It seems like a bunch of bands called it quits in 2011, and beyond the squabbling and reformation of baby indie bands, some were even significant occurrences in popular culture. Strerogum put together a nice black and white tribute video (a la The Oscars) for bands that have passed on in 2011. When I first saw the headline I thought they meant musicians that have actually died this year, because man, we've had one too many of those.
"In Memoriam":
In Memoriam: Bands We Lost In 2011 from stereogum on Vimeo.