2010 Songs of the Year (Nos. 114 - 91)

Each day this week I will be posting my favorite songs of the year.  Not all of these songs were official "singles" off their respective albums, but were whatever song spoke to me most this year.  In order to contain the list to a respectable number I limited it to one artist and one song; although in one special case I let a second song in, but it was because I actually consider it a collaboration with another artist.  I have included, where appropriate, a list of see alsos for each artist.

114.  Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti were exasperating this year.  Their album was simultaneously enthralling and annoying.  It was the one album I couldn't ignore but didn't want to listen to.  Arghhhh.   Oh well, here's the best song off the album. (See also: "Bright Lit Blue Skies," "Butt-House Blondies")

113.  oOoOO - Mumbai

oOoOO were lumped into the whole witch house genre, non-genre. While there are stylistic elements that are similar in all the acts of that genre, neither one sounds remotely the same. oOoOO lean toward a more trip hop meets Dirty South sound. (See also "Hearts")

112.  Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt

Whimsical, orchestral, and just plain fun, Owen Pallett (formerly known as Final Fantasy) is a charmingly fey gay man who has a wonderful ear for melody.  This was one of the highlights of his album Heartland.  If you ever get a chance to see him live, I highly recommend him as he is wonderfully droll and actually creates each of his songs alone with a series of loop pedals. 

111.  Glasser - T

Glasser is like a beautiful cross between Kate Bush and Fever Ray.  Not mainstream enough to be pop but not strange enough to be avant garde.   Her debut album Rings is a fascinating listen and "T" is one of the standout tracks. (See also "Mirrorage")

110.  Digital Mystikz - Return II Space

The grime godfather has yet to put out a full album release, but if he keeps releasing singles like "Return II Space" which creates a sort of bridge between grime, dubstep, and house music, there really is no need.

109.  How To Dress Well - Ready For The World

How To Dress Well takes his love for R&B, drenches it in cavernous reverb, placing his vocals up front and center to where it becomes almost uncomfortable to listen, as if you are eavesdropping on a primal scream therapy session. (See also "Decisions" and "Suicide Dream 2")

108.  Toro Y Moi - Blessa

I got so tired of critics who have to place every type of music into some kind of category, no matter how tenuous the relationship.  Toro Y Moi always seem to be lumped into the godawful Chillwave genre.  I try to think in those limited terms.  Toro Y Moi is similar to many electronic artists these days who use live settings to take their music and bend it into different shapes on the fly, without being seen as mere DJs or knob-twiddlers.  While his debut album can be a little too whimsical and quirky it shows he has the chops to be a major artist in the future.

107.  Under Byen - Unoder

Danish post-punk band that really knows how to ratchet up the drama in their music.  "Unoder" is the gorgeous centerpiece to their latest album and is astonishing in its tremendous power to unnerve.

106.  Actress - Lost

Unclassifiable electronic artist dabbles in almost every type of electronic music possible and somehow is able to avoid being pegged one thing over another.  His debut album can be a little infuriating in that regard as it never settles into any groove over its 60+ minutes.  "Lost" is the perfect entry point as it is the most beat specific track.  But when all is said and done, good music is simply good music.

105.  Zola Jesus - Sea Talk

Zola Jesus almost falls over the line from breathtaking to campy but always seems to righten the sails before disaster ensues.  "Sea Talk" is simply a near perfect, over the top torch song, that must pack a huge wallop live. (See also "I Can't Stand" and "Night")

104.  Lindstrom & Christabelle - Lovesick

Sounding like a Swedish Georgio Moroder and Donna Summer.  Slick, and sort of nasty, motorik synth pop.

103.  PvT - Window

Removing all the vowels from their name and removing all the extraneous music that used to inhabit their music, Australia's PvT finally came into their own.  "Window" shows them able to make complicated, yet instantly catchy proto-electronic music.

102.  Mumdance featuring Esser - Don't Forget Me Now

Carrying a simple, yet insistent Brazilian baile funk-esque beat, "Don't Forget Me Now" will burrow itself into your brain and will hold it hostage.

101.  Autre Ne Veut - Drama Cum Drama

Instead of taking the insular route of How To Dress Well, Autre Ne Veut step out front with their bold melodies making their own dent on this year's bedsit R&B trend.

100.  Diamond Rings - On Our Own

This was the one track on Diamond Rings' debut that I couldn't get out of my head.  Honestly, it is not even the best track on the album, but it is the one I find myself going to more often than not. (See also "Play By Heart" and "You Oughta Know")

99.  Grimes - Weregild

Grimes' debut full length Halfaxa is just odd; no other word can quite describe it.  Half Bjork and half Stevie Nicks is about the most approximate guesstimation of it.  "Weregild" is a swirling mass of tribal techno drums and inhuman crooning.  I love it.

98.  The Chemical Brothers - Another World

I never give up on a band.  Chemical Brothers were close though.  Almost descending into parody, they have righted themselves and released their best album in years.  "Another World" gently undulates and progresses into a climax that takes the wobbly bass of dubstep into a different stratosphere.

97.  Liars - Scissor

"Scissor" is the Liars in a nutshell.  You are lulled in with an expectation then taken in hand to places you've never dreamed of going.  They are the friend who you can only handle small doses of, but that you cannot imagine your life without.

96.  Four Tet - Angel Echoes

Four Tet finally broke for me this year.  I had appreciated his music, but did not love it.  There was a distance, a hand telling you not to cross the street.  "Angel Echoes," sounds like the walls have come down and everyone is now invited to witness beauty. (See also "Plastic People")

95.  Avey Tare - Heather In The Hospital

Avey Tare's "Heather In The Hospital" is a gut-wrenchingly impressionistic view of his sister's time in the hospital being treated for cancer.  He perfectly captures the feelings and emotions of watching a loved one go through needless suffering.

94.  Prefab Sprout - God Watch Over You

Prefab Sprout's Paddy McAloon is one of the best songwriters of the last 30 years that almost no one, aside from his most rabid fans, knows of.  Although he still writes songs, apparently he is now suffering from a series of debilitating health issues which keeps him from being a recording artist.  "God Watch Over You," is one of the brilliant demos that has been released as Let's Change The World With Music.  Even in a demo state, the pure brilliance of his songwriting and ear for melody shines through.

93.  Teebs - Arthur's Birds

There are no real "singles" on Teebs' debut cd, the album really works as a whole than separate parts, but there is something gorgeous and haunting about this piece.

92.  Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss

Most people roll their eyes when you describe something as stoner rock.  It just screams of sludgey riffs and hazy melodies.  While Tame Impala has those attributes in their music, they put them through enough pop sheen to transport themselves to another level entirely.  The bludgeoning "Solitude Is Bliss," perfectly encapsulates their sound.

91.  No Age - Fever Dreaming

No Age has never really been on my radar before.  They were noisy and brash but with little sense of melody or versatility.  Imagine my surprise when I listened to first single "Fever Dreaming" and it was if they subliminally heard my cries and made the song I never knew I wanted them to make.  They are still noisy and brash, but it is tempered with a brilliant sense of how each piece is meant to work with each other.  For the first time they are using the noise as the accent and not the meat of the song.