Tim Casteel

Thoughts on Leadership and College Ministry

Music

Top 10 Albums of 2011

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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.

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.

 [soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/my-morning-jacket/victory-dance[/soundcloud]

#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.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/revolver-usa/beirut-santa-fe[/soundcloud]

#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.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/lykkeli/i-follow-rivers[/soundcloud]

#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)

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/m83/midnight-city[/soundcloud]

#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

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/mysteryfallsdown/the-antlers-no-widows-live-at[/soundcloud]

#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.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/cultscultscults/sets/you-know-what-i-mean/[/soundcloud]

#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).

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=false”]http://soundcloud.com/poshmagazine/st-vicent-cruel[/soundcloud]

#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.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]http://soundcloud.com/miguelmoura/king-creosote-jon-hopkins-john[/soundcloud]

#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.

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]http://soundcloud.com/spunkrecords/wye-oak-civilian[/soundcloud]

#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):

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)

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]http://soundcloud.com/filter-magazine/phantogram-dont-move[/soundcloud]

[soundcloud params=”auto_play=false&show_comments=true”]http://soundcloud.com/digits/lost-dream[/soundcloud]

What were your favorite albums of 2011?

Music Monday

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Bon Iver’s new album is great and is $7.99 on Amazon.

You can get one of the best songs on the album, Calgary, for free. Or stream the album for free online so you can try before you buy.

  • For some reason this is oddly intriguing – A dude asking random people around NYC: “What song are you listening to?” (via vitamin Z)

My vote for best song in the list?
“Dance Yrself Clean”—LCD soundsystem or “Black and Yellow”—Whiz Kalifa.
What’s your favorite?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvHRUY0tBcs;feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

  • The best song off of Death Cab for Cutie’s new album ($5 on Amazon thru June) has a cool video they shot in one take:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkk5wViJo-I;feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

  • This is pretty cool. A Radiohead cover song compiled from 36 different Radiohead covers.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-cfWYN0cZI&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

  • Amazon (which 99% of the time is far cheaper than iTunes) is offering a Free $2 Credit for MP3 Downloads. Enter code CLOUDMP3 (via SlickDeals).

50 Best Songs of 2010

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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.

Music Mondays

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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!

Music Mondays

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Lots of free (legal) music for you.

Get some good Christian music (wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to put the “good” adjective there to clarify?) from upcoming albums.  You have to give them your e-mail but they don’t spam you:

Jars of Clay

Caedmon’s Call



Some Free Summer Samplers from Amazon.  In the left hand column there are Sampler Albums from 10 different Music Labels.

I’d highly recommend the sampler from Matador (if only for the incredible Cat Power and Shearwater songs; oh, and go ahead and delete the Girls song.  You’ll thank me later.)



A really cool commercial featuring Jonsi’s (of Sigur Ros) song Go Do from his great solo album Go:

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