I made a lot of music this year and I think some of it is the best I've ever made and can't wait to share the new records with you in 2012.
But in the meantime...
MY FAVORITE RELEASES OF 2011
in no order
Andy Stott: We Stay Together
Imagine going to a rave but you and everyone there and the DJ took a lot of cough syrup and everything got super slowed down and spooky. Reminds me of when I was in high school, I would make these weird recordings by playing music into a mic while Hi-Speed Dubbing two blank cassette tapes creating weird slowed down sounds. BAD WIRES is the (space) jam.
St. Vincent: Strange Mercy
The whole album is full of strong songs but the title track has one of my favorite lyrics of the year: "If I ever meet that dirty police man who roughed you up, no I don't know, If I ever meet that dirty police man who roughed you up…"
Clams Casino: S/T (aka Instrumentals)
I don't know most of these tracks in their vocal versions but lyrics would only distract from the great sounds that make me work harder when I'm making music.
The Weeknd: House of Balloons & Thursday
That dude has a great voice and those beats. Bad times never sounded so good. And yes maybe Thursday didn't have the staying power of House of Balloons, but that mixtape has THE BIRDS PART I which rules. It has one of my favorite self-loathing lyrics of the year (which might me a racist -- sorry!): "Don't you fall in love/ Don't make me make you fall in love with a nigger like me / Nobody needs to fall for me/ I'm just a thug…." I walked around Romania singing that one which was problematic on so many levels I imagine.
Wild Beasts: Smother
It is true: the end come to soon. Really good arrangements and a voice that is better than Antony's. That vocal bit near the end of END COME TO SOON gets me every time.
The Field: Looping State of Mind
Great album that shows that combines what was great about the first two Field records, making looping sound new again. Fav tracks: THEN IT'S WHITE and SWEET SLOW BABY.
Burial: Street Halo EP
More of the same maybe but who cares when it is that good.
Leyland Kirby & The Caretaker: all his 2011 releases (Intrigue & Stuff volumes 1-2-3 & An Empty Bliss Beyond This World)
A role model for me in terms of making music outside any record label. Each release was really different but had something special. Empty Bliss is especially good for making me feel nostalgic to the core.
Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 & Dropped Pianos
Though the 2nd release are the sketches for the first, they both stand up as some of the best electronic music made this year. Deeply emotional stuff.
Jamie xx: Far Nearer/Beat For
A perfect 7". Who knew steel drums (samples?) could sound so divorced from their cheesy connotations.
Parenthetical Girls: Privilege Pt. IV EP
While the other three EPs all had great tracks on it, this one is great from start to finish. Most excellent entry in 2011 in the "awkward teen fumbling pop" category. That's a new genre I just invented. You're welcome. "Is there an oven big enough to fit your head in?" HAHAHAHAHA
Ou Ou: Baron Von Baron
This fall was both really joyous and really really hard on both a personal and professional level. And this record some how got me centered and kept me trucking. And for that I thank you, Ou Ou. Post rock Can jam funness. (Again, you're welcome.)
Oneohtrix Point Never: Replica
I haven't stopped listening to this one. Like discovering a weird relic from another planet. I love the off-kilter beats and the vocal samples. Only bummer alert: I can't even pretend to be cool enough to know how to say the band name.
Other Goodies: The Antlers record and great show in Boston, the new Seefeel album (tho triple BOO to canceling the NY show), The Smiths reissues that are mastered really well, the tUne-YarDs w h o k i l l album and the kickass show in Boston, Radiohead releasing a much better live version of their KING OF LIMBS album (tho enough with the mediocre remixes), Bon Iver's S/T album which I disliked, then loved, then ran away from only to eventually embrace its Mike + The Mechanics aesthetic.
Hopes and Plans for 2012: new Boards of Canada and Dirty Projectors, starting a new band with Wayne Feldman, moving back to New York (please hire me and/or my husband).
As I was typing this on the Amtrak train, the lights went out and when they came back on, a man was standing in the aisle and asked if he could purchase my headphones. He had his wallet out. WEIRD-9000!!!!
xxxx
