Electric City

Top 30 Albums of 2011

Top albums of the year for me, alphabetical.

• Art Department - The Drawing Board
• Azari & III - Azari & III
• Battles - Gloss Drop
• Bon Iver - Bon Iver
• Com Truise - Galactic Melt
• Crazy P - When We On
• Cut Copy - Zonoscope
• Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care
• Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
• Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials
• Foster the People - Torches
• Friendly Fires - Pala
• Gil Scott Heron/ Jamie XX - We’re New Here
• Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!
• James Blake - James Blake
• Little Dragon - Ritual Union
• M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
• Martyn - Ghost People
• Metronomy - The English Riviera
• My Morning Jacket - Circuital
• Nicolas Jaar - Space is Only Noise
• Radiohead - The King of Limbs
• Rustie - Glass Swords
• SBTRKT - SBTRKT
• Sepalcure - Sepalcure
• The Black Keys - El Camino
• The Field - Looping State of Mind
• The Weeknd - House of Balloons
• TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light
• Washed Out - Within and Without

Top Compilations

• Four Tet - Fabric Live 59
• Jamie Jones - Fabric 59
• Scuba - DJ Kicks
• Wolf and Lamb vs Soul Clap - DJ Kicks

Top 50 Tracks of 2011

Here’s my annual top tunes list, wrapping up 2011. A bit of everything in here, from slow jams to club bangers and everything in between. Since Bon Iver to Rustie is apples to oranges, these are in no particular order - just my faves from a great year in music. Hear the whole list in the widget.

In alphabetical order:

• Avicii - Levels
• Azari & III - Hungry For The Power (Jamie Jones remix)
• Battles f/ Matias Aguayo - Ice Cream
• Bon Iver - Holocene, Perth
• Breakbot - Fantasy (Jacques Renault Remix)
• Burial - Street Halo
• Christophe - The Force
• Clare MaGuire - Ain’t Nobody (Breakage Remix)/ The Last Dance (Danny Byrd Remix)
• Com Truise - Innerfacer
• Cut Copy - Take Me Over
• Deniz Kurtel - The L Word (Original Mix)
• DJ Fresh - Louder
• Eats Everything - Entrance Song
• Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean
• Foster the People - Helena Beat, Houdini
• Frank Ocean - Novacane
• Holy Ghost! - Wait & See
• James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
• Jamie XX - Far Nearer/ Adele - Rolling in the Deep (Jamie XX Mix)/ Gil Scott Heron/ Jamie XX - I’ll Take Care of You
• Jessica 6 f/ Antony and the Johnsons - Prisoner of Love
• Joe Goddard Feat Valentina - Gabriel
• Julio Bashmore - Battle For Middle You
• Kaskade & Skrillex - Lick It
• M83 - Midnight City
• Maceo Plex - Can’t Leave You
• Metronomy - The Look/ The Bay - (Erol Alkan rework)
• Monarchy - You Don’t Want to Dance With Me
• Moonchild - Planetary, Girl
• Morning Factory - Lovedazin
• Mosca - Done Me Wrong/ Bax
• Neon Indian - Polish Girl
• Omar S - Here’s Your Trance Now Dance
• Phantogram - When I’m Small
• Plan B - Love Goes Down (Danny Byrd remix)
• Rustie - All Night
• SBTRKT - Wildfire (f/ Little Dragon)
• Scuba - Adrenalin
• Steffi - Yours (f/ Virginia)
• Switch Vs Andrea Martin I Still Love You (Dubsided)
• Tensnake - Something About You
• The Field - Then It’s White
• The Naked and Famous - Young Blood
• The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love?
• The Weeknd - High for This
• Thelophilus London - Flying Overseas (Soul Clap Efunk Remix)
• Todd Terje - Ragysh
• Toro Y Moi - New Beat
• Treasure Fingers - Take My Hand, It’s Love
• Tropics - Soft Vision
• Washed Out - Amor Fati

Top 40 Songs of 2010

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It’s February 4th, why am I posting best of’s now? When did I start a blog? Why is a baker’s dozen 13 donuts? Well I’ve been busy. And no time like the present. And I avoid the donuts.

Let me preface this with that these are my personal favorite tunes of 2010. Some you may have heard of, some not. After seeing every other blog and magazine’s top tunes of the year, some have been hot, some not. Just hoping you’ll give it a read and maybe find something you may have missed and find something you like.

Grooveshark playlist below, and all tracks available upon request.

James Blake - CMYK or I Only Know (What I Know Now)

Incredible post-dubstep with emotive vocal samples and spacey atmospherics. I couldn’t decide between “CMYK” or” I Only Know”. Full length album dropping early February with a lot of hype to live up to.

Big Boi - Shutterbug
Shutterbug and the Chico Dusty album made it almost feel OK that an Outkast reunion seems destined to never happen.Closest song this year to a real Outkast song: Big Boi w/ Andre 3000 and Sleepy Brown - Lookin 4 Ya

Two Door Cinema Club - Something Good Can Work (The Twelves Mix)
I played an indie rock night over the summer for a 6 week span. It failed miserably (not my fault) but I played this jam every week. Loved the Two Door Cinema Club album and this remix gave it a funky dance beat.

Penguin Prison - The Worse it Gets (RAC Remix) and Kele - Everything You Wanted (RAC Mix)
RAC was one of my favorite remixers of the year. Specializing in tweaking rock songs for the dancefloor, these were two of his best.

Teengirl Fantasy - Cheaters
Mixing house sensibility with familiar soul samples, Teengirl Fantasy’s shining track turned Love Committee’s “Cheaters Never Win” into a spacey house classic.

LCD Soundsystem - Home
My favorite track off the new album This is Happening and the defining song of their massive late night set at Bonnaroo.

Aloe Blacc - I Need a Dollar
I never watched that HBO show How to Make it in America but apparently this is the theme song. No matter, it’s great catchy piano-fueled soul.
Best Remix: Tensnake

Yeasayer - O.N.E.
The biggest tune yet from these indie dance rock darlings.

Fake Blood - I Think I Like It
Disco house returned in a big way this year with artists like Fake Blood, tweaking their more electro sounds in favor of more classic house vocal tracks.

Alphabeat - Digital Love
Indie rock covers of Daft Punk songs? Yes please.

Kris Menace and The Dream - Walking on Lightning (U-Tern Blend)
The original even with a Kanye mix was largely overlooked, but after this U-Tern bootleg it got a whole new life.

Beach House - Norway
I went to bed to either the xx album or Beach House’s Teen Dream pretty much every night this year. “Norway” is the definitive track.

Lexicon Don - Student Body (Bit Funk Remix)
Funky indie rock house mix about schoolroom love.

Grum - Turn It Up
Could have been made in 1988 and sung by Whitney Houston instead.

Russ Chimes - Targa
His DJ mixes defined my 2010 and this was a standout tune from his Expressway series.

Eli Escobar - Love Thing Pt 2 (DJ Mehdi remix)
Classic house from up and coming NYC producer, with Ed Banger’s Mehdi on the mix.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round
Lo-fi, noise pop, whatever it is, this is one of the feel good pop songs of the year.

Lindstrom and Christabelle - Love Sick (Four Tet Remix)
Four Tet working his magic with the Norwegian producer and his muse.

The Chemical Brothers - Swoon
One of my all time faves back on their game with an epic one. “Just remember to fall in love, there’s nothing else.”
Best Remix: Lindstrom and Prins Thomas

Cee-lo Green - Fuck You
The year’s catchiest tune.
Best Remix: Le Castle Vania

Best Coast - Boyfriend
Lo-fi, garage rock about young lust.

Cut Copy - Where I’m Going
Sounds like Cut Copy have gone Pet Sounds. And it works.

Breakbot - Baby I’m Yours
Frenchies know how to make great pop. Ed Banger Records had another banner year and expanded their sound.
Best remix: Aeroplane

Tokyo Police Club - Wait Up (Boots of Danger)
Canadian indie rockers put out Champ, this was the best moment of a great album.

Shit Robot - Simple Things (Todd Terje Remix)
Todd Terje cranked out loads of great remixes in 2010 but this nu-disco/acid house mix was nine minutes of epic. You had to play every last minute.

Voltage - All Night (Azari & III Remix)
Azari & III put out remixes left and right but this was the one that stuck with me all year.

Four Tet - Love Cry
Hard to define Four Tet, and there’s not much need to with music as lush and interesting as this.
Best remix: Joy Orbison

Caribou - Odessa
First heard this on a mix from a friend and sought out the full album Swim, one of the biggest of the year, and unlike anything else.

MGMT - Congratulations
Mixed feelings about the album, but wrapping up with this simplistic ode to not being mainstream puts that all behind.
Best remix: Eron Alkan

Gorillaz - Stylo
Gorillaz returned with a different sound and a monster with soul legend Bobby Womack on vocals.
Best remix: Alex Metric

Azari & III - Reckless WIth Your Love
Canadians doing soulful house better than anyone else right now.
Best remix: Tensnake

Foals - Spanish Sahara
The standout song from my favorite album of 2010.

Tensnake - Coma Cat
Can I get, can I get, get.
Best remix: Mark Knight

Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love (Short Club Mix)
Flo blew up this year, but this was the song and mix that sold me.

Duck Sauce - Barbara Streisand
A-Trak and Armand van Helden’s ode to Babs.

The Temper Trap - Fader
You can’t listen to this song and not turn it way up. So much stronger than “Sweet Disposition”, even if that one got the mainstream love.

Treasure Fingers - What Am I Supposed to Do? and Fred Falke, Burns - YSLM (Treasure Fingers Remix)
ATL’s own Treasure Fingers had a massive year, and these two disco house tracks were part of the reason.

Crystal Castles f/ Robert Smith - Not In Love
The voice of The Cure wailing over CC’s 8-bit electronic blips.

Miami Horror - Holidays
My feel good song of the year.

Washed Out - Feel It All Around
I’ve driven thru Perry, GA, but this guy put it on the map and helped define chillwave.