The Best Music of 2011 [#50-#31]

December 20, 2011 1 Comment

Our official countdown begins with albums 50 through 31. Although I was inclined to present these in groups of 10 with no particular order, that isn’t much fun. What’s the good of a Top 50 List if you can’t be totally outraged that a record ranked 47th instead of 34th?

So let the outrage begin!

As always, you can check out lots of music from this list on our Spotify playlist.

50.  Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx, We’re New Here

I thought Izzie B put it well in nom’ing this remix record of Gil Scott-Heron’s last album, and singling out “I’ll Take Care of U” for special appreciation. “Drake took that remix for Take Care, and while I really, really appreciate Rihanna’s vocals, I have to credit the original because the first time I heard that instrumental, I had chills up and down my spine.”

49. Night Birds, Fresh Kills #1

A great find by DBuu. He explains: “A collection of the first three 7″ releases about B-movies and freaks from this surf-ish punk band. There’s something about the songs and the style that remind me of music I got into when I was 15, sort of in that ‘touched for the very first time’ kind of way.”

48. Shabazz Palaces, Black Up

This is an incredible record that Noish brought to my attention. Did you know that Butterfly from Digable Planets is not only still in the game — he’s dropping records as fresh as anything out there? Black Up is a pretty raw, rhyme-focused record that is way out on the experimental tip. It’s kind of tough to explain what’s going on with this one, so check out ”Swerve… the Reeping of All That is Worthwhile (Noir Not Withstanding)” on Spotify.

47. Iceage, New Brigade

Wha-bamm! Punk rock Danes on a mission to slay. DBuu pointed out that Iceage’s hype exceeds their greatness at this juncture, but dubbed this a “solid listen.” Twelve tightly-packed, rapid and intense tracks make this album well worth checking out for fans of noisy rock.

46. Van Hunt, What Were You Hoping For?

Fresh off having his last album buried by the record label — apparently Blue Note dislikes F bombs? — this protege of American Idol’s Randy Jackson (it’s not as bad as it sounds) returned with a fury. This self-released collection of songs dwells on recession-era blues and the misery of modern life — but the tracks are tinged with an upbeat funk that’s tough to deny. Tracks like “A Time Machine is My New Girlfriend” bust out in all directions, making you work your mind and your head-nod all at once.

45. Cass McCombs, Humor Risk

Cass McCombs released two full-lengths this year, and while WIT’S END has gotten more praise, I think Humor Risk is a more enjoyable record. This journeyman troubadour has been touring for a solid decade and his road-weariness translates straight into the music in a great way. Cuts like “The Same Thing” combine a propulsive groove with haunting harmonies. It’s a very impressive outing.

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Thinning the Herd in Michael Eric Dyson’s Jay-Z Seminar

October 17, 2011 1 Comment

Recently, news outlets including The Nation reported that eminent African-American scholar Michael Eric Dyson has been teaching a seminar on Jay-Z’s “art and craft” at Georgetown University.

Unsurprisingly, the class is a huge hit, with over 140 students enrolled.

While this number is cited by Dyson as evidence of the seminar’s success, it raises the question of how effective this class really is for the students taking it, as opposed to an occasion for Dyson to hear himself talk while TAs handle all the actual discussion groups…

Wouldn’t it be a more successful undertaking for everyone involved if the class size was pared down to the point that each student could expect to interact with the brilliant Dyson, and to work out their ideas in freewheeling discussions? That’s kind of tough to pull off with a group that’s four times larger than the average Georgetown class.

Dyson’s fellow Georgetown scholar, Kelley Wickham-Crowley, faced a similar quandary when she taught a class on “The Lord of the Rings” several years ago. (It was actually a sneaky way to get people to sign up for a medieval literature course with a side dish of Tolkien, but that was forgivable because it was a really GOOD medieval literature course.) Needless to say, students perusing the course catalog jumped when they saw a course based on such a compelling pop-cultural topic and the signups were off the charts. But to avoid holding the class in a cavernous lecture hall, Wickham-Crowley greeted the class on Day One with a test to ensure they had read and remembered “The Lord of the Rings.” Everyone who failed the test was kicked out. Brilliant!

Since Michael Eric Dyson is a busy guy, ROTI created this test to help him out. It’s a simple 15-question examination; get fewer than 10 questions right and you’re outta there! Administering this bad boy would separate the true Jay-Z scholars-in-training from the dumb-asses who just wanted to get 3 credits for a class about a rapper.

Let’s begin! Answers are at the bottom of this post.

1. According to the song “December 4th,” Jay-Z was concieved when his parents, Gloria Carter and Adnes Reeves, made sweet love under what kind of tree?
a) Weeping Willow
b) Oak
c) Sycamore
d) Dollar Tree
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The Best Music of 2010 [Albums #5-#1]

January 10, 2011 2 Comments

We conclude our countdown of the best albums of the year with the five finest records of 2010, taking into account the collective opinion of our highly knowledgeable panel. Each of these albums received significant support from multiple judges, and each was considered the album of the year by at least one of our experts. In the end, I had to sort them out, and this seemed the most righteous order.

You really can’t go wrong with any of these albums, so scratch off the back of your iTunes gift cards and get downloading (or better yet, support your local independent record store).

Okay, let’s go.

#5. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening


LCD Soundsystem is described on Wikipedia as “dance-punk.” That sounds like a made-up genre, and maybe it is, but that’s just because LCD’s particular brand of genius often defies easy categorization.

This Is Happening is supposedly the final album this band will ever make, and if so, they have sandblasted a Mount Rushmore-level monument to their talents. This album is so good, so versatile, so original, it makes you rethink what a band can be. As Sasha Frere-Jones of the New Yorker wrote, “A drummer who worked for years as a sound engineer, [bandleader James] Murphy has an uncanny ability to hear sonic detail and then edit, enhance, and assemble those pieces into an easily felt, comprehensible new arrangement.” The result is an album packed with mindblowing tracks that transcend genre.

Here’s a good example. “Dance Yrself Clean” reminds me of the boxing style of Micky Ward, as portrayed by Marky Mark in The Fighter — lull your opponent into thinking he has you figured out, then unleash a kidney punch when he least expects it. Listen to this track and brace yourself around the three minute mark. Go on, I’ll wait.

It’s OK. I won’t tell anyone about how you just pooped your pants in happiness.

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