In Rotation
The very best of the 2011’s musical offerings
By Troy Farah
Published on 12/22/2011
Well,now that he’s almost gone,I can talk all I want about 2011 behind his back. What a long year. I can’t really say it was good or bad,but just somewhere in between. Pretty neutral. The Arab Spring led to some pretty neutral results. Occupy Wall Street,also pretty neutral. The Iraq Invasion is wrapping up,but the War on Terror gets more and more frightening over here. So,pretty neutral.
Although,in the long run we should choose to champion what was exceptional,and few things were as exceptional this year as these album releases. That’s right,it’s Flag Live’s Best Music of 2011.
Girl Talk
All Day
I didn’t listen to anything as much as I did this mixtape wonder from Gregg Gillis,the master mashup man who produced this jerky,high-powered remix. A whopping 372 samples were used in the space of 71 minutes,introducing a new song every 12 seconds. Unlike many mixes, All Day strays into so many contradicting genres it’s mind-blowing. You’ll hear Blondie and Black Sabbath,Ke$ha and Kraftwerk,Prince and Public Enemy,just to name a few. Gillis is redefining what it means to sample other artists and he’s got a sound almost everyone can relate to.
Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi
Rome
Some side projects this year,no matter how creative,seemed a little forced or unimpressive (was Watch the Throne really that surprising?) but Rome,the five-year pet project of Danger Mouse (the producer of the Gorillaz’ Demon Days and the other half of Gnarls Barkley) and Daniele Luppi (an Italian composer) kept the soul of Rome alive. Inspired by the spaghetti western soundtracks (including “The Good,the Bad and the Ugly”) of Ennio Morricone,the album features Jack White and Norah Jones giving a counterbalance of bluesy guitars to the album’s dramatic opera.
Cinematic,instrumental tracks like “Morning Fog” or “The Matador Has Fallen” sound just as beautiful as White on “The Rose with the Broken Neck” or Jones on “Season’s Trees.” It’s not often that so many different elements can marry like this—it’s as daring as it is enchanting.
Tyler,the Creator
Goblin
Even with all the rape,murder,rampant drug abuse,suicide and hatred spewed on Tyler,the Creator’s second album,the hardest thing to get over is it was almost entirely produced by a kid that still can’t legally buy a drink. That’s OK,because he’s straightedge,anyway. Still,his lyrics are the some of the most biting satire in hip-hop now that Eminem’s lost his edge and started producing songs with—blech—Bruno Mars. Minimalistic beats and dark,violence-heavy rap are what old school hip-hop used to be. Tyler and the rest of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All posse are bringing it back. Love it or not,it’s powerful stuff.
Mogwai
Hardcore Will Never Die,But You Will
I adore that album title. I adore post-rock,a genre of instrumental,jam-out rock. I’ve never heard a post-rock song I didn’t like. It’s just so interesting when a band’s total focus isn’t what lyrics they’re throwing out there,but instead conveying a message purely through fuzzy guitar riffs,through drawn-out drum solos,through synthesizer dreamscapes,through music. Believe me,I focus more on lyrical content than anything else,but when that’s absent and you can produce something as uplifting and cumulative as Mogwai,something like “Rano Pano” or “How To Be A Werewolf,” well,that’s what it’s all about,isn’t it?
Lou Reed and Metallica
Lulu
Just kidding!
The Black Keys
El Camino
Isn’t it cute when you meet someone and they’re all like,“Man,love those Black Keys,” and you’re like,“Oh,really? That’s so weird that we have that one random thing in common!” But secretly,you know everyone loves the Black Keys. And there’s damn good reason.
El Camino,the Ohio duo’s seventh album,is only the third to be mastered in a studio. The Keys are known for how speedy they record,yet because of their commercial success withBrothers,they anxiously spent a lot more time than usual thinking about song arrangements. This is the closest thing to patience Dan Auerbach,the guitarist,and Patrick Carney,the drummer,have ever churned out.
And it shows through on tracks like “Little Black Submarines,” which takes its time to kick in with razor-sharp guitar riffs or the high-pitched whines on “Run Right Back.”
Even with less of a blues influence,El Camino ends up sounding little different from previous releases. The Black Keys are using a formula that works,yet there’s not likely to be a complaint from anyone.
Gorillaz
The Fall
Unlike the overproduced turd that was Plastic Beach,Gorillaz’s The Fall was a quiet,subtle release. A throwback to the virtual band’s self-titled debut,nearly the entire minimalistic 45-minute release was recorded on an iPad,expressing frontman Damon Albarn’s loneliness while on tour in America. The portrait these London-based apes paint of the US is (thankfully) apolitical,including short and sweet gems like “Phoner to Arizona,” “Amarillo” and “The Parish of Space Dust.” Perhaps The Fall was an apology for getting so big-headed,but it’s more than that—it’s evidence that simplicity wins over commercialism,even if it doesn’t steal the spotlight.
The Kills
Blood Pressures
Alison Mossheart’s voice is sex. Her heart is as black as her cigarette-choked lungs,and her dark,leather-bound poise on Blood Pressures is one of the spiciest things to hit the airwaves this year. “Future Starts Slow,” a rickety,dirty train ride underground bleeds into “Satellite” which saunters like a Tom Waits song with less creepy old man (that’s not a dig,however) and more self-destructive nymphomaniac. “Last Goodbye” leads us into the darkest alleys,dive bars and cheap hotels that breed hungover despair.
Forget the Dead Weather—Mosshart doesn’t need Jack White to be at her finest. Even ifBlood Pressures isn’t the best the Kills have done,it’s still got more saucy sexuality and bad**s swagger than any whips or chains Rihanna owns or any fetish Lady Gaga thinks is original.
And that’s about it,for me,personally. Honorable mentions include Cake,Battles,Esben and the Witch,David Lynch,Panda Bear,St. Vincent,Childish Gambino,MellowHype,the Strokes,Justice and far too many others to list here. Here’s to next year,music makers and fans—let’s make sure we do just as well before the Apocalypse.
