EPT
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EDIT: http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/TL Top 10 of 2010/31535357 - Playlist courtesy of AraqirG!
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The year’s at its half-way point, which means that it’s a great time to sit back and take stock of what we’ve heard so far. Some of it was brilliant (see below) and some of it was horrific (Lil’ Wayne’s rock album). I like looking at albums at the end of the year, but I think it’s fair to check out the year’s best songs at its midway point.
Before reading on, know that I do not claim to have…
(A) Listened to every song produced in 2010.
Or…
(B) Calibrated this list to suit your music taste.
So forgive me if you find this list abysmal, misguided, embarrassing, tone-deaf, pretentious, discriminatory, or un-listenable. And then tell me why I’m wrong. I sure don’t have a monopoly on good music, if you’ve got something that people need to hear, then post it to the thread. I like talking about this stuff!
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#1: The Best of Times by Sage Francis
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What. A. Song.
Sage Francis has always been a bit of an oddball hip-hop artist. He’s a vegetarian and card-carrying member of PETA. He’s balding, fat, and from Providence, RI. But for all of his quirks, he’s put out a steady diet of smart, musically-sound rap over the years, and built a cult following doing it. His latest release; Li(f)e is another excellent record in the Sage Francis cannon. But the greatest part of this album is its twelfth, and final track; the sublime “The Best of Times.”
This is the best song Sage Francis has ever made, and it’s the best thing I’ve heard all year. It’s a song about growing up, and it feels as personal to me as it does to Sage Francis. The backing track is a composition from the French minimalist composer Yann Tiersen, and it builds slowly, a tinkling of bells here, a chord here, until it finally reaches a stunning climax that might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. But the reason why this song works so well is because the interplay between the backing and the vocals is nearly seamless. Listen twice; once for the whole effect, and then for lyrical masterpieces like: “checked the mail-box twice a day at the end of the long dirt road/steamed open a couple of envelopes like I was in private detective mode” and the best single line of the year: “Better to have pressure from peers, then not have peers.”
It’s just to good.
+ Show Spoiler +
#2: Boy Lilikoi by Jónsi
![[image loading]](http://www.icelandmusic.is/resources/thumbnails/jonsi_300_293.jpg)
If there’s anyone in the world that read my blogs, they know about this song. I know I’m not talking about albums here, but this song comes from my favorite record of the year, the magical Go.
This is the solo debut of Sigur Rós front man Jónsi Birgisson, and it’s hard to pick one song that really is the album’s best. But “Boy Lilikoi” might be its flagship song, and it stands out alone. Released in December of last year, this feels like a compilation of all the best parts of the album. It begins intimately, and ends with an epic swell of music. It goes from clarity to unintelligibility. But throughout the song, it never fails to sound absolutely beautiful. It’s a song made of hope, love, and wonder. Can’t get much better than that.
+ Show Spoiler +
#3: Dead Hearts by Stars
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Stars are one of what seems like a hundred bands that have come surging out of Montreal in recent years, but have remained in the spotlight because they’re excellent. I owe this one to JWD for recommending this band to me last year in one of my previous music blogs. I’ve been impressed with their previous work, but their June release The Five Ghosts sounds like their best to me.
The best song is the album’s first. “Dead Hearts” features a wonderful give and take between the band’s lead singers (the excellently named) Torquil Campbell, and the fragile (in this song only) sounding voice of Amy Millan, presumably about the haunting image depicted in the album cover. Eventually, this gives way to a lush chorus with the two together, singing “I can say it but you won’t believe me/You say you do but you don’t decieve me.” A lot of Stars songs go for melodrama, but what makes this song excellent is how admirably it restrains itself from becoming an anthem. It pulls back from the brink, and makes its clear-eyed simplicity sound wonderful.
+ Show Spoiler +
#4: Tell ‘Em by Sleigh Bells
![[image loading]](http://media.heavy.com/post_assets/2009/11/0514/1257448757_sleigh-bells.jpg)
A rude awakening if there ever was one, saying Sleigh Bells burst their way into the world’s music consciousness is an understatement. Last year, this Brooklyn-based musical duo released a static-laden piece of junk called “Crown on the Ground”, which was eaten up by Pitchfork Music like the last slice of cake. Cue fame and fortune. Comfortably signed with M.I.A.’s label, the pair thankfully began to actually come out with some good music, and released this song as a precursor to the release of Treats, their full-length debut.
“Tell ‘Em” is like a shot of Red Bull, straight into the blood stream. It sounds like a shotgun blast against your head. I’ve been talking about how the previous songs build and develop as the song goes on. Forget that with this one. This song explodes from the start, and continues at a breakneck pace, until an almost exhausted finish 3 minutes later. You play this song on your car radio, and only after it’s done do you realize that you’ve been doing 90 in a construction zone.
Turn up the volume.
+ Show Spoiler +
#5: Like, OMG, Baby by DJ Earworm
![[image loading]](http://bootiemashup.com/emailpix/earworm.jpg)
Every year, DJ Earworm wades into the swirling mess of ‘popular music’ and somehow molds something coherent and wonderful out of it. But last year, after he parlayed the best pop beat in recent memory into international success, it seems his mash-up capabilities are more in demand than ever. Not that I’m complaining.
For a concert at Wembley stadium in London in which all of the sampled artists performed, Mr. Earworm produced his best mix yet. It’s great summer fare, and somehow manages to be catchier than nearly all the original songs. And being greater than the sum of its parts is the mark of any great combination.
+ Show Spoiler +
#6: Black Eyes by Shearwater
![[image loading]](http://londonist.com/attachments/London_Talia/shearwater0210.jpg)
Shearwater is probably my favorite band that nobody knows about. They‘ve been putting out excellent releases for years, most recently February’s The Golden Archipelago. What’s great about the band is how they can shift so effortlessly behind delicate songs and full-throated, full throttled, roaring songs like “Black Eyes”.
The song starts with an urgent piano-drumbeat, and into which blasts Jonathan Meiburg’s clarion call of a voice. It’s a great beginning, and the band never lets it down. Meiburg’s voice always sounds like it’s calling down from above, or perhaps echoing in a huge vault. You’re never sure which, but it doesn’t matter. You can feel that there’s something at stake in this song, and it reaches out and compels you throughout.
+ Show Spoiler +
#7: Sabu Yerkoy by Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate
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Two legends of West-African music and good friends, Ali and Toumani released a fantastic 2005 album called In the Heart of the Moon, and planned to make more recordings. Sadly, Toure died in 2006, leaving behind a rich musical legacy, and some unfinished work. Thankfully a second record of music from the two was released this year, and it’s pretty much one of the best things ever. Called Ali and Toumani, it is a showcase for the very best in World music.
The album’s best song is Sabu Yerkoy, which makes all of the incredible elements; Ali’s voice and guitar, and Toumani’s incomparable Kora, work in perfect harmony. There’s not too much emphasis on any one, instead everything seems a little understated, and wisely so. The soft chorus bookends the subtle play of the string instruments. It’s a perfect match, the steady rhythm of Ali’s guitar holds the song to a fairly simple structure as Toumani’s kora skitters around like a spider. Given the freedom for both to roam and experiment, it’s great what they produced.
+ Show Spoiler +
#8: The Cave by Mumford and Sons
![[image loading]](http://www.the-fly.co.uk/upload/images/featured_artist/Mumford--Sons-Jun-08.jpg)
The debut album of the British band Mumford and Sons is called Sigh No More and is one of my favorite finds recently. I missed this one earlier this year, but discovered it during my typical retrograde mid-year music listening. It’s both funny and interesting that this band comes from across the pond, as their music sounds as American as apple pie.
But apparently the Brits can do it too, because there’s some great stuff here, and yet another song with a great build. Best of all, the chorus is especially sing-able, and when it balloons near the end with a pained, drawn out; “And I will hold on hope/And I won’t let you choke/On the noose around your neck.” you can’t help but sing along.
+ Show Spoiler +
#9: All I Want by LCD Soundsystem
![[image loading]](http://fingersbecomethumbs.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/lcdsoundsss.jpg)
I’m an off-again, on-again fan of LCD Soundsystem. In general, I like their music, but find it somewhat boring. But usually once or twice on their albums I find a song I really love. And then there’s “All My Friends”, which is (in my humble opinion) possibly the best song of the last decade. I feel similarly about the latest from James Murphy & Ensemble. This Is Happening is a boring album for me, and overrated. (Which is the worst part, obviously.)
But then there’s “All I Want.” And suddenly I’m getting the All My Friends shivers again. It’s not the same, really, but it’s similar, and it’s very good. Aside from a silly start and end, this song runs and runs and runs, and it’s impossible to turn it off. There’s that quick dance beat, and then James Murphy layering a story over it, almost at half speed. An irresistible combination.
Ah, James Murphy, who am I kidding, you’re always the best.
+ Show Spoiler +
#10: Bruised Orange by John Prine and covered by Justin Vernon
![[image loading]](http://isoas.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/johnprine04-280x336.jpg)
It would be hard for John Prine to get better, honestly, but Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine ads a great new dimension to the work of one of America’s greatest singer-songwriters. The compilation was engineered by Justin Vernon, or the artist often known as ‘Bon Iver’. Fittingly, it’s his singer-songwriter skills which do Prine’s work justice. The album’s opening track, Bruised Orange is fantastic take on a classic. Is it better? Who cares! It’s different and wonderful all on its own.
+ Show Spoiler +
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That’s ten songs out of many many great releases this year. Because I can, and because I’ll be angry if I don’t, here’s a few more.
Apologies to:
+ Show Spoiler +
Your Hands (Together) by The New Pornographers
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Daisy by Fang Island
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July Flame by Laura Veirs
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Airplanes, Part II by B.o.B.
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I Can’t Stop by The Ruse
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Daisy by Fang Island
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July Flame by Laura Veirs
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Airplanes, Part II by B.o.B.
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I Can’t Stop by The Ruse
And one final upcoming song and an awesome music video all in one:
+ Show Spoiler +
Cheers!
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