Dec 28 2011
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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

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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