HeiBräu’s Top 50 Tracks of 2011, #50-26
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50. Dirty Beaches – “Speedway King” from Badlands.
Dirty Beaches’ debut Badlands — and this list — commences with Alex Zhang Hungtai’s Elvis howls and the gnashing of industrial teeth.
49. Lykke Li – “Love Out of Lust” from Wounded Rhymes.
Underneath the rose-colored carpe diem refrain, there’s a harsh honesty to Lykke Li’s “Love Out of Lust.”
48. Cults – “You Know What I Mean” from Cults.
Cults’ throwback heartbreaker “You Know What I Mean” reaches fever pitch with Madeline Follin’s evocative choruses.
47. Phantogram – “Don’t Move” from Nightlife EP.
With a beat that fat, the title seems ludicrously unfitting.
46. Parts & Labor – “Skin And Bones” from Constant Future.
Knowing that Parts & Labor go on indefinite hiatus after their current tour only makes “Skin And Bones” rock that much harder.
45. Gem Club – “252″ from Breakers.
“252″ is a Super 8 clip of a downward spiral, on repeat.
44. Sandro Perri – “Changes” from Impossible Spaces.
The Toronto native’s finest cut from Impossible Spaces shifts effortlessly from relaxed shuffle to a wide-open funk.
43. Liturgy – “Generation” from Aesthethica.
“Generation” is seven minutes of the same rhythmically indecipherable battering ram of a riff. It’s simply unstoppable.
42. Moonface – “Fast Peter” from Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped.
Spencer Krug makes for a compelling cheerleader in this winsome anecdote.
41. The Rapture – “How Deep Is Your Love?” from In The Grace of Your Love.
Luke Jenner feels like a new man, and The Rapture strike a new chord since they left the “House of Jealous Lovers.”
40. Washed Out – “Amor Fati” from Within And Without.
“Amor Fati” preaches an acceptance of fate, and on it, Ernest Greene extrapolates that opportunity is often little more than what one makes of circumstance.
39. The Strokes – “Taken For A Fool” from Angles.
Angles might not have the hit-after-hit tracklist that Is This It? and Room On Fire do, but on “Taken For A Fool,” The Strokes appear as crisp and menacing as ever.
38. Chad VanGaalen – “Do Not Fear” from Diaper Island.
This might be the year of the truncated narrative. “Do Not Fear” is a brief but amazing bout with uncertainty.
37. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – “Ffunny Ffriends” from Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
“Ffunny Ffriends” is so impeccably infused with that distant era that, on a separate timeline, The Pointer Sisters sampled Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
36. Youth Lagoon – “July” from The Year of Hibernation.
Everyone has to let go of immature love sooner or later. “July” is an anthem for the heartbroken kid.
35. Jay-Z and Kanye West – “New Day” from Watch The Throne.
Jay-Z and Kanye confront their egos and families, and hint at their own mortality in suave, sober fashion. Beyoncé’s pregnancy lends a certain gravity to “New Day.”
34. Bjork – “Crystalline” from Biophillia.
Bjork’s whole career is spanned in just the title of “Crystalline.”
33. Gang Gang Dance – “Glass Jar” from Eye Contact.
Frenetic beats have occupied the electronic sphere so much lately that it’s easy to forget how engaging they are on a real drumset.
32. Foo Fighters – “White Limo” from Wasting Light.
Dave Grohl is on the short list of canonized rock gods from his era. “White Limo” indicates that the Foos have still got what earned them the dais.
31. Siriusmo – “Einmal In Der Woche Schreien” from Mosaik.
Almost cartoonish in its eclecticism, Siriusmo’s “Einmal In Der Woche Schreien” is a blast to the gut with the keyboard shotgun pictured below.
30. Radiohead – “Lotus Flower” from The King of Limbs.
Lots of artists can turn in a stuttering beat and a funky bassline, but who can make it groove like Radiohead? Certainly nobody inspired so unique a viral video phenomenon.
29. Women – “Bullfight” from Women / Cold Pumas / Fair Ohs / Friendo split 7″.
Not much has emerged from the Women camp since the abrupt cancellation of their tour last year and indefinite hiatus, except “Bullfight.” But if it were the last thing a band were to see released, you could do a lot worse.
28. PJ Harvey – “The Glorious Land” from Let England Shake.
This short song might be ten times more profound than any commentary on war that Matthew Bellamy is capable of.
27. Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris – “We Found Love” from Talk That Talk.
The fruit of Rihanna’s fascinating co-dependence combines with Calvin Harris’ genius production to form the wistful “We Found Love.”
26. The Soft Moon – “Total Decay” from Total Decay EP.
The insistent, sooty mood of “Total Decay” is frightening and fascinating all at once.
