I finished listening to 2010 a while ago but I have just been listening to all of the new music I can get my hands on because 2016 ain't half bad either!
But 2010 gives 2007 a run for its money. A ridiculously great year for music. So I'll probably just focus on the great, putting the merely "very good" in the bottom section.
The most significant thing in my personal life in 2010 is probably my trip to New Orleans. It is where I proposed to my wife and fell in love with the city. We went to Preservation Hall and saw the band there. Earlier in the year I had purchased An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall with such guests as Andrew Bird, Tom Waits, Jason Isbell, and many more. This was the first New Orleans jazz album officially in my collection and it will always be near to my heart for these reasons. Similarly, Kermit Ruffins put out Happy Talk, which will probably always be my favorite Ruffins album.
I remember Broken Bells were taken off my top whatever list at the last minute because I decided it was a little boring on my final listen-through. I'm bringing them back here because it is just so darn pleasant to listen to! I think I like this more than anything The Shins have done, although I was never a huge Shins fan. Danger Mouse's bleeps and bloops compliment James Mercer's words and voice quite well.
Remember when we all first heard Sleigh Bells? I'm pretty sure "Crown on the Ground" just had me immediately thank the person who shared them on Facebook or whatever. Such an awesome unique combination of sounds, from the pop vocals to the hip hop beats to the metal guitars, it was one of the most exciting sounds I'd heard and I was immediately hooked. When Treats finally came out, it sure was a collection of Treats, am I right? But seriously, that song and "Rill Rill" are what it's all about.
Spoon was always and will continue to be super reliably great. Transference saw them returning "to form," whatever that means for them. Just dig that beat, dig that build, and dig those forays into otherness.
The Suburbs by Arcade Fire was exactly what I wanted from them. I've always enjoyed them, but on this album they somehow sounded less self-important than everything else they've done. I'm not sure how that is. I think there's just this playful element that keeps it breezy. It just floats by in a wonderful way. Not that they don't sing about some heavy subjects, but the delivery makes it that much more enjoyable.
OFF! had four great EPs combined into one release called First Four EPs. That's a total of 16 songs for a grand total of 18 minutes of music. These little bolts of hardcore punk lightning are just a shot of lightning into the lightning tree. Am I right?
That's curtains for the Man in Black. American VI: Ain't No Grave was officially the final release of new music by Johnny Cash. With how depressing American V was, VI was a nice batch of hopeful, uplifting tunes, perfect for bidding adieu to one of the greatest artists to walk this earth.
The tip top:
There were a few albums that could easily top the list at the end of whatever year, but since it was 2010 there could be only one (at the time; I'm not ranking anymore). So these are the exceptionally great ones. Just because.
I had gotten previous Hot Chip albums, but One Life Stand stuck with me hard. It's like I finally figured out what they were doing. I'd had it in my head that they were supposed to be some dancy thing to take to the parties, but then I gave them more attention here and heard something much closer to the heart. Very soulful and optimistic. The title track ended up obviously being a very appropriate song for my pending nuptials, but this song was the one I wanted played at my wedding, for my side of the wedding party.
Hot Chip, "Brothers"
I'm pretty sure I picked up The Monitor by Titus Andronicus based off hype alone. People were talking them up and without even really knowing what it would sound like I went for it. This is something I have done before and since, but probably the most successful I've ever been with it. This is an epic punk rock tale. This is a story of the civil war and it's a story of self and all the ugliness and beauty that goes along with that. This is pure passion, unrestricted. Throw it all out, burn it up, and breathe in the fire.
Titus Andronicus, "Richard II"
She seemed to be ignored in 2010 by the mainstream here in the states, but in the years that followed, it looks like Robyn started getting her due, as songs like "Dancing On My Own" made their way to TV shows and such. But we can call 2010 her Body Talk era, when she put out three EPs over the course of the year to culminate in the full album version toward the end. At the time I remember thinking of how criminal it was that she wasn't the queen of the pop world, but the pop world just wasn't ready for her. Innovative beats, heartfelt lyrics, and just something extra that I can't quite pinpoint combine for the pop album of the year or more. Perfection. Love. Adore.
Robyn, "Hang With Me"
LCD Soundsystem. As of now, their latest album is still This Is Happening (that will probably change any day now!). At the time, it was the perfect culmination of their short career. Starting with the best drop I've ever heard on "Dance Yrself Clean," it just proceeds to rock every bone in your body including your skull and ribcage (as in being thoughtful and heartfelt), knock you down, and pick you back up, swearing "I Can Change." Because of this music project I hadn't heard this album in a few years before seeing them live at Red Rocks this summer, and coming back to the songs off this album in that mindset was pretty mind blowing.
LCD Soundsystem, "All I Want"
I think I mentioned a couple of these ago that my introduction to the great Janelle Monae was that Outkast song she was amazing on. But that and even the EP that followed were nothing to prepare me for the dizzying The ArchAndroid. I declared this my #1 album of the year at the time and I have no regrets about that (I'm not going to rank these here though, just so you know. Too much greatness for any of them to fall outside the top 5!). She can PERFORM and she can SING and she can CONCEPTUALIZE and she can ENTERTAIN and she can MAKE YOU SMILE and she can MAKE YOU THINK AND QUESTION EVERYTHING. She is the future. So it's only fitting that she introduced herself to the world with a multi-part concept suite-of-albums about the future.
Janelle Monae, "Tightrope" (I used this version because the official video isn't on YouTube but she was amazing on Letterman! But track down the video for the Big Boi part!)
That guy from that song up there, Big Boi, finally put out a proper solo album Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty. Previously I had remarked that Speakerboxxx was criminally Underrated, but this album just builds on that for the new decade to sound super fresh even now, six years later. It sounds like someone who has been holding it all in and has had so much to say. The energy of the beats here and his awesome delivery, I still haven't gotten any better at writing about hip hop have I?
Big Boi, "Daddy Fat Sax" or "Back Up Plan" - apparently he is not on YouTube! Listen to this stuff though using legitimate/legal methods!
Kanye West. Oh, Kanye West. Whatever problems your ego causes, whatever the hell 808s and Heartbreak was, it is all worth it if it leads to something like My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. You certainly have something you are good at, and that is constructing something of beauty from the ground up. My favorite moments from his early albums are the moments when he shows a little bit of vulnerability and he finds just the right times to do that here (while still showing the duality of his ego all over the thing). It's like a hip hop of Montreal. Showing one thing by demonstrating the opposite.
Kanye West featuring Pusha T, Tony Williams & The-Dream, "Runaway" - also can't emebed from YouTube! Get Tidal or whatever!
Is The Age Of Adz by Sufjan Stevens all that different of an album than that Kanye album? Maximalism to hide-which-also-reveals the underlying pain? Although it seems like he's taking a different approach to his maximalism. He's always had his heart on his sleeve, even if the sleeve is adorned in sequins and neon colors. It just draws you in with its unusual sounds so you're close enough to feel the gut punch which you saw coming from a mile away. There is this pain, this very personal pain, but it shows the spectrum of human emotion with its spectrum of even more neon colors. The joy and the fear, the sorrow and the hope, all culminating in my favorite 25 minute song. It is tempting to post that song, but I don't know if people have time for that, so I'll post this one instead.
Sufjan Stevens, "I Walked"
Other things that were very (very very very) good:
- I enjoyed Miles Kurosky's solo album, although maybe not as much as Beulah proper.
- Free Energy was an interesting product of my tendency these days to check out a lot of stuff that got good reviews. My wife ended up a bigger fan than me, but they are a good band to work out to.
- Love is All put out the wonderful Two Thousand And Ten Injuries, featuring mixtape staple "Less Than Thrilled," one of the best breakup songs of this century. Great energy. They still haven't followed up on that album 6 years later, but I'm excited to hear it whenever (if ever) they do.
- I'm New Here by Gil Scott-Heron is a really great collection of poetry and deep introspection.
- Sisterworld is yet another fantastic record by Liars.
- She & Him Volume 2 isn't all that different from Volume 1 but why change? They evolve a bit on subsequent releases and it does suit them but these early ones are just so charming.
- Oh yeah, Beach House! Teen Dream was my intro to this band and still my favorite of theirs.
- Black Francis continued his prolific hot streak with Nonstoperotik, a very good collection of vaguely and not-that-vaguely sexual innuendo with some heart.
- The Like went from 70s throwback to 60s throwback on Release Me. I enjoyed this shift in their sound immensely, particularly in the song "He's Not a Boy."
- The Magnetic Fields are always enjoyable and there's always a few standout tracks. On Realism, those standouts were "The Dada Polka," a signature clever song, and "Seduced and Abandoned," a signature sad song, from the master.
- Ol' reliable Ted Leo & The Pharmacists put out The Brutalist Bricks, a shot of adrenaline early in the year.
- Sadly the most memorable thing to me about Devil's Music by Teddybears was the overly snarky article about it by Pitchfork when it was announced. But the song with Robyn is obviously awesome, and a few of the others are quite good as well.
- Surfer Blood!
- Phantogram!
- I remember impressing a hip hop friend by getting The Stimulus Package by Freeway & Jake One. He then introduced me to other Jake One stuff. I just got it because of curiosity and the fact that I bought a LOT of music in 2010. And it had guests like Raekwon and Bun B. Those Jake One beats are great for running though!
- Plastic Beach by Gorillaz cemented the fact that Damon Albarn didn't need some big name producer to produce great songs for this project.
- Night Work had Scissor Sisters returning "to form" for an amazing celebration of excess.
- Assume Crash Position by Konono No 1 was quite revelatory. Such awesome sounds, it was like african post rock or something.
- CocoRosie continued to be underrated with Grey Oceans.
- The more beat-oriented Caribou found on Swim is a sound I like a lot.
- The New Pornographers always deliver and Together was no exception. "My Shepherd" has become possibly my favorite Neko Case fronted NP song.
- Is Outlaster the last Nina Nastasia album we've been treated to? Shame.
- How I Got Over showed The Roots settling into their TV gig and expanding their reach to things like Dirty Projectors and Monsters of Folk, both of which were featured (along with Joanna Newsom!). So indie! Of course, my favorite songs are the ones with Dice Raw, including the FIRE title track (and "The Fire" featuring John Legend). Lots of passion on this album.
- I Learned The Hard Way could potentially be my favorite Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings album, but that might just be because that's when I really started getting in to them.
- Medications were a band I discovered that appeals to both me and my wife, with their odd combination of post rock experimentation and pop vocals.
- I never quite spend enough time listening to Without Why by Rose Elinor Dougall, formerly my favorite member of The Pipettes. It is good and sassy even if it's not quite on the level of her old project's peak moments.
- Damn you, Twilight: Eclipse for having an exclusive Battles song "The Line" on your soundtrack (possibly the last Battles song to feature Tyondai Braxton)! Hopefully they found some new fans because it's a nice deceptive number that starts out easy and goes full Battles about halfway through.
- High Violet by The National is another of their very good albums. This is actually the point where I decided I liked them. Or was that 2009?
- Grinderman 2 is everything it needs to be. And has the best album cover.
- Maximum Balloon had some of the best non-TVOTR TV On The Radio songs ever recorded. The party version of TVOTR.
- I guess I should put All Delighted People, the Sufjan Stevens EP, down here just because I didn't want to take away from my Age of Adz write-up. It does happen to include one of my favorite Sufjan Stevens songs of all time though, "Enchanting Ghost." For a surprise release that he just threw out there before blowing all our minds with his "real" album, it is an amazing accomplishment that is doomed to be a footnote like this.
- Lisbon includes one of my favorite Walkmen songs, "While I Shovel the Snow." Just so perfectly captures that winter feeling.
- M.I.A. put out the purposely polarizing MAYA (/\/\/\Y/\) that is just finally getting the respect it deserves. It still sounds a little slight compared to some of her other accomplishments, but it's just such a bold move that I appreciate it for that.
- of Montreal got Solange on a track for False Priest. And Janelle Monae on a couple. I always like of Montreal albums and then they kind of blur around this time. Still a nasty little fun time.
- !!! was in the midst of their great period that they haven't left yet. Strange Weather, Isn't It? is just a big party.
- Les Savy Fav was also partying on Root For Ruin. Not sure if it will end up being their final album, but it is a great one to go out on.
- That Girl Talk mash-up mix thing All Day became of my favorite things to run to, just like that last one!
- National Ransom has all the ingredients to be a favorite Elvis Costello album for me. I just haven't been listening to him as much as I used to. But whenever I give it another shot, I remember that yes, I do quite enjoy this one.
- Neon Indian is pretty good, huh?
- Write About Love is a very enjoyable Belle & Sebastian album featuring the likes of Norah Jones and Carey Mulligan.
I did a two-album set for my mix of 2010.
'Twas 2010a:
1. LCD Soundsystem - Dance Yrself Clean
2. Robyn - Dancing On My Own
3. Gorillaz featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonon - Plastic Beach
4. Flying Lotus featuring Thundercat - Mmmhmm
5. The Roots featuring Dice Raw - How I Got Over
6. Kanye West featuring Dwele - Power
7. Big Boi featuring Andre 3000 - Lookin 4 Ya (Jedi Remix)
8. Janelle Monae - Cold War
9. Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill
10. Broken Bells - The High Road
11. Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
12. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
13. Sufjan Stevens - Vesuvius
14. The National - Lemonworld
15. Titus Andronicus - The Battle of Hampton Roads
'Twas 2010b:
1. Love Is All - Less Than Thrilled
2. Maximum Balloon featuring Aku - Tiger
3. Reflection Eternal featuring Bun B - Strangers (Paranoid)
4. Charlotte Gainsbourg - Dandelion
5. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - When I Come Home
6. Grinderman - Evil!
7. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake - Ornament
8. Liars - Scissor
9. Gil Scott-Heron - Me And The Devil
10. Beach House - Zebra
11. The Magnetic Fields - Seduced and Abandoned
12. Nina Nastasia - Cry, Cry Baby
13. Tussle - Soft Crush
14. Caribou - Leave House
15. Free Energy - Young Hearts
16. The Like - He's Not a Boy
17. The New Pornographers - My Shepherd
18. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Bottled Up In Cork
19. Les Savy Fav - Excess Energies
20. Spoon - Written In Reverse
21. Battles - The Line
22. Black Francis - Nonstoperotik
2011:
Antlers, Battles, Beastie Boys, Bon Iver, Deerhoof, Fleet Foxes, Jay Z & Kanye, M83, Shabazz Palaces, St Vincent, Thao & Mirah, Tom Waits, TV On The Radio's triumphant return, Wild Flag, and another classic album by Mr. "Weird Al" Yankovic.
