RCRC Top 40-some Albums of the Year + The Most Important Song of the Year

With the conclusion of this post, we will be officially saying goodbye to Roberto Clemente Rookie Card. I typically go on long-winded typing-fits trying to describe my thoughts but tonite, I think I'm going to keep it short and sweet. This website has been extremely important to me in my life, it has presented me with countless opportunities and friendships and means the world to me. However, as I've said before, once the 'real-world' hit, the time needed for this website to be what it should be just wasn't there anymore, I tried to revamp it a little bit, but life really was just too busy. This isn't the end though, it just is for this website. Our efforts will now be completely focused on our release-curating-imprint Ailanthus Recordings and my personal sound-exploration/psychonautics project NYKDLN. With this, our final post (aside from the occasional announcement we might use this page for) I tried to compile a Top Albums and Songs list of 2012, but found it extremely difficult considering what a tumultuous year this was musically, as well as socially and culturally. In 2012 we witnessed the final destruction of what we call music, appropriation became the norm and deliberate self-indulgence roamed free. We watched reliable characters remain silent while others changed everything we thought we knew, we watched artists coming from nowhere creating compelling and challenging pieces when at times we wonder if they even knew what they were doing. The idea of music being something more than what we were taught, finally came to the public mind this year. We all see it, everything has changed, this process began in 2008 and just broke the surface in 2012. This year was important. It's hard to see where we go from here but the possibilities are limitless. The world is changing, we are changing. That being said, it was far too difficult and almost pointless to place order to what we considered to be the most important albums of the year, so here's the RCRC Top 40-some Albums of the Year, in alphabetical order as well as a song that was released in January that we think lit the spark for the ever-so-important year of 2012.

Afrika Pseudobruitismus - Albedo (AMDISCS) 

BOY SNACKS - BOY SNACKS (Beer on the Rug)

Casino Gardens - Fantasies in Cools Palace (Lillerne Tapes)

chushi - delphi vision

Clear Winner - Fata Morgana (Sunup Recordings)

Curren$y - Verde Terrace (DJ Drama)

Diskette Romances - Diskette Romances (Sunup Recordings)

Dolphins Into The Future - Canto Arquipélago (Underwater Peoples)

Eternal Tapestry - Prometheus Rising (Bonus with 'A World Out of Time', Thrill Jockey)

Gucci Mane - Trap God (1017 Brick Squad)

Hleger - Nine WIld (Ailanthus Recordings)

✌ICUH8N✌ - #OCCUPY

Inner Tube - Inner Tube (Experimedia)

INTERNET CLUB - REDIFINING THE WORKPLACE

INTERNET CLUB - FINAL TEARS (Ailanthus Recordings)

James Ferraro - Sushi (Hippos In Tanks)

Ladatel - Recuerdo Futuro

Lasership Stereo - On Board (Sunup Recordings)

Lil B "The BasedGod" - Illusions of Grandeur 2

Lil Wayne - Dedication 4 (DJ Drama)

Local News - Channel 8

Lockbox - Archangel Heat

Lockbox - Passion Beam (Ailanthus Recordings)

$LUDGEHAMMER - .ZIP AND A DOUBLE CUP (Nightcore Records)

Luxury Elite - I & II (Ailanthus Recordings)

Malibu Locals Only - Matterhorn, Pt. 2 (Sunup Recordings)

Marcus Eads - Right Arm/Farm Out (Sunup Recordings)

MJ Linckoln - Matterhorn, Pt. 1 (Sunup Recordings)

Monster Ralley & RUMTUM - Coasting (Gold Robot Records)

NETNANNY 4.0 - the jargon file (Aural Sects)

NYKDLN - Post Radio (Sunup Recordings)

OJ Da Juiceman - The Lord Of The Rings (DJ Don Cannon)

Public Spreads The News - Onward Through the Fog (Sunup Recordings)

Public Spreads The News - treat your self (Ailanthus Recordings/Illuminated Paths)

RADICALEDWARD • BIG DOLLARS

SEGA32X - MLTDS3GACDONAMRBLETBL.3x3 (~UN1CORNDRONEZ~)

Sortahuman & Party Trash - Candy Painted

Sun Araw - The Inner Treaty (Drag City)

Teamm Jordann - Champion LP (Orange Milk Records)

White Rainbow - Humidifier Plaza

Wiz Khalifa - Taylor Allderdice (Taylor Gang and Rostrum Records)

회사AUTO - ™Ç

░▒▓新しいデラックスライフ▓▒░ - ▣世界から解放され▣

骨架的 - Liquid Fantasy

情報デスクVIRTUAL - 札幌コンテンポラリー (Beer On The Rug)

There's a look at our favorite albums of the year and without painstakingly picking through thousands of songs, probably hundreds that we absolutely love, we leave you with our choice for the #1 song of 2012. This song first hit the web almost a year ago now, and we knew from the very first cruise that this was the soundtrack for that it was something important. This song set the tone for 2012, and whether or not that several-minute silence is deliberate or not, we feel that that that silence was perhaps the most powerful piece of music this year. Okay okay I could type on and on about how important I feel this song is, but you decide for yourself. Here's ☢❤☠♡☠❤☢ #$LIMEWIRE LE SLAVE WORLD #ILLUMANITI GHE20G0TH1K MIX (UNDERGROUND RADIO)アウト× フジテレビ ☢❤☠♡☠❤☢ 

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE MEMORIES AND SUPPORT, WE LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU ONE THOUSAND TIMES, THIS IS THE END OF THE ROBERTO CLEMENTE ROOKIE CARD, BUT THE BEGINNING OF WHAT'S NEXT. WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME. THANK YOU WE LOVE YOU LOVE ONE ANOTHER. SPEND TIME OUTSIDE.

RCRC WILL RETURN AFTER THESE MESSAGES

BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK ABCKAB ACK BACK CAKCB ACAK BACK ACAO CBACK BACK BACK BACK BAKCBBA CBAKB CBABKCA BACK BAOC BAKCI BAKCI ABCKAIO VBAKCI BACK BAIC BACK ABACK BAKC BACK BACK ABCKA B CJBACKAJ BCAACK KNCBKL ACBCK BAKC BCKA CBA BACK BACJK BACK BACK BACK ABCK BAKCBAK BCAK BCKA BCAK BCAK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACK BACKHA BACKA BCAKA BKCA BAKCB BACABS ABSCKA BAC BAJS BACKA ABSJ ABSHCA BB

HIATUS IS DONE, NOW

Well, lets get back to work, yeah?

Here's a few important things I wanna show you first; the past few releases we've put out on our imprint Ailanthus Recordings. The first is our annual spring compilation!

Roberto Clemente Rookie Card, Early 2012 (Ailanthus Recordings, 2012) 

Download the 43-track compilation free from Ailanthus Recordings or grab your 2xCD-R, free with any AR purchase. 

This one's a no-brainer, 41 RCRC favorites make up this 43-track, 2+ hour vision quest. I'm hoping that what you get out of this is a solid representation of the landscape we've painted for you the past 2 years. I'd like to high five everyone who put their energy into this.

I hate posting the whole thing in one embed, but really how do you choose?

Afrika Pseudobruitismus - Waikiki Kosmos (Ailanthus Recordings, 2012)

Download free from Ailanthus Recordings, handmade limited edition CD-R forthcoming

Afrika Pseudobruitismus (aka Pseudobruitismus Africamus) is a newer addition to the loving RCRC family. After digging on his music harder than most, we were presented with this completely unheard of full-length, fresh and ready to accompany the most bending of private meditations.



^^Boys reference? I sure hope so. That's the opening track and below, I can't type highly enough of this TERRIFIC video for "Good Bivrations":

koldskål - helloooooooo (Ailanthus Recordings, 2012)

Download free from Ailanthus Recordings, handmade limited edition CD-R forthcoming

This is the newest one from transhuman psychonaut koldskål, so stoked to slap our glue on this one. Quite enjoyable for long post-urban grid cruises, but perhaps more appropriate on some smartphone headphones while silently perusing the information superhighway on a simultaneously running make-your-life-better app. Here's a taste:





and here's a look at the self-made video for "splitting the phantom":


splitting the phantom from Angus Davidson on Vimeo.


and finally, I want you guys to check out Living Room Visions, it's a bit of a collective that's growing out of the Ailanthus and Sunup Recordings universe, keep your eyes on these guys.

THE UPDATES YOU NEED + END OF 2011 COUNTDOWN RADIO SHOW

Wellllllll hello you guys, it's been kind of a long time hasn't it? Yeah, like I'm sure you've noticed, the blog here has taken and unwelcome backseat to other projects as well as the "real world" which I will tell you wants to steal your soul, so that you're unable to work toward and reach your dreams and aspirations. Well you know what? that's not happening! Shit's been WILD here at RCRC headquarters.................

Rookie Card CD-R imprint Ailanthus Recordings currently has it's first ten releases available, and will be dropping 4 new records on 01/01/12. Those are coming your way from The Electric Nature, Hleger and Shaman as well as a split coming by way of Sunup Recordings from Quarter Pipe and Politesse. And speaking of Sunup Recordings, AR has been doing some physical distribution for them for Topographic Maps' Moonlander and Lasership Stereo's Lumina. Fuuurrrthermore, expect early 2012 releases from Raw Thrills, Daytime Television koldskål and Discotays.

I've also recently released a transmission from my personal music project NYKDLN, called Scrone Cruise, it was released and is available digitally from Sunup Recordings, has a number on My Idea of Fun, a handful of people will receive a CD-R copy with their purchases from Ailanthus Recordings and I'll have copies at shows. I'll be releasing a new single, entitled Troglodytes aedon, Here I Am And Others within the next two weeks, also on Sunup. Later this month I'll be working on several tracks for a split with Uh and coming in 2012, Field Trip which will be released on CD-R on Stuart Kets' Skate World Tapes.

Now onto what I'm really excited to tell you about! This coming Saturday, December 10th. starting probably around 2 or 3 pm EST (stay tuned to the Facebook Event for the exact time which won't be determined until closer to the date) and going until 10 pm EST, I'll be back on airwaves with WCAL for the first time since May to countdown the top 40 songs of the year and the top 10 albums of the year. After the countdown, I'll be making a very special announcement regarding the future of this website, it's radio show, and everything that goes along with it (it's great news, don't fret). --- The show's going to start with about an hour or more of classic punk rock just like the old days, to give the Southwestern, Pennsylvania inmate population their fix. Toward the end of that, I'm going to play a handful of tracks that unfortunately missed the #40 mark and then we're going to segue into the #10 album and the beginning of the countdown from there. Going on from there, I'll be counting down those 10 albums and 40 songs, and what happens after I'll keep under wraps till the day of the show.

You may be wondering how you can listen to the show, well I'll tell you, there's actually a handful of ways:

- If you're in Southwestern, Pennsylvania, tune in on your radio dial at 91.9 FM
- Listen online to the WCAL live stream
- The show will also be simultaneously streamed on Bummerbit Radio, which is an awesome live-streaming, online radio station.


Throughout the show I'll be updating the RCRC Facebook Page with what's going on on the countdown.

I'm really excited about this Saturday and extremely excited about the future of this website and what 2012 is going to bring. I hope you're excited too, I think you're gonna like it.

FINALLY, and this is maybe the biggest cop-out in the history of the blogosphere, but, I haven't made regular posts on here since early October, it's early December now. A LOT of great stuff has come out in those past two months and yeah this is gonna suck but, ummmm check out some simple links to a good portion of what's been happening, down below, in no particular order:


album: BOY MTN - Freakwaves
video: LAY BACK ~ FEEL YOU AGAIN
compilation: SEWER GREATS, VOLUME III
album: Hleger - Takes the Case!
song(s): G o S l o w
lots of great releases from: Sunup Recordings
album: AyGeeTee - Is It Safe?
ep: Wild Vibes - Zolpidem Lovesick
album: The Sunflower Spectacle - No Fields
radio performance: Higher Fives
ep: DARK SiSTER - SWAG HAG
piles and piles of gold from: HOLY PAGE RECORDS
ep: Dreamsvrfer - NEW Cursive
album: OwlWeed - Holes
album: The Electric Nature - Junk
album: Uh - Verily, B-Sides
song: Computer Dreams - 永不醒来


I know for a fact that I missed a lot of stuff i'd like to share with you guys, lots of great records, videos and songs, but this is getting to be a little much, huh? Let's suffice to say that I've been slacking with this page but I think you'll like what's coming next, and won't feel this way ever again. I love and miss you, see you Saturday.

RCRC is proud to present: Ailanthus Recordings

So back in August I made an announcement on Facebook that I, on behalf of Roberto Clemente Rookie Card, would begin the next phase of this infinite project that is whatever this all is. A physical record label. Ailanthus Recordings is that next step, idealized as a means to "place the sound of the internet into your hands". Ailanthus Recordings has now launched featuring 10 releases from 9 artists, limited editions of 50 CD-R's, each in individually handmade cardboard slipcases with full color original artwork.

A lot more on deck, but before we get there, check out the first 10 releases from Ailanthus Recordings.

AR001: Good Amount - Browser

AR002: Lockbox - Mothmen

AR003: Lasership Stereo - Soft Season

AR004: Sky City Cruisers - Suburban Turner Metamom

AR005: RADICALEDWARD - d3xt.dru66$

AR006: Topographic Maps - Tropical Disturbances

AR007: ROLLERBLADE - Skeechie Skeechy Bowley Ball

AR008: Lasership Stereo - Meet Local Singles

AR009: Hleger - World War 

AR010: koldskål - i hate reality

So there's a look at the first 10 releases coming your way from Ailanthus Recordings. Keep your eyes peeled, releases from Hleger, Raw Thrills, Daytime Television, AyGeeTee and more on the way. Thank you for your potential support.