best CD's of 2012

Well... I have to say that is a misleading title.  For a musician, I am remarkably uninformed as to what is going on in the music world.  Outside of my very small circle, I just don't hear all that much and so I clearly miss out on some wonderful music that would stretch my ears and my imagination and enrich my life.

Luckily, I have some friends who are much more in touch than I am.  Fernando Gros is one such person.  He has a delightful blog that shares his connections with the larger culture in ways that are foreign to me.  Recently he posted his 12 best albums of 2012 and I watched his video links and a few more from some of the artists.  While there were a few of his choices that didn't do much for me and a few that I could listen to or not, there were also a few that really caught my ear.  I'll share those here.  You can go to Fernando's blog to see the rest of his choices.  And thanks Fernando for opening my ears to these folk!

His number #12, Traces by Karine Polwart is a CD I should have known as an acoustic musician but did not.  Indeed, it is my first listen to Polwart.  Everything an acoustic performance needs to be...



I've always loved African music and have found the folk making music in the African diaspora to be very inspiring.  Fernando's #11, Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang – En Yah Sah,  is another new one to me which I found infectious.



Grimes is about as far outside of my normally listening habits as can be... and I really don't understand anything about the video other than it is interesting to watch.  Still, I really enjoyed her music.  Her recent CD, Visions, is Fernando's #9.



#6 is one CD with which I was familiar and like a lot,  David Byrne and St. Vincent, Love This Giant.  They are both unusual artists with quirky views of the world.  I don't know how they got together, but it works.



and finally, I'll share his #5, Bat for Lashes' CD The Haunted Man.  A bit closer to my normal listening than Grimes, but still different enough to be a wonderful surprise.