These records resonated most for me this year, year-end lists always regard a higher level of personal curation, legend of what moved me the most. I gave up long ago being mad at derivative artists and recordings and made a conscious effort to focus on the feelings vs the intellectual reference points and obvious music criticism.

These are the records that broke emotional ground 2011.

The Year of Hibernation is my favorite record of the year. Youth Lagoon aka (Trevor Powers) debut surprised me, I was not expecting it to mean so much, but at the end of the year I found it the one that made me the happiest over and over. Perhaps it’s that it came out when it did, becoming a well played soundtrack into the end of the year..and as it did – it took on even more importance and meaning.

It’s like he was watching the lyric..“Kids are swinging from the power lines Nobody’s home, so nobody minds in… Arcade Fire’s Neighborhood #3 and offers them (the kids) another anthem to save them. Both recordings take place in your life but not to late in the game to change things, now that you have an soundtrack to really living it.

Even fatally titled Funeral offered that lane towards hope, remembering something of meaning to power it. The Year of Hibernation reflects on that time away, safe, emerging from a warm place, glowing like the posters on your bedroom walls. Daydream, Afternoon, July, Montana, 17, Cannons.

My guess it was anything but easy. ….

and probably why I never want these melodies and songs to end.

1. Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
2. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
3. Yuck – Yuck
4. M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
5. Real Estate -  Days
6. Dum Dum Girls – Bedroom Eyes
7. Washed Out – Within And Without
8. Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972
9. Atlas Sound – Parallax
10. F–ked Up – David Comes To Life
11. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
12. Mates of State -  Mountaintops
13. Mull Historical Society – City Awakenings
14. Panda Bear – Tomboy
15. Antlers – Burst Apart
16. Cults – Cults
17. Bon Iver – Bon Iver
18. Tom Waits- Bad As Me
19. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light
20. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
21. Mazes – A Thousand Heys
22. Bjork- Biophilia
23. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
24. tUnE-yArDs, w h o k i l l ]
25. Wild Flag – Wild Flag
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26. Cut Copy – Zonoscope
27. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints
28. Feist – Metals
29. Holy Ghost – Holy Ghost!
30. Wild Beasts – Smother
31. Metronomy – The English Rivera
32. Los Campesinos – Hello Sadness
33. Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
34. The Black Keys – Lonely Boy
35. The Throne – Watch The Throne
36. The War on Drugs – Slave Ambient
37. CANT – Dreams Come True
38. Twin Sister – In Haven
39. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
40. Wild Beasts – Smother
41. Black Lips – Arabia Mountain
42. Destroyer – Kaputt
43. Man Man – Life Fantastic
44. Cage The Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday
45. Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will
46. Still Corners – Creatures Of An Hour
47. Givers – In Light
48. Austra – Feel It Break
49. The Head and the Heart – The Head and the Heart
50. Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital

2011 Top 20 EP’s

 

1. The Field – Looping State of Mind
2. Phantagram – Nightlife
3. The Flaming Lips & Neon Indian – The Flaming Lips With Neon Indian
4. Burial / Four Tet & Thom Yorke – Street Halo TEXT010
5. Mogwai – Earth Division
6. Sleeper Agent – Celebrasion
7. Keep Shelly In Athens – In Love With Dusk
8. Toro y Moi – Freaking Out
9. Charli XCX – Stay Away
10. Kurt Vile – So Outta Reach
11. Friend Roulette – Friend Roulette
12. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Thuggin’
13. Jens Lekman – An Argument With
14. Peter Murphy – The Secret Bees of Ninth
15. Grimes – Darkbloom
16. The Decemberists – Long Live The King
17. Alex Turner – Submarine OST
18. Beach Fossils – What A Pleasure
19. UNKLE – Only The Lonely
20. Com Truise – Cyanide Sisters