101 Reasons why not to see Simply Red

Five years ago in protest directed at people from my school going to see the band Simply Red I constructed 101 reasons from the last year to motivate people to continue their search for new music.  Due to a set of anally retentive personality traits which I am not always proud of I have constructed such a list for each year since.

2011 was on interesting year as although I had no problem identifying 101 tracks indicating there was plenty of great music there was no one really important album which stood out which I could easily have taken three or four tracks from. This is confirmed by looking around and seeing the range of albums selected by critics.  I too do not have a favourite album of the year but there are several which kept on finding their way onto my headphones or classroom speakers.

Zonoscope by Cutcopy.  Just a wonderfully fun dance album that feels refreshingly alive.  Here is a link to the Need You Now video

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2xovJyBo-0[/youtube]

Kaputt by Destroyer.  A journey back into the 80s returns with only the darkest parts and this then gets put together in such an extraordinary way that it justifies itself as a guilty pleasure of mine and the video for the song Kaputt reflects this guilt so well

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puu3IvKnSb4[/youtube]

Go Tell Fire To The Mountain by Wu Lyf.  They are not quite there yet but the sound has the potential to fulfill all that is great about British independent music.  Here they are Spitting Blood.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDTEhWO2wyo&feature=related[/youtube]

Kiss Each Other Clean by Iron & Wine.  Considering the previous more somber albums this was a very pleasant surprise.  Where did the funk come from?  Here is a live track Walking Far From Home (Not on my list but still nice)

Boots Met My Face – Admiral Fallow.  This band rises from the ashes of the Delgardoes with more tune full stories.  Here is a live performance of Taste The Coast.

Then there was the sound track to my west coast of America road trip.  From LA to Bellingham the Fleet Foxes and the Decemberists played as the giant trees and big waves passed by. I also caught Bill Callahan live which was where his album Apocalypse was allowed to reach even greater heights than achieved on the record.

Name                                                                    Artist                                     Album

Dead Against Smoking                                        Admiral Fallow                  Boots Met My Face

Taste The Coast                                                   Admiral Fallow                  Boots Met My Face

Desire                                                                   Anna Calvi                           Anna Calvi

Blackout                                                               Anna Calvi                           Anna Calvi

Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out                   The Antlers                         Burst Apart

Lose It                                                                   Austra                                   Feel It Break

212                                                                        Azealia Banks

Ice Cream (ft. Matias Aguayo)                               Battles                                  Gloss Drop

Drover                                                                  Bill Callahan                        Apocalypse

Riding for the Feeling                                           Bill Callahan                        Apocalypse

Crystalline                                                           Bjork                                     Biophilia

Lonely Boy                                                          The Black Keys                  El Camino

Sister                                                                     The Black Keys                  El Camino

Shuffle                                                                 Bombay Bicycle Club       A Different Kind Of Fix

Perth                                                                     Bon Iver                               Bon Iver

Till the World Ends (Remix)                                Britney Spears                      Femme Fatale

(feat.Kesha & Nicki Minaj)

Street Halo                                                         Burial                                     Street Halo

County Line                                                        Cass McCombs                  Wit’s End

Blind Faith                                                           Chase And Status             No More Idols

Coastin                                                                 Cities Aviv

There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight     Cloud Control    Bliss Release

The Great Pan is Dead                                   Cold Cave

Need You Now                                                 Cut Copy                              Zonoscope

Pharaohs & Pyramids                                     Cut Copy                              Zonoscope

Muscle Memory                                               Dananananaykroyd         There Is a way

You Don’t Know                           Danny & The Champions Of The World       Hearts & Arrows

Thrones                                                               The Dears                            Degeneration Street

Calamity Song                                                    The Decemberists           The King Is Dead

Down By The Water                                        The Decemberists           The King Is Dead

Kaputt                                                                  Destroyer                            Kaputt

Chinatown                                                          Destroyer                            Kaputt

Used To Be A Cop                                            Drive-By Truckers            Go-Go Boots

Book Of Revelation                                         The Drums                          Portamento

Wrong Feels Right                                           Dum Dum Girls                  Only in dreams

The A Team                                                        Ed Sheeran                         +

My Mistakes                                                      Eleanor Friedberger        Last Summer

California                                                           EMA                               Past Life Martyed Saints

Changed The Way You Kiss Me                          Example                          Playing In The Shadows

Helplessness Blues                                          Fleet Foxes                       Helplessness Blues

Grown Ocean                                                    Fleet Foxes                       Helplessness Blues

Shake It Out                                               Florence And The Machine          Ceremonials

Pumped Up Kicks                                             Foster The People

novacane                                                            Frank Ocean                       Nostalgia, ultra

Chimes                                                                 Friendly Fires                     Pala

Queen Of Hearts                                                  Fucked Up                          David Comes To Life

Glass Jar                                                               Gang Gang Dance            Eye Contact

Cash And Carry Me Home                                 Ghostpoet                          Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam

Liiines                                                           Ghostpoet                          Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam

Die                                                                 Girls                                       Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Sensations In The Dark                                  Gruff Rhys                          Shampoo Hotel

My House                                                           Hercules & Love Affair   Blue Songs

Behold The Hurricane                                    The Horrible Crowes       Elsie

Still Life                                                                 The Horrors                        Skying

Meltdown                                                           Ill Blu                                     Meltdown EP

Me And Lazaru                                                  Iron & Wine                        Kiss Each Other Clean

Tree By The River                                             Iron & Wine                        Kiss Each Other Clean

Another Girl                                                       Jacques Greene

Limit To Your Love                                           James Blake                       James Blake

Lady Luck                                                             Jamie Woon                       Mirrorwriting

I’ll Take Care Of You                                        Jamie xx & Gil Scott-Heron          We’re New Here

Otis                                                                  Jay-Z & Kanye West        Watch the Throne

Cradle                                                             The Joy Formidable         The Big Roar

Banana Ripple                                                   Junior Boys

Civilization                                                       Justice                                  Audio, Video, Disco

Days Are Forgotten                                         Kasabian                              Velociraptor!

Broken Record                                                  Katy B                                   On A MIssion

Bats In The Attic                                               King Creosote & Jon Hopkins      Diamond Mine

Jesus Fever                                                        Kurt Vile                               Smoke Ring For My Halo

Video Games                                                     Lana Del Rey

The Beast                                                            Laura Marling                     A Creature I Don’t Know

Ritual Union                                                       Little Dragon                      Ritual Union

Generation                                                         Liturgy                                  Aesthetica

Try To Sleep                                                       Low                                        C’mon

Midnight City                                                     M83                                       Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

Bataille                                                              The Men

The Look                                                           M etronomy                       The English Riviera

Polish Girl                                                        Neon Indian

Waiting for My Chance to Come                       Noah and the Whale      Last Night on Earth

The Glorious Land                                            PJ Harvey                            Let England Shake

The Words That Maketh Murder                         PJ Harvey                            Let England Shake

Lotus Flower                                                      Radiohead                          The King Of Limbs

It’s Real                                                              Real Estate                          Days

Wildfire                                                              SBTRKT

Pencil Pimp                                                         Sepalcure

Chloe in the Afternoon                                       St. Vincent                          Strange Mercy

Cruel                                                                    t. Vincent                          Strange Mercy

Under Cover Of Darkness                                    The Strokes                        Angles

The Dream                                                          Thee Oh Sees

New Beat                                                            Toro Y Moi

Bizness                                                                 tUnE-yArDs                        w h o k i l l

If You Wanna                                                     The Vaccines                      What Did You Expect From the Vaccines

Eyes Be Closed                                                  Washed Out                       Within and Without

House Of Balloons – Glass Table Girls       The Weeknd                      House Of Balloons

Holy Ghost                                                          White Lies                           Ritual

Bed Of Nails                                                       Wild Beasts                         Smother

Romance                                                             Wild Flag                              Wild Flag

We Bros                                                               Wu Lyf                                 Go Tell Fire To The Mountain

Spitting Blood                                                    Wu Lyf                                 Go Tell Fire To The Mountain

Civilian                                                                  Wye Oak

Get Away                                                            Yuck                                       Yuck

Although there are quite a few electronic/ dance tracks on the list this is actually the area where I have been most disappointed.  People have spoken about dub-step coming to the fore encompassing other sounds but to me it too often is starting to sound like something I have heard before.   However the world of electronic music did provide me with something I had never seen before and so Big Bad Wolf by Duck Sauce became my music video of the year.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKMoVAObbhE&ob=av2e&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Dduck%2Bsauce%2Bbig%2Bbad%2Bwolf%26oq%3Dduck%2Bsauce%2Bbig%2Bbad%2Bwolf%26aq%3Df%26aqi%3Dg4%26aql%3D%26gs_sm%3De%26gs_upl%3D7065l2[/youtube]