I never got round to putting the 2010 cd up.
Dream about changing (2010)
from Bitte Orca (Domino; 2009)
2. Heart Skipped A Beat – The xx
from xx (Young Turks; 2009)
3. Core of Nature – Midlake
from The Courage of Others (Bella Union; 2010)
4. Written in Reverse – Spoon
from Transference (Merge; 2010)
5. Half Asleep – School of Seven Bells
from Alpinisms (Ghostly International; 2008)
6. Dream About Changing – Sally Seltmann
from Heart That’s Pounding (Shock; 2010)
7. Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National
from High Violet (4AD; 2010)
8. Fraud in the 80s – Mates of State
from Bring It Back (Barsuk; 2006)
9. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) – Arcade Fire
from “The Suburbs” (Merge; 2010)
10. Coming Home To Me – Patty Griffin (feat. Julie Miller)
from Downtown Church (Credential; 2010)
11. House of Cards – Robert Plant
from Band of Joy (Rounder; 2010)
Others originally on the cd, but later taken off because they didn't really feel like part of the soundtrack to the year: Elbow - "Mirrorball", Florence and the Machine - "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", Deerhunter - "Desire Lines".
* * *
And here is 2011 (along with notes about what the songs make me think of).
Keep it like a haunting (2011)
1. Joints – Holly Miranda
from The Magician’s Private Library (XL; 2010)
Things unfurling; a quiet mystery; a quieter wonder.
2. Committed – Jenny and Johnny
from I’m Having Fun Now (Warner; 2010)
Summertime, rock and roll.
3. This World Can Make You Happy – Amaya Laucirica
from Early Summer (Departed Sounds; 2010)
Every girl I’ve ever been involved with.
4. Sadness is a Blessing – Lykke Li
from Wounded Rhymes (LL; 2011)
Bells, melody, melodrama.
5. Even Though I’m A Woman – Seeker Lover Keeper
from Seeker Lover Keeper (Dew Process; 2011)
2011 in general – if one song soundtracked this year for me, it was this one.
6. Anne With Ann E – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
from Belong (Slumberland; 2011)
The memory of some hazy Sofia Coppola-touched dream.
7. Zip City – Drive-By Truckers
from Ugly Buildings, Whores and Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998 - 2009 (New West; 2011) [2001]
Bon Jovi crossed with Neil Young, in a good way.
8. Home To Me – Eilen Jewell
from Queen of the Minor Key (Signature Sounds; 2011)
Like the album as a whole: smoulder, smoke and heart-break, seedy dive bars, cigarettes and a hint of sex.
9. Abducted – Cults
from Cults (In The Name Of; 2011)
Wonderful, knowing abandon.
10. Chinatown – Wild Nothing
from Gemini (Captured Tracks; 2010)
Escape – maybe momentary, maybe something more.
11. What I Thought Of You – Holly Throsby
from Team (Spunk; 2011)
That gentle melancholy that settles like a cloak at the end of so many days, especially in summer.
