Friday, January 6, 2012

all you need is now

I adore the worldwide web. Where else can you opine, spew your blatherings and be recognized for your innermost thoughts being blurted out in a public forum?

Having been a busy bee, I haven't properly announced and reviewed my fave raves of 2011. So, I've decided to place my top ten albums of last year in alphabetical order, on their own, without commentary. Over the next few days, I will expand this entry to include my ramblings on each one. I know you're quivering in anticipation.

It was a year of near drought for pop music elpees. We are back to the Sixties! The single is king. The year fluctuated between anemia and euphoria. There would be a purple patch of longplayers and then an extended dearth of material punctuated by a fun, effervescent, standout track. 2011 was inconsistent at best.

Without further delay, let me introduce you to my ten favorite longplayers of 2011.

CocknBullKid - Adulthood
Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Erasure - Tomorrow's World
Foster The People - Torches
Darren Hayes - Secret Codes And Battleships
Penguin Prison - Penguin Prison
Roxette - Charm School
Sneaky Sound System - From Here To Anywhere
Will Young - Echoes
Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

Honorable mentions include "Panic Of Girls" by Blondie, "50 Words For Snow" by Kate Bush" and "Credo" by The Human League.

Lavish them with praise. Roll your eyes in disgust. Whatever you do, please do it with equal parts passion and dignity! Roll on 2012!

4 comments:

  1. Oh yeah - that's right. I still need to buy the new Duran Duran album; if I can figure out which configuration of it makes the most sense for me. [how I hate this pick-a-format syndrome… I still don't have the new Jim Kerr for the same reason…]

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  2. It's interesting to me how much was made of Phil & the Girls releasing Credo and then how steadily through the year it became less and less of an impressive effort. Single selection definitely contributed to it being a bit of a non-starter, but in the end I think they just didn't go far enough to rediscover what it was that made them so powerful once.
    Simon & the Boys, on the other hand, found a spark that I wasn't at all expecting, especially after the disaster that was Red Carpet Massacre. Even the album title is pure Duran Duran.

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  3. I totally forgot about the Blondie record!

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  4. It's a nice list. "All You Need Is Now" was my favorite from last year. It's amazing. Best thing they've done since 7&TRT.

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