2011 Songs: 21-40

The home stretch... 

40. "My Mistakes" by Eleanor Friedberger (from Last Summer)

"And I swear they / swear they saved my life"

On her debut solo album, Eleanor Friedberger sticks to what I enjoy most about Fiery Furanaces while leaving the band's more eccentric impulses aside. 

39. "212" by Azealia Banks (single)
"I'm a ruin you, c***"

The WTF song of the year is a masterclass on how to cut a debut single. The filthy lyrics smack of novelty, but the song works because of the various permutations that Banks steps through, from rapping, to cutesy spoken word to suprisingly good singing back to a rude-girl Minaj before returning to where we started.   

38. "Lover to Lover" by Florence & The Mahcine (from Ceremonials)"And I feel I'm heading down / but that's allright"

I am a fan of Florence Welch's histrionics as long as they come in relatively modest doses, with this Annie-Lennox-meets-Mowtown tune standing out among a pretty solid album.  

37. "Bubble" by King Creosote and Jon Hopkins (from Diamond Mine)

"So who's been unfair? / who causes you sorrow?"

Diamond Mine is the output of the inspired pairing of Scottish singer-songwriter King Creosote and English electronica artist Jon Hopkins. Hopkins' subtle beats at the outset almost sound like the crackle of static on an old record, creating both a modern and classic sound.

36. "I Don't Want Love" by The Antlers (from Burst Apart)
"Keep your hands to your side / when you follow me home / I don't want love"

The Antlers crafted a strong  second album that was still unhappy in most places but it still felt positively cheery following their debut, a 50-minute song cycle about terminal illness and death (Hospice, which was featured on both the 2008 and 2009 lists).  

35. "The City" by Patrick Wolf (from Lupercailia)
"No I / don't care about cash or careers / your losses or your arrears"

Weird dude. Catchy music.  

34. "The Honest Truth" by Typhoon (from A New Kind of House)
"All my time I’ve walked a filed line / I’ve held a vacant sign upon my eyelids"

The number of good bands out of Portland is getting ridiculous. In addition to Typhoon and  #33 below, bands recently on the top 100 list out of Portland include Horse Feathers, Menomena, Ramona Falls, Laura Veirs, The Thermals, Portugal. The Man, Starfucker and Blitzen Trapper

33. "This Is Why We Fight" by The Decemberists (from The King Is Dead)
"And when we die / we will die / with our arms unbound"

Hopefully the current hiatus from Colin Meloy and crew doesn't last too long. If it does, at least we got a pretty good full length as well as an EP in 2011.  

32. "Contact High" by Architecture in Helsinki (from Moment Bends)
"Here in a paradise / that shakes the world romantic to the bone"

If last year's list was too heeavy on female British pop singers, 2011 has more than a fair share of cheery electronic pop.

31. "Exile Vilify" by The National (from Portal 2)
"Did you fall for the same empty answers again?"

In a year with no album, the National release two new singles, the first on the soundtrack to one of the year's best reviewed films (Win Win) and the other as part of the year's best video game (Portal 2).  Both the songs and their source material are recommended.

30. "We Have Everything" by Young Galaxy (from Shapeshifting)

"In poverty / my love / we have / everything"

See #32 

29. "Here Is My Co-Pilot" by Holly Throsby (from Team)

"I know we could / be good, be good"

There are probably a half dozen songs on this list that I knew were going to make the cut within the first 10 seconds of the first listen.  This is one.

28. "Weather of the Killing Kind" by The Tallest Man on Earth (from Adult Swim Singles Program)

"I drink for something when I'm nothing / I drink for nothing when it's gone"

This was released as part of cable channel Adult Swim's music program and is sponsored by some Kia vehicle. I am glad that artists can do stuff like this now without inane discussion about "selling out".  The song itself is another wonderful, simple folk tune by perhaps the best guy recording such songs today.  

27. "Cut Me Out" by MNDR (from Green Label Sound)

"At least look down boy / as the words rush in / and they wash you away"

And this was released as a promo single on Mountain Dew's label, Green Label Sound. What a bunch of corporate whores...

26. "Shell Games" by Bright Eyes (from The People's Key)

"My private life is an inside joke / no one will explain it to me"

My least favorite of the Monsters of Folk charts the highest on the list during a year they all released new music (to be fair, M Ward only released the holiday She & Him disc).

25. "Well OK Honey" by Jenny O (from Home EP)

"I am a child / you have a child"

I think I initially downloaded this because I briefly got Jenny O. confused with Karen O. And it worked out. What a charmed life I lead. 

24. "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele (from 21)

"We could have had it all"

The first song added to this playlist (on Jan 5 2011) ends up being the year's most heaviliy and widely played song. It's always a surprise when you hear a song that should become an absolute monster, and then it actually does.  

23. "Death As A Fetish" by Starfucker (from Reptilians)

"And I will never be good enough / quietly / and you will never be good enough / just like me"

The same weekend I received Starfucker's mortality focused album I also watched the death-obsessed (and excellent) movie Never Let Me Go and reached the part in (the excellent) White Noise where we learn why people take Dylar and want to be like little Wilder. If I didn't make it to Monday, St. Peter and I were going to have a little conversation about subtlety.   

22. "Wonder Why" by Vetiver (from The Errant Charm)

"When is this old world going to treat me kind"

The perfect music for a summer barbecue that is just chock full of white people. 

21. "A Real Hero" by College (from Drive OST)

"And you / have proved / to be / a real human being"

I am going to cheat a bit here. College actually released this song on an EP in early 2010 that just about no one other than the music coordinator for Drive took notice of. All of the EP's reviews on iTunes and elsewhere came after Drive was released in September 2011. So, while it is techinically not a 2011 song, 1) the song is awesome, 2) Drive is awesome and 3) the way this awesome song is used in the aforementioned awesome movie is awesome. So let's just keep it out of the top 20 and call it fair.

2011 Songs: 41-60

The halfway point... 

60. "Basic Hypnosis" by Notorious B.I.G. & The XX

<Wait What mashup>

The downtempo beats of The XX are a perfect match for Big Poppa. Wait What put together an excellent 10 song mixtape combining the two. It is a tough call between the above and "It's All About The Crystalizabeths", which features The XX's best hook but a lot more Puff Daddy. Download the whole thing on soundcloud here. 

59. "Virgin" by Manchester Orchestra (from Simple Math)
"We built this up in one day / to fall down"

Despite releasing their third album in 2011 and being relatively popular, I hadn't listened to Manchester Orchestra before this year. I can only assume that the band's similarity (in name only) to the despised Manheim Steamroller kept me away.  

58. "Radioactive (How to Dress Well Rework)" by Marina & The Diamonds
"My blood is burning / radioactive"

The original version of this song is generic overproduced pop (and I like Marina, who was #58 on last year's list). This remix by How to Dress Well (aka Brooklyn's Tom Krell), however, completely reworks the track with new beats and vocals from the bottom of a well. 

57. "Please, Please George" by Dinosaur Feathers (single)

"So I might have / to read the Wheel of Time instead / they're gonna finish that / even though Robert Jordan's dead"

Relentlessly catchy song that pleads Game of Thrones author George Martin to hurry up and finish the the fantasy series. If this was a TV blog, HBO's series based on Martin's books would be my #2 for the year, behind only Breaking Bad ("I won") and just ahead of Seasons 2 of Louie and Archer.

56. "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People (from Torches)
"You better run / better run / outrun my gun"

It is oh-so-easy (and more than a little unfair) to simply dismiss Torches as a poor man's Oracular Spectacular. On this humble blog, easy will always trump fair. 

55. "Jesus Fever" by Kurt Vile (from Smoke Ring For My Halo)
"I packed my suitcase with myself / but I'm already gone"

One of the first songs I downloaded in 2011. The only prescription for the song, of course, is more cowbell. 

54. "The Show Goes On" by Lupe Fiasco (from Lasers)
"So no matter what you been through / no matter what you into / no matter what you see when you look outside your win-doo"

The generally reviled third album from Lupe Fiasco has too much pop sheen, but while some will bemoan the use of Modest Mouse's most famous riff and the tired you-can-do-anything rhymes, I can't help but nod along. Sue me.

53. "All Die Young" by Smith Westerns (from Dye it Blonde)
"And I can tell by the look in your eyes / you didn't know the way"

A pleasant song made great by the repeated chorus to the tune of "Oh Yoko" over the closing minute. 

52. "Tigers" by The Submarines (from Love Notes / Letter Bombs)
"Baby you can never be / everything I'll never need / but would you put your arms around me"

The male/female tandem behind The Submarines are married, but fortunately not happily enough to lose the ability to write conflicted pop songs like this one.

51. "As Bright As Your Night Light" by Nerves Junior (from As Bright As Your Night Light)
"Sending signals, only you and I know / flip your hair if the answer is no / crack your knuckles / blink three times / grab your coat and I'll grab mine"

A menacing tune that is perfect for night driving at high velocity. (Or, more likely for me, driving your 2-year old to preschool while obeying all posted traffic signs.)

50. "Little Black Submarines" by The Black Keys (from El Camino)

"I should have seen it glow / but everybody knows / that a broken heart is blind"

There are indie bands to make it big that I like more than The Black Keys, but there may not be a band whose mega-success makes me happier. It is awesome that there is still a place in popular music for two guys playing straight-ahead rock and roll. 

49. "Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine (from Kiss Each Other Clean)

"Time isn't kind or unkind / you like to say"

After stealing Kiss Each Other Clean's advance single for my 2010 list (where it was #1), it is not a surprise the full album was a bit of a letdown. The musical advancements Sam Beam is making has created higher volatility from track-to-track than his early work, but I'll take an album of so-so tracks for a chance at a track like "Walking Far From Home" every time.  

48. "Codex" by Radiohead (from The King of Limbs)

"The water's clear / and innocent"

While I haven't liked all of Radiohead's releases (caveat: I prefer to The Bends and In Rainbows to Amnesiac or Kid A) you could never really call an album of theirs dull or forgettable. The Kng of Limbs was kind of both -- with this song as the notable exception (for me). 

47. "Love Out of Lust" by Lykke Li (from Wounded Rhymes)

"We will live longer than I will / we will be better than I was"

Am I the only one that routinely confuses Lykke Li and Basia Bulat? How many alliterative blonde female singer/songwriters from northern latitudes are there out there?  

46. "The Stand" by Mother Mother (from Eureka)

"But for the planets / and the stars / and everything else ... and Mars"

Perhaps the strangest song on the list, particularly the exchange about space (partially excerpted above). 

45. "Daphne" by Lia Ices (from Grown Unknown)

"A heavy numbness seizes her into bark / feet so swift to root, arm to branch and hair to leaf / woman to tree"

A gorgeous, building track from a singer I should know more about than I do.  Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) appears on this track somewhere, not that it makes a difference.

44. "Helix" by Justice (from Audio. Video. Disco.)

<instrumental-ish>

Justice bringing it with a sample from the man, the myth, the legend: Billy Ocean. I called it here. Also, why are there several thousand words on Wikipedia about inconsequential president Millard Fillmore and not even a complete bio or discography on my man Billy O? Get out of my dreams and get on it citizen historians.

43. "Ray Charles" by Chiddy Bang (single)

"I got that honey / that sugar / that spice"

The best summer song released this November. First album proper due in February.  

42. "Otis Redding" by Kanye West (from Watch the Throne)

"I adopted these ni**as / Phillip Drummoned them"

I couldn't resist pairing Otis and Ray (though there is no doubt which singer I prefer). I was surprised to see Watch the Throne high on so many year-end lists. It is fun, but "Otis" is one of the few complete tracks on the album, which suffers from far too many lazy verses. Kanye also sampled Otis on "Gone", my #9 song of 2005.

41. "Poor In Love" by Destroyer (from Kaputt)

"I was poor in love / I was poor in wealth / I was OK in everything else there was"

My favorite track on Kaputt, perhaps because it perfectly captures the odd 80's retro sound of the rest of the album in less than 3 1/2 minutes (advance single "Chinatown" was #99 last year).

2011 Songs: 61-80

The next batch... 

80. "Victory Dance" by My Morning Jacket (from Circuital)

"Take machete into the brush / though at first there is no path"

I am usually onboard with an artist's maturation, but can't help but wish Jim James & co. would just rehash It Still Moves. Circuital is better than Evil Urges but it is increasingly clear that MMJ is not (and doesn't want to be) the band I once loved.

79. "Cold Feet" by Lost Lander (from DRRT)
" Too much conversation / too much information / I've got to turn it off"

Lost Lander is the new project from personal favorite Brent Knopf (Menomena, Ramona Falls). Debut album due in 2012. 

78. "Real is a Feeling" by Pictureplane (from Thee Physical)
"and we all feel real"

Pictureplane has now made the top 100 songs list twice ("Goth Star" in 2009). They would have easily made the list for ugliest album covers twice as well.

77. "Price Tag" by Jessie J (feat. B.O.B.) (from Who Are You)

"We're paying with love tonight"

Trite anti-consumerism sentiment plus obvious posturing on a track that is over-produced to the extreme.  What's not to like? Pitchfork called it "like Nelly Furtado fronting Sugar Ray." I can't defend this one, other than to say that B.O.B.'s pop-rap is likable to me where it is probably nauseating to most.

76. "Circle Married the Line" by Feist (from Metals)
"It's as much what it is as what it is not"

If the long-awaited follow-up to The Reminder didn't deliver as many Apple-tv-spot-ready songs it made up for it with admirable consistency.

75. "Exhaustible" by DeVotchKa (from 100 Lovers)
"There is no one that loves you better / than me my dear"

While some bands alienate old fans and/or attract new ones by constantly evolving (see #80 as an example), some are content to stick to their niche. DeVotchKa has been doing that wonderfully for nearly a decade.

74. "Cruel" by St. Vincent (from Strange Mercy)
"They were the zephyr blowing past you / glowing fiercely / so they can't see you"

When I reflect on this song, I am tempted to think that I admire it more than I like it. Then I listen to it again and realize that's bullshit; it's a pretty great song by any standard. 

73. "Hand It Out" byWoods (from Sun and Shade)
"I'll roll right over / if it makes much sense to you"

I'll praise one band for staying true to its niche (#75) and criticize another: if Woods doesn't evolve a bit (or at least stop putting out an album every year), fatigue is going to set in. Not there yet, though. Perfect Sunday morning music.

72. "Fresh Paint" by Pree (from Folly)
"Sorry only comes / when folly goes / and makes a habit out of leaving on the light"

After a phenomenal EP in 2009 (including song #16 on that year's list), Pree releases a pretty good piano-driven debut LP. You either love the voice or you will hate the music.

71. "Mermaid" by Okkervil River (from I Am Very Far)
"But my mouth / fills with both panic then prayer"

A slow builder from Will Sheff and crew. I enjoyed I Am Very Far but can't help but feel that the band misses Jonathan Meiburg (and, for me, Shearwater's output doesn't make up for the loss).

70. "I'm God" by Clams Casino (from Instrumental Mixtape)

<instrumental(ish)>

I believe those are Imogen Heap's vocals sampled on the track. Clams is part of an interesting group of DJs/producers that find success in songs that aren't quite mashups, aren't quite remixes, but yet aren't quite complete originals.

69. "Shuffle a Dream" by Little Dragon (from Ritual Union)

"You cruise around in your deluxe water craft"

Little Dragon wonderfully combines vintage-sounding vocals with modern electronic backing, no better than on this track. 

68. "America's Son" by Air Review (from America's Son)

"I am America's son / and I'm so inclined to run"

A pleasant enough, but forgettable, song -- until the chorus kicks in.

67. "Wait" by M83 (from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming)

"There's no end / there is no goodbye / disappear / with the night / no time"

While I personally don't get the universal acclaim for "Midnight City" (see #63; to my ear it has a faux urgency that is better suited to its Victoria Secret commercials than best-of-2011 lists), this gorgeous track unfolds with pain and grandeur. Crap, this song should probably be higher on the list...

66. "You Are A Tourist" by Death Cab For Cutie (from Codes and Keys)

"This / fire / grows / higher"

At this point, Death Cab is like the indie rock equivalent of Ed Zwick movies. They are pretty good. Everyone generally agrees that they are pretty good. But no one is ever asking themselves: "Damn, when is the next Ed Zwick movie coming out".

65. "Ghost Towns" by Radical Face (from The Family Tree: The Roots)

"All this time / I've been chasing down a lie / and I know it for what it is / but it beats the alternatives / so I'll take the lie"

I like the trend of one-man acts like Radical Face (aka Ben Cooper) still using band names rather than their given names. It's nice to know if I ever recorded something I could still call myself Jimmy Stewart's Fury or Covenant Breach or something. Not that I spend a lot of time thinking about these things...

64. "One Whole Year" by Bombadil (from All That The Rain Promises)

"But I'll tell you in a minute it was shorter than it felt"

Another odd song by this jokey band from Duke University ("Sad Birthday" was #88 on the 2009 list and "Honeymoon" should have been in the top 50).    

63. "Balance" by Future Islands (from On the Water)

"Because before the morning comes / there's a certain calm / and then there's light / it just takes time"

I feel like this song is a much more successful version of what M83's "Midnight City" is trying to be. And I am aware I am in the minority on this one. 

62. "Maybe Baby" by Blitzen Trapper (from Terminal Sales Vol. 4: Please to Enjoy)

"Set me free / but leave the key"

While nothing from the band's proper LP in 2011 (American Goldwing) stood out for me, this track from a Sub-Pop sampler is a new addition to my list of favorite tracks under 2:00.

61. "Tenere Taqqim Tossam" by Tinariwen (from Tassili)

< in Tuareg - mostly>

Tassili represents a "worlds colliding" event for someone that is an unabashed fanboy of both music from Mali (source of my #2 album of the 2000s) and TV on the Radio (Kyp Malone and Tunde Adepimpe appear on this track and others on the album).