Mr. Seven's Top 50 Songs Of 2011

[Mr. Seven]

Fully agree on Harvey - I love the song up there but for me it's one of the most overrated records in years and much too reliant on its concept.

 

Re: LDR - here's the thing; and I was actually having this debate with a friend who thought I was being ironic for posting Girls Aloud songs on Facebook and who sadly doesn't seem to get it; I have no problem with music that is manufactured. None. Nor am I a hipster blogger who was duped by LDR. Frankly I found 'Video Games' to be dull as fuck when I heard it and the subsequent explosion really surprised me and would later boil my piss. When I label her as "hollow", the obvious budget behind her is merely a tiny portion of what irks me about her.

 

As I've said before, I simply don't believe her. And it's not the bee-stung lips, the "She's shit on stage but maybe that's part of the act" schtick, the fake name. It's the voice. It sounds pretty but there's nothing there. It's like waking up next to a beautiful girl who is utterly dead behind the eyes. The superficial aspect spurred you on but you hate yourself for falling for it. Also, lyrically speaking, that song is fucking shameful. It's either a really really embarrassing attempt at social commentary and attempting to create a dark mirror for gender politics or she wants to be like Bella Swan. It's ugly and so is everything she appears to stand for.

 

I don't think I've actively despised* an act this much, so soon, in a long long time.

 

*Lou Reed and Metallica, 2011

[Halitosis Romantic]

I had a discussion about the politics and authenticity of LDR a few weeks back - it ended with us agreeing that, all that stuff aside, who cares? It's shit.

[WU LYF 4 LYF]

I personally enjoy Nature Feels the most on the album,

 

A truly bizarre experience I had a few months ago was listening to this tune on YouTube around the time of the London riots, and in the comments box someone had written "just listened to dis tune thru my headphones while we smashed up house of fraser' . Seemed the most ridiculous song to be playing whilst causing civil unrest and destruction.

 

As I've said before, I simply don't believe her.

 

That's no barrier to liking music though, surely? I don't believe Bowie was a rock star from space but I still loved the Ziggy Stardust album. Obviously some music helps from believability; the rawness of Billie holiday records is all the more emotive when you realise the emotional turmoil she had gone through. 'Me And a Gun' by Tori Amos is immensely powerful because she was talking about a real experience of being raped. John Martyn's album Grace and Danger is ever more moving when you read the story about the breakup that accompanied it. And going back to Bowie, part of the reason Station to Station is such a fun album is because he really was the coked up madman he portrays on the record while making it.

 

But all great artists, especially pop artists, don't have to have real personalities. The entire chart is full of frauds; nobody believes Katy Perry kisses girls and likes it, everyone knows Gaga's craziness is just a marketing charade. Mobb Deep were art school students not merciless killers but that doesn't stop be enjoying The Infamous as a violent hardcore rap record. Tyler the Creator doesn't go around killing people and raping women but I still thought Goblin was one of the best albums of the year. It doesn't bother me if Del Ray is real as long as the music is awesome. It isn't as if her lyrics portray something she's not.

 

Isn't the real issue here that you just don't think she's particularly talented? Which is a much more sensible reason not to like her, and absolutely fair enough.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I don't believe Bowie was a rock star from space

 

You naive fool... of course he is, it's the only explanation.

[Chest Rockwell]

That 212 track is fantastic. I checked out whatever other tracks I could find on Youtube and they are all rather good also.

 

Good stuff. Shame I didn't find out about her sooner as she played London like a month back, but still...

[Chaka Demus]

Put this in last years thread by mistake yesterday. But it's one of my tunes of the year and you should definitely check it out.

 

http://soundcloud.com/holyesque/rose

[Mr. Seven]

And back we go.

 

#30: 'Trembling Hands' - Explosions In The Sky

 

 

Sounds like: An assault.

 

Post rock bands tend to follow the same template throughout their career and thus it's tough for a band of that genre to do the whole reinvention thing. Any changes that may be enforced are usually slight or just don't work. Prior to the release of Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, EITS hinted that there would be some new facets to their personality. They weren't lying. The wheel has not been reinvented, because, frankly, to do so would be suicide for a band like Explosions In The Sky. Instead the differences are wonderfully subtle, and perhaps the biggest surprise is the presence of 'Trembling Hands' a track that, at three-and-a-half minutes, represents one of the shortest songs in the Texan band's canon. It's also quite relentless, wasting little time, delivering ferocious energy from the get-go.

[Mr. Seven]

"All sounds like a dream"

 

#29: 'Kaputt' - Destroyer

 

 

Sounds like: A summer breeze.

 

From the opening seconds we're reminded of Aeroplane's superb remix of Friendly Fires' 'Paris' from a few years back. Here, like there, the focus is on chilling out to the point of floating away. References to British music magazines may seem a little bit forced, in fact, the entire affair seems somewhat artificial, but there's charm behind the mask.

 

 

[Mr. Seven]

"And the door was closed for forty years"

 

#28: 'Life Is Simple In The Moonlight' - The Strokes

 

 

Sounds like: First gear.

 

As someone who stands by his claim that First Impressions Of Earth is the best Strokes album, I was really looking forward to its follow-up. After spending a while with Angles, it was clear that my opinion wasn't going to change. Matter of fact, it was clear that Angles was pretty fucking shoddy. Perhaps this is no surprise when you consider that Julian Casablancas apparently e-mailed all his vocals to the rest of the band and told them to build the songs around them without his input. The result is exactly what you would expect; the sound of a band fractured and a total lack of identity. The sole highlight ('Under Cover Of Darkness is admittedly a grower but still fairly average) is 'Life Is Simple In The Moonlight', the track that brings the curtain down on a truly forgettable effort. And in itself it's a disappointment, largely because it sounds like someone else trying to be The Strokes. Still, all that said, there are moments of magic here and it's the one track where the broken nature of Casablancas wields its own unique power.

[Mr. Seven]

"I will save you, but I don't need you"

 

#27: 'Stamp' - The Rural Alberta Advantage

 

 

Sounds like: Billy Corgan as possessed by Frank Black.

 

This song is pissed off. You take the combined spirits of the men mentioned above, drums that could be a distant cousin of The Walkmen classic 'The Rat', throw in a spiky pop sensibility and you've got this. If my iPod had an old-school 'repeat' button I would have worn it out on this track over the summer. Cute video too.

[Mr. Seven]

"And it's diamonds and gold for the idiot sons"

 

#26: 'Serve The People' - Handsome Furs

 

 

Sounds like: A rallying cry.

 

I do love me some Handsome Furs. Third album Sound Kapital builds on a strong foundation established by Plague Park and Face Control and while it falls a little short on truly brilliant songs, its energy is never in question. Recorded entirely on keyboards, it's very much in debt to synth-based melodies, and we are currently living in a period where every band in the world seems to have a microKORG, but HF are genuine in their love for music and creating tracks with bite and verve.

[Mr. Seven]

"We were you before you even existed..."

 

#25: 'Intro' (ft. Zola Jesus) - M83

 

 

Sounds like: Permission.

 

"Carry on, carry on!" wails Anthony Gonzalez as his most ambitious work to date sparks into life. And it is very much alive. M83 has always been about connecting with emotion, with throwing caution to the wind and embracing everything. Double albums are dangerous territory and can often result in an awful lot of filler. A reasonable argument could be made that while Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is quite brilliant, it may have been better served as one record. I'm not so sure. It is Gonzalez's masterpiece though.

[Mr. Seven]

"You're not unique in dying"

 

#24: 'Ladder Song' - Bright Eyes

 

 

Sounds like: Admission.

 

Nobody is ever going to accuse Conor Oberst of being the most optimistic guy in the world, but his honesty and pain here is pretty fucking brutal. This is not the first Bright Eyes song to flirt with the nature of suicide ('No Lies, Just Love' is incredible if you've never heard it) but Oberst manages to sound both tremendously pained and apathetic all at once here. In the past this is the kind of song he would scream until he blew out his voice, but here, laid bare with a beautiful piano line, it's almost private. The final line reads hopeful but rings out with almost bitter resignation.

[Dearly Devoted Dexter]

Top 50 tunes of 2011? Can't be bothered to rank them, but here we go :

 

Lykke Li - "I Follow Rivers"

tUnE-yArDs - "Es-So"

Paul Kalkbrenner - "Boxeig Liese"

Battles - "Futura"

Low - "You See Everything"

James Blake - "Limit to Your Love"

Raphael Saadiq - "Good Man"

Tanya Auclair - "Thrum"

Jamie XX - "Far Nearer"

Zola Jesus - "Shiver"

Zomby - "Natalia's Song"

EMA - "Grey Ships"

PJ Harvey - "The Last Living Rose"

Howling Bells - "Into the Sky"

Jonathan Jeremiah - "Heart of Stone"

The Pierces - "You'll Be Mine"

Katy B - "Go Away"

Kuedo - "Scissors"

Thundercat - "Daylight"

Nicholas Jaar - "Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust"

Oh Land - "Break The Chain"

Hyetal - "Diamond Islands"

Obenowa - "Make It Better"

The Stepkids - "LaLa Song"

Shabazz Palaces - "Youology"

Jacques Greene - "Another Girl"

Feist - "How Come You Never Go There"

Jamie Woon - "Ladyluck"

Bright Eyes - "Jejune Stars"

Joan as Police Woman - "Magic"

The Mummers - "Call Me A Rainbow"

Battles - "Futura"

Lana Del Rey - "Video Games"

The Art Department - "Tell Me Why" Pt.1

Austra - "Lose It"

Hannah Peel - "The Almond Tree"

Burial - "Street Halo"

Anna Calvi - "I'll Be Your Man"

Cute Heels - "Silence Complot"

Teeth - "Shawty"

Mo Kolours - "Biddies"

Egyptrixx - "Naples"

Digitalism - "Circles"

CSS - "Hits Me Like A Rock"

Colourmusic - "Yes!"

Red Snapper - "Loveboat"

Metronomy - "The Bay"

Nerina Pallot - "Grace"

Duke Spirit - "Procession"

Com Truise - VHS Sex"

[Mr. Seven]

"So now you'd better stop, and rebuild all your ruins"

 

#23: 'Immigrant Song' (ft. Karen O) - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

 

 

Sounds like: Another inspired twist.

Last year's work on The Social Network soundtrack brought a manic reworking of 'In The Hall Of The Mountain King' and now, for the courtesy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake we have Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs getting her wail on against a wall of sonic chaos as ably provided by Reznor & Ross. Led Zep never sounded so good. My one criticism? Why the fuck were the synth-ramps at the very end dropped from the version we heard in the teaser trailer? Hmph.