2011 in music. • Page 3

1. Banner Pilot - Heart Beats Pacific
2. Dave Hause - Resolutions
3. Face to Face - Laugh Now, Laugh Later

4. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Magic of Youth
5. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
6. Samiam - Trips
7. J Mascis - Several Shades of Why
8. The Swellers - Good for Me
9. Red City Radio - Dangers of Standing Still
10. Junior Battles - Idle Age
11. Bush - Sea of Memories

 

1. Dangerous summer - war paint
2. Wonder years - suburbia
3. Yellow card - wyttsy

 

Surprised I'm the first person to put Kaputt in the top 3. Only #2 for me because BI is an actual masterpiece.

1. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
2. Destroyer - Kaputt
3. Drake - Take Care
4. M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming
5. Danny Brown - XXX
6. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
7. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
8. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
9. Radiohead - King of Limbs
10. The Horrible Crowes - Elsie
11. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
12. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
13. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
14. Tom Waits - Bad as Me
15. Yuck - Yuck

 

i thought kaputt would be more for me than it actually was

 

I don't remember if I like or hate Destroyer, maybe I should figure that out. Have certainly heard that album before though

 

01) GOTYE - Making Mirrors

Yes, forever will be known for it's smash single but Gotye is a phenomenal art-pop creator, creating all sorts of weird sonic landscapes with Peter Gabriel-ready hooks

02) ADELE - 21

A blockbuster that deserved every bit of its aclaim. Adele may be one of the last things we can all agree on

03) THE BLACK KEYS - El Camino

All-out garage rock boogie which whips by in under 40 min with 11 surefire songs

04) ELBOW - Build A Rocket Boys!

Beautifully sad and upbeat at the same time, this is one of England's best bands at their peak

05) FOO FIGHTERS - Wasting Light

Hook-filled, tight and no clunkers, this is one of the Foo's best.

06) THURSDAY - No Devolucion

Of all the albums in the list, this feels the most memory-holed as it's where Thursday's draw really thinned but it also finds them at their most experimental and shoegaze-like

07) CUT COPY - Zonoscope

Tons of albums came out with dance-ready indie jams this year but Cut Copy did it best

08) PUSCIFER - Conditions Of My Parole

Maynard proves his side project is worth taking seriously as seriously as they take their humor

09) THE DECEMBERISTS - The King Is Dead

After a bloated concept album, The Decemberists get back to cranking on lean, mean, literate indie pop/rock

10) PATRICK STUMP - Soul Punk

Forever seen as a failure (mostly due to the confessional blog post written around it) but this album actually was a precursor for Fall Out Boy's second act and showed what a fantastic songcrafter Patrick Stump is

11) AWOLNATION - Megalithic Symphony

I loved Aaron Bruno's previous band (Home Town Hero) and welcomed his forray into electro-rock

12) FEIST - Metals

No obvious songs for the brunch-core audience but Metals is an absolute gem of a follow-up featuring an accomplished artist side-stepping the demands to produce a more pop-centric record and delivering a lush, beautiful collection of songs

13) CITY AND COLOUR - Little Hell

Achingly sad and haunting, Dallas Green is in peak form here

14) M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

An ambitious game-changing album in the indie-sphere that, in many ways, was a precursor to the poptimist decade

15) FOSTER THE PEOPLE - Torches

Another great record full of dance-y synth-rock jams that was unfortunately overshadowed by one monster hit

16) PORTUGAL THE MAN - In The Mountain, In The Cloud

Signing to a major label didn't do much to PTM (at least at this time) as they delivered one of the most spacey yet hooky albums to date

17) FRIENDLY FIRES - Pala

I can only describe infectious dance-rock in so many ways but this was another worthy candidate

18) BUTCH WALKER & THE BLACK WIDOWS - The Spade

Stripping back the Americana vibe of his last two releases, Butch and friends got back to crancking out quirty yet efficient power-pop

19) JACK'S MANNEQUIN - People And Things

Perhaps the most personal album Andrew has every written, this capped off Jack's excellent three album run

20) COLDPLAY - Mylo Xyloto

Not shying away from the experimental vibes of their previous release, Mylo Xyloto sheds Coldplay's image as balladeers by embracing a colorful scheme of electronic pop

21) MUTEMATH - Odd Soul

After the broad scope of Armistice, Mutemath decide to get funky and have fun

22) RISE AGAINST - Endgame

Finding the perfect balance between punk rock ragers and rock-radio favorites, Rise Against makes a case for their arena-levels

23) THE VACCINES - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines

The UK press is an excitable bunch and The Vaccines were one of many "future of rock" bands to be on the cover of the British rags but this debut is still an excellent snappy guitar rock record

24) JAMES BLAKE - James Blake

A game-changer in terms of how electronic music was perceived, the way James Blake plays with his vocals was truly fascinating

25) FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - Ceremonials

Operatic and reaching for the stars, Florence took on a "go big or go home" attitude with her sophomore release

26) KASABIAN - Velociraptor!

I have a strange fascination with bands that are huge overseas yet are still slugging it out in clubs in the US and Kasabian delivered another set of dancey-punk-rock-rave-ups to another indifferent US audience

27) BON IVER - Bon Iver

A big ambitious follow-up to a much-loved sparse debut.

28) LYKKE LI - Wounded Rhymes

Pop music that comes from mother nature, this is Lykke Li's best record

29) TV ON THE RADIO - Nine Types Of Light

A somewhat lighter approach after an acclaimed release, Nine Types Of Light is a soulful and tuneful candidate in TVOTR's discography

30) PANIC! AT THE DISCO - Vices & Virtues

Shedding two members and getting the exclamation point back allowed for Brendon Urie to reset and dive back into campy cabaret pop/rock

HONORABLE MENTIONS

CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Thank You, Happy Birthday

Strange that CTE somehow got weirder and less accessible yet also more popular with this one

CAKE - Showroom Of Compassion

Cake has a #1 album under their belt and thankfully it's one of John McCrea's strongest set of songs

FLEET FOXES - Helplessness Blues

A difficult follow-up (at least in terms of the recording process) that thankfully maintains the beautiful harmonies-via-beards (also hilarious that Father John Misty was the drummer)

RADIOHEAD - The King Of Limbs

An insular and difficult first half gives way to a gorgeous second half with some of this band's most touching and tender moments

THRICE - Major / Minor

Perceived swan song (at least for a few years) that proved the workman-like approach Thrice put into record-making always pays off

 

I think this is the most crossover I've ever had with you. There are some days I think I prefer that Beady Eye record to Noel's debut.

 

The muted response to Blink 182's "Neighborhoods" was fascinating at the time. People really wanted their happy-go-lucky pop-punk version of Blink back, forgetting that all of the band members had gone through some difficult growing up coupled with strained relationships with each other which really comes through on that record.

 

I'm now wondering if I should revise my list to include Simple Math. That SONG is one of the most incredible things they've ever done and the rest of the album is fairly close.

 

1. The Wonder Years - Suburbia
2. Horrible Crowes - Elsie
3. Kanye and Jay Z - Watch the Throne

 

Yeah that song is amazing, rest of the album lacked staying power for me outside of the opener and April Fool. Their best song will forever remain I Can Feel A Hot One.

 

01. Common - The Dreamer/The Believer
02. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
03. Wale - Ambition

REKS - R.E.K.S. (Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme)
Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
Evidence - Cats & Dogs
Phonte - Charity Starts At Home
The Roots - Undun

 

1. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
2. m83 - Hurry Up
3. power trip - Divine apprehension

 

For me, the title track is far and away the best song on Kaputt.

Everything else on there just sounds like more of the same, but not as melodic or memorable.

 

1) Foo Fighters- Wasting Light
2) Panic at the Disco- Vice & Virtues
3) The Black Keys- El Camino

 

1. the wonder years – suburbia i've given you all
2. thursday – no devolucion
3. danny brown – xxx

4. la dispute – wildlife
5. pianos become the teeth – the lack long after
6. bon iver – bon iver, bon iver
7. frank turner – england keep my bones
8. the front bottoms – the front bottoms
9. bomb the music industry! – vacation
10. joyce manor – joyce manor
11. touché amoré – parting the sea between brightness and me
12. thrice – major/minor
13. manchester orchestra – simple math
14. fireworks – gospel
15. all get out – the season

 

1. The Horrible Crowes - Elsie
2. M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
3. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

 

Still a lot of memory-holed stuff from this period which actually makes it a lot more interesting than the 90's/early 00's thread. Case in point: totally forgot about that Horrible Crowes album which I loved and had the pleasure of seeing one of their rare shows.

 

2011
1. Thursday - No Devolución
2. Radiohead - The King Of Limbs
3. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

4. Yellowcard - When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes
5. Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto
6. Blink 182 - Neighborhoods
7. The Black Keys - El Camino
8. Death Cab For Cutie - Codes And Keys
9. Thrice - Major/Minor
10. Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math
11. The Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
12. Bad Meets Evil - Hell: The Sequel
13. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80
14. Rihanna - Talk That Talk
15. Foster The People - Torches
16. Panda Bear - Tomboy
17. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
18. 311 - Universal Pulse
19. Taking Back Sunday
20. Angels & Airwaves - LOVE, Pt. 2
21. Drake - Take Care
22. Cage The Elephant - Thank You, Happy Birthday
23. My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Honorable Mentions
The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions
Glassjaw - Our Color Green (The Singles) (EP)
Glassjaw - Coloring Book (EP)

Favorite songs from other 2011 albums
NewVillager - "Lighthouse"
Lil Wayne - "6 Foot 7 Foot"
Big Sean - "Dance (A$$) Remix"
Chris Tilton - "A New Day In The Old Town" (From Fringe: Season 2)
Britney Spears - "Till The World Ends"
The Kills - "Future Starts Slow"
Gotye, Kimbra - "Somebody That I Used To Know"
LMFAO - "Sexy And I Know It"
Alex Clare - "Up All Night"
Lady Gaga - "Born This Way"
TV On The Radio - "Second Song"

 

Man, David Comes To Life is such a fucking great album. Totally underrated

 

1. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo
2. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
3. Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO
4. Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
5. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest
6. Josh T. Pearson - Last of the Country Gentleman
7. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
8. Kendrick Lamar - Section 80
9. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong
10. Cass McCombs - Wit's End
11. Jay-Z & Kanye - Watch The Throne
12. Wilco - The Whole Love
13. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
14. Action Bronson - Dr. Lectar
15. Middle Brother - Middle Brother
16. Robert Ellis - Photographs

 

Fucked Up keeps messing with me by releasing a bunch of greatest hits or whatever. I always put them on and hear MY NAME IS DAVID and I'm like, these fuckers got me again.

 

1. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
2. Foster the People - Torches
3. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
—————-
4. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
5. Drake - Take Care
6. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See
7. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia Ultra
8. The Strokes - Angles
9. James Blake - James Blake
10. Watch the Throne - Watch the Throne

 

seems participation has died off a bit since a month ago

 

personally I just lived through all these years on AP/chorus so I feel less like having the convos again. Everything before the 2000s was much more engaging for me. I'll keep posting my lists, but I just feel a bit less engaged with the discussions I've had so many times before on this site