2011 Year in Review

2011 Notes


Making a best-of disc was a nightmare. Lots of great songs, and my two favorites were 7+ minutes long each which made it more challenging. Albums were a different story. 5 great ones and about 15 that were interchangeable on any given day. Surprisingly, lots of normally reliable bands laid major eggs most notably Death Cab for Cutie, Drive By Truckers, Southern Culture on the Skids, Ray Davies, and Okkervil River.

In the mix, but not today’s (These are definitely not Honorable Mentions):

Dum Dum Girls
Yuck
Smithereens
Mogwai

Ye Olde Top 10


10. Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears – Scandalous – Vocals reminiscent of James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub Party, but its bootyliscious fo sho.

9. Dave Alvin – Eleven Eleven – Best disc I found through the group this year. Good roots rock.

8. Lydia Loveless – Indestructible Machine – Female cow punk and sass to spare. My favorite new artist of the year.

7. Social Distortion – Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes – Great to have Mr. Ness and company back and in form.

6. Wilco – The Whole Love – I whole-y loved about 2/3 of it. More than a couple of snoozers though.

5. Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO – Quantum leap from his debut, and a real hoot.

4. The Black Keys – El Camino – Damn, are they on a roll. In constant rotation for the last month

3. The Decemberists – The King is Dead – A 180-degree turn from their last one. Simple, well written and expertly played.

2. Fountains of Wayne – Sky Full of Holes – Best power pop band in the world delivers again.

1. My Morning Jacket – Circuital – They get better with each release. A great record from start to finish.

Hall Of Fame Nominees:

Stevie Ray Vaughn
The Replacements
Uncle Tupelo (Thanks for nixing, you Abba loving bastards)

Remove:

Abba - I still challenge anyone to name an Abba song that prominently features a guitar.

The 2000’s


Because of the myriad of choices and ease of attaining, music is more disposable than ever, and finding great discs with staying power is hard. This will continue in the teens.