2011 - A Year in Music

There were a number of albums and new artists in 2011 that inspired me to put together this mix, but as the playlist progressed I couldn't help but throw in a few older tracks. Nevertheless, I've tried to capture the sound of 2011 here. A recurring theme is the emergence of techno beats in mainstream music. Another theme is the proliferation of quality free music - many of these tracks were released by the artists for free download.

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01	Unobstructed Views Death Cab for Cutie Codes And Keys	The long instrumental start to this song reminds me of Pink Floyd. I hope you enjoy this mix as much as I enjoy Wish You Were Here.
02	Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall Coldplay Mylo Xyloto	Coldplay came through with a solid release in 2011.
03	Rolling in the Deep (remix) Adele Remix available on Soundcloud	I chose Tune In Crew’s remix since the original is so massively overplayed. Still a good song, though.
04	D.D. The Weeknd Echoes Of Silence	The Weeknd, Ethiopian Canadian Abel Tesfaye, released three free albums in 2011. This cover of Michael Jackson’s Dirty Diana is typical of his style.
05	Why I Love You Jay-Z & Kanye West Watch The Throne	The Jay-Z and Kanye collab Watch the Throne was the best commercial rap album of the year. This song features English R&B artist Mr Hudson.
06	I Don't Wanna Care Right Now Lupe Fiasco Lasers	Lupe Fiasco fully embraced the latest trend in beats with his album Lasers, which you might not prefer if you’re a fan of 2006's Food & Liquor but lyrically Lupe's still got it.
07	Pumped Up Kicks (remix) Yonas Midnight City	Bronx born indie rapper Yonas gives the hip-hop treatment to the catchy Foster the People song.
08	Stereo Love (Molella remix) Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina Single	Released in 2010, but I’ll remember it as the song everyone was playing when I visited Ecuador in February 2011.
09	SNDCLSH In Vegas Lupe Fiasco Friend of the People Mixtape	In this song Lupe samples another big 2011 release, Kaskade & Skrillex - Lick It.
10	We No Speak Americano Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP Single	Another 2010 release I had to include when a new neighborhood pizza spot featured it in their ad.
11	Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part 2	This track from the new Beastie Boys album features Santigold.
12	Julia (remix) Theophilus London I Want You	I wanted to get Theophilus London in the mix since he had a couple releases this year, but I ended up with this 2010 remake of a The Very Best song.
13	The Golden Age The Asteroids Galaxy Tour Fruit	This song is from 2009, but you might recognize it from a Heineken advertisement that premiered in January 2011.
14	Ray Charles Chiddy Bang Breakfast	Fun fact: Chiddy, half of Philly hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang, holds the Guinness World Record for longest freestyle rap at nine hours and 18 minutes.
15	Hurts Like Heaven Coldplay Mylo Xyloto	I must be getting old. I like Coldplay now.
16	Contradictory To Grown Ups Chris Webby Webster's Laboratory	This is Webby's take on Chiddy Bang's The Opposite of Adults, which in turn sampled MGMT's Kids.
17	Loud Pipes Ratatat Classics	Classics actually came out in 2006 but I didn't hear it until 2011 so it counts. Besides, everyone's talking about Ratatat now.
18	No Church In the Wild Jay-Z & Kanye West Watch The Throne	The R&B singer featured on this track is Frank Ocean, who released a great mixtape of his own in March.
19	Webster's Revenge Chris Webby Webster's Laboratory	Webby's version of the Nicki Minaj song Roman's Revenge.
20	Bait Wale The Eleven One Eleven Theory	Wale signed on with Rick Ross’ label in 2011. This mixtape, created as an ad for the upcoming album, is solid on its own.
21	Niggas In Paris Jay-Z & Kanye West Watch The Throne	“No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative. It gets the people going!”
22	Look At Me Now Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes F.A.M.E.	Chris Brown sucks. This is a Busta Rhymes song.
23	Chain Music Wale Ambition	Production for Wale’s new album was handled by fellow DC native Tone P. I think of it as more of a traditional mainstream rap sound that makes Watch the Throne seem progressive.
24	Motivation Lil B Angels Exodus	I chose this song more for Clams Casino’s production than Lil B’s rap.
25	Walk Alone The Roots How I Got Over	The Roots released their 11th studio album, Undun, in December, but I’m still listening to 2010’s How I Got Over.
26	Right On The Roots How I Got Over	As the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Roots have had a chance to collaborate with a variety of artists. This track samples Joanna Newsom’s Book of Right-On.
27	Fakest Year Ever (instrumental) Squadda B Released on Twitter	Another Clams Casino track.
28	Represent Elzhi Elmatic	If you haven’t heard rapper Elzhi and Detroit band Will Sessions’ reinterpretation of the Nas classic Illmatic, go right now to a place where mixtapes are downloaded and download it and listen to it. It is delightful.
29	Make Some Noise Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part 2	Check out the 30 minute music video for this song called Fight For Your Right Revisited.
30	Pretty Lil' Heart Robin Thicke Love After War	Not the first Robin Thicke track to feature Lil Wayne.
31	Superman Snoop Dogg & Willie Nelson Doggumentary	Is it any surprise that Snoop and Willie Nelson are buddies?

dj redluv is about to go hamm.
the background image was taken on february 6, 2011 in otavalo, ecuador