MY Favorite Music of 2011: Top 20

Here it is again. My annual, end-of-the-year music list. To reiterate, I am aware that not all of these songs were released in 2011. I don't care. It's my list, and these are the songs I listened to the most in 2011. This isn't a music blog; deal with it. Appreciate me:

1. Matt Pond PA - "Halloween"
Not a new song, but we addressed that already. "Seems like it always seems/Where I go I wanna leave..." Pretty curmudgeonly, if you ask me:



2. Trampled by Turtles - "Where Is My Mind?" (Pixies cover)
This band's been around for a while, but I only just discovered them because of this amazing cover:



3. Motion City Soundtrack - "Wait So Long" (Trampeled by Turtles cover)



4. Alkaline Trio - "I Remember A Rooftop"



5. Blink-182 - "Kaleidoscope"
Blink-182 reunited and released their first album in forever, with mixed results. I loved this song, though:



6. Angels & Airwaves - "Surrender"
Tom DeLonge (of Blink-182) has this side project. It's usually pretty meh. I dug this song, though:



7. Beirut - "Goshen"
They released a new album this year. They're awesome. Always. This was my favorite song on the album:



8. The Decemberists - "Rox in the Box," "January Hymn," and "E. Watson"
These guys released a full-length album and an EP this year. These are a few of my favorites from those releases. The full-length might be their best album yet:







9. Frank Turner - "I Am Disappeared" and "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" (Postal Service cover)





10. Gypsy and the Cat - "Breakaway"
An Australian band my buddy over there gave me...



11. Kanye West - "Monster," "Runaway," and "Blame Game"
Yes, he's a douche. Yes, he's annoying. But also yes, his album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, was great, and I listened to it a ton since it's release last year:







12. Liz Durrett - "How Can I Tell You" (Cat Stevens cover)



13. Nicki Minaj - "Girls Fall Like Dominoes"
Yes, Nicki Minaj. Shut up:



14. Pearl Jam - "Crown of Thorns" (Mother Love Bone cover)
This has been one of my favorite songs for a very long time:



15. The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Coldest Days" and "Good Night"
One of my favorite new bands of the last few years:





16. Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs - "Alone in This Together"
This chick's gotta be a lezzer, right?



17. The Temper Trap - "Resurrection"
I don't totally get the hype about this band, but I love this song. Make 'em all sound like this, guy:



18. Tinariwen - "Tenere Taqqim Tossam"
Trust me. Give it a chance. I was very pleasantly surprised:



19. Two Door Cinema Club - "Something Good Can Work"
This is an acoustic version, but their album is pretty Phoenix-y (the band, not the city):



20. Typhoon - "Summer Home"



*Bonus track 1: James Vincent McMorrow - "If I Had A Boat"



*Bonus track 2: The Fugees - "Nappy Heads"
I've been listening to this a lot this year, for some reason. Still love it:

Coming to Her Senses

"Oy! I used to be funny..."

So, I was watching Coming to America for the gazillionth time, and, while still great, the tension at the end has always bothered me.  I just never could suspend my disbelief enough to buy that she was that upset to find that Akeem was actually the prince of Zamunda, and the richest (black) man in Africa.  Maybe she would've pretended to be pissed that he lied, for, like, three seconds, but the way it went down in the movie? . . . Nah.  Too unrealistic.