2011 Review: Top 50 Songs (20-11)

And we're down to the home stretch with the top 50 songs of 2011. Be sure to take a look back at the previous 30 songs and come back tomorrow for the top 10! Enjoy!

2011 Review: Top 50 Songs (30-21)

We're 20 songs into the top 50 of the year and with some very slight adjustments after a listen to the entire list last night, here are the next 10 songs (30-21). Make sure you check back at numbers 50-41 and 40-31 if you missed them and keep checking back for the top 20!

2011 Review: Top 50 Songs (40-31)

Yesterday marked the beginning of a 5 day quest to reveal the top 50 songs of 2011. If you missed it follow the link to check out numbers 50 -41. Today, I will be revealing the next 10 (40-31) and from the look of it we have a very eclectic mix of songs ahead. Enjoy!

2011 Review: Top 50 Songs (50-41)

The 2011 year in review continues with the top 50 songs. Over the next 5 days I will be revealing my top 50 songs of this year 10 at a time. In making this list I only followed one real rule; one song per artist. When I started making it, I had over 200 songs in contention and in a painstaking process (actually it was kind of enjoyable revisiting all the songs) whittled it down to the 50 you will see over the next few days. Now without further ado, here are numbers 50-41.

2011 Review: 25 Great "Rock" Releases (The Honorable Mention)

This year had so many great albums that a singular top 10 was just not quite enough; too many other albums deserved at least a mention. There was the Top 10 hiphop/R&B list posted earlier this week and this here is essentially an extended honorable mention for the other rock albums this year. An overall top 10 is coming later this month with proper write ups and in an effort to preserve the suspense, none of those albums will be included. In the meantime, enjoy this list and give a listen to some of these excellent albums if you haven't already.

2011 Review: Top 10 Hip Hop Releases (Albums, Mixtapes & EPs)

2011 has been a hell of a year in music and to kick off A Brief Intermission's review of 2011, I've put together a list of the top 10 hip hop releases of the year. A lot of up and comers had a big year with multiple acclaimed releases, while others fell short of the overblown expectations. Likewise, some of the biggest names in hip hop released albums amidst a maelstrom of hype to mixed results.

Despite some of the big time disappointments, there was a lot of great music released and many of the new boys have people excited about the future of hip hop. Without further ado, here is the list (top 10 after the jump):

Honorable Mention (in no particular order):

Action Bronson & Statik Selektah - Well Done
Atmosphere - The Family Sign
The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles
Stalley - Lincoln Way Nights: (Intelligent Trunk Music)
Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows

Artist Profile: Gold Leaves

The new(ish) project from Seattle singer-songwriter Grant Olsen, Gold Leaves places folky instrumentation into an ambient backdrop and then adds in soaring vocal harmonies. I saw Grant Olsen and his band open for A.A. Bondy this past week at the Bowery Ballroom and was enthralled by their sound. Seeing them on stage felt like watching one of the earliest incarnations of Robin Pecknold and Fleet Foxes (the Seattle connection and bearded front man certainly aided the comparison) and this band has the potential to create equally beautiful music without being a copycat.

Olsen released the Gold Leaves debut, The Ornament on Hardly Art this past August and the album sounds just as promising as their live show. Check out the title track below and then go out and get the album. Enjoy!

Artist Profile: The Shivers

After hearing their song "SoHo Party" at a Halloween Party this weekend, I've been listening to The Shivers non-stop. This band's catalog of songs is incredibly diverse with songs ranging from alt-country fair that brings Deer Tick to mind, yearning Grizzly Bear-esque ballads and the more straight forward indie-rock to name a few.

"SoHo Party" typifies this diversity as the song goes from a voicemail message from the lead singer's mom, extreme silliness with lyrics like "and who told you to put your finger in my asshole, asshole!" to a brilliant interpolation of Cat Stevens' the wind. Keith Zarriello's songwriting is quirky and leaves the listener wondering what's next. The band released their new album More on May 10th of this year and you can listen to a song and buy it over at Silence Breaks. I would also highly recommend their 2004 album Charades which features the previously mentioned "SoHo Party"; listen below!

Movie Review: Drive

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

In Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher trilogy), directs Ryan Gosling, The Driver, in a gritty, brutally violent crime drama set in L.A. The Driver works as a mechanic and a Hollywood stuntman, moonlighting as a getaway driver for local crooks. He becomes enamored with a woman, Irene (Carey Mulligan), who lives down the hall in his apartment complex, and befriends her and her child. When Irene's husband is released from jail, The Driver takes on a getaway job for him to help him erase a debt. The job goes awry, and the rest of the film depicts the gruesome lengths The Driver takes to ensure Irene and her child stay safe.

An Open Letter to Jesse Lacey

After Michael posted Amy Klein's open letter to Conor Oberst, I was inspired to write my own letter of appreciation to the artists that made music actually mean something to me. Jesse Lacey, the lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter of Brand New, is to me what Conor Oberst is to Amy Klein and these are my words of thanks to him.