The Fishpork 20: Favorite Albums of 2010
We’re wondering if the end-of-the-year list makers have actually listened to Sufjan’s Steven’s The Age of Adz more than once (or even at all). It’s truly and unquestionably our favorite release for 2010. While we enjoyed some of the popular choices (This Is Happening, Halcyon Digest, The Suburbs, etc.) just as much as the next guy, there were some less popular albums that we really appreciated over the past 12 months (Down There, DISCO2, Shame, Shame). And is there any reason why a soundtrack cannot get some love? Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross may be the reason why The Social Network wins a Best Picture Oscar this year! Here are our favorite 20 albums of a tremendous year for music:
1. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
2. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
3. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
4. Caribou – Swim
5. The National – High Violet
6. Avey Tare – Down There
7. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
8. Owen Pallett – Heartland
9. HEALTH – DISCO2
10. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
11. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
12. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network
13. Jonsi – Go
14. Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
15. Girl Talk – All Day
16. Vampire Weekend – Contra
17. The Magnetic Fields – Realism
18. Holy Fuck – Latin
19. The Walkmen – Lisbon
20. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Honorable Mention:
Seven Fields of Aphelion – Periphery
Most Disappointing Albums of 2010:
Elf Power – Elf Power
MGMT – Congratulations
Of Montreal – False Priest
Fishpork’s 50 Favorite Tracks of 2010
2010 started off strong, producing some of our favorite tracks off the summer playlist. As the weather heated up, things fell into a summer doldrum. Now, as we develop our end-of-the-year lists, we’re finding the year coming to a conspicuous end. Similar to 2009, the list is somewhat album-heavy, as we were drawn to several stand-out records among our favorite artists. Here is our very biased list of our 50 favorite tracks from 2010 (give the page a minute to load the SoundClouds):
1. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
2. Caribou – “Odessa”
3. Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
4. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
5. HEALTH – “USA Boys”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “I Can Change”
7. Crystal Castles – “Empathy”
8. Avey Tare – “Laughing Hieroglyphic”
9. Broken Social Scene – ‘World Sick”
10. Owen Pallett – “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt”
11. The National – “Afraid of Everyone”
12. Autolux – “Transit, Transit”
13. Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Soul”
14. Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi”
15. Arcade Fire – “The Suburbs”
16. Sufjan Stevens – “Vesuvius”
17. Caribou – “Jamelia”
18. Crystal Castles – “Not In Love (feat. Robert Smith)”
19. Beach House – “Norway”
20. Arcade Fire – “We Used To Wait”
21. The Black Keys – Tighten Up
22. Yeasayer – “Mondegreen”
23. Deerhunter – “He Would Have Laughed”
24. Owen Pallett – “Midnight Directives”
25. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
26. Crystal Castles – “Vietnam”
27. How To Destroy Angels – “Fur-Lined”
28. The National – “Terrible Love”
29. Sufjan Stevens – “Too Much”
30. White Lies – “Bigger Than Us”
31. Panda Bear – “Slow Motion”
32. Avey Tare – “Lucky 1″
33. Liars – “Scarecrows on a Killer Slant”
34. Dr. Dog – “Jackie Wants A Black Eye”
35. Ratatat – “Party With Children”
36. Tobacco – “Lamborghini Meltdown”
37. The Walkmen – “Angela Surf City”
38. Middle Class Rut – “New Low”
39. HEALTH – “Before Tigers (Gold Panda Remix)”
40. Four Tet – “Plastic People”
41. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Bright Lit Blue Skies”
42. Jonsi – “Tornado”
43. Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
44. Yeasayer – “ONE”
45. Of Montreal – “Like a Tourist”
46. Matthew Dear – “You Put a Smell On Me”
47. Delta Spirit – “Bushwick Blues”
48. Avey Tare – “Oliver Twist”
49. MGMT – “Flash Delirium”
50. Flying Lotus – “…And The World Laughs With You (Ft. Thom Yorke)”
Album Review: Dark Was The Night
Compilation releases rarely get much consideration on end-of-year lists, but this year’s Dark Was The Night will defy that logic. Produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner from The National, the album’s proceeds go to the Red Hot Organization, a charity that raises money for HIV and AIDS. The double-length effort will not engage all the way through, as there are some snoozers mixed throughout. It’s obvious that many of the artists appearing on the album saved their best work for their own records (see Arcade Fire’s “Lenin”). However, the standout tracks make the album somewhat worthy of all the praise it has received so far this year.
Standout songs include the epic “You Are The Blood” by Sufjan Stevens. The 10-minute track is a reworking (and improvement) of a song by the Castanets, who appear on Steven’s Asthmatic Kitty label. An additional remix of the song appears on disc two, titled “Blood Pt. 2.” The track features a reworking of Steven’s song by Canadian hip hop artist, Buck 65. 2009 seems to belong to Brooklyn-based indie favorites Grizzly Bear, who appear on disc one twice. The band’s “Deep Blue Sea” is a whispery, melodic gem, and “Service Bell” is a haunting collaboration with ex-tourmate Feist. The most surprising track is a solo effort by TV On The Radio mastermind David Sitek. “With A Girl Like You” is a Trogg’s cover highlighted by Sitek’s usual tight production, an anthemic horn section, and baritone vocals. Although the album does not provide the grandiose indie rock statement that many bloggers have written about, there is enough good stuff here to keep listeners engaged for weeks.
A live performance of several songs on the album took place this past Sunday at Radio City Music Hall. Check out three of the better tracks from the album here:
http://www.myspace.com/darkwasthenight
July’s Fresh Pork Cuts!
July 1, 2008 by Fishpork
Filed under Uncategorized
Pete’s:
- Silver Jews- My Pillow is the Threshold
- The National – Mistaken For Strangers
- MGMT – Pieces of What
- The Helio Sequence – Lately
- Eric Avery – Philo Beddoe
Mark’s:
- Crystal Castles – Air Wars
- Sigur Ros – Gobbledigook
- Ladytron – Ghosts
- Fuck Buttons – Ribs Out
- Girl Talk – Set It Off
[audio:setitoff.mp3]