Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Top Albums and Songs of 2011

So, how was 2011? Incredible live gigs were witnessed. Indie legends Sonic Youth and R.E.M. called it quits, while legends-that-never-fully-got-their-due Pulp and Cibo Matto returned for brief reunion tours. Skrillex stripped dubstep of any grace or melody and unleashed a monstrous, kid-friendly corpse that inspired the flooding of YouTube with countless "dubstep remixes" of everything from Rebecca Black to the "You dun goofed!" guy. In terms of new music, seemingly everyone channeled r&b, chillwave became more of a tsunami, and the more grating the synth pop, the more crossover appeal it generated. In regards to the year's best albums, some didn't fit into the trends du jour or get the career-making "Best New Music" tag and were subsequently overlooked by most, and some were hyped to the point of ubiquity and have appeared on every other list. Nevertheless, these are the albums that were dearest to the heart of Simply Fuss Free in 2011



Albums:
40. Loney Dear - Hall Music
39. Son Lux - We Are Rising
38. Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil
37. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
36. Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
35. Feist - Metals
34. Marissa Nadler - Marissa Nadler
33. Planningtorock - W
32. TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
31. Beirut - The Rip Tide
30. Neon Indian - Era Extraña
29. Bell - Diamonite
28. Le Corbeau - Moth on the Headlights
27. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
26. Thao & Mirah - Thao & Mirah
25. Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony
24. Ladytron - Gravity the Seducer
23. Active Child - You Are All I See
20. Esben and the Witch - Violet Cries
19. Manorexia - Dinoflagellate Blooms
18. Braids - Native Speaker
17. Boris - Attention Please
16. Low - C'mon
13. Cults - Cults
10. Atlas Sound - Parallax
9. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
8. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
7. Panda Bear - Tomboy
6. Asobi Seksu - Fluorescence
5. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
4. Emmy the Great - Virtue
3. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact 
2. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
1. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

Songs:
Simply Fuss Free's Top 20 Songs of 2011 Spotify Playlist
Honorable mention (not on Spotify):
Fever Ray - "The Wolf"
Manorexia - "Anabiosis"

2 comments:

  1. I must check out a few of these still but I trust you, gorgeous list. Here's to seeing you in 2012 again.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! It was a pleasure meeting you at Radiohead and I look forward to round 2 in 2012, whatever it may be.

    ReplyDelete