Just spend an evening with me.

I’m pretty sure that no matter what albums or songs are released in 2012, the lyric of the year was written by Fun.:

“My heart is breaking for my sister and the con that she called ‘love’, but when I look into my nephew’s eyes…Man, you wouldn’t believe the most amazing things that come from some terrible nights.”

What could possibly top that?

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come. I’m a little bit obsessed with reading/seeing people’s End of the Year Lists so I decided to make some my own this time. So without further ado, these are my Top 10 favorite albums of 2011:

#10: Man Overboard “Man Overboard”

Man Overboard is simply a feel good band. They’re kids that love making music and that comes across effortlessly in their new self-titled album, who’s catchiness and lyrics make me want to dance and sing along at the top of my lungs. Creating the perfect record to listen to while taking a drive with the windows down seems to be Man Overboard’s specialty and this record is no exception. With their self-titled record, we can say that Man Overboard’s mission to defend pop punk = accomplished!

Favorite Tracks: “Dead End Dreams”, “Night Feelings”, “Atlas”

#9: Panic! At the Disco “Vices & Virtues” 

Yep. Panic! At The Disco has made my Top 10 List and I totally didn’t see it coming. I think everyone knew that Ryan Ross played a huge part in this band, both musically and lyrically, and when I found out that he had departed, there was no hope left for me and this band. Panic!’s debut album “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out” was a total game changer for me. Not only did no other band sound like them, but their music was actually really good. Their sophomore album wasn’t as good, but I still found things to enjoy about it, so Ryan’s departure was devastating. However, Vices & Virtues proved that Panic! is still very much alive and that new music from them was absolutely worth the wait.

Favorite Tracks: “Let’s Kill Tonight”, “Hurricane”, “Nearly Witches”

#8: Bon Iver “Bon Iver”

I don’t really think there’s anything to say about this record. I mean, it’s Bon Iver. And as many of us know, Bon Iver is pretty much a connotation of perfection. And don’t come at me with the whole “the lyrics are unintelligible” bullcrap because if you do, then I’ll tell you that you don’t understand art. Enough said.

Favorite Tracks: “Perth”, ”Calgary”

#7: Lemuria “Pebble”

Sweet indie pop band from New York released a great follow up album to their 2009 full-length “Get Better”. “Maybe you will join me. And be my yellowstone lady” sing Alex Kerns and Sheena Ozzella who’s voices, while not extraordinary, are nevertheless captivating and also happen to sound very nice together. The originality of their voices, along with their lyrics and music lead me to believe that if their were movie directors they would be considered auteurs because their all their work definitely has that Lemuria stamp. With that said, I will continue to enjoy this record and anxiously await new material. Much love for Lemuria!

Favorite Tracks: “Wise People”, “Different Girls”, “Chautauqua County”

#6: Bayside “Killing Time”

Bayside is another one of those bands that no matter what they release, they never disappoint. Music is in their veins and I feel that when it comes to writing a new album, it’s almost effortless. Who knows if this is true. In fact, maybe they really struggle when writing music, but that does not come across in the least. Killing Time is one of my favorite records of the year because it does not only have that “replay” value, but it’s passionate and honest. As a fan of music, the more passionate and the more honest an artist/band is, the more I’m able to relate and music I can relate to is important because it’s the music that gets me through the hard times. And Bayside has this effect on me every. single. time. 

Favorite Tracks: “Already Gone”, “Sick Sick Sick”, “It’s Not A Bad Little War”

#5: Polar Bear Club “Clash Battle Guilt Pride” 

Clash Battle Guilt Pride is the best Polar Bear Club album to date without question. It blew me away and there is nothing else I can say about it because it wouldn’t justify how awesome it is. Go listen to it. 

Favorite Tracks: “Pawner”, “Bottled Wind”, “Religion on the Radio”

#4: The Wonder Years “Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing”

There’s no denying it, this was the year of pop punk and The Wonder Years are in the midst of it all. In fact, they play a pretty big part in it. The much-beloved pop-punk band from Philly released an album called “The Upsides” that everyone imagined would pretty hard for any pop-punk band (including themselves) to top, but in the Summer of 2011, they did just that by releasing “Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing”, a very passionate, honest, personal, solid pop-punk record. I was fortunate enough to attend the Pop Punk’s Not Dead Tour and I can say that kids go absolutely crazy for these guys. They sing along like everything Soupy says actually happened to them. I was one of those people. We need more musicians like them in the world. Great band, great record!

Favorite Tracks: “Came Out Swinging”, “Woke Up Older”, “Hoodie Weather”

#3: Fireworks “Gospel”

Fireworks gets better and better with every album/EP they release. I love everything about “Gospel”. From Dave’s vocals to the pop punk sound to the lyrics. In fact, this album includes some of my favorite songs of the year. I hope these guys continue to grow because if they do, they’ll be huge and I can be a total hipster and say I used to like them before everyone else. haha I’m kidding. I actually really like it when bands I love get recognized. It gives me hope that the world will someday be a better place. So here’s to people recognizing the amazingness that is Fireworks. <3

Favorite Tracks: “Teeth”,  ”I Am the Challenger”, “The Wild Bunch” 

#2: Yellowcard ”When You’re Through Thinking Say Yes”

Yellowcard wasn’t gone for a long time, but still…what a comeback! When You’re Thinking Say Yes includes everything we love about Yellowcard. From Ryan Key’s familiar vocals to Sean Mackin’s much-adored violin, the album takes you on a journey of nostalgia. It came out early in the year (March to be exact), but I still find myself coming back to it over and over again.

Favorite Tracks: “For You and Your Denial”, “With You Around”, “Be the Young”

#1: The Swellers “Good For Me”/New Found Glory “Radiosurgery”

Yeah, yeah, I cheated. Both of these records are so great, I couldn’t decide which one was my number so I thought “Why not both?” When it comes to The Swellers, their music speaks to me. One day, I was sitting at the library studying for an exam and the song “Prime Meridian” came on my iPod. Half way through the song, I got emotional and couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. I can’t explain what I felt. All I know is that it was beautiful. Thank you Swellers for making me feel so alive. 

New Found Glory is one of my favorite bands and Radiosurgery did not disappoint me in the least. The songs are catchy, fun to sing along to and they make me wanna dance. What else can I ask for? NFG ruled when I was 12 years old and they still do now.

What a great year for music!

Honorable Mentions (In no particular order): Balance and Composure “Separation”, The Strokes “Angles”, Blink-182 “Neighborhoods”, This Time Next Year “Drop Out of Life”, Title Fight “Shed”, Adele “21”

Oh hey guys!! I’m currently writing a paper on leadership while listening to mewithoutYou, and I thought I’d stop by really quick and write about how much I love this band. They always seem to have the right effect on me. If I’m happy, they make me happier. If I’m angry, I calm down. If I’m sad, I cheer up. As cheesy as this is about to sound, I think it’s because they hit the most sensitive part of my soul. I think Aaron Weiss is one of the most inspirational people to ever walk the planet. I know how cliche it is to say that a musician is inspirational  because people always call musicians “inspirational”, but the truth is that Aaron Weiss is not inspirational in the same way most musicians are. Although you may not believe it at first, he’s just as inspirational as MLK Jr was, or even Gandhi. Yeah, those are big words right? Well I think this is true. His words have the power to save, and if you’ve ever heard him talk in a video, or you’ve seen him live, then you know that when he speaks, it’s like the world stops to listen intently, and you feel some sort of peace…deep in your chest. You know? Like birds chirping on a beautiful spring day, but it’s going on in your chest…Pretty amazing eh? If you haven’t yet, please give mewithoutYou a chance, cause you won’t regret it. His words will make you feel alive! An underrated feeling, if you ask me.

Whoever says that music is dying is completely wrong!! Here’s some music-related stuff that I’m personally stoked about at the moment:

• Hayley Williams’ Demo: I’ve been a paramore fan for a while, so any music I hear from them gets me all excited, naturally. The reason I say “Hayley Williams” instead of “paramore” is because this demo that she posted this morning is not a paramore song. It is just a song that she wrote for fun and it honestly rules! It’s not even a complete song. It’s just the chorus of the song. It’s reminiscent of Justin Vernon’s voice, particularly in the song “Woods.” Not that their voices are alike, they just used the same technique for the song, if that makes sense.
• Lemuria’s new album:  Man, I almost forgot about this. The album is called “Pebble” and it officially comes out today. I’m waiting for mine in the mail. My brother’s girlfriend was kind enough to order it for me. It’s Lemuria people!! get into it!
• New Found Glory’s Demo Trailer: I believe it is Steve from NFG that made a trailer with some awesome footage of the band recording demos in a studio. New Found Glory is one of the best bands out there ”defending pop punk” (I got that phrase from Man Overboard, another amazing band.) It had some awesome “trailer music” and all you could see was them playing but you couldn’t hear anything else but this trailer music. I wanted to jump into the computer, and into the studio to see what these songs sound like. I’m infinitely stoked for their new album, which is set to come out this year. Neal Avron is producing it (yeah, you best believe it)
• Video of Set Your Goals tracking vocals: Jordan was singing, Matt was dancing, new SYG songs, and I don’t need to say anymore!
• Local Natives: I posted something on my facebook page about a band called The Black Keys because, well, they’re awesome! A friend commented on that status and she told me to check out another band called Local Natives. I took her advice and payed a visit to the band’s myspace page (that’s the only thing myspace is good for nowadays hahah) and I loved them!!! They remind me a lot of Fanfarlo, their songs have amazing hooks, I wanted to sing along to them and I had never even heard them before.
• Chris Farren’s voice: Chris Farren from Fake Problems has an amazing voice. That is all.

There is still real music out there people, don’t you forget it! Give everything a chance!



top 25 most played songs on my itunes:

1. sweetness - jimmy eat world (20 plays)

2. Rosyln - bon iver & st. vincent (19 plays)

3. long distance call - phoenix (15 plays)

4. skinny love - bon iver (14 plays)

5. errand rum - as cities burn (13 plays)

6. light a roman candle with me - fun. (13 plays)

7. when we first met - hellogoodbye (13 plays)

8. i belong to you - muse (13 plays)

9. the hoard - as cities burn (12 plays)

10. lady blue - as cities burn (12 plays)

11. friends - band of skulls (12 plays)

12. fancy footwork - chromeo (12 plays)

13. walking the dog - fun. (12 plays)

14. carousel - paper route (12 plays)

15. sleeper - the swellers (12 plays)

16. new moon (the meadow) - alexandre desplat (11 plays)

17. get through - the almost (11 plays)

18. blame me! blame me! - anberlin (11 plays)

19. satellite heart - anya marina (11 plays)

20. be calm - fun. (11 plays)

21. dancing with myself - glee cast (11 plays)

22. you and i both - jason mraz (11 plays)

23. the fox, the crow and the cookie - mewithoutYou (11 plays)

24. mutiny! - set your goals (11 plays)

25. equals - set your goals (11 plays)