Well, 2011. You were quite the year! So much so that I’ve only been able to recover enough to think about you a full week into 2012. Crazy, huh? New jobs, lots of change, oodles of shenanigans, and yes, lots of good music. So much so, that I undoubtedly missed vast quantities of things that I really should have got to. Ho hum.

So what things did Skye like? Blimey. I just looked at the Excel spreadsheet of this year’s releases (see how cool Skye is!), and there’s a lot of stuff on there. However it’s fair to say that I do actually have a favourite record of 2011, despite my general resistance to ranking things. I know, crazy times, huh, maybe the Mayans are right after all.

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1.     Metronomy – The English Riviera

2.     Pete & The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures

3.     The Cloud Room – Zither

4.     Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

5      Thirteen Senses – Crystal Sounds

6.     Human League – Credo

7.     Active Child – You Are All I See

8.     The Strokes – Angels

9.     Thomas Dolby – A Map Of The Floating City

10.     Kaiser Chiefs – The Future Is Medieval

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St. Louis identical-twin folk duo Dubb Nubb already had a string of charming releases, a Daytrotter session, national touring, and had landed on the roster of amazing DIY label Special Passenger Records, all before ever graduating from High School.

The bizarre thing about Dubb Nubb (and the factor that makes them truly, truly special) is that they manage to display the rough-edged charm of their youth and simultaneously flex extreme depth and experience as musicians and songwriters, writing sweeping, beautiful, emotionally complex songs with more fresh substance than most songwriters far older than these girls ever manage to tap into.
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Monitoring pre-CMJ tweets, people were apprehensive about the lack of big buzz bands on the roster. I had low-grade concerns that the talent would be as flimsy as this year’s badge lanyard, but fully believe that CMJ doesn’t need bands already anointed with big label approval. Two years ago The xx played seemingly a hundred shows when they didn’t really need to, since they were already branded stars. Not exactly underground.

And while bands don’t remain undiscovered in New York all that long, CMJ is by far the best opportunity to find diamonds in the rough. It’s all so concentrated. Talking with publisher Jen last week, we decided that if you just parked your ass at Pianos all week, you’d probably hear everything you needed to and more.
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“Hey Jane” recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, October 11^th 2011

A couple of weeks ago Spiritualized visited the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh, ready to promote a new album already delayed until next spring. Most of the scheduled tour dates have been postponed until March, but us Scots were lucky to avoid such a fate. I bought my pint to the strains of Malcolm Mooney-era Can on the PA and got comfy in the Upper Circle. Eventually Spiritualized filed onstage – Jason Spaceman stage right, sitting on an office chair facing the band; Doggen and John Coxon on guitar; two anonymous figures on bass and keyboards (sorry for not knowing your names, skilled musicians!), Kevlar Bales on drums and two gospel singers as backup. My palms were sweating with anticipation. Yes, I’m a confirmed Spiritualized acolyte, and I was ready to accept anything the Spaceman threw my way.

I wasn’t expecting this, though.

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I do not give one fuck about Wilco, in general. I have enjoyed glimpses of far above average songwriting and occasional studio magic from them but for the most part, it has always hit my ears as ferociously safe (and like so many things, because it doesn’t move me, I like it even less because it moves other people so much). I always charge back into their records with enthusiasm, but always come back out wishing for more adventure. Thank god for my endless patience, because their new collection, The Whole Love is right where I always hope they’ll go. I really liked (and wanted to love) Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but it just never quite got me there, on any front. This record, from the first notes of “Art of Almost” is fun, believable, and aggressively broad. Fantastic songwriting and not at all afraid to get weird or challenging (but always when it’s right).
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Oh, for a few more days of being under the influence and along-side the influencers.

This weekend, I made my way to the greater Baltimore area for what was predicted to be a very rainy, muddy Virgin Mobile Free Fest. Upon arriving at the airport, though, my driver (Yakov!!! I love you!!) pointed out that: “Is because you here, the sun come out!” And out it stayed! You’re welcome, Free Fest attendees!

After getting cleaned up, my friends and I headed towards DC (on a yellow schoolbus) for a little dinner and dancing, courtesy of the beautiful Mekanism team. The setting was the 9:30 Club, where we were supposed to have dinner and then watch Peter, Bjorn, and John play. But something happened and part of PB&J were injured, which isn’t funny, but is, because A) It’s Peter Bjorn and John..what were THEY doing to get injured? and B) Because PB&J. So, instead of getting a sensitive, light pop show, we got a fucking scorching ECLECTIC METHOD DJ set, rich with mind-warping video mash-up and altogether madness. This was my first EM experience, so forgive a n00b.
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Friday in Raleigh marked the first full day for the Hopscotch Festival. With headliners set to take stage in the City Plaza, I started walking. From the get go I noticed that streets were way busier than they had been the night before. It seems most people viewed Thursday’s shows as a warm-up night for the actual festival, which is a shame, because there were some quality shows to be seen. Once I got to the plaza, I made my way to the front of the crowd and watched as The Dodos took the stage. They were incredible. Energetically plowing through guitar and drum creations they kicked off the night the right way. Midway through the set lead singer/guitarist Meric Long quipped “It might just be the coffee talking but I’m feeling good.” They closed with a less than polished rendition of Jodi. No one seemed to mind the few stray notes, myself included.
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“I love you, and that’s why I have to let you go.”

The third studio from Dallas darling Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, has arrived in this month’s Strange Mercy. I had heard this and that about the record for a while, but it first really reared it’s head while I was in Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival in July. Every 2-3mins between acts, the giant screen on the festival grounds ran a commercial (which cost an impressive amount of money, I suspect, as it was one of only 2 or 3 ads and it ran EVERY DAY). The video showed a series of confessional-style shots of women delivering break-up speeches, ending with Annie telling us “I love you, and that’s why I have to let you go.”
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With music festivals popping up in more and more places, there have been a whole lot of ideas on how such a big show should be coordinated. Raleigh’s Hopscotch Festival aims to create the best club
scene in the country for three days.
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