The Year in Music 2011
In contrast with 2010, when I don’t think I bought a single rock or pop album, I found 2011 to be a very good year for music, and I actually bought a few new releases. Here’s a roughly chronological list of what I bought last year.
Walkenhorst and Porter, No Abandon: this 2009 release features the lead singer from one of my favorite bands, the Rainmakers. It’s a quiet, country-ish album. My favorite tracks are I hope you’re laughing and Jimmy Lee.
Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town: I wanted to like this album more than I actually did. My absolute favorite track is Racing in the Street, and Badlands and the title track are quite good.
The Cars, Move Like This: You could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw this on iTunes. I think I hesitated about 3 tenths of a second before buying it. This is a solid Cars album: even though it’s clearly not nearly as good as their debut album or Heartbeat City, it’s the best Cars album since 1984, and I for one am very glad that they decided to enter the studio again. Sad Song is my most-listened-to song purchased this year.
Weird Al Yankovic, Alpocalypse. Another return by an old favorite, and one of my two pre-orders this year. I liked Craigslist a lot, and I found Skipper Dan and the inevitable Polka tune funny. My kids and I enjoyed Ringtone, Party in the CIA, Perform this way, and Stop forwarding that crap to me. I have to say that I didn’t recognize any of the official parody songs on this one: my wife pointed out to me later that I’d heard one piece of the Polka song in a YouTube video she showed me once, but I couldn’t have picked it out of a line-up.
Sara Bareilles, Kaleidoscope Heart: I passed over this last year when it came out but my Devoted Wife bought the album for me and I’m very glad she did. On this album, Sara Bareilles seems to be in the same style as Aimee Mann and Sarah McLachlan, and I think this may be the best album I’ve heard from a female lead vocalist since Aimee Mann’s last release. A very enjoyable listen all the way through.
The Alan Parsons Project, I Robot: I have only sampled the Project’s greatest hits, but I decided to give this one a try after reading in an iTunes review that it was a ‘must-buy for fans of 70′s prog rock.’ Yep, I’m afraid that’s me. I was very glad to have picked this one up. I don’t think its theme comes together as well as a typical Pink Floyd album, but it’s solid, thoughtful music throughout.
The Eagles, Long Road out of Eden: I stayed away from this one when it came out in 2007 because I wasn’t sure I really wanted the political commentary, but I succumbed finally and overall I feel good about doing so. About half of it, including tracks like How Long and What do I do with my heart, could stand up there with their best albums and do just fine. Seriously, Henley and Frey still sound great singing together, Schmitt has a great voice, and Joe Walsh’s two songs are a lot of fun. As for the rest, well, I do find myself wishing they’d made a single album rather than a double.
The Rainmakers, 25 on: Another knock-me-over with a feather moment. These guys used to play a concert on the last weekend before classes started when I was at Kansas State, and I figured they were done for since they last released an album in 1997. I think this is their best album since 1989′s The Good News and the Bad News. They’re more country than they used to be but I find I can live with that. Given Time, Go Down Swinging, and Missouri Girl are three good songs from the album. Kansas City Times makes me laugh out loud. Not for everyone, but if you’ve ever heard of and liked these guys before, you have to get this one.
Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto: My other pre-order this year. A very impressive album all the way through. Three of the songs — Every Teardrop, Paradise, and Hurts Like Heaven — appear in my type 20 songs for the year despite being the last album purchased on this list.
Overall I’m quite happy to have purchased 9 decent new albums within the same year, and I’ll be surprised if I can repeat the experience in 2012. I’ve heard that Aimee Mann is working on another album, and am looking forward to seeing that along with whatever else the year brings.
