Top 10 of 2010

Life has been quite busy my friends I hope to get back to a more stable pattern soon but for now Happy New Year and here's to 2010. My favorite albums of the year.

10. Big Boi – Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty

            The perfect music with which to pointlessly drive around one’s home town, windows rolled down, playing a little louder than you should, with the  bass on full blast. Most of the tracks have that signature Outkast “fast drum” beat in the background which only benefits Big Boi’s rhyming. The use of funk and real instruments compared to the more often used synths of the 2000’s is quite refreshing as well. Sir Lucious Leftfoot most certainly has his best foot forward.

Favorite Songs – Fo Yo Sorrow and The Train, Pt. 2

9. Robert Plant – Band of Joy

            As with all of the reviews I’ve read about this album, poor Jimmy Page, Plant ain’t coming back anytime soon. Not wailing like he used to Plant sings much softer these days but with no less power. Part old blues and folk and part deep brooding ambience reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Band of Joy is a testament that the founders of Rock and Roll still have a trick up their sleaves.

Favorite Songs – Monkey and Even This Will Pass Away

8. Janelle Monae – The Archandroid

            One part James Brown, one part David Bowie, and one part silent movie Metropolis (1927) over beats mixed by Big Boi might seem like one of the oddest mixtures imaginable but fresh on the scene Janelle Monae makes it work and more. Singing through the personality of Cindy Mayweather, Monae goes from lovely soft ballad, Sir Greendown, to up tempo in your face funk on Tightrope. While Gaga, Rihanna, and Katy Perry battle over the present queen of pop, Monae takes her influence from both the past and the distant future mixing classic funk and soul elements with lyrics inspired by her robotic alter ego Mayweather.  In a word; refreshing.

Favorite Songs – Cold War and Tightrope

7. Yeasayer – Oddblood

            Ever since seeing them in 2008 I’ve been obsessed. Experimental music is how they are classified and normally this is a cop out for saying they’re just fucking weird but in this case it fits. Each song mixes dramatically unique drum beats under ambient synths and bouncing bass lines. This is all brought together by either frantic solo singing or lovely harmonies proving that there is no one voice for this band. Having seen them live once I know that very little is lost from the studio when they perform and the complexity of the songs on Oddblood is proof that even in the digital age of music the performance has not been forsaken.

Favorite Songs – ONE and Madder Red

6. Nas and Damien Marley – Distant Relatives

            A lovely mesh of reggae and hip hop with lyrics calling out to a generation obsessed with the future to remember one’s roots. Nas once again shows why he is one of the best ever and even though he is perpetually living in the shadow of his father’s legacy Damien Marley has proven to wear that mantle with pride as he belts out hooks with the same edge as his old man. The album starts strong with As We Enter forcing you back in your seat as they lecture begins and finishes on a high note with Africa Must Wake Up, a beautiful conclusion that sums up the albums message.

Favorite Songs – As We Enter and Africa Must Wake Up

5. Eminem – Recovery

            Back to form back to form thank God Almighty Eminem’s back to form. After wiping the competition off the board with the Slim Shady LP and the Marshall Mathers LP Eminem had the ears of the world clutched tightly but his next albums, while good and successful, didn’t have that same fire and anger. Em’s fire seemed to have been cooled by the ice around his neck and his near universal acceptance as one of the best. It’s like he finally paged through his cook book and found the recipes that made him beloved, also having Dr. Dre backing him again is strongly to his advantage. All in all it’s good to hear that angry yell of Marshall again.

Favorite Songs – Cold Wind Blows and So Bad

4. The Roots – How I Got Over

            The digital age is now strongly cemented as the future for the next decade or so but you wouldn’t know it listening to the latest from the Roots. While their “peers” are sampling and mixing using computer programs ?love, Black Thought, and their ever changing compatriots stick to the basics using their God given musical talent. Thought’s lyrics as usual are deeply reflective with a hint of positivity and the hope of a brighter future. The fact that they were able to put out an album of this caliber, a beautiful collaboration with John Legend, all while being the house band for Jimmy Fallon is astounding. Now if we could only get over our confusion of how people find Jimmy Fallon funny.

Favorite Songs – How I Got Over and The Fire

3.  Black Keys – Brothers

            Simplicity at its finest. The White Stripes may have pioneered the garage band duo of guitar and drum but the Black Keys have surely taken it to a higher level. The licks that Dan Auberach churns out makes one feel like they are back in the Delta or in Chicago listening to Blues Sages rip their instruments apart and Patrick Carney’s minimalistic drumming are the perfect compliment. Unlike the less than talented Meg White, Carney’s drumming is minimal only when it fits and his fills drive the music on par with Auberach’s shredding. Nothing better than some Brotherly Love.

Favorite Songs – Next Girl and The Only One

2. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs

            The voice of the disenchanted the Arcade Fire have yet to take a bad step and here’s knocking on wood that they continue in the same fashion. A wall of sound seems to me to be the best way to describe them. Picking apart the different layers of this album is a delight. What makes me smile most is the fact that they in part threw their fans under the bus in some of their lyrics. Most notably “the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight, so young so young so much pain for someone so young well, I know it's heavy I know it ain't light, but how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight” a critique of hipster kids standing still at concerts with folded arms and the entire song Rococo. Beautiful and layered music with thought provoking lyrics, nothing better in my book.

Favorite Songs – Rococo and The Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

1. Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

            Oh how I didn’t want this to be number one. I was hesitant in downloading it, I put off listening to it, in other words I let Kanye’s public profile dictate my judgment. Never again. I read a review that compared MBDTF to the Sgt. Pepper’s of hip hop and I am inclined to agree with it. The album is like potato chips, you can’t stop at just one but continue consuming until the bag is finished and yet you still want more. Every song could be a single and while you never want one song to end you are just as pleased when the next one starts. Easily album of the year. Yeezy reupholstered the game for us and it looks mighty fine from where I’m standing. I don’t know if we can get much higher.

Favorite Songs – Dark Fantasy and Hell of a Life

Honorable Mention

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach

The Roots feat John Legend – Wake Up!

LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

Black Market Shenanigans

            Time again for a trip to my past my loyal and faithful stewards. A representative of S.J.U. or the Soaring Juniper’s United has arrived for a brief stay at the BVC compound. Columba Stewart is his name and he is one of the foremost historians focusing on the SJU. Now one might think this is a little self serving as most of the history of the SJU is written by a member of the SJU but his dedication to objectivity is truly astounding.

            The location of the SJU is hidden to everyone except those in the SJU. One does not so much join the SJU as they are selected before their birth. You see the SJU have many smaller factions around the world which they gladly open to the public. These institutions impart knowledge to some of the keenest minds on the planet, however they do not relinquish all of their vast knowledge to just anyone. These institutions act as a magnifying glass to the people of the world so that they may find those who have been chosen to the order.

            As you may have guessed by my knowledge of the order I was one of these chosen few. Even though I have been in the order for nigh 300 years now I am still in the neophyte stage of their order. Columba is one of the senior members of the order and his understanding of the events of the world are so diverse and brilliant that even in an evening spent with him one feels like their awareness of the humanity has doubled. He has come to join me in the Philippines to depart some of his wisdom to the younger orders like the BVC. One might say that the SJU is the crux of all of the protectorate orders on Earth, of which there are 17.

            Columba for all his age and wisdom still has a wild side that springs forth from time to time. At the secret domain of the SJU there is a font that gushes forth the sweetest nectars in the world. And I say that scientifically, it is the most delicious nectar in the world and I defy you to find one better. This premium beverage like much of the BVC’s wisdom is kept to themselves. But Columba being his sneaky self bottled a bit of this divine sauce and snuck it away with him as a Christmas present. Though it has only been a few months since my last sampling it seems like a lifetime.

Holiday Seizures

To begin I just want to clarify to all of you that while my favorite color is green my heart is already abnormally big so there is no way that I can be the Grinch. That being said I confess I am generally not the most enthusiastic about celebrating the holidays for extensive periods of time. As such the Filipino traditions of Christmas celebrating is a bit unusual to me. You see they began putting up their Christmas decorations in September; trees, wreaths, manger scenes, and the lights, lights, lights. Flashing like rave for four months straight, I fear that my brain will not be able to focus properly on anything.

You see I developed a rule in 1910 after the founding of Hallmark, I will not even consider another holiday until the one preceding it has passed. I won’t celebrate Thanksgiving until Halloween is over, I won’t celebrate Guy Fawkes Day until the Norse Winter Nights celebration is over. But this notion of celebrating a holiday almost 4 months before the event is simply baffling.

In some way it makes sense as this way the focus of Christmas, gift buying, can have enough time to take hold of everyone. This way no one is forgotten about as a person has 4 months to peruse through sales and can do ample research on what the gift would be most appreciated. That is what Christmas is about isn’t it, spreading the joy of consumerism amongst each other so as to keep the economy in the black?

And it seems that people are forgetting the meaning of Christmas more and more these days as economies around the world continue to struggle. Countries like Ireland, Spain, and Greece are more desperate for Santa and his reindeer than ever. If this is not fixed quickly than this will only be the stone that unleashes the avalanche. I’ve seen it before. There was a time that human’s spent weeks at a time in reverence of Dionysius the god of wine and revelry. Now many scholars say that these rituals were religious in nature and in some ways they were. However there was a greater symbolism at work, that of human cooperation and the benefits of taking it easy every once in a while. There are still remnants of these traditions found in St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, and a small sect hidden in the woods of the Midwest United States celebrates a week of festivities in homage to these old practices. Still, like Christmas is experiencing now, the traditions are being revered less and less as people focus more on work and toil. Instead of taking a break, or maybe spending a little of their money to stimulate the economy, they hoard away in their homes complaining the days away.

A sad state of affairs indeed, maybe there is a lesson to be taken from our Filipino brethren. The longer we keep Christmas at the forefront of our thoughts maybe we will see our economies given new life. Maybe four months is not enough preparation, maybe it takes 10 months or more. Just enough time to get all of the decorations down and boxed before we bring them back out again. I don’t know yet how I would react to this change but for the better of the world I think we owe it to try.

So write that wish list and check it twice, thrice or more if needed…