Diario

Another year where I think there hasn’t been a huge amount that has grabbed me until I start going through the releases and realise there were so many things I enjoyed a lot for a few weeks and then forgot about.

For me, it’s been a good year for the more traditionally structured, narrative lyric based albums but that may just be down to my age, background and a weakness in my concentration at the moment for more expansive and abstract work.

Consequently, I haven’t been grabbed by much outside of the standard rock/pop/indie idiom this year. There have been some drone, electronic, abstract, collage things that I have enjoyed but quite little that has struck a very strong chord. However, to keep that in context, these are the type of albums that generally take longer to settle under the skin so it’s quite possible a more left-field release than those listed here will end up being a retrospective favourite. This is something that has tended to happen in previous years so no reason to assume it will be different this time.
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Best albums not from 2011 that I discovered/warmed up to in 2011:
Papa M - Live From a Shark Cage / Whatever, Mortal
Loren Mazzacane Connors - Airs
Early Day Miners - Let Us Garlands Bring
Julian Lynch - Mare
Yellow Swans - At All Ends / Psychic Secession
William Tyler - Behold the Spirit
Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Nancy & Lee
Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet - The Breadwinner / Air Supply
Loren Connors & Jim O'Rourke - Are You Going to Stop...In Bern?
Jim O'Rourke - Bad Timing
Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain
Austere - Curio
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
The The - Soul Mining
Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye
Arthur Russell - World of Echo
Doveman - With My Left Hand I Raise the Dead
Martin Siewert & Martin Brandlmayr - Too Beautiful to Burn


Top 50 Artists Overall as of Jan. 1, 2012:
1The Microphones 1,454
2Radiohead 1,381
3Animal Collective 1,374
4Thanksgiving 1,356
5Neil Young 1,131
6Mount Eerie 1,011
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http://sagacidadedeescadas.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/top-albuns-2011/

Fim de ano é sempre uma época especial. Hora de rever pessoas, de relembrar encontros e de buscar na memória aquilo que de bom ficou no ano que passou. Em termos de música, tivemos 12 meses para lá de bacanas. No meio de 90 álbuns escutados, foi difícil escolher 10 para montar esse top.

E um top nunca é capaz de demonstrar o que de fato foi representativo nos tempos que passaram. Esse top não é capaz de mostrar a beleza reflexiva que foi o lançamento de álbuns de bandas icônicas da década passada. De quem menos esperávamos, veio o excelente Angles, fazendo nos lembrar que podemos ainda esperar coisas boas de um dos pilares fundamentais do indie. Quem não chorou quando a inesgotável Last Nite, ainda que por uma única noite, foi substituída por Under Cover Of Darkness naquela sua balada de rotina das sextas à noite?

Infelizmente, quem nós mais aguardávamos não correspondeu às expectativas. The King Of Limbs fica longe de empolgar e criar empatia. …

Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Yo I played the shit out of this record. Still mad surprised it wasn't on more Best Of lists. Probably because those videos were really dumb and they chose the wrong songs for the singles. "Joey Rogers", "Too Much MIDI (Please Forgive Me), "Channel Pressure" were my summer Hi-NRG jams. It's just that the production was amazing and really hit the future sound they were going for- especially with late-nite HBO 'coming attractions' sound of "New Planet" and "Break Inside" (2011's nu-RnB hit that never was..) 'When I fall asleep I leave the TV on../Flashes in my head ringin' strong..' So good. With the new Games "No Disguise" (which rules btw) I wonder if they are ditching this style for their next LP and going back to their old sound.. it wouldn't be too cool if they do. Channel Pressure II coming soon????

HEIDECKER & WOOD - Starting From Nowhere
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*Note* - there would be a couple Panda Bear songs on here from Tomboy, but my favourite songs from the album had been released as singles in 2010 (Alsatian Darn, Slow Motion etc.) so I'm not counting them on this list

25. Yuck - Get Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz7vyrFhFE8


24. A$AP Rocky - Palace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15cWVRvWLFM


23. Baths - Nightly, Daily
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYU68cR9_p0


22. Charli XCX - Stay Away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxC5bRbruQ


21. Bleached - Dazed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWCwQMaMCLw


20. Active Child - Hanging On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJJc0H0enU


19. Summer Camp - Better Off Without You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQLZT2Gk7g8


18. Blood Diamonds - Grins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp0E71RdVHI


17. James Blake - I Mind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyb9LNLIJd0


16. Jessica Lea Mayfield - Our Hearts Are Wrong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERvPmR4Q4OE


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Albums

01 Destroyer - Kaputt
02 Cut Copy - Zonoscope
03 Wild Beasts - Smother
04 John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
05 Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
06 Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
07 Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!
08 Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
09 Cass McCombs - Wit's End
10 Austra - Feel It Break
11 The Antlers - Burst Apart
12 M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
13 Twin Sister - In Heaven
14 My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind
15 Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting


Songs

01 Austra - Lose It
02 Destroyer - Chinatown
03 Cut Copy - Need You Now
04 Wild Beasts - Loop The Loop
05 Holy Ghost! - Wait And See
06 The Antlers - No Widows
07 Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean
08 The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?
09 Cass McCombs - County Line
10 tUnE-YaRdS - Bizness
11 Jens Lekman - An Argument With Myself
12 Future Islands - Balance
13 Gold Leaves - Cruel & Kind
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1 St. Vincent - Strange Mercyhttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/69795788.png

2 James Blake - James Blakehttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/56012305.png

3 Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghosthttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/67997962.png

4 Destroyer - Kaputthttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/68247114.png

5 Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymeshttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/60971589.png

6 Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contacthttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/62140549.png

7 Panda Bear - Tomboyhttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/62106179.jpg

8 Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iverhttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/65086974.png

9 Korallreven - An Album By Korallrevenhttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/70953048.png

10 Grouper - A I A: Dream Loss / A I A: Alien Observerhttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/61798315.pnghttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/61798297.png

11 Radiohead - The King of Limbshttp://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/174s/58789533.png

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