2011 saw the release of a Radiohead album, the reformation and subsequent tour of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the crime against humanity known as Lasers, and all of that happened in the first three months. Other past favourites like Bjork, The Antlers, Bon Iver, Atlas Sound, Boris, Beirut – apparently a bad year for the As and Bs – Justice, and more released albums this year that I, honestly, could not care less about. 2011 was a notable and newsworthy year, and I'd argue one of the best years for music in recent memory, but if you were to meet a past version of yourself on January 1st, 2011, rattled of the names I just have, and told yourself that these acts wouldn't be responsible for any of this year's best music, your past self would think your future / present self was hooked on some crazy future space drug.
If you found that last sentence bewildering, just wait until my #1 song.
This year's end of year review will differ from my past efforts and the current lists from Vince and Giggs – let's not kid ourselves, Vince isn't putting in any effort! Each day I will provide a brief overview of some of my favourite 2011 releases from a genre or related genres and post my top 10 songs from that genre. I'll do this until I run out of categories to talk about, and then I'll present my top 50 list, in order, minus the top three which I'll talk about more in detail after. Maybe I'll post my top 50 songs overall as well, not so sure about that.
first category up soon. just finishing uploading the top 10 and baking cookies.
Nadia Oh accomplishes what M.I.A set out to do on M /\ Y /\, and I'm positive this was an accident. MIA established that humans are far too entangled with computers and disconnected from human contact, and used auto-tune, synthesizers, power tools, and other mechanical objects in her music to support her claim, but the end result wasn't enjoyable. The music was convoluted, even painful at times, and her message came off as pretentious. Nadia Oh uses most of the same techniques, minus the power tools, but with her blissful, oblivious charm, and absolutely ridiculous lyrics (“WE WE KATE MIDDLETON / WE WE SWAGGINTON”), the result is much more palatable. Maybe I'm reading too deeply into a simple pop record full of club-bangers and air horns, but damnit, I think Nadia Oh is on to something.
Oh Land | Oh Land
Of all the notable pop records listed so far, this is the one I come back to the least. It's a straight forward pop record, it's just not as good as its competition. But man. “Wolf & I” is a great song.
St. Vincent | Strange Mercy
This album hit me hard when it first came out, but I've cooled on it considerably since. The Age of Adz influence is a bit too much for me, and while Rusty's complaint that Strange Mercy is just a 'bunch of bleeps and bloops' is a bit simple, there's a bit of truth to it. A bit of Annie Clark does occasionally make its way out of the Sufjanyness, and the way she delivers the opening line on “Surgeon” is so seductive that I think this album is worth checking out on that merit alone.
The Weeknd | House of Balloons
You know the deal. The Weeknd is a Canadian R&B artist singing without the soul of an R&B singer – how sacrilegious! - over samples of indie songs. He's kind of a big deal, and he's kind of brilliant. I didn't fall as hard as others, but it's hard to deny the power of “High for This,” “The Party & The After Party,” and more.
From: transience | #003 ps why is the thom yorke/burial album better than the radiohead album
because of burial! i'd actually like it more if thom yorke wasn't signing. have you heard the burial vs. massive attack single? it's awesome. because of burial.
From: OmarsComin | #004 you've got a lot of guts, making an album ranking topic
The Best Pop Albums of 2011 In which we wait for a full version of Rihanna's "Birthday Cake"
Florrie | Experiments
“Left Too Late” ruled my world in 2010. It's a perfect pop song. As the EP name suggests, Florrie's second EP in two years sees her extend herself beyond the traditional pop song structure she worked with on Introductions. And, for the most part, it works. She (or her producer, I don't know how the songs were recorded) recognizes that, sometimes, it's okay to let a three minute song run longer. If anything, I think “Experimenting With Rugs,” the EP standout, is too short. I'm a sucker for soothing synths.
Gang Gang Dance | Eye Contact
“I can hear everything; it's everything time” might not be as great a way to start a song as “oh s***, it's Gang Gang,” but that's the only area in which Eye Contact falls short in comparison to its predecessor, Saint Dymphna. This album is incomprehensible. Layers of synths are coming at you from every direction, often switching tone and volume with no warning. It's like an intergalactic Tears for Fears record.
The Go! Team | Rolling Blackouts
Rolling Blackouts doesn't stray far from The Go! Team's previous albums, and that's okay with me. With the exception of Yū Miyake, composer of the Katamari Damacy games, there isn't anyone out there making gleeful, manic pop quite like the Go! Team. Still present are the blaring horns, silly MC Ninja raps, and all out attack on the senses. If you didn't enjoy their last two, skip this, but fans should seek this out for "Bust-Out Brigade" alone.
Lady Gaga | Born This Way
Lady Gaga doesn't need to dress the way she does. Lady Gaga doesn't need to put out a 73 minute pop record. Lady Gaga doesn't need to put a saxophone in “Edge of Glory.” But if Lady Gaga didn't throw the kitchen sink at everything, she wouldn't be Lady Gaga, would she? Born This Way has a lot of fat, but if you exclude some of the stinkers (including all three of the bonus tracks), you're left with a tight, concise pop record that's fun to come back to and more modern than people give it credit for. “Born This Way” is lazy when compared to “Sadness is a Blessing,” and Gaga should be held to a higher standard of lyrics now that she's no longer singing about dancing and love, but, again, most of this is forgivable in light of great pop songs like “Edge of Glory,” “Americano,” “Marry The Night,” “Bad Kids” and more. Is Born This Way an improvement over her last EP? Not really, but that's okay.
Lana del Rey | Video Games
The two songs on Video Games are better than entire albums, and I can't name a sexier song than the title track released this year. If you haven't heard it yet, you've been living under a rock. Her debut album out this month may flop, but that's okay – this can cover any disappointment.
Lykke Li | Wounded Rhymes
It takes a dark mind to invert one of the most cheerful, loving pop songs of the 60s, but Lykke Li does just that on “Sadness Is A Blessing.” It starts with the same drum riff as “Be My Baby,” but “Sadness” is what happens if the object of desire in “Baby” responds with rejection. Lykke Li may be inspired by 60s acts like the Ronettes, but she's also a fan of Cohen, and understands that love isn't idealistic. “Oh, since the day I saw you, I have been waiting for you / You know I will adore you 'til eternity” quickly turns to “I ranted, I pleaded, I beg him not to go / For sorrow, the only lover I've ever known.” Lykke Li is a sharp woman, and Wounded Rhymes is the smartest pop record in memory.
the icon ownz all posted... From: transience | #003 ps why is the thom yorke/burial album better than the radiohead album because of burial! i'd actually like it more if thom yorke wasn't signing. have you heard the burial vs. massive attack single? it's awesome. because of burial.
From: OmarsComin | #004 you've got a lot of guts, making an album ranking topic I was typing it out the other night and got to 292 before I fell asleep. Haven't had a chance to go back to it the last couple days, but I might finish it today since I'm doing nothing. here's the google doc if you want to follow along - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nYQGYw42f9ZDvjZIj9Szta013AedoC3iCvQT9lhEU_o/edit
Holy **** just finish this already
-- SephirothG, channeling awesomeness from Mershiness. The Resurrection
The Best Rock Albums of 2011 In which Thee Oh Sees save us as we wait for Queens of the Stone Age
Note: occasionally songs will appear on the top list from albums that I don't talk about. The reason for that is simple - I didn't enjoy the album! Three such songs appear on today's list.
ps i think i've now listed more albums than vince and giggs combined HAR HAR IN WIN
The Black Keys | El Camiro
The Black Keys hit it big with Brothers. Not only was it their best album since Thinkfreakness, Brothers also turned The Black Keys into an arena rock band. No, seriously – they're touring arenas. Good for them! So I can forgive them for taking a victory lap with El Camiro, an album that eschews the band's blues rock roots and moves head first into hard rock with only one song to break up the momentum / monotony (the album lowlight, “Little Black Submarines”). That may sound overly negative, so here – this is still the same Black Keys that made Brothers, and of the eleven songs on here, only three are outright bad. It's not a great album, and it doesn't have the problem that its predecessor did (too many good songs!), but hey, it's still p good. And I guess that's all you can expect of rock bands these days.
Destroyer | Kaputt
If an eccentric, verbose, hyper-literate frontman, who often is compared to David Bowie, releases a smooth jazz album, is that a safe move? In this case, yes. Bejar and Co. swing for the fences with every album, and that approach has served them well for the last 13 years, but for every note-perfect Rubies or frantic Notorious Lighting And Other Works there's a dull Your Blues or stale Trouble In Dreams. Despite Kaputt's drastic departure in style, it lacks the wide-eyed ambition of past releases. That ambition is what I've come to expect from Bejar, and why I was initially disappointed in Kaputt (and probably why this is the most successful Destroyer album yet). Still, a muted Bejar eventually won me over, and Destroyer-as-smooth-jazz accomplishes what hundreds of chillwave artists have attempted over the last couple years. Shame about the neutered version of “Bay of Pigs,” however.
The Kills | Blood Pressures
“Future Starts Slow,” the standout opener, sets the tone for Blood Pressures: The Kills are once again making fuzz-laden garage rock. In the process, they've made their best album since their debut. Alison Mosshart puts in her best vocal performance yet, pulling out poppy hooks like nothing the Kills have done before. This is just a very good garage rock record. Hince tries a few new things – he brings in a Mellotron for the brilliant “The Last Goodbye” - but for the most part it's guitars, drums, and Mosshart, with the occasional Hince backing vocal. Blood Pressures is not without its bumps, and I could do without “Heart Is A Beating Drum,” but there's just not many bands making rock music anymore, so when you come across something as good as “Baby Says,” you hold on just a little tighter.
Papercuts | Fading Parade
This album is better than the dull cover, trust me. It's laden with sweet melodies and Jason Quever's soft voice. More dream pop than ___ rock, Fading Parade is included here for three reasons: it fits in more with the rock entries than any other category sans maybe the songwriter category, it boosts the total number of rock entries, and it reminds me to listen to this album more. Every year there's an album or two you wish you gave more time because you really enjoy the time you do have with it, but for a variety of reasons simply forget about. Fading Parade fits that bill for me. There's no bad track on here, and this is the most dreamy, soothing record of 2011 outside of A I A. If your name is Vince, listen to this record.
-- ICON: When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set Bidoof on fire.
The b-side of the LP runs from “Locus Flower” to “Separator.” From May on, that's the only side I listen to, even though I do kind of enjoy “Bloom.” Those five tracks would comprise a killer EP. Maybe put the extra songs on and make a longer EP, I dunno. I guess anything is better than “Little by Little,” “Morning Mr. Magpie,” and “Feral.”
Agree. Half of TKoL is really good. A shame the first half isn't really worth listening to.
The b-side of the LP runs from “Locus Flower” to “Separator.” From May on, that's the only side I listened to, even though I do kind of enjoy “Bloom.” Those five tracks would comprise a killer EP. Maybe put the extra songs on and make a longer EP, I dunno. I guess anything is better than “Little by Little,” “Morning Mr. Magpie,” and “Feral.”
Thee Oh Sees | Carrion Crawler / The Dream
This is the only Thee Oh Sees album I've ever loved, but holy f***, do I love it. Carrion Crawler / The Dream is a psychedelic, punk rock masterpiece, with roots in The Stooges, Acid Mothers Temple, Joy Division, peddlers of kraut and more. To draw the Stooges comparison even further, this is Thee Oh Sees' Fun House: it accurately captures the raw energy of their live show, and it's sure to develop a cult following around it. If you're looking for music that crashes through your speakers, grab this album. In a lesser year for music, I could easily see this as my AOTY. It's that impressive. My love grows for it with every listen.
i don't know what you're talking abo- oh damnit i can't edit.
bacon !!
--
Love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
had a busy day at work, leaving now. Might not get a list up until morning
Xeramako posted... do you have any plans to do a top 'top 40 hits' albums/songs (realistically, just songs and not albums) list?
I'll have my 50 favourite songs, but there will be no top 40 overview. Most top 40 is garbage, with the exception of the stuff that made it onto my list!
-- ICON: When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set Bidoof on fire.
alright that didn't happen, but get ready for a double update sometime today or tomorrow covering my favourite electronic releases. my taste has shifted so much that i'll have to split that up into two categories, with each having more entries than any other single category
then i'll do hip-hop, miscellanea, ineligible (comps, rereleases, and that zelda soundtrack), and bust out the top three on sunday or monday
here's some kahn in the meantime:
-- ICON: the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops
ran into a bit of writer's block but cured that with a ton of sons of anarchy, which in turn inspired me to do a different list. expect the next list, covering the best of folk, country and related within the hour.
The Best Folk, Country, and Other Things With A Guitar Albums of 2011 In which England still shakes.
Bill Callahan | Apocalypse
As much as I've enjoyed Callahan's past endeavours, as both Smog and now Bill Callahan, he's only had one great album: A River Ain't Too Much Too Love. Sure, albums like Wild Love and Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle have their highlights, but he doesn't have another album as consistently great as River. So I'll forgive you your scepticism when I tell you that this 45 year old, drawl folk singer, using mostly just a guitar, has crafted one of the finest albums of the year. Callahan is playful and brief, giving an album with such a gloomy title a surprising bit of charm. The album clocks in at just over 40 minutes, features folksy waltzes like “One Fine Morning,” and a song that can just be described as the silliest folk song in recent memory, “America.” Callahan finds a nice balance between wit and poignancy, giving the album's heartfelt moments more impact, and giving us one of Callahan's best.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy | Wolfroy Goes to Town
Will Oldham is one of country's most prolific performers, releasing eleven albums and eleven EPs in the last eleven years. Every three-four years, he releases an absolutely brilliant album, ensuring that his fans will buy/download each new Oldham release, looking for that next masterpiece. It's been five years since Oldham's last great album, and in that time Oldham has changed directions multiple times. Wolfroy Goes To Town isn't that next great Oldham album, but by shedding the more extreme aspects of his music – the high voice, baroque movements, and dark subject matter – and developing a soft wisp in his voice and great chemistry with back-up singer Angel Olsen, Oldham has put out a very good album. Great? No, but the next one might be.
feist | Metals
I like singer-songwriter feist more than I do pop feist. Not that her last album, The Reminder, didn't have its share of the former, but it felt like Gonzales and feist spent most of their time crafting “My Moon, My Man” “1234,” and “I Feel It All” while ignoring the rest of the album, settling for an awful Ron Sexsmith song (is there any other?) and a messy rendition of a standard “Sea Lion Woman.” Thankfully, feist set her sights on writing solid, consistent album, with the various techniques she's picked up over the years: her band is larger than ever; she still believes in having songs bleed into the next and allowing the outside world bleed into her songs; she's not afraid of having songs build to a dramatic, climactic conclusion. This all works together to create a lovely, organic album, and one that I might prefer over Let It Die.
Gillian Welch | The Harrow & the Harvest
Welch and Rawlings are the best songwriters of the last twenty-five years. There, I said it. You can champion anyone else you like, but I don't think there's anyone is capable of telling a story with words and a guitar quite like these two. Who else can keep fans raptured for twelve minutes as on “I Dream A Highway?” Their standards are higher than their contemporaries as well. While Ryan Adams continues to look for that next Heartbreaker or 48 Hours ten years later, Welch and Rawlings toiled away for eight years looking for the right songs before releasing The Harrow & The Harvest. That dedication has lead the duo to five great country albums. Harrow doesn't do anything you wouldn't expect. Despite pre-release hype indicating that the songs here might be bluesier or more dynamic than past efforts, the opposite is true. This album is just Rawlings' guitar and Welch's voice. And when you can write something as good as album standout “Hard Times,” that's okay.
Israel Nash Gripka | Barn Doors and Concrete Floors
This album came out of nowhere. I listened to it on a whim without expectations. I knew Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley produced it, and that it was a country album, but that's it. I certainly didn't expect a country album with as much passion as Ryan Adam's Heartbreaker. The title is apt, as it sounds exactly like an album titled Bard Doors and Concrete Floors should. It's loud, it's big, it comes in swinging for the fences on every song. I only wish I'd heard this earlier in the year because I can't help but think that 6 more months with this in my life would lift this to my AOTY.
Laura Marling | A Creature I Don't Know
Laura Marling doesn't sound like a 21 year old woman, and it's really not fair. I'm not talking about her accomplishing more at 21 than I ever will, I've long come to terms with that. No, here's a woman with a powerful voice and a powerful tongue, a woman with a strong mind capable of self-reflection, an artist able to transcend her influences, and a talent from the UK. Yet she's passed over, routinely, for Adele. Now, Adele has a few good songs under her belt, but Laura Marling has released three strong albums, each arguably better than the predecessor, each with more than one worthwhile song. I haven't come to enjoy Creature as much as did Speak, but the only reason for that is I put Speak on when I couldn't think of anything else to listen to, and I did this for months. Creature might not have anything as good as “Hope In The Air,” but it's a more immediate album, and songs like “The Beast” and “Sophia” show that Marling offers no signs of slowing down.
PJ Harvey | Let England Shake
There is very little I can add to the conversation about Let England Shake, one of the most universally loved albums in recent memory, an album that unites all music fans in their praise for it, and one that made PJ Harvey the only two-time Mercury Prize winner. This is an album in which a painstaking amount of research and care went into making. It's also the biggest risk of Harvey's career. Let England Shake could have easily been dismissed as a pretentious anti-war record (thankfully, it's neither). Harvey's adoption of a new instrument, the autoharp, could have been a distraction, much like Tom Wait's obsession with using his own voice as percussion on Real Gone was (thankfully, it wasn't). And Harvey found a new voice on this album, one more fragile and vulnerable than any other she's taken on, and this, too, could have detracted from the album (thankfully, it didn't). PJ Harvey fought an uphill battle to make this album as great as it is, but she won every battle.
Top 10 Folk, Country, and Singer-Songwriter Songs of 2011
I haven't listened to your top Folk songs but did you choose "The Words That Maketh Murder" for PJ's? I don't understand how this was universally chosen by EVERY music site on the internet as the best song from the album. You'd think with so many people there might be some variety in their choices, but nope! Especially with songs like "The Glorious Land" or my personal favorite "Written on the Forehead"
maybe you can explain it.
-- Menji~ by Ctrl-Alt-Del http://img.imgcake.com/menjipngre.png