We asked our Everyone’s a Critic contributors to compile a CD hit list for 2011, which we cross-pollinated with our own in-house faves to drop on you this wicked-scientific and original top-ten. So, without further adoodoo:
10. Youth Lagoon’s electro-pop collection The Year of Hibernation is this year’s bed-sit comp to rise from the interweb cesspoolio. You just have to encourage the yutes to lock in, be completists not defeatists, and 22-year-old Trevor Powers completed the crap out of this record. Also, he looks a lot like the E*Trade baby.
9. Glenn Campbell’s Ghost on the Canvas makes our list because we respect the hell out of this guy and think you should, too. The Paul Westerberg–penned title track is, like, song of the year.
8. Can we lump Cass McCombs and Ryan Adams at number 8? Yes, we can, cuz they’re passing each other on the walk of fame ri-i-i-i-i-ight NOW.
7. Jersey Mike’s Chipotle Cheesesteak. This delicious sammy hits all the right notes. Jes kidding. Though the JMCC does indeed totally rock, They Might Be Giants came on late but strong with comebacker of the year, Join Us. We liked what Andrew Hamlin had to say on the matter: “I’d forgotten how much I missed these fellows. Their first ‘adult’ record in awhile, but ‘adult’ really does mean ‘grown up.’ The history of 20th-century music in adorable nibbles, never flaunting it, filled with the breadth of quotidian wit.” (He sounds smart.)
6. Yuck tried on all the thrift-store sweaters of ’90s indie-rock icons, which fit the Brit trio to a tee. Their s/t debut is bloody charming.
5. Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring for My Halo will take you for a walk on the Vile side, if psych-folk flopper rock is your taste in tea, and we think it is.
4. Serengeti’s Family and Friends is a flat-out soul-bearer of a trip-hop disc. Infectious honesty. That’s art changing a motherfucker.
3. You made it to the pure enjoyment end of the list. Good for you. Bon Iver’s Bon Iver. Wow, right? How come it only got three votes, SanDago? Spoiler: this one is Pitchfork’s numero uno this year — last year — whatever.
2. Wilco’s Whole Love got the most contributor votes, so, mathematically, it really should be number one. Dad rock, however, is a solid number two.
1. Destroyer’s Kaputt destroyed ’em all. Shapeshifter Dan Bejar worked his weird pop alchemy and added some smart to the tart of ’70s AM radio. We came to this one late but can see it spinning deep deep deep into the new year. Canadian haters (don’t look away), feel free to move this entry to number ten and everything else down one.
Extra added business: for best local record, we got a lot of props for the Donkeys’ Born with Stripes. So, let’s call it that.
Happy Newt Year, everybody.
We asked our Everyone’s a Critic contributors to compile a CD hit list for 2011, which we cross-pollinated with our own in-house faves to drop on you this wicked-scientific and original top-ten. So, without further adoodoo:
10. Youth Lagoon’s electro-pop collection The Year of Hibernation is this year’s bed-sit comp to rise from the interweb cesspoolio. You just have to encourage the yutes to lock in, be completists not defeatists, and 22-year-old Trevor Powers completed the crap out of this record. Also, he looks a lot like the E*Trade baby.
9. Glenn Campbell’s Ghost on the Canvas makes our list because we respect the hell out of this guy and think you should, too. The Paul Westerberg–penned title track is, like, song of the year.
8. Can we lump Cass McCombs and Ryan Adams at number 8? Yes, we can, cuz they’re passing each other on the walk of fame ri-i-i-i-i-ight NOW.
7. Jersey Mike’s Chipotle Cheesesteak. This delicious sammy hits all the right notes. Jes kidding. Though the JMCC does indeed totally rock, They Might Be Giants came on late but strong with comebacker of the year, Join Us. We liked what Andrew Hamlin had to say on the matter: “I’d forgotten how much I missed these fellows. Their first ‘adult’ record in awhile, but ‘adult’ really does mean ‘grown up.’ The history of 20th-century music in adorable nibbles, never flaunting it, filled with the breadth of quotidian wit.” (He sounds smart.)
6. Yuck tried on all the thrift-store sweaters of ’90s indie-rock icons, which fit the Brit trio to a tee. Their s/t debut is bloody charming.
5. Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring for My Halo will take you for a walk on the Vile side, if psych-folk flopper rock is your taste in tea, and we think it is.
4. Serengeti’s Family and Friends is a flat-out soul-bearer of a trip-hop disc. Infectious honesty. That’s art changing a motherfucker.
3. You made it to the pure enjoyment end of the list. Good for you. Bon Iver’s Bon Iver. Wow, right? How come it only got three votes, SanDago? Spoiler: this one is Pitchfork’s numero uno this year — last year — whatever.
2. Wilco’s Whole Love got the most contributor votes, so, mathematically, it really should be number one. Dad rock, however, is a solid number two.
1. Destroyer’s Kaputt destroyed ’em all. Shapeshifter Dan Bejar worked his weird pop alchemy and added some smart to the tart of ’70s AM radio. We came to this one late but can see it spinning deep deep deep into the new year. Canadian haters (don’t look away), feel free to move this entry to number ten and everything else down one.
Extra added business: for best local record, we got a lot of props for the Donkeys’ Born with Stripes. So, let’s call it that.
Happy Newt Year, everybody.