Sooty's 2011 Year In Review Countdownmania

[Tray73]

I wasn't at all sure about Night of Hunters the first couple of plays I gave it, but with every play after that it started to grow on me a bit more and now I really like it. I'm not blown away by it like with most of Tori's earlier albums, but there are a few songs on there that I'm really into like Shattering Sea and Battle of Trees.

This classical style of church I can picture being in one of those movies about witchtrials which I'm surprised Tori hasn't tackled directly as she's all about femininity's place in religion. The fact that woman were burned by Christians seems ripe for a Tori album. Maybe she should do that on the next and go full out rock like she did with "From The Choirgirl Hotel"!

Top idea


I can't listen to any of the James Durbin tracks as I just get told "This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds."

 

[Soot and Stars]

I wasn't at all sure about Night of Hunters the first couple of plays I gave it, but with every play after that it started to grow on me a bit more and now I really like it. I'm not blown away by it like with most of Tori's earlier albums, but there are a few songs on there that I'm really into like Shattering Sea and Battle of Trees.




Top idea


I can't listen to any of the James Durbin tracks as I just get told "This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds."

Try these Tray if you are curious about James!

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I also agree that the Tori album is a grower but for me just getting into my first Tori album was something I grew into so it just seems natural for her work. The ;last three Tori albums have been really solid but I think she almost puts to much on an album. I think she should trim the material more and just put the absolute best tracks on each!

 

[Tray73]

Thanks for embedding the Grooveshark, as I did want to have a listen So this guy is from American Idol? Yeah he's good, I like his sound, Higher Than Heaven appeals to me in a big way!

I think I remember you saying before that Tori wasn't an instant hit with you but rather a grower. For me, I pretty much have always loved the albums from first listen, only other exception being Abnormally Attracted to Sin. Yeah I agree it does seem like she sometimes crams too much on her albums!

 

[Soot and Stars]

Thanks for embedding the Grooveshark, as I did want to have a listen So this guy is from American Idol? Yeah he's good, I like his sound, Higher Than Heaven appeals to me in a big way!

I think I remember you saying before that Tori wasn't an instant hit with you but rather a grower. For me, I pretty much have always loved the albums from first listen, only other exception being Abnormally Attracted to Sin. Yeah I agree it does seem like she sometimes crams too much on her albums!

Cool, thanks for taking the time! James was from the prior season of Idol and got pretty far. I'm cool with the Idol show as I find it entertaining but rarely do I love an album that comes from the show because it always seems so watered down and rarely about the artists identity. My exceptions are Kelly Clarkson after she hit it big and got more creative control (fav. being My December), Crystal Bowersox (folky hippy that resembled Janis, great songwriter) and now James Durbin. I did like Abnormally Attracted to Sin personally. The album that took me the most listens to get into was The Beekeeper but I like it. No amount of listens may ever get me into Strange Little Girls though.

 

[Tray73]

I must admit I'm not a fan of talent shows but they have unearthed the odd great vocalist (Leona Lewis springs to mind) over the years.

I always think of Strange Little Girls differently since it's an album of covers and yeah I definitely agree with you on it - haven't played it in years, it's just been gathering dust on the shelf!

 

[ILoveJimmyPage]

Tray, you're a fan of Leona? Say it isn't so!

I've watched AI off and on for years and have had my highs and lows of disappointment when my favorites didn't make it. I find it funny Carrie Underwood is the show's biggest success as most people fault her for going country though it was always in her. Hopefully the show can produce one or two rock vixens before it finally goes kaput. Sorry Soots... I always fast forwarded through James. After Adam Lambert there can be no other for me.

 

[Tray73]

No not at all Jen, she doesn't make the kind of music I like, but I do think she has a great voice!

Adam Lambert is the guy fronting Queen at this year's Sonisphere festival isn't he? I've never heard him sing before but he must be good if he's been asked to perform with Queen!

 

[Soot and Stars]

Tray, you're a fan of Leona? Say it isn't so!

I've watched AI off and on for years and have had my highs and lows of disappointment when my favorites didn't make it. I find it funny Carrie Underwood is the show's biggest success as most people fault her for going country though it was always in her. Hopefully the show can produce one or two rock vixens before it finally goes kaput. Sorry Soots... I always fast forwarded through James. After Adam Lambert there can be no other for me.

Adam Lambert sucks compared to James IMO. I own both his and James and the Durbin one is far better.

 

[Soot and Stars]

#11
Lana Del Rey-Video Games/Blue Jeans

Video Games



Swinging in the backyard
Pull up in your fast car
Whistling my name
Open up a beer
And you say, Get over here
And play a video game

I'm in his favourite sun dress
Watching me get undressed
Take that body downtown
I say you the bestest
Lean in for a big kiss
Put his favourite perfume on
Go play a video game

It's you, it's you, it's all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It's better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby, now you do

Singing in the old bars
Swinging with the old stars
Living for the fame
Kissing in the blue dark
Playing pool and wild darts
Video games

He holds me in his big arms
Drunk and I am seeing stars
This is all I think of
Watching all our friends fall
In and out of Old Paul's
This is my idea of fun
Playing video games

It's you, it's you, it's all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It's better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby, now you do

Now you do, now you do, now you do
Now you do, now you do, now you do

It's you, it's you, it's all for you
Everything I do
I tell you all the time
Heaven is a place on earth with you
Tell me all the things you want to do
I heard that you like the bad girls
Honey, is that true?
It's better than I ever even knew
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
Baby, now you do

Now you do, now you do, now you do
Now you do
Now you do, now you do, now you do



Lana was the freshest gust of air in 2011. I found it before the hype and exposure bastardized everything and I found it not knowing what I was in for. I'm not doing picks from the album itself with the exception of the tracks that foreshadowed that album through 2011. Lana and her album will reappear on the 2012 list. Video Games was the first track I ever heard from Lana. I was looking through I-tunes recent albums list as I do every week. I saw the miniature version of the album cover with just her face and the title "Video Games". I went to youtube expecting a cheesy pop Rebecca Black style song that I would either laugh at or click off in three seconds. What I got was an elegant, dark moody, sexy piece. The irony of modern culture mixed with the timeless style captivated me. Gimmick or not it was a great gimmick. Nothing sounds like this now and in actuality I prefer this Lana better than the hip-hop laced Lana. The attitude here is in the content and the music is haunting rather than precocious. A maturity beyond her years.


Blue Jeans


Blue jeans, White shirt
Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn
It was like James Dean, for sure
You so fresh to death & sick as ca-cancer
You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop
But you fit me better than my favorite sweater, and I know
That love is mean, and love hurts
But I still remember that day we met in December, oh baby!

I will love you till the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you'll remember that you're mine
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more
Than those bitches before
Say you'll remember, oh baby, say you'll remember
I will love you till the end of time

Big dreams, gangster
Said you had to leave to start your life over
I was like: "no please, stay here,"
We don't need no money we can make it all work
But he headed out on Sunday, said he'd come home Monday
I stayed up waitin', anticipatin' and pacin' but he was
Chasing paper
"Caught up in the game" that was the last I heard

I will love you till the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you'll remember that you're mine
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more
Than those bitches before
Say you'll remember, oh baby, say you'll remember
I will love you till the end of time

You went out every night
And baby that's alright
I told you that no matter what you did I'd be by your side
Cause Ima ride or die
Whether you fail or fly
Well shit, at least you tried.
But when you walked out that door, a piece of me died
I told you I wanted more-but that not what I had in mind
I just want it like before
We were dancin' all night
Then they took you away- stole you out of my life
You just need to remember....

Will love you till the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you'll remember that your mine
Baby can you see through the tears?
Love you more
Than those bitches before
Say you'll remember, oh baby, say you'll remember
I will love you till the end of time


I love this track just a hair under "Video Games". It has that spaghetti western Nancy Sinatra by way of Tarantino feel to it. It also has more of a vocal range than Video Games and has a nice higher register as opposed to the more droll, hypnotic vocal of Video Games. It's an even sexier song as well. The guitar is a cool change from the orchestral sound of Video Games. I think the one reason I can name all these good traits and still has it be number too is that it lacks the ambiance that Video Games has. This one has a swagger that showed her mix of modern day spunk with old classy sultriness. A real gem.


Kinda Outta Luck



I was born bad
But then I met you
You made me nice for a while
But my dark side's true.

You never cared what I did at all
Motel singer at a silver ball
I did what I had to do...

Femme fatale, always on the run
Diamonds on my wrist, whiskey on my tongue
Before I give back, I gotta get drunk
So get over here, pour me a cold one.

Babe you can see that I'm danger
Teetering off of the stage, yeah
Sparkling in sequins, say hey-yeah

Time to give in to the kindness of strangers.

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm flat outta luck.

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm kinda outta luck.
Wrong, I know, killing someone
It gets a little easier when you've done it once
You know that I'm fun, you know that I'm young
So tell me your mind, let's get it on.

Babe you can see that I'm danger
Glamorous, but I'm deranged, yeah
Teetering off of the stage, yeah
I said it really nicely so can you be my savior?

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm flat outta luck.

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm kinda outta luck.

I was a dangerous girl
You were too nice for this world
And now I'm back on the prowl
Who wants to give it a whirl?

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm flat outta luck.

Is it wro-wrong that I think it's kinda fun
When I hit you in the back of the head with a gun?
My daddy's in the trunk of his brand new truck
I really want him back, but I'm kinda outta luck


Here's a track I really liked that never made it on the album. It had that Tarantino sound that I talked about in Blue Jeans and cranks up that vibe hardcore in the vocal. This is the poppiest of all the pre-album release tracks and hints at what the rest of the album would sound like most. I picture an Austin Powers dance sequence to the chorus of this especially with the beat. Lana has that sexy quirky vocal in the chorus here that I really like on other songs as well. There are two sides to Lana that I like and these represent the first side. Stay tuned for next year for the second side.
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[Soot and Stars]

#10
City and Colour-Little Hell

The Grand Optimist



I fear I'm dying from complications
Complications due to things that I've left undone
That all my debts will be left unpaid
Feel like a cripple without a cane
I'm like a jack of all trades
Who's a master of none

Then there's my father
He's always looking on the bright side
Saying things like "Son, life just ain't that hard."
He is the grand optimist
I am the world's poor pessimist
You give him burdensome times
And he will escape unscarred

I guess I take after my mother

I used to be quite resilient
Gain no strength from counting the beads on a rosary
Now the wound has begun to turn
Another lesson that has gone unlearned
But this is not a cry for pity or for sympathy

I guess I take after my mother



City and Colour is in my top five artist past 2,000 and he has one of my favorite albums ever, Bring Me Your Love. If this was my 2008 list City and Colour would hold the number one spot easily. That was his album prior to "Little Hell" and damn near impossible to surpass. This one doesn't but was a great album in it's own right. While "Bring Me Your Love" was a beautiful confessional folk album with perfect sparse lofi production and a hint of blues this album is a heavier crisp beautifully produced album with a high dosage of blues. I like it and realize that the change was necessary as he couldn't just make the same album again. One thing didn't change. Singer and writer Dallas still brings the best lyricism and actually beefed it up more. The last album was simple and accessible storytelling at it's best and told of heartbreak, drowning your sorrows in drink and mortality. This album is more detailed and confessional as this track shows writing about his family and what he's had a hard time living up to or adopting from them. The other thing that hasn't changed is the gorgeous crystal clear pure vocal of Dallas. This song is the closest to being one that could have been on Bring Me Your Love but the blues inflections in that perfect vocal belong on this album.


Hope For Now


This hallway's dark and empty
Just miles and miles of endless road
I've got a sickness pounding in my head
I'm at the mercy of the ghosts

But what it would take to live
As if I would not another day
To live without despair
And to be without desdain

How can I instill such hope
But be left with none of my own?
What if I could sing
Just one song
And it might save somebody's life
I sought after
After reasons to stay
I was lost
I was lost

Then the sky turned black
And the rains poured down
I was waiting
Waiting to be found
Oh, no

How can I instill such hope
But be left with none of my own?
What if I could sing
Just one song
And it might save somebody's life

Then I would sing
All that I can sing
Because that is when
When I feel that I'm not just counting time

Oh, and I sing
All that I can sing
Maybe just for the moment
Things would seem all right

Oh, and I sing x 4


This is the closing track of Little Hell and it's an awesome closer. I just love the simple piano and the echoed sentiments of Dallas's vocal. It's as reflective and sorrowful as it gets until it builds into a redemptive storm of heavy guitar and drums as the singer finds himself lyrically and musically in the song. It's a cathartic powerful piece and perfect to end the record.


Weightless



Come close,
Lay next to me
Come close,
Lay next to me
I need to tell you something important

So stay close,
Remain next to me
I need to feel important
It's your eyes that I don't believe
And my heart, you will, you will mislead
Do you know the consequence that comes with having such confidence?

Holding all the weight in my life
Then you turn and you walk away from me
So what is this now, you ask of me
What makes your pain such an urgency?
Now I want out, so plain to see
Once again my dear, a brand new tragedy

Holding all the weight in my life
Then you turn and you walk away from me
Holding all the weight in my life
Then you turn and you walk away from me

Bleeding all the strength from my life
Then you turn and you run away from me
You're bleeding all the strength from my life
Then you turn and you run away from me


This was the first track I heard before buying the album. From the start I knew it was a change from the prior album and this may be Dallas's most accessible song. It also may be his most pure rock song yet as well. This is a very bluesy number and I think Dallas is this close to finding the perfect balance between infectious grooves like this and his intimate perfection. This guys going to hit the stratosphere before too long. he's just getting started.
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