i narrowed it down to 20.

from there i had a really hard time. so rather than obsess over this for days i’m just going to order my top 10 based off of last.fm plays. i realize this is kind of unfair to albums that came out later in the year vs those that came out earlier. after looking over my top albums chart (and removing those that didn’t come out this year) it actually lines up pretty well to what i feel is how i would’ve ordered them if i could have actually narrowed it down to just 10 on my own.

i’m going to go ahead and write a little blurb too about each album, just cause i can and why the fuck not (plus i’m phoning it in by using last.fm so i might as well do some thinking about these albums). also, the number in parenthesis is the number of listens that album had on last.fm. i’m pretty sure album listens actually = songs played from an album, but that’s good enough for me.

previous year’s top 10s are here

with that said, here’s my list:

1. lo-pan – salvador (319)

yeah yeah. i’m friends with the band/fanboi/etc etc etc but really this album totally rocks. i haven’t been able to get enough of this from the first time i’ve heard it, and it’s still in fairly heavy rotation to this day. also, i love the subtle pun of the album cover and title.

2. *shels – plains of the purple buffalo (305)

i’ve been a fan of these guys since they were called mahumodo. granted *shels isn’t all the same players but it’s got the singer and drummer. this shit is “atmospheric” metal at it’s best. the quiet moments are some of the best on this release.

3. mastodon – the hunter (283)

this album absolutely slays from beginning to end. the drumming is completely out of control. creature lives might be the best thing mastodon has ever written. it’s like if mastodon did post rock, that’s what it would sound like. i guess, maybe they did post rock with that song. whatever it fucking rules. it came on sirius one day while i was driving a rented ford escape around peachtree city, ga this past fall and it completely made my day!

4. junius – reports from the threshold of death (275)

this is a band i wish i had heard about earlier, but i’m glad i did find them. this album is pretty awesome. it reminds me of a cross between spacey deftones and type o negative (weird i know). this album has a very overt death theme (if the title didn’t give that away already) and was kind of stylisticly the polar opposite of another death themed album i listened to constantly this year (the black sleep of kali’s our slow decay — which came out last year but i didn’t get my hands on until this year, sadly)

5. mogwai – hardcore will never die, but you will (258)

two words: RANOOOOOOOOOOO PANNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO

6. jesu – ascension (234)

i’ve been a big jesu fan since i first heard the silver ep. this one is a return to form for them (well him really). when i first read that he was going to split out the more “electronic” parts in to another group (pale sketcher) i was disappointed, but after hearing this album i think it might have been the right thing to do. the music has more force and drive on this one than on the past couple jesu releases.

7. red fang – murder the mountains (210)

red fang is a band i like. this one is a real rocker from start to finish. great live band as well.

8. jim guthrie – sword & sworcery lp – the ballad of the space babies (166)

i debated whether or not to include this album on the list, but i did really enjoy it so i’m going to leave it here. this is a strange album from one of the strangest mobile games i’ve ever played (is an ipad game mobile? i think so). the music had a lot to do with the game itself, i think. after playing the game my interest was piqued regarding the music, so i went and got the album. i’m glad i did.

9. will haven – voir dire (164)

my first listen to this album i was kind of disappointed. the second listen i thought “oh i’m starting to get it.” by the 3rd listen i was completely in love. not as dynamic as some of their earlier works, but i think it’s a very good summation of their output up to this point. i just hope they don’t go on “hiatus” again.

10. the roots – undun (161)

of anything on my top 10 list this year, this album is probably the one that is most hurt by the late release. if it had come out in the spring or summer it probably would be closer to number 1 on the list. considering it was only added to my library at the beginning of this month and it climbed all the way to number 10 (out of 471 total albums listened to this year), i think that says a lot. this might be the best roots album since the tipping point.

honorable mentions (in alphabetic order):

akron/family – s/t II: the cosmic birth and journey of shinju
backwoods payback – momantha
battles – gloss drop
beats antique – elektrafone
big black delta – bbdlp1
the black keys – el camino
borracho – splitting sky
cake – showroom of compassion
childish gambino – camp
dredg – chuckles & mr squeezy
east of the wall – the apologist
explosions in the sky – take care, take care, take care
giant squid – cenotes
graveyard – hisingen blues
hail mary mallon – are you gonna eat that?
herder – herder
idaho – you were a dick
radiohead – the king of limbs
russian circles – empros
tombs – path of totality
washed out – within & without
windmills by the ocean – II
yob – atma
yuck – yuck

i think 2010 was a great year for music. lots of great releases, and i finally gave massive attack a chance and ended up loving their newest one.  there were also quite a few releases from bands i used to love that more or less sucked (korn and sevendust come to mind right away).

as always, previous years’ top 10 lists can be found here

1. menomena – mines

2.  torche – songs for singles

3. deftones – diamond eyes

4. the dillinger escape plan – option paralysis

5. far – at night we live

6. the roots – how i got over

7. massive attack – heligoland

8. east of the wall – ressentiment

9. knut – wonder

10. wovenhand – the threshingfloor

honorable mentions (in alphabetical order)

with that said, here’s my list for 2009. (previous year’s top 10s here)

1. snail – blood

2. baroness- blue record

3. every time i die – new junk aesthetic

4. kowloon walled city – gambling on the richter scale

5. doomriders – darkness comes alive

6. poison the well – the tropic rot

7. them crooked vultures – them crooked vultures

8. mastodon – crack the skye

9. moby – wait for me

10. lo pan – sasquanaut

and then the honorable mentions (in alphabetical order):

cave in – planets of old
converge – axe to fall
danger mouse & sparklehorse – dark night of the soul
devil to pay – heavily ever after
del the funky homosapien – funk man (the stimulus package)
dredg – the pariah, the parrot, the delusion
if these trees could talk – above the earth, below the sky
isis – wavering radiant
jesu – infinity
julian casablancas – phrazes for the young
keelhaul – keelhaul’s triumphant return to obscurity
mellowdrone – angry bear
porcupine tree – the incident
russian circles – geneva
vitalic – flashmob
zombi – spirit animal

not so much metal as 2007, but 2008 was definitely another banner year for rock for me

1. torche – meanderthal

2. all the way rider – the eagles revenge

3. black sheep wall – i am god songs

4. the death of her money – spirit of the stairwell

5. a silver mount zion – 13 blues for thirteen moons

6. russian circles – station

7. kowloon walled city – turk street

8. gregor samsa – rest

9. man man – rabbit habits

10. yak ballz – scifentology 2

and the notabale runner ups (in alphabetical order):

the black keys – attack and release
don caballero – punkgasm
intronaut – prehistoricisms
local h – twelve angry months
meshuggah – obzen
mogwai – the hawk is howling
mouth of the architect – quietly
one day as a lion – one day as a lion
spylacopa – spylacopa
zozobra – bird of prey

from somewhere:

Nine Inch Nails has self-released a new instrumental album, Ghosts I-IV. Consisting of 36 instrumental tracks described as “music for daydreams” and released under Creative Commons, it is available in a wide range of formats: MP3, double CD, a package with: the 2xCD, multitracks on DVD, and a deluxe book, and finally the super-deluxe limited edition which includes all that as well as a copy of the album on vinyl.

The free MP3 download includes the first volume – nine tracks (each with unique artwork), wallpapers, and a PDF of the 40 page book. Available directly off nin.com, you also have the option to torrent it via official NIN profiles on Waffles, what.cd and The Pirate Bay. Absent from this release was any kind of leak of audio or information. Record labels and artists should take notes: This is how you do music distribution.

notice the bolded, underlined, italicized line above. this is what sets this release apart from any other of the recent digital distributions done (saul williams and radiohead for example). giving out the free version via “illegal” downloading sites is a new idea for a major artist. trent reznor has been quoted as having been a member of oink and some other music download sites.

the fact that he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is is pretty amazing. i’m happy to see an artist use this method of distribution. for those of you that don’t know, there are of course purchasable versions as well (which do have more tracks, 36 in total as opposed to the 9 avail for free).

a rundown of what’s available:

FREE DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I – The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as
high-quality DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various
wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

$5 DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I-IV – All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320
kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40
page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons,
and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

This version is also available from the Amazon MP3 store.

$10 2XCD SET
Ghosts I-IV – 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page
booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the
entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download
will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack – various wallpapers,
cons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
This configuration will be released to retail in North America (April 8), Australia (April 5), the UK (April 8), Japan (April 5) and most European territories (April 8).

$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV – Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36
tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and
Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with
exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire
collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes
48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan.
Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.

$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV – Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with
exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints
available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are
all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric
slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in
all formats and with all extras mentioned above. LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES,
NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.

what is so great about this is the fact that he’s providing a number of different options to consumers, which should help to maximize his own profits while allowing the fans to choose something that fits their budget. $5 for a full album download (including album art in each file) is more than reasonable in my opinion. $10 for a 2x cd isn’t bad either (and is the option i chose). beyond that, he’s released all the media under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. this license gives the user complete control over the songs. they can “copy, distribute, display, and perform the work” as well as “make derivative works” (ie remixes) as long as they list the source (NIN, trent reznor) and they aren’t charging anything for it.

to me this is how music should be distributed and used. i hope that this idea catches on for more than just those artists, like NIN, that already have a solid fanbase to work from. i don’t see any reason it can’t

1.
every time i die – the big dirty

2.
poison the well – versions

3.
dillinger escape plan – ire works

4.
will haven – the hierophant

5.
el-p – i’ll sleep when you’re dead

6.
porcupine tree – fear of a black planet

7.
jesu – conqueror

8.
pelican – city of echoes

9.
ken andrews – secrets of the lost satellites

10.
radiohead – in rainbows

honorable mentions:
tomahawk – anonymous
high on fire – death is this communion
wu-tang clan – 8 diagrams
akron/family – love is simple
the ocean – precambrian
silverchair – young modern
battles – mirrored
neurosis – given to the rising

yeah i know, a lot of metal.

i see it as being a really ballsy, yet smart, move on her part. she’s out from under the traditional thinking by record labels that you cannot give away the music for free and make money. it has her tying all of her revenue to one company (as opposed to the old model where the promoter takes a cut, the label takes a cut, and the artist takes a cut). she can probably distribute the music for free or relatively free online then recoup her recording costs in merchandising and ticket sales. no longer will there be a tug of war between the promoter and her label (as they’ve become one in the same).

i think this model probably has a better chance of surviving and/or bringing more artists to the limelight than the DIY model that some bands are taking now. i’d be interested to see how this kind of idea will work out with some lesser known names. if live nation can use madonna money to develop and promote some smaller or lesser known bands, i think it could really hellp to turn the music industry tide from a stream of sound-a-like brainless pop music to something where interesting, innovative, or otherwise more “niche” type sounds can make it a bit more mainstream.

we’ll see though. maybe i’m being overly optimistic here.

i’ve been unable to stop listening to the following bands for the past year: last.fm

what am i getting at here? well, i need more music. i love music. it is one thing that i have a great passion for in my life (and i’m a fairly passionless person, honestly). so, if you ever read this, recommend something to me. send me a band name, record label, genre, whatever so that i can find something else to listen to.

on the subject of music, yearly top 10 lists are fucking gay. whoever can quantify music so minutely that they can pick out 10 albums and rank them in order of how much they liked them seems to be missing out on something. now don’t get me wrong, you will definately have variance of “goodness” to anything you hear, and you can probably rank them from “this fucking sucks” to “omg i just blew a load b/c this rules” but really, 10 in order? please. just listen and enjoy.

ps. don’t be a snob about it either.