Cajun Tomato's Favorite Songs Of 2011 (Mid-Year Edition Pt. 1)

The calendar might say we are halfway through 2011, but, dammit, it feels like we are past the mid-point. We’ve seen the rapture come and go, Osama bin Laden get merked and hit the snooze button on the Royal Wedding. Oh, and there’s been a little something called Weinergate. Mother Nature has gone batshit insane. I </3 U, Global Warming!

It’s been a newsy year, no doubt. It’s also been quite a year in music. Some bands’ new records have delivered on the hype (i.e., Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, etc.) while others have disappointed (i.e., Lupe Fiasco, the Strokes, etc.). There have been no shortage of great songs to emerge this year … even on the aforementioned disappointing albums.

You might recall earlier this year I made a favorite songs list consisting of tunes that caught my ear in the first two months of 2011. I did not rank the songs at the time, citing my lack of time spent with them.

Today, I am unveiling Part One of my favorite songs of 2011 (mid-year edition). Part Two will be posted Friday. Per this list: I am going out on a limb and ranking the songs. Just because a song ranks high on this list does not mean it will receive favorable treatment at the end of the year, and vice versa. As always, this is a favorites list NOT a best of list.

Let’s end the wait, shall we? Here are my favorite songs of 2011 (so far).

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My Favorite Albums of 2011 (1st Quarter Edition)

The ultra nostalgic Frank Ocean

I’ve been slow to warm up to 2011′s crop of albums. Maybe it’s because the two that I anticipated the most — Lupe Fiasco’s LASERS and the Strokes’ Angles — turned out to be disappointments. Or maybe it’s because I haven’t spent much time with albums from artists whose work I’ve previously enjoyed (i.e., Toro Y Moi, Lykke Li, Cut Copy, Destroyer, etc.)

Whatever the reason for this year’s slow start, I am hoping 2011 picks up steam in the next few months with the release of Tv On The Radio’s new album, Nine Types of Light, Fleet Foxes’ second album, Helplessness Blues, and Kanye West and Jay-Z’s collaboration Watch The Throne. I’m also intrigued by the new Pains Of Being Pure At Heart album.

Here, listed below, are the albums that grabbed me the most during the first three months of 2011. They are my favorite albums of the year so far. That does not mean they will definitely be on my year end list.

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