Posted +++ 21h01 +++ 12 Dec 2011 +++ by Ben Watt



Ten great albums and twenty great singles of 2011.

I could post streams and YouTube clips like everyone else does, but then you'd be tempted to just lazily skate through these brilliant records and then wander off. Instead I urge you to look them up on iTunes, on better still the respective artist's or label's own websites and then perhaps, with one extra click, buy one or two (maybe even on vinyl or CD). You'd be surprised how many of the artists and labels behind these great records could actually use your cash in this age of 'free culture'. In no particular order:

10 Albums
Fred Hersch - Alone At The Vanguard - Album - Transdreamer
Tropics - Parodia Flare - Album - Planet Mu
Other Lives - Tamer Animals - Album - TBD
Robag Wruhme - Thora Vukk - Album - Pampa - (pic above)
Bon Iver - Bon Iver - Album - 4AD
Mark McGuire - A Young Person's Guide To Mark McGuire - Album - Editions Mego
Arrange - Plantation - Album - Self-released
The Sea and Cake - The Moonlight Butterfly - Album - Thrill Jockey
Fred McDowell: The Alan Lomax Recordings - Album - Odyssey
The Field - Looping State Of Mind - Album - Kompakt

20 Singles
Strand of Oaks - This Must Be The Place (Talking Heads cover) - Track - Free MP3
Arkist - Rendezvouz - Track - Apple Pips Jean Wells - What Have I Got To Lose - Track - BBE
Luke Abbott - Brazil (Gold Panda Remix) - Track - Border Community
Frank Ocean - Novacane - Track - Def Jam
Marius Vareid - Telemark - Track - Full Pupp
Ilija Rudman - Show Me The Magic - Track - Bear Funk
Low Roar - Tonight, Tonight, Tonight - Track - Tonequake
Sepalcure - I'm Alright - Track - Hotflush
Mayer Hawthorne - When The Night Falls (Chromeo cover) - Track - Back Yard
Ada - Faith - Track - Pampa
Connan Mockasin - Faking Jazz Together - Track - Because
Clapz II Dogz - The Rain - Track - Glass Table
Ford and Lopatin - Break Inside - Track - Software
Stop the Car - Homebound - Track - We Are Woodville
Vondelpark - NYC Stuff & NYC Bags - EP - R&S
Gillian Welch - The Way It Will Be - Track - Acony
Clock Opera - Belongings - Track - Moshi Moshi
Penguin Prison - Multi-Millionaire (Prince Language Remix) - Track - Stranger
Josef Jaktmark - Breathless - Track - Crime City Disco
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Bats In The Attic - Track - Domino

And here's some other nice stuff - some old, some new:

St Austell Tribute Ale
Cheese Quavers
Rev
Hiss Golden Messenger 'Bad Debt' album (2010)
Robert Levine's 'Free Ride' non-fiction
Jonathan Wilson's 'Inverting The Pyramid: A History Of Football Tactics' (2009)
Alex Ross's 'The Rest Is Noise' (2007) non-fiction
Bob Dylan's 'Chronicles Vol 1' (2004) non-fiction
Barnet 1 Port Vale 0, May 7 2011
Shane Meadows' 'This is England '88' (TV)
'Great Expectations' (BBC, TV)
Pinter's 'Betrayal' revival at Harold Pinter Theatre, London
Small Wonder Short Story Festival, East Sussex
Bon Iver live at Hammersmith Apollo
Clock Opera live at The Barfly
Cycling the Monsal Trail, Peak District
Walks round Kimmeridge, Dorset
'Archipelago' film
Andrea Arnold's 'Wuthering Heights' film (ace weather)
'Blue Valentine' film (Ryan Gosling ace)
'True Grit' film (Jeff Bridges ace)
Documentary: 'Senna'
Documentary: 'Lawrence Of Belgravia'
Eating M&S tree-ripened mango
Star Walk iPhone App
Cleartune iPhone App
Bus Checker iPhone App
PedalTrain guitar pedal board
BassJump portable USB-powered subwoofer for MacBook Pro
Folk Clothing peepin' roll neck jumper
Tacita Dean's FILM at Tate Modern
Mark Cousins' 'The Story Of Film' on More4
EMU 'Cobblestone' winter desert boots

And you should never have a favourite child but these are my 3 favourite Buzzin' Fly tracks of 2011:

Mano Le Tough - Stories
Tevo Howard - The Age Of Compassion
Flowers and Sea Creatures - A.M. (Ewan Pearson Re-Edit)

Buzz buzz, Ben x

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