And then I sat out to make my list, and I could only come up with a few songs. Honestly, the stuff on the radio - the Lady Gaga and the Katy Perry - that's just not my cup of tea. At all. And I spent way too much time driving back and forth between South Carolina, writing a book, and interviewing folks this year to get into anything that wasn't on the radio. I spent a lot of time listening to some stuff from 2010 - Mumford and Sons probably being my favorite, and I spent a lot of time listening to bluegrass for research while writing my book.
However, the most memorable musical moment for me this year wasn't an actual song; it was the news that one of my favorite bands, a band that I literally grew up with (their first single came out the year I was born), was breaking up: R.E.M. - Those four fine gentlemen from Athens who have more or less written and performed my life's soundtrack. I remember my dad listening to them when I was a kid, and when I was old enough to start buying my own music, I owned almost all of their albums. I'm proud to say I even went to the college where these guys originated. One of my biggest regrets will always be that I never saw them live, but hopefully, one day there will be a reunion tour or something.
Earlier this year, when they announced that they were splitting, many people said, "Who cares?" Those people are either too into Bruno Mars (can't someone put that out of its misery?) for their own good or they fall into the snobbish "I only like REM's earlier work" category. I'll admit, I prefer their older stuff much of the time, but I always loved to hear new music from those guys, and regardless, they just seemed like a staple in my life that would always be there, good music, bad music, and everything in between.
Anyway, this year, they put out their final album: Collapse Into Now. I'm ashamed to admit, I've only heard a few songs from it, but this fall, I was watching a UGA football game and I saw a commercial for the school that we all know I love so much. And I heard Michael Stipe singing. And my heart just melted. Long story short, that song was "Oh My Heart" from Collapse Into Now. It is amazing! I won't go on and on about it, but without a doubt, it's my favorite song of the year.
Speaking of Michael Stipe... this is cheesy, but it's definitely another one of my favorite music moments of 2011. I'm a big fan of the Colbert Report, and when I saw Michael Stipe on the show last month, I was thrilled. (And besides, there was just something adorable about Stipe sitting on a shelf.) Anyway, Colbert, Stipe, and Brian Eno went on to sing "Lean on Me." I'm not sure why, but I loved it! Here's that as a little bonus:
The Colbert Report
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