Marley's music of 2011

A collection of songs and albums I found myself listening to this year. Some came out this year, some didn't. All are worth sharing. Here we go.

Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" (Eff you, Bon Iver). This one is first because I have no idea where else to put it and I just wanted to put it out there that this is a good song by a female artist and Bon Iver is boring. 

 

That one Adele song...tried the rest of the album...eh. She's got the
love Amy's got the squalor ...

Speaking of...I've been listening to a fuckton of Amy Winehouse for obvious reasons. RIP Amy, sniffle (unironic sniffle!!). 

None of the new tori cuz I'm a bad bad aging fangurl...and dont get me started on how Tori is aging. Her face does not look right.

 

Britney "I Wanna Go" is Femme Fatale's "Toxic"... actually the whole album is pretty good, even that song that sounds exactly like Supertramp's "Logical Song" is ok.

Robyn, obviously, but let's not forget this Robyn+ RyeRye remix because it's pretty amazing. (Nothing beats the "Call Your Girlfriend" dance but I fear this is being lost in the shuffle and it shouldn't be)

The Gaga record because it's perfect in how it is flawed (every song is 3 songs, it's all over the place, the lyrics are really ridiculous and contrived in some places, etc etc... but it's Gaga so it's all forgivable since you can listen to it while working out).

An illicit copy of the Sleep No More soundtrack including tracks I've named "creepy drone sounds," "entrance music for a film," and "creepy 30s speakeasy" (This version of Peggy Lee's "Why Dont You Do Right" with record crackles in the background=perfection) ...And because they operate in a similar vein, I'm lumping Esben and the Witch into this...at least "Marching Song." (Not so down with the video but just listen.)

The Throne, straight through twice and only twice, but "N*ggas in Paris" 3 times at the show in Atl
("Talk amongst your friends"). Also props to those dudes for slowing it down in the beginning Salem-style.

Oh Land before she got famous and went to the movies with Katy Perry... whatever I have a picture with her at SXSW 2011 before that happened

This JoJo Durk remix

SPF 5K especially this jammy...do not play it for your parents or even your open-minded aunt....but you should play it at your next dance party

Honorable mention for Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun's "We Were Wild" since I got to see it performed at Cameo in Brooklyn and Star Bar in Atlanta (the day before the video below was made, it's not great but you get the idea).

2nd honorable mention to Nicki Minaj because I can't put just her verse of "Monster" (again) and this video has her singing with Rihanna near an airplane wreck (weird "Fly"-association but ok) and then fighting ninjas. So, for general weirdness and wigs--kudos to Nicki. Also way to spread out 1 album in 2 years--this song is the 8th single (8th!?) and was released over a year after the first single. Dang.

And my bfs band, Silent Drape Runners, the most bloggable band ever.

On list-writing, or "oh my god I don't care about the car"

It's getting to be that time of year where solicitations for "best-of" lists, from both the past 12 months and the past decade (oh god oh god oh god) are slicing through my email. Books are always easier for me than music, because, generally, I read so much that only the really really good stuff stays with me and the chaff falls away. With music..it depends. A breakup, a breakdown, a break-through-anything can cause me to get stuck on repeat like Little Boots (but never stuck on repeat with Little Boots, god no), listening to stuff, like, oh, Tegan And Sara incessantly until my heart breaks (again). As such, sometimes music ends up bumrushing the show and I am left, with minutes remaining in a calendar year, rescribbling my "favorites" lists as things suddenly stake out reality in my conscious.

(Truth be told, if you held my ass to the fire now, right now, right this very minute, my 2009 best list would be three records, and yes one of them would be the Lady GaGa reissue. Shut up.)

Last year, that last-minute dark horse was Now, Now Every Children's incredible Cars: an album that was front-loaded with the emotional baggage of Mineral but with the multi-layered brilliance of old Arcade Fire. The fact it became such a part of my life, fusing with the dissolution of a relationship and a hard, lonely winter is fresh in my mind as I try to put this year's list together-Handsome Furs, for instance, were a major-league part of my Jan and Feb, but now it's the hidden melancholy behind the eyes of The Bloodsugars that wants a run for the list. I dunno, man...

Here's Now, Now Every Children performing "Cars" at their album release party last year. Fall in love now if you didn't then.