As in the past, I have found a lot to like in many (but not all) new releases by my long-time fave artists. But I have also been impressed by the work of many relatively new faces (though almost never the same new faces favored by Pitchfork Media). I think it's a good sign that 2011 was the first year in recent memory in which I was just as excited by the records on the "Best New Releases" list as on the "Best Reissues" list. It's possible that my "Best New Releases" list is over-represented by artists who might be classified into the genres of "C86 indie-pop," "anti-folk," and/or "garage-rock revivalism." But I don't really think so. I don't know what it means that Bill Callahan (my #2 pick) has popped up on virtually every year-end list I've seen, while Kimya Dawson (my #4 pick)--who is equally non-obscure--has popped up on precisely none. I don't think my selection of Wussy's "Funeral Dress II" as the #1 album of the year reflects cronyism, though it might. I do have a lot of other cronies who made records this year that did not rank as #1! Happy New Year!
Top 25 Albums of 2011:
- Wussy - Funeral Dress II CD (Shake It)
- Bill Callahan - Apocalypse LP/CD (Drag City)
- Feelies - Here Before LP/CD (Bar/None)
- Kimya Dawson - Thunder Thighs 2LP/CD (Great Crap Factory)
- Complaints Choir - OST 3CD+DVD (Smog Veil)
- Royal Headache -s/t CD (R.I.P. Society)
- Mannequin Men -s/t LP (Addenda)
- Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Wolfroy Goes To Town LP/CD (Drag City)
- Jeffrey Lewis - A Turn In The Dream-Songs LP/CD (Rough Trade)
- Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck LP/CD (Merge)
- Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep CD (Heavenly/Downtown)
- Comet Gain - Howl of the Lonely Crowd CD (What's Your Rupture)
- Fucked Up - David Comes To Life 2LP/CD/DA (Matador)
- V/A (Fucked Up) - David's Town LP (Matador)
- East River Pipe - We Live in Rented Rooms CD (Merge)
- Antietam - Tenth Life CD (Carrot Top)
- Eddy Current Suppression Ring - So Many Things 2LP/CD (Goner)
- Tabby Chinos - University Of Strangers Book+MP3 (Smog Veil)
- VA - This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw, African-American Gospel On 45rpm (1957-1982) 3CD (Tompkins Square)
- Veronica Falls - s/t LP/CD (Slumberland)
- Withered Hand - Good News LP/CD (Absolutely Kosher)
- 200 Years - s/t LP/CD (Drag City)
- Jeffrey Lewis & Peter Stampfel - Come On Board CD (Olive Juice)
- J Mascis - Several Shades of Why LP/CD (Sub Pop)
- Yung Wu - Us & Them CDR-EP (self-released)
- Bitch Prefect - "Holiday In America" 7"EP (R.I.P. Society) (Australia)
- Jay Reatard - "You Get No Love" 7"45 (Shattered)
- Home Blitz - A.T.K/Last Cycle 7"45 (Mexican Summer)
- Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby - "Do You Remember That?" MP3 (Radio Free Song Club)
- Bonnie "Prince" Billy - There Is No God 10"EP (Drag City)
- Crisis of Conformity - Fist Fight! 7"45 (Drag City)
- Fucked Up - "Octavio Made The Bomb" 7"45 (Matador)
- Wild Flag - Future Crimes b/w Glass Tambourine 7"45 (Merge)
- Hive Dwellers - "Get In" 12"EP (K Records)
- Jeffrey Novak - "Back At The Bottom" 7"EP (Trouble In Mind)
- Rocket From The Tombs - "I Sell Soul"' 7"45 (Smog Veil)
- Moon Duo - Silver Bells / Winter 7"45 (Holy Mountain)
- J Mascis - Circle 7"45 (Sub Pop)
- The Thermals - Never Listen to Me MP3-single (Kill Rock Stars)
- Hard-Ons w/ Neil Hamburger - American Exports 7"45 (Alternative Tentacles)
- Bleached - Carter 7"45 (Art Fag)
- Cheyenne Marie Mize - I Called You Back MP3 (Bandcamp)
- Liminananas - "I'm Dead" 7"45 (HoZac)
- TV Casualty - s/t 7"EP (Matador)
- The New Pornographers - Moves 7"45 (Matador)
- 3Ds - Early Recordings 1989-90 CD (Flying Nun) (1989-90)
- Ed Askew - Imperfiction LP (Galactic Zoo Disk/Drag City) (1984)
- Bad Brains - Pay To Cum/Stay Close To Me 7"EP (ROIR) (1980)
- Balloon Farm - A Question of Temperature/Hurtin' For Your Love 7"45 (Laurie) (1968)
- Banana Splits - The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) 7"45 (Decca) (1968)
- Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions Box Set 5CD+2LP+2x7"45 (Capitol) (1966)
- Bitch Magnet - Complete Discography 3LP/3CD (Temporary Residence) (1988-90)
- BMX Bandits - C86/Star Wars combined CD (Virtual) (1989/91)
- Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Singles Collection 1992-2011 2CD (A Records) (1992-2011)
- Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps/You Can't Be Funky 7"45 (ROIR) (1982)
- Chalk Circle - Reflection LP (Mississippi) (1981-83)
- Clap - Have You Reached Yet? LP (Sing Sing) (1972)
- Cramps - File Under Sacred Music: Early Singles 1978-1981 10x7"45/CD (Munster) (1978-1981)
- Crass - Stations Of The Crass CD (Crass) (1979)
- Crass - The Feeding Of The Five Thousand CD (Crass) (1978)
- Customs - Long Gone 7" (Munster/Shake It) (Spain) (1980)
- Deadbeats - Complete Dangerhouse Recordings 10"EP (Artifix) (1978)
- Disco Zombies - Drums Over London LP (Acute) (1979-80)
- DMZ - Radio Demos | Lyres - Live At Cantones, Boston 1982 combined-CD (Munster Records) (Spain) (1976 & 1982)
- Dow Jones and the Industrials - s/t 7"EP (Family Vinyard) (1980)
- Jad Fair - Beautiful Songs: The Best Of Jad Fair LP/3CD (Fire) (1980-2010)
- Feederz - Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss? LP (Broken Rekids) (1983)
- Fleshtones - Roman Gods/Up-Front CD (Raven) (Australia) (1980-81)
- George-Edwards Group - Archives LP (Galactic Zoo Disk/Drag City) (1979-85)
- Screamin' Jay Hawkins - The Singles 1954-1957 LP (Rumble) (1954-1957)
- Human Instinct - Kiwi Psych Heads: Singles 1966-1971 LP (Groovie) (Spain) (1966-1971)
- Human Switchboard - Who's Landing in My Hangar? CD (Bar/None) (1977-84)
- John Fahey - Your Past Comes Back To Haunt You: The Fonotone Years 1958-1965 5CD (Dust-To-Digital) (1958-65)
- Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground 2LP (Mississippi) (1927–1930)
- Rodd Keith - My Pipe Yellow Dream LP (Roaratorio) (1966-74)
- Ken Kesey & His Merry Pranksters - The Acid Test LP (Sound City) (Spain) (1966)
- Left Banke - Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina LP/CD (Sundazed) (1967)
- Lone Pigeon - Time Capsule 7CD (Domino) (1995-2010)
- Angus MacLise, Tony Conrad, and Jack Smith - Dreamweapon I-III LPs (Boo-Hooray) (1964-68)
- Marshall McLuhan - The Medium Is The Massage CD (Five Day Weekend) (1967)
- Modern Lovers - 96 Tears LP (Vinyl Lovers) (Russia) (1971-73)
- Pleasure Seekers - What A Way To Die CD (Cradle Rocks) (1967-69)
- Reatards - Teenage Hate/Fuck Elvis: Here’s The Reatards 2LP/CD (Goner) (1998)
- Red Crayola - God Bless the Red Krayola (remastered by Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember) (Snapper/Charly) (1968)
- Red Crayola - Parable of Arable Land (remastered by Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember) (Snapper/Charly) (1966)
- Rolling Stones - Some Girls 2CD (Republic) (1978)
- Sebadoh - Bakesale 2CD (Sub Pop) (1994)
- Ty Segall - Singles 2007-2010 2LP/CD (Goner) (2007-2010)
- Social Climbers - Social Climbers CD (Drag City) (1980)
- Sun Ra - Presents the Qualities 7"45 (Norton) (1955)
- Sun Ra & The Blues Project - The Sensational Guitars Of Dan & Dale: Batman And Robin LP (Klimt) (France) (1966)
- Supreme Dicks - Breathing and Not Breathing 4CD (Jagjaguwar) (1993-96)
- Teenage Fanclub - Deep Fried Fanclub LP/CD (Fire) (1990-92)
- Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles LP (1972 Records) (1979-82)
- Throbbing Gristle - Deluxe Reissues of first five albums 5x2CD (Industrial) (UK) (1977-80)
- Tiny Tim - Lost & Found 1963-1974 LP (Secret Seven) (1963-74)
- Vertebrats - Screaming Like A Mad Chair LP (Parasol) (1980-82)
- V/A - Busted At Oz LP (Permanent) (1981)
- V/A - Dirty Water 2: More Birth Of Punk Attitude 2LP/2CD (Year Zero) (UK) (1976)
- V/A - How Many Roads?: Black America Sings Bob Dylan CD (Ace) (1965-74)
- V/A - Tally Ho! Flying Nun's Greatest Bits CD (Flying Nun) (1981-1995)
- America Hearts / Cotton Candy - Split 7"EP (Sockets)
- Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic! LP/CD (Cooking Vinyl)
- Bats - Free All The Monsters LP/CD (Flying Nun)
- Boris - New Album 2LP/CD (Sargent House)
- Cakekitchen - Kangaroos In My Top Paddock LP (Violet Times)
- Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion LP/CD (Slumberland)
- Damon & Naomi - False Beats And True Hearts LP/CD (20|20|20)
- Dick Diver - New Start Again CD (Chapter Music) (Australia)
- Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams LP/CD (Sub Pop)
- Eleventh Dream Day - Riot Now! LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)
- The Ex - Catch My Shoe LP/CD (Ex) (Netherlands)
- Fang Wizard - Pure Hex CD (Teenbeat)
- Philip Glass - Kepler 2CD (Orange Mountain)
- Gospel Music - How To Get To Heaven From Jacksonville LP (Kill Rock Stars)
- Gray - Shades Of... CD (Plush Safe)
- Hal Dolls - Bipolaroid CD (Noise Pollution)
- Neil Hamburger - Live At Taylor Brigode's Bachelor Party 7"45 (Boo-Hooray)
- Mick Harvey - Sketches From The Book Of The Dead CD (Mute)
- Susan Howe & David Grubbs - Frolic Architecture CD (Blue Chopsticks)
- Hypocrite In A Hippy Crypt - Tweaker In The Park CD (Gulcher)
- Jonny - s/t CD (Merge)
- Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds - Gorilla Rose LP/CD (In The Red)
- David Kilgour & the Heavy Eights - Left by Soft CD (Merge)
- Malefactors of Great Wealth - Today Is the Best Day of My Life CDR (Old 3C)
- Mars Classroom - New Theory Of Everything LP/CD (Happy Jack Rock)
- Mekons - Ancient and Modern CD (Sin/Bloodshot)
- Stephin Merritt - Obscurities LP/CD (Merge)
- Moon Duo - Mazes CD (Sacred Bones)
- New Toys - Made In Buffalo CD (Realkat)
- Doug Paisley - Constant Companion CD (No Quarter)
- Robert Pollard - Space City Kicks (Gbv Inc)
- Primal Scream & MC5-DTK - Black To Comm 2CD+DVD (Easy Action) (UK)
- Protex - Strange Obsessions LP (Sing Sing)
- Psychedelic Horseshit - Laced LP/CD (Fat Cat)
- Quilt - Quilt LP/CD (Mexican Summer)
- Refrigerator - Dangerous CD (Shrimper)
- Renderers - A Rocket Into Nothing CD (Ba Da Bing!)
- Terry Riley & Gyan Riley - Live CD (Sri Moonshine Music)
- Rick Rizzo & Tara Key - Double Star LP (Thrill Jockey)
- Alasdair Roberts - "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship" (w/Karine Polwart)/"The Dowie Dens o Yarrow"(Drew Wright) 7"45 (Drag City)
- Rocket From The Tombs - Barfly LP/CD (Smog Veil/Fire)
- Kim Salmon and The Guys From Mudhoney - Until.... LP (Bang!) (Spain)
- Nathan Salsburg - Affirmed LP/CD (No Quarter)
- Scene Is Now - Magpie Alarm CD (Tongue Master)
- Robert Scott - Ends Run Together LP/CD (Flying Nun)
- Singer - Mindreading LP/CD (Drag City)
- Spectre Folk - Blackest Medicine Vol. 2 12"EP (Woodsist)
- Speed The Plough - Shine CD (Dromedary)
- Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo LP/CD (Redeye/Future Noise)
- Surf City - Kudos LP/CD (Fire)
- The Thermals - Not Like Any Other Feeling 7"45 (Kill Rock Stars)
- Times New Viking - Dancer Equired LP/CD (Merge)
- Trembling Bells - The Constant Pageant LP/CD (Honest Jon's) (UK)
- Twerps - s/t LP/CD (Underwater Peoples/Chapter Music) (Australia)
- Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo/So Outta Reach EP Deluxe Expanded Edition CD (Matador)
- Vores - Common Scar CD (self-released)
- Wild Flag - Wild Flag LP/CD (Merge)
- Wire - Red Barked Tree LP/CD (Pink Flag)
- Wussy - Strawberry CD (Shake It)
- C Spencer Yeh - In The Blink Of An Eye/Condo Stress 7"45 (De Stijl)
- V/A - Whaur the Pig Gaed on the Spree: Scottish Recordings by Alan Lomax LP (Drag City)
