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

but, before all of that happens, i wanted to do something stupid.  one last salvo at age before i guess it really sets its hooks in me and i have to “grow up” (or something)

so what did i do, you might ask?

i went out and got this:

yes it is ohio.  yes it is my first tattoo.  no it is not on my calf (hard to tell from the picture i know).  it is on my right forearm, just below the elbow.  probably 4ish inches across.

i dig it.  it was done by dino at fate tattoo here in cbus.  if you want a tat, go see this guy.  he’s got some amazing art work and is very easy to talk to.  he’s also completely self taught (and has that hardcore neck tattoo).

anyways, happy birthday to me!

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)

My initial impressions are as such:

1. The screen rules.
2. The screen gets incredibly smudged up. I mean like nasty greasy. This is not something I’ve really noticed on my iPhone (as much).
3. It is not a replacement for a laptop or net book.
4. It browses the web like a dream. I don’t even miss flash on this thing.
5. Don’t expect to type with your fingers on the home row.
6. Once your thighs get a little sweaty the iPad sticks to them pretty well. This makes typing while sitting up in bed in your boxers easier (something I just learned).
7. Techie/IT people will think you are stupid for buying one. “normal” people will be jealous. Of course Mac fanatics will already have their own.
8. It won’t live up to the hype.
9. If you don’t like the iPhone you won’t like the iPad (duh).
10. The scrabble app is totally worth the $10 if you have friends with iPhones (review here so you don’t have to take my word for it)
11. Onscreen arrow keys would be good for navigating text boxes (like the one I’m typing in now). I can’t go back to the top of my text because the scrolling doesn’t work in “frames”. I have also had this problem on other sites. Maybe there will be a fix for it?
12. Screenlock is a good feature and wasn’t mentioned enough in prerelease reviews that I read.
13. The iWork apps should’ve come on the thing for free.
14. This keyboard is kind of annoying to type on. Hunt and peckers should be right at home though.

I got the iPad because I’d been considering getting a net book for awhile now. Mostly to browse the Internet and whatnot. The iPad has exactly the functionality I want in a quick to boot, easy to use, no fluff package. All in all I’m happy with my purchase (on day 3, at least).

i realize a lot of people have problems.

i also realize a lot of their problems become my problems.

this is a problem.

the past few weeks have been one shitfest after another.  let me expound a little story for you (using a specific example that really happened just today)

a ticket comes in to the help desk from person X a couple of weeks ago, it says something like “hey i need these forum lectures recorded.  they are from 9am – 430pm on these two days”

i respond “no problem. we will get it setup and record the forums”

845am:  i go to the room and help the presenter get their laptop hooked up to the projectors, sound, etc.  show them how to use the mic.  everything is copacetic.  i even talk to person X and tell them we are all set for recording the lecture.

noon: email comes in from person X.  ”hey just wanted to check if you recorded the lecture so far.  we’re on lunch break so if you didn’t could you record the rest of the lecture please?”  snarky reply in my head: “OH NO WAS I SUPPOSED TO RECORD THAT THIS MORNING WHEN I TOLD YOU I WAS ALL SET TO RECORD?  SHIT”

the best part about it is, the recording software is utter shit, so i can’t schedule it to record certain times, stop/start, or anything useful.  best i can do is start it when it needs to start and tell it to go for a certain amount of time.  so not only am i recording their stupid shit this morning, i’m also recording an empty room for an hour while everyone is at lunch.  person X will not find this out until they watch the video i give them on dvd later (if they even do.  i have doubts that anything i record ever gets watched again)

5pm:  i bump into person X in the hall outside the classroom i’ve been recording all day.  they say “so i’ll just call you tomorrow morning at 9?”  i am this || close to choking them out.  this is now the 3rd fucking time you are confirming this with me.  i am not an idiot.  i am not 7 years old.  i am a professional IT person.  please please PLEASE call me tomorrow morning to remind me.

my boss hears this exchange.  on my way out the door i ask him to call me in the morning to remind to me come in to work, as i might forget.

i’ve been keeping pretty busy with work and life (more life than work lately, but i prefer it that way. even if the life shit isn’t all that great).

i haven’t been able to get out with my new nikon d5000 as much as i’d like, which is disappointing. i’m working on that though. i have been taking a beginners class from cord camera which is teaching me some stuff about my camera that i didn’t figure out on my own. hell, i even read the manual for the goddamn thing (and so far 2 photography books as well). i’m looking forward to the warm weather so hopefully i can get out and take some pictures. i’m not too comfortable taking it out into the snow and slush just yet.

here’s the new dillinger escape plan song/video. shit is \m/ as fuck

(yes i preordered their album and yes i opted for the $80 box set b/c i am a huge nerd)

while i’m on music, east of the wall (which used to be called the postman syndrome) is putting out what would have been the 2nd postman album. the only catch is that they need 100 people to preorder it so they can do a proper release, otherwise it’ll just be an itunes only type thing. so if you like good bands that are doing it diy then go over there to their site and preorder the shit. i promise you won’t be disappointed, especially if you like some weird-kind-of-mathy-metal music.

so that’s it for now i guess.