Dave Hill tells us his Top 11 music stuff from 2016

Of all the people I admire for their varied contributions to the arts, it dudn’t get any better’dn Mr. Dave Hill. Everything this guy touches turns to gold and I suspect he’s probably the envy of all his peers. Mr. Hill is an established and integral part of the international stand up comedy community. He not only dominates on stage, but he’s always on that show @Midnight and has been on shows like Inside Amy Schumer, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and The Jim Gaffigan Show, among others.

He’s also in a hot rock band called Valley Lodge who you have probably heard without even realizing it as they did the theme song to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. He was in Ohio’s Cobra Verde and has played with people like Walter Schreifels, Phil Anselmo, Moby, Phil Costello, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and more. And lord does he know his way around a guitar. Dave’s also a prodigious writer as evidenced in his 2012 book Tasteful Nudes and 2016’s Dave Hill Doesn’t Live Here Anymore which, in addition to having an incredible comic voice, also had its share of poignant moments that took me by surprise. His writing has also appeared in places like The New York Times, GQ, Paris Review, XXL, McSweeney’s, The Believer, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Salon, and the Huffington Post. He even has his own radio show; The Goddamn Dave Hill Show happens every Monday night from 9pm-12am EST on WFMU. He’s part of the upcoming What A Joke festival that takes place Inauguration Day Weekend in NYC (tickets to his show, at Rough Trade on 1/21, go on sale Wednesday, December 21 at noon).

Dave is a good friend of BrooklynVegan (remember his Def Leppard review?) and it’s always a pleasure to get a glimpse of what he dug, musically, at the close of the year. Below are 11 musical things that really did it for him in 2016. Take it away Dave!

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Dave Hill’s Top Eleven (In No Particular Order) Music Stuff from 2016 Not Including the 50 Things I’m Forgetting

Mike Adams at His Honest Weight – Casino Drone
This isn’t so much a band as it is just one guy making perfect pop records in his basement in Bloomington, Indiana and I hate him for it. Buy all his records. Actually no, wait, fuck that guy.

Darkthrone – Arctic Thunder
I was worried that maybe Darkthrone’s use of color on the cover of their new album or the fact that Fenriz has become a councilman in his hometown of Kolbotn, Norway might mean that Darkthrone had gone soft, but thankfully I was wrong. This is heavy metal meant to listen to alone in the woods at night in the middle of winter without a fucking coat on or anything. And even though no one can see you, you still give everyone the finger anyway. My only complaint is that Fenriz has left all the vocals to Nocturno Culto this time around. They both have the voice of an angel and I hate to miss out.

Alessi – “Wives” (single)
Formerly known as Alessi’s Ark and now known as just Alessi, London-based Alessi Laurent-Marke has been releasing gorgeous folk pop since she was just sixteen and has the dresses to prove it. She is the fucking shit and you need to get on board unless you prefer music that sucks. Also, she is playing with a ouija board in the video for this song and we really need more of that these days.

Split Single – Metal Frames
Given that Split Single’s Jason Narducy is already the bass player for Bob Mould and the touring bass player for Superchunk, I’m not sure why he felt the need to go make his own awesome rock record while he was at it but he went ahead and did it anyway. What a fucking dick.

Superjoint – Caught Up in the Gears of Application
These guys have a hot sound that is going to be big with the teens and I am glad they are back after a thirteen-year hiatus minus the second half of their name (which used to be Superjoint Ritual before an ex-member decided to be a real jerk about it). Sometimes I’ll just crank up this record and go outside and throw a rock through my own window. I seriously don’t give a fuck about anything.

Anohni – Hopelessness
This new album from the artist formerly known as Antony Hegarty tore my head off and kicked it around the driveway for like six hours. In a good way.

https://youtu.be/5ZW1BBkquFA

Lucy Wainwright Roche and Suzzy Roche – Mud and Apples
In case you don’t know, Suzzy Roche is one-third of the Roches, one of the greatest bands of all-time. Lucy is her daughter and she is awesome too. I am glad they have decided to join forces and school motherfuckers on folk.

Happy Chichester – “Knocking at Your Door” (single)
Happy has been a member of such excellent Ohio bands as Royal Crescent Mob, Afghan Whigs, Howlin’ Maggie, and the Twilight Singers but he’s bringing the sex more than ever as a solo artist. He even wore an eyepatch for a while. The balls on this guy.

Child Bite – Negative Noise
These guys are from Detroit and I don’t even know what the fuck they are doing. It’s kind of like art/noise rock with a mental patient on vocals. And I don’t want it to ever stop. They have cool t-shirts too. In short, they are the full package.

The Urges – Time Will Pass
These guys are from Dublin and play garagey psych rock. Either you’re in or you’re out. Fuck it. I can’t worry about this shit.

Dead Heavens – “Away from the Speed” (single)
Dead Heavens is Walter Schreifels from Quicksand, Gorilla Biscuits, and 78 other bands plus three other guys who look like they are not putting up with vaping for one second so just don’t even. This song is garage rock and psych and whatever else and will make you want to just plow into a bunch of parked cars for no good reason. And then when the owners of the cars come out and see what you’ve done you’re just like “What!?”