January 6, 2012 Playlist

THE BEST OF 2011
Featuring the
KOSMIK RADIATION TOP TWENTY!

       
"936" by Peaking Lights (2011)
CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Peaking Lights  "936"  2011 (USA)
The first Classic Album of the Week this year is (as always) my pick for the best album of the year just past.  2011 was another diverse year for music, with no unifying trends, no clear masterpiece albums, but a whole lot of interesting stuff going on in different corners of the culture if you know where to look.  Peaking Lights is the junkshop psychedelic dubrock duo of Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis, founded in California earlier this decade but based in Madison, WI for the past several years (Indra & Aaron have also recorded under the name Rahdunes).  936 is PL's first music to be released on CD (previous releases were always analog LP's or cassettes!), and in this DJ's humble opinion this album has elevated them to the first rank of the "hypnagogic-chillwave-whatever you call it" scene.  Not Not Fun has been my favorite label for a few years, and this is one of the top two or three records they have put out so far.  Of all the records I heard this year, this one created the most original and immersive soundworld.
Peaking Lights made a video for a track from this album, "Hey Sparrow" and here's an interesting documentary on their circuit bending ways.  Another top release this year (#2 on the Kosmik Radiation charts) was Totem Three by Master Musicians of BukkakeOne of the highlights of my year was seeing and interviewing Lumerians and White Hills at Austin Psych Fest down in Texas.  On the garage rock side of things, The Black Lips put out one of their strongest albums yet, and Thee Oh Sees put out two fine (and very different) new albums.  The top "oldies" acts of the year have to be prog rock legends Van der Graaf Generator, who just put out their best album since the 1970's, and legendary bassist Mike Watt whose latest Hieronymous Bosch-inspired "punk rock opera" hyphenated-man is the best thing he's done since the 1980's.
(N) = New Release
   

Artist Song Album Year (Label) Country
The FallTaking Off
Ersatz GB (N)2011 (Cherry Red)UK
Stephen Malkmus & The JicksBrain Gallop
Mirror Traffic (N)2011 (Matador)USA
WirePlease TakeRed Barked Tree (N)2011 (Pink Flag/Mute)UK
Van der Graaf GeneratorEmbarassing Kid
A Grounding In Numbers (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #13 album of 2011)
2011 (Esoteric)UK
Zun Zun Egui
Cowboy
Katang (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #18 album of 2011)
2011 (Yep Rock)UK
Black Tempest   Astral Pastoral pt. 3 (excerpt)
Supernormal Recordings (N)
(Tied for Kosmik Radiation #20 album of 2011)
2011 (Tempest Towers)UK
 
 
Cee Lo Green
Fuck You (won a Grammy award in 2011) The Ladykiller
2010USA
Eleanor FriedbergerRoosevelt Island
Last Summer (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #10 album of 2011)
2011 (Merge)USA
Mike WattHammering-Castle-Bird-Manhyphenated-man (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #4 album of 2011)
2011 (Clenched Wrench)USA
Sonic YouthChez Yves (Alice Et Clara)Simon Werner A Disparu (N - original movie soundtrack)
(Kosmik Radiation #15 album of 2011)
2011 (SYR)USA
Akron/FamilySay What You Want To
Akron/Family II: The Cosmic Birth And Journey Of Shinju TNT (N)2011 (Dead Oceans)USA
   
 
Wooden ShjipsBlack Smoke Rise
West (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #19 album of 2011)
2011 (Thrill Jockey)USA
Moon Duo
When You CutMazes (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #16 album of 2011)
2011 (Sacred Bones)USA
LumeriansBurning Mirrors
Transmalinnia (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #6 album of 2011)
2011 (Knitting Factory)USA
Radio MoscowSpeed Freak
The Great Escape Of Leslie Magnafuzz (N)2011 (Alive Natural Sound)USA
 
 
Thee Oh Sees
Pleasure Blimps
Castlemania (N)
(Tied for Kosmik Radiation #11 album of 2011)
2011 (In The Red)USA
Thee Oh Sees
Crushed Grass
Carrion Crawler / The Dream (N)
(Tied for Kosmik Radiation #11 album of 2011)
2011 (In The Red)USA
The Black Lips
Mr. Driver
Arabia Mountain (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #8 album of 2011)
2011 (Vice)USA
White FenceSticky Fruitman Has Faith
White Fence Is Growing Faith (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #12 album of 2011)
2011 (Woodsist)USA
Guzzo Pinc & The Longsleeves Cool School The Clap (N) 2011 (Free Agent) USA
The Honey SlidesPlant The Seed
The Honey Slides EP (N)2011 (self release)USA
 
  
Sun Araw
Lute And Lyre
Ancient Romans (N)
(Tied for Kosmik Radiation #9 album of 2011)
2011 (Drag City)USA
Lunar DunesPharoah's Dream
Galaxsea (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #3 album of 2011)
2011 (4Zero)UK
Solus 3
Corner Of The World
Corner Of The World (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #17 album of 2011)
2011 (Solus 3 Recordings)UK
 
 
Dead Luke
Paranoia Is A Flower Of The Mind
Meanwhile...In The Midwest (N)2011 (Moon Glyph)USA
MV & EECountry Stash
Country Stash (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #14 album of 2011)
2011 (Three Lobed)USA
   
  
Peaking Lights Birds of Paradise (dub version) 936 (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #1 album of 2011)

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
2011 (Not Not Fun) USA
Peaking Lights Tiger Eyes (Laid Back)936 (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #1 album of 2011)

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
2011 (Not Not Fun)USA
Daughters Of The SunHexagramGhost With Chains (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #5 album of 2011)
2011 (Not Not Fun)USA
   
  
Earthling Society
The Last Hurrah
Stations Of The Ghost (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #7 album of 2011)
2011 (4Zero)UK
Master Musicians of Bukkake
Failed Future
Totem III (N)
(Kosmik Radiation #2 album of 2011)
2011 (Important)USA
      
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