DOWNLOAD | The Nervous Acid 2011 Year In Music

Just because I quit writing about music for money doesn’t mean I quit loving music. In fact, just the opposite! This year I get to make a year-end mixtape that is zero percent critical consideration and 100 percent this-is-what-I-actually-love.

Here’s my list by the numbers:

• Number of British Artists: 13
• Number of Non-British Artists: 2 (1 from America, 1 from Denmark)
• Number of Unsigned Artists: 1 (Whoever signs Owen Duff first is a guaranteed future millionaire member of the 1%!)
• Number of Artists Without Full-Length Albums Out: 5
• Number of Out Gay Artists (That I Know Of): 3
• Number of Times I’ve Listened to “Stay Away” in 2011: Approximately 7,652
• Number of Artists Featured in SPIN’s Top 50 of 2011: 0 
• Number of Artists Featured in Stereogum’s Top 50 of 2011: 0
• Number of Artists Featured in Rolling Stone’s Top 50 of 2011: 0
• Number of Artists Featured in New York Magazine’s Top 10 of 2011: 0
• Number of Artists Featured in NME’s Top 50 of 2011: 1

So basically, we’ve learned that I still love the import section at the record store, that I still love discovering new artists, and that — except for that dude at NME who added the Bombay Bicycle Club record to their Best-Of list — pretty much no one else writing about music shares my taste. But that’s cool. Because these, my friends, are the songs and artists that made me excited to be alive in 2011.

COMPLETE TRACKLISTING:

1. Bombay Bicycle Club — “How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep”
2. The Joy Formidable — “Whirring”
3. Charli XCX — “Stay Away”
4. Will Young — “Come On”
5. Death Cab for Cutie — “Doors Unlocked and Open”
6. Emeli Sandé — “Heaven”
7. Clock Opera — “Belongings”
8. Bright Light Bright Light — “Disco Moment”
9. Cher Lloyd — “With Ur Love” (feat. Mike Posner)
10. The Wombats — “Anti-D”
11. Owen Duff — “Realitycide”
12. When Saints Go Machine — “Parix”
13. Butcher the Bar — “Bobby”
14. CocknBullKid — “Asthma Attack”
15. Mr Fogg — “Answerphone”