No Kings by Doomtree

Released:  November 22, 2011
Rating:  75.00


A mostly-white rap group? From Minnesota?  Are you kidding?  No, I’m not, and neither are they.  If you have any appreciation for rap or hip-hop, you need to give this album a spin.  This is my first rap album for 2011 and it deserves to be on the list.  A couple of key cuts include Bolt Cutter or String Theory.

They’re actually a hip-hop collaborative as they are five independent MCs (four men, one woman) and two producers.  Depending on who you ask, this is either their second or fourth proper studio album.

50 Words For Snow by Kate Bush

Released:  November 21, 2011
Rating:  70

This is one of the few arbitrary ratings I've given this year.  I'm torn between wanting to love this album because the critics are raving about it, and liking this album because it's just really pretty.  (Note that a 70 from me is probably equivalent to most critics' 80, or 4 out of 5 stars.)

The album consists of only 7 songs, but comes in at over an hour's playing time.  There's no filler.  The first 3 songs, and the last, are pretty much piano and vocal with some very subtle rhythm from bass and/or percussion.  In between are three, up-tempo songs; the 5th, Snowed In At Wheeler Street, is a duet with Elton John.

It's all good, so take your pick.  Click the song titles for a hyperlink to the songs:  The mournful Lake Tahoe (about a woman's ghost that haunts the lake) or the up tempo Wild Man ("They call you an animal, the Kangchenjunga Demon, Wild Man, Metoh-Kangmi". Better known to most of us as the Yeti or Abominable Snowman.)

Surprisingly, for me anyway, this is my first Kate Bush album.  She's been around for a long time.  Heck, she's two years older than me!  With help from David Gilmour (Pink Floyd guitarist) Kate Bush signed her first record deal at the age of 16, and released her fist album 3 years later, in 1978.  She's released 9 more studio albums since.

Strawberry by Wussy

Released: November 15, 2011
Rating: 75.00

I love this 4 piece band out of Cincinnati.  Jangly guitars, thrashy vocals and great hooks.  Just my cup of tea.  I didn't think the cumulative score based on songs (71) gave a fair picture of the overall album.  I loved 7 of the 11 tracks here and there was only one that I call filler.

There is something very Midwest about Wussy.  A little bit melancholy and a little bit "get over it and have some fun".  Give a listen to the slow burning: Asteroid (about getting dumped Way out/beyond the asteroid/that's where you took my heart and left it floating in a frozen void) or the rockin' Chicken.

Wussy has been around since 2001 and this is their 5th (or 6th, I can't quite figure it out from the web searches) proper album.  They were formed by Guitarist and vocalist Chuck Cleaver from alt-country band The Ass Ponys (nice name guys).  Of course, one of the alluring things for me is that almost no one else has ever heard of Wussy.  Just compare the link for Asteroids with 2121 views vs Tom Waits (another name that's not known to all) Satisfied with 714,369 views.

Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay

Released:  October 25, 2011
Rating:  69.09

I can't decide if I'm disappointed, or just underwhelmed.  I loved Coldplay's last album, Viva La Vida, so I suppose I was pretty anxious to hear this one.  It's good, but nothing really lit me up.  I read once that Coldplay kept a poster of U2 in their practice studio to remind them what their goal was.  I read recently that they've taken a different direction.  Maybe they should have stayed on track.

A couple of worthwhile tracks include Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall and The Princess of China, featuring Rhiana.  Click the hyper links to watch the videos on YouTube.

Bad As Me by Tom Waits

Released:  October 25, 2011
Rating:  73.85

Who's Tom Waits?!?!  He's released 30 Albums since 1973; been honored with 19 tribute albums; contributed to 58 movies as a composer and/or actor; won two Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011; his songs have been covered by Bruce Springsteen, the Eagles and Rod Stewart.

He has to be one of the most dramatic performers in all of music and this album would probably be rated higher, if I was a better judge.  In fact the average (normalized) review by the real critics was 88 out of 100, making it the best reviewed album of new music in all of 2011.

He has a tremendous cast of musicians that vary throughout the album, including, among others, Keith Richards on guitar, David Hidalgo (from Los Lobos) on almost everything, Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) on bass, Charlie Musselwhite on Harmonica and his son on drums.

My favorites include Talking At The Same Time and his response to the Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Satisfied where he sings "Now Mr. Jagger and Mr. Richards/I will scratch where I've been itchin.'"  (Richards is playing guitar on this song.)