Favorite Songs of 2011 (10 - 1)

There are a lot of firsts in this years Top Songs countdown. I have never allowed a band to have more than one song in the top ten, but this year, not only one, but two bands have multiple songs in the top ten.

More records that have been broken this year:

* The first Christmas song has made my ten favorite songs of the year.
* The first country song has made the top ten.
* The most songs by any artist, on any yearly countdown ever (Chase Rice, 5 songs)
* One band has done the unheard of, any landed the one AND two spot on the countdown.
* That same band has had the number one spot TWO YEARS IN A ROW.

Without further adieu, my top ten songs of 2011.....


10. The Cowboys' Christmas Ball by The Killers - There is no way of telling whether I love this Christmas song because it is The Killers, or because I simply love the song for what it is. I admire Brandon Flowers and The Killers so much that I am pretty sure they will never release a song again that will not make my top ten songs of the year. "The Cowboys' Christmas Ball" is The Killers sixth annual Christmas song in which ALL PROCEEDS go directly to Project Red, which helps the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Not only are these guys talented musicians (massive understatement), but they are also great guys who use their popularity to help a great cause. I am pretty sure I was one of the first people in the entire world to buy this song on Itunes because I knew the release date and kept refreshing my Itunes until I saw the song. I then put it on repeat and when I woke up in the morning I somehow knew every word to the song. The video was released a few days later and made a great song even better.

9. These Days by Foo Fighters - "These Days" is the second of three Foo Fighters songs to make this years list, but I am very confident that if they released any other song from their latest album, Wasting Light, it would have made the countdown as well. But, this is not about how epic Wasting Light is, it is about how incredibly awesome "These Days" is. Just by reading the lyrics you can tell how brilliant Dave Grohl is.

These Days Lyrics
One of these days the ground
will drop out from beneath
your feet

One of these days your heart
will stop and play its final
beat

One of these days the clocks
will stop and time won't
mean a thing

One of these days their bombs
will drop and silence
everything

But it's alright
Yet it's alright
I said it's alright

Easy for you to say
Your heart has never been
broken Your pride has never been stolen
Not yet not yet

One of these days
I bet your heart'll be broken
I bet your pride'll be stolen I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet

One of these days
One of these days

One of these days your eyes
will close and pain will
disappear

One of these days you will
forget to hope and learn to
fear

But it's alright
Yet it's alright
I said it's alright

Easy for you to say
Your heart has never been
broken
Your pride has never been
stolen
Not yet not yet

One of these days
I bet your heart'll be broken
I bet your pride'll be stolen
I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet

One of these days One of these days

But it's alright
Yet it's alright
I said it's alright
Yes it's alright
Don't say it's alright
Don't say it's alright
Don't say it's alright

One of these days your heart
will stop and play it's final
beat
But it's alright


Easy for you to say
Your heart has never been
broken
Your pride has never been
stolen
Not yet not yet

One of these days
I bet your heart will be
broken
I bet your pride will be stolen
I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet I'll bet

One of these days
One of these days
One of these days


Dave Grohl has made the VERY bold statement that "These Days" is his favorite song he has ever written. Ever. I have to admit, I almost agree with him. If you have never heard this song, please give it a listen below. If you are not blown away by how amazing it is, I will refund 100% of your money.

This is seriously one of the coolest/best performances I have ever seen. If you watch this and still do not think Dave Grohl is one of the greatest musicians of all time, then you are a complete F^*@^&@ moron.



8. Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford & Sons - In the past year and a half Mumford & Sons have made millions of Americans fall in love with not only them, but an entire genre of music. Folk Rock has never been bigger and Mumford & Sons are the leaders of the pack. "Roll Away Your Stone" picks up right where Mumford & Sons left us in 2010 (with "Little Lion Man" and "The Cave".) It is a perfect blend of folk rock with a dash of alternative rock mixed in. That combination is clearly a key to success. Because of the wildly popular album Sigh No More Mumford & Son's next album is one of the most highly anticipated albums of 2012.

The amount of energy that Mumford & Sons puts into every performance is uncanny. Watch this performance of "Roll Away Your Stone" and tell me you would not have fainted half way through the song if you were any of the band mates.

McGraw's 1994 Not a Moment Too Soon released in 1994 was one of the first CD's I ever owned. The past few years, however, I have only been to one or two country music concerts, and stopped watching CMT altogether. Chase Rice has single handedly revived my love for country music and, even though he has not yet released a full studio album, has landed 5 songs on my yearly countdown. Chase Rice is not only my favorite artist of 2011, but quite possibly my favorite country artist of all time. "Buzz Back" is a song that can be appreciated by anyone, regardless if you are a country music fan. If you have ever lived in a college dorm, or been to Cancun Mexico, or simply had a crazy weekend, you will be able to relate to "Buzz Back." Who hasn't woken up with a hangover and realized that the best way to alleviate your symptoms would be to start drinking again? It doesn't matter if you are a rock fan or a country fan, a guy or a girl, a college kid, or a Wall St. businessman, "Buzz Back" will be blaring inside your pounding head the next time you are hungover and obligated to have a few drinks again the very next day.

6. Heaven by O.A.R. - As much as I love "Heaven" I always feel bad about signing along. I always have to say "Just kidding, God" after the song ends because I don't want him to think that I don't care if I go to Heaven or not.
"Everybody's got a problem with the way I live, I don't wanna go to Heaven if I can't get in." Those are the lyrics that make me feel like a terrible person every time I sing along. The song is just too damn catchy to not sing along with though, and it is just about impossible for me to not agree with the "whatever happens, happens" mentality of O.A.R. while the song is playing. Maybe I should make a playlist in which every time "Heaven" is on, and I inevitably sing along, the next song either "How Great is Our God" or "Amazing Grace." That way I will not have to apologize to God every time I sing along with this incredible track.

"I do want to go to Heaven, God, and I would like it if O.A.R. could get in as well. They seem like really fun and nice guys and I would love to be able to spend eternity with them. Thanks. Love, Ryan"

That is pretty much what I say out loud every time this song ends, which is quite often because I usually listen to it on repeat about 20 times in a row.



5. Walk by Foo Fighters - Let me start off by saying this; the top 14 or 15 songs are so close that they are almost interchangeable. Do I REALLY like "Walk" better than "These Days"? A VERY little bit. My point is, that once the countdown gets to the end I love every song so much that it is not extremely important where it ends up on the countdown. With that being said, "Walk" is perfect and could very well have been even higher on the list. I am sure you are sick of hearing how much I love Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters, but if you don't agree with me by now about how incredible the latest Foo Fighters album is, then we simply have extremely different musical taste.
After really thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that Foo Fighters actually beat out themselves. I had SO much love for the Foo Fighters this year with their 3 released songs that I think I may have spread out that love equally between the three songs. If "Rope", "Walk", or "These Days" were the only song released by Foo Fighters this year, then I am pretty confident that it would have been my number one song of the year. I was not even over "Walk" yet when they released "These Days" and shifted by focus on that.
Regardless, I have never loved Foo Fighters more than I do right now and, even though they were already VERY high on my "Favorite Bands of All Time" list, this year has pushed them up even higher. You will find out exactly how high they have been pushed up sometime in the very near future.

4. Colours by Grouplove - I have already stated in my "Top Albums of 2011" countdown that Grouplove's "Never Trust a Happy Song" was my favorite album of 2011. "Colours" is the song that made me buy the album, therefore, I owe the song a tremendous amount of gratitude. This is a song that you can fall in love with instantly. Many people find it difficult to sing along with the "I am a man, man, man, man, up, up, in the air. And I run around round round round this town town and act like I don't care" part because it is fast and kind of a tongue twister. I have perfected the entire song, so I love signing it in front of people because they often get jealous that I can sign along and they cannot. Even my students get amazed when I sing along to the song when it comes on the radio in class. This usually ends up amazing me. I teach them everything they need to know about Math (division, multiplication, fractions, etc.), Science (earth science, physical science, life science), Social Studies (history, geography, economics, world cultures), Reading and Writing, and they are most impressed that I can sing along with a silly rock song. That is precisely why I love them as much as I do.

3. Cough Syrup by Young. the Giant - If I was not so obsessed with the band that has the number one and two songs on this years countdown then this would have been my favorite song of the year. Nobody really knows for sure what the song is about. It could simply be about cough syrup, of course, but it could also be a metaphor for another drug, or even for something totally unrelated to drugs, such as a coping with a difficult situation.
I like to pretend that Young the Giant is talking about a specific "cough syrup" that I enjoy myself, Nyquil. After I take my nightly dosage of Nyquil I usually sing this song while I wait for the effects to hit my body. "Cough Syrup" is a perfect example of why I love modern rock and could not be happier with the music that is on Alternative Rock stations today. How can you not love this song?

2. Everybody Talks by Neon Trees - I started making this countdown on December 21st and "Everybody Talks" was released on Itunes on December 20th. It was a very difficult decision to place this on the 2011 countdown, but I am extremely hopeful that Neon Trees will release a new album in 2012 and they will once again have a single or two for the 2012 countdown. I listened to "Everybody Talks" roughly 100 times in just three days so there was no way I could not place it at the very top of the countdown. The only single I liked "better" in 2011 was another Neon Trees song. It was "Everybody Talks" though, that solidified Neon Trees as a top 5 favorite band of all time, and quite possibly higher than number 5. You'll find out when I release my Favorite Bands of All Time list in the coming weeks.

Animated Video

Learn the "Everybody Talks" dance. All the cool kids are doing it.

Besides my two nephews, this is my favorite kid of all time. Plus, I have that same shirt. Hahahahahhahaha. I love him.

Will you be my best friend?



1. Your Surrender by Neon Trees - I have gone against everything I have ever known and/or believed and I placed Neon Trees at number one AND two this year. For most of you (that may not know Neon Trees) I can imagine this is as bad as playing 3 songs in a row by the same artist on a jukebox in a bar. I decided, however, that the countdown would not be accurate if I did not do this. I have loved "Your Surrender" before it was even released as a single. If I placed this, or "Everybody Talks" any lower than 1 & 2 I would have been flat out lying. "Your Surrender" could quite possibly be not only my favorite song of the year, but has a very decent chance at being very, very high on my Top 1000 Songs of all time. The last minute of the song literally gives me chills every single time I hear it. I DVR'd an episode of Jay Leno in which Neon Trees were the musical guests and they performed "Your Surrender." The performance blew me away, and I watch it just about every day. I even have the occasional nightmare that I accidentally delete it from my DVR when I have taken a little too much Nyquil and do not know what I am doing.
I have only truly even been obsessed with 2 bands in my life (Third Eye Blind and The Killers) and I am here to officially announce that I am 100% obsessed with Neon Trees.

I just stumbled upon this video from 2010 of Neon Trees in a restaurant in Detroit MI. I have never hated people more in my entire life as much as I hate the people in the background of this video carrying about their lives as if one of the greatest rock bands in modern day rock are not belting out this epic unforgettable performance. Tyler Glenn's voice is impeccable and this proves Neon Trees do not need any studio to make them sound good. Watch out Brandon Flowers, it looks like you have some real stiff competition for my favorite person of all time. (mortal person, God, favorite MORTAL person of all time.)


It looks like all the stars in the universe may align this year and we may get new albums from Neon Trees, The Killers, Third Eye Blind, and Mumford & Sons. Combine that with the possibility of some more tracks from Foo Fighter's Wasting Light, and 2012 is sure to be my favorite year in music of all time, and my "Top Songs of 2012" countdown will be more anticipated than finding out if the Mayan's prediction is true.