2010 Magazine's Albums Of The Year Thread For Posting Lists and Discussion

(Full disclosure, I actually don't hate that new Black Keys. It isn't great, but when I'm forced to hear it I don't totally mind.)

the Rangda LP

Heard it. Not a fan.

The Joanna Newsom suffers due to its length, plus however much opinion coalesces in the short term, I think, given time, it will be her Tusk or her Sandinista.

Okay, I'm only being slightly facetious there. It is a brilliant album, rich and rewarding, but the effort needed for those rewards is commensurate, and most people—even (especially?) music critics—don't have the luxury of that time commitment in a crowded arena.

Then again, I'm apparently way out of step with ILM on both this record and the National's, so ymmv, etc.

Rangda zoomed into my top 5 at number 5 </newsyoucanuse> but of all the lists posted so far I'd not really expect it to be on any of their radars save for Mojo's

oh shit, didn't realize there was a Tape album this year! Their song on this fantastic soundtrack is v much worth checking out: http://www.normanrecords.com/cd/107363-various-halsningar-fran-skogen-greetings-from-the-woods

here you go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qXOw9R-EPU

I have no idea what the final Wire list will look like, but here's the Top Ten I sent them:

1. Ayumi Hamasaki, Rock ’n’ Roll Circus (Avex Trax)

Have you written about this anywhere? I'm checking it out now anyway, intrigued. I love her at her best, didn't know this was that.

Joanna Newsom I've heard won Uncut, not seen this confirmed though. Another two records that I thought might do a lot better have probably suffered from their respective release dates at either end of the year; These New Puritans and The Phantom Band.

That Rangda album is pretty good... I mean obviously it's a lot better than MGMT and KOL but a world beater? Not so sure.

the rangda alb is gd, but the live shows were way way better (see also: swans!)

haven't seen sun city girls on any of these lists, either

Kind of surprised that Charlotte Gainsbourg only appears on the Rough Trade list - I thought her album would get wider recognition.

NME

75. The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, 'Blood And Fir
74. Sufjan Stevens, 'Age Of Adz'
73. Interpol, 'Interpol'
72. Male Bonding, 'Nothing Hurts'
71. Field Music, 'Field Music (Measure)'
70. Broken Social Scene, 'Forgiveness Rock Record
69. Happy Birthday, 'Happy Birthday'
68. Edwyn Collins, 'Losing Sleep'
67. The Dillinger Escape Plan, 'Option Paralysis'
66. Gorillaz, 'Plastic Beach'
65. Robyn, 'Body Talk Pt 1'
64. Walls, 'Walls'
63. Perfume Genius, 'Learning
62. Gil Scott-Heron, 'I'm New Here'
61. Flying Lotus, 'Cosmogramma'
60. Belle And Sebastian, 'Write About Love'
59. Errors, 'Come Down With Me'
58. Crocodiles, 'Sleep Forever'
57. Joanna Newsom, 'Have One On Me'
56. Mount Kimbie, 'Crooks & Lovers'
55. Ikonika, 'Contact, Love, Want, Have'
54. First Aid Kit, 'The Big Black and The Blue'
53. Kelis, 'Flesh Tone'
52. Dum Dum Girls, 'I Will Be'
51. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'IRM'
50. Frightened Rabbit, 'The Winter of Mixed Drinks'
49. Surfer Blood, 'Astro Coast'
48. My Chemical Romance, 'Danger Days'
47. Pulled Apart By Horses, 'Pulled Apart By Horses'
46. Paul Weller, 'Wake Up The Nation'
45. Four Tet, 'There Is Love In You'
44. Manic Street Preachers, 'Postcards From A Young Man'
43. Everything Everything, 'Man Alive'
42. Mystery Jets, 'Serotonin'
41. Steve Mason, 'Boys Outside'
40. Sleigh Bells, 'Treats'
39. Magnetic Man, 'Magnetic Man'
38. Big Boi, 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty'
37. Lonelady, 'Nerve Up'
36. Hurts, 'Happiness'
35. Glasser, 'Ring'
34. Kanye West, 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'
33. Marina And The Diamonds, 'The Family Jewels'
32. Islet, 'Wimmy' (EP)
31. Crystal Castles, 'Crystal Castles'
30. Klaxons, 'Surfing The Void'
29. No Age, 'Everything In Between'
28. New Young Pony Club, 'The Optimist'
27. Best Coast, 'Crazy For You '
26. Les Savy Fav, 'Root For Ruin'
25. Avi Buffalo, 'Avi Buffalo'
24. Vampire Weekend, 'Contra'
23. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, 'Before Today'
22. Swans, 'My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky'
21. Janelle Monae, 'The ArchAndroid'
20. Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest'
19. MGMT, 'Congratulations'
18. Warpaint, 'The Fool'
17. Factory Floor, 'Untitled'
16. Grinderman, 'Grinderman 2'
15. Yeasayer, 'Odd Blood'
14. The Fall, 'Your Future, Our Clutter'
13. Gayngs, 'Relayted'
12. Caribou, 'Swim'
11. The National, 'High Violet'
10. The Drums, 'The Drums'
9. Liars, 'Sisterworld'
8. Salem, 'King Night'
7. Zola Jesus, 'Stridulum II'
6. Foals, 'Total Life Forever'
5. Laura Marling, 'I Speak Because I Can'
4. LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening'
3. Beach House, 'Teen Dream'
2. Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs'
1. These New Puritans, 'Hidden'

NME list is better than I would have expected.

62. Gil Scott-Heron, 'I'm New Here'
55. Ikonika, 'Contact, Love, Want, Have'
53. Kelis, 'Flesh Tone'
51. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 'IRM'
38. Big Boi, 'Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty'
35. Glasser, 'Ring'
5. Laura Marling, 'I Speak Because I Can'

i'll rep for these at least

nme list says 'this are the only 75 records we have decided to listen to, in an order i guess'

NME list isn't bad at all, and I certainly can't argue with their #1.

I too think that is a pretty decent list, a lot of stuff I'd not expect on it that high like Zola Jesus. Have to throw the question up though, if that's one of the top 10 albums of the year, why not put her on the cover?

nme list says 'this are the only 75 records we have decided to listen to, in an order i guess'

― wheezy f baby (a hoy hoy)

Most publications have this problem, when Pitchfork publishes it's writer's lists it will mainly be the same 150 albums appearing in 75% of the slots.

Impressed they put These New Puritans at the top. Impressed generally by what Krissi Murison is doing with the NME. This is much more like the NME lists I read 15-20 years ago which helped me to discover records rather than simply affirm what I already knew.

So far, I'm surprised how far Joanna Newsom's stock has fallen and how much MGMT's has held, or even risen. I expected that record to be invisible come the end of the year.

Was looking everywhere through that NME list to see where TNP were, amazed and really quite glad to see it at #1. Quite a few other nice surprises there too - Zola Jesus, Glasser, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lonelady...

I agree with the NME's album of the year. Don't think that's happened in a very long time.

One record really missing out so far is the Knife - wasn't even in the Swedish chart upthread.

^^^this

Also dull as a lot of these lists are, I can't see 2010 having a consensus as soul-crushing as GAPDY.

So far, I'm surprised how far Joanna Newsom's stock has fallen

i'm not really - it's def the kind of album that can impress on first listen, but then gets tidied away and not thought about after that.

for the record i think that nme list is in general as dreadful as ever and full of some AWFUL records, especially near the top #smgdh #kmft

That Klaxons album must be terrible to only make #30 in the NME list.

pretty sure mcnicholas era lists were worse than that

My point isn't that Rangda should be #1 it's that these lists show how segregated music journalism has become... nearly every list so far, with minor subjective tweaks, is consensus indie rock + anointed R&B/rap/hip-hop/dance music + token world music phenom and/or reissue. That Mojo "underground" list is what really brought it home...in what universe are Harvey Milk, Sun Araw and Peter Broderick measured against each other? Whereas the top 10-20 of a lot of this these lists by and large sound very similar to my ears.

20. Deerhunter, 'Halcyon Digest'
19. MGMT, 'Congratulations'
16. Grinderman, 'Grinderman 2'
15. Yeasayer, 'Odd Blood'
14. The Fall, 'Your Future, Our Clutter'
13. Gayngs, 'Relayted'
11. The National, 'High Violet'
10. The Drums, 'The Drums'
6. Foals, 'Total Life Forever'
4. LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening'
3. Beach House, 'Teen Dream'
2. Arcade Fire, 'The Suburbs'
1. These New Puritans, 'Hidden'

^^there isn't much WORSE you can actually get from a top 20 with those acts in it

like seriously if you think any of them contributed to the best music of 2010 then GOD HELP YOU

yeah rly needed some 'xallops here

NME is a lot better. The problem is that all the people saying it's a lot better are not in their target market of 15-25yos, who are deserting it in their thousands. Several issues this year have apparently barely scraped past 20,000.

fwiw i've only heard lcd of those but cmon, the fall vs mid 00s landfill indie isn't even a thing

Not a Fall fan then, Lex?

lex plz refrain from trying to engage with the fall and play nice

the fall are unlistenable, tho i'll take him/them/whatever over fucking gayngs, who seem to have fooled people with usually-reliable taste this year, and the boring-ass greyness of deerhunter and the national, and the middle-aged accountant take on rock of grinderman, and those fucking wimps the drums, and seriously why do foals still exist, and anyone repping for lcd soundsystem must have totally missed the point of them when they were good. SO MUCH H8 SO MUCH H8

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/2979-hex-enduction-hour.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ifzyv.gif

I'm surprised to see The Fall in the NME list, it must be the first time they've appeared since the mid 90's when they used to appear every single year. It must have been a while since Paul Weller made the list too, that probably has something to do with them putting him on the cover the other week.

It's a shame they left out Hot Chip, it's probably going to end up being my album of the year.

Previously in NME top 20s since 2000

Coldplay, Richard Ashcroft, Starsailor, Slipknot, Aphex Twin's 'Drukqs', The Vines, The Datsuns, The Music, The Distillers, Hot Hot Heat, Jet, Muse, Razorlight, U2, The Magic Numbers, Art Brut, The Rakes, Babyshambles, Kasabian, My Chemical Romance, Biffy Clyro, Panic! At The Disco and Jamie T

So compared to the years those came from it's much better and I can see the development in the list has been influenced by the new staff members. It could have had The Courteeners, Two Door Cinema Club, Kate Nash, The Hold Steady, Band Of Horses, Dead Weather, The Gaslight Anthem, Kele Okerke, Weezer, Brandon Flowers, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly etc etc etc collectively much worse than Lex's selections from the top 20.

I agree with Lex that the NME top 20 is mostly dull but probably for a different reason. Given it's an NME list, I'd say what was missing was youth or exuberance or star quality or noise. You know, ROCK MUSIC.

Part of the problem with the ongoing Pitchforkisation of the Brit music press is that it feels a bit cardigan-wearing, a bit daddish. Laura Marling and The Drums are the closest things in that top 10 to what the kids are actually listening to. Generally speaking they aren't listening to NME guitar music, and if they're listening to guitars at all they're listening to Kerrrang! guitars, and the NME still isn't adequately covering the other stuff they ARE listening to.

I dislike Salem and I think Zola Jesus is overrated, but seeing them in the NME top 10 is a pleasing sign of diversity that I didn't expect.

I agree that there's even more inertia creep of Britforking, very surprised to see under earlier NME blogs and on DiS the main complaint was how low Sufjan was, an album I found agonisingly tedious. Then again there is a whole generation of bands more feted by DiS than NME (Sky Larkin, LC! and others) that sound like they have been vastly more influenced by Pitchfork and therefore are in thrall to 90s US indie. Something like Everything Everything you'd could have imagined being much higher in earlier years.

There's about 20 or so US Indie/Pitchfork-y things in that and they are mainly bunched nearer #1 than #75. In 2005's top 50 there are about 5.

Lex's annual favourite, Uncut

50 Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown
49 Olof Arnalds - Innundir Skinni
48 Zola Jesus - Stridulum II
47 Solar Bears - She Was Colored In
46 Sleigh Bells - Treats
45 Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
44 Hot Chip - One Life Stand
43 Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
42 Blitzen Trapper - Destroyers of the Void
41 Steve Mason - Boys Outside
40 Trembling Bells - Abandoned Love
39 Yeasayer - Odd Blood
38 Wyatt, Atzmon, Stephen - For the Ghosts Within
37 Corinne Bailey Rae - The Sea
36 The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever
35 Roky Erickson and Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
34 Dylan LeBlanc- Pauper's Field
33 Edywn Collins - Losing Sleep
32 The Duke & The King - Long Live The Duke & The King
31 Richard Thompson - Dream Attic
30 Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
29 Afrocubism - Afrocubism
28 The Black Keys - The Black Keys
27 Voice of the Seven Thunders - Voice of the Seven Thunders
26 Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust
25 Gayngs - Related
24 Alasdair Roberts - Too Long in This Condition
23 Teenage Fanclub - Shadows
22 Spoon - Transference
21 Hans Chew - Tennessee and Other Stories
20 Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
19 Manic Street Preachers - Postcards from a Young Man
18 Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
17 The Fall - Your Future, Our Clutter
16 Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
15 Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
14 The National - High Violet
13 Vampire Weekend - Contra
12 These New Puritans - Hidden
11 Drive-By Truckers - The Big To-Dp
10 Grinderman - Grinderman II
9 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
8 Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate - Ali and Toumani
7 John Grant - Queen of Denmark
6 Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
5 Robert Plant - Band of Joy
4 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3 Paul Weller - Wake Up the Nation
2 Neil Young - Le Noise
1 Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

That's more like it.

You know where you are with Uncut.

Surprised that the Spoon and Hot Chip albums aren't placing higher and more frequently. Had a hunch that John Grant and These New Puritans would do well.

It's strange seeing the Manic Street Preachers appearing in all these lists, the last couple of albums seem to have turned it around for them.

They're the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, half-arsed vote from people with no imagination.