Magazine/website/record store BEST OF 2011 end-of-year list pile-up

Its..a guilty pleasure;)

(I do actually have quite a bit of time for that kind of sound - tho i do prefer the instrumental)

and no john talabot is surprising

Not sure, doesn't seem to be quite where RA's head is at right now.

04. Todd Terje - Snooze 4 Love

This has really grown on me

05. Todd Terje - Ragysh

This hasn't

45. Legowelt - Sark Island Acid
31. Storm Queen - It Goes On
29. Oliver $ - Doin' Ya Thang
28. Maceo Plex - Can't Leave You
26. Mathew Jonson - Learning to Fly
24. Osunlade - Envision (Ame Remix)
11. Noir & Haze - Around (Solomon Vox Mix)
08. Martyn - Masks
06. Steffi feat. Virginia - Yours
05. Todd Terje - Ragysh
04. Todd Terje - Snooze 4 Love
02. Omar-S - Here's Your Trance, Now Dance!!

Love these ones, not heard a fair few of the others. Surprised by the lack of Jamie Jones/Lee Foss or Soul Clap in there. It's way better than the FACT list, although eyeroll at Julio Bashmore being so high. Battle For Middle You is alright but it's not that great.

God, I'm quite ashamed of knowing only about 5-7 on that RA list. Walk And Talk is classic (wonder where it'll place on the ILX tracks list). I know I've heard and enjoyed some stuff by Storm Queen but I can't remember if it's this track. Natalia's Song is a highlight on the Zomby album and I'm glad it's included here. Is the Peverelist tune a cover of Shut Up & Dance? If so I'd be very interested in hearing it. I guess it's lists like this that help me through the slow January month...

The Steffi tune is probably my favourite on there, just such a rich, satisfying vocal house tune.

Also the Onsulade/Ame track is really worth hearing, the second half is so ravey!

Also, this talk of 'indie' is a red herring; Frank Ocean isn't Gayngs.

Gayngs >>>>

The LWE list has been a joy to read, the write-ups are excellent.

So, theoretically, an 80s retro fixation should have played itself out by now (every decade looks back 20 years for inspiration, which means we should be well into 90s revivalism by now), but P4K's top three albums all have a retro-80s vibe.

Didn't expect Destroyer to rank as high as it did, but I was happy to see it.

I don't normally like to bash P4K, but their list is less inspired than the NME's. Is the Bon Iver album an 80s-retro thing? I can't stand him tbh.

5. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
3. M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
2. Destroyer – Kaputt
1. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Also the Onsulade/Ame track is really worth hearing, the second half is so ravey!

yes! how had i not heard this!

i am just never going to get benoit & sergio :( sooooo dull.

not even walk & talk? :-(

do you like the Wolf + Lamb vs Soul Clap mix from a wee while back, Lex?

it was okay

is the Bon Iver album an 80s-retro thing?

At least partly, yeah. One song sounds like Toto (without the rhythm section, kind of like the song you know I won't hold you back).

Surprised they went for seemingly every Benoit & Sergio *except* Everybody which I thought was kinda the acknowledged anthem.

I'm kind of sad the Art Department album didn't make any EOY lists, this year.

speaking of dull

an art department where all the paint is grey

ha xp!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph05AIKuJGY

This is the Art Department and is pretty decent - but there's also Soul Clap and Onsulade input there as well.

Generally I think they're fine when there are no vocals getting in the way.

I didn't think it was grey. certainly moody, but quite emotional and affecting.

Tiny Mix Tapes (USA) Albums EOY 2011
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/2011-favorite-50-albums-2011

50 - Tom Waits - Bad as Me
49 - Liturgy - Aesthetica
48 - Matana Roberts - Coin Coin Chapter One: Les Gens de Couleur Libres
47 - Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
46 - A Winged Victory for the Sullen - A Winged Victory for the Sullen
45 - Tiziana Bertoncini and Thomas Lehn - Horsky Park
44 - The Psychic Paramount - II
43 - St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
42 - Zomby - Dedication
41 - Fabio Orsi - Stand Before Me, Oh My Soul
40 - Kreng - Grimoire
39 - Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa - Suara Naga
38 - Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
37 - Telebossa - Telebossa
36 - Future Islands - On the Water
35 - The Men - Leave Home
34 - Panda Bear - Tomboy
33 - Rafael Toral - Space Elements Vol. III
32 - M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
31 - EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
30 - Lil B - I'm Gay
29 - Thee Oh Sees - Castlemania
28 - Thee Oh Sees - Carrion Crawler/Dream
27 - The Weeknd - House of Balloons
26 - Amen Dunes - Through Donkey Jaw
25 - Hype Williams - One Nation
24 - Bill Orcutt - How the Thing Sings
23 - PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
22 - Death Grips - Ex Military
21 - James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual
20 - DJ Rashad - Just a Taste
19 - Sean McCann - The Capital
18 - Flaming Lips - The Strobo Trip: Light and Audio Phase Illusions Toy
17 - Dirty Beaches - Badlands
16 - Kwjaz - Kwjaz
15 - Bill Callahan - Apocalypse
14 - Peaking Lights - 936
13 - Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
12 - tUnE-yArDs - WhoKill
11 - Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
10 - Demdike Stare - Triptych [2010]
9 - Destroyer - Kaputt
8 - Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
7 - John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
6 - Grouper - A I A: Alien Observer / A I A: Dream Loss
5 - DJ Diamond - Flight Muzik
4 - The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
3 - Colin Stetson - New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges
2 - James Blake - James Blake
1 - Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica

^ decent enough list, huge improvement on pitchfork imo

much more interesting. James Blake in second place is a bit of an odd one, considering the quality of the stuff that precedes it, but big props for putting DJ Diamond so near the top.

yeah, the tiny mix tapes list is interesting. i mean, there's a lot of overlap and re-ordering of the titles on the P4K list, but there are also interesting items on the TMT list that didn't make it to the P4K list (e.g., dirty beaches; demdike stares; peaking lights).

btw, i haven't gone thru it yet, but the individual lists on dusted's year-end summary are always interesting (no total-staff best-of list at dusted).

The Best Rhythm and Blues of 2011
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/tools/full/152019

01 Maya Azucena - Cry Love
02 Rashaan Patterson - Bleuphoria
03 Mamas Gun - The Life and Soul
04 Lalah Hathaway - Where It All Begins
05 Beverly Knight - Soul UK
06 Goapele - Break of Dawn
07 Patti Austin - Sound Advice
08 Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For?
09 Daryl Hall - Laughing Down Crying
10 Ledisi - Pieces of Me

no yardbirds?

^agreed. It's an outrage.

luckily we have tuneyards

I don't normally like to bash P4K, but their list is less inspired than the NME's.

Who looks to these lists for inspiration?

this muthafucka

http://rlv.zcache.com/look_to_the_light_business_card-p240048209533610449yq46_400.jpg

Here's the tracks off of the RA list I could find on Spotify:

http://open.spotify.com/user/djperry1973/playlist/1hyXkhovMXjdch00K74y6B

fyi 15 seconds in and I already like this list much much more than the FACT list

Yeah it's pretty good. Already discovered a few keepers i wasn't familiar with

okay I am in LOVE with this Sneaker track, which is essentially one measure of music repeated for 12 minutes

What was the guardian number 1? pj harvey?

yarp

WateryTart

16 December 2011 1:27PM

Let England Shake – a genuinely great piece of war art – was made by a woman, too, though in 2011 we really should have moved beyond finding this unusual. ...

Female singer-songwriters are supposed to be winsome things who write about their feelings for guys. ...

Folk singer Linda Thompson, part of a panel of judges who voted Let England Shake Uncut magazine's album of the year (it won the Mercury prize, and was Mojo and NME's album of the year, too) put it like this: "I was impressed that a woman could go through a whole album and not mention some stupid bloke, except a stupid dead bloke."

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

"She's a girl but she writes about war and that's innovative and unusual for a girl, though we really shouldn't have to say that. But we will. Because she's a girl. And her album is full of deep stuff, not like what girls usually write about. It's good when girls don't write about what girls usually write about."

I must reiterate:

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

okay really?

yeah, i thought that was a pretty weak summation of why this is a good album. I'm still looking for an "in" to it, but being told "it's good because it's a girl singing about war" is not only plain sexist, but the least interesting thing about the record.

I love that album for several reasons:

- The totally different, delicate vocal color of PJ's singing voice, particularly the stunning floated headvoice used on "On Battleship Hill".
- The connected narrative running through the album.
- The music arrangement of the songs.

yeah dan, really
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/dec/16/pj-harvey-let-england-shake

Linda Thompson's summation is lame but Kitty Empire's is a lot more nuanced than that.

i can't really think of anything more to say about LES - having written about PJH a lot this year - but every time i see someone suggest that LES : UK :: Destroyer : USA (in that UK critics care way less about Destroyer than US critics, and US critics care way less about PJH than Destroyer), I am tremendously thankful to be on the right side of that

Let England Shake – a genuinely great piece of war art – was made by a woman, too, though in 2011 we really should have moved beyond finding this unusual.

Yes durr.

But Harvey's gender, and her upbringing on a Dorset farm, are both inherent to its greatness.

Also true.

I was more boggling at Linda Thompson

i also liked Kitty E's write-up

NY Times critics top 2011 picks

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/from-retro-yuck-to-foodie-rap.html?ref=music Jon Caramanica

Likes Yuck, Action Bronson, Drake, Beyonce and more

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/music-of-heartache-mortality-and-success.html?_r=1&ref=music Jon Pareles

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/pistol-annies-yob-deaf-center-paul-simon.html?ref=music Ben Ratliff

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/arts/music/ambrose-akinmusire-drake-the-roots-st-vincent.html?ref=music Nate Chinen