50 Favorite Songs of 2011 [50-26]

Compiling the "best" songs of the year is one hell of a daunting task so I decided to tackle it the easiest and most honest way I knew how. I wrote down 50 of my most listened to songs from 2011, without repeating a band, based on my last.fm account. The only flaw is that some songs had the advantage of spending more time in my library than others. There's plenty I've left out, and frankly a "best of" list would look a little bit different. However, looking at the list, I love that I can vividly remember playing these songs non-stop at certain points during the year. I hope you can enjoy it and maybe find some favorites too. Download the zip of all 25 songs.

50. Jens Lekman - An Argument with Myself
49. Daughter - Youth
48. Good Lovelies - Old Highway
47. Bill Callahan - Drover
46. Typhoon - Summer Home
45. Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms
44. Real Estate - It's Real
43. Vandaveer - Concerning Past & Future Conquests
42. TV Girl - Lizzy Come Back to Life
41.  Milo Greene - 1957
40. Joseph Giant - Out in the Breeze
39. James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat
38. The Wooden Sky - City of Light/Dancing By My Window
37. Allo Darlin' - Wu Tang Clan
36. Emma Louise - Al's Song
35. Aunt Martha - Bloodshot
34. Chamberlin - Dust
33. NewVillager - Lighthouse
32. Francois Peglau - One Minute to Midnight Dream (So Sad)
31. The Rosebuds - Woods
30. Portugal. The Man - Once Was One
29. Penny & The Quarters - You and Me
28. Fruit Bats - WACS
27. Beat Radio - Beautiful One
26. Claire Denamur - Bang Bang Bang

Quarter 1 Round Up - January

Artwork by Exploding Dog

After making a favorite of 2010 list, I was more aware than ever of how hard it is for one person to gather and absorb all the music out there. For this reason I will never make a "Best Of" list, I don't feel like I have the ability to make such judgements, but I can share favorites. Here's what I enjoyed the most (I apologize in advance for botching some release dates). I listened to more music than I ever have, winter was good for that. If you don't see something on the list that you think should be, feel free to leave a comment. If you think this is a lot come back tomorrow to see my February and March picks.

January 

This was a great first month. Right off the bat people were claiming that James Blake's and Destroyer's albums are going to be on end of year lists. Those people are probably right.

If I had a boat I would sail to you

Maybe it's the build up in the chorus of James Vincent McMorrow's ravishing voice, or the subtle banjo obscured in the background that makes me stop in my tracks whenever I hear this song. It made me think of the summer captured in this picture, before everything started to unravel, when I spent a lot of time on paddle boats at sunset with nothing but the company of friends and bottles of wine and it simultaneously made me feel a familiar pang of sadness for a time, a feeling, and a person that I will never be able to replace.

"If I had a boat, I would sail to you / hold you in my arms, ask you to be true/ Once I had a dream, it died long before/ now I'm pointing north, hoping for the shore"

His voice is a cross between Sean Carey's of Bon Iver and Jose Gonzalez and it might make you want to cry when you hear him sing these lyrics about a love that can't work. I've listened to a lot of this LP titled Early in the Morning on soundcloud, and his other songs are a bit on the happier side but his affecting voice always shines through. I know I will be buying this when it is released on January 25th, there are some seriously good tracks that will keep you coming back. Keep your eye out for this Dubliner. 

James Vincent McMorrow - If I Had a Boat

official | stream/buy

A huge thanks to Kyle at Music Savage for this find.