you knew it was coming...best albums of 2011

2011 is about to wrap itself up and while, personally, it was somewhat of a shitty year, musically it was fantastic.  I was originally going to try and narrow it down to just 10 albums but that seemed to be an injustice to a lot of good albums that did drop this year, so i'm doing 20 instead.

Also, I hate narrowing this down, there will be a lot of albums that will be left out that probably would have made my top ten in other years, but I've got to cut it off at some point.

Wanna know something else pretty cool? There are a ton of albums that I've heard great things about that I have still not have had the chance to listen to, so I'm sure sometime in early 2012 I'll have a post about albums that should have been somewhere on this list.

And since I never really get to use my minimal HTML skills, i decided to do that here too....no idea why.

20
Kevin Devine ~ Between the Concrete and Clouds
one of my favorite lyricist, great mood throughout the entire album

19
	Manchester Orchestra ~ Simple Math
great hooks, great lyrics, great album

18
La Dispute ~ Wildlife
the whole "talk music" thing is really hard to pull off but la dispute does it beautifully

17
	Into It. Over It ~ Proper
another great artist with a knack for great, introspective lyrics and hooks

16
Four Year Strong ~ In Some Way, Shape, or Form
i was pleasantly surprised at how great this album is when i first bought it. if you've liked any of their previous albums, you'll love it.

15
	Saves the Day ~ Daybreak
saves the day is back! the 11 minute, 4 part opener track, Daybreak, is worth the price of the album alone. also, got to hang with these dudes about a month ago and have to say they're some of the most down to earth guys i've ever met

14
Trash Talk ~ Awake EP
the best 5 songs that clock in under 9 minutes; thrash metal at its finest

13
	The Appleseed Cast ~ Middle States
it's appleseed, of course it's amazingly layered and beautiful and of course it's good.

12
I Am The Avalanche ~ Avalanche United
if you take 6 years between albums, it better be good.  and yea, this thing is beyond good. listen to "brooklyn dodgers", just an awesome song.

11
	Bayside ~ Killing Time
bayside's best album yet. it seems that every member stepped up their musicianship a few notches for this album. super proud of chris' and jack's work on this album and anthony never fails in the lyrics department.

10
The Dear Hunter ~ The Color Spectrum
spend the money and get the complete collection (all 9 EPs), worth every penny.  just the idea, to write an EP based on the feelings of each color in the spectrum, is pretty intriguing and the fact that it was pulled off so well, i find amazing. Favorite EPs? Red, Black, White and Yellow...in that order but for real, get the entire thing.

9
	The Wonder Years ~ Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
i've gotten back into pop-punk this year, after quite a few years off (minus an album here and there), and i can owe it this album.  this album reminded me of what's good about pop-punk.

8
Former Thieves ~ The Language That We Speak
I really wish I would've heard about this band back in April when this was released but I didn't know about them until the chariot show back in november but i love this album. reminds me some of the later poison the well stuff. sounds especially amazing on vinyl.

7
	Thrice ~ Major/Minor
probably the final album from thrice, which is sad but if you've gotta go out, go out on top and this is their best effort, which says a lot because i loved the alchemy index and beggars. it's one of the most honest albums that i've heard on the sad state of our society and yet is still a very hopeful/uplifting album.

6
Bon Iver ~ Bon Iver
i can't say anything about bon iver that hasn't already been said a million times over.  i find this album more beautiful every time i listen to it. i can't think of a more deserving artist to be nominated for 4 grammys.

5
	David Bazan ~ Strange Negotiations
when you've spent a career as pedro the lion, you have high expectations for every album that you drop. Bazan ignores those expectations and releases his best work since Pedro's Control.

4
Hands ~ Give Me Rest
i don't typically listen to overtly christian bands (i hate being preached to) nor sludge metal but i can't get enough of this album.  i've been listening to this album since it came out. every time i listen to it, i want to steal all of the riffs and use them in Merchants' songs.

3
	Balance and Composure ~ Separation
this was my number one at the halfway mark, back in the spring. it hasn't lost any of its luster, still an amazing album that i find on play at least once a week. it's albums like this that make the entire post-hardcore recent uprising worth paying attention to, plus they're young so i have a feeling their best work is still yet to come.

2
The Story So Far... ~ Under Soil and Dirt
if the wonder year's album restored my faith in pop-punk, this is the album that restored my faith that new/young bands could write good pop-punk songs. if i'm not mistaken, this is their first LP release and to start off this strong is impressive.  i'll keep rockin' this until LP 2 comes out, yea it's that good.

1
	O' Brother ~ Garden Window
it's not very old, especially in comparison to 2 & 3 but i'll be damned if it's not great. it's at the point were i subconsciously just put the album on when i'm in the car (and i'm always in my damn car, it seems). each song flows into the next, everything sounds connected without sounding like a regurgitation. it's impressive on a whole different scale than the other albums i've listened to this year.  there's a reason they tour with bands like Thrice, Manchester Orchestra and The Dear Hunter on a regular basis. nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done.

originally, i wanted to write a lot more about the albums but 20 albums is a bit more taunting than i originally thought it would be and free time is sparse for me these days so that's all you get.  i'll be the first to admit that there will be a lot of albums that i've missed so feel free to let me know.

Also, two more categories....

Record Label of the Year: No Sleep Records  5 of the 20 albums on the list are No Sleep bands and if I would've done a top 25, there would have been 6 or 7 of their bands (Touche Amore & Such Gold) in the list.  they continually sign good bands and their bands continually release fantastic albums.  Whatever their formula is over there, it's working.

Best New Music Site: ElectricMariachi.com Stumbled across this site looking for an album stream of some sorts and i'll be damned if they didn't have that stream (trapped under ice's new one, i remember correctly) but they have a ton of other album streams, many albums that i forgot were released and all. so yea, cool site and their player works on a mobile too.

There ya go, enjoy.  if you like my taste in music and haven't heard some of these releases, go pick it up somewhere. If you don't like my taste in music...i have no idea why you've read this, it's the internet, there are better things to read.

much love

X

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products of an overactive brain and then the rest of life

my brain never seems to shut itself off. i wake up multiple times in the night with things already running through my head. it's annoying, sometimes i wish i didn't have it and i could just relax and not think about things that have or haven't happened (yes, i stress myself out over things that may never even come to fruition). my friend leah believes it to be a curse for us that have some sort of creative side (art, music, etc...) and i'd have to agree, my overactive brain does help me write music but fuck...give me a break, would ya?? anyway, enough of that.

saw bon iver this past friday. such a bittersweet show (if you know me, you know why), he was incredible though. definitely happy i got to see him at least once in my lifetime. i was able to record a couple of songs on my phone, Holocene and The Wolves (Act I and II). They turned out well for being recorded on just an iPhone, using the voice recorder thing. they're at the bottom of the post for those that want to listen. I recorded skinny love too but that was his final song of the encore and you couldn't hear much with everyone singing along, yelling, etc... such an amazingly talented songwriter/composer.

i'm still writing enough to warrant looking into owning a paper company. i shouldn't care anymore but i still do, so until that changes, i'll keep writing as much as necessary. the good thing to come from all of the writing is that i've written two songs that i'm proud to call mine. i'm still working out the recording aspects of one, but a rough demo of the other is up on the soundcloud page and i'll put it below in case anyone wants to peep it. i plan on adding a lot of layers to it (banjo, bass, keys, possibly harmonica) so hopefully in the next couple of weeks it'll take shape. also, did an acoustic cover of bonnie raitt's "i can't make you love me". bon iver did a piano ballad version on his calgary single's release (and a fallon appearance as well) and ever since i heard it a couple of months ago, i wanted to try and do my own little version. fyi...his is a ton better.

my life is still a roller coaster, can't seem to focus on where i really want to go from here. thinking about heading west (i could transfer to san diego easily) or possibly out of the country or maybe just back to charlotte. who knows, they all have pros and cons. i've also realized how spot on city and colours "little hell" is in regards to me, my life and the way i process/think. it's always nice to find a song like that, makes you feel like someone else, somewhere goes through what you go through.

anyway, enjoy the tunes. constructive criticism on my stuff is always welcome. you can criticize the bon iver songs too if you want, but you'd be dumb to want to change any of it.

Bon Iver - Wolves (Acts I and II) Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater by Urban Electric Company

Bon Iver- Holocene (Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater) by Urban Electric Company

Lies dipped in gold by Urban Electric Company

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ten albums worth owning so far in 2011

since it is july and therefore half of 2011 is over, there are top ten lists coming out every where you look so i figured i would add to the list. there has been a surprising amount of really good music that has come out since january so narrowing it down to just 10 was more difficult than i would have originally thought.

10. The Wonder Years ~ Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
A really good pop-punk album from a completely underrated band. hopefully 2011 will give them the recognition they deserve. surprisingly, the first show i played in charleston was opening up for these guys...pretty sweet.

9. The Swellers ~ Good For Me
i've already written about this album in a previous post, so instead of reiterating every thing, check it out here

8. Iron & Wine ~ Kiss Each Other Clean
another great album by another great artist. sam beam never disappoints, however, this album doesn't quite have the repeat power that his other releases have had on me. still better than 99% of the releases this year.

7. Manchester Orchestra~ Simple Math
i was really looking forward to this album, and they didn't disappoint. this is not "mean everything to nothing" part II and i'm glad. i really loved that album but simple math is a much more personal album. plus they have one of the coolest music videos i've seen in a while.

6. David bazan ~ Strange Negotiations
he's since dropped the pedro the lion moniker but his songs are even better since. this album was a huge step forward from curse your branches...and that album would've made my top ten for 2009.

5. The Dear Hunter ~ The Color Spectrum
i've already written about this album in a previous post, so instead of reiterating every thing, check it out here

4. Glassjaw ~ The Coloring Book
glassjaw's "chinese democracy" finally sees the light of day and it's well worth the wait. it's much more ambient than previous albums (think more deftones) but damn if they can't pull it off well.

3. Bayside ~ Killing Time
another completely underrated band who have consistently put out great album after great album. i love the way anthony writes and how every song seems to apply perfectly to some aspect of your life. killing time may be their best effort yet.

2. Bon Iver ~ Bon Iver
i'm sure you all thought this was going to be my number one...fooled ya! since i've already expounded upon the greatness of this album here, i won't go through it again.

1. Balance and Composure ~ Separation
damn i love this album. i heard a lot of good things about it a few months back and i listened to a few tracks online and instantly loved it. i can't count how many times i've listened to it, even months after it dropped i find myself returning to it on a daily basis. it's a pop record without being a pop record, a punk record without being a punk record and a hardcore record without being a hardcore record...it's one of my all time favorites.

notable mentions: cave in (white silence), taking back sunday (taking back sunday), thomas giles (pulse), appleseed cast (middle states)

obviously, this is just my opinion and are albums that consistently make their way back into my rotation well after their drop dates. feel free to share any albums you enjoy or just crucify me on my picks.

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tunage tuesday?

so i've realized that i am a major source of new music for a lot of my friends, or just music in general, not necessarily new music. i know a few of them would never own an album past blink 182's "dude ranch" if i didn't shove music down their throat (looking at you hef, yes i know you're reading this).

ok, maybe that's a bit of a stretch but still, i spend a lot of time every week recommending bands to friends or telling one if some band's new album is any good so i decided every week, i'll try to mention a few bands that i've discovered or can't take off repeat.

this won't be day specific but i'm gonna use alliteration for the title whenever possible...because this is my blog and i can do what i want.

and at once i knew i was not magnificent, high above the highway isle i could see for miles, miles, miles ~ holoscene
band: bon iver
album: bon iver
what i think: if you know me, and most of you do, you had to know this was going to be on here. i'll admit, i have a man crush on justin vernon's songs and there is nothing on this album that disappoints. this album is everything you loved about for emma, forever ago plus so many extra layers. each song builds on itself and if you happen to be a musician of any sort, you'll appreciate the complexity of the songs all on their own. i'm still processing everything this album has to offer but i listen to it at least once a day and love it more each time. watch the jimmy fallon performance (link below) and you can see the layers and the impressiveness of this dude's vision.
listen to: perth, holocene (link to performance on jimmy fallon)
for fans of: bon iver (i can't think of anyone else out there that sounds like him)

really this is all catastrophic, we're tethered to the hull of a sinking ship ~ filth and squalor

band: the dear hunter
album: the color spectrum
what i think: the color spectrum is a collection of nine eps(black, white, red, blue, indigo, yellow, green, and white), which is a really cool concept btw, and from what i've read he wrote the four or five songs for each ep trying to describe the emotions that are normally associated with each color. i really didn't listen to these guys at all until i came across the video of we've got a score to settle, featured on the red ep. anyway, i listened to we've got a score to settle entirely too many times and so then i listened to the rest of the red ep and then I listened to the Black EP and I was hooked. Yea, I spent the 35 bucks on all nine eps and have no buyer's remorse at all. it's fantastic and covers the spectrum (see what i did there??) on musical styles without any song feeling out of place. the notes this guy hits are equally impressive (must be the beard).
listen to: we've got a score to settle (red ep), home (white ep)
for fans of: thrice; o' brother; manchester orchestra

i wish you could see inside my head, to answer all of the questions that you have ~ inside my head

band: the swellers
album: good for me
what i think: happened to see this bands name run across twitter and decided to check em out, i was surprised on how solid this entire album is, as well as, disappointed that it took me this long to find them. it's good pop punk, really good pop punk to be exact. as wide as my music collection taste is, it's nice to have an album that is just drums, guitars and vox that stays upbeat throughout it's entirety.
listen to: runaway; inside my head
for fans of: hot rod circuit; no use for a name; acceptance


ok, that's what i've got for now. feel free to comment any bands that you think i should check out. if you'd like to listen to these albums, i'd suggest the site www.groveshark.com, it's a great site to listen to an entire album without buying it first.

as always, don't download. buy your music!

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