Top 10 albums, songs of 2010 so far....

Albums

1. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
2. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
3. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
4. Black Keys - Brothers
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
6. Sleigh Bells - Treats
7. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
8. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot....The Son of Chico Dusty
9. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
10. Fang Island - Fang Island


Songs

1. Titus Andronicus - Four Score and Seven: From the achingly tired and defeated whimper of "this is a war we can't win", to the triumphant never-back-down battle cry of "I was born to die just like a man!", Patrick Stickles and company build a Replacements army of punk that, for 8 and a half minutes, could defeat anything.
2. Black Keys - Next Girl: The Keys finally find that one element of blues garage rock that it took Jack White 3 bands to find: SEX. PS Dan Auberach has the most soulful voice in music right now
3. Big Boi - Shutterbug: A studdering voicebox bassline that will rattle soundsystems like two midgets in the back seat 'rasslin', and Ziploc-fresh flows from half of the most innovative rap group ever.
4. Sleigh Bells - Crown on the Ground: The loudest track to the loudest album of 2010....so far. The single M.I.A. wishes she wrote, off the album she wishes she produced.
5. LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change: James Murphy's disco plea bargain fills the soul with honest inspiration, and the legs with the itch of dance.
6. Best Coast - Boyfriend: Crushes are frustrating even in a summery lofi pop world. 7. Here We Go Magic - Collector: The soundtrack to a couple of 8 year olds running a sugar-high-induced muck through a Wonka-style candy shop.
8. Delorean - Stay Close: A throwback to 90s house that embraces the energy of the genre withou being annoying.
9. Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes: The guitar hasn't sounded this catchy since the Blue Album
10. Hot Chip - I Feel Better: If this would've been released circa 2000, Hot Chip would've been crowned the greatest boyband to never grace the cover of Tiger Beat. The only way they get away with it is that rotten-toothed smirk of British irony.

i think i'll be deaf by age 40

I should probably put the headphones down and get a real job. I should also not get drunk and listen to Modest Mouse. You should. I've done it quite a few times before and Mr. Brock and Co. always sugarcoat every morbidly intuitive lyric with the sweetest guitar licks this side of Steely Dan. Yeah, I said it, Steely Dan. They sucked cuz they quit playing live after one album. And so do the Beatles. Quitters. Thank you Modest Mouse for sweeping the dusty corners of everyday universe, and before dumping the crumbs and dust bunnies in the trash, telling us how you love and hate all those stupid little life "functions". Everyday drib-drab is boring, unless you growl like Brock. Thank you for constantly restoring my faith in the power of music.

Jesus, Zola Jesus

When Nika Danilova, voice of Zola Jesus tells you to trust her, she'll be right here, you do exactly that. Her powerful voice bursts through the sparse noir backing, feeding you lyrics of hope that could've brought a second storming of the beaches of Normandy. For people who think The XX is nothing but watered down indie R&B, then turn to Zola Jesus. Some people have told me Jesus saves. Nika Danilova's voice just might do the same.

Listen here

New MGMT

Our favorite space-pop fashion-hippies released a new single for free via their internet page. They deliver their promise of not repeating/rehashing "Kids" or "Time to Pretend". Their new song "Flash Delirium" is a sugary sixties pop cube dipped lightly in acid synth, eventually breaking out into a punky freakout in the last 10 seconds. The blended verse harmonies and Bowie pouty whimper pre-chorus while catchy, are no match for the thick danceable hooks of "Kids" and "Time to Pretend". Oracular Spectacular was a warm Friday night fueled by drugs, dance and friends, and the upcoming Congratulations sounds like a sunny Saturday afternoon.

I'm rooting for MGMT. They are the type of band that introduce the masses to a side of pop music absent of Autotune, Lady Gaga, and mindless hip-hop. They are telling the kids (and out-of-touch adults) to look beyond the radio and read music blogs and find the scores of interesting bands that ever so subtly change to lives of us indie rock folks. If they are successful, they may be responsible for Animal Collective's next album debuting in the Billboard top 10. Good luck MGMT, I'm pulling for you.

Download "Flash Delrium" here

Hear me out

Animal Collective are the Beatles of the 2000s. There, it's been done, and now I'll explain myself. They are not and will never be THE next Beatles, because there will be no NEXT Beatles. AnCo are moving music foward much like the Beatles, and Radiohead, and Nirvana, and (insert any other influential band of the last 20 years). What sets AnCo apart from just any influential, forward thinking band is that they brought back two elements of music that the Beatles used to conquer pop music in the 60s: beauty and weirdness. One can argue Radiohead has done the same, and they have, but AnCo have done it with a child-like optimism like the Beatles did, whereas Radiohead has found beauty in darker corners of rock music. AnCo have thrown away the blueprints of normal song structure without compromising simple pop elegance, becoming infinitely interesting, yet accessible. Unlike the Beatles, they have gone from the strange and weird, only mastering the modern pop song with their 2005 album Feels. Where the Beatles were instantly accessible, then ascending into weird genius, AnCo have had the weirdness and genius (most of the time) from the beginning and honing pop accessibility as they've matured. During the 60s, the Beatles sounded like the future, and in the 2000s-2010s, AnCo sound even further into the future of modern music. If you need examples, I'd tell you to listen to their last 3 albums and 3 EPs, but in a world of Internet inflicted ADD and the death of the album by iTunes, I'll give you a few songs to digest to see if your palette is ready for the full course meals of Feels, Strawberry Jam, and Merriweather Post Pavilion. Try out "Purple Bottle", "Grass", "My Girls", "Bluish", "Fireworks", and "What Do I Want? Sky". They are delicious and nutritious!

What you want can be different from what you need

Call me old fashioned, call me un-punk or dis-indie-franchised, but every time I hear a new band that is achieving genius in their own little room in the world of music, I want everyone to hear, love and accept them for the genius that they are. Is it because I want to share this beauty and enlightenment, this joy that I get from listening to them? Is it because I like rooting for success for the ones that deserve it? Or is it just the plain fact that 80% of mainstream music sucks a big fat dick. And lately, popular music has been choking on that dick and puking on your lap. Call me old fashioned again, but I’m not into getting puked on. However, when it comes to bringing enlightenment to the public and cleaning up the vomit on their lap, there are a few difficulties. For starters, some people liked to be puked on and aren’t down with a nice hearty, sensual blow job. You know, maybe a little deep-throating and a swallow and smile at the end. The beautiful art of fellatio.

OK, enough with the dick-in-mouth metaphors. Some people couldn’t conceive beauty if their name was Mary and God himself impregnated them. Sucks for them. Then there’s the simple problem of taste (I could make another dick reference but I won’t). Some stuff isn’t for everyone. Please see: marijuana, homosexuality, religion, democracy, etc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it’s hard to please everyone. Then there’s the simple fact that some bands don’t want to be discovered. Some bands, when there in the bigger room, might not know what to do and shit on themselves. The Strokes did it, ruining their cool pants with rancid new wave diarrhea. Nirvana started to, but then got to the toilet and Kurt flushed. I just wish bands got what the deserved. All this being said, go check out White Denim. They’re from Austin, one of the coolest music scenes of the moment. They play a mash-up of genres that’s difficult to describe. They’ve got a prog-funk-punk-soul thing going. Bottom line, they can play their instruments and have a lot of soul, two things often traded for “being cool”. Give them 5 listens, minimum. If you don’t “get it” in 5, try them one more time. I guarantee you’ll at least appreciate the musical genius even if they’re not for you.

Dear M.O.F., Thank you. Signed Daniel

No, it wasn’t the most exciting, shocking, or entertaining, but dammit, it was worth every single penny to see the most professional rock n roll concert I’ve ever attend. The venue, with its 150-year-old architecture and acoustics crisper than a fresh bag of Doritos, was the perfect showcase for 3 of music’s top song writers at the top of their game coming together like a giant indie rock Voltron called Monsters of Folk. For almost 3 hours these gentlemen, dressed in full suits, served up a 4 course meal of tasty tunes from their own separate catalogs and the M.O.F. album released earlier this year. The highlights consisted of sweet, buttery ballads marinated in each singer’s unique voice and lightly kissed with a zest au guitaire acoustic. Conor Oberst sounded silkier than ever, only returning to his wounded-and-angry boy hiss that we all fell in love with on his Bright Eyes renditions. M. Ward’s sexy Leonard Cohen minus a pack a day croon stole the show on his solo outings. But Jim James stole it right back with his long-lunged southern man-angel howls. The rest was the pure fun flare of three men who loved what they do and do what they love well. This was not a “show”, it was a “concert”. Thank you M.O.F. for putting on the best “concert” I’ve ever seen.