popwreckoning

Top 3 Albums of 2011:

• Sainthood Reps – Monoculture
• Fullbloods – The Perpetual Machine
• Yuck – Yuck

Honorable Mentions

Into It. Over It. – Proper
Former Thieves - The Language That We Speak
Surfer Blood – Tarot Classics
Mixtapes – Maps and Comparisons

Best Show of 2011:

2011 has been a great year for music. My first year at SXSW which included amazing shows such as the Topshelf Records and Count Your Lucky Stars Showcase, seeing Aziz Ansari, and especially the MidCoast Takeover were all great. I saw Junius and Caspian for the first time and they were incredible. So, to sum it up, SXSW was my best show(s) of 2011.
Most Anticipated in 2012:

Touring more. Also, new albums from:

• Joie de Vivre
• Scouts
• SUNS
• we are voices

Most Overrated in 2011:

• Dubstep
• Google+

Favorite Musical Memory of the Year:

Joie de Vivre’s last show ever that wasn’t actually their last show ever. I was on tour and happened to have a day off before Chicago which landed on the same day as Joie de Vivre’s “last show” in Rockford. So, naturally, I convinced everyone that we should go. And it was definitely worth it.  All of my favorite people and bands in the same place at the same time, best bro-downs, best memories.

Annabel, Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate), Joie de Vivre, and the Reptilian are all featured on a 4-way split by Count Your Lucky Stars Records. Pre-orders are available now and the split is set to ship late October/early November.  You can listen to the Reptilian‘s contribution on the CYLS bandcamp.

To pre-order, go here.

www.cylsrecords.com

Joie De Vivre
Rockford, IL
www.myspace.com/joiedevivreband
Emo

I recently saw these guys at Summercamp in Chicago. Maybe it was the fact they weren’t far from their hometown, but it seemed like everyone in the crowd knew their songs.

Their Facebook says ‘like August in a Midwestern state’ and that is a completely true statement. If you live in the Midwest, then you know how great August feels.

Check them out at this year’s SXSW!