Thursday, December 22, 2022

The “Greatest Films of All Time”

Many of you know that I'm something of a cinephile. I studied film at NYU back about a million years ago and I'm always interested in the best of international and classic cinema. So it is with a strong interest that I check out the once—every—decade film critics' poll held by England's Sight & Sound magazine. They poll hundreds of critics from around the world, and the last two poll results have seen some interesting upsets. Sight & Sound has widely diversified the electorate, making a conscious effort to make a more international and gender—diverse poll, which in 2012 lead to the upset of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo unseating the 50—year reigning champ Citizen Kane from the #1 spot. But this decade's poll — with an even more diverse electorate nearly double the size of the 2012 group — made a much more controversial choice, electing Belgian director Chantal Akerman's nearly 3½—hour, minimal, 1975 feminist masterwork Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles for the top spot, the first film by a female director ever to crack the top ten (an honor it shares in this poll with the Claire Denis film Beau Travail, which is in seventh place). Fans of Hitch and Welles need not fear, as they still hold the #2 and #3 spots respectively, with a personal fave, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story a strong fourth.

In all the furor in the film press about the “wokeness” of the top choice and inclusions of films like Get Out, Portrait of a Woman on Fire, and Moonlight, what doesn't seem to have been talked about is how much the same the poll is, how much it still adheres to the accepted canon of “great films.” Citizen Kane has been in the top three since the 1952 poll and is still third; Vertigo, widely misunderstood on its release, has slowly grown in stature since the 1972 poll until it unseated Kane and now moves to second place; Tokyo Story first popped up in the lower reaches of the 1962 poll, then fell back until it surged to third place in 1992, dropped to fifth in 2002, back to third in 2012 and currently holds at fourth. And with some notable exceptions (not just the #1 film, but also Beau Travail and two other more recent entries — Wong Kar—wai's exquisite In the Mood For Love and David Lynch's enigmatic Mulholland Drive), the rest of the top ten have been kicking around these charts for some time as well: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (which topped the concurrent poll of film directors this time out), Dziga Vertov's silent experimental work Man with a Movie Camera, and the Hollywood classic Singin' in the Rain are no strangers to the upper reaches of these lists; nor are the #11 choice Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Jean Renoir's #13 La règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game), John Ford's #15 The Searchers, or Ingmar Bergman's cryptic #18 entry Persona.

All of this is really to say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. In 1962's poll, it was the height of contemporary critical fashion to vote for Michelangelo Antonioni's then–new film L'Avventura, which was in a tight race with Citizen Kane and La règle du jeu right up until the end, ultimately placing second beneath Welles and above Renoir (the film is tied for #72 in this decade's poll), and the magazine's write–up of the poll refers to Welles and Antonioni (plus French director Jean Vigo, whose L'Atalante placed tenth) as the “experimentalists” of the day (in contrast to those referred by the writer to as “giants” — Chaplin, Eisenstein, etc.) — not necessarily the canonical directors they're thought of as today. In 1972, two films that had been released since the previous poll — Persona and Federico Fellini's — both made the top ten, with three more post–1962 films hitting from 11–20. In fact, 1982's poll is the first ever to NOT have something from the previous decade in its top 10, with still the most current film in the polling, a pattern repeated in 1992, where Kubrick's 2001, from 1968 and then 24 years old, was the most recent film in the upper reaches of the poll; 2002 continued the pattern, with Francis Ford Coppola's first two Godfather films — from 1972 and 1974 respectively, thus 30 and 28 years old respectively — the most recent titles in the front. 2012 shook things up with Vertigo claiming the top spot, but it was business as usual up top — the most recent film in the top 10 was again 2001, now not only 44 years old itself, but the futuristic year of its title eleven years past. And for what it's worth, Jeanne Dielman tied for 36th place in this poll, beneath the first appearances of both the more recent In The Mood For Love and Mulholland Drive.

Partly this is a simple function of time — as more movies are released and written about, the canon becomes more ossified, with articles repeating what previous articles have said about the greatness of certain films (and really, nobody worth taking seriously denies the greatness of Kane, Vertigo, La règle du jeu, The Passion of Joan of Arc, and so forth) and thus further ensconcing them into the upper parts of the poll. But time also allows us to do a couple other things — discover more that we haven't seen before, and to become sated with that which we have. I'd never argue with the idea that Citizen Kane is great, but I've also seen it so many times now that if I never see it again in my life it will live just fine as a fond memory; I'd rather spend time looking at just how Welles put together his late–career masterpiece assembled from bits and piece of Shakespeare, Chimes at Midnight (AKA Falstaff). Or… watching Jeanne Dielman.

I don't think I've ever had more friends and family asking me about a specific film they've never seen than when the news broke that Chantal Akerman's film had topped the new poll. And it is with some reticence that I recommend her work — writing for The New Yorker HERE, Jessica Winter notes that “I suspect that the Sight and Sound voters who truly love Jeanne Dielman, as opposed to merely admiring it… are those who can enter a meditative state when watching it.” I am definitely in the latter camp where she identifies in the former camp, but she nails what the article calls the “revelatory tedium” of the film — watching events unfold in real time from a static point of view forces us into different modes of viewing, and not everyone is game for what it asks of you. If we're not waiting for the next cut to advance the story (the average length of each shot is about a minute, with some running to several minutes where most Hollywood films are about 3–4 seconds per shot), then what do we look at? Where does our mind go while the title character makes a meatloaf, drinks coffee, washes dishes? If you let it, the film retrains your way of watching — it's not for nothing that it's considered one of the landmarks of film loosely grouped under the category of “slow cinema” — and there's nothing like it out there. Add to this that it forces us into identification with the lonely housewife portrayed so perfectly by Delphine Seyrig and the work she does daily as she slowly unravels over the course of three days.

And Akerman's other film in the poll this decade, 1977's News From Home, does something similar — over silent documentary footage Akerman and her brilliant cinematographer Babette Mangolte shot (you want to know where to put your eyes in these shots? Just scan around each frame and drink in Mangolte's fantastic lighting), the director reads letters written to her by her mother, sound is added in to emphasize a feel and effect of the city rather than its reality, and the total effect is a poignant, dreamlike reverie of family relationships, of being out on your own for the first time, and more. It ends with a ten–minute shot (not the only one in the film) taken from the Staten Island Ferry, a shot Jim Jarmusch would later copy for his debut feature Permanent Vacation. Both of them — and much more from Akerman's catalog — simply put you into a different way of experiencing film viewing, and both of them are masterpieces that deserve the accolades they are currently reaping (unfortunately too late for Akerman, who died by suicide in 2015, to have felt the honors).

Her films are not new — this has been simmering in the polls for over 45 years now — but plus ça change, I for one am invigorated that there are new, vital films that are included in the polls, whether they are my personal faves or not. I'm happy in addition to Akerman taking the top spot that Daughters of the Dust, Killer of Sheep, Daisies, Close–Up, Wanda, and others have made headway this decade, even if it means that my personal cinema hero Luis Buñuel got bumped from the top 100. Cinema should always be pushing at boundaries and canons should always be a living thing, subject to revision. I can't wait for the 2032 poll — maybe we'll see something by Cheryl Dunye or Guy Maddin or Pedro Costa or Cristian Mungiu or Lee Chang—dong or Radu Jude, or maybe more by Claire Denis (Beau Travail isn't even my favorite of hers) or Apitchatpong Weerasethakul. Or maybe my old pal Buñuel will be back in the electorate's good graces. Whatever happens, I'll be watching.

- Patrick Brown

Monday, December 12, 2022

Twist & Shout Staff Picks: the Best of 2022

Hello My Name is Patrick Brown and these are my top things of 2022.

Music
Diamanda Galás - Broken Gargoyles
Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet - For the Love of Fire and Water
Alhaji Waziri Oshomah - World Spirituality Classics 3: The Muslim Highlife of Alhaji Waziri Oshomah (archival)
Amanda Shires - Take It Like A Man
Danger Mouse / Black Thought - Cheat Codes
Ezra Furman - “All of Us Flames”
Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance
Tanya Tagaq - Tongues
Sun Ra Arkestra - Living Sky
Iannis Xenakis - Electroacoustic Works (archival)
Oumou Sangaré - Timbuktu
Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet - Ultraman vs. Alien Metron (archival)
Tom Skinner - Voices of Bishara
Archers of Loaf - Reason in Decline
Gogol Bordello - Solidaritine
Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful
Tyshawn Sorey - Mesmerism
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Michael Hurley - The Time of the Foxgloves (Dec. 2021 release)
A Place to Bury Strangers - See Through You


New Blu-ray
Drive My Car
Beatles - Get Back
Neptune Frost
Memoria
Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliche
Crimes Of The Future
Sound Of Metal


New Blu-rays of Old Movies
Pink Flamingos (Criterion)
Malcolm X (Criterion)
Daisies (Criterion)
Shortbus (Oscilloscope)
The Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz (VCI)
Electra Glide In Blue (Kino)
I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians (Big World Pictures)

Hello, my name is Adam Reshotko and these are things I listened to and liked in 2022.

Archers of Loaf - Reason in Decline
black midi - Hellfire
Boris - Heavy Rocks
The Comet Is Coming - Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam
The Cure - Wish (30th Anniversary)
Ghost Funk Orchestra - A New Kind of Love
Goat - Oh Death
Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Cold as Weiss
Makaya McCraven - In These Times
The Movers - Vol. 1: 1970-1976
Pavement - Terror Twilight: Farewell Horizontal
Phish - Gorge '98 (12/9 release)
Rush - Moving Pictures (40th Anniversary)
The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention
Sonic Youth - In/Out/In
Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future
Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful
Stereolab - Pulse of the Early Brain (Switched On Vol. 5)
Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen
Various - Have You Lost Your Mind Yet
Frank Zappa - Hard Luck Stories 1972-1982
Trees - Trees: 50th Anniversary Edition
Various Artists - Saturno 2000: La rebajada de los sonideros 1962-1983
Frank Zappa - Waka/Wazoo

Hello, my name is Amy Goodall and these are the best albums of 2022.

1. Huerco S. - Plonk
2. Širom - The Liquified Throne of Simplicity
3. Billy Woods - Aethiopes
4. Pan Daijing - Tissues
5. FKA Twigs - Caprisongs
6. Current 93 - A New Kind of Love
7. Jack White - Fear of the Dawn
8. Daphni - Cherry
9. Gilla Band - Most Normal
10. Beyoncé - Renaissance
11. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers
12. Jeshi - Universal Credit
13. Jockstrap - I Love You, Jennifer B.
14. Cult of Luna - The Long Road North
15. Mizmor & Thou - Myopia
16. Various Artists (Other People Records) - Weavings
17. Croation Amor - Remember Rainbow Bridge
18. black midi - Hellfire
19. Quelle Chris - Deathfame
20. Knxwledge - V1
21. Beach House - Once Twice Melody
22. Infinity Frequencies - Exit Simulation
23. Kelly Lee Owens - LP.8
24. Earl Sweatshirt - Sick!
25. Skirmishes - All love God it falls away untouchable
26. Vein.fm - This World Is Going to Ruin You
27. Park Zero - Proxy
28. Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems
29. DJ Spell - Kia Ora 10
30. Subaruu & Saves - S5

Howdy! These are Anna Lathem’s Top Albums of 2022 in no particular order but also kinda a little bit in a particular order…

Beyoncé - Renaissance
Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful
MUNA - MUNA
Reverend Baron - From Anywhere
Maggie Rogers - Surrender
Plains - I Walked With You A Ways
Maxim Mental - Fucking EP
Carly Rae Jepsen - Loneliest Time
John Doe - Fables in A Foreign Land
Leon Bridges & Khruangbin - Texas Moon
St. Paul & the Broken Bones - Alien Coast
Durand Jones & the Indications - Private Space
Curtis Harding - If Words Were Flowers
The Black Angels - Wilderness of Mirrors
The Beatles - Revolver (Reissue)
Makaya McCraven - In These Times
Joe Strummer - Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years
Amanda Shires - Take It Like A Man
Arctic Monkeys - The Car

Hello! My Name is Ben Sumner and these are my favourite things of 2022:

Top 12 favourite new things of 2022:
Sessa - Estrela Acesa
Otoboke Beaver - Super Champon
Diamanda Galas - Broken Gargoyles
Taylor Swift - Midnights
Lady Blackbird - Black Acid Soul
Eels - Extreme Witchcraft
Avishai Cohen – Naked Truth
Naima Bock – Giant Palm
Nduduzo Makhathini – In The Spirit Of Ntu
Tinariwen – Kel Tinariwen
Sun Ra Arkestra – Living Sky
Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork


Top 12 favourite old things of 2022:
Beatles - Get Back Blu-Ray and Televisual event
David Bowie - Moonage Daydream film, which ought to be ought on VHS soon enough
Joni Mitchell - Asylum Years 1972-1975 LP/CD box set, plus her comeback at Newport
Elton John - Regimental Sgt. Zippo stereo LP issue, plus his gig at the Enormodome
Various Artists - Saturno 2000 - La Rebajada De Los Sonideros 1962-1983
Norma Tanega - I’m The Sky: Studio And Demo Recordings, 1964–1971
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood – Nancy & Lee, first proper reissue ever, thank you
Summer of Soul – LP/DVD
Mandy Morton & Spriguns – After The Storm, complete recordings CD set, nice.
Brother Jack McDuff – Moon Rappin', LP reissue
Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain, LP reissue
Blondie – Against The Odds 1974- 1982, LP/CD box set

My name is Blake Britton and I am reluctantly capitalizing stuff for the sake of making sure my list is included on the blog this year. Here are some lessons I learned in 2022:

1. Black Country New Road - Ants From Up There (If Isaac can walk, then so can I.)
2. Black Midi - Hellfire (Idiots are infinite… Thinking men are numbered.)
3. Makaya McCraven - In These Times (The machine can't take the place of the soul and the sweat.)
4. Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers (I choose me, I’m sorry.)
5. Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork (...weird premise for a show, but I like it.)
6. Revelators Sound System - Revelators (________________)
7. Jockstrap - I Love You, Jennifer B. (He thinks you float, but you don’t.)
8. Ibibio Sound Machine - Electricity (Spiritual, invisible protection from evil.)
9. Kali Malone - Living Torch (Serves you right to suffer!)
10. FKA Twigs - Caprisongs ('Cause you care, I made it through today.)

Hello, my name is Brian Albright and these are my top things of 2022:

New Music:
1. The Reds, Pinks & Purples - Summer at Land’s End
2. Sloan - Steady
3. Alvvays - Blue Rev
4. Robyn Hitchcock - Shufflemania
5. The Sadies - Colder Streams
6. The Beths - Expert in a Dying Field
7. Uni Boys - Live in Stuttgart 1975
8. Superchunk - Wild Loneliness
9. Steve Earle - Jerry Jeff
10. Carla Olsen & Stephen McCarthy - Night Comes Falling


Reissues/Collections:
1. The Beatles - Revolver Special Edition
2. Redd Kross - Neurotica
3. Love Tractor - Themes From Venus
4. Various - C85
5. Tall Dwarfs - Unravelled 1981-2002
6. Phil Seymore - 2
7. Various Artists - Miles Out to Sea
8. R.E.M. - Chronic Town
9. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Live at the Fillmore 1997
10. The Georgia Satellites - Lightnin’ in a Bottle: The Official Live Album



Hello, my name is Brian Wyatt (and the secret, my friends, is in the green chili) and these are my favorite things of 2022 – but not in any particular order, just some good shit happening this year!

New Music:

#1: All the congrats & Luck to Paul & Jill in retirement and to Patrick to keep on chooglin’!
1. Sessa – Estrella Acesa
2. Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros – 002
3. Brian Jonestown Massacre – Fire Doesn’t Grow on Trees
4. E-40 – Tha Hall of Game
5. Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors
6. Kikagaku Moyo - Kumoyo Island
7. Reverend Baron - From Anywhere
8. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Omnium Gatherum
9. Spiritualized - Everything Was Beautiful
10. Lou Reed - Words & Music
11. Nils Frahm - Music For Animals
12. Goat - Oh Death
13. Murlocs - I Love You, Jennifer B.
14. Cult of Luna - Rapscallion
15. James Newton - Flute Music
16. Panda Bear/Sonic Boom - Reset
17. Surfrajettes - Roller Fink
18. Pink Mountaintops - Peacock Pools
19. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Ice Death Planets Lungs Mushrooms and Lava
20. Dungen - En Ar For Mycket Och Tuse
21. Say She She - Prism
22. Reverend Horton Heat - Smoke ‘Em, Full Custom, Liquor
23. Extra Kool - Not A Ghost… But Dead Inside


I don’t watch lost of movies lately but I watched:
Breathless – J.L. Godard one – Absolute spectacular
Inherent Vice – Absolute hilarity
Tokyo Drifter – Absolute fun gangster flick

Pickle Jars Eagle! Squatney rejects rule!
I miss ya on Saturdays Hound. Thanks for keeping the counter in check haha.
R.I.P. and all our love to Peter McNab. The next cup is for you Maxy.

Hello, my name is Chad Boltz and these are my favorite things of 2022
1. Diamanda Galás - Broken Gargoyles


Hello, my name is Chris Bjork and these are my favorite things of 2022

1. Michael Rault – Michael Rault
2. Daniel Rossen – You Belong There
3. Kikagaku Moyo – Kumoyo Island
4. No Frills – Downward Dog
5. Babe Rainbow – The Organic Album
6. Jerry Paper – Free Time
7. Vundabar – Devil For the Fire
8. Thee Oh Sees – A Foul Form
9. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Omnium Gatherum
10. Ghost Funk Orchestra – A New Kind of Love
11. Sam Cohen – Slow Faun
12. Geese – Projector
13. Monophonics – Sage Motel
14. Drugdealer – Hiding in Plain Sight
15. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets – Night Gnomes
16. The Lazy Eyes – Songbook
17. Surprise Chef – Education and Recreation
18. Oog Bogo – Plastic
19. Alex G – God Save the Animals
20. Vinyl Williams – Cosmopolis


Hello, my name is Eric Curley and these are my favorite things of 2022

CD Only
1. Phish - Gorge '98

CD/Vinyl
1. Animals As Leaders – Parrhesia
2. The Black Keys – Dropout Boogie
3. Bonobo – Fragments
4. The Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam
5. Earthless – Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons
6. Nils Frahm – Music For Animals
7. Ghost Funk Orchestra – Devil For the Fire
8. Ghost Funk Orchestra – A Foul Form
9. Goat – Oh Death
10. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold As Weiss
11. Monophonics – Sage Motel
12. The New Mastersounds – The Deplar Effect
13. Rammstein – Zeit
14. Russian Circles – Gnosis
15. Surprise Chef – Education & Recreation
16. Various Artists – Summer of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
17. Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin – Ali

Vinyl-Only
1. Beastie Boys – Check Your Head (20th Anniversary Box)
2. Various Artists – Colemine Records: Soul Slabs, Vol. 3
3. Various Artists – Jazz Dispensary: Super Skunk
4. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Omnium Gatherum
5. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Live In Loveland!
6. Orgōne – Lost Knights
7. Phish – LP on LP 03 (Tweezer/Prince Caspian)
8. Shpongle – Catalog Remasters
9. Slift – Levitation Sessions
10. Tool – Fear Inoculum (3xLP Edition)
11. Various Artists – Wamono Groove: Shakuhachi & Koto Jazz Funk '76

Ethan’s Alphabetical Ascension Of Albums 2022

Charlotte Adigéry, BOLIS PUPIL - Topical Dancer
Alvvays – Blue Rev
Animal Collective – Time Skiffs
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Cola – Deep In View
Christine And The Queens – Redcar les adorables étoiles
Dehd – Blue Skies
Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork
Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
Alex G – Horsegirl
Horsegirl – Versions of Modern Performance
Kiwi Jr. – Chopper
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – Reset
Plains – I Walked With You A Ways
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – Endless Rooms
The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
Kurt Vile – (watch my moves)
Nilüfer Yanya – PAINLESS

Honorable Mention: Wet Leg - Wet Leg

REMASTERED REISSUES/COMPILATIONS/STUFF THAT ISN’T “NEW”:
The Beatles – Revolver [Super Deluxe]
Blondie – Against The Odds - 1974 - 1982 [Deluxe Box Set]
R.E.M. – Chronic Town [40th Anniversary 12” EP Reissue]
The Rolling Stones – El Mocambo 1977 [Box Set]
Stereolab – Pulse of the Early Brain [Switched On, Vol. 5]
Norma Tanega – I’m The Sky: Studio And Demo Recordings, 1964-1971


MOVIES/TV (that were/look great and I’ve seen/need to see):
Elvis - Baz Lurman (really wasn’t that good AT ALL but it was worth seeing it in IMAX)
Licorice Pizza - Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonage Daydream - Brett Morgen
My Life As A Rolling Stone - epix TV mini-series; multiple directors
Tár - Todd Field



Hello, my name is Extra Kool and these are my favorite things of 2022

CD:
1. Mood – Doom (reissue)
2. Danger Mouse / Black Thought – Cheat Codes

Vinyl:
1. Atmosphere – Lucy Ford (reissue)
2. Extra Kool – Not A Ghost… But Dead Inside
3. Robert – Orange Is the New Black
4. Digable Planets – Blowout Comb (reissue) 5. Original Soundtrack – Candyman
6. Diamanda Galás – Diamanda Galás (reissue)
7. Original Soundtrack – Dark Glasses
8. Original Soundtrack – Halloween (40th Anniversary edition – Death Waltz/Mondo)

DVD/Blu-ray:
1. X
2. The Batman
3. Lux Aeterna
4. Faceless
5. The Black Phone
6. Nope
7. Kindred
8. Return of the Living Dead (4K – Scream Factory)
9. Pearl

Ayyyyy, my name is Harrison Mains and these are my most favoritest releases of 2022
1. Viagra Boys – Cave World
2. Otoboke Beaver – Super Champon
3. Backxwash – His Happiness Shall Come first Even Though We Are Suffering
4. Sasami – Squeeze
5. Danger Mouse / Black Thought – Cheat Codes
6. Rosalía – Motomami
7. Extra Kool – Not A Ghost… But Dead Inside
8. Dead Cross – II
9. Tim Heidecker – High School
10. Wormrot – Hiss
11. Eiron – Creepshow
12. Norma Tanega – I’m The Sky: Studio And Demo Recordings, 1964-1971
13. Lupe Fiasco – Drill Music in Zion
14. Beyoncé – Renaissance
15. Chat Pile – God’s Country
16. Boris – Heavy Rocks (2022)
17. Tanya Tagaq – Tongues
18. Osees – A Foul Form
19. Morris Day – Last Call
20. Primus – Conspiranoid
21. Björk – Fossora
22. Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold As Weiss
23. Ghost Funk Orchestra – A New Kind of Love
24. Charli XCX – Crash
25. Burial – Antidawn


Hello, my name is Jack Brown and these are my favorite things of 2022

1. Various Artists – Daptone Super Soul Revue
2. Orquesta Akokán – 16 Rayos
3. Broadcast – Maida Vale Sessions
4. Broadcast – Mother Is the Milky Way
5. Broadcast – Vol. 1&2 Microtronics
6. Burial – Antidawn
7. Pye Corner Audio – Let’s Emerge
8. King Garbage – Heavy Metal Greasy Love
9. Beyoncé – Renaissance
10. Lady Wray – Piece of Me

Hello, my name is James G. and these are my favorite things of 2022

Music:
1. Cherokee – Blood and Gold (Dying Victim Productions)
2. Mournful Congregation – The Exuviae of Gods, Part 1 (20 Buck Spin)
3. Gralefrit – Gralefrit (cassette) (Ancient Meadow)
4. Hoaxed – Two Shadows (Relapse)
5. Supernatural Darkness – Flying Fortress (cassette) (Ancient Meadow)
6. Sumerlands – Dreamkiller (Relapse)
7. Nortfalke – Moonjeie (cassette) (Dungeons Deep)
8. Lunar Wombs – The Sleeping Green (reissue) (Hospital Productions)
9. Witches Forest – The Beauty of Silence (Ancient Meadow)
10. Tove Lo – Dirt Femme (Pretty Swede)
11. MØ – Motordrome (Sony Music)
12. Dream Unending – Song of Salvation (20 Buck Spin)
13. Worm – Bluenothing (20 Buck Spin)
14. Secret Straiways – Turning Point (reissue) (Dungeons Deep)
15. Original Soundtrack – The Descent (David Julyan) (Burning Witches)
16. Satan – Court in the Act (reissue) (Roadrunner)
17. Cauldron Born – Born of the Cauldron (reissue)(Cult Metal Classics)
18. Original Soundtrack – Bubblegum Crisis 2: Born to Kill (reissue)(Cult Metal Classics)
19. Blade Runner – Warriors of Rock (reissue)(Cult Metal Classics)
20. Jääportit – Kauan Koskematon (remaster)(Out of Season)


DVD/Blu-ray:
1. Double Indemnity (Criterion)
2. Don’t Go in the House (Severin)
3. Dune (2021) 4K (Warner Brothers)
4. Voyage of the Rock Aliens (Vinegar Syndrome)
5. Ilya Muromets (Vinegar Syndrome)
6. Wall-E 4K (Criterion)
7. House of Terrors (Mondo Macabro)
8. Batman 4K (Warner Brothers)
9. Hard Rock Zombies (Vinegar Syndrome)
10. A Haunted Turkish Bathhouse (Mondo Macabro)

Hello, my name is James Mabry and these are my favorite things of 2022

CD:
1. Diamanda Galás – Broken Gargoyles
2. Julian Lage – View With A Room
3. Charley Crockett – The Man From Waco
4. Art Blakey – Just Coolin’
5. Adrian Quesada – Boleros Psicodelicos
6. She & Him – Melt Away – Tribute to Brian Wilson

Vinyl:
1. Extra Kool – Not A Ghost… But Dead Inside
2. First Aid Kit – Palomino
3. Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965
4. Dolly Parton – Run Rose Run
5. Nikki Lane – Denim & Diamonds

DVD/Blu-ray
1. Everything Everywhere All At Once
2. Cyrano
3. The Woman King

I’m Jonathan Eagle and here is a list of my favorite shit from 2022

New Albums
1. Urge Overkill – Oui
2. The Afghan Whigs – How Do You Burn?
3. The Replacements – Unsuitable for Airplay: The Lost KFAI Concert
4. Sharon Van Etten – We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong
5. Kikagaku Moyo – Kumoyo Island
6. Mary Halvorson – Amaryllis
7. KEN Mode – NULL
8. Loudness – Sunburst
9. Cheer-Accident – Here Comes the Sunset
10. Classless Act – Welcome to the Show
11. Jon Spencer & the HITmakers – Spencer Gets It Lit
12. Maggie Rogers – Surrender
13. Scorpions – Rock Believer
14. Max Richter – The New Four Seasons: Vivaldi Recomposed
15. Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork
16. Archers of Loaf – Reason in Decline
17. Wilco – Cruel Country
18. Chat Pile – God’s Country
19. Melvins – Bad Moon Rising
20. The Comet is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam


New Films/Docs
1. Confess, Fletch (Greg Mottola)
2. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Eric Appel)
3. Nope (Jordan Peel)
4. Clerks III (Kevin Smith)
5. The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks (Reg Harkema)
6. Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson)
7. The Outfit (Graham Moore)
8. To Leslie (Michael Morris)
9. George Carlin’s American Dream (Judd Apatow & Michael Bonfiglio)
10. Piggy (Carlota Pareda)

Hello, my name is Maggie and these are my top things of 2022.

Vinyl
1. Beyoncé – Renaissance
2. Björk – Fossora
3. The Clash – Combat Rock/People’s Hall (40th Anniv.)
4. Blondie – Against the Odds
5. Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point
6. Taylor Swift – Midnights
7. Alice In Chains – Dirt (30th Anniversary)
8. Maggie Rogers – Surrender
9. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
10. Wet Leg – Wet Leg

DVD/Blu-Ray:
1. Okja (Criterion release) – d. Bong Joon-Ho
2. Titane – d. Julia Ducournau
3. The Velvet Underground (Criterion release) – d. Todd Haynes
4. The Northman – d. Robert Eggers
5. Yellowjackets (season 1) – d. Karyn Kusama
6. Last Night in Soho – d. Edgar Wright
7. Crimes of the Future – d. David Cronenberg
8. Top Gun: Maverick – d. Joseph Kosinski
9. Nope – d. Jordan Peele
10. Where the Crawdads Sing – d. Olivia Newman


Hello, my name is Matt Cobos and these are my top albums of 2022 in a general-ish order:
1. Viagra Boys – Cave World
2. Gilla Band – Most Normal
3. Meat Wave – Malign Hex
4. Surfbort – Keep On Truckin'
5. Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave
6. Soul Glo – Diaspora Problems
7. Goat – Oh Death
8. Chat Pile – God's Country
9. Monophonics – Sage Motel
10. The Murlocs – Rapscallion
11. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia
12. Say She She – Prism

Hello, my name is Max Kaufman and these are my top albums of 2022.

Top albums of 2022
Soul Glo - Diaspora Problems
Open Mike Eagle - A Tape Called Component System With The Auto-Reverse
Chat Pile - God's Country

Other Great Albums That Made Me Feel Things
The Mars Volta - The Mars Volta
Dishevelled Cuss - In The Couch
Charlotte Adigery & Boris Pupul - Topical Dancer
Cave In - Heavy Pendulum
Black Country, New Road - Ants From Up There
Blood Incantation - Timewave Zero
Guerilla Toss - Famously Alive
OFF! - Free LSD
Wormrot - Hiss
Dead Cross - II
Freddie Gibbs - $oul $old $eparately
Black Midi - Hellfire
Primitive Man - Insurmountable
Vermin Womb - Retaliation

Reissues i've been waiting for for a long time
El-p - Fantastic Damage
Lovage - Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Norma Tanega - I'm The Sky: Studio and Demo recordings 1964-1971

MOVIES!
NOPE - Dir: Jordan Peele
I Am A Cliche: Poly Styrene - Dir: Celeste Belle
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once - Dir: The Daniels
The Northman - Dir: Robert Eggers

Quinn Theis 2022 top 30
Barbara - Escape Artist
The Dirty Snacks Ensemble - You Would Do Well
Off! - Free LSD
Dennis Bovell - The Dubmaster (The Essential Anthology)
Horace Andy - Midnight Rocker
Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari - Grounation (Reissue)
Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Sessa - Astrela Acesa
Rosalía - Motomami
Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
Oumou Sangaré - Timbuktu
Pixies - Doggerel
Dry Cleaning - Stumpwork
Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes
Congotronics International - Where’s The One?
Makaya McCraven - In These Times
Bill Callahan - YTI⅃AƎЯ
Kikagaku Moyo - Kumoyo Island
black midi - Hellfire
Lou Reed - Words & Music
Meshuggah - Immutable
Moor Mother - Jazz Codes
Guided By Voices - Crystal Nuns Cathedral
Cass McCombs - Heartland
Vieux Farka Toure - Les Racines
Wilco - Cruel Country
Tanya Tagaq - Tongues
Mitski - Laurel Hell
Robyn Hitchcock - Shufflemania!
Mary Gauthier - Dark Enough To See the Stars

Reggie’s Top Ten 2022
1. Sofi Tukker – Wet Tennis 04/29/22
2. Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork 10/21/22
3. Metric – Formentera 07/08/22
4. Adult. – Becoming Undone 03/11/22
5. Charli XCX – Crash 03/18/22
6. Comet Is Coming – Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam 09/23/22
7. Uffie – Sunshine Factory 05/20/22
8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down 09/30/22
9. Santigold – Spirituals 09/09/22
10. Guerilla Toss – Famously Alive 03/25/22

• Rina Sawayama – Hold the Girl 09/16/22
• VR Sex – Rough Dimension 03/25/22
• Ibibio Sound Machine – Electricity 03/25/22
• Zola Jesus – Arkhon 06/24/22
• Boy Harsher – The Runner (OST) 01/21/22

Hello, my name is Robin Pinks and these are my top things of of 2022.
1. Salvia Palth – Melanchole (remaster)
2. Black Massive Sun – The Great Between
3. Chat Pile – God’s Country
4. Foxtails – Fawn
5. Backxwash – His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering
6. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (deluxe edition)
7. Boy Harsher – The Runner
8. Death Grips – The Money Store
9. Duster – Together
10. Isaur – One
11. Jockstrap – I Love You, Jennifer B.
12. Asian Glow and Weatherday – Weatherglow
13. Sign Crushes Motorist – I’ll Be Okay
14. Domi & JD Beck – Not Tight
15. black midi – Hellfire
16. Burial – Antidawn (LP)
17. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
18. Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
19. Melvins – Bad Mood Rising
20. Black Dresses – Forget Your Own Face


Hello, my name is Scott Campbell and these are my top 30 albums of 2022.
1. black midi – Hellfire
2. Beach House – Once Twice Melody
3. MJ Lenderman – Boat Songs
4. Animal Collective – Time Skiffs
5. Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future
6. Cheekface – Too Much To Ask
7. Kiwi Jr. – Chopper
8. Panda Bear / Sonic Boom – Reset
9. Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
10. Disq – Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet
11. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
12. Alvvays – Blue Rev
13. The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
14. Let’s Eat Grandma – Two Ribbons
15. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
16. Kurt Vile – Watch My Moves
17. Ghais Guevara – There Will Be No Super Slave
18. Silverbacks – Archive Material
19. Bill Callahan – YTI⅃AƎЯ
20. Viagra Boys – Cave World
21. Earl Sweatshirt – Sick!
22. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
23. Pusha T – It’s Almost Dry
24. Emperor X – The Lakes of Zones B and C
25. Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen
26. Horsegirl – Versions of Modern Performance
27. Cloakroom – Dissolution Wave
28. Black Country, New Road – Ants From Up There
29. Wilco – Cruel Country
30. Quelle Chris – Deathfame


Hey, what’s up my name is Steph and these are some albums that stood out to me this year
Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen
FKA Twigs – Caprisongs
Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights
Action Bronson – Cocodrillo Turbo
Wet Leg – Wet Leg
Dry Cleaning – Stumpwork
Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever
Westside Gunn – 10
Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti
Mitski – Laurel Hell

Some movies that I definitely enjoyed this year!
Nope (2022)
X (2022)
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Phantom of the Opera (2021)
But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Barbarian (2022)

Thursday, March 31, 2022

In Memoriam/Music Heals

Hey there – I’m Patrick Brown the owner of Twist & Shout (and it still feels weird for me to being saying that!). As you have probably read, I bought the store from Paul & Jill Epstein in early March. The day after I took over, we learned that local jazz legend Ron Miles – who has long been a friend of the store and one of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure of talking music with here – passed away at age 58. And then, in another sad turn of events, one of our beloved employees, manager Kevin McGrellis, suffered a seizure and heart failure that lead to his passing at age 31. Certainly this was not the happy beginning to my store that I’d envisioned.

Last week, I had the pleasure of once again attending the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee. Big Ears is a multi-genre festival that presents innovative music in all genres, and it just so happened that Ron had been scheduled to perform there this year as he had in the past. It’s also a festival that featured a number of musicians Kevin loved – or would have loved had he attended and gotten to see them. And shortly after settling in to the city I realized that there was yet another facet of the festival; this year there was a focus on New Orleans and Haitian/Caribbean musics, something that another recently departed friend of the store, Pete Fassoulis, lived and breathed.

With all this, I began the festival more than a little heavy of heart, starting things only minutes after arriving in the center of town by seeing Patti Smith, a musician who’s never shied away from dealing with death in her music and writing, and her words about her own departed friends and family resonated with me as I thought about my friend Kevin. And I couldn’t help but think about the fact that the festival would also bring me to see the quartet of Bill Frisell, Brian Blade, Thomas Morgan, and Jason Moran, who recorded with Ron on his terrific Rainbow Sign album and would be playing a set exclusively dedicated to his music, and Myra Melford, whose group Snowy Egret included Ron on trumpet (replaced at the festival by Cuong Vu) and who dedicated her set to him (the spirit of Ron hovered over the whole festival, really); additionally, I’d be hearing the New Orleans music Pete loved throughout the weekend nearly everywhere I walked during the days – pouring out of Boyd’s Jig & Reel in the Old City part of downtown, in parades, and on outdoor stages designed to get everyone partying.

But something switched the next morning when I went to check out 75 Dollar Bill, a band I’d read a decent amount about but had not heard. As I listened to this 9-piece “Little Big Band” perform their lengthy, groove-laden music - there were several percussionists and two bassists who played polyrhythms over which guitarist/founder Che Chen, two violinists, or multi-reed player Cheryl Kingan could solo in any direction - I locked into the grooves with the band, enjoying their interplay and musicianship into which they would periodically interject beautiful, melodic themes that rose up out of the ensemble, and a grin broke out on my face every time. I simply could not resist the pure joy and uplift of the music. It made me recognize that each of these people – Kevin, Ron, and Pete – had all derived such happiness from music that I couldn’t stay in the funk I had started things in, even if it meant laughing at something with tears in my eyes because it hit me so emotionally right.

And it’s that spirit that took me through the quartet tribute to Ron’s music, through Myra Melford’s group, through the Krewe du Kanaval dance party and hearing Preservation Hall Jazz Band outside the restaurant they were playing in, through Patti’s full band set the second night, through Annette Peacock’s harrowing set (Kevin woulda loved it, but you can bet that Pete wouldn’t!), and through to the John Zorn ensembles that closed out the festival for me. It was the spirit of the music, and the spirit of joy. The music was a healing balm for me in a sad time. It is what brought all of us together as people – brought me together with everyone else in these rooms digging on the same music I was enjoying, brought me together with the friends I used to see once a year who traveled to Knoxville for the first time since 2019 (and who I didn’t get enough time to hang with because there was always more music to go hear!), brings us all together here every day.

Music heals, friendship heals. Keep them both prominent in your life, always.

Monday, March 7, 2022

Legendary Denver record store changes hands after 33 years

Friends,

The time has come. After 33 years of running Twist And Shout, Jill and I have decided it is time to retire. This decision did not come easily, and we do not take our responsibility to our customers and employees lightly. We have understood for a while that our ability to retire had to dovetail with a plan to keep Twist And Shout going far into the future. We believe that the store has become part of Denver life, and if it were to disappear that a huge hole in the cultural and musical life of our city would appear.

In the early months of the pandemic as Jill and I walked around deserted streets we talked a lot about what our stepping down might look like. At the same time, our manager of 30 years, Patrick Brown, stepped up in a life-saving and heroic way. He let us know immediately that he, and a small group of employees would keep the store going. They collected mail, kept the lights on and helped grow our small mail order business into a substantial service. As we slowly came back to life, Patrick’s dedication to the store and energy for the job never waned. Simply put, he has been the employee of a lifetime.

2020 was such a challenge for all of us. We worked so hard to bring the store back, keep the community together, create new ways of doing an old business. And we succeeded! 2021 was our best year in a couple of decades. In spite of lock downs, mask mandates, supply-chain issues and Covid outbreaks we have come back stronger than ever. The store is a bigger refuge for music, musicians and music lovers than it’s ever been. Thanks folks - really. We did this together.

When I approached Patrick about taking over the store, not only did he immediately say yes, he assured me that nothing would change. The employees, product mix, special events, policies and overall vibe of our beloved Twist And Shout will remain the same. Patrick will bring 30 years of institutional knowledge to his management as well as the beating heart of true music scholar. He’s every bit the nut that I am for this stuff, but he is 11 years younger than me and his energy will carry the store way into the future. I’m excited for the store and have no trepidation about this move. Thank you, Patrick. We did this together.

As for me… It’s time. I’ve been in Twist And Shout for more than half my life. I’ve given everything I have to it. I love it so much. I’m so proud of it. I love you, our customers beyond what you could imagine. You, the third generation kid whose grandfather brought you in the first time - I see you. You, who came to all those in-store performances - I see you. First person in line for Record Store Day - I see you. Girl who bought her first record at the store when she was 12 and is now bringing her 12 -year-old in to buy a turntable - I see you. Deadheads who I waved to at so many shows over the years -I see you. I see all of you, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’m not going anywhere. I want to continue living in a city with a great record store. So, I say with full heart for the final time.

See You In The Aisles,
Paul Epstein

Monday, January 31, 2022

Bevin Luna Top Albums/EPs 2021

It's been a transformative year for music. Here are some of my favorite albums or EPs that were released. Thanks to all of these incredible artists here in the USA or abroad for releasing music during these extremely trying times and providing a soundtrack for our lives. Please support these artists in any way that you can through purchasing their music, purchasing their merch, following their social media pages, or sharing their music. Anything helps! Thanks Twist & Shout Records for keeping music alive for each and every one of us. Love you so much.




30) IDLES - Crawler (Post-Punk, Indie Rock, UK)
29) Karol G - KG0516 (Latin Trap, Urbano, Reggaeton, Colombia)
28) Lady Gang - Full Throttle (Alternative, Hip Hop, Reggae Rock, Chill Wave, Colorado)
27) The Murlocs - Bittersweet Demons (Psych-Rock, Garage Rock, Australia)
26) Doja Cat - Planet Her (Pop, R&B, Pop Rap, Hip Hop, USA)
25) Steve Gunn - Other You (Cosmic Americana, USA)
24) Joan As Police Woman x Tony Allen x David Okumu - The Solution is Restless (Subtle Slinky Jazz, Nigeria, France)
23) Amyl and the Sniffers - Comfort to Me (Punk Rock, Pub Rock, Australia)
22) The Crooked Rugs - THAT! (Psych-Rock, Colorado)
21) The Sickly Hecks - Try and Fail (Sad Boy Rock, Colorado)
20) Kid Astronaut - Cosmos (Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop, Colorado)
19) West Side Joe & the Men of Soul - Keep on Climbin' (Blues, Rock, Colorado)
18) Young Dolph - Dum and Dummer 2 (Hip-Hop, Rap, Memphis, TN)
17) Cakes da Killa - Killa Essentials (Hip-Hop, Rap, House, Electronic, New York)
16) King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - K.G. (Psych-Rock, Acid Rock, Metal, Australia)
15) King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - L.W. (Psych-Rock, Acid Rock, Metal, Australia)
14) Ezra Burns - Golden (Ambient, Colorado)
13) Porlolo - No Praise, No Blame (Grungy, Twangy, Pop, Colorado)
12) Alicja-Pop - Howlin' (Punk, Rock, Garage Rock, Memphis, TN)
11) Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg (Post-Punk, UK)
10) Wye Oak - Cut All the Wires: 2009-2011 (Indie Rock, Noise, Dream Pop, Maryland)
9) Helado Negro - Far In (Latin, Folk, Experimental, Electronic, Brooklyn, NY)
8) Slift - Levitation Sessions (Live, Krautrock, Stoner Rock, Garage Rock, France)
7) BbyMutha - The Bastard Tapes, Vol. 3 (Hip-Hop, Rap, Tennessee)
6) Wau Wau Collectif - Yaral Sa Doom (West African, Electronic, Senegal)
5) Marisa Anderson, William Tyler - Lost Futures (American Folk, West African Guitar, Oregon)
4) shame - Drunk Tank Pink (Post-Punk, London, UK)
3) Adia Victoria - Southern Gothic (Gothic Blues, Nashville, Tennessee)
2) Noga Erez - KIDS (Bonus Edition, Electro-Pop, EDM, Israel)
1) The Velveteers - Nightmare Daydream (Primal Rock, Punk, Garage, Colorado)