2011

1. Anna Calvi – S/T (Domino)
2. Veronica Falls – S/T (Slumberland)
3. Sea Lions – Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sea Lions But Were Afraid To Ask (Slumberland)
4. Seapony – Go With Me (Hardly Art)
5. La Sera – S/T (Hardly Art)
6. Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion (Slumberland)
7. Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams (Sub Pop)
8. Ringo Deathstarr – Colour Trip (Sonic Unyon)
9. Vivian Girls - Share The Joy (Polyvinyl)
10. Wye Oak – Civilian (Merge)
11. Timber Timbre – Creep On Creepin’ On (Arts & Crafts)
12. Brilliant Colors – Again And Again (Slumberland)
13. Kissing Party – Wasters Wall (Hot Congress)
14. Girls Names – Dead To Me (Slumberland)
15. Times New Viking – Dancer Equired! (Merge)
16. Cloud Nothings – S/T (Carpark)
17. Austra – Feel It Break (Domino)
18. The Coathangers – Larceny & Old Lace (Suicide Squeeze)
19. Still Corners – Creatures Of An Hour (Sub Pop)
20. Widowspeak – S/T (Captured Tracks)
21. Asobi Seksu – Fluorescence (Polyvinyl)
22. Fergus & Geronimo – Unlearn (Hardly Art)
23. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake (Vagrant)
24. Minks – By The Hedge (Captured Tracks)
25. Modular – Sinfonias Para Terricolas (Elefant)

• Morning Musume – 12 Smart (Up Front Works)
• Perfume – JPN (Tokuma Japan)
• AKB48 – Koko Ni Ita Kota (King Records)
• Tokyo Girls Style – Kodou no Hitmitsu (Avex)
• Frank (Just Frank) – The Brutal Wave (Weird Records)
• Friendly Fires – Pala (XL)
• Daedelus – Bespoke (Ninja Tune)
• SBTRKT – S/T (Young Turks)
• Justice – Audio Video Disco (Ed Banger)
• Various Artists – Space Escapade Unit 1 (Destination: Pluto Sector 68)(Elefant)
• Radiohead – The King Of Limbs (TickerTape Ltd.)
• The Drums – Portamento (Universal Republic)
• The Rapture – In The Grace Of Your Love (DFA)
• Rolling Stones – Some Girls (Deluxe Edition) (Universal Republic)
• Beach Boys – The Smile Sessions (Capitol)
• Bjork– Biophilia (One Little Indian)
• DRC Music – Kinshasa One Two (Warp Limited)
• The Horrors – Skying (XL)

• The Dime – Brickyard Cove (Corner Store Music Group)
• Eligh & Amplive – Therapy At 3 (LRG)
• GQ – Trouble Man (Jamla)
• Headnodic – Red Line Radio (Brick)
• Hopie – Dulce Vita (S/R)
• Kev Choice – The Power of Choice (S/R)
• Mistah F.A.B. – I’ve Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook (Faeva Afta)
• Moe Green – Lionheart EP (S/R)
• Otayo Dubb – Cold Piece of Work (Beatrock Music)
• Trackademicks – State of the Arts (HNRL)
• Zion I & the Grouch – Heroes in the Healing of the Nation (Z & G Music)

Ion’s Top 20 Hip Hop Albums of 2011

• Apathy – Honkey Kong (Dirty Version)
• Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4eva (S/R)
• Classified – Hand Shakes and Middle Fingers (HalfLife)
• Cunninlynguists – Oneirology (RBC)
• Drake – Take Care (Young Money)
• The Doppelgangaz – Lone Sharks (Groggy Pack)
• Eligh & Amplive – Therapy At 3 (LRG)
• Elzhi & Will Sessions – Elmatic (Jae B. Group)
• Grieves – Together/Apart (Rhymesayers)
• Hail Mary Mallon – Are You Gonna Eat That? (Rhymesayers)
• Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 (Top Dawg)
• Open Mike Eagle – Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes (Hellfyre Club)
• Pharoahe Monch – W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) (Duck Down)
• Phonte – Charity Starts at Home (Hard Boiled)
• Reks – R.E.K.S. (Showoff)
• The Roots – Undun (Def Jam)
• Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told (Suburban Noize)
• Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
• Tech N9ne – All 6’s & 7’s (Strange Music)
• yU – The Earn (Mello Music Group)

Ion’s Top 20 Everything Else Albums of 2011

• Adele – 21 (XL)
• Ambrose Akinmusire – When the Heart Emerges Glistening (Blue Note)
• Marsha Ambrosius – Late Nights & Early Mornings (J)
• Bon Iver – S/T (4AD)
• Charles Bradley – No Time for Dreaming (Daptone)
• Chase & Status – No More Idols (Mercury)
• Destroyer – Kaputt (Merge)
• Florence & the Machine – Ceremonials (Universal Island)
• Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra. (S/R)
• Giraffes? Giraffes! – Pink Magick (S/R)
• M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Naive)
• Nero – Welcome Reality (Mercury)
• SBTRKT – S/T (Young Turks)
• Jill Scott – The Light of the Sun (Warner Bros)
• Sepalcure – S/T (Hotflush)
• 65daysofstatic – Silent Running (Dustpunk)
• Thundercat – The Golden Age of Apocalypse (Brainfeeder)
• Tycho – Dive (Ghostly Int’l)
• Washed Out – Within and Without (Sub Pop)
• The Weeknd – House of Balloons (S/R)

Ion’s WOW (Whackyourheadupside-Overthetop-Wickedepic) Tracks of 2011

• Adele – “Turning Tables”
• Ambassadeurs – “M.O.P.E.”
• Avicii – “Levels”
• BT & Adam K – “Tomahawk”
• James Blake – “A Case of You” (Joni Mitchell cover)
• Burial – “Street Halo”
• Chase & Status – “Brixton Briefcase (feat. Cee-Lo)”
• Far Too Loud – “Moneymaker”
• Gonjasufi – “Change (Shlohmo Remix)”
• Ellie Goulding – “Lights (Bassnectar Remix)”
• Hudson Mohawke – “Thank You”
• J*Davey – “Queen of Wonderland (feat. Thundercat)”
• Jamie xx – “Far Nearer”
• Eric Prydz – “2Night”
• Random Axe – “Monster Babies”
• Salva – “Wake Ups”
• Teebs – “While You Dooooo”
• Thundercat – “Boat Cruise”
• Amon Tobin – “Goto 10”
• Tyler the Creator – “Yonkers”

Ion’s Favorite Moments as a KALX DJ in 2011

• Gil Scott-Heron tribute show during Yo! KALX Raps – May 30th
• DNAE Beats live set on my show – May 31st
• Phillipdrummond and FLO live freestyle – July 19th
• Meklit Hadero in studio live performance – September 27th
• Fundraiser show with This Mutha – October 25th
• Zombie-themed Midnight Express show – October 21st
• Fundraiser show as a pitcher for Sergio – October 30th
• Lateef the Truthspeaker interview – November 15th
• Baby Jaymes phone interview – November 29th
• Denise Sullivan interview – December 13th
  …and many thanks to all the guests, DJs and listeners involved the past year!

• V/A – Cartagena! Curro Fuentes & The Big Band Cumbia and Descarga Sound of Colombia 1962 – 1972 (Soundway)
• Tom Waits – Bad as Me (Anti-)
• V/A – Dim Lights, Thick Smoke and Hillbilly Music (Bear Family)
• Imperial Tiger Orchestra – Addis Abeba (Mental Groove)
• V/A – Russkie Wig-Out! Demented Surf/Electro/Exotica From Behind The Iron Curtain (Omni)
• Los Chicharrons – Roots of Life (Voodoo)
• Lumerians – Transmalinnia (Knitting Factory)

1. The Weeknd – House of Balloons (S/R)
2. WU LYF – Go Tell Fire to the Mountain (L Y F)
3. Cut Copy – Zonoscope (Modular)
4. Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch the Throne (Roc-a-Fella)
5. Tyler, the Creator – Goblin (XL)
6. The Strokes – Angles (RCA)
7. Bon Iver – S/T (Jagjaguwar)
8. Wilco – The Whole Love (dBpm)
9. Phantogram – Nightlife (Barsuk)
10. The Roots – undun (Def Jam)
11. The Dodos – No Color (Frenchkiss)
12. St. Vincent – Strange Mercy (4AD)
13. Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther Sounds)
14. Radiohead – The King of Limbs (TBD)
15. The Antlers – Burst Apart (Frenchkiss)

1. Radiation City – The Hands That Take You (Apes Tapes)
2. Drake – Take Care (Cash Money)
3. Fucked Up – David Comes To Life (Matador)
4. tUnE-YaRdS – w h o k i l l (4AD)
5. Veronica Falls – S/T (Slumberland)
6. SBTRKT – S/T (Young Turks)
7. Dreamdate – Melody Walk (Tic Tac Totally)
8. Anirudh Ravichander & Dhanush – Why This Kolaveri Di – Single (Sony)
9. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up (Sub Pop)
10. James Blake – S/T (Universal Republic)