42 Musician & Rock Star Jokes: The 2011 “21, Born This Way & The Dubstep Drop” Edition

In 2011, the music industry was owned by a girl from London with a broken heart and a guy from California who made noises like a dial-up modem fighting a transformer. Adele made the entire world cry, Lady Gaga hatched from a giant egg, and Skrillex made “The Drop” the only part of a song that mattered. It was the year of the “Party Rock Anthem” shuffle and the moment we realized that Beyoncé was “Running the World” (Girls).

The 2011 Soundboard Top 10: “Rolling in the Deep, Skrillex & The Throne”

1. The Adele “21” Earthquake: Why the tissues? Because Adele released an album so powerful it stayed at #1 for roughly 500 years, proving that a broken heart and a massive voice could outsell every synth-pop act on the planet.
2. The Lady Gaga “Born This Way” Egg: Why the vessel? Because Gaga arrived at the Grammys in a giant translucent egg, proving that being “born this way” required a very high-concept delivery service.
3. The Skrillex “Dubstep” Invasion: Why the “Wub-Wub”? Because Sonny Moore traded his emo past for a laptop, making “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” the official sound of speakers everywhere catching fire.
4. The Jay-Z & Kanye “Watch The Throne”: Why the Paris trip? Because two of the biggest rappers on Earth teamed up to show us exactly what luxury sounded like, and they played one song 11 times in a row just because they could.
5. The LMFAO “Party Rock Anthem”: Why the shuffling? For the song that made every person at a wedding, prom, and funeral in 2011 feel the need to move their feet in a way they definitely couldn’t sustain.
6. The Rihanna “We Found Love” Era: Why the wheat field? Because Calvin Harris and Rihanna created the ultimate EDM-pop anthem, proving that you can find love in a hopeless place as long as there’s a massive bass drop.
7. The Katy Perry “Teenage Dream” (The Continuation): Why the record tie? Because she became the first woman to have five #1 singles from one album, effectively turning 2011 into a giant candy-colored victory lap.
8. The Foo Fighters “Wasting Light”: Why the garage? Because Dave Grohl recorded a masterpiece on analog tape in his own garage, proving that rock and roll still smelled like teen spirit (and old oil).
9. The Drake “Take Care” Mood: Why the owl? Because Drake and 40 perfected the “sad-rapper-in-a-mansion” aesthetic, making everyone want to call their ex at 3 AM while looking at a rainy window.
10. The Foster The People “Pumped Up Kicks”: Why the catchy beat? For the indie-pop song that was so upbeat and sunny that it took half the world an entire year to realize what the lyrics were actually about.

The Full 2011 Musician & Rock Star Archive

11. The Bon Iver “Bon Iver, Bon Iver”: Why the Grammy? For the man who moved out of the cabin and into a lush, orchestral dreamscape, winning Best New Artist despite being around for years.
12. The Lana Del Rey “Video Games” Arrival: Why the lips? For the DIY video that launched a thousand Tumblr blogs and introduced us to the world of “Summertime Sadness” and vintage Hollywood glam.
13. The Nicki Minaj “Super Bass”: Why the pink wig? For the song that proved Nicki was a pop juggernaut who could make Taylor Swift and every kid in America rap along to every word.
14. The Gotye “Somebody That I Used to Know”: Why the body paint? For the song that came from Australia to dominate every radio station on Earth until we all literally became someone that Gotye used to know.
15. The Florence + The Machine “Ceremonials”: Why the harp? For the second album that was so grand and loud it sounded like it was being performed inside a cathedral during a hurricane.
16. The Black Keys “El Camino”: Why the minivan? For the “Lonely Boy” riff that proved garage rock was the funkiest thing you could listen to in 2011.
17. The Bruno Mars “Grenade” Drama: Why the piano? For the man who proved he would catch a grenade, jump in front of a train, and do literally anything for love, except maybe stop wearing fedoras.
18. The Tyler, The Creator “Yonkers”: Why the cockroach? For the Odd Future leader scaring the mainstream and proving that DIY hip-hop was about to get very, very dark.
19. The Arctic Monkeys “Suck It and See”: Why the title? For the Sheffield boys going back to their rock roots with a classic, sun-drenched guitar record.
20. The Beyoncé “4” Era: Why the pregnancy reveal? For the VMAs moment where B rubbed her belly after “Love on Top,” effectively breaking Twitter and the internet.
21. The Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger”: Why the whistle? For the song that resurrected Maroon 5’s career and gave us a chorus that is still playing in a grocery store near you right now.
22. The PJ Harvey “Let England Shake”: Why the autoharp? For the masterpiece that won the Mercury Prize and proved that war and politics could be beautiful and terrifying.
23. The M83 “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming”: Why “Midnight City”? For the ultimate 80s-inspired synth anthem that made every night drive feel like a movie.
24. The Beastie Boys “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two”: Why the final bow? For the legends’ last album, a funky, distorted masterpiece released just before we lost MCA.
25. The Red Hot Chili Peppers “I’m With You”: Why Josh Klinghoffer? For the first album without John Frusciante in 15 years, proving the Peppers could still find the funk in a new era.
26. The Pitbull “Give Me Everything”: Why Mr. Worldwide? For the year Pitbull officially became the guest on every single song, making the world his personal dancefloor.
27. The St. Vincent “Strange Mercy”: Why the guitar work? For Annie Clark proving she was the most inventive and stylish guitar hero of the new decade.
28. The Coldplay “Mylo Xyloto”: Why the neon? For the band turning their shows into a giant glow-in-the-dark party with wristbands and Rihanna features.
29. The Mastodon “The Hunter”: Why the creature? For the metal titans proving they could be catchy and melodic without losing their crushing weight.
30. The Chris Brown “F.A.M.E.”: Why the comeback? For the album that proved the charts had a very short memory when the dance beats were loud enough.
31. The Death of Amy Winehouse: Why the 27 Club? For the heartbreaking loss of a generation’s greatest soul voice in July, leaving the world with just two perfect albums.
32. The Death of Nate Dogg: Why the “Regulate” silence? For the loss of the King of the Hook, the man whose voice made every West Coast track better.
33. The Death of Clarence Clemons: Why the “Big Man”? For the loss of the soul of the E Street Band, whose saxophone solos defined rock and roll for Bruce Springsteen.
34. The Fleet Foxes “Helplessness Blues”: Why the existential crisis? For the folk band proving that harmonies and acoustic guitars were the best way to handle your 20s.
35. The Kasabian “Velociraptor!”: Why the dinosaur? For the British band staying weird and loud, ruling the UK festival circuit with ease.
36. The Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Debut: Why the split? For Noel proving he could write classic anthems without his brother Liam’s voice (though we still missed the fighting).
37. The Tom Waits “Bad as Me”: Why the grit? For the legend proving that at 61, he could still sound like a junkyard orchestra and beat the kids at their own game.
38. The One Direction “What Makes You Beautiful”: Why the beach? For the single that officially launched a global boyband takeover that hadn’t been seen since the 90s.
39. The James Blake Debut: Why the silence? For the man who turned “Post-Dubstep” and soul into a minimal, haunting experience.
40. The Feist “Metals”: Why the storm? For the Canadian singer following up her massive pop hit with an earthy, powerful rock record.
41. The Minecraft Launch: Why the blocks? Because while we were listening to music, we were also building digital worlds that would eventually become the new place for virtual concerts.
42. The 2011 Final Music Vibe: Why did the year feel so emotional yet loud? Because we were caught between Adele’s soulful tears and Skrillex’s digital screams, all while we watched Lady Gaga hatch from an egg into a world that was starting to look like a Tumblr aesthetic come to life.