2011 was a fantastic year for new music and it was super diverse, taboot. I always feel that there’s a lot that I’ve missed and for some reason this year I feel that more than most.
I discovered right after putting this list together that the top 20 or so congele as a cohesive favorite. I like them all and listened to them a ton, whereas the top 5 were really special in one way or another. I guess I found them more thought provoking, more inspired, and easier to lean on throughout the year. But anyway…
Here’s my top 25 Albums 0f 2011:
25. Kurt Vile – Smoke Rings For My Halo
24. Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
This is my preliminary ‘bring the ruckus’ list of things that I would like to accomplish in 2011. It’s ordered from most attainable to ‘holy shit dude, your efffing nuts.’
Donate more time to others X Constant work in progress
Acquire a copy of Def Leppard’s Hysteria CASSETTE ARRIVED JUNE 28TH AT APPROXIMATELY 5:00 PM
Make it more than half way through the first Lord of the Rings film (Completed Monday May 23! No idea why I waited so long. Pretty great)
Get the final sentence of The Great Gatsby tattooed…somewhere X There’s still time for this!
Finish more writing projects and publish…anything
See Phish as many or more times than I did last year (5) DONE! Clarkson, MI, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, and 3 Shows in Chicago!
BE BETTER! X Constant work in progress
Run a marathon -(Ran the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee on 10/2/11 with a finishing time of 4:52:02)
Learn how to play the lap steel guitar – 2012
Beat Josh at Words with Friends
Go vegan for one month or longer (Limitations made this be pushed to next year)
Restart and finish Infinite Jest (My consistent need to read the first 100 pages of the newest and most hyped books that are released, has taken too much time this year. So. January 1. I open it. Again.)
******UPDATE****** Check out this top 20 and others from my friends at Seizure Chicken (w/zip.s of all) here—–> SC BEST OF 2010
2010 was an insanely good year for songs. While it was hard to keep mainstream fodder from meat dress wearing princesses out, I somehow managed to nail down 50 songs that entered but never really exited my ear canals.
From looking over and immersing myself in the top twenty for the past couple of weeks, I discovered that I’m drawn to two types of songs: Those that spark nostalgia and end up wreaking havoc on both my nervous and cardiovascular systems. And others that would act as a perfect soundtrack for my own dream sequences. Here goes—->
1.Taos- Menemonea// ‘Taos’ is a layered masterpiece that is as cinematic as it sonic. Songs this explosive shatter earth(s) and blow minds. Earlier in the year, I called ‘Taos’ a “fucking onion” and also knew it would be my favorite track of the year before I heard the second change.
2.Home- LCD Soundsystem// Sitting still renders impossible as you ponder purposes, contemplate if you truly are afraid of what you need, and wonder what might make you feel better. James Murphy, weekend warrior-psychiatrist, has an incredible knack of refracting your image and pointing out all that is wrong with you through song. It’s ok though. The beats and synths that lace his tracks numb your emotional capacity and make it nearly impossible to get depressed or contemplative for too long.
3.Rill Rill- Sleigh Bells// Undeniable and sugary sweet. Fistfights, braces, and snapping fingers. It was possibly this track that possessed inebriated underage gals to try and kick in the doors at Mad Planet.
4. A More Perfect Union- Titus Andronicus// I lose my voice every time this song comes on. I think lead singer Patrick Sitckles does too. After they played this in Madison in April, he put out the flames in his throat by dousing it with Cepacol
5. Round and Round- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti// Clearly a dream sequence track. I like to think that this song is featured somewhere in the middle of every night’s program. Accompanied by thick smoke, leaping people in spandex, and a disco ball.
6. The Suburbs- Arcade Fire// A consistent piano accompanied by Win Butler’s voice and words tear holes into my entire being. In a good way. My clear favorite track from The Suburbs that will be a rotational standard. Forever. Most nostalgia tracks stick around like chewed gum under church pews.
7.Boyfriend- Best Coast// Not much to say except that this is possibly one of the most infectious songs I have ever heard. And also one of the most impossible to sing along to.
8. Zebra- Beach House// This tracks the Narnia portion of the dream that I’m sure everyone experiences nightly. Sighs, large snowflakes, and talking lions galore.
9. Blessa- Toro Y Moi// Remember what I said about the Best Coast song? Yeah, this might be more infectious. Dream sequence where you’re riding in a convertible with the friendliest group of talking animals. And lots of pineapple. Mind/blown.
10. Desire Lines- Deerhunter// Layered with multiple changes and swayable harmonies, this song is near perfect. I strongly believe that if this would’ve come out last year or if I lived in a state where it wasn’t frigid right now, it would’ve been my number one.
BLONDE ON BLONDE 