via//chicago

2011 Year In Review
Part I: The Introduction

I'm ashamed to be running so far behind with my look back at 2011, but sometimes the real world is a little more important than updating a blog. But, still, I really enjoy putting together these end-of-year wrapups, and this year was certainly no exception.

Personally, 2011 was a year of big change. The biggest, and most wonderful, was the birth of our son back in September. His arrival has changed my life in ways previously unimaginable and has colored my outlook on virtually everything. I'm thrilled to be a father and coming home to his smile his one of the best things life has to offer. I've also dug in further at the new job I began in 2010, dipping my toes into new projects and constantly learning more about lots of things. I got to travel more in 2011 because of this job, spending lots of time in Austin, Texas, which I've found to be a wonderful city.

Musically, there isn't really one specific driving trend or force behind what I spent the past 12 months listening to, mostly just climbing further out onto the branches I'd already started exploring. Lots of metal, lots of psych, a little less hip-hop than usual, the standard amount of radio pop and indie-flavored rock. If anything, I'd say that 2011 was about me refining and coming closer to defining exactly what it is I like in these various genres. Although still difficult to put into words, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable about what excites me in a metal band (in general - proggier, stonier) and what doesn't (still not a grind guy), which helps when I'm trying to pluck something out of the thousands of new releases constantly clamoring for my attention. I feel like I didn't waste my time on as many duds in 2011 as I may have in years past.

As I look back over some of my favorite metal albums of the year, I see that there were a lot of albums from familiar names. Bands I've found to be fairly consistent and rarely manage to disappoint me - bands like Mastodon, Wolves in the Throne Room, Opeth, and The Gates of Slumber. But there were just as many new surprises for me this year, ranging from the Beatles-meets-Sabbath pop of Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to the gauzey barely metal blackgaze of Falloch. It was another great year for metal.

I guess if I were to drum up two consistent themes found in the indie rock I loved in 2011, they would be "Captured Tracks" and "1990s". The Captured Tracks label has become one of those few "go-to" labels with a remarkable track record. I came to discover it through Blank Dogs, but the list of bands on the label's roster I loved in 2011 is impressive - The Soft Moon, The Beets, The Jameses, Catwalk, Widowspeak, Soft Metals... such a fantastic aesthetic. I also found that aping the sounds of the modern rock I loved back in the mid-1990s was a sure way to get my attention in 2011. Bands like Yuck, Ringo DeathStarr, The Joy Formidable, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart all nailed that arena-ready alternative rock I loved in my teenage years, pulling in obvious references from My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr, and Smashing Pumpkins in a way that wasn't slavish and derivative.

I found myself wandering away from hip-hop even more in the past year, turned off by the increasingly bland radio rap of Drake and disappointing efforts by former favorites like Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. I started out 2011 high on the outlook of the Odd Future crew, but a wildly uneven debut by Tyler, The Creator and the increasingly disgusting on and off-stage antics of the crew rapidly soured me on the whole scene. Some old favorites did step up this year though, both Killer Mike and E-40 continued impressive runs with solid albums. But the biggest surprise of the year belonged to one Ishmael Butler, formerly known as "Butterfly" of Digable Planets fame, and his Shabazz Palaces project. Easily my most played rap album of the year and one of the more forward-thinking ones as well, really exciting stuff.

As usual a lot of great albums from the expected sources - Atlas Sound, Fucked Up, Handsome Furs, Fleet Foxes, Gang Gang Dance, Los Campesinos and M83 among others, and a whole pile of brand new (and new to me) names - The Cosmic Dead, Causa Sui, The War On Drugs, The Atlas Moth, Iceage, Cold Cave, Laura Marling. Some new guises for old favorites (Pistol Annies, Wild Flag) and some interesting, to say the least, combinations like Loutallica made for fun and unexpected listening. Sure, there were some disappointments, I still don't understand the fawning over that patchy PJ Harvey record and that Get-Up Kids reunion record was a serious letdown, but I prefer to focus on the positives this time of year. So join me as via//chicago takes a look back at the best music of 2011 over the next few days.

But, before we move on, a quick look at some past favorites:

Albums of the Year:
2003: Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
2004: Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
2005: Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
2006: Mastodon - Blood Mountain
2007: Battles - Mirrored
2008: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
2009: The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
2010: Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid

Songs of the Year:

2003: "Hey Ya" - Outkast
2004: "Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand
2005: "Since U Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson
2006: "When You Were Young" - The Killers
2007: "Stronger" - Kanye West
2008: "Time To Pretend" - MGMT
2009: "My Girls" - Animal Collective
2010: "Fuck You" - Cee-Lo Green