fett on 6/12/2010 at 15:59
Keep waiting for one of those guys with the "S" nicks or Aja to get this going, but there's only a month left so let's get going! I'll start off, just to give all you snot nosed kids something to laugh at.
1) Mastadon Crack The Skye It's been a LONG time since I popped in a disc and thought, "What the hell am I listening to?" only to joyfully shout a few days later "What the hell am I listening to?!!" This sounded like a mess at first, but that's only because Mastadon's arrangements have become more dense and introverted with each release (apparently - this was my introduction). Probably the most original metal album since Tool came on the scene ten years ago. There's a spacey-ness here that just transports me to some other place, alternately comforting and terrifying. As a result, I'm working through the back catalouge which I'm already not as fond of, but the band itself is still years ahead of what anybody else is doing. I'm not sure if the proggy vibe is purposeful or accidental because it sounds so natural.
2) Living Colour The Chair in the Room I never cease to be awed by Corey Glover's voice, and Doug Wimbish on bass wtf? I have to admit these guys haven't done much that I haven't loved, but they really dig deep on this one. It's one of those beautiful moments when you realize that an already relevant band is becoming more relevant and creative the older they get (take a note, U2). Wimbish just *lives* in the pocket, so it's also good to bob your head to.
3) Soilwork The Panic Broadcast Not exactly what I was hoping for with the return of Peter Wichers to the fold, but nevertheless, much better than anything since Natural Born Chaos, definitely more complex, and the band production is top notch. I still think Speed does so much better when Devin Townsend is cracking the whip, but Peter got a good performance out of him. I could actually listen to an isolated drum track of this album and be perfectly happy. Dirk is a fucking monster.
4) Train Save Me, San Francisco I never knew how to feel about these guys - they couldn't figure out if they wanted to be pensive or silly in the past, but this one finally won me over. My 20 year old niece actually turned me on to it, and I'm glad. Despite my criticisms, the songwriting is just really damn good, the lyrics are clever without being too sappy, and Monahan's voice doesn't grate on me like it used to. I'd say if you hated them before, give this one a chance and you might find you like it. I did.
5) Iron Maiden The Final Frontier It's Iron Fucking Maiden. What the hell are you looking at?
Dissapointments:
I didn't buy much this year, honestly, but:
1) Transatlantic Whirlwind Mr. Morse, Jesus saved you. We get it. Now shut the fuck up about it and write some decent lyrics. Also, didn't this band have guitars at some point? It's turned into some late 80's Christian keyboard band. And Mike Portnoy quit Dream Theater? Why not dump this band until Morse gets his head out of God's ass.
2) Michael Franti & Spearhead The Sound of Sunshine You guys have gone from being awesome to being ghey. Stop being ghey.
ToolHead on 6/12/2010 at 17:14
A great, great year for music.
The Top 5:
5. Warpaint - The Fool
The xx meets Fleetwood Mac meets Tool. Beautiful, haunting and restless
4. Gonjasufi - A Sufi and a Killer
Eclectic, mysterious and utterly unique
3. The National - High Violet
One of the most impressive displays of pure songwriting skill in quite a while
2. Foals - Total Life Forever
Gets better and better and more complex with each listen, making up for the lack of manic energy and infectiousness of their debut. Also, ”Miami” might just be track of the year
And, album of the year: 1. Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma
A genre-transcending work of pure, undiluted genius
Honorable mentions:
The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Broken Bells: Broken Bells
Forest Swords - Dagger Paths
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Nina Nastasia - Outlaster
Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
The Roots - How I Got Over
Sun Araw - On Patrol
The Sword - Warp Riders
Crack the Skye by Mastodon would surely be on the list - possibly even in the Top 5 - if not for the fact that it was released in 2009...
st.patrick on 6/12/2010 at 17:46
The Young Gods - Everybody Knows
They might not be young any more but they've still got it. And by "it" I mean it rocks socks AND cocks.
Cypress Hill - Rise Up
Mixing styles, doing smack. Pretty awesome guests.
Röyksopp - Senior
Junior for the summer, Senior for the winter. Or vice versa if you need something positive to cling to in this crappy weather we have right now.
This year, I concentrated mostly on domestic stuff which I won't put here for lack of recognition, so these are my 2010 international picks.
Vivian on 6/12/2010 at 18:03
Well, I think I actually only brought two albums that came out this year, so I guess its those:
Owen Pallett - HeartlandAs anyone who knows anything surely knows by now, Owen Pallett (TAFKA 'Final Fantasy') is a magnificent being from a plane of pure white light who can do no wrong, and literally everything he puts his reedy, insignificant-sounding voice to is turned instantly to gold. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O_yyEA72HE) Here's him doing Mariah Carey, to prove the point. Anyways, this album is absolutely no exception - a broad concept album of sorts, it kind-of charts the progress of stupid, quite violent and possibly perverted farmer named Lewis through the kind of semi-magical world typical of Owens work: imagine a kind of lewd version of The Princess Bride, veering between quite touchingly fragile explorations of failure and flagrant shouting about cocks and breaking your jaw off. Album highlights pretty much all revolve around Lewis doing something he probably shouldn't: (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSE9Cty2DPQ&feature=related) 'Lewis Takes Action' is probably my favourite, a kind of triumphant, marching band-type song featuring an unashamedly cheery trumpet hook, (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNWyXd0cIVo&feature=related) 'Lewis Takes Off His Shirt'. which bubbles and chirps along like a slightly creepily sexualised Disney travelogue, and (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCMtGQxUlZA&feature=related) 'The Great Elsewhere', which starts off with an extremely awkward sounding, looping keyboard flourish that doesn't seem like it could ever fit into a competent melody, but ends up seemlessly sewn into the kind of drum-tight figurehead song the Arcade Fire used to excel at.
DD MM YYY - Black SquareSaw these guys at the Old Blue Last and they fucking killed it (and my eardrums). It's Canadian mathrock, I haven't actually listened to the album since I got back from the gig (been busy). Good live though. My Canadian friend pointed them out in the pub beforehand, saying 'you can tell its them, because Canadians are greasy'.
henke on 6/12/2010 at 19:29
Top 10:01.
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach02.
M.I.A. - MAYA03.
Sleigh Bells - Treats04.
Robyn - Body Talk05.
Evelyn Evelyn - s/tSo wierd. And depressing. And funny! It's like a Tim Buton movie. Except it's an album. And good.
Sample track: (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NneErqbermg&feature=channel) You only want me cause you want my sister
06.
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRMCharotte sings and Beck produces. Almost every track on this album is instantly likeable.
Sample track: (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrWN0-MuK38) Heaven Can Wait
07.
Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles II08.
Kabuto The Python - Ill Ron Hubbard EPI had such a fine, Pitchfork-approved, list going on here I wasn't sure whether to include Kabuto. But today I listened to his EP while driving my car and I realised that I don't care if noone else on TTLG likes him. I don't care if SomethingAwful disses Kabuto. Or that Kabuto disses MF DOOM on one of these tracks. Or that his production and the way the rhymes are put together sometimes seems uneven. This guy just has so much infectious fun on these tracks. The references he throws out makes me nod my head just as much as the beats does. And I know, in my heart, that if I ever gained +10 Musical Skill and made an album it would sound exactly like this.
(
http://scrubclubrecords.com/9/artists/kabuto-the-python/kabuto-the-python-ill-ron-hubbard/) Album download
09.
Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New HereThe first track, (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_VJrFZPTIo) On Coming From A Broken Home, pt. 1, has Gil telling about his upbringing, backed by the beat from Kanye West's "Flashing Lights". It's an intimate, heartbreaking track, and many tracks to follow are just as emotional.
10.
Väärt - SommarfågelVery good debutalbum by little-known Swedish indieband.
Spotify playlist: (
http://open.spotify.com/user/leemajorz/playlist/33gG5ew4g66BYqGG5gbEIQ) henke's best of 2010
fett on 6/12/2010 at 22:50
Quote Posted by ToolHead
Crack the Skye by
Mastodon would surely be on the list - possibly even in the Top 5 - if not for the fact that it was released in 2009...
Ha - I guess you're right. As usual, I'm late to the party. Seems I always tend to include something released years previous.
I should also mention
Cypress Hill Rise Up - this REALLY surprised me. I think this is another group, like Living Colour that seems to continually find new ways to master the genre, expand it, and still not lose the core of what they're about. It should probably replace either Mastadon or Train in my top 5 (certainly Train).
Kuuso on 6/12/2010 at 23:42
I must admit I haven't been as active this year as I usually am. I've also delved into lot of older stuff, but thinking about it, there has been some gems released as always.
1. Daníel Bjarnason - ProcessionsEtched it's place as one of my favourite classical albums, this guy is rapidly carving his place alongside modernists. I'm not a big classical music buff, but I can't really name anything that sounds directly like Bjarnason. The reason why I love him is that he really knows how to display emotions through his music. Take the first piece "Bow to strings I: Sorrow conquers Happiness", any other artist this would just be a fake-artsy title, but with Bjarnason it really makes sense. The rapid changes and constantly changing passages really prove this guy can write songs.
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2. 65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding AnywaysAlways been an amazing band, but I think they hit their peak with this one. They had a refined style of "post-rock" to begin with, but how they have transitioned from the last album to this is quite staggering. Pendulum would give their nutsacks to sound even remotely as good as this. Take Go Complex for example, nearly a two minute intro into a four minute song, which just explodes into a barrage of drumming (both electronic and traditional) and killer guitars that tread just in the right place between interesting exploration and just going spastic. The songs leads into Debutante that is the complete opposite of the former, which just serves as an example what an amazing ride this album is.
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Good thing they fixed their bad producing decisions from the last album. It sounded like shit.
3. World's End Girlfriend - Seven IdiotsWhatever this jap releases, it's always bound to amaze. The sounds he weaves into his compositions are just so original. Not many artists can take any genre or any sound and effortlessly place it into an album full of opposite sounds. The production is staggering as usual. I'd recommend this guy for anyone who hasn't heard him, because he's one of those artists that broaden the word "music".
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4. Ous Mal - Nuojuva HalavaOne of the best ambients released made. If you're familiar with Fonal's stuff, this is pretty much a pinnacle of their lo-fi ambient sound. Sounds like Gas in places, but with more factors contributing to the sound and not as smooth transitions. The sparse beats and melodies hidden in the textures are really soothing. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWpG2IOpT3I)
5. Mouse on the Keys - An Anxious ObjectA post-rock/metal drummer coupled with two jazz pianists with an additional trumpetists. Plus they're japanese and wear tuxedos. One of the best live shows I've seen, don't pale much on record. The drummer sounds like he's playing way too hard for music like this, but it just separates it from anything else. Definitely worth a check, even if you're not into jazz. (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16g0M3lJvio)
Honorable mentions:
Mike Patton - Mondo Cane
Her Name Is Calla - The Silent Lamb
Should have been better even though good:
Magnetic Man - s/t
d'Spair on 7/12/2010 at 00:18
I won't come up with any lists, but Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" is definitely the album of the year for me. More importantly, it's one of the best Maiden albums ever.
fett on 7/12/2010 at 01:25
Quote Posted by d'Spair
I won't come up with any lists, but
Iron Maiden "The Final Frontier" is definitely the album of the year for me. More importantly, it's one of the best Maiden albums ever.
Fuckin' A
