Is it mid-June already? Why yes it is. And since I know that you don’t have time to listen to all the great music that’s out there unless it’s your primary hobby (it’s mine!), here are the ten songs that 2011 has blessed us with so far.
#1 Fleet Foxes – “Grown Ocean”
It’s like suddenly all the amazing things Fleet Foxes has ever done came together in one track.
#2 The Strokes – “Machu Picchu”
Years after they were their biggest, and years after their most famous songs, they release their best song.
#3 Death Cab for Cutie – “You are a Tourist”
Death Cab gets uplifting, and show they can write a guitar hook too.
#4 Frank Ocean – “Strawberry Swing”
Would like to go back in time to tell myself “you will someday fall in love with a Coldplay ripoff song redone by a R&B crooner from a shock rap group”.
#5 The Antlers – “I Don’t Want Love”
It only takes one track into The Antlers new album to realize they are so much more than a lightning-in-a-bottle indie group.
#6 My Morning Jacket – “The Day is Coming”
Do you also fall in love with song right about the time he sings “Bang bang, at the door”?
#7 Chief – “Night & Day”
If only the rest of the album sounded nearly as good as this perfectly moody track.
#8 The National – “Think You Can Wait”
What do The National do when they aren’t busy making my favorite albums of the year? They release all-star tracks for low-budget Paul Giamatti films.
#9 Radiohead – “Codex”
Why do I love Radiohead? Just listen to Thom Yorke when he simply sings “dragonfly”.
#10 Bon Iver – “Calgary”
Three days until the release of his new album Justin Vernon and Bon Iver’s first single is already one of the year’s best.
Honorable Mentions (Because, hey, why hold out?):
Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”, Augustana – “Just Stay Here Tonight” and “Wrong Side of Love”, Death Cab for Cutie – “Codes and Keys”, Fleet Foxes –“Montezuma”, “Loralei”, ”Sim Sala Bim”, “The Shrine/An Argument”, Iron & Wine – “Godless Brother in Love” and “Walking Far From Home”, Radio Dept – “David”, “Domestic Scene”, and “Never Follow Suit”, Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”, The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”, Cass McCombs – “County Line”, Cold War Kids – “Skip the Charades”, Delphic – “Doubt”, Florence and the Machine – “Hurricane Drunk” and “Cosmic Love”, James Blake – “Limit to Your Love”, Kendal Johansonn – “Blue Moon”, Lost in the Trees – “Walk Around the Lake”, The Ruby Sun – “Closet Astrologer”, Mates of State – “My Only Offer”, Jars of Clay – “Shelter”, Wild Beats – “Albatross”, Panda Bear – “Last Night at the Jetty” and “Slow Motion”, William Fitzsimmons – “Beautiful Girl”, Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”, “Futile Devices”, and “Age of Adz”, Other Lives – “Black Tables”, School of Seven Bells – “Bye Bye Bye”, and My Morning Jacket – “Wonderful (The Way I Feel)”
Some great ones on there! FYI Radio Dept – “David” is from 2009, The Ruby Suns – “Closet Astrologer” is from 2010, and School of Seven Bells – “Bye Bye Bye” is also 2010.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, I actually removed my disclaimer about years when I realized my whole top 10 applied to 2011, but I forgot about my honorable mentions. I usually disclaimer some of these lists because I'm in no way a professional and I don't do the illegal download thing, so I don't hold myself strictly to getting to things exactly on time. :-) Good catches though! You are absolutely right.
ReplyDeleteNice list, thanks a bunch for sharing all these tracks, I think I'll follow your blog now.
ReplyDeleteAgree on the The Antlers, and Fleet Foxes albums being great, I prefer the tune Call Me Back from The Strokes new release.
Don't actually like The National normally, somehow ended up loving that track from Win Win you posted ( :
I recently posted my top 100 songs of 2010 over at my blog moviesandsongs365, should you have the time to stop by and comment?
Here's my my tentative top 15 or so for 2011, maybe a few new tracks/albums you don't know ( :
One for You, One for Me - Bright Eyes
Take the world - She Wants Revenge
Wait and See - Holy Ghost!
I Never Would - Seapony
House – Amanda Mair
The Bay – Metronomy
Jesus Fever - Kurt Vile
Gone Kerouac - W. Travis
Come Around – Sarah Jarosz
Ten-Twenty-Ten – Generationals
Black - Danger Mouse feat. Norah Jones
Everyday - Fiona Apple
Tear Club - Moullinex
Everything Is Burning - Ivan & Alyosha
Flash - Joan as police woman