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Your top 3-5 of 2011


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dammit... just realized i forgot to include Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears: Scandalous, and Blitzen Trapper: American Goldwing

 

Crap...I did too.

 

That's why I hate doing stuff like this. I always miss one and include something from a previous year.

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why do you people keep listing your first and second choices?

 

It's the interwebs. None of this really matters anyway.

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Baseball Project and Bangles are my top 2, but still workin on El Camino from the Black Keys. I am not sure I like it because it is good or because it is the only good thing out there. This is a good enough album to force me to take time though, so obviously something going on. Will say I cannot for the life of me figure out Bon Iver, and I tried. I half wonder if this isn't like the Dan Fogelberg, Seals and Croft era in the mid 70's with a couple of good exceptions. I seriously can't knock Bon I ver, I just don't get it. Same thing wth Drake. One or two songs led me to buy the albums, but then an extensive listen, relisten, one more time, whatthe hell, one more time, everyone else likes it effort came up short. I understan why Death Cab tanked, it was a retooling of the past, but ho some bands rose to the top of lists and when I tried them I walked away empty is atypical. Usually I can listen enough times and get it. I think I am getting old. I don't even want to go into Adele. Whole Love works for me. Not much else did this year.

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Baseball Project and Bangles are my top 2, but still workin on El Camino from the Black Keys. I am not sure I like it because it is good or because it is the only good thing out there. This is a good enough album to force me to take time though, so obviously something going on. Will say I cannot for the life of me figure out Bon Iver, and I tried. I half wonder if this isn't like the Dan Fogelberg, Seals and Croft era in the mid 70's with a couple of good exceptions. I seriously can't knock Bon I ver, I just don't get it. Same thing wth Drake. One or two songs led me to buy the albums, but then an extensive listen, relisten, one more time, whatthe hell, one more time, everyone else likes it effort came up short. I understan why Death Cab tanked, it was a retooling of the past, but ho some bands rose to the top of lists and when I tried them I walked away empty is atypical. Usually I can listen enough times and get it. I think I am getting old. I don't even want to go into Adele. Whole Love works for me. Not much else did this year.

Have you checked out that Daniel Romano record? I think that one may be up your alley.

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1) Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest - Tennessee is new song of the year for me.

2) Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What - Waaay better than expected or even than it should be.

3) Bruce Cockburn - Small Source of Comfort - The instrumentals on this make it my number 4.

4) Wilco - The Whole Love - Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

 

I also checked out Kurt Vile, Dawes, Chris Robinson, the new Bangles, and a few others recommended here and elsewhere, but none really registered as being the definitive #5 pick. Guess it's a tie.

 

I tried to listen to Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes and The Decemberists, and none were good enough to be worth occupying space on my hard drive. Thanks to everyone for the recommendations, though.

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Rich Robinson - Through A Crooked Sun

Circuital - My Morning Jacket

The Whole Love - Wilco

Pressure and Time - Rival Sons

Revelator - Tedeschi Trucks Band

 

Biggest Disappointment: Mockingbird Time - The Jayhawks Letting Mark Olson take over the band ruined the band, IMO.

 

I forgot about JJ Grey and Mofro - Brighter Days, a live album and DVD. I'd put that one in the #4 slot.

 

Another record that hasn't been mentioned this thread that I have yet to check out:

 

Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter - Marble Son

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a dear friends yearly emails/facebook posts

 

 

...hopefully you will enjoy another end of the year list. and it isn't about "the best", but more about, what i personally enjoyed listening to this past year. there are quite a few records not on here, that i also loved over and over, like st. vincent's, the tune yards and j mascis's offerings.

...as well, new to me this year, that i loved as much as anything on this list, are phosphorescent's albums, as well as the head and the heart!

...there are always some releases i feel worth mentioning as they came out this calendar year, but aren't exactly "albums", but possibly concerts, reissues, etc...

 

pearl jam: pj20 soundtrack: perfectly assembled from the hits to the rarities, and some of these live recordings can't help you see this band at their height of glory

the grateful dead- the complete europe 72 recordings: what more can you say? the pentultimate release from their vaults. overkill. possibly. but a portrait as a whole worth the capture

primal scream- screamadelica boxset: years ago, on koh phangan island in thailand, i met a brit who turned me on to 2 albums that helped shape my 20s it seemed. paul weller's "wildwood" and primal scream's "screamadelica". this reissue is has it all, and a fourth disc that captures the band live at its peak!

 

...now on to the 50

 

50. stephen malkmus & the jicks- mirror traffic

49. thurston moore- demolished thoughts...just raw and emotional. bare boned for the man of drone

48. okkervil river- i am very far

47. lykke li- wounded thoughts...what a voice!!!

46. telekinesis- 12 desperate straight lines

45. tapes n' tapes- outside

44. wh lyf: go tell fire to the mountain

43. black joe lewis & the honeybears- scandalous...very much enjoying the plethora in the revival of soul that is part of the music scene today

42. ducktails- ducktails III: arcade dynamics...laid back surf music with panda bear on board. yes please

41. rural alberta advantage- departing

40. gruff rhys- hotel shampoo

39. real estate- days

38. hunx & his punx- too young to be in love... a perfect marriage of gritty pop and punk

37. los campesinos- hello sadness

36. fruit bats- tripper

35. paul simon- so beautiful, so sad

34. g love & the avett brothers- fixin' to die...with the avett brothers at the helm, this album took me by surprise more than any other this year. i never would have thought it was g love unless i saw his name on the record

33. the black keys- el camino... to be fair, most likely will rise, but released so late it hasn't sunken in fully

32. joseph arthur- the graduation ceremony

31. panda bear- tomboy

30. the alabama shakes- ep...what a great sound they have. can;t wait for an actual album's worth of songs!

29. kurt vile- smoke ring for my halo

28. beirut- the rip tide

27. the decemberists- the king is dead

26. cold war kids- mine is yours

25. bon iver- bon iver...i like it more than their first as the tempo is quickened. but not quick enough to where it stands out in sounding that different than the first. powerful and emotional sure. but also stuck in the same place to me

24. sigur ros- inni

23. dawes- nothing is wrong

22. the joy formidable- the big roar...just pure fun. when it makes you dance like this, what's not to like

21. vetiver- the errant charm

20. blitzen trapper- american goldwing

19. pj harvey- let england shake...another out of nowhere for me. maybe more due to her absence, but damn did pj came back with a bang

18. battles- glass drop

17. ptarmigan- the forest darling

16. yuck- yuck

15. ty segall- goodbye bread...one of those i just played over and over and over upon first listening. seems the lo-fi garage rock has been at the forefront of my tastes in 2011

14. smith westerns- dye it blonde

13. woods- sun & shade

12. wye oak- civilians...2 for 2 they are now

11. tv on the radio- nine types of light...a band i always thought to be quirky, continues to make their music more accessible yet remaining, well, quirky. and the track second song. gorgeous!

10. radiohead- the king of limbs...the album that grew on me each listen. saddened at its length, but have come to appreciate each and every song on this one so much. seeing the tracks breathe fresh life live didn't hurt either!

9. wilco- the whole love

8. iron & wine- kiss each other clean

7. the bee's- every steps a yes...is there a band out there that can shift their sound so easily from genre to genre

6. fleet foxes- helplessness blues

5. the war on drugs- slave ambient

4. the black lips- arabia mountain...a mix of so many sounds/bands i love rolled in to one huge effort here

3. middle brother- middle brother...maybe not a "supergroup", but 3 of my favorite bands today front men forming a band together. and coming through with a record possibly stronger than anything their respective bands have released on their own

2. portugal. the man- in the mountains, in the clouds

1. white denim- d...hit me like a storm! they have brought the best elements of 70s rock back to your stereo, and made it sound as fresh as ever.

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I'm having a hard time coming up with a top 10 or 20 for 2011, so I'm liking the shorter list idea. Here are my five definite keepers:

 

1. The Decemberists - The King is Dead

2. Wilco - The Whole Love

3. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

4. Centro-Matic - Candidate Waltz

5. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

 

 

Honorable mentions go to Dawes, Laura Marling and My Morning Jacket. Earlier in the year I though Kurt Vile would be on the list for sure, but the charm wore off. Still not sure about The Black Keys. I like El Camino a lot, but I think it may wear off eventually.

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1. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse

2. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

3. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic

4. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde

5. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

6. Wilco - The Whole Love

7. Panda Bear - Tomboy

8. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

9. Feist - Metals

10. Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine

 

:cheers

 

This! (more or less) :lol

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