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2011: my 11 favorite albums

duanemoody — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:36:55 +0000

I know, right? FINALLY! The wait is over, and here are my 11 favorite albums from LAST YEAR, 2011. Now, this list really isn’t a surprise to me, because these are the albums that I listened to most throughout the year, and they are all stellar. However, for the first time, for me, there was a clear tie for first; I couldn’t pick one of them over the other, no matter how hard I tried. That being said, I hope you enjoy my picks for my favorite albums of 2011. I also listed several albums that were great, but just didn’t make the cut, because they weren’t up to the par of these special few. Now, on to the list!

(tie) 1. Adele – 21
I have loved Adele pretty much from the first moment I heard of her. I saw some blogs talking about this “up and coming” singer back in early 2008, and after hearing some live stuff, I was instantly on board. What came next was an amazing debut, 19, which was my number 4 album of 2008. Then, I saw her live at the Variety in March of 2009, and that concert solidified her as one of my favorite artists. Obviously, I was jazzed to here a new album was slated for early 2011, but I wasn’t prepared for this opus that she would release. This album doesn’t have a single bad track on it. It is immaculate. This is an album that is current, and one that will age well; it is a new classic. Adele is one of those singers that has such talent that it isn’t really being matched by many right now; and people are taking notice. This is one of those rare instances where there is something I love so very much that happens to make it on the radio, and gain the attention of the masses; this album made 2011 a huge year for Adele. Now, if she can just quit pushing herself so hard, take some breaks, and protect that amazing voice; I want to enjoy her for a lifetime.
Standout Tracks: Turning Tables, Set Fire To The Rain, Someone Like You, Take It All, Rolling In The Deep.

(tie) 1. City and Colour – Little Hell
This album being on top shouldn’t surprise anyone that reads this blog regularly; I adore Dallas Green, aka City and Colour. He is another one, like Adele, that when I first heard of him, I was instantly hooked, and I realized quickly that I had found an all time favorite artist in him. His most recent album, Little Hell, is raw, beautiful, dark, poignant, flawed, and still, damn near perfect. This album takes what he does best (making amazingly well written songs and setting them to hauntingly beautiful acoustic music), and builds it to a crescendo. This album captivated my attention from when it was released in June, and continues to be on heavy rotation for me now; this is a shining example of a supremely well made album by a truly amazing artist. Little Hell showed me that I chose well when I declared City and Colour as one of my favorite artists, because he does not disappoint. I was worried that it wouldn’t meet or exceed Bring Me Your Love (which is one of my favorite albums of all time), but he met the mark, and made an album that stands proudly along side it. Excellent, excellent music, here folks, and one of my favorites of the year by far.
Standout Tracks: Northern Wind, O’ Sister, Grand Optimist, We Found Each Other In The Dark, Little Hell.

3. William Fitzsimmons – Gold In The Shadow (Deluxe Edition)
I finally got to see him live earlier this year, and I KNOW that this influenced my decision to put his album this high; the album is amazing, but hearing it live made for one of the best concert experiences of my entire life. William is an incredibly folk musician, and his music is tender, and achingly beautiful. What pushed him higher on the list was the re-release of this album as a Deluxe Edition, because it contains some of his most beautiful songs to date (which are included in the standout tracks). Another great album by another amazing artist; are you sensing a trend here, people?
Standout Tracks: By My Side, Beautiful Girl, Ever Could, Blood And Bones, Bird of Winter Prey.

4. Jessie J – Who You Are
Initially, I was a bit turned off by her (not a huge fan of Price Tag), but I listened to the whole album, and man, I was blown away. This chick can SING!! She has some amazing songs, and her debut is nothing to scoff at; it’s brilliant. Definitely one of my biggest surprises of the year; glad I gave her a second chance! Also, the re-release with Domino was smart; Domino is such a fantastic addition to an already amazing album.
Standout Tracks: Who You Are, Do It Like A Dude, L.O.V.E., Domino, Abracadabra.

5. Lady GaGa – Born This Way
What can I say, IT’S GAGA. Seriously, haters beware; this is pop music people. GaGa is still killing it, several years into the game at this point, and clearly, has no intention of slowing down. Some of the tracks on this album are the best of her career; she clearly has a knack for what it takes to make a hit. This album is excellent from beginning to end, but the Deluxe version “extras” were just so-so. Overall, GaGa has never let me down, and this album was certainly one of my favorites this year.
Standout Tracks: Heavy Metal Lover, Born This Way, Marry The Night, Americano, The Edge of Glory.

6. Patrick Wolf – Lupercalia
I love how eccentric this guy is; he clearly has his own style, and flaunts it with such, well, style, that it begs for attention. I really enjoyed his previous work, and was excited to hear a new album from him this year. However, it was all shock and awe when, low and behold, this is the happiest I have heard him! There are so many wonderful love songs on this album, and it is definitely my favorite album he’s released to date. Do yourself and watch the video for House too; it is EPIC. I love artists that aren’t afraid to be themselves, and Patrick is the definition of unique. His talent is too wonderful not to explore and share.
Standout Tracks: House, The City, Bermondsey Street, Together, The Future.

7. Feist – Metals
I am a gigantic Feist fan; I have been since I saw her live on her tour for The Reminder. That album caught me by surprise and ended up being my number 2 album of 2007. I didn’t think I’d have to wait so many years to get another fantastic album from this Canadian chanteuse, but when she announced she’d follow up this year, I was thrilled. She didn’t disappoint, either; fantastic follow up to a fantastic previous album.
Standout Tracks: How Come You Never Go There, Bittersweet Melodies, Anti Pioneer, Graveyard, Caught A Long Wind.

8. Death Cab For Cutie – Codes and Keys
What can I say, Death Cab are one of my all time favorite bands, so obviously, I am going to be excited when they come out with new material. This time, they released some very happy and upbeat songs, and many of them channeled electronic elements of Gibbard’s seemingly abandoned side project from years ago, The Postal Service. I was more than happy to hear those influences on this album, and still hold out hope for another Postal Service album; but that’s a different story for a different time. The songs on this album are excellent, and it is yet another great album but one of my favorite bands… this seems to be the trend for 2011.
Standout Tracks: St. Peter’s Cathedral, Stay Young Go Dancing, You Are A Tourist, Unobstructed Views, Some Boys.

9. Florence + The Machines – Ceremonials
While her first album took me a little while to fully enjoy, I was waiting at the starting gate for this go ’round. Florence is truly an artist that crafts a song from the words, to their pronunciation, to the music, and the orchestration; all of these are her instruments, and the effect is a layered song that is unique and gorgeous. She uses her dynamic musical talent to craft yet another album that many people will continue to talk about for a while to come; she has proven she is truly an artist to watch, and listen to.
Standout Tracks: Shake It Out, Only If For A Night, No Light No Light, Remain Nameless, Never Let Me Go.

10. Mat Kearney – Young Love
Always a favorite of mine, Mat tries a few new things, while bringing the signature of his previous work on board, making yet another fantastic album. The blend of hip hop with pop-rock is unmistakably Mat’s signature, and he weaves more delightful music on this album, and makes some of his best music to date. While it didn’t quite wow me as much as his previous effort, it does stand out as one of my favorites of the year, and there really isn’t another negative thing I have to say about it.
Standout Tracks: Ships In The Night, Count On Me, Chasing The Light, Rochester, Hey Mama.

11. Britney Spears – Femme Fatale
Arguably, this is by and large, one of her strongest, and most cohesive albums to date. Some of the songs on this album made for some of her most dynamic, and interesting singles as well. Overall, this album will certainly be one that Britney can look back on one of her overall best. That being said, the inclusion of the complete throwaway track, Big Fat Bass, almost derails the entire effort for me, but I skip it each time I listen to the album, so I won’t let it ruin the pop masterpiece that soars throughout the rest of the record. It’s Britney, bitch, indeed.
Standout Tracks: Till The World Ends, Criminal, Seal It With A Kiss, I Wanna Go, Hold It Against Me.

Well, there you have it; my favorite 11 albums of 2011. I hope you found something you hadn’t heard, and give it a chance. I also hope that you enjoyed these albums as much as I did in 2011, and will continue to enjoy on into 2012 and for years to come.

Now, the rest… These are albums that were very good, but for whatever reason, missed the 5 star mark. Some of them just have fantastic singles, but a lot of throwaways dragging them down, and others were just good, but nothing stood out as fantastic. Either way, here’s a bunch of other music you should check out, as it was stuff I was digging in 2011:
Matt Alber – Constant Crows: Love this out crooner, he’s as easy on the eyes as he is on the ears. A great follow up to his debut, and the Madonna cover is amazing.
Beyonce – 4: Color me disppointed; some AMAZING singles, some really bad songs. All over the place.
Bjork – Biophilia: Kinda like above, an amazing lead single, the rest was weird, but interesting.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver: Love him, even though his voice is a bit weird to me.
Alex Clare – The Lateness Of The Hour: Dubstep meets soaring, chill inducing male vocals.
Kelly Clarkson – Stronger: Originally, I stated it was ‘meh’; well, it grew on me, some real stompers on here.
The Decemberists – The King Is Dead: Some of this is excellent, some just too twangy.
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues: Gorgeous, but also a bit too ethereal for me.
David Guetta – Nothing But The Beat: An album full of floor filling dance singles, what’s not to love (well, a few of them, that’s what).
Jennifer Hudson – I Remember Me: I love this girl. Practically as good as her debut, with just a few slight missteps.
JLS – Jukebox: Overall, enjoyable, but nothing really stands out of the pack.
Cher Lloyd – Sticks + Stones: Excellent, almost made my year end list. Reminds me of the spunk of Lily Allen. Swagger Jagger is a deal breaker, though.
Jennifer Lopez – Love?: Color me surprised with this one! Some MAJOR singles, but the rest is filler.
M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming: Pretty, weird, pretty weird… but good!!!
Jon McLaughlin – Forever If Ever: Great songwriter, but some of them felt like half-hearted efforts. The stellar songs are stellar, though!
Matt Nathanson – Modern Love: Didn’t love it as much as his previous release, but still good nonetheless.
Noah and the Whale – Last Night On Earth: Very different than their previous album, which I loved; hard not to compare the two.
One Direction – Up All Night: Fun and poppy.
Peter Bjorn and John – Gimme Some: A bit more edgy and harder than their best album, Writer’s Block, but still good.
Nicole Scherzinger – Killer Love: Damn, this almost made my best of list; but the filler songs are bland. Where she shines, however, she is brighter than the sun!
Slow Runner – Damage Points: Saw them open for William Fitzsimmons; great band, great sound!
The Saturdays – On Your Radar: A little disappointing considering their previous work, but still great girl band pop.
Vanbot – Vanbot: Almost made my best of list; excellent, Swedish pop, reminiscent of fellow Swedish pop princess Robyn. Definitely one to keep your eye on.
The Wanted – Battleground: Kinda like JLS; overall, enjoyable, but nothing really stands out.
White Lies – Ritual: Quite excellent, and maybe with more listens, I’ll love it even more; it just didn’t capture my attention last year.
Will Young – Echoes: Oh how I had such high hopes for this album, and I tried, I tried so hard to love it. It has some AMAZING singles (Jealousy being my favorite song of the year, btw), but the rest of the album was a little more dance, and little less heart for me. Will’s previous album was perfection to me, so I was pretty sure this one couldn’t stand up to it, and unfortunately, it didn’t. That being said, I really love him, and he is one of my favorite artists, and despite only a luke warm feeling for me, it’s a great album nonetheless.
Young The Giant – Young The Giant: Some great singles, but the high points far outshine the low points.

Germany does Soul Train

ATLmalcontent — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:45:13 +0000

Great theme song, in non-Aryan hands.

Filed under: Music, RIP

Meeting Don Cornelius

ATLmalcontent — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:06:20 +0000

I was smoking a cigarette, on the back lot at Sony Studios in LA, when Don Cornelius — who died Tuesday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot — wheeled up in his vintage Mercedes, emerging with two fine young things old enough to be his granddaughters by his side. Still, he pulled it off.

Filed under: icons, Music

Things I don’t understand

ATLmalcontent — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:14:05 +0000

The enduring popularity of Steven Tyler.

foursquare. I thought I’d receive some sort of tangible reward for check-ins. Don’t think I’ll be changing my business cards to add “Mayor of Taco Mac.”

Wolf Blitzer as a TV commentator. It takes him 10 minutes to break news, what with all the stammering and qualifiers.

The fascination w/ Beyonce. She’s as programmed as Romneytron.

How this video is NOT a parody. (They were “discovered” by boy band alum Lance Bass — in the cheesiest gay bar in Orlando, apparently.)

Filed under: Music, mysteries of our time, Obnoxious celebrities, Social media, trends

Theme song to one of worst movies ever made rewritten to salute overhyped QB

ATLmalcontent — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:14:17 +0000

Yes, it’s come to this: John Parr has re-recorded “St. Elmo’s Fire” as “Tim Tebow’s Fire.”

When I say “St. Elmo’s Fire” is one of the worst movies ever made I mean it. For me it ranks second to “Very Bad Things” — a close second. Let’s recap:

Mare Winningham in a girdle
Rob Lowe playing the sax
Andrew McCarthy pondering the meaning of life, repeatedly
Emilio Estevez stalking Andie MacDowell
Demi Moore attempting suicide by opening all the windows in her apartment on a cold day
Judd Nelson
Directed by Joel Schumacher, the hack responsible for “Batman and Robin”

What’s the worst song about Atlanta?

ATLmalcontent — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:31:34 +0000

Is it the godawful theme song (click to listen) commissioned by the city six years ago or this yacht rock ditty from Jefferson Starship balladeer Marty Balin unearthed by Andisheh?

“Atlanta June” by Pablo Cruise, which sounded an awful lot like “Atlanta Jew” to my 8yo ears, deserves an honorable mention.

Filed under: craptacular, Music, the ATL

Golden years

ATLmalcontent — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 05:59:58 +0000

David Bowie, 65.

Filed under: icons, Music

5SF: january 6

duanemoody — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:07:03 +0000

Howdy friends!! Welcome to the new year! No, I haven’t come to bring you the year end countdown of the best albums of 2011 yet, because frankly, I haven’t gotten the list finalized yet. I seemingly love working all of the time, but I do promise that it will come soon (perhaps next week?!). In the mean time, here is some new music that I have recently started listening to.

honeyhoney – Don’t Know How

I first “heard” of honeyhoney almost a year ago; the song LA River was playing in the background on a scene during an episode of Brothers and Sisters. I found out because I took to the internets for research, and obviously to find and download that amazing track, but alas, nothing came of it. Then, I put it on my “to be downloaded list”, and honestly, kind of forgot about it. Then today, I noticed that Amazon was offering a free playlist of songs from “people they liked”, and a honeyhoney song was on it! Turns out the album Billy Jack was released in October! Sweet! So why didn’t I feature that song, you may ask? Well, as much as I love LA River still, this song is incredible. The female singer’s vocal reminds me a lot of Brandi Carlile, and I cannot get enough of the country-rock vibe of this delightful song. The album is great as well! I guess good things do come to those who wait; those who wait, and then randomly, almost a year later, are reminded of something excellent by something completely unrelated.

Green River Ordinance – Dancing Shoes

This one falls into the category of songs that I have discovered by listening to SiriusXM radio. This is a beautiful ballad alt-folk track that reminds me a little of Counting Crows (mostly the lead singer’s voice), but with a freshness of current hot bands like Mumford and Sons. This is a gorgeous song, and one that I have been listening to on repeat since I Shazamed it a few days ago.

Plug In Stereo – Oh Darling feat. Cady Groves

Look a here! Another track discovered directly from good old SiriusXM. This is a little bit Hellogoodbye with a healthy touch of Bright Eyes. I love stuff like this. The song is so sweet, even if it does remind me a little of that massively overplayed Hey There Delilah by Plain White Ts. Either way, another excellent discovery thanks to SiriusXM; maybe I shouldn’t cancel my subscription, even though they took away my BBC Radio One months ago…

fun. – We Are Young feat. Janelle Monae

So apparently this was on Glee? I honestly don’t remember it. This is one of those songs that I found by accident months ago (see September), but for whatever reason, forgot about it. Then! I hear it playing on Chuck, and instantly, I am like, I KNOW THIS!!! Then I finally downloaded it properly. I absolutely love this track! It’s great! It reminds me a little bit of Jump, Little Children, a band most of you probably haven’t heard of, but the lead singer sounds like him nonetheless. Overall, a very fun (ha!), very radio-ready track. Thanks to Chuck for putting this one back on my radar screen!! This sounds like a song that should play over the credits of a high-school movie/coming of age dramady, doesn’t it?

Jessica Mauboy – Inescapable (Youngboyz Mix)

Ending on a dance note! This one is thanks to my buddy Stu posting it on my FB. I first heard of Jessica Mauboy when Stu alerted me to her sassy greatness back when she was in Young Divas, just after she was on Australian Idol, and then when she broke out on her own. She’s had a few songs that I liked, and it looks like she’s still up to it; this song is very danceable, and I can’t get enough. Thanks Stu for the heads up about this one!

So there’s a new 5SF, actually on a Friday for you!! I hope that you enjoyed the tracks that I picked; please let me know what you think. As always, please let me know what you are listening to as well. Remember, the best of 2011 albums countdown will be coming to this blog in the near future, so stay tuned! Til then!

Washed-up rock stars who look like old lesbians

ATLmalcontent — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:46:25 +0000

In retrospect I should have titled this post, “Dude Looks Like an Old Lady.”

(via The Regular Guys)

Filed under: men who look like old lesbians, Music, Obnoxious celebrities, The sexes

2011: my favorite songs

duanemoody — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:57:24 +0000

This is kind of a recap of last year’s rules, which still completely apply:
1. No artist may appear more than once (not including collaborations, because honestly, I didn’t even think about that until just this moment, and the damn list is together), otherwise some artists would have literally 10 spots on the list.
2. These are most of my favorite songs from 2011; they aren’t all singles, and some of them were even better than the released singles by those artists.
3. This is a pretty representative song sample of 2011, IMHO; even though some of you may be pissed not to see certain Billboard “hits” on my list.
4. This really highlights how all over the place my music tastes are, doesn’t it?
5. Enjoy.

Without further adieu, here’s my favorite 80 tracks from 2011… considering the rules:

1. Will Young – Jealousy

2. Britney Spears – Till The World Ends

3. Rihanna – We Found Love

4. City and Colour – Northern Wind

5. Adele – Someone Like You

6. Patrick Wolf – House

7. Jessie J – Who You Are

8. Nicki Minaj – Super Bass

9. Lady GaGa – Born This Way

10. Nicole Scherzinger – Don’t Hold Your Breath

11. JoJo – Disaster

12. William Fitzsimmons – By My Side

13. Beyonce – Run the World (Girls)

14. The Decemberists – Rise To Me

15. Marina and the Diamonds – Radioactive

16. Bjork – Crystalline

17. Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out

18. Westlife – Lighthouse

19. M83 – Midnight City

20. Yasmin – Finish Line

21. Owl City – Lonely Lullaby

22. One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful

23. Jon McLaughlin – I’ll Follow You

24. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

25. David Guetta feat. Usher – Without You

26. Jennifer Lopez – On The Floor

27. Feist – How Come You Never Go There

28. Vanbot – Make Me, Break Me

29. Nero – Me & You

30. Medina – Addiction

31. Cher Lloyd – Want U Back

32. The Saturdays – My Heart Takes Over

33. Death Cab For Cutie – St. Peter’s Cathedral

34. Mat Kearney – Ships In The Night

35. Sugababes – Freedom

36. Bon Iver – Holocene

37. Gavin DeGraw – Not Over You

38. White Lies – Bigger Than Us

39. The Naked and Famous – Young Blood

40. Selena Gomez and the Scene – Love You Like a Love Song

41. Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger

42. Jason Walker – Echo

43. Matt Nathanson – Run

44. Parade – Louder

45. Nicola Roberts – Beat of My Drum

46. Clare Maguire – Last Dance

47. Jennifer Hudson – Where You At

48. Alex Gaudino feat. Kelly Rowland – What A Feeling

49. Alex Clare – Too Close

50. Slow Runner – Devil Moon

51. Lady Antebellum – Just a Kiss

52. The Antlers – I Don’t Want Love

53. James Vincent McMorrow – We Don’t Eat

54. The Young Professionals – D.I.S.C.O.

55. Jessie and the Toy Boys – Push It

56. Ester Dean – Take You To Rio

57. Young The Giant – My Body

58. Katy B – Broken Record

59. Peter Bjorn and John – Second Chance

60. Penguin Prison – Don’t Fuck With My Money

61. Benny Banassi – Cinema (Skrillex Remix)

62. LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem

63. Cobra Starship – You Make Me Feel…

64. The Wanted – I’ll Be Your Strength

65. Ultraviolet Sound – Girl Talk

66. Lana Del Ray – Video Games

67. Audio Bullys – Only Man

68. Pia Toscano – This Time

69. DJ Fresh – Louder

70. Leslie Hall – Hydrate Jirate

71. Laura Marling – Sophia

72. Emeli Sande – Heaven

73. Deerhoof – Super Duper Rescue Heads!

74. Aubrey O’Day – Automatic

75. Alexis Jordan – How You Like Me Now

76. Greyson Chance – Unfriend You

77. Melanie C – Think About It

78. Swedish House Mafia – Save the World

79. AWOLNATION – Sail

80. Ryan Adams – Dirty Rain

So there it is!! What do you think?! I hope you found a bunch of songs that you enjoyed this year on the list… it makes for an excellent “mix tape” in my opinion! There’s also a spotify playlist with MOST of these gems on it; check it out here.