Citizen Insane's Best of 2011 - Top Tracks: Part II

As with every oncoming new year, we take the end of December to reflect on the people we should've kissed, the phone calls we shouldn't have made, the opportunities we squandered, the surprises we relished and, most importantly, our favourite music of the months past.

For me, Christmas time and New Year's usually means vacation. Whether it's returning home to Detroit or a haphazardly planned excursion with some good friends, I'm normally away from the internet, soaking up whatever trouble I've gotten myself into. While I've succeed in hedonistically being away from my computer, here's the second (dare I say better?) half of my Best of 2011 song list...

- 2011's Top Tracks, #25-1 -
25. Adele - Rolling in the Deep (Jamie xx Remix)
24. Twerps - Dreamin'
23. Azelia Banks - 212
22. Radiohead - The Daily Mail
21. Dive - Sometime
20. XXXY - Ordinary Things
19. North Highlands - Roundhouse
18. Jürgen Müller - The Elusive Seahorse
17. Clams Casino - Motivation
16. Beirut - East Harlem
15. Grimes - Oblivion
14. Jai Paul - BTSTU
13. Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure
12. M83 - Midnight City
11. ASAP Rocky - Purple Swag
10. Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers
09. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
08. Burial - Stolen Dog
07. WU LYF - Spitting Blood
06. The Weeknd - The Morning
05. Drake - Marvin's Room
04. Zoo Kid - Out Getting Ribs
03. Jamie xx - Far Nearer
02. Purity Ring - Ungirthed
01. Real Estate - It's Real

Like the list? Like Part I, you can download every song in one ZIP file by clicking right here.

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Citizen Insane's Best of 2011 - Top Tracks: Part I

As with every oncoming new year, we take the end of December to reflect on the people we should've kissed, the phone calls we shouldn't have made, the opportunities we squandered, the surprises we relished and, most importantly, our favourite music of the months past.

While these Best of 2011 lists are admittedly overwrought and a little pointless, I can't help but throw my hat into the ring, compiling my top tracks of twenty-eleven, many of which you've already read about here... Just like last year, I'm hosting all 25 MP3s, which you can grab via the link below the laundry list.

- 2011's Top Tracks, #50-26 -
50. Beach Fossils - Calyer
49. ASAP Rocky - Bass
48. TV Girl - Benny and The Jetts
47. Vivian Girls - Take It as It Comes
46. Kreayshawn - Gucci Gucci
45. Cosmonaut Grechko - ニバルニソトラニルニトラソ (y0c1e Cover)
44. Dirty Beaches - True Blue
43. Bombé - Wilhelm's Fucking Best
42. Kanye West & Jay-Z - Niggas in Paris
41. First Rate People - Funny Games
40. Active Child - Playing House (feat. How to Dress Well)
39. Regal Safari - Only
38. Nodzzz - Heyday Past Heyday Due
37. Fleet Foxes - Montezuma
36. Frank Ocean - Songs for Women
35. Neon Indian - Polish Girl
34. Elite Gymnastics - Here, In Heaven 2
33. James Blake - Lindesfarne
32. Foo Fighters - White Limo
31. Megafaun - Kill the Horns
30. Major Lazer - Original Don
29. Bon Iver - Beth / Rest
28. Metronomy - The Look
27. SBTRKT - Something Goes Right
26. Drake - Trust Issues

Like the list? Download all 25 songs in one ZIP file by clicking right here.

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MP3s: Start Listening to Grimes

When you grow up in the midwest, you almost exclusively experience music in cars. Especially in a state like Michigan, nearly half of your waking hours are dedicated to driving to school, driving to athletic practice, driving to dinner or the grocery store and driving to your girlfriend's house. It was in my dad's truck I first heard Seger's "Old Time Rock & Roll," Zeppelin's "Black Dog," the Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown" and The Beatles' "Helter Skelter." All foundational music experiences, cars gave me blisters on my ears.

Moving to New York meant losing my car, which also meant no more shouted sing-a-longs to Minor Threat or Killing Joke, no more putting Girl Talk or Lil Wayne on blast and no more first listens to bands I'd come to love. Rain, snow, or shine, I had a gluttony of CD cases ready to soundtrack wherever I was going, whoever I was with. What I never accounted for in the big city was its subway.

Sure, commutes to and from work are overly-congested, hardly a place to experience something like For Emma, Forever Ago, but there are few things better than the isolation offered by 1 a.m. rides with a belly full of scotch. The way underground lights flicker and sway before giving way to the stars over the Manhattan bridge, the Hudson's reflection and Lady Liberty's spotlights--It's the closest I've come to matching my old Accord's stereo system.

For the past few months, I've seen the name Grimes pop up everywhere. Friends on Twitter gave shout-outs, MP3s cropped up on Tumblr and music bloggers were abuzz, but for whatever reason, her music flopped onto the "I'll get to it later" stack on my harddrive. It wasn't until a recent night-owl trip on the Q train that "Oblivion" came on in my earbuds; the perfect backdrop for what I was hearing.

Equally parts pop-diva, John Carpenter, New Order and GarageBand, the Canadian-born singer has this weird, etherial quality about her, something that's hard to put a finger on, but so rewarding when it flows over you.

She's all but rejected her earlier material in recent interviews. "They were just practice," Grimes explained. "I don't hate them, but instead of actually making what I wanted to make, I was making what I was able to make." It's easy to hear, comparing the newer "Oblivion" and "Vanessa" to older efforts like "Feyd Rautha Dark Heart" and "Devon." With the former, it's an artist finally finding her confidence, creative yolks solidified.

While those earlier tracks have their merits, it's for the better. With "Oblivion" and (presumably) her upcoming Visions LP, she's managed to strike the perfect genre blending balance of pop, goth, dubstep, new wave and, of course, grime.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Grimes - Oblivion
Grimes - Vanessa
Grimes - Feyd Rautha Dark Heart
Grimes - Devon

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MP3s: Three Stand-out Tracks from Galapagos

It's surprising how struck I can be by music over-wrought with familiarity. On the surface, 18-year-old Galapagos isn't doing anything wholly new. Alvin-esque pitch-shifting? Heard it. R&B sampling? Been there. Chopped vocals and beats? Oh, please. Still, there's something I find infectious about his songs and structures, particularly "Feel Things Inside."

Surely, its wrong to think of ProTools or Logic as anything other than stringed instruments. If songwriters can produce a dearth of material using the same guitar chords, why can't laptop auteurs do the same with software tricks? Maybe that's just my cognitive dissonance coming out, but one's ability to make an IDM-pop song out of a Jennifer Hudson track should always earn mention.

While the young Phoenician is for now treading in the wake of acts like Gold Panda, there's some solid kernels of promise in his output so far.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Galapagos - Feel Things Inside
Galapagos - You Gave 2 Me
Galapagos - Fast

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MP3s: Minks' Araby / Little Fawn 7"

Since it's December, music bloggers are culling through their iTunes catalogues, double checking albums for any amount of worth, revisiting records from months past. While Minks' By the Hedge won't land on any writer's Top 25 of 2011 list, their Cure, Smiths and early-My Bloody Valentine inspired goth pop deserves a little recognition. Clocking in at just over 30 minutes, the tight record is packed with New Wave allusions and sing-along harmonies; no small feet for a bunch of Boston teens.

It's commendable then that the band has another solid release in their latest 7": Araby. The title track fits the 80s-referencing template the band's laid out for themselves, while "Little Fawn" shows they've been listening to Pet Sounds in the recording studio. Though they wear their vinyl collection on their sleeves, the band produces consistently good tunes. What more could ears want?

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Minks - Araby
Minks - Little Fawn
Minks - Funeral Song

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Catching Up With James Blake, His EPs and His Singles...

In 2011, James Blake put out one album, two EPs and three singles. That's 29 tracks or nearly three times his 2010 production. I've argued here at length why Blake is an electronic savant, a dubstep wunderkind, but at some point, tripling your artistic output (all while touring, which Blake has in '11) is going to have diminished returns, right?

The last time I discussed Blake in this space was back in June, on the cusp of his "Linesfarne" single release. Since then, he dropped the Order / Pan 12", the Enough Thunder EP and his latest, the Love What Happened Here EP. Each effort continues Blake's mercurial trend of shifting sounds and ideologies, but he's finally reached a point where some material returns to the well.

Note: this isn't a slight against his songwriting. If anything, some fans would prefer Blake to stay in the same mold for more than three songs or even return the R&B sampling of the CMYK EP.

Starting with the most recent product, Love What Happened Here finds Blake drawing on the avant-garde electronic stuttering of his earliest releases, reminiscing the Air & Lack Thereof 12" and Bells Sketch EP, minus the dubstep decibles.

Order / Pan is an oddity in Blake's discography. Released after his eponymous LP, it's a two-track single that finds James tempering any and all pop leaning, toying with space and silence, and exploring his most experimental affections.

Enough Thunder is an interesting combination of Blake's piano balladry and the abstract sampling of his Klavierwerke EP. Rounding out the EP's four original compositions are a beautiful Joni Mitchell cover as well as a Bon Iver collaboration that sounds like you'd expect.

In all, they're three very different experiences which mostly answer my leading question. Despite the dearth of new material, Blake manages to sample the right chords and deliver songs that hold up the weight of his discography thus far. Though some sigh that he's mostly abandoned his early, dubstep leanings, Blake remains an electronic composer conjunctively using his voice and laptop in ways we hadn't heard yet. It's a shame his debut album isn't making a bigger dent on the "Best Albums of 2011" lists we see cropping up on the web...

Right-Click + Save Link As:

James Blake - We Might Feel Unsound
James Blake - At Birth
James Blake - Fall Creek Boys Choir (feat. Bon Iver)
James Blake - A Case of You (Joni Mitchell Cover)
James Blake - Pan

MediaFire Link: Download a complete ZIP of all three new releases discussed above.

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MP3: Azealia Banks - "212"

When I first saw Azealia Banks, I'd written her off as a copy of a copy, Dominique Young Unique by way of Amanda Blank and Kid Sister. Like Unique, Banks is under 21 and armed with a hyper-kinetic, sexualized flow, but the similarities end there and I've been eating crow for not taking notice sooner.

Having attended New York's lauded LaGuardia High School (notable alums: Nicki Minaj, Kelis and Paul Stanley), Banks is more than a rapper--add "slash singer, slash actress" to her résumé--proudly displaying talent and range on "212." Accents, singing and smut come together in three and a half minutes of basement pop. Most importantly, it straight slays. Sure, the track is a few months old, but it's still a pitch-perfect coming out party. Weaving all of Banks' artistic proclivities results in a spastic anthem that would make Diplo proud.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Azealia Banks - 212

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MP3s: Heavenly Beat's Balearic Pop Jams

You may recall me blogging the Beach Fossils side-project, Dive. Despite the midnight tones, the group keeps Beach Fossils' chill vibes alive and the same can be said for Heavenly Beat.

This second side-project is led by Beach Fossils' bassist John Peña, but opts to combine his home-team sounds with Balearic accents, recalling early Kings of Convenience (in a good way). The group's got two singles to their name with a full-length due sometime next year.

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Heavenly Beat - Faithless
Heavenly Beat - Suday

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The Monday Mixtape - A Musical Recap of My November

Some old tunes, some new tunes, all good tunes, most Mondays...
Do to life, work and the holiday, November came and went without a single post. While it's a bummer the site wasn't updated in the interim, I was still listening to all kind of tunes. Even though I didn't write about them, here are ten songs I couldn't get enough of last month...

Right-Click + Save Link As:

Gorillaz - Doncamatic (feat. Daley)
Holiday Shores - Spells
Grimes - Oblivion
Ty Segall - Standing at the Station
ASAP Rocky - Bass
Coasting - Portland
Wale - Slight Work (feat. Big Sean)
Galapagos - Feel Things Inside
Turf War - Bones
Major Lazer - Original Don

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