In a desperate attempt to forget that the CSU took a $100 million mid-year cut yesterday on top of the $650 million cut we took at the beginning of the year, I have produced another “best of” list.

This time: my favorite albums of the year.  I have posted a public playlist on Spotify in case you are interested in having a listen to one track from each album that represents the album well.

Dodos – No Color
The Decemberists – The King is Dead
The Decemberists – Long Live the King (EP)
The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart
Real Estate – Days
Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
White Denim – D
Wilco – The Whole Love
Yuck – Yuck

I saw several good concerts this year.

Death Cab for Cutie at the El Rey. To see a band like that in a venue that holds about 700 people was something special. That said, we saw them at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago and they were better then. The opening band The Lonely Forest is worth giving a listen to (Arrows is their new album); they were fantastic live.

The Decemberists. I saw them twice this year. During the early stage of the King is Dead tour, and then later in Lewiston, NY with some really good friends. The Head and the Heart opened for The Decemberists at the latter show. Arguably The Head and the Heart were the best live act I saw this year.

The Hollywood Bowl is the best place to see a concert. Period. The B-52s were a lot of fun on “80s Night” opening for the Human League (really?!) who, well, meh. Seeing Stevie Wonder at the Bowl literally brought me to tears.