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Red's Best of 2011: The YECA
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
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I like this list a lot, as you spotlight the songs that aren't singles, which not a lot of people do.
Let's see... I like the amount of LIGHTS on the list, as she's a true delight. Social D, I have to agree with you about their album, as it didn't make my list, either. Some great stuff on it, though, such as the song you selected. Between you and O, i'm getting really interested to check out this Kasabian album. TV on the Radio, fantastic. Adele, Mastodon, Girls, also fantastic.
This Christina Perri woman... A few months ago, her song used to always come up as an ad before videos on YouTube. I wonder if that had a big impact on her blowing up this year? As that was the first I heard of her. Of course, I could very likely live under a rock, and she could have been very popular before that whole thing. I'm maybe just an out-of-touch person, in terms of pop music (cross that, I definitely am).
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Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 4,802
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Christina, Chevelle and Adele, great picks from them .
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
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TVOTR and Adele FTW!
I agree about "Lovesong" - and I feel Adele has a perfect track record thus far in terms of her covers ("If it Hadn't been for Love" - nuff said)
I think you'll be happy with how well TVOTR does on my singles chart.
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Member Since: 2/6/2010
Posts: 4,899
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Lights slaying and loved the description
I also like Korn and I've been wondering when I start listening to Girls.
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Member Since: 6/2/2009
Posts: 7,105
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Korn, Kasabian and LIGHTS <3
Merry christmas
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
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Love Second Song. Rest is good too, but that song stands out above the rest.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2009
Posts: 70,975
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I like all of the LIGHTS!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 3/19/2008
Posts: 37,076
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Second Song
Hope we see FTP on the upper half.
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Member Since: 7/15/2005
Posts: 27,703
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Adele.
Never heard the other songs.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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YECA Countdown #6: Top Thirty Non-Singles (15-1)
Well, it didn't QUITE get posted when I wanted it to, but it IS here, thank god! And Merry Christmas to everyone!
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This Christina Perri woman... A few months ago, her song used to always come up as an ad before videos on YouTube. I wonder if that had a big impact on her blowing up this year? As that was the first I heard of her. Of course, I could very likely live under a rock, and she could have been very popular before that whole thing.
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I think that "Jar of Hearts" blew up early in 2011 here in the States. I could be wrong, though, and anyone is more than welcome to correct me on this matter.
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Hope we see FTP on the upper half.
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Oh, they may have a song or two in this set.
The List So Far
30) Lights - Suspension
29) tUnE-yArDs - Wolly Wolly Gong
28) Korn ft. Skrillex - Chaos Lives In Everything
27) Christina Perri - The Lonely
26) Social Distortion - Alone and Forsaken
25) Limp Bizkit - Walking Away
24) Kasabian - Acid Turkish Bath
23) Chevelle - Hats Off to the Bull
22) TV on the Radio - Second Song
21) Lights - Flux and Flow
20) Korn ft. Feed Me - Bleeding Out
19) Mastodon - The Hunter
18) Girls - Just A Song
17) Lights - Timing Is Everything
16) Adele - Lovesong
| SONOIO
As Long As You Make A Sound
I remember the first time that I listened to this song, right down to where I was and what I was doing when I listened to it for the first time. In the summer of 2011, I discovered a little site by the name of Turntable.fm with the help of former member ATRL, aka Lucy. This US-only site allowed its users to play just about any song you can think of. I bring this up because, during the first days of the ATRL Turntable.fm room, I believe it was Ke (aka orange) who played this song for my ears to experience for the first time. That single listen of this wonderfully dense song inspired me to seek out the rest of his album SONOIO Red, which happens to be similarly awesome, but not quite on the level of this song. |
| Korn ft. 12th Planet
Way Too Far
On first listen, this was probably my favorite song off of Korn's latest, The Path of Totality. While it's no longer my favorite, it's still one of my favorites, as it features both an incredibly powerful dubstep beat and a great chorus. Jonathan Davis' vocal performance here is also among his best on the album, quickly moving from gutteral growls to heartfelt singing. In a way, this song feels and sounds like it was made during the 2007 Untitled era, only with more of a dubstep influence. |
| Mastodon
Stargasm
This is the OTHER Mastodon song off of their great album The Hunter that reminds me of their classic tune "Sleeping Giant" (with #19, "The Hunter", being the other). Unlike "The Hunter", though, "Stargasm" geniunely resembles both the soft, beautiful side of "Sleeping Giant" AND the rough around the edges and brutal side of that song, making it the closest that any song has come to matching the double-edged sword of awesome that "Sleeping Giant" possesses. In other words, I love this song. |
| Lights
Catcus in the Valley
I can't help but feel as if this song is underrated, somehow. I mean, obviously, the album itself is pretty underrated, but it seems like I don't really see this song being mentioned too much when this album is talked about...which is a shame, because "Cactus in the Valley" was the song I enjoyed the most from the album on first listen. Unlike just about every song on Siberia, the beat takes a backseat to the vocals of Lights herself. The song basically lives or dies based on her vocal performance, and she knocks it out of the park with a lovely vocal performance. Above all else, "Cactus in the Valley" is a refreshing change of pace on an album full of booming beats. |
| Evanescence
Swimming Home
Most of you who have listened to this album are well aware of how amazing this song is. For the uninitiated, let me fill you in on a little secret: Evanescence has ALWAYS been at their best when they are making downbeat and slower tempo music. I enjoy a song like "Going Under", "Everybody's Fool" and "What You Want", sure, but I totally prefer songs such as "My Immortal", "Lithium" and "Swimming Home" any day of the week and twice on Sunday. The common theme with these songs is that Amy Lee is the total focal point of the song, or, particularly, her voice. Considering that her voice is one of the absolute best in music today, this can only be a good thing, and yet another fantastic performance from her here is good enough (pun intended?) to make this one of my favorite songs of the year. |
| Foo Fighters
Arlandria
And from #11, we hit a song that is completely unlike "Swimming Home". The Foo Fighters aren't focused on being slower tempo or being focused on just the vocal performance. They just want to rock your socks off. "Arlandria" is just one of many songs on their latest album Wasting Light that does a FANTASTIC job of doing just that. When Dave Grohl screams, "YOU AND WHAT ARMY?!", I always throw my fist up into the air, because it's just so ****ing awesome. The Foos could have coasted with their latest album, but it's song like "Arlandria" that show that Dave and his band of Foos are not content on being complacent. |
| Korn ft. Noisia
Burn the Obedient
"Are you scared?" No, but I am ****ing EXCITED, as I am every time that I listen to this song. My favorite song on the actual Path of Totality album, "Burn the Obedient" is the best combination on the album of Korn's traditional style meshing with the dubstep style, with a few subtle key changes made to Korn's style in the process to fit the dubstep sounds from Noisia on the track. Between the awesome powerful drumming of Ray Luzier, the anthemic growling of "BURN THE OBEDIENT!", and the background screaming of Jonathan Davis at certain points throughout the song, I find myself being spent after listening to the song, yet it's actually the SHORTEST song on the album. Imagine if this song was five minutes long. Good golly. |
| iwrestledabearonce
Karate Nipples
When I first listened to this song before the official release of their latest album Ruining It For Everybody, it was also the first time that I listened to any song from the album. After listening to the album, I understand why iwrestledabearonce released this song to the public first. Out of all of the songs on their latest album, it's honestly the one that sounds the most immediate, the most in-your-face and the most purely epic. There are so many shifts and changes in this song that it can be quite difficult to keep up, all while the voice of the wonderful Krysta Cameron continues to shift between screaming and lovely singing. No other song kept me on the edge of my seat quite like "Karate Nipples" in 2011. |
| Foster the People
Waste
It will be a bit surprising to only see two Foster the People songs on this top 30 for some, but I'm sure it's less surprising (or is it more?) knowing that there's two Foster the People songs in the top ten. The songs that work on their debut album Torches simply WORK in a way that very few other songs worked in 2011, and "Waste" is one of the absolute best, a song sung from the perspective of someone who is trying to deal with falling in love with someone who has a mental illness. This makes for an interesting musical and lyrical combination, where the song itself sounds pretty up-tempo and only slightly dark and unhappy compared to its contemplative and emotional lyrical counterpart. On an album full of incredibly catchy moments, "Waste" is the song that reminds us all that even a band that has such catchy and memorable songs can also be successful at being emotional as well. |
| Korn ft. Kill the Noise
Fuels the Comedy
My favorite song from the Path of Totality sessions is a song that didn't even make it to the actual album itself, but was, instead, added on as a bonus track. It still blows me away that "Fuels the Comedy" didn't make the actual Path of Totality album. Was it because of the lyrics, which, admittedly, can be juvenile? Well, I have two counter-arguments for that one: Korn has had plenty of juvenile moments and that hasn't stopped their music from being enjoyable before, and, more importantly, have you LISTENED to that ****ing beat? It is soaring, pulse-pounding, in your face and just plain awesome. Combine that beat with (yet again) awesome drumming from Ray Luzier (and if you think that I'm being super positive about his drumming now, just wait until we get to talking about the album on my Albums list. I will do everything short of give him a blowjob) and spirited and angry vocals from Jonathan Davis, and you have a recipe for my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite Korn songs of the last five years. |
| Lights
Siberia
I didn't really think too much of the title track and first song from her wonderful album released this year at first. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it just didn't stand out on first listen as much when compared to a song like "Toes". This song grew on me like a particularly pesky virus, however, and I found myself falling in love with the drum-heavy beat and Lights' cute and hungry vocals, where you can feel her want to be with the love of her life for the rest of her life, no matter what it takes. Everything just came together at the right time, and this song quickly became a favorite. Sometimes, that's all it takes. And did I mention the drum-heavy beat? It's just so sneaky good. It eats at you when you don't listen to it, and you find yourself banging your head involuntarily when you are listening to it. Great stuff. |
| Mastodon
Spectrelight
From that piece of cuteness and wonder, we head to the other side of the coin with one of the most brutal and visceral songs of the year, if not THE most brutal. As much as I enjoyed their last album Crack the Skye, the album simply did not have too many moments of pure BALLS TO THE ****ING WALL rock bliss. I mean, sure, there was "Divinations", but not even "Divinations" could reach the heights of this three minute powerhouse, aided by Neurosis singer Scott Kelly's BOOMING and growling vocals. Actually, only one song in the last five years has been as visceral and as explosive...and hey, wouldn't you know, it's also by Mastodon! Comparing this song to personal favorite "The Wolf Is Loose" is about the biggest compliment that this song could possibly receive, and to say that this song is the closest any song has come to matching that song's intensity is astounding. |
| Foster the People
Houdini
You cannot talk about this song without mentioning the part that INSTANTLY hooks you to the song: The opening drum beat and matching claps. You want to talk about catchy music? That opening sequence alone is catchier than any full song in 2011. And there's still another three minutes to go after that opening! Thankfully, Foster the People is up to the task with keeping "Houdini" on track after such an awesome opening. The result is a song that showcases the absolute best qualities of Foster the People: Fun vocals from Mark Foster and catchiness that puts even the band that they are compared to most often to shame. And hell, that's coming from someone who thinks that "Electric Feel" and "Kids" are two of the catchiest songs of the 2000's. But be honest with yourselves and ask yourselves this: Isn't this the song that MGMT has always wanted to make and just couldn't? "Houdini" is the perfection of the MGMT sound. Again, I say this as an MGMT fan, really! |
| Foo Fighters
Bridge Burning
The best opening song of 2011 happens to be on the only rock album nominated for Album of the Year at the latest Grammy Awards. Makes me wonder if this incredibly powerful piece of music didn't play a major role in that album's nomination. There are songs on Wasting Light that are more powerful than "Bridge Burning" ("White Limo", for example) and songs that are catchier ("Rope"), but no song on the album was able to combine both power and catchiness quite like "Bridge Burning". The chorus alone would be the most boisterous and fist pump-worthy chorus of the year if Mastodon had not released an album in 2011. Hell, I'll admit that the chorus alone is enough of a reason to place this song so high, but it's not just the chorus that makes this song memorable. The bridge area of the song is frenetic and fast-paced to the point where it's almost as if you're just trying to keep up. The opening of the song builds and builds and builds until it stops...and then EXPLODES. And geez, the performances by the entire band are exemplary. Dave Grohl, as always, is the driving force of the band with his vocals, but Taylor Hawkins is the real star of "Bridge Burning" with a blazing drumming performance worthy of the Drum Gods. What a ****ing song. |
| TV on the Radio
Killer Crane
Many years, it's the #1 single that is my true favorite song of the year. This was the case in 2007, when "No Cars Go" by Arcade Fire was, undoubtedly, my favorite song of the entire year. Same with "Starlight" in 2006. Same with "Resistance" last year. But there have also been cases where my favorite songs of a specific year were not singles. My favorite song of '09 was Muse's "Exogenesis: Symphony". Hell, "Goliath" by The Mars Volta was so good that it beat out both singles AND non-singles on the same list to be my favorite song of 2008. This year, there was certainly competition on both sides that would be worthy of being my favorite song of 2011, but I knew on the first listen of the #1 non-single of 2011 that I was listening to the song that would wind up being my favorite song of the year. Keep in mind that I came across the revelation back in April, knowing that there would still be another six+ months of music to come, including a freaking Korn album, for god's sake! But such was the case with "Killer Crane" by TV on the Radio, their second #1 non-single of the year ("I Was A Lover" in 2006 was the other).
As I will talk about later, TV on the Radio have a tendency of creating a lot of good songs that don't really hit me too hard but hit me enough to make me notice, while also creating a couple of songs that are of similar quality but hit me in a MUCH harder way. "Killer Crane" is one of these songs, a soaring six-minute epic that kind of resembles fellow favorite TV on the Radio song "Stork and Owl", had "Stork and Owl" been extended to six minutes and included some of the most beautiful music ever conceived. But unlike "Stork and Owl", which more resembles both the beauty of birth and the hardship of death, this song focuses more on the death of a loved one...or, perhaps, the band's relationship with a loved one near death. It's hard not to think about Gerard Smith, the band's long-time bassist who passed away earlier this year, when listening to this song. In a way, this feels like the band's tribute to their brother-in-arms. The portion of the Nine Types of Light film that focuses on "Killer Crane" also focuses primarily on Gerard, which makes it feel even more like a tribute. That only adds to the experience of the song, which, by itself, features some of the most beautiful vocals and music ever produced. Some years, it's quite difficult for me to determine what my favorite song of the year is. This wasn't the case at all in 2011. Not only is "Killer Crane" my #1 non-single of the year, it's my favorite song of the year, period. |
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FINALLY, that list is over and done with. The next YECA countdown is one of the biggies, as we look at my fifteen favorite albums of 2011. Is there any chance that Korn is not #1? Find out when the list begins...probably tomorrow. Probably.
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 12/21/2002
Posts: 20,569
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So many excellent songs, namely Korn, Mastodon, LIGHTS, and Chevelle . I didn't know you liked SONOIO. I have their Blue album; had no idea Red was released. This is one of the first instances where you've discovered a new album before me. Great Job!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
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Ohhh, OK. Just as I thought, i'm an out-of-touch person with pop music. That's fine with me!
What a way to close out your Non-Singles list! TV on the Radio, Foos, holy moly! LIGHTS, Mastodon, so many great artists and songs. Many of the songs I didn't list are ones I haven't heard, but thanks to your handy YouTube embed links, I will change that fact very soon.
And again, the write-ups. You really articulate what you love about these songs very well, and I applaud you for that.
I'm very much looking forward to the albums list, which is probably my favourite of your lists.
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Member Since: 2/6/2010
Posts: 4,899
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I used not to give attention to Siberia song but now I envy it. There's just something about the beat, her vocals and the lyrics... I can't explain it, but I love it so much.
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Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
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foster the people, korn & kill the noise & TV on the radio
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Siberia, Houdini and my favorite... Waste I totally love that song! It should be the next single
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Member Since: 6/25/2008
Posts: 15,884
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Waste, Swimming Home, Houdini and Siberia <3
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2009
Posts: 70,975
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LIGHTS,FTP,Evanescence
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Member Since: 10/3/2009
Posts: 35,844
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The only artists I don't know are SONOIO and iwrestledabearonce.
I had the opportunity to listen to the full "Wasting Light" album. It was kind of dissapointing, but I have to agree with your comments on "Bridge Burning." Great song.
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For the uninitiated, let me fill you in on a little secret: Evanescence has ALWAYS been at their best when they are making downbeat and slower tempo music. I enjoy a song like "Going Under", "Everybody's Fool" and "What You Want", sure, but I totally prefer songs such as "My Immortal", "Lithium" and "Swimming Home" any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
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Since I agree with you in that part, why not checking Swimming Home? Let's do it.
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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FTP + Foo Fighters
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 12/7/2008
Posts: 87,284
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Waste, Houdini, Siberia,
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