Top 13: Brandon Stosuy

Brandon Stosuy was an obvious choice for an end of year list, not because of his editorship at Pitchfork, but because he’s been very supportive this year of 13:13. His was also was one of the first mix tapes to be featured on the site.  His list did not disappoint.

13.  Raime: Quarter Turns Over A Living Line (album)
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7hkErfwfA

and

Andy Stott: Luxury Problems (album)
link: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/14306-numb/

I listened to these two in tandem a lot this year. Hard to think of one without the other.

12. Four (movie)
link: http://www.fourthemovie.com/

My friend Josh’s quiet, beautiful first feature-length movie.

11. Crystal Castles: III (album)
link: http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/8988-crystal-castles/ (stream)

10. Primary Information (art press/publishing company)
http://primaryinformation.org/

09. Pharmakon (solo performer)
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YjS7PpdSBk

New York City’s most important noise artist.

08. “2 minutes of axl rose asking for some reggae” (YouTube video)
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW7Z20fJH6I

I can listen to this on repeat for hours.

07. Blut Aus Nord: 777: Cosmosophy (album)
link: https://soundcloud.com/excretakano/sets/blut-aus-nord-777-cosmosophy

06. Peter Sotos: Pure Filth (book)
link: http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Filth-Peter-Sotos/dp/1936239310

Peter’s introduction should be required reading.

05. Converge: All We Love We Leave Behind (album)
link: http://pitchfork.com/news/48085-stream-converges-new-album-all-we-love-we-leave-behind/

The best blues record of 2012.

04. St Vitus Bar, Brooklyn (bar)
link: http://www.saintvitusbar.com/

The site of a number of my favorite shows of 2012 and the best bar staff in NYC.

03. Death Grips (band)
link: http://thirdworlds.net/main/index2.html

Their battle with Epic made for compelling theater, they had the years’ most intense live show, and they released two of 2012′s best records.

02. Pallbearer: Sorrow and Extinction (album)
link: http://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/sorrow-and-extinction

A doom album I can imagine listening to in 20 years.

01. Swans: The Seer (album)
Swans have meant a lot to me for a long time; nice to see Michael Gira creating the best album of his career and getting recognized for it.

Brandon Stosuy is Editor at Pitchfork and a Music Curator for MoMA/PS1. ACAD, his new book-length collaboration with Matthew Barney, is out in 2013 on Dashwood (http://www.dashwoodbooks.com.  Follow him on twitter: @brandonstosuy.