The album was alive, if not well, in 2011. Certainly the changing nature of downloading music rather than making a trip to the local record store meant casual music fans just concentrated on singles, rather than albums. Oddly enough, the resurgence of vinyl albums was the thing most responsible for keeping physical music sales alive, posting increased numbers in a year when CD sales plummeted.
Ground Zero may be a comic shop first and a game store second, but music is a big part of the atmosphere here. We play it, we talk about it. We make gamers listen to Russian Cabaret Disco when they’ve stayed too long. So without further ado, here they are – the much anticipated 2011 Dave Music Awards:
Best Album That Was Probably Meant For Music Buyers Much Younger Than Myself: The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You
I was watching
the video for Youngblood, the exceptional single from the debut album from The Naked and Famous. As it ended, I said “Well, that was pretty and all, but…what’s it about?” My son quickly said “youth.” Oops. Yeah, he was probably right. I probably didn’t get that, because I’m not as youth-y as I was in my younger days, But I still know good music that this album was truly exceptional. It managed to be both fresh and tuneful, and yet still sound a bit cutting edge at the same time, which allows me to keep my elitist reputation.
Best Album That Most Every Critic Hated, But We Liked A Lot: Superheavy
It’s a line up that shou
ldn’t have worked: former Eurythmic Dave Stewart , Bob Marley’s son Damian, Soul music’s latest “it-girl” Josh Stone, Indian film music composer A.R. Rahman, and some guy named Mick Jagger. Most critics seemed to think it didn’t work. Reviews ranged from “ambitious but misguided” to downright “boring”. I couldn’t disagree more. Superheavy fused reggae, Indian orchestral music, blues and rock in a tasty soup that was unlike anything I had ever heard. I found it an electric mix and one worthy of a group of musicians that had won eleven Grammys between them. Everyone I played the album for also loved it. So there critics!
Best Album That Was Released in 2010, But Then Wasn’t Released, And then WAS Released in 2011 As The Bonus Disc of a Greatest Hits Collection: Rogue Traders – Night of the Living Drums
Rogue Traders is a bit of a puzzle to me. They started out as a remix project, their first hit being a reworking o
f INXS‘s “Need You Tonight”. Then they added Australian soap opera star Natalie Bassingthwaighte on vocals and their popularity took off, at least in their native country – 10 ARIA Awards, three MTV AVMA Awards, one Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, one Inside Film Award and five APRA Awards. Trouble is, all those awards are Australian. Over here, no one seems to know who they are. Every time I play their music in the store, a number of people always ask me who the band is, but their music has not even been released in America. Anyway, after a couple of great albums, Natalie left the band and they replaced her with Mindi Jackson, who is actually a better singer, but not quite as hot or famous as Natalie. Their forth album, Night Of the Living Drums, was scheduled to come out in June of 2010, but Sony refused to release it. They left Sony and the usual legal issues followed. This year they finally compromised and released the album as part of a package with a Greatest Hits disc to make Sony happy. In truth, the album isn’t quite as good as the two before it. Quibbles aside, it’s still a very solid album and easily one of the best “bonus discs” I have heard.
Best “We Want a Little More of Your Money” Remix Album: 
The Birthday Massacre – Imaginary Monsters
Last years Birthday Massacre album, Pins and Needles, was their best yet. As purveyors of Gothic Techno Metal, it was inevitable that they would squeeze a little more cash out of their fans with a remix disc. Well, just because it’s a shamelessly capitalistic ploy doesn’t mean it’s not tasty! I happen to be a fan of slick Gothic Techno Metal (at least as long as it’s peppy). The highlight for me was the Assemblage 23 remix of Shallow Grave.
Most Exciting R
eunion That Nobody I Know Cares About: Cibo Matto
Cibo Matto was formed in New York by two Japanese women. Their early songs were mostly about food (trust me, these girls knew their chicken), before expanding into science fiction and other nerdy themes. Oddly enough, they are not very popular in Japan, and Japanese music industry producers had no idea why the band was successful in America. Perhaps it was their appearance on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. My first exposure was the Michel Gondry video for Sugar Water. Their stuff is quirky, but poppy. And most of my friends hate it, which adds to the coolness factor.
Double Award Winner – Most Misleading Band Name and Happiest Album of 2011: Acid House Kings – Music Sounds Better With You
This Swedish indi
e pop band makes music that is neither Acid, nor House. It’s jangly, catchy pop music that is so sunny, it makes ABBA look downright morose by comparison. They only release an album every five years, which makes for a lot of inspired songwriting. Sadly, this album did not include a bonus karaoke DVD, but it does include twelve doses of sunshine that are all right around three minutes long. It is also the first pop album that I am aware of to employ extensive use of castanets on each and every single song.
Most Disturbing Music Industry Trend: The Uber Expensive “Ultimate” Reissue.
Hey, I have no problem with the music business making money. I’m not against a little corporate greed, as long as it means continuing to provide us with new albums in a semi-healthy music industry. But with CD sales dwindling faster than anyone can account for, the major acts have turned to some expensive reissues. Pink Floyd, The Who, U2, Nirvana and several others have jumped on this band wagon, and while I appreciate the opportunity to hear extra cuts from the vault, I’m appalled at prices ranging from just over $100 to over $400 for the Achtung Baby Uber-Deluxe. Nice packages, sure, but it’s hard to justify that kind of cash outlay in this down economy and it seems more than a little fan-unfriendly from an industry that is supposedly trying to retain a little goodwill with their consumers.
And there you have it! The 2011 Dave Music Awards. Feel free to jump over to the music section of our message board and see what Ground Zero is playing lately (or complain about what Ground Zero is playing lately). You can even post your own best-of list, should you feel so inclined. But whatever you do, keep seeking out new music and new bands.