2011's Best Albums (50-41)

Writing these lists is an excuse for me to write as much poetry as possible. It's not exactly about putting things in order. It's more about creating something for myself to reread. These lists allow me to be fascinated with my own fascination. It's also about sharing. If you can discover some new music thanks to my own self-indulgence, I'll be happy.

It was nearly freezing when I went to get Chinese take-out yesterday. Everything was covered in a static film by the half-snow. Driving or walking around our student-evacuated ghost town feels the same way writing these lists do. It's a solitary endeavor, but one that clears my head, and often gives way to unexpected sublime moments.

The yuletide approaches. Here's my gift to myself.

Bonus Awards

Best Album I Couldn't Get Into
> Black Up - Shabazz Palaces

Album Whose Viral Leaked Editions Are Better Than Its Official Release
> S/T II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT - Akron/Family

Album My Editor Will Hate Me For Excluding
> David Comes To Life - Fucked Up

Best Album Not On This List
> Deerhoof Vs. Evil - Deerhoof

And now...

the Top 50 Albums of 2011

50 | Fallen - Burzum

For two years running, #METASWAG's Top Albums list has begun with Burzum. Belus struck a chord within me when I didn't know what black metal was. Fallen isn't much of a departure from last year's beast, but it offers up just as many memorable riffs. Released at the beginning of 2011, and the hushed cries of "Jeg Faller" were one of my first favorite musical moments of the new year. They sound just as fresh as they did so many months ago.

49 | Lost In The Glare / Shadowland EP - Barn Owl

Is chillness reason enough to advocate an album? Barn Owl make subdued soundtracks that would perfectly score a Tarkovsky western or a Leone space drama. There's an eerie menace to their sound not unlike Earth's dirge-like desert crawls. Barn Owl evoke drifting alone through space, wrapped in darkness and trapped with your own thoughts. So, chillness wasn't exactly the right descriptor, unless your idea of chill involves intense pensiveness.


48 | Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - M83

I don't automatically equate bloat with success (and when I do, it involves Thanksgiving dinner or Take Care). Much has been made of this double-album's ambition and its scope. Why? It's five tracks longer and five minutes shorter than Drake's magnum opus. But I'm a sucker for sentimentality as much as the next blogger, and this album bleeds it - even though Gonzales goes too far now and then. The standouts ("Intro", "Splendor") are stellar.


47 | Talk That Talk - Rihanna

Now that's more like it! Eleven songs in 35 minutes, straight killa no filla. The first three tracks are pop perfection: "You Da One" infectiously bounces along on a sugary bass line, "Where Have You Been" takes club-ready single into the realm of the ridiculous, and "We Found Love" is simply one of the best songs of the year. Throw in an ode to oral sex ("Watch 'N Learn") and an emotional goodbye ("Farewell"), and you got a stew cookin'!

46 | LIVELOVEA$AP - A$AP Rocky

The new face of East Coast rap? Already signed a $3 million deal with a major? Rapping over Clams beats?  His lyrics are smarter than I would've expected from someone blowing smoke on the cover of his first big mixtape. Truth be told, his rapping isn't mind-blowing; he is, however, cool. His style makes up for whatever his substance is lacking. If his beat selection remains this good and he actually does something with his new-found success, we could be looking at a star.

45 | Atma - Yob

It's so heavy and so good. The singer sounds like Ozzy if Ozzy spent all his time listening to Burning Witch, which we should all do anyway. It does sound a bit like slowed-down Black Sabbath at times, but Yob also have an amazing ear for pacing and atmosphere. The last three minutes of "Adrift In The Ocean" alone qualify Atma as one of the best albums of the year. This is colossal music perfect for rainy days or whenever chillwave doesn't cut it (always).

44 | James Blake - James Blake

This album is probably better than #44 right? It's immaculately produced. It's melodies are totally catchy. It's really hip right now. I don't know. I stopped listening to it sometime mid-Spring. Something about it just wore thin after a while. Its coldness? Its popularity? Its perfection? Whatever happened, "Why Don't You Call Me" and "I Mind" still sound awesome. "The Wilhelm Scream" is amazing. This is clearly a jaw-dropping debut, I just start to feel blue and blurred out when I listen to it.

43 | Exmilitary - Death Grips

Death Grips is the closest rap has ever come to black metal. It's fearsome, gorgeous, disgusting. The lyrics are chocked full of horrendously beautiful moments of violence. The music itself is equally abrasive and arresting. The album's most widely shared track ("Guillotine") gives me the spins when its blackout synths kick in. And Exmilitary kicks, in paranoid rage or merciless self-destruction. The album's most telling line (and maybe its best): "I am the beast I worship."

42 | Waco Taco Combo - Eric Copeland

I don't know if this album would be ranked at all if I hadn't seen Copeland live, so take this with a grain of salt. These songs take on an entirely new vivacity when they're rattling you to your very bones. He filled my heart and lungs with crunchy noise and swooping samples. Nevertheless, you can at least fill your ears with the same sort of sounds on Waco Taco Combo, maybe the best-named album of the year. This is melodic noise absolutely alive with detail.

41 | Get Lost - Mark McGuire

The Chillest Album Of 2011. Get Lost is another guitar-driven release from the hugely prolific Emeralds member Mark McGuire. The first five tracks are beautiful excursions into comfortable, homey spaces that make up half the record's run-time. The sixth and final track "Firefly Constellations" is a longer composition that sounds like scuba diving with those sea turtles from Finding Nemo. Am I conveying how cozy this album is? Get lost in it.


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I won't stop writing till I'm blacked out.