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Roger's Best of 2011
ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 2/19/2003
Posts: 34,484
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Roger, you're the one I always wait for. Already so much to dig.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
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Yes! Fantastic set. I love 6/10
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
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I love this set, Roger! Kanye, Kanye/Jay, Clarkson, Arctic Monkeys, Strokes, really good stuff!
Also, I must complement your write-ups, as they are always very professional and interesting to read.
Looking forward to the Boxing Day set!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 3/19/2008
Posts: 37,076
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10/10
Lots of great songs in this set: If I Had a Gun, Under Cover of Darkness, and Helena Beat are so good!
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Member Since: 8/9/2010
Posts: 17,189
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Helena Beat
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2009
Posts: 70,975
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7/10
Kelly,FTP,Bruno,Arctic Monkeys,The Strokes
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
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7/10
Helena Beat + Whirring + The Lazy Song + Under Cover Of Darkness + Mr. Know It All <3
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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The bottom half of this latest set is just fantastic stuff, and the top half has two Yeezy songs. In other words, you win yet again.
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Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
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8/10
wow, helena beat is so low here
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Helena Beat, The Strokes, Mr. Know It All nice set
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Member Since: 1/19/2006
Posts: 4,466
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Quote:
51. Kanye West f. Rihanna All Of The Lights
53. Kanye West & Jay Z Otis
58. The Strokes Under Cover of Darkness
60. Foster The People Helena Beat
67. Paramore Monster
68. The Decemberists This Is Why We Fight
70. Katy Perry The One That Got Away
71. Rihanna Cheers (Drink To That)
72. Foster The People Call It What You Want
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^Love all these songs, really great list so far.
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Member Since: 10/11/2004
Posts: 28,320
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"The Lazy Song" + "Helena Beat"
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Member Since: 7/10/2007
Posts: 3,365
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51. Kanye West f. Rihanna All Of The Lights
54. Usher More (RedOne Remix)
55. Kelly Clarkson Mr. Know It All
56. Bruno Mars The Lazy Song
63. Lil Wayne f. Drake She Will
64. Drake f. Nicki Minaj Make Me Proud
65. Britney Spears Hold It Against Me
66. David Guetta f. Usher Without You
70. Katy Perry The One That Got Away
71. Rihanna Cheers (Drink To That)
73. Red Hot Chili Peppers Monarchy of Roses
74. Ke$hA Blow
75. Avicci Levels
I love all of those! Great list so far
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 5/2/2000
Posts: 2,844
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I'M FINALLY HERE! Roger, man, am I glad you're here. It wouldn't be Best of ____ without you. Really good selections so far. Foster, Joy Formidable, Clarkson, Kanye/Jay Z, RHCP, Decemberists just to name A FEW.
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Member Since: 1/26/2006
Posts: 17,384
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Quote:
51. Kanye West f. Rihanna All Of The Lights
52. Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds If I Had A Gun
56. Bruno Mars The Lazy Song
57. Arctic Monkeys Brick By Brick
58. The Strokes Under Cover of Darkness
59. The Joy Formidable Whirring
60. Foster The People Helena Beat
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7/10
wow, loving this update
great songs by Foster The People, The Strokes and Noel
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Member Since: 6/16/2006
Posts: 9,960
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8.5/10
Helena Beat <333 My favorite from this set!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
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So this is one day late - but my boxing day was occupied with MI4 in imax, WJHC, Atl/Saints - but here it is, and it should be worth it. Thanks so much for the comments. And big shout to TC who's back in the game!
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Top 20 Albums: Part 1
20. Lady GaGa – Born This Way
After setting a new standard in pop music with her Earth-shattering duo of debut albums, ‘Fame’, and ‘Fame Monster’, the expectations were sky high for the follow up. What I loved about GaGa’s initial barrage of singles was their explosive sense of immediacy. They were innovative yet relevant, and explored un-chartered territory that without question led the way for so many dance-laden hits in 2011. As details began to emerge about ‘Born This Way’, anticipation was built and a marketing approach was launched that needs to be recognized. For pop music, this was akin to the second forthcoming of Christ.
The results? An expansive 17+ song collection of carefully crafted and somewhat complex pop tunes that were void of the immediacy I came to love from GaGa. While the lead single “Born This Way” is a celebrated and applauded effort, it’s isolating to everyone but the audience it’s meant to inspire. So while I commend her for it, I didn’t feel the message the same way I’m sure a lot of people did. And that goes with a lot of this album, the music seems to have lost its universality, and instead of GaGa being perceived as innovating and fresh, I just thought it was getting weird at times. Nonetheless, there is a handful of fantastic pop tracks that are good enough to get her on this list. “Edge of Glory”, “You & I”, “Marry the Night”, “Schiebe”, and a few others all come very close to matching some of the GaGa glory days I was hoping to relive. I also thought that “You & I” was probably her best song since “Bad Romance”, it almost sounds like Def Leppard.
19. Foster The People – Torches
If looking for the immediacy yearned for on GaGa’s album, then proceed immediately to #19, as this year’s break out band exploded onto the scene with their catchy hooks and made for TV jingles. Although criminally denied a best new artist nomination at the forthcoming Grammy’s, FTP should be pleased with this diverse collection of hits. It all began with ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, one of the most unlikely multi-formats hits of the year. Although it sounds sunny and cheerful, the lyrics and story told are far from it, and that dichotomy is what makes it so great. Then there’s a handful and then some of MGMT-type tracks that have their own SoCal flavor to them, highlighted in ‘Helena Beat’, and album standout ‘Houdini’.
18. The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow
Speaking of criminally left out of best new artist, I present exhibit B: the Civil Wars. This duo saw their star shoot high in the sky after a short run of opening dates for Adele in North America, one of which I saw in Toronto. I had heard two tracks from them prior to the show, the mesmerizing ‘Poison & Wine’, and of the year’s best tracks period, ‘Barton Hollow’. Their on-stage chemistry, spot on harmonies, and loveable nature convinced me to pursue the album further and I was only slightly let down. They almost would have been better releasing an EP until they can find a sense of variety in their music. They have four or five truly knockout tracks, and everything else sounds monotonous, but is slightly saved by the organic harmonies and simple bluegrass feel that permeates throughout.
17. Airborne Toxic Event – All At Once
When ‘Changing’ came out as the lead single off this album, it’s lack of brass and wooden instruments made me worried about what was to come. Although cheery and a nice change of pace, what I love about this band is the lead’s baritone voice and how it’s perfectly complimented by the deep sounds that come from the band’s violins, bass, and cello. The rest of the album was thankfully just that, and was highlighted in the album standout, ‘All I Ever Wanted’, a song that nearly rivals some of ATE’s best work such as ‘Sometime Around Midnight’.
16. Florence + The Machine – Ceremonials
While it took time for the magnificent debut album, “Lungs”, to catch on, it took very little for a large audience to embrace this follow-up. And perhaps that was the problem. After being blown away by the likes of ‘Dog Days are Over’, ‘You’ve Got The Love’, and ‘Howl’, anything new could automatically come across as just as good. I wasn’t totally convinced. ‘Shake It Out’, ‘No Light’, and ‘Lover to Lover’, are very obvious attempts at re-creating initial glory. Does that disregard their quality? No, but there is some loss of originality here. Don’t get me wrong – Florence’s voice remains sky high beautiful, nearly angelic. The cathedral, choir-type arrangements are also spot on. But still, I find there is no stand out, original moment.
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Top 75 Tracks: Part 3
41. Bruno Mars – Marry You
42. Bush – The Sound of Winter
43. Airborne Toxic Event – Changing
44. The Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
45. Chris Brown f. Benny Bennasi – Beautiful People
46. Young The Giant – Cough Syrup
47. Drake – Marvin’s Room
48. Black Keys – Howlin’ For You
49. Foo Fighters – Rope
50. Incubus - Adolescents
As we get closer to the top 40, Bruno Mars misses out this year again as he charts his second of 2 just outside the top 40. Last year, both ‘Just The Way You Are’ and ‘Grenade’ also just missed the top 40. Nonetheless, “Marry You” is well played, right down to it’s wedding entrance chimes and trademark easy-going Mars lyrics. Not to mention it got a substantial amount of airplay despite never being an official single.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year was the return of Bush, who came back harder and more consistent than one could have ever thought with “Sound of Winter”. The song was bread and buttered for KROQ and was a huge hit on the festival circuit. Great return to form for them.
Airborne Toxic Event begin a solid 2011 campaign with their first of two and a nice showing for their album to come. “Changing” was a nice upbeat diversion from the usual brilliant moodiness that somewhat defines this band.
The Arcade Fire had a sensational 2010 capped with a big win for album of the year at the Grammy’s. “The Suburbs” was the third single to be serviced at Canadian Alternative and was always a favorite of mine off the album.
Chris Brown is no stranger to year-end success, as he’s previously charted in the top 40 with hits like “With You” and “Forever”. This year, he probably released his most diverse set of music yet. The lyrically zany “Look at Me Now”, the set fire to the club “Yeah 3X”, and then this track, his first foray into Euro-dance with “Beautiful People”. Capped with a remarkable music video, and a well utilized Benassi feature, you gotta give Brown credit for doing things big and different this year.
It was so great to see Young The Giant come out with such a strong second single in “Cough Syrup”. After “My Body”, it would have been really easy for a band like this to fade into oblivion. But like many others, I took note of how GOOD their debut album actually is and they have a fantastic live show. This is 1/2 for them and they will see a nice showing for their album as well.
Continuing his banner year is homegrown Drake, with his second of three but he’s featured on another and his album is still to come. “Marvins Room” was a buzz single that was initially used to build hype and it ended up turning into a substantial hit on Rhythmic and Urban, with just cause. It’s a moody, dreary, confessional type track that has the standout lyric, “I’m just saying you could do better.” Well done.
Black Keys couldn’t be any bigger right now, and “Howlin for You” was the track that showed to the people who didn’t already know them, that “Tighten Up” was no fluke. If there was ever a track to convert a naysayer, this would be the one. It’s gritty, infectious, and has sing-along moments at every turn.
Foo Fighters begin what will be a great 2011 campaign with their first of two. “Rope”, the lead single off the remarkable, Grammy-nominated ‘Wasting Light’, is a fine Foo Fighters single. Given that at the time of its release I hadn’t heard the rest of the album, it’s immediacy and forwardness was enough to get me truly excited for new Foos. And then the new album drops, and you realize this is probably in the bottom third of the album in terms of quality. And much like the Kanye album last year, its not because ‘Rope’ is a mediocre track, its because everything else is so great
Incubus had a puzzling year. “Adolescents” was promising enough, very typical Boyd fare but strong enough to be a lead single and build anticipation for the new album. Like many others, I found the album inconsistent and lacking focus, and the numbers showed as the album debuted to very poor figures for Incubus standards, and follow up “Promises Promises” failed to go top 10. Nonetheless, “Adolescents” does stand well enough on it’s own to just make the top 50.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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The goodness that bounds from this update cannot be contained. I don't necessarily agree that "Rope" is in the bottom tier of the album, but I do agree that that one song wound up making me really excited for Wasting Light. Hello again, "The Suburbs". Nice to see you, "Adolescents". And "The Sound of Winter" is, seriously, one of the best songs of the year, regardless of genre.
And then, the albums. Hoo boy. BTW, Ceremonials...both solid albums. And then, of course, there is *deep breath* TOOOORRRRRRRRCHHHHHEEEEESSSSSSSS!
God, I love doing that.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2009
Posts: 70,975
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Ceremonials,All At Once and Torches
I have yet to hear the whole The Civil Wars album but I will soon
7/10
Adolescents is my fave from this set
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