The first thing I love about New England winters is the slippery ice that covers our sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING, that I find funnier than watching someone ALMOST take a digger on the ice. Of course, if the person does fall, (and is not terribly injured) it is hysterical, but there is something about the look on people's faces when they think they are going to fall that is priceless. The reaction of the person after they realize that they are not going to crack their head open on the ground is just as rewarding. Most people frantically look around to see how many people actually saw them do the embarrassing balancing act; try to play it off as if nothing happened, and go about their day. One day, a few winters ago I was blessed by an angel to have witnessed what I would say is in the top 3 funniest things I have ever seen in my life. I was walking into the supermarket and a young man, in his early twenties was walking out. He slipped on ice, danced around, trying to save himself for a few seconds, unintentionally throwing his newly purchased groceries on the ground, and impressively, recovered his balance. Being the good samaritan that I am, I helped him retrieve his precious Lean Cuisine's and other store bought items, and sent him off on his merry way. About one second after we parted ways, the moron slipped on the ice again, and this time, was not as lucky. He shook the ground with his fall and I just about vomited from instantly laughing as hard as a human being is physically allowed to laugh. My, how I loved that kid.
Being a teacher, the second thing that I love about New England winter months is the potential for the almighty "SNOW DAY." It does not matter how old I get, I feel like I am 10 years old when I pop out of bed on the morning of a potential snow day. I turn on the TV with the hope that in just a few short minutes I would be back asleep, knowing that I could slumber as long as my little heart desires. There is, however, nothing more stomach turning than assuming there is going to be a snow day, celebrating a little prematurely the night before, waking up the next morning feeling like a pile of garbage, and discovering that it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I am pretty sure I have physically cried because of this situation a time or two.
And of course, being a professional countdown'er, the absolute best thing about the winter, and my favorite part of the entire year is the last two weeks of December simply because of all the countdowns chronicling everyones favorite music of the year. For some reason everyone feels as though they are a "Rolling Stones" journalist once December comes around. There is a HUGE difference between making lists entitled "The Best Music of the Year" and "My Favorite Music of the Year." I, in no way, consider myself qualified to make a list of the "Best of anything." All my lists are of my favorites and I am not naive enough to consider that my musical taste is anywhere near diverse enough for me to make a "Best of" list. Music is my biggest passion, and I am very skilled when it comes to music trivia, but that is not enough to make someone qualified to make outlandish claims. I will leave the "Best Of" lists to the professionals, and I will reiterate that this countdown is simply an organized list of the CD's that I personally loved from 2011. Got it? No complaining, no whining. If you hate it, you are more than welcomed to email me a list of your favorite CD's of the year so I can tell you how very wrong you are!
The final thing I will say about this particular countdown is that I oftentimes obsess over a particular CD or song. I have been known to listen to the same song on repeat for my entire 45 minute commute to work (I'm talking to you Neon Trees, The Killers, and Chase Rice.) With that being said, I did not have the time to listen to every CD that I wanted to in time to make this countdown. The following is a list of the 10 CD's that I either have just only begun to listen to, or have yet to purchase. In due time I will give them a listen, but until then, they unfortunately will not be eligible.
* The Black Keys, El Camino (released December 2, 2011)
* Simple Plan, Get Your Heart On (June 17, 2011) I am very mad at myself for this.
* Yellowcard, When You're Through Thinking, Say Yes (March 22, 2011) oops. This is very embarrassing.
* Incubus, If Not Now, When (July 10, 2011)
* Ryan Adams, Ashes & Fire (October 11, 2011)
* Gavin DeGraw, Sweeter (September 20, 2011)
* Florence and the Machine, Ceremonials (October 31, 2011)
* Bon Iver, Bon Iver (June 21, 2011)
* Butch Walker & the Black Widows, The Spade (August 30, 2011)
* New Found Glory, Radiosurgery (October 4, 2011)
As you can tell, I have been a very busy guy and will do my best to listen to all ten of these CD's within the next few months and write a little review of them by the February or March. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Favorite 20 Albums of 2011.....
20. Matt Nathanson, Modern Love
I was pretty shocked when I found out that Modern Love was the SEVENTH studio album from Matt Nathanson, who is best known for his hit song "Come on Get Higher" back in 2008. I first heard the track "Faster" while bartending and upon first listening was interested in hearing the rest of the CD. "Faster" is fun, energetic, and catchy, which are all necessities when listening to tunes at work.
Modern Love is an exciting blend of rock and folk with some dashes of pop and country ("Run" features Sugarland) which is one of the highlights of the CD. Maybe one of the reasons I did not get a chance to listen to the new Gavin DeGraw CD yet is because Nathanson is quite similar and to be honest, as much as I love DeGraw didn't feel the need to listen to his CD because I may only be able to handle one male singer-songwriter a year. I challenge anybody to tell me a 2011 CD from a male singer-songwriter that can top Nathanson's Modern Love.
P.S. - I am pretty sure that someone broke into my car, ignored my Ipod and money, rummaged through my CD's and stole my Modern Love CD because I can not find it anywhere. That is a testament to how good the CD is. Or to how irresponsible I am with my belongings.
"Faster"
"Run" - a must listen for any Sugarland fans.
"Room at the End of the World"
19. OAR, King
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I am not sure if it is Marc Roberge's (lead singer) voice, the saxophone player (Jerry DePizzo), or the combination of both that give OAR such a unique sound. I can instantly pick out any OAR song and all the songs from King stay true to form. Almost all the tracks on the bands seventh studio album are fun, radio friendly tunes which makes King extremely easy to listen to. "Not For Me" is a great example of reggae rock which sounds like what I would imagine Bob Marley would put out today if he were a thirty year old white guy living in 2011. "Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes" will make anybody feel bad for not being as understanding as OAR is. "Heaven" is one of my favorite songs of the year and makes me feel like a terrible Catholic, but I can't help it, it is just so damn catchy.
"Heaven"
I think I may like this song a little too much as I am starting to take OAR's side over God's.
(Just kidding God)
"Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes" I am pretty sure I am not wrong about how awesome this song is though.
18. Lady Gaga, Born This Way
Every time a new Lady Gaga song is released I am like a frightened little child who runs to his bed and hides under the covers so the monsters won't get him. I run from Lady Gaga's tunes because I know what is going to happen; I am going to love them. I have no problem loving a female rocker; but Lady Gaga is just so far beyond my typical Alternative Rock comfort zone. I had to put aside things like the dresses made of meat, or her bizarre appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and judge her music for what it is, brilliant. I don't just think "Born This Way", "You and I", and "Edge of Glory" are good songs, I think they are incredible. All three of them are quite different, but they have the same affect as they are impossible to not sing along to. In addition to that, "Hair" and "Judas" are pretty solid tracks as well. I am not a huge fan of "Marry the Night" her newest single, but I'm sure after I hear it on every radio station non-stop for the next 2 months I will grow to tolerate it. With that being said Born This Way is, in my opinion, Lady Gaga's best album yet and I look forward to her next project.
"Edge of Glory"
She better be careful or she may fall off that "edge" and it surely won't be very glorious.
17. The Head and the Heart, The Head and the Heart
Please do not let the terrifying album cover prevent you from reading this, or more importantly, listening to the album. I made the mistake of not buying the vinyl a few months ago because the album cover was so off-putting. "Don't judge a book by its cover" is something I really need to work on. Anyway, I fell in love with "The Head and the Heart" this summer while bartending and "Lost in my Mind" was on the radio five times a day. Even though it does not pump me up, it did quite the opposite for me. It is such a relaxing tune and pretty much could put "happy pills" out of business. It is pretty difficult to be sad while listening to "Lost in my Mind" which is quite the opposite from the rest of the album which could actually make you jump off a bridge, not because it is bad (because it is beautiful) but because it is a tad depressing. If you are depressed and want to be even more depressed then The Head and the Heart is a must buy.
"Lost in my Mind"
"Sounds like Hallelujah" SO SO SO good.
16. Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto
Coldplay is usually hit or miss with me. I often find it difficult to love a Coldplay song after a listen or two and it usually takes me a while to start enjoying them. One thing with Coldplay is that it is often a bit of work to listen to them. You usually can not just sit back and enjoy it without questioning what the hell Chris Martin is saying. With that being said, Mylo Xyloto may be easier to enjoy than any other previous Coldplay album and I started to enjoy the tracks much quicker than usual. The interesting thing about Coldplay for me is that after I put in the work to enjoy them, it really pays off. There is so much going on in every song and when I think about how much is happening and how it all comes together so beautifully, I am amazed at how talented Coldplay, and especially Chris Martin is.
"Every Teardrop is a Waterfall"
"Paradise"
"Princess of China" featuring Rihanna. I don't think they have released this yet, but if, and when they do, it is sure to be a huge hit.
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