Since 2007 I’ve made a playlist of the year and posted the list, mostly for my own amusement, on tumblr.  Below is the list of songs that, to me, defined 2011.  Each song has earned its place on the list – and where appropriate, I’ve denoted why.

2011 was the year of MUSIC. Between arts admin classmates and an internship at Millennium Park/Chicago SummerDance/World Music Fest: Chicago, the playlist of the year is nearly double its usual size.

Songs in bold denote a song by an artist I saw in action this summer at Millennium Park as a part of my internship – and are included on the list not only because they’re excellent songs, but also because they are a great memory of each of those concerts. Asterisks for bands I’ve seen in concert this year outside of Millennium Park. The order is arbitrary.

1.     We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monae), Fun.*

Janelle Monae, you’re a real weirdo with that whole archandroid thing – but you put on one hell of a show.

2.     Temptations, Gorilla Warfare Tactics

3.     All My Days, Alexi Murdoch

4.     Buckets of Rain, Bob Dylan

For Matt, my pseudo brother and real friend.

5.     The City, Patrick Wolf

In celebration of Grad School being OVER! And in Celebration of wonderful friends with far better taste in music than my own.

6.     Holocene, Bon Iver

2011 was a whole lot of driving around the Midwest. Bon Iver’s music is the perfect soundtrack for cornfields. (where you can see for miles and miles and miles..)

7.     Till The World Ends, Britney Spears

Nothing I’d rather dance to…

8.    Togur Jin Shan, Hanggai

Throat singing, Mongolian, metal inspired, badasses.

 

9.     Too Many Drivers, Lightnin’ Hopkins

10. Walk Like an Egyptian, Cleopatra and Hakim

The most memorable concert of the summer in Millennium Park was far and away this one. They didn’t play this song – but walking is apropos. The band nearly walked from Toronto to Chicago to make the concert. Fortunately, they made it in a bus (fyi: the band’s drummer is a car mechanic, and his skills were needed somewhere just before the Canada/US border..) and put on one hell of a show, for what seemed to be the entire Egyptian population of Chicago.

11. El Salam, Hakim

12. Raindrops, Parkington Sisters

Check out these ladies if you’ve never heard of them – they’re legit sisters and sound beautiful together. I know I’m a sucker for Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, but they do a mean cover.

13. Wake Up, The Arcade Fire

For Allison – for late nights at the Union writing issue briefs – for cars with their pants on the ground – for glitter bombs, bottles of jack, dancing, taco trucks, greys and knits, and all that is good in the world.

14. Hold On, Wilson Phillips

For Isaiah’s duets playlist, and to our real life duets: this song is next in our repertoire.

15. Falling Slowly, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

I know, I’m sorta 2000 and late with this one. The Glen Hansard concert was one of my favorites of the summer. I sat behind a little girl reading an American Girl book – the last in the Molly series. I couldn’t help by read over her shoulder – and may have shed a tear or two when Mr. McIntire came home from the war. I swear these are related concepts.

 

16. Head Over Heels, Tears for Fears

For Isaiah, and our Karaoke smash hit.

17. Party and Bullshit, The Notorious B.I.G

18. Just a Dream, Nelly

19. Be Calm, Fun. *

20. Rivers and Roads, The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart stole the show this summer when they opened for Iron and Wine at Millennium Park. I helped with load in and load out of the show – and had a great conversation with Sam Beam’s mom – but still, this group from Seattle really rocked – and they’re nice people, to boot!

21. The Edge of Glory, Lady Gaga

22. The Mighty Sparrow, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Speaking of nice musicians, Ted Leo is the best!

23. Ma’Cheri, Freshlyground

24. The Cave, Mumford & Sons

For the protests in Wisconsin: I always knew that I’d miss Madison when I moved away. The city has such a special place in my heart. When protests erupted there early in 2011, I began to understand more about why. Few places have such community spirit, and the ability to rally so many people around a common goal. Particularly in contrast to Bloomington, Madisonians are engaged in constant pursuit to understand (and better) the world around them. Recall Walker!

25. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes Cover), Ben L’Oncle

26. Oh Pretty Woman, 2 Live Crew

          For Professor Langfart, and Legal Issues in the Arts class.  

27. Rocket Man, Elton John

28. Bottled in Cork, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

29. MoneyGrabber, Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums are my favorite new band of 2011.

30. Me Love, Sean Kingston

For Sally, who had this playing in her car once, and got it stuck in my head for the better part of 2 months.

31. Doo Be Doo, Freshlyground

32. You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, Bachman-Turner Overdrive

For A, still. Huh.

33. The Show Goes On, Lupe Fiasco

From the soundtrack of the great spring break roadtrip of 2011 to Nashville, East Lansing and Chicago.

34. Get Outta My Way, Kylie Minogue

35. Houdini, Foster the People

For Jake, Brian, Brendan and Isaiah, and the best night all summer, spent on a roof with a view.

36. Pickin’ Up The Pieces, Fitz and the Tantrums

37. Soulman, Ben L’Oncle Soul

38. Close to me, The Cure

39. Just Like Heaven, The Cure

40. It’s the Same Old Song, The Four Tops

41. Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes*

For Sarah, who introduced me to this song, and made one kick ass video. Also for Emmelman and Pitchfork, being hot and sweaty and elbowing people playing red-rover through the crowd and watching these guys in action.

42. Tha Crossroads, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

    Legal Issues in the Arts, and the best written test I’ve ever encountered.

43. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, The Beatles* (well, okay, so I saw Paul McCartney.. that counts right?)

For my dad, who is learning that life goes on. We sang along to this at Wrigley Field this summer – downright cathartic, and a message we both needed to hear.

44. Graceland, Paul Simon*

45. Ghosts, Laura Marling*

For Nathaniel, who dragged me out of Bloomington see this delightful brit in action. Forever grateful – she’s wonderful.

 

46.  End of Time, Mike and Ruthy

Favorite artists from Lotus Fest 2011.

47.  Halinkata Djoumbe, Ballake Sissoko and Vincent Segal

My favorite artists from the World Music Fest: Chicago 2011. The kora and cello combination  is mesmerizing.