Top 10 Songs of 2010

2010 is the greatest year of music. No year has come close in my lifetime, and that may be a bold statement, but it's also my own fault. After listening to the music 2010 has offered, there's no way else to explain it. I feel like I must have been sheltered all my life to finally understand what music can do. I've followed all genres of music: stemming from my early country roots and slowly transitioning to hip-hop, indie, pop; you name it. For some reason, everything spoke to me this year. I found that even the worst records meant the most. But the few that stood above the rest, did so like me at a DMX concert. So without further ado, here are...

The Top 10 Songs of 2010

10.   Josh Ritter
        "The Curse"

What makes "The Curse" great isn't its mummy protagonist, but his lover--the excavator--who has gone through great lengths to rescue, love, and in the end, fail to find the freedom which she had initially given without hesitation.

9.   Gorillaz
      "On Melancholy Hill"

At it's core, "Melancholy" may sound like the anthem of the 1990s roller rink, yet Albarn and the Gorillaz continue to blur the lines between ballad and synthpop. Here they manage to create what many songs of 2010 could not: perpetual simplicity.

8.   Sleigh Bells
      "Kids"

It's short, it's to the point, and most importantly, it's loud. 2010 may have been Sleigh Bell's lucky year, but "Kids" shows that the duo's teenage angst stemming from the mid 1990s is even more meaningful when backed by distorted guitars.

7.   The Besnard Lakes
      "Albatross"

Call them rip-offs of The Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Sigur Ros, but you can never call them uninspired. Besnard's "Albatross" soars to new heights fueled by the fire of nostalgia.  That alone is a special thing.

6.   Kanye West
      "Runaway" (Feat. Pusha T)

What I find most endearing about Kanye is that no matter how large his ego soars, he always stays grounded. As he groans on his vocoder for the final three minutes, it's still refreshing to see a musician put everything into his music.

5.   LCD Soundsystem
      "Home"

James Murphy's age has yielded, if nothing else, perspective. As "Home" hurdles on at its consistent pace, we still find it slowly unravelling: as if the song, and the relationship starting it all, never actually began.

4.   Big Boi
      "Shutterbugg" (Feat. Cutty)

How Big Boi manages to bring the funkiest sounds of the 1970s and 80s while still feeling fresher than a green banana will never make sense. I'm still wondering how to cut a rug and throw a deuce in the sky without looking completely ridiculous.

3.   The Black Keys
      "Tighten Up"

The Black Keys definitely put in their bid for sexiest band of all time in 2010...and "Tighten Up" was their Ferrari. Calling to their blues brothers of the past, Auerbach and Carney never slow down while still revving their engine at all the perfect moments.

2.   LCD Soundsystem
      "All I Want

James Murphy put out hit after hit this year, but none captured the hurt and disillusionment of every relationship as "All I Want." As the guitar drowns out Murphy's lyrics, the high-pitched synth calls out for a failing love that will never be the same.

1.   Kanye West
      "Power"

In Yeezy's magnum opus, every beat hits, every synth drives, ever drone percolates, and all sounds come together in a perfect balance of egotism and perfection...just as Kanye West would have envisioned.







TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2010 COMING TOMORROW!!!



-jh

Stardate 15.12.2010

So I have now entered the world of blogging. Get excited, because I am not. My car is dead and this is a negative Ice Man/Maverick/Goose. Hopefully all will be well, but I fear Kate/Red Baron/Honda Civic '95 has seen one of her last few days. Excitement soon to follow with new Best Of lists!!!



-jh