The Top 100 Tracks of 2011
Posted by Dan Buczaczer | January 3, 2012
No, we didn’t forget. Just some techincal difficulties adding it to Denuology over the holiday.
It’s our fifth year doing this and we’ve noticed a few things different this year: more dancing tunes, more hip hop, more saxophone solos (!), fewer female singers and waaay more profanity and sexually explicit lyrics. Not sure why but that’s how 2011 turned out. Before the list, here come the rules:
+ All songs are listed in reverse order because that is the only real way to do a list. Any of you with any sense of drama will listen to the whole thing from 100 slowly building up to number 1, at which point you will practically be bursting with excitement.
+ These are tracks, not necessarily singles. Covers qualify as well though I usually only include ones that are markedly different than the originals (and are good).
+ I only have one song per artist because the list is way cooler that way. Having 12 My Morning Jacket tracks in the Top 100 feels pretty anticlimactic. Everybody gets a shot this way.
+ They were all released in 2011on either an album or as a single. Sometimes the album came out last year but it was released as a single this year (or vice versa). That is a loophole I happily exploit.
+ If I’m wrong about the release date of something, blame Wikipedia, Amazon, and various music blogs.
Rather than put in links for every song this year, I’ve built out the list as playlists on both Rhapsody and Spotify. You can only find 85 of the songs on Rhapsody and 87 on Spotify. I’ve noted in the comments for each song which aren’t available on playlists and those have links. Or just jump around and pull them all up on YouTube. Whatever you do, the list takes about six hours all the way through so call in sick and enjoy!
THE LIST
100. Man or Muppet by Jason Segel (feat. Walter). The perfect intersection of The Muppets and “Flight of the Conchords”
99. Truth by Alexander. Don’t worry. That creepy guy whistling in the corner is just a hippie.
98. Still Sound by Toro Y Moi. A bass riff that slips into your bloodstream.
97. Sleeping By Myself by Eddie Vedder. Eddie makes even the ukelele sound badass.
96. Mountain Top by Bedouin Soundclash. Had to double check this band featured no members of The Clash.
95. Be Your Bro by Those Darlins. Even girl groups aspire to a good old-fashioned bromance.
94. Easy (Infinity Waits) by K-X-P. What the Haunted Mansion listens to after hours. [not on Rhapsody]
93. Bess St. by White Denim. If only Guitar Hero were still around….
92. Safari Disco Club by Yelle. The most fun you can have in French.
91. Car Crash by Telekinesis. Sadness never sounded so bouncy.
90. Gucci Gucci by Kreayshwan. More bling obsessed than Jay-Z and Kanye put together.
89. Your Wildest Dreams by Warren Haynes. What the last song of the night sounds like.
88. Blue Tip by The Cars. As if the past twenty years didn’t happen.
87. The Afterlife by Paul Simon. Apparently Heaven is run a lot like the US government.
86. Tennessee by Gillian Welch. “Beefsteak and whiskey”: seems about as good as a state motto can get.
85. Warm in the Winter by Glass Candy. Dancing has a new queen.
84. Miss K by Deer Tick. Makes “let’s get going” sound like a charming come-on.
83. Civilization by Justice. The dance club equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
82. Yonkers by Tyler, The Creator. We share similar feelings about Bruno Mars.
81. What Can I Do? by The Black Belles. If witches formed girl groups.
80. Fuck My Brains Out by The-Game. Makes Prince sound like a prude. [not on Rhapsody or Spotify]
79. Is It Done by J Mascis. An acoustic ballad that still finds time for a slow-burning Dinosaur Jr guitar solo in the middle.
78. Dedication to My Ex (Miss That) by Lloyd (feat Andre 3000). Can’t imagine why she dumped him…
77. Damn These Vampires by The Mountain Goats. Even John Darnielle is getting in on the vampire thing.
76. Killer Crane by TV on the Radio. R.I.P. Gerard Smith.
75. You Don’t Like It by Jean Grae. “I’m like Judy Blume with uzis”. [not on Rhapsody or Spotify]
74. Love What Happened Here by James Blake. What a one-dude jam session sounds like in 2011. [not on Rhapsody or Spotify]
73. Novacane by Frank Ocean. Extra points for the Coachella call out.
72. Roll Up Wiz Khalifa. Sometimes all it takes is a very thinly veiled allusion to getting high…
71. Still Life by The Horrors. Britpop head-bobbers unite.
70. Last Night by The Morning Benders. Using Auto Tune on a Strokes classic = success!
69. Take Care by Drake (feat. Rihanna). Like the two most popular kids in school commiserating about their tough lives.
68. Leave the Engine Room by Everything Everything. A song that changes its mind every 20 seconds.
67. Rope (deadmau5 mix) by Foo Fighters. Foo Fighters songs have started all sounding alike to me…until one got a deadmau5 remix.
66. Mad Dog by Black Lips. Great for dancing the frug.
65. Chicago by Tom Waits. Would sound at home on Pinnochio’s Pleasure Island.
64. How Come You Never Go There by Feist. Like your head hitting the pillow after a long day.
63. Calgary by Bon Iver. Easy listening for hipsters.
62. Ice Cream by Battles (feat. Matias Aguayo). This is literally what eating ice cream sounds like.
61. Lofticries by Purity Ring. What falling off a building in slow motion sounds like.
60. Dystopia (The Earth Is On Fire) by YACHT. Most danceable song about dystopia ever.
59. Dna by Darwin Deez. A geeky tribute to genetics.
58. Bein’ Green by Andrew Bird. This now feels like an Andrew Bird original that Kermit covers.
57. The Coming Days by Hello Echo. A song Built to Spill.
56. Some Boys by Death Cab for Cutie. Ben Gibbard + heavy breathing.
55. Till the World Ends by Britney Spears. Can’t. Help. It.
54. It’s Hard To Get Around the Wind by Alex Turner. A song that sounds destined to be on a movie soundtrack (which it was).
53. Show Me The Place by Leonard Cohen. Like God singing you a lullaby. [not on Rhapsody or Spotify]
52. Whirring by The Joy Formidable. File under alternative rock anthems.
51. County Line by Cass McCombs. Like the mellowest of Eagles songs.
50. You and I by Lady Gaga. Nebraska claims its rightful place in the rock n roll spotlight.
49. So American by Portugal. The Man. Wins ‘Best Synchronized Clapping’ of 2011 hands down.
48. Calamity Song by The Decemberists. Because someone needs to fill the R.E.M. void.
47. Come to the Bar by Pete and the Pirates. Morale of the song: if nothing else, you’ll always have drinking.
46. Daydreaming by Middle Brother. An ode to not wanting to get out of bed.
45. Library Pictures by Arctic Monkeys. Someone’s been spending some time with Josh Homme….
44. Bury Me Standing by Handsome Furs. Like an indie bullet train. Does that make sense?
43. Down in the Valley by The Head and the Heart. For a Sunday morning.
42. Glass Tambourine by Wild Flag. Riot grrrl meets Deep Purple.
41. Wildfire by SBTRKT (feat. Little Dragon). A synthesizer with a mind of its own.
40. On the Rocks by Grieves. Hip hop that sounds like nothing else.
39. Oh My God by Cults. Shimmery.
38. Codex by Radiohead. Yorke + piano = haunting.
37. Senator by Stephen Malkmus. This just might be the anthem the 99% have been looking for.
36. Ritual Union by Little Dragon. Prince in the form of a Japanese-Swedish woman.
35. Art of Almost by Wilco. Further proof that Wilco can do whatever it wants.
34. Ashes & Fire by Ryan Adams. Adams wants us to compare him to Dylan. I’m tempted to do it.
33. Boeing 737 by The Low Anthem. Epic from the first note.
32. Little Black Submarines by The Black Keys. The Black Keys are never not great.
31. Wicked Games by The Weeknd. The language! .
30. Pressure and Time by Rival Sons. Carrying the Led Zeppelin torch for 2011
29. Aberdeen by Cage the Elephant. it’s supposed to be a tribute to Kurt Cobain but it feels way more like a love letter to The Pixies.
28. Doorstep by tUne-yArDs. What vocal somersaults sound like.
27. Need You Now by Cut Copy. If The National played discos.
26. Milshake by Yuck. Teenage Fanclub has a fanclub.
25. Dig a Little Deeper by Peter Bjorn & John. PB&J are bringing back the conga line.
24. Sadness is a Blessing by Lykke Li. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.
23. Heartbeat by Childish Gambino. Troubles of a twentysomething.
22. As Bright as Your Night Light by Nerves Junior. Kid B.
21. Young Blood by The Naked and Famous. In an alternate universe, this would be a huge hit.
20. I Don’t Want Love by The Antlers. That sounds like the ghost of Jeff Buckley howling at the end.
19. Shell Games by Bright Eyes. This just in: Conor Oberst wrote a pop song!
18. Victory Dance by My Morning Jacket. MMJ goes full tribal.
17. Video Games by Lana Del Rey. True love is sharing an Xbox.
16. Ni**as in Paris by Jay-Z & Kanye West. “No one knows what it means…but it’s provacative!”
15. Thunder on the Mountain by Wanda Jackson. Jack White lights a match and burns the place down.
14. Cardiac Arrest by Teddybears (feat. Robyn). Shake your bone maker.
13. Radio by Raphael Saadiq. Otis rising.
12. The Words That Maketh Murder by PJ Harvey. Easily the best song of the year to combine olde Enlgish, “Summertime Blues” and an autoharp.
11. Time Spent in Los Angeles by Dawes. Jackson Browne-alikes give L.A. one big backhanded complement.
10. Wetsuit by The Vaccines. If nothing else, there is always the ocean.
9. Mine is Yours by Cold War Kids. Ladies and gentlemen your newest arena rock band: Cold War Kids.
8. Stuck in My Id by Reptar. David Byrne would break out his oversized white suit again for this one.
7. Midnight City by M83. One amazing riff goes a long way.
6. How Deep Is Your Love? by The Rapture. Like the Bee-Gees classic on amphetamines.
5. Losers by The Belle Brigade. Joins Tom Petty and Beck in the pantheon of loser classics.
4. Lover to Lover by Florence + The Machine. Motown meets Middle Earth.
3. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes. For tripping out at the intricacies of the universe.
2. Rolling in the Deep by Adele. A song that took everyone hostage all year. And we loved it.
1. Lippy Kids by Elbow. A ray of hope in a dark year: build a rocket boys!
Related Posts
Leave a Comment
RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI
