As another year comes to an end, I dug through the trash to find a few jems that made 2011 a pretty good year for music. If you're even the least bit curious as to why I chose these albums, PLEASE ask. I'd love to annoy and talk your ear off in order to explain why my musical taste is superior -I joke :)
1. Suck It & See –Arctic Monkeys
2. 21 –Adele
3. Dye It Blonde –Smith Westerns
4. Ceremonials –Florence + The Machine
5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost –Girls
6. Skying –The Horrors
7. Blood Pressures –The Kills
8. Strange Mercy –St. Vincent
9. Let England Shake –PJ Harvey
10. Wounded Rhymes –Lykke Li
11.El Camino –The Black Keys
12. King of Limbs –Radiohead
13. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? –The Vaccines
14. Bon Iver –Bon Iver
15. Wild Flag –Wild Flag
16. Lioness: Hidden Treasures –Amy Winehouse
17. Only In Dreams –Dum Dum Girls
18. Mirror Traffic –Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
19. Smoke Ring for My Halo –Kurt Vile
20. Watch The Throne –Jay-Z & Kanye West
21. Hurry Up We’re Dreaming –M83
22. Helplessness Blue – Fleet Foxes
23. Little Hell –City & Colour
24. Wasting Light –Foo Fighters
25. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
26. All At Once –Airborne Toxic Event
27. Cat’s Eyes –Cat’s Eyes
28. The Rip Tide –Beirut
29. 4 –Beyonce
30. As If EP –Sky Ferriera
31. Wild One –North Highlands
32. Colour of the Trap –Miles Kane
33. Last Summer –Eleanor Friedberger
34. Year of Hibernation –Youth Lagoon
35. Rome –Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
If you're curious as to why Angles by The Strokes did not make this list, it's because -after listening to the album OBSESSIVELY since March and having a small Albert Hammond, Jr intervention in early October -I realized that the 5 PRETTY GOOD songs on Angles can not outdo the other 5 HORRIBLE songs. Also, my favorite Strokes album is Room On Fire -and that's a LOT to live up to.
I didn't dig ANGLES as much as I wanted to...but I gotta know--what are the 5 horrible songs? I thought for the most part they played things too "safe." In other words, too bland to be horrible (or great).
ReplyDeleteMaybe horrible was too strong of a word, but I didn't like "Games" "Two Kinds of Happiness" "You're So Right" or "Call Me Back" -I feel like they were all a bit boring and there really wasn't any raw power behind them. "Machu Picchu" grew on me, but I still think of Michael Jackson when I listen to it 0_0
DeleteI'l give you "You're So Right" that one was drone-y and bit much. I actually really like "Two Kinds of Happiness" (so awesomely 80s, like a Cars song). Did you ever hear Julian Casablanca's solo album Phrazes For The Young? I thought Angles sounded more like that and not enough like a Strokes album.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised you like Room on Fire--most people seem to really hate that album but it's my favorite, too.
By the way, if you get time you should check out my music blog:
www.defendingaxlrose.com