BestOf

• Les Shades - "La Nouvelle Ecole" - Contre la Montre (Tricatel)
• Charlotte Gainsbourg - "Memoir" - Stage Whispers (Because)
• Keren Ann - "My Name is Trouble" - 101 (Blue Note)
• Nouvelle vague - "Week-end a Rome" - Couleurs sur Paris (Kwaidan)
• Francois and the Atlas Mountain - "Les Plus Beaux" - E Volo Love (Domino)
• Benjamin Biolay - "C'est Magnifique" - Pourquoi tu Pleures? (Naïve)
• BB Brunes - "Gaby Oh Gaby" - Tels Alain Bashung (Barclay)
• Emilie Simon - "Rocket to the Moon" - The Big Machine (Barclay)
• France French Electro Band - "Grand Tour" - Grand Tour (Rectangle Astral)
• General Elektriks - "The Spark" - Parker Street (Discograph)

• Meg Baird - Seasons On Earth (Drag City)
• Chris Bathgate - Salt Year (Quite Scientific)
• AA Bondy - Believers (Fat Possum)
• Eliza Gilkyson - Roses At The End Of Time (Red House)
• Implodes - Black Earth (Kranky)
• Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)
• Loretta Lynch - Home Fires (S/R)
• Metal Rouge - Trails (Emerald Cocoon)
• Thurston Moore - Demolished Thoughts (Ecstatic Peace!)
• Prefuse 73 - The Only She Chapters (Warp)
• Robedoor - Raiders (Not Not Fun)
• Danny Schmidt - Man Of Many Moons (Red House)
• The Unthanks - Last (Rough Trade)
• Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest (Acony)
• Wire - Red Barked Tree (Pink Flag)

Best Reissues of 2011

• Dave Brock And The Agents Of Chaos - The Agents Of Chaos (Atomhenge)
• Fields - S/T (Esoteric)
• Hawkwind - Distance Horizons (Atomhenge)
• Buck Owens - Bound For Bakersfields 1953-1956 The Complete Pre-Capitol Collection (Rock Beat)
• Status Quo - Live At The BBC (Mercury)

• Tune-Yards - whokill (4AD)
• Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernating (Fat Possum)
• The Strange Boys - Live Music (Rough Trade)
• Caveman - CoCo Beware (Magic Man!)
• Cults - S/T (Columbia)
• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Belong (Slumberland)
• Dum Dum Girls - Only in Dreams (Sub Pop)
• Veronica Falls - S/T (Slumberland)
• The Postelles - S/T (Capitol/Astralwerks)
• Still Corners - Creatures of an Hour (Sub Pop)
• The Wombats - This Modern Glitch (14th Floor/Bright Antenna)
• Real Estate - Days (Domino)Tennis - Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
• Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure (Captured Tracks)

1. The Weeknd - House of Balloons (S/R)
2. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (L Y F)
3. Cut Copy - Zonoscope (Modular)
4. Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch the Throne (Roc-a-Fella)
5. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin (XL)
6. The Strokes - Angles (RCA)
7. Bon Iver - S/T (Jagjaguwar)
8. Wilco - The Whole Love (dBpm)
9. Phantogram - Nightlife (Barsuk)
10. The Roots - undun (Def Jam)
11. The Dodos - No Color (Frenchkiss)
12. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (4AD)
13. Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
14. Radiohead - The King of Limbs (TBD)
15. The Antlers - Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)

1. June Tabor & Oysrerband - Ragged Kingdom (Topic)
2. Tom Waits - Bad As Me (Anti-)
3. Wild Flag - S/T (Merge)
4. Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing (Sub Pop)
5. Wilco - The Whole Love (Anti-)
6. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Vagrant)
7. The Stone Foxes - Bears & Bulls (S/R)
8. The Baseball Project - Vol. 2: High And Inside (Yep Roc)
9. The Bachata Legends - The Bachata Legends (iASO)
10. Rumer - Seasons of My Soul (Atlantic)
11. Big Tree - This New Year (S/R)
12. tUnE-yArDs - Who Kill (4AD)
13. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (4AD)
14. Marble Party - Lyle (Floating)
15. The Jim Jones Revue - Burning Your House Down (Punk Rock Blues)
16. Smoke Fairies - Through Low Light And Trees (Year Seven)
17. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)
18. Pistol Annies - Hell On Heels (Sony Nashville)
19. Black Keys - El Camino (Nonesuch)
20. The Horrors - Skying (XL)

Favorite  Reissues

• The Rolling Stones - Some Girls (Universal Republic)
• Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Tell My Sister (Nonesuch)
• Ray Charles - Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles (Concord)
• The Who - Qudrophenia: The Director’s Cut (Geffen)
• Jim Ford - Harlan County (Light In The Attic)
• Can - Tago Mago: 40th Anniversary Edition Remastered (Spoon)

Favorite Compilations

• This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel on 45 RPM 1957-1982 (Tompkins Square)
• Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962-1972 (Soundway)

Favorite single

• Japandroids - "Art Czars" (Polyvinyl)

DVD of the Year

• George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Martin Scorsese (Lions Gate)

• SBTRKT - S/T (Young Turks)
• Com Truise - Galactic Melt (Ghostly International)
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah - Back for More (S/R)
• Trentemøller - Reworked and Remixed (In my Room)
• Wugazi - 13 Chambers (S/R)
• Dirtbombs - Party Store (In the Red)
• Alias - Fever Dream (Anticon)
• Emika - S/T (Ninja Tune)
• Magnetic Man - S/T (Columbia)
• Fennesz - Seven Stars (Touch)

1. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – S/T (Sour Mash)
2. Arctic Monkeys – Suck It and See (Domino)
3. Laura Marling – A Creature I Don’t Know (Virgin)
4. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
5. Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm)
6. Tyler, the Creator – Goblin (XL)
7. Radiohead – The King of Limbs (S/R)
8. Bon Iver – Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)
9. The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From the Vaccines? (Columbia)
10. Elbow – Build a Rocket Boys! (Polydor)
11. TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light (Interscope)
12. Beirut – The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
13. Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
14. The Black Keys – El Camino (Nonesuch)
15. Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire (PAX AM)
16. Ghostpoet – Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam (Brownswood)
17. Frank Turner – England Keep My Bones (Epitaph)
18. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)
19. Miracles of Modern Science – Dog Year (S/R)
20. The Weeknd – House of Balloons (XO)
21. Yuck – S/T (Fat Possum)
22. The Antlers – Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)
23. The Wombats – This Modern Glitch (Bright Antenna)
24. Alex Turner – Submarine OST (Domino)
25. The Lonely Island – Turtleneck and Chain (Universal Republic)

• Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming (Daptone)
• WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain (LYF)
• YACHT - Shangri-la (DFA)
• Dntel - Life Is Full of Possibilities (Reissue on Sub Pop)
• Stone Coal White - S/T (Reissue on Numero Group)
• The Most Serene Republic - Pre Serene: Thee Oneironauts (Home of the Rebels)
• St Vincent - Strange Mercy (4AD)
• Mikal Cronin - S/T (Trouble In Mind)
• Father's Children - Who's Gonna Save The World (Reissue on Numero Group)
• Holy Ghost! - S/T (DFA)
• The Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions (Capitol)

Honorable Mentions

• Jens Lekman - An Argument Myself EP (Secretly Canadian)
• The Explorer's Club - The California Suite (S/R)
• Cults - Go Outside [Menahan Street Band Remix] (RCRDLBL) (http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Cults/track/Go_Outside_Menahan_Street_Band_Re...)

1. Sims - Bad Time Zoo (Doomtree)
2. Qwazaar & Batsauce - Bat Meets Blaine (Galapagos4)
3. Open Mike Eagle - Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (Hellfyre Club)
4. Gel Roc - Beautiful Tragedy (Abolono)
5. Blueprint - Adventures in Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers)
6. Void Pedal - Omni-Colour (Fieldwerk)
7. Astronautalis - This is Our Science (Fake Four Inc.)
8. One Be Lo - L.A.B.O.R (Subterraneous)
9. Moka Only & Chief - Crickets (Feelin)
10. Candy's .22 - A Girl And Her Gun (Grimm Image) 

Honorable Mentions

• IAME - Lame (Taxidermy)
• Co$$ - Before I Awoke (Tres)
• Senor Kaos - The Kaos Effect (High Water Music)
• Doomtree - No Kings (Doomtree)
• Sole & the Skyrider Band - Hello Cruel World (Fake Four Inc.)
• Noah23 - Fry Cook on Venus (Fake Four Inc.)
• Knives & Gasoline - Love Songs for Crime Scenes (Grimm Image)

1. Anna Calvi - S/T (Domino)
2. Veronica Falls - S/T (Slumberland)
3. Sea Lions - Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask (Slumberland)
4. Seapony - Go With Me (Hardly Art)
5. La Sera - S/T (Hardly Art)
6. Crystal Stilts - In Love With Oblivion (Slumberland)
7. Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams (Sub Pop)
8. Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)
9. Vivian Girls - Share The Joy (Polyvinyl)
10. Wye Oak - Civilian (Merge)
11. Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On (Arts & Crafts)
12. Brilliant Colors - Again And Again (Slumberland)
13. Kissing Party - Wasters Wall (Hot Congress)
14. Girls Names - Dead To Me (Slumberland)
15. Times New Viking - Dancer Equired! (Merge)
16. Cloud Nothings - S/T (Carpark)
17. Austra - Feel It Break (Domino)
18. The Coathangers - Larceny & Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
19. Still Corners - Creatures Of An Hour (Sub Pop)
20. Widowspeak - S/T (Captured Tracks)
21. Asobi Seksu - Fluorescence (Polyvinyl)
22. Fergus & Geronimo - Unlearn (Hardly Art)
23. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Vagrant)
24. Minks - By The Hedge (Captured Tracks)
25. Modular - Sinfonias Para Terricolas (Elefant)

• Unknown Mortal Orchestra - S/T (Fat Possum)
• Wanda Jackson - The Party Ain’t Over (Nonesuch)
• Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin’ (Columbia)
• Wrong Words - S/T  (Trouble In Mind)
• Glitter Wizard - Solar Hits (Archers Guild)
• John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (Upset the Rhythm)
• Dum Dum Girls - Only In Dreams (Sub Pop)
• Shannon and The Clams - Sleep Talk (1-2-3-4 Go!)
• Cults - S/T (ITNO/Columbia)
• Destroyer - Kaputt (Merge)

7” Singles

• Dirty Ghosts - "Shout It In" (Classic Bar Music)
• Bleached - "Searchin' Through The Past" (Suicide Squeeze)
• Wax Idols - "All Too Human" (Hozac)

• V/A - Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962 - 1972 (Soundway)
• Tom Waits - Bad as Me (Anti-)
• V/A - Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music (Bear Family)
• Imperial Tiger Orchestra - Addis Abeba (Mental Groove)
• V/A - Russkie Wig-Out! Demented Surf/Electro/Exotica From Behind The Iron Curtain (Omni)
• Los Chicharrons - Roots of Life (Voodoo)
• Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)

• The Dime - Brickyard Cove (Corner Store Music Group)
• Eligh & Amplive - Therapy At 3 (LRG)
• GQ - Trouble Man (Jamla)
• Headnodic - Red Line Radio (Brick)
• Hopie - Dulce Vita (S/R)
• Kev Choice - The Power of Choice (S/R)
• Mistah F.A.B. - I’ve Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook (Faeva Afta)
• Moe Green - Lionheart EP (S/R)
• Otayo Dubb - Cold Piece of Work (Beatrock Music)
• Trackademicks - State of the Arts (HNRL)
• Zion I & the Grouch - Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (Z & G Music)

Ion's Top 20 Hip Hop Albums of 2011

• Apathy - Honkey Kong (Dirty Version)
• Big K.R.I.T. - Return of 4eva (S/R)
• Classified - Hand Shakes and Middle Fingers (HalfLife)
• Cunninlynguists - Oneirology (RBC)
• Drake - Take Care (Young Money)
• The Doppelgangaz - Lone Sharks (Groggy Pack)
• Eligh & Amplive - Therapy At 3 (LRG)
• Elzhi & Will Sessions - Elmatic (Jae B. Group)
• Grieves - Together/Apart (Rhymesayers)
• Hail Mary Mallon - Are You Gonna Eat That? (Rhymesayers)
• Kendrick Lamar - Section.80 (Top Dawg)
• Open Mike Eagle - Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (Hellfyre Club)
• Pharoahe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (Duck Down)
• Phonte - Charity Starts at Home (Hard Boiled)
• Reks - R.E.K.S. (Showoff)
• The Roots - Undun (Def Jam)
• Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told (Suburban Noize)
• Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
• Tech N9ne - All 6’s & 7’s (Strange Music)
• yU - The Earn (Mello Music Group)

Ion's Top 20 Everything Else Albums of 2011

• Adele - 21 (XL)
• Ambrose Akinmusire - When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note)
• Marsha Ambrosius - Late Nights & Early Mornings (J)
• Bon Iver - S/T (4AD)
• Charles Bradley - No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
• Chase & Status - No More Idols (Mercury)
• Destroyer - Kaputt (Merge)
• Florence & the Machine - Ceremonials (Universal Island)
• Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra. (S/R)
• Giraffes? Giraffes! - Pink Magick (S/R)
• M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Naive)
• Nero - Welcome Reality (Mercury)
• SBTRKT - S/T (Young Turks)
• Jill Scott - The Light of the Sun (Warner Bros)
• Sepalcure - S/T (Hotflush)
• 65daysofstatic - Silent Running (Dustpunk)
• Thundercat - The Golden Age of Apocalypse (Brainfeeder)
• Tycho - Dive (Ghostly Int’l)
• Washed Out - Within and Without (Sub Pop)
• The Weeknd - House of Balloons (S/R)

Ion's WOW (Whackyourheadupside-Overthetop-Wickedepic) Tracks of 2011

• Adele - “Turning Tables”
• Ambassadeurs - “M.O.P.E.”
• Avicii - “Levels”
• BT & Adam K - “Tomahawk”
• James Blake - “A Case of You” (Joni Mitchell cover)
• Burial - “Street Halo”
• Chase & Status - “Brixton Briefcase (feat. Cee-Lo)”
• Far Too Loud - “Moneymaker”
• Gonjasufi - “Change (Shlohmo Remix)”
• Ellie Goulding - “Lights (Bassnectar Remix)”
• Hudson Mohawke - “Thank You”
• J*Davey - “Queen of Wonderland (feat. Thundercat)”
• Jamie xx - “Far Nearer”
• Eric Prydz - “2Night”
• Random Axe - “Monster Babies”
• Salva - “Wake Ups”
• Teebs - “While You Dooooo”
• Thundercat - “Boat Cruise”
• Amon Tobin - “Goto 10”
• Tyler the Creator - “Yonkers”

Ion's Favorite Moments as a KALX DJ in 2011

• Gil Scott-Heron tribute show during Yo! KALX Raps - May 30th
• DNAE Beats live set on my show - May 31st
• Phillipdrummond and FLO live freestyle - July 19th
• Meklit Hadero in studio live performance - September 27th
• Fundraiser show with This Mutha - October 25th
• Zombie-themed Midnight Express show - October 21st
• Fundraiser show as a pitcher for Sergio - October 30th
• Lateef the Truthspeaker interview - November 15th
• Baby Jaymes phone interview - November 29th
• Denise Sullivan interview - December 13th
  …and many thanks to all the guests, DJs and listeners involved the past year!

• Caroline - Verdugo Hills (Temporary Residence)
• Lenka - Two (Epic)
• The Shivers - More (Silence Breaks)
• Erin Brazill and the Brazillionaires - Last Night in Town (S/R)
• Juliana Hatfield - There's Always Another Girl (Ye Olde)
• Oh Land - S/T (Sony)
• Alessi's Ark - Time Travel (Bella Union)
• Robots in Disguise - Happiness V Sadness (President)
• Wild Flag - S/T (Merge)
• The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (Sensibility)
• PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Vagrant)
• Girl in a Coma - exits and all the rest (Blackheart)
• The Submarines - Love Notes/Letter Bombs (Nettwerk)
• Stripmall Architecture - Feathersongs for Factory Girls (S/R)
• Beast Make Bomb - Sourpuss (S/R)
• Heather Nova - 300 Days at Sea (Embassy of Music)
• Those Darlins - Screws Get Loose (Oh Wow Dang)
• Persephone's Bees - random S/R songs
• K. Flay - random S/R songs and remixes

• Bleached - Carter (Art Fag)
• Brain F≠ - So Dim (Grave Mistake)
• Cheap Time - Another Time (Cass)
• Cuffs - Privilege (Ride the Snake)
• Grass Widow - Milo Minute (HLR)
• OBN III's - S/T (Tic Tac Totally!)
• Real Numbers - Tear It in Two (Florida's Dying)
• The Mantles - Raspberry Thighs (SDZ)
• The Sleaze - Weird Truck (Three Dimensional)
• The Sleaze - Called You Once (Total Punk)
• Terry Malts - I'm Neurotic (Slumberland)
• Woolen Kits - Maths (R.I.P. Society)

LPs

• Mikal Cronin - S/T (Trouble in Mind)
• Estrogen Highs - Friends & Relatives (Gramery)
• Household - Items (Dull Knife)
• Human Eye - They Came From the Sky (Sacred Bones)
• Total Control - Henge Beat (Iron Lung)
• Video - Leather Leather (Play Pinball)
• Wax Idols - No Future (Hozac)
• The Wrong Words - S/T (Trouble in Mind)

• The Barreracudas - Nocturnal Missions (Douchemaster)
• Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming (Dunham)
• The Contours - Dance with the Contours (Kent)
• The Dahlmanns - All Dahled Up (Pop Detective)
• Eva Eastwood - Lyckost (Darrow)
• Syl Johnson - Complete Mythology (Numero Group)
• The Jim Jones Revue - Burning Your House Down (Punk Rock Blues)
• Lolita No.18 - I Won't Give Up! (Benten)
• Barbara Lynn - A Good Woman: The Complete Tribe & Jet Stream Singles 1966-1979 (Kent)
• Imelda May - Mayhem (Decca)
• The Pepper Pots - Train To Your Love (Megalith)
• Dex Romweber Duo - Is That You in the Blue? (Bloodshot)
• Sorrows - Bad Times Good Times (Bomp)
• The Struts - Boy Can't Dance (S/R)
• Suzy & Los Quattro - Hank (BCore)
• Sonny Vincent - Bizarro Hymns (Still Unbeatable)
• Zukunasisters - Dancin' & Singin' (Zuku 74)

Best Single of 2011

• The Rezillos - Out Of This World (Rezillos Records)

1. Now Ensemble - Awake (New Amsterdam)
2. Hauschka - Salon Des Amateurs (Fat Cat)
3. Travis Reuter - Rotational Templates (New Focus)
4. Buraka Som Sistema - Komba (Enchufada)
5. Curtis Macdonald - Community Immunity (Greenleaf)
6. Los Chicharrons - Roots of Life (Tummy Touch)
7. Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony  (Type)
8. Build - Place (New Amsterdam)
9. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
10. Micachu and the Shapes - Chopped and Screwed (Rough Trade)
11. Various Artists - 101 Things to Do in Bongolia (Electric Cowbell)
12. Graham Reynolds - The Difference Engine (Innova)
13. Constantinople & Françoise Atlan - Premieres Songes (Analeka)
14. The Evolution Control Committee - All Rights Reserved (Seeland)
15. Rocket from the Tombs - Barfly (Fire)
16. Helado Negro - Canta Lechuza (Ashtmatic Kitty)
17. Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days (Reprise)
18. Robbers on High Street - Hey There Golden Hair (Rocco Greggo)
19. Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone - The Book of Mormon Original Broadway Cast Recording (Ghostlight)
20. DRC Music - Kinshasa One Two (Warp Limited)
21. 13 & God - Own Your Ghost (Anticon)
22. Kills - Blood Pressure (Domino)
23. Dustin O’Halloran - Lumiere (Fat Cat)
24. Garage A Trois - Always Be Happy, but Stay Evil (The Royal Potato Family)
25. Alias - Fever Dream (Anticon)

1. Seapony - Go With Me (Hardly Art)
2. Air Waves - Dungeon Dots (Underwater Peoples)
3. Computer Magic - Electronic Fences (White Isis)
4. Xeno & Oaklander - Sets & Lights (Wierd)
5. Wise Blood - These Wings (Dovecote)
6. Still Corners - Creatures Of An Hour (Sub Pop)
7. Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere (Fat Cat)
8. Tristen - Charlatans At The Garden Gate (American Myth)
9. Beirut - The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
10. Mode Moderne - Undiscovered Country (Light Organ)
11. Austra - Feel It Break (Domino)
12. Starfucker - Reptilians (Polyvinyl)
13. Beach Fossils - What A Pleasure (Captured Tracks)
14. Hooray For Earth - True Loves (Dovecote)
15. Tycho - Dive (Ghostly International)
16. Neon Indian - Era Extrana (Static Tongues)
17. Nurses - Dracula (Dead Oceans)
18. Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting (Paper Bag)
19. Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer (Merge)
20. Myrmyr - Firestar (Under The Spire)

• Times New Viking - Dancer Equired (Merge)
• Pete Swanson - I Don't Rock at All (Three Lobed)
• Higuma - Pacific Fog Dreams (Root Strata)
• War on Drugs - Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
• Young Prisms - Friends for Now (Kanine)
• Milk Music - Beyond Living (Perennial)
• Greg Davis - Eyebright (AOC)
• Lucky Dragons - Shape Tape (Teenage Teardrops)
• Marijata - This is Marijata (Academy)

• Morning Musume - 12 Smart (Up Front Works)
• Perfume - JPN (Tokuma Japan)
• AKB48 - Koko Ni Ita Kota (King Records)
• Tokyo Girls Style - Kodou no Hitmitsu (Avex)
• Frank (Just Frank) - The Brutal Wave (Weird Records)
• Friendly Fires - Pala (XL)
• Daedelus - Bespoke (Ninja Tune)
• SBTRKT - S/T (Young Turks)
• Justice - Audio Video Disco (Ed Banger)
• Various Artists - Space Escapade Unit 1 (Destination: Pluto Sector 68)(Elefant)
• Radiohead - The King Of Limbs (TickerTape Ltd.)
• The Drums - Portamento (Universal Republic)
• The Rapture - In The Grace Of Your Love (DFA)
• Rolling Stones - Some Girls (Deluxe Edition) (Universal Republic)
• Beach Boys - The Smile Sessions (Capitol)
• Bjork- Biophilia (One Little Indian)
• DRC Music - Kinshasa One Two (Warp Limited)
• The Horrors - Skying (XL)

• tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l (4AD)
• Strange Boys - Live Music (Rough Trade)
• Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure (Captured Tracks)
• Tennis - Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
• Shannon and the Clams - Sleep Talk (1-2-3-4 Go!)
• Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin' On (Arts & Crafts)
• Smith Westerns - Dye it Blonde (Fat Possum)
• Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
• Dreamdate - Melody Walk (Tic Tac Totally)

• Bare Wires - "Sweet Little Stranger" - Cheap Perfume (Southpaw)
• Battles - "Ice Cream" - Gloss Drop (Warp)
• Bleeding Knees Club - "Truth or Dare" - Virginity (I Am Sound)
• Dum Dum Girls - "He Gets Me High" - He Gets Me High (Sub Pop)
• Emily's Army - "Broadcast This" - Don't Be a Dick (Adeline)
• Eleanor Friedberger - "My Mistakes" - Last Summer (Merge)
• Graham Repulski - "Bulletproof Skull" - Into an Animal Together (Shorter)
• Hauschka - "Cube" - Salon Des Amateurs (Fat Cat)
• Low Anthem - "Apothecary Love" - Smart Flesh (Nonesuch)
• Buddy Miller - "I Want to Be With You Always" - Majestic Silver Strings (New West)
• Personal & the Pizzas - "I Don't Feel So Happy No More" - Raw Pie (1-2-3-4-Go!)
• War on Drugs - "Baby Missiles" - Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian)
• Misisipi Mike Wolf - "I Don't Miss You Anymore" - The Cold Hard Facts of Mike (Western Independent)

• Celer - Dying Star (Dragon's Eye)
• Steve Daubenspeck - Driftin' With Our Shadows (Magnetic)
• Slough Feg - The Animal Spirits (Cruz Del Sur)
• Odean Pope - Universal Sounds (Porter)
• Hélène Renaut - The Deer Convention (S/R)
• Chris Forsyth - Paranoid Cat (Family Vineyard)
• Vetiver - The Errant Charm (Sub Pop)
• The Wrong Words - S/T (Trouble In Mind)
• Carlos Forster - Family Trees (Hush)
• Glitter Wizard - Solar Hits (Archers' Guild)

• AM & Shawn Lee - Celestial Electric (ESL)
• The Bandana Splits - Mr. Sam Presents The Bandana Splits (Boy Scout)
• The Bangles - Sweetheart Of The Sun (Waterfront)
• David Bazan - Strange Negotiations (Barsuk)
• Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves (Domino)
• Blue Sky Black Death - Noir (Fake Four)
• The Bye Bye Blackbirds - Fixed Hearts (Rainbow Quartz)
• Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep (Heavenly)
• Cut Off Your Hands - Hollow (French Kiss)
• Fleet Floxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
• The Generationals - Actor-Caster (Park The Van)
• Tommy Guerrero - Lifeboats And Follies (Galaxia)
• House of Wolves - Fold In The Wind (S/R)
• IVY - All Hours (Nettwerk)
• The Jezabels - Prisoner (S/R)
• The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar (Atlantic)
• David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights - Left By Soft (Merge)
• Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)
• Moby - Destroyed (Mute)
• Noveller - Glacial Glow (Weird Forest)
• The People's Temple - Sons of Stone (Hozac)
• The Red Button - As Far As Yesterday Goes (Grimble)
• Redondo Beat - Meet Redondo Beat (Dionysus)
• The Dex Romweber Duo - Is That You In The Blue? (Bloodshot)
• Rivulets - We're Fucked (Important)
• Los Shimmy Shakers - Shake 'Em If Ya Got 'Em (Puerile)
• Stricken City - Losing Colour (The Kora)
• Tennis - Cape Dory (Fat Possum)
• The TomorrowMen - It's About Time! (Double Crown)
• The Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? (Columbia)
• Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting (Paper Bag)

1. Active Child - You Are All I See (Vagrant)
2. Thievery Corporation - Culture of Fear (ESL)
3. Hooray for Earth - True Loves (Secretly Canadian)
4. SBTRKT - S/T (Young Turks)
5. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes (LL)
6. James Blake - S/T (Universal Republic)
7. M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Mute)
8. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy (4AD)
9. Portugal. The Man - In the Mountain in the Cloud (Atlantic)
10. tUnE-yArDs - w h o k i l l (4AD)
11. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)

11 Notable Tracks of 2011

• Austra - "Spellwork"
• Friends - "I'm His Girl"
• Gardens & Villa - "Orange Blossom" 
• Grimes - "Oblivion"  
• Jamie xx - "Far Nearer"
• Mr. Little Jeans - "The Suburbs"
• Purity Ring - "Lofticries"
• Theophilius London - "Why Even Try" 
• Toro Y Moi - "New Beat" 
• White Denim - "Street Joy"
• Zion I & the Grouch - "I Used to Be a Vegan"

1. Zbigniew Preisner - Requiem for My Friend (New Music Productions)
2. James Blake - James Blake (Polydor)
3. Brooklyn Rider - Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass (Orange Mountain Music)
4. Tom Waits - Bad As Me (Anti-)
5. Miguel Zenón - Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook (Marsalis Music)
6. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L (4AD)
7. The Antlers - Burst Apart (Deluxe Version) (Frenchkiss)
8. Blueprint - Adventures In Counter-Culture (Rhymesayers)
9. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow (Sensibility Music)
10. Gem Club - Breakers (Hardly Art)
11. Kuniko Kato - kuniko plays reich (Linn)
12. Active Child - You Are All I See (Vagrant)
13. (etre) - Inferno From My Occult Diary (Porter)
14. June Tabor - Ashore (Topic)
15. Hauschka - Salon Des Amateurs (Fat Cat)
16. Jay- Z and Kanye West - Watch the Throne (Roc-A-Fella)
17. My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind (Asthmatic Kitty)
18. GusGus - Arabian Horse (Kompakt)
19. Soley - We Sink (MORR Music)
20. Original Cast Recording - The Book of Mormon (Ghostlight)
21. Build - Place (New Amsterdam)
22. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol.2: Judges (Constellation)
23. Graham Reynolds - The Difference Engine (Innova)
24. Tommy Guerrero - Lifeboats And Follies (Galaxia)
25. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Vagrant)
26. The Wailin' Jennys - Bright Morning Stars (Red House)
27. Gillian Welch - The Harrow & The Harvest (Acony)
28. Todd Snider - Live: The Storyteller (Aimless)
29. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
30. Theophilus London - Timez Are Weird These Days (Reprise)
31. Rene Marie - Voice of My Beautiful Country (Motema)
32. Lucinda Williams - Blessed (Lost Highway)
33. Bombino - Agadez (Cumbancha)
34. Chick Corea - Orvieto (ECM)
35. Jonny Greenwood - Norwegian Wood OST (Nonesuch)
36. Tinariwen - Tassili (Anti-)
37. Liturgy - Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey)
38. Feist - Metals (Cherry Tree)
39. Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal - Chamber Music (No Format)
40. King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - Diamond Mine (Domino)

Sex for Teens' Top Films of 2011

1. The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
2. Le Quattro Volte - Michelangelo Frammartino (Invisibile Film)
3. Margin Call - J.C. Chandor (Roadside Attractions)
4. Insidious - James Wan (FilmDistrict)
5. Carnage - Roman Polanski (Sony Pictures Classics)
6. The Skin I Live In - Pedro Almodóvar (Sony Pictures Classics)
7. Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn (Bold Films)
8. Source Code - Duncan Jones (Summit Entertainment)
9. Weekend - Andrew Haigh (Sundance Selects)
10. Hugo - Martin Scorsese (Paramount Pictures)

• Jonathan Coulton - Artificial Heart (Jocoserious)
• Prurient - Bermuda Drain (Hydra Head)
• Bjork - Biophilia (Nonesuch)
• Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
• Cornershop with Bubbley Kaur - Cornershop & the Double 'O' Groove of (Ample Play)
• Fucked Up - David Comes to Life (Matador)
• Deerhoof - Deerhoof vs. Evil (Polyvinyl)
• Goodbye the Band - Uncle Narratologist (soundcloud.com/goodbyetheband)
• Kool A.D. - "DUMMO" (S/R)
• James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual (Hippos in Tanks)
• James Blake - S/T (Universal Republic)
• Destroyer - Kaputt (Merge)
• PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Island)
• Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges (Constellation)
• Matthew Friedberger - Old Regimes (Thrill Jockey)
• Radiohead - The King of Limbs (S/R)
• Julia Holter - Tragedy (Leaving)
• John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (Ribbon)
• Meshell Ndegeocello - Weather (Naive)
• Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For? (godless-hotspot)

In Which Certain Songs of Two Thousand Eleven, Either Contained Within or Apart from Aforementioned Albums, Endeared Themselves to DJ Sharkey

• Controlled Bleeding - "A Love Song (in Two Parts)" - Odes to Bubbler (Soleilmoon)
• Prurient - "A Meal Can Be Made" - Bermuda Drain (Hydra Head)
• tUnE-YaRdS - "Bizness" - w h o k i l l (4AD)
• They Might Be Giants - "Can't Keep Johnny Down" - Join Us (Idlewild)
• Todd Edwards - "Head Held High" - toddedwards.bandcamp.com (S/R)
• DJ Quik - "Killer Dope" - The Book of David (Mad Science)
• Reggie Watts - "Panther Quest" - Daytrotter Session 5/23/2011 (Daytrotter)
• Lindsey Buckingham - "Seeds We Sow" - Seeds We Sow (Mind Kit)
• R. Kelly - "Shut Up!" - twitter.com/kellzodiac (Twitvid)
• S*A*M - "STRAWBERRY LOVERR" - youtube.com/user/samtvofficial1 (YouTube)
• Planningtorock - "The One" - W (DFA)

1. Radiation City - The Hands That Take You (Apes Tapes)
2. Drake - Take Care (Cash Money)
3. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life (Matador)
4. tUnE-YaRdS - w h o k i l l (4AD)
5. Veronica Falls - S/T (Slumberland)
6. SBTRKT - S/T (Young Turks)
7. Dreamdate - Melody Walk (Tic Tac Totally)
8. Anirudh Ravichander & Dhanush - Why This Kolaveri Di - Single (Sony)
9. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
10. James Blake - S/T (Universal Republic)

• Barn Owl - Lost In The Glare (Thrill Jockey)
• Rene Hell - The Terminal Symphony  (Type)
• Zdenek Liska - Mala Morska Vila (Finders Keepers)
• Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 (Kranky)
• Mika Vainio - Life (...It Eats You Up) (Editions Mego)
• Derek Monypeny - Don't Bring Me Down, Bruce (Raheem)
• Boron - Aria Statica (Field Hymns)
• Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure (Mexican Summer)
• MaryClare Brzytwa - MCB (Setola Di Maiale)
• Alvarius B. - Baroque Primitiva (Abduction)

Best Reissue

• Harald Grosskopf - Synthesist/Re-Synthesist (Sky 1980, Rvng Intl. 2011)

Top Personal Musical Discoveries

• Franco Battiato - Fetus (Bla Bla 1972)
• Harmonia '76 - Tracks & Traces (Rykodisc 1997)
• Manuell Gottsching - E2-E4 (Inteam 1984)

Best Videos of 2011

• Big Freedia – “Y’all Get Back Now” (Directed by Bob Weisz & Josh Ente)
• Hunx and His Punkettes – “Too young to be in Love” (Directed by Justin Kelly)
• Shannon & the Clams – “Sleep Talk” (Directed by Hannah Lew)

Best Live Shows of 2011

• Erase Errata - 924 gilman, 12/11/11 (Girl Rock Camp Benefit)
• Nobunny, Lil Queenie - white horse, 12/8/11 (down at lulus holiday party)
• King Lollipop, Swiftumz, Peach Kelli Pop - 1234 Go!, 12/5/11
• Okmoniks, Midnite Snaxxx, etc. – Thee Parkside, 10/23/11 (Budget Rock day three)
• Green Day - 1234 GO!, 9/22/11
• Nobunny, Bananas – Oakland Metro, 7/22/11 (1234go showcase)
• King Tuff, Personal & the Pizzas, Wrong Words – Thee Parkside, 3/25/11 (Burger Boogaloo)
• The forgetters - BOTH, 1/27/11

Best New Releases

• Tom Waits – Bad As Me (Anti-)
• El Rego – S/T (Daptone)
• Black Keys – El Camino (Nonesuch)
• Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues (Subpop)
• Sharon Jones – Soul Time (101 Distribution)
• Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
• David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time (Play It Again Sam)
• Southern Culture on the Skids – Zombified (Kudzu)
• Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project - Seriously (Smog Veil)
• Chris Watson – El Tren Fantasma (touch UK)
• J.C. Satan – Sick of Love (Slovenly Recordings)
• Man Man – Life Fantastic (Anti-)
• Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii  - Carolina Chocolate Drops (Nonesuch)
• Mark Growden - Lose Me In The Sand (Porto Franco)
• Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring for My Halo (Matador)
• Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra  - World of Funk (Ubiquity)
• Sic Alps  -Napa Asylum (Drag City)
• Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers - Rare Bird Alert (Rounder)
• Afro-Soultet -  Afrodesia (Ubiquity)
• Dengue Fever -Cannibal Courtship (Concord Music)
• Davila 666 - Tan Bajo (In the Red)
• Lumerians - Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)
• Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)
• Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania (In The Red)
• Wooden Shjips - West (Thrill Jockey)
• Stephin Merritt - Obscurities (Merge)
• Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread (Drag City)
• Deer Tick - Divine Providence (Partisan)
• Lord Loves a Working Man – S/T (Working Man)
• Earth - Angels of Darkness Demons of Light (Southern Lord)

Best Various Artist Releases

• The Original Sound of Cumbia (Sound Way)
• Funky Frauleins vol. 2 (Grosse Freiheit)
• Voodoo Rhythm Compilation Vol. 3 (Voodoo Rhythm)
• Daptone 45 Singles Spring/Summer 2011 (Daptone)
• Thai? Dai! The Heavier Side of the Luk Thung Under Ground (Finders Keepers)
• Luk Thung: Classic & Obscure 78s from the Thai Countryside (Parlortone)
• Eccentric Soul: The Nickel & Penny Labels (The Numero Group)
• This May Be My Last Time Singing (Tompkins Square)
• 101 Things To Do In Bongolia (Electric Cowbell)
• Alternate History of Popular Music (Numero Group)

Best Musical Performances

• The Coup at the stroke of midnight 2011 at the New Parish – Oakland, Jan. 1st
• High on Fire at the New Parish – Oakland, January 1st
• Captain Beefheart Symposium at The Independent - SF, Feb. 11th
• Gang of Four at the Fillmore - SF, Feb. 19th
• Prince at the Oracle Arena – Oakland, Feb. 23rd
• Acid Mothers Temple at the Bottom of the Hill - SF, March 24th
• Mission Three at the Old Point Bar - Algiers, Louisiana, April 2nd
• Sleepy Sun at the New Parish – Oakland, April 24th
• Agent Ribbons at the Uptown – Oakland, May 18th
• Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, The Mutineers, Calafia at the Starry Plough – Berkeley, June 26th
• Blonde Redhead at the New Parish – Oakland, June 29th
• Thurston Moore and Kurt Vile and the Violators at the New Parish - Oakland, July 25th
• Sleepy Sun/Howlin’ Rain at Don Quixote’s – Felton, CA, July 27th
• Misisipi Mike & the Midnight Gamblers, The Mutineers, Big Jugs at the Plough & Stars – SF, August 13th
• Dr. John at Yoshi’s – Oakland, Sept. 8th
• Fleet Foxes at the Greek Theater – Berkeley, Sept. 10th
• The Coup and Conspiracy of Beards at the Oakland Museum O Zone event, Sept. 30th
• Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble at the New Parish – Oakland, Oct. 15th
• Man Man on Lower Sproul - UC Berkeley Campus, Oct. 25th
• Weird Al Yankovic at the Fox – Oakland, Nov. 6th
• Aaron Neville at the Palace of Fine Arts – SF, Dec. 18th

• Louis C.K. - Hilarious (Comedy Central)
• Slim Cessna's Auto Club - Unentitled (Alternative Tentacles)
• Dub Is A Weapon - Vaporized (Harmonized)
• Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (Capitol)
• Hillbilly Herald - S/T (S/R)
• Mocean Worker - Candygram for Mowo (Mowo!)
• Radio Moscow - The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz (Alive NaturalSound)
• Bass Nectar - Divergent Spectrum (Amorphous)
• Mike Birbiglia - Sleepwalk with Me (Comedy Central)
• Chancha Via Circuito - Rio Arriba (ZZK)
• Cumbia Tokeson - Cuchos Vol. 1 (Tokeson Music)
• Brad Goode - Tight Like This (Delmark)
• Heavy Tin - Refused (Concinnity)
• John Mellencamp - No Better Than This (Rounder)
• Truckstop Honeymoon - Homemade Haircut (Squirrel)
• The Devil Makes Three - Stomp and Smash (Milan)
• Pokey Lafarge & The South City Three - Middle of Everywhere (Free Dirt)
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver - Drive Time (Mountain Home Music Co.)
• Gillian Welch - The Harrow and the Harvest (Acony)

• Cheap Time - Another Time (Cass)
• Cyclops - Cyclops (Johnny Cat/Portland Mutant Party)
• Giuda - Get It Over (White Zoo)
• Happy Thoughts - S/T (HoZac)
• The Ketamines - Line by Line (HoZac)
• Mickey - Rock 'n' Roll Dreamer (HoZac)
• Peach Kelli Pop - S/T (Infinity Cat)
• Reatards - Teenage Hate [reissue]/Fuck Elvis Here’s the Reatards (Goner)
• Vernons Girls - We Love the Vernons Girls 1962-1964 (RPM, 2010)
• Wrong Words - S/T (Trouble in Mind)

• Antlers - Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)
• James Blake - James Blake (Polydor)
• Casiokids - Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen (Polyvinyl)
• Crystal Stilts - Radiant Door (Sacred Bones)
• Brian Eno with Rick Holland - Drums Between the Bells (Warp)
• Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Sub Pop)
• Fredrik - Flora (Kora)
• Eleanor Friedberger - Last Summer (Merge)
• Gem Club - Breakers (Hardly Art)
• Myrmyr - Fire Star (Under the Spire)
• Shabazz Palaces - Black Up (Sub Pop)
• Sister Crayon - Bellow (Manimal)
• Soley - We Sink (Morr)
• 13 & God - Own Your Ghost (Anticon)
• Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On (Arts & Crafts)
• Tom Waits - Bad As Me (Anti-)
• Widowspeak - Widowspeak (Captured Tracks)
• Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum)

• Been Porter and Mark Melincore - Music for Children of All Ages (Turned Wood)

See my playlist on 1/26/12 for Best of the Thrifts 2011

• Beach Fossils - What a Pleasure (Captured Tracks)
• Bearsuit - The Phantom Forest (Fortuna Pop!)
• Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps - Little Wind (S/R)
• The Coathangers - Larceny & Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
• The Drums - Portamento (Moshi Moshi)
• Generationals - Actor-Caster (Park the Van)
• Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
• Luke Temple - Don't Act Like You Don't Care (Western Vinyl)
• Mike James Kirkland - Don't Sell Your Soul (Luv N' Haight)
• Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On (Full Time Hobby)
• Shannon & The Clams - Sleep Talk (1-2-3-4 Go!)