Since Everyone Else is Doing It: My Favorite Records of 2011

This is not a countdown.

I feel it's important to state that right off the bat. Yes, I know that in these waning days of the year it's the thing bloggers do: countdowns of the best or worst songs, albums, movies, varieties of soup, what have you. And I hate those kinds of posts, because they always lead to the same arguments among the commenters: "How could you rank X higher than Y? Are you insane?"

2011 was a pretty damn good year for music. Lots of fantastic stuff out there if you're willing to dig for it. So, despite my reticence to join in with the year-end-list crowd, I'm doing it anyway - but I'm not ranking these in any order. Think of this more as a "buying guide" provided to you by your old pal Bryan. You're welcome.

Another note before we dive in: yes, I know one or two titles here might technically have been 2010 releases, but I'm including them because they got a lot of airplay around here this year, and thus they are 2011 releases in spirit. And it's my list. So suck it. Here we go:

Freezepop - Imaginary Friends/Secret Companion
Originally released in the fall of 2010, Freezepop's fourth album, Imaginary Friends, was reissued this year as part of a limited edition two-disc package with nearly another album's worth of bonus material, Secret Companion.  Founding members Liz Enthusiasm and The Other Sean T. Drinkwater, along with relative newcomers Robert John "Bananas" Foster and Christmas Disco-Marie Sagan (it took two people to replace the departed Duke of Pannekoeken!) continue the band's remarkable ability to recreate a spot-on circa-1983 synthpop sound updated for the 21st century.  It's a fuller, lusher sound these days, but that's not a bad thing.  Their insanely clever lyrics and constant ironic wink will leave you wondering at times where the line between tribute and parody lies, but you'll be dancing the whole time, so does it really matter?  "Doppelganger" is the single, and it is simply outstanding:


Shilpa Ray & her Happy Hookers - Teenage and Torture
Pounding out blues-based punk-tinged rawk-n-roll on her harmonium and spewing forth raging vocals that will pin you to the wall if you're not careful, Shilpa Ray has drawn favorable comparisons to just about every emotion-fueled female musical icon you can name from Ella Fitzgerald to Chrissy Hynde and beyond, yet she stands quite uniquely on her own with no comparison being quite accurate.  "Heaven In Stereo," the first single from Ray's band's second LP, is representative of the driving, insistent sound you'll find throughout.  Rough-edged but stunning. Don't miss this one!


Crisis of Conformity - "Fist Fight!"/"Kick it Down and Kick it Around" (single)
Saturday Night Live's greatest musical export since The Blues Brothers turns out to be this nostalgia-fueled celebration of mid-80s hardcore.  The brainchild of Fred Armisen, Crisis of Conformity found life in a single skit last season (a newlywed's father gets his old band together at his daughter's wedding reception, and the four graying middle-aged friends launch into "Fist Fight!" while wrecking the place). All of the by-the-book moves are here, from the mid-song tempo change to the nonsequitor name-checking of Ronald Reagan and Alexander Haig.  Armisen should know those moves - his pedigree is real, having played drums for Chicago's Trenchmouth in his youth.  Drag City Records released the single this year; the clip includes both songs.


Van Buren Boys - Up All Night
Fans of The Exploding Hearts, Paul Collins' Beat, or other hard-edged power pop should line up for this one, the second full-length LP from The Van Buren Boys.  Their first effort, 2009's Six String Love, was a helluva debut whose only drawback was that every song sounded very samey (that they all sounded like The Clash's "Gates Of The West" helped mitigate that, of course).  With Up All Night, The Van Buren Boys (Seinfeld fans should get the reference) find the confidence to stretch a bit beyond that safe zone. The result is a twangy, guitar-ringing sound that should put a big ol' smile on the faces of those other bands' fans.


They Might Be Giants - Join Us
What could I possibly say about They Might Be Giants that would add anything new or insightful to the many, many songs of their praise over the past 25 years or so?  You know everything you need to: John Flansburgh and John Linell are freakin' geniuses when it comes to writing insidiously catchy songs with lyrics far wittier than you or I could ever come up with, and the well from which their creativity springs seems to be bottomless.  This year's album is no exception.  Just get it.


Shonen Knife - Osaka Ramones
It is truly amazing to consider how far The Ramones' influence has reached over the years.  What would music sound like today had they not existed?  Scary prospect, isn't it?  Many, many artists have attempted to repay their debt by either covering Ramones songs (or occasionally, full albums!) or penning tributes.  Few have done so with the unbridled enthusiasm of the wonderful Shonen Knife.  Joey Ramone himself gave the girls the nickname "The Osaka Ramones" after hearing them play; they have always said they learned to play rock and roll by listening to The Ramones and The Beatles.  Well, if you're gonna do it, you couldn't ask for better teachers!  On Osaka Ramones, Shonen Knife reverentially honor the classics: "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Rock 'n' Roll High School," "Beat On the Brat" - they're all here.  My personal fave, though, is their take on "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker." Enjoy!


Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo
Former X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene's comeback album also, sadly, turned out to be her swansong.  Released shortly before losing her battle with cancer, Generation Indigo presented Poly in prime form.  In 1977 she was singing about a world of dayglo and genetic engineering and disposable society; in 2011 she was still going on about such modernisms being foisted on us in place of real human interaction ("Virtual Boyfriend").  Her vocal style, once described as shrieking out songs "with all the delicacy of a cat in heat," had grown into a confident, strong, unique voice that served her well whether the sound was hard, soft, reggae, dance, whatever.  Enjoy "Thrash City," one of the best tracks on an excellent album:


Madam Adam - Madam Adam
From the hard rock side of my record collection I offer South Carolina's Madam Adam.  Discovered this band opening up for Halestorm here in Lancaster, PA, about this time last year, and was very impressed.  Granted, they're not breaking any new ground here: it's just no-frills, by-the-book rock-n-roll with tinges of Aerosmith and Cheap Trick. It's a sound that will always sell because it's just good.  It's party music; it's music for speeding down the highway in a car filled with too many friends; it's music for blasting on your stereo and violently air-guitaring until the neighbors pound on the door and demand you turn it down.  Crank up the single "Sex Ain't Love" and see for yourself:


Hillbilly Moon Explosion - Buy Beg or Steal
After half a dozen albums, it's a shame Switzerland's Hillbilly Moon Explosion haven't found a larger audience.  Basing their sound in American rockabilly with a modern twist, not entirely unlike HorrorPops, Hillbilly Moon Explosion are at once very familiar and very foreign. You could jump in just about anywhere in their discography and be pleasantly surprised at the gems you'll find, but the prize found in this year's release is their cover of Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark's "Enola Gay," about the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb as a weapon of war.  Brilliant!


Kimberly Freeman - Into Outer Space
I discovered Austin, Texas' One-Eyed Doll earlier this year, and they have quickly become one of my favorite bands. As I've gotten to know their material, I've discovered that Kimberly Freeman is a remarkably talented and unbelievably creative force.  Within the framework of One-Eyed Doll she is all over the musical map (as noted in earlier posts, they run the gammut from death metal screaming to hook-laden pop to children's-song chanting); outside of One-Eyed Doll, her solo work finds even more facets to her fascinating musical world.  I could rave about her work for hours, but that would take away time you could be spending listening for yourself! Check out "Fame And Loathing," the single from Freeman's 2011 solo album Into Outer Space, then follow the link to the One-Eyed Doll site and start exploring!


Amy Gore & Her Valentines - "Drivin' Around"
A late entry in the 2011 sweepstakes, but a winner nonetheless, is the debut track from Amy Gore's current ensemble.  Best known for her work in The Gore Gore Girls and her teaming with Nikki Corvette to form Gorevette, Amy gathered up these particular Valentines for a one-off gig in her native Detroit.  They discovered they really enjoyed playing together, and ta-da: a new band is born! "Drivin' Around" is one of those tracks that nearly defies genre.  It's a solid chunk of whaddaya-wanna-do-tonight-I-dunno-whadda-you-wanna-do guitar rock, with a simple but insidiously catchy chorus and sound that holds great promise for a full album's worth of goodies from the band. Soon Amy?  Please?


OK, those are my picks for 2011. How about yours? Any glaring omissions here? Have at it in the comments section! And also, please have a safe and happy New Year!

Let's Knife!

Baltimore is quickly surpassing Philly as my favorite destination if I must travel to see a band. Of course, I'd love to see more bands come to Lancaster. Some do, but the trade off we make here in south central PA is that Harrisburg, Philly, Baltimore, New Jersey and - in a pinch - NYC are all within easy access. As a result, the pickin's are pretty good around here when it comes to shows - you've surely gathered that from earlier posts!

Last night I was back in what seems to be the general go-to place in Baltimore, The Ottobar, to see the awesome Shonen Knife, who are currently on their 30th anniversary tour.  What a great night of music it was:  three opening bands plus Shonen Knife, and only ten bucks to get in - wot a bargain!

Now, history dictates that once you go past two opening acts you're getting into questionable territory as far as band quality, especially when all of the openers are local bands.  Baltimore, however, has a pretty decent scene going these days, and in last night's case the rule did not apply.  The openers were great - not a clinker in the lineup!

I admit to going out on a limb saying that about The Degenerettes, who were up first, only because by the time we arrived we really only caught the last two and a half songs of their set - not really enough to make a true assessment, but what we heard was very good.

Plurals

I can say without reservation, however, that the next band, Plurals, were outstanding! With five band members perched on the not-so-roomy Ottobar stage, Plurals blasted out a nifty set of originals and one cover (of sorts): in the midst of their poppy-punky wall of sound, I caught myself realizing I recognized some lyrics but couldn't place them at first.  It took another cycle through the verse before I realized I was hearing the words to The English Beat's "Save It For Later," or at the very least a close approximation.  The one drawback to Plurals' set was that the vocals were mixed a bit too low. Still, this is a band I want to hear more of.  Couldn't find a website for them (with a name like Plurals, Google doesn't help much; searching "Plurals band" leads me to a similarly named trio from Lansing, MI) and their Facebook page is not a band page but rather a regular profile. 

The Quarantines

The final opening act was The Quarantines, an excellent pop-punk trio with a curious tendency to sing about robots.  Their set was loud, rockin' fun, and they were clearly the most polished of the opening acts.  I am kicking my self today for not picking up their record at the merch table last night!  Great stuff.  The Quarantines are a band I think we'll all be hearing more of in the future.

Shonen Knife

A little before 11:00, Shonen Knife hit the stage, opening with an enthusiastic Japanese-language version of Cheap Trick's standard set-opener, "Hello There" (here redone as "Konichiwa").  Over the next forty-five minutes or so, they treated us to a sampling of their best tunes. "Devil House," "ESP," "I Am A Cat," "Super Group," "Redd Kross" and more were greeted with knowing cheers from the crowd, and the girls seemed to be having a blast onstage.  After a searing run-through of "Antonio Baka Guy," Shonen Knife left the stage and left the crowd chanting their name and begging for more.

The Osaka Ramones!

After a few moments they returned, but now they were dressed in leather jackets and jeans.  No longer Shonen Knife, they were now in full character as The Osaka Ramones (a name they played under for a Ramones tribute concert many years back, and also the title of their newest CD in tribute to the Ramones.  Legend has it that Joey Ramone himself would always refer to Shonen Knife as "The Osaka Ramones").  With bassist Ritsuko Taneda playing the Dee Dee Ramone role, counting off each song "1-2-3-4" in quick succession, they ran through "Blitzkrieg Bop," "Beat On The Brat," "The KKK Took My Baby Away," "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker," "I Wanna Be Sedated," and "Pinhead" before closing with "Rock & Roll High School."  All the while, the crowd pogo'd and sang along.  Somewhere, Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee were smiling.

It was a stellar night, start to finish, and I highly recommend seeing any of these bands if you get the chance.  Shonen Knife, of course, was much fun, but it was nice to be so pleasantly surprised by Plurals and The Quarantines as well.  As usual, additional pics will be up on our Facebook page later today.

New Wave for the New Week #95 BONUS ENTRY! BY REQUEST!

[All throughout the month of November, all NW4NW entries will be based on requests made by you, dear readers. Because of the amount of requests coming in, there will often be more than one entry per week during this month - I recommend signing up for email alerts on the left-hand side of the screen so that you don't miss any of the fun! If you wish to make a request, you may do so either in the comments section of this post, on Twitter, or on the Facebook Fanpage. Don't be shy - tell me what band you want to see featured!]

Steve O'Donnell, local patent attorney and one of the funniest folks you can follow on Twitter, was another requester who presented me with yet another "how do I pick one" list of excellent band suggestions for his request. (By the way, folks, I'm keeping a list of all the bands everyone is asking for and will be using that list to choose NW4NW entries throughout 2011, so you will eventually get to read about them all!)  One did jump out at me, though, as a band I can't believe I haven't gotten to on my own yet.

"When I finally got to see them live, I was transformed into a hysterical nine-year-old girl at a Beatles concert." - Kurt Cobain

The band Cobain got all giddy about, the band he along with several other alternative music icons of the '90s helped to bring to the attention of the masses, was a trio of girls from Osaka, Japan, who wanted to play music like The Ramones, The Buzzcocks and The Beatles.  With adorably amateurish enthusiasm and the barest of grasps of the English language, the Yamano sisters (Naoko and Atusko) and Michie Nakatani came together in 1981 to form a self-described "oo-oo-ultra-eccentric-super-cult-punk-pop-band" called Shonen Knife, and they have been making a truly joyful noise ever since.

Trying to navigate through Shonen Knife's extensive discography is a nearly impossible task.  Their earliest records, released only in Japan, would often appear in various formats (single disc, double disc, cassette) with slightly varying track lists, songs from two or three earlier albums would be combined with new material to create a new album, and many songs only ever appeared on compilation albums or singles. But the legend of their occasionally off-rhythm playing and carefree consumer-culture based lyrics (song titles like "I Wanna Eat Choco Bars," "Tortoise Brand Pot Scrubber Theme (1 & 2)," "Neon Zebra" and "Fruit Loop Dreams" are supported by completely and utterly literal lyrics about the subject matter described) brought them to the attention of several other artists, particularly when the highly-regarded Sub-Pop label licensed several tracks for release on compilations and as part of their monthly mail-order-only Singles Club series. 

They made their first trip to America in in 1987, playing in Los Angeles at the behest of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the McDonald Brothers of Redd Kross. Shonen Knife were so pleased with the hospitality that they were shown by their fellow musicians that they began writing songs about them as a way of showing their gratitude.  "Redd Kross," "White Flag," and even "Blue Oyster Cult" were celebrated in song, and the band's Japanese recordings began appearing here as import-only special orders in appropriately cool record shops.

In 1989, a group of nearly two dozen alternative acts got together to introduce Shonen Knife's music to a wider Western audience via the tribute album Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them.  Keeping the discographical waters muddied, this album was issued in both one-record and two-record versions, as well as CD and cassettes versions, no two of which have exactly the same tracklist.  Two years later, Kurt Cobain invited Shonen Knife to open for Nirvana on their UK tour, where legendary and influential British DJ John Peel had them on his radio show and began spinning their records regularly, adding to their growing fanbase.

Capitol Records released Let's Knife in 1992. This would be Shonen Knife's first American release, containing re-recorded English versions of some of their Japanese-only songs ("Twist Barbie," "Burning Farm," "Antonio Baka Guy") and some like-minded new material ("Riding On The Rocket," "Cycling Is Fun").  Despite getting high-gloss major-label production for the first time, Shonen Knife's innocent, bubbly, infectious personality was not dampened in the least.  Rock Animals followed a year later with more sugary delights ("Catnip Dream," "Tomato Head")

Now firmly entrenched among the alternative music elite, Shonen Knife kept right on singing and touring and recording through the 1990's.  As the decade drew to a close, Michie left the band; in 2006, Atsuko married and retired from the music world.  Eventually replaced by Etsuko Nakanishi and Ritsuko Taneda, respectively, and with Naoko leading the way, the Knife continued into the new century, most recently releasing Super Group in 2009.

As the Boston Globe once wrote, "Theoretically, any band that writes songs with lyrics such as "Banana chips for you!/Banana chips for me!/In the afternoon, banana chips and tea" should have a life span no longer than that of a grasshopper." Yet Shonen Knife show no signs of stopping after nearly three decades!  Why?  Well, I think partially because it's just damn near impossible not to smile when you hear them.  As proof, here are the video clips for "Redd Kross," "Riding On The Rocket," and last year's "Super Group." Great request, Steve - thank you!




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