Godspeed You! Black Emperor- Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

One of my favorite albums, which I'm reviewing in celebration of the YouTube channel hitting 50K.

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Favorite Albums of 2011

1. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues2. Death Grips- Exmilitary 3. Battles- Gloss Drop 4. Shabazz Palaces- Black Up 5. PJ Harvey- Let England Shake 6. Big K.R.I.T.- Returnof4eva 7. La Dispute- Wildlife 8. Liturgy- Aesthethica 9. Nicolas Jaar- Space Is Only Noise 10. Kendrick Lamar- Section.80 11. Africa Hitech- 93 Million Miles 12. Danny Brown- XXX 13. James Blake- James Blake 14. St. Vincent- Strange Mercy 15. Disma- Towards the Megalith 16. Iceage- New Brigade 17. Tim Hecker- Ravedeath, 1972 18. Colin Stetson- New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges 19. Cormorant- Dwellings 20. Destroyer- Kaputt 21. Chelsea Wolfe- Ἀποκάλυψις 22. Crystal Stilts- In Love With Oblivion 23. BADBADNOTGOOD- BBNG 24. Oneohtrix Point Never- Replica 25. SBTRKT- SBTRKT 26. Giles Corey- Giles Corey 27. Matana Roberts- Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens de Couleur Libres 28. Andrew Jackson Jihad- Knife Man 29. Timber Timbre- Creep On Creepin’ On 30. The Log.Os- λόγος 31. Vektor- Outer Isolation 32. Thundercat- The Golden Age of Apocalypse 33. The Roots- Undun 34. Veronica Falls- Veronica Falls 35. Shlohmo- Bad Vibes 36. ASAP Rocky- LiveLoveA$AP 37. Havok- Time Is Up 38. Holy Ghost!- Holy Ghost! 39. Toxic Holocaust- Conjure and Command 40. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Belong 41. Wormrot- Dirge 42. Rustie- Glass Swords 43. Dumbo Gets Mad- Elephants at the Door 44. Milo- I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here 45. Reks- R.E.K.S. 46. The Beastie Boys- The Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 47. Mogwai- Hardcore Will Never Die, but You Will 48. Cunninlynguists- Oneirology 49. Craft Spells- Idle Labor 50. Little Dragon- Ritual Union

Kevin Hufnagel- Transparencies

Guitarist Kevin Hufnagel is best known for his contributions to the world of modern metal through acts like Gorguts, Dysrhythmia, While Heaven Wept, and more. But underneath all of these extreme sounds has been thriving passion for ambient music and soundscapes. This latest release isn't Kevin's first foray into this genre, and it sounds like it. I say that because the textures on this album are pretty gripping and affecting, which is a feeling I rarely get from this style of music--well, outside of producers like Tim Hecker, sure.

Give this 11-track experience a listen. Some unquestionably great sounds are on here.

Tortilla Pass- Spirrows

A collection of rough and lo-fi beats that push the ambient envelope. It's something I'm sure fans of that new Shlohmo album would be able to appreciate.

The title of this album is Spirrows, and its comes from New York beat producer Tortilla Pass. This isn't the dude's only project, but this is the one that's catching my ear--especially the otherworldly female vocal sample on the track "Thursday."

Blu & Exile- Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them

A new collaborative album from West Coast MC Blu and producer Exile. It's not mixed or mastered, but there are some interesting samples and verses pulled together by these two. Blu's verses about the world at large on "more out of life." are pretty thought-provoking, and the Tom Waits sample on "seasons." seems like it shouldn't work, but it does. Enjoy, and grab a digital copy on Bandcamp.

Colin Stetson- "Those Who Didn't Run"

Some twisted and eerie visuals coming through on this new music video for Colin Stetson's "Those Who Didn't Run," which is a track from an EP that definitely would have made it into my top-15 EPs of 2011 if I had decided to extend the list out a bit. Still, the album this dude released before that is absolutely killer. Grab Stetson's music on Constellation Records.

Apathy- "Wonderful X-Mas" (Prod. Scoop Deville)

It's a hip hop Christmas thanks to this new track from Connecticut rapper Apathy. The dude samples my least favorite Christmas song ever, but it's pretty hard to deny this track. It's loaded with so many relatable lyrics. I mean, who doesn't want Wu-Tang to release a track as classic as C.R.E.A.M.?

Favorite Singles of 2011

1. Fleet Foxes- Helplessness Blues2. Death Grips- Takyon (Death Yon) 3. James Blake- The Wilhelm Scream 4. PJ Harvey- The Words that Maketh Murder 5. Shabazz Palaces- Swerve... the reeping of all that is worthwhile (Noir not withstanding) 6. Holy Ghost!- Do It Again 7. Bon Iver- Holocene 8. Battles- Ice Cream 9. Liturgy- Returner 10. Africa Hitech- Out In the Streets 11. Kendrick Lamar- HiiiPower 12. Active Child- Playing House ft. How to Dress Well 13. Timber Timbre- Black Water 14. The Roots- Make My 15. La Dispute- King Park 16. John Maus- Believer 17. Macklemore x Ryan Lewis- Wings 18. Reks- 25th Hour 19. Big K.R.I.T.- Dreamin’ 20. Cunninlynguists- Hard As They Come ft. Freddie Gibbs 21. Crystal Stilts- Shake the Shackles 22. Foo Fighters- Walk 23. Smith Westerns- Weekend 24. Theophilus London- Flying Overseas 25. SBTRKT- Wildfire 26. St. Vincent- Surgeon 27. Rustie- Ultra Thizz 28. TV On the Radio- Will Do 29. Radiohead- The Daily Mail 30. Metronomy- The Look 31. Rival Sons- Pressure and Time 32. Kate Bush- Wildman 33. Wild Flag- Future Crimes 34. Das Racist- Michael Jackson 35. Veronica Falls- Bad Feeling 36. The Horrors- Still Life 37. Craft Spells- After the Moment 38. Nas- Nasty 39. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart- Belong 40. Fucked Up- Queen of Hearts 41. Little Dragon- Nightlight 42. Colin Stetson- The Righteous Wrath of an Honorable Man 43. Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know 44. Beastie Boys- Make Some Noise 45. M83- Midnight City 46. Tyler, The Creator- Yonkers 47. Purity Ring- Belispeak 48. Wild Beasts- Reach A Bit Further 49. Balkans- Edita V 50. The Drums- Money