A Challenging Assignment

I was recently tasked with a fun little assignment by my cousins. There was wine involved so maybe no one took it that seriously but I sure as hell did. You can't ask a music nerd their top 10 albums of the past decade AND the top albums of the past year and expect them to blow it off. It immediately went on my list of things to do, I made a mental list of friends I would need to consult and most importantly, time to think it over. It took me over a week and now that it has been sent to all parties involved, I will share it.

I will state a caveat: these are MY top albums. I picked each one because of the value I have placed on them - in my memories and in sheer volume of listening hours. Also, I didn't want to narrow it to a specific number nor did I want to rank them - my rules.

So while I ponder how to spend the +$200 that Lala is giving me to spend in iTunes (because of the amount of money I spent on web albums) - enjoy!

Top Albums of the past 10 years

Ryan Adams - Love Is Hell

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night & Because Of The Times

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (came out in 2009)

Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head

The Strokes - Room On Fire

The Veils - Sun Gangs

White Stripes - Get Behind My Satan

Kanye West - The College Dropout

Dave Matthews Band - Crash

Florence & The Machine - Lungs (came out in 2009)

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

Lady Gaga - The Fame

Romeo & Juliet Soundtrack - Baz Luhrman directed

Jay-Z - The Black Album

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos (Live Album)

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The National - Boxer

Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane (I was an early adopter of them)

Counting Crows - This Desert Life (barely made it in there but it has memories tied to it)

Last Year Loved Albums

Florence & The Machine (see above)

Phoenix (see above)

Passion Pit - Manners

Beach House - Teen Dream

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For the Young

Miike Snow - Miike Snow

The Antlers - Hospice

The XX - XX

Avett Brothers - I And Love And You

Alberta Cross - Broken Side Of Time (the album from 2008 is great too)

The Black Keys - Brothers

A last minute addition would be Surfer Blood - Astro Coast. What validated this was my membership with the UK's Rough Trade album of the month and it just arrived. Last month was Free Energy - Stuck On Nothing, very solid as well.

New Music in 2010 (thus far)!!!

In a flurry of album releases, these are some of my favorite songs after listening to each album a few times. The good news about albums that get released early in the year - they will spend the rest of the year touring to support the album so there is a good chance you will get to see the bands you have recently discovered and will see how good they are live.

I can vouch for how good Local Natives are live and they are making the festival rounds for maximum exposure - everything from Isle of Wight to Coachella and Bonnaroo. Their voices are impeccable live, it is refreshing. I have heard great things about Phantogram's live show and have tickets to see them in May; they have sold out all of their shows to date in NYC. Beach House is selling out their own shows and supporting The National; their music is perfect for an outdoor venue at the witching hour. The Morning Benders are also selling out in NYC and have landed a pretty great opening slot for The Black Keys in Central Park. Finally, the Drive By Truckers are always a good show and if you get close enough to the stage, Mr. Patterson Hood just might give you a swig of the Jack Daniels bottle that is on their stage every night (which was my luck at a private party on Obama's inauguration night in D.C.)

Enjoy!

April and May are going to be big months too - LCD Soundsystem, The National, Caribou, Liars (check out their web site for a trippy video to accommodate their single Scissor - http://www.liarsliarsliars.com)

LCD Soundsystem is Coming!

I admit, I am a new devotee to LCD Soundsystem though I am glad I am getting into them right before their next album comes out and hopefully(!) make it to see them at the Coachella festival - both in April. I had known about LCD Soundsystem, most notably their song "Daft Punk is Coming to My House" (it was stuck in my head for days! days! a few months ago), though I have to admit I did not know much. For example, I did not know that the producer that IS LCD Soundsystem is James Murphy, who is also the co-founder of DFA Records and at one time was hired as a writer for Seinfeld, though he quite to pursue music because he didn't think the show would be successful (reruns must make him cringe to this day).

Here is a clip from the LCD Soundsytem web site about the upcoming album. I can't exactly tell you why I like it so much, the funny part at the end maybe? I can tell you it started an entire week of only listening to LCD Soundsystem, watching videos and live shows on You Tube and it added another point for team Coachella on what music festivals to attend this year - don't worry Jazzfest, I don't think I can miss another year of your dirty bourbon and hot sauce with music goodness.

Enjoy.

clip 1 from lcd soundsystem on Vimeo.