Top 5 Alt/Rock Songs Of 2011

2011 wasn't exactly a banner year for rock music, as industry heavyweights like the New York Times and yours truly claimed.  However, that doesn't mean there weren't still some great new releases this year.  Honorable mention goes to Two Door Cinema Club, whose hit "What You Know" would have been #1 on this list, but, alas, it came out in 2010.  As such, here are the top 5 alt/rock songs of 2011.

5. Parachute- "What I Know":

Very pretty and evocative song.  I'd have preferred for it to pick up a little more at some point, sort of like their last hit, "Under Control" did, but nevertheless, this is a hard song not to like.

4. AWOLNATION- "Sail":

Again, a very evocative song, but in a very different way.  This is, I dare say, haunting.  The last song, I would maybe listen to in a field on a sunny day.  This one, more like as I drove through a rundown industrial district on a rainy day after I had just made a big mistake and I was starting to feel emo about it.  Unusual for me to like a song like that, but if it's done well, I'll enjoy just about anything.

3. Grouplove- "Tongue Tied":

Yes, I just featured this one, and yes, it's the song from the iPod Touch commercial.  But it already made into the top 5.  The Alt/Rock list was not a hard one to break into this year.

2. Coldplay- "Paradise":

Great song, incredibly awesome video.  Easily one of the best videos of the year (if I had more time, I'd do a countdown of that as well).  If you don't like this video, there might be something wrong with you.  Like, you don't have feelings or something of that nature. Could be one of two things: you have Aspergers, or you're a Terminator.  I hope for our sake it's the first one...

1. Young The Giant- "My Body":

Yep, I recently featured this one too.  As I said, it was mighty easy to make this list this year.  Had I made it in other years, there would have been clawing and grabbing to make the top 5, let alone the top spot.  But this year, Young The Giant waltzed right in here and snagged it from a pitiful field of uninspired pretenders.  Maybe these guys can give the "scene" a boost of energy in 2012, and beef up the contenders a bit.  Here's hoping they do.