Life + James Vincent McMorrow

Before I get into the music, a couple of quick things.

1. I don't live in China anymore. That's weird. I'm on my way to London for a couple of weeks before moving to South Africa for at least the next 2 years. So I'm posting this from the Dubai airport. I may start doing more non-music posts once I'm in Africa. We'll see.

2. A friend gave me a great compliment the other day. He said my taste in music was esoteric. That made me very happy.

Ok, now for the music. I heard James Vincent McMorrow early this year and the first thing that came to mind was Bon Iver. I think there's a lot of similarities between the two, and not just musically. Apparently Mr. McMorrow took a page from Justin Vernon's book in writing his first album, Early in the Morning, by closing himself off in a house in the middle of nowhere to write it.

I wanted to put it in my top 10 this year because I remember reading that it was only released in Ireland (where he's from) in 2010, and given a wider release in 2011. Unfortunately I couldn't find that tidbit when I made my list, which may have been a blessing in disguise cause it was hard enough to get my list down to ten albums.

My favorite track from the album is We Don't Eat. Please enjoy:

I also love the first track on the album, If I Had A Boat. It's a great opener and I think you can definitely hear the similarties between James and Bon Iver here.

Top 10 Albums of 2011

It's that time of the year, when everyone does their obligatory lists of the best (insert category here) of the year. Actually, TIME magazine really outdid themselves this time and put out 54 lists. Quite impressive and fun to look through, but I have no idea how they did it, because my top 10 list of the best albums was a nightmare to figure out.

This was a pretty good year for music, if I do say so myself. There was a lot of good stuff out there, and here are my favorites. I couldn't bring myself to rank them, so they're not in any particular order.

• Bon Iver - Bon Iver

I know not everyone agrees with me, but I think the sophomore album from Bon Iver is even better than their first album, which is a hard feat to accomplish. I think it shows a lot of growth from them musically, and even the tracks that shouldn't be that good are still great.

        
Favorite tracks: Perth, Holocene, Michicant, Calgary

• Wild Beasts - Smother

Another band who gets better with every album. Absolutely love this one. It was one of those albums that grew on me the more I listened to it.

Favorite tracks: Loop the Loop, Invisible, Reach a Bit Further, Burning

• Little Dragon - Ritual Union

Little Dragon outdid themselves this year with Ritual Union. I feel like a lot of artists fall into this pattern where they make a good first album, a disappointing second album, then an amazing third album. That's just what Little Dragon has done. It's no wonder this album is in like every single top 10 I've seen so far.

Favorite tracks: Brush the Heat, Shuffle a Dream, Please Turn, Crystalfilm

 

• Florence + the Machine - Ceremonials

This was one of my most anticipated albums this year. Lungs was my 2nd favorite album in 2009 and I've been waiting very impatiently for Florence to put out a new album. Thank God she finally did, and it doesn't disappoint at all. Also an album that I like the more I listen, even though I loved it the first time around. I think this woman and her band are exactly what popular music needs right now.

Favorite tracks: Only If For A Night, Heartlines, Strangeness and Charm

• tUnE-yArDs - whokill

I've blogged about Tune-Yards before, but Merrill Garbus is a freaking genius. This album brought a much more polished sound to her debut from a couple years back, and it includes my favorite track by her. She's extremely unique and has an unbelievable voice. She also wins the award for best concert I went to this year, and one of the best I've ever been to.

Favorite tracks: Bizness, Gangsta

• James Blake - James Blake

I really like this guy. I can't seem to find anyone else who does for me musically what he does. Great debut album.
Favorite tracks: Wilhelm's Scream, I Never Learnt to Share, I Mind

• Warpaint - The Fool

I love the sound these ladies make. Very sexy and dark. And they're from LA, so what's not to love? I've already blogged them, so not too much to say, but listen to their album!
Favorite tracks: Undertow, Composure

• Feist - Metals

Feist is back with another amazing album. I think this may be her most accesible album to date, and to me it's got a much darker sound than her previous work.

Favorite tracks: The Bad In Each Other, A Commotion, Comfort Me

• Meshell Ndegeocello - Weather

This woman is one of music's best kept secrets. A Jill of all trades, she can pretty much do anything. I'll definitely be blogging about her again later on, so I won't say too much, but any album by her is worth listening to.

Favorite tracks: Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, Chance, Dirty World

• My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind

I already blogged about My Brightest Diamond so I don't have too much to say, except that this album is a beautiful, stripped down reflection of the type of work she's always done. And I'm very much looking forward to the remixes.

Favorite tracks: Reaching Through to the Other Side, Escape Routes, Everything Is In Line

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

I've been listening to Bicycle by Memory Tapes non-stop since I got it last week. It's ridiculously good, especially at the end. It's off his 2009 album, Seek Magic, which I think is much better than the album he put out this year. But if I'm being honest, this song is far better than anything else he's made. Still worth checking out, but mostly just listen to this song.

Spanish Joint

Spanish Joint by D'Angelo: my favorite track off his album Voodoo. One of the best songs ever, off one of my favorite albums ever. There's not much I can say about this song, but we are long overdue new music from this guy.