Music of 2010 Roundup, pt. 2

[steedizzie]

Music overwhelms me. I will never feel like I can keep up with all the good music I want to hear. There are probably hundreds of decent to excellent albums from all different genres and countries every year that just go right on by me. I’m sorry, but I’ll never feel like an expert in this field. As such, I have not ranked my music list. I just hope I can turn some other people on to some of the albums I did get a chance to enjoy last year. Oh, and I’m almost done with the final part already, so while I won’t promise anything, it may be coming much sooner than this one did.
21. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

Plastic Beach is a house of cards. You have to wonder how much longer Damon Albarn can keep collecting and adding genres to his sound before it all topples. He hasn’t let it happen yet, though, and the result is a marvel of pop song manufacturing. He maintains the same downhearted delivery in his own vocals on this album as on previous, and still pushes hip hop artists and minor key industrial coolness. This time, however, he adds orchestras, out of place lighthearted breaks, and soul singing. It doesn’t seem as cohesive as Demon Days, but it also feels slightly less calculated. Absurd commercialism runs throughout the album, coming to the fore on tracks like “Superfast Jellyfish,” a neighborhood groove that recalls the weirdness of The Chemical Brothers’ “The Salmon Dance.” The album really takes off when the morning-after-the-apocalypse meditation of “Empire Ants” breaks out into a slick synth march. No one brings the cloud dream misfit pulse like Albarn, and that really shows (with the exception of “Sweepstakes’” bawdy vibrations) on the second half of Plastic Beach. Nowhere else will you find music that’s just so damned COOL.

My Favorites: Empire Ants [ft. Little Dragon]; Melancholy Hill; Plastic Beach [ft. Mick Jones and Paul Simonon]

Listen: Starring off the aft deck, lights closing together in the little port behind
22. Jack Wall - Mass Effect 2 Soundtrack

Filled with slow minor keys and repeated note patterns that function similar to arpeggios, instrumented at times by an orchestra and at others mainly by a single instrument, and wanting so much to reflect the dark space docks, racial mistrust, and galactic gravity of the game for which it was composed; the soundtrack to Mass Effect 2 rings with all the glory of the seventies and eighties sci-fi films that inspired it. Like the best of movie scores, it often gives the impression there may be something worth discovering (or something threatening) just around the next bend. It’s replete with old scoring techniques like stingers and sudden stops, but the best moments here are the haunting contemplations featured in tracks like “Humans Are Disappearing” or “Reflections.” Go to “Normandy Reborn” for a quick taste of the triumphant highs of which it’s capable. It’ll be easy to compare this to something like Vangelis’s Blade Runner music, but I also hear bits of Risky Business, The Rock, and even smatterings of The Riders of Rohan theme from The Lord of the Rings. Like a lot of film scores, schizophrenic theme switching is a bit of problem, sometimes allowing just enough time to adjust to a new tempo before changing again within the same track, but I suppose they fit the dramatic needs of the scene for which they were created. It isn’t the best soundtrack I’ve ever heard, or even the most catchy video game soundtrack (Nintendo or Final Fantasy probably win that), but while I didn’t see a single film last year with a soundtrack I had to seek out, I knew before I was halfway through Mass Effect 2 that I would late be able to relive so much of its claustrophobic hope-against-odds inky sci-fi vibe through its atmospheric soundtrack. I was right.

My Favorites: Humans Are Disappearing; New Worlds (the badass music from the Galaxy Map)

Listen: In very spare, clean, shiny, dark surrounds
23. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid

Yes, this. This is the one that takes The Love Below to the next level. If someone took every good genre from my playlist and mashed them together, it would be incoherent; but then if someone refined that mash into an album, it would be Janelle Monáe’s The ArchAndroid. It begins with classical notes, and moves to cinema, funk, jazz, big band, hip hop, folk, sixties pop, and psychedelic rock, and even what sounds like a bit of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” all with an R&B pop sheen. The vocals are perfect, Ms. Monáe pulling off many phrases with the confidence of a jazz master like Esperanza Spalding. She gets a bit of a chance to show her inner Joplin too on “Come Alive (The War of the Roses).” “Cold War” will have you soaring with an unsentimental celebration of love. “Tightrope” just may find you tapping along. Paul Simon could have written “57821” for himself and Art Garfunkel in the late sixties. “BaBopByeYa” might have fallen off the print of an old Bond film. Do you see what I’m doing here? While you might expect it to be inconsistent and jumpy (and in some ways it is), there’s something so Bourbon Street cool holding everything together, while a Broadway sort of production polishes it off. Oh, and it’s also a concept album and continuation of her first EP that follows a robot woman in a future Metropolis-like society who falls in love with a human and has to go on the run, eventually becoming an icon of robot civil rights in the process. No wonder I love this album. On top of fantastic songwriting, its production and themes make it a paradise for film and music nerds. While I didn’t actually order this list, I have no doubt that The ArchAndroid would be in my top five albums of the year. I will hold a grudge against everything until Janelle Monáe becomes a superstar.

My Favorites: Dance or Die [ft. Saul Williams]; Cold War; Oh, Maker; Suite III Overture; 57821 [ft. Deep Cotton]; BaBopByeYa

Listen: with friends
24. John Legend & the Roots - Wake Up!

Where has all the good music gone? Well, the Roots have been holding on to some of it for the last twenty years, and John Legend has done his fair share in the last ten. Here, they team up to literally bring back several classic songs in fresh skin. Harkening back to the soul of artists like Curtis Mayfield, the beats here are all funky guitars, sporadic horns, desperate vocals, and pent up drums. It also recalls the social message soul of that era too in the questions it poses about (and to) America. The sparing use of rap lends extra gravity when a verse does come in. This is a very good and tasteful update of a handful of great songs that will hopefully expose them to new listeners.

My Favorites: Hard Times [ft. Black Thought]; Our Generation (The Hope of the World) [ft. CL Smooth]; I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free

Listen: Wherever home is for you
25. Julieta Venegas - Otra Cosa

I don’t know a lot of Mexican artists to be honest, but it was hard for me to escape Julieta Venegas’s last album, Limón y Sal. With this follow-up, she’s back to quirky, jumpy little grooves and upbeat arrangements, even if the themes deal with the sad side of love. It’s catchy, and her quick delivery is refreshing as any good pop.

My Favorites: Amores Platónicos; Si Tú No Estás; Eterno

Listen: In a good mood
26. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Mr. West has certainly ramped up the noise after the experimental luxury crawl of 808s and Heartbreak. He’s taken that disc’s electro sounds back into mainstream rap here on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, resulting in a departure from the sped-up soul and remix sounds that he used to cultivate his early career. Can rap be gothic? We’ve learned it can certainly at least be decadent, and he packs this album with an embarrassment of overboard technical feats, from “Dark Fantasy”’s sudden rap breaks to the operatic choruses of “Power” to impossible list of contributors on “All of the Lights” to the excessive finale of “Runaway.” This album is gaudy. It’s also fantastic. While Kanye lets the songs bleed all over the disc, he’s not entirely unrestrained. At a lean thirteen tracks, it follows his tendencies since Graduation. Instead of churning out discs with twenty-plus tracks, he’s giving himself room to fully explore his ideas before moving on to the next, and in turn the pace leaves you feeling like you’ve had a more rehearsed experience.

The name My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sums up that experience. While we do get anthems like “Power,” it’s more of a sweaty fever dream than the upbeat Yes We Can of “Through the Wire,” “Jesus Walks,” or “Family Business.” There’s no tongue-in-cheek cuteness like “The New Workout Plan” or “Drunk and Hot Girls.” Instead we get mistakes-his big fuck-ups, his worries, his demonic desires, and his compromises. His flow is cheeky as ever, even if the subjects are capital S serious. He’s isolated and uninviting, but you don’t want to turn away from the spectacle. Maybe it’s just Mr. West and I, but it seems we’re living in a time of greater self-doubt and personal neediness than I can remember. If we are all spiraling down into ourselves, it’s comforting to know the world is going alongside us-and that makes this latest album as apropos to its time as any of his previous efforts.

My Favorites: All of them

Listen: Any time
27. Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

I like Katy Perry. She sings about kissing girls and partying and she looks good doing it. She stuffs this newest album with a few really catchy songs, some about love, some about partying, some about too much partying. The songs are modern pop. She’s got a lot of life, and the best of these songs inject energy into the room. Electro drums, vocal athletics, and a rotating cast of funky guitars, synths, and the occasional violin or piano. She’s always been good at the provocateur aspect of the Madonna pop diva persona. Here she continues to demonstrate this frankness-her willingness to put music to our thoughts. In “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” she puts her tongue in her cheek and sings about the partying that doesn’t stop-to the detriment of bank accounts and personal pride, and it all rounds out with an unexpectedly cool saxophone solo. “Peacock” would be better titled without the Pea (though she confuses me a bit with the line about “rainbow looking treasure”). Whatever the case, ambiguity isn’t something she does much of. “Circle the Drain” sees her fed up with a guy who takes too many drugs. “The One That Got Away” is about…well I think you can see. If this sounds like your thing, you’ll probably find yourself drudging up a few tracks for those weekend pregaming get-togethers.

My Favorites: Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.); Firework

Listen: On the weekend, with your girls
28. Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

Were Kings of Leon really cooler when nobody else had heard of them? Yes and no. No because the music is almost exactly the same now, and yes because the music is almost exactly the same now; and yes because for people who take these things seriously, mainstream popularity redistributes unique wealth to the mob. The album opens on a sexy smooth slow roast with “The End” just as “Closer” opens Only By the Night. Low distortion spreads out from electric guitar trills, Caleb Followill’s cigarettes-and-tobacco throat cuts through it, the rhythm section starts you swaying, and the landscape is littered with pauses that narrowly avoid pregnancy. Picture all the smoke rolling in from the sides like lenses when their brand of introspective alternative blues rock pierces the night. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really take off from there. All of the songs are more or less the same pace, and could also be described as above. If you like these guys, yes, you will like this newest album. If you haven’t heard of them, go for Aha Shake Heartbreak for your dose of indie-neo-southern-rock -with-a-dash-of-Talking-Heads-arena-pop instead.

My Favorites: The End; Mary

Listen: Driving I think. Yeah, driving.
29. Klaxons - Surfing the Void

Finally, a sequel to the Klaxons consummate debut album, Myths of the Near Future. So, how is it? Huh? How is it? Noisy. The first thing you’ll notice is the relentless wall of sound. It’s like swimming in a choppy ocean of hard synths and guitar noise. Just try to grab onto those jutting drum beat rocks without hitting them too hard. This is the way to get amped. They still round out the sound with goofy falsetto backup vocals. On “The Same Space,” the main beats land like the footsteps of a lumbering clockwork elephant, tinting the track with a slight (slight!) hue of Survivor’s hits. Elsewhere, however, the breakdowns favor a Mars Volta level of hardcore chaotic. Nothing here will have you floating around as with “Golden Skans,” but they do lace some tracks with eerie warbling pindrop synth sounds, and at some point (“Valley of the Calm Trees”) we get to breathe a bit. Mostly though, this stuff was made for parties. Get ready to show your ups. You’d probably be right to think it might be difficult to endure such a full on assault for long, but the album clocks in at a slim 38-some minutes. I’m really not sure about that new rave fuss, but this group has made a modest career of paranormal crunchy fiesta beats. Beer me!

My Favorites: Echoes; Surfing the Void; Twin Flames

Listen: Why not get some glow sticks? It couldn’t hurt.
30. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem brings the shimmy-shimmy. Most of the nine tracks here start very slowly, adding layer by careful layer until we end up with a groovable triumph of balanced beats and anticipation. James Murphy’s voice strains characteristically like a robotic nervous breakdown, but the inventive music is the real star. Supposedly, to the informed, his songs are chock full of homage to bands most people have never heard of. Well, neither have I, so I won’t be too helpful in that regard. “Dance Yrself Clean” opens cold, taking a full four minutes before we get to the synthesizer funk jam, filled out with claps, fizzes, and tin cans. The only short track on the album, “Drunk Girls” is just as laughably silly as you would think. “One Touch” could command an ‘80s fashionista club like Grace Jones , with background tones climbing steadily higher and instrumental phrases that fade out only to return with a later tide. It’s hard not to hear David Bowie’s “Heroes” in the opening to “All I Want,” but before you know it you’ve forgotten all about Bowie. The guitar here prefers to hang in the air, in front of the vocals a bit, mixing things up from a pure pop perspective. Possibly the coolest part of the whole album though is on “You Wanted a Hit,” where “Silent Running” xylophone/glockenspiel/whatever chimes gradually give way to a simple staccato pattern followed by some grating, one-note solo work.

What James Murphy does as a musical history revivalist I’m not qualified in the least to say. All of that provides though, even for an amateur listener, the type of depth that will give these tunes new life fifteen, twenty, forty listens in. And if you’re a fan, you will be listening to these tracks and their other two albums that many times, because LCD Soundsystem has recently called it quits. So, get in on it while there’s still a mite of relevance hanging around them.

My Favorites: All I Want; You Wanted a Hit; Home

Listen: Nerd Dance!
31. Lil Wayne - I Am Not a Human Being

As far as Lil Wayne albums go, you could do much better. This feels like a quickie. Of course, anything would be better than that rock album he tried last year. He goes deeper into his alien weirdo rock star persona on this album, with a lot of the songs slow and dark and spiritually taking us back to the gangster rap of the nineties. He does push things a little bit on the title track, wherein Beastie Boy style guitars provide the main beat. “Single for the Night” is a slow Drake-style beat with a nice twist at the end. “With You” is his new “Mrs. Officer.” He’s still clever, still may leave you scratching your head for a moment before you figure out the metaphor. I don’t see any of these songs making his greatest hits album though.

My Favorites: Hold Up [ft. T-Streets]; What’s Wrong With Them [ft. Nicki Minaj]

Listen: Sometimes you’re just in the mood for Lil Wayne
32. Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring

The title says it all. They are indie rock, full of clever wordplay and thoughts of death and unhappiness. Their schtick seems to be slice-of-life wry observation-everyday young adult situations. They are more interested in explaining what’s wrong than trying to correct it. Sonically they are rather more upbeat, with mostly fast, short tunes with lots of group chorus singing, and bouncing guitar licks. Through its 50 minutes, Romance is Boring almost never lulls. They’re trying their damnedest to make sure this album at least, is not boring.

My Favorites: Romance is Boring; Straight in at 101; I Just Sighed. I Just Sighed, Just So You Know

Listen: At College
33. M.I.A. - Maya

It’s digital! We’re digital! M.I.A.’s latest seems to have more in common with her choppy first album than with the more melodic and commercial Kala. Any sound can be part of a beat here, from drills to voice samples to clinking glasses. We know who she is now. This is her moment. As evidence, the album is appropriately big. She sings about love of course, but also about items in the typical purview of rap, like getting money and clubbing. She also frequently references the new internet-Twitter, posting pics, smart phones, and keyboards. On “XXXO,” she sings of a powerful physical romance, developing through such means, and ultimately proclaiming, “I can be the actress, you be Tarantino.” She lays down a little of that Sri Lanka (I’m assuming) sound on “Story to be Told.” “It Takes a Muscle” gives us her take on feel-good reggae. Six years after her first album, she’s still the only one doing what she’s doing. Her songs are still instantly recognizable and different from anything else out there. If you are not into her music already, it will probably take you a while to get there, but it’s definitely worth the investment of time to be able to experience music that’s so transportive.

My Favorites: XXXO; Story to be Told; Meds and Feds; Space

Listen: At any kind of party
34. MGMT - Congratulations

To the mix of psychedelic pop that was their first album, MGMT has added a decidedly sixties campiness. It’s most evident on tracks like “It’s Working,” in the backup vocals or the whacky Monster Mash breakdowns of “Song for Dean Tracy.” I read somewhere that “Someone’s Missing” sounds like a Jackson Five song, and I have to repeat that here because it’s so apt. Of course, other eras come into play, including a bit of 80s B-movie soundtrack (complete with Scarface-like drums) on “Lady Dada’s Nightmare.” We get epic lengthy classic rock on “Siberian Breaks,” followed by a ballad to music producer Brian Eno. Unfortunately, there’s nothing quite as catchy as “Time to Pretend” or “Kids” on this whole album. Sophomore slump? Technically it can’t be (it’s their third album). I mean, it’s not bad and it’s not a waste of your time or money, but if you loved Oracular Spectacular, this is a bit of a step down.

My Favorites: Someone’s Missing; Siberian Breaks

Listen: Just lazing around
35. My Chemical Romance - Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys

It’s hard when you make a perfect album. What do you do next? Well, I should have hoped something better than this, but I kind of suspected it would happen. My Chemical Romance takes the concept album concept even further with Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, where they’re an alternate band (the Fabulous Killjoys) who dare to rock on in some post-apocalyptic wasteland. If that weren’t enough, they even enlisted a “DJ” to tell us all these things between songs. The songs themselves are catchy. They’ve always had a knack for that, but whereas on their previous album, The Black Parade, the songs had enough classic rock in them to really shine, here they all sound like they should be in bad teen comedies. That being said, they still do a good job layering the melodies. You probably will find yourself wanting to sing along after the first time through. It’s fine throwaway rock; they’re just leaning a bit too much toward cheesy on this one.

My Favorites: Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na); The Only Hope for Me Is You; S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

Listen: Crying about your first breakup
36. Mystery Jets - Serotonin

Something about the way Blaine Harrison reaches for the notes make them all-no matter whether it’s true or not-sound like they lie just outside his register, as if expression were a trial of individual mettle. There’s perhaps something Neil Young in that. Unlike Young, though, there are few real characters here. The music stretches out often enough, with different blends of guitars, keys, synths, horns, whistling and various percussion, but the lyrics focus on the personal-I, you, us. Many of the tracks build up to an 80s dance rock sunshine choral reef of bright guitars and sing-along back-up vocals. They are the guardians of romance-maybe not exactly the lost starry-eyed kind, but something pure and worth defending nonetheless.

My Favorites: It’s Too Late to Talk; Melt

Listen: Pool party
37. Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

“As we enter / come now we take you on the biggest adventure.” And it is. Thus opens the joint album between traditional gangster hip-hop star Nas and reggae hip-hop fusion artist Damian Marley. The album weightily philosophizes over the state of Africa and its diaspora, expanded to include the current plight of all peoples, and the transience of life and each person’s isolated relationship to it. The music has enough reggae sensibility to lay back on tracks like “Leaders” or “Land of Promise,” and enough party punch to burn the blood on tracks like “Strong Will Continue” and “In His Own Words.” Marley’s raspy Jamaican delivery provides a perfect complement to Nas’s heavy, articulated New York club voice. I’m really taken by this conscientious, reflective hip hop/reggae fusion effort. Peace. Love. Give it a listen.

My Favorites: Tribal War [feat. K’naan]; In His Own Words [feat. Stephen Marley]; Patience

Listen: Heading straight for your next objective
38. The National - High Violet

I kept hoping after getting into their album The Boxer that The National would maybe learn to mix up Matt Berninger’s Quaalude delivery with a bit of life. Well, that hasn’t happened. He has a great voice, but he’s gone a half of a Leonard Cohen too far toward the weather broadcast. The tunes, however-the tunes will feel like ice cool therapy to anyone in the mood to for a bit of pity. They are beautiful, slow, thickly layered post-indie rock (if that’s a thing) anthems to the neurotic troubles of the examined life. It’s really difficult not to think of myself when I hear “Bloodbuzz Ohio.” The band’s thin connection to Cincinnati will probably always hold my interest, but for now, I don’t need such an excuse to keep these brooding drum patterns pumping through my headphones on a rainy night. I might even be getting used to Mr. Berninger’s nuanced monotony.

My Favorites: Anyone’s Ghost; Afraid of Everyone; Bloodbuzz Ohio; Conversation 16

Listen: You heard me. On a drizzly night.
39. Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday

Maybe it’s a case of high expectations, but Nicki Minaj’s debut album seems to suffer from sophomore slump. It’s not terrible. There are songs here to be enjoyed, but she seldom deigns to unleash the hellfire we’ve seen from her spotlight-stealing moments on songs by contemporary heavyweights like Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye West, and Usher. The production too is riddled with fault, the musical travesty of “Check It Out” topping the list of grievances. Pink Friday styles a bit toward Mariah Carey pop beats from twelve years ago-not exactly what I hope for in my hip pop. Guests on the album do a good job though. Minaj really steps it up for “Roman’s Revenge” with Eminem. She goes for the inspirational too on tracks like “Fly” with Rihanna or the opener, “I’m the Best.” She takes time to reflect on her rise to stardom and the self she left behind, and to make sure we know she’s staying. Even though the beats here may lack punch, I like her rhymes, and I look forward to see what she can do on her subsequent albums.

My Favorites: Roman’s Revenge [ft. Eminem]; Fly [ft. Rihanna]; Blazin [ft. Kanye West]

Listen: Late afternoon
40. No Age - Everything In Between

It’s been a while since a new punk group has made it big. While I wouldn’t say these guys are stars, I have seen this album around quite a few record stores. Less lung-busting angry punk than shoegazing paranoia, Everything In Between nonetheless has plenty of rockable moments. The vocals sound distant and echoed, and the guitars take prominent post, working on simple two and four chord punk progressions, then adding the occasional effect noises to cut into the first layer. They seem intent on deriving the maximum possible variations on guitar noise, introducing a lot of cinematic transitional moments. The album is timeless enough that songs like “Common Heat” could be rearranged for performance by The Byrds, maybe “Skinned” for The Kinks. Their sound is muddy, and even though like most punk it’s a lot of complaining, by this act they belie a kind of hidden California optimism. It isn’t hopeless. It’s life.

My Favorites: Common Heat; Valley Hump Crash; Chem Trails

Listen: Desert highway and jeans