Top Ten Songs of 2010, January thru June

Making summer mix CDs and playlists always gets me thinking about the first half of the year. As far as music goes in 2010, we've been pretty lucky; at least more lucky than with 2009. So here's my ten favorite singles of the first half of the year. Now go make your own mix.

[10] "Soldier of Love" by Sade
It's pretty much a lock now that if Sade decides to make and release music that it will be worth your time, even if a decade of trends and gimmicks have filtered through pop radio in the interim.


[09] "The High Road" by Broken Bells
I've always liked Danger Mouse's production tone, and his affinity for vintage keyboards and late 60's Pop meshes well with James Mercer's songwriting. I also like that Mercer has (a) emerged as a very distinct vocalist, and (b) that his songs are gloomy and broken-hearted on this set. The notion that the man behind a decade of sweet indie-pop songs might be slightly misanthropic is exciting to me, and "The High Road" is particularly melancholy and seething.


[08] "I'll Stand By Her" by Marvelous Darlings
OK, I admit it. I sometimes wish every band sounded like this - a perfect blend of snotty punk of the Replacements/Buzzcocks school and the power pop of the first three Cheap Trick albums. Fucked Up guitarist Ben Cook comes up with one the best of these kind of nuggets here, and since we've lost The Exploding Hearts and Jay Reatard, we can definitely use it.


[07] "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn
Even more than Sade, Robyn has become reliable. You can count on her to make interesting music. From a Pop perspective, she might be the closest thing to vintage-80's Prince we have today. I love the gender-confused chorus on this track.


[06] "Crown on the Ground" by Sleigh Bells
Yes, this came out last fall, but its album just came out, so I'm counting it. Besides a song this heavy-handed can dominate for a whole year if it wants. It's obnoxiously loud in all the best ways, sexy and sweet, but bullies your senses with piercing riffs. As much fun as the album is, this is still the duo's highlight so far.


[05] "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys
Like the album it's on, at first I really liked this song, but the more I listen to it, the more it becomes a serious kind of love. There is an effortlessness to the Keys this time out, and I love the soulful ease of all the songs on the new disc; the beats are especially tasty in a simple way. Oh, and my Dad thinks this song sounds like Bob Marley, but he's kind of crazy.


[04] "The Mighty Sparrow" by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Ted Leo has become one of my favorite artists because he's consistently awesome on record and even more so on stage. So when he comes out with songs like this, which will work perfectly in his live show, they usually end up with high play counts on my iPod. I truly believe this is one of his 5 best songs.


[03] "Drunk Girls" by LCD Soundsystem
Sometimes, James Murphy's David Bowie obsession gets to be a bit much ("All I Want" is a little too "Heroes" this time out), but when he mines Bowie's often overlooked Lodger sound, then I'm OK with it. The only song on the new LCD that sounds like a single happens to bear a welcome passing resemblance to Bowie singles like "DJ" and "Boys Keep Swinging", while also believing in waking up together.


[02] "Tightrope" by Janelle Monae (feat. Big Boi)
For a split second I thought I might be over the song. Nope. Still a masterpiece of Post-Funk Modern Pop. She might be crazy, but Monae's still making the music we all thought Prince or Andre 3000 would be making right around now. I'm waiting for the world to catch up.


[01] "Shutterbugg" by Big Boi (feat. Cutty)
What is internet-speak for the opposite of "epic fail"? Is it "Big Boi FTW"? If it is, then that's what I want to type here. This song so completely wins these past six months that it makes the rest of the music world look lazy (I'm wondering when the last time Dr. Dre sniffed a track this good was), while also putting my faith back in the Outkast machine. "Shutterbugg" packs the funk of "So Fresh, So Clean", the catchiness of "Ms. Jackson", and the jaw-dropping rewind-that highlight-reel feel of "B.O.B.". Andre 3000 loses purely from not doing anything, let alone something this great. If you hear this song coming this summer, it'll be me, bumping it loud as fuck in my car with the windows down. All. Summer. Long.

New Raconteurs: "Salute Your Solution"

It's a pretty sweet single, even though it's basically a better version of "Blue Orchid". I have no problem if Jack wants to alternate between this and The White Stripes. But is it just me, or whenever Jack's singing, I know it's him, but when Brendan Benson sings, I can't tell if it's him or Jack. Just sayin'. I'll have an album review early next week. Promise.

...Oh and yes, the video is supposed to look like this. It's still photos.

Heads Up: New Portishead...finally

If you're internet savvy and fiending enough, you probably already have the new album. I downloaded it, but I haven't listened to it yet... And well, this single doesn't really make me want to. To me, Portishead music always meant the best in dust-n-crackle, a certain organic, antique quality to their new sounds. So, OK, we all have to grow up, and I can understand wanting to try something different after a decade in the making, and I can even dig some icy synthetics. But regardless of the tones in which it's cast, this single doesn't DO anything. I understand that, ultimately, PH is about the voice of Beth Gibbons, but this track is boring as fuck. The first two-thirds are just the same bad drums over and over, and then when the drums get a bit more interesting, the synths turn it into the score from Terminator 2. I waited ten years for THIS???

"Machine Gun" [video]


Portishead's Third is out 4/29 in the US.

Heads Up: new Futureheads part 2

The Futureheads are a great young band with a small, devoted following; they are not Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails. So the fact that they're going it alone for their third album, without a label, is that much more admirable - and difficult. So they've taken to the, uh, airwaves. This is Barry & Ross asking their UK fans to support their new single. The album, This Is Not The World, should be out in early summer.


Video for said single, "The Beginning Of The Twist"


- BONUS: "Beginning Of The Twist" while walking down Carnaby Street, London

First contender for single of '08

I first heard of Estelle in 2004, when she broke down the doors with the incredible "1980" single, one of the best of that year (which is saying something, cuz '04 was one of the best years for singles ever). At the time, I likened her to a UK version of Lauryn Hill, and it seems that she's followed that maturation by slowly transitioning from MC to songbird. So now, check her new joint featuring Kanye: "American Boy" marries the type of smooth soul that John Legend's been pimping with an irresistable disco bump. Infectious is an understatement.

Estelle: "American Boy" [feat. Kanye West]

Heads Up: QOTSA finally release the correct single from Era Vulgaris

"3's & 7's" is, by the majority of public opinion, the best song on the new Queens of the Stone Age album, not to mention it should've been the clear choice for first single. But for some reason, the muddled "Sick Sick Sick" got released instead. Well, "3's & 7's" finally has a video, and it looks like Josh saw Grindhouse. I'd say this is gonna get banned by MTV (which it probably will), but who fuckin' watches videos on TV anymore anyway???

Queens of the Stone Age: "3's & 7's" [video]

Heads Up: Bat For Lashes

Bat For Lashes being written about is nothing new; they've been getting praise pretty much everywhere. I just haven't had time to listen to them until now. You know when you hear a song for the first time, and it shoots straight to your heart, and your brain screams "YES!!!!!!!!!" Yeah, I just had that reaction. Thanks to Goldenfiddle for deciding to post this so I could find it. Fuckin' spectacular song and video.

Bat For Lashes: "What's A Girl To Do" [video]


- Bat For Lashes website

Joyous

You can probably see this on any hipster blog right now, but I gotta believe we can all agree that this song is just...well, it uplifts the soul. Oh yeah, and it's another example of a point I make constantly about music - a community of friends getting together to make music will trump almost anything, from The Roots/The Soulquarians to Queens of the Stone Age/Desert Sessions to Bright Eyes & the Saddle Creek roster.

Feist: "1-2-3-4" [live on Letterman]
featuring members of Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, The National, Grizzly Bear, and Mates of State.

The Best Music Video of 2007

KANYE WEST
"CAN'T TELL ME NOTHING"
(alternate version)

STARRING
ZACH GALIFIANAKIS
& WILL OLDHAM
(aka BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY)

Heads Up: Interpol's Our Love To Admire

I was prepared to either ignore or be disappointed by the upcoming Interpol album, Our Love To Admire, but it leaked and I heard it. And, well, it's pretty breathtaking. I appreciate that, while it still owes a lot to the post-punk of the early 80's, it doesn't lean so much on anglophilia. There are some subtle but distinct American qualities on the album.

First single = "The Heinrich Maneuver"
It's like that first summer slice of watermelon. Enjoy.
Album is out on July 10th.


- Interpol website

Heads Up: New stuff from The Go! Team

I was about to post my White Stripes album review, but I had to hip everyone to this early contender for best single of 2007. No idea when their new album's coming though.

The Go! Team: "Grip Like A Vice"




-The Go! Team website

Heads Up: More QOTSA

The new video for "Sick Sick Sick", featuring the two new band members, Mike Schuman (bass) and Dean Fetita (keyboards). I think the girl is actress Kathleen Robertson.



And seven minutes of fun with Josh & Joey

My Return / LCDSS part 2

People are clamoring for my return. Who knew? I've been back for 10 days or so, and so you say why haven't I posted? Well, friends, because life is hectic, and also because I'm working on a massive installment of "Happy Accidents" that will cover my entire trip. Just typing out the list of the 500 or so songs from my iPod's "Recently Played" playlist took me 4 or 5 days worth of spare time. Also, I have a bunch of album and film reviews on deck. It's just a question of what to write first...

So to hold you over, I return to what I left you with - my LCD Soundsystem album review, and news while I was gone that my favorite track on said album, "All My Friends" is the new 2nd single. The video is excellent, starting with a minimal approach before dropping theatrical reveals on yo ass. And by the climax at the end, just the simple act of James Murphy standing up out of his chair will break your heart.

Ian says 'Kill'

Ian is my younger brother, and apparently good taste in music runs in the family. He called me yesterday, breathless with excitement; hit me with this...

Artist: Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip
Song: "Thou Shalt Always Kill"

Heads Up: Björk's Volta

Björk has, for almost a decade, been lost in the pretentious forest. I love her, I really do, but I think it speaks volumes that I listened to 2004's Medulla once or twice ever, and I might pull out 2001's Vespertine once a year. The former is a dizzying mess of beatboxing and choral arrangements, the latter a brittle and delicate collection that, while excellent, is more cloudy & unsettling than sunny & welcoming. Björk always explored electronic sound and texture, but to me, she soared when she put her microscope on how those sounds were chained forever to the dancefloor. The wild abandon of her otherworldly voice is an exact parallel to the unbridled passion of losing oneself to booming rhythms. Maybe it's just a basic human response; I'd rather be upbeat than down. And, after hearing this new song from her new album, Volta, I think Björk decided she might need to be a little upbeat too. And she is quick to recognize the connection between rhythm and pagan history, telling Pitchfork that the album is about women and their ancient bond to nature; there's no coincidence that there are 13 cycles of the full moon and a woman's menstruation in a year...

Dig the "Earth Intruders"; Volta is out on May 8th.

The Forgotten Blurs

So the new Arctic Monkeys single, "Brianstorm" is completely redunkulous...

and of course, everyone is going to be kneejerk haters, and pretend to be over them while actually jumping around their bedrooms to it. I love it, and I say so now.

Anyway, their drummer is sick, and that ties into a thought I had earlier today while eating a relaxing 15-minute lunch in my truck (I'm an expert now at eating a meal faster than you can order one). I was listening to the Buzzcocks' classic "What Do I Get?" and it occurred to me that almost any "Punk Rock" (I use it loosely) band is bought or sold on the heavyweight status of their skinbasher. Topper Headon, Rick Buckler, Bill Stevenson, D.J. Bonebrake, George Hurley, Steve Shelley, Brendan Canty, David Lovering - these guys are some of the best drummers ever, but because they play punk rock, a supposedly simpler form of music, you'll never hear them mentioned in the same breath with fuckin' robots like Neil Peart or Danny Carey. My real point though is, what the hell happened to John Maher??? As the drummer for the Buzzcocks, he seemed like the most agile of the UK punk drummers; his fills often sounded like machine gun fire. The man was a giant among children, a blur in a suit. And I thought of this today; if you google him or wiki him or go to allmusic.com, it's like he's been gone off the face of the earth for almost 2 decades. So if you know where he is, drop me a line... and next time you have a beer, raise it to John Maher, and all of the forgotten blurs.

'Ain't no doubtin' the truth...'

I got a lot to talk about, so there'll probably be a handful of posts in the next couple days. I'm only home from work for a few, cuz I'm all novacained up from the dentist, but I gotta go back, so here's a quick note.

Nike commissioned a sweet track for the 25th anniversary of their Air Force One sneaker, and it's a dream for Hip-Hop heads. "Classic (Better Than I Ever Been)" is straight gold, produced with usual genius by DJ Premier, with the mic blessed by Rakim, Kanye West, Nas & KRS-One. The track is one of the best Hip-Hop singles of recent memory, and definitely ranks near the top, if not #1, of any kind of "commercial jingle" you can think of. Enjoy.