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Roger's Best of 2011
ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
Posts: 35,994
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6/7
Walk + Pumped Up Kicks + Paradise + Fragile Bird + Someone Like You + We Found Love <3
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Pumped Up Kicks, so amazing
Quote:
Calvin Harris finally gets the appreciation he deserves
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I know love WFL
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Member Since: 1/26/2006
Posts: 17,384
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Albums: 2/3
I haven't heard Lioness, but it must be a great album for sure.
Tracks: 6/8
"Paradise", "We Found Love", "Someone Like You", "Pumped Up Kicks"
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Member Since: 12/25/2008
Posts: 14,110
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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Let the Adele-fest begin!
I hate "Every Teardrop". I really, REALLY do. Everything else (and I do mean EVERYTHING ELSE) on the singles list ranges from solid to great to OMG YES! (PUK, Paradise, SLY, Set Fire, etc.) Seriously, I cannot wait to see the top two for both the albums and singles, even if at least one of the choices on both lists is a foregone conclusion.
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Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
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coldplay, rihanna & foster
great tracks, can't wait for your top 3
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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Someone Like You,Pumped Up Kicks,Paradise,‘Till The World Ends,+ Walk
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Member Since: 1/19/2006
Posts: 4,466
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Love 'Take Care', 'Watch the Throne' & 'Doo-Wops & Hooligans'
Singles #7-#3 are amazing! As well as 'Barton Hollows' & 'What You Know'
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Member Since: 5/15/2009
Posts: 10,974
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Britney Spears, Rihanna and Coldplay: my all-time faves there
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Member Since: 8/9/2010
Posts: 17,189
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We Found Love & Someone Like You
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 3/19/2008
Posts: 37,076
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20-11: 10/10 Loving everything especially What You Know
10-3: 8/8 Someone Like You only #3! I was expecting it to be #2 but what song could that be? Pumped Up Kicks, Walk, TTWE, We Found Love Great to see Fragile Bird as well!
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 10/1/2002
Posts: 14,726
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Can you believe we’re at the end? This year end has been great fun to do, as it always is, and it’s made that way by ridiculously great people such as yourselves. Thanks again.
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Top 20 Albums: Part 5
2. Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
So many great words have already been said on this album, including noteworthy write ups from Ryan, TC, and Ben, so I may keep this shorter than usual. But it must be said, it was awesome to get such a straightforward, back to basics rock record from the Foos. Although their previous albums like ‘In Your Honour’, or ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace’, had a similar raucous nature to them, that vibe didn’t permeate the whole set and their seemed to be a lack of consistency across the record. On ‘Wasting Light’, the vision is laser focused, and it’s straight to the point in a no ******** array of dizzying riffs, killer choruses, and spot on Grohl vocals. “Bridges Burning”, “Arlandria”, “Dear Rosemary”, “Back and Forth”, “Walk”, and the list goes on, are all perfect examples of how the boys from Foo are a master of their craft. Perfectly executed every time. It’s been so great to see them get Grammy recognition for their work, and it’s been even better to see how genuinely appreciative the Foos have been for all the accolade. In a year where other “big” rock bands, like RHCP and Coldplay, and “new, exciting” bands like Foster The People, put out fairly good, but not outstanding albums – Foo Fighters easily shoot to the head of the class and set the bar sky high for a textbook rock and roll record.
Top 75 Tracks: Part 8
2. TV On The Radio – Will Do
As terribly frustrating as it’s been to not be able to get into TVOTR albums in full (although ‘Nine Types’ nearly made my top 20), they’ve always hit me like a hurricane with some of their singles, and this was no exception. In the past, “Wolf Like Me” and “Golden Age” have had solid top 40 showings on the year-end, but neither of those hit the proverbial pinnacle straight on the head like this track does. “Will Do” begins with it’s lullaby like chime in, before segwaying into the perfectly simple chorus. My two favorite parts of the track are, first, the breakdown in the second verse “Our heart doesn’t play by rules and love has its own demands. But I’ll be there to take care of you if ever you should decide, that you don’t want to live your life in the middle of this love sick lullaby” – crafty songwriting and perfect execution - and second, the soaring high falsettos that are hit in the last bridge, which is honestly one of the greatest vocal performances I’ve heard in some time. This track is a perfect account of last ditch desperation, laying your soul on the line, and hoping for even a fraction of that sentiment in return. It’s conveyed exceptionally well in the songwriting, and the vocals make you believe the angst. A haunting, yet mesmerizing track from TVOTR.
#1 Track & Album of 2011
Adele – Rolling In The Deep / Adele – 21
Does it really come as any surprise that Adele scores the coveted end of the year double? She was #11 on the 2011 year-end with “Rolling in the Deep”, and after spending 8 non-consecutive months at #1 on my monthly chart, and just being the tour de force track that it is, I couldn’t deny it the #1 position it so rightly deserves. And then, there’s the album.. I’ve seen her referenced across some of the year-ends as a pop renaissance, which is too fitting. She’s a game changer. She puts faith back into the music industry. Simply put, she was brilliant in 2011.
Given that the first song on ‘21’ is RITD – let’s talk about that single first. I remember I first heard this song in November 2011, and immediately posted on a friend of mine’s Facebook wall and saying, “Big song, big voice, big chick” – although the last comment is harsh I know, there’s not much else you can say about RITD except that it’s BIG. Adele is in total command vocally, and is accompanied beautifully by backing vocalists who chime in with the pitch perfect, “You’re gonna wish you, never had met me”. This track is exceptionally diverse. Bearing influences from nearly every musical genre, right down to it’s hand clapping, toe-tapping breakdown, which culminates with the iconic lyric, “And reap just what you sow”. I guess what was so terrific about this track, beyond it’s unprecedented success, was the early indication it provided that this era was going to be very different for Adele. Although ‘19’ was a very good album, and it had one of Adele’s best songs ever, “Hometown Glory”, she was not a confident, full embodied performer just yet. The song itself and early performances of RITD showed otherwise, as Adele was owning into her talent and was indirectly saying, you can’t possibly be ready for what else I’ve got in store. Introducing, “21” …
RITD is perfectly followed up by “Rumor Has It”, a soulful barrage of drums and execution style delivery, the two tracks are amongst a handful of vintage feeling jazz lounge type tracks; including “One & Only”, “I’ll Be Waiting”, and the beautiful The Cure cover “Lovesong”. Each of these tracks are master class performances, permeated in Adele’s vocal confidence yet personal vulnerability. I love how every song takes a slight detour. RHI has the piano breakdown, “Ill Be Waiting” has the big band breakdown, “One & Only” also has the piano enterlude, each allowing Adele’s vocals to take a slight departure in tune and tone. It gives every track a second life before we were even bored with it’s first. The other half of the album is textbook, how to write and execute a perfect pop song; “Turning Tables”, “Set Fire To The Rain”, and “Someone Like You” – bread and buttered for a mainstream audience, and each have become a cultural phenomenon of some sort this year, whether it be on radio, Glee, or SNL. There are a trio of tracks, “He Won’t Go”, “Take It All”, and “Don’t You Remember” – that borderline on that too much estrogen for me category, but they are all well written, and serve their functional purpose in the album, continuing to tell the story of Adele’s personal peaks and valleys dealing with a nasty relationship. Oh and can’t forget about that spot-on sensational cover of “If it Hadn’t Been For Love” – which adds a new talent to Adele’s resume, Americana folk! God damn she sounds incredible.
Adele was once a hidden gem from the UK- but now she is the most relevant musician in recent memory. “21” has sold nearly 16 million records worldwide, and that isn’t inflated by just one country, she has had such a global impact that it’s magnitude cannot yet be fathomed. Her chart performance has been unprecedented, considering she is still #1 in the U.S. and her album is nearing its 50th week on the chart. In a time where the physical CD continues to hang by a thread, here is a shining example that with the right talent and the right music, a connection can be made. “21” is found in my album collection, my girlfriends, her dads, my brothers, his wifes, and my mom’s. That kind of universal appreciation sets the tone for an incredible career. Although she has had several setbacks with her unfortunate vocal cord hemorrhage, I can only hope and wish for a speedy recovery. The music world needs her voice, her charm, and her spot on British humor. Ultimately, how do you follow-up an album like “21”. Who knows? All there is to do is to continue to enjoy the music as we all so religiously have done already.
Adios! First big song of 2012? Gotye “Somebody That I Used To Know”.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 5/9/2003
Posts: 3,779
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No surprise at #1, but plenty of greatest everywhere. Wasting Light and Will Do are perfect #2s, And Liam ranking so high!
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Member Since: 6/24/2008
Posts: 21,950
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will do @2 didn't expect that
great #1
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Member Since: 10/11/2004
Posts: 28,320
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"Rolling In The Deep"
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 7/23/2007
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 6/9/2002
Posts: 6,789
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Sorry for the late commenting!
Albums: What a great top five! I can’t believe I haven’t heard the Noel Gallagher album, and your write-up does a great job of making me kick myself some more for not listening to it. That will soon change. All the albums i’ve heard and love, however. There really are some nice finds on that Winehouse album. Very happy to see you mention “Us Against the World,” in your Coldplay write-up. I remember listening to that song in my car for the first time, and how weirdly moving it was, as the song continued to build and build, as the U2-ish guitars play. Love that song. Foos, Adele. The best, and you describe why those albums are the best quite well.
Singles: Again, so much great stuff. I love Coldplay, Rihanna, C&C, The Throne, Foos, Adele, TVOTR, and Adele. Again, your final Adele write-up is really all-encompasing of what made 2011 Adele's year. Some really wonderful, and real thought-out stuff.
You've yet to disappoint me with your year-ends over the years, and this year was no exception. Fantastic choices of albums/songs, wonderful write-ups, and a great variety of content, that truly shows how weird and wild 2011 was for music. Great stuff, Roger. I hope to see you doing a 2012 edition of your list later this year (still not used to typing that!).
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Member Since: 5/23/2007
Posts: 65,087
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Will Do I love TV On The Radio
Good for Adele
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Member Since: 1/26/2006
Posts: 17,384
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"Will Do"
Great choice for #1, definitely she made 2011. Great countdown!
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Member Since: 10/13/2003
Posts: 48,022
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Foo Fighters + Rolling In The Deep
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