Have heard alot about Lana Del Ray and M83, but hadn't actually heard their songs till just now. Pretty darn good. Especially M83 I might have to get that.
Graduation's Best Of 2011: Artists To Watch For In 2012
2011 was a friendly year to fresh faces such as Nicki Minaj, Foster The People, Dev, The Weeknd, and Frank Ocean, to name a few. In 2012, we can expect a bunch more new artists to leave their imprint on pop culture. Here's a look at some of the best to look forward to in the coming year.
A$AP Rocky
A$AP Rocky released his debut mixtape in 2011, and recently released this track as his latest single. In 2012, with a studio LP on the horizon, expect Rocky's profile to grow in the next 52 weeks.
Azealia Banks
With her slick rhymes and explicit imagery, Azealia Banks is one of the best reason to be excited about rap in 2012. "212" is already a hit in the indie community, and she will no doubt catch on with the rest of the internets in the months to come.
Elle Varner
There is a whole lot to love about Elle Varner and her music. Her vocals are raspy in the Macy Gray sort of way, but she has a great way of singing a melody. With any luck, "Only Wanna Give It To You" will take off in the new year, as it's a great soul jam with a well placed verse by It-rapper J. Cole.
Fairewell
These guys' debut EP is a beautiful work of art and it should be recognized as such. By the ened of 2012, Fairewell will be known in all indie circles.
Lana Del Rey
Already making rounds here on ATRL, expect Lana Del Rey to explode in 2012. With a debut album coming out at the end of January, LDR will have lots of promo coming up, including a stint as musical guest on Saturday Night Live. The sky's the limit for Interscope Records next big project.
Miracles Of Modern Science
Gaining notoriety with a cover of "Pumped Up Kicks", MOMS released their debut LP In Rainbows-style in late December 2011. By this time next year, the strings-only band should have played at all the major festivals, featured on NPR approximately 232 times, and have a record deal.
The Big Pink
The Big Pink already has one of the most successful pop songs of the 2010's, only no one knows it. On Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday, Minaj sampled "Dominos" on her track "Girls Fall Like Dominoes". In 2012, The Big Pink are releasing their sophomore set, and with this excellent first single, The Big Pink should be the next band from across the pond to make it huge in America.
Love this last update, in particular. FSHG is just so wonderful, and I enjoy all three of the songs. Every time that sax starts in "Midnight City", a chill runs down my spine.
50. Blood Pressures, The Kills
49. In The Mountain In The Cloud, Portugal. The Man
48. Rapprocher, Class Actress
47. Born This Way, Lady GaGa
46. Pickin' Up The Pieces, Fitz and the Tantrums
45. Anna Calvi, Anna Calvi
44. El Camino, The Black Keys
43. undun, The Roots
42. Strange Mercy, St. Vincent
41. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
40. Metals, Feist
39. The Whole Love, Wilco
38. Days, Real Estate
37. Rome, Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi
36. Camp, Childish Gambino
35. Wounded Rhymes, Lykke Li
34. In The Grave Of Your Love, The Rapture
33. The King Of Limbs, Radiohead
32. Biophilia, Bjork
31. Coastal Grooves, Blood Orange
30. Mirror Traffic, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
29. The Year Of Hibernation, Youth Lagoon
28. 21, Adele
27. Lights, Ellie Goulding
26. Watch The Throne, Jay-Z & Kanye West
25. Space Is Only Noise, Nicolas Jaar
24. 4, Beyoncé
23. 50 Words For Snow, Kate Bush
22. Ravedeath, 1972, Tim Hecker
21. Conatus, Zola Jesus
20. Burst Apart, The Antlers
19. Tomboy, Panda Bear
18. Circuital, My Morning Jacket
17. Smother, Wild Beasts
16. True Loves, Hooray For Earth
15. The English Riviera, Metronomy
14. Parallax, Atlas Sound
13. Take Care, Drake
12. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, M83
11. Live.Love.A$AP, A$AP Rocky
10. Let England Shake, PJ Harvey
9. House Of Balloons, The Weeknd
8. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes
7. Skying, The Horrors
6. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Girls
5.
Elbow, build a rocket boys! When you open an album with an 8:00+ minute song and it's not even the third best song on the album, you more than likely did something good. Well, Elbow did something great with build a rocket boys! Guy Garvey shines as both a lyricist and vocalist throughout, and the rest of the band never hits a note out of place. It's also great in that themes keep popping up again and again, making the album feel like a whole, with each song being a piece of something larger.
4.
Cults, Cults The soundtrack to the summer. Great pop melodies throughout, Maddie Follin shines as the lead vocalist in the group. There isn't a single bad track and it can be played whenever and wherever and it always sounds great.
3.
The War On Drugs, Slave Ambient Adam Granduciel leads The War On Drugs, and he stakes a claim as the best frontman of 2011. He sounds like a modern day Bob Dylan, but playing more in Bruce Springsteen's style. The constant throughout the album is the great songs. Having played this at least 50 times and not once getting sick of it, I would say the reason it never gets old is because there is always something new to find with each listen. This is a musical work Granduciel can be proud of for the rest of his life.
2.
Bobby, BOBBY From the opening notes of "We Saw", you know you are going in to more than just a musical experience. The work of Tom Greenberg and fellow classmates at Bennington College, Julian Labat, Molly Erin Sarle, Roby Moulton, Paolo Menuez (an alum of Hampshire College), and Martin Zimmermann, BOBBY, is an enchanting piece of art. The album is over an hour long, and includes the 24th best song of 2011, "Tomb Bloom". Molly Sarle of Mountain Man adds vocal contributions to the album, beautiful complimenting Greenberg's vocals.
100 The Strokes "Machu Piccu"
99 Ganglians "Things To Know"
98 Dreamers Of The Ghetto "Connection"
97 Active Child "Hanging On"
96 Real Estate "Out Of Tune"
95 Matthew Herbert "December"
94 Frank Ocean "Novacane"
93 Unknown Mortal Orchestra "FFunny FFriends"
92 Butcher Boy "Imperial"
91 The Kills "Future Starts Slow"
90 Cults "Rave On"
89 Release The Sunbird "No Light"
88 Penguin Prison "Don't **** With My Money"
87 Forest Fire "They Pray Execution Style"
86 Waters "San Francisco"
85 Little Dragon "Ritual Union"
84 Future Islands "Balance"
83 Radiohead "Bloom"
82 Jay-Z & Kanye West "Gotta Have It"
81 Blood Orange "Sutphin Boulevard"
80 Lady GaGa "Born This Way"
79 Adele "Set Fire To The Rain"
78 Mara Carlyle "Weird Girl"
77 Nerves Junior "Swimmer's Ear"
76 The Black Keys "Little Black Submarine"
75 Atlas Sound "Flagstaff"
74 Wild Beasts "Bed Of Nails"
73 Cant "The Edge"
72 Neon Indian "Future Sick"
71 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Norah Jones "Problem Queen"
70 M83 "Wait"
69 The Weeknd "Life Of The Party"
68 I Break Horses "Pulse"
67 High Places "Sonora"
66 Britney Spears "Till The World Ends"
65 Beyoncé featuring André 3000 "Party"
64 New Look "The Ballad"
63 Class Actress "Weekend"
62 Florence + The Machine "Shake It Out"
61 Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks "Tigers"
60 King Creosote & Jon Hopkins "John Taylor's Month Away"
59 St. Vincent "Surgeon"
58 Kreayshawn "Gucci Gucci"
57 Foster The People "Helena Beat"
56 The Roots featuring Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw "Make My"
55 Other Lives "As I Lay My Head Down"
54 Milagres "Glowing Mouth"
53 Drake featuring Stevie Wonder "Doing It Wrong"
52 Wild Beasts "Plaything"
51 A$AP Rocky featuring Schoolboy Q "Brand New Guy"
50 Sepalcure "Breezin'"
49 Widowspeak "Gun Shy"
48 Rihanna "Where Have You Been"
47 Lykke Li "I Follow Rivers"
46 Okkervil River "We Need A Myth"
45 My Brightest Diamond "Be Brave"
44 Drake "Marvin's Room"
43 Real Estate "All The Same"
42 The Antlers "No Widows"
41 The Horrors "I Can See Through You"
40 Ellie Goulding "Lights" (Bassnectar Remix)
39 Youth Lagoon "17"
38 Nicolas Jaar "Space Is Only Noise If You Can See"
37 Adele "Rolling In The Deep"
36 My Morning Jacket "Holdin On To Black Metal"
35 Feist "Graveyard"
34 Tinariwen "Tamiditin Tan Ufrawen"
33 Björk "Crystalline"
32 Kate Bush "Snowed In At Wheeler Street"
31 The War On Drugs "Brothers"
30 The Rapture "In The Grace Of Your Love"
29 Tim Hecker "In The Fog II"
28 Lady GaGa "Heavy Metal Lover"
27 Fleet Foxes "Helplessness Blues"
26 St. Vincent "Cheerleader"
25 Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Jack White "Two Against One"
24 Bobby "Tomb Bloom"
23 Zola Jesus "Seekir"
22 A$AP Rocky "Houston Old Head"
21 tUnE-yArDs "Gangsta"
20 Bon Iver "Holocene"
19 Hooray For Earth "No Love"
18 Elbow "lippy kids"
17 Drake featuring Rihanna "Take Care"
16 Radiohead "Lotus Flower"
15 Beyoncé "1+1"
14 Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks "No One Is (As I Are Be)"
13 PJ Harvey "All & Everyone"
12 Adele "Someone Like You"
11 Girls "Vomit"
10 Cults "Go Outside"
9 Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay "212"
8 Wilco "Art Of Almost"
7 Metronomy "Everything Goes My Way"
6 Fleet Foxes "The Shrine / An Argument"
5 Jay-Z & Kanye West "*****s In Paris"
4 Lana Del Rey "Video Games"
3 M83 "Midnight City"
Top 100 Songs Of 2011: Second Best Song of 2011 REVEALED
2. tUnE-yArDs "Powa"
"Powa" is the highlight off of Merrill Garbus' 2011 album under the name tUnE-yArDs. The song features all the essentials of a Garbus' tune: ukelele, looped drum patterns, and Garbus' powerhouse vocals. She starts the song in a sort of lullaby state, before growing more forceful with her delivery during the second half of the song, only to release an orgasmic high with her falsetto at the end of the track. The song itself is all about the act of love making ("Your powa / Inside / It rocks me like a lullaby"), and it really works in showing us all the true power of love.