2011 - Some Favorite Songs

"No Banker Left Behind" Ry Cooder

Civil war march. Could be anthem for Occupy Movement.

"Scarlett Town" Gillian Welch

Old school appalachian music.

"Dimming of the Day" Alison Krauss

Great singer, great Richard Thompson song

"Synthesizers" Butch Walker

Wait for the chorus.

"Rolling in the Deep" Adele

She tends to be a bit saccharin for my taste, but not on this one.

"Let England Shake" PJ Harvey

Critics favorite, borrows from old movie tune.

"Satisfied" Tom Waits

Nobody growls better.

"Little Black Submarines" Black Keys

Old style blues updated.

"Weekend" Smith Westerns

Tuneful, nice fuzz guiter.

"Can't Keep Johnny Down" They Might be Giants

Wonder if they listened to The Smiths?

"North Hollywood" Van Hunt

From album with extreme diversity of styles.

"Cruel" St Vincent

It's all in the arrangement.

"I Am A Wanderer" Steve Earle

Old school, from versatile artist.

"Not Feeling Any Pain" William Elliott Whitmore

All you need is a song, a voice, a guitar (and crickets?).

"45 Miles" Todd Snider

Story teller only needs one chord.

"Rewrite" Paul Simon

Another great album by one of the greats. Spectacular arrangements.

"Harlan County Line" Dave Alvin

Retro rock and roll.

"The Alley" Devotchka

Eastern Europe meets America.

"Bizness" Tune-Yards

It's all in the percussion.

"Lorelai" Fleet Foxes

On the right side of the fine line between pretty and saccharin (sorry wb).

"Surfs Up" Beach Boys

From unreleased 1967 album, sounds like it could have been recorded this year.