“Bestof2011” (Used 40 times)

WHOOSH. Another year of incredible recordings out the window! Our Sprout Sessions last year were all so out of this world it was actually a (kind of awkward) chore to choose the 'best'. Rest assured knowing that these are at least SOME of the most incredible live moments we captured last year.

We're super excited for 2012 and the musical adventures it will bring. We'll be busy with organizing concerts and broadcasts around the world, and are even more psyched to share them with you and the amazing folks here at the FMA. 2012 is sure to be a much livelier year for us as our tiny organization continues to grow and grow. Thanks for tuning in to our part of spectrum - and happy new year!

On December 24th, CBC Radio 3 will start broadcasting the 8 hour musical behemoth that is The R3-103 - Radio 3's countdown of the Top 103 songs of 2011.

But you don't have to wait to find out what those songs are.

Here are the Top 10 Songs of the Best Canadian indie music of 2011: Now go rock out!

• 1 - Arcade Fire - "Suburban War"
• 2 - Dan Mangan - "Rows of Houses"
• 3 - Austra - "Lose It"
• 4 - Chad VanGaalen - "Sara"
• 5 - Hey Rosetta! - "Yer Spring"
• 6 - Young Galaxy - "Peripheral Visionaries"
• 7 - Coeur de pirate - "Adieu"
• 8 - The Rural Alberta Advantage - "Stamp"
• 9 - Destroyer - "Poor in Love"
• 10 - Ohbijou - "Niagara"

Well, it's been an eventful year: Tsunami in Nippon, (the) killing of an Arab (loudly celebrated in the US), fires, floods, earthquakes, snowpocalypses and endless wars, poverty & hunger...

Also, in some of the major cities in the US we have revolution of consumers called Occupy on our hands. Pepper sprays vs. tents. Kettling vs. revolution rock. Comic artist vs. some other comic artist. Confused leftist politicians vs. drunk millionaires, memes vs. more memes... and so on 'till death do us part.

Here in Europe, we have gigantic economic crisis coming. Everybody's scared. Nobody knows what tomorrow brings. Evil count Sarcozy & technocrat Angie Merkel override democratic procedures in order to save EURO & eurozone... Expect more looting than occupying, more city & highway crime than traffic jams on the roads to Azzure Coast & more canned food than master chef recipes.

So, my advice is to stay home with the device. Browse & explore vast ocean of FMA free music & listen to the radio 'till they disconnect electricity & interweb.

After that, only campfire, stories from the good old (neon) times and loaded shotgun somewhere in the mountains will keep us strong.

All the best in 2012!

I don't know about you, but I am so done with 2011. I've read the "best of" lists, I've seen the movies and listened to all the songs...now it's to time to look foward. And you know - 2012 is going to be the best year EVER.

So to get you ready for all the excitement, here at Radio 3 we've come up with a list of acts to look out for in 2012.  

Not only does Madonna have new music coming, but also Nicki Minaj, The Shins and John K. Samson.

So look into the future and think big. Who do you think is going to break out in the New Year?

Many fantastic CC record labels already release and curate free music, making my job of creating an end-of-year list easy. I also browsed various CC music communities to end up with the following, somewhat eclectic, mix. If you're a west coast transplant like myself, this might be perfect for the east-to-west cross country flight home for the holidaze. It's definitely not exhaustive, so enjoy, but be sure to check out all the other great artists and tracks on FMA.

By the way, the world of free and open music is made possible by Creative Commons licenses, which are developed, supported, and stewarded by Creative Commons — an actual nonprofit organization! To ensure that the legal and technical infrastructure by which you access, share, and remix music remains robust, please consider donating to CC's Annual Campaign today.

Happy holidays!