So, we begin the second year of the decade thus far tomorrow. 2011 was a good year for me, a year of firsts. I turned 16 that July and throughout 2011 I had my first girlfriend - and other firsts that come with that, first holiday abroad without the family, first TV appearance (Waterloo Road extra), first alcoholic drink and I started my first year of A-Level studies; I always consider late 2011 when I started those studies to be one of the happiest periods in my life. Everything was going brilliantly for me back then; sixteen years old, great girlfriend, great mates, didn't have a care in the world. 2011 was a good year for me, but less so for wider society.

As emo as it sounds, January to September 2011 was to this day the last truly 'happy' era in my life - it's the last time I had unadulterated youthful optimism in everything I did and the world genuinely felt like an exciting happy place. From September 2011 onwards my final year at uni began, and then from the summer after that I've been stuck in a post-graduation world of jobs, househunting and other boring adult things ever since. Similarly all the friends that I used to get drunk with every weekend in 2011 - and many weekdays too - are now all settling down into similar routines.

 

It's really kinda sad when I think about it and I'll have some very mixed feelings as I read some of these posts as almost every track for those first nine months will provide some sort of happy memory for me (and the last three months unhappy memories of studying, exams etc <_< ) but it'll also take me back to a time that, while only three years ago is now a long-distant wistful memory. Sigh.

 

Oh yeah, and New Year 2011 was my best New Year ever for reasons I won't go into on a public forum :P

Edited September 5, 201410 yr by BillyH

Weeks Ending 1st & 8th January 2011

01/01/2011: Katy B feat Miss Dynamite - Lights On



I like this song, it’s not overly offensive and I don’t actually know if I’d like Katy B as much as I do without it. ‘Broken Record’ was the first record she did that I adored, but ‘Lights On’ made me think there could be something more to her. I also liked the fact that despite it being a dance record, there’s a bit of seasonal warmth to it that complimented the track very well especially considering we were in the middle of an ice age when it came out.

It was also a welcome return for Ms Dynamite. The only major issue here is repetitiveness really.

7/10

08/01/2011: Jessie J - Do It Like a Dude



I’ll have to admit this here and now I guess; Jessie J is one of my least favourite artists ever. Now, my main issues with her don’t arise until 2013 and the ‘Alive’ era and to be honest in 2011 I could pretty much take her or leave her. ‘Price Tag’ was a song I liked a lot, and the others were alright as well

But ‘Do It Like a Dude’ was not. I’ve never liked this song, I like what it stands for and everything but I’ve always found it just a bit too overly vulgar and I don’t like her vocals much here either. At the end of the year, I considered this a fluke bad song from her but in hindsight it seems like a ghastly warning of what was to come.

4/10

I’ll have to admit this here and now I guess; Jessie J is one of my least favourite artists ever.

 

This is how normal people feel.

This is how normal people feel.

 

Oh good. Loads of people at my school loved her, so I seemed to be the minority from people I knew

Sorry I didn't comment on as much of the 2010 one in the end

 

Anuway the first 3 months of 2011 were flawless songs after flawless ones. I will also give my how much I listen to it around now ranging from 0 (never) to 5 (a bit but not much) to 8 (quite a lot) to 10 (very regulary) :)

 

Lights on- 7/10 Completely agree with your comment- broken record was also her first record I adored and loved (the first one of hers to top my personal chart) but lights on showed me that something amazing would come. This would be about a 9 in 2011 but it hasn't aged great for me

How much I listen to it at the moment: 4/10

 

Do It Like A Dude- 10/10 I love this song so so much. My 3rd favourite Jessie song and I love the lyrics, her voice on this and just everything about it :wub:

How much I listen to it at the moment: 8/10

Edited September 5, 201410 yr by Ultraviolence1989

Just for some context, here are my ranking criteria

 

10: Pretty much perfect, or very close

09: Love

08: Like a Lot

07: Like it

06: Good but not much to say

05: Alright but just.....eh

04: Not my Cuppa Tea

03: Dislike/Don't Understand The Appeal

02: Hate

01: Intensely Hate

00: There's a special place reserved in hell

Lights On initially felt a bit of a disappointment as 'Katy On A Mission' was so weird and unique it seemed a backward step for Katy B to produce something so mainstream and poppy for her second single. But I warmed to it quickly around the time I saw her live in July last year, she's still up there with my fave acts of the 2010s.

 

God, I remember thinking that we were in for a hell of a crappy year if Do It Like A Dude was the shape of music to come, but Jessie majorly redeemed herself with her second single. And, erm, never again after that :P She's got one masterpiece but it ain't this one.

2011 was both fantastic & horrendous for the music scene. The gap between my most & least favourite number 1's of that year is astronomic.

2011 was both fantastic & horrendous for the music scene. The gap between my most & least favourite number 1's of that year is astronomic.

 

I think inconsistent is the best word to describe it. Looking at the comings and goings from the top ten each week is very interesting. When 2011 was good, it was bloody marvellous but when it was bad it was pretty horrendous.

 

For my scores,

 

There are 7 tens, 15 nines, 17 eights, 27 sevens, 17 sixs, 9 fives, 9 fours, 9 threes, 5 twos, 4 ones and two zeros. So overall it's pretty good on the top ten front.

The thing I remember most is all those NON-#1S stopping Moves Like Jagger. Except for 1D and Rihanna.

Week Ending: 22nd January 2011

 

Bruno Mars - Grenade

 

 

Bruno Mars became one of my favourite artists around in 2011, the horror of ‘The Lazy Song’ aside, and a lot of that is down to ‘Grenade’. Mars has this soul to his voice that draws you in to pretty much anything he is singing, and though you could choose to see Grenade as being told from the point of view of an overly sensitive guy in the friendzoned – it really doesn’t come across as such

 

‘Grenade’ is a bitter song, a nuanced one that has elements of both love and hate within it. Bruno still loves the girl, hence the present tense used in the lyrics, but he is also aware of her many flaws and the fact she is taking advantage of his good nature and it’s a situation we’ve all been in. Whiny man child he may be at times, but he writes a damn good song.

 

9/10

 

JLS feat Tinie Tempah - Eyes Wide Shut

 

 

After one horrid single, and one overly dull one, JLS got back into my good books with ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ – probably their best single to this point and I’m happy to say that after this one no songs of theirs will be getting negative reviews from me (Yes, I even liked ‘Proud’). They got better with age.

 

This is another one of those ‘too happy to hate’ songs, but that seems to be somewhat of a smoke screen for a more desperate and clingy undertone. Tinie’s just there really – his rap is alright, but I could do without it

 

But, yeah, for what it’s worse this was a very good song and at least deserved a higher peak than #8.

 

8/10

 

 

Yeah I felt embarrassed to admit it but two acts there who released some fairly brilliant stuff in 2011 - particularly for two pop acts - although in my case I never found those two singles examples of them. Grenade's ok but my least fave of anything Bruno released around that time, and JLS's annoyed me in that it seemed a massive rip-off of Calvin Harris's 'You're Not Alone' from two years earlier.

 

Absolutely astonishing to think that as late as this, you could still call Calvin Harris underrated!! We're a few months from 'Bounce' being released and all hell slowly but surely being broken loose.

Week Ending: 29th January 2011

 

Adele - Rolling In The Deep

 

 

Considering she’s the best selling artist of the decade so far, the biggest runaway success and a genuine musical history maker – it does seem somewhat surprising that Adele only clocks up 4 appearances in these threads – and only 3 if we discount ‘Make You Feel My Love’ as technically being from the previous decade.

 

‘Rolling In The Deep’ may have sold slightly less than its follow up, but it is the song responsible for the ensuing Adele mania that seemed to engulf the world over the next 2 years. It’s not hard to see why either, ‘Rolling In The Deep’ is so powerful, stomping and well sung that its near impossible to dislike. I wouldn’t even say it became a victim of overplay, and it’s success has definitely been slightly glossed over in the UK because of ‘Someone Like You’

 

I have issues with that song, but for me ‘Rolling In The Deep’ is Adele’s best song ever – and one that is very unlikely to ever be bettered. Best song on this countdown? It’s a sure fire contender

 

10/10

 

Diddy Dirty Money feat Skyler Grey - Coming Home

 

 

Despite his annoying habit of changing his name just as I get used to the old one, I’ll admit I’ve enjoyed the odd Sean Combs song in the past. His 2006 output in particular was very strong – ‘Come To Me’ and ‘Tell Me’ being two of my favourites from that year – and ‘Coming Home’ doesn’t disappoint

 

However, like the former mentioned that has very little do with Puff – for me anyway. This is all about the chorus, sung amazingly by the criminally overlooked Skyler Grey. It’s just so powerful and emotional, you can’t help but be drawn in by it. This is the kind of song that a 15-year old can listen too and find inspirational; and I did, I don’t like it for those reasons now but I do still enjoy this very much.

 

7/10

 

Wretch 32 - Traktor

 

 

Since when were tractor's considered a cool method of transportation? I hate this song. Nothing else to say about it really.

 

1/10

 

Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me

 

 

I grew up with Britney, some of the earliest music I remember liking as a child was her 1999/2000 stuff, and she’s definitely an icon for people of my generation but I’ll concede that by January 2011 she was very much old news to must of us anyway

 

She’s here on fanbase buys, long gone were the days where she scored crossover successes and it’s all quite sad – because her music hadn’t exactly got worse. I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘Femme Fatale’ era, but it was so right for its time that the fact songs like ‘Till The World Ends’ weren’t crossover hits does seem strange to me

 

‘HIAM’ is pretty dull for me, it doesn’t really go anywhere or do anything. It’s an alright listen, and I enjoy the chorus after the breakdown, but it’s just never grabbed and with gems such as ‘Till The World Ends’, which could have scored her a genuine hit, waiting in the wings the fact this was chosen as the single to lead the era is a little baffling.

 

5/10

 

Aggro Santos feat Kimberley Walsh - Like U Like

 

 

Oh god, this is just the worst kind of guilty pleasure ever. I’ll normally admit to friends and such my guilty pleasures after enough pressure but I don’t think I ever admitted to liking this as much as I did

 

It’s just catchy, and Kimberley Walsh does well here. Yeah, there’s not much to talk about because it’s so shallow and such but I do like it. An embarrassing amount for what it is.

 

6/10

Edited September 8, 201410 yr by James Silkstone

Here! I dislike Rolling In The Deep & despise Someone Like You. Most overrated song ever?

 

Traktor is amazing, what a tune. Reminds me of Friday nights at the Student Union.

 

Hold It Against Me isn't that bad actually, better than Til The World Ends with that SHAMEFUL dubstep interlude.

 

And I agree Like U Like is fabulous! Still listen to it these days...

Hey, guys I'm unfortunately going to have to put this on hold for a while. Things are a bit hectic for me at the moment, moving into Uni and everything, and I really want to concentrate on the blog for a while. Probably be back around November/December time once everything has settled down a bit

 

Thank you to everyone who has read and commented on this and the previous thread :)