Dusted Features In lieu of a larger list of favorites, here’s the year of our lord 2011, seen from various angles, grouped in sets of five. Tweet

2011: Adam Strohm

Records Released in 2011 that I Liked a Good Bit:

Golden Retriever
Light Cones
(Root Strata)

Bombino
Agadez
(Cumbancha)

Jozef Van Wissem
The Joy That Never Ends
(Important)

Colin Stetson
New History Warfare, Vol. 2: Judges
(Constellation)

Michael Gordon
Timber
(Cantaloupe)

Great live performances witnessed by yours truly in the last 12 months:

Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, and Friends: A Steve Reich Celebration - 08/22 (Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Chicago, IL)
Tinariwen - 07/07 (Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL)
Marcus Schmickler - 06/11/11 (Lampo/Graham Foundation, Madlener House, Chicago, IL)
Dawnbringer - 03/26/11 (Red Line Tap, Chicago, IL)
The Ex - 03/08/11 (Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL)

Records from 2011 that I’ve enjoyed and wish I had listened to more often:

Tinariwen - Tassili (Anti-)
Bjork - Biophilia (Nonesuch)
Anthony Levin-Decanini - Pairings/Birth Plan (Broken Research)
Zombi - Escape Velocity (Relapse)
Florent Ghys - Baroque Tardif (Cantaloupe)

Albums from the past year that I’ve not heard, but really should have checked by now because I’d probably dig them a lot:

C. Spencer Yeh - 1975 (Intransitive)
Marcus Schmickler - Rule of Inference (A-Musik)
Absu - Abzu (Candlelight Records USA)
Anatomy of Habit - Anatomy of Habit (self-released)
Nicholas Szczepanik - Please Stop Loving Me (Streamline)

Records released prior to 2011 that I got to know (and like) this year:

Ponytail - Ice Cream Spiritual (We Are Free, 2008)
Dawnbringer - Nucleus (Profound Lore, 2010)
Frank Rosaly - Millwork (Contraphonic, 2010)
Wim Mertens - Close Cover (Windham Hill, 1986)
The Golden Palaminos - The Golden Palaminos (Celluloid, 1983)

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say a few other things in this space before the doors close on 2011 and we begin our descent into an Mayan-predicted apocalypse. I’ve not spent as much time as I would have liked with Tinariwen’s Tassili, but seeing the group find success with a six-month worldwide tour, appear on The Colbert Report, and garner a much-deserved Grammy nomination brought me joy. Some bands deserve the attention that they get, and other make Lulu.

If Sonic Youth’s November performance in Sao Paulo was in fact their last, I’ll be sorry to see them go. Like any number of other music fans across the world, I count Sonic Youth as the most important influence in my musical life, and I can’t imagine what I’d be listening to without them. The band’s demise, should it be upon us, won’t devastate the “2011 me” the way that it would have circa 1998, but even if I haven’t been listening to them much these past few years, I’ve always found some comfort in the band’s continued existence and their seemingly unending supply of energy and enthusiasm. Thanks, you guys.

By Adam Strohm

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