B&C's Best of 2010 in Albums

[powerhour24]

I still can't imagine seeing them anywhere but Boston, but I kind of agree, I probably won't go on St. Patty's anymore, I haven't been since 2007. Maybe a promo date for something new that ain't in the month of March, or down the road when they're out of the zeitgeist, which might be true by the time they release another album, it will have been 4 years. Though, I actually liked Meanest of Times.

 

[powerhour24]

this isn't actually the black keys thread, is it? it's the album best of thread. oops. man, i've been doing that a lot lately it seems...walking into threads that i thought were about something because that's what's being disucssed, then looking at the title to realize it was actually something else.

ah, i love you guys and your wild tangents. wild tangent...that's a band or album or something, no?

Hahaha, I intended to call you out in that, but I got distracted by the DM talk.

 

[IWasBored]

I still can't imagine seeing them anywhere but Boston, but I kind of agree, I probably won't go on St. Patty's anymore, I haven't been since 2007. Maybe a promo date for something new that ain't in the month of March, or down the road when they're out of the zeitgeist, which might be true by the time they release another album, it will have been 4 years. Though, I actually liked Meanest of Times.

i like certain songs on the meanest of times. starts out pretty good with "famous for nothing" and "god willing." but from there on, all the songs that i like are more straight-forward punk rock tracks. (f)lannigan's ball, johnny i hardly knew ya, echoes, state of massachusetts are all terrible and the new banjo/mandolin/multi-instrumental guy doesn't do it for me. guitar-wise, i also think i really miss marc orrell. "shattered" is a terrible attempt at a token hardcore track that makes "citizen cia" look amazing by comparison and only makes me miss songs like "on the attack" all that much more. to be honest, i'm looking at the track list and don't even recognize half the songs on it.


i was surprised you didn't call me out on that, and i'm even more surprised i caught it since i was thoroughly convinced we were in the black keys thread.

i can't imagine seeing the band outside of new england. i can't really see myself being outside of the northeast in a city, town, state where a dkm show was happening, but if that was the case morbid curiosity would set in and i would have to see what the show was like outside of my comfortable little bubble. but i'd also have to leave new england, and i don't exactly travel much (i've only been off the east coast once in my entire life anyway). i'm sure at one point there was a very real difference, and that boston was very much THE place to see the band. i'm glad i got to see them there a number of times before this shit happened, but i bet it's pretty much the same anywhere now. too bad.

apparently 2008 was the last time i went to an actual st patty's show, but that hardly counts. it was a tsongas arena show. it also felt pretty fucked up to see everybody out! opening the show, and rick barton there but not there...wanted to slap some kids and tell them to show some respect, me personally i thought eo! was fantastic and ok if they're not your cup of tea, but "who's the old guy in the sequened shoes? wtf was that?" has no place at a dkm show. no excuse for that level of ignorance. i still can't get past that they're not at the avalon anymore. or that the avalon doesn't even exist anymore, for starters. i hate the house of blues, and that also plays a pretty big part of how i don't ever want to go to another st patty's week show.

 

[IWasBored]

ok, i am listening to 'meanest' now.

i changed my mind about echoes. i actually dig that one. vices and virtues, however, is terrible. wtf. it's a song you've heard countless times, done so much better not only by other bands, but they've fucking done a better job with the same subject matter in the past. the whole album is really an overhaul of the warrior's code, a lesser album that's proof of why nothing good ever comes from making the same album twice. there are hints of what i love about the band, and i can enjoy them for the most part when i don't think about past albums. the entire second half of the album is kind of crappy, except that i love "never forget." that's probably my favorite song on the album, actually.



yet another reason i don't want to see the band live again is i never want any dkm show to top their set at the 2005 umass spring concert in terms of the most bizarre show i've ever been to. that whole situation was so fucking strange. sure, it made my day when i pwned the end of "barroom hero" after the frat kid ken casey brought on stage to do the song completely butchered it. and al barr saying "always trust the kid in the ducky boys shirt" still makes me smile like a fool. but what an odd, odd show that was.

 

[IWasBored]

moved on to blackout. generally placed on the other half of the "they sold out" fence, but i've always been a big fan of that album. and it's been ages since i've listened to it all the way through. i'll still probably skip kiss me i'm shitfaced, but otherwise...

it's been a very long time since i've actually enjoyed "the dirty glass." it got so overplayed live, and i got so tired of it (being as it was something already known before it turned up on that album) so quick. but damn, that was actually enjoyable.



but not to turn this into IWB makes another DKM thread or anything....

 

[powerhour24]

Hahaha, I don't mind, but it's a pretty huge tangent now. Of course when I say I liked Meanest of Times, that didn't mean that I would rank it over any of their other LPs, I do love certain tracks, like The State of Massachusetts. But overall, its just OK.

 

[powerhour24]

Also, I'll take House of Blue over it's predecessor, it has an excellent sound system.

 

[IWasBored]

it does have great sound, it's just so friggin BIG.

 

[powerhour24]

It might be big when you're used to sent a specific act in a smaller venue, but I like it depending on the act, while some are definitely more suited to a smaller place. But yeah, there is no club with better acoustics in New England.

 

[MMP]

I'm too much of a lazy ass to post a Best Songs list, but I have to say that Andalucia by Doves is one of the best of 2010.

 

[u2popmofo]

I'm sure I'll hate the order later, but I'm going with this for now.

1. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (10)
2. The New Pornographers – Together (10)
3. The Black Keys – Brothers (10)
4. The National – High Violet (9)
5. Jonsi – Go (8)
6. Fang Island (7)
7. Shearwater – The Golden Archipelago (6)
8. Beach House – Teen Dream (6)
9. The Radio Dept. – Clinging to a Scheme (6)
10. Belle and Sebastian – Write About Love (6)
11. Wild Nothing – Gemini (5)
12. Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma (5)
13. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest (5)
14. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz (4)
15. Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring (3)


16. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Brick
17. Vampire Weekend – Contra
18. Midlake –The Courage of Others
19. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
20. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot

Honorable mentions / close calls:

Four Tet, Wolf Parade, Liars, Menomena, Caribou, No Age, 65daysofstatic

 

[powerhour24]

My rankings aren't final, but we may have the same #3 and #5.

 

[gump]

I didn't do a very good job with new music last year, but here it is anyways:

1. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs (13)
2. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz (13)
3. The National – High Violet (12)
4. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record (12)
5. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest (10)
6. Belle and Sebastien – Write About Love (8)
7. LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening (7)
8. Charlotte Gainsbourgh – IRM (6)
9. Spoon – Transference (5)
10. Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights (4)
11. Phantogram - Eyelid Movies (3)
12. Beach House – Teen Dream (2)
13. Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring (2)
14. The New Pornographers – Together (2)
15. Broken Bells – Broken Bells (1)

 

[PhilsFan]

More lists, sweet.

 

[powerhour24]

I swear I'll be done this weekend.

 

[nielsgov]

Does it really take that much time to make a list? Of course I don't listen to that many albums but I just rank the albums that come to mind. I know that causes me to want to change my list the next day already but I'm just lazy.

 

[powerhour24]

My list has like 30 on it right now, and those are just favorites, I wanted to go back and listen to some of them again in order to give the points to the ones I thought most deserved recognition around here. I don't really get into ranking things, but for the sake of giving props to some albums/artists here, I will.

 

[iron yuppie]

10. Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights (4)

I'm very pleased that someone else has included this album.

 

[gump]

I'm very pleased that someone else has included this album.

Been a fan since I blindly bought The Crying Light, which I really love.

 

[bono_212]

I'm very pleased that someone else has included this album.

It was #10 on my list until I was finishing it up to post in here. Then I listened to it again and didn't like it quite as much as I did the first time, so it dropped to like...20 I think...I love it, not as much as The Crying Light, but it is great. I need to get around to his other albums at some point.

 

[iron yuppie]

The thing that I love about Antony, or, more appropriately, one of the things, is that each of his albums to this point has seemed like a natural progression from the last one. It's as though he is putting together a multi-part suite.

 

[Saracene]

I still love I Am A Bird Now and his work on Hercules And Love Affair, but everything else I've heard from Antony left me cold.

 

[Axver]

I can't settle on a list that makes me happy and there are still too many albums on my to-listen list, but this will do:

1. Alcest: Écailles De Lune (15)
2. Pure Reason Revolution: Hammer And Anvil (14)
3. Agalloch: Marrow Of The Spirit (13)
4. The Depreciation Guild: Spirit Youth (9)
5. Ceremony: Rocket Fire (9)
6. Film School: Fission (8)
7. Les Discrets: Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées (7)
8. Surfer Blood: Astro Coast (6)
9. Year Of No Light: Ausserwelt (4)
10. Butterfly Explosion: Lost Trails (3)
11. Stars: The Five Ghosts (3)
12. Imperium Dekadenz: Procella Vardens (3)
13. Crowded House: Intriguer (3)
14. God Is An Astronaut: Age Of The Fifth Sun (2)
15. Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs: ゼロコンマ、色とりどりの世界 (1)

And my ten favourite singles/EPs:

1. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: Say No To Love / Lost Saint
2. Crowded House: Saturday Sun
3. Alpine: Zurich
4. Gallowbraid: Ashen Eidolon
5. Washed Out: You And I
6. Cynic: Re-Traced
7. Memoryhouse: The Years
8. Washed Out: Tour CD-R
9. Jesu: Christmas
10. Japandroids: Art Czars

 

[bono_212]

Whoa. Kind of surprised to see Stars on there.

 

[phanan]

I put Stars in my just missed the cut section. Enjoyed that album.

 

[anitram]

I had the Beach House album downloaded for a while and haven't had a chance to listen to it until today, but how beautiful. Definitely somewhere at the very top of my list.

 

[powerhour24]

Lyric albums (I admit I am way behind on checking out new post-rock, jazz, electronica, etc)

Maybe I'll go back and distribute points a bit later, the end of the list (actually most of it) is very loose in terms of ranking.

Black Dub - Black Dub
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
The Black Keys - Brothers
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Jonsi - Go
The Roots - How I Got Over
Kanye West (&friends) - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Sade - Solder of Love
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
Cee-Lo Green - The LadyKiller
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Fang Island - Fang Island
Foals - Total Life Forever
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs - God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise
John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up!
The National - High Violet
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left-Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Elvis Costello - National Ransom
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang
Brandon Flowers - Flamingo

Best sort of kind of not 2010 album that was actually completed in 2007:
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinals III/IV

Film scores:
Alexandre Desplat - The Ghost Writer / Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 / The King's Speech
Rachel Portman - Never Let Me Go
Trent Reznor - The Social Network
Carter Burwell - True Grit
Daft Punk - Tron: Legacy

 

[iron yuppie]

Best sort of kind of not 2010 album that was actually completed in 2007:
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cardinals III/IV

Would you recommend this? I oscillate between loving his stuff (Love Is Hell) and finding it perfunctory (Cardinology), so I've been on the fence about purchasing it.

 

[LemonMelon]

Would you recommend this? I oscillate between loving his stuff (Love Is Hell) and finding it perfunctory (Cardinology), so I've been on the fence about purchasing it.

Same. Cold Roses and Heartbreaker are terrific, Gold is a fun mess, and a lot of the new stuff is just boring. Any reason this one stands out?

 

[powerhour24]

It certainly doesn't rank among his best, as you can tell from the manner in which it was finally released, but it's Adams and the band at their most loose, rocking and fun, great driving record. Mostly it just gets me excited for his return to making new music.