Middle-aged teenager picks his albums of the year (2011 edition)
Music aficionados who are a lot smarter than I will ever be have already made the point that this year was one full of lots of really good albums, but not that many truly great ones. That made coming up with my top ten even harder than usual. But here goes:
The Whole Love
Wilco
Yeah, yeah, middle-aged guy picks dad rock for his top album of the year. Piss off. This album—which is adventurous, yet familiar—shows that Wilco isn’t content to coast. Here’s a cool stop-action video for the album opener, “The Art of Almost”:
Helplessness Blues
Fleet Foxes
This was my album of the year until The Whole Love came out. A delightful and highly listenable mix of gorgeous and quirky. And speaking of gorgeous and quirky, watch this stunning video for “The Shrine/An Argument”:
The Old Magic
Nick Lowe
In the last four decades, this guy has written one of the great anthems of rock (“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding”); had a brief turn as a pop star (with “Cruel to Be Kind”); produced plenty of brilliant albums (Elvis Costello’s first five, for example); made a whack of dough (when Curtis Stigers covered “Peace, Love and Understanding” for the My Bodyguard soundtrack) and then started doing whatever the hell he wanted—which, as it turned out, was to prove again and again that he is one of the great songwriters of his generation. And yet, when he opened for Wilco at Massey Hall, it was clear that many in the audience had never heard of him. Still, it was heartening to see him get a standing ovation and then hear so many people say they wanted to check out his music. (I created this Nick Lowe Starter Kit to help them.) When The Old Magic came out, I initially thought it was a little too mellow, but it has really grown on me. Listen to “House for Sale”:
http://youtu.be/uGQm38ujdaM
Thao & Mirah
Thao & Mirah
This album didn’t get anywhere near the respect it deserved. And Lee’s Palace wasn’t full when these two women played it, but if there’s any justice, it will be the next time they come to town. I couldn’t take my eyes off Thao Nguyen—not because she’s gorgeous, though she is, but because she’s such a compelling performer. Here’s “Eleven,” which they did with Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs (whose W H O K I L L album almost made this list):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m0IEC6Q4QM
The King of In Between
Garland Jeffreys
His Ghost Writer is one of the classics of the 1970s and this album, which came out after a thirteen-year silence, shows this legend still has it after all these years. What a shame that only about 100 people showed up for his show at the Mod Club, but Jeffreys played as though the place had been sold out for months. What a performer. Watch the video for “Coney Island Winter”:
El Camino
The Black Keys
These guys are good. But you knew that. Enjoy this charming video for the infectious opener, “Lonely Boy”:
Yuck
Yuck
An impressive debut. Here’s the video for a damn fine pop song called “Suicide Policeman”:
Slave Ambient
The War on Drugs
Layering guitar rock and atmospherics on top of Dylanesque songwriting isn’t exactly an obvious formula, but it works. Really well, in fact. Here’s “Your Love Is Calling My Name”:
Smoke Ring for My Halo
Kurt Vile
The guy who left The War on the Drugs also put out a fine album. Watch the video for “Jesus Fever”:
• Bon Iver
Bon Iver
I have to admit I go back and forth on Justin Vernon. Some truly fabulous songs, but after I hear several in a row, I start to get annoyed and want to hear something different. And all those shrieking teenager girls at his Massey Hall show were super annoying. But then I listen to a song like “Holocene” again and, well…
Missed it by the much (in alphabetical order):
Burst Apart, by the Antlers; Metals, by Feist; Circuital, by My Morning Jacket; All Eternals Deck, by The Mountain Goats; Creep On, Creepin’ On, by Timber, Timbre; Go Tell Fire to the Mountain, by WU LYF; W H O K I L L, by tUnE-yArDs, Civilian by Wye Oak; The Year of Hibernation, by Youth Lagoon; Strange Mercy, by St. Vincent. And a bunch of others (some of which, I’m sure, I haven’t even heard yet).
