best of 2010

2010 has been a year filled with new releases from many of my favourite bands. those releases plus a number of personal new discoveries has made me feel 2010 has been one of the best years in music in a long time. for one thing the indie scene has really begun to expand with artists willing to experiment and breaking the conventional constraints of musical genres. So in celebration of a good year in music here is a list of my top 10 enjoyed albums of 2010.

10. the roots: how i got over

with the roots full time gig on jimmy fallon many wondered if their days of recording intelligent political soulful hip-hop albums were over. and while how i got over is the roots eleventh studio lp is is arguable their best. with a striped down soul sound and collaborations with indie artists such as dirty projectors and joanna newsom this new album is definitely a bit of a different pace for the roots however the roots never seem to loose control of the album.

favourite track: right on

"Right On" by The Roots (feat. Joanna Newsom & STS) from Bigger Than Blogging on Vimeo.

9.delorean: subiza

spanish indie pop group delorean have been working at finding their sound for just shy of a decade and with their third full length lp they finally find it. unashamed with their love of sun soaked upbeat dance pop delorean have stumbled upon a formula that combines euro electro dance music and indie rock creating a sound that is fresh, light, feel good, and freaking enjoyable. it is pure indie pop pleasure.

favourite track: simple graces

8. mia: maya

mia has never been one to shy away from confrontation and after two politically charged albums it is clear that mia is no pop princess or diva. 2010 has definitely had its ups and down for mia with a truffle fries controversy making unnecessary debate over mia's claim as a voice for the "third world" and she did disappoint many who were expecting more globetrotting equator based electronic sounds as the followup to 2007's kala. following the expectations of others however has never been mia's style. with maya mia turns to the micro-world of the internet and the computer. with this shift mia created some of 2010's most challenging and abrasive music that given time grows on you till you can't get it out of your head.

favourite track: tell me why

7. caribou: swim

one of this summer's most catchy debut singles was a track that for me sounded nothing like anything i heard before. caribou's lead single odessa from his latest album swim is what lead me to look up this album and what i found was an album of electronic dans beats that incorporated sounds you rarely hear used in music. caribou has stated that he wanted to make an album that sounded as if it was recorded underwater and it does. everything track is distorted and warped but in a way where the sounds are new and fresh and while the rest of the album is not as immediate as the lead single odessa, given just a little bit of time it become addictive. swim is definitely a new musical experience worth having.

favourite track: kaili

6. mgmt: congratulations

mgmt's multiplatinum selling debut oracular spectacular released in 2008 was deceptive to many fans who fell in love with the singles like time to pretend and kids. to them mgmt were all about creating catchy upbeat electro pop singles however, those fans did not pay attention to the music that made up the majority of the album, pure psychedelic rock. so when this year's release of congratulations came and there were no catchy electro pop singles fans reacted. but what mgmt did deliver is quality album oriented rock music which draws great inspiration from groups and artists such as the beatles, pink floyd, david bowie, and brian eno. so while congratulations is not what many fans expected it is a collection of the best psychedelic rock to be released in a long time. to put it simply congratulations is simply just good challenging music.

favourite track: song for dan treacy

5. broken social scene: forgiveness rock record

favourite track: art house director

4. gonjasufi: a sufi and a killer

favourite track: dednd

3. gorillaz: plastic beach

favourite track: white flag

2. erykah badu: new amerykah part 2: return of the ank

favourite track: gone baby don't be long

1.vampire weekend: contra

favourite track: run

gotta love shafiq

The U.N. Plan from Plug Research on Vimeo.

Here is another of my favourite tracks from Shafiq's awesome 2009 album Shafiq-En-A-Free-Ka. I love how creative and unconventional his beats are. Truly a creative artist.

what i'm listening to

It has been a busy summer with a lot of new music. While not all of the music I have been into recently is new it is new for my i-pod/record player/cd player. And I thought I would share a few tracks with you.

OLD ONES:

The release of M.I.A's new album /\/\/\Y/\ this summer renewed my interest in M.I.A.'s older body of work. Sunshowers and Galang are two of the best tracks off of her debut album Arular while Boyz is one of my favourite tracks from her sophomore effort Kala .

Dangermouse has continued to be a very prolific producer. The release of Broken Bells and Gorillaz's Plastic Beach album this spring reminded me of Dangermouse's production. His collaboration with one of my favourite mc's MF DOOM is awesome and is one till recently I was unaware of.

NOT THAT OLD:

Last year Mos Def made one of the best comebacks in hip-hop. His return to rap with The Ecstatic was probably the best hip-hop album of the year. Above are a couple of my favourite tracks from the album.

NEW SUMMER TRACKS:

With one of the most critically polarizing albums of the summer M.I.A.'s new album /\/\/\Y/\ is a hard hitting abrasive release from one of hip-hops and electronica's most creative minds. While I feel her earlier work is more enjoyable I did enjoy a few songs from the album. Above are a few of the tracks I have been listening to.

The Roots new album released this summer is as good as ever and features collaborations with many indie artists they met on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

My Love of Broken Social Scene has continued with BSS's new album Forgiveness Rock Record. The album builds on their previous work while stripping down and clarifying their sound and production. Their new album is definitely one of my favourite releases all year.

Return of the Ankh: New Amerykah Part 2

For fans of Erykah Badu it has been a long wait since the release of Part one of her two part New Amerykah series. Contrary to popular opinion both New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War and Part Two: Return of the Ankh were recoded at the same time. Badu has stated that the two parts are meant as a left brain right brain comparison. With part one Badu was in an intellectual state looking out at the world around her however, with part two she turns to her inner emotions and looks at what is going on inside of her. The album was released on March 30th and I picked up the album the day it came out. Now I know that I mentioned in my last post that I am in the midst of a self imposed album buying ban, but I already bought Part two of the New Amerykah series as soon as she announced there would be a Part Two (which she did in Part One).

For my inaugural listen I played part one first and then transitioned into the new album. It felt as if I had jumped into a tiny spaceship, flew into Erykah's head and made a rotation from the left brain to the right where I could see and examine what she was thinking and feeling. The two albums really feel as if they were crafted from the same place, which they were. Part one is extremely layered and busy, but that is what makes it so successful. Part one ends with the emotional Telephone, which acts as a set up for the contrasting minimalism of Part Two. Part Two begins with the surprisingly simple 20 Feet tall which announces the transition into new territory. In a day where downloadable tracks rule album oriented music is less and less common. Return of the Ankh really feels like an album where the sum of the parts are needed to make the whole. Many of the same producers who contributed to Part One are featured on Part Two as well. While I love the whole album I will post some of my favourite tracks. Many of my favourites were produced by Madlib and Shafiq.

This is a track produced by Shafiq. I can't get enough of Shafiq's creativity. The two of them work so well together.

Good Combo Ex-Beatle and Badu. (This track samples a Paul McCartney Track)

This Madlib produced track feels like she is at home alone singing along to the radio. Surprisingly intimate.

Finally to show why I feel Erykah Badu is so far a head of others out there I will compare a Badu track to an Alicia Keys track. Now don't take this as a critique on Alicia Keys (I like a lot of her music) . They both sample the same song but the result is so different.

I know this is a really long post. Sorry, but I really like Erykah Badu and feel that this album is worth the length. To finish here is a short video of Badu talking about her New Amerykah series.

MGMT: Congratulations

MGMT plan to release their follow-up album to their extremely successful debut Oracular Spectacular on April 13th 2010. They are streaming the entire album for free on their website for anyone to listen to. I couldn't decide if I hated it or loved it at first. Like their debut album the music is not easily accessible, but if you give it a chance, you may love it. I can now say I love this album even more than the first. If it were not for a self imposed album buying ban I would buy the vinyl version the day it comes out. There is a Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon-ish), Surf Rock, CCR, psychedelic Beatles feel to much of the album. The album's definitely influenced by 60's and 70's psychedelic music. There are no catchy "Time to Pretend" or "Kids" type songs, which may in turn make them lose some fans. However, they don't seem to be the type of band to care.

3 1/2 WEEKS TILL THE ALBUM DROPS

I am really excited about New Amerykah Part 2! It is scheduled to come out on March 30th 2010 and it looks like it is going to be good.

Here is the album's new single Window Seat (with ?uestlove on drums)

Badu channels Funkadelic with this Web-only bonus track Jump Up in the Air and Stay There. I don't really feel Lil' Wayne but the song will definitely get stuck in your head all day long.

Shafiq in En-A-Free-Ka

I love this new album. I loved Shafiq's work with Badu on New Amerykah Part 1 and his work with The Sa-Ra Creative Partners. En-A-Free-Ka is his new solo project that I just got on vinyl. Love it! I especially like the albums lead single Lil' Girl.

Shafiq Husayn - "Lil' Girl" Feat. Fatima & Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner from gregthedude on Vimeo.