My Music from 2011.
I can’t believe it’s already a new year, and I get to recount the often embarrassing record of the music I listened to during the past 365 days. And you all know how godawful (by which I mean amazing) my musical tendencies are. Some artists have shifted around, and others are new. Here they are with my juvenile commentary.
24 (tie). N.E.R.D. and Antony and the Johnsons (97 plays): These two artists cannot be more different — the former I listen to when I want to hit the dance floor, and the later I listen to when I want to be hit in the heart (and sometimes on the butt). N.E.R.D. is on here primarily because I was obsessed with “Hypnotize U,” a thumping, grinding sex-beat accompanied by Pharrell’s crooning filthy filthy things. For some reason this motivates me to work out harder at the gym? I have no idea. Antony and the Johnsons is on here because I Am a Bird Now is one of my favorite albums, and the way his voice breaks in “Fistful of Love” makes me listen to it on repeat all day long.
22 (tie). The Roots and Death Cab for Cutie (98 plays): The Roots released Undun very recently, but the album that puts them on this list is most definitely How I Got Over, which I think is their best since 2002′s Phrenology. Not to say that the albums in between were bad, but How I Got Over included everything required for a classic Roots album: storylines + social insights + rhythm and more rhythm = fantastic output. As for Death Cab for Cutie, you all know how I feel about this band, and I don’t care if you mock me. While Codes and Keys does not come anywhere near Plans andTransatlanticism, both of which have been such huge parts of my writing process, it is still enough to warrant them a place in the top 25. If I had listened to them in high school, my binders would all have said DCFC 4-EVA.
21. Iron & Wine (100 plays): I used to really dislike Iron & Wine, with the exception of his dreamy cover of Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” from the Garden State soundtrack (by the way, I hate that movie. Hate. Hate so hard. That and Napoleon Dynamite were the reigning movies of my last year of college and I just could not be bothered. And enough with the stupid manic pixie indie hipster girl in movies! Look, I know we all want to be her or fuck her or date her or whatever, but be honest — that’s the girl we all roll our eyes at for talking too loudly in the cafe about her “weird” tendencies [weird = supposedly adorkable]. And yes, I know this outburst puts me at odds with my undying love for Death Cab for Cutie. Leave me alone). But somewhere along the line I fell head over heels for Our Endless Numbered Days and now I can’t get enough.
20. Editors (101 plays): I’ll just copy what I wrote last year, because it’s still true — “I will always love The Back Room, but with In This Light and On This Morning, the Editors released an album that is derivative of Depeche Mode and Joy Division but without the navel-gazing of the former and the melancholy of the latter. I love both Depeche Mode and Joy Division but there is something about this particular band that takes their spirit and makes it… loud. Is that the right word? If Joy Division is listened to while crammed into a tiny room stinking of cigarette smoke, and you’ve got so much eyeliner on that you basically look like a human panda baby, then the Editors are meant to be listened to in a giant arena in the most un-ironic fashion possible. Go ahead. Listen to “Papillon” and tell me you don’t want to be crowded with a million strangers outdoors in the dark while singing along. And then making out with the hot stranger next to you. That kind of thing.” Yep. Still true.
19. Mogwai (105 plays): I’m pretty sure I now own every album this Scottish post-rock band has put out, and although I have yet to listen to Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will, I’m excited because Luke Sutherland guests on it, and anyone who can write like he did in Venus As a Boy wins gold medals from me. I read it in the Skipper’s house while drinking a rum and coke, and the way he describes Orkney is so heartbreaking and honest and beautiful. I’m grateful to Bonnie for introducing me to his writing. Also, I’m afraid to listen to the album because if he’s really awesome in it I’ll have to hate him. I hate people who get to be so multi-talented artistically. Not fair.
18. Bjork (107 plays): After a disappointing showing with Medulla and Volta (seriously, how disappointed was I in Volta? I built it up a lot in my head so at first I thought maybe I was just expecting too much? And then I realized, it’s fucking Bjork, I should have high expectations and the album was so mediocre it was depressing. Frenchie sent me a copy and at the end I just messaged him, “Is… is that it? Is that really it?!”), Bjork returns with an album that is reminiscent of her best work (1997′s Homogenic and 2001′s Vespertine). Add to that Michel Gondry’s video for “Crystalline” and it’s clear why so many of us love her.
16 (tie). Black Star and Cat Power (112 plays): It is not surprising to see Black Star on here; come on you two, your fans are waiting for a second album! One new single is not going to keep us going for much longer! Please? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease? Cat Power is a more recent obsession — I think I can honestly say that before this year, I only really liked “Lived in Bars,” but I gave The Greatest a try and once I figured out it was moody, slow, drinking whisky and potentially weeping music, then I listened to it entirely too much for my own mental state. Usually with some kind of alcohol in hand. Not so much with the crying, though.
15. Britney Spears (128 plays): BSpears drops a few places this year, and this is because outside of working out I very rarely listened to her. I’m not sure why. However, “I Wanna Go” was used in my turbo kickboxing class at the gym, and I got so obsessed that I had to download it so I could have it pumping in my ears as I ran. There’s something so obviously fraudulent in the song, what’s with all the auto-tune, but in that very fakery I think she’s sassier than she’s been in a while. And if that is the case, welcome back, BSpears. I’m enjoying your continuous evolution from teen-pop to dance-pop. Also, when you sing “Be a little inappropriate, / ’cause I know that everybody’s thinking it,” I want to give you a high five. Thanks for the unofficial motto of my twenties.
14. Johnny Cash (131 plays): There are very, very few instances where the cover replaces the original, but “Hurt” now belongs to Johnny Cash, not Trent Reznor. Even diehard NIN fans have to admit that Cash’s version is the definitive one. The Skipper and I listened to American IV: The Man Comes Around while driving around the Isle of Mull, away from Tobermory and the bulk of the tourists. Surrounded by sea and sky and trees and nothing but twisting roads ahead of us, we listened to Cash’s gravelly voice give life to his versions of songs that we already know and love. It was a fitting soundtrack to a day spent away from everyone and everything.
13. JLS (137 plays): Because this is a black British boy band, I made the claim that listening to them is like the aural version of Paul Gilroy’s The Black Atlantic. Yeah, I know I’m full of shit, but I thought it was funny. Also, I wonder what Fred Moten would make of this argument?
12. Florence + the Machine (138 plays): I really disliked this band at first because “The Dog Days Are Over” kept getting stuck in my head, no thanks to the radio channels playing it on endless loops every time I got in the car. And to be completely honest the album doesn’t solidify for me in a way that I find meaningful — usually my favorite artists are the ones whose albums I can listen to front to back because to skip around would be heresy. Not so much with Florence + the Machine, but all in all I’m glad I gave the album a try. Also Lauren dancing to it is possibly the most adorable thing ever.
11. The National (147 plays): The National have always been in my top 5 — they were #1 in 2010, #5 in 2009, and #1 in 2008. They make their lowest showing this year, I guess I just didn’t show them enough love. This by no means indicates that my love for Alligator has diminished. A perfect album from beginning to end.
And now my top 10 for 2011.
10. Erykah Badu (172 plays): I remember when Baduizm came out in 8th grade — I had never heard anything like it before. Sinuous, scratchy and smooth at the same time, I listened to “Next Lifetime” and couldn’t quite grasp what the song was about. All the regret and longing but without any bitterness, just the reflection on what could have been, and what might be later. Much later. And while that album remains firmly anchored as my favorite of hers, all of her other albums have produced songs of equal caliber that still force me to pause and slow down, a little bit, just so I can think. And listen. And try to understand.
09. Scissor Sisters (175 plays): Okay. I have never listened to Scissor Sisters before this year, and can I just say that the video for “Any Which Way” from Night Work is the most flamboyant music video I have ever seen. Like they put Freddie Mercury to shame. I can’t even with the glitter and the white shorts and the sushi flying through the air. And yes, their name is a reference to a sex act between two ladies. Every time I listen to this album I want to grow a dick, sprout facial hair, put on some leather and go dancing. Yes I know that’s beyond stereotypical but that’s what the music makes me want to do. And thanks to all of you who immediately thought, “Grow a dick? You have one.” You warm the cockles of my Grinch-y heart.
08. Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi (181 plays): If you have not heard Rome yet go listen to it. If you can’t get a hold of it, email me and I will get you a copy. Go. Listen. Do it now. Did you listen? Rome is meant to be an homage to spaghetti westerns and if you can’t visualize Sergio Leone and hear Ennio Morricone in there, you are dead to me. I was going to write “Deader than Clint Eastwood” to drive home my point and then I remembered that he’s not actually dead.
07. Kanye West (193 plays): Honestly, the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaboration falls short of what I was hoping for. And I’m not even a huge fan of either of them (Side note: there’s apparently a Common and Nas collaboration coming this year? Fingers crossed). However, I can tell you that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is what put Kanye in the top ten. I still think it’s impeccably crafted, full of braggadocio and smart wordplay and a brilliant use of Gil Scott-Heron (RIP). It is the Kanye-iest of his albums.
06. The Decemberists (212 plays): I finally downloaded a copy of The King is Dead. And it’s good! I was worried because all the reviews were going on and on about how their sound has changed, and I kept thinking, “But I love their sound!” It is markedly different from The Crane Wife and The Hazards of Love, my two favorites, but still enjoyably clever. And I know this is lame, but I still get sad when I listen to “The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned).” I can’t help it, I can just picture all the words in my head and it makes me sad! On a cheerier note, I also very much enjoyed Colin Meloy Sings Live! The bare bones versions of certain songs like “Red Right Ankle” highlight the lyrics and his goddamn earnestness so much. When he croons, “This is the story of the boys who loved you, / who love you now and loved you then. / And some were sweet, some were cold and snuffed you, / and some just laid around in bed. / And some, they crumbled you straight to you knees, / did it cruel, did it tenderly. / Some, they crawled their way into your heart, / to rend your ventricles apart. / This is the story of the boys who loved you,” a little part of me just crawls into itself. Fucking ventricles.
05. Beirut (303 plays): Gulag Orkestar is such a hipster album that it hurts. But it is so good. I don’t like The Flying Club Cup as much but both are perfect for days of dissertating or grading.
04. TV On the Radio (361 plays): Yes, Nine Types of Light is a great album. No, it is not as good as Dear Science (come on now — is anything as good as Dear Science?). The real reason TV On the Radio is in my top five, however, is not due to either of these albums. It’s because I could not stop listening to “Wolf Like Me.” I was already in love with the absolute joy with which they were banging out lines like “My mind has changed my body’s frame but God I like it, / My heart’s aflame, my body’s strained but God I like it” and then I watched the music video and it’s about werewolves!And not the stupid tormented Twilight werewolves, but Asian Americans in awesome 80s clothing werewolves! Totally sold.
03. The Knife (383 plays): This creepy duo has been in my top ten since 2008. If you don’t know why I love them by now then you suck. And they are supposed to release a new album this year! If this turns out to be a rumor I am going to be so sad. Because while Fever Ray is good and the album was good and blah blah blah, this brother-sister team is just not as good when they’re not performing as a team. Silent Shout and Deep Cuts are both classics. Bring back the Knife!
02. Mumford & Sons (522 plays): They jumped up two spots this year, mostly because I essentially wrote my second chapter while having them on a loop. Sigh No More is such a good album. Last year I wrote that “It’s not the most stylistically innovative album, no, but it’s the most cohesive album overall,” and I still think this is true. I do love the banjos, and I do love the literary references (timshel, anyone?), but I don’t think it’s necessarily an album that does anything new for me. At the same time, it is an album that you can play the entire way through while finding the whole thing a gratifying experience.
01. Adele (710 plays): Is anyone surprised? Really, is anyone surprised at all? It’s so cliche to love her album,21, but I do! And I don’t care if it’s not cool to love her or whatever because I love this album and I love her voice and I love how basically every song is either a “Fuck off, you broke my heart” song or a “You broke my heart but I miss you” song or a “Love love kiss kiss” song. I don’t know why! But I do! I resisted 21 for as long as possible because 19 just did not do it for me. When everyone was raving about “Chasing Pavements” I was rolling my eyes and going “Next!” And even “Rolling in the Deep,” as ubiquitous as it was, didn’t put her in this position. The truth of the matter is, the part of me that loves angsty romance a la Mulder-and-Scully could not stop listening to “Someone Like You.” Yes yes, me and the rest of the world. It’s like every part of me — tragic Korean, gay man, sentimental douchebag, teenybopper, little old lady — turns to mush when I hear that song, and all I want to do is roll down my windows and sing it as loudly and as off key-ly as possible. Usually when a song gets played to death on the radio I immediately change the station, but with this one I purposely turn the stations until I find someone playing it (and of course someone always is). And that’s not even my favorite song on the album! That honor goes to “One and Only” which isn’t even on the radio. So I guess it can be my own personal favorite (me and the bajillion other people who bought the album this year). Adele — for writing the perfect breakup album, for having that beautiful voice, for letting me unabashedly wring my hands while I sing, for making it okay for me to be so heartfelt in my cheesiness — you are my #1 and favorite artist of 2011.
