I haven’t been the most prolific blogger this year but
I have listened to a lot of music. A
logical equation I suppose as the adage goes – ‘there are only so many hours in
the day after all’. That music was a
constant in my life should come as no surprise to those who know me well though. The ever present iPod, daily scanning of the tubes,
a host of great live shows and darkening the entrance of every record store I
find has uniquely prepared me to draft a comprehensive Best of Music List this
year.
The Weather Station - Everything I Saw from
tamara lindeman on
Vimeo.
And what a
year it has been... New records from the
heavy hitters like Radiohead, Tom Waits and PJ Harvey; sometimes they make it
look so easy. But this year it was the
newcomers that kept the musical fires within me alive.
The gentle Canadiana folk of the Weather Station, James Blake’s nervous
dubstep and EMA’s noisy rancor. The stuff
of greatness. The stuff that keeps me
forever seventeen on the inside. The stuff that makes me look forward to what lies down the road for 2012.
Without further adieu. Everything is Pop’s
Top 25 Albums and Top 50 Songs of the Year for 2011.
Best Albums 2011
01 | PJ Harvey | Let England Shake
02 | Beirut | The Rip
Tide
03 | St. Vincent | Strange
Mercy
04 | Cass McCombs | Wit’s
End
05 | Bon Iver | Bon
Iver
06 | Fleet Foxes | Helplessness
Blues
07 | Sandro Perri | Impossible
Spaces
08 | Girls | Father,
Son, Holy Ghost
09 | Atlas Sound |
Parallax
10 | Kurt Vile | Smoke
Ring for My Halo
11 | Tom Waits | Bad
As Me
12 | Dirty Beaches | Badlands
13 | Oneohtrix Point Never | Replica
14 | White Denim | D
15 | Yuck | Yuck
16 | Destroyer | Kaputt
17 | M83 | Hurry Up,
We’re Dreaming
18 | Julianna Barwick |The
Magic Place
19 | The Weather Station | All of it was Mine
20 | James Blake | James
Blake
21 | Tennis | Cape
Dory
22 | EMA | Past Life
Martyred Saints
23 | Colin Stetson | New
History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
24 | Radiohead | The King
of Limbs
25 | Tune-Yards | W H
O K I L L
Best Songs 2011
50 | Battles | “Sweetie and Shag”
49 | Shabazz Palaces | “Youology”
48 | Tune-Yards | “Bizness”
47 | Panda Bear | “Alsation Darn”
46 | Radiohead | “Lotus Flower”
45 | Colin Stetson | “Judges”
44 | Ty Segal | “Goodbye Bread”
43 | Thurston Moore | “January”
42 | EMA | “California”
41 | Toro Y Moi | “Still Sound”
40 | Tennis | “Pigeon”
39 | Lykke Li | “I Know Places”
38 | Wild Beasts | “Loop the Loop”
37 | James Blake | “The Wilhelm Scream”
36 | The Weather Station | “Nobody”
35 | Adam and the Amethysts | “The Country”
34 | Timber Timbre | “Creep On Creepin’ On”
33 | Anna Calvi | “No More Words”
32 | Bill Callahan | “Riding for the Feeling”
31 | Marissa Nadler | “Alabaster Queen”
30 | Julianna Barwick | “The Magic Place”
29 | M83 | “Intro”
28 | Cut Copy | “Need You Now”
27 | Destroyer | “Savage Night at the Opera”
26 | Dodos | “Don’t Try and Hide It”
25 | Real Estate | “Out of Tune”
24 | Yuck | “Shook Down”
23 | Arctic Monkeys | “Black Treacle”
22 | Gang Gang Dance | “Sacer”
21 | Braids | “Lemonade”
20 | Deerhoof | “No One Asked to Dance”
19 | Wilco | “Black Moon”
18 | Wye Oak | “Civilian”
17 | Low | “Especially Me”
16 | J Mascis | “Not Enough”
15 | White Denim | “Street Joy”
14 | The Oh Sees | “If I Stay Too Long”
13 | The Black Keys | “Lonely Boy”
12 | Dirty Beaches | “Lord Knows Best”
11 | Tom Waits | “Talking at the Same Time”
10 | Kurt Vile | “Baby’s Arms”
09 | Atlas Sound | “Lightworks”
08 | Girls | “Forgiveness”
07 | Sandro Perri | “Changes”
06 | Fleet Foxes | “Bedouin Dress”
05 | Bon Iver | “Helocene”
04 | Cass Mccombs | “County Line”
03 | St. Vincent | “Cruel”
02 | Beirut | “Santa Fe”
01 | PJ Harvey | “The Words the Maketh Murder”
