James Blake

Not to be confused with the tennis player by the same name, that bro James Blake above is a British musician making some really interesting electronic music.

James Blake's self-titled debut LP does not 'officially' drop until 2011, but I've listened to it several times now, and damn...it's good.

I generally consider auto-tune to be a crime against music, but James uses it in...unexpected ways. Different ways. I'm amazed that it's not lame. James also uses various electronic sounds to great effect - some of which sound like an old Nintendo Entertainment System game, and I love that shit.

I need to listen to this some more to truly form my opinion, but James Blake is definitely worth checking out. I had never heard of this guy up until a week ago, but apparently he released 3 EPs in 2010. The EPs do not feature Blake's soulful white boy vocals (think Bon Iver), but they're pretty sweet too.

James Blake tracklisting:

01) Unluck
02) The Wilhelm Scream
03) I Never Learnt To Share
04) Lindesfarne I
05) Lindesfarne II
06) Limit To Your Love
07) Give Me My Month
08) To Care (Like You)
09) Why Don’t You Call Me
10) I Mind
11) Measurements

Gorillaz - The Fall

On Christmas Day, Gorillaz released a new album called 'The Fall'. Pretty impressive considering it's been mere months since Gorillaz released their critically acclaimed record 'Plastic Beach'. Even more impressive? 'The Fall' was recorded almost entirely while the band was on tour, using an iPad.

You can stream 'The Fall' in its entirety here.

Tracklisting:
01) Phoner to Arizona
02) Revolving Doors
03) Hillbilly Man
04) Detroit
05) Shy-Town
06) Little Plastic Bags
07) The Joplin Spider
08) The Parish of Space Dust
09) The Snake In Dallas
10) Amarillo
11) The Speak It Mountains
12) Aspen Forest
13) Bobby In Phoenix
14) California & the Slipping of the Sun
15) Seattle Yodel

2010 Top Albums List

Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a merry one.  Here are my Top 25 Albums of 2010 in concise list form:

1. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
2. Wavves - King of the Beach
3. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
4. MGMT - Congratulations
5. Caribou - Swim
6. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
7. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
8. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
9. Owen Pallett - Heartland
10. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
11. Wolf Parade - Expo 86
12. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
13. No Age - Everything In Between
14. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
15. Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
16. Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
17. Spoon - Transference
18. Beach House - Teen Dream
19. The National - High Violet
20. The New Pornographers - Together
21. Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
22. Sleigh Bells - Treats
23. Twin Shadow - Forget
24. Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon
25. Best Coast - Crazy for You

I'm pretty happy with this list, BUT...there are definitely already some 2010 albums I'm starting to appreciate more, notably 'Plastic Beach' from Gorillaz and 'Age of Adz' from Sufjan Stevens.

This always happens. Bear In Heaven's 'Beast Rest Forth Mouth' and Neon Indian's 'Psychic Chasms' are two of my favorite albums from 2009, and they were nowhere to be found on my list last year. I either hadn't listened to them at all or merely 'glanced' at them (the listening equivalent) at the time, and only realized how awesome they were later.

It's a constant process of discovery - I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll be sure to write about albums that I've come to love that didn't make this list.

The Walking Dead

Since it had a short first season (only 6 episodes), AMC's The Walking Dead was on the air and then off the air before I even had a chance to blog about it.

But hell yeah, they made a show about the zombie apocalypse. And it's really enjoyable. That dude riding a horse into a deserted (by the living) Atlanta is our hero, Sheriff Grimes. He gets shot and then wakes up in a hospital after the zombie apocalypse has already hit hard. This beginning is similar to that of the movie 28 Days Later.

The production levels are really good, and there's a high level of gore, providing a visceral thrill.  But this isn't JUST a show about zombies. There are some interesting conflicts between the survivors, it's about the characters, blah, blah, blah.

Entertaining run, good start to a series. We'll see how they take this and develop it in Season 2. In the meantime, the first season will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD in March.

Toro Y Moi - Underneath the Pine

Toro Y Moi just released his fantastic debut Causers of This in early 2010, but he's already back with his sophomore record Underneath the Pine, set to drop February 22.

Without changing his basic style, I believe the idea with Underneath the Pine is for Toro Y Moi to use less samples/electronics, and more organic instrumentation.  Sample track "Still Sound" is very promising.  You can download it from Stereogum here.

Underneath the Pine tracklisting:

01) Intro/Chi Chi
02) New Beat
03) Go with You
04) Divina
05) Before I’m Done
06) Got Blinded
07) How I Know
08) Light Black
09) Still Sound
10) Good Hold
11) Elise

Destroyer - Kaputt

Behold the first great album of 2011.  Destroyer's ninth (!) LP is called Kaputt, and it officially drops January 25.  Unofficially, the record has already leaked, and it's great.

Kaputt is jazzy and sexy. I like the addition of some female vocals to compliment Dan Bejar's.

Here's the tracklisting:

1. Chinatown
2. Blue Eyes
3. Savage Night at the Opera
4. Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
5. Poor in Love
6. Kaputt
7. Downtown
8. Song for America
9. Bay Of Pigs (Detail)

Top 25 Albums of 2010

#01: Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest

• Perfection.  This album is an absolute dream.  Definitely Deerhunter's most accessible release yet, and hopefully it will earn them many new fans
    
• I haven't decided yet if Halcyon Digest trumps Microcastle, which had been my favorite release from Deerhunter up until this point, and stands tall as one of my all-time favorite albums.  Honestly, it may take years to sort that out
• Bradford Cox continues his streak as one of the most compelling and prolific musicians of our time.  Guitarist Lockett Pundt really comes into his own though, taking lead vocals on standout track "Desire Lines" and "Fountain Stairs"
• This album soothes my soul.  I will turn to it for celebration in good times, and comfort in bad times, for a long time to come

#02: Wavves - King of the Beach

• I had already been a huge fan of Wavves before, but Nathan Williams took huge strides with this album, and I'd say he delivered a record greater than anyone really expected
• With King of the Beach, Wavves ditch much of the lo-fi aesthetic that had been their trademark and focus on crafting a super solid pop punk record
• This album embodies summer and is a lot of fun, but it's far from disposable. As we move into the winter months, I'm still loving the hell out of these tunes
  

#03: Yeasayer - Odd Blood

• Yeasayer's sophomore record Odd Blood is gloriously weird.  Their first record All Hour Cymbals had a 'mystic ancient tribes' vibe to it. Some of that vibe remains, but now we're in the future instead of the past. There's robotic voices and strange electronics
• Any list of the best songs of the year that doesn't include "Ampling Alp", "Madder Red" and "O.N.E.", all selections for this album, is just wrong, I"m sorry
• This album is immensely pleasurable to listen to, and I am so excited to hear what this band does next

#04: MGMT - Congratulations

• Lots of people were disappointed by this album. On one level I get it, but on another level...what the fuck are you talking about?  This is awesome!
• Yes, MGMT made their 'difficult second album', and it has none of the pop hits that drew a lot of people to their debut Oracular Spectacular.  But the brand of psych rock the band harvests here is wonderful, people.  This album makes me giddy
• I do hope that MGMT are able to unite the best aspects of Oracular and Congratulations for their third album, to create something that has pop pleasures and broadens horizons.  In the meantime though, I'll be spinning this album for the hundredth time...and fuck y'all, haters 

#05: Caribou - Swim

• This record was my first exposure to Caribou and...goddamn.  Album opener "Odessa" and album closer "Jamelia" are monster dancefloor bangers.  I mean, this is some dark shit here, not typical dancefloor material, but the beats are incredible
• Electro-pop is obviously a favorite indie rock subgenre of mine - see Yeasayer and MGMT above.  And I'd fit this under the elctro-pop umbrella, and yet...it has a different edge to it entirely.  And I love it
• Swim is a meticulously well-crafted album that blows my socks off

#6: Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

• Welcome back, Arcade Fire.  I was a bigger fan of their sophomore record Neon Bible than most, but in years to come, I expect I will be reaching for this album more. Their debut record Funeral remains difficult to top, but honestly, they don't need to top it
• Arcade Fire make grand statements and 'concept albums' of sorts.  This time they cover (no shit) the suburbs.  At 28, their lyrics about 'wanting to have a daughter while I'm still young' resonate with me pretty deeply. I'm somewhere in between the kid that wanted to escape the suburbs and the man who wants to raise his family there
• I can't get enough of the title track and "City With no Children". In similar AF fashion, this record is 'epic', and is arguably too long, but that just means it's jam packed with tunes. There are definitely highlights, but not much 'filler'

#7: LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

• YES.  I fucking love this album. Opener "Dance Yrself Clean" is unparalleled greatness
• "I Can Change" and "You Wanted a Hit" are also fantastic
• Ultimately, Sound of Silver remains LCD's greatest album, but this is a worthy follow-up and then some

#8: Surfer Blood - Astro Coast

• Great debut record. Surfer Blood hit similar pleasure centers as Weezer for me - awesome power pop
• Next time you're in the car, put on "Swim".  Roll the windows down (well, I did in this in the summer.  I know it's freezing cold out right now) and crank the volume way up. If done correctly, you should feel an incredible surge of energy and should be ready to kick the world's ass.  You're welcome.  One helluva song

#9: Owen Pallett - Heartland

• I never listened to this guy before, when he called himself Final Fantasy.  I knew he did string arrangements for Arcade Fire, so that gave him some 'cred', but I didn't really know what to expect
• Heartland is an electro symphony - strings combine with beats and electronics. The kind of music I'm generally only familiar with in film scores comes alive and becomes modern pop music. Owen sings about a farmer who gets fed up and murders people...something cool like that  

#10: Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

• This record received an 'unheard of' perfect 10.0 score from reputable indie music site Pitchfork, and appears to be topping quite a few Top Album lists this year. I expect the backlash will be massive. But fuck, this is a good record
• This album 'transcends genres', however pretentious that might sound. People who ordinarily don't give a shit about hip hop will still want to listen to this
• Masterfully produced. That kinda goes without saying. Kanye comes into his own as an MC as well, and has plenty of top notch guests to provide the rhymes
• This is Kanye's year, and he's produced an amazing album. Hate if you want, but it won't do you much good

#11: Wolf Parade - Expo 86

• Quite possibly the last record we'll ever get from Wolf Parade, now that they're on 'indefinite hiatus'. Sadness
• I didn't love this record immediately, but it really is a grower.  From Dan, we have "Ghost Presure", "Pobody's Nerfect" and "Yulia", all of which are amazing. Spencer does a great balls-to-the-wall rockin' opening track with "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain"
• Wolf Parade didn't reinvent themselves here, but they've tightened and refined their sound, and could continue to produce many great records for years to come. I hope they come to their senses

#12: Broken Bells - Broken Bells

• James Mercer, frontman for The Shins, teams up with producer Danger Mouse.  What a nice surprise.  Really injects new life in The Shins brand of indie rock, with Danger Mouse supplying sweet beats
• "The High Road" is easily one of the best songs of the year

#13: No Age - Everything In Between

• Some people didn't seem to think this album was as good as the band's previous effort, Nouns.  It's certainly not as intense, but I think their songwriting is really progressing, and the band continues to get more and more interesting for me.  I love Nouns, but I didn't need a sequel.

#14: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

• Whoa. Apparently this bro Ariel Pink has been making music for many years, but I never listened to any of it before now. This record is hazy and weird and awesome
• "Round and Round" is truly a wonderful song. I sing along to it just about every time it comes on

#15: Toro Y Moi - Causers of This

• People seem to despise the term 'chillwave', but I kinda like it.  The music that Neon Indian and Toro Y Moi make IS pretty fucking chill
• There are electronics and beats here that you might find in hip hop, but here used to create something dreamy and serene
• Toro Y Moi is a fantastic musician who will certainly continue to impress long after 'chillwave' is no longer a thing. See "Blessa", "Talamak", and "Low Shoulder" for some sweet tunes

#16: Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

• A stellar debut record from this Australian group, who combine Beatles-esque vocals with a psychedelic guitar crunch to great effect

#17: Spoon - Transference

• Spoon really won me over as a fan with their previous effort Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, and that remains my favorite record of theirs. Their follow-up Transference is a little bit colder, not as inviting. But there's still an unparalleled groove these indie rock veterans put together
• "Written In Reverse" and "Who Makes Your Money" are great

#18: Beach House - Teen Dream

• Beautiful lullabies.  Gorgeous female vocals. Perfect for lying in bed on a Sunday morning

#19: The National - High Violet

• This record should probably be higher on the list, but I've only JUST NOW become a fan of The National. I don't know how this matches up against their previous records, as I haven't listened to them yet. I'm sure that's heresy to some - sorry, I avoided these guys for a while, for whatever reason.  But this is powerful and dynamic music. Having started to listen to it, I couldn't leave it off my list

#20: The New Pornographers - Together

• The New Pornos continue to churn out wonderful power pop. This record is stronger than their previous effort Challengers, though I'm not sure I'd put it on the same level as their first three albums.  An excellent album, nonetheless, and one I believe has been unjustly overlooked this year

#21: Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer

• "Fuck You". That's really all you need to know, but there are some other great songs on here as well.  "Bright Lights Bigger City" comes to mind

#22: Sleigh Bells - Treats

• These guys are a lot like The Go! Team. Fun cheerleader theme song action music.  Meant to be played LOUD.

#23: Twin Shadow - Forget

• An extremely promising debut.  I can't get enough of "Castles in the Snow"

#24: Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon

• TV on the Radio guitarist/producer Dave Sitek teams up with numerous vocalists and makes the next best thing to a new TV on the Radio record that we're gonna get until the band returns (2011, pretty please?)

#25: Best Coast - Crazy for You

• This album has single minded lyrics, there's no question about that.  But I like this chick's style, and her music is sunny and enjoyable 

Top 100 Songs of 2010

I present to you my Top 100 Songs of 2010.  I've heard a lot of shit about this being not such a great year for music, and that 2009 was a tough act to follow, but fuck that. A ton of awesome music came out this year.

The rule I set for myself was absolutely no more than 4 songs from a single album.  In alphabetical order...

1. Absence of Light - Maximum Balloon feat. Tunde Adebimpe
2. Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
3. Anyone's Ghost - The National
4. Baby Say Goodbye - Wavves
5. Baseball Cards - Wavves
6. A Bite Out of My Bed - The New Pornographers
7. Black Rain - Soundgarden
8. Blessa - Toro Y Moi
9. Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
10. Boyfriend - Best Coast
11. Bright Lights Bigger City - Cee-Lo Green
12. Castles In the Snow - Twin Shadow
13. Catholic Pagans - Surfer Blood
14. Chinatown - Destroyer
15. Citizen - Broken Bells
16. City With No Children - Arcade Fire
17. Cloud Shadow on the Mountain - Wolf Parade
18. Congratulations - MGMT
19. Coquette Coquette - of Montreal
20. Crash Years - The New Pornographers
21. Crown on the Ground - Sleigh Bells
22. Dance Yrself Clean - LCD Soundsystem
23. Dark Fantasy - Kanye West
24. Desire Be, Desire Go - Tame Impala
25. Desire Lines - Deerhunter
26. The End - Best Coast
27. Enemy Gene - of Montreal
28. Excuses - The Morning Benders
29. Expectation - Tame Impala
30. Flash Delirium - MGMT
31. Floating Vibes - Surfer Blood
32. Fright Night (Nevermore) - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
33. Fuck You - Cee-Lo Green
34. Ghost Pressure - Wolf Parade
35. Giving Up the Gun - Vampire Weekend
36. Glitter - No Age
37. Going Through Changes - Eminem
38. Got Nuffin - Spoon
39. The Great Elsewhere - Owen Pallett
40. Groove Me - Maximum Balloon feat. Theophilus London
41. Heartbreaker - Girls
42. Helicopter - Deerhunter
43. The High Road - Broken Bells
44. Hydra Fancies - of Montreal
45. I Can Change - LCD Soundsystem
46. Infinity Guitars - Sleigh Bells
47. Is Love Forever? - Spoon
48. It's Working - MGMT
49. It Is Not Meant to Be - Tame Impala
50. Jamelia - Caribou
51. Last Night At the Jetty - Panda Bear
52. Leave House - Caribou
53. Lewis Takes Action - Owen Pallett
54. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt - Owen Pallett
55. Lovesick Teenagers (Twin Shadow Remix) - Bear In Heaven
56. Low Shoulder - Toro Y Moi
57. Madder Red - Yeasayer
58. Memory Boy - Deerhunter
59. Mickey Mouse - Wavves
60. Monster - Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver
61. Month of May - Arcade Fire
62. Moves - The New Pornographers
63. O.N.E. - Yeasayer
64. Odessa - Caribou
65. Pobody's Nerfect - Wolf Parade
66. Power - Kanye West
67. Red Sun No. 5 - Owen Pallett 
68. Revival - Deerhunter
69. Rome - Yeasayer
70. Round and Round - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
71. Runaway - Kanye West feat. Pusha T.
72. Runway, Houses, City, Clouds - Tame Impala
73. Semi-Precious Stone - Wolf Parade
74. Shed and Transcend - No Age
75. Silver Jenny Dollar - The New Pornographers
76. Silver Soul - Beach House
77. Skinned - No Age
78. Sleep Paralysist - Neon Indian
79. Slow Motion - Panda Bear
80. Song for Dan Treacy - MGMT
81. Sorrow - The National
82. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
83. Sun - Caribou
84. Swim - Surfer Blood
85. Take Care - Beach House
86. Take It Easy - Surfer Blood
87. Take on the World - Wavves
88. Talamak - Toro Y Moi
89. Tell 'Em - Sleigh Bells
90. Terrible Love - The National
91. Tiger - Maximum Balloon feat. Aku
92. Valley Hump Crash - No Age
93. Vaporize - Broken Bells
94. Walk In the Park - Beach House
95. We Used to Wait - Arcade Fire
96. When the Sun Don't Shine - Best Coast
97. Who Makes Your Money - Spoon
98. Written In Reverse - Spoon
99. You Wanted A Hit - LCD Soundsystem
100. Yulia - Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade on Indefinite Hiatus

Wolf Parade have announced that they are going on 'indefinite hiatus'.  No one knows for sure exactly what this means, but it seems semi-permanent. [tears]

I was getting so jazzed up about this band.  One of my first great indie rock loves when the released their debut record Apologies to the Queen Mary, Wolf Parade and I have a long history.  I sort of overlooked their sophomore record At Mount Zoomer when it first came out (I now believe to be their strongest album).  I experienced a resurgence in my love for the band in the past year or so, and I've seen them perform twice recently - both times were amazing shows.

Wolf Parade seemed to be on a roll, suggesting that they recorded so much material for their third record Expo 86 that they might release a follow-up EP right away.  So I have no idea what happened...this is a major bummer.

The one consolation is that Wolf Parade members Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner have both made awesome music in other bands, and there's every indication they'll continue to do so.  A new record from Handsome Furs (Dan's band with his wife Alexei Perry) is set to come out in 2011.

Tame Impala - Expectation (Video)

There will certainly be room on my 'Best of 2010' list for Tame Impala, who released one of the year's finest debut records in Innerspeaker.

Check out the video for Innerspeaker highlight "Expectation" above.

Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth

So it's December, and people are putting together their 'Best of 2010' lists.  There was a lot of great music this year, but one of my favorite new records was actually released back in October 2009. That record is Beast Rest Forth Mouth, from a band called Bear In Heaven.

Animal Collective is an easy reference in certain respects - lush electronic pop with tribal drumming. But the sound from Bear In Heaven is darker, more otherworldly. Powerful, fantastic vocals. If you're looking for a sample track, try "Lovesick Teenagers".

I love how BIH bring back a section from "Lovesick Teenagers" in the album closer "Casual Goodbye". Reminds me of how awesome it was when Pink Floyd bookended Wish You Were Here with the different parts of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond".

Community Claymation Christmas Special

Community, which airs on Thursdays at 8pm on NBC, is starting to edge out 30 Rock as the best comedy currently on television.  The show gets insane and wacky a lot, and in a lot of ways it's like a live-action cartoon.

Well in this Thursday night's episode (December 9), the show will actually become a cartoon, doing a Christmas special in the classic claymation style.  Check out the preview clip above.

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

Remember Michael Jackson's Moonwalker?  It was out for the arcades and on Sega Genesis.  Pretty fucking freaky.

You go around fighting people and 'rescuing' children.  When you activate your special move, a spotlight shines on you, and Michael starts dancing.  Your enemies are compelled to dance along with you, but they can't keep up, because the dancing is too intense! So of course they die trying.

There's a new video game out called Michael Jackson: The Experience, which seems like a poor, poor title choice.  Like yeah, have you had 'the Michael Jackson experience'?  God no.