Favorite Album of 2011
Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two: It feels weird picking a trio of 40-somethings who came up in the mid-1980s for my favorite album of 2011, but the Beastie Boys delivered longtime fans their most entertaining and complete album since Hello Nasty or Ill Communication, both released during the Clinton administration. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (funnily enough, we never got Part One) sounds like the guys finally regained their 80s swag, combined it with their 90s coolness and willingness to experiment and stay ahead of the curve, and updated it all for 2011 sensibilities. It was also nice to hear my personal favorite Beastie Boy, MCA, rapping with a vengeance after he was treated for a cancerous parotid gland and lymph node. Lead single "Make Some Noise" sounds like it could be off Check Your Head, "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (featuring Santigold)" is a perfect summer party jam, and "Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament" show that the Beasties are still the masters of the funky instrumental interlude.
Honorable Mention:
The Roots - Undun: This hasn't even been officially released yet, but I got a chance to hear it over at NPR. I don't want to overreact without letting it fully sink it, but Undun might be the Roots' best album since The Tipping Point or Phrenology. A concept album, it follows the life of fictional character Redford Stephens backward, from his death to his decision to enroll in the drug game. Powerful instrumentation combined with Black Thought's usual rhyming gymnastics make this a must-listen.
Favorite Song of 2011
"Helena Beat" by Foster the People: When this song comes on Toronto's 102.1 The Edge (the only station that seems to play it) while I'm driving, I start dancing and belting out the high-register vocals at the top of my lungs, like a teenage girl. Though they are a totally different band, I think Foster the People has MGMT-like potential: one of those rare bands that appeals to everyone, a band that everybody likes to hear at a party. Looking forward to hearing what's next from these guys.
"Helena Beat" by Foster the People: When this song comes on Toronto's 102.1 The Edge (the only station that seems to play it) while I'm driving, I start dancing and belting out the high-register vocals at the top of my lungs, like a teenage girl. Though they are a totally different band, I think Foster the People has MGMT-like potential: one of those rare bands that appeals to everyone, a band that everybody likes to hear at a party. Looking forward to hearing what's next from these guys.
Helena Beat by Foster The People
Honorable Mention
"Shady 2.0 BET Cypher" by Eminem and friends: Here's what I wrote in October about the Shady Records crew's appearance at the BET awards' annual "cypher": "For rap purists, it's six straight verses of rhyming bliss over a minimalistic beat from Gang Starr's DJ Premier, featuring Eminem and his roster of Shady Records artists. Stealing the show is Slaughterhouse's Joe Budden...But, of course, it's Eminem who provides the exclamation point at the end, showing everyone that even though his last couple of albums were disappointing, he still may be the greatest line-for-line rapper of all time. Try to follow the line about Posdnuos (of De La Soul) and a prostitute - I couldn't."
"Shady 2.0 BET Cypher" by Eminem and friends: Here's what I wrote in October about the Shady Records crew's appearance at the BET awards' annual "cypher": "For rap purists, it's six straight verses of rhyming bliss over a minimalistic beat from Gang Starr's DJ Premier, featuring Eminem and his roster of Shady Records artists. Stealing the show is Slaughterhouse's Joe Budden...But, of course, it's Eminem who provides the exclamation point at the end, showing everyone that even though his last couple of albums were disappointing, he still may be the greatest line-for-line rapper of all time. Try to follow the line about Posdnuos (of De La Soul) and a prostitute - I couldn't."
Favorite Concert of 2011
Umphrey's McGee at Artpark (06/29/2011):
From my original review of the show: "The highlight of the show came later in the set, though, when Ryan Stasik began playing the opening bassline to 'Wappy Sprayberry.' The high-octane trance jam sprawled out for what seemed like a half hour, but nobody would have cared if it'd lasted three days. During the madness, I turned and yelled to my friend, 'They could play at a rave!' He was already nodding his head and dancing, but he nodded his head more furiously to express his agreement."
Umphrey's proved, at that show, that they are the best jam band going right now. Phish and moe. and the Disco Biscuits are all worthy contenders, but nobody brings it on a nightly basis like Umphrey's does.
Umphrey's McGee at Artpark (06/29/2011):
From my original review of the show: "The highlight of the show came later in the set, though, when Ryan Stasik began playing the opening bassline to 'Wappy Sprayberry.' The high-octane trance jam sprawled out for what seemed like a half hour, but nobody would have cared if it'd lasted three days. During the madness, I turned and yelled to my friend, 'They could play at a rave!' He was already nodding his head and dancing, but he nodded his head more furiously to express his agreement."
Umphrey's proved, at that show, that they are the best jam band going right now. Phish and moe. and the Disco Biscuits are all worthy contenders, but nobody brings it on a nightly basis like Umphrey's does.
Honorable Mention:
Zappa Plays Zappa & Return to Forever IV at Center for the Arts (08/08/2011):
Fellow buffaBLOGer Sean McGill and I went to this together and ended up writing this review after our heads ceased spinning from the incredible technicality and musicianship displayed by Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa's tribute to his late father, and Return to Forever IV, the latest incarnation of Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke's jazz-fusion all-stars. I wrote: "Dweezil's virtuosic guitar playing would make his father proud, and the Zappa Plays Zappa drummer was astonishing, changing time signatures and providing thundering fills as if he wasn't even trying." Sean wrote: "[Return to Forever] played an astounding version of the Ponty / Clarke collaboration 'Renaissance,' which featured a Stanley Clarke upright solo that was nearly world-ending."
Zappa Plays Zappa & Return to Forever IV at Center for the Arts (08/08/2011):
Fellow buffaBLOGer Sean McGill and I went to this together and ended up writing this review after our heads ceased spinning from the incredible technicality and musicianship displayed by Zappa Plays Zappa, Dweezil Zappa's tribute to his late father, and Return to Forever IV, the latest incarnation of Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke's jazz-fusion all-stars. I wrote: "Dweezil's virtuosic guitar playing would make his father proud, and the Zappa Plays Zappa drummer was astonishing, changing time signatures and providing thundering fills as if he wasn't even trying." Sean wrote: "[Return to Forever] played an astounding version of the Ponty / Clarke collaboration 'Renaissance,' which featured a Stanley Clarke upright solo that was nearly world-ending."
Great job luke! Love your song choices
all great choices my friend!
Digging the list Luke!