by TMT Staff • December 2011 Our Favorite 50 Albums of 2011 list reflects a multiplicity of trends. Yes, it continues our own trend toward the esoteric (Hype Williams), the difficult (Tiziana Bertoncini & Thomas Lehn), and the overlooked (KWJAZ), but it also trends toward an embrace of transition in a time of sensory abundance, a time when nostalgia and memory have become aestheticized, a time when the very process of music-making has become increasingly audible and our valuation of it increasingly suspect. Trends are often equated with homogenization, superficiality, conformity, and reification, written off by those uncomfortable with change, people too afraid to commit in fear of sinking with a trend once it reaches its inevitable conclusion. But in 2011, all trends demanded critical ears, not only because they hinged on the same impulse that increased awareness and impact for marginalized voices — which, outside the music world, manifested in political occupations and revolutions before we even realized it — but also because trends are as ephemeral as our values of them, coming and going, twisting away from logic and producing ruptures and permutations that disrupt preconceived notions and turn over values we’ve internalized as given. Pessimists might dismiss this embrace as a capitulation to the rhythm of capitalism, symptomatic of a consumer culture whose signifiers are pretty much dead weight in the context of a sanctified modernism. But optimists see this sensory explosion as simply more potential breaking points, increased opportunities to partake in both demystification (Tom Waits) and deconstruction (Bill Orcutt), democratization (Oneohtrix Point Never) and myth-making (Liturgy); more chances to extract new value from traditions (Rafael Toral) and elevate kitsch from the dumpsters (James Ferraro); to prove wrong those who prematurely announced their death two years ago (Lil B, Shabazz Palaces, Death Grips, etc.); to uncover new constructions of the mind (The Caretaker), body (Colin Stetson, DJ Diamond), and spirit (A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Grouper); to find new mediums (The Flaming Lips), temporal ...

On this most joyous of holiday seasons, give the gift that keeps on giving - the gift of music! Especially weird music that no-one else in your family will like and will disrupt your turkey dinner! Almost everything in this collection was released this year and is available for purchase usually from the artists themselves. Hmmm... we need a word to describe artists not playing "indie rock" or who are on those indie labels that are just farm leagues for the majors, but really are putting out their own CDs/cassettes/vinyls entirely on their own...a word somewhere in between ...

Leading independent publisher had hits with Don Ho, Lee Hazlewood, Jackson Browne.

For some, taking a break from your megaband to make an intimate album of ukulele tunes dreamt up in Hawaii is the definition of success. Others don't think about it that way. Buried in the liner notes to Ukulele Songs , Eddie Vedder's second solo project, is the credit "Album concept by Jerome Turner." As Pearl Jam obsessives -- and they are legion -- have long known, Turner is to Vedder as Bernard Shakey is to Neil Young or as Napoleon Dynamite is to Elvis Costello. Strategic deployment of pseudonyms is not where the similarities between Vedder and those artists end ...

As I wrote last year , " Here's a repost of a lounge singer's original ode to Vegas (Mike Hudson - " I'll Take Las Vegas" ) and a slew of brilliant and/or hilarious lounge versions of rock hits performed by totally unknown (well, except for Louis Prima , of course) performers' private press releases that were probably only available at their shows (often autographed), which I have lovingly ripped from vinyl. I've been collecting these for years, searching used record store bargain bins, garage sales, and thrift shops." These are tunes that I've posted here over the years, and ...

XEMU RECORDS ALBUM FEATURES UNIQUE PERFORMANCES BY JACKIE CHAN, ANI DIFRANCO, DEVO, THE OAK RIDGE BOYS, HERMAN'S HERMITS AND DON HO, AMONG OTHERS New York--WHEN PIGS FLY: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear, a unique collection of newly recorded covers that mixes both legendary and contemporary artists doing versions of classic hit songs far out of...

Are you prepared to die? Are your affairs in order? Have you made out a will? Does your family know where all of your important documents are? Have you decided on what type of service and burial you want to help ease the burden on your loved ones? These are morbid questions but are important ones to ponder before The Big Inevitable. But all of these thoughts are pure joy compared to listening to the final recordings of Johnny Cash . This is the 6th and final installment of the recordings that our beloved national treasure made for Rick Rubin’s ...

Hey guys... It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...well unless you're hear at POP! Stereo Central where it will be a balmy 74 degrees and we'll be wearing shorts! To celebrate this we're giving you a Christmas present of sorts...this week's Ten Tracks You Need is Christmas themed. Loads of tunes to have some eggnog to, unwrap presents, eat, etc. There's also a ton of full mixes for you to enjoy as well. There's enough music to get you through the rest of 2009! Enjoy and more importantly, have a ...

Gwiazdka w Strzałach. W Trójce . Od 2:00 do 4:00. Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor Zebra - Christmas Morning (Sean Bonniwell Re-Edit) The Free Design - Close Your Mouth Its Christmas Busy Boys - Funky Fresh Christmas Super Jay - Santa's Rap Party Bruce Haack - I Like Christmas Sufjan Stevens - Angels We Have Heard On High Sufjan Stevens - Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! Squirrel Nut Zippers - Carolina Christmas Don Ho - Mele Kamikimaka (iamxl remix) Tipsy - XXXmas Colder - Shiny Star The Bloody Beetroots - Little Stars (ft Vicarious Bliss) The Beach Boys - Santa Claus Is Comming To Town Glenna Bell - Be ...

Don’t have your holiday mix done yet? Here’s a great one to drop into your iTunes playlist. Vancouver DJ and remixer iamxl, aka Jon Hamlin, has brought a little b’more kick to a holiday classic. Think back to Clark Griswold dreaming about his future swimming pool… Don Ho – Mele Kelekimaka (iamxl holiday remix)

Parker returns in full festive mode, taking on Bing Crosby 's version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and flipping it Drum & Bass style to turn your Christmas party into a proper seasonal rave up. Now all you need is someone to season the mulled wine with some extra spices and Black Friday won't seem quite so darkside. Download: Parker V Bing - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer / alt link But the Christmas chrome cheer doesn't stop there, iamxl give's us a B'more remix of a Hawaiian Christmas classic and our favourite twisted techno freaks Sicknote have ...

Santa tries Coke. Look, even SANTA loves this guy! I mean what does he say this time of year? "Ho ho ho!" So, in keeping with Santa's wishes, Vancouver's IAMXL has remixed DON HO's classic just for your holiday enjoyment! Get it here, nibootoids: www.mediafire.com/?mnxu1j3nmnz Visit IAMXL here: www.myspace.com/iamxl Rare actual photo of Santa and his elves!

"Mele Kalikimaka" is perhaps best known for its placement in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation . But this ain't Chevy Chase's "Mele Malikimaka", Iamxl takes the tune to a new level with some great turntablism to create a new holiday classic. Check out the tune. MP3: Don Ho "Mele Kalikimaka (Iamxl Holiday Remix)"

Scrappy Chillingworth – Shells from The Don Ho Show first posted August 6, 2007 [pic from Scrappyland]

Several years into his recording career, Jake Shimabukuro has flatly lain to rest any skepticism that his quest to remake the image of the ukulele might have been a fleeting fantasy. The fourth-generation Japanese-American Hawaiian set out to bring respect to the instrument, so often treated as a novelty, and along the way he’s commanded a devoted audience of believers. His first live album cherry-picks 17 tracks delivered to those faithful in Japan and various American venues, and spans nearly as many stylistic variations. Ranging from a minute-long extrapolation of a Bach theme to a shimmering take on George ...