There are precious few things idiotic music dorks like myself enjoy more than composing lists. That said, you shouldn’t really expect an end-of-the-year list of favorite albums from me. I haven’t done one in years. As I said back in 2006, given my current circumstance as a harried, full-time father of two, I no longer feel especially equipped or informed – let alone hip enough – to have a credible opinion on today’s music. I still hear what I hear and I like what I like, but my music-listening habits aren’t nearly as inclusive, adventurous or as encompassing as they once were. As such, while I truly dug certain new albums this year (for example, I quite liked the third LCD Soundsystem disc, the latest Melvins opus and the new album by The Temper Trap), I don’t feel that a list of what I considered to be the best of this year’s music would be worth reading, being that I invariably didn’t hear vast volumes of the new stuff. Were I to compose such a list, I’d want to feel that I’d heard more of what was on offer.
More to the point, if you’re serious about new music, you probably don’t find much to read here on Flaming Pablum anyway. Let’s face it, I’m an old poop – why pretend otherwise? If you want to read about the cutting edge shit, you're already getting what you need on Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan and several other sites I'm not cool enough to know about, which is probably as it should be.
Anyway, it should come as absolutely no surprise that my favorite album of this year was Absolute Dissent by my beloved Killing Joke. In my defense, I thought their last album, Hosannas from the Basements of Hell was a pile of undercooked dung, so imagine my glee upon hearing the revitalized incarnation of the re-united original foursome release what many are rightly calling one of the best efforts of their storied career.
If you haven't heard it, you're missing out. Herewith my favorite track from same. Go fetch.
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