Panush's Best 26 of 2011

Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

I've been seeing lots of Best Of lists lately and of course I don't like them as much as I like my music, so I figured why don't I make one myself. There are 26 for absolutely no good reason. It's my list so I get to do what I want.

In alphabetical order:

Adele - 21 - Unless you've been living under a rock, you're already familiar, but this remix is something you may not have heard.

Ben Ottewell - Shapes & Shadows - Gomez lead singer's solo debut. Solid stuff.

*Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart - Rock like it's the 70s. - Hair Song

Brett Dennen - Loverboy - LA's red-headed wunderkind. Sydney is an absolute sing-a-long, pop hit.

Das Racist - Relax - Too-smart for school post-modern hip-hop. They went to Wesleyan, duh.

David Guetta - Nothing But the Beat - If you must dance, dance to this.

*Earl Greyhound - Suspicious Package - Power trios rule. Shotgun - wait for it to build, then bang your head.

Feist - Metals - Not her best, but solid.

*Fitz and the Tantrums - Pickin' Up the Pieces - You've heard them even if you haven't heard of them.

Friendly Fires - Pala - for those that like Passion Pit or Foster the People,  Live Those Days Tonight

Gomez - Whatever's On Your Mind - My favorite band, so you must have Options.

Holy Ghost! - Various singles and remixes: Some Children, Static on the Wire (RAC Remix), Hold On, Do It Again

Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know - Until Beth Orton returns from maternity leave, I'll listen to Sophia

Nikka Costa - Pro*Whoa! - Chase The Thrill should be in a Bond movie.

Paul Simon - So Beautiful or So What - Still great. Faves: The Afterlife and the title track.

*Pendulum - Immersion - My favorite drum and bass band - words I never though I would utter. Try: Witchcraft (Chuckie Remix), Watercolour, The Island, Crush.

*Sleigh Bells - Treats - If White Stripes were into samples. Crown on the Ground, Infinity Guitars, Rill Rill

Stereo MC's - Emperor's Nightingale -  Yes, they are the same band that did Connected. Check out Tales, 2Cando, Waves

Tally Hall - Good & Evil - Geeky melodic, harmonizing from Michigan. You and Me, Out in the Twilight, You

Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days - The future of hip-hop is in good hands. All Around the World, Last Name London, One Last Time.

Tub Ring - Secret Handshakes - If you like Mike Patton (Faith No More), Primus, Mr. Bungle, funk-rock etc., this is it. Optimistic, Stop This (NOW!), Feed the Rapture

Tune-Yards - Whokill - See my older post.

TV On the Radio - Nine Types of Light - Wasn't a big fan when they first broke on the scene, but since I found Dave Sitek's side project, Maximum Balloon, absolutely delightful, I guess I appreciate this album for its similiarities. Love Caffeinated Consciousness, New Cannonball Blues, Repetition, and Second Song.

White Denim - D - Album of the Year and Best New Artist. See my older post.

YACHT - Shangri-La - Nothing measures up to their amazing Psychic City, but title track Shangri-La and Utopia/Dystopia are nice.

Ximena Sariñana - Ximena Sariñana - Mexican pop star. Too damn cute. Different and Lies We Live In (what do you know, also produced and written by none other than TVOTR's Dave Sitek).

* = album technically released in 2010, but since I listened to it in 2011, there ya go

Battles - Ice Cream

This is a great video from the latest Battles record, Gloss Drop. It's weird prog-rock, but it's catchy and the video works incredibly well with the music. The rest of the Battles album is interesting and decent, but not as good as this track, nor as good as their first album, Mirrors. If you really like the video, check out the director's video for the El Guincho track, Bombay (there's an uncensored version out there somewhere). Same same, but different.



I know I'm late on this, but going through some (good) life changes in the last few months has left me with a bit less time to devote to navel-gazing pursuits like this one. I also am getting addled in my advanced years. I think I may have posted this video to Facebook before, but since it's not on the blog, well... it is now.

tUnE-YarDs - w h o k i l l

I think I posted about tUnE-YarDs previously and she (basically it's one woman) released a new album a couple months ago. She is amazing and unique and if you value innovative music that doesn't just sound like everything else out there, you have to check the album out and you HAVE to watch the 2nd video below to see how she does this live. It's unbelievable that she can do so much with so little.

Bizness is primal and pretty at the same time. This is music with soul.




You Yes You is so catchy it's ridiculous. She writes music that dives right in your brain.



Gangsta rocks and rolls with bravado.


You must listen.

Pinback - Sweet Rock

Pinback isn't new, but you may not have heard about them, so I'm posting to illuminate you. Pinback makes a melodic brand of rock. It's a distinctive sound that soothes and provokes at the same time. The band they most evoke for me is Lou Barlow (of Sebadoh)'s group, The Folk Implosion (and the New Folk Implosion). If you like these tunes, also check out Pinback singer/guitarist Rob Crow's solo stuff, in particular Living Well.

Simian Mobile Disco, Cee-Lo, and Telephoned

Dance and funk numbers from last month's playlist.

Telephoned is an awesome combo of DJ Sammy Bananas and vocalist/party maven Maggie Horn. They remake and rework common pop tracks that stand on their own as dancefloor anthems.

Their eponymous EP could be played as a mixtape at your next party, but I particularly enjoy Rockin That Thing and Dancin' On Me. Though they are technically remixes, they might as well be completely different songs. I'd almost rather call them homages. Whatever you call, them they will make you want to move!





My next recommendation is a smooth, funky dance track. It's a fun tune, and it's free! Dance impresarios Simian Mobile Disco team up with diva Beth Ditto, of Gossip fame, for this one.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (feat. Beth Ditto) (Heartbreak's Slow Action Remix)

Finally, everyone loves and is familiar with Cee-Lo's 100% pure hit, Fuck You, but the 2nd best song off the album is Love Gun. Check it out.

Restless Blogger

Restless People is a band from Brooklyn (where else) that has a fun, tropical, electronic sound. They sound like a cross between Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, and Yeasayer. If you like those groups, you'll probably think these guys are the bee's knees also.

Check out the single, Days of Our Lives, and you'll know what I mean.




Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't say that there's a lot of folks saying Restless People pretty much ripped off this song, Two Months Off, from a much more established British band called Underworld. They are pretty similar, but I would say the Restless People song is more interesting. And the other songs on their new album are strong and (hopefully) not ripped off.

Madcon - Soul Hop

Madcon is a hip-hop group with a huge dose of soul production. If the Roots went all out with the funk soul music, you'd pretty much have Madcon. There are keys, horns, and soulful choruses. Beggin' is an immediate hit that you may have already heard. The question is will these guys be the next Black Eyed Peas, the next Outkast, or more tragically, the next Pharcyde?

I also like Wholehearted, Liar, and Shine.



Admittedly, this video is not so great with the respecting of the women, but what can I say, I like the song.

Sia - We Are Born

Sia is my favorite. She's adorable. She can sing like an angel. She's quirky. She has great visual style (check out that album cover). She writes fun, pop music with an undertone of earnest emotion. You will love her.

I pretty much like all of the tracks on her new album, but here are my favorites:

Clap Your Hands is a pure pop gem without being saccharine sweet.



You've Changed is a hot dance track. Remixes already abound. The ones with Detroit DJ Lauren Flax are particularly good. (I like the original remix, but I couldn't find a link for it.)

The Fight is an anthem, perfect for singing along, pumping your fist, and jumping around.

Stop Trying is a throwback to 80s pop, a la Katrina and the Waves or Tears for Fears.

Enjoy. Enjoy. Enjoy.

Quantic and his Group of Barbarians!

I don't know exactly what Will "Quantic" Holland does. I don't know if he writes, plays, produces or all three. All I know is that anything with the Quantic name is going to be interesting. A few years ago, he moved to Cali, Colombia and began soaking up the local sounds. This summer he released his latest project, Quantic and his Combo Barbaro's Tradition in Transition. It's a melange of latin jazz, soul and funk. All 13 tracks are worth a listen, but my favorites are:

The Dreaming Mind, Part I
Mas Pan
Linda Morena
Un Canto a Mi Tierra
I Just Fell in Love Again

The Dreaming Mind, Part 1 has an amazing string section and harp backing up a slow, breezy tune inspired by beaches and sunsets. It reminds me somewhat of Cinematic Orchestra.

Mas Pan is a Latin jazz jam. The expert horns blast a contrapuntal melody over a basic Latin jazz rhythm.

Linda Moreno is the centerpiece of the album. It's an eight minute epic of Afro-Cuban rhythms and traditional story-telling lyrics.

Un Canto a Mi Tierra is the "single". It's short and punchy. The female vocalist croons smoothly in Spanish backed by a salsa rhythm.

I Just Fell in Love Again shows Quantic's soul side. It sounds like a Sam and Dave song, complete with hot organs, plaintive soul vocals, doo-wop girls and those funky horns.

Michael McDonald vs. Grizzly Bear

Practically before Ray LaMontagne or John Mayer were born, Michael McDonald was belting out white-boy soul with the Doobie Brothers. Actually, this was probably before the guys in Grizzly Bear were born also. The guy's older than dirt. In fact, if you had told me he was under the dirt, I would have believed you.

So it came as quite a surprise when I heard this rockin', soulful track and thought to myself, "Is that Michael McDonald? I didn't even know he was still alive." When I heard it was a duet with Grizzly Bear I was not as surprised. The guy has a history of duets and covers. He also has one of those signature voices. Whether you ever liked the Doobies or his cheesy 80s stuff, the man can sing.

The song starts with a guitar chord that sounds like a warning. It's edgy. Then McDonald's silky smooth voice rolls in on rails. As the music patiently builds behind him, the track sounds almost like a Jimi Hendrix track that's been plied with sedatives. During the first chorus, Grizzly Bear members play the roll of doo-wop girls, adding another layer of crooning vocals. The dynamics on this track are amazing. After building up, there's an extended a cappella jam that builds it back up to a wild crazy crescendo as McDonald's belts out, "And what was left!!!" again and again.

Check it out.

Listen to Scarlett Johannson?

Scarlett Johannson is widely regarded as a bombshell. Some also regard her as lacking the skills to act her way out of a bag. I'm more in the former group and less able to care about the latter.

She put out an album a little while back of Tom Waits covers. That mad scientist's abortion, I am definitely not recommending.

I am recommending that you check out two of the songs she does on an album she recorded with Pete Yorn in 2006, but that was released this year : Relator and Blackie's Dead.

They're getting tons of radio play on KCRW. Also, they were on live today, so you can probably hear/see that performance on KCRW's site in the Morning Becomes Eclectic archives.

The tracks are fun, poppy, alt-country-ish and sing-a-long-able. They'll stick in your head. As for your opinion of ScarJo, I'm not sure what this will do one way or the other.