2011: Favorite movies

A little later than usual, but gave myself some time to catch up on some movies and since it's Oscar day (n.b. I hate the Oscars and all awards-giving enterprises with a passion), here's my list of favorite movies from last year. I saw most of the movies I wanted to see and a handful of crappy kids movies I wish I hadn't (looking at you Cars 2!!).

1. A Separation (as perfect a drama as you can imagine, perfect weaves multiple threads and conflicts within a gripping, totally believable story while making shades-of-gray commentary on religion, class, sexism, relationships, family and parenthood)
2. Tree of Life (who cares what it's about, a total joy to watch, I thought)
3. The Muppets (I love nostalgia and this was pure nostalgia in its most enjoyable form... a nostalgic movie that's about nostalgia, hilarious and utterly benign. if it didn't make you smile, there's something wrong with you)
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 (epic and fitting finish to perhaps the greatest series of our lifetimes)
5. The Descendants (wonderfully nuanced, perfectly acted. great film)
6. Drive (so very quiet, so very intense, and then... so very (and very unexpectedly) bloody)
7. Bridesmaids (year's best comedy, hands down, not even close)
8. Hugo (a first for me: I actually enjoyed the 3D in this movie)
9. Melancholia (so much to look at, so much to think about)
10. The Artist (a fine film, total Oscar bait, but it was a weak year for movies, so it makes the top ten)

Honorable mention (a.k.a I also enjoyed... in alphabetical order): The Adjustment Bureau,The Future, Midnight In Paris, Rango, Source Code, Super 8, Young Adult

2011:: Favorite Shows

2011 was an insanely good year for me seeing live music. The quantity was a bit ridiculous, having clocked in at over 100 shows... not bad for an old man with two kids and an average hour trip into the city. But still, don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing, and the quality of the music I saw was what really made it a "best ever" year for me seeing music. Got to cross a bunch of live music experiences off my bucket list (e.g. Prince, Midnight Ramble with Levon Helm, Yo La Tengo Hanukkah show, Radiohead in a club...), saw a bunch of brand new (or brand new to me) music that really inspired and saw pretty much every band on my "favorite/gotta see" list at least once and in many cases multiple times. It was a very good year, I consider myself blessed.

The stats:
170 bands seen
102 shows
84 nights(or days) out
43 different venues

Here are my favorite shows of the year using some sort of inexplicable ranking system, although I had a blast at pretty much 90% of the shows I saw, literally.

Thanks to all those that helped make my year in live music possible:

1. Masada Marathon @ NYC Opera 3/30/2011: It's hard to explain really what Masada is, but if you wanted to find out, going to this show would have done the trick. Twelve different groups playing music from essentially the same songbook over the widest range of genres & styles imaginable. Nearly every ensemble was great and the result was a very special evening of music in a very special room. 
2. LCD Soundsystem @ Madison Square Garden 4/2/2011: I saw a lot of "epic proprtions" kind of shows this year, but this was the epic-est of them all. I've heard of going out in style, but this was ridiculous and ridiculously fun. Midway through this night I tweeted "I love live music! I love live music! I love live music!" It was that kind of night. Luckily snagged a ticket during presale on my mobile while sitting in a doctor's office waiting room. It was that kind of year. So glad I was there. (funny how this was just a few days after show #1).   
3. Phish @ Superball IX Watkins Glen 7/3/2011: There was a definite "go big" theme to my year and Phish's "go big" festival event is always a treat. Wasn't even planning on hitting this one until things fell into place and I had low-to-no expectations going in. Thankfully they delivered with a show that spanned their repertoire new and old, featured killer jams and seemed to go on and on and on, as my smile grew bigger and bigger and bigger. Can't believe how much I still love this band.
4. Portugal. The Man @ TLA Philly 10/23; Terminal 5 10/20; Westcott Theater 5/28; Studio @ Webster Hall 6/6 et al: I saw Portugal. The Man six (6) times this year and they pretty much blew me away each and every time. All the shows had their own distinct feel to them and each one was special to me. P.tM had a very special 2011 and I'm overjoyed I got to share it with them. Their live show is an intense, singular experience and I'm itching at the chance to put another show on my calendar in 2012... can't come soon enough. Terminal 5 review.
5. My Morning Jacket @ Madison Square Garden 12/14/2011: Speaking of epic, MMJ knows how to rise to the occasion and the show they put on at MSG a couple weeks ago is still ringing in the ears of my soul. Easily the best My Morning Jacket show I've seen in 8+ years of seeing them. My review is here.
6. Radiohead @ Roseland Ballroom 9/29/2011: Through some I'm-an-idiot circumstances, my wife and I missed a Radiohead MSG show on our anniversary last time they were in town. Again, through some amazing Ticketmaster luck, I was able to rectify my mistake and, babysitting secured, treat the two of us to a spectacular show. There really are few bands better.
7. The Bad Plus @ Village Vanguard 1/1/2011: It was the first day of the year, the first show of the year and 364 days later, few sets of music I saw were better. I've seen the Bad Plus more times than even I can believe, but this was one of their best. Shaking off the cobwebs of the NYE show the night before, they were in fine, free-flowing form. These three rarely disappoint & almost always inspire, but this night was a step above. 
8. Gillian Welch/David Rawlings @ Beacon Theater 10/22/2011: A big stage, completely barren save for a man and wife, a couple microphones and a guitar each. From this simple set-up, some of the tastiest, most soul-enriching music you could ever imagine was spun. When it comes to Americana, the conversation for me begins and ends with these two and they outdid themselves on this night, two sets of magic spent with some of my favorite people in the world.
9. Anders Osborne @ Sullivan Hall 1/1/2011: Technically, this show happened in this year, a late night, face melting rage. Sometimes you're just in the mood to watch a guitar get abused by someone with complete mastery over his instrument and Anders was in an otherworldly zone the entire set. 
10. Newport Folk Festival @  Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI 7/30 & 31/2011, : A year of live music just ain't complete without a good, old fashioned binge of music at a festival and you could do a lot worse than Newport. New discoveries, old favorites, Gillian Welch, great weather and an unbeatable vibe. Already pretty sure I'll be missing this in 2012 and already pretty bummed about it.
11. Broken Social Scene Terminal 5, 1/18/2011: If my 12 BSS show was my last, so be it, they were amazing once again.
12. Gary Clark Jr @ Mercury Lounge, 12/13/2011: Shows at Mercury Lounge are almost always a treat -- you always just get the feel of something real of rock and roll happening the way it was intended. And every once in a while there's a little magic and you get to see the music before it's the music. That was definitely the feeling in the Merc for this show as Gary Clark Jr announced his arrival with a blistering set of music that shook my musical world for certainly several years to come. My review.
13. Freak's Ball XI @ Brooklyn Bowl, 2/2/2011: C'mon, you knew this was gonna be on the list, right? Easily the most fun of my year every year. Personal faves El Ten Eleven, gobs of Scott F'in Metzger, a room full of friendly faces and, oh, what a beautiful buzz!
14. Levon Helm Band/Steven Bernstein's MTO @ Midnight Ramble, Woodstock, NY 12/10/2011: Sometimes you get to go to a show and it doesn't really matter how good the music is. This was one of those nights. A very special experience and a nice juicy line through another item on the bucket list... also the music was pretty good, especially that opening set. Made me feel lucky to see music in NYC even though it wasn't in the city.
15. White Denim @ Bowery Ballroom 6/25/2011: White Denim went from a band I really, really loved to a band on "the list." An amazing album to top their previous amazing album and a live show that was even better than the last time they blew me away. The White Denim train is leaving the station and believe me, it's gonna be as good a time as you can imagine, don't get caught without a seat. One of the best damn live bands out there. My review.

Honorable mention: 

12/31/2011 Phish

3/19/2011 Anders Osborne

4/24/2011 Grails

8/19/2011 Burnham, Martin, Wood, Mr Rourke

10/29/2011 Medeski, Martin & Wood/Antibalas

6/24/2011 The Badwagon (The Bad Plus + Jason Moran Bandwagon)

12/6/2011 Scheinman/Frisell/Blade

9/19/2011 Tune-Yards

8/5/2011         Medeski, Martin & Wood et al

11/26/2011 The Musical Box

9/19/2011 The Bad Plus

4/11/2011 Toro Y Moi/Braids

2/7/2011         Prince 

10/12/2011 Trey Anastasio

9/13/2011 Fruit Bats/Vetiver

12/30/2011 Phish

8/11/2011 Bustle In Your Hedgerow

9/25/2011 Steve Malkmus & the Jicks

11/8/2011 The Sea and Cake/Brokeback

11/19/2011 Tinariwen

4/9/2011         Bardo Pond

3/6/2011         Middle Brother/Deer Tick/Dawes

5/25/2011 Bright Light Social Hour/Black Taxi

12/11/2011 The War on Drugs

2/9/2011         Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea

4/6/2011        Widespread Panic (1; 114)

10/13/2011 Iron and Wine

8/5/2011         El Ten Eleven 

8/16/2011 Mischief & Mayhem

10/1/2011 Black Taxi/Bright Light Social Hour

3/15/2011 Godspeed You! Black Emperor

2/26/2011 Galactic/Trombone Shorty/High & Mighty Brass Band

1/15/2011 The Punch Brothers

7/29/2011 Deer Tick/Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside

3/29/2011 The Dears

5/15/2011 Yellowbirds/Wolf!

7/15/2011 The Slip/Well-Dressed Groomsmen

7/14/2011 The Slip

11/23/2011 A.A. Bondy/Golden Leaves

1/24/2011 The Decemberists/Wye Oak

9/24/2011 Megafaun/Doug Paisley

11/13/2011 Manchester Orchestra/White Denim

10/18/2011 Wild Flag/Eleanor Friedberger

12/1/2011 J Roddy Walston & the Business

12/3/2011 George Porter & the Runnin' Pardners

11/2/2011 Feist/Happiness Project

12/3/2011 Charles Bradley & the Extraordinaires

12/21/2011 Yo La Tengo/Spent

12/13/2011 Wolf!/Jim Campilongo Trio

4/29/2011 Holy Ghost!

5/12/2011 John Vanderslice

2011:: Favorite Albums

All told, I probably listened to about 400 albums in 2011. Tough to pick favorites, but here it goes nonetheless. Don't pretend these are the "best" just my favorites, subject to change as quickly as tomorrow. Plenty of great stuff that didn't make the cut.


As in the past, grouping them together...

The top ten (in alphabetical order):

Blitzen Trapper -- American Goldwing
After a bit of a dud (in my opinion) with "Destroyer of the Void," BT is back in fine "Furr" form with this release. As perfect a rock and roll album as I've heard this year.


Danger Mouse -- Rome

Growing up, the Good the Bad and the Ugly was one of my favorite movies, due, in no small part, to the soundtrack (which I also owned). Here producer extraordinaire and Daniele Luppi recreate and update the feel of those old Morricone soundtracks perfectly. With sweeping cinematic instrumental tracks and terrific vocal contributions from heavyweights Jack White and Norah Jones, Rome is a soundtrack to a movie we can only wish existed.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Either you find Colin Meloy & Co. to be a bunch of pretentious Portlanders or you can't get enough of them. Chalk me up for the latter column and their latest release proves to me why. They've been all over the place lately, but this finds the band firmly in the Americana business with superlative songwriting and crisp acoustic instrumentation.

Bill Frisell -- All We Are Saying...

Hands down my favorite jazz album of the year. Frisell is a constant, usually pumping out 2 or 3 amazing albums a year and contributing to a few others. This record is all John Lennon covers performed to perfection by an all-star cast of Frisell regulars: Jenny Scheinman, Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr and Kenny Wolleson. As with any great album of covers, some are true to form while others take the source material as a launching point for further exploration. The instrumentation -- Frisell's dreamy guitar, Scheinman's violin, Leisz's pedal steel -- feels like it's built specifically for my ears. If you take my advice to listen to just ONE track this year, their take on "Across the Universe" is the single best thing I've heard in 2011.

Fruit Bats -- Tripper

Something about this album just makes me happy. I'm usually not at a loss for adjectives and metaphors to describe the music I love, but the phrase I keep coming back to with this one is "good music." Just well-conceived and wonderfully crafted pop rock music. Highly recommended.

Portugal. The Man -- In the Mountain in the Cloud

What can I say, I'm obsessed with Portugal. The Man. With good reason, they've popped out a "best of year" album almost like clockwork and this year was no different. Impossibly matching radio-friendly hooks with dense, psychedelic production ready-made for jamming in the live show, PtM proved that they are, indeed, at the top of their game. As fresh as exciting on the 100th listen as the first... take it from me.

Smith Westerns -- Dye It Blonde
Sure, it's derivative as hell, but if you're gonna rip off a sound you a) should choose some damn good music to copy and b) do a damn good job pulling it off. Smith Westerns may sound like some bastard child of T Rex and Mott the Hoople, but don't it just sound so good? Rock and roll at its finest and the songs are just so great. Loved it from first listen and hasn't gotten stale yet.


Gillian Welch -- The Harrow and the Harvest

Dear Gillian, take as much time as you'd like between albums, if they're going to be this f'in good, I'll wait 20 years if I have to.... Welch & her soulmate David Rawlings have done it again. Timeless. Simple. Pure. Amazing. If I were a musician I would probably hate these two for making it look so damn easy. Either you love this album or you have no soul.

White Denim - D

Edging their way into my obsessive can't-get-enough nature this year was White Denim. I've devoured their past output, but with "D" they've taken a leap into don't-miss territory. Jambands as we knew and loved them may be dead, but as long as bands like White Denim exist, that itch will continue to be scratched. Somehow combining the technical dexterity of Yes with the soulful southern jam of the Allmans or WSP, White Denim may very well be the best thing going these days.

Yellowbirds -- The Color

Here's what I wrote for Hidden Track about the Yellowbirds album: "Their biggest fans would contest that the now-dormant Apollo Sunshine was a band ahead of its time, but AS guitarist Sam Cohen’s new project, Yellowbirds is decidedly *of* the here and now. Cohen doubles as a visual artist with a focus on collage, which is no surprise because every track on Yellowbirds’ debut album, The Color, is a meticulously crafted collage of sounds. Psychedelic reverberating guitar and echoing harmonized vocals swirl with organ and otherworldly autoharp to beef up the already strong set of material Cohen brought to the studio. The result is a keep-hitting-repeat experience where every listen brings about new discoveries and details.  We’ve heard of a phoenix rising from the ashes, we just never knew that the bird was yellow."

Just one notch below (albums 11-25 in alphabetical order)  

The Dears -- Degeneration Street

Deerhoof -- Deerhoof vs. Evil
Eulogies -- Tear the Fences Down
Fleet Foxes -- Helplessness Blues
Eleanor Friedberger -- Last Summer
Grails -- Deep Politics
The Head and the Heart -- The Head and the Heart
Iron & Wine -- Kiss Each Other Clean

Buddy Miller -- The Majestic Silver Strings

Stephen Malkmus -- Mirror Traffic
My Morning Jacket -- Circuital

Real Estate -- Days
TuNe-YaRdS -- WHOKILL
Toro Y Moi -- Underneath the Pine
Woods -- Sun and Shade


Honorable Mention
Bardo Pond -- Bardo Pond
The Barr Brothers -- The Barr Brothers
Battles -- Gloss Drop
Beastie Boys -- Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
A. A. Bondy -- Believers
Brett Dennen -- Loverboy
The Dodos -- No Color
Elbow -- Build a Rocket Boys!
Holy Ghost -- Holy Ghost!
Joan As Police Woman -- The Deep Field
Megafaun -- Megafaun
Middle Brother -- Middle Brother
Radiohead -- The King of Limbs
Gruff Rhys -- Hotel Shampoo
Josh Rouse and the Long Vacations -- Josh Rouse and the Long Vacations
Bob Schneider -- A Perfect Day

Andy Statman -- Old Brookly
Tea Leaf Green -- Radio Tragedy

Tedeschi Trucks Band -- Revelator
Thao & Mirah -- s/t
Chris Thile & Michael Daves -- Sleep With One Eye Open
Unknown Mortal Orchestra -- Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Vetiver -- The Errant Charm
John Zorn -- Nova Express


Finally, sometimes it doesn't take a full album to make a statement. 


My 12 favorite EP's of the year

1. 1. 
      
      Broken Bells -- Meyrin Fields
      Carolina Chocolate Drops/Luminescent Orchestrii
      Gary Clark Jr -- The Bright Lights EP
      Collections of Colonies of Bees -- Giving
      The Decemberists -- Long Live the King
      Here We Go Magic -- The January EP
      Junip -- In Every Direction/Without You
      The Sea and Cake -- The Moonlight Butterfly
      Superhuman Happiness -- The Physical EP
      Typhoon -- A New Kind of House
      Kurt Vile -- So Outta Reach
      White Denim -- Take Place in Your Work Space

1. 
   

2011:: Favorite Artist of the Year

(photo stolen from Scott Bernstein)

Once again, having a little fun with my year-end retrospective and picking a band or musician who had a big year with respect to my personal music-going and music listening.

Last year's pick was Jim James.
2009 = Portugal. The Man
2008 = Apollo Sunshine
2000's rundown

Having been lucky enough to see and hear so much music in 2011, there were plenty of good choices to pick from. If I was being true to myself, Portugal. The Man would be the pick (saw them 6 freakin' times and one of my favorite albums of the year), but they were my favorite in 2009, and c'mon, no repeats! Other worthy picks could easily have been White Denim (blew me away live twice, top 10 album of the year and a pretty sweet EP taboot) or even the Middle Brother/Dawes/Deer Tick/Delta Spirit family which had multiple great albums and shows throughout the year.

When it comes down to it, though, I decided to get a little historical, risk whatever indie cred I have and go with Medeski, Martin and Wood who celebrated their 20th year in existence with a superlative year of making music. Whether as a trio or in random other configurations, it seemed barely a month in 2011 went by without the opportunity to see some sort of project involving multiple members of MMW. Alas, I saw only a tiny fraction of them, but every time it was something special, whether it was an August resideNYC(TM) in the cool, intimate Whitney Museum space or a big MMW+Anitbalas Halloween blowout in Terminal 5.

Personally, I saw:

• an awesome mini-set from Medeski, Martin & Dunn (Trevor Dunn) playing as part of the John Zorn Masada fest at the NYC Opera
• MMW at the Whitney, one set with the master musicians of Jajouka and another with John Scofield
• a second night at the Whitney with BMW + Mr Rourke (Charlie Burnham, Medeski and Wood).
• that awesome Halloween show at Terminal 5. Review here.

All of these were amazingly groovy, mind+body music sets. I loved every note. But, again, this was just a small taste of what these guys did this year. NYC taper extraordinaire, Scott Bernstein (@scott_bernstein) captured so much of their output this year, it'd take you a month just to digest it all:

(a flavor in reverse chronological order, click on links for downloads)

• 12/11 John Medeski sitting in with Club D'Elf
• 12/2 Mago & Wicked Knee @ Helsinki Hudson
• 12/1 Mago & Wicked Knee @ Le Poisson Rouge
• 10/29 MMW + Antibalas @ Terminal 5
• 8/26 MMW w/ DJ Logic @ Whitney Museum
• 8/19 Martin/Wood/Burnham/Mr Rourke @ Whitney Museum
• 8/16 Wood Brothers @ City Winery
• 8/5 MMW + Scofield @ Whitney Museum
• 6/11 MMW @ Summerstage
• 5/11 Wicked Knee @ Sullivan Hall

The trio didn't release an album proper this year, but instead doled out a few (FREE!) 20th anniversary tracks at a time, which included every kind of music you might expect from MMW -- from DJ Olive remixes, to can't-get-no-funkier jams; from total sonic noise jams to (nearly)straight jazz... so that by the end of the year there essentially was a full album of music to enjoy. Not to mention a great new Wood Brothers album and a Medeski, Martin, Wood and Scofield live release.

There were a lot of great acts that kinda owned 2011, but through my eyes, having done it for so long, it's amazing and awe-inspiring how much Medeski, Martin & Wood owned their 20th year.

2011 Year End Mixes: #4 Sunburn Summer

Happy end-of-year!

I'll be doing 4 mixes of tunes for some of my favorite music from 2011, each playlist will be a triple-strength minimix = 18 tracks, not necessarily the "best" music, but stuff I enjoyed this year and hopefully you will too. Some of these were on minimixes throughout the year, but most were not.

Split a year into 4 parts and you get four seasons, so that's how we'll do it. One a day thru Friday.

The first mix was Fall Folk
The second mix was Winter Women
The third mix was Psych Spring

Today's mix is Sunburn Summer

Enjoy!

Stream at:
Spotify
Rhapsody

Sunburn Summer:
01 At The Farm -- White Denim
02 End of the Night -- Smith Westerns
03 Lonely Boy -- The Black Keys
04 Bright Lights -- Gary Clark Jr.
05 Intimate Debris -- Eulogies
06 High Ideals -- Elbow
07 Tangie and Ray -- Fruit Bats
08 Got It All (This Can't Be Living Now) -- Portugal. The Man
09 Windows -- Broken Bells
10 Gmyl -- Superhuman Happiness
11 Fine Fine -- Josh Rouse
12 Monkeys Uptown -- Iron and Wine
13 Easy To Be Your Lover -- Tea Leaf Green
14 Booty City -- Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
15 Say My Name -- Holy Ghost
16 Stubborn Comfort -- Medeski, Martin and Wood
17 Tongue Tied -- Grouplove
18 Holdin on to Black Metal -- My Morning Jacket

2011 Favorite Albums mix (Spotify)
2011 CD Pick of the Week mix (Spotify)
2011 minimixes

2011 Year End Mixes: #3 Psych Spring

Happy end-of-year!

I'll be doing 4 mixes of tunes for some of my favorite music from 2011, each playlist will be a triple-strength minimix = 18 tracks, not necessarily the "best" music, but stuff I enjoyed this year and hopefully you will too. Some of these were on minimixes throughout the year, but most were not.

Split a year into 4 parts and you get four seasons, so that's how we'll do it. One a day thru Friday.

The first mix was Fall Folk
The second mix was Winter Women

Today's mix is "Psych Spring"

Enjoy!

Stream at:
Spotify
Rhapsody

Psych Spring:
01 Real Slow -- Megafaun
02 Pushing Onlys -- Woods
03 Covers -- The Sea and Cake
04 The Rest of My Life -- Yellowbirds
05 Cowboys In The Void -- Quilt
06 Thought Ballune -- Unknown Mortal Orchestra
07 Ice Cream (Featuring Matias Aguayo) -- Battles
08 Tulip -- Here We Go Magic
09 City Reprise #12 -- The War On Drugs
10 Christopher Columbus -- Gruff Rhys
11 It's Real -- Real Estate
12 Society Is My Friend -- Kurt Vile
13 Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie -- Buddy Miller w/ Marc Ribot
14 Give Up the Ghost -- Radiohead
15 Without You -- Junip
16 It's Beyond Me -- Vetiver
17 Across the Universe -- Bill Frisell
18 Outro -- M83

2011 Favorite Albums mix (Spotify)
2011 CD Pick of the Week mix (Spotify)
2011 minimixes

2011 Year End Mixes: #2 Winter Women

Happy end-of-year!

I'll be doing 4 mixes of tunes for some of my favorite music from 2011, each playlist will be a triple-strength minimix = 18 tracks, not necessarily the "best" music, but stuff I enjoyed this year and
hopefully you will too. Some of these were on minimixes throughout theyear, but most were not.

Split a year into 4 parts and you get four seasons, so that's how we'll do it. One a day for the next 3 days.

The first mix was Fall Folk

Today's mix is Winter Women

Enjoy!

Stream at:
Spotify
Rhapsody


Winter Women:
01 My Country -- tUnE-yArDs
02 Go Outside -- Cults
03 Skipping Stones -- Mia Doi Todd
04 The Bad In Each Other -- Feist
05 Scenes from Bensonhurst -- Eleanor Friedberger
06 Write Me a Letter -- Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
07 Damn Love Song -- Amy LaVere
08 My Baby Don't Lie -- Nicole Atkins
09 Pleasuring The Divine -- Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
10 Black -- Danger Mouse feat. Norah Jones
11 Lemonade -- Braids
12 The Magic -- Joan As Police Woman
13 Learning to Ride -- Caitlin Rose
14 Annabelle Lee -- Sarah Jarosz
15 Love is Won -- Lia Ices
16 Eleven -- Thao & Mirah
17 King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-O -- Laura Veirs
18 Shelter -- Tedeschi Trucks Band

Links:
2011 minimixes
2011 favorite albums mix (Spotify)
2011 CD Pick of the Week mix (Spotify)

2011 Year End Mixes: #1 Fall Folk

Happy end-of-year!

I'll be doing 4 mixes of tunes for some of my favorite music from 2011, each playlist will be a triple-strength minimix = 18 tracks, not necessarily the "best" music, but stuff I enjoyed this year and hopefully you will too. Some of these were on minimixes throughout the year, but most were not.

Split a year into 4 parts and you get four seasons, so that's how we'll do it. One a day for the next 4 days.

The first mix is Fall Folk.

Enjoy!

Stream at:
Spotify:
Rhapsody:

Links:
2011 minimixes
2011 favorite albums mix (Spotify)
2011 CD Pick of the Week mix (Spotify)

Fall Folk:
01 Battery Kinzie -- Fleet Foxes
02 Million Dollar Bill -- Middle Brother
03 Ashes & Fire -- Ryan Adams
04 On My Knees -- Seryn
05 Ookpik Waltz -- Chris Thile
06 Dust Bowl Children -- Alison Krauss
07 Old Mythologies -- The Barr Brothers
08 Drmz -- A. A. Bondy
09 Bottle In My Hand -- Hayes Carll
10 Undercover Dad -- Jonny Corndawg
11 Eitan And Zaidy -- Andy Statman
12 Lovin' In My Baby's Eyes -- Ollabelle
13 Saw You First -- Givers
14 Hospital -- The Roadside Graves
15 Ghosts -- The Head and the Heart
16 Robin Egg Blue -- Cass McCombs
17 Molly-O -- Steve Earle
18 Rise To Me -- The Decemberists

minimix: Archival2011

Here are some tracks from new archival releases, newish, old and really old,  for your rocking weekend. Year-end mixes forthcoming

Enjoy!

Spotify:
Rhapsody

01 Playing In The Band -- The Grateful Dead
02 Chest Fever -- Levon Helm
03 War / No More Trouble -- Bob Marley
04 Black-Eyed Katy --  Phish
05 Boban (Mere Yaara Dildara) --  Galactic
06 Spanish Castle Magic -- Jimi Hendrix

minimix: RandomFaves2011.4

More music for your weekend.

Enjoy!

All the minimixes that ever were
Spotify
Rhapsody
RandomFaves2011.1
RandomFaves2011.2
RandomFaves2011.3

01 Tongue Tied -- Grouplove
02 Minah Bird -- My Sad Captains
03 Lost & Lewd -- Quilt
04 Te Amo -- Atlas Sound
05 Untitled -- Seryn
06 Bright Lights -- Gary Clark Jr.

minimix: RandomFaves2011.3

Enjoy! Probably the next mixes will be year-end mega-mix style, but we'll see...

Spotify
Rhapsody
RandomFaves2011.1
RandomFaves2011.2

01 Shanghai Cigarettes -- Caitlin Rose
02 Row Jimmy -- The Decemberists
03 Back Alley Blues -- The Deep Dark Woods
04 Amplifiers -- Atlas Sound
05 No Real Reason -- White Denim
06 Just A Song -- Girls

minimix: Instrumental2011.2

A few days early for your travel & holiday listening.

Enjoy!

Spotify:
Rhapsody:
Instrumental2011.1

01 Old Brooklyn -- Andy Statman
02 Weight Of Cancer -- Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
03 Succubus -- Uri Caine
04 Black Wall Street -- Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey
05 At The Farm -- White Denim
06 Less is Moi -- Stuart Duncan

minimix: Instrumental2011.1

Sucker for instrumental music of all stripes.

Enjoy!

Spotify
Rhapsody

01 The Gambling Priest -- Danger Mouse
02 Chimera -- Talkdemonic
03 Kinder Blumen -- Real Estate
04 Etude -- The New Gary Burton Quartet
05 Scotch and Milk -- Andrew Bird
06 Schiphol -- Russian Circles

minimix: Folk2011.3

A little Americana for your Veterans Day weekend. Enjoy!

Spotify:
Rhapsody
Folk2011.1
Folk2011.2

01 Ashes & Fire -- Ryan Adams
02 Fingers To The Bone -- Brown Bird
03 Chasin’ Skies -- Sierra Hull
04 Northern Island -- Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers
05 Wilderness -- Middle Brother
06 High Water Blues -- The Jayhawks

minimix: Groovy2011.2

Everybody around the world gets funky in their own way.

Enjoy!

Spotify
Rhapsody
Groovy2011.1

01 Web of Deception -- Thievery Corporation
02 Sleepwalker -- Nostalgia 77
03 Kreuzberg -- Federico Aubele
04 Tenere Taqqim Tossam -- Tinariwen
05 Supercomputed -- Cornershop
06 F*ck You Guys -- Medeski, Martin and Wood

minimix: Covers2011.3

It's Halloween time, which means cover song time! Here are some more decent musical costumes from 2011.

Spotify
Rhapsody
Covers2011.1
Covers2011.2

01 Muppet Show Theme Song (The Muppets) -- OK Go
02 Everyday People (Sly and the Stone) --   Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra
03 You Know That I'm No Good (Amy Winehouse) -- Wanda Jackson
04 Take Five (Dave Brubeck) -- Bernie Worrell
05 Long Journey Home (traditional) -- Andy Statman
06 I Feel The Earth Move (Carole King) --  Lonnie Smith

minimix: Ladies2011.2

Enjoy!

Spotify
Rhapsody
Ladies2011.1

01 The Magic  Joan As Police Woman
02 The Bad In Each Other  Feist
03 Passenger  Lisa Hannigan
04 Damn Love Song  Amy LaVere
05 Simple Things  Tedeschi Trucks Band
06 Hushed By Devotion  Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter

minimix: CMJ2011

NYC is gearing up for CMJ next week, a ridiculous smorgasbord of music that would overwhelm even the most seasoned concertgoer. It's barely just a nibble, but here are a few bands playing in the festival you may not know that are worth a look if you have a chance.

Enjoy!

Spotify
Rhapsody

01 In the Pines -- Widowspeak
02 Jello and Juggernauts -- Unknown Mortal Orchestra
03 Chimera -- Talkdemonic
04 All Wires Are Crossed -- Robbers On High Street
05 Give The Devil Back His Heart -- The Barr Brothers
06 Roosevelt Island -- Eleanor Friedberger
07 Shanty -- Bright Light Social Hour

minimix: RandomFaves2011.2

For your weekend listening pleasure.

Enjoy!

Spotify:
Rhapsody:
RandomFaves2011.1

01 Movin' On -- Josh Rouse
02 You're Too Weird -- Fruit Bats
03 Christopher Columbus -- Gruff Rhys
04 Loud Enough to Know -- Peter Wolf Crier
05 Rte. 28/Believers -- A. A. Bondy
06 Real Slow -- Megafaun

minimix: Jazz2011.2 (Frisell)

Somehow Bill Frisell has put out like a zillion records in the past 12 months. Dude is a workhorse. Some selections from his 2011 output lead or supporting role.

Enjoy!

Spotify
Rhapsody
Jazz2011.1

01 I'ts A Long Story (Part One) -- Bill Frisell
02 Across the Universe -- Bill Frisell
03 Sho Nuff Now -- Mocean Worker
04 Cattle Call -- Buddy Miller
05 Lagrimas Mexicanas -- Bill Frisell (not on Spotify)
06 I've Got A Crush On You -- Paul Motian
07 It's A Long Story (Part Two) -- Bill Frisell