My Favorite 25 Albums of 2010: 25 – 11

The album, unlike the single, is a complete offering. It’s not just verse, chorus, verse, chorus, interlude, chorus, outro. It’s not one lone musical idea. It’s an entire pallet of ideas. It’s an opera, a play, a novel. The album can be one of the greatest pieces of art, and when properly done, it’s magical.

And so, here are my favorite albums of 2010 (part 1):

New(ish) Music – Pixies, Crystal Castles, and Daft Punk

Music news? On this blog? And it’s not about Pearl Jam? I know, it’s kind of weird, but a few things caught my eye in the past few days, and I couldn’t help but post about them:

• Firstly, Daft Punk has a new song out. I don’t know all the details, but I think it has something to do with the new Tron movie coming out. You can read more about that at Stereogum, or download the track below.
• Secondly, Crystal Castles teamed up with Robert Smith of The Cure to cover Platinum Blond’s Not In Love. The track is pretty good. I think Crystal Castles should consider adding Mr. Smith as a permanent band member; it makes their music much easier on the ears.
• Finally, the Pixies just decided to offer a recording of their 2004 Coachella performance for free on their website. If you don’t like the Pixies, then listen to the track below and you’ll be converted. If you still don’t like them, then just rip your ears off; you’re not using them properly anyway.

Daft Punk – Derezzed

Crystal Castles – Not In Love (w/Robert Smith)

Pixies – Monkey Gone To Heaven (live)

The Best 10 16 Albums of The 1st Half of 2010

We’ve just about reached the halfway point of the year, and with it comes the time for us to take a gander back at all the amazing new albums released this year. We had some great debut albums and  myriad later releases, in a year that has so far released few of the albums I was excited about (Radiohead, The Strokes, Arcade Fire) but still has managed to keep me highly entertained.

So here it is: my list of the best, the most interesting, the quirkiest, and the stuff I just love to listen to; all combined into a no-order-necessary and no-nonsense list. Check out the tracks, buy the albums, and as always – enjoy the music.

Subway Mix: Volume 3

Two finals down, one more to go. All this traveling and studying has seen me with a ton of playlists, especially the Subway version. So here goes Volume 3.

Some old, some new, some awesome, and some you’re probably going to hate. Just make sure to give each song a listen.

Enjoy!

Band Of Horses – Compliments Removed as per the request of the band and the Web Sheriff. See comment below for more details.

Gil Scot-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised