Thesis
Don't even know why that header isn't bigger. It looks so feeble. Wutevs y'all - bigger fish to fry. Let's start up with the Top 25 Albums Of 2010! That's what I'm talking about. I'm rewarding myself for completing an entire page of my Physics practice exam. Listening to Sly's "Underdog," feeling great. I'm a winner! For now. I'm sure I'll get at least a B on tomorrow's exam. Unless this post takes longer than I'm anticipating. Uh oh. Love y'all!
Bonus Round
Here be some gems that didn't make the cut, but are still pretty darn great:
> Color Your Life - Twin Sister
> Daughters - Daughters
> Autumn, again - A Sunny Day In Glasgow
> Song Islands vol. 2 - Mount Eerie
> Living With Yourself - Mark McGuire
> King Night - Salem
> Expo 86 - Wolf Parade
> The Budos Band III - The Budos Band
> Pink Friday - Nicki Minaj (haters you can kill yrself)
> Go - Jónsi
Not a bad year, huh? By the way, I'm not even close to qualified to make this list. I've heard like 40 records this year. What do I know? Transparency, fam. Still, it's fun. Make lists!
Facts
Let's try an unbiased, technical examination of my listening habits this year. What have I really been listening to? For comparison's sake. I'm going to reveal all kinds of untruths in my ranking system here.
Nah, just made that list and checked it twice - it has its own flaws. It only reflects listens on iPods and iTunes, doesn't take into account the wide variance in songs per album, and it has way too many spoilers. I think I'll post that "raw data" after the whole list has been unleashed. Now you can go into this list blind and unchecked by objective statistics!
Let the fun, nonsensical ranking begin!
Top 25 Albums Of 2010 (25-21)
25| Belus - Burzum
Y'all, I don't even know what this record is doing here. It's black metal. I don't listen to black metal. And yet... This is definitely the most appealing of all the metal I've listened to - dark, cinematic, hungry, and noisy. That doesn't sound that appealing, but when you're in the mood, nothing else really satisfies. It wants blood! Or something. Apparently the mind behind this band is a convicted murderer. That's definitely problematic, but we'll overlook it for now.
Because this record slays, man! Like, it's really heavy and doom-ridden. Something about it has just wedged its way into my head, and as a result, I find myself listening to this way more than you or I'd expect. It's good stuff. 2010 - The Year Of Expanding Horizons. "Morgenrøde" in particular sounds electric, alive. It's a driving, breathtaking song - reminds me of the iconic lightning flash in the Coen's No Country For Old Men as Llewelyn is running into the dark. Belus is the flash and the dark, a beautiful and towering depiction of something awful.
24| K.R.I.T. Wuz Here - Big K.R.I.T.
This release had the potential to be nothing but "Country Shit." Which is somewhat expected, because that's what this record breaths and bathes in. Somewhat unexpected, this record showcases one of the sharpest up-and-coming voices in rap. This is the kind of album that gets you noticed. It's a front to back showcase of real talent.
It owes a lot to its place, a distinct product of the South. But it owes even more to K.R.I.T. himself. Besides a few guest spots from Curren$y, Devin The Dude, and Wiz Khalifa, this (long) record is carried on the back of Mississippian Justin Scott.
From meditations on existing as a rapper in an overcrowded market, to the burden of taking up David Banner's reins, this album is trapped in the mind of its creator. He clearly loves and loathes the fact that he's going to have to make it on his own. And he's making something special. Wuz Here has both anthems on a T.I. scale, and stuff that sounds personal and handcrafted, which it is. "Viktorious" is the comeback declaration of a lifetime. He's got the range to go cerebral and go hard - whatever the song calls for - and sounds totally convincing in each role. He makes these roles his own, as if he has to single-handedly earn respect for Southern rap. He's earned it at least for himself.
23| Love Remains - How To Dress Well
A lot of noise has been made about the noise of How To Dress Well. Hugely prolific before releasing this album, Tom Krell has crafted a definite and unique niche for himself. Noise R&B, y'all. This stuff sounds effortless (but not in the lazy way). It just makes sense. The Bon Iver comparisons are way too limiting. Justin Vernon has a killer falsetto and does some rhythm and bluesy singing of his own, but How To Dress Well has an ear for sound that is totally its own.
The dense atmosphere this album inhabits comes across as more than an aesthetic decision. In "Walking This Dumb (Live)," Krell addresses the feel of his music, using a throwaway comment by a concert-goer - "You got a lot of distortion" - to underscore that this record definitely got a lot more than that. He follows this aside up with one of the most driving and striking tracks on the album, "Date Of Birth." Creeping strings churn beneath a pounding bass drum and sweeping ghost cries, while the wailed lyrics collide with roaring guitars and huge panting sounds. Haunting stuff.
Also, it must be said, "Decisions" is one heartfelt jam. Shoulda been on the Top Songs list.
22| At Echo Lake - Woods
Yeah! This stuff is prime summertime listening. The sun rises when it hears this album. It's pretty straightforward compared to the "different" sort of thing going on with earlier Woods material. Straightforward and gorgeous. It sounds great! And it's short! Like, under half an hour. It doesn't have to stick around long to make an impression.
The vocals still have a spooky, ethereal quality to them, but whatever moodiness abounds is often supplanted by a gooey sun in the song's center. The album definitely has its complexities, but its simplicities are what make it such a strong effort. This is a collection of great songs - drifting melodies and a chugging guitar. Sure, there's some wild distortion and a delay pedal thrown in there every now and then, but it's the 21st Century, y'all. There's no better album to turn to for warm singing and earthy strumming.
This is folk at its finest. If it's folk at all, that is.
21| Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus
From afar, Cosmogramma's album cover looks alien and cold, an inhumanly perfect sphere from which dark matter is exploding. Once you take a closer look, the hand-sketched aesthetic it embraces becomes apparent. My first listens of this record were from afar, and all I could hear was an alienating (if well-made) collage of unnatural sounds. It was slick, for sure, but it had no heart. Well, shoot, I just had to take a closer look.
This record lives and breaths. There's a pulsing intelligence and fire behind every song, the clear touch of a human hand - Steven Ellison's hand. Homeboy has some absurdly cool confidence. The construction of this album is immaculate. For 45-minutes, this record abducts you away to some unfathomable sonic galaxy and probes your ears and mind with some deliriously fly sound. It's unobtrusive in its flyness, but is by no means forgettable. It's too dang suave and groovy to be forgotten.
The perfect companion for deep thought, I swear it seeps in and increases your processing power while you work. This is the kind of record Batman would rock. Once I finally opened my ears to this album, it put a workmanlike heart in my brain and a more discerning brain in my heart. It rearranged my parts, fam!
In a lesser year, this album would fare a lot better. But 2010, y'all, is stacked.
Conclusions
Well, that was fun. Next up are albums 20-11. We're getting closer to the big reveal - who gets #1?! Come back next week! Or maybe Saturday. I don't know what I'm doing this weekend. Probably this. Ummmm.
Back to studying! I sure hope I do well on tomorrow's final (The Physics Of Sound). I guess this is a way of studying. Sorta? Ah, gimme a break - I just wanna cuddle and go home! Study on!
Check out the first two parts of this Year In Review while you're at it:
Luv ya fam.
PS - Ros is back today! Hella wut!
No comments:
Post a Comment