trampoline is his first full-length solo work. Prior to this, Cantor released two comedic singles, "Shia LeBeouf" and "Christian Bale is at Your Party." Going even further back, he was a member of Tally Hall. It's very exciting to hear what he has to offer with his first album.

Not a Trampoline begins with the deep and dark "Ghost," which seems to improve with each listen. "Ghost" represents a natural step in the progression of Cantor's talent as a songwriter. It works on multiple levels: first as a catchy pop tune, next as a spooky story song, and finally as a philosophical piece. "Ghost" was a great choice for a single, and it's followed by the first single Cantor released off of this album: "Old Bike." I initially believed "Old Bike" to be just an attempt to recapture the success of Queen's "Bicycle Race," but it's really its own piece. The female vocals bring to mind Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More." "Old Bike" is a lighthearted Cantor track that will be perfect for any bicycling playlist.

"Garden of Eden" is an energetic piece about a Frankenstein-esque creator and his creation. The delivery is beautiful and unique, but the song's failing comes in the ending fade, the likes of which I haven't heard on anything since a 60s album. "Garden of Eden" is followed by "Rendezvous." On first listen, "Rendezvous" is very simple with a dance beat, but the song really works. The vocals Madi Diaz adds to the track help it not only with its complexity, but with the illusion that it could have come direct from the Drive soundtrack.

Next comes "I'm Gonna Win," a song fans of Tally Hall might recognize from the earlier incarnations including "All of My Friends." This final product, credited as written by both Rob Cantor and Joe Hawley is more empowering and with more direction than "All of My Friends," and has more dimension than Tally Hall's version of "I'm Gonna Win." That's not to say it doesn't lose something by being less haunting than "All of My Friends," but overall, "I'm Gonna Win" has been developed into a great song.

Things are wound down for the more acoustic "All I Need Is You." "All I Need Is You" is almost like a lullaby in parts, but picks up in others. "All I Need Is You" wouldn't have been out of place on Tally Hall's Good & Evil, and I wonder if it's a leftover from the years Good & Evil was in production. Either way, it has an outstanding, gif-based music video:

The album continues with "Flamingo," which I could hear as a club dancing song apart from how incredibly bizarre it is, in a very Cantor manner. The narrator states "I feel like I'm a shy enormous pink flamingo man." "Flamingo" gives way to "La Telenova," which is a departure from anything Cantor has produced to this point. "La Telenova" means "the soap opera," and is a collaboration with Jhameel. "La Telenova" is a very modern song, which also features some aspects of 60s folk pop in the melody, 90s pop in the bridge, and latin pop rhythms.

"In Memoriam" is a flowing, melodic tribute to Alan Alda, speaking of his life in the past tense, despite the fact that he's still alive. After "In Memoriam" (which is just over a minute long), comes "Let Your Mother Know." "Let Your Mother Know" is one of the strongest tracks in the latter part of the album. It's upbeat and catchy, and makes you want to move your body.

Nearing the end of the album, "Perfect" is a collaboration with Andrew Horowitz, and features his signature keyboards and sentimentality. Cantor adds his own style to "Perfect," but it's very noticeable that Horowitz had a hand in it.

Not a Trampoline closes with "Lonely (But Not Alone)," another personal-sounding piece, more acoustic than anything else on the album. As a closer, "Lonely (But Not Alone)" is near-perfect, winding the album down to an end.

Rob Cantor has a lot of musical talent, as a songwriter and lyricist, a vocalist and instrumentalist. Not a Trampoline is a great display of these talents. Not every song is perfect, but as a first solo work, Not a Trampoline is incredibly well done. I look forward to hearing more from Cantor and I encourage everyone to check out Not a Trampoline.

Rob Cantor is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist. Not a Trampoline is his debut solo album.

Not a Trampoline can be purchased here.

Check out my interview with Rob Cantor here!

Concert Review: Tally Hall in Pittsburgh, PA

 Photo by Gareth Sedam

Last night marked my third time seeing Tally Hall live, and let me say, it does not get old. Without even realizing it, I selected the second and final dates of this tour to attend. They were lively and wonderful in the beginning, and not any less impressive by the end of their tour. The set list was entirely different for this show (which I imagine was for the sake of their own sanity, but it was a pleasant change for me as well).

We arrived in Millvale/Pittsburgh shortly after 6. The area was unlike any surrounding a venue I have ever seen. It was a tiny village with lots of San Franciscan hills and a converted church theater smack dab in the middle. My brother thought we were going to die driving down the steep brick road Mr. Small's theater was on.

April Smith and Casey Shea were both unable to perform last night, so SleepyV opened up with a very energetic set. SleepyV's lineup included guitar, bass, drums, and trumpet. I have to say, trumpet in a rock/pop band lineup wasn't something I expected. The crowd was very receptive of SleepyV, clapping and cheering even though they were complete strangers to more than half of the audience.

I was afraid for a moment that Tally Hall had gotten too big to do their own sound checks, but they did. I'm not convinced that they will on a future tour, they seem to have collected quite the fan-base at this point. I was in the second row, so I had a much better view at this show than Ann Arbor (not as close as San Francisco though). And it was great. I could swear that Joe was looking directly in my direction, so I didn't take many pictures because it felt strangely rude. They played "Greener," which is one of my favorites (I have many). And once again, they ran "Never Meant To Know" into "Pure Imagination," which I have a very strong love for. Bora sang lead for a verse of "Pure Imagination," and his voice was lovely. They did a legitimate encore this time, they left the stage and everything. When the lights finally came up, I was still hoping it wasn't over.

They came out and met the fans as usual, and I was able to finally complete the signatures on my CD liner notes. This was the first show that I didn't talk to Andrew, which was a little weird for me, but I got his signature at the San Francisco show when he was the only one I got to meet properly because of the limited time Rooney meet-and-greet. Bora did notice, as Andrew did, that I have the "old school" Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. I hate to shatter anyone's illusions by telling them that I ordered it from FYE in 2009 when I became a fan of them. I didn't really talk to Zubin or Ross because I didn't know what to say. I got a picture with Joe and then after my brother had gotten his ticket signed and I was walking away, he called us back and gave us a hug. I was a little confused by that, in part because I thought he was going for a handshake at first. He told us "And...see you again?" which made me wonder whether he recognized us from Ann Arbor or was just inviting us to future shows. We did stand near him for a really long time in Ann Arbor, waiting to get a picture and then finally giving up.


It was a really great show, with a wonderful audience and a powerful energy that's amazing for any kind of show and surprising for the last date in the tour.

Comparing and Contrasting: Tally Hall Vs. The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

When quirky modern rock band Tally Hall are being discussed, names like The Beatles, Weezer, Mumford & Sons, Cake and They Might Be Giants get thrown around a lot. No one can quite put a finger on their sound. This is mostly due to the fact that their sound is very uniquely their own. Even through their multi-genre first album (Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum), they managed to maintain a consistent sound and feel, which they really smoothed out for this year's Good & Evil.

 

Tally Hall (left to right): Ross Federman, Zubin Sedghi, Joe Hawley, Andrew Horowitz and Rob Cantor.

However, I must also throw my own two-cents worth into the mix of bands being compared to Tally Hall. From almost the first time I listened to them, they have reminded me of The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. 

The Bonzos (left to right, top row): Neil Innes, Vivian Stanshall, "Legs" Larry Smith 

(Second row): Dennis Cowan, Roger Ruskin Spear and  Rodney "Rhino" Desborough Slater.

The Bonzos (as I will henceforth refer to them) were a quirky musical group from the 60s. Like Tally Hall, The Bonzos are quite versatile in their styles, while still maintaining a central sound. Similar to the Andrew Horowitz songs on Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum, The Bonzo's utilized lead keys (courtesy of Neil Innes) and Dixieland jazz. Some songs bordered on vaudeville, others almost parodied early Elvis, while others still slid into the heading of "mainstream rock." Several Bonzos songs even have the islander/Jamaican feel of Joe Hawley's "Banana Man."



"Banana Man" by Tally Hall
 

"Look Out, There's a Monster Coming" by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

The vibrant personalities in each band also make for a comparison. Tally Hall use their tie colours as nicknames, while Vivian Stanshall christened The Bonzos with nicknames like "Rhino." The Bonzos supplemented their acts with comedic interludes and short skits, Tally Hall had an amusing internet show (Tally Hall's Internet Show). Both groups seem quick on their feet with one-liners.

"The Intro and the Outro"

And whereas The Bonzos performed on British children's show (and Monty Python forerunner) Do Not Adjust Your Set, Tally Hall wrote and sang all the songs in Disney's Happy Monster Band. 

But perhaps the most beautiful similarity between the two groups comes from watching them perform: they both seem to be having a lot of fun playing their music.I'm not saying that Tally Hall has copied The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. The groups are very different. All I'm saying is, I think fans of one of these bands would feel right at home with the other.

Recommended Tracks:

If you enjoy:

Banana Man by Tally Hall -  Look Out, There's A Monster Coming by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

The Whole World and You by Tally Hall - Jollity Farm by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Hidden In the Sand by Tally Hall -  Hello Mabel by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Other recommended Tally Hall tracks:

Good Day

Spring and a Storm

Turn The Lights Off

&

Cannibal

Other Recommended tracks by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band:

 Metaphorically Speaking

Urban Spaceman

Death Cab For Cutie

Hunting Tigers Out In India

Canyons Of Your Mind