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Graham’s Top 5 Albums of 2011
The Roots- “Undun”
Until a week ago, Beyoncé’s album was my favorite album of the year. But, after my first listen through of The Roots latest album, I was immediately hooked. From the theme and the concept, the composition of the songs, classic sounding sonics and heartfelt lyrics, this collection of songs is unlike anything that I have heard in a long time. It is amazing to me that a band that has been together for 20 years can still make music that really has something to say. Usually lyrics are the last thing that I pick up on. I guess my ear is just naturally drawn to the instrumentation. But from the first listen I was touched by the lyrical themes and raw emotion of the words. I think its clear The Roots are still pioneering Hip-Hop and R&B and continue to be an inspiration to me as songwriters and instrumentalists.
2. Beyonce’ – “4”
I probably have listened to this album more than any other this year. I have always been a fan of hers. She has an amazing voice and is a phenomenal performer. On this album, I feel as if she has really come into her own and developed a style that is complete unique. She’s sold something like 30 million records in her career so it seems at this point she’s is just trying to do what she wants to do, as opposed to following trends in pop music. You can hear the inspiration she is taking from classic artists such as Earth Wind and Fire, Fela Kuti, Michael Jackson and Prince while adding a modern soundscape and retaining her signature vocals. Each song seems to take influence from various time periods within R&B and Soul and also tapped some of amazing writers and producers like The-Dream, Kanye West, Frank Ocean and Andre 3000, Rodney Jerkins and Q-Tip. It seemed many music consumers were confused by the album that didn’t have a clear radio smash or chart topping singles. I personally thought it was amazingly refreshing to see an artist of her caliber taking control of her own music and putting out a body of work as unique as this.
3. Adele- “21”
This was another album that I immediately found so refreshing. There are no gimmicks, huge guest stars or sexy videos associated with this album. This is just songwriting at it’s best. It’s amazing that in the current atmosphere of popular music where female stars like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Nikki Minaj own the airwaves with club ready smashes that this stripped down, organic sounding album can permeate every radio station and be heralded from both male and female listeners of all ages. It’s a testament to how good these songs are and how cohesive they are as a collection. Her voice is huge and versatile, helping her jump from various styles such as Motown, rock, blues and country while always being unmistakably her. For many of the songs, she signed on Rick Rubin to produce who collected an amazing band including James Poyser on piano and Pino Palladino on bass who both played on D’Angelo’s “Voodoo” album, my 2nd favorite album of all time. So she gets props for that too.
4. Friendly Fires- “Pala”
My new friend Metal Mike introduced me to this album this past summer on Warped Tour. It became a staple in the back lounge of the bus all summer. My favorite part of it is the sonics of the album. You can tell how much attention was paid to each individual instrument and it’s timbre, particularly in the synths and drums. They create amazing sonic collages reminiscent of the Talking Heads. The songwriting is also great and it’s always nice to hear new artists that are creating music in similar styles to what we are trying to do in.
5. Jay Z and Kanye West – “Watch the Throne”
Kanye continues to impress me as a prolific and determined songwriter. This album was great and the fact that arguably the two biggest artists in the Hip-Hop realm came together to create an entire album together is remarkable in itself. The beats were all very intriguing to me employing unique and interesting sounds. Great collaborations with Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, the late Otis Redding, Charlie Wilson and the RZA also made each song unique on it’s own.
Honorable Mention: Cody B. Ware- “Welcome Home”
Favorite song of 2011: “Love on Top” – Beyoncé
To look for in 2012: The-Dream- “Love IV: Diary of a Madman
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SHEEL’S TOP 5 ALBUMS of 2011
1. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
I first heard “Wicked Games” and I realized that it could be the record I had been waiting to hear for a long time. Then I heard “High for This” and “The Knowing.” After a few solid listen-throughs of the whole album, it became my favorite album of the year so far. It filled a void in my musical taste that hadn’t been filled since I heard the Deftones - Diamond Eyes the year before. It’s melodic, beautiful, eerie, epic, heavy and the production is very minimal (yet very effective). I’ve heard people say this dude bites The-Dream. I am a huge fan of The-Dream and yes, maybe some of his vocal tones/phrases, maybe influenced at MOST? I don’t give a fuck. This dude is touching on musical, lyrical, melodic and production elements that I think no one else in modern R&B is touching on right now. I put this dude in a league of his own. I have to be honest though…This summer, a girl came onto our tour bus and said “can we listen to the Weeknd!?!?!?!?!?” Something about that really pissed me off. Maybe it was the tone of her voice or the fact that I realized that the Weeknd had maybe become too “hip” ?? Haha. Either way, there is no need to hate on someone’s music spreading the way the Weeknd’s music has spread this year, especially if you genuinely enjoy the music.
2. Cody B. Ware - Welcome Home
Cody B. Ware is my brother and one of the most passionate artists I have ever met. He is also a numbskull sometimes. He once sent an mp3 to a mix engineer and asked him if he could mix the actual mp3. Some may not know how stupid that is, but trust me it was pretty stupid. My good friend, fellow Bad Rabbit and production partner RP Thompson and I produced this album. It was an incredible learning experience and a true test of patience. It reinforced my thoughts that every artist at some point (whether it’s earlier or later in the artists career) needs to explore their deepest creative roots instead of trying to craft the “perfect” album in a label, business or marketing sense. “Welcome Home” is a conceptual album and his stories are real. It’s even narrated by his mother who happens to be one of Cody’s biggest supporters. I don’t really need to talk about the actual musicality of the record because it’s kind of like trying to suck my own dick (which I kind of already am by putting this in my top 5 albums), but I will say that this album will forever be one of my favorites for many reasons. “Sheel, can you make the snare drum sound like the APOCALYPSE?” - Cody B. Ware.
3. The Contortionist - Exoplanet
I heard the song “Contact” at my brother Shan’s apartment and instantly knew this would be my favorite heavy album of the year. It is brutal and beautiful. I need at least one heavy band/album each year to keep me rooted. I will never give up on heavy music.
4. Action Bronson & Statik Selektah - Well done
Some have compared Action Bronson to Ghostface Killah. It’s clear as to why, but I am not hating on that comparison at all. That’s a compliment. This album, especially the production was very refreshing considering a lot of commercial hip hop right now is flooded with southern 808 drum or dark/drugged out type of beat production. These are well crafted, classic hip hop songs that would make 90’s hip hop babies proud. NY should be proud.
5. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
Prior to listening to this album, I was already very much intrigued by anything Odd Future related. Not even necessarily because of their music, but because of their grasp on a very particular youth DIY movement. Hate it or love it, no one can deny that they took over this year and are doing things the way they want to be doing them (at least I hope so). I heard “Strawberry Swing” (Coldplay mash) and was not expecting that type of song to be anything like what I was expecting from anyone in the Odd Future collective. Then I heard “Novacane” and knew this dude was real deal. If he continues to write the way he is writing, I think he will have a very rewarding career. Also, If Teddy Riley heard “Novacane,” he would be proud.
Honorable Mention: Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Favorite song of 2011: “Shuffle” by Bombay Bicycle Club
To look for in 2012: Children of the Night - Queens Revisited
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Peep our new cover of “Walkin’ On the Moon” by The-Dream @MrTeriusNash feat. our good friend @MoePope77. The-Dream is one of our favorite producers and artists of our generation. Click the image to the left to download the FREE mp3 and receive a 10% off gift code for our merch store.
Big ups to @TrickyGonzalez for the video and @RyanOJohn (www.RyanOJohn.com) for the mix/master. Also bigups to @AlohaFromBam and @TimLuckow from GHouse for hooking up the cover art.
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Screen shots from our newest Live Cover Series Installment. Premiering 3pm EST tomm! (Taken with instagram)
Nov 01 2011
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Stuff we fucks with. Our good friends Brandon and Cameron (formerly of Eye Alaska) have a new project called Roy English (@theroyenglish). This shit is fire and we have been crushing it on the regular in our van this tour. Check
our the EP Fear Love on iTunes
