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Year in Music 2011Dec 27 '11 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Change.
2011 marked another year where all of my assumptions and philosophies were challenged by the sudden appearance of a work of art in my life. This year, that work of art was a 1970s J-horror film called “Hausu.” If you consider yourself a serious consumer of art, or are an artist yourself, it’s imperative that you see this truly singular masterpiece. Only then will you have any comprehension of the limits art can reach. Or perhaps will just destroy your perception that art can have limits. On my first viewing, I found it merely amusing, albeit extremely so. Yet some ineffable quality within the film drew me back for a second viewing, and once the credits rolled, I couldn’t stop telling my friend seated next to me, “That is such a great film. No, seriously. You have no idea how amazing that movie that is. What a masterpiece. What an utter masterpiece.” Here’s what “Hausu” taught me about art: Great art challenges itself. It explores territory that other works cower at the thought of. It takes the consumer places he or she could not have expected to go – but that still, within the context of the work, make perfect sense. “Hausu” enables itself to do anything. But “Saving Private Ryan” does not enable itself to drop a piano on Tom Hanks’ head at the end. That would not make perfect sense. Apply this to songs: Most songs follow a structure similar to this: Verse Chorus Verse that is the same as the first verse Chorus that is the same as the first chorus Bridge (often just a variation of the verse or chorus) Sometimes, the chorus again A friend of mine argues that a song can still achieve musical brilliance within this structure. And it’s true that most pop songs, “indie” or not, don’t aspire to be much more than pop songs. But even a song can achieve brilliance within that structure, such a song will never be as good as it could have been if it had a second verse that was as good as the first verse but still sounded different. Or if it abandoned the idea of a second verse altogether and just reinvented our notions of what music can be. And so, my list of 2011 records that I think will really stick with me over the years has been narrowed down to merely four. Which means that you finally have a list more worth hating than what the AV Club punished us with two weeks ago. MUSIC IN 2011 Records that tried to do something different and didn’t quite succeed but, because they at least tried, are still semi-worthwhile David Lynch – Crazy Clown Time – Other than “Good Day Today” and “Pinky’s Dream” (sort of), nothing here is very good, but it’s David Lynch. Who sells his own coffee and endorses Transcendental Meditation. Just listen once. Never is okay too. Deerhoof – Deerhoof vs. Evil – I can’t overstate how disappointing it is for me to place a Deerhoof record in this category. Deerhoof has long been one of my favorite bands, and they probably always will be. Records like “The Runners Four” and “Reveille” still earn frequent replays from me. But even the best songs on this almost completely lackluster record are in the lowest tier of goodness. Do they try to be different? Of course. But they lack melodies of relistenable quality, a strange twist for a band with an unusual knack for combining the cute with the chaotic. Battles – Gloss Drop Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact – This actually received quite positive reviews. That’s because of the opening track, which is 11-minutes long and totally jaw-dropping. Other than the third track, most of the rest of the album fades from our attention. Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine – Toro y Moi is an artist focused on change – indeed, he produced the most ground-breaking track of the year – and I think as he develops his sound in the years to come, we might see records that are actually “good” instead of merely “promising.” Records that didn’t really do anything different but are still worthwhile or semi-worthwhile Braids – Native Speaker Wye Oak – Civilian Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues – Maybe. I was into it, and now I’m not. The Roots – Undun Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2 St. Vincent – Strange Mercy – St. Vincent has an immense talent for catchy melodies, but it’s almost like she’s overtalented: She seizes the catchiness of her tunes and just repeats them again and again. How many times can she say “Chloe in the afternoon” or “cruel” or “come cut me in open” before it becomes gratingly redundant? Radiohead – The King of Limbs Records that do something different but are only good instead of great Bjork – Biophilia – It would have been great if she’d taken out the first and last tracks, and that middle section. Death Grips – Exmilitary – An ambitious hip-hop record – with Zach Hill on drums – that is too uneven to be great, but contains a number of remarkable tracks. Two very good ambient albums Drive OST (non-ambient songs are great too) Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica Records that tried to do something different and succeeded, and thus IMO are the best records of the year 4. Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 Yes, it’s a very good ambient album, but it’s special in a way that most ambient albums aren’t: It can make you cry. Most ambient records are determined fade into the background, but in “Ravedeath, 1972,” Tim Hecker fights for your ears and wins. 3. Raleigh Moncrief – Watered Lawn This is probably the only list this album will end up on, probably because I’m the only person who heard it. Moncrief is the producer for Dirty Projectors, and his skills with sound work well on an album with such an emphasis on heart over intellect. The evolution of each song is a marvel. 2. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up The best and most challenging hip-hop album since Edan’s “Beauty and the Beat,” each song taking us somewhere unexpected. No track stands out quite like the haunting highlight “An Echo from the Hosts that Profess Infinitum,” but Ishmael Butler’s playful production keeps us engaged throughout. 1. Tune-Yards – W H O K I L L Good luck finding a better album this decade. How Merrill Garbus synthesizes the beginning of “Es-So” with its payoff, and on top of that can reach such heights with her voice, will forever confound me. BUT WHO CARES ABOUT MERRILL GARBUS WHEN YOU’VE GOT BRITNEY SPEARS RIGHT AV CLUB? Best Songs Despite a shortage of truly great albums, 2011 was the best year for playlist-worthy songs in memory. 111 (and counting) songs from this year ended up on my good-music-to-play-whenever playlist, and that omits all the songs from the best albums I’ve mentioned above (worthwhile and semi-worthwhile). The first 20-ish tracks are not in order. The Flaming Lips With Lightning Bolt – I Want to Get High But I Don’t Want Brain Damage Eleanor Friedberger – Heaven The Antlers – Parentheses F*cked Up – Under My Nose Battles – Ice Cream Toro y Moi – Light Black PJ Harvey – England Tom Waits – Hell Broke Luce My Morning Jacket –Holdin On to Black Metal Lykke Li – Sadness is a Blessing Radiohead – Separator Fleet Foxes – Lorelai M83 – This Bright Flash TV on the Radio – Caffeinated Consciousness Gang Gang Dance – Glass Jar Feist – The Undiscovered First David Lynch – Good Day Today Raleigh Moncrief – Lament for Morning Bjork – Cosmogony 10. Tim Hecker – Hatred of Music I – This song in particular will make you cry. 9. Cliff Martinez – Wrong Floor – I should add that this is from the best scene of the year – the first/last kiss in Drive. When wistful, play in conjunction with “Doubt” (#2). 8. The Strokes – Gratisfaction – Instant classic on a record that was so far from classic. 7. Tune-Yards – Powa – I confess: At first I thought it was about awesome sex. 6. Death Grips – Culture Shock – If you can be as vulgar as this and still hook into listeners’ brains, you’re doing pretty well. I couldn’t stop chanting the masochistic chorus for weeks. 5. Shabazz Palaces – An Echo From the Hosts that Profess Infinitum – Holy sh<iit. 4. Battles – Sweetie & Shag – Only because of Kazu Makino’s enigmatic voice. 3. Beastie Boys – Say It – When they say, “Don’t keep it inside! You’ve got! To!” right before the first chorus… no song this year managed to rock quite that hard. 2. Wye Oak – Doubt – Most replayable song of the year for crummy moods. 1. Toro y Moi – Good Hold – A sonic achievement if there ever was one. Even people who typically don’t go for this type of music testify to being blown away by what this song accomplishes. This is not the best song of the year for its melody, which is arguably mediocre or frustratingly static. It’s the best song of the year because it might be the only song ever written that can make you feel physically nauseous in the best way possible. Disappointing The Antlers – Burst Apart – Where is the daring? Neon Indian – Era Extrana – Where are the hooks? Overrated – or rather, “I don’t understand why people like this and probably never will” Cut Copy –Zonoscope The Weeknd – House of Balloons Wild Beasts – Smother – I’ll never understand. Atlas Sound – Parallax What I’m still listening to from last year: Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal Zach Hill – Face Tat Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma Sorry, Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem/Kanye West. You weren’t as good as I thought. Found Nosaj Thing – Drift Kleenex/LiLiPUT – 70s/80s all-female Swedish punk outfit. Caribou --The Milk of Human Kindness M83 – Before the Dawn Heals Us – “Car Chase Terror!” is way better than anyone thought. I include myself amongst its former detractors. It’s a widely misinterpreted satire. Nujabes (especially “Restorante Mixtape”) – Brilliant Japanese hip-hop producer who died in a tragic car accident in Tokyo in 2010. Listen and you will know what we’ve lost. Ethnic music collections (all recommended by Jeff Mangum on Walking Wall of Words: “The Art of Field Recording,” “Black Mirror,” “You can tell the world about this,” “The Secret Museum of Mankind” (this last is bliss) Thomas Tallis (particularly “Spem in Alium,” a classic song that will make you cry) Aphex Twin – Selected Ambient Works Volume II Eddie Fisher – “Oh My Papa!” (and various others) Worth It, Not For Me Eleanor Friedberger – Last Summer The Field – Looping State of Mind Feist – Metals Elbow – Build a Rocket, Boys!  |
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