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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 5

December 5, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

I love pop music, I really do. Unfortunately, because of all the garbage that gets played out on the radio and the dime a dozen award shows these days, I feel like pop music gets a bad rap. But take a look beyond all of the Rihana’s, Beiber’s, Ke-dollar-ha’s, and Usher’s out there, and you’ll find that pop music really isn’t all that bad. So without further ado, some of my favorite pop songs of 2011.

I wish I could write songs half as well as Brett Dennen. The folk/pop singer-songwriter released his fourth studio album this year and it was packed with some truly fantastic and infectious pop songs. As good as an album Loverboy is, it was actually very easy to pick just one track. “Sydney (I’ll Come Running)” is most definitely one of my favorite songs of the year and it’s one that’s been on constant repeat since first listen. I dare you to listen just once.

♪ Brett Dennen – Sydney (I’ll Come Running) (from Loverboy)

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Hailing from Lafayette, LA, GIVERS are an indie pop quintet that specialize in youthful songs filled with optimism and positivity. They have a peppiness to them that reminds me of Vampire Weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., and Pepper Rabbit. In 2010, the band was named the ‘Best of What’s Next’ by PASTE Magazine and a ‘Band to Watch’ by Stereogum, who describes their music as “packed with that sort of psychedelic buoyancy, homegrown exoticism… and rattling optimism/joy.” Today’s track come from the band’s debut album, In Light, and expect to hear a lot more from GIVERS, I don’t expect them to slow down anytime soon.

♪ GIVERS – Up Up Up (from In Light)

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Library Voices are a Canadian indie pop band from Regina, Saskatchewan. Formed in 2008 as a ten-piece group of musician friends, they have released two EPs and two full-length albums. Their second full-length album, this year’s Summer of Lust, has a number of post-worthy tracks, but if you can only listen to one, “Generation Handclap” is a no-brainer.

♪ Library Voices – Generation Handclap (from Summer of Lust)

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What were your favorite pop songs of 2011?

2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 4

December 4, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

2011 was full of debuts and followups from ladies that know a thing or two about making good music. So on this 4th Day of Good, please enjoy this small sample of what some very talented ladies brought to the table this year.

Eleanor Friedberger is one half of the brother-sister, indie-folk duo, The Fiery Furnaces. This year she dabbled in a solo career and released her debut, Last Summer. If you’re a fan of The Fiery Furnaces, don’t expect the same exact sound (which is a good thing in my opinion) but you’ll definitely still enjoy this record. NPR’s First Listen put it best, “Fans of her main project will surely consider it worth the wait, but there’s also plenty here for the unconverted. Last Summer sounds more intimate and accessible than any of her band’s nine albums; it’s a perfect soundtrack for an afternoon spent sifting through a box of old Polaroids.”

♪ Eleanor Friedberger – My Mistakes (from Last Summer)

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EMA (aka Erika M. Anderson) is a singer/songwriter from South Dakota. She was originally in drone folk band Gowns, but went solo this year releasing her debut album Past Life Martyred Saints. The album debuted to critical praise from both music critics and music bloggers alike, for both its emotional depth and raw pain. It’s hard to pick just one track to highlight and I went back and forth between “The Grey Ship” and “Marked”, with the latter of the two coming out on top.

♪ EMA – Marked (from Past Life Martyred Saints)

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When I think about who was the most buzzed about band or artist of 2011, American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey always comes to mind. Her first single, “Video Games”, blew up all over the music charts and blogosphere this year and she deserves the success, the song is really good. Her debut album, Born to Die, is due it out early next year (Jan. 30) and i’m definitely looking forward to hearing more.

♪ Lana Del Rey – Video Games (from Video Games/Blue Jeans EP)

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Lykke Li’s follow up to 2008’s Youth Novels was one of my favorite albums of 2011 and I have a feeling it’s gonna be showing up on a lot “best of” lists. There really isn’t a bad song on Wounded Rhymes, but the third single, “Sadness Is A Blessing”, is easily my favorite.

♪ Lykke Li – Sadness is a Blessing (from Wounded Rhymes)

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St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) released her third album this year and you don’t have to agree with me, but she keeps getting better. Strange Mercy is a really powerful and facsinating record and I really dig Clark’s vocals and lyrics. I expect to see St. Vincent all over “best of” lists this year as well.

♪ St. Vincent – Cruel (from Strange Mercy)

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Zola Jesus (aka Nika Danilova) is one rad chick. Early on, she studied and performed opera off and on for 10 years, but struggled because of anxiety. In her teens, she started to experiment in a more rock-orientated format, and Zola Jesus was born. Danilova has now released three studio albums as Zola Jesus, Conatus being the most recent. I saw her perform with M83 last month and her stage presence and vocals were incredible.

♪ Zola Jesus – Avalanche (from Conatus)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 3

December 3, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Sweden is my personal music mecca. A considerable amount of my favorite bands call Sweden home (Shout Out Louds, The Knife, Lykke Li, ABBA, Acid House Kings…to name a few) and year after year, the Swedes pump out really fantastic music. 2011 was no exception, as we were treated to plenty of new releases from the Kingdon of Sweden and Day 3 features an array of my favorites.

This year, we were treated to the fifth studio release from one of my favorites, Acid House Kings. Music Sounds Better With You was one of my favorite albums of 2011 and it’s packed full of indie pop bliss. Considering how many good tracks are on this album, it was a bit of a challenge to pick just one song. I ultimately went with the first track I heard off the album, but it’s really in your best interest to check out this entire album.

♪ Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends? (from Music Sounds Better With You)

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I don’t know much about The Distant Sounds and I haven’t really heard much of their music, but I do like what’ve I heard so far. As far as I know, they’ve only put out the one EP, Blue Night, which the band describes as “an EP filled with love and lust. It is sort of like a bag of candy, there is something for everyone.” The standout track is definitely “Mon Amour”, but it’s worth checking out the entire EP over on their bandcamp page (especially since it’s a free download).

♪ The Distant Sounds – Mon Amour (from Blue Night EP)

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Swedish electronic group, Little Dragon, released their third album, Ritual Union, this year. The album was received generally positive reviews from music critics, but really blew up all over the blogosphere. My favorite Little Dragon track remains “Blinking Pigs” (from Machine Dreams), but the title track from Ritual Union is a close second and one of the year’s best tracks.

♪ Little Dragon – Ritual Union (from Ritual Union)

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I literally just discovered Rebecca & Fiona, but it was love at first listen. The Swedish DJ team, consisting of Rebecca Scheja and Fiona Fitzpatrick, released their debut album last month and while I haven’t had a chance to give it a proper listen, I can’t stop listening to this one track in particular (hint: make sure you have the volume turned up at the 3:15 mark).

♪ Rebecca & Fiona – Dance (from I Love You, Man)

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I don’t think we’ll ever be lucky enough for a new Postal Service album, but Slottet has done a mighty fine job recreating that particular sound we all miss so much (and don’t worry, this isn’t anything like that Owl City rubbish).

♪ Slottet – Agnostics Nightmare (from Servants)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 2

December 2, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

Day 2 brings us another smorgasbord of good, featuring tracks from Funeral Party, John Maus, WU LYF, and Yelle. Enjoy and remember to tune in tomorrow for more good.

Funeral Party is a post punk four-piece from Los Angeles. Their debut LP, The Golden Age of Knowhere, featured a handful of good tracks, but my favorite is definitely “New York City Moves To The Sound of L.A.”. If you’re a fan of LCD Soundsystem, you’ll probably enjoy this track as much as I do.

♪ Funeral Party – New York City Moves To The Sound of L.A. (from The Golden Age of Knowhere)

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If you’re a fan of Joy Division bass lines and analog synths straight out of the ’80s, i’d be truly surprised if you disliked John Maus’ latest LP, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. The LP is chock-full of fantastic tracks, but in my personal opinion, it’s the final track, “Believer”, that stands out the most.

♪ John Maus – Believer (from We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves)

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I honestly don’t much about WU LYF (World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation), but I really dug their debut LP, Go Tell Fire to the Mountain. I do know they hail from Manchester, England, and a four-piece that specializes in the self-described genre “heavy pop”. WU LYF were one of the biggest “buzz bands” of 2011 and I expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the coming years.

♪ WU LYF – Dirt (from Go Tell Fire to the Mountain)

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Safari Disco Club is the second studio album by French electropop trio, Yelle. I was a big fan of their first LP, Pop Up, and Safari quickly became a favorite of mine and staple for dance party playlists.

♪ Yelle – C’est Pas Une Vie (from Safari Disco Club)

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2011, 31 days of good, music

(31) Days of Good: Day 1

December 1, 2011 Concrete Opinions Leave a comment

The 2011 edition of (31) Days of Good is officially upon us! 2011 was yet another good year for music lovers and i’ve got a lot of fantastic songs to cover in a mere 31 days. I’m gonna kick things off this year with healthy handful of tracks that were released in the early months of 2011. With all the good tunes released this year, I easily could’ve forgotten about some of the earlier releases. But not these tracks, they are way too good to forget. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy Day 1 and be sure to tune in daily for more good.

♪ Anna Calvi – Blackout (from Anna Calvi)