We’ve discussed the overrated and the disappointing, but there were also a ton of albums in 2011 that were absolutely great. Since I only make a Top 50, there were several I felt deserved recognition, but had strong superior competition. Here, in alphabetical order, are 25 of the best albums of this year that just missed the final cut. Spotify/Download/Buy links provided below.
R.E.M. doesn’t exactly have a prolific career; after all, they were around for thirty years and gave us fifteen fair-to-classic albums in that time. Ryan Adams is prolific, Paul McCartney is VERY prolific, Bradford Cox is becoming prolific. R.E.M. are merely consistent…..speaking in terms of level of output. The sound of that output, however, has been anything BUT consistent. One listen to this career-spanning anthology will give you an idea of just how many curveballs the Athens-based group threw at their fans.
What’s remarkable about this compilation, now that the band is officially through and we can observe their legacy as a whole, is, even though it highlights the ups and downs of a legendary band’s career, the whole thing is GREAT. Like, really, really great. Even tracks from lackluster points (Up, Reveal, Around the Sun) sound appropriate, and remarkably sharp, in this context. And of course, the major hits are here, surrounded by strong tracks from incredible albums. I think it’s apparent everything R.E.M. put out up through New Adventures In Hi-Fi is just fantastic. With the exception of “A Month of Saturdays,” the new tracks are great examples of a band who have aged well and matured their songwriting to levels of sheer beauty.
Consider Part Lies a testament to the immense songwriting talent in R.E.M., a band that was great even when they had been better before. And consider Part Lies a musical reminder to all of us that we really don’t know what we have until it’s gone.
REM have broken up, and so it is the end of an era. As a final hurrah, the group is releasing a career-spanning retrospective Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011, dropping November 15th. Below are two videos for the group’s final song, to be featured on the collection, “We All Go Back to Where We Belong.” The first video features Kirsten Dunst, and the second has John Giorno.
So R.E.M. broke up today. And that’s a drag, but at least they left us a plethora, years and years worth, of awesome music. I remember when I got New Adventures In Hi-Fi, far and away my favorite R.E.M. album, and one of their most underrated. I won a free CD from a radio station, I was ten years old, and I had never heard of the band before. The lady highly recommended it to me, and since I wasn’t particularly interested in anything else they had, I took it. Later that night, riding home with my parents, I listened to it in the car in the dark. From the Western-tinged “How the West Was Won And Where It Got Us” to the hypnotic “Leave” to the mellow “Electrolite,” I was curiously hooked on this album. I love that radio station lady. And thanks to her, I’ll always love R.E.M.
Happy Friday! Tonight at midnight, the government may very well shut down because the GOP wishes to throw women’s rights under the bus. Surprise! Â Here’s a mix I’ve compiled in celebration of our country’s (and our economy’s) impending doom.
Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.
180. Ok Go – Get Over It
Before they were Internet phenoms jumping around on treadmills, OK Go was a brilliant, quirky power pop group tearing up the mainstream rock radio airwaves. “Get Over It,” the band’s debut single, is quite possibly the loudest, brashest, angriest thing they’ve ever done. And while they’ve maintained their knack for punchy, catchy songs, this track is a raucous introduction from their best album.
It’s dreadful and wet here in the LBK – the city famous for NO draining system. The streets are flooded and there are holes in my shoes. Time to turn the heater back on. But on the plus side: Rainy Day Playlist! These tracks will get you wet. Promise.
