Victor9000's Top Albums of 2010
1. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
3. The National - High Violet
4. Crystal Castles - Self Titled (2010)
5. Das Racist - Shut Up, Dude
6. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
7. Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
8. Trent Reznor - The Social Network Soundtrack
9. Vampire Weekend - Contra
10. Sleigh Bells - Treats
Victor9000's Top Songs of 2010
Download here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/w1196l
1. Big Boi - Shutterbug
The best song of 2010 featured Big Boi at the height of his lyrical power over a hook that made soul music proud, but the true star of this cut is the vocoder providing that “buh-buh-buhbuhbuh” sound that vibrates so nice in your ear.
2. Crystal Castles (ft. Robert Smith) - Not in Love
What was a solid track on the album gets elevated by the sonic ancestor to Crystal Castles, Robert Smith. He’s the best person in the world to sing the word “fascination” and his refrain over the climatic section is musical nirvana. If only they would team up for a whole album…
3. Fang Island - Careful Crossers
The guitars on this track launch like a clarion call to assemble at the town square for the good of all things rock, then the melody says “I’m glad you’ve joined us. We are here to do one thing, and it will not be easy, but it is worth doing.” By the time the song climaxes, you’ve signed up for the rock Marines, and you’re wearing camo face paint, blazing away at the forces of boring like Jesse Ventura when he sees the Predator.
4. The Knife - Colouring of Pigeons
Taken from an opera about the theory of evolution, this cut is seductive in a primal, Koyaanisqatsi kinda way. It sounds like the lovechild of the years 1911 and 2549, layering textures and suggestions on top of one another until you’ve lost any sense of what you were doing before.
5. Kanye West - All of the Lights
Rihanna scores again by joining this anthem, and neither Kanye’s subpar lyrics and flow nor Fergie’s embarrassing verse can stop the infectious joy generated by that sick monotone drumline. And I think that’s Elton John going “I tried to tell you, but all I could say is…” at the end - how crazy is that?
6. Keepaway - Yellow Wings
It’s like the side of Animal Collective that believes in melodies.
7. Caribou - Odessa
People don’t use the expression “funky fresh” anymore. This song made that phrase pop back into my head. Best use of the triangle in 2010.
8. Beach House - Norway
A great work in the dream pop genre - the song sounds like both the name of the band and the song title. It’s like a lullaby for adults.
9. Antoine Dodson & The Gregory Brothers - Bed Intruder Song
If you don’t know about this song, you really missed out on a whole lot of internet in 2010. I recommend you begin reading Greg Rutter’s whatevs.net immediately.
10. Cee-Lo - Fuck You
It’s like Cee-Lo is a method actor playing a 1978 soul musician, but who’s all, “We can swear in pop songs now? Cool.”
11. Gauntlet Hair - I Was Thinking…
Points awarded for: best band name of 2010; epic echo effect; great-sounding indecipherable lyrics; an ellipsis in the title.
12. James Blake - CMYK
It’s a jam. Trust me.
13. Tanlines - Real Life
This is my sleeper hit of the year, and even though I’m a sucker for big synths, I’m pretty sure you’ll have trouble not liking it.
14. Peter Gabriel - My Body is a Cage
From an album of surprising covers, this track stands out. Gabriel’s voice has gone all Johnny Cash from “Hurt” and that gem is a perfect analogy to this aging crooner’s lament, which tops the Arcade Fire original in my book. Stay tuned for the strings - they’re remarkable.
15. Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
The best Wilco song of the year.
16. Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground
Sleigh Bells were the stripped down rock equivalent to Kanye’s indulgence in 2010. Singsongy, in your face, popping up in NFL stadiums for montages - while who knows how it’ll sound in five years, when it dropped, this was the sound of the moment.
17. Zack Demsey - Mind Heist (Inception Trailer)
The greatest bum trick in 2010 cinema was the omission of this perfectly evocative piece of film scoring from the actual movie Inception, after it positively dominated the trailer.
18. Janelle Monae - Tightrope
The album was like a sequel to Andre 3000’s The Love Below, and that’s high praise. It’s classy, creative and sounds like a perfect smirk.
19. Wild Nothing - Chinatown
2010 was a great year for dream pop - there’s a sonic and thematic connection between this music and 1980s new wave that makes me picture it playing in the background of Dream a Little Dream.
20. Delorean - Stay Close
You are now a fan of dream pop. I’m not subtle. Also, how bout that band name?
21. Yeasayer - Ambling Arp
All these guys do is drum hard and make great music.
22. Crystal Castles - Year of Silence
The Castles mix in some Sigur Ros vocals to provide an ethereal complement to their earthy 8-bit composition, and we end up the winners.
23. Ready For The World - How to Dress Well
I wasn’t kidding about the dream pop. It’s great.
24. Kanye West (ft. Nikki Minaj) - Monster
This song features the best verse on the whole album, and it’s by Ms. Minaj, over a positively evil beat for which Yeezy duly gets credit. But really, that verse is like a great film, with compelling characters, dramatic staging, action sequences and a satisfying conclusion (sorry for the clean version).
25. Nas & Damian Marley - As We Enter
This collaboration is very neat. As is the song.
26. Hoodie Allen - You Are Not A Robot
These guys will be huge in 2011, like Gorillaz-big. Maybe as big as wearing hoodies.
27. Das Racist - Chicken & Meat
And the award for best new subgenre of hip-hop goes to Das Racist for their Hype-Nerd-Core-Post-PC-Harold-and-Kumar-Colbert-Wellesley-Rap. Also, their name is based on an internet meme.
28. Arcade Fire - Rococo
While Arcade Fire has lost me over the years, this song reminded me of my initial regard for the band’s command of intimate-feeling rocksplosions.
29. The National - Afraid of Everyone
The second most important band in the world delivered a gem of an album in 2010, but with nary a bona fide single on it. Yet this cut captures the band’s ability to work through a very modern dread with melodies and lyrics that unravel the fear by staring at it and making art.
30. Kanye West - Power
In the future, 30 second montages of the 2010-2019 decade will feature three seconds of this song standing in for 2010.
