Playlists not Podcasts

I'm throwing my cheap-o youtube playlist up right there at the beginning there's one song from every album.  Simple countdown from 10 to 1.  Adele's at number 9 on my list (number 2 in the youtube list), but I threw in one of her less Adeley songs just to save us all from another of her hits.

I find myself listening to podcasts way more than music these days. When I'm doing the dishes I put on one of Slate's gabfests. Walking up to the grocery store I rock out to the latest Radiolab, not the latest Radiohead. But you know there's nothing like a really solid track to get that head nodding, get your shoulders moving back and forth a little bit. . . I miss that. So for the past few weeks I've been back up on my music listening grind. And, in this criminally tardy edition I give you some of my favorite albums of the long since expired year.

First as a disappointing opening act, a list of albums I thought I'd like, but did not.  These are illustrated, bear with me.

Take the Black Keys, remove their soul and sincerity and you get El Camino.

When I listen to Radiohead's King of Limbs I picture Thom Yorke looking like this for some reason.

After 2008's superb The Stand Ins I was hoping Okkervil River could maintain their gritty "wall of sound" folk rockiness.  Much of I Am Very Far sounded like someone doing a lounge cover of an Okkervil River song instead.

Now that that's done, and without further adieu, my top ten albums of 2011.  In ascending order from least good to most good, or descending order if we're talking numerically.

10. Clams Casino - Instrumentals

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I had the opposite experience with Clams Casino's Instrumentals as I did with the albums I listed above.  When I first heard about a mostly instrumental mixtape from a guy who has produced a few tracks for some crappy rappers, I thought there wasn't much of a chance that I'd like it.  But for some reason I gave it a shot. It's pretty damn good, and pretty pretty, and pretty haunting.  Dude from New Jersey making beats in his moms' house, sells some to Lil B and Soulja Boy, then puts this out.  I'm pretty sure his demand is skyrocketing right about now. (get it for free (legitimately) here.)

9. Adele - 21

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I'm not really out in front of the Adele thing like I used to be.  In fact I'd say that 21 contains some of the most overplayed tracks of last year, Rolling in the Deep spent 56 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was the top-selling single in the U.S. last year.  The album spent the most weeks at number one since the Titanic soundtrack.  She is currently number one on the Hot 100 with a song off of an upcoming live album.  But I still don't hate hearing her songs, a real testament to Adele.  You certainly know by now whether you like her or not, but I'm still on board.

8. Typhoon - A Different Kind of House

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Maybe I'm cheating with this one, as it's only a five song EP, but I've listened to those five songs about as much as I've listened to anything this year.  Typhoon is a Portland band with a bunch of members, kind like all Portland bands.  Kind of got a Sufjan feel to it, but less experimental, more Northwesty. . . you know?  Like, more beards. . . and sewing machines.

7. Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi - Rome

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A high concept album from Danger Mouse and an Italian composer, inspired by the music from old spaghetti westerns?  Sounds like a recipe for some hyper-indulgent shit soup.  Thankfully the two artists showed a great deal of restraint.  The instrumental tracks aren't mind-numbing in length and solo vocalists Jack White and Norah Jones (who are only on five tracks between them both) stay within the theme.  The whole thing is surprisingly tidy and listenable at just over 35 minutes.  I'm not in the know, but listening to the album I get the feeling that Danger Mouse deferred to Danielle Luppi quite a lot, if that's the case it turned out to be a very wise decision.

6. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne

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It's no secret I've got a crush on both Jay and Yeezy, and while this is no Black Album or Late Registration, it's still two of the best doing it pretty well.  And it doesn't hurt that the best song features excessive sampling from Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding one of my favorites songs of all time.  They get good stuff out of Frank Ocean, who adds some freshness to the stodgy duo, they're kinda like rap's Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and a little Beyonce never hurt anybody. . . the whole album's just a lot of fun, don't hate.

5. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest

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If you don't mind yours a little bit slow and maybe even a little bit country I really recommend this album.  Gillian Welch teams up with long time writing and performing partner David Rawlings to serve up her best album to date, and before you get scared off it is really better described as folk than country, although sometimes the line is pretty blurred.  This is probably the album on my list that is most likely to contain classic songs that will continue to be covered for years.  As a side note, Gillian Welch's set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass was probably my favorite live performance this year.

4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up

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As much as I love Hova and Kanye, Watch The Throne wasn't exactly inventive.  A criticism that could certainly not be placed on Seattle rap collective Shabazz Palaces debut LP.  Black Up was released in June last year by Sub Pop, the label that first signed Nirvana and currently sport acts like Fleet Foxes, The Shins, No Age, and The Postal Service, Shabazz Palaces is the first hip-hop act to be signed by the label.  In my mind it seems like a pretty good match, neither party seems afraid to change the game up a little.

3. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation

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Boise, Idaho.  Who knew?  The nice thing about this dude Trevor Powers being from Boise is that it appears he plays SLC pretty frequently.  Although The Year of Hibernation is more the type of album I like to listen to while I read a book or have a stimulating chat, not sure how it would play live.

2. Kendrick Lamar - Section.80

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I heart Kendrick Lamar.  Best rap album of the year, easy.  The only problem with it is that it lacks some editing.  The album is 16 tracks long and just shy of a full hour.  If Mr. Lamar could have cut 3 or 4 of the weakest tracks I think this would have been my number 1.  Still a stellar debut LP for the eccentric 24 year old native of Compton, who claims Tupac came to him in his sleep a la angel Moroni and told him to write Section.80.  Whatever, the beats are great, the lyrics are strong, I hope JFK gets in on the next album.

1. William Elliot Whitmore - Field Songs

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I think I have a soft spot for folk artists who got started in the punk scene.  Just saying.  William Elliott is one of those, and while there isn't much punk about his aesthetic these days, unless you count the tattoos on his arms, his lyrics still have that uprising sort of feel.  Power to the people and all that.  Whitmore's sound is pretty rudimentary, I guess that's kind of punk.  It's him and a guitar or banjo.  Maybe a kick-drum. But his vocals are what does it, the tone and quality of his voice shines on every track, and he gives it room.