Best of 2011

Last year, I made a list of the best albums, movies, and books that I happened upon in 2010. I'm gonna be cliche and repeat that. Most of these DIDN'T come out in 2011, but I "discovered" them this year. Sooooo. 

Here we go.

Albums

In Motion By Copeland- The more I listen to Copeland, the more I love them. Like I said last year, if you had talked to me about these guys while I was in high school, I would’ve probably hated them. But the depth and sincerity of their music is striking and I respect their lyrics a lot. There are many “hurt” bands, but Copeland is one of the best of them. There’s less falsetto than “You Are My Sunshine” (which was released after this by about 3 years), but still fantastic, lyrically. Highlights: No One Really Wins, Kite, Pin Your Wings, and You Have My Attention.

Recovering the Satellites by Counting Crows- Consistently, these guys are the most all-around talented band I’ve ever listened to. Every harmony, chord, key change, and verse is so meaningfully crafted. Admittedly, I used to call this album their worst, but after giving it a serious listen during a pretty rough time, it’s my second favorite CC album (behind Hard Candy of course). Absolutely brilliant lyrics (“I remember me, and all the little things that make up a memory.”, “I want to be a light that cuts through your eyes.”, etc.) mesh with a really interesting sound (almost “country”-esque at times.) Adam Duritz is one of the most tormented writers I’ve ever encountered and this album is hands-down the most fucked up out of all their CDs. (It was written after he had a huge breakdown following their rapid success in the 90s.) Highlights: Have You Seen me Lately? (in my top 10 songs list), Catapult, and Mercury.

Birds & Cages by Deas Vail- Honestly, to find this band, I googled “Bands that sound like Copeland”. Kinda anti-climactic, but oh well. A lot of falsetto and whatnot. Not really an OUTSTANDING album, but there are a few awesome songs in here that are worth noting. (Good falsetto too). Highlights: Atlantis, Excuses, and Dance in Perfect Time.

You By Me by Toh Kay & Dan P.- Ok, this is a super cool album. Basically what’s going on is each of the two guys are covering the other’s songs. (Tomas plays some of Dan’s and vice-versa). (Also, Toh Kay=Tomas Kalnoky from Streetlight Manifesto, one of my favorite bands.) It’s really interesting how Dan reworks some Streetlight songs. I actually prefer his version of A Moment of Silence (one of SM’s best songs) to the original. But, I hadn’t really heard many of Dan’s actual songs, so all I really care for is the Toh Kay versions at this point. All the songs are acoustic-y with some occasional electric guitar thrown in. Highlights: I’ve Set Sail, A Moment of Silence, and Tornado Joe.

Marc Broussard by Marc Broussard- I’ve been a HUGE fan of his for a loooong time. Seeing him at the Bijou this March while he was promoting this new CD was awesome. One of the best performers I’ve ever seen. (And, safe to say, one of the best unassisted voices ever too.) A very soulful album consisting of a good balance between “I love you” songs, “Let me do it over” songs (my favorite song is titled that, ironically), and “I’m better off without you” songs. I’m not sure he can ever outdo Carencro, but this is a SUPER close 2^nd. I seriously encourage everyone to listen to this CD just because of his voice, alone. Highlights: Bleeding Heart, Cruel, and Let Me Do It Over.

Hawkboy EP and King Folly EP­ by Hawkboy- finally, Cody Bonnette from As Cities Burn releases new material. ACB is in my top 2 favorite bands, and I’m so so so happy he and Aaron decided to release more music. It’s a continuous of HOHW’s sound, with a few more electronic elements thrown in. The song “Two Bit” is about the rapture (which  was supposed to “Happen on May 21^st”) and as a joke, they released this song the day of. I was IMMEDIATELY elated. That song is incredible. It even has a “Pirate Blues”-esque little jam right at the end. Ironlically, they re-recorded Pirate Blues as "Irate Blues" and slapped it at the end of the self-titled. The other 3 songs from the first cd, while not as good as Two Bit, are still freaking amazing. Scoundrel is my next favorite, a more politically tinged song, and probably my favorite song I’ve seen them play live. (they put on an amazing show, too.) Followed by Damnkneesya, which is a 5 minute long, slow, powerful throwback to the instrumental section of Timothy,  the band shows they know how to vary their sound. The next EP, King Folly, didn't impress me as much as the first one, but King Folly itself is a freaking incredible song. Also, hearing Stained Glass live was absolutely indescribable. JESUS CHRIST, LISTEN TO THESE. (Highlights- Two Bit, Scoundrel, King Folly, Stained Glass.)

Celestial Completion by Becoming the Archetype- my favorite band. No contest. Powerful lyrics, incredible musicianship, epic screaming, and super technical solos made me love this band the second Jason started screaming the opening to “Dichotomy” when I first heard them in 2009. I’ve seen them live 3 times in the last year and each time has been progressively more astounding. The fact that these guys sound just like they do on their CDs amazes me, considering how intricate their songs are, amazes me. Dichotomy is the best metal album I’ve ever heard. So, I was SUPER psyched for this CD. While it’s not as awe-inspiring as its predecessor, it is far more innovative. They’ve pushed their sound in an entirely new direction, including choruses, clean vocals, and, yes, a FREAKING SKA SECTION. (If there’s ever any doubt as to what will make me love something, meld ska and metal together.) Highlights: Breathing Light, The Magnetic Sky, Path of the Beam, and Xenosynthesis.

 (M)orning EP by Mae- My best friend recommended this band to me for a while and I finally decided to give them a listen. Goodness. Gracious. I'm so glad I finally caved. This is the first of what I call the (D)ay trilogy (Morning, Afternoon, and Evening. The letters spell out MAE.) Their sound is SO unique. I can't even describe it. There are only about 5 songs on here that actually have words, the others are mainly just intros and outros. But, honestly, this EP has one of the most powerful songs I've ever heard. "The Fisherman Song (We All Need Love)" is so strikingly beautiful I could never do it justice. Symbolic as all get out as well. I've typed this paragraph about five times now and I just can't seem to find the right words. Out of all these CDs, if you don't listen to any others, please please please listen to this one. Highlights: Boomerang, The Fisherman Song, The House That Fire Built.


BOOKS:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin- admittedly, I had never heard of these until HBO's Game of Thrones came on TV. But...GOOD GOD. This story is so damn intricate. Every chapter takes the viewpoint of a different character, and each character is hundreds if not thousands of miles apart from another. Still, every action affects ALL the characters. There's a lot of taboo subjectivity being written about (incest, regicide, birth rites, etc.) and it's so addicting. There are five books out at the moment (I'm only on the fourth one). I would sincerely advise watching the show. It sticks to the books so well.

I read a LOT of other books in 2011, but none of them really stood out, which kind of sucks. Oh well. 2012 better give me good literature.

Movies:
10. True Grit
9. Source Code
8. 50/50
7. (500) Days of Summer
6. Cpt. America
5. Moneyball
4.Cedar Rapids
3.Young Adult
2.Drive
1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo