In 2011, why bother with a midyear music list? Look at what’s to come

Entertainment Column
Written by Nathan Mattise

Everyone who writes about music loves compiling best-of lists. No exception here. I spent early July musing over a first-half Top 5 (in no particular order: Reptilians, Kaputt, w h o k i l l, Nine Types of Light, Within and Without) then lamenting the slew of other releases I like but would have to exclude.

Some really big guns released solid albums (The Strokes, Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, Lupe Fiasco, Peter Bjorn & John, Foo Fighters, The Decemberists, The Cars, Paul Simon, Danger Mouse).  Some growing or lesser known entities produced worthy listens I wanted to champion (Cut Copy, Yuck, Telekinesis, Cults, Tennis, Eleanor Friedberger, Lykke Li, Noah and The Whale) and some acts I don’t care for, despite recognizing their ability and success, continued to perform (Panda Bear, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver). Virtually any combination from the albums listed above could be justified as a compelling, valid list and my running first-half tally likely overlooks a number of underrated gems.

Despite all that, it’s entirely possible no album from the first half of the year will end up in a 2011-ending Top 10. Consider the following 10 albums slated for fall in light of their most recent releases (and corresponding Metacritic scores):

In Pursuit of the Trivial moved (and created a local music calendar already)

There’s a new blog banner in town.

After the redesign at the beginning of the year, that means there’s a new town for In Pursuit of the Trivial. We’ve moved from Central New York to San Francisco for the time being and the site’s local focus will shift appropriately. While not all the blog content is strictly location-based (essay about a Kickstarter for an LCD Soundsystem fan documentary?), the stuff that is now gets a west coast makeover… like the monthly music calendar for instance (see after the jump).

The move should allow for more writing time in general so hopefully posts labeled “site info” that try to explain away weeks of nothing will also evaporate. Until then, check the shows in SF after the jump and try to recognize the new organic type above.

T R I V I A L

-Nate, In Pursuit of the Trivial

This Mixtape Life: TV on the Radio (4-22-11)

Entertainment Podcast
Recorded by Nathan Mattise

I record a weekly podcast for TheNextGreatGeneration.com because one of the multimedia editors there is a Newhouse colleague. They need a new place for me to host the audio file because my laptop is in the shop, thus the return of Trivial Podcasts.

The show is simple: Each week (like Ira Glass) I choose a theme, but bring songs instead of stories on that theme. In light of recent tragedy involving TV on the Radio bassist Gerard Smith, a show honoring both him and the band seemed right.

Podcast available to stream below, playlist of all songs on the podcast after the jump, posting old episodes of This Mixtape Life here coming soon.