By wink of water

I have a lot to say and no time to say it, and even a minimal task like uploading and describing my best of 2010 list escapes me. But here we are, already one week into 2011 (it looks weird when you write it, doesn’t it), so I must get started. Though I certainly can’t hope to reproduce last year’s more poetic effort, here’s my mix. I am pleasantly surprised at how much I like it; I thought 2010 not nearly as good a year for music as 2009, let alone 2007. But there was definitely enough good stuff out there to make for some hard choices.

1. All of the Lights by Kanye West. I admit to feeling shocked and cynical about Pitchfork’s perfect 10 for Kanye West’s album. It’s very good, no doubt – but impeccable? Kanye has a tendency to be overwrought, all pomp and circumstance, and frankly, some of his songs are so long as to be boring. That said, All of the Lights is certainly not timid, and packed with personalities, and it still succeeds. Something about that gorgeous horn line repeated over and over throughout the song holds on and won’t let go.
2. my way by jj. The quote in the beginning is Charles Manson, I’ve discovered, and the rap is a sample of Lil Wayne’s Don’t Trip. He’s not usually my cup of tea, but here, his weird vocals contrast nicely with her sweet voice, lending the song character that it wouldn’t otherwise have. There’s a gorgeous moment after the rap that never fails to fill me nostalgia, when she sings in a voice clear and true, unadulterated by the electronic scrambling that came before: “I’m yours, you’re mine”
3. Tell Em by Sleigh Bells. Sleigh Bells is not everyone’s cup of tea, trafficking as they do in distortion, noise, and generally muddy, loud sounds. But her voice is quite distinctive and pretty, and their songs just fill me up with energy. This song makes me think of a deranged pep rally.
4. I Feel Better by Hot Chip. For weeks, I thought the middle of this song was sung by a woman (showing how much attention I pay to niceties like band members). My favorite Hot Chip songs are all like this, pulsing forward with sensations of loss and longing, a general happy/sad feeling that’s quite unique.
5. Madder Red by Yeasayer. There’s just something so dramatic about the drums and “oohs” that begin this song, and the quiet, spare end of the verses before the recommencement of the drums: it could be very cliched, but instead it’s well-crafted and works. The intelligent lyrics help, too: “It’s getting hard to keep pretending I’m worth your time”
6. Not in Love by Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith. This is like a really good Cure song, but better, because it’s not cheesy. Crystal Castles is often a little much for me, too into the electronica for its own sake and not enough about constructing a good melody. But this song is the best of both worlds – a very real pop sensibility with completely new and interesting beats.
7. Tornado by Jonsi. I could have picked 2 other songs by Jonsi to go on this list, making that my favorite album this year. Best listened to on earphones on a train as you watch sheep and old farm buildings rush by.
8. I Think Ur A Contra by Vampire Weekend. It must be admitted that I absolutely detest the spelling of this song. But everything else about it is great – soft, sweet, romantic pop without sliding into triteness.
9. Afraid of Everyone by The National. I struggled a lot to choose my favorite off The National’s new album, but not for the same reason as for Jonsi’s. I am disappointed. I loved Boxer, loved nearly every song on it, and The National is probably my favorite living artist. But their songs on High Violet just mostly sound the same to me, and are not very interesting. I’ve fallen asleep more than once trying to listen to it. None really spoke to me the way “Slow Show” or half a dozen other songs on Boxer did. The album is still really, really good, just not up to my very high standards for the band. And Afraid of Everyone is as good an example as any other. (But the drums are amazing in this song.)
10. Call Your Girlfriend by Robyn. It’s just raw pop and so cheesy but I love it. Robyn’s trademark is danceable songs about longing and need and this one is quite sad, if you listen to lyrics: “Don’t you tell her how I give you something that you never even knew you missed / Don’t you even try and explain how it’s so different when we kiss”.
11. All I Want by LCD Soundsystem. Whenever I hear the opening bars of this song, it makes me want to cry and dance at the same time. I’ve never been a huge LCD Soundsystem fan, but this song just eats me up.
12. From the Mouth of Gabriel by Sufjan Stevens. What a beautiful song, what a beautiful album. He gets quite weird at times, and the strong religious overtones don’t always work for me, but this song is lovely. The second half just soars. “And what a mess I’ve made of you. You probably would, but I won’t let you run away. You probably should, but I won’t let you run away this time.”
13. Tightrope by Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi. I think she is so great, all bee-bop and swing, incredible voice and control (that minor stuff can’t be easy), making music with a pop sensibility but no over manufactured feel. I like Big Boi but not enough to put one of his songs on this mix, so this will have to do.
14. Fuck You by Cee-Lo Green. Best pop song of the year? The video was just amazing, as was the Gwyneth Paltrow cover on Glee. He’s so cheerful and I love his soul voice – in some of his other songs, it’s too R&B for me, but here it works beautifully.
15. On and On by Girl Talk. Girl Talk is always my go-to when I need to clean the apartment or pack. He’s really the master of the craft – the “Best of Bootie” mixes too often just combine the vocal track off one song with the backing track off the other (see Lady Gaga vs Nirvana). I like how he manages to combine short samples from numerous different songs in a seamless way that actually works. Thus far I prefer “Feed the Animals” but that’s probably just because I remember dancing to the whole damn album at the end of 2008’s Beaujolais party.