Top 10 Songs of 2011

So I'm not going to go into too much detail as to why I like each of these but as 2011 comes to a close, I thought I share my favorite tracks of 2011. I'm pretty diverse so knocking this down to 10 songs WAS HARD! Feel free to comment and let me know your favorites of the year.

10. Pistol Annies Hell on Heels 





9. Jay-Z and Kayne West H.A.M.





8. Dropkick Murphy's 1953





7. Coldplay Paradise





6. Fitz and the Tantrums MoneyGrabber 





5. Bon Iver Holocene





4. Adele Set Fire To The Rain





3. Drake I'm On One




2. The Civil Wars Poison And Wine





1. The Head and The Heart Down In The Valley 





HERE'S TO A GREAT 2012 FOR MUSIC!!

The Best Albums of 2011

Every December, like many people, I tend to reflect back on the year that just ended in hopes I can remember the lessons that I learned. I'm 34 now but it's amazing how similar my interests are from say, when I was 21.

You would think I would spend time listing my favorite sports moments of the year for a blog post about 2011 but I talk sports all year long (I'll probably do that list later though lol). The list I enjoy making the most is my favorite 10 albums of the year. I spend way too much time and money on music but I simply love it. It's my escape. My muse in a lot of ways.

This was an awesome year musicically for me because I returned home to Boston, the city that started my love of the medium in the first place. WFNX, the Boston radio station, will always be special to me and artists that it exposed me to still are played on my iPod. That internship actually gave me my career because I learned I wanted work in sports and play around in music. It's worked out pretty well for me.  

In 2011, I saw bands like The Head and The Heart, Taylor Swift, The DropKick Murphys (at Fenway as well as 2 other times) Ani DiFranco, The Indigo Girls, Florence and The Machine, Laura Marling, Two Door Cinema Club and other great acts around the country. Live music will always be a part of my life and learning about new bands is probably my favorite hobby.

This was the year of "Americana" for me. Mumford and Sons (see link below) was my favorite album in 2010 and that just sent me down a path of musical discovery that was truly wonderful. So many amazing acts in that genre right now like Old Crow Medicine Show and the Avett Brothers, both whom did not put out an album in 2011, so they aren't below.

While I don't review music for a living and don't listen to everything that is out there ... here are my favorite albums for 2011. For reference - here is my 2010 list. 

10. Ellie Goulding: Lights 

Let me be honest right off the bat....Ellie can't sing live. Her performances I saw in support of this album were not good. HOWEVER, this is not about that. This is about recorded albums and this album is just really fun brit-pop. The title track Lights is one of my favorite songs of the year and Starry Eyed was a huge hit in clubs with its multiple remixed versions (like the one above). 

9. Florence and the Machine: Ceremonials 

The sophomore album from the talented singer was highly anticipated by me and it did not disappoint one bit.  Florence was on my list of Top 5 bucket concerts and I'm happy to say I got to see her in December in Kansas City. The album is big - really big and tough to recreate live but Florence's voice is glorious. I'm not going to bother listing my favorite tracks because there are too many but if you liked her first album, you will love Florence's second. 

8. Death Cab for Cutie: Codes and Keyes 

In May, the seventh studio album was released by the alternative rock idols. I have been a fan of Death Cab since the early 2000's and they continue to produce amazing, mind-melting albums. They capture so many wonderful emotions in their songs and the sounds they continue to come up with so unique. For anyone with an appreciation for something that sounds different than your normal rock songs, this album is for you. 

7. Laura Marling: A Creature I Don't Know

The (now) 21-year old brit singer/songwriter continues to show signs that she will be a tremendous force in the music industry for years to come. Her latest album puts her once again on my list of favorite albums of the year. Just like last year, her guitar playing and lyrics are something you MUST hear if you love folk music. I got to see her in Boston in late October with only around 500 people in the club. It was an awesome experience and I can't wait to see her again soon. 

6. The Dropkick Murphys: Going Out In Style 

Boston's punk-rock boys dropped their best album to date in my opinion in 2011. From start to finish, the record is extremely strong. Influences of folk, punk, ska, and rock are heard throughout the album and I got the chance to see the band 3 times in 2011 in support of the release. They have become one of the best live acts touring in the country and a band you should not miss if they come to your town. 

5. Bon Iver: Bon Iver  

Late in 2011, I finally came around to buying a full album from the Midwest folk group, fronted by the supremely talented Justin Vernon. I had been hearing amazing things about the band for years but never got around to buying an album of theirs. Shame on me because the self-titled record is phenomental. It's haunting, loving, and scary all at the same time. It might be the best driving album I've ever heard. Check it out - I'm serious. This band's second album is crazy good.  

4. Jay-Z and Kayne West: Watch the Throne 

This wasn't a great year for hip-hop or rap music in my opinion. It was the year of Americana, which you will see coming up but this album matches two of the best ever together. Genius on so many levels. Great beats, rhymes, and lyrics. I'll always like these two solo, so when you put them together, it's awesome. 

3. The Civil Wars: Barton Hallow 

I'm not ashamed to say that I learned about this group from twitter ... Taylor Swift's twitter account to be exact. The young country singer said that Poison and Wine was her favorite duet maybe ever, so I had I hear it for myself. If you can listen to the above song without being moved, you have no heart. It's simple as that for me. It's the most emotional song of the year. Spectacular and gut-wrenching.  

2B.  Alison Krauss and Union Station: Paper Airplanes 

What can I say about Alison that hasn't already been written? She is a legend, an icon. I'm not going to try to say anything that will make me sound stupid but I finally saw her live in 2011. Her music is something that I will always treasure for the rest of my life. Her latest album is as strong from start to finish as anything she has produced. If you don't have this album, you have to own it. Again, "Americana" is the strength of 2011. 

2A. The Head and The Heart: The Head and The Heart 

"Down in the Valley with Whiskey Rivers, These are the places you will find me hiding" ... what an awesome lyric and awesome song. My favorite of 2011. "Americana" music for me really started with Alison and then moved into Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling. However, it exploded for me 2011 when I found this band. It led me to the Avett Brothers and other wonderful artists in the genre. I saw The Head and The Heart in Boston this fall and they were UNREAL. This band is only just beginning.

(Yes, there was a tie. I couldn't decide lol)

1. Adele: 21 

I will admit that Adele's first album, 19, was not one that I fell in love with. I liked it but my reaction was nothing compared to what I felt after listening to 21 for the first time. From start to finish, it's the strongest, most timeless album of the year. This album I believe will be in the running for album of the decade and we are only 2 years in. It's that good. 

Thanks for reading this and feel free to email or post your thoughts in the comment section. I'm always looking for new bands! Happy listening in 2012!  (PS: Here is my favorite rap song of 2011 from an album I don't own :) Drake - I'm On One  love the chorus!) 

Update: Andover sends out a letter to parents

On my last blog post, I called for Andover High School to act on the allegations that two students were hazed last summer at a basketball camp. Well, AHS has yet to act officially but they did send out a letter to parents saying that the hazing rules were violated and that action was going to be taken soon.

Rumor is that multiple suspensions are being handed down and potentially 2 expulsions as well. More to come as it becomes official but it sounds like AHS did what was right in the end. Eagle Tribune's outstanding article on the case is here.

Superintendent McGrath wrote to Andover Parents tonight:

A thorough investigation has been completed and submitted to me, and I am saddened to report to 

you that the investigation concluded there were violations of our policies. As a school district, we will now take all appropriate action in accordance with our district policies and state law.  While I fully understand and appreciate that you are legitimately interested in the outcomes for the violations of these policies, I am prohibited by federal and state laws from disclosing information about individual student discipline.  I can tell you, however, that in the case of violations of our anti-bullying and anti-hazing policies, our school district policies permit a range of disciplinary actions which include suspension and expulsion from school.  You have my assurance that I intend to strictly enforce these policies based upon the evidence and to the extent allowed by our policies and laws.  We will address, separately, the involvement of any Andover Public Schools employees in connection with these allegations. 

AD Chris Bergeron to Andover Parents tonight:

After consultation with Superintendent Marinel McGrath and Andover High School 

Principal Thomas Sharkey, I intend to suspend student-athletes from participation in the 

Andover High School 2011-2012 athletic program for varying periods of time due to apparent violations of Andover High School athletic policies and rules. 

Any student-athletes who may be subject to possible suspensions have certain procedural rights which must be honored and I will be following that process. The Athletic Department is committed to the best interests of all student-athletes who participate in its programs and will rigorously protect those interests. As stated in the rules, which apply to all athletic programs, participation in the AHS Athletic Program is a privilege, not a right, and the highest standards of conduct will be enforced.  

I wonder if Mr. Bergeron would have done this if the Bill Burt's story doesn't run? And for the record, Andover learned of this on November 11th. It's November 30th. Better late than never though.


EDIT: This paragraph from the linked article above is identical to what I first wrote about on Sunday. I'm glad my town and I still think alike: The two ringleaders of the hazing were expelled while the others involved received suspensions for an unknown amount of time and will not be allowed to compete in school sports for the remainder of the school year, sources said.


I wrote:  Any player found to have participated in the hazing of the young men on the campus of Stonehill College should be off the basketball team for no less than one year. 


EDIT 2: Ring leaders who are expelled take to Facebook to plan a secret meeting ... not very secret guys. SMH. 

Andover High Needs To Act Now

I sent this Op/Ed to my hometown paper - The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune after reading a story that came out yesterday: 

The incident involving the Andover High School basketball team was brought to my attention on Thanksgiving by my brother who is a junior at the school. He asked me if I had heard about the “Ookie Cookie situation” involving the basketball team and what I thought of it.

After hearing the details for the first time, I didn’t know what to think. Older basketball players forcing fellow younger players to eat a semen covered Oreo cookie in a Stonehill College dorm room was enough to make me (want to) vomit up my turkey.

There is no justification for such behavior and there should be zero tolerance of it. Those committing hazing incidents, while unfortunately common these days, have to be handled swiftly and harshly.

Sadly, that has not happen at AHS.

My family has a long history with Andover High including graduating myself, father, mother, stepfather, 2 of my brothers and 11 of my aunts and uncles. I was a varsity athlete as was my stepfather and 2 of my brothers.

I’ve been in those AHS locker rooms and played briefly for AHS head coach David Fazio’s program. As a sports media and broadcasting professional for the past 15 years covering sports at every level (including high school sports for Rivals.com), I have seen this story before.

I’m just sorry to see it happening in my hometown.

The argument being made in defense of Coach David Fazio is that since the crime (and yes, I’m calling it a crime) occurred off school grounds and not at a school sponsored event that, according to a statement from his attorney “Mr. Fazio did everything possible to deal with this 4-month-old situation. This is not a school-related issue."

While that might resolve Coach Fazio from any legal responsibility, it does not excuse the conduct by the student-athletes and does not explain why none of them have been suspended from the basketball team by the school as of yet.

Athletic Director Chris Bergeron needs to explain when exactly he was made aware of the incident and why the players have yet to be suspended from the team. The Easton Police Department opened an investigation but so far, AHS hasn’t done anything besides issue a statement on their website claiming they are investigating the accusations.   

According to the story in the Eagle Tribune, Coach Fazio was made aware of his players’ behavior on November 11^th, four months after the fact, but it’s the end of the month and we haven’t heard from AHS officials yet. Why wasn’t there something sent out to parents as soon as the victim came forward?

My mother is the parent of a current student. She has received nothing from AHS on the matter.

The student-athlete who had the courage to come forward has since transferred from Andover High due to the attack, which shows how serious this was. If accounts of Fazio informing the parents of the victim immediately are true, then I believe Coach Fazio did what needed to be done in his position. This did happen during the summer and he did not witness it obviously.

My issue is with the young men who perpetrated the act. There should be an immediate suspension of anyone suspected of being present during the hazing event. Reportedly, 9 AHS basketball players were there. All should be placed on indefinite suspension until an independent investigation can be carried out into what actually happened in that door room. 

If that causes AHS to forfeit the basketball season, so be it. If the Penn State sex abuse scandal has taught us anything is that allowing a sports program to investigate itself is just plain stupid. There is money and power involved in AHS basketball and losing an entire season could hurt the school’s bottom line.

As an alum, I don’t care.

The fact that AD Bergeron hasn’t suspended the players suspected of that attack is extremely troubling. I’m not calling for anyone to lose his or her job … yet. However, an INDEPENDENT investigation must be conducted to find out when the AD and head coach really knew about the incident and what was done with that information.

If it was handled correctly, then we move on to the players themselves.

Any player found to have participated in the hazing of the young men on the campus of Stonehill College should be off the basketball team for no less than one year. It is conduct unbecoming of a student-athlete at Andover High School. It is gross, lewd, and completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.

Sports are a privilege, not a right. Even though we are taught to believe that they are bigger than life, in particular at AHS, behavior such of this must be handled with an iron fist. No excuses. 

There is no grey when you are abusing a fellow student. You commit acts like ones being reported, and you lose the privilege to wear the AHS uniform. The integrity of the program is at stake.

I sincerely hope AD Bergeron does what is right and suspends the suspected athletes immediately until an independent body can investigate the accusations against its basketball players.

Right now, the lack of action makes it look like AHS has been caught trying to bury an awful story.  

Matt Perrault is a 1995 AHS graduate and former AHS student-athlete and host of “The Home Team with Matt Perrault” on WGAM “The Game” 900 AM in Nashua, NH and 1250 AM Manchester, NH


EDIT: The camp has been kicked off Stonehill College's campus for lack of protection of young people. The latest: Story is here

EDIT 2: Sadly, Chris Bergeron refused to talk to ESPNBoston.com 

EDIT 3: This is from a dear friend of mine who works in college athletics. His thoughts on this story speak to exactly what AHS is failing to see:
"We often say "there is no 'I' in team."  But this is not accurate--when the team (or protection of the team, or school, or "brand") becomes more important than protecting the rights of the individual, then there should be no team.  A great team is often not comprised of the most talented individuals, but more often comprised of individuals with talent who recognize the value of each member of the team and use those talents--they understand that by improving the conditions of one, they improve the conditions of all.  When you have a team that does not recognize the values of each member (and it appears that this is the case at Andover HS) then you have a severe breakdown of the team concept."

Am I The Only One Still Angry?

“Let me tell you somethin’…. I’ve had enough of Irish-Americans who haven’t been back to their country in twenty or thirty years … and come up to me and talk about the revolution back home. And the glory of the revolution and the glory of dying for the revolution. FUCK the revolution! They don’t talk about the glory of killing for the revolution. What’s the glory of taking a man from his bed and gunning him down in front of his wife and his children? Where’s the glory in that?”                  

 -Bono during the Sunday Bloody Sunday Rattle and Hum performance. 

I’ve always believed that through great pain comes art. Pain leads to anger and anger leads to a message that requires a medium to be expressed.

I’m 34 years old and as I look at the current state of music... I have to ask – where the hell is the anger? Where the hell is the art? Where the hell is the message?

The medium? Well, corporate America has done a good job of turning that into vanilla ice cream but more on that in a second.

The quote above was spoken in the middle of a song during a U2 live performance around 1988. Ten years later, the band Pearl Jam would appear on MTV’s “Unplugged” and lead singer Eddie Vedder would scribble the words “Pro-Choice” violently on his arms during the song “Porch”.

Anger. Message. 

U2’s Rattle and Hum movie followed the band on their Joshua Tree tour and director Cameron Crowe honored the 20 year anniversary of Pearl Jam’s release of the album Ten with “20”. Both were video diaries mixed with concert footage and were amazingly done. I highly recommend seeing each one several times to get the full impact.

Not surprisingly, both of those bands have been hugely influential on me and it struck me this week as I watched each bands’ Rock-u-mentary: they had SOMETHING to say. 

I came away thinking … What in the HELL is going on right now? What happened to the anger in rock music?

The current problems in this country should bring out the most violent, deep, animalistic anger in those with the microphones in their hands and stages beneath their feet.

Instead….we get Coldplay’s new album release this week.

Now, I like Coldplay, don’t get me wrong, but the image of a giant yellow balloon bouncing around is not going to fire me up to change the world nor is hearing “every tear is a waterfall” going to change the way I think.

I need passion. I need fire.

Who is going to write lyrics like this in the future?  

   “Don't mean to push, but I'm being shoved!

   Ohh, I'm just like you, think we've had enough

   I can't believe a thing they want us to...oh..

   Oh, we all got scars, they should have 'em too

                                          - Pearl Jam “Whipping”

High unemployment, record debt, the Occupy movement, abortions trying to be banned in Mississippi, tuition costs spiking, the Tea Party, the Gulf oil spill, the bank bailout, Gay marriage rights, and on and on and on….

There is so much to be angry about but we have ZERO response from our lyricists and our music artists.  

Where are the bands like Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, Marilyn Manson, (OLD SCHOOL) 311, Metallica, Nirvana, Sound Garden, Alice in Chains, Pantera, Biohazard, or Operation Ivy, bursting onto the rock scene with something to say with a message wrapped in a power cord and double bass?  

I’m sorry but Taylor Swift telling me about me that the thing she does best is “revenge” is not exactly going to get my heart beating.

Am I the only one seeing this? Rock music is the least profitable radio format in the country. Thus, rock music commercially is dying fast. SO WHAT!? I don’t get why the artists are going down with them? The medium is our hands now with power of 4G but it has stalled for some reason. Could twitter be the answer? Maybe. 

Yet, is creativity tied to being able to monetize it? I’m seriously asking because I don’t have the answer to what is happening right now.

Is it because artists aren’t being promoted? Well, I thought the power of the Internet was going to allow us to discover new bands and not have to worry about the record label's agendas anymore. That hasn’t happened or am I missing something?

Are there too many options now? Where are the grassroots artists selling albums out of the back of their cars? If that can't happen anymore, where are the websites with free downloads so bands can be heard? Who are the poets that vomit words that pull back the curtain over your eyes and allow you see things from a different point of view?     

Are we all just a bunch of pussies, living at home in our mother’s basement, waiting for the Genius Bar to call our names so our fixed iPhones can tell us what to do next?

What is this generation standing for…..text messaging?

I found Ani Difranco in a time where my personal anger was beginning to soften and I was willing to look deeper at societal issues. Gay people were unknown to me growing up in Andover, MA and bi-sexual, folk singers sure didn’t exist either.

While the genesis of her rage wasn’t something I related to, the questions she raised about who we are and what we value helped to shape who I am as an adult. I loved her uncompromising, unforgiving fire and willingness to piss people off.  

Where is the next self-publishing, self-motivated, activist artist with a message that has to be heard? I don’t see a counter-culture anymore.  

I can’t be the only one noticing the SERIOUS lack of a social movement in this country right now. Musically, we are so ripe for the next big thing. We had Seattle in 90’s, so I’m biased towards rock, but has Rap music won? Is THAT the only place we can go for socially aware music now?

I refuse to believe that.

Americana music has taken a large step forward in the past 3 years with acts like Mumford and Sons, Avett Brothers, and The Head and The Heart but their message is more timeless. It looks at the bigger picture of love and life and doesn’t get into the dirty stuff. Also, a band like Old Crow Medicine Show would have tough time being taken seriously if they started singing about racial oppression.  

But who will be next to sing lyrics like:

 “Who stuff the banks

  Who staff the party ranks

  More for Gore or the son of a drug lord

  None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord

  Lights out guerilla Radio

  Turn that shit up" 

                        – Rage Against The Machine

On the day the nation’s largest radio company, Clear Channel, fired hundreds of on-air talent in order to automate their stations with computers and to standardize their playlists, I’m afraid I sound like our fathers and uncles who pulled out records of Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, The Rolling Stones, Credence Clearwater and said “back in my day, music meant something.”

Well, back in my day – music SAID something.

Today, it’s all about American Idol wanna-be artists rehashing songs and asking for the country to “vote” for them to stay on the island of fame for one more week.

Nobody is willing to ask the tough questions or stand up for something real anymore. Nobody has the balls to say what is really happening around them…. all we want is the same cookie-cutter bullshit. 

Who isn't afraid to say something unpopular? 

    they caught the last poor man on a poor man's vacation

    they cuffed him and they confiscated his stuff

    and they dragged his black ass down to the station

   and said "ok the streets are safe now”.

   all your pretty white children can come out to see spot run

   and they came out of their houses and they looked around

   but they didn't see no one.

   and my country tis of thee

   to take swings at each other on talk show tv

   why don't you just go ahead and turn off the sun

   'cause we'll never live long enough to

   undo everything they've done to you

   undo everything they've done to you”

                                                     -Ani Difranco

I know she isn't ... but who is next? 

I ask you - What the F is going on?!!