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Best Of Atlanta 2011 After Dark Large


After Dark

It’s a dark time in America. Employment’s down. Politicians suck. Bankers are drinking us dry. We rank near the bottom of the totem pole in education, transportation and just about every other category that matters. We haven’t been No. 1 in anything for a long time, but at least we still party like we are.

We took that into consideration as we compiled this year’s After Dark list of our favorite Atlanta musicians and sparks of nightlife. It required a lot of time spent in the dark: Dancing in dimly lit alleyways, searching out spirits down dark tunnels, bathing in dank beats emanating from our earbuds.

In the process, we found consolation in a fly-as-hell lady DJ, a kid named Ernest with a computer chip in his hip, a bunch of closeted karaoke freaks, a bonged-out band of metalheads, and a Church full of sanctified sinners, among others.

The “power music electric revival” OutKast preordained a decade ago reverberated throughout the city this year, spawning a new wave of electronic newborns, from the well-endowed Cousin Dan, with his codpiece-mounted keyboard, to the viral dance craze that finally answers the age-old question, “Where’s the Beef?”

So even as the country fades to black, we can rest assured knowing Atlanta will make a bombass fallout shelter.

— Rodney Carmichael

Best Soul album BOA Award Winner

Year » 2011
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2011 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Cee Lo Green
He’s gotten delightfully weirder over the past 15 years, yet Cee Lo Green has somehow become a household name in Middle America. “F*** You” landed him some unlikely buds (Gwyneth Paltrow?), a judge’s spot on “The Voice,” and his very own Fuse TV talk-show couch. ceelogreen.com.

Best Modern Classical Composer BOA Award Winner

Year » 2011
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2011 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Qurious
You have to know the rules before you can effectively break them, and Qurious seems to operate on a higher level of consciousness than its electro peers. Between Mike Netland’s starry-eyed production and Catherine Quesenberry’s spellbinding voice, the duo delves deep into the realm of pure atmosphericsmore...

You have to know the rules before you can effectively break them, and Qurious seems to operate on a higher level of consciousness than its electro peers. Between Mike Netland’s starry-eyed production and Catherine Quesenberry’s spellbinding voice, the duo delves deep into the realm of pure atmospherics with a sense of sophistication that eludes the rest. Each song on the group’s full-length 2010 debut, Planet Plant, slowly drifts through the ether with a celestial ambiance as massive and mysterious as the universe itself. It’s a sound that gives new meaning to the word ambient. qurious.bandcamp.com.


Listen: Qurious “Another Language”

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Best Dance Company BOA Award Winner

Year » 2011
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2011 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Beef It Up
It must be something in the red clay. From the Bankhead Bounce to the Walk It Out, Atlanta has a storied history when it comes to creating dances from scratch with catchy, organic raps to match. The latest in the lineage, Beef It Up, hails from a Scottdale crew called Charlie Boy Gang. “Watch me beefmore...
It must be something in the red clay. From the Bankhead Bounce to the Walk It Out, Atlanta has a storied history when it comes to creating dances from scratch with catchy, organic raps to match. The latest in the lineage, Beef It Up, hails from a Scottdale crew called Charlie Boy Gang. “Watch me beef it up/watch me funk it out,” Pimpin Duke and Mechi Man chant over percolating keys and a raw, unrefined bass line. But it’s the YouTube-ready dance that’s garnered the low-budget video more than a million views. Need some Beef tips? Picture Fred Sanford on the verge of a heart attack, throw in some old-school swagger, a little improvisation (the shovel, the lawnmower, the Rodney King), and a stone-cold zombie-like facial expression. Stir and serve hot. youtube.com/thecharlieboygang. less...