Best of 2011

Oh, dear readers, after five days in Istanbul, four days in Riyadh, a breakup, a bathroom remodel, and the release of Said the Gramophone's Best of 2011, there is simply so much to write about that I don't know where to begin!

I feel an intense need to bitch about how annoyed I am at being shocked by static each time I touch a doorknob in my office but, to spare you that rant, I will begin with my own favorite music of 2011 list. I know it's already January 3rd but I hope you'll forgive me for my tardiness. I spent the weekend doing yoga and cleaning the refrigerator.

DJ Jankstarr's Best of 2011

Albums and EPs


1. How Do You Do, Mayer Hawthorne
Mayer Hawthorne is such a doll, and may well eclipse Aloe Blacc and Raphael Saadiq to become the king of neo soul, or retro soul, depending on how you like to categorize things. The point is that these guys make new songs that sound like old songs but have their own kind of integrity. I loved many of the tracks on Hawthorne's first, A Strange Arrangement, and accompanying EPs, but I didn't take him seriously until now. This is an album with serious staying power that you want to listen to all the way through every time because every song rules. "No Strings" and "The Walk" are particular faves.

2. El Camino, The Black Keys
I think this is there best one yet. We've played it so much in the house, if it was a record, it would probably be ruined by now. "Little Black Submarines" is such a shout out to "Stairway to Heaven" and I love it.








3. W H O K I L L, Tune-Yards
I don't think I need to spend anymore time on this blog talking about how much I love Tune-Yards and I'm not the only one who's said Merrill Garbus is of the most creative artists of our time, perhaps the most.







4. Videogames, Lana Del Rey
This EP has four tracks: "Videogames", "Blue Jeans," and two remixes of "Videogames." I think the remixes suck but the first two songs are the best I've heard all year. Delightfully creepy and heart-wrenching. Del Rey's much anticipated full length album will be released in the UK later this month.

5. RYEot powRR, Rye Rye
I don't know if this really counts, because it's a mix tape, but the second half of it was the best things to happen to my workout routine this year. Starting with "Bang," her duet with M.I.A, it flows into a crowd bumpin' remix of Mylie Cyrus' "Party in the USA," (regular readers will remember this video) then her workings of Far East Movement's "Like a G6," and then a remix of Ciara's "Gimme Dat" in which Rye Rye, with attitude for days, raps:

I'm gonna break it down now/can you gimme dat sound now?/
I'm gonna put on my crown now/shake 'em down to the ground style/
Got 'em screamin' like ow ow/work it out like pow pow/
I'm gonna get it like CC/shakin' all my goodies

Honorable mentions:

1. Soul Time!, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
I love SJDK, a renowned leader in the retro/neo soul genre, and this has some gems on it but it's just nowhere as awesome as last year's I Learned the Hard Way. A lot of the best songs on this album have also already been released. Still, if you haven't yet, it's worth listening to for "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects," and the totally funktastic "What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?" which might be my favorite song of the year.

2. House of Balloons, The Weeknd
I know a lot of folks are listing this as one of their fave albums of the year. It's pretty darn good, and Abel Tesfaye is for sure going to go places (he's only 20!) but I don't love any of the other songs on his debut as much as "Loft Music" which samples Beach House and is perhaps the only song of 2011 I've played more than "Videogames."

3. 4, Beyonce
I don't love 4 as a whole but "1+1" and "Countdown" are pretty magical. I still can't believe the latter isn't all over the radio with it's addictive dance floor-ready refrain:

Me and my boo in my boo coupe riding/
All up in that black with his chick right beside him/
Ladies, if you love your man show him you the fliest/
Grind up on it, girl, show him how you ride it

Listen to it here.

4. Stone Rollin', Raphael Saadiq
Compared to the hits that this former Tony Toni Tone star churned out on his albums Instant Vintage and The Way I See It, this album is mostly meh but the super upbeat "Day Dreams" and the single "Good Man" are pretty solid.

When I look at the best of lists on the music blogs out there I realize there is so much I've missed. Please send me your fave links, tell me what you've been listening to. I have a lot of catching up to do!

I haven't heard it yet but Ty Segall wins my award for best album cover of the year for Goodbye Bread.