Best Albums of 2010, #1-10.

Here it goes.

10 Big Boi "Sir Lucious Left Foot..."
This man has incomparable flow and it's a shame that label wrangling delayed its release for so long: the world needs to hear this! Big Boi has a seasoned confidence but really, what rapper doesn't try to project swagger? The difference is that big Boi's confidence just oozes effortlessly out of the tracks (effortless oozing?) and the results make for a great party album showcasing the other (equal) half of Outkast at his finest.
Check out: "Shutterbugg," "Shine Blockas" (feat. a great Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes sample of their song, "Thank You" -- thanks to my friend Alicia for pointing that out...),

9 Trampled by Turtles "Palomino"
While I enjoy this entire album by a great Minnesota band, it's hard not to make the comparison with the 2010 Indianapolis Colts; without the Peyton Manning that is "Wait so Long" and the Reggie Wayne that is "Victory," I'm not sure if "Palomino" would make the Top-10. Another band I'm dying to see live, kind of hard to believe it has yet to happen. 2011, let's make it happen, Trampled by Turtles.



8 Wolf Parade "Expo 86"
So this is one band I did see live this year and it was a great show. And so it's sad that they are apparently on indefinite hiatus now. For me, seeing the concert helped to solidify the very distinct character of Wolf Parade's frontmen. Spencer Krug (also of Sunset Rubdown) is kind of 2010's Isaac Brock...yelpy, yes, but yelpy in a way that adds a sense of urgency to every one of his songs (see "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" off of 2005's "Apologies of the Queen Mary" for a great example of this). I prefer Dan Boeckner (of Handsome Furs), because he tries to recreate Springsteen's greatest hits on every one of his songs (even on Handsome Furs stuff, which is more blippy and bloopy, the Boss is never far away, see "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything" for an example embedded in the frickin' title!). But together, they make (made?) a great team, which leads me to wonder, is every Canadian band some sort of supergroup? (looking at you, Stars, Broken Social Scene, New Pornographers...)
Check out: "Yulia" (I love space history and have recently been engrossed in the documentary series "When We Left Earth" which is about the early U.S. manned space program, my pick for the greatest achievement of humankind in the 20th Century...) "Yulia" could be my generation's "Rocket Man," although I can't imagine ironically singing it 20 years from now at karaoke...



7 Robyn "Body Talk"
Coincidentally, this is what my body does after consuming too much Taco Bell. This is Robyn's third (!!) album of 2010. It's a collection of the best tracks off of the first two along with a handful of new songs. Any discussion of "Body Talk" begins with "Dancing On My Own," which to my ears blows anything in pop music out of the water with Robyn's combination of fierce independence with affecting vulnerability. The song is a perfect introduction to the entire album, which clicks off one song after another with this amazing combination of emotions. This is an album for going out but also an appropriate one for coming home after a rough night. Hopefully getting tickets soon for her upcoming show at First Ave!
Check out: "Dancing On My Own," "Call Your Girlfriend," "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do"



6 Beach House "Teen Dream"
So this album has been appearing at the top of quite a few Best-of lists this year and for good reason, too.  In comparison to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," well, there's no comparison, but if there were Beach House would totally be the Gods of Love bringing the hammer down on Katy Perry's Daisy Dukes. Their sound is just so imposing. I found the first two Beach House albums a little slow, similar to how I felt about Grizzly Bear prior to "Veckatimist" last year. On "Teen Dream," Beach House doesn't necessarily speed things up -- most songs are dreamy strolls (sometimes literally, "Walk in the Park") through shimmery guitar and keyboard -- but the band has matured, there's less plodding and more hooks on this album. They had a show last spring at the Cedar and are highly recommended to see live. I also have a mini-crush on Victoria Legrand, although I think she would eat me for breakfast, she seems very intense.
Check out: "Zebra," "Norway," "Real Love," "Walk in the Park"
And watch Beach House play "Norway" on PitchforkTV, in an scarily accurate re-creation of my bedroom. I never get tired of watching Legrand usher in the chorus with a sweep of her hand in-time with the cymbal hit; I can't explain why, but it gives me the chills every time.

...the turn

5 Kanye West "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
This top-10 list was hard to sort -- I can now feel some empathy for law professors grading on a forced curve. So really, if this were like the NBA lottery, "MBDTF" is like the Minnesota Timberwolves; no album had a better chance of being #1, but by luck (or unluck) of the draw, it came out at #5 instead. Whatever, Kanye will get over it. First of all, this is not a "rap" album, it's shifted into a new genre that is probably too grand and all-encompassing to accurately categorize. The best way to describe it comes in the relatively minor song "Gorgeous," when Kanye raps, "I ain't got it, I'm coming after whoever who has it -- I'M COMING AFTER WHOEVER, WHO HAS IT?" with such urgency you're left with no choice but to accept that he's out to conquer the world with this album. And he largely succeeds.
Check out: "Monster" (Nicki Minaj has a MONSTER verse here), "All of the Lights," oh, c'mon, you don't need me to tell you which ubiquitous Kanye songs to listen to...


4 Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"
Probably the best album out of the coterie of albums from established artists on this list (see Spoon, the Hold Steady, LCD Soundsytem), it's also one of the best albums out there, period. It earns a place in the Top-5 not on legacy, but on merit. And making such a potentially disastrous theme, suburban life (ahem, "Weeds" after Season 2...) Arcade Fire offer a sprawling narrative of adult longing, riffing on similar themes as their debut album, but in the context of aging and growing distant to childhood people and places, not the apocalypse...Also, probably the best concert I've attended this or any year was Arcade Fire at Roy Wilkins. I watched their live webcast from Madison Square Garden and the energy of their performance in the most famous arena in the world was the same as it was in St. Paul in September -- pretty incredible to do anything at such a high, sustained level of dedication.
Check out: "Ready to Start," "Modern Man," "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"



3 Best Coast "Crazy For You"
Best Coast doesn't win any awards for artistic merit or ambition with their debut album, but that's the point. Beth Consentino sings about getting high, her cat, and boys. The music is also pretty elemental, basically just surf rock guitar with a nod towards vocals of 50s girl groups and hooks of alt bands from the 90s. But it's a great album, nonetheless, and one of the best go-to albums for driving down the coast on a muggy summer evening, with the windows open.



2 Joanna Newsom "Have One on Me"
It's difficult to put this album on the list, not because it's not good -- it's really, really good -- but rather because it almost seems inappropriate. Something like sticking a high-art photograph in with random pics taken off of Facebook. I also have to admit that it took me a while to warm to Joanna Newsom. I first heard her on her second full album, "Ys," and I couldn't see past the wordy, archaic lyrics, the somewhat amorphous song structure, and the most common complaint: her voice. But after giving "Ys" a second and third chance, I finally realized what all the fuss was about. I mean, semi-academic essays have been written on her genius and compiled into a book (seriously). And these essays are not written by some random, geeky indie music 'zine writers, but by heavy-hitters like Dave Eggers (who, to be fair, could be categorized as just an especially famous fanboy, projecting his ideal female though potentially sexist conception of the delicate, vulnerable artist on Newsom). Like it or not, these outside influences (including her place at the top of one of my friend's top-10 lists) changed how I view her work. The closest thing I can compare this album to is "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," Neutral Milk Hotel's masterpiece. That particular album comes to mind not because of the musical similarities -- the lo-fi aesthete of NMH is the antithesis of Joanna Newsom's sound -- but because of how each album works as a piece of art, existing outside of most notions of what music can do and mean. NMH evoked loss and helplessness through an approximation of Anne Frank's story, while Joanna Newsom evokes similar emotions of loss, love, and regret through archaic imagery rooted both in present and in fictional historical times (yes, she does talk about dragons). It's hard to explain, as you can see, but "Have One on Me" is a really great album and work of art. Oh, god, I just became a fanboy...
Check out: "Good Intentions Paving Company," "It Will Suffice," "81," "In California," "On a Good Day"


1 Janelle Monae "The ArchAndroid"
Notwithstanding the fact that this album shares the same title as my nickname in high school, it's been hands-down my favorite album of the year. In relation to some of the artists on this list, Janelle Monae adopts the android-with-feelings character of Robyn, mixes it with the chops and ambition of Joanna Newsom, and weaves a sense of loss through her songs like the Arcade Fire. But most of all, she's just really, really good at what she does. I believe that while music is not linear, meaning the genres blend together at the borders, and are sometimes erased completely, listening to this album is kind of like listening to all of the great music in R&B (and funk, rock, soul, hip-hop, pop, etc. etc. etc.) from the past 60 years in one tidy package and all in a totally original way. The music sounds like it was made with one foot in 2010 and one foot in 1955, 1972 -- pick your year. Finally, this album is #1 because I've loved it since the first time I heard it and still find new elements in songs that suggests I'll love listening to it for years to come. And isn't that what listening to music is all about?


Well, I hope you've had fun reading my best-of list for 2010, it was fun recalling the past year through music. I'm also really interested in hearing what your top albums of the year were. If you're reading this, you probably know me, so send me your list!

Best Albums of 2010...20-11

Because I've got to get these Post-it Notes off of my desk.

20 Vampire Weekend "Contra"
19 The Hold Steady "Heaven is Whenever"
There is a great backstory behind how I got a limited edition vinyl copy of this album and it involves: Record Store Day, Treehouse Records, my friend Sophie, and a random act of kindness. For that reason, (and these: "Hurricane J" & "The Weekenders") this album is included in the list.
18 Spoon "Transference"
17 Breathe Owl Breathe "Magic Central"
One of my favorite bands from college (but definitely not "college rock," whatever that is) this whimsical, folky band hails from Michigan and, along with being super nice people, make great music to boot. As an added bonus, check out "Drop and Roll" off of their previous album. One of my favorite songs of all time.

16 She & Him "Volume Two"
Is my love for this album due at least in part to the adorable Zooey Deschanel? Of course it is -- but M. Ward anchors this album with nostalgic 50's-sounding, golden, shimmering riffs (see "Thieves," and "Lingering Still").

15 Communist Daughter "Soundtrack to the End"
The video below (and another one here) are what turned me on to Communist Daughter (not to mention the NMH-referencing band name). Someone please tell me when they play around here next, I can't miss it.

14 LCD Soundsystem "This is Happening"
This is happening: I am listening to "Dance Yrself Clean" and "All I Want."
13 Sleigh Bells "Treats"
Another listen-to-this-loud album. Still trying to figure out if the combination of LOUD guitars with sing-song-y lyrics is a gimmick or genius, but pairing a Funkadelic sample in "Rill Rills" is convincing me of the latter....
12 Girl Talk "All Day"
And just when you put your finger on it...the sample changes and it's on to the next earworm. And while I think using the whole "so-in-demand-the-servers-crashed" device is overused, I'll use it again -- when the Girl Talk album was given away free a few weeks ago, you guessed it, the servers crashed. Luckily, I was eventually able to download the album. For those unfamiliar with Girl Talk, first of all, so proud of you for leaving the Amish. Really am. Girl Talk is a "mashup" artist who combines the pop music you love listening to with pop music you feel guilty about listening to...and makes magic. (Here is a cool site that streams the album and lists the samples as they play)
11 The Tallest Man on Earth "The Wild Hunt" & "Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird EP"
Another unfortunate music journalistic trope is the annual declaration of "The Next Bob Dylan" -- well, here we go again...

Best Albums From a Particular Sub-Genre...of the year

Collecting my favorite albums of the year is always a fun, yet stressful process for me. Not real-world stress, but rather, the stress of figuring out what I really thought about the music that streamed through my headphones this year. Throughout this process, a small handful of albums sort of naturally coalesced into this small group that I really liked as a whole, but couldn't figure out where to place in my top 20+. And it's really hard, even with this tiny sample of albums, to pick my favorites, but whatever, here it goes.

Sub-Genre of the Year: Guitar-rock


Umm...okay, sure, this is not exactly a new genre. From Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley to Stephen Malkmus and Frank Black, guitar-based music has been the staple of pretty much the ENTIRE popular music scene of the past 75 years. But what captured my attention this year was that some new artists' began to stray away from the recent trends of electronic- dance-rock (think Franz Ferdinand or Hot Chip), towards a more unrestrained sound. And no Chillwave. Some bands in my completely made-up sub-genre tended towards 50s and 60s California pop (Best Coast, She & Him, Girls) while others were more garage-y, New York in the 70s (Harlem, Titus Andronicus, Japandroids). But it's all characterized by a less-produced sound and, of course, prominent guitar. So here we go. None of the following bands appear on my top 20+ list forthcoming, but it's more because I'm featuring them here and freeing up space in the other list than because I don't like them.

Harlem "Hippies"
Maybe the most extreme example of the garage sound in new music today. It's the sound of a group of friends jamming, only recently discovering how to add elements of sound together to make magic. Just guitar, drums, and vocal, but it's just the right combination of these elements that makes for a fun 40 minutes.
Check out: "Gay Human Bones," "Friendly Ghost"

Astro Coast "Surfer Blood"
Maybe a click or two more "produced" than Harlem, this band's debut album is hard to describe. Kind of a Brian Wilson meets Rivers Cuomo vocals with a sugary wave of guitar throughout. Start at "Swim" and keep going in "Harmonix" which reminds me a lot of Television, for some reason.

Fang Island (Self-titled)
So far, we've been amping up the guitar sounds -- from jangly garage-band to pop waves. Now comes the most powerful onslaught this side of metal. There is some serious thrashing going on here. Fang Island's album art typifies this wave of nostalgic album art I happen to love (see, also Spoon, Wolf Parade's, Dum Dum Girls, Vampire Weekend, etc. etc... Oh, and the entire Gorilla vs. Bear blog). Thing is, the music on these albums don't usually follow the theme of the album art. This is definitely not the case with Fang Island. You wouldn't expect nostalgia (except maybe for early 90's thrasher?) to be the first thing to come to mind from an album featuring heavy, heavy guitar but it totally fits Fang Island's approach. I think it's because the nostalgia is very specific. It's not some "Oh, I remember sitting on granddad's knee as a kid, he told scary war stories while I played with the buttons on his shirt" nostalgia -- it's the "I'M A KID, I RUN EVERYWHERE, ESPECIALLY TO THE BATHROOM. WHEN MY FRIENDS AND I GET TOGETHER, WE DON'T TALK, WE JUST PLAY. AAAH!" nostalgia we all secretly feel so often during the day. I mean, come on, who doesn't want to run the wrong way on an escalator or jump off tables  or just dance crazy at the bus stop from time to time?? Well this album give you that excuse. Check out the video for "Daisy" for some tips on the proper way to have a nostalgic adult freak-out.



I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into this trend, maybe it's really that the music industry has gotten so fragmented that bands who don't quite fit into the current zeitgeist can still put their music out and I just happened to wander into some of this music this year. There's probably some truth to that, but who knows? There's so much music out there! This post is case-in-point. After making the top-20 cut for my year-end list, I realized that I had left a lot of bands off and I really wanted to highlight a few of them. And there are still albums out there that a. didn't make the top 20, b. didn't make my honorable mention list, and c. didn't make this list, that I still really loved listening to this year. So kudos to the following bands for making great music this year:
Mavis Staples "You Are Not Alone"
Gorillaz "Plastic Beach"
Caribou "Swim"
Lake Folk "Feel Like I'm Home"
Justin Townes Earle "Harlem River Blues"
Four Tet "There Is Love In You"
The National "High Violet"
Titus Andronicus "The Monitor"
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Hawk"

Albums 11-20 out this weekend!

Albums of the Year, 2010 (Honorable Mention)

It's that time of year again, everybody. Time to procrastinate from studying by sifting through the new music I've been listening to and loving the past year. As this list rolls out in the next week or so, you can bet that you will get your fair dose of J-Biebs and JWoww. But you will lose a lot of money if that's the case. On to the formalities.

I'm just going to go ahead and say this: 2010 was the best year for music ever. Mozart might argue that 1788 was better -- after all, he did write three of the best symphonies ever (39, 40, & 41 ("Jupiter")). Or McCartney might argue that 1967 was a particularly good year. And in the annals of history, they're probably right. But whatever, enough good, even great music was released this year to more than fill this list.

Without any further ado, here are the albums, in no particular order, that received honorable mention from me, culled from a list of about 40 finalists. Congratulations artists, your check is in the mail.

Girls "Broken Dreams Club EP"
This EP would've been in the top-10 if it were a full album. Just sayin'. Girls is a band whose growth in the past year, since they released their first LP "Album" a year ago and I saw them at the Entry, has been staggering. They still have raggedy, wistful vocals with more than a hint of Elvis Costello, but they are more of a force as a band and in the studio. The production has a fuller presence, with cleaner production and more instruments (steel slide! horns!); but their music still retains its character. Great set of 6 songs, I can't wait for their next album.
Check out: "Oh So Protective One," "Carolina," "Heartbreaker"


Belle & Sebastian "Write About Love"
I don't know why this is only an honorable mention. I guess it speaks to the strength of the others higher up on the list. But I've been waiting since 2006 ("The Life Pursuit) for a new Belle & Sebastian album and this does not disappoint. It "sounds" like B&S, they have that unmistakeable sound, but it's a step in a slightly different direction than their last album in that it's less ambitious. Kind of similar to Spoon and the Hold Steady's new albums (spoiler alert! they're both in the top-20...) in that it's a "good" but not "classic" album in the bands' respective canons. But who cares? It's really good and here's hoping their next album comes out before 2014...
Check out: "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John (feat. Norah Jones)," "Come on Sister," "Sunday's Pretty Icons"

Crystal Castles "Crystal Castles (II)"
Now, to completely switch gears, Crystal Castles' new album was another where I'm sort of asking myself, "So how'd they end up here?" in a good way. I have only one comment about this album: PLAY IT LOUD! Oh, and dig around Pitchfork for an awesome clip of Big Boi (another spoiler alert! another top-20) doing "Shutterbugg" and free-styling over the beat of "Empathy" (he also professes his love for Kate Bush..."she's somewhere in the Lock Ness monster's forest over there in London." It's weirdly awesome.)
Check Out: "Empathy," "Celestica," "Baptism," below check out bonus non-album action of Crystal Castles and Robert Smith in "Not in Love" -- this song alone could've propelled them to the top-20



Das Racist "Sit Down, Man"
Perhaps best known for their odd stoner party rap, "Combination Pizza Hut or Taco Bell," a song which plumbed the depths of the human soul in a novel attempt to describe the human condition...okay, the song really was about being at one of those mutant Pizza Hut/Taco Bell restaurants. But, as my post from Halloween says, "It gets better." As in life, as in Das Racist albums. The duo hits the weirdo-sweet spot of a more self-aware, less-serious DOOM. A Jane Birkin-esque panting session turns into a dub rap before turning into a jubilant African-sounding chorus in "Julia."
Check out: "Fashion Show," "Julia," "All Tan Everything"


Rihanna "Loud"
2010 might've been the year I officially caught the pop bug. As such, I've found myself listening to Rihanna a lot recently. Note that I still draw the line at that girl Bieber, Katy Perry, and Ke$ha...but Gaga, Beyonce, and Rihanna are fair game. And "Loud" is a really good album, especially for someone who won't hear her songs ad nauseum on 101.3 or 96.3 (are they still around?).
Check Out: Honestly, if you're looking to my blog for Rihanna songs to check out, you probably live under a rock. But fine, check out: "Only Girl (In the World)," "What's My Name (feat. that quadriplegic from Degrassi (apparently he's able-bodied in real life and likes to drink Sprite before his head explodes),"  "Raining Men (feat. the "MONSTER" Nicki Minaj)"

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists "The Brutalist Bricks"
Another album falling into the category of "great-artist-solid-if-unspectacular-album" Belle & Sebastian find themselves in. This album got me into older Ted Leo albums and is a great introduction to his punk-pop style. See, also albums "Hearts of Oak," and "Shake the Sheets" for a more complete primer.
Check out: "Even Heros Have to Die," "Bottled Up In Cork," "The Mighty Sparrow"


The Gaslight Anthem "American Slang"
Still the closest thing song-wise (I'd argue the Hold Steady are truer theme-wise) to Bruce Springsteen out there, and, they're from Jersey! Their second album finds them branching out to embrace Van Morrison (see the vid below) which is great. Two of my favorites, all paid homage-to under one album banner.


Time for bed. But stay tuned for 11-20 later this week!