Music: 2010 - Music Of The Year (and shit...)

Welcome all, to the end of 2010 Man Culture Love round up. A feast of meaningless, self-infatuated lists that serve hopefully to look back at the high points of this year and my listening to music and stuff. What's more, I've gone to the outlandish, almost Herculean effort of creating a tidy little Spotify playlist (other streaming music providers are available...I think) so that those without past experience of some of the bands or artists might be able to check them out, in a listening way, not a "ooh, yeah, nice tight trousers on the lead singer" kind of way.

These thirty albums, split into the three categories into which I invest most of my time, will hopefully reveal some low-flying albums that may have flown under your radar this year. Or over your head. Whichever untidy metaphor you want...

PLEASE NOTE: the use of over-blown, gushing praise when describing these records, the kind you'd usually find on this blog, will not be featuring in this round-up. It's 11:30, I've got work in a couple of hours, and frankly I've read enough self-important and predictable opinion blogging (*cough* Pitchfork/Quietus *cough*) already in the past week or so to have to put up with my own. Just assume that every album on this list I think is fantastic in its own way.

They are, also, in no particular order of preference. The numbers at the side represent nothing but my need to jazz things up a little. You like? It's my blog version of tinsle. Oooooooooh, looky.

ALTERNATIVE:

1. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
2. Kat Frankie - The Dance Of A Stranger Heart
3. The Black Keys - Brothers
4. Best Coast - Crazy For You
5. Darwin Deez - Darwin Deez
6. Everything Everything - Man Alive
7. Future Islands - In Evening Air
8. Sleepy Sun - Fever
9. Morning Benders - Big Echo
10. White Denim - Last Day Of Summer

AMERICANA/COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS:

1. Isobel Campbell and Mark Lonegan - Hawk
2. J. Tillman - Singing Ax
3. Pete Molinari - A Train Bound For Glory
4. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Genuine Negro Jig
5. Dylan LeBlanc - Paupers Field
6. Mountain Man - Made The Harbor
7. Ida Jenshus - No Guarantees
8. Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
9. Ferraby Lionheart - The Jack Of Hearts
10. Phospherescent - Here's To Taking It Easy

FOLK:

1. Anais Mitchell - Hadestown
2. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
3. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
4. First Aid Kit - The Big Black And The Blue
5. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
6. Laura Veirs - July Flame
7. Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
8. Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
9. Smoke Fairies - Through Low Light And Trees
10. Julia Stone - Memory Machine

So there you have it, the first of this blog's yearly music round-ups. Obviously there are things I have had to leave out which I wish I didn't have to, and honourable mentions go to Violens, Maps And Atlases, Black Mountain, Johnny Flynn, Lonelady, Yeasayer, The Black Angels, Frightened Rabbit, John Grant, Sufjan Stevens, Surfer Blood, The Soft Pack, Villagers, Two Door Cinema Club, Wolf Parade, Caitlin Rose, Greg Storer, Ray Lamontagne and the Pariah Dogs, Sean Hayes, She & Him, Gorillaz, Janelle Monae, Big Boi and Peggy Sue.

And that's not all their is in Santa's deep sack (don't think about it too much, just keep going) as a Spotify playlist has been built of most of the bands in the lists. Some glaring holes are apparent (no Arcade Fire or Joanna Newsom on Spotify, I mean REALLY?), but it's a good listen, so go check it out:

Spotify Playlist: Man Culture Love Round-Up 2010

And with this aside, here's a list of TWENTY TRACKS OF THE YEAR (again, in no particular order but most of which, out of choice, are by artists that don't feature on the album lists). Click on the tracks to watch/listen on the youtube:

1. Violens - Acid Reign
2. Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
3. Janelle Monae - Tightrope
4. James Blake - Limit To Your Love
5. Major Lazer - Pon De Floor (naughty vid, be careful)
6. Skrillex - Rock 'N Roll (Will Take Your To The Mountain)
7. Mystery Jets - Dreaming Of Another World (video of the year)
8. The Soft Pack - More Or Less
9. The Drums - Let's Go Surfing
10. Yeasayer - O.N.E.
11. Kelis - Acapella
12. Vampire Weekend - Holiday
13. Sleepy Sun - Open Eyes
14. Lonelady - Intuition
15. Cee-Lo Green - Forget You (or, if you're past the watershed: Fuck You)
16. Rihanna - Rudeboy or Only Girl (In The World)
17. Beach House - Zebra
18. Foals - Blue Blood
19. Screaming Females - I Don't Mind It
20. Megafaun - Volunteers

AND NOW FOR A FEW AWARDS:

Firstly, the award for BEST LIVE ACT goes to SCREAMING FEMALES, who did the gracious thing of blowing the arsehole out of a relatively small crowd at the Luminaire in Kilburn and revealed to me my new rock and roll goddess, the pint-sized, axe-shredding, shrieking mormon banshee that is Marisa Paternoster. Left my jaw on the floor and my heart racing after a blistering set of punk/grunge fury. See them at the first opportunity, and marvel at them.

Runners up: Megafaun, Wild Beasts, Everything Everything

Then, on the flipside, the award for WORST LIVE ACT goes to THE DRUMS, those most annoying of new bands, the preening, strutting kids from California who write songs as intellectually weighty as an over-cooked sponge. Every member of the band, who were seen disgracing live music at the Kentish Town Forum, deserves a lesson in standing FUCKING up, and the lead singer flopped around onstage neglecting to actually SING, but never forgetting to sweep his fringe over and wobble his knees around like a pissed up George Michael in WHAM. Awful in every sense, and the kids love them. It boggles the mind.

Runners up: Violens, Mountain Man

For MOST UNDERRATED ACT, we give the award to SHARON VAN ETTEN, who manages to be praised by just about every band and underground music mag out there, and who writes such beautiful, haunting, heartfelt songs, but whose name you can say to almost anybody on the street and get a response similar to this: "errrrrrrrrrrrrr....no?" Fingers crossed she breaks it this year with a few festival performances and some good press. A great talent.

Runners up: J. Tillman, White Denim, Screaming Females

MOST OVERRATED ACT, one of the most hotly contested of the year, goes to HURTS, who showed that a sweepy haircut and some synthesisers can go a long way in convincing a multitude of people that your are creating music that isn't just a mindless rip off of eighties electro stalwarts. This year's La Roux, and with even shitter songs. Laters!

Runners up: Liars, Warpaint, Vampire Weekend, Ariel Pink, Marina And The Diamonds, The Drums

With BIGGEST TWAT IN MUSIC comes a chance to shine a spotlight on someone who does all they can to sour the room with their own arrogance, vanity and general twattery. And this year the decision is unanimous, and the same as last year, the year before that, almost every year since this knobber arrived in fact. It is, of course, the unstoppable twat that is KANYE WEST. A whirlwind of pompous arseholery, with a sprinkling of innocent-girl-attacking thrown in for good measure. Well deserved.

Runners up: Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga, The Drums

BEST FESTIVAL goes to Green Man. Well, it was the only one I went to, but the line up was fantastic, the venue was brilliantly laid out and not too big, and the atmosphere was one of community, fun, silliness and, most importantly, a love of music. We'll meet again. Don't where, don't know when. Well, okay, I do know where, but I don't know when. %50 right.

Runners up: didn't go to any others, and this was a massive shame...

The Peter Pan Award for REFUSING TO GROW UP, goes to WEEZER, whose album, 'Hurley' was about as a purple ronnie nappy. Utter shit, from start to finish, and only good for one thing, which is reminding us just how good the blue album was. Oh, to experience Say It Ain't So for the first time again...

The Gillian McKeith Award for MOST OVERSTAYED WELCOME has to go to KINGS OF LEON, who having pitched at tent at the back of every festival stage or sports arena this side of the bayou have finally been found out for not really being a "stadium band" after all by releasing an album of repetitive, thoughtless sing-a-longs. Hopefully now they will be escorted from the premises and told to listen to Molly's Chambers and Holly Roller Novocaine.

Right, that's it. That's all I'm doing. This is officially the longest post i've ever done. I'm exhausted. See you soon for the film round-up. I'll make that MUCH shorter.