Submit your picks for 2013’s best and earn a chance to win a gift card to a local brew pub, plus the admiration of friends and Local Spins readers. And check out WYCE’s Jammie nominees for best local music.
Did the Queens of the Stone Age make your best-of-year list? Local Spins wants to know.
All of those ludicrous picks on highly touted “best albums of the year” lists sticking in your craw?
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Had your fill of critics who fervently believe that Miley Cyrus actually belongs in the Top 30 best recordings of 2013?
Elvis Costello and The Roots, “Wise Up Ghost”
Appalled that publication after publication has overlooked your favorite, under-rated acts?
Well now, Local Spins gives you a chance to submit your own lists of the best albums of 2013 so you can thumb your nose at Rolling Stone, Pitchfork or whatever other media outlet you believe has snubbed deserving artists. Why? Because Local Spins is “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
Anyway, I’m guessing there are some real gems out there just waiting to hit the Local Spins spotlight with your help.
Assemble your lists (Top 3, Top 5 or Top 10 is fine) with brief, one-line descriptions as to why each album deserves attention and email it to jsinkevics@gmail.com with “Top 10” in the subject field by the end of the day Dec. 27 and we’ll publish them in some manner, shape or form on New Year’s Eve (along with favorites picked by some West Michigan musicians).
Queens of the Stone Age, “… Like Clockwork”
Better yet, we’ll randomly choose one name from these submissions to win a $20 gift card to Rockford Brewing Co. And that’s worth toasting the New Year about.
To get you started, I’ll toss out three albums in no particular order that piqued my interest and earned playing time at Local Spins in 2013. (I’ll add a few more on New Year’s Eve.)
Elvis Costello and The Roots, “Wise Up Ghost” – Hard to go wrong when one of rock’s most consistently compelling and innovative artists hooks up with one of hip hop’s most consistently compelling and innovative acts: Juicy beats, intriguing instrumentation and funkiness mesh surprisingly well with Costello’s vocal inflections.
Queens of the Stone Age, “… Like Clockwork” – There’s something absolutely delicious about the rock that falsetto-master Josh Homme and his crew muscle out, and their latest is no exception with guest spots by Elton John, Dave Grohl and Trent Reznor … and maybe the attention this album gets will finally get some folks to check out its tasty earlier work.
Patty Griffin, “American Kid”
Patty Griffin, “American Kid” and “Silver Bell” – When the year contains a new album from alt-country’s Griffin as well as a previously unreleased package of more rock-oriented nuggets, it’s a very good year – and if “Wild Old Dog” from “American Kid” doesn’t make you cry, you have no heart.
Oh, and speaking of “best albums of the year,” how about the local side of things? Community radio station WYCE-FM (88.1) today revealed the local nominees in all categories for its annual Jammie Awards show, which takes place Feb. 21, 2014 at The Intersection. It’s a long and mucho impressive roster, and you can check it out online here: http://www.grcmc.org/radio/?npad=1&news_id=1764. (Speaking of local awards, keep your eyes on Local Spins in coming weeks when we’ll announce our pick for Local Spin of the Year.)
In closing, scan a few under-the-radar, best-of-year lists that I think are worth checking out:
Martin Bandyke: martinbandyke.com
Paste Magazine: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2013/12/the-50-best-albums-of-the-year.html
MOJO: http://www.mojo4music.com/9206/mojo-top-50-albums-2013/
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
