23 Dec Top Songs From 2011 : Part One
Alex Winston – “Velvet Elvis”
Alex Winston is simply charming in this tune about the late rocker. KATIE
And So I Watch You From Afar – “Think:Breathe:Destroy”
Less post more rock in this instrumental band.
PETER
Battles – “Wall Street”
Battles at its finest is a well tuned bizarro machine of made up noise. No band does it quite like them. PETER
ALBUM OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP
Bombay Bicycle Club – “Shuffle”
A song to start your morning off. KATIE
Bon Iver – “Holocene”
His voice, especially on this song, is just divine. JUDY ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Burial – “Stolen Dog”
B-side from the “Street Halo” single is a little more adventurous than the title track but keeps his toe firmly dipped in his new minimal house. TROY
TRIP REPORT MIXTAPE
Chad VanGaalen – “Sara”
This is fairly arbitrarily chosen from a slew of potentially excellent candidates. You should really just listen to the entirety of Diaper Island. VIVIAN
CHAD VANGAALEN INTERVIEW
Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”
Admit. You thought this was early Kanye as well. #savecommunity PETER
Chris Brown – “Look At Me Now” (w/ Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes)
Man, Busta’s part alone makes this worthy of listing. The beat is also super ridiculously rad. VIVIAN
The Drums – “Money”
These guys are the MOST fun live, and I saw them preview this song a few months ago at a small show. This is the best from the new album. JUDY
Eleanor Friedberger – “My Mistakes”
This song sets the tone for an album full of great songs. It is quite a self-conscious record, and “My Mistakes” sums that up perfectly. JUDY
Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
“Novacane” sucks you in like an opium den. As does this video. VIVIAN
Fucked Up – “Turn The Season”
This song perfectly sums up the sprawl of Fucked Up’s epic album.
PETER
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Gang Gang Dance – “Chinese High”
This song is a beautiful epic set within an even more epic record. VIVIAN
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Gardens & Villa – “Black Hills”
What an album opener! This got me hooked on the album almost immediately. JUDY
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
GARDENS & VILLA BAND INTERVIEW
Gillian Welch – “The Way It Goes”
I really really hope it doesn’t take Gillian Welch another seven years to pump out her next album. PETER
Goapele – “Play”
The most interesting R&B song I’ve heard in a long while. I can’t wait for more of this new-school revival. VIVIAN
Griever – “The Forgetter”
Featuring ex-members of the wildly destructive Lewd Acts, Griever shows how great a simple sludgy hardcore song can be. PETER
The Head And the Heart – “Lost In My Mind”
A Seattle native’s theme song. KATIE
THE HEAD AND THE HEART – SELF-TITLED ALBUM REVIEW
James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”
The way James Blake builds this song out of nothing into a sonic cresecendo of noise and bass is mesmerizing. PETER
ALBUM OF THE YEAR (x2)
JAMES BLAKE – SELF-TITLED ALBUM REVIEW
Hot Water Music – “The Fire, The Steel, The Tread”
Post-hardcore stalwarts doing it better than everyone else even after a long hiatus. PETER
James Blake & Bon Iver – “Fall Creek Boys Choir”
These two dudes live in the same world of the SADS, so a collaboration like this really just makes too much sense. VIVIAN
Junior Boys – “Itchy Fingers”
“You’ll Improve Me” is actually my first choice for tracks from It’s All True — but “Itchy Fingers” comes close. As with all Junior Boys tracks, subsequent listens will reveal the stuff brewing underneath is way weird. VIVIAN
JUNIOR BOYS BAND INTERVIEW
Kassem Mosse – “A1”
“Ensuality” eh? Robot sex drone from of Cronenberg’s 808 dream book. TROY
Vivian Hua 華婷婷 is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer. As the Executive Director of Northwest Film Forum in Seattle and Editor-in-Chief of the interdisciplinary arts publication, REDEFINE, much of her work unifies her metaphysical interests with her belief that art can positively transform the self and society. She regularly shares human-centered stories through her storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE! In 2020, she will [hopefully] begin production on a comedic Asian-American series entitled Reckless Spirits.
Ask Vivian about MARSHMALLOWS, cuz she's gross... and being tips for being frugal while nomading!
Related posts:
Albums Of The Year 2011 : REDEFINE Staff Picks
Top Songs From 2011 : Part Two
2011 Year-End Respect For Album Cover Art: Digital Illustration, Drawing, Design
Albums of the Year 2012: Staff Picks
Album Covers of the Year 2013
Top Albums of the Year 2013: Staff Picks
2011 Year-End Respect For Album Cover Art: Deluxe Packaging
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