If there’s one good thing that can be said for what turned out to be a furthering of turbulent and dark days the world over, 2011 was at the very least a good year for music. A great year, even.
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As always, I wish I’d had the time and resources available to experience more, but here are some of the things that made 2011 memorable (in alphabetical order, to be fair).
À l’Intérieur (Inside) at TIFF Bell Lightbox, August 20: Though I’d already watched this film three times on DVD, I felt that I needed to see it on the big screen. I’ve probably said this a few times already, but it’s still true: it manages to completely transcend the horror genre to become a bona fide work of cinematic art. It is indescribable and powerful and if you haven’t experienced it yet, you should.
Adam Ant: For all those folks who thought he was a crazy, bloated has-been, recent live performance clips on YouTube will more than prove those half-baked theories wrong. He’s so much more than the guy who did “Goody Two Shoes” and any and all adulation for him is well deserved. His descent into madness, fall from grace, and subsequent return to form (used in the truest, most non-cliched sense ever) are remarkable achievements. He remains, after thirty years, a huge inspiration to me. (more…)
Here is some popular music I have been digging this year.
Some on this list came out this year and some didn’t.
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Coming up with a summary of what I liked that emerged in the current year is getting tougher to do, the older I’m getting. I’m harder to impress and surprisingly, I’m even more susceptible to boredom. I think I can chalk it up to the fact that the older we all get, the less time we have. So I don’t have the time to waste my personal life on bullshit. Its bad enough that I live in Clevehole!
So without further ado, here are some new records that I think are worthy of my precious time!
This was, by far, my favorite album of the year (actually, the past two years). But first some background: Mick Harvey is one of the few musicians out there who doesn’t have any embarrassing bullshit in his discography. He continuously produces quality work and is prolific with his output, but is always viewed as a “collaborator” even though he has several solo albums. Typically Mick works with a lot of people; he’s been surrounded by many talented ones in his career (who would probably be useless if they didn’t have someone as organized and hardworking as Mick around to make sure shit gets done), but hasn’t ever really gotten the credit he deserves. (If there were an “Employee of the Year” Award for musicians Mick should’ve won it many times over!)
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Saint Winehouse
© 2010 Vicki Berndt
This past year boasted many new releases by some of my favorite all-time artists. Technically, Robyn’s Body Talk trilogy came out in 2010, but her career blew up stateside this year, culminating in her appearance on Saturday Night Live in December.
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In terms of entertainment, 2011 has been kind of slow for me. Electronic acts, dubstep, and boring indie bands named after animals or things you have no hope of pronouncing in the correct way, have been a plague on the music scene like the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918. OK, that may be a bit exaggerated but you get the idea.
There have been, however, some things in music, movies, and the written word that have gotten my attention in 2011. Here’s my list of both new and old gems I’ve discovered and revisited in the past year. I hope you find my list enjoyable and informative. If not, better luck next year.
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Reissues: Roy Harper, Songs of Love and Loss
Listened to a lot: Kurt Vile, Smoke Ring For My Halo
Concert: Josh T. Pearson at Union Chapel in London on May 11
Movies: Benda Bilili! (watched on the tour bus), Michael Powell’s The Edge of the World (1937), and The Monk with Vincent Cassel
DVD: Brimstone and Treacle (the BBC TV version, not the Sting film!)
Film festivals: Screening of Ken Russell’s The Boy Friend at the BFI on December 9
Books: Oliver Twist, started reading Michael Horovitz
Art: Grayson Perry, “The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman” at The British Museum
Comic books: Anything by Alan Moore
Favorite cities: Dresden, Berlin, and started to enjoy London
Coolest thing found at a vintage or thrift store: A WWI officer’s compass
Best restaurant: The Golden Dragon in London’s Chinatown
Erland and The Carnival‘s latest album, Nightingale, was released on March 29. The band will be playing in Vienna at The Maifield Derby Festival on May 19 and again at The Orange Blossom Festival on May 26. For more on the band, please check out their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Top Ten Albums of 2011
10. Weatherbox, Follow The Rattle Of The Afghan Guitar
9. Yuck, Yuck
8. The Shore, Light Years
7. The Damnwells, No One Listens To The Band Anymore
6. Low, C’mon
5. Ringo Deathstarr, Colour Trip
4. Dawes, Nothing Is Wrong
3. The Morning After Girls, Alone
2. The Horrors, Skying
1. Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders, Hurtsville
Kamtin Mohager is The Chain Gang Of 1974. Their most recent album, Wayward Fire, was released on June 21. For more on the band, check them out on their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Here’s a list of stuff I was really into in 2010.
Electric Six, Zodiac: This album arrived in the mail a few months before its actual release. When it arrived, I was so excited that I actually felt sick. So instead of listening to it right away, I read all the press notes that accompanied it. I listened to it the next day. I have listened to this album over 245 times. This is not a lie. Drive somewhere with me and you’ll hear it twice.
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Anamanaguchi, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Original Videogame Soundtrack
Wild Nothing, Gemini
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (except for the song “Runaway,” which is the Emperor’s New Clothes of songs)
Anything Nicki Minaj does or is “feat.”-ed on
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