Favorite Songs of 2011

I'm not going to put a flag down like some arrogant A-hole and say that these are the best songs of the past year and if you don't like . . . I'm just say that these are my favorite songs that came out in 2011. I think that's fair. This year seemed to be about being an indie band, having a big comeback and being Swedish, go figure!
Don't worry this is not a list of bands nobody's heard of to make my self feel like a snob absolute. Don't worry this isn't a copy of the top 40 charts to show that those people know what they're talking about.
I don't know if the music that came out this year gave me hope for 2012

25.Lay Myself Down by Mazzy Star
Returning after all these years to sound exactly like one would want, dreamy and half asleep.
24.Olé by Pearl Jam

I love it when Pearl Jam rocks out rather than gets that drone of seriousness. Short and punchy!

23.Open My Eyes by The BanglesMaybe this is the last album we'll ever hear from the girl group and that's okay with me, this song is better than some of the pop they did when they were huge. They have captured that indie sound perfectly.
22.Be Your Bro by Those Darlins
It's funny and catchy. A song about a girl who wants to be friends with a boy who just wants to have sex with her. Tough times.
21.Immigrant Song by Karen O
Maybe this is really Trent Reznor featuring Karen O. On the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo  and the song in the preview it kicks ass and is almost as good as the original Led Zeppelin version.
20.Sexy and I Know It by LMFAO
It's a party jam and I don't mind the party so there's that.
19.Lie Down In Darkness by Moby

He's kind of dramatic and somber and melodious on this soundscape. It's actually quite beautiful.

18.Guilty Girls by Buffalo TomI would be lying if I said that I though I would ever hear anything from this Boston band again but here they are putting out a quality tune.
17.The Boat Song by The Black Angels

Sometimes I wonder who else likes this band. They put out an E.P. and this was my favorite song from it. Dreamy and simple; like a Mazzy Star tune with a dude on vocals.

16.Cocaine Chest Pains by Kopek

I've never had cocaine chest pains personally but it sounds horrible. The song however is a rocker.

15.Rope by Foo Fighters

Back again with more rock that satisfies even if it doesn't change the world

14.The Roller by Beady Eye
Liam Gallagher and some other dudes put out a an album and it sounds exactly like you think it would. Catchy with heavy sixties influence. This was my favorite song from the collection of songs.
13.Seven Devils by Florence + The Machine

Epic and witchy sounding this song swirls into some weird places which is why I like it so much.

12.Standing Still by Eat Sugar

I don't anything about this band but I do know I really think this song is some good old dirty rock.

11.Boogie de la Muerte by Guadalupe Plata

I don't listen to Spanish rock but these roots rock guys make me want to.

10.The No No Song by The Sounds

They should be huge  and maybe they are but because there's no radio or videos I'll never know. Swedish and awesome!

9. Go Outside by The Cults
This was a big song for these guys and their indie rock ways. These guys blew up with this song.
8. Blood by The Dears

These Canadians are making music like it should be, big and emotional. Maybe they sound too 80s.

7. Make Some Noise by The Beastie Boys

Another comeback! This song isn't even that good but it's so fun I can't resist it. Rap for your dad, that's kinda' sad.

6. California by EMA

Is it spoken word or a song? Whatever it's a FU to the golden state which is refreshing once in a while.

5. Otis by Kanye West & Jay- Z

Watch The Throne, this album could have been egos colliding in a mess but it worked so well. Special thanks to Otis Redding.

4. Under Cover of Darkness by The Strokes

They're back and they're sounding good. They don't branch out with a new sound but this time I don't care.

3. Take The World by She Wants Revenge

The 80s have resurfaced in this excellent song full of keyboards and a dance beat with spooky vocals.

2. Breaker, Breaker by Peter, Bjorn and John

It makes me happy when a band who came out with a superior song years ago (Young Folks) can make equal songs. This one is quick and catchy.

1.Gloria by Mando Diao
Epic and almost at show tune level with it's Tom Jones/Neil Diamond verve this song gets me going every time I listen. Some may call it cheese but they didn't get to put this list together.

How does this stack to the experts you ask? Let's be real these people listen to music for a living and are exposed to a lot more stuff than I have and because I am just one man there's a certain type of music that I like. This is why Adele appears nowhere on my list and tops these two, this is why you won't find Pumped Up Kicks or Lil' Wayne. Maybe I'm not concerned with being cool or important or authoritive.


Here's Spin's list.
20. Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"
19. Eric Church, "Homeboy"
18. Lil Wayne, "6 Foot 7 Foot"
17. Jay-Z and Kanye West, "Otis"
16. Brad Paisley, feat. Carrie Underwood, "Remind Me"
15. Girls, "Vomit"
14. The Weeknd, "Wicked Games"
13. Britney Spears, "Till the World Ends"
12. M83, "Midnight City"; College, feat. Electric Youth, "A Real Hero"
11. LMFAO, "Party Rock Anthem" (Alesso Remix)
10. TV on the Radio, "You"
9. HyunA, "Bubble Pop!"
8. Lykke Li, " Get Some"
7. Clams Casino, "I'm God"
6. Tyler, the Creator, "Yonkers"
5. Frank Ocean, "Novacane"
4. The Rapture, "How Deep Is Your Love"
3. EMA, "California"
2. Beyoncé, "Countdown"
1. Adele, "Rolling in the Deep"

or Rolling Stone's
20. Jay-Z and Kanye West, 'Welcome to the Jungle'
19. Lucinda Williams, 'Blessed'
18. Black Keys, 'Little Black Submarines'
17. Wilco, 'I Might'
16. Fleet Foxes, 'Lorelai'
15. TV on the Radio, 'You'
14. Sleeper Agent, 'Get It Daddy'
13. My Morning Jacket, 'Circuital'
12. Lloyd feat. Andre 3000 and Lil Wayne, 'Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)'
11. Foster the People, 'Pumped Up Kicks'

10. The Decemberists, 'Don't Carry It All'

9. Lil Wayne feat. Cory Gunz, 'Six Foot Seven Foot

8. Beyonce, 'Countdown'

7. Lady Gaga, 'Edge of Glory'

6. Radiohead, 'Lotus Flower'

5. Paul Simon, 'Rewrite'

4. Foo Fighters, 'These Days'

3. Britney Spears, 'Till The World Ends'
2. Jay-Z and Kanye West, 'Ni**as in Paris'

1. Adele, 'Rolling in the Deep'

Best Albums of 2011

It's been a long, boring year for music or has it? I tend to think so but when I look at the year's best albums and songs it looks like it was okay.
2011 ' best albums
Gimme' Some  by Peter Bjorn and John
Watch the Throne by Kanye West and Jay-Z
Valley Heart by She Wants Revenge
Wasting Light by The Foo Fighters
Degeneration Street by The Dears

These are just albums you need to go hear, sorry no samples. Maybe I am boring

World Series 2011

The St. Louis Cardinal will be hosting the Texas Rangers in the World Series starting October 19th and at this point I just don't care. Yeah, Texas is big, bad and powerful and seems destined to get their championship after being sacrificed to the arms of the San Francisco Giants last year. The Cardinals will be going for their second World Series victory in five years while making their third appearance in seven. Why does the sports media always seem to count them out from getting into the playoffs? I thought it was a simple.

As horrible as it may seem the teams are reduced to this. A Texas team with this guy as their brightest star.

Josh Hamilton who is a born again Christian who was a party animal throwing away his extremely rare talents, skills and millionaire career with drugs and alcohol. (and questionable women it seems)

There's also a St. Louis team that thought hiring  Mark McGuire as the hitting coach was a smart step. This guy?

Pujols was psyched!

Anyway, I guess in the end I'm pulling for Ron Washington and his Rangers to steam roll the National League team.  Not only does Wash look like the grandfather I always wanted but he reminds me in some ways of gentlemen who inhabit the Tenderloin.

One last thing, who did the Cardinals get Jeff Reardon young again? This year's beard belongs to Jason Motte who grew out his whiskers and became the clone of one of the 80s best relievers.

Jason Motte

Jeff Reardon: The Eliminator

Maybe Brian Wilson has been paying tribute to Reardon as well. Though he's beard apparently has nothing but fastballs beneath it.

Brian Wilson

Go Rnagers!

Baseball 2011: end of the regular season

Damn it! That's sort of what I said when Papelbon's fast ball was hit into the right center gap and the tying run came into score for Baltimore. "Oh No Crawford," is exactly what I said as the next batter flared Papelbon's pitch to Boston's struggling, big money free agent in left field. Just like the rest of his season he couldn't quite come through. Within a minute it seemed like Even Langoria hit his game winning home run against the Yankees to push his Tampa Bay Rays into the playoffs. The Red Sox had a collapse with a pre 2004 quality to it, being up 9 games or something at the beginning of the month and winding up having to win on the final day of the season to win the American League wild card.
The whole month of September it seemed they were down by three runs by the second inning and any lead the Sox could get was wasted by their bullpen in the late innings. My observation was that if 3rd baseman Kevin Youkilis had not been injured, the team's line up would have been able to generate those extra few runs over September that would have won them another game or two and starting if pitcher Clay Buchholz hadn't had his back problems he would have given them a least one quality start making all this a non issue. Nobody said being a Red Sox fan was easy.

The whole last night of the season was crazy and may be remembered for some time as one of the most exciting final days. Four teams (St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston and Tampa Bay) All looking for one more win just to play one more day. Only The Cardinals got their business done easily with a 7-0 rout of the Astros. The Braves choked up a lead in the ninth  and wound up losing to the Phillies in 14 innings; their season was just as ridiculous as the Sox'. Meanwhile down in Tampa the Yankees took a 7-0 lead into the 8th inning and blew it having to play twelve innings with the prevailing Rays. These games could send any fan into therapy.

Anyway below are the final standings and my predictions
American League
East: Yankees (Red Sox)
Central: Tigers (Tigers)
West: Rangers (Angels)
Wild Card: Rays (Yankees)

National League
East: Phillies (Phillies)
Central: Brewers (Brewers)
West: Diamond Backs (Rockies)
Wild Card: Cardinals (Braves)

What will the playoffs bare? I want a Detroit vs. Milwaukee World Series.