As you get older, you get more set in your ways and it’s hard to keep up, seek out and absorb new music and much easier to just flip on Pandora (or the radio, if you’re 100), and just go with the flow. Keeping up with your favorites is easy but generally your favorites tend to disappoint just an album or two after they’re anointed with the distinction. Albums by The Strokes and Radiohead fell short this year which left room for some discoveries. The music I listened to most in 2011 was a mix of my favorite bands (Okkervil River, Handsome Furs), newer artists (Smith Westerns, Lykke Li), bands I’d already written off (Fountains of Wayne, Wilco) and a few artists that had been around for decades but had never clicked with me until now (PJ Harvey, Stephen Malkmus).
1. Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
Favorite Tracks: Piratess, Rider, Wake And Be Fine
2. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
Favorite Tracks: Let England Shake, The Last Living Rose, The Words That Maketh Murder
3. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
Favorite Tracks: Weekend, Imagine Pt. 3, Dye The World
4. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Favorite Tracks: I Follow Rivers, Unrequited Love, Get Some
5. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Favorite Tracks: My Ma, Vomit, Jamie Marie
6. Stephen Malkmus - Mirror Traffic
Favorite Tracks: Tigers, Stick Figures In Love, Long Hard Book
7. The Black Keys - El Camino
Favorite Tracks: Lonely Boy, Dead And Gone, Run Right Back
8. Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes
Favorite Tracks: The Summer Place, Someone’s Gonna Break Your Heart, Cemetery Guns
9. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - Belong
Favorite Tracks: Belong, Heavens Gonna Happen Now, Heart In Your Heartbreak
10. Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital
Favorite Tracks: Memories Of The Future, Repatriated, No Feelings
Notable: Alex Turner, Beirut, Bon Iver, Cults, Drive Soundtrack,Fleet Foxes,Radiohead, The Strokes,TV On The Radio, Wilco.
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I’ve never been a massive Black Keys fan but their their latest LP is probably going to get like a million plays from me over the next few months. After licensing the songs from their last LP “Brothers” to any and every commercial, the band finally broke through to the mainstream. I liked that album a lot but at 16 tracks it definitely could have used a little pruning to keep up the momentum. There is none of that here. Their latest, “El Camino” is 11 tracks and doesn’t slow down for a minute. Produced by Danger Mouse (who did their radio hit “Tighten Up” as well as their 2008 LP “Attack and Release”), “El Camino” is one potential juggernaut single after another and will likely make the band even bigger than they already are. (They’re headlining MSG early next year.)
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It’s crazy to think that I’ve been listening to Wilco for 12 years now. In the period between “Summer Teeth” and “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” (both still among my all time albums), they were one of my favorite bands but we’ve been growing apart in recent years. Their 6 person lineup may have elevated their live shows but their last few albums haven’t done much for me. The new album doesn’t touch their best work but it’s an enjoyable about-face from sleepy dad rock and back towards some of the sonic experimentation of their most fruitful creative period. While the album’s last song, the 12 minute epic “One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)” doesn’t really showcase any of that artistry but it’s just damn good. I’ve heard the song over 40 times which is more than I can say about anything off of “Sky Blue Sky” and “Wilco The Album.” After a few years of distance it’s nice to have them back again.
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I never thought this day would come. Despite my best efforts over the years, I have never been a Pavement fan and as many times as I’ve tried listening to them figured at this point that probably wasn’t going to change. I dutifully downloaded every solo album from singer Stephen Malkmus but never made it more than a few songs in before I had to turn it off. But the newest album from Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, “Mirror Traffic” has sent me well on my way to being a full convert. Produced by Beck, the LP is 15 tracks and over the last week or so about 10 of them have been vying for my favorite at any given moment. Which is to say that the entire album is full of hooks. I’m not quite sure how this album has clicked so easily where his previous stuff failed to reach me. I did read that Beck guided Malkmus to record the songs and fragments the songwriter would have ordinarily discarded which probably led to how straightforward and uncomplicated the album is. This is one of my favorite records this year.
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I’ve been trying not to overhype it since I saw it last month but after seeing it a second time tonight I can confirm that “Drive” is still the best film I’ve seen all year. The plot may be familiar B-movie stuff but it’s all done in such a weird and cool way that the film isn’t really like anything else you’ve seen before. I’ve spent the last few weeks telling everyone I know to avoid the spoiler-filled trailers and just see the movie, which will finally be out this Friday. One of the things that makes it so great is having no idea how it’s going to unfold to the point where I’m hesitant to even describe it to people. Another thing that makes it so great is the synthpop score, which I’ve been playing since I first saw the film. At tonight’s Q&A at BAM director Nicolas Winding Refn said he had to fight to keep this music. It was worth it.
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