Merge Records

2011 Year End Lists: Eric Johnson, Archers of Loaf

December 22, 2011 – 6:21 pm

Top 10 Musical Highlights of 2011

1. Archers’ “surprise reunion gig” way back in January. That was the most fun I’ve had in recent memory.
2. Slowly learning how to play drums. But progress IS steady.
3. The purchase (gulp!) of my sunburst Strat. I can happily report no buyer’s remorse.
4. Watching and hearing Birdsmell, Ben Bridwell’s “side project.”
5. Discovering Electric Owls. Thank you Matt, I love their music.
6. My/our/Archers network debut on the Jimmy Fallon show.
7. Having Archers records released on Merge Records. Thanks y’all!
8. Having a bona fide rock star, Mac, take us out to dinner AND pay for it.
9. Visiting Chicago twice this year … and seeing Bob Weston both times.
10. Oh yeah, TOURING! Thank you to all the bands we played with and thank you Merge and thank you Shawn Nolan, Jim Romeo and all the people who helped make it happen. And most of all, thank you to God for letting us rock on a Sunday.

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2011 Year End Lists: Claudia Gonson, the Magnetic Fields

December 22, 2011 – 6:20 pm

photo by Bill Wadman

CLAUDIA’s TOP 6 FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGES for 2011

1. Life is a verb.
2. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.
3. If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?
4. If I bring forth what is inside me, what I bring forth will save me.
5. Cooperation will work better.
6. You will have gold pieces by the bushel.

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2011 Year End Lists: Chrissy Mickler, Merge intern

December 22, 2011 – 6:18 pm

Favorite Album: Tie between “Within and Without” by Washed Out and “12 Desperate Straight Lines” by Telekinesis

Most Influential Experience: Living in NYC this summer, learned a lot and was surrounded by great people, art, music, food, random cool things, etc.!

Favorite Concert: Foster the People at Bowery Ballroom

Best Thing I ate: Grasshopper cupcake at “Baked” in Brooklyn

Favorite Song: “October Road” by Balto

Favorite Trip: Mardi Gras and road trip from New Orleans to Memphis and Nashville via the “Blues Highway” in Mississippi

Favorite Show: Tie between Parks & Recreation and Always Sunny In Philadelphia, how did I just discover these shows this year?!

Favorite Movie: Without a doubt the last Harry Potter movie

Favorite Book: The Hunger Games

Favorite Site: The Oatmeal

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2011 Year End Lists: Devin Dimattia, Merge Digital Intern

December 22, 2011 – 6:16 pm

I tried my hand at directing music videos for the first time this year, so it seemed appropriate that my Best-of List consist of some of my favorite vids of 2011. What follows is an eclectic mix of familiar faces alongside some videos you are hopefully getting to see for the first time. If you’d like to see more of my work (including the 2nd place winner in the Beach Boys SMiLE Music Video contest), check out www.dimattiafilms.com

Battles, “Ice Cream” (dir. CANADA)
Columbus, “Hubble” (dir. The Crystal Beach)
Com Truise, “Brokendate” (dir. Will Joines)
Goldfish, “We Come Together” (dir. Mike Scott)
Is Tropical, “The Greeks” (dir. Megaforce)
Kaisoku Tokyo, “Copy” (dir. Takahiro Yasuda)
Madeon, “Pop Culture” (dir. Nathan Barnatt)
The New Pornographers, “Moves” (dir. Tom Scharpling)
Scooter, “Friends Turbo” (dir. Steffen Haars & Flip Van Der Kull)
Tune-Yards, “Bizness” (dir. Mimi Cave)

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2011 Year End Lists: Missy Thangs, the Love Language

December 22, 2011 – 6:12 pm

This photo by Tim Lytvinenko.

“Ten Tour Highlights 2011” by Missy Thangs of The Love Language

1. Coachella VIP Coachella VIP Coachella VIP

2. Playing a show with Arcade Fire in Sante Fe, NM!! Meeting the band! Fan moment. Still one of the best live bands out there.

3. Homecoming show with Telekinesis! at Local 506: Stu slams guitar on amp, ending the “red guitar” era… nasty words, selfless dancing, crowd surfing, barfing, three encores. There’s no place like home.

4. Disney World. Yes, a whole epic day in Disneyland eating turkey legs, riding kids’ rides, stuff like that… definitely dropped tears on the “It’s A Small World Ride.” We skipped sound check that night to see the fireworks and listen to Jiminy Cricket tell us our dreams were coming true. More tears.

5. Better than a house show party was Delilah’s on Cayuga in Ithaca, NY. We played with rockers Tropical Punk and The Music Band. This is where kids drink straight gin out of bottles and nurse you with ‘em while you’re playing.

6. Stage diving and crowd surfing to “Brittney’s Back” at the Soapbox Laundr-o-Lounge in Wilmington, NC. Om mani padme om. We were such a sweaty mess after the show, everyone threw their clothes in the lounge dryers and hung out in our underwear.

7. Band fight, missed sound check over stopping at Grimaldi’s pizza in Brooklyn. After all the tension, we still went. Worth it.

8. Two days of straight up fried chicken for every meal. Think regular stops at random fried chicken joints as you’re crossing the heartland. The best hands down was Bolton’s spicy fried chicken in Memphis, TN.

9. Spotting Mme Plaster Caster at our show with Telekinesis! at Schuba’s in Chicago, IL! As far as I know, no plasters were made…

10. Still to this day wonder who farted during our show at the Noise Pop Festival Café Du Nord in San Francisco. Yes, it was that distracting.

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2011 Year End Lists: James Cartwright, Merge Production Manager

December 22, 2011 – 5:58 pm

Top 5 Things About the Triangle from my first year in North Carolina:

5. The Boylan Soda fountain at Bull City Burger & Brewery. The only one in North Carolina!
4. Falls Lake / Eno River State Parks. Highlight: the Cox Mountain trail at Eno River. (thanks Maggie!)
3. Hopscotch Music Festival. No better way to learn Raleigh than by non-stop walking around downtown for a weekend. Highlights: John Vanderslice, Titus Andronicus and Des Ark amongst many many others.
2. The rock quarry swimming hole (Shhhhh)
1. Full Frame International Documentary Film Festival. The premier documentary film festival in the whole world and it’s right here in Durham! Every film I saw was enjoyable. Highlight: “Il Capo”

Other 2011 hits:

Jonny Corndawg – “Down on the Bikini Line”
“American Juggalo”
Saintseneca – “Last”
Country Mice – S/T
Hi Ho Silver Oh – “Showers Without Warning” 7″
Josh T. Pearson – “Last of the Country Gentlemen” (thanks Wilson!)
The Black Swans – “Don’t Blame the Stars” (thanks Leo!)
Destroyer – “Kaputt”
“The Whore of Akron” by Scott Raab

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2011 Year End Lists: Ivan Howard, The Rosebuds

December 22, 2011 – 4:47 pm

Ivan Rosebud’s favorite Music videos of 2011:

Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers
Other Lives – Tamer Animals
Little Dragon – CrystalFilm
Future Islands – Blance
Destroyer – Kaputt
Charles Bradley – The World (Is going up in Flames)
Mount Moriah – Lament
Bon Iver – Calgary
Superchunk – The First Part
The Kills – Satellite
Wye Oak – Fish
Salem – King Night
The Weeknd – House of Balloons / Glass Tables

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2011 Year End Lists: Joe Komenda, Merge webmaster

December 22, 2011 – 3:44 pm

Joe’s Top 8 AMV
(Based on favorite Anime/Videogames of 2011)
==============================
#1 – Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Shaft/Aniplex)
#2 – Crysis (2007, EA)
#3 – Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
#4 – Portal 2 (Valve)
#5 – My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic (Hasbro)
#6 – Dead Space (2008, EA)
#7 – Elfen Lied (2004, ARMS )
#8 – Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009 Eidos)

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2011 Year End Lists: Eric Bachmann, Crooked Fingers & Archers of Loaf

December 22, 2011 – 3:33 pm

Eric with Christina's son Sam who had never been up that high before!

No specific order:
El Resplandor: The Shining in Dubai – Nettle
Our Blood-Richard Buckner
Inside Silence – Wahid
Coney Island Winter – Garland Jeffries
Strange Mercy-St. Vincent
Little White Teeth-Little White Teeth
Cosmogramma Alt Takes EP-Flying Lotus
Pope Killdragon-Strand of Oaks
Tinariwen-Tassili
Civilian-Wye Oak

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2011 Year End Lists: Jay Lowe, Merge retail coordinator

December 22, 2011 – 3:25 pm

In no particular order…

Top 10 Shows
Jeff Mangum @ 2640 Space at Baltimore’s St. John’s Church
Alternative Press tour 2011 (ain’t even kidding)
Joy Formidable / Fang Island @ The Cat’s Cradle
The Love Language / Archers of Loaf @ The Cat’s Cradle
Des Ark @ King’s | Hopscotch 2011
The Flaming Lips from 11th floor of the Raleigh Sheraton w/ Times New Viking
Kylesa @ Pitchfork Festival
Wild Flag / Eleanor Friedberger @ The Cat’s Cradle
The Menzingers @ The Brewery
Mau a Malawi @ UNC Memorial Hall

Top 10 Records
Des Ark – Don’t Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker
The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
Wye Oak – Civilian
Crooked Fingers – Breaks in the Armor
Destroyer – Kaputt
White Wives – Happeners
Banner Pilot – Heart Bleeds Pacific
Four Year Strong – In Some Way, Shape, or Form
Battles – Gloss Drop
Jay-Z / Kanye West – Watch the Throne

Top 10 Miscellany
Moving to Durham
First fixed gear bicycle
VIP Credentials @ Pitchfork Fest (Thanks Kate T!)
Nashville trip 2k11 and its sequel planned for 2k12
Chicago with the BOYS
Bart’s wonderful marriage to Jess
The rise and fall of Kreayshawn
My little sister’s entry to college
New friends from at Polyvinyl
Invention of the slippery Frenchman

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2011 Year End Lists: Mac McCaughan

December 22, 2011 – 3:20 pm

Wow, my shit is mainstream this year. I think if i would have had some more time with albums by EMA, Cass McCombs, St Vincent, Craig Taborn, Andy Stott, Colin Stetson, Girls, Kurt Vile, & Shabazz Palaces they probably would have ended up on here too. Not enough hours in the day! As usual, Merge stuff is disqualified though it’s what i listened to & loved the most…

Top Non-Merge Albums of 2011

War On Drugs – Slave Ambient
Bill Callahan – apocalypse
J Mascis – several shades of why
Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams
Fucked up – David comes to life
Wilco – The Whole Love
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath 1972
Sidi Toure – Sahel Folk
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Feist – Metals
Malkmus/Jicks – Mirror Traffic
Yuck – Yuck
Junior Boys – It’s All True
Ballake Sissoko & Vincent Segal – Chamber Music
Real Estate – Days
William Tyler – Behold the Spirit

Favorite Reissues of 2011

Sorry Bamba – Vol 1 1970-79
REM – Life’s Rich Pageant
El Rego – El Rego
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Let Love In
Mark Hollis – Mark Hollis & Talk Talk – Laughing Stock
Bitch Magnet – Bitch Magnet
V/A – Local Customs: Pressed At Bodie
Void – Sessions 81-83

Tracks

Bright Eyes – “Shell Games”
Robyn – “Call Your Girlfriend”
Nicky Minaj – “Super Bass”
Bon Iver – “Perth”
Mt. Moriah – “Only Way Out”
Cut Copy – “Need You Now”
Kreashawn – “Gucci Gucci”
Adele – “Rolling In The Deep”
James Blake – “The Wilhelm Scream”
Tom Waits – “New Years Eve”

Art Highlights of 2011

Tacita Dean – FILM
Miyazaki / Ghibli Museum, Tokyo
Kara Walker – Drawings at Sikkema Jenkins
DE-NATURED – Ackland Museum
Yayoi Kusama retrospective at Museo Reina Sofia
Barry Flanagan – Early Works 1965 – 1982
de Kooning retrospective at MOMA
Josephine Halvorson – What Looks Back at Sikkema Jenkins
Marcel Dzama – Behind Every Curtain at David Zwirner
Becoming: Photographs from the Wedge Collection – Nasher Museum

Comedy makes me laugh.

The Best Show on WFMU
Louis CK in all formats.
Amy Schumer – Cutting
Rob Delaney
Todd Barry
Parks n Recreation
Patrice O’Neal (RIP) – Elephant In the Room
Maria Bamford
Marc Maron’s WTF