THE MUSIC
1. Pete and the Pirates - One Thousand Pictures
I've been making these lists for years now, but never has it been this hard to pick a #1. So I just checked my last.fm charts, et voila. I love these guys.
2. Wild Beasts - Smother
After seeing them live at the London Calling festival in May, Wild Beasts definitely grabbed me by the throat, and I spent most of the summer listening to Smother.
3. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Justin Vernon's bunch has grown on me. I was tickled by For Emma, but somehow it never fully got to me. Not until this year, when he/they finally stole my heart, not in the last place with the perfect live show in Utrecht.
4. Little Dragon - Ritual Union
Little Dragon's latest was surprisingly addicting, I could not stop listening to this album.
5. The Antlers - Burst Apart
Smother and Burst Apart formed a solid base for my summer playlists in '11. Such a beautiful album.
6. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
Ahhh, who doesn't love Fleet Foxes. Their second album, much like the first, took some time to get into my system. But once it kicked in, I was addicted.
7. James Blake - James Blake
Sweet James secretly already invaded my playlists in the end of 2010, but the strength of this album is that it still feels fresh after a year.
8. Active Child - You Are All I See
Somehow I kind of neglected this album when it came out and it wasn't until the end of the year that I got hooked. Awesome compositions, brilliant use of electronics.
9. Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams
These chicks are so cool that I never expected them to deliver such a perfect pop gem. Every song is just... right.
10. Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo
Another surprise. Although I was initially attracted by only a couple of songs, the entire album turned out to be so, so good.
11. The War on Drugs - Slave Ambient
12. Washed Out - Within and Without
13. Laura Marling - A Creature I Don't Know
14. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
15. Alamo Race Track - Unicorn Loves Deer
16. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
17. Austra - Feel It Break
18. Real Estate - Days
19. Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' on
20. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation
21. Feist - Metals
22. Metronomy - The English Riviera
23. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L
24. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic
25. Radiohead - The King of Limbs
26. Wye Oak - Civilian
27. I Am Oak - Oasem
28. Atlas Sound - Parallax
29. Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx - We're New Here
30. Jay Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne
31. Alex Turner - Submarine EP/Parenthetical Girls - Privilege Pt IV: Sympathy for Spastics EP
32. The Weeknd - House of Balloons (/Thursday/Echoes of Silence)
33. Yuck - Yuck
34. Bright Eyes - The People's Key
35. Idiot Glee - Paddy Whack
36. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
37. Summer Camp - Welcome to Condale
38. Lola Kite - Lights
39. Jamie Woon - Mirrorwriting
40. Bibio - Mind Bokeh
41. Intergalactic Lovers - Greetings and Salutations
42. Memory Tapes - Player Piano
43. CANT - Dreams Come True
44. The Strokes - Angles
45. The Horrors - Skying
46. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
47. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
48. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
49. Cults - Cults
50. Fucked Up - David Comes to Life
This list feels somewhat arbitrary, because I've left out some albums which would've also made it if it were a, say, top 100. Therefore I've also made a playlist with 201 songs from 2011 on Spotify.
Top 10 gigs
1. Bon Iver - Vredenburg, Utrecht
2. Ty Segall, London Calling, Paradiso, Amsterdam (boo, no videos, but you can watch the entire show on 3VOOR12)
3. Pete and the Pirates, 013, Tilburg
4. Wild Beasts, London Calling, Paradiso, Amsterdam
5. Fleet Foxes, Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam
6. Dark Dark Dark, Paradiso, Amsterdam
7. The Kills, Melkweg, Amsterdam
8. Dry The River, Melkweg, Amsterdam
9. Agnes Obel, Mezz, Breda
10. Das Pop, Vestrock, Hulst
THE MOVIES
I don't think I've ever seen as many films as in the last year. Listed below are some highlights.
Top notch: Rundskop was magnificent, Submarine was very cute and La Piel Que Habito just baffled me. After seeing Drive I was somewhat in doubt, the story is actually rather simple but after reconsidering, the music, the scenery, the rawness and mr. Gosling's performance made it definitely one of the best films I've seen in 2011.
Kudos: I nearly pissed my pants from laughing while watching Bridesmaids in the theatre. Our Idiot Brother was pretty sweet, Carnage was rather funny and Midnight in Paris, despite its wafer-thin storyline, was very enjoyable. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold gave an interesting insight into the world of product placement.
Slightly disappointing: I felt somewhat unfulfilled after watching the final Harry Potter movie, because I just read the last book and some things were so much different, and over-the-top. But the 'end of an era'-melancholia was probably also a major factor. Source Code started off rather promising, but I really disliked the ending. Crazy/Stupid/Love also disappointed me, probably because my expectations were sky-high, but also because of the annoying babysitter storyline, ugh... that just ruined it.
Awful: I watched No String Attached because of Natalie Portman, but she couldn't make the film worthwhile. Also Friends with Kids was plain terrible despite the decent actors...
Yet to be seen: Melancholia, The Future, The Ides of March, Rabat, Le gamin au vélo, The Tree of Life (if I ever find the patience for watching it), We Need to Talk about Kevin, Beginners... etcetera etcetera.
THE SMALL SCREEN
Tv-wise, 2011 has been mostly about comedy for me. Perhaps because of the more serious developments in my life (writing my master thesis, getting a 'real job'), I highly enjoyed a laugh provided by professionally funny men and women. I think I started watching 30 Rock and The Big Bang Theory this year. I was a bit about hesitant about New Girl, but I'm starting to like it. However, the discovery of Parks and Recreation was definitely the one of the biggest bringers of joy. I LOVE this show. Everything about it is perfect. Unfortunately I've seen all episodes now, so I just have to wait for a new one every week, boo!
In other genres, I've kept on watching Gossip Girl, which doesn't really interest me anymore, and Grey's Anatomy, which in my opinion is picking up again after a slow season. I wanted to give up on Desperate Housewives, but oh well, it's the final season, but so far I've not been rewarded for my loyalty. Dexter's sixth season was a bit less haunting than usual, the religious theme didn't really work for me. However I'm very curious to see how things will continue now [SPOILER]....
All the best wishes for 2012!
