My favourite albums of 2011

For me, this year was both good and bad for music.

Good because some of my favourite bands released new music, and I got to see loads of great concerts this year (The Strokes a couple of times, Arctic Monkeys, Delta Spirit, Arcade Fire, The National a couple of times, Beirut, Telekinesis, etc).

Bad because I didn't really get into any new bands this year. Partly because new music tended to bore me and partly because I've been swamped with life, law school and everything which falls in between.

So, without futher ado, here's my list of my favourite albums of 2011.

10. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

my review

Foo Fighters - Rope [mp3]

9. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

my review

Radiohead - Lotus Flower [mp3]

8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver

Bon Iver - Perth [mp3]

7. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Girls - Honey Bunny [mp3]

6. The Black Keys - El Camino

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy [mp3]

5. Andrew Bird - Norman Soundtrack

Andrew Bird - Scotch and Milk [mp3]

4. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

my review

Fleet Foxes - Montezuma [mp3]

3. Beirut - The Rip Tide

my review

Beirut - East Harlem [mp3]

2. Arctic Monkeys - Suck it and See

my review

Arctic Monkeys - She's Thunderstorms [mp3]

1. The Strokes - Angles

my review

The Strokes - Taken for a Fool [mp3]

Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, Beck, Eddie Vedder, and Neil Young to play at Bridge School Benefit

The annual charity festival held in Mountain View, CA (halfway between San Francisco and San Jose...and home of the Google headquarters) will feature an impressive lineup this year (big surprise). The full lineup includes:

Arcade Fire

Beck

Dave Matthews

Diana Krall

Eddie Vedder

Foo Fighters

Jenny Lewis

Los Invisibles (Carlos Santana etc)

Mumford & Sons

Neil Young

Tony Bennett

all of whom will be performing acoustic sets for charity. The festival will be at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 22-23rd. Tickets go on sale via livenation on Fri September 16 at 10AM PST

OFFICIAL SITE

watch: Foo Fighters at Lollapalooza

Last night, Foo Fighters wrapped up the weekend of music in Chicago with an intense, storm-defying set spanning their sixteen year discography. Dave Grohl was absolutely incendiary, getting the audience riled up and excited throughout the Foo's two hour set. Watching it, I couldn't help but be awed by Dave's enthusiasm, because it was more befitting to a local hero than to a mega-star. But that's just how Grohl is--modest, brilliant, and absolutely badass. At the end of the night, Perry Farrell from Jane's Addiction (who founded Lolla back in 1991 as a farewell tour for his band), came out and hugged Grohl. If you missed out being there or watching the stream, I very much suggest that you devote two hours to watching the following video. It embodies the freedom and energy of rock n roll that is otherwise lacking in hipster indifference.

You can watch the end of Explosions in the Sky first or skip to 16:44 to dive right into Foo Fighters. By far my favourite part of the night was Dave's banter at 1:45:54, before he renders a heartfelt version of "Times Like These". It's bound to make you laugh out loud.

must watch video: Foo Fighters - Garage Tour

I love Foo Fighters. I love how real they are, and how genuine they've remained throughout all of their success.

The following video is a forty minute compilation of the Foos playing in actual garages of a handful of incredibly lucky contest winners. Fans were asked to submit a short answer as to why Grohl and co should grace their garage. Here's what happened:

record review: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

When Nirvana’s career reached its untimely end in 1994, nobody could have imagined what would spur forth from their shaggy haired drummer, Dave Grohl. But not only did Grohl end up being the Nirvana member with the most longevity, he has been and remains to be one of the most consistent musicians of the last two decades. Dave Grohl started Foo Fighters as a way to play the music he wrote six months after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life; Foo Fighters have since evolved from their grungy roots on their eponymous album to the mostly rollicking, (albeit oftentimes sentimental) and ever so recognizable brand of rock they’ve been producing since 2002's One By One. Since releasing 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, Grohl had collaborated with Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones and QOTSA’s Josh Homme as the melt-your-face bona fide wetdream of a supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. However, on Wasting Light, Grohl abandons the hard rock vibes of the side project (with the sore thumb exception of “White Limo”) and returns to the alternative roots which he found and became comfortable with in the early middle stages of his band’s career. “I never wanna die”, he screams on “Walk”, a song whose chorus is reminiscent of “Learn to Fly” and other early Foo songs. The album’s first song, “Bridge Burning”, opens with “These are my famous last words!” the first of many clichéd lyrical themes found on the album. The song, however, is just as energizing as its predecessor, “The Pretender”, filled with all of the right kinds of rock’n’roll anger; overall, “Bridges Burning” and the songs which follow it are musically superb, especially when judged by the applicability of their on(festival)stage badassery. Wasting Light was recorded using analog equipment in Grohl’s garage, which serves as an obvious statement to how Grohl feels about the industry itself and his eternal loyalties to his roots. Regardless, the album just begs to be amplified to thousands of eager fans in a huge setting. Lead single “Rope” sounds exactly like what you would expect a Foo Fighters single would sound like. Throughout the album, the drumming is tight, the guitar riffs go BANG-BANG-BANG like lightning bolts of alt-rock glory, and most importantly, Grohl’s songwriting and delivery are nothing short of excellent. Foo Fighters’ essence and appeal lie in their consistency of sound throughout the years, and Wasting Light only falters when Grohl defiantly departs from their tried and true sound, like in the metal-esque “White Limo”. Some people write Foo Fighters off as a band who writes the same album over and over, however this assertion is misguided and reductive. Foo Fighters have perfected a certain post-grunge sound and continue to reinvent it in every album they release, providing rock-lovers with triathalon-training music that always manages to sound comfortably familiar yet electrifyingly ground-breaking.

4/5

Foo Fighters - Bridge Burning [mp3]

Foo Fighters - Rope

I'm planning on reviewing Wasting Light very very soon.

epic collaboration: Dave Grohl, Josh Homme, John Paul Jones

they're making an album.

Band of the Week: Foo Fighters

yesterday, I found the Foo Fighter's debut album in the Amoeba clearance racks for 4 dollars. I was listening to it last night and rememebered how much Foo Fighters rock

Foo Fighters, as you all know, is Dave Grohl's band, formed after Kurt Cobain died in 1994

while they are indeed indebted to the grunge sound that Nirvana was so famous for, they, like Queens of the Stone Age, moved far past realms of either Nirvana or Pearl Jam.

with each album, they gained more complexity, and the culmination of this can easily be seen on their latest release: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace (2007)

In Your Honor (2005) consisted of two cds, one elctric and one acoustic, both incredibly haunting.

now I know this is a loaded statement, but I'm gonna say it: Foo Fighters are a lot better than Nirvana. their albums flow better, Dave is a better singer than Kurt, and his musical skills are much better utilized on guitar than behind a drum kit.

Foo Fighters are a band that I love, but I somehow forgot that I loved them. at this point, I've heard all of their albums, and have not come across a song of theirs that I don't like. for some reason, though, I never really thought about what a well-rounded and accomplished band they are.

now, I hope this post will get you guys to (re)discover Foo Fighters. download a couple of songs off their s/t debut below:

Foo Fighters - This is a Call [mp3]

Foo Fighters - Exhausted [mp3]

the band is currently working on a new album.

Foo Fighters: planning a new album?!

I thought everyone had decided that the LONG BREAK that Grohl said that they needed was a euphemism for "we're done"!

it's barely been a year and a half, and they're back?!

this is fucking awesome.

according to their drummer Taylor Hawkins (via SPIN via NME),

"We've gotten together and minced ideas already...just basic ideas and we'll probably do that over the next year until we have a log of ideas… I'd say maybe by summer we'll get in the studio and start getting serious about a record."

note to self: spend less time reading blogs and more time with actual music publications. I can't believe I let that slip by me for four days. sheesh.

Foo Fighters - Come Back [mp3]
from One By One
I loove old Foo.