Time, As A Sympton

The title of this blog post sounds much deeper than what lies below. It's a song title from Joanna Newsom's new album, Divers. It's a beautiful album. Go get it.

I'm really trying not to live my life in a pre and post surgery mindset, but, well, it's been just over 6 weeks since my hysterectomy and things are really really really close to being back to normal. I went in for my final post-op check-in with my doctor and she gave me the all clear. So that's awesome. I still have to ease into somethings, like lifting heave things, but overall, I am good to go.

I've been back to work for 3 and a half weeks and it's like I was never gone. But work feels better somehow. Not that work was ever bad. I do really like my job. I mean, if I can't make a living off music, this is a fabulous job to have. But it feels even better. I feel more social. We're in a new building. We have a lot going on. It's really quite nice.

People told me that I would feel so much better after the surgery. I never knew how to think about that because I never thought I felt bad - except for that one week out of every month. But, now that I'm healed, it's amazing how much better I do feel overall. I feel lighter (which makes sense since I've lost 18 pounds!). Happier. More confident. And, like I said, more social.

I'm back to practicing with the band and we even started a new song last night and I love it. I'm so happy to be working on new songs again. I have so many just waiting to go. It amazes me how arranging a song just falls into place. I just started playing it, everyone fell into it, we tweaked some things a bit, and there it is. A song. It's called "Blink". And that's all I'll say about the new song for now : )

I also randomly decided to cover and record The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey". I actually recorded it earlier this summer and then forgot I did it when life got all crazy. I stumbled on it while looking for something else and liked it, did some tweaks and then put up on Soundcloud as a free download:

I've also been inundated with a lot of wonderful new music lately. The Joanna Newsom I mentioned above is so beautiful. She's hard to recommend to people because she has one of those voices you either love or hate, a lot of her songs are over 6 minutes long, they rarely have a hook, and her main instrument is the harp - but yet they're amazing. Beautiful. And, oddly, the sparse percussion she uses is usually my favorite part.

Gramma's Boyfriend came out with a new album called Perm. It's so fun. They are fronted by singer/songwriter Haley Bonar, who I love, and she completely unleashes when she's in this band. It's new wave post-punk dance crazy awesomeness.

Other recent highlights: EL VY (fronted by The National's Matt Berninger), Beirut, and the two albums Beach House has put out this year.

And Girlpool!!! I almost forgot Girlpool, which is ridiculous because I LOVE This album.

My first show back from this medical hiatus is coming up at the end of the month (November 29th) at The Dubliner as part of the KFAI Womenfolk Radio Live series. I'll be playing a solo set. It will be good for me to get back out there and feel out the songs again. I'll probably break out a bunch of new songs, too. And some oldies. More on that event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1927595427465009/

I also got a new amp to go along with my new electric guitar! Well, it's a new to me amp. My friend Dave moved to London earlier this year and gave me this amp and it is so great. It has all the fun effects. It's gonna change my musical life.

Speaking of London, I'm going back! End of February. We're going to do London and Edinburgh this time and I am so excited. We sort of decided to go to Edinburgh on a whim as it was an easy train ride and then I started looking into the city and I cannot wait. It looks gorgeous. There's a castle!

I also get to go to Seattle for work in December. I've never been. 14 year old grunge-loving me is finally getting to visit the land of Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Layne Staley...I won't be there long but I'm going to try to squeeze in as much as possible.

I have a couple more shows scheduled for the end of December, too. You can learn about them here on my newly-renovated website! www.nikibecker.com

It's so good to be back in life again.

Oh, and I have a new favorite show! Veep. It's on HBO but you can see it on Amazon Prime.

Oh, and I'm on Snapchat now! You can find me at nikibeckermusic

Lake Harriet Bandshell 9-5-15

Still buzzing after a super fun show at the Lake Harriet Bandshell in Minneapolis. It was a perfect end to our summer of shows.

All week long the weather report said it was going to storm. Then it was no storms, but 90+ degrees and incredibly humid...which it was. But the breeze from the lake turned it into a very pleasant evening for an outdoor show. I was certain I would sweat buckets and I remained fairly dry, so that was just the icing on the cake. : )

There was a really great crowd. Highly exceeded my expectations for a Labor Day Weekend/State Fair time outdoor show. It might have been the most people we ever played for.

I seriously had so much fun.

 Laura played a solo song!

And with that, our summer of shows is over. Now, we take a break while I go get my scary surgery and then recover from that and then we can start planning for the future.

Lake Harriet Bandshell Set List 9-5-15

• For the Time Being
• Lens
• Car
• Good to Know
• The Reminder
• Reactor
• I Wanna Know
• Float
• Blind
• Record (Laura solo song)
• On Fridays (Niki solo song)
• A Story
• Running
• The Party
• Beg, Borrow, or Steal
• Daughter
• Introvert
• Adore
• Here
• When You Were Mine (Prince cover)
• Safety Mode
• Yesterday

The Nomad 7-2-15

Wow. I'm getting really bad at this blogging thing. A month out from recaps of the shows I played. It's especially weird as life has been fairly mellow lately so I should have all the time in the world to blog. But it seems the less I have to do, the less I want to do anything. I'm better off when I just keep moving.

Anyway...

We played The Nomad a few weeks ago! And by 'we', I mean, me, Shawn, Colleen, and Laura. It was a last minute show and so Sara and Bart were unable to do it. Instead, we played a stripped down guitars and vocals only set. And it worked out well. I often feel like a lot of the songs on the new album only really shine live with the full band, but this worked surprisingly well. I gotta hand it to the band on that one. Shawn did a lot of guitar improvisation to make up for missing pieces and Colleen and Laura completed improvised backing vocals for a song we had not rehearsed with them before. They are all pros. I am grateful.

We also played with some killer bands that night.

Monica LaPlante

and

Ripper 

Really glad this night worked out and we were able to play in some capacity. It was super fun. I look forward to playing with both of these bands again some time.

Set list for The Nomad 7-4-15

• The Reminder
• Safety Mode
• Float
• Daughter
• Car
• Salt 
• I Wanna Know
• Lens
• Adore 

 Post-show lady selfies.

We've got a super busy 6 weeks coming up. We have the Tuesday night August residency at the 331 Club, plus a couple of other shows sprinkled in. FUN FUN FUN!!!

After these shows, we'll be taking a break as I have to get a pretty major surgery in late September that will keep me out of things for about 6 weeks. Here's to a hopefully quick recovery!

Sofar Sounds And All The Rest

I had such a wonderful weekend. I was coming off a fun show at Harriet Brewing. I had taken Friday off of work just to rest my brain and regroup. I did nothing Friday night but watch shows on Netflix. Saturday I headed out to a really great show at the Amsterdam Bar and Sunday, I played a show and caught one of my childhood heroes playing a show, as well.

Last week I was asked to play a set for Sofar Sounds. Sofar Sounds is a global community of music lovers who host house shows all around the world. They are based in London, but have hubs everywhere, including Minneapolis. I've always wanted to play one of these sessions and was thrilled to be asked.

But I also had tickets to see one of my favorites, Juliana Hatfield, at the Turf Club.

But, I couldn't pass up the Sofar gig. It was just too cool.

And it was cool. And FUN.

It was my first house show - well, I guess my first CD release show was held at my house - but this was my first house show that I did not throw for myself. It was me and two other bands (Warehouse Eyes and Jessica Manning). Shawn joined me on lead guitar. We got to play 4 songs. Sofar videos two of them and then they put the better one up on their site and social medias and all that fun stuff.

The house was full. I had no idea what to expect. I invited people (Kickstarter backers - these are the perks of backing a Kickstarter!), but Sofar Sounds has their own community of people who come to these house shows. And they come there to listen to music. It was a thrill to perform and have people just sitting there, watching and listening, quietly. That doesn't happen at bars.

The Sofar Sounds crew was awesome, as was our homeowner host and his super cute dog, Suzy.

 We became fast friends.

I had such a good time. Thank you to everyone who put this together and who attended.

 

  Set list for Sofar Sounds 3/8/15

• The Reminder
• Daughter (first time played live!)
• A Story
• Safety Mode

After the show, I managed to make it over to the Turf Club to catch the end of the Juliana Hatfield Three's set. On this tour, they are playing the entire Become What You Are album. I got there for the last song from the album. I walked in and she was performing "I Got No Idols" and I felt like I walked into an episode of My So Called Life. There is a particular episode - the BEST episode - where everyone goes to see Buffalo Tom. But the strange part is that no one gets there on time and those who are there aren't paying attention. It's weird. But, I felt like Angela Chase walking into that club last night. Oh, hey, cool - it's just Juliana Hatfield up there. No biggie.

But it was a biggie. And what I caught was awesome. I'm glad I decided to still stop in.

As for the rest of the weekend...

Saturday night, Zoo Animal performed their first show in over a year. This band is so crazy good. You just have to go see them. I'm so glad they're back.

Fort Wilson Riot opened and they also put on a crazy good set.

It was just an excellent show all around  - and early. The whole thing was over before 10pm. Which means I got to head home and watch...

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Even though I binge watched the whole thing (13 episodes) in under a day, I'm still unsure what I think about it. I enjoyed it. There were things about it I really liked, moments I really liked, times I laughed out loud. But I also found parts annoying and I question whether I found it funny at all. Sort of the same way I feel about New Girl. I think I just grow to like the characters so much that I just enjoy checking in with them.

I guess I'd recommend it. It's short. It's cute. It's very positive and really easy to watch.

Today I am tired. I guess that's totally my fault for picking Sunday night as the one night I really go out over the weekend. I'm supposed to go out tonight and tomorrow, too...

The Kickstarter for the new album is still going. We're down to 10 days left and only 56% funded. SO NERVOUS. If you feel like pre-ordering the new album, that would be AMAZING.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1330333284/niki-becker-reactor-new-album

Shortest January Ever

January is usually this long terrible cold dark miserable month. There's no Christmas or Thanksgiving to look forward to. The holidays are over. All you're left with is snow and cold and limited hours of daylight.

But not this year.

January has flown by! And it's been kind of warm out. And I've been busy. And there are things happening. And I've neglected to write about most of them.

For example, we had this really amazing show at the Mpls Photo Center for their Rock N' Roll Exhibit Opening Night Reception. It was so much fun! It might have been one of my favorite shows we've ever played. We had a two hour set. We played all of the songs. We even learned some covers.

The place was packed pretty much from start to finish. It was a beautiful space. Considering we were not the main attraction (that was reserved for the stunning photography) the reception we had was lovely. I had such a good time.

Set List for Minneapolis Photo Center 1-16-15

• Lens
• Don't Let Me Down (Beatles cover)
• Float
• Where's the Fire?
• Blind
• A Story
• Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry cover)
• Sweet Jane (Cowboy Junkies cover)
• Yesterday
• One Way or Another (Blondie cover)
• When You Were Mine (Prince cover)
• Car 
• Reactor
• The Reminder
• Good to Know
• Here
• Can't Even Tell
• Beg, Borrow, or Steal
• Introvert
• The Paul Simon Song
• Satisfaction (Rolling Stones cover)

Seriously. So many songs.

We've also pretty much finished mixing the new album. We're going back a week from Saturday to tweak a few things, but that part is basically finished. I can't believe it. I hope to have a single out in the next couple of weeks. Eeek! (I've posted a short video of playback of one of the new songs on our Facebook page.)

 I got to move one of the faders during mixing.

Speaking of that, in order to finish the album, we have to do a Kickstarter. I've written about my terror of this endeavor before - and I'm still mighty fearful. But I'm slightly confident (which is pretty much peak confidence for me) that we can meet the fairly meager goal we're setting. That will be coming out in a few weeks. If we don't meet the goal, the album will be pushed back to who knows when and that will be so incredibly sad. We really will need your help with this. So if you think you might buy the album when it comes out, please pre-order it from the Kickstarter instead so we can actually get it made. I would be forever grateful.

Sara's dad is a photographer and took this photo of us after our set at the Mpls Photo Center.

It's Something Unknown That Drives You And Carries You Home

There was a time when you couldn't just look things up on the internet to get an answer. You had to work for those answers. Somethings, you never found out. Others, you stumbled on. But generally if you really wanted to find something out, you had to do some work to get the answer.

There was also a time when I really loved Guns N' Roses (don't worry, this all ties together). They were my everything. I bought the albums, t-shirts, posters...all of it. I also bought their double VHS release of their Use Your Illusion tour shows in Japan. 3 hours of early 90s rock excess. They were great.

In the middle of the show, before a certain song that I don't remember, Axl sang a bit of a song by another artist and it always stuck with me:

sail away sweet sister
sail across the sea
maybe you'll find somebody 
that loves you half as much as me
my heart is always with you
no matter what you do 
so sail away sweet sister
i'll always be in love with you

I don't know. I just liked it. And it was a nice, sweet, quiet Axl moment. And I liked Axl.

I knew it wasn't from a Guns N' Roses song and I didn't recognize it from anywhere else. He didn't say where it was from and it wasn't credited anywhere on the packaging.

But I knew it had to come from somewhere. But I had no way of knowing where.

I could do what one did back then: call radio stations or walk up to record store employees and sing the lyrics and hope they recognize it and tell me what it is.

But who's going to actually do that?

So I just went through life not knowing, but always keeping my ear out.

And then a few weeks ago I was listening to the radio and there it was. Those words. Out of the blue. Over 20 years later.

It's Queen.



I'm also a huge fan of Queen and have been since my Guns N' Roses days. I could probably credit being introduced to them via Axl Rose and his love for them - and also Wayne's World. But I don't have their entire discography. If only I would have picked up all of their albums years before...

...but that wasn't the first or the last time that had happened.

Keeping with the Queen theme, after Freddie Mercury died, a big benefit concert happened that EVERYONE played at - Guns N' Roses included. Their performance is still one of my favorite videos:



But anyway...

Robert Plant came out to sing some Led Zepplin songs. I was pretty young and hadn't fully been introduced to Led Zepplin at this time, except for the songs I'd hear on the classic rock station KQ92. But Robert Plant performed a song that I sure thought was pretty:

if the sun refused to shine
i would still be loving you
when mountains crumble to the sea
there will still be you and me

I now know this song as "Thank You". BUT, there was a typo or exclusion on the back of the VHS copy of this concert that was released (that I of course purchased). It said it was "Kashmir" - which is an entirely very different song on an entirely different album.

"Kashmir"


"Thank You"


So I went to the record store (because back then you couldn't preview the album ahead of time) and bought the album Physical Graffiti because "Kashmir" was on it. Oh, and I bought it on cassette.

I rushed home and placed the cassette in the tape player, so excited to hear the pretty song. I started to fast forward the tape as "Kashmir" was towards the end and at that moment, it was all I wanted to hear. I fast forwarded, rewound, let it play a bit...but nothing. The song that I knew as "Kashmir" was nowhere to be found. I was so confused. And disappointed.

Every once in a while I would try to find it on the tape again, but - obviously - I never could. Physical Graffiti just ended up collecting dust at the bottom of my tape collection.

Sorry, Physical Graffiti.

I don't even know when I discovered it was the wrong song. Obviously I did eventually. But oh the time wasted hitting fast forward and rewind on repeat trying to find that little song.

But the first song that left me searching for years was "Run for the Roses" by Dan Fogelberg.





When I was 7, 8, 9 years old,  I used to listen to the radio at night to fall asleep. My station of choice for this was Lite FM WLTE. WLTE consisted of mostly big ballads and soft rock. There was a lot of Luther Vandross, Whitney Houston, Gloria Estefan...that sort of thing.

And there was Dan Fogelberg and "Run for the Roses" (and his song "Leader of the Band" which is also awesome but not the subject right now).

"Run for the Roses" is a song about horses and the Kentucky Derby. As a young girl who loved horses, it was the Best. Song. Ever. But I was very young and never payed attention to the DJ breaks when they would announce what they just played - and I only ever caught the song by chance, usually while lying in bed trying to fall asleep. But I loved it so and I would get so happy when it would come on.

It wasn't until years later when I was in my teens and I started buying albums on my own that I thought to look for this song. It became an obsession.  I had guessed the song was called "Run for the Roses" or something along those lines and I knew it was a soft rock 70s or 80s male singer/songwriter. So I would spend time reading the tracklistings on the backs of records by the likes of John Denver, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Kriss Kristofferson...anyone that came to mind.

Dan Fogelberg never came to mind.

And then, one day, I had stayed over at a friend's house. I took a shower the next morning. In the bathroom they had a stereo. Her mom liked to listen to music while she took baths. Next to the stereo was a CD. A Dan Fogelberg's Greatest Hits CD. I picked it up just out of random curiosity and flipped the case over to see if I recognized anything by this guy.

And there it was..."Run for the Roses".

I nearly screamed with excitement. All that time searching and there it was.

The funny thing is, after all the time, it was still a while before I picked up the song. I was just so relieved to finally know what it was. It wasn't until my later teens when I started picking up vinyl that I grabbed this greatest hits collection on vinyl and discovered the 70s/80s soft rock awesomeness that is Dan Fogelberg. I was also thrilled to learn he also sang "Leader of the Band". And then, of course, once iTunes came around, it was an early download for me.

Just look at his awesomeness.

Needless to say, I am thankful for the internet and it's easy access to information. I will never be lost wondering what song I just heard. A quick lyric search of one or two lines gets me the info I need. But I do miss some of those discussions we all used to have - trying to remember the theme songs to TV shows - that sort of thing. Now it's all just a click away.

I'm going to stop now before I sound too old.

The Fraud Police

I finished Amanda Palmer's book The Art of Asking last night. It's been a wealth of information and inspiration. A couple of years ago, Amanda - a musician - embarked on a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $100,000...she ended up making over $1,000,000. It was the most amount of money ever raised by a musician on Kickstarter. It sparked a slew of controversy. Who is she to ask for money? She used to be on a major label. This is like begging. Blah blah blah.

The book is part memoir, part self-help. It looks back on her life, emphasizing all the times she had to ask for help to get to where she is today. It highlights all those people who helped her. 

It helps you understand that it's okay to ask for help.

I don't like to ask for anything. A ride somewhere, to borrow a pen, to get a picture taken, advice...

I can think of hundreds of times where if I just would have asked for help things would have gone so much better. I think about how when I put out my first album, I had so many resources at my fingertips, but I was too scared to ask for help. My friend used to run a label. She knows everyone in town. She knows how to get an album reviewed. But I was scared to ask. So I didn't. And that was that. For my second album, I gathered up the courage and asked for her help. And she was happy to. And then I was on the radio.

All you have to do is ask.

So what does that have to do with The Fraud Police?

Throughout her book, Amanda talks about The Fraud Police. The Fraud Police is the name she gives for that nagging voice of self doubt that everyone has. The idea that someday someone is going to "bust you" and say: we always knew you weren't real. you don't deserve this. you suck at this. and now we figured it out and we're taking it all away.

It's a voice that lives way too close to the forefront of my brain. Any time I want to ask for help with something to do with music, I just hear that voice saying: everyone will laugh. nobody takes this seriously. they're just humoring you. nobody takes you seriously. you suck at this.

And that is terrifying.

In February, I'm hoping to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the new record. It's been recorded, but there is still work to do. Expensive work. And I need help. And so I'm going to have to ask for it. 

And that is terrifying.

Finishing this record and getting it out in the world is so important to me. It's been years in the making and I need to get it out. And the thought that I can't do it without this one part of the equation sucks. 

Because I don't like to ask for help. Because I'm afraid the answer will be no. And then where does that leave me?

And then The Fraud Police come back and then I spend my nights lying in bed trying to convince them they are wrong.

Trying to convince myself.

Do I sound like a crazy person? 

We're entering into a new year, and with that comes all those resolutions. So I guess it's time to make one. It's time for me to learn how to stop worrying and let people help.

Thanks, Amanda.

(Also, it' a really good book and a quick read and you should get it and read it)

My Favorite Music Of 2014

This has been an interesting year for music for me. I bought A LOT of albums this year and it made narrowing it down to 10 albums quite difficult. As always, there were the obvious favorites, the albums that never left my side all year long (or at least from the time they were released). Then there were the ones that came out later in the year and so have not had the chance to fully engross themselves into my life. There were also plenty of surprises and some disappointments along the way.

So with that, here are my favorite albums from 2014:

1. Alpha Consumer: Meat
80% Devo and 20% Ryan Adams alt-country stylings, Meat mixes some amazing weirdness with the right amount of heart and a major dose of musicianship that makes this album one of the most fun albums that, really, I've ever heard. From the first notes of "Miss Positron", I was hooked. The head starts bopping and the fingers and feet start tapping. The album slides from fuzzed out guitar rock ("Brain Doctor"), to 80s New Wave danceable numbers ("The Eat"), to oddly sweet country ballads ("You Ain't Alone") with out ever feeling like a song doesn't belong.

Top Three Tracks: "Miss Positron", "You Ain't Alone", "Cry Bullets"

2. Haley Bonar: Last War
Haley is back again with another brilliant album of exceptionally crafted songs. I still stand by it: I don't think it's possible for her to write a bad song. Last War sonically has a bit more grit to it than previous albums with songs like "No Sensitive Man", "Woke Up in My Future", and the title track barreling through with electric guitars and spitting vocals. But her softer side still comes through on "From a Cage" (which features Bon Iver's Justin Vernon on backing vocals) and the hauntingly beautiful album closer "Eat for Free". A stunning album and a perfect next step in her discography.

Top Three Tracks: "Eat for Free", "Last War", "From a Cage"

3. Sylvan Esso: Sylvan Esso
It was their live show that did it for me. I heard the song "Coffee" and liked it enough to pick up the album. Every time my iPod would shuffle onto a song from the album, it would catch my ears and I'd find myself paying more and more attention. But their live show was outstanding and made me completely fall in love with them. That's quite an accomplishment for a band that consists of a singer and a guy hunched over a computer and mixing board. The beats are great and Amelia Meath's vocals and lyrics are perfectly charming.

Top Three Tracks: "H.S.K.T", "Dress", "Play It Right"

4. S: Cool Choices
This album is probably the biggest surprise of the bunch to make the list because I had never hard of this artist until a couple of weeks ago. I was in the car listening to Radio K and her song "Brunch" was playing and I instantly fell in love with it, got home, looked her up online, gave the the samples from the rest of the album a listen, downloaded it, and immediately went to all of her social media things and liked them all. It's a mix of cool guitar driven tracks and simply beautiful piano ballads led by biting and humorous and painfully honest lyrics that take me back to the early days of Juliana Hatfield. Really excited about this artist and I'm eager to pick up her earlier albums once I've fully given Cool Choices the attention it deserves.

Top Three Tracks: "Losers", "Brunch","Remember Love"

5. Ani Difranco: Allergic To Water
Ani has a new album out, so Ani makes the list. I don't mean for that to sound like the album doesn't deserve it on its own, because it does. It's just that I always love an Ani Difranco album so it's no surprise it made it. Allergic To Water might be the most cohesive album of Ani's in years. She completely took the reigns again on this one and she really needs to do that more often. Her guitar is back out front. The album has a flow and feel to it that has been lacking on her last couple of albums. She said she mixed this album through headphones while her newborn baby slept and you can tell as the album has a quietness to it, even on the more rocking tracks like "Dithering" and "Genie", as if she's decided to whisper you her thoughts this time. The lyrics are grown-up Ani. She's married, settled down, with kids and that's what she reflects on these days. But she does it in that Ani way like on the truthfully funny "Harder Than It Needs to Be".  It just feels like she knew exactly what she wanted out of this album and that's what she got - and it works.

Top Three Tracks: "Allergic to Water", "Harder Than It Needs to Be", "Dithering"

6. Sharon Van Etten: Are We There?
A much more subdued, yet way more raw album than her previous release Tramp, Are We There? is filled with beautiful piano ballads that showcase Sharon's gorgeous vocals. It's a break-up album that feels like it was created right at the breaking point. There's less looking back and reflection and more calling out and realization. I mean, with songs called "Your Love Is Killing Me", "I Love You But I'm Lost", and "Nothing Will Change", it's an album where hope has pretty much sailed. But even with all of that, it never feels like its wallowing. The songs are powerful. They have a statement to make.

Top Three Tracks: "Every Time the Sun Comes Up", "Afraid of Nothing", "Tarifa"

7. Leonard Cohen: Popular Problems 
At 80 years old, Leonard Cohen is still kickin' it and kickin' it well. He's truly a poet so age was never going to get in his way. He's not making rock songs that require him to strut around on stage in leather pants. He writes sonnets. After all this time, he still finds intriguing ways to look at things. Of course, maybe that great insight comes with age. His wonderful back up singers are still there and possibly a little more up front to smooth out Leonard's elder grumble. Their harmonies and his words are laid out over simple grooves. It's a very chill record.

Top Three Tracks: "Did I Ever Love You?", "Almost Like the Blues", "You Got Me Singing"

8. Southside Desire: Southside Desire
Soulful, groovy, smart, fun. Southside Desire has always gone beyond their excellent rhythms and amazing harmonies. Lead singer Marvel writes some of the best lyrics. There is a lot to really listen to on this album...and you can do it all while dancing and singing along to those awesome vocal arrangements.

Top Three Tracks: "Missing", "Make or Break", "Double Dutch/Recognize"

9. J Mascis: Tied To A Star
Another surprise entry on this list. I've never been much of a Dinosaur, Jr. fan - I liked the one song they had as a hit in the 90s ("Feel the Pain"), but that was about it. I certainly never explored his early works. But I scored some tickets to his show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts back in October and he completely won me over. I picked up this album AND a show poster at the show. I think his voice just really suits these laid back, mostly acoustic numbers. He has an interesting voice and it stands out so much more. The guitar work is great (which is something he's known for anyway). It's just a very charming, quiet little album.

Top Three Tracks: "Every Morning", "And Then", "Come Down"

10. Mimicking Birds: Eons
Mimicking Birds came back this year with another album full of interstellar, evolution via alien origins, sci-fi, introspective thought provoking songs - and if those themes don't interest you, then you will still most likely enjoy the intricate guitar, subtle harmonines and just total chill out vibe. Light the candles, grab a glass of wine, and just...listen.

Top Three Tracks: "Bloodlines", "Owl Hoots", "Wormholes"



Honorable Mentions:
I really try to keep my favorite list to just 10 albums, so these are the ones that just missed the cut (in no particular order):

Jenny Lewis: The Voyager (Really wanted to love this album, but I just don't. But I LOVE the songs "Head Underwater" and "The Voyager". Like LOVE LOVE LOVE them. But that does not a favorite album make.)
Wye Oak: Shriek
The Eels: The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett
We Are The Willows: Picture (Portrait)
Graveyard Club: Nightingale
Sun Gods to Gamma Rays: A Ghost to Find
Erica Russo and The Good Sport: Split EP
Taylor Swift: 1989

Additional Mentions:
These are albums that I felt like I'd have to put a disclaimer by if I included them in the Top 10, so I'm just going to put them here - though they could have easily made the Top 10.

Beyonce: Beyonce
Disclaimer Reason: Technically this album came out mid-December of last year, but it was a surprise release so I (and everyone else) had already put out their best of 2013 lists. It wasn't fair. Because this album has not left my iPod since it was released and would definitely be my #1 album of 2014 - if it was actually released this year.

Anais Mitchell: Xoa
Disclaimer Reason: This is kind of a compilation album. Anais re-recorded a bunch of previously released songs and then mixed in some new/unreleased tracks. It's a beautiful record and these solo, raw takes on some of these older songs are definitely preferred over the originals.

Rank Strangers: I Am Thinking About You
Disclaimer Reason: Not an actual release - but a teaser release of the trilogy of albums they are releasing next year. This album has 3 songs from each of the 3 albums - just enough to leave us wanting more.

She and Him: Classics
Disclaimer Reason: It's a cover song album and it seems weird for it to be a part of the best of list for that reason. But they are delightful covers and it's a great album for this time of year.








Favorite Songs:
Here's some songs that I loved that are not off of one of the Top 10 albums.

Jenny Lewis: "Head Underwater"


Lizzo and Caroline Smith: "Let 'Em Say:


Taylor Swift: "Shake It Off"


Future Islands: "Seasons (Waiting on You)"


Beyonce: "***Flawless"


Wye Oak: "Before"



We Are The Willows: "Dear Ms. Branstner"


Erica Russo and The Good Sport: "Roller Coaster"

Ani Difranco At First Avenue 10-18-14

Whenever I think I'm over Ani Difranco, I just need to go see her live and all the love and admiration I have for this woman comes bursting out.

I almost didn't want to go to this show. I was going alone (as I could not find anyone else to spend $40 on a ticket). It was a Saturday night, which meant the probability of a much more drunken crowd (and many of her fans tend to be extremely obnoxious already). And the First Avenue concert calendar had labeled that a show in the Record Room would be starting at 10pm. The Record Room is a little offshoot of First Avenue's mainroom where people go and listen to bass heavy dance music at an extremely loud volume. When I saw Amanda Palmer there, I left early because the Record Room was drowning out her performance and ruining the show for me.

But enough complaining because there was nothing to complain about last night.

She played so ferociously. All the power and energy she puts forth on stage was in full throttle mode. The sounds she makes with those acoustic guitars is unreal. You can talk about her politically charged lyrics, her beautiful soaring voice...but don't forget to talk about her guitar. She can play like nobody else I've ever seen.

The crowd was excellent. They were really into it, yet super respectful of everyone - including Ani. No "I LOVE YOU, ANI!!!" were shouted. Only one drunken woman was screaming the lyrics in my ear - but it was only for one song towards the end.

The set list was amazing and she played so many songs I hadn't heard in ages...including "Tis of Thee" which is a song I've recently fallen in love with again. It's like, how did she know that song was on my brain and to pull it out of obscurity? ; )

Ani's set list
Manhole
Half-Assed
Marrow
Shy (good god this was so amazing and fun)
Careless Words
Not a Pretty Girl
Fuel (crazy cool version with opener Jenny Scheinman doing some wicked things with a violin)
Tis of Thee (totally cried)
Woe Be Gone
Angry Anymore
Harder Than It Needs to Be
Dithering
Genie
Swan Dive (this is the song the shout singing woman started up on)
Both Hands
Out of Habit
Gravel
Fire Door
32 Flavors

I just will never ever miss a show she plays. Ever.

 Ani flagged down the beer guy cuz she was thirsty.