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I don’t think I could ever be a music critic. I can’t just listen to a brand new album once and make a snap decision about it (usually), and I spend most of my year delving back into history for things I missed or revisiting things I lost track of along the way. Most of my favorite music that provided the soundtrack for my year was not actually from 2011. Nonetheless, here is what 2011 sounded like to me.

LOS CAMPESINOS!
I did not discover LC! this year, but it was one of those magic moments, a right time right place scenario, where, while listening to an album I’d listened to multiple times before, something just HIT me. I can’t pinpoint if it was something lyrically, or if their sound was something that I grew into, but as the year wore on, LC! gave The Hold Steady a run for their money as the band that holds my heart. The road trip I made with my closest girlfriends to see them live last month was the highlight of my year, and I have a local show in early 2012 to look forward to. Every mix I make in the foreseeable future will have a Los Campesinos! song on it, most likely this one:

THE FUTURE OF THE LEFT
It’s funny that Best Exie doesn’t really care for most of the stuff I recommend to him, yet he is able to pick things out that he thinks I’ll love and he’s usually right. FotL was one such suggestion in early 2011 and I haven’t looked back. Heavy rhythms, snarling vocals, and delightfully weird lyrics (I didn’t know using plastic forks could be so scathing), FotL has all the elements I look for in a band. There’s also a new album to look forward to in 2012. The song that introduced me:

NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL
Yes, I put this off for a very long time. Years ago, when I lived with NB, our roommates tried to get us to listen and we dismissed it for the sole purpose of being contrary. I’m glad I waited though, because NMH is a band that should be appreciated fully and at the right time. Especially because I bought the album mere days before Jeff Mangum performed at Occupy Wall Street and I was able to catch the live feed. Timing is everything. The beauty and sadness is more than I could have anticipated, and how do you even classify them? Where do they fit? What would call this to someone who had never heard it? I haven’t found the words yet.

SLEIGH BELLS
Proof that my musical taste is evolving. I usually prefer something more lyrical and slightly more melodic, but I can’t deny the buzz I get when I listen to Sleigh Bells. I want to rock and scream and dance and fight and kiss. All those things. Also, this video is one of my favorites:

THE BEACH BOYS
I had never taken the time to really listen to Pet Sounds before. You guys. While everyone can sing a smattering of the hits, my favorite Beach Boys song quickly became this one:

The Best of The Rest
Telekinesis - 12 Desperate Straight Lines
Ida Maria - Katla
The Strokes - Angles
The Mae Shi - Hlllyh
Iceage - New Brigade
The Kills - Midnight Boom

Lyric That Makes Me Wanna Do It
“The last time I was there she let me wear her clothes / She painted my lips red so that we both ensured / I’d kiss her every inch / My God the girl looked like she’d burned”
-Los Campesinos!, “Songs About Your Girlfriend”

Most Embarrassing Musical Purchase
Maroon 5’s Hands All Over

2011 Single That Made Me Most Anticipate a 2012 Release