We're like the AAA for Coachella, they might be in small print, but they're great bands none the less.
I got a comment from someone that said all the music we feature sounds like “Underwater Radiohead Drivel” I wrote him back and had him listen to the 132 bands that we featured, that weren’t of that ilk. I do agree that most of today’s band can be categorized into three camps “URD”, “Spectorian Female dream sounds” and “Folk Americana”. Seriously, rock has been long buried because most of America has accepted that Nickelback is rock music. So we’re stuck in this weird moment in music….it doesn’t upset us, it just drives us to find something special. We really did pour through the bands of 2011 to find the bands that will make a difference. If the Coachella line-up is any indication, we weren’t the only ones to notice how great they were. Here is the list of our best of 2011 bands playing in Indio this year:
Other Lives – #1 2011 Hummingbird Award Winners EMA – #4 2011 Hummingbird Award Winners The Vaccines – #3 2011 Hummingbird Award Winners Girls – 2011 Best of Tracks and Album Winners and one of our favorites in 2010. Yuck – 2011 Best of Tracks and Album Winners and one of our favorites in 2010. Keep Shelly in Athens – BOD in 2010 Real Estate – 2010 mid-year Best of and BOD 2.5.10
Gardens & Villas – Featured BOD 11.11.11 We Were Promised Jetpacks – Featured back BOD 4.27.10 The Big Pink – They played last year and we featured back in early 2010
Personal Loves but not necessarily featured on NBD for various reasons:
Pulp
Destroyer
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Laura Marling
Editors Picks Top 10 Gems Albums and Tracks of 2011
So that’s it. One more year down the drain. Good, I love moving forward. This has been one of those odd years where the new bands were good, the sophomore albums were unusually FANTASTIC. Really, I had a hard time clearing our albums from Girls, Toro Y Moi, Cults, White Denim, etc. These albums are so great that I truly believe we are at a water shed moment in the music industry. Where the social connected world has created ARTIST, who can create and share. We listen, we judge, they create more and boom, we have great records. I hope the Apple created .99 cent song world is over and that we’re headed back to an age of records. Oh well. We’re not there yet, so I’ll share my final lists for 2011. It was a great year for the Muse, Turk and me. We have new little Hummingbirds fluttering around our homes, even more inspiration to weed out the Top 40 drivel and put on some quality music for our little ones to dance to.
EDITORS PICKS Top 10 Albums of 2011
10. Cults – Cults
9. White Denim – D
8. Young Galaxy – Shapeshifting
7. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
6. EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints
5. Yuck – Yuck
4. James Vincent McMorrow – Early In The Morning
3. Donkeys – Born With Stripes
2. Other Lives – Tamer Animals
1. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
If want to grab these and our Hummingbird winners on vinyl just grab them here
PLEASE SUPPORT THESE BANDS. I read a post from the lead singer of Pepper Rabbit last night and he stated “It’s very hard to be an “indie band” these days. You spend 100% of your time trying to get the band to another level, 75% of the time on tour losing money, and the rest of your time in either complete elation, or complete doubt.” So support them, love them, show them how much you care. Share them in this new socially connected world and claim them as yours. Claim them like a lover because they work their asses off to do it for you. I love new bands and I will spend every hour of my life finding something new for you.
Jeremy Charles thank you for this perfect photo of our #1 Best New Band of 2011. The Hummingbird Award is well deserved.
Best New Band of 2011
#1 Hummingbird Award – Other Lives
I like what we originally said back in May:
The band is really seven years old, forming under the name Kunek, they created an EP and made Stillwater, OK proudly scream for their hometown heroes. An album a name change and now a new record and Other Lives thrills America with a beautiful record. Think Wolf Parade, sprinkle the bells of Sigur Ros and a tad bit of National brooding without the guttoral leads. It’s a DNA favorite of Southern fried folk. Tamer Animals is a great record and one that I think you’ll be raving about all year. Buy the record here –> on LP
To add to that:
The band is so good, they deserve to be opening for Radiohead. They were the most viewed artist at NewBandDay in 2011, and the album never left our playlist. We’re not from Oklahoma, but I’ve been to Stillwater. I wish we saw them in 2009 when their first unnoticed record hit the streets. Stillwater, is a college town, but seriously something interesting is happening in the middle of the US. Even Radiohead noticed. We do tend to bend our own rules here…Other Lives’ first record was released in 2009, but to little fanfare. The blogs loved it, but it was mildly picked up. It took two records for the band to perfect The Red Dirt sound. Tamer Animals might be considered the water shed moment of the sound. It’s The National’s tear jerking vocals and songwriting, but the sounds are more layered and a little more airy. It doesn’t slip into the dream state, but it’s edges on it. Tabish’s vocals are so alluring, you can’t help but sing along, or hum along and you’re begging for the next track. The album is amazing and it’s worth a listen over and over and over and over…If you’re about to say “Other Lives isn’t a new band.” We say “We don’t care and you’re a lame music snob who needs to find another blog to read.” So take that and enjoy the best new band of 2011.
Vitals:
Hometown: Stillwater, OK
Members:
Jesse Tabish (piano, guitar, lead vocals)
Josh Onstott (bass, organ, Backing vocals)
Jenny Hsu (cello, piano, Backing Vocals)
Colby Owens (drums)
Jonathon Mooney (piano,violin, guitar)
Sonic Soulmates™: Mercury Rev, The National, Wolf Parade
Trackables™:
“For 12 (Demo)” – The song that made Thom Yorke stop for a listen.
Battery about to die and it's at :11 minutes for the 11 best of 2011...eerie.
I can’t wait until next week. I’m anxious and excited and I just want to get it over with…you understand, the anticipation to tell someone some good news. So I’m all alone in a dark hotel room, I think the electricity just crapped out on me, so it means I have :11 minutes on my Mac to make this shizzle fo real. SO here it is, 11 Bands for 2011 in all it’s glory… THE BEST OF 2011…SO FAR
11. Other Lives – This is the band that won’t leave my playlists for 2011. I love them hard.
“Tamer Animals”
10. Suuns – 2010 year end dandies have captured our hearts in 2011.
“Arena”
9. Code Pie – The BSS of 2011. Canadian love children with layered sounds.
“Love Meets Rage”
8. Widowspeak – We were there in the beginning. We’ve heard from the fans and we’ve watched them skyrocket up our PAGEVIEW list. Wow. They have more traffic then all of the 2011 bands combined. Just listen.
“Harsh Realm”
7. Sun Airway – Found them to be the most delightful band of 2011. I think they’ll move up the charts by year end.
“Waiting On You”
6. The Vaccines – They are the ROCK darlings of 2011 and if you haven’t heard their singles then you’re trapped in a Chilean coal mine.
“Blow it Up”
5. The Antlers – One word “FINALLY” they’ve hit the hipster mainstage. We love them.
“Rolled Together”
4. The Donkeys – The Turk found these San Diego stoney garage boys.
“I Like the Way You Walk”
3. Seapony – The Trio from Seattle is our Tennis of 2011. So Spectory good.
“Always” – A little early Cure guitar riff.
2. James Vincent McMorrow – Do you know me? Really have you been reading us for awhile? Then you know we love Singer/Songwriters and JVM is better than them all this year.
“If I Had A Boat” – Try not to tear up.
1. Star Slinger – Dude has been a DJ for less than a year and his stuff is otherworldly.
“Mornin'”
GIVING YOU THE BIRD…THE WHOLE 2011…SO FAR PLAYLIST —>
We’re back…Hell it’s been a rough last six weeks. Computer death, then me Mr. Editor and The Music Muse had a little squirt. That’s right a little 8 lb Hummingbird is fluttering around our house enjoying all of the new music we’re about to present. Because come June 1st, we’ll be counting the first half of 2011 with our One Year NBD Anniversary Best of 2011…So Far event. Get us your picks, let us know who you love. We really love Other Lives. 2011 has been an interesting year of music, with a slew of early rock records and an interesting array of raptastic newbies, we’re still searching for that one band. I have my favorite, but it’s not as certain as 2010.
It was seven years ago when Other Lives formed as Kunek, they created an EP and made Stillwater, OK proudly scream for their hometown heroes. An album a name change and now a new record and Other Lives thrills America with a beautiful record. Think Wolf Parade, sprinkle the bells of Sigur Ros and a tad bit of National brooding without the guttoral leads. It’s a DNA favorite of Southern fried folk. Tamer Animals is a great record and one that I think you’ll be raving about all year. Buy the record here –> on LP
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