“I’m looking for something that’ll…break through. You know?” James Woods’ Max Renn yearns in David Cronenberg’s 1983 cult classic Videodrome. Oh, how things have changed. In today’s day and age, we’ve already drowned in media. It’s swallowed us. We’re nothing but a bubble amidst one infinite, engulfing abyss. Intimidated? You should be. With each passing second, you’re losing opportunities to take advantage of a culture that’s moving ahead and at an exhausting rate. You could very well be alone…left behind…abandoned. Terrified yet? Yes? Well, that’s more like it.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

Bad Veins – “Dancing on TV”

This clip from Bad Veins is equal parts tribute to the late, great Don Cornelius and A-ha’s “Take On Me”. How often can you say that about a music video?

The Black Keys – “Gold on the Ceiling”

The latest from Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney is the visual approximation of a band taking a well-deserved victory lap after having one hell of a past couple years. Cushy recording studios, massive wardrobes, photo shoots – it’s all there. Congrats boys, you’re officially rock stars.

Coldplay – “Charlie Brown”

Who knew parkour was still a thing? I guess when Coldplay is playing at an underground warehouse in your town, all of the normal modes of transportation get thrown out the window.

Cults – “You Know What I Mean”

In this video, Brian Oblivion of Cults doesn’t simply let one body-scaring stunt gone wrong end his fictional career as a daredevil. Instead, he hops right back onto the horse (or rather, the ladder) and risks his life to impress the girl of his fancy.

Drake – “Practice”

When most of us walk into a hotel room, there’s usually only a maid tidying up. When Drake walks into a hotel room, he finds…well, just watch it. First make sure your mom or any co-workers aren’t around though.

Jonquil – “It’s My Part”

This video combines three things: pizza, animal masks, and bull riding. In case you were wondering…yes, the result is as awesome as it sounds.

Madonna (feat. Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) – “Gimme All Your Luvin”

Maybe a few of you have heard this one? To be honest, if I were ever featured in a video as unbearably corny and mindlessly bubblegum as this, I’d probably want to flip off the entire world too.

M.I.A. – “Bad Girls”

I guess Maya’s parents never told her to wear her seat belt when she was younger. Hey, at least no little kids got blown up this time.

Rick Ross – “Yella Diamonds”

As good as this track is, I’m still not sure how I feel about the fact that something that simply cuts back and forth from a vodka ad to a simulated rape scene passes as a hip-hop music video these days. Am I the only one who thinks the home invasion portion goes on maybe just a little too long?

St. Vincent – “Cheerleader”

We all know that Ms. Annie Clark “don’t wanna be a cheerleader no more,” but in this new video she apparently isn’t a big fan of being a giant-sized human art exhibit either. After breaking out of her binds King Kong-style, she unfortunately crumbles apart like a marble sculpture before she can make it to the Empire State Building.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new winner for the most booty shakin’ video in existence with Drake‘s new clip for “Practice”, off last year’s Take Care. Not since Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass” or Juvenile’s “Back That Thang Up” has a more, um, well-endowed young female shown more gusto and passion flaunting her assets. Hey, and even Drake shows up at the end… to totally spoil the show. Watch the video below.

If you think you can out-dance the girl in the video, prove it. Drizzy himself is accepting fan submission videos now; he’ll choose one winner to dance behind him when his “Club Paradise” tour kicks off on February 14th in Miami, Florida. Peep the full tour schedule below, as well.

Drake 2012 Tour Dates:
02/14 – Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
02/15 – Gainesville, FL @ Stephen C. O’Connell Center
02/17 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
02/18 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
02/21 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
02/22 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
02/24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
02/25 – New Orleans, LA @ LAUNO Lakefront Arena
02/27 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
02/28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Center
03/01 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
03/02 – Arlington, TX @ College Park Center
03/04 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Arena
03/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Galen Center
03/08 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
03/10 – San Jose, CA @ Event Center
03/11 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/24 – Dublin, IE @ O2 Arena
03/26 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
03/29 – Sheffield, UIK @ Motorpoint Arena
03/30 – Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
04/01 – Manchester, UK @ MEN Arena
04/02 – Glasgow, UK @ SECC
04/05 – Paris, FR @ Palais Omnisport de Bercy
04/07 – Brussels, BE @ Forest National
04/08 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
04/10 – Frankfurt, DE @ Jahrhunderthalle
04/12 – Berlin, DE @ Max Schleming Halle
04/13 – Copenhagen, DK @ Valby Hallen
04/15 – Stockholm, SE @ Ericsson Globe
04/16 – Oslo, NO @ Spektrum
04/19 – Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena
04/22 – Liverpool, UK @ Echo Arena
04/23 – Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena
04/25 – Nottingham, UK @ Capital FM Arena

Among the things Canada has going for it are hockey, Tim Hortons’ donuts, and Drake. Earlier this afternoon, all three forces came together when Drizzy performed “Headlines” during the second intermission of Tim Hortons’ NHL All Star Game in Ottawa. Catch the replay below.

As far as MCs go, Common is usually a decidedly conscientious one (see: the vast majority of his back catalog). But that doesn’t mean that he can’t start some rap beef whenever he wants, specifically with rap’s current it boy, Drake.

The first blow was actually struck on The Dreamer, The Believer track entitled “Sweet”, where Common derided “softer” MCs like Drizzy. On Friday, Drake shot back with his verse on Rick Ross’ “Stay Schemin”, from the Rich Forever mixtape. Now, just a few days later, Common has returned fire with a remix “Stay Schemin”.

Keeping more or less with the original, Common drops his verse last, releasing a firestorm of vitriol with lines like: “My Motto is/Chicago bitch/everybody know you sweet/ what the problem is/Don’t play dumb I’m the one that acknowledged it/ Son of a bitch I imagine what your father is/ She said how you make your opponent the rapper of the moment/the style he don’t own it/acting all hard when he hardly like that/You gonna mess around and make me catch a body like that/owww”. Check it out below (via MTV RapFix).

Health problems derailed the planned December release of Rick Ross‘ fifth studio album, God Forgives, I Don’t. With the LP now set to arrive later in 2012, hip-hop’s self-proclaimed Boss offers a temporary stopgap with a free mixtape of all-new material. Entitled Rich Forever, the 19-track collection includes collaborations with Drake, Nas, John Legend, Wale, Diddy, French Montana, and move. Download your own copy via LiveMixtapes.

Rich Forever Tracklist:
01. Holy Ghost (feat. Diddy)
02. High Definition
03. MMG Untouchable
04. Yella Diamonds
05. Fuck Em (feat. 2 Chainz & Wale)
06. London Skit
07. Rich Forever (feat. John Legend)
08. Triple Beam Dreams (feat. Nas)
09. Mine Games (feat. Kelly Rowland)
10. New Bugatti (feat. Diddy)
11. Keys To The Crib (feat. Styles P)
12. Last Breath feat. (Meek Mill & Birdman)
13. I Sweat To God
14. Off The Boat (feat. French Montana)
15. King Of Diamonds
16. Ring Ring (feat. Future)
17. MMG The World Is Ours (feat. Pharrell, Meek Mill & Stalley)
18. Party Heart (feat. Stalley & 2 Chainz)
19. Stay Schemin (feat. Drake & French Montana)

If you happened to sit through Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve during the ten o’clock hour, you were subjugated to a top 40 countdown for the all-time best New Year’s Eve performances. Jennifer Lopez’s lip-synching of “Let’s Get Loud” in  2010 narrowed out Mariah Carey, The Village People, and Culture Club for the number one spot. Baha Men, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Black Eyed Peas also earned placement.

Needless to say, the NYE TV programming doesn’t have the best track record and last night’s channel surfing led to mostly cringeworthy results. Hot Chelle Rae, OneRepublic, LMFAO, and Pitbull all performed. There were also a pair of less-than-desired covers, including Justin Bieber’s take on “Let It Be” and Cee-Lo Green’s massively out-of-tune rendition of ”Imagine”.

But not all was bad; Drake, The Roots, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé also delivered performances, and you can watch the replays below. Drake performed “Make Me Proud”, “The Motto”, and “Headlines” from his recent LP Take Care; The Roots showcased their new LP undun with ”The Seed 2.0″ and “The Fire”; Lady Gaga ripped through Born This Way tracks ”Heavy Metal Lover”, “Marry The Night”, and “Born This Way”; Nicki Minaj performed “Super Bass”, “Roman In Moscow”, and “Turn Me On”; and Beyoncé taped a rendition of “I Was Here”.

Also, props to Mayor Michael Bloomberg for not holding one back.

Drake – “Make Me Proud”, “The Motto”, “Headlines”:

The Roots – “The Seed 2.0″, “The Fire”:

Lady Gaga – “Heavy Metal Lover”, “Marry The Night”, “Born This Way”:

Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”:

Nicki Minaj - ”Turn Me On”, “Roman In Moscow”:

Beyoncé – “I Was Here”:

It’s been a long year. Scratch that, it’s been a veeerrrry long year. From social revolutions to the end of our occupation of Iraq, from the death of celebrities and dictators to a man who sneezes bullets and the mystery of planking, the world experienced a slew of emotions and all sorts of cultural and political upheaval in 2011. And that’s not even counting the plethora of music news that had the blogosphere abuzz this year.

So, as the question begs, what comes next? Well, 2012. If you were to believe certain factions, it’ll be the end of days. A more likely scenario, though, is that it will be another busy year, with people to meet, triumphs to celebrate, disasters to mourn, and a whole other set of memories to file away as we march perpetually onward toward the Great Unknown. A dreary prospect for sure, one that almost makes the impending Apocalypse sound warm and fuzzy. However, there is temporary respite in the form of New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is that magic night where one year is all but over. It’s the chance to stop worrying for a moment. It’s an opportunity to celebrate surviving the last 364. It’s the start of a whole new scheme or design for the upcoming 365. Rather than chugging cheap champagne and letting off fireworks, NYE should be commemorated with the one thing that makes any year bearable: music.

As we have for every other major celebratory occasion, CoS has your back with our handy-dandy New Year’s Eve 2011 Concert Guide. From the beaches of Miami to life in the City of Angels, and everywhere between, our guide has everything you’ll need to know to see your favorite bands live. Whether you’re planning to rock out with Patti Smith at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, get freaky with The Flaming Lips and Yoko Ono in Oklahoma City, or hit up BOTH of Kaskade’s NYE shows (in two different state mind you), our guide is the only New Year’s Eve accessory you need (save for maybe a noisemaker). Plus, if you’re not one to brave the weather and the sea of drunks, we’ll tell you what you should be watching on the old boob tube. The point is, if it’s happening on NYE, it’s in this guide. Your only concern will be how to get home and/or where to pass out at the end of the night.

If we’ve missed any gathering or shindig, please let us know in the comments below. Call this a cliché bit of writing, but we’d like to leave you with some parting words from the immortal Benjamin Franklin to guide you into what lies ahead: “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

See ya in 2012.

-Chris Coplan
News Editor

New York City

– AarabMUZIK, Balam Acab: 285 Kent

– Assembly of Dust: Mercury Lounge

– Avicii: Pier 34

– The Bad Plus: The Village Vanguard

– Charles Bradley, The Budos Band: Music Hall of Williamsburg

– Chuck Berry: B.B. King Blues Club

– Dark Star Orchestra: Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

– Deadmau5: Pier 36

– Deer Tick, J. Roddy Watson and the Business, Dead Confederate: Brooklyn Bowl

– Fitz and the Tantrums: The Gramercy Theatre

– Gogol Bordello: Terminal 5

– Gov’t Mule: Beacon Theatre

– Infected Mushroom: Best Buy Theater

– The Knocks: Gansevoort Park Avenue

– Laidback Luke: Pacha

– Lee Fields & The Expressions: The Bell House

– Los Lobos: City Winery

– Matt and Kim, Super Mash Bros., Body Language: Hammerstein Ballroom

– Neru: Webster Hall

– The New Deal: B.B. King Blues Club

– New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men: Roseland Ballroom

– Nick Catchdubs: Loreley

– Nosaj Thing: Glasslands

– O’Death: Spike Hill

– Patti Smith: Bowery Ballroom

– Phish: Madison Square Garden

– Steve Lawler: District 36

– Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Maxwells (Hoboken, NJ)

Chicago

– Alkaline Trio: Metro

– Big Gigantic: Riviera Theatre

– Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears: Double Door

– Cage the Elephant, Sleeper Agent: Aragon Ballroom

– Cave: The Hideout

– Disco Biscuits, Future Rock: Auditorium Theatre

– The Hood Internet: Lincoln Hall

– Keys N Krates: Chicago Urban Art Society

– Local H: Bottom Lounge

– Murder By Death: Subterranean

– Old 97s: Intercontinental Hotel Grand Ballroom

– Rusko, Sinden, Switch: Congress Theater

– The Spits: Cobra Lounge

Los Angeles

– The Aggrolites: Alex’s Bar

– Benny Benassi, Paul Van Dyk, Kaskade, Dada Life: Anaheim Convention Center (White Wonderland)

– DJ Quik: Key Club

– Duck Sauce, Diplo, Chromeo, Felix da Housecat, The Bloody Beetroots, LA Riots: Oak Canyon Park (Together As One)

– The Henry Clay People, Races: The Satellite

– Give Up the Ghost: Ukrainian Culture Center

– Jenny and Johnny, Cults: The Standard Hollywood

– John Digweed: The Avalon

– Junkie XL: Detroit Bar

– L.A. Guns: Whisky A Go Go

– Lupe Fiasco: Hollywood & Highland Center

– Musiq Soulchild: House of Blues

– Wanda Jackson, Best Coast, Dan Sartain: Club Nokia

San Francisco

– The Fresh & Onlys, Thee Oh Sees: Brick and Mortar Music Hall

– Furthur: Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

– Kreayshawn: The Regency Ballroom

– The Limousines: Rickshaw Stop

– Maceo Parker: Yoshi’s

– Santigold, Amon Tobin Islam Live, Beats Antique, Claude Von Stroke,: Concourse Exhibition Center (Sea of Dreams)

– Primus: Great American Music Hall

– The Slip: Cafe du Nord

– Sonny & The Sunsets: Amnesia

– Talib Kweli: Sloane Squared

– Tedeschi Trucks Band, The New Mastersounds: The Warfield

– Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue: The Fillmore

– X: Slim’s

– Yeasayer (DJ Set): W Hotel

– DJ Z-Trip: Fort Mason Center

London

– The 2 Bears: XOYO

– Adam Beyer: Fabric

– Ferry Corsten: Brixton Academy

– Gabby Young and Other Animals: Royal Festival Hall

– Gary Numan: All Star Lanes

– Gross Magic: The Victoria

– Joker, Brekage, Roska, Plastician, Sigma: Electric Brixon

– Kasabian, Chase & Status, Zane Lowe: The O2

– Toddla T: The Nest

– The Wedding Present: Dingwalls

Elsewhere

Aspen

– Jane’s Addiction: Belly Up

Athens (Georgia)

– MartyParty, Dubconscious: New Earth Music Hall

– of Montreal: Go Bar

– Reptar: Georgia Theatre

Atlanta

– Against Me!, Fake Problems, Franz Nicolay: The Masquerade

– Cake: Fox Theatre

– JJ Grey & Mofro: Variety Playhouse

– Kylesa: The Earl

– Naughty By Nature, Ed Kowalczyk: Hyatt Regency

– Perpetual Groove: Center Stage

– STS9: The Tabernacle

– Zac Brown Band: Philips Arena

Atlantic City

– Brand New: House of Blues

Austin

– Big Freedia: The Mohawk

– The Black Angels, Wooden Shjips, Ume: Emo’s East

– Bob Schneider, Quiet Company: Paramount Theatre

– Designer Drugs: Austin Music Hall

– Gary Clark Jr.: Antone’s

– Groupo Fantasma: Beauty Bar

– Hayes Carll: La Zona Rosa

– Penguin Prison: American Legion Hall

– Russian Circles: Red 7

– White Denim, Royal Bangs: The Empire Space

– Willie Nelson: Moody Theater

Australia

– Arctic Monkeys, Crystal Castles, Dan Deacon, The Naked and Famous: The Falls Festival (Lorne)

– Fleet Foxes, Beirut, CSS, CANT, Unknown Mortal Orchestra: The Falls Festival (Marion Bay)

Baltimore

– Carbon Leaf: Hyatt Regency

– SOJA: Baltimore Soundstage

Boston

– David Wax Museum: Lizard Lounge (Cambridge, MA)

– Lucero: Paradise

– New York Dolls: New England Conservatory

Charlotte (North Carolina)

– Widespread Panic: Time Warner Cable Arena

Dallas

– Girl Talk, Ghostland Observatory, MSTRKRFT, Neon Indian, Pendulum (DJ Set): Lights All Night

– The Polyphonic Spree, Centro-matic: House of Blues

– Quinton and Miss Pussycat: Zubar

Denver

– Flux Pavilion, Doctor P: Colorado Convention Center

– Gauntlet Hair, Pictureplane: The Larmier Lounge

– Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad: Cervantes’ Other Side

– Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Orgone: Cervatnes Ballroom

– Ladytron (DJ Set): City Hall

– Pretty Lights: 1stBANK Center (Broomfield, CO)

– Railroad Earth: Ogden Theatre

– Truckasauras: The Summit

– Ween: The Fillmore

Detroit

– The Detroit Cobras: Magic Stick

– Greensky Bluegrass, The Macpodz: Majestic Theatre

– Maze featuring Frankie Beverly: Masonic Temple

Greenville (South Carolina)

– The Avett Brothers: Bi-Lo Center

Houston

– Blue October: House of Blues

– Christopher Lawrence: Stereo Live

– Young Jeezy: Reliant Arena

Lake Tahoe

– Bassnectar, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, The Glitch Mob, Childish Cambino, A-Trak, Theophilus London, YACHT: Snowglobe Music Festival

Las Vegas

– Chris Brown: Pure Nightclub

– Guns N’ Roses, Sebastian Bach: The Joint

– John Legend: Pearl Concert Theater

– Kaskade: Marquee

– NOFX, Lagwagon: House of Blues

– Paul Oakenfold: Rain

– Steve Angello: XS Nightclub

– Stevie Wonder: Cosmopolitan

Louisville (Kentucky)

– The Pass: Butchertown Pub Studios

Miami

– The Heavy Pets: Tobacco Road

– Spam All-Stars: The Catalina Hotel

Minneapolis

– Dawes: Varsity Theater

– EOTO: Skyway Theater

Milwaukee

– Skrillex, Dillon Francis: The Rave

Nashville

– Bassnectar: Bridgestone Arena

– Moon Taxi, Apache Relay: Exit/In

New Orleans

– Big Sam’s Funky Nation: The Joy Theater

– Black Lips: One Eyed Jacks

– Dr. John: House of Blues

– Funky Meters: Tipitina’s French Quarter

– Galactic, Anders Osborne: Tipitina’s Uptown

— Rebirth Brass Band: Howlin’ Wolf

Northampton (Massachusetts)

– Josh Ritter: Calvin Theater

– Rubblebucket: Pearl Street Nightclub

Oklahoma City

– The Flaming Lips, Yoko Ono: Brickstown Events Center

Orlando

– Trivium, Sevendust, Black Tide: House of Blues

– Slightly Stoopid, The Expendables: Hard Rock Live

Ottawa

– Electric Six: Mavericks

Philadelphia

– Clutch: Trocadero

– Eternal Summers, Bleeding Rainbow: Level Room

– Good Old War, River City Extension: Theatre of Living Arts

– Lotus: Festival Pier

– Man Man (DJ Set), Dr. Dog (DJ Set), Sun Airway (DJ Set): Johnny Brenda’s

– Smoking Popes: North Star Bar

Phoenix

– Meat Puppets: Clubhouse Music Venue

Portland (Maine)

– moe.: State Theatre

Portland (Oregon)

– Leftover Salmon: Roseland Theater

– Nurses, Radiation City: Mississippi Studios

– Pierced Arrows: Ash Street Saloon

– Red Fang: Star Theater

– Reverend Horton Heat, Supersuckers: The Crystal Ballroom

– Talkdemonic: Misson Theater

San Diego

– Fedde Le Grand, Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Bart B More: Valley View Casino Center (OMFG! NYE)

– Kinky: 4th & B

Seattle

– Mustard Pimp: King Cat Theatre

– Starfucker, Champagne Champagne: The Crocodile

St. Louis (Missouri):

– Cowboy Mouth: Old Rock House

– Devon Allman’s Honeytribe: Blueberry Hill

– Excision: Koken Art Factory

– Umphrey’s McGee: The Pageant

Toronto

– Elliot Brood: Lee’s Palace

– Kyuss! Lives: Cherry Cola’s Rock N’ Rolla Cabaret & Lounge

– The Sadies: Horseshoe Tavern

– Steve Aoki, Thomas Gold: Kool Haus

Vancouver

– Tiësto: Pacific Coliseum

Washington, DC

– Animal Collective (DJ Set), Le Tigre (DJ Set), ANR (DJ Set): 1800 L Street NW (BYT NYE)

– Drive-By Truckers, Booker T, Alabama Shakes: 9:30 Club

– Gucci Mane: Love Night Club

– Morgan Page: Fur Nightclub

– Painted Face: Rock and Roll Hotel

On TV

– Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve (ABC): Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Blink-182, Nicki Minaj

– New Year’s Eve with Carson Daily (NBC): Drake, The Roots, Cee-Lo Green

– NYE in NYC (MTV): J. Cole

– Coldplay New Year’s Eve: An Austin City Limits Special (PBS)

Drake is usually one to rep his hometown of Toronto. But in the video for the Lil Wayne and Tiga-aided remix to his Take Care bonus cut “The Motto”, Drizzy has clearly left his heart in San Francisco. Kicking off with an intro from the mother of late Bay Area rapper Mac Dre, the trio, alongside hometown legends E-40 and Mistah F.A.B., drive up and around the Golden Gate Bridge between marathon rap and dance sessions underneath it. Take part in the lovefest by watching below.

Take Care – the 10th best album of 2011 – is out now via Young Money/Cash Money Entertainment.

At this year’s Record Store Day – the April one, not the November shindig – I felt something that hadn’t occurred to me in probably 10 years. I felt excited to hold a record. Standing in line, clutching the inside of my far-too-thin hoodie (thanks, Chicago wind), I paced back and forth in my mind, thinking, God, I hope I get this album. The item in question? Big Star’s unreleased Third.

Of course, I didn’t get it. Nobody did. The store didn’t even receive a copy. So, instead, I spent a couple bucks on some singles, bit my lip, and went home somewhat satiated. But, for the 45 minutes prior to that moment, it was something slightly alien, but moreover familiar. There used to be a time when you couldn’t get an album.

Not everyone can remember that feeling, but they should. Prior to the digital revolution, music was somewhat of a privilege. As a child, you might spend weeks saving up money for something that takes less than two clicks to grab now. Don’t get me wrong — it’s liberating. But value gets partly tossed aside now. It really shouldn’t.

The album is by far the most integral facet of the music industry. People throw out EPs, toss in singles, but albums really mean something. If it’s even halfway decent, it’s essentially then a collection of perfected thoughts, emotions, and creations that are meant to be consumed, examined, and experienced. This year, we had far too many experiences – seemingly overloaded by an open-door policy of music thanks to Spotify.

That didn’t stop us, however, from finding 50 albums we thoroughly enjoyed.

-Michael Roffman
President/Editor-in-Chief

50. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire

In 2011, a record like this with precise craft, honest and bare songwriting, and gorgeous, subtle polish seldom gets made. Ashes & Fire is a mainstay because of its demeanor: authentic, exposed, and sublime. It’s a departure from the soaring years with the Cardinals and the rowdy solo work of yesteryear. Instead, Ryan Adams is mellow and content; his voice gleams from artfully sparse production (see: “Dirty Rain”). A tightly focused survey of the remaining ashes of his past, the album subtly questions what to do with all that history in light of a different self and becomes a modern classic in the process. -Liz Lane

49. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

The Joy Formidable may very well be the most appropriately named band to make their full-length debut this year. On The Big Roar, the Welsh trio’s brand of hook-laden guitar pop is a delight to behold as Ritzy Bryan’s urgent delivery transforms song after song into something anthemic. Their swirling layers of guitars and rapid-fire percussion pack enough of a forceful punch to live up to the other half of the band’s name. Full of catchy choruses and relentlessly energetic guitar crunches, The Big Roar is a stadium-sized album amidst a sea of clubs. -Frank Mojica

48. Astronautalis – This Is Our Science

On This Is Our Science, Astronautalis, aka Charles Andrew Bothwell, sounds as convincing singing about a turbulent relationship on “Secrets on Our Lips” as he does spitting verses on cryogenic experimenter Robert Nelson on “Midday Moon”. But it’s not just for intellectuals: Bothwell duets with Tegan Quinn on “Contrails” and features rapper P.O.S. on the album’s title track, gaining both indie and hip-hop street cred. This diversity catapulted Astronautalis’ fourth album into the iTunes top 10 downloads when it was released. In addition, producer John Congleton’s signature desperate, moody arrangements add emotional depth to This Is Our Science’s largely intellectual material. -Harley Brown

47. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread

At just 24 years old, Goodbye Bread is Ty Segall’s fifth full-length, and again he plays every instrument. The stats are impressive, but this spotless collection of West coast garage tunes handily earns this spot. Less howl-y and punky than previous releases, Segall varies his influences from John Lennon (“I Can’t Feel It”) to smokey blues rock (“The Floor”), all loaded with warm, fuzzy reverb. Songs like “Comfortable Home (A True Story)” show the young artist’s growth into a more personal songwriter, his half-languid falsetto more revealing than ever. It’s mellower, sure, but it’s also some of his most carefully considered output yet, leading to some of his best. And there’s still plenty of stomp and roll. -Benjamin Kaye

46. Summer Camp – Welcome to Condale

The cover of Summer Camp’s Welcome to Condale features a woman in a bathing suit doing a keg stand. So appropriate for an album that tempts the imagination, concocting this place called “Condale” where the kids are hot, the music spacey and romantic. The album is jaded Americana (even though the band is from England), conjuring images of the boardwalk, $2 beer specials, and sand in your hair. Their foreign nature only makes their fascination with American culture that much more apparent. This is an album for losing your virginity in the backseat (“Last American Virgin”), getting sunburned by the lake (“Summer Camp”), and smoking your first joint (“I Want You”). It doesn’t attempt to hide the fact that it relishes in the cliché while embracing a nostalgic beauty that makes the frivolity of youth so universal. -Summer Dunsmore

45. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne

Watch the Throne, likely the most widely anticipated album of the current decade thus far, sounds exactly like what it is: Two of hip-hop’s most powerful overlords reveling in knowing that they’re just that. In barely 45 minutes, Yeezy and Hov plow through the likes of bionic pop-rap (“Lift Off“), borderline-dubstep (“Who Gon‘ Stop Me“), exotic grandeur (“Murder to Excellence“), and bare-bones soul (“Otis”), all of which is – this cannot be overstated – immaculately produced. Plus, with these two guys constantly playing verbal ping-pong, the whole album is indubitably and nearly incessantly fun. And that’s really all it ever needed to be. -Mike Madden

44. Yuck – Yuck

Admittedly, every sound on Yuck’s self-titled debut is one we’ve all heard before. Rather than embracing one particular influence, Yuck seamlessly pays tribute to nearly all of indie rock’s greatest legends from song to song (e.g. Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, and Dinosaur Jr.). Sure, there is a revitalization of the fuzzed-out sounds of the late 80’s and 90’s here, but Yuck also taps into the spirit and emotional highs and lows that made those bands so intriguing in the first place. Sometimes, it’s not what you do but how you do it that matters. -Frank Mojica

43. Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin

A few months back, our own Jeremy D. Larson wrote that the tone of Mikal Cronin’s self-titled debut falls “somewhere between Velvet Underground’s Loaded and The White Stripes’ White Blood Cells.” For one, he’s right. Yet moreover, the album exudes this sentimental presence that recalls ’60s mainstays like The Byrds or Jefferson Airplane. It’s a hazy experience that’s quite addicting, like a 151-glazed night in your college heartbreaker’s dorm room. (What? Stay with me, folks.) Check into Cronin’s living room stunner “Hold On Me”, a track that frolics with mousy percussion and cyclical acoustics. It’s a moody think piece. Not moody in the sense that you’re out to scratch the world’s eyes out, but sort of like that welcoming isolation you pine for from time to time. Fact: Sometimes being alone feels better. With a voice and ear like Cronin’s, it’ll always sound better. -Michael Roffman

42. Kendrick Lamar – Section .80

Twenty-four-year-old rapper Kendrick Lamar is a native of Compton, CA, but you’re not likely to figure that out while listening to Section.80. Its beats bear almost nil resemblance to the storied G-funk of the city’s past. Rather, the album is built around electro-tinged, blurry near-boom-bap that gives Lamar more than enough room to do whatever he chooses on the mic, something he takes full advantage of. Plus, his finest verses (found on “A.D.H.D.” and “Fuck Your Ethnicity”) occasionally evoke 2Pac at his least thuggish. No small feat there. -Mike Madden

41. Washed Out – Within & Without

Two years ago, Ernest Greene was just beginning to take Washed Out beyond a childhood bedroom side project. After a year of Sub Pop signage and this full-length debut, Within and Without, Greene is headed beyond being another chillwave act with synths. This album is devastatingly gorgeous, submerging listeners in Washed Out’s world of dense, warm vocals (“Eyes Be Closed”),  gloomy love songs with strings (“Far Away”), and jaunty pop  (“Before”). Within and Without is a kaleidoscope of discovery, uncovering directions Greene’s counterparts have yet to explore. -Lauren Rearick

40. The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck

All Eternals Deck is a marvel, overflowing by turns with apathy, cheerful quirk, barely contained rage, and quiet wistfulness. And that’s just the first four tracks. John Darnielle’s vocal range is on full display here, laid over desperately driving guitars on 13 tracks as varied as they are meaningful. There are so many juicy pockets of lyrical cleverness here (see: “Estate Sale Sign”, “Prowl Great Cain”, and “For Charles Bronson”) that the album requires repeat listens to soak them all in. Fortunately, we’ve had most of 2011 to do just that. -Megan Ritt

39. Danny Brown – XXX

The greatest treasure of Detroit rapper Danny Brown’s breakthrough mixtape, XXX (an acronym that alludes to sex, drugs, and Brown’s age), is that it delivers as many ridiculous and hilariously clever lines as any other release this year. A brief sampling: “Sorta like Squidward and his clarinet/I’m in ya bitch mouth,” “You softer than Flanders’ son/Don’t make me put hands on son,“ “I‘m higher than Swizz Beatz’s hairline.” Oh, and the oft-dissonant, largely trimmed-down production has its moments, too (“Blunt After Blunt”, “EWNESW”, “DNA”). -Mike Madden

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38. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica

Daniel Lopatin has been making progressively bigger waves with each release since 2008’s Russian Minds, but Replica is easily his best, most accessible full-length to date. Rather than the swirling analog haze that colored his previous work, the album sees Lopatin mine the discarded junk culture of yesteryear for a singular, strangely dystopian vision of the future more akin to that of a science fiction author than a musician. From the piano-laden “Power of Persuasion” to the meditative ambiance of “Submersible”, Replica is remarkable music unlike anything else on Earth, or anywhere else for that matter. -Möhammad Choudhery

37. Real Estate – Days

Ben Folds chronicled the suburbs with white boy angst. Arcade Fire did it with melancholia. Real Estate takes a more laid-back approach, shrouding their simple, yet relatable, lyrics about suburban New Jersey (the songs have straightforward titles like “It’s Real” and “Wonder Years”) in a fog of hazy guitar solos and precise rhythm that could take place anywhere in the nation, as long as it’s not a city. Like a high school summer, it feels relaxed and alluringly repetitious. And isn’t that the point? -Dan Caffrey

36. Bill Callahan – Apocalypse

For anyone who thought Bon Iver was the definitive impressionistic album of the year, Bill Callahan’s latest proves to be its strictly Americana counterpart. Hell, just look at the cover art. With Apocalypse, Callahan turns the Americana landscape into an ocean of sounds. Over a fiddle, an organ, a pedal steel, and reverb swells, Callahan becomes America’s most forward thinking country/folk singer still making music rooted in those old-time standards. “DC-4-5-0,” Callahan laments in the last moments of Apocalypse.  It’s an interesting sentiment, a powerful statement made without any real words. It’s the record’s Drag City serial number. As Callahan closes the door on yet another chapter in his demented world of horses, gunslingers, and cattle prodding, he is well aware that he’s doing so. It’s the question of where he’ll head next that makes the current state of his affairs all the more fascinating. In the meantime, we’re glad he’s leaving off here. -Drew Litowitz

35. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Anonymity and avoiding press in the hyper-mediated blogosphere turns out to be a pretty effective tactic for getting some attention – especially for Unknown Mortal Orchestra, whose music turned out to be as difficult to place on the genre spectrum as it is to put a face on their online presence. With the release of their self-titled debut, the heavy hooks of Bandcamp viral “Ffunny Ffriends” find a home in a tightly performed but cheaply produced space odyssey – an intricate mix of psychedelics, speedy guitar riffs, and otherworldly vocals. Frontman Ruban Nielson’s knack for melody (who can resist “How Can U Luv Me?”) and treating the voice as an instrument proves to be the icing on the cake, validating the weird internet hype and translating the buzz into legitimacy. -Caitlin Meyer

34. Adele – 21

A lot of people may roll their eyes at the inclusion of Adele’s 21 to year-end lists, but you can’t deny the staying power and grip the album has had on popular music. Love her or hate her, you couldn’t walk past a stereo or TV that wasn’t playing Adele this year. Being a pop music juggernaut doesn’t mean the album shouldn’t be respected, however. From the infectious “Rolling in the Deep” to the heart-wrenching “Someone Like You” to the vengeful “Set Fire to the Rain”, the album is solid front-to-back. Adele’s voice is a one-of-a-kind, jazzy, smoky, emotional powerhouse, and the fact that she is still topping charts months after the album was released shows she has a complete right to be on everyone’s year-end list. -Nick Freed

33. Cut Copy – Zonoscope

Leaner, meaner, and with more percussion. That’s the gist of Cut Copy’s excellent (and Grammy-nominated) follow-up to In Ghost Colours. Zonoscope sprawls into epic, tribal sounds and Beach Boys vocal harmonies, retaining its New Order moodiness and evoking sounds of native Australian ’80s new wave. If you went to a festival this summer, chances are you heard one of these hip-shaking beats wafting across a simmering summer vista. Do yourself a favor and listen to them again. Re-live your summer. -Paul de Revere

32. Gotye – Making Mirrors

One-by-one the countries of the world are falling in love with Gotye. The Austrailian multi-instrumentalist’s third album, Making Mirrors, has found its way into U.S. playlists in the wake of his video for “Somebody that I Used to Know” featuring Kimba. In it we see Gotye, with the charming anarchistic boyishness of Sting, singing with the heartrending honesty of Phil Collins. Ultimately it’s Collins’ bandmate Peter Gabriel that Gotye gets compared to the most, and for an obvious reason – the album is a musical wonderland of deeply layered and sophisticated pop sounds the likes of which we haven’t heard since So. From the Miracle Mile-like nuclear romance of “Eyes Wide Open”, to the lavish electro-reggae of “State of the Art”, Making Mirrors is sonically diverse, and with Gotye’s disarmingly genuine lyrics, it pulls madly at our heartstrings. -Cap Blackard

31. Kate Bush – 50 Words for Snow

The most precious thing Kate Bush possesses is a rather magical way of thinking, and her latest record reflects this through utilizing an array of idiosyncratic collaborators (Elton John, Stephen Fry, her son Albert “Bertie” McIntosh) and characters ranging from a romantic snowman to a Yeti. Snow is a perfect inspirational touchstone for Bush, because when it falls, it makes everything seem more clear and yet retains a dreamlike quality. 50 Words for Snow is the musical equivalent of a long, yearning sigh, with songs like “Wild Man” and (almost 14-minute-long) “Misty” inhabiting a half-lit world that at different turns takes in driving beats, haunting piano, and spoken word to create the kind of unusual, inventive, and expansive sound Bush has become synonymous with, and she remains a sensual metronome of sorts (especially her voice, so unwavering and true) -  comforting and necessary in this increasingly confusing world. -Siobhán Kane

30. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient

Despite the subtraction of Kurt Vile, The War on Drugs keep chugging along with their latest effort. Slave Ambient is a 12-track wallop filled with Dylan-esque vocals, instrumentals, and, yes, ambience. Singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel takes us through the rough-and-tumble landscape where we find the catchy, constant stream of “Best Night”, the steady thumping of “Your Love Is Calling My Name”, and the acoustic-driven coda of the elegiac “Black Water Falls”. The guitar play between Granduciel and Dave Hartley is second to no one this year. -Justin Gerber

29. The Men – Leave Home

The Men nailed their demands to the door of the Church of Punk/Hardcore and peaced-out for greener pastures. The melting pot that resulted on Leave Home is an alarm call for purists and tourists alike. It plays like a record-collector’s wet dream with obvious hat-tips to Spaceman 3, Joy Division, The Wipers, and whatever else is in The Men’s milk crates. But there’s no prerequisite to feel the primal churning squalor of  ”L.A.D.O.C.H.”, a song specializing in blunt trauma force to the guts-bag. The cocaine-surf instrumentals, relentless noise punk, and post-punk kraut-rock tunes that quake with the words, “Can you push them away?” over and over are all hurled into a storm of angular guitars, walls of drums, knives, fists, and sweat that doesn’t ever let up. This album’s so far from pure that if you snorted it you’d land straight in the ER. Man, that’s what’s so great about it, though. -Jeremy D. Larson

28. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo

Smoke Ring for My Halo is probably the easiest album to digest in 2011. That is, if you enjoy a good daydream. With his spidery guitar scales, sunset-staring vocals, and uber-melancholic lyrics, Kurt Vile sucks you in. It’s so easy to get lost here. Right off the bat, “Baby’s Arms” acts as a wormhole, to which you’re sliding into repetition and soul-seeking rhythms. From there it’s pure moonshine. Down quick, hard-hitting. Producer John Agnello keeps things at home, as well, which is where Vile belongs. We like our singer-songwriters close to us, and it doesn’t get any more intimate than this. Looking for a friend? Consider this album your new roommate. Just don’t expect him to do the dishes. Though, he’ll certainly keep you company. Always. -Michael Roffman

27. Childish Gambino – Camp

If Drake is the MC who made it cool to rap and emote, then Childish Gambino (aka actor/comedian Donald Glover) helped evolve the style into something far more nuanced and outlandish. Thanks to his comedic background, Gambino peppers his tracks with catchy rhymes and clever quips galore (like the line from “Sunrise”: “I’ve seen it all, like I’m John Mayer’s penis hole”). He’s an MC who understands the power of beats and an appealing production style, which he demonstrates on cuts like the menacing “Bonfire” and the electro-heavy “Heartbeat”. But it’s his wide-open emotional sentiments that make the LP shine outside the confines of its genre. Whether he’s confessing his detachment from the black community in “Backpackers” or sharing the pain of his childhood heartache with “That Power”, Gambino wears his heart on his pink polo shirt, readily rubbing into listeners’ faces at any given moment. Looks like the joke’s on us after all. -Chris Coplan

26. Wild Flag – Wild Flag

Wild Flag aren’t Sleater-Kinney 2.0, and that wound up being a good thing. The highly anticipated debut from the Sleater/Helium/Minders supergroup is a new beast entirely, harder rocking than anything they’ve done before. While Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony’s voices will stir up a few warm, familiar memories, the overdriven guitars and psychedelic keyboard breakdowns make an outstanding case towards a new era for these musicians. Wild Flag stands as an impressive debut, with or without the band members’ all-star pedigrees. -Austin Trunick

25. Panda Bear – Tomboy

The journey of Panda Bear’s latest LP, Tomboy, was more akin to that of a hip-hop album than an indie solo record. After the first single dropped in the summer of 2010, Panda Bear announced a late fourth quarter release for his follow-up to the critically acclaimed, Person Pitch. Like countless rappers before him, Noah Lennox delayed his album again and again, finally releasing it on April 12th. The album is sonically smaller than Person Pitch but not any less ambitious. While wholly longer than its predecessor, the individual songs are short and to the point, resulting in fantastic, succinct blasts of space-age pop like “Last Night at the Jetty” and “Surfer’s Hymn”. -Carson O’Shoney

24. SBTRKT – SBTRKT

London artist SBTRKT has swept the world this year with his self-titled debut LP, rocking festivals and small venues alike. A leading proponent of post-dubstep sprinkled with a tad of R & B soul, his sound provides something astoundingly unique for the music scene: pure, unbridled novelty. “Wildfire” is the album’s standout track, its main synth bass line too infectious to ignore on the dance floor. “Living Like I Do” is stylistically different, evidencing more trance-like influences, and it shows the diversity of the album. Singing about love and heartbreak, with beats sometimes dizzying, sometimes morose, the album is an emotional exposition of SBTRKT’s affinity for the music medium. -Summer Dunsmore

23. The Weeknd – House of Balloons

The Weeknd really took this year by storm, in case you hadn’t been paying attention. It’s been a hurricane of success – the 21-year-old Toronto native is seemingly unstoppable. But it all started with the twisted allure of House of Balloons. From heavy hitting single fodder like “Wicked Games” and “High For This” to unsung heroes like the mellow “Coming Down”, or the Beach House-sampling “The Party & The After Party”, The Weeknd created a cohesive album equal parts grime and glamor. Multiply some of the tightest production this year by Abel’s pure upper register and you’ve got a winner. Now multiply that sum by uber-enticing lyrics of grotesquely beautiful over-indulgence, and what’s the outcome? An album that goes down smooth, but also leaves your esophagus battered, bleeding, and hurting oh so good. -Winston Robbins

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22. Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse

Super-bassist Stephen Bruner, aka Thundercat, is only 27, but he already has the sort of resume most only dream of, logging performance credits with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Erykah Badu, along with a full-time gig as bassist for thrash-fusion legends Suicidal Tendencies. Someone this good could only play sideman for so long, though. After lending his virtuosic talents last year to Flying Lotus’ magnificent beat odyssey Cosmogramma, Lotus returned the favor by producing Bruner’s stellar debut, The Golden Age of Apocalypse. But make no mistake. This is Thundercat’s Golden Age, his smooth bass runs and smoother falsetto starring throughout. The beat-heavy “Daylight” and dreamy rework of George Duke’s “For Love I Come” are obvious highlights, though Thundercat’s distinctly cosmic presence and unparalleled skill make for essential listening from start to finish. -Möhammad Choudhery

21. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Christopher Owens’ sweet, puppy dog eyes timbre convinces just about anyone that despite substance problems, scars of a former religious cult, heartache, and anxiety, everything is just alright in the present. Father, Son, Holy Ghost harnesses music’s spiritual characteristics in a conspicuous manor, as Owens and his band mates cleverly balance yearning gospel pangs with snotty, west coast retro rock. There’s paranoia (“Die”), choir loft church organ soul (“Vomit”, “My Ma”, and “Love Like a River”), and an overall smart execution of style no matter what Girls’ carefree fuck-it-all style says (see: “Just a Song”). Their sophomore album shows that Girls have honed in on a truly distinct sound that pulls from past influences, but manages to sound wholly original and really, really good. From poppy, riff-heavy opener “Honey Bunny” to the emotional apexes of the final three tracks, Father, Son, Holy Ghost plays as a complete and fantastic album. -Liz Lane

20. Tom Waits – Bad As Me

How fitting that in the same year as his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Tom Waits released an album that reminds us precisely why we love and still need the old rain dog. In crisp, vibrant bursts, Bad As Me revisits and revitalizes numerous styles and sounds from across Waits’ nearly 40-year career. But this record is much more than an old beatboxing junkman’s recycling project. Whether it be the tender frankness of lover’s plea “Back in the Crowd”, the cool chill of life’s autumn felt on “Last Leaf”, or the jarring nightmare of wartime romp “Hell Broke Luce”, Waits’ finest songs still shine a brief light upon those who often go unseen and unheard, which is precisely why we need him. Yes, we like to “stomp, whistle, and scream” and “dance with a soldier’s glee” (whatever that entails exactly), but Waits also knows that we need to cry in our beer, howl at the moon, and occasionally have our lives dignified by a stranger sparing a moment to listen to our sad stories. The fact that Bad As Me somehow manages to make it all so goddamn fun is what makes him Tom Waits. -Matt Melis 

19. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life

From a deceptively quiet beginning roars Fucked Up’s epic punk opera, David Comes to Life. Composed of 18 tracks that form four acts, the eponymous David rises and falls through love, loss, and ultimate redemption, which might not be as notable a project if the entire thing wasn’t screamed into your headphones by Fucked Up’s own Damian Abraham. Fortunately, Abraham and his backing guitars manage to ratchet out many levels of emotion amidst the chaos (and if that’s not the sound of heartbreak, then nothing is), turning David into not just another noisy punk album but a meaningful, moving journey through that most universal of emotions – love. -Megan Ritt

18. Atlas Sound – Parallax

Bradford Cox has never been one for compromises, in performance or on record. Every single release under the Atlas Sound moniker or in collaboration with his fellow Deerhunter bandmates has been a thorough representation of his tenacious artistic vision at the current time. Parallax, though in part an homage to the Neil Young and Patti Smith singer-songwriters of yore, is no exception to this trend, replete with Cox’s trademark creative guitar inventions, alien soundscapes, and queer punk attitude. Dealing with neglect, personal perception, and, yes, romance, the album shelters some of the catchiest (“Mona Lisa”), starkest (“Flagstaff”), and most intricate (“Amplifiers”) songs in Cox’s body of work thus far. It is this exact contrast of the candidly sweet with the unabashedly weird and unexpected – the acoustic noise with the controlled studio work – that makes Parallax and Cox’s music in total the unique gift to modern music that it is. -David DiLillo

17. The Horrors – Skying

Skying is a paragon of how to face the pressures of matching initial critical success with a follow-up: Nut up, evolve, and do something people might not expect. The Horrors lock their goth-outlined, post-punk gaze down on their pop-laced shoes and dive into ’80s influences to put together an album encapsulating their progression as a band. Faris Badwan’s vocals have been raised and fleshed out; everything is subtler, tighter, and more atmospheric than 09’s Primary Colours, all of which works to this album’s favor. From the insanely absorbing rumblings and synths of “Changing the Rain” to the spellbinding repetitions of “Moving Further Away”, each track could soundtrack a John Hughes film as easily as a hazy dance scene. By being brave enough to vary their sound, The Horrors are proving to be a band capable of understanding and managing growth – something not every act can accomplish. -Benjamin Kaye

16. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints

The songs feel more captured than recorded, like the studio just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch the drones, the noise, the insipidness, and the catharsis. The connection between each of the nine tracks is loose; some howl with feedback and noise, while others play at a grunge revival, and then there’s the cantillation of “California”, a homily so raw it has the congregation squirming in the pews. But the wide palate of Erika M. Anderson is the prize of the record. Her knife is sharp and knows who to cut and where and how and can do it in a hundred different ways to leave someone just as marked as she is. Couple that with the cool breeze of a west coast girl who knows how to write a catchy melody, and the masochism of Past Life Martyred Saints really becomes something very real and addictive. -Jeremy D. Larson

15. Radiohead – The King of Limbs

Radiohead has attained a status such that every album it releases is expected to reach groundbreaking heights, introducing the world to some new luminous idea that will set the bar for all pop and rock music yet to come. It’s understandable, because Radiohead has done that a couple of times. But while The King of Limbs doesn’t do that, it does nothing to earn unwarranted hostility either. There are several gems that have etched a permanent place in Radiohead’s oeuvre, including the invigorating “Bloom”, the wordless wonder “Feral”, and, of course, “Lotus Flower”. If Radiohead is finished making instant classics, it will be no tragedy if The King of Limbs is a sign of things to come. -J. Harry Painter

14. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

Over 12 spiritually emotional tracks, Robin Pecknold marries his flawless vocals to harmonies and expertly woven instrumentals, all in a rich and satisfying circle. The songs are charged with memorable, soaring melodies, and Pecknold’s observational, first-person lyrics are teasingly profound. On the title track, Pecknold sings, “If I know only one thing, it’s that everything I see/of the world outside is so inconceivable/that often, I barely can speak.” Fortunately, he still does. A hallmark is usually pretty small to the naked eye. When this record is dusted off in 30 or 40 years, you will surely find the word classic etched somewhere discreet. -Tony Hardy

13. Beyoncé – 4

Born from bits and pieces of Fela Kuti, Broadway musicals, and Lionel Richie, 4 is simultaneously one of Beyoncé’s most musically diverse and personal records. It’s a master class, of sorts, of pop music over the last 40 years. From the mega-sized R&B/show tune/love anthem of “Countdown” to the old-school swag of “Party” featuring André 3000, 4 is a hit factory extravaganza – only with more substance. It’s incredibly personal; far deeper than anything else in her otherwise emotionally available career. Yet it’s also quite compact, doing away with some fluff and filler that plagued her past LPs. Already, we’re bubbling over with joyous anticipation for what 5 has to offer. -Chris Coplan

12. Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

This year, bass saxophonist Colin Stetson went from little-known indie symphony stalwart (having backed everyone from LCD Soundsystem to Tom Waits) to a solo force in his own right. Nothing could encapsulate his stratospheric shot to prominence better than his second long-player, a formative mesh of free jazz, thrumming drone, and beautifully structured songwriting. Even more impressive is that the disc is composed solely of single takes without any overdubbing or looping. That’s right. Other than vocal contributions from Laurie Anderson and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, the alternately cacophonic and startling, beautiful noises are coming straight from Stetson’s sax, proving his instrumental mastery and writing genius. -Adam Kivel

11. The Antlers – Burst Apart

Burst Apart couldn’t have been more appropriately titled, as it signifies the complete departure from the moving darkness of Hospice, the adherence to genre norms, and, most importantly for the band, The Antlers’ status as a one-man show. The creative talents of Peter Silberman, Darby Cicci, and Michael Lerner seamlessly fuse together throughout Burst Apart‘s 10 tracks to create everything experienced in their live show and, more markedly, a mesmerizing collaborative vision. Dynamism becomes the key word as the record progresses. The shifts from “Rolled Together”‘s hypnotic groove to straightforward rocker “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out” are executed without pause, without the emotive lyrics suffering in the least – proving anew that maybe, as long as you’re The Antlers, you really can have it all. -Caitlin Meyer

10. Drake – Take Care

Hip-hop’s a jungle full of bloodthirsty lions decked out in diamonds and looking for their next target. But suddenly a young lion emerges into a clearing: Drake. While his counterparts are all about pure thuggery and bragging ad infinitum, Drake’s sophomore LP changes the landscape with heartfelt, emotional confessions of lost love and personal inadequacies.

From the baller anthem of “Headlines” to the drunken loneliness and outbursts in “Marvin’s Room”, Take Care is Drizzy’s declaration of his own shortcomings in the middle of a white-hot ride up the charts, a spellbinding narrative if there ever was one. Drake has taken the work of his first, slightly disappointing record and shown himself to now fully understand the delicate balancing act he must endeavor. In essence, Drake has rewritten the rules of the rap game, adding much-needed depth to the swagger contest of modern verse slangin’. All hail the new king of the jungle. -Chris Coplan

9. Destroyer – Kaputt

According to Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar, Kaputt‘s coke rock aesthetic was never intentional. There was no irony, no hidden homage to Roxy Music and latter-day Steely Dan as many music fans and critics thought. It was just how he heard the songs. Whether you believe that insistence or not, the album’s enchanting mood and charismatic weirdness are undeniable. Bejar’s time-traveling tales of cryptic romance and doomed nightlife are laced with electronic drums, smooth jazz flute, and dreamy saxophone, the sonic equivalent to a Thomas Pynchon novel viewed through the glitzy fracture of a disco ball.

Opener “Chinatown” wraps the listener in the record’s world of slowly dying neon, the title track flits back and forth between what’s more appealing, cocaine or women (the band never bothers to decide), and album centerpiece “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker” escorts us through 400 years of the American party scene by way of a brown paper bag. The lyrics are impenetrable, and none of it probably ever happened, but that doesn’t keep us from feeling like we were there. -Dan Caffrey

8. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l

It’s rare to make music that people have never heard before; but on w h o k i l l, tUnE-yArDs have done just that, combining ancient African musical traditions like polyrhythms with looping and other modern technologies. More importantly, with songs like the irresistibly anthemic “Bizness”, Merrill Garbus has expanded from a blog-cherished eccentricity to a universal must-see. Her arrangement of two saxophonists, a bassist, and her own vocal and percussive instrumentation has rarely, if ever, been seen in music history. Not only that, her husky, yet lilting, squawk—which veers from eerie on “Wooly Wolly Gong” to famously siren-imitating on “Gangsta”—demonstrates noteworthy versatility.

With w h o k i l l, Garbus has ascended to the ranks of groundbreaking female artists like Lauryn Hill and MC Lyte, whom she emulates on “Doorstep” and “Killa”, respectively. Like other female artistic idol Bjork, she uses her voice nontraditionally, at times to convey a political message (i.e. call-and-response loops that sound like monkeys, singing the lyrics to “America”, on “My Country). Despite all this ground she’s covered, Garbus continues to challenge herself like on “You Yes You”, when she asks, “What’s that about?” when she starts to sing about personal satisfaction and, thus, perhaps complacency. Songs like the atonal, stop-and-start “Es-so” exemplify w h o k i l l’s aural challenge because it sounds more pleasing with each listen, challenging the listener to meet Garbus on her level instead of vice versa. And, ultimately, the effort is worth it. -Harley Brown

7. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming

With Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83 set out to capture the stuff that dreams are made of – and succeed. This is nothing new in the world of dream pop and electronica, but M83′s ability to distil childhood longing and teenage nostalgia into spirit lifting, anthemic, synth opuses is second to none. He captures it. If you were a dreamy kid, adventuring at night, and trying to live out your dreams in the day – these songs crystallize that special feeling, that certain time, that tragic, beautiful, ever-fleeing youth. It’s an incredible thing to put on some headphones, curl up in bed, and go back.

Picking up where Saturdays = Youth left off, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming‘s sound matures while its subject matter remains in the same vein. That said, this is not a repeat performance. Anchored by far more analog instruments, and a thematic concept that spans two discs, M83 uses the space he’s created to its fullest with both gripping singles like “Midnight City” and affecting, transcendental instrumentals and interludes. “Claudia Lewis” recaptures the lavish art pop production of the ’80s and lovingly reinstates it as the ideal sound for rooftop dancefloors. “New Map” couples epic modern synth tracks with a smooth 70′s flute and sax arrangement for an exciting new sonic experience. With Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, M83 has proven himself as the most exciting electropop act of the current age – a musical mind inevitably looking back, but always pushing forward. -Cap Blackard

6. James Blake – James Blake

It’s almost hard to remember the pre-Bon Iver owl hoot collaboration days of James Blake, but believe it or not the debut album that took the blogwaves by storm is less than a year old. James Blake is the London post-dubstep singer-songwriter at his most consistent and most focused, with not a misstep to be found through 11 tracks. It’s easy to write Blake off as a one-trick pony if one merely samples a song or two, but this album is so far above that that the criticism is criminally uncalled for.

James Blake isn’t a conceptual journey, but, sonically, each track offers something not heard in the track preceding it. Whether it’s full-on dubstep throbbing as on “I Never Learnt to Share”, straightforward, soulful piano balladry as on “Give Me My Month”, or vocal manipulation and sampling as on “To Care (Like You)”, Blake’s first and so far only full-length album holds the listener’s attention despite being chock-full of unabashed minimalism. It’s not just an extended experiment in fun new sounds, however. There are sing-along moments aplenty, from the Feist cover “Limit to Your Love” to the hook-heavy “The Wilhelm Scream” and sentimental album closer “Measurements”. If Blake has set the bar so high here that he never matches it, that’s one thing, but it cannot be justly denied that the bar is nonetheless high and worthy of all the shameless imitation it will inspire. -J. Harry Painter

5. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light

Badass pop-rock is back, and Dave Grohl is driving the truck. Two things (other than being led by a Nirvana alum) have made Foo Fighters wildly successful for almost 20 years: an acute pop sensibility and a goofy sense of humor. They’re both present on Wasting Light, but there’s something even more important: a thrashing, hard rock attitude and sound that kicks you in the face and makes you want more. Part of this is due to the much lauded return to analog recording on this album, and the garage band sound is quite literal, since it was recorded in Grohl’s garage-cum-studio.

Grohl’s expertly crafted melodies are much more lyrical than a typical hard rock song, but from the opening dissonant strumming of “Bridge Burning”, it’s clear that the Foo Fighters are returning to some of the grungy-ness of that early ’90s alternative sound. Amidst the tight vocal harmonies of “Dear Rosemary” or the power ballad “I Should Have Known” or the über-poppy “Arlandria”, Foo Fighters deliver a bona fide metal track in “White Limo”, with Grohl’s screaming vocals and a heavy chromatic guitar riff. No wonder they put Lemmy in the video. When Grohl said, “never lose faith in real rock and roll music” at this year’s VMAs, this was the sound he meant. -Jake Cohen

4. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake

On her ambitious eighth album, PJ Harvey crafts a lush ode to her homeland that is brutal and uplifting, admonitory and exalting. Through evocations of The Great War (WWI) and other conflicts, Let England Shake paints an achingly beautiful picture of a country built on the lives of young soldiers and broken promises, simultaneously praising its glory while lamenting its modern stagnation and bloody history. A polarity of sentiment, grandiose without the pretense, explores the conflict of patriotic love (“The Last Living Rose”) with sociopolitical dissatisfaction (“England”).

The poetic resonance is breathtaking, and Harvey makes you feel it. Her voice, flooded with emotion, soars and swirls amidst autoharps and horns, creating a sonic landscape unlike anything she’s done before. It’s strikingly passionate, with a hauntingly marching momentum that pulls you in to her tales of war and hope. The sound is bolstered by recording in a repurposed church, adding a hallowed echo perfectly suited to the subject. Its success is immutable; the album nabbed this year’s Mercury Prize, making PJ Harvey the first artist ever to receive the distinction twice. Though the music and lyrics give strong grounds to call this album an all-time great, the honors bestowed on it cement its place in the annals of musical, nay, artistic masterpieces. -Benjamin Kaye

3. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

2. Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Justin Vernon is out of the cabin. With Bon Iver he begins his return to civilization, now accompanied by throngs of sensitive fans and new street-cred courtesy of Kanye West. On this journey, Vernon could have followed the blueprint of For Emma, Forever Ago: churn out new songs dominated by an acoustic guitar and stripped-down production. However, he opted to go in a new direction with a fleshed-out, proper band and Bruce Hornsby as a muse.

Bon Iver needs to be heard in order from beginning to end, as most great albums do. The deceiving hush in the opening moments of “Perth” begins the journey to “Beth/Rest”, a synth-driven, kitchen-sink track with a guitar solo straight out of A Momentary Lapse of Reason that still polarizes fans months after its release. But that’s the beauty of Vernon’s risk-taking throughout the album. He didn’t rest on his laurels and create For Emma: Vol. 2. If anything, he created Bon Iver Mach 2, now with saxophones. The inclusion of the best song of the year, the gorgeous acceptance found within “Holocene”, didn’t hurt the album’s placing as our second-favorite album of the year, either. -Justin Gerber

1. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

“He thought there was going to be so much—more than he had ever dreamed possible… instead there was absolutely nothing.” It’s a line that sounds stripped from the best of Annie Clark’s songs; except that it isn’t. It belongs to Marilyn Monroe, in one of her diaries that dates back to April 1955. But how tragic, and how intimate, is that? Here’s Monroe, one of the most widely sought after figures in the history of pop culture, digressing on the fear of disappointment, especially to a loved one. It’s a recurring element in much of her personal writings. It’s also one of the driving motivations for Clark’s best work to date, Strange Mercy.

“Oh America, can I owe you one,” Clark laments by album’s end on “Year of the Tiger”. It’s one of the most poignant and culturally relevant tracks of the year–a bombastic herald to the States’ end times, when capitalistic whores die at the hands of coffee makers. What bitter, insightful precision. Look to your town squares, your universities, your banks, and your financial districts. It’s a mercurial year for Americans. The track’s sort of wavy, lazy distortion exemplifies that. We’re wary of the errors, we’re indignant of our culture, and we’re starting to wake up.

But there’s a deeper sense of self-awareness that Clark exhibits here. It goes back to Monroe. She hints that, despite the culture’s pre-conceived notion that all is equal, it’s anything but that. People scoff at the misogynistic, heavily racial days of Mad Men every Sunday (y’know, when it returns), but it’s not too far off today. It’s still, in many ways, a man’s world, and Clark underscores this error. On “Surgeon”, she cries out how she “spent another summer on [her] back” and of things that let her “get along, get along,” and later on the title track, she insists she’ll remain by her “lost boys.” This idea couldn’t be any more boldly stated than on “Cheerleader”, where she calls members in her family “honest thieves,” chalking it up to an America “with no clothes on.” So, why stay? As she suggests later into the album on “Champagne Year”, “it’s not the perfect plan, but it’s the one we got.”

It’s dense, morose stuff, though you wouldn’t really notice. Clark has spent far too much time etching out adventurous rhythms, crossbreeding genres in each track; you’d be remiss to even acknowledge some of its lyrical madness. It’s a delightful listen with a foreboding underbelly, if you will. Take the transition from funky treading to its synth-laden baths at the end of “Dilettante”, for instance. That’s the sort of stuff a guru carves out. But, Clark proves worthy of that title earlier on (if she hadn’t via 2009′s Actor) with “Cruel”, this year’s most attractive pop song with the most invaluable question of ‘em all: “How could they be casually cruel?” Is she being rhetorical, or does she desire an answer? Hopefully the former, because quite pathetically nobody has the answer. Christ, what does that say about us? -Michael Roffman

50. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire
49. The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
48. Astronautalis – This is Our Science
47. Ty Segall – Goodbye Bread
46. Summer Camp – Welcome to Condale
45. Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne
44. Yuck – Yuck
43. Mikal Cronin – Mikal Cronin
42. Kendrick Lamar – Section .80
41. Washed Out – Within & Without
40. The Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck
39. Danny Brown – XXX
38. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica
37. Real Estate – Days
36. Bill Callahan – Apocalypse
35. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
34. Adele – 21
33. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
32. Gotye – Making Mirrors
31. Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow
30. The War On Drugs – Slave Ambient
29. The Men – Leave Home
28. Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring For My Halo
27. Childish Gambino – Camp
26. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
25. Panda Bear – Tomboy
24. SBTRKT – SBTRKT
23. The Weeknd – House Of Balloons
22. Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse
21. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
20. Tom Waits – Bad As Me
19. Fucked Up – David Comes to Life
18. Atlas Sound – Parallax
17. The Horrors – Skying
16. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
15. Radiohead – The King of Limbs
14. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
13. Beyoncé – 4
12. Colin Stetson – New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
11. The Antlers – Burst Apart
10. Drake – Take Care
09. Destroyer – Kaputt
08. tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l
07. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
06. James Blake – James Blake
05. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
04. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
03. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
02. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
01. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy

Drake will hit the road early next year in support of his sophomore LP, Take Care, and he’s bringing along up-and-coming MCs Kendrick Lamar and ASAP Rocky. According to MTV, the Club Paradise Tour kicks off in Miami on February 14th and will see the trio travel across the Southeast and through Texas before wrapping up with a string of California dates in March. After that, Drake will head to the UK and Europe for a lengthy leg of tour dates.

Check out Drake’s complete tour schedule below, along with the title track to his new album, which we just crowned the 17th best song of 2011.

Drake 2012 Tour Dates:
02/14 – Miami, FL @ Bank United Center
02/15 - Gainesville, FL @ Stephen C. O’Connell Center
02/17 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
02/18 – Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
02/21 – Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
02/22 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
02/24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
02/25 – New Orleans, LA @ LAUNO Lakefront Arena
02/27 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
02/28 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Center
03/01 – Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
03/02 – Arlington, TX @ College Park Center
03/04 – Tucson, AZ @ Tucson Arena
03/05 – Los Angeles, CA @ Galen Center
03/08 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
03/10 – San Jose, CA @ Event Center
03/11 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
03/24 – Dublin, IE @ O2 Arena
03/26 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
03/29 – Sheffield, UIK @ Motorpoint Arena
03/30 – Cardiff, UK @ Motorpoint Arena
04/01 – Manchester, UK @ MEN Arena
04/02 – Glasgow, UK @ SECC
04/05 – Paris, FR @ Palais Omnisport de Bercy
04/07 – Brussels, BE @ Forest National
04/08 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
04/10 – Frankfurt, DE @ Jahrhunderthalle
04/12 – Berlin, DE @ Max Schleming Halle
04/13 – Copenhagen, DK @ Valby Hallen
04/15 – Stockholm, SE @ Ericsson Globe
04/16 – Oslo, NO @ Spektrum
04/19 – Birmingham, UK @ LG Arena
04/22 – Liverpool, UK @ Echo Arena
04/23 – Newcastle, UK @ Metro Radio Arena
04/25 – Nottingham, UK @ Capital FM Arena

I promised the staff I would not go all Masterpiece Theater with this intro, so I’ll be brief. Our Annual Report has reached its halfway point with our Top 50 Songs of the Year. The many flags of our staff are hoisted high — and we couldn’t be happier with what we’re saluting. From Cults’ very first song to Tom Waits’ thousandth song, we put up the tracks that left us with more thoughts, feelings, and impressions than any other. We think we done good.

But just to make sure the world still spins on its axis, let us know what you think we missed from our list and what you liked in the comments. We thrive on that stuff.

Additionally, we’ve got the de rigueur Top 50 Songs of the Year Spotify playlist for you, a quick link to purchase the song on Amazon, and an easy ctrl-c +ctrl-v list for you at the very end immediately following our #1 song of the year.

As always, our profuse thanks for reading, enjoy these tunes, and we’ll see you again next week for the second half of our 2011 Annual Report.

-Jeremy D. Larson
Content Director

50. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”

At age 24, Ellie Goulding’s folktronica turned heads across the world, especially with “Lights”. Remixed from here to high heaven by killer producers, sampled by Lupe Fiasco for his latest mixtape, and dropped by DJs looking to get well-dressed girls on the dance floors from the Bay Area to Eastern Europe, its appeal lies in its honest vocals, minimalistic beats, and stark, raving energy. It’s Goulding’s first charting single in the U.S. and Canada, and judging from the widespread allure (and the thousands who camped near her stage at festivals nationwide), it likely won’t be her last. -Paul de Revere

49. Cults – “Go Outside”

Going from relative obscurity to indie stardom isn’t anything new, but the way Madelline Follin and Brian Oblivion of Cults did it with such New York coolness and style still seemed incredibly refreshing. By the time the mainstream caught wind of Follin’s adorably unique, helium-filled balloon voice, “Go Outside” was already a bona fide song of the summer contender. Its lyrics are like a mantra for anyone in a going-nowhere relationship, delivered in an irresistibly sweet, poppy tone. And how can you not dig that crazy glockenspiel solo? -Gilles LeBlanc

48. Big K.R.I.T. – “Country Shit” (Remix)

The original version of “Country Shit” showed up on last year’s K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, but this remix, featuring all-new bars from Ludacris and Bun B, goes harder in every way. Over a chopped and looped vocal sample and thunderous bass, K.R.I.T. delivers an unusually aggressive verse for “the folk in Texas that’s forever wreckin’ with the Styrofoam cup and the purple fluid.” This is a rave-up, no doubt, and it just might be the greatest Dixie rap get-together this side of “Int’l Players Anthem”. -Mike Madden

47. Mikal Cronin – “Apathy”

So much good came out of the fertile ground of the San Francisco psych/garage scene this year, and Mikal Cronin’s debut LP may be best in show simply because he’s got the hooks. “Apathy” digs in with stopgap verses and a vintage 60’s underground sound. Cronin is wrestling with that all-too-real twentysomething identity crisis; he’s a man who’s sure he doesn’t want apathy or empathy. Or everything. Or anything. His generation struggles with defining themselves, and finding a fine line between slacker and sincere is difficult. This loud and splashy confession pretty much nails that frustration. -Jeremy D. Larson

46. Cold Cave – “The Great Pan Is Dead”

The primal themes and screams of Wesley Eisold on “The Great Pan Is Dead” could have been penned by the Vikings or the Huns or some dodgy Germanic tribe. It’s ostentatious like an arena song with more than enough of Eisold’s hardcore/noise/new wave bent to make it sound like it could have been out on Wax Trax! Records. “Yeah/I will come running/gunning through the years/hunting heart/crushing fears,” except Eisold makes it seem like he’s going to do this while completely on fire. All the while, at its core, it’s just a romantic ode to someone who warrants truly epic imagery — imagery that would fall flat without the high-stakes propulsion of the music below it. If love songs are played in Valhalla, this may be the only thing allowed. -Jeremy D. Larson

45. Das Racist – “Michael Jackson”

“I’m fucking great at rapping!” With those five words, Himanshu “Heems” Suri embraces the new identity that he, Victor “Kool A.D.” Vazquez, and Ashok “Dap” Kondabolu have forged as Das Racist. Where elsewhere they’ll make you wonder whether this whole rap thing is just a lark, here D.R. take the simple to the nth degree. Whether it’s that ultimately basic brag, the “Michael Jackson/a million dollars/you hear me?/holler” chorus, or A.D.’s lithe “You go girl, it’s your world”, this song embraces the brilliance of simplicity. The beat kills, and references to Richie Valens, “Parenthood”, and McGuyver all smashed together somehow just makes sense. -Adam Kivel

44. The Horrors – “Still Life”

To be one of the 50 best songs of the year, at least one element of your introduction has to grab attention. With “Still Life”, The Horrors gave us three options. There’s the wobbly tape loop that gradually fades in, the body-vibrating drumbeat, and the bell curve synth melody. All that before we even get to the vocals! Faris Badwan sounds cautious, almost fragile, in the speak-sing verses. Once the chorus kicks in and the melody lights up, though, he richly belts out line after line, guaranteeing a sing-along from even the most casual fan. -Joe Marvilli

43. Bill Callahan – “Riding for the Feeling”

Bill Callahan is one of America’s most low-profile existentialists. “Riding for the Feeling” is a great example of why. Callahan’s smooth baritone lightly jogs along his own acoustic strumming, impressionistic organ, reverb-soaked electric guitars, and salt-and-pepper drums to craft a statement of beautiful futility. Mr. Callahan is capital letters THE TRUTH, and he spits a lot of it: “With intensity, a drop evaporates by law/In conclusion, leaving is easy when you’ve got some place to be.” How ’bout that for some cold, hard facts? But as the song progresses, it becomes clearer and clearer that the place Callahan has to be doesn’t really exist–that he’s just riding somewhere else, merely riding for the feeling. And so are we. -Drew Litowitz

42. Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”

A single of anguish, “Coming Down” is the side of Dum Dum Girls no one has ever seen. During the six-minute ballad, the ladies leave the mystery of their personas to find bliss in the wake of something awful, the death of front woman Dee Dee Penny’s mother. The same fuzz can still be found, but this time there’s more emotion and urgency. Penny wanted fans to feel something, and it’s hard not to at 3:31 with Penny’s declarations of departure. Lo-fi becomes a thing of careful beauty on “Coming Down”. -Lauren Rearick

41. Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”

Though it’s called Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li’s second LP could have easily been titled Wounded Rhythms. For proof, take a listen to “I Follow Rivers”. The melody drunkenly sways alongside her vocals, ranging from subdued verses to triumphant choruses. Clanging, hollow beats don’t just stick to the tempo, but occasionally flair and boost the background up. The woozy synth line remains laid-back but isn’t sloppy. Instead, it loosely drives the song forward without becoming the focal point. That’s saved for Lykke Li’s playful performance. On an album with as many heavy songs as this one has, that’s certainly a breath of fresh air. -Joe Marvilli

40. Wilco – “One Sunday Morning”

Jeff Tweedy warns us that this majestic 12-minute closer to The Whole Love is long in the very first line, but it’s a caution that proves to be moot. Despite the length and refusing to change its basic rhythm or structure, the song never tires, keeping the listener’s attention by sneaking in layer upon layer of instrumentation at strategic moments, then pulling it away. The whispering patter of Mikael Jorgensen’s piano may not drive the melody but blossoms and wilts at the mention of key words like “bells” and “the Bible.” Lyrically, it’s in the same vein as Sky Blue Sky closer “On and On”, a meditation on the relationship between Jeff Tweedy and a past acquaintance that only they understand. But its autumnal feel and confessional tone mean something different to everyone, the perfect tune for looking back on the year in non-linear terms. -Dan Caffrey

39. Liturgy – “Generation”

Brooklyn’s Liturgy have spent the last couple of years working up quite the shitstorm in metal circles for their admittedly ostentatious attempts at re-conceptualizing the genre from the ground up in what they call “transcendental black metal”. Critical response to their latest LP Aesthethica, was pretty much split down the middle largely for that reason. But all talk about the band’s perceived pretension is shot to bits by the initial blast of noise that kick off the album’s best track, the starkly minimal instrumental “Generation”. Seven minutes of blazing guitars and cracking snares, this slab of molten no-wave fury is more akin to early-day Swans than anything remotely “transcendental”, or even “black metal” for that matter. Even so, they’ve catalyzed progress and conversation in a genre that has, for decades now, stagnated in Norse Mythology and church burning scandals. Who says you need corpse paint to rock? -Möhammad Choudhery

38. Washed Out – “Amor Fati”

Washed Out’s Ernest Greene continues to distance himself from chillwave, creating one of the year’s most danceable tracks in “Amor Fati”. Fans have come to expect an inclusion of synths, but it’s the addition of an infectious chorus from Greene that makes for an unexpected moment of pop. The prominent vocals provide a break of warmth from the chillwave lull of its counterparts. Its latin title “amor fati” translates to love of fate. If this is where Greene’s destined, we’re lovestruck, too.   -Lauren Rearick

37. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”

Each year, there comes a song that is seemingly everywhere, from non-stop radio play to appearances in TV ads and basic cable shows. In 2011, that song was Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”. Musically, it appealed to a plethora of audiences, as if it were assembled from an equal number of dark, bluesy soul tunes and light, airy disco tracks. The vocals are among Adele’s finest, with an undercurrent of immense wisdom driving forward the larger-than-life, emotionally devastated cries of pain and confusion. But it’s the song’s overall sentiment, of having immense romantic regrets and laying every last one of them on your ex, that made this cut such a massively universal experience. Rare is the track that can mend wounds and help sell the iPhone 4S, but “Rolling in the Deep” does all that and more. -Chris Coplan

36. AraabMUZIK – “Streetz Tonight”

Don’t let the trance label deter you. AraabMUZIK’s Electronic Dream is an atmospheric trip from beginning to end. Best experienced as a whole, there are moments that jump out from the rest, perhaps none more than “Streetz Tonight”. Here, AraabMUZIK dials back his trademark drum machine ingenuity in favor of woozy synth grooves and airy, simplistic female vocals for a different, more laid-back type of head rush. -Austin Trunick

35. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”

Listeners had to be surprised the first time they heard this jarring, psychotic, nightmarish romp through a combat zone. “Hell Broke Luce” takes the form of a deranged boot camp march (“I had a good home, but I left, right, left”), with the time between Waits’ grating barking filled with banging and clanging, in-and-out guitars, sampled machine gun fire, and even a tuba during one brief lull. Lyrics include drill sergeant/grunt vulgarities, embittered questioning of authority, and lines that suggest the soldier protagonist sees himself as forever severed from the person he was before the war. (“What did you do before the war? /I was a chef, I was a chef/And what was your name? It was Jeff, Jeff”). I have no basis to judge whether or not Waits has captured the hellish realities of war on “Hell Broke Luce”, but I can say that if you’re listening to this track while out walking, it’ll keep you in step. Left, right, left. –Matt Melis

34. Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”

Ars longa, vita brevis, as the old adage goes: “Art is long, life is short.” On Kurt Vile’s “Jesus Fever”, the heartland rocker deals with this inevitable fate, all over a jangly progression that feels curated by Lindsay Buckingham circa 1975. One biting line: “When I am a ghost, I’ll see no reason to run/When I’m already gone/If it wasn’t taped, you could escape this song/But I’m already gone.” The lesson? Art is forever. In the digital age – especially a booming one like this year’s – that line takes on a whole new meaning. Art is forever… and everywhere. Now, how meta would it be if kids are listening to this in 100 years? Guess we’ll never know. -Michael Roffman

33. The Black Keys – “Lonely Boy”

“These guys just don’t stop. The late-in-the-year arrival of “Lonely Boy” signaled a much anticipated dose of the Akron blues mongers, even though fans were still simmering from 2010’s Brothers. El Camino’s complete rip-roaring genius aside, the stealthy emergence of the lead single’s video of a solitary man dancing his ass off became an instant sensation as “Lonely Boy” could be heard leaking out from city bus riders’ headphones for a good week after its internet landing. And for good reason. The song is an infectious smack in the face of gritty blues riffs and powerful, rockabilly-influenced fury. Dan Auerbach’s muddy guitar rips into the single as Patrick Carney’s attack drums and a smattering of quirky backing keys propel the song into a spaced-out rock stratosphere where Mark Bolan and blues greats serve as ruling deities. As our own Harley Brown attests, the Keys are at the height of their game, and “Lonely Boy” is Exhibit-A of their zenith status. -Liz Lane

32. Battles – “Ice Cream”

When Gloss Drop single “Ice Cream” dropped, it was the test for many of whether Battles would be the same after losing frontman Tyondai Braxton. The verdict? Not exactly the same, but that is no disappointment. The track wades familiar territory for Battles while placing itself among the trio’s more accessible work. Guest vocalist Matias Aguayo shines with a keen impersonation of Braxton’s trademark vocal manipulation over an irresistible, glitchy two-chord jam. Recommended with a scoop of cake batter on a waffle cone, but maybe not in the bathtub. -J. Harry Painter

31. Kate Bush – “Wild Man”

50 Words for Snow is a rare album themed to winter holiday months while not being pigeonholed as a Christmas album. “Wild Man” is a testament to that. It’s a seven-minute journey through the snowy crags of Tibet, name-dropping countless faraway places and romanticizing the fabled Yeti as only Kate Bush could. That said, it’s a very different Bush song in a lot of ways, with guest vocalist Andy Fairweather Low providing the chorus and Bush swapping out her usual vocal stylings with a husky Mark Knopfler-esque dialogue for most of the track. The sweetness of Bush’s words and the song’s misty, musical veil make it easy to mistake “Wild Man” as a love song, but that’s not quite it. It’s a tribute to the mysteries still hidden in the natural world and the figments we chase, rounding the corners of distant hills, just out of reach. -Cap Blackard

30. Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “The Last Huzzah” (Remix)

This Mr Muthafuckin’ eXquire remix, paying homage to Craig Mack’s “Flava in Ya Ear remix”, dilutes the year’s cattle call of mixtapes, guest spots, and debut LPs down to the strongest collective showing from any five rappers on a single track. Everyone’s got their fuel, whether its Despot’s “vodka soda,” Danny Brown’s “straight shots of Cuervo,” or El-P’s “straight shots of Sterno.” The track’s an ode to getting lit up, a celebration of skill and saying, “Fuck it all.” If these five guys stumble into 2012 with this much moxy, the same as Biggie, Craig Mack, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes did back in 1994, they’ll be the ones coming up big and making great comebacks. -Jeremy D. Larson

“The Last Huzzah” (Remix) (feat. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown & El-P)

29. The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”

It is the oft-used “return to form,” right? The yearning Julian Casablancas vocals and the doo-wop exchange between the guitarists and drummer Fab Moretti. Top it off with another great solo courtesy of Nick Valensi, and you have the makings of classic Strokes. We may not be talking about Angles years from now, but I’ll let you know the moment this song finally stops dancing around my head. -Justin Gerber

28. Beirut – “East Harlem”

The way Beirut toys with sense of place is so darn impish and charming. With the title and lyrics of “East Harlem”, you can’t tell whether Zach Condon is crooning about Amsterdam or New Amsterdam (NYC). Yet, at the same time, the details hardly matter. In this song about distance, you don’t know where you are for sure; you’re too lost in the sonic neighborhood or city block Condon has constructed. “Uptown, downtown” can seem like a “thousand miles between us” when you’re intent on studying the gorgeous detail of “East Harlem”, this city-song of blinding lights and gorgeous brass melodies. Go on, dwell in it. Stay awhile. -Paul de Revere

27. The War on Drugs – “Come to the City”

The anthemic centerpiece on one of the year’s most road-ready albums, “Come to the City” is to be played either with the windows down while  drifting along highways or in a stadium/field of a thousand pumping fists. It’s that kind of Arcade Fire-meets-Tom Petty power spun over reverberating organs and snapping drums that makes you want to lean your head out the car window and let the emotion wash over you with the wind. With Kurt Vile off on a solo career, frontman Adam Granduciel’s contemplative lyrics get to shine on their own. “I’ve been drinking up the sweet tea/It was made just for me,” he sings in a Dylan-esque warble. It was made for you, too, so drink up. -Benjamin Kaye

26. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”

If the majority of Odd Future is the id, then R&B crooner Frank Ocean is the ego. His depravity is just as endless, but he exemplifies his more reserved, complicated side on Nostalgia, Ultra standout “Novacane”. The beat is a monstrous amalgamation of hip-hop bass, random, glitchy noises, and, most important of all, a solid groove that sounds stuck between genres and intentions. Establishing a drug-fueled storyline involving porn stars and a trip gone bad, Ocean paints a picture of a stunted youth in search of the next big high to cure what ails him. The diagnosis for Ocean’s soul is grim, but the pursuit of absolution never sounded so intoxicating. -Chris Coplan

25. Girls – “Vomit”

“Vomit” is an anthem of solitude. Like Elliott Smith and Nirvana before him, Christopher Owens struggles with his own opiate addiction. This song is a declaration of an inescapable torment, an unanswered longing, a tender futility. The beginning guitar riff echoes with loneliness like a flickering lightbulb in a dark room. Owens repeats the line “looking for love” as he and Chet White descend into instrumental insanity: A guitar solo wracked with distortion erupts, an organ hums beneath, and melismas sound out through the song’s climax. “Vomit” is its own manifesto, expressing the belief that madness is freedom, that pain is inspiration. -Summer Dunsmore

24. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”

Hip-hop is always boasting how it’s a young person’s game, but “Make Some Noise” proved that the Beastie Boys are dogs who still have some bite left in them. The fortified funk they sic on us at the start of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is aggressive, witty, and sweeping. It’s classic Beastie Boys… and then some. In light of their recent setbacks – from “MCA” Adam Yauch’s struggle with cancer to the album’s various delays – the Brooklyn legends ferociously returned to the spotlight. This single is a testament to that. While there’s a lot of wax-scratching nostalgia going on, there’s just too much energy at hand to ignore. So, when Yauch says, “The best is yet to come, and yes, believe this,” we most certainly do. -Gilles LeBlanc

23. Real Estate – “It’s Real”

A good-natured single, “It’s Real” by Real Estate defines California surfer rock. It’s a song about puppy love, as singer Martin Courtney croons, “I carved our names into a tree/I walked on decomposing leaves/I skated on a frozen sea/It’s real as far as I can see.” It does what indie music does best: weaves poetic, charming lyrics with a hooky chorus. However, it’s unique to many other love songs, which usually express the pains of heartbreak or the dark side of obsession; this love song is a revelry, an exposition of energy and enthusiasm that comes with the fascination for a loved one. It’s real. -Summer Dunsmore

22. Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”

Donald Glover plays the clueless Troy Barnes on Community. So, why take his nom de rhyme, Childish Gambino, even the slightest bit seriously? Because of “Bonfire”, dummy. The lyrics encapsulate Gambino’s wit (“This Asian dude, I stole his girl, and now he got that Kogi beef”) and even offer up the nastier side of the MC’s rainbow-colored personality (“The shit I’m doin’ this year? Insanity/Made the beat then murdered it, Casey Anthony”). It’s also got one of the LP’s most beloved and recognizable beats, equal parts bouncy club anthem and gritty garage rock jam. But really, it’s Gambino’s impassioned and visceral delivery style, like he’s barking at the listener, that makes this track a true burner. -Chris Coplan

21. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”

Fleet Foxes’ titular track off Helplessness Blues is a lovely distillation of their sound, with the spectral doves of musicians like Roy Harper and Van Morrison flitting around for company. It’s such an epic poem that five minutes can hardly contain its beauty or its magnificent scope, which ranges from jangling folk to heavyweight, ethereal rock. By now, everyone knows the group’s sublime harmonies are their namesake, but when entwined with urgent guitar work and despairing language, it only adds deep emphasis to that fact. Feeling helpless has rarely felt so nourishing, building up to what can only be called a dappled sunlit kind of music, “my light in the dawn.” -Siobhan Kane

20. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”

Anybody who heard Thom Yorke’s live versions of “Lotus Flower” back in ’09 and ’10 never could have imagined what it would morph into when it eventually made its way onto this year’s The King of Limbs, a surprise in and of itself. That finger-picked guitar ballad is now long forgotten thanks to the skittering rhythms, distant hand claps, and other ridiculous noises that now constitute “Lotus Flower”. The song is as dub-dance-y as Radiohead has ever sounded, with a backdrop culled from fractured loops of god knows what. But what makes “Lotus Flower” so noteworthy is how Yorke embodies it: with a healthy dose of croon-swagger. Confidence hasn’t always been Yorke’s vocal forte, but he straddles the line so perfectly between that and melancholy that it opens up a lot of doors for what Radiohead is capable of. That’s a shitload of open doors, by the way. -Drew Litowitz

19. Cut Copy – “Need You Now”

It’s a tough feat to render six minutes of addicting hooks. But that’s what Cut Copy managed to do with “Need You Now”. That explains why it opens the Australian outfit’s latest LP, Zonoscope: Hit ‘em with a punch, snag ‘em with a hook. Vocalist Dan Whitford employs a slick baritone throughout, which certainly pushes this number ahead, but it’s when he lets loose four minutes in that the heat turns up. While not as immediate as tracks like “Take Me Over” or “Where I’m Going”, it’s all about the payoff sometimes, and you won’t find a better one than here. It’s so heavy they need a downer at the end to bring things back to element. Talk about a trip. -J. Harry Painter

18. Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”

Ever wondered if the Super Mario coin-grab effect could be sampled successfully in a song? Welcome to the world of Neon Indian. Alan Palomo’s wistful cadence tells of lost love on Era Extraña standout “Polish Girl”, while spaced-out 8-bit synths evoke the longing, inescapable feelings of shoegaze. Yet, the result is a blissful four and a half minutes itching for a spin on the dance floor. With “Polish Girl”, Neon Indian has traded their signature chillwave stylings in favor of a dreamy spin on dance pop and set the new standard for retro chic. -Frank Mojica

17. Drake – “Take Care”

“Take Care” is one of six or seven tracks that could easily be deemed the best of the batch from Drake’s enigmatic, epic sophomore album of the same name. Set firmly atop impeccable (and unconventional) production by Jamie xx, the track soars with an unstoppable, sensual hook by hip-hop diva Rihanna: “If you let me, here’s what I’ll do/I’ll take care of you.” I defy any heterosexual man to refuse that offer. But what makes this track stand out more than anything is the potency with which Drake raps. As he battles insecurity, brutal honesty, and harsh reality, we see the side of Drake that was promised from the beginning – the talented side. -Winston Robbins

16. Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”

Between his masterful Gil Scott-Heron collab/remix LP We’re New Here, the slew of top-notch remixes he put out (including a HUGE rework of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”), and a couple of choice spots on Radiohead’s TKOL RMX compilation, Jamie xx’s huge 2011 quelled any and all doubts that he could succeed out of the shadow of the xx. And all that goes without mentioning “Far Nearer”, his debut solo release and crowning achievement to date. Built around a sun-drenched Caribbean steel drum line and a mangled Janet Jackson vocal, it’s a dance anthem for the ages and one hell of a way to launch one’s solo career. How’s that for setting the bar high? -Möhammad Choudhery

15. The Mountain Goats – “High Hawk Season”

Revolution hung thick in the air this year, and John Darnielle’s prescient salvo seems to be the people’s anthem that never was (meanwhile, 3EB turned this in). Darnielle’s boilerplate solo voice/acoustic guitar is backed by a four-part male a capella chorus that, despite The Mountain Goats’ obscene prolificacy, paves whole new avenues for a guy who’s been doing this for a long, long time. Darnielle’s vocals vary in dynamics and enunciation, causing the words to teem with frustration and resolve, something arena-worthy with just doo-wop harmonies and earnest songwriting. Sadly, Post-Barbershop-Quartet is not a genre I can throw on Pandora…yet. -Jeremy D. Larson

14. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”

House of Balloons is fraught with tracks that are going to make you wish you lived a different, sexier life, but not one of them is more powerful than “Wicked Games”. As The Weeknd croons in his phenomenal upper register, “Bring your love baby, I can bring my shame/Bring the drugs baby, I can bring my pain,” you might honestly find yourself wishing you were addicted to codeine and emotionless sexual encounters. The track’s appeal to everyone’s dark side is endless. And while most listeners won’t ever pick up a Styrofoam cup full of prescription cough medicine and Jolly Ranchers to get faded, the song provides insight into a twisted life of beauty with a deep layer of abhorrent immorality looming just below the surface. -Winston Robbins

13. The Throne – “Niggas in Paris”

It’s still baffling that one of the hardest-hitting tracks on Watch the Throne contains a Will Ferrell sample from the figure skating parody Blades of Glory. “No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative,” Ferrell explains. “It gets the people going!” The long-anticipated collaborative record between rap’s reigning monarchs is a celebration in excess, but it comes packed with knowing winks like this one. Jay-Z and Kanye West roll in with a slow burn on top of piercing synth loop, gaining momentum as the song unravels, propelling one another into top form on this explosive club-pleaser. It’s Jay-Z’s methodical, fast-firing approach that sets the stage for West’s urgent, free-flowing (if a bit bonkers) rhymes; on an album grounded in the spirit of a healthy competition between the two powerhouse emcees, it’s on “Niggas in Paris” that they come together as a single, unstoppable hip-hop dream team. -Austin Trunick

12. Destroyer – “Kaputt”

In the world of the album’s title track, drugs and women are indiscernible — two intangible forces that are meant to be chased across clubs, kingdoms, and radio airwaves around the globe. Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar never catches either one, but decides to write a song about it and dedicate it to America, a fact that he blatantly states in the final verses. Amidst wind effects, slowed-down disco bass, synthesized bleeps, and foggy trumpet, the band topples the fourth wall, then builds it back up again to continue their quest across time, space, and celebration for a high they may never get, but in turn bestow upon their audience. -Dan Caffrey

11. Wild Flag – “Romance”

“Romance” is the most unabashedly pop song on Wild Flag’s self-titled debut. More Bow Wow Wow than Bikini Kill, it shows a different, deliriously infectious side of this burgeoning supergroup. With a ringing, crunchy guitar punch over pounding surf drums, it’s the killer hook in the chorus that will keep you coming back again and again. (If you’re not tapping your toes by the time it gets to the hand clap-driven “shake, shimmy, shake” breakdown at the song’s climax, you’re probably not a warm-blooded human.) Straight-up rock and roll this irresistibly catchy is a rare treat in this day and age; “Romance” should be finding its way onto feel-good mixtapes for a long, long time. -Austin Trunick

10. Foo Fighters – “Rope”

The glorious possibilities of a three-guitar attack in Foo Fighters is truly felt with this tune from Wasting Light. With Pat Smear having officially returned to the lineup, the band created some of their most aggressive music to date. The echoing intro gives in to a track that bops between pop and alt-rock, before launching into Chris Shiflett’s thrash-metal solo near the song’s conclusion. Of course, it’s Dave Grohl’s constant that ties it all together. That being the tireless Taylor Hawkins, who proves once more why he’s one of the finest drummers in the game today, yesterday, and tomorrow. As the first single, “Rope” announced the return of the Foo, and in hindsight, it’s the cattle call that would go on to cement the band as the biggest rock act on the planet. They’ve had a good year. -Justin Gerber

9. James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”

The first thing anybody who listens to James Blake’s true breakout track notices is how undeniably incessant it is. It’s a classic study in repetition.

With Blake’s cyborg croon evaporating into palm-muted guitar masked as a digital processor, interspersed with the sound a black hole makes when you throw the whole genre of dubstep into it, the song slowly explodes into a haze of static, processed synth-organ, and the deepest bass around. It’s like a noised-out tribute to every sub-genre of reggae-inspired dance music, that both mourns its present dilution in the mainstream and celebrates the places it still has yet to go.

What’s most interesting about “The Wilhelm Scream”, though, is what this repetition means to Blake and why he’s created this song in the first place. At its core, the song is Blake re-envisioning something he must have heard incessantly over the past few years: his own father, soft rocker James Litherland’s “Where to Turn”, from his 2006 album, 4th Estate. Under this context, the song becomes a manifestation of Blake’s nostalgia and love for his pops — his memories and emotions aurally orchestrated into an infectious haze of confused sounds that come together perfectly. Cool, right? -Drew Litowitz

8. SBTRKT – “Wildfire”

As SBTRKT, Aaron Jerome has been one of the year’s most buzzed-about breakout artists. On “Wildfire”, the masked producer recruits 2011’s must-have collaborator, Yukimi Nagano (of electro-soulsters Little Dragon), for the year’s essential dance floor jam. Between a bassline that can only be described as downright filthy and the irresistible allure of Nagano’s velvety vocals, “Wilfire” is pure sonic sensuality. Drawing inspiration from South London post-dubstep to house to R&B, “Wildfire” takes everything that ever made someone dance in the past 20 years and spins it into something futuristic. As it deftly defies any single label, SBTRKT’s scorching style on “Wildfire” is a reflection of how the future will one day remember 2011. -Frank Mojica

7. EMA – “California”

Equal parts Psychocandy, Sinead O’Connor, Patti Smith, and Lou Reed, Erika M. Anderson’s (aka EMA) “California” turns heads with its aggressive-yet-vapid delivery and lyrics that spin tales of reckless abandonment. “What’s it like to be small-time and gay?” she crudely asks mid-song. “What does failure taste like? To me it tastes like dirt,” she asks and answers herself towards the end. It’s a slow shuffle that never really leads to an anthemic release as its rusty sprawl suggests, but that’s sort of the point. On paper, it’s just as seclusive and cyclical.

Sort of like madness. Anderson’s a native of South Dakota, so one has to wonder what her perspective is here. Here’s a supposition: It’s the struggle that California – the land of dreams and mystery, as suggested even by the likes of Steinbeck – isn’t what it appears to be. It’s a wasteland. It’s a falsity. But, she’s not alone there. When she says, “Fuck California,” so do we. Because if there’s anything we’ve learned from reality television, MTV, or reading short bios on any musician who’s ever surfaced on the Sunset Strip, California breeds a special sort of crazy. Anderson may never find her small-town roots again (“Schizophrenic rules the brain”), but she’s created one powerful ode to it. One of the best of its kind. -Michael Roffman

6. St. Vincent – “Cruel”

If you’re going to write a rock song around a single riff, it better be a ridiculously good one, something that you’re happy to get stuck in your head. There have been a few that fit the bill in indie rock over the last few years; Modest Mouse’s “Float On” and MGMT’s “Kids” come to mind. Add St. Vincent’s “Cruel” to that exclusive list. Annie Clark writes a completely oddball, vaguely old-timey verse melody, complete with saccharine background strings. But when she sings “oo-eh-oo-eh-oo-llll” on the titular lyric, that distinctive synthesizer riff comes into focus and simply owns you. It’s silly, it’s uplifting, it’s catchy, and it can completely carry the song. Throw in a majorly danceable backing track, a languid distorted guitar solo, and Clark’s wispy but powerful voice, and it’s indie rock gold. -Jake Cohen

5. tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”

Merrill Garbus’ wonderful first single from her second record, w h o k i l l, reflects her decision to focus some aspects of the live experience into studio recordings, and certainly, the wild energy of “Bizness” is hardly constrained by the medium of a record. Perhaps this is what makes her great: The medium of music is the vehicle through which she has chosen to convey her creativity, but it cannot bind her. “Bizness” begins with the kind of vocal gymnastics that brings to mind David Longstreth dancing in a frying pan — lovely, gloopy, roaming sounds that also act as a warm vocal harpsichord of sorts.

Then there is the percussive aspect. The way Garbus layers sounds and percussion is a joy to hear, the military beats, along with a kind of skeletal, clickety-clack kind of sound that reconnects to her fascination with African rhythms. Her world is one that is anchored by a childlike sense of wonderment, and when the arresting, strident horns step in, you cannot help but smile. This is also because you sense her giddy reverie in taking apart traditional song structures and building them up again in her own image. When she sings “I’ll bleed if you ask me,” you really believe it, because her thoughtful sincerity is clear, amidst the revels. The visual accompaniment to the song (the video directed by Mimi Cave) is a perfect rendering of tUnE-yArDs’ ethos – to reach out to the child in all of us, keeping us young, keeping us strong, keeping us dreaming. -Siobhan Kane

4. Beyoncé – “Countdown”

At this point in her exceptional career, Beyoncé has transcended the traditional confines of pop diva status. Her latest album, 4, is full of the finest cuts of her career, be it for their infectious, poppy nature or for their demonstration of real, relatable emotional displays. And one could easily say “Countdown” is the best song on that album and leave it at that. To do so, however, is to discredit a track that is not only great, but a step above on a record whose primary notion is of stepping further into sonic grace.

From the initial wail of Bey’s voice to the marching band vibe, the track is the heart and soul, the lifeblood of a record that is a dynamo of R&B gold, both new and old. Queen B has built an empire of love songs and tributes to her boo(s), but none, be it on this album or the three before, come off as easily and thoroughly as they do here. We dare anyone to resist falling under the spell of the chorus where, like a Gucci-wearing version of The Count, Beyoncé counts down the ways in which she loves her man. It’s everything we love about Beyoncé: the sing-along-ability, the bombastic nature, and the beat that digs its nails into your hips to make them shimmy all night. Count it any way you want, this number’s a shining gem in Beyoncé’s bangin’ catalog. -Chris Coplan

3. M83 – “Midnight City”

A Parisian M83 fan said to me this year that Anthony Gonzalez is “the best French music producer, more famous in [the] U.S. than France.” So what’s made “Midnight City” and its double album source, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, catch fire like it has in the States this year? Well, “Midnight City” is a great single, for one. And it’s in a Victoria’s Secret commercial, which doesn’t hurt its exposure stateside, either. Surely, at this point, M83 has never been more popular than they are right now. And this year, a lot of that gets chalked up to “Midnight City”.

But look deeper. “Midnight City”, like all of M83′s music, touches on feelings valued deep within the American heart: light, innocence, and youth. M83 just shrouds them behind synth sheen and vocal processing on Gonzalez’s voice. When you imagine its abstract, misty mood piece in the classic Americana setting of Lover’s Lane or Makeout Point, it clicks. The narrator and a girl look out over how “the night city grows” a “mutating skyline.” “The city is my church,” Gonzalez sings. “It wraps me in the sparkling twilight.” It’s so gorgeous and wondrous, how can you not weep from its beauty? And how many songs this year have done that? O beautiful, for spacious skies, indeed. -Paul de Revere

2. Tyler, The Creator – “Yonkers”

Cast aside all preconceived notions or any conclusions that you may have drawn about Odd Future for just a second. Try and get back to the moment when you first heard “Yonkers”. Whether you were a longtime fan or you were victim to the viral video that got tossed around for a few weeks, it moved you. It moved some to anger, and it moved others to excitement; regardless of direction, though, it moved you. There are few times in life when a song will force you to stop everything you’re doing because you’re too busy picking your jaw up off the floor. Even fewer are the times when those selfsame songs are written and produced by a 19-year-old. Much criticism has been cast in the direction of this song and at Tyler in general; many found his lyrics involving misogyny, brutal violence, and even rape to be supremely offensive. And ultimately, that’s a decision best made on an individual basis. But you cannot deny that, for better or worse, “Yonkers” is one of the most powerful hip-hop singles in recent memory. Still sends chills down my spine. -Winston Robbins

1. Bon Iver – “Holocene”

For as often as Justin Vernon’s cabin hibernation is parodied, doesn’t it sound just a little enticing? Leaving it all, sequestering yourself away from a world that won’t stop spinning? In some ways, Vernon never left that seclusion. The songs on Bon Iver may sprawl and breathe more, but they’re still born form Vernon’s desire for privacy and escape. They’re rural, surreal, and separate, and “Holocene” captures the essence of Vernon’s world, just as he tries to capture the essence of our current epoch.

The song pivots around the lyric “All at once I knew/I was not magnificent” and the garden of romantic words and loosely related imagery around it. Acoustic crescendos push the plot along, and the band’s woodwind and found sound arrangement provide the scenery. Whole ages of emotions advance and recede throughout its course, yet it manages to stave off melodrama.

Vernon recalls three hazy memories in three verses and gives them context with that pivotal lyric — an ego check. These are the lasting moments that Vernon hangs on to through it all. Can we find meaning outside of ourselves and inside missed connections or little moments we have with friends and family? This truly is what outlasts things. Now, none of this ideology is revolutionary, but Bon Iver renews its vows in the context of 2011 — a year of exponential speed and growth, of revolution and dissatisfaction, of disillusionment and displacement across whole swaths of culture and class. “Holocene” is that moment of reflection on the escape vessel as you float away from the wreckage and towards Bon Iver’s world. If escapism is increasingly how we deal with our problems, that ubiquitous cabin in the woods sounds better and better with each coming year. -Jeremy D. Larson

50. Ellie Goulding – “Lights”
49. Cults – “Go Outside”
48. Big K.R.I.T. – “Country Shit” (Remix)
47. Mikal Cronin – “Apathy”
46. Cold Cave – “The Great Pan is Dead”
45. Das Racist – “Michael Jackson”
44. The Horrors – “Still Life”
43. Bill Callahan – “Riding For the Feeling”
42. Dum Dum Girls – “Coming Down”
41. Lykke Li – “I Follow Rivers”
40. Wilco – “One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend)”
39. Liturgy – “Generation”
38. Washed Out – “Amor Fati”
37. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
36. AraabMUZIK – “Streetz Tonight”
35. Tom Waits – “Hell Broke Luce”
34. The Black Keys – “Lonely Boy”
33. Kurt Vile – “Jesus Fever”
32. Battles – “Ice Cream”
31. Kate Bush – “Wild Man”
30. Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “The Last Huzzah” (Remix)
29. The Strokes – “Under Cover of Darkness”
28. Beirut – “East Harlem”
27. The War on Drugs – “Come to the City”
26. Frank Ocean – “Novacane”
25. Girls – “Vomit”
24. Beastie Boys – “Make Some Noise”
23. Real Estate – “It’s Real”
22. Childish Gambino – “Bonfire”
21. Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”
20. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower”
19. Cut Copy – “Need You Now”
18. Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”
17. Drake – “Take Care”
16. Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”
15. The Mountain Goats – “High Hawk Season”
14. The Weeknd – “Wicked Games”
13. The Throne – “Niggas in Paris”
12. Destroyer – “Kaputt”
11. Wild Flag – “Romance”
10. Foo Fighters – “Rope”
09. James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”
08. SBTRKT – “Wildfire”
07. EMA – “California”
06. St. Vincent – “Cruel”
05. tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
04. Beyoncé – “Countdown”
03. M83 – “Midnight City”
02. Tyler, the Creator – “Yonkers”
01. Bon Iver – “Holocene”

It’s always fun to write about a “true freshman,” and by that we mean someone who surfaced this year. The number of times that we get bombarded by popular media with a new class of “freshmen” is far too high. The reality is that a large percentage of those freshmen have actually been in the game for a long while and apparently redshirted their first season (Lana Del Rey, Bon Iver, according to The Grammys). So, to talk about someone as brand new to the game as The Weeknd is a fantastic breath of fresh air.

The briefest of brief backgrounds: The Weeknd is a hip-hop and R&B artist based out of Toronto who began releasing his music independently in late 2010. House of Balloons, his first mixtape, received critical praise across the board (and Drake’s Twitter endorsment didn’t hurt). Its dark, thematic material of self-indulgence and wicked emotion is so cutting that it almost makes you want to hop in a bath and rid yourself of the grime after listening.

Until late July, Tesfaye remained a recluse for the most part, a name without a face. His live debut was a massive eye-opener for critics and fans alike. The Weeknd was not only a real human being, but an extremely talented real human being. Despite being visibly nervous and lacking vocal confidence at a few points, his performance at Mod Club in his hometown of Toronto only further verified that we were dealing with a bona fide prodigy.

The Weeknd’s violent viral spike eventually led to a blossoming musical relationship with fan and fellow Toronto native Drake. Shortly after his first-ever performance, he released Thursday, the second mixtape of a planned trilogy to be released within the year 2011. The self-released Thursday received over 180,000 downloads in its first day of being released, causing a major server crash for XO Records. The mixtape included a surprise (to many) guest spot by Drake on “The Zone”, which was baffling at the time. What exactly did a relatively established, formerly crippled, Young Money Sprite cyborg have in common with a 21-year-old crooner making music out of his basement? A great deal, apparently.

The Weeknd feat. Drake – “The Zone”

“The Zone” remains a solid Weeknd song, but the real beauty of the track lies at the 5:15 mark, when Drake drops one of his most potent verses to date, forging the connection between himself and Tesfaye. As Drake began to solidify and release the details of his forthcoming sophomore effort, it was revealed that he’d been hard at work with The Weeknd acting as a frequent sidekick. Tesfaye appeared as a musician on Drake’s Take Care twice but was given writing credit on five different tracks, making him the third-most-credited individual on the album after Young Money producer Noah “40” Shebib and Drake himself — no small deal given that Take Care sold 631,000 units in its first week.

We have yet to hear anything wildly conclusive from his forthcoming trilogy-closer, Echoes of Silence, still slated for release this year. But if Echoes does anything close to the damage of House of Balloons or Thursday, we’re in for a trilogy of Lord of the Rings proportions.

Perhaps The Weeknd isn’t exactly the face of the R&B resurgence. That distinction may go to any of a half-dozen smooth stalwarts – How to Dress Well, Active Child, Frank Ocean, The-Dream, or the most likely candidate, Drake – but it’s one that rightfully belongs to Tesfaye and his Weeknd project. It’s hard to believe that any of the aforementioned artists would have been so fervently received were it not for the captivating bravado of The Weeknd’s dark, daring falsetto.

Do you think Drake would have even attempted to hit some of those high notes on Take Care were it not for his friendship with Tesfaye? Probably not. Would listeners have been as open to hearing acts like How to Dress Well or Active Child were it not for their tried-and-true Weeknd? Doubtful. It takes a talented, audacious individual to pave the way for not only himself, but for a slew of other talented artists. And to do that as a rookie? Well, that makes The Weeknd one of a kind.

Two decades from now, how do you think 2011 will be remembered? As the year we lost Amy Winehouse? How about the year three of music’s most iconic outfits – The White Stripes, R.E.M., and LCD Soundsystem — all decided to call it quits? Maybe Lana Del Rey will prove a sustainable force and then we can all tell our children about the great collagen debate of 2011. Or try to explain to them how two rock and roll hall of famers came together to create the worst piece of music imaginable.

Yeah, 2011 was a fucking weird year. Like, a total mindfuck. We lost some great ones, both literally and figuratively, and we wrote or read about them in between stories about Wayne Coyne’s gummy fetus and Nick Oliveri’s standoff with a S.W.A.T. team. Along the way, we were presented with a legal way to listen to a jazilion songs for free, watched that dude from Nine Inch Nails win an Oscar, and witnessed the return of not just Kate Bush and Tom Waits, but Jeff Mangum as well. Yet, at the end of the day, Lana Del Rey’s collagen lips and Odd Future’s misogynistic tendencies won the award for stories with the longest shelf life on my Twitter feed.

Then again, four weeks from now it’ll be 2012′s turn and who knows what that year has in store. Maybe some scientist will be able to revive Jim Morrison’s frozen head so that we can have a true collaboration between The Doors and Skrillex. Whatever the case may be, Consequence of Sound will be here, 24/7/365, ready to bring you all the major headlines. Until then, though, we remember the last 12 months, categorized by themes, in the pages that follow. And, as always, thanks for reading.

– Alex Young
Publisher

R.I.P.: The Ones We Lost in 2011

Amy Winehouse (1983-2011): The soulful, sultry songstress was the first British female to win five Grammy awards. Unfortunately, she also became a member of the infamous “27 Club” when police found her dead in her London home on July 23rd. An autopsy later confirmed her death as the result of accidental alcohol poisoning.

Clarence Clemons (1942-2011): Founding member and saxophonist of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, Clemons was a larger-than-life figure, and he’ll forever be remembered for his solos on “Jungleland” and “Born to Run”. Clemons died on June 18th from complications caused by a stroke. He was 69.

Bert Jansch (1943-2011): Acclaimed Scottish folk singer who was both a celebrated solo musician and member of the band Pentangle. Jansch died on October 5th following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He was 67.

Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011): A celebrated musician, poet, and author who was largely credited as one of the leading influences of hip-hop and neo soul. Scott-Heron died on May 27th. He was 62.

Heavy D (1967-2011): The founding member and leader of Heavy D & the Boyz helped bridge the worlds of hip-hop and R&B in the ’90s before transitioning to a career in film. Heavy D (born Dwight Arrington Myers) died on November 8th reportedly from complications of pneumonia. He was 44.

Nate Dogg (1969-2011): West coast crooner collaborated with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg. Nate Dogg (born Nathaniel Hale) died from complications of multiple strokes on March 15th. He was 41.

Poly Styrene (1957-2011): The former singer of X-Ray Spek was described as the “archetype for the modern-day feminist punk.” Styrene died on April 25th following a battle with breast cancer. She was 53.

Trish Keenan (1968-2011): Founding member and singer of British electronic band Broadcast. Keenan died from complications with pneumonia on January 14th. She was 42.

Hubert Sumlin (1931-2011): Legendary guitarist and longtime collaborator of blues icon Howlin’ Wolf is ranked at number forty-three in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Sumlin died on December 4th. He was 80.

Cory Smoot: (1977-2011): Guitarist for the shock rock band GWAR was the longest-serving member to play the character Flattus Maximus. Smoot was found dead on the band’s tour bus on November 3rd; as of December 5th, his cause of death is still unknown. He was 34.

DJ Mehdi (1977-2011): French hip-hop and electro producer was a member of Ed Banger Records and collaborated with Chromeo, Cassius, and Carte Blanche. DJ Mehdi (born Mehdi Favéris-Essadi) died on September 13th when the roof of his Paris home collapsed during a friend’s birthday party. He was 34.

Michael “Würzel” Burston (1949-2011): The former Army corporal served as guitarist for Motörhead from 1984-1995. Würzel died from complications of heart disease on July 9th. He was 61.

Mike Starr (1966-2011): The founding member and bassist of Alice in Chains contributed to two studio albums — including the 1992 classic Dirt — before departing in 1993. Starr was found dead on March 8th, with an autopsy later finding traces of drugs in his system. He was 44.

Suze Rotolo (1943-2011): The former girlfriend of Bob Dylan inspired many of the songwriter’s early love songs and appeared on the iconic cover of his 1963 classic, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Rotolo died of lung cancer on February 25th. She was 67.

Gerard Smith (1974-2011): The TV on the Radio bassist appeared on the band’s celebrated albums Return to Cookie Mountain, Dear Science, and Nine Types of Light. Smith died from lung cancer on April 20th. He was 36.

John Barry (1933-2011): The Academy Award-winning composer soundtracked 12 James Bond films between 1962 and 1987 in addition to Born Free, The Lion in Winter, and Out of Africa. Barry died of a heart attack on January 30th. He was 77.

Mikey Welsh (1971-2011): The former Weezer bassist appeared on the band’s 2001 The Green Album. Welsh was found dead on October 8th. He was 40.

Welcome Back: 2011′s Reunions

Photo by Colin Athens

While 2011 was a particularly harsh year for band breakups (see the next slide), at least Pulp came back. Long a dream on festival message boards, the legendary UK outfit finally reunited in the summer of 2011 for their first live performances in nine years. Our own Frank Mojica was at the band’s comeback show at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and declared it “an explosive set that cemented Pulp’s status as the essential festival band of 2011 and will be remembered as fondly and regarded as definitive as their Glastonbury 1995 performance.”

However, Pulp wasn’t the only celebrated outfit to return in 2011. Buffalo Springfield — the folk rock supergroup comprised of Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young — reunited after 43 years for a brief West coast tour and headlining performance at Bonnaroo. Wrote our own Carson O’Shoney of their Bonnaroo appearance: “Even those who weren’t familiar with the band’s work were surely impressed. Seeing Neil Young wail on guitar is simply one of the better things in all of music. But the final three knockout punches of ‘Broken Arrow’, ‘For What It’s Worth’, and ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ were what really solidified it as one of the best sets of the weekend.”

Other 2011 reunions:

After inciting a riot during their first live performance in five years at South by Southwest, hard-hitting Canadian outfit Death From Above 1979 played any and every summer festival, including Coachella, Sasquatch!, Quebec City Summer Fest, Lollapalooza, FYF Fest, ACL, and Treasure Island.

Post-punk icons New Order reunited after five years with a pair of benefit shows in Europe.

Mazzy Star unleashed a two-song single, their first pieces of new music in 15 years.

Ben Folds reunited Ben Folds Five for their first new material in a decade.

UK glam rock outfit The Darkness reunited for their first live performance since 2006 at UK’s Download Festival.

In celebration of their 45th anniversary, The Monkees hit the road for their first live performances since 1997. Unfortunately, the final eight dates of their trek were canceled “due to internal group issues and conflicts.”

Chicago’s own Hum delivered their first performance in a decade.

San Diego-based post-hardcore outfit Hot Snakes reunited at ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas in December.

Austin, TX, noise rock pioneers Scratch Acid toured extensively for the first time in over two decades.

NYC punk band D-Generation hit the road in the fall for their first performances since 1999. A new album is also in the works.

Mexico City rock band Caifanes reunited after 15 years for a performance at Coachella.

The End of An Era: 2011′s Breakups

Bands, like trends, come and go. Some last for decades with deep catalogs, and others only survive a couple years with an album or two. Their presence has a lasting impact on our lives and ears, and thus their disbandment has the same. To the greats we lost this year: Thanks for the tunes. -Ben Kaye

R.E.M. (1981-2011): Seminal, legendary, and unequaled, Georgia’s alternative rock icons ended their career after three decades. From their 1983 debut, Murmur, to their 2011 finale, Collapse Into Now, to the world’s first GIF album cover, the band exemplified how to be successful, innovative, and cool while remaining uncompromising. Their legacy will be felt for decades more to come.

The White Stripes (1997-2011): One of the greatest bands of the era, this garage blues-rock duo left an indelible mark on music with six albums. Jack White will continue on in his myriad of forms, but The White Stripes will be remembered as the band that started it all and his most widely celebrated triumph.

LCD Soundsystem (2001-2011): These modern dance-punk virtuosos left us with three full-lengths and a year-long swan song, culminating in a finale at Madison Square Garden. And we still wish we were getting more.

Rilo Kiley (1998-2011): Fourteen years of indie rock ended rather unceremoniously. Regardless, their sophomore full-length, The Execution of All Things, will go down as one of the best albums of the last decade.

The Stills (2000-2011): These Canadian indie rockers released three albums over 10 years. They will likely be best remembered for 2008’s Juno Award-winning Oceans Will Rise.

The Academy Is… (2003-2011): These Warped Tour regulars dispersed while in the process of recording album #4. At least they got to tour with KISS before it ended.

Dear and the Headlights (2005-2011): Two full-lengths and extensive touring proved too much for this Arizona indie pop rock band. Scared by all the lights.

The Felix Culpa (2003-2011): Unsung heroes of the Midwest post-hardcore scene. Despite the success of last year’s self-released sophomore effort, Sever Your Roots, there will be no more happy mistakes.

Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon (1984-2011): Founding members of Sonic Youth and godparents of indie rock. What the power couple’s separation means for their iconic band is yet to be seen, though side projects abound.

Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel (2009-2011): This pair of indie darlings split after only two years of marriage amidst heavy work schedules for each. While separations are always sad, we can’t help but swoon over the idea that Deschanel is technically available…

Digital Takeover

On July 14, 2011, millions of music fans sighed in relief: Spotify hit U.S. shores, and the end of the war on music drew closer to its end. Now, that’s not entirely true – the labels still aren’t too happy, neither are the artists – but the idea that “music is free” has never been more agreed upon until now. Thanks to Spotify, users can legally check out a variety of new releases in addition to a fully digestible catalog that spans everyone from ABBA to John Zorn, at any time — even on their phones, though that option will cost them. But it’s a price that many will pay, simply because it’s the way of the future.

It’s the death of the mp3 and the dawn of the truly, strictly digital age, where music listeners can immerse themselves in digital clouds of music. This year, Apple, Amazon, and Google Music all introduced similar formats, asking users to upload their collections into digital lockers, where they’ll always have access. Anywhere. Anytime. Where else can you go from there?

How about interactivity? Online forums evolved this year, too. “You should check this band out” is so passe. Instead, online users are opting for more media savvy formats, where they can turn their textual suggestions into aural delights. Through a service like Turntable.fm, which surfaced earlier this year, users now create rooms, throwing online soirees, where they DJ their own stations. All of this comes at little to no price and with zero trouble (although, there are always exceptions). So, it’s been a pretty transitive year in the music industry. A game changer, if you will. -Michael Roffman

An Odd Future, Indeed.

There’s that wonderful exchange at the end of Batman Begins, when Lt. Gordon digresses on The Caped Crusader’s influence over Gotham City, calling attention to like-minded criminals with a “taste for the theatrical,” stating plainly, “You really started something.” So true of the internet. Most of the time, you’ll find a chunky, melting pot of deep-seeded opinions, but sometimes, just sometimes, they all come together to agree on something. That’s when true change is had. And it can happen overnight.

Case in point: Odd Future and Lana Del Rey.

Controversy played a big role in the successes of these two – the former because of obscenities, the latter because of collagen – but, really, it only fueled it. The real credit, however, goes to the blogosphere. It’s the classic “she tells her friends” routine – only to an ungodly nth degree. One blog hypes a track, one site swears by another, and all of a sudden you’re trending on social networks nationwide, then worldwide, then… yeah, it sort of stops there. It’s nothing new. That’s the true nature of a fad (see: Trapper Keepers, Pogs, LA Gear). But, it’s never seen extremes such as this.

And as polarizing as these acts may be – “Aren’t they being misogynistic?”; “She’s not real! Her real name’s Lizzy Grant! OMFG, hate her!!1!” – it’s the way they came to fruition that’s far more interesting. It reveals a true power within the internet, one that may or may not be good. Regardless of its moral worth, though, it’s here to stay. As the Joker, essentially a by-product of Batman, ominously declared in the film’s follow-up, “There’s no going back. You’ve changed things… forever.” Yep. Deal with it, folks. -Michael Roffman

The Return of R&B

Some guy somewhere jokingly called it “PBR&B” and that gained traction for a little while — R&B for “hipsters.” If we take one thing away from this, let it be this: The resurgence and strength of R&B in 2011 had nothing to do with “hipsters,” a word I apologetically use here (and if I had two wishes for Christmas this year, it would be that I never hear that word again). The strength of The Weeknd, Frank Ocean, The-Dream, How To Dress Well, Active Child, and tangentially Drake this year was born from little else than a defibrillator to a dormant art form using a bit of indie sentiment.

The Weeknd’s sudden and (not so) mysterious arrival drew the highest peak in the EKG chart with the hedonistic, dripping-wet jams of his House of Balloons mixtape, sampling Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshees, which of course reached across the aisle to white tumblrites more ostensibly than Aaliyah and R. Kelly ever did in the 90’s. From there, Frank Ocean bowed out of producing pop hits for Biebs and made known his association with OFWGKTA for his Nostalgia Ultra mixtape, a damp and druggy confessional. Kanye took a liking to him, as well.

The cross-cultural movement was just as strong for Active Child’s choir-boy jams and How To Dress Well’s shrouded pangs, both of whom collaborated with each other on the song “Playing House”. There are many more artists working with these tools: production rooted in current trends, voices like butter, beats like woah. Perhaps the response to the hidden vocals of last year’s genre de l’année Chillwave is that these artists are putting the spotlight back on the soul of the human voice.  -Jeremy D. Larson

The Return of the Legacy Act

It’s been seven years since Tom Waits released his 23rd album, six years since Kate Bush released her 9th, and 13 years since Jeff Mangum (as Neutral Milk Hotel) released his second. Not all acts that resurface have to have page-long catalogs, and like Mangum, not all comebacks have to include new material, but these three artists made the biggest impact in 2011 after some time away from the spotlight.

Not even just away from the spotlight, but in some cases purposefully reclusive. Before this year, Jeff Mangum appearances were becoming lore, like seeing the face of Mother Mary in a Crunchwrap Supreme. Mangum only did some one-off shows in barns or was seen looming backstage at some gig. But last January, he announced his reemergence for ATP New Jersey at the “I’ll Be Your Mirror” event — a festival! He went from barns to a major festival in like a year! He then went on a small U.S. tour and released a career-spanning Neutral Milk Hotel box set, and there are no signs of him stopping with tour dates already stretching into 2012.

For Kate Bush, pace is the trick. With 10 albums in over 30 years, we’re running on her press cycle — releasing her babies into the world only when they’re ready to leave the nest. With a flurry (ahem), she dropped two albums in 2011 — her self-explanatory Director’s Cut and her acclaimed new studio album, 50 Words for Snow. With no tour or late-night performances, Bush is still staying out of the limelight for now. But it’s not like she needs the press.

And then there’s the categorical Tom Waits, doing his thing for the 24th time with not a hint of phoning it in. Bad As Me is another trophy for his buckling shelf and his most commercially successful album to date, peaking at #6 on the U.S. Billboard charts. Twenty-four albums in 37 years with rarely a misstep or an eye roll, soundtracking movies, musicals, German surrealist plays, and with his release this year, he’s only further cementing himself as an American cultural icon. We await for “Waitsian” to be added to dictionaries. -Jeremy D. Larson

The Return of Radiohead

Photo by Nate Slevin

It’s a predicament: A member of Radiohead posts something online (e.g. new track, obscure art, a haiku-like blog entry, et al.), and you’re a.) out at lunch, b.) four hours into a deep sleep, or c.) at your own wedding. Whatever the situation, you’re finding the closest computer and fast. That sort of conundrum plagues every blogger’s life annually, but especially in 2011. As of today, Consequence of Sound has 10 pages of Radiohead-related news for this year alone. Quite a lot. To think, it all started in the eye-tweaking, early morning hours of February 14th, 2011. That’s when the group announced the release of their eighth LP, The King of Limbs, set to deliver only four days later. Naturally, the ‘net exploded soon after; in fact, as one reader put it that morning, “I just pooped my pants.”

That reaction turned sour (or just downright polarizing) when the LP eventually surfaced. Some complained about its length (a copious 37 minutes), speculating on a second part (which never materialized), while others wondered where the band went, calling it a Yorke-centric effort. A week after it was announced, Consequence of Sound awarded the album four stars, hailing it as “one of their most absorbing efforts to date.” (Currently, the album has a Metacritic score of 80.) Despite the general acclaim, critics everywhere levied their slight disappointment between their words.

But that hardly stalled the group. Since 2007′s event release of In Rainbows, the UK collective has stayed ahead of the curve, and this year was no different. Things just got weird. They issued a free newspaper, their “Lotus Flower” video sent dance enthusiasts on edge, and Yorke started hitting the DJ scene hard. But, on the other hand, they struck all the right nerves by releasing an exclusive Record Store Day 7″, “surprising” festivalgoers at Glastonbury, endorsing an album of remixes, and media blitzing NYC for a week (which included stops at Fallon, SNL, The Colbert Report, and two sold-out nights at The Roseland Ballroom). It doesn’t look like it’ll end for 2012, either, what with another LP and a proper tour on the way. That’s okay, though. Our stomachs, sleep schedules, and loved ones won’t appreciate it, but hey, more Radiohead, right? As the old adage with this group goes, “Stay tuned.” -Michael Roffman

The Day Trent Reznor Won An Oscar

When first approached by director David Fincher to score his film about the founding of Facebook, Trent Reznor had just wrapped up Nine Inch Nails’ lengthy farewell tour and was planning to take time off. However, as Reznor later explained, “When I actually read the script and realized what he was up to, I said goodbye to that free time I had planned.” Undoubtedly attracted by the film’s sentiments on isolation, greed, and entitlement (all familiar issues to the Nine Inch Nails frontman), Reznor graciously accepted his new role as film composer.

Teaming with longtime collaborator Atticus Ross, the duo would go on to create a masterpiece of “alternative-rock infused ambient electronic music” that as our Drew Litowitz writes, “mimics the anxious ambivalence that Sorkin’s script and Fincher’s direction convey so similarly.”  The score amplified the angst and turmoil that accompanied the success of Mark Zuckerberg. For a movie with no ostensible “action” sequences, the score built tension to great heights alongside Aaron Sorkin’s signature verbose script. One question remained: Would movie critics give praise to an outside artist who once sang, “God is dead and no one cares/ if there’s a hell, I’ll see you there”?

With 15 nominations for Best Original Score, it seemed Reznor and Ross had created a score that struck an international cord. Even after winning the Golden Globe, skeptics wondered if The Academy would give Reznor and Ross the Oscar over perennial favorites Hans Zimmer and Alexandre Desplat. All doubt dissipated when Nicole Kidman and the all-too-pleased Hugh Jackman called the duo up to accept each one’s first Academy Award. “Wow, is this really happening?” Reznor asked during his acceptance speech.

Reznor’s now working on the score for the Fincher-directed The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Will he need to make more room on his trophy shelf? Plus, with an alt-rock artist taking home the coveted award, might Reznor’s win, combined with the efforts of Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers, be incentive for more contemporary artists to try their hand at composing film scores? We’d like to hope so. -Derek Staples

Who is Arcade Fire??!!?

Sunday, February 13, 2011. Talk about a tumultuous 24-hour news cycle: Hours before Radiohead resurfaced to wreak havoc on the ‘net with The King of Limbs (see page nine), Arcade Fire walked home with a Grammy for Album of the Year for their 2010 album, The Suburbs. As Win Butler & Co. cooked up an impromptu cut of “Ready to Start” over the ceremony’s closing credits, fingers raced across keyboards, mouses clicked, and emotions ran wild. Some praised the news – Kanye West tweeted, “#Arcade fire!!!!!!!!!! There is hope!!! I feel like we all won when something like this happens! FUCKING AWESOME!” – while others, many others, updated their Facebook and Twitter accounts in utter confusion. Thus, one of 2011′s most popular internet memes came to fruition: Who Is Arcade Fire??!!?

For days following the Grammys, the widely celebrated Tumblr account reposted countless social media updates from users everywhere, all of whom had no clue who these Canadian indie rockers were. Some were angry, some were frustrated, and some felt victimized – as if the Grammys robbed Lady Antebellum, Eminem, Lady Gaga, or Katy Perry of a truer win. Naturally, as with anything this insubstantial to normal, everyday life, the wake calmed and most of the anger turned to curiosity. This partly speaks for the thousands upon thousands of fans that arrived in droves to catch them headline festivals, or take over their nearby venues. Creation through chaos, so to speak.

So, while recent Grammy-nominee Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) might think otherwise, the Grammys proved that they do still hold some weight, turning an indie rock icon into a household name. Admittedly, you might not appreciate your mother keeping The Suburbs on rotation with Taylor Swift, but hey, it’s an improvement, right? Yep, Jimbo: “Strange days have found us.” -Michael Roffman

Lulu and more WTF collaborations

We’re generally all for unique, head-turning collaborations, but some instances of teamwork insanity in 2011 really had us going “WTF?” For instance, just last week director Darren Aronofsky glorified Lou Reed and Metallica’s Lulu, which our own Jeremy D. Larson so bluntly described as ”a complete failure on every tangible and intangible level of its existence,” with a music video for “The View”. But not even a video by a top-notch director can save an album doomed by its concept and only further hindered by poor production that awkwardly abandons Reed’s vocals on top of the mix

If Metallica and Lou Reed would have spent a bit more time exploring other odd collabos of 2011, they possibly could have avoided their joint tragedy all together. Back in July, SuperHeavy, the supergroup made up of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, A. R. Rahman, and Damian Marley, dropped their first single, “Miracle Worker”. The bloated, inorganic track felt stapled together, with many critics and listeners calling it a marketing ploy by Warner Music Group.

Then in August, profanities flew left and right when we were presented with this picture of Jack White and Insane Clown Posse. If the pic wasn’t awful enough, whoever chose to listen to the White-produced “Leck Mich Im Arsch” and “Mountain Girls” were subjected to ICP at their crudest and most bizarre. Once again, we were left with two very important questions: Was this some maniacal plan each shared during their days in Michigan, or was this collaboration the strange payoff of a backroom bet?

Arguably, Re:Generation takes the prize for most “WTF”-worthy collaboration. Presented by the Hyundai Volster, the concept of Re:Generation was to explore jazz, R&B, country, classical, and rock through the eyes of five modern DJ/producers. Pairings included the Crystal Method and Martha Reeves, Pretty Lights, Leann Rimes, and Ralph Stanley, and the most noteworthy, Skrillex and the remaining members of The Doors. All that bass resonating from “Breakin’ a Sweat” had Jim Morrison rolling in his Parisian grave.

Here’s hoping 2012 finally brings us that Celebrity: Apprentice-inspired boy band featuring Meat Loaf, Lil Jon, and Mark McGrath. -Derek Staples

The Year of the Gummy Fetus

This past January, the often-unconventional Flaming Lips did something decidedly conventional: re-sign with Warner Bros. Records for a multi-year deal. However, with the deal came a newfound level of creative freedom, which Wayne Coyne and co. used to build their wildest and wackiest year to date. Seriously, some weird stuff’s ahead.

The band’s 2011 was marked by decidedly gimmicky ploys to sell music. If they weren’t schlepping tunes inside of gummy skulls or gummy female anatomy, they were creating songs that were six and 24 hours long (though proceeds from those massive, massive “songs” did go toward charity). That, or the group was busy crafting tunes about copulating blobs with the use of YouTube. Some of their releases, like where they wrote people’s name into songs, were decidedly hokey (even if, once again, they were for a good cause). If there were any legit music-making endeavors, like collabos with Prefuse 73, Neon Indian, and Lightning Bolt, not to mention super-shows with Weezer and Yeasayer, they were outshined by graveyard gigs and playing human Whack-A-Mole with SUNY students. If it made headlines while generating mass confusion this year, The Flaming Lips were undoubtedly behind it.

There’s no way to catalog these decisions and projects as true artistic exploration. If anything, nearly everything the band did this year were either jokes and goofs or absurd, almost harebrained marketing schemes. But when someone gives the inmates the keys to the asylum, should anyone be surprised when they smear the walls in green paint and dress up like penguins? We, for one, applaud Wayne Coyne and company for doing what they do best: entertaining us with their increasingly batshit hijinks. Here’s to the kooky things the band will cook up in 2012. -Chris Coplan

Stage Collapses

In the span of two months between July and August 2011, a freak trend hit the music world. Four stages in three separate countries collapsed, killing a total of 11 and injuring many more. The first collapse occurred on July 17th at the Ottawa Bluesfest, where strong winds caused the festival’s main stage to implode 20 minutes into Cheap Trick’s set. Gusts blew the stage backwards, which pushed the scaffold to teeter under the force. Three people were reported injured, and the remainder of the fest – one headlining spot by Death Cab for Cutie – was canceled.

Then, just weeks later on August 7th, a similar occurrence befell Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Brady District Block Party. Moments before local heroes The Flaming Lips were scheduled to go on, a lighting rig was struck by wind and fell into the stage. Though the stage was evacuated beforehand, preventing injury to fans, band members, and road crew, some $800,000 worth of the Lips’ equipment was damaged or destroyed.

The summer festival circuit’s worst incident occurred six days later during country duo Sugarland’s set at the Indiana State Fair. A massive gust of wind toppled the stage, sending steel scaffolding, lighting, and sound equipment into the audience. The destruction of the stage had come just minutes after organizers had announced the storm and outlined evacuation plans. Seven people died as a result of the collapse, with another 44 receiving treatment for various injuries at nearby hospitals.

The fourth and final collapse took place on August 18th at the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium. As Chicago-based indie rock band Smith Westerns were playing on The Chateau Stage, bursts of wind uprooted trees and collapsed several festival tents. The band was evacuated offstage just prior to its collapse. (A second construct, the Shelter stage, was also damaged by weather.) Four people were killed, with another 75 reported injured. The festival, scheduled to run until the 20th, was canceled Friday morning (August 19th).

Late last month, in the aftermath of the incident in Indiana, 51 individuals connected to the collapse sued Sugarland, concert promoters, and those who built the stage for breach of reasonable care. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. A state-sponsored investigation of the collapse will be completed before the case moves forward.

On a more positive note, following the tragedies, fans, musicians, journalists, and festival promoters alike have all emerged to sound the call for increased safety measures, demanding better crowd accommodation and weather preparedness. While festivals will always contend with X-factors, better preparation can only benefit subsequent summer festival seasons. -Chris Coplan

And the Rest…

Clearly, as you’ve just read, a lot of things happened to the musical landscape in 2011. Some occurrences, though, were so darn awesome, head-turning, or just downright strange that they can’t be classified anywhere else. So, here they are, the rest of the biggest news stories of the year. -Ben Kaye

Kanye: The Musical: Ya know, this was probably bound to happen. Students at Australia’s Sydney University told the tale of Ye, from making beats for Jay-Z to his solo ascension, in this September production “about a guy who took a shot at the throne and didn’t miss.”

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks hold a “blowjob” contest: Seems the lyrics to “Senator” weren’t exactly FCC-approved. The line “I know what the senator wants/what the senator wants is a blowjob” needed a rewrite for the radio, so Malkmus reached out to fans for help. Turns out the senator actually wanted a corndog (who doesn’t?).

Bon Iver Day: Even a perfunctory listen to Bon Iver’s music reveals Justin Vernon’s strong affections for Wisconsin. That love was returned on July 22nd when Milwaukee’s Mayor Tom Barrett christened the day “Bon Iver Day” in celebration of Bon Iver’s WI ties, musical accomplishments, and the beginning of their world tour.

Beavis and Butt-Head: America’s favorite slackers/social commentators returned to MTV this year for all-new animated episodes. With a whole new slew of modern musicians and pop-culture to mock, this news… hee… errm.. uhh huhuhuh… rules.

2011: A Rock Odyssey featuring Jack White: For three epic nights, Stephen Colbert joined Jack White at the musician’s Third Man Records. The goal was to revive Colbert’s “music career,” and it ended up giving us three awesome segments, a Catholicism-off, and a duet of The Star-Spangled Banner.

Nick Oliveri arrested after S.W.A.T. standoff: When his girlfriend called the police, ex-Queens of the Stoneage/current Kyuss Lives! bassist Nick Oliveri refused to let her leave the residence or let the cops in. Four hours and a L.A. county S.W.A.T. team later, he was arrested for felony domestic violence. While the case awaits trial, Kyuss still lives, though Oliveri, out on $100,000 bail, won’t be joining them for any international tour dates.

Mic Todd arrested for armed robbery: On tour with Soundgarden, Coheed and Cambria bassist Mic Todd went out and robbed a Walgreens in Attleboro, MA, by telling the pharmacist he had a bomb. He was arrested that night at the Comcast Center on charges of armed robbery and unlawful possession of prescription narcotics. A month later, he was looking for a new band.

Courtney Love dates SALEM’s Jack Donoghue: So, Courtney Love thinks Dave Grohl is a dick, but witch-house is sexy. You know, sometimes I just don’t understand that woman.

Metallica Monopoly: Because nothing says “metal” like family game night.

Luther Campbell runs for mayor of Miami-Dade County: Admittedly, it takes some cajones to choose the eighth-most populous county in the country as your first foray into politics. Probably takes more to try to tax strippers. He lost, by the way.

Joe Jonas says he’s influenced by Daft Punk: The middle Jo Bro cites Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy work as an influence on his solo debut. So, in essence, you’re saying this led to this.