2010's Best and Worst Music Jan 13 '11 (Updated Jan 18 '11)    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Revelation [Digipak] by Journey From $12 Machine Gun Etiquette by The Damned From $40 The Bottom Line Yes, I WAS listening to music and writing about it in 2010...just not here. This is me trying to make up for it. I'm not going to burden you all with a comprehensive narrative going through everything that went on in my personal life over the year 2010. I am, however, going to talk about 2010's music for a bit. I think it's safe to say my library is going steadily more eclectic (and eccentric), and I'm growing a bit tougher as a reviewer. Which I guess is to be expected--I scored an internship with livemusicguide.com, for which I am a Senior Staff Writer, which means I still don't get paid but I get a cool title and a press pass to go along with all my free rants, and I have a lot more to rant about (a review a week? Madness!)... Ah, I'm talking about myself again. Let's talk about music. 2010 was a year of astounding debuts and surprise gems, and even the 'letdowns' were solid in their own right. So. Here we go. 2010's Best Albums: Honorable Mentions Of Montreal--False Priest This album is just weird. It's a mixture of incredibly funky beats, a ridiculous falsetto and fuzzy synthesizers...where did this come from? And why is it so awesome?! It's almost impossible to understand any of the lyrics (read the lyrics to "Like a Tourist" sometime), but the songs are catchy enough to make that completely irrelevant. Yet if you listen closely you can detect some serious instrumental skill. There's a whole lot to love here if you like your catchy hooks wrapped up in a thick layer of musical talent. Top Songs: "Sex Karma," "I Feel Ya' Strutter," "Our Riotous Defects"  Serj Tankian--Imperfect Harmonies System of a Down will reunite next year for (at least) a few shows in Europe...but fans should be able to tide themselves over with this. As Tankian's lyrics get more coherent (there's nothing like "Vicinity of Obscenity" here, sorry) and his music gets more diverse, and you won't hear me complaining. There's a masterful mixture of sweeping orchestral passages, drum machines, bombastic rock, and of course, Tankian's unique, powerful voice. I don't know where Serj comes up with all these crazy ideas, but I hope he doesn't abandon his solo work any time soon.  Top Songs: "Left of Center," "Deserving?," "Borders Are..."  Bring Me the Horizon--There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret. Surely I've lost all musical credibility by now. I've given a decidedly scene band a shout-out in my list of the best music of the year? What? Well, calm down, hipsters. These guys actually have a lot to offer. Okay, there's a lot of breakdown-heavy metalcore...but these guys actually can use electronics in a way that doesn't sound like a complete sellout, and they can lay on the emotion better than many of their contemporaries. These guys aren't as technically skilled as many others in their field, but you might not notice thanks their rather unexpected songwriting skills. Top Songs: "F-ck," "Don't Go," "Crucify Me" Skrillex--Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP If this wasn't an EP, it would have cracked my top ten. This is a ridiculously fun mix of dubstep, house and trance, blending filthy bass, gentle piano riffs and memorable synthesizer melodies. And it's catchy to boot--listen to "Rock and Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)" without singing along, I dare you. And all this from the former frontman of From First to Last?! Wow. I'll be keeping an eye on this guy in the future. Top Songs: "Rock and Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)," "With You, Friends (Long Drive)", "Scatta" Sleeping At Last--November, December EPs The idea of releasing a bunch of EPs instead of one LP is an old one, but these guys are doing it better than anyone I've ever heard. These monthly three-track EPs seem to perfectly capture the months they are named after (though October falls a little bit short of the other two), and the combination of minimalistic music and stirring lyrics can be spellbinding. January suggests that the indie duet won't be losing any steam in the New Year, but for those looking for a slightly less folksy and a slightly more indie version of Fleet Foxes, you can't go wrong here. Just make sure you give them the full attention necessary to pick up on all the minimalistic beauty. Top Songs: "Snow" (December), "101010" (November), "Emphasis" (November) 2010's Best Albums: The Top 10 10. Vampire Weekend--Contra I can never quite shake the feeling that this band is an inside joke that I'll never fully get, but I can say this: Contra is a marked improvement over the indie legend's self-titled debut. The boyish vocals of Ezra Koenig and the deceptively simple melodies are still intact; this album just adds a few more instruments to the mix and lets the band explore longer songs, and the results can be quite impressive. It can be a bit of a one-trick pony at times, but this album is growing on me. Talk to me in a few months and this album might be higher on this list. Top Songs: "Giving Up the Gun," "Cousins," "Holiday" 9. Living Sacrifice---The Infinite Order When this album came out way back in January, I hailed it as a triumphant return of a Christian metal giant and praised the uncompromising brutality. Well, it's still a triumphant return, and it's still one of the ballsiest albums I own at its best. There are great moments throughout this album where the whole band unloads and hits you like a punch in the gut; what kept this from cracking the top 5 was the homogenous, somewhat tired songs that focused more on nu-metal hooks than the deathcore madness. Still, the high points are high enough to make this easy to recommend. Top Songs: "Overkill Exposure," "Apostasy," "The Reckoning" 8. God Is An Astronaut--Age of the Fifth Sun Instrumental music? Yes, 2010 marked the year I finally ventured out into the brave new (at least for me) world of post-rock. Fortunately GIAA is a great starting point for anyone else in my position. Their mixture of the ethereal and the catchy is remarkable, and this album showcases them at their best There's a nice blend of accessible grooves with powerful musical moments that sounds great both as ambience and music to pay close attention to. If you think rock needs a vocalist to be compelling, I urge you to check this out. Top Songs: "Shining Through," "In The Distance Fading," "Age of the Fifth Sun" 7. Jimmy Eat World--Invented Remember back in the early 2000s when this band hit it big? Pop-punk wasn't exactly new even then. Well, 2010 rolled around with another Jimmy Eat World album; they're still doing the pop-punk thing, and they're still doing it better than most. We've known for years that these guys are good at zippy sing-alongs and teen anthems. Invented shows that they're capable of pulling off sadness with aplomb, and without devolving into typical teen angst (mostly). The ballads pack a punch here just as strong (if not stronger than) the more up-tempo songs, and JEW deserves kudos for that. Top Songs: "Mixtape," "Cut," "Heart Is Hard to Find" 6. The Sleep Design--All That Is Not Music Is Silence Remember how I said this was the year I started exploring instrumental music? Well, these guys are clearly big fans of GIAA (they sound rather similar really)...only they have a bigger sense of the epic and bombastic. Even though they're on Come&Live! Records which distributes music on a pay-what-you-want basis, these guys put out a very impressive product of lengthy but compelling instrumentals. You won't find the catchy grooves of GIAA here, but you will find lots of dramatic crescendos that peak at just the right moment. You will find lots of squealing guitar riffs and stirring stanzas. Considering you can get this album for free LEGALLY, you really have no excuse to pass this up. Top Songs: "The Woman," "& The Beast," "The Sound of War" 5. House of Heroes--Suburba I had incredibly high hopes for this album; I discovered the band's previous album The End Is Not the End a few months before this one released, and I absolutely LOVED it. So naturally I expected great things from this...and was slightly disappointed. The band's focus on life in the suburbs (particularly from the teenage perspective) leads to some astounding songs...when they stick to it. It's obvious that every member of the band is very talented; there are just some baffling times when they don't display it. However, when they do, these guys can hang with the best in punk-pop...or any genre of rock. The high points of this album more than make up for the missteps. While it's definitely a few steps below their last album, it's a strong album nonetheless. Top Songs: "God Save the Foolish Kings," "Love Is for the Middle Class," "Relentless" 4. The Classic Crime--Vagabonds Speaking of Christian punk-pop bands whose very solid 2010 album was a step below its incredible 2008 album...well, TCC slipped a little bit less after the astounding The Silver Cord. Just as HoH shifted from grand tales of love and war to the stories of suburban teens, Vagabonds sees Matt MacDonald narrowing his focus from the grandiose to the very personal, dedicating songs to his lover, his hometown and his brother. And for the most part it's wildly successful. This album is chock full of emotion, and it makes even the most cliche songs sound incredible (see "Broken Mess"). This marks three excellent albums in a row for Tooth & Nail Record's newest go-to punk-pop band; something tells me they'll be around for a while.  Top Songs:  "The Count," "Broken Mess," "A Perfect Voice" 3. As They Sleep--Dynasty Well, part of the reason I got tired of Living Sacrifice this year wasn't Living Sacrifice's fault at all. I didn't expect to come across another Solid State Records band that played roughly the same genre of music, only with even more intensity and with better songwriting. ATS never falls into the nu-metal rut that LS is prone to recycling; their only way of lightening up the mood is by throwing in a few higher-pitched melodic riffs amidst the chugging power chords. Brutality is almost never sacrificed for melody, and the result is incredible. It's amazing how well this band conveys a sense of melody without any clean vocals, relaxing only in the beautiful interlude "Ritual" (seriously, a 90-second instrumental has no reason to be this awesome) and the epic instrumental bridge in "Attila." Don't write these guys off as another As I Lay Dying/The Devil Wears Prada ripoff--they're the best new Solid State band in years, and I'd call them 2010's best new artist. Top Songs: "Attila," "Ritual," "The Offering"  2. Underoath--Disambiguation  These guys have done something truly remarkable. Not a single founding member of the band remains--drummer/clean vocalist Aaron Gillespie departed early in 2010 to pursue his solo career and his side project The Almost. Fans wondered how screamer Spencer Chamberlain would fare with the mic all to his own, and how well Daniel Davison would fill Gillespie's massive shoes behind the drum kit. Well, turns out Chamberlain has more chops than I ever imagined, and Davison is a more than capable drummer. This album marks the beginning of a new, grittier Underoath. The manic energy that defined Define the Great Line and Lost in the Sound of Separation has been swapped for brutality. Of course all change has pros and cons, but there's a lot of territory for Underoath to explore with their new sound, and they hit a lot of high notes on Disambiguation. The shift in style that these metalcore standouts have accomplished here is just a sign of their versatility, and it's a worthy addition to their discography. Top Songs: "Paper Lung," "In Division," "A Divine Eradication" 1. The Reign of Kindo--This Is What Happens Every now and then there comes an album that looks at conventional genres, laughs, and does its own thing. That thing is occasionally so spectacular that it leaves all who listen to it with mouths agape. That is exactly what The Reign of Kindo has done here. Mixing Coldplay-esque piano rock with jazz influences and a healthy dose of chaos sounds like the beginnings of a compelling album. Throw in outstanding instrumental talent (particularly Steven Padin's drumming), poignant lyrics and soaring choruses, and you have a masterpiece. There is a very good chance you have never heard anything like this album; there's a very good chance you will never hear anything like it again. I knew this was going to be my Album of the Year almost immediately, and I suspect many of you will realize this album's excellence at a similar pace. Seriously, don't let the fact that you can describe this as 'progressive' or 'experimental' keep you from picking it up. Get it, listen to it, and be amazed.  Top Songs: "Psalm," "Blistered Hands," "Nightingale" And now, for the first time, I've made a Top Songs list of a decent length! I would have liked to go with 50, which is a significantly rounder number, but there were just too many songs that needed mentioning. 60. Battling the Years--The Reign of Kindo 59. You've Got a Friend In Me (Para el Buzz Espanol)--The Gipsy Kings Come on. Don't pretend like you don't love this song. I was working in a movie theater over the summer, and hearing that ditty while cleaning the theater was one of the highlights of my workday. The Gipsy Kings made what seems like an ancient song feel new again. And it's just darned CATCHY. 58. Age of the Fifth Sun--God Is An Astronaut 57. To the Republic--As They Sleep 56. I Feel Ya' Strutter--Of Montreal 55. Bullets in the Air--The Reign of Kindo 54. All That Is Not Music Is Silence--The Sleep Design 53. Depraved--Anberlin 52. Holiday--Vampire Weekend 51. Next to Me--Sleeping At Last 50. Sex Karma--Of Montreal 49. Now We've Made Our Ascent--The Reign of Kindo 48. Apostasy--Living Sacrifice 47. Deceiver--I Am Alpha and Omega 46. Cousins--Vampire Weekend 45. Giving Up the Gun--Vampire Weekend 44. In the Distance Fading--God Is An Astronaut 43. F*ck--Bring Me the Horizon 42. Superhero--Flobots 41. Vagabonds--The Classic Crime 40. Independence Day for a Petty Thief--House of Heroes 39. The Darkest Ages--As They Sleep 38. Catch Myself Catching Myself--Underoath 37. Defend Atlantis--Flobots 36. Emphasis--Sleeping At Last 35. The Sound of War--The Sleep Design 34. Invented--Jimmy Eat World 33. & The Beast--The Sleep Design 32. Rock and Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)--Skrillex 31. Beaten, Betrayed, Denied--I Am Alpha and Omega 30. 101010--Sleeping At Last 29. Ritual--As They Sleep Seriously. It's a 90-second instrumental. These are supposed to be fillers. They should not be album highlights. And yet, it's one of my favorite songs from this year. 28. The Happy Nihilist--The Classic Crime 27. Overkill Exposure--Living Sacrifice 26. Relentless--House of Heroes 25. Thrill of the Fall--The Reign of Kindo 24. A Divine Eradication--Underoath 23. In Division--Underoath 22. With You, Friends (Long Drive)--Skrillex 21. Left of Center--Serj Tankian 20. Paper Lung--Underoath 19. Heart Is Hard to Find--Jimmy Eat World 18. Cut--Jimmy Eat World 17. The Woman--The Sleep Design 16. The Offering--As They Sleep 15. Mixtape--Jimmy Eat World 14. Thrill of the Fall--The Reign of Kindo 13. A Perfect Voice--The Classic Crime 12. Symptom of a Stumbling--The Reign of Kindo 11. Broken Mess--The Classic Crime 10. Nightingale--The Reign of Kindo 9. Snow--Sleeping at Last 8. Attila--As They Sleep 7. The Count--The Classic Crime 6. Blistered Hands--The Reign of Kindo 5. Psalm--The Reign of Kindo 4. Shining Through--God Is An Astronaut 3. Thank the Watchmaker (Acoustic)--And Then There Were None Once again a single from ATTWN ranks high on this list. I know it's a remix of a song from 2009, but it's remarkably better than the original. 2. Love Is For the Middle Class--House of Heroes Also known as the winner of the 'seriously how did this song NOT become famous?!' award. Listen to this chorus--how did the radio NOT eat this song up?! 1. God Save the Foolish Kings--House of Heroes Let's put it this way: this puts chills down my spine. It's a sprawling punk-pop anthem with an ominous bridge and absolutely chilling vocals from Stephanie Smith (I hope to hear more of her in the future). It's got a catchy chorus to boot, and a surprisingly poignant message. This song has something to offer for almost everyone. And again, there's that moment in the bridge where Smith and Tim Skipper trade lines: "Promise you won't do anything baby, promise me/ I promise you, I promise you one thing..." Gorgeous. And now a quick look back with the best albums from before 2010 that I discovered late. Brand New--The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me It's a horribly pretentious album title, yes. But I finally discovered this year why so many people love this album so much. I was absolutely floored on my first listen, and even going back it's hard to find flaws. This is proof that emo and melodic punk can absolutely be done well. Jesse Lacey's lyrics hit hard. The songwriting is stellar. Songs like "Degausser" and "Limousine" leave me speechless. Don't wait as long as I did--get this album ASAP. House of Heroes--The End Is Not The End A punk-pop album loaded with addicting choruses, sprawling epics, tons of instrumental skill, quirky lyrics...what's not to love? 2008 was a great year in music for me, but this still stands tall.  Minus the Bear--Menos El Oso I remember hearing about these guys first via mewithoutYou (they were a supporting act on their tour I believe). I never heard much more for a few years until I stumbled upon this album, and it's been growing on me ever sense. The blend of indie and math rock is remarkably compelling. It's relaxing enough to lure you into a trance, but then you'll miss out on the intricate riffs and grooves. It's catchy but still profound. I should be listening to this for a long time from now. Now it's time for the moment none of you were waiting for...the return of my 'Worst Of' lists! That internship I mentioned earlier means I get exposed to a whole lot of crap, and I feel a duty to warn you not to purchase any of this. The Worst Albums of 2010 5. Showbread--Who Can Know It? I have to applaud Showbread for their decision to join Come&Live Records, a nonprofit, ministry-based label. It's obvious that the band members' faith is very important to them. But that doesn't give them a free pass for writing shoddy music. Their labelmates The Sleep Design wrote one of my favorite albums of the year, and I Am Alpha and Omega, So Long Forgotten and Holding Onto Hope have all put out great material in the past few years. Ever since the excellent No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical this band has been in steep decline, losing intensity and creativity in the name of the ministry. With Who Can Know It? Showbread has hit a new low. Not one shred of energy remains, only preachy lyrics sung in a tired monotone. To be fair, I'm putting this album on this list only after one listen, but I can no longer mask my disappointment with this band that once had such promise. And when a band writes a song called "Dear Music with lyrics like "If I could turn my back on anything, I'd choose it to be you/ I've lost all interest in almost everything you do," you have to wonder why such a band is still making music. 4. Jack Johnson--To the Sea Yes, we get it, Jack, you're a surfer, so all your songs are all relaxed and 'chill.' Unfortunately I do not generally buy music expecting an alternative sleeping medication. It's obvious that you know how to write good songs ("Better Together," "Pictures of People Taking Pictures")...why do you waste your time with banal, childishly simple songs in attempts to fill up an album? I don't care what demographic you're trying to please. It's just annoying. 3. Michael Jackson--Michael First off, if the accusations from the Jackson family are true and Michael Jackson's voice actually does not appear on certain tracks on this album, then this is the ultimate disgrace to the late King of Pop. As it stands, it's still a pretty effective disgrace. This collection of b-sides from the later years of Jackson's career offers almost nothing worth any listener's time, only lethargic ballads, half-baked attempts at being hip, and hokey songs that lack the energy and passion that made the man a legend. Seriously, is this the same guy behind "Thriller" and "Beat It" and all the other megahits? Because you could've fooled me. There's a reason Jackson didn't finish these songs in his lifetime. 2. Hinder--All-American Nightmare Blech. As if Nickelback and all their post-grunge clones weren't bad enough, now we need post-grunge with ATTITUDE. Austin Winkler has three things on his mind: booze, sex, and how perfect he is. Unfortunately that doesn't leave room for actual talent. It's this trainwreck of an album that produced the best "oh-man-this-is-so-bad-someone-actually-wrote-this?!-HAHAHA" song of the year in "Striptease." Check it out if complete disasters make you laugh. 1. Mini Mansions--Mini Mansions There are very few words to describe this album, so I guess it gets props for originality. Too bad originality doesn't help you when you sound like, to paraphrase Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, whoever has The Beatles' job, but in hell. Lots of grating lo-fi buzzing, irritating vocals, frustratingly slow tempos, and not a single coherent thought to be found....I found nothing to like here. You've probably never heard of this album, and I recommend you keep it that way.  In related news, here are the two albums that fell the farthest short of my hopes. Flobots--Survival Story 2007's Fight With Tools had its haters. I was not among them. That album touched that part of my teenage soul that was longing for the admittedly vague revolutionary fervor that this rap septet brought to the table. It was full of great musicianship and lines that adorned my Facebook page's quote section. So of course I was unbelievably excited for Survival Story. Unfortunately so much of what I loved was completely gone. The angry, fist-pumping anthems were replaced with generic tales about how bad things were and how good they would be...if we saved the environment? Sorry, not getting my blood boiling here. There was some musical experimentation, sure, but then there was the abysmal attempt at a tearjerker in "Good Soldier." Even "Panacea for the Poison," a strong song in its own right, seemed horribly inappropriate as a closing track, considering Fight With Tools ended with the rousing "Rise." This album was full of missed opportunities, and when there was a nearly three-year wait between albums, I think I have a right to expect better. Just because Bush is out of office shouldn't mean that you run out of things in this country to rant about, Flobots.  Anberlin--Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place Oh well. Should've known Cities could never be topped, but I held out hope that at least Anberlin would try. I hate to sound like an angry fanboy, but things have been going downhill since they were signed to Universal Republic Records. Gone is the high-octane alternative/punk-pop loaded with great vocals and clever lyrics, now replaced with what I compared to "a tired, disinterested Brand New." Only on the impressive closer "Depraved" (and a few select other moments" does Stephen Christian sound like he cared about this album at all. I don't know if Anberlin emptied their bag of tricks with their first three albums, but I know a major change is needed for them to come anywhere close to the glory of their past.  Now for some optimism. I know there were tons of great albums released this year that I missed, and I'm more than ready to catch up. These are high on my wishlist. Mumford & Sons--Sigh No More Periphery--Periphery Mae--(A)fternoon, (E)vening The Reign of Kindo--This Is Also What Happens (I'm a sucker for 16-bit remixes...and this is a whole album full of them!!) And so ends the list. I'm already excited for the music of 2011 (Emery and Rise Against are both releasing albums in March, Thrice is promising a more math-influenced album, and The Myriad is returning!). Maybe I'll actually tell you guys about what I think in more Epinions instead of hoping you'll poke around livemusicguide.com for abbreviated versions of my musings. But honestly I kind of doubt it...I'll try to visit my old stomping grounds as often as I can, though (am I even old enough to call this site my old stomping grounds?). Until next time, peace out.

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