Best Of 2010 - The preamble

[Andrew_TSKS]

Hey look, Brad, it's the argument you had with B. Michael all over again!

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

Which, like this, involves me conceding the points while making my own case with somewhat untenable anecdotal evidence that I nevertheless feel really hard.

But I actually think this conversation explored a lot more than my conversation with B. Michael did (he wrung his hands a lot about how amoral he found her and how much he hated the Facebook generation).

[Antero]

Cocaineblunts's annual singles list is up.

While I don't fuck with "BMF" or "Monster," the rest of the list is wonderful and really illustrates just what a staggeringly good year for rap this was.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

The Diddy record is top 5 material. So there it goes.

[davy]

This just in:

Popmatters ranks Taylor Swift's Speak Now #5 among "Country" albums this year, claiming that the artist is "occasionally" reinventing the genre.

[ellaguru]

The descriptions of the other albums on the Popmatters country list weren't very inspiring, either. However, their #4 choice is one of my favourites of the year.

[davy]

Yeah, I recognized it from your posts. I'm checking out #'s 1 & 3 right now. Sounding pretty good. That Easton Corbin jam is Nashville as fuck, but I think I can get behind it. I love the album cover.

I also might actually listen to the new Alan Jackson album. He's released a few songs over the past 5 years or so that have really struck a chord with me.

[ellaguru]

Yeah, let me know what's good there, I'd like to hit up something. I thought the Bluegrass list sounded more interesting, though, so I'm going to give at the Punch Brothers and, what was the other one? Steeldriver? something like that, a try.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

People who were really into Monotheist (I'm looking at you davy), pick up the Triptykon album now.

[Black Amnesia of Heaven]

Also #1 on the country list is a great yet completely uneven double album. Which I guess is no surprise.

Totally going to have to check out Elizabeth Cook now.

[Antero]

The Diddy record is top 5 material. So there it goes.

I'm split on what I've heard of this.  "Hello Good Morning" definitely is on the singles list, and "Strobe Lights" is pretty goddamn awesome.  There are some stinkers, though, and it's weird hearing Swizz Beatz rip off whomever Major Lazer were ripping off...

[kyle]

Ronnie Spector doesn't like She & Him, reviews tracks from other 60s throwback albums released this year

[davy]

I've got more in common with Pitchfork's list this year than I have in the past 4 or 5 years put together, it seems. Still: only one of my top 10 albums has made an appearance so far. I expect Menomena will double that number when they publish the rest of the list tomorrow.

[Nick Ink]

Looking at that Pitchfork list, I really like Pantha Du Prince's album, and also I quite dig the Actress and Mount Kimbie ones that they have in their 'Honourable Mentions' section.

From their main list, the Emeralds album was okay, if not as good as their old stuff, while that Forest Swords album was really good. Nothing else on there though.

[ellaguru]

I like the new Emeralds better than What Happened?, myself.

But I'm more keen on the Popmatters Americana and World Music lists today, though.

[Nick Ink]

I like the new Emeralds better than What Happened?, myself.

Fair enough - I think that's the general consensus actually. It's pretty and everything, but to my ears those long, burning drones on Damaged Kids and Solar Bridge were crushingly good.

[davy]

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/134505-the-best-americana-music-of-2010/

The Popmatters Americana list looks really promising! The majority of it is completely new to me. Looking forward to digging in.

Don't know how excited I can get about Patty Griffin's gospel album, but god damn, will you just look at the title of that Ray Wylie Hubbard record?!

That Robert Plant album cover is ugly as hell.

[davy]

Particularly excited about #'s 8, 9, & 10 from that list.

[ellaguru]

The Hubbard record is pretty good. It has a Hayes Carll song on it. "Drunken Poet's Dream". Turns out they wrote it together.

[ellaguru]

Yeah, the #10 one looks interesting. I didn't much like the Phosporescent from, what, two albums ago I think? It was okay but kinda boring.

[davy]

I've been really into the last couple Black Crowes albums, and Chris Robinson has a knack behind the board--he recorded the last Levon Helm album--so I'm pretty psyched about this Truth & Salvage outfit.

I am disappointed that Doug Paisley's not getting more attention, though. He's writing some of the best country songs out there right now.

[davy]

Yep, I like this Truth & Salvage Co. record a LOT. I don't know about the Big Pink comparison, but the Black Crowes influence is prominent enough. Some really great singing on this record. Some great hooks, too.

[Andrew_TSKS]

Guys, let me know what the Pitchfork picks you're stoked on are, because as you may remember I zone out when looking at lists and don't retain any information from them. So if I go look and try to come back here and talk about it, I'm gonna have forgotten who was on it by the time I'm reading this thread again.

[Nick Ink]

Pitchfork Top 20 is a long way from where I'm at. They seem to like Oneohtrix Point Never's album, which is sadly consistent because it's really weak compared to the Rifts triple LP from last year. Oh, and Joanna Newsom is in there, of course.

[hannah]

All I know is that my cousin likes to have this conversation with her two-year-old son: "Francis, who's better: Bob Dylan or Beach House?" "Beach House!" "Who's better, the Rolling Stones or Beach House?" "Beach House!" "Who's better, Papa's band or Beach House?" "Papa's band!" How that affects nos. 1-4, I don't know.