The Music of 2011, Part One (The Honorable Mentions)

We here at The Banter of One are kept on our feet by music. It's the thing that keeps all other things in order. It's like breathing, eating, and shelter for us. We've never tried to live without it, and we don't want to. Can't, we suspect.


And so, here we are at the end of another year — a great year. Thusly, we have some lists of music that we want to share. Stuff we thought was extremely satisfying. Herein lies Twenty Honorable Mention albums that we just couldn't fit into our Top Twenty list. Said Top Twenty List will follow in Part Two, and our favorite songs will appear in Part Three. There probably won't be a Part Four.


Off we go, in alphabetical order.


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Army and Navy The Last Place
     Not a big fan of the eighties, but there were some good hooks from that exiguous decade, and this platter takes 'em and bakes 'em. 


The Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
     Just great to have them back, and in force, too. Plus, the 30 minute "video" for "Make Some Noise" is epicly epic.


Kate Bush 50 Words for Snow
     Probably would crack our Top Twenty if we had a few more weeks to let it sink in, but it's only been out for a short while. Ethereal, textural, and relaxing. Good to hear from one of our all-time faves, especially topnotchually.


Bill Callahan Apocolypse
     You are probably more familiar with his music as Smog. He's not getting any worse, let's just say.


Dawes Nothing is Wrong
     SoCal mellow offerings in the same vein as vintage Jackson Browne, America, or very early Eagles. It makes us feel young again.


Dinosaur Bones My Divider
     Nothing pithy to share; just good, enjoyable pop tuneage.


The Donkeys Born with Stripes
     Pop. Not soda, but music. Through and through. Thoroughly enjoyed every listen of this layered and toe-tappingly good disc.


Eleanor Friedberger Last Summer
     Boy how we fell in love with this album when it came out. It was like nothing we'd ever heard before. Catchy vocals, uniquely and catchily wrapped around sparse compositions. But then we learned that she was the female half of the band The Fiery Furnaces — a band we'd been aware of, but not familiar with. And so we tuned into some of their albums, and fell in love with them, too, but in the end, we couldn't justify her landing on our Top Twenty list because it was more like a brief and torrid love affair, but one where, once the sex stopped being fun and new, we were just better off as friends. And we'll be friends for a long time.


Joe Henry Reverie
     Recorded in a room in his house with all the windows open. So? It makes for a sonic quality that is as dramatic as it is comfortable. Like he's performing it in our own living room.


The Ladybug Transistor Clutching Stems
     Vaguely brings back memories of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Nuff said, right?


Megafaun (Self titled)
     Jaunty indie pop music, jauntily popping just the way we like it.


The Poison Control Center Stranger Ballet
     See Megafaun


Portugal. The Man In the Mountain in the Cloud
     See The Poison Control Center, except not indie, cuz it's on Atlantic, but still cool cuz they're from Alaska. Alaska!


The Rapture In the Grace of Your Love
     At the risk of seeming to be getting lazy, see Army Navy.


St. Vincent Strange Mercy
     Just exactly how this missed our Top Twenty list we're not quite sure, and we'll probably look back at this list this time next year and blame it on all the pain meds we're on right now. Edgy, slightly experimental-cum-beautiful music that challenges to grab your attention like a boa constrictor grabs its prey. But, of coure, you don't die.


TV on the Radio Nine Types of Light
     Man, these guys are good. Uniquely, boldly, and purposefully going where no one else goes, not because no one else dares to do so, but because they don't know how.


The War on Drugs Slave Ambient
     Layers of guitars and vocals that weave in and out of our consciousness like birds of prey coasting on the heat vectors high in the sky on a hot, sunny summer day, dipping, then rising, and dipping again, finally fetching their prey tightly in their tallons.


Yellow Ostrich The Mistress
     Contains possibly our favorite song of the year, "Whale." Once it crams itself in your noggin, it stays there, but in a welcome way.


Dengue Fever Cannibal Courtship
     Cambodian pop music? We're in. Infectious as it is incomparable.


The Sea and Cake The Moonlight Butterfly
     Nothing terribly new from Sam Prekop and his Chicago brethren on their ninth album. Opulent pop meets opulent jazz, all jangly and wonderful. But like most of their music, honorably deserves mention.