The 10 Best Albums of 2010

Here it is. The 10 albums of 2010 you need to go out and buy right now.




1. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang


Singer/Songwriter Brian Fallon was once quoted as saying "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, we're just trying to carry on the torch of good music". In an age of rock that carries such a relentless onslaught of pretentious indie bands trying to sound more important and original than the last, The Gaslight Anthem provide a refreshing slice of classic sounding rock 'n roll that has come full circle from the heyday of Elvis, with the urgency of London Calling era Clash. This is music that recalls a time when radio was cool. Unapologetically representing the abandoned factories and broken homes of the northern Jersey shore, (complete with Fallon's own caricature tattoo of a Telecaster wielding Springsteen across his arm), the band has created their most mature and accomplished effort to date. While their previous album The '59 Sound was complete with pained lyrics of small town nostalgia, old time rock 'n roll imagery and songwriting chops sounding eons beyond their years, the record was often criticized for leaning a bit too heavily on their influences. This point perhaps was only further fueled by the many blatant lyrical homages scattered generously throughout the album. American Slang is a document of the band coming into their own sound, and sounding much more confident and comfortable in their own skin. While The '59 Sound may have served as a tribute to their own heroes, American Slang proves as a career benchmark which will undoubtedly earn them their own following of wide eyed youth with their hearts on their sleeve and guitars in hand. The most earnest, passionate and purest rock 'n roll honesty put to wax in seemingly a thousand years, this record will make you want to spend the afternoon working under the hood of a truck with your old man, get drunk with your best friend, and then make that regretted midnight phone call to that girl from high school that got away.



2. The Stanfields - Vanguard of The Young and Reckless


Let's say I was to round up a group of old friends from my home neighbourhood. Now let's say we were all to stay up all night with a 40 of Irish whiskey and about 6 flats of Alexander Keith's and write an album in the process. That album might sound something like this. It might be easy to pre-judge this record as a full-out, Celtic rock affair. The songs here actually run the gamut from punk rock to honky tonk, to Eastern European folk, courtesy of the Greek bouzouki. Singer/Songwriter Jon Landry growls like a local barroom raconteur, spitting tales of drunks and punks alike, and delivers like a perfect cross between Shane MacGowan and Steve Earle.



3. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor


It's OK for bearded, bespectacled indie kids to play catchy melodies sometimes too. While entrenched in lo-fi sonics, beneath the surface of this Civil War themed conceptual opus lies some of the most straight up, catchy rock riffs this side of the Mason-Dixon line.



4. Ray Lamontagne and The Pariah Dogs - God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise


Singer/Songwriter Lamontagne's plaintive and soulful voice is well accompanied by new backing band, The Pariah Dogs. The result is melancholic, yearning vocals against the backdrop of warm, rustic soundscapes. A tone reminiscent of Van Morrison, and a delivery that evokes Joe Cocker, Lamontagne's musical focus has never before sounded so complete with the rural, backwater sounds of banjo and pedal steel.







5. Crazy Heart: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

After watching Crazy Heart, I wished that Jeff Bridges really was the whiskey-soaked, time-weathered train wreck of a country singer he played in the movie. The next best thing is this soundtrack for the film.  These are some of the best country songs that most country music fans will never hear.



6. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs


Yeah I know, this almost seems obligatory to include on a "Best of 2010" list. The truth is though, this album really is fantastic. It took several listens for me to really appreciate the first 2 albums, however, The Suburbs immediately comes alive with brilliant sonic expurgation. With this loosely conceptual exposition based on suburban living, the band delves more deeply into their new wave and synth-pop affections, and the results are monumental. "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) is best song The Human League never recorded.



7. The New Pornographers - Together


Songwriter A.C. Newman has 2 major things going for him. One is his ability to write the most insanely catchy melodies that can out-hook anything currently on pop radio. The other is having gotten in Neko Case's such good graces for her to be willing enough to sing them. Newman's effortless pop-craftsmanship, paired with Case's majestic voice, along with rocking guitars, and delicious synth hooks create the recipe for this piece of pure power-pop heaven.



8. The Bouncing Souls - Ghosts On The Boardwalk


It's really too bad that the pop-punk scene has garnered such an ill reputation in the past decade. Long before the Hot Topic punks invaded our malls and MySpace, bands like The Buzzcocks and The Descendents helped perfect the art of infusing pop hooks with punk rock intensity. The Bouncing Souls have also been creating super catchy, hook-laden punk rock for the past 15 years or so. Ghosts on The Boardwalk finds the band at their most mature, with a stronger emphasis on quality songcraft and textured sounds. Although not as bombastic as their anthemic masterpiece, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, this album does feature the band at their most ambitious, with a generous helping of classic sounds, complete with sentimental lyrics and shout along choruses.



9. Jakob Dylan - Women and Country


OK, I admit. I may have an unhealthy infatuation with Neko Case. She could sing names out of the phone book to the tune of 60's sitcom theme songs, and I would line up to buy the album in every format. Having said that, it was the fact that she was brought on board for this record to compliment Dylan's songs with her beautifully ethereal backing vocals, that caught my attention. It also doesn't hurt that this is Dylan's best songwriting since Bringing Down The Horse.



10. Stone Temple Pilots - S/T


I'm going to draw a parallel between the new STP album, and the last Metallica record. Both this album as well as Metallica's Death Magnetic from 2008 mark a triumphant return to their respective band's classic sound with glorious results. The problem is that both were just a little too late for anyone to take notice. Everything about STP's sound that made Purple arguably one of the greatest albums of the 90's, is present here on this record. After almost a decade and a half of consistently erratic and lackluster performances, this was the biggest surprise of the year. If you don't believe me, just listen to the 3 albums after Purple (and both Velvet Revolver albums, for that matter) and listen to this one again. It all comes together with STP's trademark sonic qualities. Zeppelin-like chord structures and Beatles-esque melodies, with sleazy, arena-ready rock riffs that would make both T-Rex and Kiss jealous.

5 Greatest Christmas Songs

Here's a quick list of what I think are the 5 best Christmas songs. Although not done by design, I'm now noticing these aren't exactly the cheeriest of holiday tunes. I really have no explanation for this. I will though, make a point to give honourable mention to Stevie Nicks' version of "Silent Night".


1. Fairytale of New York - The Pogues

Nothing says Christmas like a night in the drunk tank. It also just so happens that my all time favourite Christmas song contains the following words: Slut, Faggot and Junk (as in heroin). Perfect.


2. River - Joni Mitchell

One of the most beautiful songs ever written, in my opinion. I actually highly recommend this entire album, but this song in particular goes nicely with some good old holiday blues accompanied with alcohol of choice.


3. Father Christmas - The Kinks

Catchy little tune that is more or less a commentary on the commercialism of Christmas. A very much overlooked gem.


4. Oi To The World - The Vandals

What's Christmas without some good old punk rock? A somewhat respectable version was also done by No Doubt a few years ago. Probably not one of your Grandmother's favourite Christmas songs.


5. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley

When I was in grade primary, for some reason I brought this LP into my class for show and tell. I have no idea why. I don't even think it was Christmas time. Either way, this is easily the best version of one of the most depressing, but greatest Christmas songs ever.

Come Around Sundown: Three Cheers For Mediocrity

Ground Zero

Hello. My name is Mark. Thanks to the ever expanding horizons of communication technology, this is my blog, and thus new my avenue to share my thoughts on some things. As it so happens, most things I have thoughts on usually have to do with music. Well, there's other things too, but for whatever reason music seems to be the one thing on which I can at times formulate thoughts into somewhat of an organized fashion, and who knows? it might actually result in something worth reading. Yeah, so I'm a geek.  I do take music pretty seriously. However, don't get the idea that I'm a pretentious music snob. (OK, so maybe I can be at times). Although, I do have my share of guilty pleasures. I usually appreciate music that is based on honest songwriting, originality, and/or genuine authenticity. Sometimes though, I like music that's just plain catchy. However, at the same time it really should have some kind of substance. I also think music is extremely important. Music helps us create our world. Our own world that is, outside of our everyday menial realities. Perhaps trivial to some, but it's something that is tangible and real that can help us interpret the world around us from a myriad of perspectives. It also helps us find who we are. Songs, (and albums for that matter), can serve as snapshots or photo albums if you will, of moments, periods, or entire eras of our own lifetime. In many cases, they can be actual life-changing catalysts that help us transition into new phases of our lives.

     Although I was not brought up in an overtly musical environment, it was something I latched onto pretty enthusiastically at an early age. One of my earliest childhood memories is discovering Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison  on 8-Track in my parents' rather modest tape collection. I was pretty sure it was country music, just because that's all my parents listened to, but this guy was singing from prison. How bad ass is that? Of course, I later realized that he never actually served time, and that the album was of a performance for prisoners. However at the time this seemed pretty hardcore, although I never did actually listen to the tape.  I then shortly thereafter first heard Johnny Cash when I found another 8-Track tape with the song "Ring of Fire" on it. This became my first favourite song at about 5 years old. So the soundtrack of my early childhood mostly consisted of various types of country music. The honky tonk stylings of George Jones and Loretta Lynn through my mother, and the outlaw sounds of Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson by way of my father. It was from the exposure to this music that helped me appreciate the simple, honest and soulful ethic of this type of songwriting. When I was 11 years old, a relative had introduced me to the Copperhead Road album by Steve Earle. I was instantly taken with this entire record. It was essentially country, but at the same time it had such a gritty, rough-around-the-edges rock feel throughout.  I felt like this was country music that was my own, and not my parents. Fuck you Randy Travis. So, It was very shortly after this that it so happened that he was coming to town to play the Halifax Metro Centre. I managed to get my cousin to take me to the show, and this became my very first concert. He then returned the very following year on The Hard Way tour, which then became my second concert.
      Also, being a child of the 80's I became aware of lots of pop music of the era, which would eventually lend to my admiration of a solid pop hook. I mean, "Jessie's Girl" is just a damn catchy song. I don't mind admitting that. In the years of my pre-adolescence, my cousins would introduce me to Guns 'n Roses, Kiss, and Metallica. After having been pummeled with the onslaught of Conway Twitty and Charley Pride for so many years, this would prove to be a apt venue for my rebellion. The late 80's and into the early 90's my listening rotation consisted of a heavy diet of Metallica, G'NR, AC/DC and Aerosmith. This routine was suddenly shattered in September of 1991 when I saw the premiere of the video for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Being 13 at the time, I was privileged enough to witness the complete change of cultural landscape at that time, which all began with this one song. From there came Pearl Jam's Ten, Alice In Chains' Dirt, and so on. So the first half of the nineties for me rotated around this new "alternative" revolution, as well as a deeper admiration for metal in the vein of Slayer and Pantera. (Metallica, of course having served as a gateway). As a result of leaning heavily on these 2 niches, Tool's Undertow and Rage Against The Machine's first album also became very important. Not to mention Soundgarden's Superunknown.

     So once more in my teenage life, my musical leanings would again be completely shaken in late 1995. This was the first time I heard Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves. A friend played it for me and it, quite literally, changed my life. Although previously aware of this type of music, this was my true baptism into the world of punk rock. Although, just in time for the oft-dismissed neo-punk revival, but for me it was all very new and exciting. (Having been born in 1978, I missed it the first time around). Not entirely unlike the charming simplicity of a good country song, a punk song I would find, could just as easily say so much with so much emotion across the back of 3 chords. It wouldn't be long thereafter that I would then seek out The Ramones and The Sex Pistols.
    It was also 1995 that I received my first acoustic guitar for Christmas. Having previously been hacking away at Metallica and Pantera riffs on my Yamaha RGX for the previous few years, I was introduced to a new avenue of musical expression. I began to dig up some of my parents' old Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson tapes, and started buying CD's by John Prine and Kris Kristofferson. Around 1996 or so I was awakened to the musical regality that is Neil Young.  Rust Never Sleeps seemed to be the apotheosis of everything that I loved about music at that time. Genuine acoustic folk ballads juxtaposed against the cacophony of a wall of noise and feedback. It was shortly after this that I discovered who would be my favourite band for many years to come. Social Distortion. I bought their self-titled album from 1990 after hearing their cover of "Ring of Fire" on the CKDU punk hour that used to be on every Friday night. This album further ingrained my devotion to punk rock, and was something I felt that spoke to me, as Mike Ness seamlessly blurred the lines between punk and country. Contemporary country music at the time had become nothing short of a production fueled novelty, which  just ended up being another branch of top 40 pop music. Social D's covers of country standards like "Making Believe" and "Ring of Fire", as well as their original songs seemed to fill the void left by what actually passed for valid country music at that time. I also found solace in Steve Earle's post-rehab records, and Johnny Cash's American series albums.
  
    My most recent obsession has been The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound. This record is the sound of pure rock 'n roll bliss. I listened to this album so much that both of my sons, now aged 9 and 5, both know the words to every song, and have to come to also love the band. Their following album, American Slang which came out this year, has also become a fixture in our house. So, in an effort to score some "cool Dad" points, and expose the boys to some real rock culture, I bought tickets for us all to see them play at the House of Blues in Boston last August. Here we were on the balcony section with by far the 2 youngest kids in the venue, rocking out and singing out every word of every song. This is so far one the most rewarding moments of my adult life.

    So these are just a few chosen highlights of my life of musical awakening. I still avidly listen to all of the albums I mentioned, in addition to a plethora of many others. I will say I am a big fan of the album format. I own approximately 300 vinyl records and about 600 CD's that I still actually play on my stereo. My iPod also has about 18,000 songs that are mostly part of full albums. I think a good record is the great artistic statement. Fusing together 10-15 songs to create one cohesive package can be the ultimate product of uncompromised artistic focus and vision. I'll forever lament the death of the album format by way of the MP3 revolution. (Although, I am guilty of benefitting from the technology myself). It's very rare that I listen to anything without listening to the album in it's entirety, and don't even usually skip the weaker tracks. In other words, it's not often that I use the "Shuffle" function.
    So, I'll be utilizing this blog to hammer out some thoughts on some of my favourite albums, as well as some not-so-favourite ones. Maybe even a few "top" lists here and there, in pure High Fidelity fashion. (Of course, one of my favourite movies). You know, just for fun.