(In no particular order):
Singles:
Holy Ghost! - Do It Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVyaQYxO-E4
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dt1zWdmB4c
Ungirthed - Purity Ring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyFtyKZ1Orc
The Joy Formidable - Whirring
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2BUEzdjfpY
Scroobius Pip - Introdiction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Gh8TWpQE8
Honorable Mention:
The Crystal Ark - The City Never Sleeps (This was released Dec. 13, 2010, too late for that list.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jH9zr5l-tE
Albums:
Drive Soundtrack
*College - A Real Human Being (featuring Electric Youth) (released Jan 2010, originally)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DSVDcw6iW8
The Chemical Brothers - Hanna Soundtrack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqKnoXXL-yI
M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
*Echoes of Mine
(Promo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU6TB8jet-Q
The Horrors - Skying
*Still Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJQk0jDZx8o&ob=av2e
The Naked and Famous - Passive Me, Aggressive You
*Young Blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdO85Qf4Poc
Sonoio - Red
*Enough
http://vimeo.com/24431451
Class Actress - Rapproacher
*Weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XdTr23ABQk
AWOLNation - Megalithic Symphony
*Sail
(Promo): http://vimeo.com/30619461
Cut Copy - Zonoscope
*Need You Now
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12091-need-you-now/
Definitely check out the promo video for AWOLNation - CRAZY dancing!
Number 1, you'll notice that there isn't that much music on here. Not even ten albums! That's because I've been busy - very busy. I've been in school in one form of another for eleven out of the past twelve months - I had a three-week break back in January and a two-week break in August. So I haven't really had the time to dedicate to digging through the wonders of the new.
Number 2, VERY electronic this year. You'll notice that there is Literally. Zero. Metal. on there this year. Bummer. Metal, I find, does not help my concentration, particularly when studying for certification exams. Sorry Mastodon, hopefully I'll be able to check out The Hunter over the winter break.
I'll admit that I really haven't had a chance to get into M83's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming much - not that I don't like it, but because it's so motherfreaking HUGE.
If I had to pick a favorite, based purely on the number of plays in iTunes, it would have to be AWOLNation's Megalithic Symphony. However, for the best single song of the year, it would have to be "Need You Now" from Cut Copy, the crushing opener to their Zonoscope.
I have to take AWOLNation in small doses, reason being it's just ON GO GO GO literally 100% of the time. By the time you get to any kind of reprieve - the track that turned me on to them in the first place, "Sail," - you're already at track ten and kind of tired. Fitting, I suppose, for the first major release from Red Bull records.
There are two soundtracks on here: Hanna and Drive. The Drive soundtrack is mostly orchestral/instrumental, with only a few pop songs, but WOW what songs they are. Very retro '70s/'80s, very sweet, very dedicated. They fit the movie perfectly, because I also just described the lead character. Until the movie gets really fucking violent.
And Hanna, composed entirely by The Chemical Brothers' first complete score. I'll warn you, most of it is ambient and not techno-y, but it's a great balance for long-term listening. Great movie too - like an American action movie had a baby with a European art film.
Back to studying.
2011 is dead. Long live 2012.
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