Walked up and hit a nerve.

Today's honorable mention goes to Jenn Grant and her album "Honeymoon Punch." This album is fun! I admit I get overwhelmed with the amount of music that I consume. I have a subscription to eMusic where I get 40 downloads every month and I always have new stuff to listen to. I downloaded this album when it was first released and them promptly forgot about it.
It was not until a few months later when I heard one of the tracks on the radio that I remembered I had not given it a listen yet. As soon as I started playing it I couldn't get enough. I enjoy playing this loud and dancing around my kitchen while I am cooking for doing dishes. Jen Grant is adorable and so is this album.

Oh the unspeakable things.

The next album is a band I discovered at the Calgary Folk Festival this year. On stage I didn't find then that engaging but her voice got me hooked. I admit I don't love this album in its entirety but there are a few tracks I have listened to over and over again. My favorite is "Daydreaming" and it still pulls at my heartsrings.
The band is" Dark, Dark, Dark" and the album "Wild Go". For the first few weeks I couldn't get past the first two tracks as I kept playing them over and over. It was fun to discover the rest of the album when I finally listened through it.

You're gonna love me soon.

My next album was one that caught me by surprise. It is by a band I have never heard of and not the style of music I am use to enjoying. I stumbled upon it when I was surfing eMusic and it may be the the album that I listened to most often this year. The band is called "Yellow Ostrich" and the album "The Mistress". This album is simple and honest. I can't even really tell you what I love about it so much and I am not convinced others will think as highly of it as I do. All I know is I keep coming back for more.

Album #2 in no particular order

Next up is Destroyer. I admit it took me a little while to warm up to this guy. You may know Dan Bejara aka Destroyer as the guitarist from The New Pornographers. I have one of his older albums that I never got into. I didn't give him much of a chance because I could not get past his voice. Even watching him live I was disappointed because he seemed disinterested and to be totally honest high as a kite.

But I got hooked on his newest album "Kaputt". "Kaputt" is fabulous and has made me a Destroyer fan. It has a jazz feel and makes me want to smoke cigarettes but don't worry I won't. Few albums have the cohesion found in "Kaputt". Eventually his voice grew on me and really suits the music found on this album. I loved this album so much I was even willing to spend an evening at the Starlight room so I could see him perform.

Happy 2012

I have enjoyed blogging about music in the past so I thought I would do that again. Miranda, do you still read this? I figure at least you would appreciate it.

I decided for the next week I will list albums that had a major impact on me in 2011. They did not necessarily come out this year but I discovered and loved them this year.

I will begin my list with Feist. I think Leslie Feist is incredible. She started her career playing in a punk band and screaming into a microphone and actually ended up getting surgery to repair her vocal cords. She was a part of my favorite band "Broken Social Scene" for awhile and that is when I discovered how awesome she was. I was delighted when she started to release her solo work. I did not realize she would become a pop sensation when she released "The Reminder" and started playing venues like Rexall. I admit I did not see her perform when she was in Edmonton and played at Rexall. I really love Feist but I really hate listening to artists I love at Rexall. I respect her for taking her time to release a follow-up album and in my opinion "Metals" is her best yet.

If you haven't heard it yet you really should. I have listened to this album numerous times since its release and I continue to fall in love with a different track each time.