NPR Music 10: 2011
January 24, 2011
Adele releases 21
Adele's Diamond-certified 21 didn't just dominate the charts and sales records, but a consciousness. You know these songs, you've drunkenly sung along to them at karaoke, you've eaten a pint of ice cream and had a good cry listening to "Someone Like You."
February 4, 2011
James Blake releases his first full-length album
After a series of EPs that experimented with the dubstep coming out of London, James Blake turned his ears towards fractured soul music. His self-titled debut album looked outside the scene's sound, grounded by warbling bass and a paralyzing croon.
February 10, 2011
Tyler, the Creator's "Yonkers" video premieres
Odd Future was already pissing off parents and dividing critics by 2011, but it wasn't until its early ringleader released the creepy "Yonkers" video — featuring Tyler, the Creator eating a cockroach and hanging himself by its end — that the hip-hop collective made such a vile and profound impression on pop culture at large. We didn't quite know what we were getting to, and still don't.
February 13, 2011
Esperanza Spalding, best new artist (!)
Best new artist is a Grammy category with a notoriously checkered history, but in 2011, the field was stacked. Justin Bieber. Drake. Mumford & Sons. Florence and the Machine. Oh, and our
