[PLAYLIST] The Best SONGS of 2011 – Part 1 (Jan-June)
The best of the best… so far. My list ordering is always fast and loose so don’t sweat the numbers too much. For more on any of these artists use the tags links at the bottom of the post. Read on and rock out!
25 – ♫ Baby Monster – Mr. Success / These guys snuck in with a jam that just kept getting better with each listen. Oooooh ooooo ooooo!
24 – ♫ The Weeknd – House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls / Dark, dirty, and not for public consumption. But damn if I can’t get enough.
23 – ♫ Motopony – King of Diamonds / Should be higher up on the list but with another Motopony track below I am basically sneaking this track in. An amazing song.
22 – ♫ Vacationer – Trip / A love song written by sunsets for eastern facing waterfalls and delivered by toucans.
21 – ♫ Wildlife – Stand in the Water / An epic start to an epic album. Hairs on the back of the neck every time. I can’t stay seated!
20 – ♫ James Blake – The Wilhelm Scream / A perfect moment to sit back down. Talk about a grower. If you haven’t got into this track yet then kill the lights, turn the volume up big, close your eyes, and just listen.
19 – ♫ Butcher Blades/ – The Swan Machine / If tropical were a college course then these dudes would be mentoring the senior thesis kids. So epic. Can someone shoot a throwback spy hero fight scene on a beach to this jam already?
18 – ♫ The-Dream – F**k My Brains Out / The-Dream dropped this with a siamese twin track “Body Work” but it was the heavy breathing, MJ channeling latter half that really lit my fire. I broke it off solo just for this post!
17 – ♫ Pompeya – Untitled / From Russia with bassline.
16 – ♫ Theme Park – Milk / Finally, a cure for all those lactose intolerant posers. 8oz of this a day will cure what ails you.
15 – ♫ Walk The Moon – Anna Sun / Also one of the best live shows I’ve seen this year. And best videos. Damn, how the hell have I not got this album yet?Remedied….. now.
14 – ♫ Generationals – Ten-Twenty-Ten / These guys have landed a jam in a Best Of list every year so far so it’s no surprise they have done it again. And could “doing it again” be any more fun than this?
13 – ♫ Brasstronaut – Hearts Trompet / Not much out there as elegant and beautiful as this track. And then it all breaks and builds into a whole new epic being.
12 – ♫ Jack Littman – Sinking Ship / All pulsing and thumping and fantastic. Fits under a summer moon as much as a winter one.
11 – ♫ Purity Ring – Ungirthed / Creepy and swollen in all the right places. Plus, 10 out of 10 J Riches agree, this is an epic jam.
10 – ♫ Britney Spears – Till The World Ends / Haters will hate. The rest of us will be having the party of our lives. Gotta love that instantly sing-along-able hook!
9 – ♫ Punches – Sleepless City / Possibly best horns/piano/drum-machine combo of the year? Beautiful and danceable all at once.
8 – ♫ When Saints Go Machine – Kelly / That bass thump just hits so good. And I can’t think of better vocals go along with this funky jam.
7 – ♫ Things I Never Told You – Happiness / Throwback sex disco pop at it’s finest.
6 – ♫ Mitten – All That I’ve Got / Distorted intro is deceptive as soon the beautiful pop goodness is smeared all over your ears. Smooth and sweet and somehow fluffy too.
5 – ♫ Frank Ocean – Swim Good / The smoothest member of OFWGKTA delivers on all his crew’s hype in one song. At least as far as I’m concerned.
4 – ♫ Joywave – Golden State / The song uses the traditional rock forumla of guitar, bass, and drums, but I can’t remember the last time that mix cooked up such an epic show stopper like this. Must be like what hearing U2 in the 80s felt like.
3 – ♫ Patrick Wolf – The City / Huge. Just huge. Plus touching, infectious, and gorgeous.
2 – ♫ The Botaniks – Fond of Jane ft. Bernhoft / Up. Down. Left and right. This one’s got it covered on all corners of planet funk. And Bernhoft’s soraing vocals are rivaled only by The Botaniks’ impeccable production. Woooo-eee.
1 – ♫ Motopony – Wait For Me / This song leaves me speechless.
/// ZIPÂ Files ///
I like but maybe part two will include Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle, or Atlas Genius – Trojans, :)
Awesome list! I’ve been a secret admirer of the site for a while now… and waiting patiently to see selections for your top picks so far this year. I thought I’d finally let you know how much I appreciate the amazing music you dig up… keeps me going… you rock.
I would have had a few of your previous picks on too – Foster the People “Helena Beat”, Grouplove “Naked Kids”, Hey Champ “Anything at all” and Generationals “Ten-Twenty Ten” on the list too…
Ingore the Generationals comment… too quick on the trigger hitting send…
Post on “Shuffle” coming soon but I really wouldn’t be surprised if it makes next list. We’ll see about Trojans. I love it but it has stiff competition these past 6 months. Hard to pick favorites, you know. Haha
Well I’m glad we got that secret baloney out of the way! Hit up these comments and let me know what you are feeling. The “Anything At All” post has Zero comments and I didn’t know anyone else was feeling it! Anyway, glad to have you in the mix Dennis!
anyone else having problems downloading this from mediafire? it just keeps reloading the page for me. Frustrating because the mix looks SOOO good! Between this and the White man 70’s mix at Split infinitives my weekend’s listening is sorted!
http://splitinfinitives.com/post/7532586672/white-male-70s-bullshit-a-mixtape
Thanks again! Hopefully mediafire sorts itself out!
Mediafire is working for me. I can also see download numbers so it’s working for others too. Try again today or you can always download tracks individually. Enjoy!
love the site brandon, big fan. Â one question – how’d you get that pompeya track? Â been dying to get their whole album and can’t see a buy link on their bandcamp it be drivin’ me crazy…Â
Hey Man, they sent a few tracks over way back when and that’s how I found out about them. I see what you mean about having no buy option. I’ll see what info I can get from their management. Gotta get that album!
Hey Man, they sent a few tracks over way back when and that’s how I found out about them. I see what you mean about having no buy option. I’ll see what info I can get from their management. Gotta get that album!
Hey Man, they sent a few tracks over way back when and that’s how I found out about them. I see what you mean about having no buy option. I’ll see what info I can get from their management. Gotta get that album!
I guess I will never understand why hip hop has a place in this kind of music…Â is it about music taste? Even if somebody explains it, I wouldn’t understand.
Not sure what you mean. There isn’t even any hip hop on this list. Which is a shame really. Last list has a few.
Soooo good. Can’t believe I missed so many of these peaches first time round.
James Blake and Purity Ring are the tip top for me.
Things that you’ve missed? Something from the Elbow album, or maybe Starfucker – Death as a Fetish. That must get played a couple of times a day for me
Mmm, peaches is right. Tasty jams up in here.
Nice. I haven’t listened to Elbow but it sounds like I should!
Haven’t listened to Elbow!
I’m a little appalled. “Seldom Seen Kid” won the Mercury Music Prize in 2008, and the new album “build a rocket boys!” is a little more low key, but really amazing. Older albums are also worth a look.
Single track recommendations? “Grounds for Divorce,” “One Day Like This,” “The Birds,” “Lippy Kids”
Hey B,Â
Motopony is from the NW. Seeing as they made #1 and #23; maybe its time you come out here and see what else grows in the forests? #MFNW @sasquatchtweet:twitter Â
Haha, I mean I’ve heard some Elbow (love “One Day Like This”) Just didn’t get into Cast Of Thousands and so didn’t grab this new one. I’ll have to take a listen!
Amen! Someone hooks me up with a ticket from Poland and I’m there! Joel & Scott are from there too!
Great post – a few songs here that I had previously neglected!
I know a few always slip through the cracks. Gotta sweep em up here!
Just wanted to thank-you Brandon for introducing me to Motopony’s “Wait For Me”. Â What an incredibly beautiful song. Â I made a little remix/edit of that track so I can drop it into my downtempo sets and would love to share it with you. Â
You can reach me on twitter @timlivingstone:disqusÂ
nice. going back through old posts checking for anything i missed making my best of 2011 list, and just noticed the shout out on ungirthed. thanks for the love and look for lots of purity ring appearances on my list.
J, you are my main man for all things Ungirthed. I look forward to the list!
Bummer, no Architecture in Helsinki on this list anywhere :/
Did you check Part 1 of the list?
Oooh, and no Metronomy either! Â The Look is probably worth a look…if you catch my drift
Haha, sorry. I meant Part 1 of the remixes list
https://www.theburningear.com/2011/07/playlist-the-best-remixes-of-2011-part-1-jan-june/
I really wasn’t feeling the tracks I heard from this album but I’ll check out The Look now
Sweet!
yum!
incredible collection of music. can’t believe i missed so much of this. thanks so much.