I would like to publicly apologize for my lack of integrity over the past 2 years. As my the pace of my life increased, I found it increasingly difficult to hold true to my former blogname/promise: “Picks of the Week”. I hereby rename my blog “$ustained Note: New Album Picks”. In reparations, here is a special holiday treat:

$ustained Note’s Top 33 Tracks of 2011! 

This playlist contains 33 works that had the most powerful impacts on me throughout the year. These tracks have been sequenced to deliver a thematic flow of my musical experience of 2011. Please note* these tracks are not in ascending/descending order. BUT a little hint, you must make it all the way through to hear my favorite song of the year…

The playlist opens with synth-pop, an addictive and fun genre I would have despised in high school.  I feel the sexy, R&B influenced, poppy hooks of these tracks as a musical expression of the embodied love for life I (thankfully) developed while sealing up my 20′s. A few fun, upbeat, rock tracks race after the synth pop including my pick for “catchiest track of the year” from a Bay-Area local.

1. M83 – “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire”

2. Architecture in Helsinki – “Contact High”

3. Delicate Steve – “Wondervisions”

4. St. Vincent – “Cruel”

5. Friendly Fires – “Blue Cassette”

6. Foster the People – “Waste”

7. Active Child – “Hanging On”

8. MuteMath – “Allies”

9. The Go! Team – “Buy Nothing Day”

10. Brett Dennen – “Sydney (I’ll Come Running)

Transitioning with Weird Al Yankovic‘s brilliant, pop-parody montage “Polka Face”, I downshift the tempo to the present pace of electronica. The heavy, glitchy, synthy iteration of the Dubstep genre– that has exploded with groups like The Glitch Mob–is a direct answer to my early 2000′s musical prayers. I grew up loving the ferocious synthesizers and  compressed grinding guitars of Nine Inch Nails. But, to my former frustration, no one beyond NIN seemed able to combine rich musical orchestration with the emotional explosiveness of grimy, grinding industrial rock. I was left wanting for years. Over-indulging my prayers, my musical boyfriends The Glitch Mob and Phutureprimitive took Trent Reznor’s previously-proprietary sound and set the essential distorted, industrial elements to danceable beats so spacious that I am offered the room and inspiration to nearly sever my spine “dancing” to each dramatically lagging beat. To illustrate how thoroughly these artists answer my prayers: on track 20, Pretty Lights (my favorite electronic artist – also a Colorado boy) remixed Nirvana, NIN, and Radiohead with his patented soulful Dubstep! This song is literally a linear chronology of my musical life!

11. Weird Al Yankovic – “Polka Face”

12. Daft Punk – “Derezzled (The Glitch Mob Remix)”

13. Nero – “My Eyes”

14. TV on the Radio – “New Cannonball Run”

15. White Stripes – “Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix)”

OK, back to the mix:  Slowly, I sync electronica with similar sounds from the indie realm, including 13 & God’s “Death Major” the most interesting indie hip hop track I’ve found in years and “Monsoons”, an über rare soothing song from my all-time favorite singer, Maynard James Keenan and his newest project Puscifer.

16. 13 & God – “Death Major”
17. Puscifer – “Monsoons”
18. James Blake – “Lindesfarne I & II”
19. Phutureprimitive – “The Changeling”
20. Pretty Lights – “Pretty Lights vs Radiohead vs Nirvana va NIN”

21. Elbow – “Lippy Kids”

My mellowing modulation travels eventually to the heartland of Americana where master story tellers like The Decemberists and Ryan Adams join my idols Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) to hook my heart strings with their ever innovative folk or “prog folk” as I call it.  I weave in a few essential instrumental and indie tracks before bringing in the big guns to close out the amazing year that was 2011.

22. Ryan Adams – “Come Home”

23. The Head & The Heart – “Down in the Valley”

24. Assateague – “The Wind”

25. Other Lives – “Dustbowl III”

26. The Decemberists – “Don’t Carry it All”

27. My Morning Jacket – “Outta My System”

28. Noah & The Whale – “L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.”

29. Ben Folds – “Sleazy (Tsunami Relief 2011)”

30. Explosions in the Sky – “Trembling Hands”

31. Iron & Wine – “Walking Far From Home”

32. James Vincent McMorrow – “We Don’t Eat”

33. Bon Iver – “Lisbon, OH / Beth / Rest”

*Make sure to take notice of newcomer James Vincent McMorrow, who’s debut album “Early in the Morning” wins my coveted “Favorite Album of 2011″ award.  James recorded all instrumentation on this moving, soulful, heart-felt album and I hope you will join me in supporting his rise to stardom.

As always, I spent an unreasonable amount of time compiling, ordering, and enjoying these tracks and I truly hope you will listen to and enjoy each and every one of them. I implore you to further explore and support the bands on this list (see my previous blog posts for most of them).

I deeply hope I’ve helped you find music that has enriched your life this year! Thanks for listening!

*Final Note: My grandmother Carol Fox passed away this year. She was an amazing woman who inspired much of my love for the arts. I have chosen her beautiful, artistic right eye as the album art for this playlist.

Liger-sized love,

B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.

What do you get when you hand a harp-wielding choir-boy modern synthesizers and drum machines?

:: Something far more commercially viable than one might expect ::

Active Child Pat Grossi lays a lush, orchestral foundation for his creation by stroking his harp (yes, a real harp), belting an operatic falsetto, and drenching everything in dense reverb and effects. The commercial viability arrives when he entices these elements with sultry downtempo grooves.

Active Child‘s full-length debut “You are all I see” is quite physical for me. I frequently purse my lips, scrunch my face and nod along as Grossi leads us from shadowy, airy ambience to shimmering Timberlake-infused sexpop. Some of these tracks are so catchy that I have no choice but to start singing the hook as the song starts (see: “Hanging On” for an example of both of those physical effects.)

Recently, I was lucky enough to catch Active Child opening for long time fav (and recent $ustained Note pick) M83. Seeing Active Child on the M83 bill, and fully trusting M83, I downloaded the Active Child album. I had but three days to digest “You are all I see” before seeing them live… It turned out that Active Child is so up my alley that I knew all the songs by day two. I also believe that this album records the first instance in which I’ve rated 5 sequential tracks with 5 stars, upon a first listen.

I have received comments that there is a trend of intensely 80′s influenced artists monopolizing my $ustained Note picks as of late… I agree… and Active Child is no exception. If Active Child‘s electro drums, synths, and huge reverbs aren’t 80′s enough, check out Grossi’s Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) impression in “Hanging On”. Sporting impressive high and low ranges, I doubt there’s a Catholic priest alive who would deny that this choir-boy has quite the package.

Get Active Child’s debut “You are all I see”

“Playing House” with priests,

B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.  

Puscies,

The opening 16 minutes of Puscifer‘s second album remind me of a quote I read about Maynard James Keenan back in the late 90′s. It read something like,

“I thought the sirens were all women… until I heard Maynard.”

The first three tracks on “Conditions of my parole” deliver what I, among many Maynard fans, have so desperately desired more from his works: his singing voice! The vibrancy emitted from this man’s larynx is so rich that he produces distinct colors in my mind’s eye. His quivering words can suck the air from my lungs and break my heart… a profound upper-body experience overall.

When discussing great singers, I frequently describe their singing as “natural” or “effortless”, but I now realize that I do not feel that way with Maynard. I hear the effort he puts into his singing and it sounds… intense. This effort outpour is likely why I feel him so… thoroughly.

From what I’ve read and watched about this man, he devotes his intensity to everything he does. For instance, Maynard has a vineyard / winery. Their location? The Arizona desert. To the surprise of wine enthusiasts, but to very few of his obsessive fans, Maynard produces a world-class wine in the sun torched sands of Arizona. No matter what he does, the man produces.

Back to the music… Just when you start to think that the 5’7″ man who fronts the enormous TOOL (typically from the back of the stage) has gone totally soft, the track “Telling Ghosts” explodes with compressed industrial synths that might startle Trent Reznor (well, probably not, but they’ll wake you up). Much of the middle of this album drifts in Maynard’s classic A Perfect Circle / TOOL range (no complaints here), but I am very glad to say he concludes with two soothing tunes that again display how comfortably his vivid voice can sit with a mellow mood.

Check out Puscifer “Conditions of My Parole”

“I’m about to drop you, like Kane dropped Abel”,

$tache (yep)

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.  

Mutemath really hit the nail on my head with this one. I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve put out for the last seven years. But I’ve never loved one of their albums. That statement is now a memory. I love this album!

“Odd Soul” oozes rock and roll. This album buzzes many of my favorite sensations in a listening experience as it slides seamlessly from funky, sexy vibes to ear-pounding rock, to mellow electro-melodicism, to explosive jams while totally maintaining it integrity as an album. Check out the flow from “Blood Pressure”, “Heads ups” and “All or Nothing”. These tracks are very different, but clearly intentional.

To my utter delight, Mutemath has [d]evolved into a simultaneously modern and retrospective band. Retaining their roots as a highly polished, millennial, hard-rock band, “Odd Soul” dives into bluesy, 70′s, classic rock, too massive for gigantic stadiums. If Mutemath were around in 1975, they would be opening for Led Zeppelin, but clearly, they merely listen to a shit ton of Zep.

Though they are shooting-up into the same dirty, classic-rock vein as The Black Keys and The White Stripes, Mutemath delivers precisely what I’ve been wishing Jack White would do with his many projects for years. Like whatever White touches, Mutemath rocks with energetic, sexy, grungy grooves. But unlike The White Stripes and the vast majority of White works, Mutemath has an intense focus on melodicism and audio fidelity. Where White pushes the limits of the filthy, analog burning buzz of voice and guitar tones, Paul Meany of Mutemath unapologetically pursues the rich shimmer of a purely performed, well-produced, harmonic hook to achieve his goal. And he has succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded and succeeded (doesn’t that word look ridiculous after 13 times?).

I am buying my copy. Download your copy of Mutemath “Odd Soul” and make your own decision.

“Heads up”,

B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.

Epic. Like everything Anthony Gonzalez has ever produced, “Hurry up, We’re Dreaming” is a gaze up from your shoes into the shimmering starry atmosphere while throwing your arms out wide kind of experience.

In perfect trend-synch with the side-shaved heads of every indie-girl walking around the Mission (insert your hipster neighborhood), this M83 album is achingly 80′s. Many drum patches on “Hurry up, We’re Dreaming” appear to have been borrowed from Depeche Mode synths and Gonzalez departs from his typical soft, airy vocals to send us soaring in Phil Collins-ese.

But just when the disc starts to make that move towards the over-dramatic, “Raconte-Moi Une Historie” bounces in with–undoubtedly–the cutest depiction of a psychedelic trip I have ever heard! I must say though, this tale makes me seriously question the parenting methodologies of this Frenchman.

“Hurry up, We’re Dreaming” is quite the contrast to music release trends of 2011. The modern ability to inexpensively stream & download single tracks from the digital music marketplace has influenced bands & labels to invest less in big, lengthy albums and has effectively produced more singles, remixes, EPs, and short, dense, precise albums. M83 has tossed this trend in the hamper with this 22 track, 72 minute marathon.

I hope you can find the time to enjoy M83 “Hurry up, We’re Dreaming”

“Wait”,
B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.

City & Colour is a literal description of the singer/songwriter Dallas Green. You see, “Dallas” is a city in Texas and “Green” is… ok ok you get it.

Dallas belts-out folk songs drenched in drama. His passionate songs are a unique folk experience due to his vibrant, bluesy white-soul fueled voice, and his intricate rhythms, which are undoubtedly remnants of his previous role as the lead singer/guitarist in Alexisonfire, a superbly technical post-hardcore/screamo band. Here’s an example of Alexisonfire‘s madness to illustrate the vast scope of talent this man wields.

I’ve only seen Mr. Green live once, but I certainly felt his power as my date—despite being entirely unfamiliar with City & Colour—was far more swayed by Dallas’ sexy soul than with her date… He is just that good.

Check out City & Colour “Little Hell”

“Hope for now”,
B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient. 

I would describe this album as quirky, silly, awkward and even annoying at times; though I’m pretty darn sure everyone who gives “Wondervisions” a listen will find it to be a helluvalotoffun!

Delicate Steve is a 5 piece outfit playing an engaging blend of electro-instrumental rock. This Brooklyn band drifts through a bunch of different styles but the sound that trends from this disc on standout tracks like “Wondervisions” and “The Ballad of Speck and Pebble” makes me imagine Ratatat‘s pitch-shifty guitar tone spooning with Miike Snow‘s smiley, carefree demeanor.

Turns out Delicate Steve is a 23 year old kid who recorded this nugget in his room with a slew of pedals and an array of instruments. According to his bio, Steve plays over 40 instruments, but when NPR’s Frannie Kelley caught up with Steve to ask for an instrument count, Steve replied: “Probably not 40. I couldn’t even name 40 musical instruments… I don’t even know if there are 40 musical instruments.”

This Delicate Steve bio earned him oodles of attention from the booking community as it was written by former Spin Magazine writer Chuck Klosterman, who had supposedly never heard the band. The bio starts “The Critics Unilaterally Concur: Delicate Steve is a band who creates music”. Following a hilariously lengthy pseudo-depiction of their music, each member describes their goals:

Steve: to create music that lasts substantially longer than forever.
Mikey: to make people hate Bruce Springsteen.
Rob: to seduce every female journalist he encounters.
Adam: no defined goal.
Mike: the political liberation of Quebec.

I highly recommend you read Klosterman’s full Delicate Steve Bio in Kelley’s article here on NPR while listening to Delicate Steve‘s “Wondervisions“.

Flyin’ High,
<B $ <B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.

For the past few years I’ve had this sneaking feeling that I should be a My Morning Jacket fan. I have consistently heard their rave reviews, frequently met their devoted fans, and even asked myself “why don’t you listen to MMJ?” after Shazaming their songs. But their first four albums never, ever found their way to my playlists.

When “Evil Urges” hit the shelves in 2008, I finally enjoyed their work and even fell for one of their tracks “Highly Suspicious”. I remember thinking that MMJ floats nicely in the psychedelic-indie clouds that The Flaming Lips usually permeates; only MMJ twists their listeners in a heavier, folkier, more cumulonimbus-like fashion.

On their fifth disc “Circuital”, My Morning Jacket‘s styles continue their long, strange trip: leading the listener in myriad directions. One could propose this album’s only consistent quality is quality. Each song is quite different from the rest, yet each is written and produced so well that each feels as if it could be considered “quintessential” in whatever genre they momentarily espouse. And yet even after recognizing how solid this album is, I still wouldn’t have considered myself a big MMJ fan.

Then I saw them live. A few weeks ago, on the High Sierra Music Festival main stage, MMJ wrought a thunderous performance that felt both classic and futuristic. Even the band Dr Dog took time during their set to rave about MMJ. They claimed MMJ “to have something that the rest of us just don’t”. MMJ’s musical mojo is massive and their energy is infectious, especially their lead singer Jim James. James is a large man and if strong stimulants weren’t catapulting his substantial frame around that stage, he was likely possessed by something either demonic or heavenly (maybe the forces of heaven and hell were battling for real estate inside of James – which could explain the vast variety of MMJ styles… yes, that must be it. Case closed).

In any case, I am now a large My Morning Jacket fan and I recommend you download “Circuital”, their strongest album yet album yet, and see them live as soon as you can.

“Holdin on to Black Metal”,
B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient. 

OK, let’s be honest, this album is probably outside of your comfort zone. But, live a little, as this experience is unique.

Following a show two years ago, Casey Crescenzo, the man behind the epic prog-rock band The Dear Hunter, confided in me that they were working on a series of EPs that would musically emulate the primary color spectrum: ROYGBIV with Black and White opening and closing the set. The band recently released this vast variety of musical styles in a series of nine vinyl EPs entitled “The Color Spectrum” with each color being illustrated by four tracks. The entire collection is 37 tracks and extends over 100 minutes. Luckily for you busy, ADD, Facebookers, Casey is compassionate and has produced a standard album version with but 11 songs that encompass his audible message. I personally do not believe he chose the songs that best illuminated each color, but of course, this is entirely subjective depending on one’s experience with colors and relating music to colors (which I do frequently).

Here’s a quick description of each of the tracks on the standard version of “The Color Spectrum”

Black – “Filth and Squalor” – This song is raw, vicious, and abrasive with a undeniable hook. The driving intentionality of this song well characterizes late 90′s and early 2000′s nu-metal genre. Staind would be proud.

Red – “Deny it All” – Fast, driving, excitable, emotional, heart-beat pounding music channeling 90′s punk rock and the anthemic rock of the 2000′s. For similar artists, see No Use for a Name, Lagwagon, and Muse.

Orange – “But there’s wolves?” – Funky prog rock with a slight nod to Bon Jovi.

Yellow – “She’s always singing” – The Dear Hunter show a glimpse of their deep repertoire with this song. Upbeat and uplifting, this track has elements of 50′s rockabilly and bubble-gum pop while feeling downright pleasant.

Green – “Things that hide away” – A delicate and reflective folk tune; this song ponders big questions but is satisfied with the inability to answer said questions.

Green – “The Canopy” – This has an americana / country feel, featuring little brown jug baselines, slide guitar, rhythmic acoustic strumming, floating harmonies, and a catchy chorus.

Blue – “Trapdoor” – As one might expect, the blue song has a slow tempo and an emotional, contemplative feel. His lyrics are personal and reflect on heart-felt experiences with a significant other.

Indigo – “What time taught us” – Considered to be the color representing the forthcoming stage of human evolution: entirely sustainable and living in harmony with nature and technology, Indigo is elucidated with a futuristic, psychedelic, and well-produced sound.

Violet – “Lillian” – Sly and sultry with a french vaudevillian feel, “Lillian” is sexy in all aspects including it’s title. I picture lying on plush vaneer pillows during the verses of this track. This is probably my favorite Dear Hunter style.

White – “Home” delivers a pure and confident message about the support we have at home.

White – “Fall and Flee” – a literal “Goodbye”. I hear an interesting lyric “I’ll take comfort in knowing that this melody has never been sung with these words.” It’s commonly said that every melody has been written, but Casey has a point, that his melody has never been paired with his words and there is meta onomatopoeia in singing a melody about a melody…

To present even a little more context on this brilliant band, this nine EP series is being released smack dab in the middle of Casey’s six album series about the birth, life, and death of a 20th century boy. Legendary concept-album producing bands Pink Floyd and The Who would be proud that their torch is being carried with vigor and talent by The Dear Hunter.

Go hear The Dear Hunter “The Color Spectrum”

But there’s wolves?
B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.

Recently attending an amazing Iron & Wine concert, I was introduced to a girl who sends out a weekly music blast… sound familiar? Sadly, my new music critic colleague found herself deeply disappointed with Iron & Wine’s adventurous re-invention of his archetypical folk songs. I protested that Sam re-orchestrates his live music to deliver his adoring fans an expanded enjoyment of his brilliance, but she was unswayed and bailed before the show even finished… Baffled by, but impressed with her adamant vigor, I downloaded the band she’d recommended me earlier. Although she is entirely mistaken about live Iron & Wine, she is entirely accurate about Other Lives.

“Tamer Animals”, the second Other Lives album, carries an ominous western mystique through a lushness that floats across each song creating a consistent, confident whole. Tracks like “For 12″ and “Dustbowl III” make me want to saddle a horse, gnaw on a long piece of grass, pull a cowboy hat to mostly obscure my watchful eyes, and ride off into a red sunset.

You will have little choice in noticing songwriter Jesse Tabish’s soft, sweet vocals on “Tamer Animals” but take care to take note of the rhythm on this album. The beats are simple but essential to the stirring product Other Lives have fashioned for us.

Download Other Lives “Tamer Animals”

Then come support them live with me on July 6th at the Independent (or see them in your town).

“As I lay my head down”,
B$B

Disclaimers:
Yes, this is file-sharing.  The year is 2011 and all means of media are increasingly available to us.  The purpose of music is to be enjoyed.  I download many albums each week and listen to them.  I have a pact with myself that whatever truly amazes me, I buy.  Typically, I further support the groups by buying tickets to their concerts and purchasing their swag.  This dance of ethics works for me.  It may not work for you and that’s OK.  I merely ask that whatever you truly love, you support in whatever form you feel to be sufficient.