Top Albums of 2010

This is a personal canon. It's impossible to be fair when creating a list, even if an objectionable person existed. There is simply too much to listen to. With that being said, these albums embody both high artistic qualities and low-brow attitude.

No Order
Teen Dream - Beach House


A complete surprise to me. Utterly calming and soulful. So much sounds comes out of the members of Beach House. Recommended tracks: Zebra, Silver Soul, Used to Be

The Monitor - Titus Andronicus


One of my favorite bands tackles the metaphor of civil war as mental divergence. The intensity is still present, but its brought to an epic level. Lyrics are sharp and the music is diverse, but the general themes sweep over the entire album. Recommended Tracks: Theme from Cheers, A More Perfect Union, Four Score and Seven

Memphis- Magic Kids



Unbelievably catchy. The energy on the album is as infectious as its nostalgic melodies. The singer croons over call-and-response background shouts and whispers. A great album for the summer and for parties. Recommended Tracks: Hey Boy, Summer, Candy


My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West



If i had to choose which album was truly the album of the year, it would be Kanye's masterpiece. This album redefines the genre with its track lengths, virtuoso production, and the leading man's pure intensity. The videos and live performances associated with the album have been amazing and breathtaking. The most important aspect of this record is that it was made by someone who is truly on top of both pop and artistic realms. Boldness is a rare quality of a platinum artist. Recommended Tracks: Monster, So Appalled, Runaway


Hippies - Harlem



The lack of polish is what reveals this album's true character, the kid in the leather jacket smoking in the bathroom during class. The song structures are simple, but their ability to drill themselves in your brain like earwigs is only enhanced by the accessible melodies. The lyrics are sharp, instant sing-a-longs that have a mean streak. This band shows chops at handling sounds from blue-eyed soul to punk. Recommended Tracks: Someday Soon, Pissed, Friendly Ghost

Contra - Vampire Weekend


The best pop album of the year in my mind. The band continues to expand its sound, but it still retains the sweetness and the infectious jangle of the first album. This album is darker in tone, so it plays the best in winter. Recommended Tracks: I think Ur a Contra, Cousins, Run

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire


Of all the albums on this list, I believe The Suburbs will be the one whose impact will last the longest. The album surveys the battleground of accepting adulthood. It's a tug-of-war between polaroid nostalgia and a cold digital future. It's so refreshing to hear an album equally adept at subtlety and mansion-sized dynamics. Recommended Tracks: Month of May, The Suburbs, Sprawl II

Sports - Weekend


It's a wall of noise with coils of easy-bake melodies wrapped around it. Its very punk in form, but the massive reverbs leave it sounding hollow, but wrenching. Definitely a headbanger. Recommended Tracks: End Times, Coma Summer, Age Class

Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday



It's hard to imagine a sound that combines snarling and tender tones, but Happy Birthday is able to blend them well. All of the songs have a classic feel, but they are loosely structured. They sometimes wind down a street, stepping on glam for a verse and then strutting through corner doo-wop on the chorus. Having both a male and a female singer is a plus as the songs stay interesting throughout the album. Recommended Tracks: Girls FM, Perverted Girl, 2 Shy


Number #1




Astro Coast - Surfer Blood

One of the trends that I have been following in recent rock music is the rejection of irony. In the indie camp, there seems to be a split between bands that openly endorse irony and a smaller portion of bands that have listened to Pinkerton until it got old. Without irony, Astro Coast offers a youthful look at the mild splendor of modern 20's life. From the first strike of Floating Vibes, the listener is taken to a sonic equilibrium of familiar sounds and fresh, inviting ones. Many of the melodies have a permanent suntan, the flourishes of Dick Dale and Brian Wilson. It seems to evoke the longing of living inland on a peninsula, like Florida, the band's home state.
Like the idealized surf, the night falls and turns into a bonfire on the beach. Think drunken dudes sitting around the fire with liquor bottles poking their heads out of brown paper bags. It's definitely not a beach party with Annette Funicello. Hints of the 90s radio rock they surely must have grown up filter through smoothly, but their grunge touches aren't nihilistic, mainly just lazy. Slow Jabroni and Anchorage exhibit these qualities, but unlike the songs from the 90s, both songs erupt into a quiet confidence from their life-in-quicksand beginnings.
Perhaps the confidence and resolve to be better (see Catholic Pagan) is what made this the soundtrack of my year. Whether it was the hope of new romance to be gentle and sweet (see Take it Easy), or the pure Rocky-esque anthemic inspiration that Swim (To Reach the End) offers. Connecting with musicians and their work on such elements as age, gender, and culture is so rare, and when that Big Bang of music happens for you, it's hard not to hear the reverb in your mind all year long.

Track Reviews: October

Snowmelt- Weed Diamond
7 inch single (Bridgetown)

Even though Lo-Fi rockers Weed Diamond hail from the snowy city of Denver, Colorado, this song sounds like it has been baked in the sun. The bouncy rhythm section keeps the main melody afloat in the sea of guitar noise that churns under it. The verses slowly build the anticipation to a chorus that is slammed out;the drummer sounds like he's playing with hammers. This is a song about making a change, and the use of the season's changing metaphor is unoriginal, but effective and honest. Like many bands of this ilk, the vocals are distorted and fuzzy. For a band that must love weed enough to put it in their name, it seems fitting.

Final Thoughts:
It's good to know that there's more to Denver's music scene than jam bands.
The melody is relentlessly catchy and will most likely be hummed in a shower near you.



So Appalled- Kanye West (feat. Jay Z, RZA, Pusha T, Swizz Beatz, Cyhi the Prynce)
from Watch the Throne EP (Def Jam)

2010 is going to be Kanye's year. With the fallout from most of his public appearances in 2009, he needed a comeback, and this is the Maserati of comebacks. The combination of his unreal SNL performance on October 2 and his promise to give out a free track every friday until Christmas is pushing him to a new level. Like the hook says, "This shit is fucking ridiculous"
This is Kanye and an all-star cast of versatile rappers howling over a sparse, grimy beat. The track clocks in at almost seven minutes, but it doesn't drag. This is the self conscious Kanye, and he takes us on a journey of hip hop fame during an economic recession. His guilt is palpable, and Ye tries to give back offering, "...Another goddamn dance track gotta hurt. That's why I rather spit something that gotta purp"
Jay-Z slowly simmers over the beat quoting The Dark Knight, and Pusha T, half of the duo Clipse, falls into his normal coke rap. Swizz Beatz and RZA have cameos on the hook, but don't offer much more. The end of the song is turned into a welcome party for largely unknown Georgia emcee Cyhi the Prynce. He takes the route of all out bragging, citing his place on God's I-Pod, his ability to have sex with more than one girl named after a month, and "getting bitches by the twos, nigga Noah's Ark".

Final Thoughts:
Kanye breaks hip hop canon (hook heavy structure, questioning materialism) and stomps out taboos (track length).
Look for this song to get cut before the final version is released.

Diamond in the Rough

I'll Try Anything Once -The Strokes

Ten decisions shape your life,
you'll be aware of 5 about,
7 ways to go through school,
either you're noticed or left out,
7 ways to get ahead,
7 reasons to drop out,
when i said ' I can see me in your eyes',
you said 'I can see you in my bed',
that's not just friendship that's romance too,
you like music we can dance to,

Sit me down,
Shut me up,
i'll calm down,
and i'll get along with you,

There is a time when we all fail,
some people take it pretty well,
some take it all out on themselves,
some they just take it out on friends,
oh everybody plays the game,
and if you don't you're called insane,

Don't don't don't don't it's not safe no more,
i've got to see you one more time,
soon you were born,
in 1984,

Sit me down,
shut me up,
i'll calm down,
and i'll get along with you,

Everybody was well dressed,
and everybody was a mess,
6 things without fail you must do,
so that your woman loves just you,
oh all the girls played mental games,
and all the guys were dressed the same,

Why not try it all,
if you only remember it once,
oooh ooooooh,

Sit me down,
shut me up,
i'll calm down,
and i'll get along with you,

This song is a demo recording of the song "You Only Live Once" off of First Impressions of Earth. It was released as a B-side on the "Heart in a Cage" single. It appears in the trailer for Sofia Coppola's upcoming film "Sometimes".

Track Reviews: September

Seat Change- Curren$y (feat. Snoop Dogg)
from Pilot Talk (Def Jam)
Learning from both Masta P and Lil Wayne, Curren$y shows his well-honed style on this slow jam from his debut "Pilot Talk". The track has an early 90's G-Funk vibe, and that's not just because Snoop Dogg rides shotgun. The beat slowly bounces and stutters with the only melody being provided by a psyched-out electric guitar. Producer Ski Beatz comes off like Rick Rubin on codeine syrup. Over this blunted beat, Curren$y paints the picture of how he rolls with the ladies. "I play the field with stiff arms and side steps." Snoop's verse variates between smooth and spastic, and it is easy to see that Snoop is an influence on Curren$y.

Final Thoughts:
It's basically a father/son car ride in a hot-boxed Benz.
Rappers hate finding seeds in their herb.
7 out of 10



Throwing Shade- Abe Vigoda
from Crush (Post Present Medium)

Abe Vigoda have stumbled upon a new sound with this debut single from their new album Crush. The opening guitar riff is immediate and becomes the glue that keeps the puzzle together. Fuzzy background synth textures give the song its large sound while the other synth adds stabbing micro-melodies. The song culminates in a guitar solo that manages to be both harsh and catchy. It seems as if Abe Vigoda watched how tourmates Vampire Weekend pushed their tropical, bedroom pop into the next dimension and followed suit. The catchiness is still there, but this sounds decidedly more modern. It does appear, however, that lead singer might have gotten tired of the tropics because the vocals are cold sounding and mostly obscured by noise or distortion. The tug-of-war between the frigid vocals and the warmth of the guitar line offers an aurally entertaining conflict.

Final Thoughts:
If Vampire Weekend and No Age got together to make a song, it would sound like this.
6 out of 10



TAOS- Menomena
from Mines (Barsuk)

If there ever was a song that was designed to appear in a car commercial, it is this song. Don't take that as a dig, though. This song locks in early and doesn't let up. From the opening bass riff, listeners can tell that Menomena's players were schooled in 60s/70s rock, but they took honors classes. TAOS is a song about looking to get laid, a classic theme of rock. Bravado explodes all over the track. The singer says "I'm not the most cocksure guy.", but that would be hard to tell from his vocals. Guitars cut in and out acting like pissed off background vocalists vying for equal attention. The most impressive aspect of this song is the way the song constantly surprises the listener. Just when you think the song will stick to its form, it moves to a different tone and feeling; it transfers from all out bombast to pensive pleading. It seems to represent the transition of a drunken night. It goes from revelry and confidence to loneliness and bedroom optimism.

Final Thoughts:
A great evolution from past power trios (Cream, ZZ Top) that provides tons of sound.
It's hard not to drum on the steering wheel or play air guitar while listening.
9 out of 10

Moments in Auto Tune

Auto-Tune has penetrated American culture. Dancers and drinkers hear it permeate through nightclub speakers. Political geeks turn press conferences and breaking news into makeshift rap parodies. It's so popular that Jay-Z famously called for its death with his single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". Jay-Z's sentiments, however, place him in the minority. Recording artists ranging from Miley Cyrus to Kid Rock have all embraced the technology and, later, cashed huge checks because of it. When listeners look back on music from the first decade of the 21st century, will Auto-Tune be seen as innovation or parlor trick?

Here is a look at some of the most important steps to Auto Tune's rise to prominence:

1997: Auto-Tune is developed by geophysicist Andy Hildebrand. The software was originally created to help find oil by interpreting seismic data, but Hildebrand discovered that it could detect and modify pitch. Being a trained flautist, Hilldebrand realized the usefulness of a program that could correct a bad voice or a cracking horn.

1998: Auto-Tune is used by producer Mark Taylor on Cher's hit single "Believe". Taylor put the effect on the demo version of the song and was afraid that Cher would hate it. Cher loved the effect on the song, but the record companies wanted it removed. Cher, however, fought for the effect, and it stayed. 10 million copies sold later, Auto-Tune becomes known as "The Cher Effect".

2001: Daft Punk uses Auto-Tune all over its genre-paving album Discovery. Songs like "One More Time" and "Harder,Better,Faster,Stronger" took "The Cher Effect" to a new level. It's only fitting that two French guys who dress like villains from an Ed Wood movie pushed Auto-Tune to outer space. Robots finally get their "Thriller".

2005: Rapper/Producer/Singer/Stripper-enthusiast T-Pain uses Auto-Tune to woo the ladies with his first single "I'm Sprung". Follow up single "Im N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" takes listeners through T-Pain's version of puppy love and his hatred of spelling rules. Strip club DJ's finally get their "Thriller".

2008: In the wake of his mother's tragic death, rap superstar Kanye West releases "808s & Heartbreak", a lonely, electronic experiment in minimalism. The album received mixed reviews with most critics championing its stark presentation and emotional resonance. The contrast of the album to West's previous work left some fans wondering where West lost his hood pass. (It was at all those fashion shows in Europe)

2009: Railing against Auto-Tune becomes the coolest thing to do in the music industry since cocaine. Christina Aguilera is seen in public wearing a shirt that states "Auto-Tune is for Pussies". Jay-Z releases "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" as part of "The Blueprint 3".

2010: T-Pain creates an Auto-Tuned cartoon, "Freaknik: The Musical", for Cartoon Network and an iPhone app that allows users to manipulate their own voices. Christina Aguilera releases "Bionic" that features Auto-Tune on multiple songs. Jay-Z appears on Kanye West's superstar romp "Monster", which heavily features Auto-Tune.

Andrew W.K. Gives Me Advice

I approached Andrew W.K. after waiting in line for an hour and a half. He was dressed in his usual nasty off-white t-shirt and jeans combo. He looked just like he does in every video and in every picture. As I walked up to the counter, My friend was taking his turn, and thats basically what it is, a turn. There's a smile. There's a comment about your shoes, the band on your shirt, or just a common greeting if he can't pull off something interesting. My friend chose some sort of enlarged album art from a Japanese-only release, and it was signed.
My turn was very simple. I shot out a "what's up?". He obliged with something forgettable (I can say that because I honestly just forgot it), and then proceeded to sign my black and white copy of his new album art. I told him "I'm going to a party tonight, and its going to have an open bar. What are some tips for me, man?" It seemed like common sense and a little bit of indulgence to ask "Mr. Party Hard" that, but I guess I wanted to hear it from the best.(?)

He wrote on the paper:
BE SMART
BE STUPID
BE FREE

He explained to me as he wrote it. "So first, you are going to want to be smart. It's an open bar, and you don't want to get too wasted. You don't want to be too smart though and overthink everything, so be stupid. Make some mistakes and just do. Don't think. Of course, you got to be free. Now, I know it seems weird that I'm telling you to be free because if you listened to me then you wouldn't be free. It's a paradox, but you know what I mean."

Genius or Pop Vomit?

Tonight is a Lifechanger

I had a wreck tonight. A young guy on a motorcycle ran into my car as I was pulling out of a parking lot. I'll never forget that moment.