SH Forums Best Albums of 2010

I'm sure the new Ryan Adams, "III/IV," due in a week, will top my list.

 

They're old, uncool, and not with it. And they're probably miserable with life on top of that.

 

The Adams will no doubt make my list, too.

Here are the other contenders right now (in no particular order):

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Josh Ritter - So Runs The World Away
Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
The New Pornographers - Together
The National - High Violet
Lloyd Cole - Broken Record
The Black Keys - Brothers
Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love
The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
The Walkmen - Lisbon

 

I'll also have to add Gemini by Wild Nothings to my list. I've been listening to it quite a bit since this weekend. If you're a fan of 80s British indie music you'll probably enjoy it.

 

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 'Live Anthology'
Drive-By Truckers 'The Big To-Do'

 

Field Music - (Measure) is quickly moving into my Top 10.

 

My Preliminary list to be ordered and finalised at the end of the year:

Joanna Newsom "Have One on Me"
Janelle Monae "The Archandroid"
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Before Today"
Zola Jesus "Stridulum II"
Oneohtrix Point Never "Returnal"
Emeralds "Does it Look Like I'm Here"
Yeasayer "Odd Blood"
Vampire Weekend "Contra"
Beach House "Teen Dream"
Actress "Splaszsh"

Also in the frame are albums from:
Jamie Lidell; Bonnie Prince Billy; Grinderman; Four Tet; Big Boi; Field Music; John Grant; LA Vampires and Zola Jesus; Erykah Badu, Pangaea and Games.

 

My final list:

1. Joanna Newsom "Have One on Me"
2. Kanye West "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
3. Janelle Monáe "The ArchAndroid"
4. The Tallest Man on Earth "The Wild Hunt"
5. Titus Andronicus "The Monitor"
6. The Walkmen "Lisbon"
7. The National "High Violet"
8. Hot Chip "One Life Stand"
9. Love Is All "Two Thousand and Ten Injuries"
10. Deerhunter "Halcyon Digest"
+
Surfer Blood "Astro Coast"
Sufjan Stevens "The Age of Adz"
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti "Before Today"
Vampire Weekend "Contra"
Arcade Fire "The Suburbs"
Crystal Castles
Gil Scott-Heron "I'm New Here"
Male Bonding "Nothing Hurts"
Curren$y "Pilot Talk"
MGMT "Congratulations"
Tame Impala "Innerspeaker"
The Apples in Stereo "Travellers in Space and Time"
Midnight Juggernauts "The Crystal Axis"

Banner year.

 

My album of the year:

Mark Ronson and the Business International - 'Record Collection'

A.ma.zing.

 

I guess it's time to post my final list:

10 - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – I Learned the Hard Way

An album nearly as good as Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black. The difference is that Jones doesn’t seem to be an addict and doesn’t promote herself or her music through the tabloids (which is not intended as a shot at Winehouse).

9 – Belle & Sebastian – Write About Love

Not quite the new direction that Dear Catastrophe Waitress or The Life Pursuit was: it’s not as poppy as the former or as eclectic as the latter. Instead, it’s simply another smart, beautiful album from one of the best artists of the last decade and a half.

8 – Black Mountain – Wilderness Heart

More Zeppelin this time than Black Sabbath—always a good thing for me.

7 – The Black Keys – Brothers

Probably more “That woman done me wrong” songs than necessary. But this band gets more interesting with each new record. (I think there's even a song with a harpsichord.)

6 – Lloyd Cole – Broken Record

This is like an old friend who reconnects after many years. I didn’t know if Cole would ever record a full band album again, but this is one, even though you can’t buy it in stores. Worth tracking down, however, if like me, you once wanted to *be* Lloyd Cole.

5 – Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

Who would have thought that a band not named U2 would be so earnest and listenable at the same time? Or that I would ever want to repeatedly play a concept album about suburban alienation beyond the age of sixteen?

4 – Drive-By-Truckers – The Big To-Do

I prefer this to many other recent Truckers’ albums, mainly because it has a higher percentage of songs by Patterson Hood. But this band has never made an album I didn’t enjoy.

3 – Spoon – Transference

This one didn’t strike me immediately: it seemed too intentionally demo-like. Until I read that many of these songs *were* demos, and that Spoon had somehow made an album that sounded like no other band, yet also like no other album they’ve made before.

2 – The National – High Violet

This is on MANY year-end lists, but it also deserves to be—it’s that good.

1 – Josh Ritter – So Runs the World Away

This was my “best of” for 2010 within a week of hearing it. It’s simply the right American album for its moment: dazed, introspective, and trying to make sense of what’s gone wrong. And filled with history and hooks, and even some occasional hope.

 

1. Dungen - Skit I Allt
2. The Fall - Your Future, Our Clutter
3. The Black Keys - Brothers
4. Jonathan Richman - O Moon, Queen of Night On Earth
5. Mark Sultan - $
6. Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 - Propeller Time
7. Boston Spaceships - Our Cubehouse Still Rocks
8. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
9. Outrageous Cherry - Seemingly Solid Reality
10. Bobby Bare Jr. - A Storm - A Tree - My Mother's Head

also
Conspiracy Of Owls - Conspiracy Of Owls
The Fresh & Onlys - Play It Strange
High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine
Mushroom - Naked, Stoned & Stabbed
Lloyd Cole - Broken Record
The Sights - Most Of What Follows Is True
Motörhead - The Wörld is Yours
Brian Eno - Small Craft On A Milk Sea
Liars - Sisterworld
Mother-Unit - Brain Massage

 

I can't believe I forgot about this remarkable album. Great stuff from Ritter as always.

 

Actually, I was going to pick the Tom Petty too but I think it was 2009.

 

Here are my favs for this year, found this really difficult and kept changing my mind. May need to make a couple of updates in the next couple of weeks. Have to say it has been a really good year for new music.

1 John Grant - Queen of Denmark
2 The National - High Violet
3 Midlake - Courage of Others
4 Shearwater - The Golden Archipelago
5 Neil Young - Le Noise
6 Arcade Fire - Suburbs
7 Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
8 Deftones - Diamond Eyes
9 Jonsi - Go
10. Robert Plant - Band of Joy

Just outside my top ten and in no particular order.
Joanna Newsom
Sade
Tame Impala
Spoon
Laura Viers
Sufjan Stevens
Bruce Springsteen

 

Top 10

01-Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
02-Avey Tare - Down There
03-The Electric Anthology Project - The Electric Anthology Project
04-Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
05-Blonde Redhead - Penny Sparkle
06-Wavves - King Of The Beach
07-Midlake - The Courage Of Others
08-Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
09-Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy
10-The Books - The Way Out

I listen to a lot of electronic stuff and here's my list of picks for the year. These have no shot in hell of winning anything here so no need to include them in any sort of counts.

ELECTRONIC TOP 10

01-Deepchord Presents Echospace - Liumin
02-Massive Attack - Heligoland
03-Manual - Drowned In Light
04-Scuba - Triangulation
05-Brian Eno - Small Craft On A Milk Sea
06-Autechre - Oversteps & Move Of Ten
07-The Orb & David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
08-Panthu Du Prince - Black Noise
09-Clubroot - II - Mmx
10-Flying Lotus - Cosmogramm

 

My favorites this year:

1. Inception Soundtrack (Composed by Hans Zimmer)
2. Stan Ridgway - Neon Mirage
3. Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea
4. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
5. OMD - History of Modern
6. The Orb featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
7. Bryan Ferry - Olympia
8. Robert Plant - Band of Joy
9. Elvis Costello - National Ransom
10. Elton John and Leon Russell - The Union

Almost made it:

11. Ringo Starr - Y Not
12. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin
13. Philip Selway - Familial

 

I have yet to check out the Elvis Costello LP. Need to remedy that - soon.

 

Hey Synthfreek, have you heard the electronic based albums by Actress (Splazsh) Oneohtrixpoint Never (Returnal) and Emeralds (Does it Look Like I'm Here) this year? Excellent and well worth a listen. All getting places in my Top 10 this year

 

I haven't heard most of the albums on these lists!

 

Top Ten...

1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
3. Postdata – S/T
4. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
5. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
6. Owen Pallett – Heartland
7. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night
8. Quest For Fire - Lights From Paradise
9. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
10. Holy F**K – Latin

Best Reissue/Archive...

Bob Dylan - Original Mono Recordings/Witmark
Thrush Hermit - The Complete Recordings

Am I the only one who listened to the new Wolf Parade? One of the most consistently great bands of the past decade.

 

1. MGMT - Congratulations
2. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
3. Flying Lostus - Cosmogramma
4. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
5. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
6. Girl Talk - All Day
7. Hot Chip - One Life's Stand
8. Spoon - Transferrance
9. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
10. Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer

 

One Album Stands Out (Plus a Great 7")

I haven't done a lot of new album purchasing this year. I really haven't heard a lot that made me want to run out and buy, BUT one album stands out big time for me, and that is Jeff Beck's "Emotion and Commotion". With the exception of one cut that is kind of a throwback to his time with Jan Hammer, which to me is a bit of a throwaway, the rest of the album is absolutely stunning. More lyrical than bombastic or showy, the album is close to poetic and operatic in its reach.

I have both the CD and the LP. The CD is very, very good -- much more rich and dynamic than what is ordinarily put out these days, but the LP is superb! Even more dynamic than the CD, the LP blooms and has more presence.

Peter Gabriel's "Scratch My Back" is a really interesting listen, but it's demanding of your full attention. Even so, it's a bit of a hit or miss affair, but very much worth the listen. The LP, done up by Classic Records, sounds full and sumptuous.

Finally, while not an LP, Jack White's mashup of Carl Sagan is a terrific for fans of Sagan, science and analog. White put out a 7" single of this song, which if you're not familiar, takes some of Carl Sagan from his great TV series, "Cosmos", mashes it together using auto-tune to create a really cool song. The 7" is beautifully pressed with the song on one side and an etching on the other. The sound quality is unusually superb for a 7" single (That's not to say that there aren't great sounding 7 inchers, such as many originals from the '50s and even "I'm Your Venus" from the Talking Blue and "The Letter" by The Box Tops.).

The following link shows the music video White made of as well as a photo of the etched side of the vinyl. I found it at Newbury Comics, selling for $6.99. I saw another copy the other day. It can also be purchased from White's own music site (and in case you didn't know, he opened up his own vinyl shop in Nashville.

http://stereogum.com/99171/third_man_preps_carl_saganstephen_hawking_7/video/

 

I like this one too... It is like a stew of Syd Barrett era PF, The Zombies and the White Stripes.

 

Finally got around to Kanye's new one. It's pretty ridiculous, but unceasingly entertaining. I'm appending it to my list.