Top 10 music stories of 2011
By DARRYL STERDAN, QMI Agency
http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment.../19148396.html
source:IFP United Kingdom
10. Sheepdogs Get Stoned
9. Gaga Over Maria
8. Bieber, Baby?
7. Beyonce, Baby!
6. Jacko’s Doctor Jailed
5. The End of R.E.M. (And Others) As We Know It
4. Arcade Fire Win a Grammy
3. Adele Hits on 21
2. Festival Stages Collapse
1. Amy Winehouse, 1983-2011
Winning? Maybe it sums up Charlie Sheen’s 2011. But not the year in music.
Tragic deaths, catastophic concerts and band breakups were front and centre in rock these 12 months, reaffirming that for every win, there’s a loss.
The saddest loss, of course, was Amy Winehouse. Even sadder: Everyone saw it coming. The frank, unrepentant Rehab made her an overnight sensation in 2007. But beneath the beehive and behind the retro-soul pipes sat a troubled soul. When her body was found in London in August, the 27-year-old’s blood-alcohol level was five times the legal limit. She cheated herself, like she knew she would. She cheated us too.
Also leaving the building were sax giant Clarence Clemons, guitar hero Gary Moore, TVOTR bassist Gerard Smith, rap godfather Gil Scott-Heron, glam-rocker Jani Lane, songwriter Jerry Lieber, rappers Heavy D and Nate Dogg, and bluesman Hubert Sumlin.
Death also went on tour at summer festivals. In August, seven fans died and 45 were injured when a storm demolished an Indiana State Fair stage moments before a Sugarland show. Days later, four perished and 70 were hurt after bad weather hammered Belgium’s Pukkelpop. Canada got off lucky — only one person was hurt when an Ottawa Bluesfest stage collapsed seconds after Cheap Trick fled mid-set.
Also leaving us in the lurch were alt-rockers R.E.M., who saddened fans by breaking up after 30 years. Likewise, The White Stripes unplugged their 14-year partnership (in typical multitasking fashion, Jack White also ended his marriage). Other bands calling it a day included LCD Soundsystem, Silverchair, Rilo Kiley, Von Bondies and three beloved Canadian outfits: Indie-rockers The Stills, Vancouver’s You Say Party! and Ontario punks Alexisonfire.
Thankfullly, there were some triumphs amid the tragedies. Especially on the Canadian front. Montreal’s Arcade Fire struck gold when their Suburbs disc won the album of the year Grammy. Drake issued his superb second album Take Care and snagged three Grammy noms for 2012, as did Niagara Falls DJ Deadmau5. Saskatoon’s hard-working Sheepdogs got their picture on the cover of Rolling Stone. Winnipeg tween Maria Aragon became a YouTube sensation when Lady Gaga championed her cover of Born This Way.
Speaking of Gaga, she commanded the spotlight again with outrageous antics, from her egg-borne Grammy entrance to her drag-king VMAs act. But even she faced defeat — from unlikely opponent ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, who went public after his Born This Way parody was initially nixed (Gaga’s manager later took blame).
Lady G wasn’t the only one taking bad with the good. Adele should have had her best year ever: Her second album 21 dominated the charts, airwaves and bubble-baths of the world, earning six Grammy noms. But her powerful voice was silenced by throat problems that led to surgery. Keith Urban also went under the knife to remove a polyp from his vocal cords.
Kanye West won a tarnished victory when he got seven Grammy noms but was snubbed in major categories.
Justin Bieber dealt with his first paternity suit. (Aw, they grow up so fast.)
Beyonce had good news (she’s pregnant!) and bad (her album 4 was a bust).
And in a case with no winners, Dr. Conrad Murray was jailed for four years for the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.
Bottom line: Good riddance to 2011
