Best Of 2012: Jeffery X Martin

2012 was a better concept than an actual year. Perhaps that’s why the Mayans scheduled it to end early. It’s not the end of the world, but a sincere cry to get on with 2013. This year really was an “everything louder than everything else” year (Prometheus! Avengers! The Dark Knight Rises!) and that much noise makes me want to hide under my bed, which has no frame and sits squarely on the floor.

There were some things I really did enjoy, things that made sense and resonated, above all the yelling that permeated the year.

Lovely Molly

My favorite movie of the year was Eduardo Sanchez’s Lovely Molly, a quietly creepy little horror film that builds tension honestly and organically, without relying on big-budget garbage, like cats being thrown through windows or computer-generated long wet black hair. It also has an intelligent story that requires, oddly enough, thought from the viewer. Calling it a horror movie may not even be correct, although the character of Molly is certainly a haunted individual.

A bad childhood and a love for bad pharmaceuticals have tripped Molly up in the past, and watching her fall apart over the course of the film is harrowing and amazing. Why is no one throwing Gretchen Lodge’s performance as Molly out for anyone’s consideration? Because horror is always overlooked and people in charge of awarding things are generally dumb. Well, she’s fantastic in this role, and the movie is worth watching just for her work.

It was an odd year for me, musically, because two of my heroes released new albums. Neither of them are my favorite album of the year.

Amanda Palmer’s Theatre is Evil comes in at number two, and blah blah blah Kickstarter armpit hair Neil Gaiman unpaid musicians and that’s enough. It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard about Amanda Palmer. You simply need to hear Amanda Palmer. Theatre is Evil is a crazed emotional romp through the Eighties underground (yes, there was one) combined with lyrics so sharp, they’ll nick you through your earbuds.

Bob Mould’s Silver Age is easily one of the best of his solo albums. I’d wedge it somewhere between the eponymous Hubcap album and Body of Work. It rocks like a porch swing in an earthquake and holds enough rage to create a post-punk power pop supervillain. Any Bob is good Bob, but Silver Age is gooder Bob, so it rounds out my top three albums.

Kent State,
Behind Closed Doors

But my number one, the best thing I’ve heard this whole year, is L.A. noise band Kent State’s release, Behind Closed Doors. It has over 100 plays on my iTunes. The title song is catchy like a cold. If the inside of your canister vacuum were music, it would sound like Kent State. It swirls and twirls like some kind of a dark cyclone, full of droning vocals and overt tambourine. Lyrics infused with the best kind of paranoia and thick layers of sweet reverb make this a sweet, dirty baklava of angst-trip. Best of all, it’s free. Find ’em on Bandcamp.

I’m sure I should have gotten out more, seen more, listened to more music, maybe read a book or two. But after Prometheus ended up being nothing more than Ridley Scott’s softcore double-dong flick, I went back to under the bed.

Wake me if the Mayans were right.