TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2011

This was the year that I made the single most important commitment of my life. That, unfortunately, had nothing to do with promising to consistently maintain this blog. At the very least, with this post I've successfully maintained one of the few personal traditions I have whilst beginning to create brand new ones with my wife.

Thankfully, the new traditions I start with her won't be as geeky or self-serving, but traditions are traditions.

And this list is all mine.

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10. THE SMASHING PUMPKINS "Siamese Dream" (Deluxe Edition)
Before Billy Corgan went insane in the worst possible way (blew up his band, brought it back just to blow it up again, started recruiting band members off YouTube, etc.) he went insane in the best possible way and almost single-handedly crafted one of the best albums of the last two decades in a haze of despair, personal torment and all-consuming alienation. There’s not much left to say about this album that hasn’t already been said or of it’s embattled architect’s rapid decline to irrelevance. The album’s proper place in the annals of rock music history secured, it was only a matter of time for a deluxe reissue complete with all the bells and whistles to come a-calling. Despite its best intentions not to come across as a last gasp cash grab, this edition of “Siamese Dream” still served as an unavoidable reminder of my young adulthood as a zero screaming nasally to my walkman. Nostalgic, I know but at least now my salivating anticipation of The Silversun Pickups’ new record is at an all-time high. So in the end, it’s a win/win for everyone.



9. THE ROOTS "undun"
I’m not going to lie but when I heard the premise of hip hop’s elder statesmen THE ROOTS new album I immediately wondered if their day job as a late night talk show’s house band was the reason why they were getting all existential. Built as a re-telling of a young thug’s misspent life in reverse starting on the moment of his death, this album finds The Legendary Roots Crew at their cinematic best. Not as aggressive as their most recent releases (“How I Got Over”) or as thoughtful (“Wake Up!”) this album was a statement that could’ve only been made after living a lifetime of witnessing or experiencing firsthand the trials and tribulations of its main character. The four part instrumental suite led by SUFJAN STEVENS’ “Redford (For Yia Yia & Pappou)” that closes this album is particularly haunting. So much so that they could probably play it on Jimmy Fallon’s funeral.



8. THE BLACK KEYS "El Camino"
After hearing the ultra infectious “Tighten Up” off their last release, I was so stoked for a whole album of rollicking bangers from THE BLACK KEYS and producer DANGERMOUSE. Since that particular album didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, I’m so glad that this year’s “El Camino” made good on the promise of “Tighten Up”. Filled with honest to goodness rock and roll barn burners, this album showed us all how truly beautiful the marriage of THE BLACK KEYS to DANGERMOUSE really is. Speaking from about 3 months experience, having a partner who really and truly gets you is such a sight to behold. Album standout “Little Black Submarines” is proof positive of that.



7. DRAKE "Take Care"
Not being one who regularly enjoys taking back what was already said, I still maintain my belief of J.COLE’s potential as an artist. 2011, just wasn’t his year. I will admit it though, when comparing full lengths, score another one for Team Drizzy. While “Cole World: The Sideline Story” came off as unbalanced and insincere, DRAKE’s sophomore album took everything he presented in his debut and built on it. The natural progression from hungry newcomer to in-the-moment It-Boy has always made for rich lyrical content and the hyper self aware DRAKE definitely ran with it in an impressively organic way. The luxurious penthouse slink of “Shot For Me” to the paparazzi baiting “Cameras” and the decadent title track duet with RIHANNA adds so much dimension to the booty call gone wrong of “Marvin’s Room” that its hard not to feel for/be jealous of DRAKE’s lonely life at the top. The kids nowadays call it #humblebrag but humanizing the jet-setting lifestyle of a hip-hop millionaire with unflinching sincerity will always be a difficult proposition and really impressive when executed well. Shake it off, J.COLE, you’ll get ‘em next year.



6. RADIOHEAD "The King of Limbs"
After the music industry shockwaves of the pay what you want release of their last album “In Rainbows” subsided, RADIOHEAD decided to change the game again but this time on a more personal level. With their disenchantment of the full length album format made public, “The King of Limbs” was born clocking in at a brisk 37 minutes and change. Almost haphazard in both nature, intent and method of release (only a handful of days separated the announcement of its existence and its actual release), this collection features everything I love about RADIOHEAD, the dynamic musical compositions writhing with Thom Yorke’s come-hither croon, but at a satisfying tapas sized bite. The dance floor boogie of “Lotus Flower” (complete with an actual chorus to sing along to after years of…not) is a polarizing sign that RADIOHEAD doesn’t give a fuck how we like our RADIOHEAD presented or consumed. Take that, everybody.



5. CROSSES "††† EP"
Imagine my surprise when the frontman of one of my favorite bands appeared out of the blue with not only a new side project but an EP of new material to go along with it. Now Chino Moreno of THE DEFTONES has taken me down this road before a few years back with his other other side project, the beat oriented trip-hop outfit TEAM SLEEP, so there is some precedence. This time however, he surfaced with the sigil dropping, quasi witch house indebted band CROSSES. Eschewing the familiar guitar crunch of THE DEFTONES, this EP features a collection of dark, pulsating stormy night soudscapes made flesh with his signature bloody wail. Like a PORTISHEAD channeling horror flicks instead of spy films, this EP succeeds primarily on its focus on one specific theme musically unlike the admittedly scatter brained TEAM SLEEP. I†s delicious po†en†ial aside, a full leng†h’s wor†h of songs †i†les implemen†ing †he † symbol has me defini†ely ant†cipa†ing †heir nex† release. Shallow, isn’† i†? Sad, bu† †rue.



4. THURSDAY "No Devolución"
So I suppose its about that time then for the heroes to ride off in the sunset. As disheartened as I was when I heard that THURSDAY as a band was to be put on indefinite hiatus (and we all know what that means), I really shouldn’t be too surprised. The signs were there all year. From the 10th anniversary tour for the classic debut “Full Collapse” where they played the album front to back on a nightly basis much to their core fan base’s delight to the majestic release of what eventually was revealed to be their final album (its title is “no returns” in Spanish for fuck’s sake), they were practically telegraphing their plays. Deep down, I was just hoping to avoid the unavoidable. The early stalwarts of the screamo/post hardcore scene of the 2K’s finally completed their metamorphosis to full on prog-rock status. More concerned with atmospherics and built around a more methodical vocal delivery from frontman Geoff Rickly, this album finds one of my all-time favorite bands completely centered with all of their influences and past iterations. They’ve taken all the best parts of each phase of their career and fused them into one final and complete artistic statement of who they were, who they are and who they will be. Having done that, now would be the best time to walk away from it all. Album closer “Stay True” parting words of wisdom for the next generation to hold fast to their beliefs against all odds is such a fitting endgame to leave on that its almost impossible to top. So thank you, fellas. Thank you and goodbye.



3. DOOMTREE "No Kings"
This Minneapolis based collective just out Wu-Tang’d the Wu-Tang Clan on a year that saw the Wu-Tang Clan drop an album. Taking the challenge of constructing a wholly effective posse album in the same vein of the quintessential posse album “36 Chambers”, this album did an amazing job of playing to each member’s strength while giving everyone equal burn. From the crew’s de-facto leader P.O.S. punk as fuck flow to producer LAZERBEAK’s hard machine gun volleys all the way down to lesser know affiliate DESSA’s scene stealing hooks and verses (think NICKI MINAJ star making turn on KANYE WEST’s “Monster”) every contribution is necessary to building the album’s boom bap mission statement to the rest of the hip-hop world of the Twin City’s relevance. This fact most evident on “Team The Best Team” featuring everyone and quite possibly their mother. Back in Minnie, the kids apparently flip their Wu hand signs upside down, just to show y’all where the true shit is currently at.



2. JAY-Z & KANYE WEST "Watch The Throne"
What else can one really say about this album that already hasn’t been printed and proven in spades? Truly decadent hip-hop from the titans of the game. Rich in its honesty of them being honestly rich, this couldn’t have stood out even more unless it was released back in the Depression. “Niggas in Paris” is the sound made when all the stars align. “Who Gon Stop Me” is just the straight plain truth. This album not topping this list only speaks of the impact my #1 pick made on me personally on levels deeper than just aurally. Sorry, Hov and ‘Ye. At least you dudes had the shiniest album cover ever in 2011, hands down. That’s something isn’t it?



1. THE WEEKND "House of Balloons / Thursday / Echoes of Silence"
Never in this generation of internet instant gratification has the music industry seen such an entity as THE WEEKND. Completely self assured and fully realized from its inception to its execution, THE WEEKND came out of nowhere in a fog of mystery ready to hit the ground running. Shrouded in heated speculation this Toronto outfit burst onto the scene with the brilliant self-released free mixtape “House of Balloons” and immediately set the blogosphere on fire. Armed with a Tumblr-baiting art house visual aesthetic and their debut’s dark swirl of lush, hedonistic R&B, THE WEEKND became the subject of many a blogger’s fevered search for any concrete information as to where they were and how they came to be. After a few tantalizing months behind the curtain, a certain Canadian hip-hop superstar decreed an official public co-sign for THE WEEKND and then the flood gates were blown wide open. Soon the parties responsible for THE WEEKND’s woozy, drug addled tales of misspent nights were revealed to be singer/lyricist Abel Tesfaye and the production team of Doc McKinney and Illangelo. Musical acumen aside, THE WEEKND became the foremost example of grassroots marketing done right. From the free release of their music exclusively through their blog/Tumblr/Twitter to the viral spreading of their steamy clip for lead single “What You Need” on YouTube all the way to the opportunistic swing of fate that led to their material finding its way onto DRAKE’s desktop, this band showed they were DIY ‘til they DIE. Now with their triptych of mixtapes completed with the sophomore “Thursday” and the just released in time for Christmas “Echoes of Silence” THE WEEKND firmly positioned themselves for a truly life-altering 2012. With tracks like the lecherous “Life of the Party” the apocalyptic MICHAEL JACKSON swipe of “D.D.” and the anthemic be-careful-of-what-you-ask-for-ladies warning of “The Birds, Pt. 1” (my personal favorite), the honey soaked, Petron spiked come-ons of Abel Tesfaye backed by Doc McKinney and Illangelo’s darkened corner trip-hop erotique showed how THE WEEKND made 2011 the year of the bastard.

LOST IN A CROWD

Looks like 2011 is going to start off with a bang. A week and a half in and I've already made significant progress on my first (of six) resolutions. We haven't even gotten into the real fireworks of the next couple weeks. Whatever happens, however it ends up, this year is going to be a game changer for me. If it doesn't then I guess I'm just going to have to force it to be.

Still, this is a good start.

TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010

Opening 2011 with a bit of unfinished business from 2010. Here's to the year that was, the year of the douchebag, the year of the asshole.

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10. WEEZER "Pinkerton" (Deluxe Reissue)
If you don't think that I realize how opening this list with a reissue spanks of a cop out, you're wrong because I do. It isn't an indictment of this past year in music either because it has been a pretty great year. Just like if Criterion reissued one of your favorite films with all the bells and whistles, it just can't help but make a resonating impact on your psyche. "Pinkerton" is still a revelation of uncomfortably honest, heart on your sleeve guitar rock. It's still a beautifully ramshackle masterpiece of ultra catchy nuggets of angst and sexual ineptitude. It's still all of that and then some. The live tracks from Y100 Sonic Festival and Reading instantly flood me with a sense of regret for not having ever gotten the chance to catch a show from that era of the band. It also puts into context how special this album is when considering how empty and hollow the latter day WEEZER records are in comparison. Plus, the all too brief piano sketch of "Across the Sea" opening alone is priceless enough to be included into one of my forthcoming mixtapes.



9. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE "Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys"
It is now an unequivocal truth that the most admirable quality of this band is their artistic restlessness. Never one to stand pat, they have made it their business to generate excitement for each new release through the drastic stylistic reinvention of their sound. From the shoot em' up emo crunch of "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge" to the Broadway pomp of "The Black Parade" and now with the hot blooded dance thrash of "Danger Days", Gerard Way and co. have launched their latest curve-ball. The only constant is their unflappable commitment to weaving narrative through the track-list. At this point, I'm going to stop calling them concept albums. To me, they're just audiobooks now.



8. ISLES & GLACIERS "The Hearts of Lonely People"
Talk about for the love of the game. Part urban legend and part the deepest, darkest wishes of underage Hot Topic chicks the world over, the formation of this band probably started out as a joke told one booze soaked after party many many moons ago, but to everyone's surprise actually became reality. Comprised of pieces of today's more prominent hardcore bands, this supergroup distills all the best parts of the genre and tempers it perfectly with synth beats and drum loops, resulting in a tight collection of concentrated vitriol. The definite highlight is the three part gang vocals working in concert while viciously bodying each other for pole position, Nascar vocals.



7. THE ROOTS "How I Got Over"
Despite the head scratching career turn as a late night talk show's house band, The Legendary Roots Crew return with a perfectly titled album of meditations about the moments before and after the drug deal, the fist fight, the arrest and every other hood life touchstone in between. Deeply cathartic because of its ability to fill in the blanks and paint the full picture of corner life, this album shows the world that THE ROOTS are one of the few hip hop acts that can expound on every aspect of street life with astounding clarity. Song stealing features by JOANNA NEWSOM, THE DIRTY PROJECTORS and MONSTERS OF FOLK also show us that they can invite anyone to the block and not have it feel out of place. Serious credentials for their bid as the global ambassadors of hip hop. They have my vote.



6. SPOON "Transference"
The polar opposite of MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE'S sonic precociousness, an argument can be made for SPOON being the most consistent band in all of indie rock. Having outlasted nearly all of their peers, this band still brings the style and swagger of meticulously disjointed hipster rock without the forced pretension. Frontman Britt Daniel's raspy warble is and forever will be punk as fuck. Album highlight "Written in Reverse" proves that there is a fountain of youth for cosmopolitan cool and that SPOON is obviously bottling it for themselves.



5. THE NATIONAL "High Violet"
Is there anything better than a dark, brooding winter record to play over headphones during those cold, lonely nights? Probably not, I'd wager. To me, this album qualifies as one of those mood enhancers, for better or worse, because when I'm in one of those moods I yearn for something to show me how far the rabbit hole really goes. The slow burn dirges of this album coupled with frontman Matt Berninger's signature honey warm baritone fits that bill to a tee. My personal favorite track "Anyone's Ghost" was made for a night slumped over a bar nursing that double you don't ever want to finish. Album closer "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" is the soundtrack for the long walk home after you eventually do.



4. J. COLE "Friday Night Lights"
For those who believe that this world is solely populated by either ELVIS men or BEATLES men, I humbly offer this corollary. In the realm of contemporary hip hop, I honestly think that one is either a DRAKE man or a J. COLE man. Despite one's unquestionable impact on pop culture, I'm firmly in the other's camp. Fresh off his nabbing a coveted spot on XXL'S Freshman Class of 2010 cover and the title of being the first signee to JAY-Z'S personal record label, J. COLE could potentially be the future face of hip hop. A producer with a knack for hard thumping drums in his own right, this artist sparks with an impeccable flow that flips from conscious wit to street flossin' at the drop of a dime. If he follows the new school business model pioneered by mentors JAY-Z and KANYE WEST, J.COLE being the next king of hip hop is never out of the question.



3. jj "Kills"
An extremely last minute addition to this list, this album made me thank goodness for procrastinating. A Swedish electro-pop band with ethereal gender bending vocals and everything, jj dropped this free mixtape for public consumption right on Christmas Eve. This masterpiece fuses the cooing of distant angels (think if SIGUR ROS actually sang in something that you can understand) with a murderer's row of sampled hip hop instrumental tracks (DR. DRE, DIDDY/DIRTY MONEY, KANYE WEST and TAIO CRUZ'S "Dynamite" of all things). How could I not resist a record that has a pristine, lilting voice utter the phrase "haters gonna hate"? Short answer, I cannot.



2. THE ARCADE FIRE "The Suburbs"
Win Butler and his gang are incapable of keeping things small. Deploying horns, strings, orchestral vocal arrangements and whatever else is in their musical arsenal, THE ARCADE FIRE turn ruminations of life in the suburbs that we all either live in or have lived in into grand sweeping epics of heart break, desperation and longing for that proverbial "something else" beyond the white picket fence. Even though the brilliant title track was turned into an equally brilliant, Google Chrome hocking short film by none other than director SPIKE JONZE, "We Used to Wait" is still the one record that regularly takes my breath away.



1. KANYE WEST "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
As far as for gone conclusions go, this is the furthest and more decisive of them all. KANYE WEST released the best album of the year...again. Not content with keeping it within the confines of the audio recording, KANYE WEST turned all of his exploits of this past year into one massive, multi-level precursor to the release of this album. From the fiasco of the TAYLOR SWIFT incident to the founding of his twitter account and the weekly leaks of his G.O.O.D. FRIDAY mp3 series, all of it was calculated to lead up to this. "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is his villain album. Its his "Empire Strikes Back" after setting a precedence within his public life that he has indeed fallen to the dark side. Steeped in stellar production and bursting at the seams with pitch perfect features from a veritable who's who of the record industry, KANYE WEST makes it abundantly clear that the rich do indeed get richer, the only thing better than excess is more excess and that being a hero will never be as viscerally more intriguing at watching the hero become the villain. The only tale more tantalizing than that would be if someone out there was brave enough to take him on and win. That's a big if.

PRINCE MADDOX OF GLENCAR

(Prince Maddox of Glencar / Originally uploaded by iruinclassics)

The second in a series of fan art for the wife's as-yet-untitled serialized novel. This piece is especially unofficial because immediately upon presentation it was completely rejected by the author. Apparently, I took tremendous creative license with the character and he looks nothing like how he was intended to look. I personally still liked it enough to see it through to completion.

Oh well, better luck next time I suppose.

A THIEF'S THEME

(Max & Solomon / Originally uploaded by iruinclassics)

Sometimes you just need to get punched in the mouth to remind you to get back into the fight. Frankly, I haven't been pushing hard enough. I'm still humming the same old tune. Since I can't steal time, I better figure something out before it's too late.

The two gentlemen pictured above are from a quick submission that I need to get out as soon as possible. Five pages of everything in my wheel house, so there are no excuses for this one.

I just don't want to get stuck singing the same old song, watching everything pass me by.

Sometimes...