Best of 2010…So Far
2010 is shaping up to be a great year for music. New albums are scheduled from the likes of Natalie Merchant, U2, Arcade Fire, Blink-182, Coldplay, Interpol, Jack’s Mannequin, Jimmy Eat World, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Shins, Drive-By Truckers, Stone Temple Pilots, The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, MGMT, Crowded House, Animal Collective, among others.
So what’s the best so far? There are a couple of standouts. The first is Spoon’s new album, Transference (see video above), which came out in January. Spoon was Metacriric’s top artist of the past decade and this new album continues their dominance.
The second album you may want to put in heavy rotation is Shout Out Loud’s Work. This Swedish band is on their third album and seem to really be hitting their stride.
Finally, for fans of Phoenix, like me, there is a wonderful video of them playing and discussing their favorite musical influences. Here’s the astonishing playlist:
MUSICVISION PHOENIX PLAYLIST
01-Blue monday people / Curtis Mayfield
02-Can’t let go / Evie Sands
03-Sell your love / Iggy pop & James Williamson
04-Flash forward / Serge Gainsbourg
05-I’m glad you’re mine / Al Green
06-Don’t turn the light on, leave me alone / CAN
07-Mesopotamia / The B-52’s
08-Ruby don’t take your love to town / Kenny Rogers
09-Slow night, slow long / Kings of Leon
10-Leur plaisir sans moi / Jane Birkin
11-In and out of the shadows / Dion
12-Victory garden / The Red Krayola
13-Escape from New-York main title / John Carpenter
14-We almost lost Detroit / Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson
15-Darlin’ / The Beach Boys
16-Peace like a river / Paul Simon
17-A song for you / Gram Parsons
18-The fairest of the seasons / Nico
19-Who was that masked man / Van Morrison
20-La smortina / Coro della SAT
21-City lights / Phoenix
Take a look, it’s fascinating:
Posted on February 27, 2010, in Music and tagged Phoenix, Shout Out Louds, Spoon. Bookmark the permalink. 28 Comments.
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Has anyone heard the new Midlake album? It seems like there was tons of build-up and anticipation, then when the album came out, I never heard much about it.
Also:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bccKotFwzoY&hl=en_US&fs=1&%5D
The Midlake album, The Courage of Others, came out Feb 1. I listened to it and they are definitely not my thang. Sounds like OSB music to me.
Love the Shout Out Louds. Looking forward to the new Paul Weller, the new Crowded House and I think Jack Johnson is currently recording, as well…
What does OSB mean?
I love the new Midlake, but it’s much darker and mopier than their last one. The last one had this sort of sweeping, uplifting feel to it. The new is isn’t like that. Very somber. My favorite song on it (at least right now, it’s one of those albums where my fave song will change every so often) is “Rulers, Ruling All Things:”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wlFzNAyGuQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&%5D
I like the new Ted Leo album quite a bit.
OSB = Old Sad Bastard, or as you said, Dark, Mopey, Somber.
I agree with Brian on the new Ted Leo. Way good. Like it even more the more I hear it.
Do you have more info on a new Shins album due this year? My understanding is that some band members are working on other full-time projects (The Fruit Bats, Broken Bells) and that The Shins won’t resume work on a new album until 2011.
Apparently, that is true:
It might be my ties to Nola, but I have really enjoyed the new Galactic collaboration album Ya-Ka-May. Hip-hop by sissy rappers, brass bands, blues all together with a sweet instrumental groove.
Massive Attack.
The Shins news is interesting. Originally, the band (well, James Mercer, anyway) was saying that it was making a personnel change, dropping two members and SubPop, and releasing a new album in early 2009. The latest articles seem to indicate that Mercer may be abandoning the Shins name altogether, meaning the band is officially split up. The new album was supposed to be a musical departure for the band, so in the end, I’m not sure it makes a lot of difference.
I just wish we’d get to hear some new music. This has been one of my favorite bands since Oh, Inverted World, yet I’ve been frustrated with the time they take between albums and how short the albums are once they do arrive. I think you could burn all three full albums onto a single CD-R, just about.
Ronan’s right that Massive Attack’s long-anticipated new album Heligoland came out this month. One of the cool things about this band is the amazing array of guest vocalists they manage to attract. I’m not much for electronica, but if you are, this is probably an album you want to check out. You can listen to it here:
http://vodpod.com/watch/3026518-massive-attack-heliogland
Really been loving on the Spoon album lately. Also, Beach House put out a good one this year.
I’ve heard that the new Spoon album is a grower. I tend to prefer the Spoon albums that hit my the first time I listen to them.
I tend to prefer Spoon albums that spontanneously combust, then form alien life forms from their ashes which then go out and infiltrate the government.
MCQ, I only recall that happening once. And yes, Girls Can Tell was a good album.
Have you listened to the new one yet, Greg? I like it a lot, and I’m curious as to how others like it. I don’t know what to make of your sense that it’s a “grower.” I think this may be one of their more accessible albums to date.
I’ve heard a few of the songs, but not the whole album.
My comment was based on a couple of the reviews I’ve read that indicated it takes a while to get used to and for the album to gel. Those reviews may have been wrong.
I guess I would with that, though a few of the songs stuck immediately. “Written in Reverse” is right up there with the best music Spoon has ever made. So is “Nobody Gets Me But You”, (which sounds an awful lot like “The Beast and Dragon Adored”. “Who Makes Your Money” is a good one. There are a couple of lackluster songs that probably shouldn’t have made the album, but that’s true of almost any release. Can you think of any recent albums where every song has been perfect?
“Dear Science” by TV on the Radio comes pretty close.
That’s a really good question.
I think Challengers by The New Pornographers comes awfully close, but I didn’t arrive at that opinion until probably two years after I first heard it. And even then, there seem to be a lot of NP fans who think Challengers was an inferior album.
How recent is recent?
I’d put on my list:
Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Ted Leo – Shake the Sheets
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
Silversun Pickups – Swoon
Kings of Leon – If Only By Night
Tegan & Sara – The Con
Ladyhawk – Shots
Kings of Leon for sure. The only song on that album that is less than great is “17″.
I really like that Iron & Wine album too.
I don’t think this Spoon album is quite that perfect song for song, but the best songs on this album are as good as it gets.
New Drive-By Truckers on Tuesday! I was sad to hear that The Black Keys are pushing their album back until May. No new album but Band of Skulls is touring with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club the next few months.
Awesome Rose. That’s a concert I will definitely see.
For fans of The Knife– they just composed the electronic score for a Norwegian opera called Tomorrow, In a Year based on On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. If you’re in to inspired weirdness, I would highly recommend this. Don’t be fooled- it’s opera music- but it’s still The Knife, and it will surely add some diversity to your collection.