here’s my list of my favorite songs from my favorite records of 2011. as far as i know all of these were released in 2011.
m83, wilco, and watch the throne were good i just didn’t actually have a copy of them and therefore never really listened to them. one through five are my bonafide top five favorite records of the year, the rest are in no particular order. i’m sure i missed a lot of great records this year (adopting liam took a big chunk out of the year) so share your list with me.
1. tom waits - bad as me. anyone who doesn’t recognize the importance, greatness, and largeness of this record can jump into a cold lake without clothes on. it’s simply the best record out there right now and if you need that explained to you, you’ve probably never even heard of tom waits anyway and will never listen to him. listen to satisfied, it’s one of my three favorites from bad as me.
2. st. vincent - strange mercy. this is annie clarks de facto best record to date. it’s an odd mix of indie rock and straight up progressive 1970’s rock. listen to surgeon and get weird.
3. the black keys - el camino. man i love the black keys. this is a great, full-bodied record that’s probably one of their more accessible and should do well attracting new fans while keeping their old fans happy. listen to dead and gone.
4. explosions in the sky - take care, take care, take care. post-rock at its best and when it’s done this well it doesn’t need vocals. listen to trembling hands and think back to their free show in downtown salt lake city earlier this summer (i took this photo).
5. bon iver - bon iver. justin vernon is at it again with incredible, layered, minimalist tracks with no decipherable lyrical content (like i care). listen to perth while searching for toadstools in the forest.
paul simon - so beautiful or so what. great year for older artists to land solid records. listen to the afterlife.
tinariwen - tassilli. what - you aren’t hip to the indie/afro beats of rebel music from mali? me either, but i heard this band on public radio this year and was instantly hooked. listen to imidiwan ma tennam. if you really like them, their two records previous to this one are better.
danger mouse and daniele luppi - rome. this is a weird record, supposedly crafted out of love for the old spaghetti westerns and their soundtracks. if that was the goal they hit the mark because at any point in the record you could expect to hear gunshots or clint eastwood’s flinty voice. listen to problem queen.
adele - 21. this is one in my list where the song is great, but i didn’t think the album itself was amazing. the single rolling in the deep is awesome and adele deserves all the credit and fame she’s achieving because of it. (i know the record is great, i just thought most of it was too slow for my taste).
beastie boys - hot sauce committee part two. i didn’t see it coming, but this record was really great and really fun. if you haven’t watched the video for their first single, make some noise you definitely should. don’t play no game that i can’t win with santigold is my favorite of the record.
surrogate - diamonds and pearls. this is only an ep, but it’s from a great band that doesn’t do much outside of northern cal. listen to old life and get chris keane to produce your next record.
the civil wars - barton hollow. wow! who knew america was ready for vintage folk with soaring vocals and simple arrangements? maybe we weren’t, but when an album this good comes along, there’s no denying it. listen to barton hollow (really if you haven’t heard this single by now, you probably don’t listen to music and stopped reading this list anyways).
maritime - human hearts. another of the old guard coming up out of nowhere to drop a great album on us. davey (a la the promise ring) is a legend in our household and always will be. listen to it’s casual.
feist - metals. listen to the bad in each other.
gillian welch - the harrow and the harvest. it took eight years, but it was worth the wait. i’m seriously so stoked about how many older artists (paul simon, tom waits, gillian) who turned in a+ papers this year. listen to the way it goes.
peter, bjorn and john - gimme some. get poppy and listen to second chance.
a.a. bondy - believers. he’ll either die this year or win a grammy or possibly both. great record (i think his last two records have also topped my yearly lists). listen to the heart is willing and get sad with yourself.
coldplay - mylo xyloto. listen to every teardrop is a waterfall.
the make - this box. not sure if the rest of their debut ep is any good (it probably is), but the single get it is a lot of fun.
biggest disappointment of 2011: florence and the machine and the new radiohead. they weren’t bad records, there just wasn’t anything there to grab me, just sorta blah.
what were your favorites? what did i miss?
best music of 2011.
