NPR Music - Our No. 1 songs: 2011

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

We "wake the hell up" to pop music, Adele plays the Tiny Desk, a certain Australian artist drops the year's most infectious song, and more.Note: This is a recurring feature in celebration of the show's 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.Tell us what you think: [e-mail] this show with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

It's All Songs Considered. I'm Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson here. Welcome to the nostalgia train, Stephen. Choo-choo! Oh, God. Chew-choo, Robin. We're up to 2011, and we're looking back at the songs that stand out most to us from those years, both personally and for all songs considered.

And what do you think of when you think of 2011? I'm going to give you 10 seconds of one song. Okay. And then I'm going to play a different song. Okay. Is my 10 seconds up? Yeah, I think it is. What's the damn song?

I have no idea. That is, we found love by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris. The song, I think arguably the song, there certainly have been others along the way, Kelly Clarks and had some songs. But a song that woke my ass up to pop music. You know, one advantage you have in that whole world over me is you listen to the radio, like FM radio in the car, driving around. and I never ever have the radio on. And so I miss so much of it. And I'm only starting to tune into more of it now as my kids get older,

and they're trafficking it into the house, you know. But this was one that I had totally missed. Oh, my gosh, Robin. It is such a banger. But it sounds to me like you were going to try to cheat and do two songs. I'm always trying to cheat and do two songs. Okay, well, what's the second? Since I totally whiffed that one, what's the...

This one you're likelyer to get because I think it more speaks the language of a lot of the music that we have. played and celebrated on all songs considered over the years. And I've gone silver in my travels, growing silver in my sideburns. Is this Yen-Sleckman? No. I know this voice so well. I give.

King Creeasote and John Hopkins. They put out this record. I know how much you love this album. Oh my gosh. This record, it's called, most appropriately named album, Diamond Mine. Yeah.

Because it is just a feast of shimmering beauty. Yeah. And John Hopkins, the electronic musician, He's been making gorgeous ambient music and kind of EDM, and he's been working in that space for years and years and doing tons of beautiful stuff. King Creosote is a Scottish singer-songwriter, very prolific Scottish singer-songwriter,

and they made this one perfect record together in 2011. It was my favorite album of the year. It was Bob Boylan's favorite album of the year. It was one of Tom Hisinga's favorite albums of the year. Oh, yeah, I remember. It's one of Herr's favorite albums of the year. This record reached across the NPR music team, where we couldn't agree on anything except for the sheer perfection of this perfect jewel of a record.

It is so, so beautiful. And just sitting here, listening to it while you're going, bah, oh, God, what is it? Oh, no, I don't know what to do. I'm just sitting here, like, feeling my blood pressure, lowering and lowering and lowering, because this perfect voice is taking me back. I had an obstacle to falling in love with this.

as much as everyone else did. Because Bob liked it. It was totally. It's like, it's a hard pass. But no, I totally remember how much you loved it, and everyone else loved it too. But I had really fallen for John Hopkins solo music, and it was his electronic stuff. And, like, he had this album called Insides that had come out. Oh, it's such a good record.

Which is incredible. But it's so abrasive compared to this. When I saw John Hopkins' name and next to an album title, that's what I was hoping to hear. and then I heard this completely different thing. But they're so perfect together. But here's what I'm going to pick as my number one song for 2011. And unlike the things that you've played for me,

you will 100% get this almost immediately. All right. Oh my gosh, was this 20? I always think of this song as 2012. This is somebody that I used to know featuring Kimbra by Gautier. You felt so happy you could die We've talked about this with some of the other bands and artists who have left huge imprints on us over the years and then haven't done much.

Goethe, still one of the most insanely infectious songs of all time, came out in 2011 on the album Making Mears. He's put out nothing since then. Yeah, he's really kind of disappeared back into the woodwork, and it's not like, oh, his records aren't connecting with people. He's just kind of stepped back from music. And there's there have been these hints that he might come. back. I was just writing about this song recently because this song is back on the on the pop charts because dochi has the song anxiety that interpolates this song. And and like and that's turned out to be dochi's biggest hit so far. And so all of a sudden people are hearing that

and not only does it have the absolute ball of charisma that is dochi attached to it, but it's, it's triggering people's nostalgia for this song where people are hearing it. and are like, man, you know what song I loved that one? Yeah. You know, because this song, if you were around in 2011 and especially 2012 when this song was all over radio playlists, you could not escape it. It was one of the three songs that were on the radio. And when we talk about 2012, we'll talk about a couple of the other songs that were a part

of that mix. But it's a great song, man. It is absolute perfection. All right, let's take a quick. quick break and then when we come back, we can just kind of quickly run through some of the other stuff that we loved from 2011. Okay, Stephen, what else you got for 2011? What else takes you back or stands out from that year for you? 2011, honestly, was just a great year for music. There was great pop music. There was great folk music. I mean, the Decemberists put out what I think is the best Decemberists song, June hymn.

Here's a hymn to welcome in the day. heralding a summer's early sway and all the bulbs all coming in to begin the thrush's bleeding battle with the wrens disrupts my reverie again pegging clothing on the line training Jasmine out of vine

up the arbor to your door and more Standing on the landing with the war You shouldered all the night before Not my pick, personally, for the best, The best Decemberus song, But certainly no issue with you flagging it for 2011. Oh my God.

I would go with anything from the crane wife, which I think we already talked about from a few years before. Yeah. But what else you got? What else for 2011? Why Oak put out civilians? that year. Yeah, you were, man, you were loving Y-Oak

through this stretch of years. Yeah. They come up a lot around this time. Also in 2011, we did a live webcast of a concert by Y-Oak from the Sasquatch Music Festival. Oh, yeah. And they did this song. I remember them doing the song.

You can actually still hear that. You can hear the full set that they played at Sasquatch. That's still on our site. Keep going. What else you got? One of your favorite songs of all-time, helplessness blues by the Fleet Foxes. I thought about picking that.

Yeah, I almost picked that. I used to believe in I was somehow unique like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes unique in each way you can see. And now after some thinking I'd say I'd read a functioning a functioning a functioning a functioning cog in some great machine. Love, certain something beyond me, but I don't... Love, love this song. Not much has changed for me, honestly, as far as themes and music that resonate with me goes. I mean, this is a song that's all about realizing that your life doesn't have to be remarkable to be fulfilling. Yeah.

That your life doesn't have to be, you know, incredible, remarkable just to even be wonderful. It can be wonderful just to be a small part. of something bigger. Great bit of wisdom from Fleet Foxes in 2011. It's really interesting that you say that about this particular band whose music has always sounded really, really, really beautiful, but I don't always find myself relating to it or really connecting with it, but you've contextualized this song quite nicely, Robert. Let's go grab a beer and listen to it again.

No, but, I mean, 2011, you talked about finding pop music that year. We didn't even mention Adele. Oh my gosh. And someone like you came out that year. Yeah. I let you settle down that you found a girl in your married night. That's your dreams came true. Guess she gave you things.

I didn't give to you. Good friend. Why are you so shy? I ain't like you to hold back from a light. I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited, but I couldn't stay away. I couldn't fight it. I had hoped you'd see my face

and that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over. I remember when we talked about this song on the show, on All Songs Considered in 2011, I think we featured it on our best of the years so far. I'll credit Anne Powers was saying this, but I think she noted that this is one of the many things that's so perfect about this song is that it's essentially a standard. Like a classic, it's essentially a standard, like from the classic American songbook. It's a standard.

That's a great way of putting it. It's a standard. Yeah, you're right. And 2011, also the year Adele played the Tiny Desk. She opened with that song, and I have probably watched it 50 times. It's so, I think the tiny desk version, I think the vocal is even better than on the record. I just was floored by it. Yeah, thunderous.

Her voice, it was incredible. And if you remember, you know, now when we do tiny desks, bands come in a couple hours before, they rehearse, they warm up and work out any kind of issues with the audio and stuff like that. Adele just came in, sat down, and just started singing. She came in, sat down, belted out the whole set, absolute perfection. Yeah, I remember that. But we can go out on this. And until next week, when we look back at 2012, thanks as always, Stephen. Thank you, Robin.

And for NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered. Nothing compares, no worries or cares. Regrets and mistakes, their memories made. Who would have known how bitter. Sweet this