A Thousand Thoughts Decline Away...

K let us continue. Yup, the first 10 did indeed feature alot of pop, but I’ll try to regain my street/indie/metal cred in the next couple of segments (though there is still some more pop woops?). Onward ho!

30) Bad Rabbits - “Neverland” from Stick Up Kids (indie/hip hop/funk/rock/pop punk) 

This was my summer jam and I still love the song and video to death. I wish these dudes could have released a full length album, because I did burn through their debut EP pretty damn fast. It’s all good though, because if they can continue to crank out  their unique blend of funky pop-punk in new innovative ways, I’ll be happy. And it makes me happy to see a band that doesn’t feature a bunch of pretty white dudes tear it up for a change.

Man this was a big year for Puppets huh?

29) Swedish House Mafia - “Save the World” from One Night Stand (dance/house)

Yup, this was the year I finally stopped worrying and learned to love house music. The club/rave scene isn’t really my thing, but anything can be my thing if I’m partying hard enough, so this track is great since it allows me to do that AND enjoy the type of anthemic music I particularly dig. The vocals are pretty cheesy, but the backing melodies are great and the bass is pushed to 11 here, so you can’t help but bob you head and “Woah” along with it. Plus the video features a bunch of dogs saving the world tonight, so its kinda hard to be a hater after seeing this.

28) The Lonely Island (featuring Santigold)- “After Party” from Turtleneck & Chain (comedy/hip hop)

Once again, The Lonely Island has made a fucking amazing album front to back and their songs could easily translate into legitimate hip-hop club bangers. Especially here on this oddly deep track featuring rapper Santigold, where our speaker finds himself tiring of his hard partying life and proceeds on a crazy fucking adventure. I’d say this is the unofficial follow up to “Like A Boss” but even better, especially because of Santigold’s contribution. I’d talk more about what happens on this track, but I ain’t going to run the risk of ruining some of the awesome jokes hidden within.

27) TV on the Radio - “Will Do” from Nine Types of Light (indie/alternative)

TV on the Radio have been loved by many for years now, and I’ve only kinda liked them as it usually takes me awhile to dig their new releases. But this track immediately struck a chord with me, as it is a sweet mellow take on a loving relationship, most likely written on the road far from the other. I especially love the singer’s wail right before the last chorus.

26) The Receiving End of Sirens - “Weightless Underwater” (post-hardcore/screamo/alternative)

Ho boy, was I happy when I found out that the broken up TREOS—the band I figured would one day take over the alternative rock scene but broke up thanks to one of the singer/guitarists knocking up his girlfriend— came together and recorded a new track for a re-release of their seminal album Between the Heart and the Synapse. The band again displays their trademark ability to be heavy as fuck with some perfectly executed inter-weaving vocal melodies and massive choruses. I would give my left nut for these guys to reunite full time in the future, but alas I guess I’ll just have to enjoy this and their other two excellent albums (note: this was apparently released late last year, but its late enough that I’ll allow it here).

25) Grouplove - “Tounge Tied” from Never Trust A Happy Song (indie/indie rock)

I just talked about this track in a recent Song of the Day post, and my sentiments about it still hold true: everything about this track is great except for the god awful female verse. I won’t allow that to ruin my appreciation for this song as a whole, with its awesome bouncing bass riff and wailing vocals (that kind of remind me of the Used and Taking Back Sunday) that just seem like one big climax the whole time. And I’m still not bothered by the fact that the new iTouch commercial which features this song is being played every 10 minutes on TV.

24) Moving Mountains - “Tired Tiger” from Waves (post-hardcore/alternative/post-rock/screamo)

The best track on an uneven record from one of the better young post-rock bands around. Apparently the band changed its direction greatly and stopped writing a bunch of 8 minute long epics, instead choosing to condense everything in a more palpable, warped tour friendly 3 1/2 minutes. This track somehow still succeeds at being very cinematic in such a short span. The singer is still the weakest element of the van and when he tries belting out the “ohhhhs” at the end, it kinda sounds cheesy, but everything else going on is fucking great (especially the violin that accompanies everything). If you dig Thrice alot, I’m sure you’ll love this.

23) Amon Amarth - “War of the Gods” from Surtur Rising (viking metal/swedish metal)

My favorite viking metal band around did not have an album on par with the epic Twilight of the Thunder God, but there were a number of highlights, such as the lead track seen here. This band just has a knack for making the catchiest riffs around and the breakdown at 2:55 featuring that cracking snare drum and ripping solo just serve to make this one of my favorite tracks from these guys. And does anyone think the french horn part at 2:18 sounds alot like the one in “Stare at the Sun” by Thrice (hey another Thrice reference woah… you’ll hear from them later don’t fret)?

22) College (featuring Electric Youth) - “A Real Hero” From Drive OST (indie/electro-pop/80s throwback)

Well this is just the most 80s song ever created. Usually I don’t dig stuff like this, but its featured to strong effect in my favorite movie of 2011, Drive. Serving as the hero’s theme throughout the movie, it’s made all the more powerful by the closing images and how it plays out over the credits. Regardless of whether you’ve seen the movie or not, that weird bassy keyboard melody just drills into your head and will stay there for days. The Drive soundtrack as a whole is pretty dang good, but this is definitely the highlight.

21) Blut Aus Nord - “Epitome VI” from 777 - Sect(s) (black metal/sludge metal/post-rock)

Here’s the most brutal song of the year, which features a crushing guitar riff, triggered drums and some great electronic atmospheric accompaniment. I also recently reflected on this song in a Song of the Day post a couple weeks back and I’ve only learned to enjoy the track from this brutal French musician even more, as well as the rest of the two albums the dude released this year. If you ever wanted a mashup of Isis, Behemoth and Gojira, this is probably as close as you’ll get.

K the next two parts will come out tomorrow guys, just in time for the end of 2011 AS WE KNOW IT!