Çarşamba 29 Ara 2010, 19:11
…because adding "definitive" pisses people off.
#10 Contra
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/wp-content/media/2010/02/vp.jpg
Yeah yeah yeah… Vampire Weekend…
Face it, had you not heard 'Holiday' 500+ times on those Honda/Tommy Hilfiger commercials, Contra would be on your list too. This album seems so old that it feels like it belongs on a Best of 2009 list. Who knows, maybe VW's next album will be that phenomenal flop that everyone thought Contra was going to be.
Best Songs: Diplomat's Son, Cousins, Taxi Cab
last.fm playcount: 238
#9 Pigeons
http://www.atlantamusicguide.com/wp-content/uploads/here-we-go-magic-pigeons-cover-art-2.jpg
Pitchfork lost their shit when Collector dropped in March, as did I… Pitchfork found their shit and packed it up when Pigeons dropped a few months later. They cited scatter-shot style and lack of narrative as the albums downfall. I was attracted to Pigeons because it was so random and quirky, variety ended up being its selling point for me.
Who needs a tidy narrative anyway? (we'll get to that later)
Best Songs: Collector, Casual, Hibernation
last.fm playcount: 132
#8 /\/\ /\ Y /\
http://static.gigwise.com/gallery/6423249_mia-maya.jpg
So this will be my last reference to Pitchfork on this list…
4.4…? are you fucking kidding me?
Never mind that Pitchfork later jumped 37 sharks when they gave Kanye a perfect 10.0 on his latest shitfest.
4.4…? GTFO
This album (especially when paired with the vindictively leaked b-sides) provides as much engaging material as its predecessors. Sure, M.I.A. can get a annoying if you focus on her agenda but if you get past that crazy ass facade she brings some of the best block rocking beats and fresh ideas to an otherwise dead scene…
Best Songs: Lovalot, Teqkilla, Illygirl, Steppin Up, Space
B-Sides: Bedroom to the Hallway to the Road to the World, Facefacefacebook
last.fm playcount: 226
#7 Crazy For You
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3-6UkTdwkQQ/TRY9-2lW9EI/AAAAAAAAAF0/p8cnSl4KqzE/s400/Best+Coast+-+Crazy+For+You.jpg
So… Tidy Narratives…
Every single song on Crazy About You is about obsessing over a lost love. 13 songs, just over 31 minutes of heartbreak and suffering.
It sounds unlistenable on paper but the surf-indie-pop instrumentation works and the album comes off not nearly as serious as the lyrics read.
Wrap it in one of the best album artworks of the year and you have a winner.
Best Songs: Boyfriend, Our Deal, The End, I Want To, Happy
last.fm playcount: 107
#6 Down There
http://blaremagazine.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/avey-tare-down-there.jpg
What's a Top-10 with out the Animal Collective kids?
Down There was a slight disappointment but it's still great album and getting better with every listen. I was hoping for an entire album of "I'm Your Eagle Kisser" jams but instead was presented syrupy sticky reverby sorrow songs.
Fact is, Avey Tare separated from his wife and sort of broke up with his band. The songs were bound to be a little melancholic. Maybe he needs a copy of Best Coast and a few weeks to think about it. I expect an Animal Collective album or at least an EP by next fall…
Best Songs: Lucky One, 3 Umbrellas, Laughing Hieroglyphic, Heads Hammock
last.fm playcount: 133
#5 Slow Songs Vol. 1
http://latemag.com/images/ing_slow_songs_vol_1.jpg
"and awaaaay we go!"
I love albums and tracks that personally engage the listener right off the bat… Pavement's Grave Architecture: "come on in" or The Velvet Undergrounds, Temptation Inside Your Heart: "shut the door, you can talk during this one" immediately come to mind. Slow Songs flows like a mixtape, from the opening line I quoted above to an album-closer entitled Call It A Day (a song that has starts with sampled harmonies and a lulling harmonica but quickly morphs in and out of a vaudeville banjo, foot stomping ho-down… if you can even imagine that). Major elements of Soul, Pop, Jazz and Hip-Hop mesh seamlessly throughout.
Bedroom artists like Ending In Ing never seem to last long. Bands like Godzuki, Kitty Craft, The Busy Signals, Phofo have all come and gone over the past 15 years. I hope Ending In Ing sticks around but I wont be surprised if he doesn't.
Free Download From His Label
I can't recommend this album enough…
I thought this line from a blog summed it up pretty well: "ending in ing, crafting exciting yet simple beats woven between retro voice-overs that instill a soulful feeling of nostalgic wonder."
Best Songs: I Wonder, All I Can Do, Sylvie, Honest, Call It A Day
last.fm playcount: 182
#4 The Weight's On The Wheels
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/wp-content/media/2010/12/russian-futurists-the-weights-on-the-wheels.jpg
Not once have you fist pumped to something so damn sad…
The Wait's Unreal… The Weight's On The Wheels was originally slated for release in July of 2008. Now 2010, this album drops 5 years after Our Thickness, which is nearing a bands lifetime in indie rock. At first listen I thought something was missing from this album. It turns out that the added production, cleaner vocals, defined instrumentation were the things that threw me off. Matt's voice is much louder in the mix, quirky out of tune guitar samples are way down. The overall clutter that was a staple in his previous releases is almost gone… to my dismay.
Thankfully none of that ruins the album. There's still plenty of triumphant beats mixed with the introspection of a self conscious and oft heartbroken man, a surprisingly redeeming and recurring signature of The Russian Futurists.
Russian Futurists songs are the sound of a hip-hop dance club, but contrarily the picture of a solitary arm-crossed boy waiting to be asked to dance… woe is me, matthew adam hart.
Best Songs: One Night One Kiss, Hoeing Weeds Sowing Seeds, Walk With A Crutch, Horseshoe Fortune, Register My Firearms? No Way!, Golden Years
last.fm playcount: 125
#3 The Way Out
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/wp-content/media/2010/08/two_books.jpg
No one does it like the books…
Sound Collagists, Mental Muralists, Rhythm Scientists, Brain Manipulators, Visual Fucksmiths… um… yeah…
I had a feeling this album was going to be something when I saw them live in 2009. This album, The Way Out is best served whole and in succession.
Here's a couple short anecdotes about the Books.
The Books will convince you to share this album with your parents (don't do it).
The Books will inspire you to try and do what they do
The Books will make you laugh, cry, think
The Books will make you want to meet "Mary" and "Bob"
The Books will have you dropping lines like "He aint no Alexander Graham Bell on the telephone" into day to day conversations. (also, don't do this)
Best Songs: Beautiful People, I Didn't Know That, Thirty Incoming, Cold Feezin' Night,
last.fm playcount: 206
#2 Shut Up, Dude
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8QW6TPEpjf4/TQc7jGIitUI/AAAAAAAAA6U/I_lcopQUELA/s1600/das-racist-shut-up-dude-front-nahright.jpeg
http://toastnjams.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/das-racist.jpg?w=400&h=400
Where were you when you first heard the opening lines of "Who's That Brooown!"?
oh… you've never heard it, sorry bro.
Das Racist is the best hip-hop to surface in over 5 years (10 years?)… easy.
Sure, I'm old school… I like hip-hop older than Jay-Z, older than Eminem, older than Wu-Tang, older…. (better!) than that shit.
That is why fucking Das Racist destroys.
They enunciate shit, (ah, that's whack!)… but is it? Relaxed flow, fresh beats and samples, (great fucking samples). They mix humor, scene shout-outs and pop culture nods… All of the best; Boogie Down, Gang Starr, KMD, Beastie Boys, Tribe Called Quest, Slick Rick, even Public Enemy were 'lampin' and they were some hardcore dudes… Every great hip-hop act you can name had a fair amount of humor in their message. That's what made hip-hop fun. Of course DR seldom break from pissing off but who cares.
Das Racist don't appear to have planned their attack, just stumbling through it, as it should be. They picked the right avenue to enter with label Mad Decent and distributor Mishka but still… I hope they don't fuck this up… If they do… so be it. At least they've proven for another year that hip-hop isn't dead. With ringleader Kanye fronting the Illuminati clown show and people eating it up… it sure as hell sounded like death rattle to me.
Best Songs: Who's That Brooown!, You Oughta Know, Shorty Said, Nutmeg, Ek Shaneesh, All Tan Everything, Hahahaha JK, Rooftop
last.fm playcount: 228 (347 w/ sit down, man)
#1 Treats
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_HZJReAhBfcA/S-mRj0HcIKI/AAAAAAAADyg/MBlQx_6EVR0/s400/sleigh+bells_treats.jpg
I downloaded A/B Machines on Halloween of 2009. I was floored by what I'd heard… Its a mess, it's loud, it's confusing but fucking hell, it's hype! It sounds good in my car, it sounds good on my headphones… by the time Treats rolled out (nearly 9 months later) I'd already wore that demo to shreds and seen them live, albumless (and for the most part fanless) opening for Major Lazer… so this #1 also serves as a consolation prize for its sandbagged placement in last years AOTY list.
I'll probably be embarrassed about this pick next year… hell I'm slightly ashamed of it now but I'd be lying if I didn't put them at #1. Let's just hope we don't see a "back to school" ad for Target blaring Tell Em in 2011.
Who knows what they'll do in the future… I'm almost afraid to find out. I laud them for their contribution to the indie/twee/pop/noise whatever scene it is they're feeding. Nothing turned my ear like Sleigh Bells did in 2010.
Best Songs: A/B Machines, Riot Rhythm, Infinity Guitars, Tell Em, Treats, Infinity Guitars, *Beach Girls, *Ring Ring
last.fm playcount: 266