CONFUSED BACHELOR

My favorite songs of 2011

On my blog via The Daily Advertiser, I discuss my favorite songs of the year. 

Cold. Colder. Freezing. 

The past couple of weeks, I’ve been drawn to some heartless sounds. These are very much studio albums. Some of these sounds work wonderfully, others…well, they need to go back to the hard drive from whence they came. 

Neu!’s 2 is considered the quintessential remix album. The Krautrockers rushed out something after the release of the band’s self-titled debut. “Fur Immer (Forever)” might sound like an eternity to some, but it’s quite a soothing track, ebbing and flowing. Though the song is a bit too long, it sounds like an ample soundtrack for a surfer or someone who conquers huge tasks daily while maintaining a Zen-like state. The powerful thing about this song is that it takes the same basic chords then makes these bursts and leaps.
You know those “visualizers” Apple has on iTunes? It’s basically a cool, shape/ribbon/color/orb-shifting screen saver. On “Fur Immer,” it’s like Neu! captured the feeling of one of those “visualizers.”
The rest sounds OK, “Neuschnee 78” sounds like something from the video game “F-Zero.” It’s a 16-bit masterpiece. And if you’re not a fan of the tape-speed, maxed-out glory of that tune, check out it’s introspective father, “Neuschnee.” 
This album sounds like it was recorded within a few weeks. Somedays, these guys would wake up with a nice cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Other days, they would wake up with a bub of cocaine.
In short, I dig this.

Peter Bjorn and John’s follow-up to the wildly catchy Writer’s Block, is hit-or-miss. If first impressions are indeed everything, then Living Thing begins as attractively as the homely, drunk, mustached man in the corner, breathing heavily, holding off the inevitable. 
“I feel it,” Bjorn Yttling sings. In response, I feel like changing the track. And once you do that, you’ll find those first impressions were meaningless. “It Don’t Move Me” is the band teens fell in the love with a couple years back, and, once again, the band produces one of the catchiest singles of the year. 
On this album, the band wants to be abrasive with their beat selection. Check the distorted kids on “Nothing to Worry to About” or the medicinal marijuana ode “I’m Losing My Mind.” 
Not all is lost here. It’s not that challenging of a listen. Remember, this is still a Peter Bjorn and John record. There’s a string of great singles here, “Living Thing,” “I Want You,” and “Lay it Down” make this album deserving of repeat listens. 
Living Thing also has an air of heartbreak and a cloud of hash smoke tinting what could be an otherwise gold record.

For some reason, I caught myself listening to Black Moth Super Rainbow’s Dandelion Gum more and more as I worked a dead-end job in a fiberglass warehouse. The vocoder lyrics of sunshine and cotton candy appealed to me as I cut sheet metal. 
Now, the band has returned with Eating Us. These guys have been called, “Air with balls.” Produced by Dave Fridmann, this album sounds exactly like a Flaming Lips album.
Without balls. 
The lollipop and LSD references are still here. The desire for the sun and distorted drum tracks are alive and well. It’s a predictable, rushed album from a band featuring a lead singer who uses a device to mask his drug reference-laden poems. 
Eating Us has a few good tracks. Two tracks in, I was ready to give up, but the sweet sounds of “Twin of Myself” reminded me that the band can be a cool, little psychedelic act from time to time. 
But, I’m no longer at a fiberglass warehouse. I don’t need some guy who sounds like the younger brother of Darth Vader to tell me of sunny days and acid trips. 
Eating Us is inessential fluff.