December Is Modicums Month!

What a year this has been. So many things in my life have changed (mostly for the better), and, as such, this blog has seen its fair share of alterations in layout, format, style, viewership, output, input and so many other things. I have tried my best over the last year and a half to provide a varied, eclectic view of the current musical landscape with inventive and insightful reviews, a service which I personally see very little of in most critical formats. From guitar to xylophone, from Portland to Osaka, I’d like to think I have and will continue to provide as many people as possible with an enveloping experience of what the 2010’s have to offer.

Through these incredible 18 months, one particular post has stood out from the rest. That being “We Begin at the End,” the ginormous year-end list I compiled of all the 2010 records I had rated ranked from worst to greatest, with greatest songs and performances featured as well. The fact that it is by far the most viewed post on Check Your Mode is understandable and incredibly encouraging to me, because, to be honest, all this work I’ve been doing really does come down to the year-end lists that I obsessive over daily. The writing is a very important part of this blog as well, but I’m a lists guy at heart.

So, some of you may have noticed that one of the tags on that post was something called “Modicums 2010.” And perhaps some of you wondered what that meant, considering I never used such a phrase throughout the entire post. Well, I am incredibly pleased to announce what The Modicums are: They are Check Your Mode’s month-long countdown of the greatest albums, singles and musical performances of the year!

Doesn’t sound that radical, right? I mean, “We Begin at the End” was basically that in one big post. Well, unfortunately, I didn’t have the time or the resources to go through the whole shpeal of organizing a month-long event. But, now, a year later, I have made those very preparations, and I am quite proud of myself for that in case you were wondering. Hopefully, this year will see the spurring of an annual tradition/blowout that will be a fun, interactive experience for all following along.

So how will it work? Well, starting December 1^st, we will post ten slots a day, five for albums and five for songs. Each day, we will count down from #50, until December 9^th, when we get to the top 10. Then, there will be a two-week gestation period for the suspense to build for the musical event of the year. From the 22^nd onward, we will count down the best albums and songs one by one. Then, on December 31^st, The Modicums will be posted, in which the number one album and song will be revealed, and all of the other Modicum awards will be posted for greatest guitar, bass, percussion, other instrument and male and female vocal performance on an album and song.

Then, after that epic climax in the post-coital days of early January, I will post some stuff about the albums I missed (Because there are always albums I miss), an update on albums released in November and December, and maybe even a Couldawouldashoulda for the entire year. I’m not so certain about that whole period, though; the stuff posted then might end up being more of a surprise.

But what IS certain is that The Modicums 2011 are totally going down, and you should totally be as excited as I am. I have literally been planning this thing for two years, so I’m really excited to get around to doing it. In the meantime, I’ll try to write more reviews, but I hope you forgive me if I continue the lull that’s been going on since August in preparation for this great feat. If that ends up being the case, I’ll see you in December, fuckers! But seriously, thank you so much for reading, and I hope to continue to expose you all to some new and interesting music. That’s what I’m here for.

Below is a more organized write-up of the Modicums schedule and the awards that will be given. Have a great November, everyone, and stay awesome. Peace.

Modicums 2011 Schedule

Dec. 1^st:             Albums/Songs #50 – 46

Dec. 2^nd:             Albums/Songs #45 – 41

Dec. 3^rd:            Albums/Songs #40 – 36

Dec. 4^th:            Albums/Songs #35 – 31

Dec. 5^th:            Albums/Songs #30 – 26

Dec. 6^th:            Albums/Songs #25 – 21

Dec. 7^th:            Albums/Songs #20 – 16

Dec. 8^th:            Albums/Songs #15 – 11

Dec. 22^nd:            Album/Song #10

Dec. 23^rd:            Album/Song #9

Dec. 24^th:            Album/Song #8

Dec. 25^th:            Album/Song #7

Dec. 26^th:            Album/Song #6

Dec. 27^th:            Album/Song #5

Dec. 28^th:            Album/Song #4

Dec. 29^th:            Album/Song #3

Dec. 30^th:            Album/Song #2

Dec. 31^st:            Album/Song #1 and Modicums 2011

Modicums Awards

Best Vocal Performance on an Album (Male)

Best Vocal Performance on a Song (Male)

Best Vocal Performance on an Album (Female)

Best Vocal Performance on a Song (Female)

Best Guitar Performance on an Album

Best Guitar Performance on a Song

Best Bass Performance on an Album

Best Bass Performance on a Song

Best Percussion Performance on an Album

Best Percussion Performance on a Song

Best Other Instrument Performance on an Album

Best Other Instrument Performance on a Song

December Is Modicums Month!

What Is The Great Catch-Up?

Since the year started, I have been embarking on an enormous project that will prove to be extremely trying and, at this, point, I'm not particularly sure if I will be able to fulfill. As of now, the mission of Check Your Mode is this: to be your extensive guide to everything related to the music of the 2010's.

That's right. If all goes well, Check Your Mode's archives and activity will end at December 31st, 2019 (but, more likely, January 31st, 2020), with more music reviewed and ranked than any person concerned with this decade will ever want to contend with.

However, unfortunately, the time when I was to begin Check Your Mode was in the middle of college application season, and I just didn't have the time to do anything concerning music other than listening to and rating. Still, I desperately wanted to launch Check Your Mode, so The Great Catch-Up was conceived.

From now to the end of March of 2011, there will be FOUR Great Catch-Ups. The first, of which we are entrenched in right now, will be the recollection of the albums that I failed to review in the first six months of this year. The each album will be posted on the exact date they were released, just six months later. In this fashion, Vampire Weekend's Contra was posted on July 12th, and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's Before Today, the final post of The Great Catch-Up, will be posted on November 30th. For any album that was released in between those two, check its release date and check in with Check Your Mode for a possible review.

The Second Great Catch-Up will take place in January of next year and will chronicle the albums released in June, 2010. If all goes as planned, the dates they will be posted will be in concurrence with the date they were released, just seven months later.

The Third Great Catch-Up will take place in February of next year and will feature all of the music of the month of December, 2010. Now, the general layout of the next decade will be that December will feature no reviews (more on that later) and the releases of that month will be posted in January of that next year in the same way that the releases of The Second Great Catch-Up will be posted. However, due to all of the scheduling conflicts, those releases will be posted one month later than usual.

For however well planned out the first three Great Catch-Ups will be, the fourth will be far less calculated. At pretty much random points in the month of March, 2011, I will post all of the reviews of the albums that I missed in the First Great Catch-Up. And if that little bit annoys you, then fuck off. Nobody's perfect.

Now, I want everyone to keep in mind that, during the first three months of next year, new releases will be reviewed and posted in much the same way I post new releases with the Great Catch-Up albums. I plan to branch out as Check Your Mode progresses into writing articles and musical essays, but, for understandable reasons, that may not be feasible for the first couple months of 2011, but, as the site progresses and matures, I hope to create as extensive of a guide as my readers deserve. Thanks to all who have been following, and I hope I can keep this going for as long as I possibly can.

What Is The Great Catch-Up?