Fusion End-Of-Year Lists: Katrina Bright and Marites Woodbury

Our two summer interns (that have continued on with us through the fall) are getting lumped into one blog post.  Not because they aren’t wonderful individuals, but because I’ve got like ten more people’s lists to post, and I forgot to do them earlier this week!  Too many shows being booked for 2012!  

Anyway, these two have absolutely made our jobs easier, but more importantly, have been great friends, and we’re excited to continue to have them both as part of our team, even if Mars spends most of her days as the promotions director at the Impact (88.9 FM East Lansing), and Katrina’s studying abroad in London (totally jealous).  

KATRINA

My top ten songs of 2011 (in no order, just to throw everyone off):

10. Smarter - Eisley [The Valley]

Finally out of major label purgatory, Eisley’s The Valley is easily one of my favourite releases this year. Smarter is a beautifully sly kiss-off that holds a feeling of whimsicality and innocence despite its subject matter and blatant digs at the heartbreaker (“I’m smarter than you”, for one). Plus, it’s sung almost entirely by Sherri DuPree, and that’s a treat in itself.

9. Not Your Hero - Roy English [FearLove]

As quirky and talented as ever, Brandon Wronski returns. “Not Your Hero” has a similar kind of feel to Eye Alaska’s songs like “American Landslide” and “Show Me DaLuv”. It’s catchy and filled with energy, and there’s always the consolation that even when you have no idea what he’s talking about, you know it’s all there for a purpose instead of just words jumbled together for aesthetics. 

8. Your Nickel Ain’t Worth My Dime - Sleeping With Sirens [Let’s Cheers To This]

This song makes my top ten just because of the line, “When I step out on the scene they shout, ‘Oh my God’” and the gang vocals that happen for the “Oh my God”. It’s fun, and sometimes that’s just what we need.

7. Gentleman - Squid the Whale [New War EP]

The New War EP is so good, I nearly put all four songs on this list. Squid the Whale is the kind of band that would still be perfectly identifiable if the vocals were taken out, and that’s quite a feat when you’ve got a vocalist like Bradley Walden. Gentleman stands out for me with its straightforward ‘sick-of-this’ themed lyrics and rhythms you can’t help but move to. 

6. Lightning in a Bottle - Mod Sun ft. Pat Brown [Blazed By The Bell]

I never have anything bad to say about Mod Sun, but this is my favorite track off his September mixtape (which is free at http://modsunmusic.com/). The song is essentially three and a half minutes about how powerful and positive music can be, exemplified by the story of a girl who was near suicide when she found solace in music. 

5. The Light - Decoder [Decoder]

The fact that Decoder’s self titled album was released way back in January and I am bringing it up now in December should say enough. “The Light” has a cool dream-like quality to it, and the lyrics are so light and beautiful that it creates the perfect juxtaposition when the unclean vocals kick in. This song (really, the whole album) is one of the best examples of post-hardcore done right.

4. Flux and Flow - Lights [Siberia]

The amount of dubstep influence happening this year is something I find to be pretty grating, but I still love this song. Flux and Flow is bit more stripped back (is that possible for electro-pop?) compared to songs Lights’ past releases, and it’s all the better for it. This girl’s got serious vocal chops, and unless you’ve seen her live or have listened to this song, you probably wouldn’t know that.

3. Terrible World, Give Me More- The Bigger Lights [Battle Hymn]

It’s unfortunate that in what may be their last release The Bigger Lights are what they had intended to be all along. This song could not have been a better choice to open the album- pop/rock with heavy doses of rock and roll and (dare I say it?) a bit of audible punk influence around the edges. It’s the recorded version of how passionate and energetic these guys are live, and there’s no better compliment I can give than that. 

2. Such Confidence - Pianos Become The Teeth [The Lack Long After]

I don’t know how anyone could avoid putting The Lack Long After in a list of top 10 (really, a top 5) post-hardcore releases this year. The more I listen to this song, the more I love it. The lyrics are impeccable; they’re raw and emotional in a way I’d assume everyone could feel and relate to. I was going to type in a favorite line from the song, but I can’t choose. It’s that good.

1. Chemicals - Breathe Carolina [Hell Is What You Make It]

Even through the obvious dubstep influence, it makes me want to dance. That’s top 10 worthy, right there.

+++

MARITES

My sophomore year of college will always be defined by Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. And though I was a little late in finding it, …In Shallow Seas We Sail by Emery will forever define my summer of 2010. One listen to Swiss Army Romance by Dashboard Confessional and I’m an angsty, too-skinny, too-bitter 15 year old again while Green Day’s American Idiot turns me into a blubbering doozy of an 8th grade fan girl. Revertigo is a powerful (and sometimes unfortunate) thing. Some albums I can’t even stomach listening to anymore (no matter how good I know they are) simply for that reason. So, this fall when I went through some big changes in my life, I decided to delete my iTunes library in its entirety and completely start over.  I was too invested in some things that I shouldn’t have been so invested in and I realized the music that I’d attached to those moments and things weren’t doing me any more good to me than they were. It was a bold move at the time. (But thanks to my soon-after conversion to Spotify my previous actions now seem half-hearted at best, but nice effort, right?) 

Music is a way for some to categorize, organize, and completely let go all in one fell swoop. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but I had gotten into the dreaded music funk for the majority of the year. I hadn’t realized how detached I had let myself get from everything, really. It wasn’t until recently that I really allowed myself to become submerged again.

These albums are in the order that I stumbled upon them, which was mostly within the last couple months of this year.

Blink-182- Neighborhoods

I’ve always been a huge Blink fan. Always. So naturally this gets a spot on my list. This album was familiar enough to remind me to live again. Blink will always embody being teenaged and stupid, climbing out of my window at night only to walk to nowhere of actual significance, more than tattered Chuck Taylors and feeling infinite. That taste of invincibility, though it was short-lived and hardly tangible, was enough to get me by. 

La Dispute- Wildlife

This album was exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. I will be eternally grateful for this album and it will always bring me back to the exact spot in my life where I found it and clung to it with everything I had, which wasn’t much at the time. I listened to it several times a day, every day, for weeks. I cannot properly express how much of an impact this album has had on me; I don’t know if I’ve ever had an entire album hit so hard, so deep, and so perfectly.

Adele- 21

I can’t go a day without singing a song of hers. I know all the lyrics to every song and I’m sure by now my neighbors do, too. Again, I feel like I stumbled upon every song exactly when it needed to be stumbled upon. The lyrics pack power and meaning and are backed up by an even bigger voice.

Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers- On Being

To put it simply, this album came along when I finally decided it was okay to be happy again. I hadn’t realized it, but I’d seen Joe Hertler & The Rainbow Seekers so many times throughout the fall that by the time their CD came out in November I already knew almost every word to every song. Ego Loss on Grand River Avenue is by far my favorite and that, along with the rest of the album was a precious, gleaming spark of hope. You can’t listen to this album, let alone go to one of their shows without being entirely infected with a more than contagious sense of hope and purpose. I can safely say that I am a better person because of this band.

AWOLNATION- Megalithic Symphony

AWOLNATION was a band who kind of flew under my radar for awhile. I had heard snippets of “Sail” a few times here and there but never really dove deeper than that. Then, when I realized they were going to be at the Loft for a Fusion Show, I looked them up, realized what a ding dong I’d been for not wising up sooner and have never looked back since. Great band, great album, great performance.

Foster The People- Torches

Continuing the happy train. Carefree and wonderful. Obnoxiously catchy and no matter how overplayed a few songs may be, I dare you not to sing along.

Grouplove- Never Trust A Happy Song

I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of driving around while listening to this album in its entirety. But, I cannot wait until that moment finally comes. It’ll be a good time.

Fun, Janelle Monae- We Are Young

Yes, I do realize this is cheating a bit considering it’s a single… but a better word for it is ANTHEM. Woof, talk about a feel good song.

M83- Hurry Up We’re Dreaming

Of course Midnight was a huge hit with me the first time I heard it, but I hadn’t actually listened to the whole album until recently. It’s beautifully done, has a wonderful intro featuring the beautiful Lola Jesus, and is easing me into finals week, all smiles.

My last album of the year I haven’t listened to yet. But I know it’s going to be a good one.