2011: The Year in Music--The Singles

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I have had a very difficult time winnowing down this list of favorite songs.  With so many albums that I liked in 2011, there was an enormous amount of single tracks that were top notch.  I think my first list had nearly 100 possibilities.  But here are 10 or so of the best.  I will be revisiting the singles of the year with The Kid as we share a few more thoughts on a few more songs in a day or two.

The shocking thing to me is that there is only one real rock song on this list, and an argument could be made that it's not really rock but a pastiche of blues and mid-sixties soul.  Where was the great rock and roll of 2011?  I really liked the Foo Fighters' album this year, but not one track pulled me enough to make this list, and I would bet all the money I got that one won't make The Kid and I's list either.  I could have filled this list with my favorite country song ("Lemon Drop" by Pistol Annies, my favorite rap song ("Make Some Noise" by The Beastie Boys), my favorite soul jam ("Booty City" by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears), and my favorite punk song ("Get it Daddy" by Sleeper Agent) but as I was compiling them, I realized that I would essentially be tackling nearly every sub genre of music out there, and that I would have to ignore some really great stuff.

But none of it Rock n' Roll, per se.  So what makes the cut instead?



Song of the Year--Rolling in the Deep    by Adele
As much as I didn't care or the album as a whole, Adele's 21 is jam packed with great pop songs, and this is the greatest of the lot.  The first single from that album, it hooked me from the get go, and while a few of the other tracks I may have liked more at different points this year, this is the one that stops me in my tracks no matter the situation.  Perhaps it's the plaintive, primal cry of the lyrics that are heightened by the very simple accompaniment.  Perhaps it's the tribal chant of background singers transposed against the most distinctly powerful pop voice recording today.  Perhaps it's just a great song.


Best Driving Rhythm--Gold on the Ceiling    by The Black Keys
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are the only two members of The Black Keys, as they play all the instruments on the recordings.  Their blues rock infused sound relies heavily on drums, bass and organ.  It is no wonder that their newest album El Camino has a solid driving rhythm throughout.  "Gold on the Ceiling" is a perfect synthesis of all rhythmic elements that screams that this is the best crotch rock of the year.


Best Love Song--A Million Years    by Alexander
Alexander, who in reality is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros front man Alex Ebert, is a passionate man whose best artistic work (either as a solo act or in any one of his bands) is concerned with the goofy-wonderful aspect of falling and being in love.  "A Million Years" is quite simply him at his best.  The song is lyrically just a poetic list of all the ways that the man loves the woman ("I love you like grave danger/Like moonlight in disguise", "It's a spun tongue.  It's a holy shit./It's a loud cry from the dark.").  Paired with the most gratifying musical shuffle of the year, the song is simple and soaring.  The false start and a power coda on the recorded release paint a complete picture of a beautiful love story.


Best Substitute for Delta Spirit--Middle Brother    by Middle Brother
I praised the indie super group at length in the album of the year post but it's this song that brings me the most joy.  Led by John McCauley from Deer Tick there's a wild abandonment to piece that trips all the right buttons in my head.  It helps that there is some solid lyric work that is both illustrative and witty, and the song has my single favorite lyric of the year:  "I know my days are numbered, but I'm bad at math."


Best Slow Jam--Second Song   by TV on the Radio
I was underwhelmed by TV on the Radio's newest album, but there were a few mainstream gems that surfaced, and "Second Song" was the best of that small lot.  A perfect juxtaposition of sensual bass sounds and thrilling falsetto moments the song really soars.  Yes, the form is a tad repetitive, but here familiarity breeds contentment.


Best Cover--Lovesong    by Adele
Almost as far away from The Cure's original as one could get, Adele's "Lovesong" transforms the song from new wave electronica to a soulful samba.  She slows the tempo a bit and focuses on the powerful words creating a far more affective (if not necessarily effective) song than ever before.  It is one of the rare instances that an artist reinterprets a classic work for a new generation and only adds to power and appeal of the original.


Best Frat Guy Sing Along--Red Solo Cup   by Toby Kieth
Sometimes I don't know why songs are made.  I can oftentimes be found shaking my head to what comes out the music industry.  There are songs that aren't particularly musical.  There are song with insipid lyrics.  There are songs with unappealing subject matter.  There are songs that utilize lesser talents.  And sometimes there are songs that are all of this.  "Red Solo Cup" shouldn't work on any level for me.  It's a country song sung by ab established talent using his buddies to sing along a song that musically and ltrically sounds like it was written as a parody by elementary school students.  But it is one of the best songs of the year, bar none, and a personal favorite.  You can't help but smile and sing along.  My favorite parts:  the crazy, drunk grandpa singing in the background, "God no!" and "Lifelong."


Best Beatles Tribute by an American Band--Capitol City    by Wilco
Playing like some sort of hidden track off of Sgt. Pepper, "Capitol City" goes a long way to cementing Wilco's status as the standard bearer for adult contemporary music.  While it's far from the best track from their newest release, The Whole Love, (that honor goes to the head bobbing "Standing O"), "Capitol City" brings me a simple joy and for that it should be treasured.


Best Song That Should Be On This List But Isn't--Sexy and I Know It    by LMFAO
I was tempted to cut and paste the commentary for Toby Kieth's "Red Solo Cup" here because I shouldn't like this, but I love it.  I loved it the first time I head the "wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle yeah" and I can't help but want to move and groove every time I hear it.  And I think the song's funny as hell; the video not so much.  My storyboarded viral video would have killed, but alas I was filled with fear, shame and now regret.