adele - 21
i have played this album a lot! adele topped her success from her last album, 19, with a diverse mix of musical influences from american country and folk and alternative. it's very cohesive and i consider it to be another breakthrough in the british invasion. i will be very mad if this album does not win album of the year at the grammys. it is the most deserving because it has had a huge impact critically and commerically. if you follow me on facebook and twitter, you notice that i root for this woman and her music a lot! i want her to stop smoking so that her voice can have longevity!
the others that made my list are:
bjork - biophilia
a wonderful experimental and avant-garde trek!
coldplay - mylo xyloto
one of my favorite alternative rock bands hit the nail again.
femi kuti - africa for africa
this afro-beat legend had me jammin'!
fitz and the tantrums - pickin' up the pieces
unique modern soul music!
jay-z & kanye west - watch the throne
this was a great collaboration of two hip-hop greats.
jill scott - the light of the sun
jilly from philly came back hard!
justice - audio, video, disco
mostly instrumental, but i love it!
lady gaga - born this way
this was monumental for gaga, a very socially conscious and musically diverse set.
lenny kravitz - black and white america
lenny had one of the best rock albums of the year and it's a very happy themed disc! i <3 him! hey baby daddy!
liza minnelli - confessions
y'all don't know a damn thing about this woman! pop standards, baby!
marsha ambrosius - late nights & early mornings
raw r&b. she's riding a new wave of fresh creativity since she was a part of floetry.
mary j. blige - my life ii: the journey continues (act i)
besides an iffy duet with beyonce and appearances by drake and rick ross, the album still makes a mark.
meshell ndegeocello - weather
another heap of gumbo from this chameleon. why hasn't she won a grammy??
miguel - all i want is you
miguel is the musical godson of prince. and he's beautiful. he debuted strongly and i would have many quickies with him!
rupaul - glamazon
rupaul always does it with the heavy dance music. my gay genes were happy!
saul williams - volcanic sunlight
one of my favorite spoken word artists released something new in music and it's very indie! :)
seal - soul 2
seal is amazing at covers. good thing i have this album and it's prequel side by side in my ipod!
ziggy marley - wild and free
another great addition to my hippie travels. he is a beam of light of his father's memory.
some of my favorite songs of the year:
maroon 5 - moves like jagger
lmfao - party rock anthem
jennifer lopez - on the floor
rihanna - s&m & we found love
britney spears - till the world ends
beyonce - end of time
now... these are the albums that i want to acknowledge that did not sit well with me this year, and out of all the crappy mainstream music that is being played on the radio, i think these two albums are not of good quality (and these are the two that i kept skipping songs with)
beyonce and rihanna are two of the headlining artists of today's music industry and i was not fond of their releases. both actually had only one song that i liked from each. i'm probably going to get heat from both beyonce and rihanna stans, but i really don't care because i know what my ear hears and if i don't like it, i don't like it. simple as that. both of them work too hard and i hear so much catchiness in these works, and they sound like they were rushed. both beyonce and rihanna need to take a break, a real break. beyonce is overrated and overexposed and this is rihanna's 6th album in 6 years. i have a pint of respect for both of them, but i do admire that beyonce defended her work and didn't want to change anything about it when it leaked. i would never tell another artist that they need to change something on their album when it has already been put out in the public, since i am another artist. i admire that rihanna knows how to reinvent herself. not too many current artists do that. however, these works are art and art is up to interpretation. i spent so much energy on this part of the blog because i have an intelligent argument when it comes to music.
this is MY 2011 in music.
FIN.
I love Saul Williams! Oh, he's one of the best spoken word artists ever and SO intelligent. Just amazing! I agree with your number one pick as well. I TOTALLY agree about Beyonce. When it came out I thought it was good because everyone was so stoked but I listened to it and it's crap. All of her songs have the same basic meaning. Her best solo album to date was Dangerously in Love. The only song that I do like is Party and I don't really like the lyrics, the beat is the best.
ReplyDeleteAs for Rihanna? Just heard an interview with her on the radio and the guy asked her how she felt about being a sex symbol. She was all like "Oh reallY? I don't know. I just think that's an opinion, because that's not what I'm trying to be at all. But I mean if that's what people call me, that's what I am!" WHAT THE FUCK?! Does she not read her lyrics? AND she lied in one statement. She denied being a sex symbol but then accepts it? I can't deal.