Tag Archive - Music

Top 50 Songs of 2011

December 26, 2011 in Culture, Music with 0 Comments

Specifically these are “my favorite songs that I listened to with my wife and kids – cruising in our minivan”.

So it excludes music that’s too heavy/slow/potty-mouthed/grating.

It’s Indie Music for the Masses.

Unlike most “best songs of 2011″ all these songs are very listenable/enjoyable. I feel like most lists are trying to earn their indie street cred by trying to list the most obscure bands that no one has ever heard of.

And here are a few bonus lists:

Click “subscribe” at the top of Spotify if you want to add any of the the playlists to your sidebar of lists.

Here are my 50 favorite songs of 2011 (click to play the full list in Spotify):

50 Seryn – Beach Song

49 Washed Out – Amor Fati

48 The Dodos – Black Night

47 Broken Bells – Meyrin Fields

46 Bright Eyes – Shell Games

45 Pepper Rabbit – Dance Card

44 ANR – Stay Kids

43 James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream

42 The Naked And Famous – Young Blood

41 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Nothing But Our Love

40 Young Man – Nothing

39 Death Cab for Cutie – You Are A Tourist

38 Young Galaxy – Cover Your Tracks

37 Geographer – Verona

36 Royal Bangs – TV Tree

35 Tapes ‘n Tapes – Freak Out

34 Alexander – Truth

33 TV On The Radio – Will Do

32 The National – You Were A Kindness

31 Phantogram – Turning Into Stone

30 St. Vincent – Neutered Fruit

29 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – John Taylor’s Month Away

28 Wye Oak – The Alter

27 Cults – Go Outside

26 MNDR – I Go Away

25 Capital Cities – Safe and Sound

 

24 Cut Copy – Where I’m Going (click to download for free)

 

23 Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers

 

22 Dry the River – No Rest

 

21 Beirut – Santa Fe

 

20 Yeasayer – Swallowing the Decibels (click to download for free)

 

19 My Morning Jacket – Victory Dance

 

18 Bon Iver – Calgary (right click to download for free)

 

17 Phantogram – When I’m Small

 

16 Lykke Li – Love Out Of Lust

 

15 St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (click the black box to play/stop)

 

14 The Antlers – No Widows (click the black box to play/stop)

 

13 Beirut – The Rip Tide

 

12 Digits – Lost Dream (click to download the whole album for free)

 

11 ANR – It’s Around You (right click to download for free)

 

10 Phantogram – Don’t Move (click to download for free)

 

9 Cults – You Know What I Mean

 

8 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (click to download for free)

 

7 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins – Bats In The Attic (sorry, couldn’t find this one to stream – you’ll have to listen to it on Spotify)

 

6 M83 – Midnight City

 

5 Active Child – Hanging On (click to download for free)

 

4 Lana Del Rey – Video Games (click the black box to play/stop)

 

3 Geographer – Kites

 

2 Bon Iver – Holocene

 

1 Wye Oak – ‘Civilian’ (click to download for free)

 

What were your favorite songs of 2011? What did I miss?

 

Top 10 Albums of 2011

December 15, 2011 in Music with 3 Comments

It’s the most wonderful time of they year – time for everyone to release their “Best of 2011” lists. I hope to post a few different posts:

  • Top 10 Albums of 2011
  • Top 50 Songs of 201
  • Top Books of 2011
  • Top Thoughts from 2011
  • Top Posts of 2011

Today’s Best of 2011 list:

Top 10 Albums of 2011

It’s been a good, not great year for albums. It’s hard to top last year’s trifecta of Sufjan, Arcade Fire, and The National (here is my Top Albums list from last year)

Really this year there’s one great album – Bon Iver – and 9 good albums. One theme this year (at least in my top 10) seems to be albums that sound like they were made in a different era:

  • King Creosote – the 1800’s in Scotland
  • Cults – 50’s doo-wop
  • Beirut (though hailing from exotic Arizona) – early 1900’s Italy
  • M83 is straight out of the 80’s
  • My Morning Jacket’s 1970’s classic rock album

Top Albums/Songs lists are great ways to discover new music. You can click on any of the Albums below to listen to the full album, for free, on Spotify. I highly recommend Spotify – it takes about a minute to download (I use the free version) and let’s you listen to practically any song/album in the world for free. PLUS it lets you listen to playlists that your friends make – i.e. – the Top 50 Songs of the Year list I’ll put on there. Just click “subscribe” at the top of Spotify if you want to add anyone’s lists to your sidebar of lists (and you can delete any lists if you later get tired of them).

Quick aside – any song listed for free on here is 100% legal. And I don’t make any money off any of the links or Spotify or anything. I just like connecting friends to good music and good deals.

 

Top 10 Albums of 2011

#10 My Morning Jacket – Circuital

A few really good songs on this slow-building, classic-rock sounding album. Love the songs Victory Dance, Circuital and You Wanna Freak Out. $5 right now on Amazon.

 

 

#9 Beirut – The Rip Tide

I’m pretty sure Beirut is the only band on this list with a flugelhorn and the ukulele as lead instruments. This is the most upbeat, accessible album from a great band.

Two phenomenal songs from the album: Rip Tide, Santa Fe. $5 right now on Amazon.

 

#8 Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

Swedish singer songwriter Lykke Li trades bubblegum pop for heartbreak and regret. But it’s toe-tapping heartbreak. You could call it heartbreak pop. $7.99 on Amazon.

Two amazing songs from the album: Love out of Lust, I Follow Rivers.

 

#7 M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

a. The first double album I’ve ever bought. And it’s not your typical album with long stretches of instrumental music. M83 has had great songs in the past but I’ve found their albums to be a little painful to endure. But this album never drags and feels like a cohesive whole – a great 80’s indie pop album.

Midnight City is topping many people’s best song of 2011 lists (definitely in my top 10)

 

#6  The Antlers – Burst Apart

Kind of a downer of an album – but a great, moving album. $5 on Amazon.

Get the two most popular songs (though No Widows is my favorite) off the album for free on Amazon:

I Don’t Want Love

Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out

 

#5 Cults – Cults

The doo-wop vibe eventually wears a bit thin at times but it has 5-6 really incredible, addictive songs on it. Great pop-rock. $5 right now on Amazon.

 

#4 St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Angst filled, passionate music throughout. Great hooks, great turn of phrase, great music. Only $5 right now on Amazon

Get one of the songs from the album for free – Surgeon (right click to download).

 

#3 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins-Diamond Mine

King Creosote transports you to another time with his beautiful Scottish songs. Great for the gray days of winter.

 

#2 Wye Oak – Civilian

Reminds me of a female version of The Nationals – dark, moody and great. Give this one some time – it will grow on you. $5 right now on Amazon

Get the best song on the album (and . . . SPOILER ALERT! . . . as you’ll see on my top songs post, my favorite song of 2011!) – Civilian – for free on Amazon.

 

#1 Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Without a doubt the best album of 2011. I never jumped on the Bon Iver bandwagon when their first album – For Emma, Forever Ago – swept the indie world. It was too slow and sparse for my tastes. But every song on Justin Vernon’s sophomore effort is amazing.

Get one of the best songs on the album, Calgary (right click to save), for free from Pitchfork.

Click below to listen to the entire album for free (so you can be convinced you need to buy it – $4.99 right now on Amazon):

 

 

Two Honorable Mention EP’s

  • Phantogram – Nightlife – I just wish this were full length – every song is REALLY good.
    • Get the incredibly good, best song on the album for free – Don’t Move (right click to download)

 

What were your favorite albums of 2011?

The Mixtape for the New Millennium

August 6, 2011 in Culture, Music with 0 Comments

I’m really liking Spotify – a new music service that debuted in America this summer (it’s been a huge hit in Europe). It gives you access to millions of songs you can stream for free.

 

If you haven’t joined yet, click here for an invite (or message me on Twitter for one). Unfortunately it’s invitation only right now. So exclusive.

 

I’m currently just using the free service. I still plan on mostly buying albums.

But what Spotify allows me to do is try before I buy. I’ve bought several albums this year that I wasted my money on. I wish I’d listened to them a few times through. Spotify lets you do that.

I know this may not seem amazing to some of you young whippersnappers. But I remember spending many weekends in high school driving up to Blockbuster Music to sit up at the “music bar” where they would let you open CD’s and listen to them. Yes, I’m that old – before the internets.

So streaming albums for free still blows my mind!

 

But I really like the idea of sharing playlists with friends.

It’s the Mixtape for the new Millennium.

 

Here’s a few of my playlists:

The profiles of users is also a good place to find out what music people are checking out. I have a “Songs I want to listen to, to see if I like them” list as well as some albums I’m checking out to see if they’re worth buying (Manchester Orchestra, Lykke Li, TV on the Radio)

 

I’d love to hear your playlists or your favorite new songs/albums – even if you aren’t on Spotify!

Share them in the comments.

 

On a side note, here’s some good music to check out:

  • The artist, Lenka, with a great cover of one of Arcade Fire’s best songs- Deep Blue (click to go to Lenka’s site, or listen below).
  • I have to hand it to my wife. When she first heard Arcade Fire’s song Sprawl II she immediately said – that sounds just like Blondie. Well, someone thought the same thing. Here’s a great mashup of Blondie and Arcade Fire (click to download it, or listen below).


  • Amazon has their new edition of Artists on the Rise (a monthly list of free songs from up and coming artists) – including a great Wye Oak song.
  • And finally, a beautiful violin cover of Bon Iver’s song Perth.

Music Monday – Grammy Edition

February 14, 2011 in Music with 2 Comments

Watched the Grammy’s last night. Such a strange mishmash of performances. What demographic are they exactly trying to appeal to with Justin Bieber followed by Bob Dylan followed by Drake/Rihanna followed by Barbara Streisand?

For some reason it is nowhere near as compelling as the Oscars (even though I like music more than movies).

Whereas the Oscar winners are usually widely acclaimed actors/movies, Grammy winners/nominees seem completely arbitrary (nominees in best Rock album: Neil Young, Pearl Jam, Jeff Beck, Tom Petty, and Muse.  Hmm- which is the only one from this decade?).

I guess this stems from that fact that the music industry is far more diverse (with over 30,000 albums released every year) than film (with less than 1000 feature films released to theaters per year) and it’s difficult to have consensus.

Maybe the diversity that makes it difficult to Award is what makes music so appealing. There’s a genre for everyone. My genre of choice= indie rock/pop.

Anyway, you can get any of the Albums of the Year nominees for $5 on Amazon (though Arcade Fire is the only one worth getting! Here’s a good write-up (with video) of Arcade Fire’s win).


To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Yeasayer is giving away a free EP – a GREAT love song (and two remixes) that was #7 on my list of top songs of 2010

(Warning. Don’t watch the video. it will ruin the song for you. we’ve resolved to never watch a Yeasayer video again. Great musicians. HORRIBLE video makers.)

Here’s a pretty decent free 6 song Sampler of Amazon’s Top Artists on the Rise.


If you love music and have never seen La Blogoteque you should check it out.

For the last 5 years, an independent filmmaker in Paris has been filming a who’s who of indie rock bands as they perform acoustically in unique locations. Each video is beautifully shot with great audio. My all-time-favorite is Phoenix performing Lisztomania on a double decker bus by the Eifel Tower (and the video for 1901 is cool too).

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Other good performances:

Bon Iver

Local Natives performing Who Knows Who Cares

Yeasayer performing 2080/Tightrope

And the original video that started the series: The Spinto Band performing Oh Mandy (a tribute to my Valentine – my wife Mandy!)

Music as an Influencer – Music Monday

February 7, 2011 in Culture, Music with 4 Comments

In the book The Millennials, authors Thom and Jess Rainer share the greatest influencers on young people. Parents and friends occupied the top two spots. Number three was a little surprising- Music.

Music outranked religious beliefs, TV, and the Internet in terms of influence on their lives.

This is the iPod generation. This generation of college students can scarcely remember life before the iPod (which came out a decade ago). Music is constantly pumping through their earbuds and inevitably has shaped their lives.

So get some good (free or cheap) music below and consider it cultural exegesis:

  • Get a $2 free MP3 credit from @amazonmp3 – Enter code VDAYMP3S (expires 2/14)
  • 16 free songs (Spoon, Sleigh Bells, Deerhunter) from Spin Magazine’s Best of 2010. Get it, if only, for the amazing Yeasayer song- Ambling Alp . [Sorry - this one is expired]
  • A (just okay) free 14 Song Valentines Mix from @amazonmp3 (but worth the click, if only, for the Band of Horses song)
  • Fleet Foxes(who make beautiful, harmonic music) is giving away a free song from their new album
  • And a couple noteworthy albums on Amazon’s $5 albums for February:

The Suburbs by Arcade Fire — One of THE best 3 albums of 2010!! Get it!

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy by Sarah McLachlan — a guilty pleasure from college days! One of the Best. Albums. Evah.

Music Monday- God-Music-Culture

January 17, 2011 in Culture, Music with 3 Comments

God-Music-Culture – an ongoing series exploring the many connections between music and spirituality

Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.

Andrew Fletcher – 18th Century Scottish Writer



You can learn a lot about the beliefs of a culture, especially the young people, by the songs that are sung.

Music shapes our culture. And Music reflects our culture.

It’s a bit of a chicken or the egg situation. I think, often, music reflects a small segment of the culture and is a megaphone to spread that view to the masses (thus eventually shaping the culture).


Hip Hop music is a perfect example of that:
“Hip Hop, like all art, holds up a mirror to society and shows us who we are. It doesn’t matter whether I agree or you agree with every message – it reflects what many people are thinking and feeling. And that’s why we all need to pay attention” – Oprah


Last night I watched Jay-Z Master Class from Oprah’s new OWN channel (watch the video below).
This entire series looks incredible.


Most of the video deals with his life and career. Some interesting insights from Jay-Z:

  • On Success/Failure: “I’ve learned everything from failures. I haven’t figured out how to learn from success yet.”
  • He spent the first 35 years of his life dealing with anger and brokenness from an absent father



    • The last part of the video (part 4 of 4) deals with Jay-Z’s faith. His views as Oprah says, “hold up a mirror to society – [they] show us who we are”.
    Jay-Z has a very All-American Postmodern (Oprah-esque) mix of beliefs in Karma, a pluralistic God, and being true to oneself.

  • “I think people who are reading the Koran and who are reading the Bible are really reading about the same person. I think we’re all praying to one God.”
  • Jay-Z does believe in a creator based on how amazing the design of human body is; he can’t believe that we just started from a big bang.
  • In an interesting conclusion, he highlights a hole in his belief in Karma belief. In speaking about the untimely death of his nephew : “I really can’t figure out that day– Just the most beautiful respectful kid. . . and I really can’t apply that to anything” [meaning, I think, “I can’t apply Karma to that]



    • And in a line straight out of a Joel Osteen book, Oprah ends with, “Follow what is true for you. Follow your own instincts. You will become the best that you can be.”

    What are your thoughts on the video and how Jay-Z’s views mirror the religious views of today’s youth?




    photo courtesy of NRK P3

    Top 10 Cover Songs of 2010

    December 27, 2010 in Music with 0 Comments

    Related posts: Top 50 Songs of 2010 and Top 5 Albums of 2010

    While we’re on the music streak (I promise I’ll return to non-music posts in the new year!). . .

    Here’s my Top 10 Cover Songs of the year (ranked).

    1. Anyone’s Ghost (The National cover) – Silver Swans (Right click to download legally for free)
    2. Futile Devices (Sufjan Stevens cover) – Jump Clubb  (click to buy on iTunes)
    3. Be Mine feat. Ellie Goulding (Robyn Cover) - Erik Hassle (click to go to site to download free)
    4. Float On (Modest Mouse Cover)  - Blackbird Blackbird (click to go to lastfm.com to download free)
    5. O.N.E. (Yeasayer cover) – Telephoned (Right click to download) ytaudio(stKm9-6Hcpo)
    6. Idioteque (Radiohead cover) - Amanda Palmer (click to go to her site to buy it for 40 cents)
    7. Flume (Bon Iver cover) – Peter Gabriel (click to go to site to download free)
    8. Crystalised (The XX Cover) – Gorillaz
    9. I’m Good I’m Gone (Lykke Li cover) – Friendly Fires (click to go to site to download free)
    10. Islands  (The xx cover) – Shakira

      11. Did I miss any good covers from 2010?  Any of your favorites not on here?

    50 Best Songs of 2010

    December 26, 2010 in Music with 3 Comments

    Click here for my Top 5 albums of 2010

    Here are my 50 favorite songs of 2010.

    More specifically it’s “my Favorite songs that I listened to with my wife and kids – cruising in our sweet minivan”.  So it excludes music that’s too heavy/slow/potty-mouthed/challenging.

    It’s Indie Music for the Masses.

    You can listen to each song in its entirety at the bottom of the post or check out the full list on Grooveshark.

    (with the exception of #46 which you can buy/preview here on iTunes).

    Song                                      Artist                                           Album

    What did I miss?  What are your favorite songs of 2010?  Would love to hear what you are listening to.

    (Free) Music Monday

    November 1, 2010 in Music with 0 Comments

    A little bit of everything today.  John Piper (does that count as music?). VeggieTales.  And great free music.

    Here’s the 6 best (in order of awesomeness):

    1. Sufjan Stevens - I Walked
    2. Shout Out Louds – Walls
    3. Miiike Snow – Animal
    4. Young the Giant – My Body
    5. Death Cab for Cutie – For What Reason
    6. The Dodos – Longform


    Lastly, check out this band’s really impressive use of iPhones to perform on a NYC Subway:

    Music Mondays

    September 7, 2010 in Music with 0 Comments

    Since today feels like a Monday (though I feel really behind like it’s a Tuesday), let’s talk about Music!

    This is a Sufjan-only Music Monday.

    Though not the biggest Sufjan Stevens fan in the world, I do like him. And he’s back in action after many years lying dormant.

    Sufjan is only for advanced indie-music lovers – he’s difficult to listen to sometimes (my wife hates him!).  But for the brave, here you go:
    • Get a free song, I Walked, from his upcoming album “Age of Adz”. The song is pretty legit.
    • And get a song for free off his just-released EP “All Delighted People”, Heirloom, from Amazon.
    • And you can get this “short” EP for 4.99 on Amazon.

    And here’s why Sufjan matters.

    He’s almost unanimously loved by indie-music bloggers.  And as a Christian (strange as he might be), Sufjan is spawning God-conversations among these non-Christian bloggers.  One of my favorite blogs had this to say:

    “All Delighted People” is described in the liner notes as a “dramatic homage to the Apocalypse”. The Christian tradition of the world’s end is certainly a prominent theme within the lyrics, with references to the rapture, judgment day, and heaven.

    The track concludes with two refrains, both sung by a celestial choir of voices. These, in my opinion, encapsulate the song’s theme. The first is fairly self-explanatory, “When the world’s come and gone shall we follow our transgressions, or shall we stand strong?” The second refrain, “Suffer not the child among you or shall you die young,” has a more cryptic message. Stevens hints at two different Biblical teachings, both from the book of Matthew: “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” and another which states “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven“. I believe he’s alluding to the choice that is at the foundation of the Christian tradition, whether to be bound by the things of the world or to enter paradise with child-like faith and innocence. It’s a choice which Stevens struggles with throughout the track. Like his previous spiritually-minded songs “Casimir Pulaski Day” and “John Wayne Gacy Jr.”, Stevens is not preaching or attempting to say he has all the right answers, but letting the listener in on his own spiritual dilemma, which makes the song all all the more fascinating.

    I’ve been reading this blog for YEARS and have never heard them refer to God.

    Kudos to Sufjan for engaging and shaping culture!

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