Best of 2011: Songs #50-41

Rules!

1. Each artist only gets one song per category. This song list would be very different otherwise.
2. Only songs on albums that were released in 2011 are eligible.

OK, those are boring. The following songs are not:

50. "Perth" - Bon Iver


It's true: I don't always appreciate Justin Vernon's soulful falsetto. I like it when vocals are strong and assertively make statements. However, in "Perth" the vocals are set against a full snare line and a beautifully layered orchestra in a way that the at-times-timid voice is juxtaposed with the strong musical swell perfectly. A really pretty song.

49. "Sydney (I'll Come Running)" - Brett Dennen


Brett Dennen preceded his 2011 release with an upbeat single in the form of "Sydney". Surprisingly, it lacks his usual socially-conscious lyrics, but it is no less fun.

48. "Mama's Broken Heart" - Miranda Lambert


Lambert keeps with her Angry-Ex persona on this track. She sings with so much ferocity her band can barely keep up. Things really go down when the Baptists hear your gossip.

47. "Words I Never Said" - Lupe Fiasco ft. Skylar Grey


Lupe sticks with his bold politics and blows up the bass here. I never worshiped Skylar Grey as a vocalist, because I seriously doubt her versatility but in the case of this one song, she really sets the tone. Bonus points for calling out Glenn Beck.

46. "Price Tag" - Jessie J ft. B.o.B


Speaking of well-matched duos. This song lit up the summer of 2011 and just wouldn't quit. It's a great sentiment and one we can especially be drawn to during the economic slump. The guitar sounds like really slow funk and Jessie J's vocals sound like a British Gwen Stefani - she belongs in front of a reggae band, but she's got the grit to be pursuing the pop career she is.

45. "Greed" - Patrick Stump
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His album was called Soul Punk and this was the perfect embodiment of that. Stump's vocals, in my opinion, have never really been given the praise it deserves. His passion is really fun to listen to, and the rhythmic claps and clicks don't hurt the drive of his song about crooked human beings.

44. "I Want My Mojo Back" - Scott H. Biram


Grungy Bluesman, Scott H. Biram, growls his way through the traditional blues chord progression in this track. Live bootleg versions of Biram playing this on his own (percussion, low guitar, lead and back up vocals) are really great, but the saxophone is a monster in this studio version.

43. "Sun of a Gun" - Oh Land


Oh Land has a lovely voice, so she doesn't need over the top beats to make a great dance song.

42. "Rope" - Foo Fighters


Dave Grohl and his crew keep us hanging on to what rock and roll is really about: Attacking vocals, animalistic drumming and a badass guitar.

41. "Two Against One" - Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi ft. Jack White


It's fitting that this song sounds like it was recorded in an open auditorium with Jack White standing in the middle alone. A really well-composed track from the bass to the background vocals to the guitar solo.

Stay tuned!

Best of 2011: Songs: Honorable Mentions

Quick refresher:

1. Each artist only gets one song per category. This song list would be very different otherwise.
2. Only songs on albums that were released in 2011 are eligible.

This past year's music was incredibly hard to rank. There was SO MUCH good music that was released this past year and it's so hard to leave some artists out of the actual ranking. To make myself feel better about doing so, 've decied to add songs 70-51 as the honorable mentions.

70. "The Bad in Each Other" - Feist


69. "Santa Fe" - Beirut


68. "We Will All Be Changed" - Seryn
 

67. "The Other Side" - The Roots ft. Bilal Oliver and Greg Porn


66. "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" - Ed Sheeran


65. "Magic" - The Sound of Arrows


64. "T.O.R.N.A.D.O." - The Go! Team


63. "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie" - Red Hot Chili Peppers


62. "Changing" - Airborne Toxic Event


61. "Down By the Water" - The Decemberists


60. "Get It Daddy" - Sleeper Agent


59. "Climbing Walls" - Strange Talk


58. "Whirring" - The Joy Formidable


57. "Love is Real" - Theophilus London ft. Holly Miranda


56. "Jericho" - Jamaica


55. "Hey Baby (Drop It To the Floor)" - Pitbull ft. T-Pain



54. "Cinema" - Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go

53. "Feel So Close" - Calvin Harris


52. "Love in America" - JTX


51. "Free" - Twin Atlantic

Best of 2011: Superlatives Pt. 1

It's that time of year again! You know, that month when I suddenly remember I have a music blog and then post a flood of really awesome stuff.

Let's review the rules for my Best Of lists!

1. Songs will not be repeated on lists. For example, if a song is listed under best remix here in the Superlatives post, they will not appear on the list for Best Songs.

2. If an artist releases an EP and a full-length album in the same year, only the full-length album will be considered. For instance, Foster the People released their sef-titled EP in January 2011 and then their full-length Torches in May. For this reason, the EP will not be considered for the Best EP category.

3. Artists only get one song per category, including Best Songs.

4. For the Songs list, only those that are released on an album in 2011 are considered. Take fun.'s new single "We Are Young" for example: the song itself was released in 2011, but it won't be released on a full album until 2012, so it will be considered for next year's zeitgeist.

OK, let's play.  

2011 Superlatives
 

Best Mixtape - Peanut Butter and Swelly - Chiddy Bang This duo is ridiculously prolific. Xaphoon Jones has yet to run out of clever beats and Chiddy keeps it coming with his playful lyrics. It's just fun. Also, extra points for freestyling to Flux Pavillion's "I Can't Stop" before Kanye and Jay-Z.

"Heatwave" - Chiddy Bang ft. Mac Miller, Casey Veggies and Trae Tha Truth

Best EP - Dispatch EP - Dispatch After more than a year away from the studio, the folk trio is back with a new zest. It's edgier, but undeniably Dispatch.

"Broken American" - Dispatch

Best Mash-Up - "Crazy in the Deep" - Divide & Kreate Just the idea to put Gnarls Barkley's (I always just want to say "Cee-Lo") "Crazy" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" together is a really great catch, but this mash-up brings new color to already fantastic songs. It should be said that there were very few Adele mash-ups and remixes that I hated in 2011.

"Crazy in the Deep" - Divide & Kreate (Adele vs. Gnarls Barkley)

Best Remix - "Walking Away (Cosmonaut Grechko Remix)" - Druma Kina Russian Cosmonaut Grehko takes Brazilian Druma Kina's funky ditty and transforms it into this seriously smooth track. There was a lot of competition for this category, but this is a deserved title. (BTW, you can get Druma Kina's EP for free at this page. :) )

"Walking Away (Cosmonaut Grechko Remix)" - Druma Kina


MUCH, much more to come!

Playlist Nov. 28th, 2011

Mostly new, upbeat, happy stuff with lots of horns and a couple of throwbacks. “Ray Charles” - Chiddy Bang “I Feel Better” - Gotye “Barton Hollow” - The Civil Wars “Get ‘Em High” - Kanye West “New Lands” - Justice “God Put a Smile Upon Your Face” - Mark Ronson (ft. The Daptone Horns) “We Found Love” - Rihanna (ft. Calvin Harris) “Settle Down” - Kimbra “The Weight of Love” - Snow Patrol “Low Road” - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals “Don’t Gotta Work it Out” - Fitz and the Tantrums “Shake it Out” - Florence + the Machine “Weathervanes and Chemicals” - Team Me “I Want You Back” - Jackson 5

Cover Music - James Vincent McMorrow

Irish indie artist James Vincent McMorrow experienced modest notoriety with the 2010 release of his first full length album Early in the Morning (which is great - I think I like it more than the comparable 2011 Bon Iver).

Check out his beautifully mellow cover of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love".

New Track: Foster the People

Yes, yes, yes. Everyone is still drooling over Foster the People's May release of Torches, and it definitely deserves props, but I think it's time to shift a little attention to FtP's new stuff. Like "Love".

The best way to describe this song and WHY I love it is by comparing it to songs from the masterpiece album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The song is typical FtP in its catchy melodies and lyrics, but also in that there's this overall creepy undercurrent. Think about it - how many times did you listen to "Pumped Up Kicks" before you realized it was a commentary on gun violence? Sgt. Pepper's is that way too. Everything seems so whimsical and happy, but at the same time, the entire album it feels like bad news is approaching. For me, the closest parallel is "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite".

The first similarity you'll notice when listening is the jaunty boom-tsssh line from the drumset in "Mr. Kite" and the synth (probably) in "Love". These beats shape each song.

The second thing that tugged on my ear was the echo-quality to the word "Love" in the chorus. Doesn't it sound eerily similar to the line "I'd love to turn you on" from the Sgt's Pepper's closing song "A Day in the Life"? Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I believe they also hit the same notes: "turn you on" and "love love love".

Lastly, Mark Foster's vocals stylings (not the timbre as much) are reminiscent of Paul McCartney: "I've got the fever/Got the fever/Got the fever yeah".

Generally, if a band reminds me of the Beatles at all, that's a good sign, and "Love" is no exception.

"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" - the Beatles
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"A Day in the Life" - The Beatles
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Or Watch:


"Love" - Foster the People



PS - This is what happens when I go so long without updating.

Adele Covers: Linkin Park and Jeremih

Anyone else sick of Adele covers and remixes yet? See, I thought I was too. Until I saw the names Linkin Park and Jeremih.

Linkin Park try their hand at "Rolling in the Deep" in front of their audience at the iTunes Festival in London on July 4th. The song is a gentle reminder that Chester can approach a song's vocals with sensitivity. Other than that, they didn't stray far from the original.

"Rolling in the Deep (Adele Cover)" - Linkin Park


Jeremih recently sat down with Billboard.com and performed his rendition of "Rumour Has It" while playing the drums and keyboard. Watch out for the cut to "Ice Ice Baby," "Under Pressure" and then his own single "Down On Me" towards the end there.



P.S. I highly recommend checking out the iTunes Store and checking out the shows available from iTunes Festival!

New Artist: Selah Sue

I first came across Selah Sue's name while listening to Cee-Lo Green's 2010 release The Lady Killer. Her feature on the song "Please" exhibit her passion for soul music and her vocal power that belie her 20 years. As of right now, Selah Sue only has an EP release (Raggamuffin) here in the states though you can find her self-titled full length if you look hard enough. Her own style on the album reflects more folk and reggae influences.

Ok, 3 additional things:

1. She's not just a vocalist - she performs with the guitar as well
2. She's from Belgium - apparently they have a burgeoning rock scene.
3. She performed at the iTunes Festival a few days ago and the video is available to watch for free in the iTunes store (along with Raphael Saadiq's, Jimmy Eat World, and Arctic Monkey's set).

Bonus: SHE'S TWENTY YEARS OLD.

"Raggamuffin" - Selah Sue

Playing Catch-Up: Matt Duncan

I'm currently digging "Beacon," this cheery tune from Matt Duncan's 2010 EP release of the same name. As for his whole sound, think folksy, brassy, and sometimes hollow (like Jens Lekman). This song has got that sunny-sunday-morning, frisbee-in-the-park kind of feel. Give it a try!

"Beacon" - Matt Duncan

New EP: Dispatch

In their first new release since 1999, Dispatch retain their musical wisdom and stick to their folk instinct. They're still singing about the same big issues, but nothing sounds tired. Dispatch EP is a fantastic disc. While I was disappointed with the lack of rap on the EP, they're still my favorite flavor of jam band.

"Beto" - Dispatch