2 DJ Quik The Book Of David - i have been a DJ Quik fan since i first heard him in 7th grade. Quik is a world class producer, but he can rap better than most. Ghetto Rendezvous is a great example of this. plus, this album reminded me of how good Suga Free is.
3 Diet Cheerwine aka DC - Splenda®, bitch. i like to pound one for breakfast. i drank more Cheerwine this year than in my entire life. it's delicious.
4 Getting Faded And Ordering Clothes Online - if it wasn't for that, i would have got wayyyy less gear this year. laying in bed, super buzzed with my laptop, not a care in the world except trying to figure out how big the model is so i can determine whether or not i need a small or medium.
5 Heads On Sticks - HoS fucking ruled this year. songs like Alabaster really set HoS apart from any other act. and we did Bull Horns, which was definitely one of the hottest local collabs of 2011. if you didn't have a crush on David Mueller, then you were not straight or gay.
6 Tipping - tipping is cool, and if you suck at it, then you are an asshole. what goes around comes around, so even if just for karma, you should go h.a.m. when you tip. plus people who work jobs where they get tips usually work pretty hard. you don't have to tip someone who sucks, i guess, just don't be a dick. i did some pretty swell tipping this year, and i feel good about that.
7 Kings Barcade - this is my favorite venue in the Triangle right now, i had so many great times there this year, whether i was playing or not - like when that huge fat guy was on stage with me and i did a song on his back, some rad dates and dancing, and LOTS of champagne cocktails. Raleigh knows how to party and some of the bartenders there are the homeys and the sound is on point and then sound guys are nice and the space is cool and i just fucking like it. i googled images of Kings and the 3rd picture was this weird one with Mike Dillon in it.
8 Twisted Noodles - fuck, i wore this place out, mostly the semi-new location at Eastgate in Chapel Hill. i ate so much tom kha noodles this year, i craved that shit. but today it kind of grossed me out for some reason, i guess it was bound to happen. but definitely a favorite of 2011.
9 Motorcycles - motorcycles are the best! my bike is sick and was hooked up by Combustion Cycles, those guys are the homeys, they are awesome. so many good times on motorcycles this year: going to Ohio to pick one up and taking turns riding it back, delivering records to stores in half the time it would have taken in a car, riding all around with my boo, going nuts with Jake - i would post a picture on here but i don't want to get the haters all worked up. also, i don't want you to know it's me when i go by doing something really stupid, like drinking a milkshake. aw, fuck it, here's a picture. that's Jake's bike on the left.
10 Veelee - Veelee was one of the best bands of 2011, obviously. i truly dug their music and saw so many good shows. i loved The Future Sight and that i got to work with them. they are both good friends and i think they totally made a lot of people stoked.
11 Guns - guns are cool, get over it. shot a bunch of guns in 2011, including a shotgun and gnarly rifle for the first time. wear ear protection for fuck's sake, it doesn't make you a pussy. that saturday with my good friends was one of the best days of 2011. see more photos of that day here.
12 Subtitle Brief Bloom and s.h.a.r.k. BRIEF - while you were jocking Odd Future, you were busy not jocking Subtitle. both of these records had dope shit on them, particularly hot mess (i'm a) off s.h.a.r.k. BRIEF. this dude has BEEN weird, and is another consistent producer/rapper combo. pretty strange that he is not an underground household name. i mean, he is. but a much bigger one. i could say more, but he says enough about himself.
13 Durham - man, now that Durham seems to be sucking its own dick a little less, i am really starting to dig it. i hung out a lot more there this year, even more than when i lived and worked there, and i got to say i am stoked on Durham. my favorite things are/were the female luchador wrestling and the Halloween dance party at Motorco, the Pinhook anniversary parties (my freestyle with Javelin!), The Carrack art gallery, Big Freedia at Casbah, brunch at Watts, hanging out on Gattis Street, Combustion Cycles, Duke Gardens, Whiskey, shirlette ammons, Maria Albani, Saigon Grill, Chasing The Unicorn (and the premiere at Motorco -- amazing!), and the unofficial funeral i saw on the side of 15-501. pretty bummed i didn't go to a baseball game.
14 Drugs - drugs felt good this year.
15 Netflix - see above. holy shit, Jake and i made couches our bitches in 2011. i/we watched so many many movies. only on the watch instantly streaming tip, fuck getting movies in the mail. but yeah, it was the best. the BEST. i gave a lot of garbage a chance this year, like Cool As Ice (which i couldn't get through no matter how many times i tried). i discovered that the Koreans and the French make really great movies and that sometimes you will say to yourself that you really wanna watch so-and-so and you can actually find it on there! oh Netflix, you were really good to me in 2011. thank you so much. Vanilla Ice, go fuck yourself hard on a cactus because you are a disgusting human being. i can't believe someone let you say "schling a schlong" in a goddam movie.
