Top Songs of 2011 - Volume 2

Here is the second half of my favorite songs of 2011.  I’ve got some good news for those of you concerned that the electric guitar is going extinct because this volume contains a decent number of more traditional rock and/or roll songs with electric guitars.  Here we go.

Top Songs of 2011, Volume 2 (in no particular order for the most part):

1. “Intro” – M83 (ft. Zola Jesus).  While this song isn’t quite as spectacular as “Midnight City”, it’s more than awesome enough to kick off the second volume of my top songs of 2011.  I love the way the song builds and builds until the sweeping climax of the final two minutes.
2. “Sails” – Hooray For Earth.  Here’s the fifth and final song of my top 5 of 2011.  The song may not seem like anything special at first, but once that chorus drops and the bass starts hitting, the song becomes something special. This was easily one of my most listened to songs of the year.  Also, it was spectacular live.  Also also, play it loud.
3. “Heart In Your Heartbreak” – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.  Hey, there’s something about this song that seems different.  Oh right, it’s the return of the electric guitar.  I haven’t really given this album the attention it deserves, but this song has always jumped out at me.  Good old rock and roll.
4. “Get Away” – Yuck.  The guitar onslaught continues, and this one is even a little noisy with muddy distortion and vocals buried in the mix.  The main riff is so simple and catchy, and while it seems so effortless, the band deserves all the credit for crafting something so perfect.
5. “Breaking Down” – Florence and the Machine.  The second song from Florence to make the list is more along the lines of what you’d expect from her, but this song still defies those expectations with her restrained vocal performance.  You can’t fault any singer with pipes like Florence for letting loose whenever possible, and ultimately, it’s the contrast between this song and others from Ceremonials like ‘Shake It Out” and “What the Water Gave Me” that makes this song so memorable.  
6. “As Bright As Your Night Light” – Nerves Junior.  This group was a very late discovery, which I owe to the music blog Pretty Much Amazing.  We live in a great day and age when music of this caliber gets produced by bands without major label funding or promotion.  This is a great song.
7. “Loop the Loop” – Wild Beasts.  Here’s another smooth jam from Wild Beasts.  The band’s vocals have always been a little unique and sometimes over the top, but they deftly figured out how to incorporate them seamlessly into the more restrained and elegant songs of this album.
8. “Green Aisles” – Real Estate.  Speaking of smooth jams and elegant songs, here’s another Real Estate song.  I instantly connected with the chorus of “all those wasted miles / all those aimless drives through green aisles / our careless lifestyle / it was not so unwise, no.”  This song helped make Days a perfect soundtrack for an autumn drive over mountain paths.
9. “County Line” – Cass McCombs.  So I guess this is the smooth jam section of my list, and that’s cool because I love all of these songs.  Cass McCombs is in no hurry with this jam.  This song would be perfect for a slow dance, if it weren’t for the heartbroken lyrics:  “You never even tried to love me / What did I have to do to make you want me? / I feel so blind I make out the passing road signs / All that you would have me do is cross that county line.”  I feel you, Cass.
10. “Changes” – Sandro Perri.  This song, another late discovery, is the last song in this string of smooth jams.  I really don’t know much at all about Sandro or the rest of his music, but this song is outstanding.  I wish they would have jammed the chorus to this song over and over, it is so good, but I recognize that sometimes it’s the briefness of something, that feeling of not having enough and wanting more, that makes a thing special.
11. “Cruel” – St Vincent.  This song is classic St Vincent: disquieting lyrics set to incongruously upbeat music combined with off kilter guitar riffs into a song that will be stuck in your head for a very long time.
12. “The Words That Maketh Murder” – PJ Harvey.  There are artists with considerable discographies that I keep meaning to listen to, but I never seem to get around to it.  PJ Harvey is one of those.  I did manage to listen to her latest release, Let England Shake, and this is just one of the great songs on that album.  Someday I’ll get around to more of her music.
13. “Dystopia” – Yacht.  First off, the version of this song I included is edited and I had to pull it from the music video.  That’s why there are sound effects like explosions throughout the recording.  That being said, this was one of the catchiest jams of the year, and their album Shangri-La was solid all-around.
14. “Same” – Hooray For Earth.  The third and final Hooray For Earth song to make my list.  This synth-pop song, like all the others I posted, is immaculately produced, but it’s the vocals and the melody that really make the song great.
15. “Seekir” – Zola Jesus.  I’m a big fan of looped vocals in songs.  I’m also a fan of songs that keep building and introducing new elements until there is a glorious wall of sound that can vanish instantly.  This is a good tune.
16. “Serpents” – Sharon Van Etten.  While Tramp, Sharon Van Etten’s latest album, wasn’t released until a couple weeks ago, “Serpents” was released as a single in 2011.  I am smitten with Sharon Van Etten so anything she released in 2011 was pretty much guaranteed to make this list.  I will definitely be posting more about this amazing artist in the near future.  In the meantime, enjoy this rocking song.
17. “Never Never” – SBTRKT.  This song has a very nice groove and sounds amazing, but it’s the soulful vocals that make it one of my favorites of the year.
18. “Eyes Be Closed” – Washed Out.  This is a perfect summer jam, but it also works really well at night on a pair of nice headphones.  This song makes me feel like it’s not worth getting stressed or worried about stuff because everything is going to be okay.
19. “Second Song” – TV on the Radio.  I’m hoping that I’ll get a chance to see TV on the Radio play live – I’m not really counting seeing a portion of their set from far away at a festival as really seeing them.  This song is them at their funky best.
20. “Romance” – Wild Flag.  Sleater-Kinney is near the top of the list of bands I regret never seeing in concert, so anything that reminds me of Sleater-Kinney is instantly a good thing.  Wild Flag is made up of two-thirds of Sleater-Kinney, and, as this track demonstrates, they rock.  Just not quite as much as Sleater-Kinney.  I’m still hoping for a reunion.
21. “Vomit” – Girls.  I’m not very familiar with this group, but this song was instantly memorable.  It’s a six and a half minute jam that ends up incorporating an organ and gospel vocals.  How could it not be amazing?
22. “Someone You’d Admire” – Fleet Foxes.  This song, like “Helplessness Blues” in my previous entry, hits me hard.  It’s such a simple song, acoustic guitar, a melody, and a harmony, yet it is incredibly poignant and affecting.
23. “Try to Sleep” – Low.  Low is another band that I keep meaning to really check out.  I’ve listened to and enjoyed a few of their albums, but I still have a long way to go to really familiarize myself with this band.  This is a beautiful song.
24. “Codex” – Radiohead.  Sometimes I forget that Radiohead put out an album in 2011.  Even though The King of Limbs is not my favorite Radiohead album, not by a long shot, there are still some really good songs on it.  I’ll be giving the albums a few more listens leading up to my road trip to see them play in Phoenix on March 15^th.  This song, and especially the performance I linked to, is exquisite.
25. “End Come Too Soon” – Wild Beasts.  I really don’t need to say much.  This is a perfect track to end my list.

Well, that's that.  Again, I had to split this volume so here's Part 1 and Part 2.  I hope this is has been useful/enjoyable for someone besides myself.

Coming soon:  my Top 10 Albums of 2011.

Top Songs of 2011 - Volume 1

So I am only a month and a half late getting to this, but all that matters is I am finally here.  It’s time to share my opinions about the year 2011 and the things I enjoyed during its brief time with us.

First up, music, more specifically, my favorite songs of 2011 (my list of favorite albums will be coming soon).  When I started putting together a playlist with my favorite songs, I realized that it would be too difficult to narrow it down to 10 or even 20 songs.  Turns out I liked a lot of music released last year.  I ended up selecting 50 songs, organized into two volumes.  I will make these songs available, as I have in years past.  I'm also including links to Youtube whenever possible for immediate listening.  In most cases, I've selected either official music videos or official recordings; I've selected a few live recordings of which I'm particularly fond.

On we go.

Top Songs of 2011, Volume 1 (in no particular order, for the most part):

1. “Midnight City” – M83.  When I first heard this song played by a friend on turntable.fm, I liked it well enough, but it didn’t strike me as anything extraordinary.  But I kept listening to “Midnight City” and somehow the song got better and better with each subsequent listen until I realized that, after fifty or so plays, it was definitely my favorite song of the year.  It’s catchy, propulsive, surprisingly affective, and the killer sax outro is just icing on the cake.
2. “Bed of Nails” – Wild Beasts.  This song forced me to pay attention to Wild Beasts.  I’d heard one of their earlier songs and enjoyed it, but I never felt the need to delve further into their discography.  When their new album Smother  started getting very positive reviews, I decided to check it out.  This is my favorite song from the album and a top 5 of the year.  Smooth is the best way to describe this song, and not in a Kenny G or Michael Bolton way or anything.  The vocal interlude at the two minute mark gets me every time.
3. “It’s Real” – Real Estate.  Another top 5 song of the year – I promise there will only be 5 top 5 songs of the year on my list.  This song, from the shimmering guitars, the soaring vocals in the chorus, and the simple and unassuming lyrics, perfectly captures the feel of a late summer afternoon at the beach or driving through the countryside with the windows down.  Just one of many amazing songs on one of my favorite albums of the year. 
4. “The Way It Goes” – Gillian Welch.  Hey, it’s the first song on this list that isn’t a top 5 song of the year.  This is still a great little folk song.  (What is it with the term folk that I hate so much and causes me to hesitate in describing a song or artist I like as folk?)  Anyway, this is a straightforward song: two acoustic guitars, female lead vocals with male backing vocals, and nothing else.  Nothing unnecessary, nothing wasted.
5. “The Heron and the Fox” – Little Scream.  I blogged about this song earlier in the year.  This song, the standout from Little Scream’s debut album The Golden Record, captivated me from the first time I heard.  There is something about Laurel Sprengelmeyer’s voice and lyrics that hits me hard in the spot where I feel things and stuff.  I’m not joking.
6. “A Dedication” – Washed Out.  Within and Without is a very good album, and this is its excellent final track.  I love the moment the drums kick in and give this otherwise solemn track a little forward momentum.  This is pretty much a perfect song to end an album and a perfect way to end a day.
7. “Cheerleader” – St. Vincent.  Sometimes Annie Clark’s consistency prevents me from truly appreciating her music, but that’s more a knock against me than it is against her.  This is my second favorite song from her very solid 2011 album Strange Mercy.
8. “Abducted” – Cults.  I first heard this song on NPR and knew instantly that this little gem of pop perfection would be one of my favorite songs of the year.  Cults self-titled album has a number of excellent tracks, but nothing quite as good as this song.
9. “Black Night” – Dodos.  The band Dodos deserves more recognition than it gets, and I definitely should listen to them more than I do.  This is a fantastic album opener that moves forward with unrelenting momentum.  It’s easily one of the most physical songs to make the list.  I think that description will make more sense once you listen to the song.
10. “Repetition”– TV on the Radio.  While I wasn’t able to get into TV on the Radio’s latest album as much as some of their prior albums, this song is easily lumped in with their best work.  One of the better rock songs of the year.
11. “Gangsta”– Tune-Yards.  Nothing on my list up to this point could really be considered weird or different, but this song is definitely not run of the mill.  Merrill Garbus, a.k.a Tune-Yards, is not concerned with conforming to any outside expectations when it comes to her music.  It’s hard to describe her music; it’s a strange hybrid of elements that works far better than it has any right to.
12. “House of Balloons” – The Weeknd.  If there is a glaring hole in my musical exposure, it’s got to be hip-hop and R&B.  I know those genres have a lot of worthwhile music, but when I think about the effort it would take to immerse myself enough to find the artists and songs worth listening to, it seems easier to remain in ignorance.  That being said, The Weeknd is one group I managed to check out, though I mostly just listened to this one song over and over.  It’s an awesome, dark R&B track with a steady beat and fantastic chorus.  That’s all I need.
13. “Remain Nameless” – Florence and the Machine.  This isn’t a typical Florence and the Machine song; in fact, it was a b-side released only on the deluxe version of her latest release, Ceremonials.  Instead of the soaring orchestral pop she’s built her career on, Florence turns in a dark (there’s that word again) electro-pop track that sounds more like Zola Jesus.  Her powerful vocals work so well over the industrial synths and percussion.  I could go for a whole album of songs like these.
14. “Replica”– Oneohtrix Point Never.  This song continues with the darker tone the mix has fallen into.  I don’t really know much about Oneohtrix Point Never, but this somber track is haunting.
15. “Vessel”– Zola Jesus.  Zola Jesus is the stage name of a Nika Danilova, a 22 year-old girl from Wisconsin who utilizes industrial, classical, operatic, and electronic elements to make amazing music.  This was one of my later discoveries of 2011, but I’m looking forward to following this extremely talented artist for years to come.
16. “omamori”– Elite Gymnastics.  As I write this up, I’m reminded how futile it is to try and categorize music.  I could try and call this another intricate and dense electro-pop song, but I feel that doesn’t do it justice.  It’s just an excellent song.  That should be enough.
17. “I Follow Rivers” – Lykke Li.  I’ve been a fan of Lykke Li since the release of her debut album in 2008, and her follow-up, Wounded Rhymes, did not disappoint.  This is just one of many excellent songs worth checking out.
18. “Polish Girl” – Neon Indian.  It really was a fairly boring year in terms of guitar-based rock music.  It just seems like those people making electronic influenced music are more creative right now.  This song, with its undeniable groove, is proof.
19. “Last Minute” – Hooray for Earth.  Sails is an amazing album, and Hooray for Earth is a terrific band that rocks live.  This song has a great melody and epic production.  Best results when played loud.
20. “Some Children” – Holy Ghost.  This song, ladies and gentlemen, is a jam.  Don’t let the flowery vocal intro fool you – just wait for that bass groove and lock yourself in for the duration.  Oh yeah, Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers sings on the track, and that’s pretty cool.
21.  “In the Grace of Your Love” – The Rapture.  The Rapture returned with their first album in 5 years, and it is very solid.  This track, which shares its name with the album, is my favorite, mostly because of the vocals starting around the 4 minute mark.
22.  “Think You Can Wait” – The National ft. Sharon Van Etten.  After releasing one of my favorite albums of 2010, The National spent most of the year touring but managed to record and release a few very excellent tracks.  This song, written for and included in the movie Win Win, shows the band’s more subdued and restrained side.  The inclusion of Sharon Van Etten, my biggest musical discovery of 2011, is the icing on the cake.
23.  “Doubt”– Wye Oak.  Civilian is a very solid album by a very talented duo, a lady playing guitar and singing, and a guy drumming and singing and somehow playing keyboard at the same time.  This song doesn’t show it, but they most definitely rock.  I’ve seen it with my own two eyes/heard it with my own two ears.
24.  “Helplessness Blues” – Fleet Foxes.  Volume 1 is pretty top-heavy with four of my top 5 songs of the year, but I don’t care.  This song is transcendent.  The lyrics (particularly the final verse), the vocals, the harmonies, the entrance of the entire band.  It’s all glorious.  I know it’s cliché to say a song just speaks to you, but I don’t care.  Sometimes it’s true.
25.  “All the Same” – Real Estate.  Hey, it’s the final song for Volume 1.  Real Estate isn’t a band that comes to mind when I think of epic final tracks, but they delivered one with this song.  I figured that if it works so well as the closer for their great album, then it would work just fine closing out this volume of my year end mix.  Enjoy.

So there is the first half of my favorite songs of the year.  You can download my Top Songs of 2011, Volume 1 in two pieces (Part 1 and Part 2).  Volume 2 will be along whenever I can get around to it, as will be my Top 10 Albums of 2011.

Enjoy.

Or don’t. 

But you probably should.

P.S.  I'd love to hear what everyone else enjoyed from 2011.  Feel free to comment.

"This station is now operational!"

One of the biggest regrets of my teenage years was that I didn't discover At The Drive-In early enough to catch them live.  I read about their high energy live performances and could only dream of how awesome they would be in a small club, but unfortunately, they broke up before I ever had the chance.

After today, my dream of seeing them live might come true.

At The Drive-In announced today that they will be breaking their 11 year silence.  They're lined up to play both weekends at this year's Coachella music festival in April.  April is going to be the craziest month of the year for me at work with the release of the 1940 US census, so there's no way I'm going to be able to take any time off.  I'm crossing my fingers that their reunion is going to result in more than just a few shows here and there.  I'm hoping for a full tour and a new album.

I'll just have to wait and see.  In the meantime, here's a video of the band performing on Letterman back in the day.

2011 in Review

2011 was a good year, but it was also a fairly uneventful year for me.  I got a promotion, went on a couple trips (Seattle and Washington, DC), took up a couple new hobbies (bowling and photography), and otherwise did the same things I’ve always done (read books, listened to music, and watched movies).  Future biographers would find little worth mentioning about 2011 and would have to push forward to find some life-altering events.

My biggest regret of 2011 is that I didn’t write more, especially after I finally overcame the mental block preventing me from returning to my unfinished novel in December 2010.  I spent most of the year preparing to resume work on my novel, but I never quite got to resuming work on it.  I did accomplish a decent amount during that time but no actual writing.  However little I wrote, I thought of little else all year.

If 2011 was The Year of Thinking About Writing, then 2012 has to be The Year of Actual Writing.  My life is in the perfect place to get a lot of writing done.  I do not have any dependents, no girlfriend to distract me (though that’s a distraction I would gladly accept), and I have everything to gain.  I need to put my dream of becoming a writer to the test, and the time is now.

While I hope that most of the writing I will accomplish in 2012 will be in my novel, I want to resume updating this blog regularly as well.  I have set a goal to post updates three times a week.  They may not be very substantial updates, but they will be regular and help contribute to meeting the goals I have for my writing in 2012.

I don’t have much else to say in this post, but here are the subjects for a few of my upcoming posts:  favorite songs/albums, books, and movies of 2011, a long essay on why I need to write, and whatever else I may think of.

That’s all.

2:00 a.m.

It's hard to let go of these ghosts.

The ghosts of the living haunt me and never more so than these late nights when I wonder why things are the way they are and why I feel so powerless to change them.

I chide myself for thinking that maybe today of all days would bring something different.  My brain knew better.  How foolish I feel for allowing myself to hope.  And yet, there's the bittersweet pleasure of being right in the end.  Always right but praying to be proven wrong.

How much longer, ghosts, will you haunt me?  How much longer will your presence fill me with regret and sorrow?  Will you ever recede fully from my thoughts as I must have from yours some time ago?

We are bound together in some unholy one-sided union that I call torture, my own personal hell.

Others call it friendship.

"It's Real" - Real Estate

This is my current song of the whatever: "It's Real" by Real Estate.  Great tune from a great new album.

Light Bulb

Why do good ideas only seem to come to me late at night when I should be sleeping? Not that I'm unhappy the ideas come to me, but sometimes I wish creativity would conform to a convenient schedule. I am, after all, a working man. That being said, tonight's idea was a pretty good one.

As I've often stated in the past, I really need to blog more. I'm going to do better! I promise! But first, I need sleep.

"What good is it to sing helplessness blues?"

For no apparent reason last week, I decided to listen to Helplessness Blues, the recently released sophomore album by Fleet Foxes. I'd given it a couple listens when I first got the album a month ago, and I had more or less enjoyed it. I then purchased the vinyl when I heard the album played in a record store and found myself really enjoying it. But until last week, I really hadn't spent a lot of time with the album.

When I listed to the album again, it all felt so familiar, more than it should have with the limited time I had spent with it. Maybe it was the upturn in the weather that made the music resonate more with me. I don't know. It just clicked, and I've been listening to it heavily the past week. If you've never listened to Fleet Foxes, you are missing out. They play an Americana, folky type of indie rock -- I hesitate to call them rock; it just feels completely off. What really sets the band apart is Robin Pecknold's vocals and the soaring harmonies that accompany his melodies. Really amazing, beautiful music.

I've had a couple "moments" -- for lack of a better term -- with their music this past week. They've taken place while driving home from work, when I can just let the music wash over me and help me relax and put work behind me for a few hours. These moments occurred as I focused on the lyrics and really listened to what the songs were about. What resulted were powerful connections to the songs ("Helplessness Blues" and "Someone You'd Admire") that may not have drastically changed my worldview or brought about some miraculous transformation, but rather left me different, a little happier, a little more resolute to achieve what I need to achieve.

I highly recommend checking out this band and both of their albums. I've included links to these songs on Youtube.

Helplessness Blues

Someone You'd Admire

Monthly Mix: May 2011

May was an interesting month for me. It began similar to April, i.e. with me listening to pretty much just Sharon Van Etten. Whereas in April I was all about her latest album Epic for its more expansive scope in instrumentation and dynamics, I found myself listening to her debut album, Because I Was In Love, much more this month, for the very reasons I had initially put it off (sparse instrumentation, mostly just acoustic guitar and her vocals). I have to say this about Sharon Van Etten: I could listen to her sing all day. I'm conflicted because I am grateful that her music exists, but I can hardly fathom that someone would break her heart or cause her any of the emotional pain that is present in her songs. I listen to her and think to myself, "I would never do anything to hurt this woman." I realize she's just a normal human being, a very kind and humble one at that, who experiences normal human emotions, same as everyone else, but as a listener you marvel that anyone would treat her like some normal human being and not a musical goddess. So, person who treated her like a normal human being, thanks for inspiring her to create sublime music, but how could you hurt her?! How do you live with yourself? I wonder what life is like knowing that your break-up with someone lead them to create amazing music. Do you feel deserving of a little credit? I'll probably never know. I use three of her songs in this mix: one to kick things off, one in the middle, and one to close the mix.

Back to May. Things changed pretty drastically during the last week and a half of the month. I acquired some new albums and made a conscious effort to listen to them. (Too often I don't spend enough time with new music and it falls between the cracks and gets ignored). Two of these albums dominate my May mix, making up 9 of the 15 tracks. Smother, the third album from UK art-rock band Wild Beasts, could be considered my album of the month. Their track, "Bed of Nails", is easily my song of the month. I must have listened to it at least 40 times last week alone. Wild Beasts was one of those bands where I liked everything I had heard from them but never felt a desire to really dig in to their albums. Everything fell into place when I listened to Smother. I recognize that their style may put off some listeners, but I hope people will enjoy the songs I selected. Give them a few extra listens if you're not immediately a fan. It's impossible to escape Wild Beasts in this mix.

The other album that dominated the end of the month is Hooray for Earth's True Loves. I read some strong praise online for the album and decided I needed to give it a spin. I'm glad I did. I suppose I'd classify them as synth-pop, as they mostly use layers of synthesizers, drums, bass, and a few guitar parts here and there in each song, but I think that classification doesn't convey how good they are. Their music is dense and massive. It's not cold and sterile like a lot of music with strong electronic elements. Maybe that's because of the hooks, but I would urge you to not dismiss it offhand because of my description. "Sails" is my favorite track, but the whole album has grown on me a lot.

Enough rambling, right? Here's my May 2011 mix.

• Sharon Van Etten - "For You."
• Wild Beasts - "All the King's Men."
• Hooray for Earth - "Last Minute."
• Cults - "Abducted."
• Wild Beasts - "Bed of Nails."
• Hooray for Earth - "Realize It's Not the Sun."
• Wild Beasts - "Loop the Loop."
• Sharon Van Etten - "Have You Seen."
• Wild Beasts - "Hooting & Howling."
• Antlers - "Parentheses."
• Wild Beasts - "Lion's Share."
• Metric - "Hustle Rose."
• Wild Beasts - "We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues."
• Hooray for Earth - "Sails."
• Sharon Van Etten - "Keep."

Just a public service announcement.

Music never sounds better than through a pair of high-quality headphones. It always amazes me just how big of a difference a quality set of headphones can make.

That's all.