My Best Albums of 2012

Here are my top 20 albums of the past year. Music ranges from all kinds of genres, and I encourage you to check out the sample of each band/artist that made my list. Let me know what you think I got right, and what I missed too. (P.S. Be on the lookout for my top songs of 2012 list due out in the next few days. Made sure all of those were left off the samples below.) Thanks for listening. Enjoy!

20. Home Again - Michael Kiwanuka

Michael Kiwanuka "I'm Getting Ready" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

19. Walk the Moon - Walk the Moon

WALK THE MOON "Anna Sun" OFFICIAL Music Video from Contrast Productions on Vimeo.

18. The Haunted Man - Bat for Lashes

Bat For Lashes - All Your Gold from thatgo on Vimeo.

17. Live from the Underground - Big K.R.I.T.

Big K.R.I.T. ft. 8Ball, MJG & 2 Chainz - Money On The Floor from Motion Family on Vimeo.

16. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors - Gun Has No Trigger from Record Store Day on Vimeo.

15. Port of Morrow - The Shins

The Shins - "Simple Song" from DANIELS on Vimeo.

14. Gone - Vacationer

Vacationer - Gone from Vacationer on Vimeo.

13. Body Faucet - Reptar

Reptar - Sebastian from Lucky Number Music on Vimeo.

12. Shields - Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear "Yet Again" [Official Video] from The Creators Project on Vimeo.

11. Devotion - Jessie Ware

Jessie Ware - Running from Gaborka on Vimeo.

10. My Head is an Animal - Of Monsters and Men

OF MONSTERS AND MEN "Little Talks" directed by WEWEREMONKEYS from Vision Film Co on Vimeo.

9. There's No Leaving Now - The Tallest Man on Earth

The Tallest Man On Earth - Leading Me Now from Taylor Morgan on Vimeo.

8. Lonerism - Tame Impala

TAME IMPALA- Feels Like We Only Go Backwards from Becky & Joe on Vimeo.

7. An Awesome Wave - Alt-J

Alt-J "Breezeblocks" from Project Fathom on Vimeo.

6. Good Kid M.A.A.D. City - Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar "Swimming Pools" (Drank) from JeromeD.com on Vimeo.

5. Give You The Ghost - Poliça

Poliça "Dark Star" from Isaac Gale on Vimeo.

4. Boys & Girls - Alabama Shakes

Alabama Shakes - Hang Loose from HearYa.com on Vimeo.

3. channel ORANGE - Frank Ocean

frank ocean [pyramids] from christopher francis ocean on Vimeo.

2. Kaleidoscope Dream - Miguel

Miguel - The Thrill from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

1. Shrines - Purity Ring

"LOFTICRIES" | Purity Ring from AG Rojas on Vimeo.

Best Albums/Mixtapes of 2011

20. Civilians - Wye Oak

19. Section.80 Mixtape - Kendrick Lamar

18. The Big Roar - The Joy Formidable

17. El Camino - The Black Keys

16. Slave Ambient - The War on Drugs

15. undun - The Roots

14. Nostalgia, Ultra - Frank Ocean

13. King of Limbs - Radiohead

12. Under the Influence Mixtape - Domo Genesis

11. Return of 4Eva Mixtape - Big K.R.I.T.

10. 4 - Beyonce

9. Live Love A$AP - A$AP Rocky

8. Ceremonials - Florence+The Machine

7. Cults - Cults

6. Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes

5. House of Balloons - The Weeknd

4. Watch the Throne

3. W H O K I L L - tUnE-yArDs

2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

1. The Year of Hibernation - Youth Lagoon

My Man Bill Keller

The Politics of Economics in the Age of Shouting
http://nyti.ms/vCnTz0

Here's a link to one of my favorite op-eds of recent weeks. Bill Kellere is a former Chief Editor and Correspondent for the Times, and always offers enlightening insight into the world of politics.

The Living Room Candidate

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/
This site is phenomenal in delivering the context behind all our presidential elections since 1952. It was in 1952 that the first political campaign commercials were used, and when going through this site it is amazing to see the impact this tool would have in the future of elections going forward. The commercials gathered tell the intriguing stories of how each specific race for the presidency unfolded.

Welcome Back Wolves (NBA)

Yeah, this is just about how excited I am that the Timberwolves and the NBA are back! I already have plans to go to the home opener with friends, and maybe it's the anticipation that surrounded the lockout, but I am confident in the Wolves chances this year. They may be young and inexperienced, and I am not comparing them to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they have just as much talent as those guys. A lot of critics point out that the pieces don't exactly fill all the holes on paper, but once the puzzle is put together this team has potential. I sometimes sit back and think that I am setting my expectations to high, and that this will come back to disappoint me, but there's no doubt these guys will be fun to watch no matter what the result.

The Warfare of Ghengis Khan

An inspirational moment from the best television show of all time. If you are into politics and you have never seen this show, you don't know what you are missing out on. Long Live Aaron Sorkin!

Theatrics in Politics

The theatrics in politics are becoming a little overblown, and this years republican race does not appear it will stray from the norm. These two ads are from the Perry and Romney campaigns, and even though both are internet spots, I can't see them ever being played on TV. They both are overly serious - far too comparable to movie trailers - and the fact that they mix both seriousness and claims that can often be far from factual is a little bit laughable for me. I wouldn't doubt that these are somewhat effective, but they just seem to over the top to me. I think this makes the candidate less believable.