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):

Daft Punk – TRON Soundtrack

The not-yet-released new Daft Punk album is currently streaming through my headphones. I began listening on my internal laptop speakers, but that’s no way to treat this band; especially when we’re dealing with their first studio offering in over five years.

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)

Subway Mix 1

I’ve decided to introduce a new feature to this blog. As I have to take the subway every day to get to school, I spend a lot of time listening to music in transit. And while I haven’t been doing this enough, I really need to start making subway mixes. My transit from door to door comes to about 30 +/- 3 minutes on average, so I’m going to be rolling out a few mixes that are approximately 35 minutes, just in case there are any delays in transit.

I tried to include some old stuff, some new stuff, and some stuff you may not know yet. Enjoy!

Note: Songs are available for STREAM ONLY. If you like the song, buy the album.

The Morning Benders – Promises