Last week, Best Coast’s video for “Our Deal” was released as part of MTV’s Supervideo series. It was directed by Drew Barrymore and stars Chloe Moretz (the best fourteen-year-old actor of all time) and Tyler Posey (aka Teen Wolf), and features a slew of young actors, including Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly), Donald Glover (Troy from Community) and Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development). But aside from being a star-studded affair, the video is gorgeously styled and has a West Side Story-meets-Romeo & Juliet storyline: rival gangs, forbidden romance, and miscommunication that leads to tragedy. It’s sweet and sad and may have made me tear up a little (but don’t tell anyone). Since it has only been released via MTV, I couldn’t find a way to embed it in this post, but you can watch it here. You’ll like it, I promise.
Dear Coffee, I love the way you taste but I hate the way I feel the next day, like there’s a nuclear reactor inside my chest cavity. It kills me to say this, but I think it’s best if I don’t drink you anymore… ever.
Dear Cigarettes, I wish I could quit you as easily as I can coffee. Apparently I like you a lot more than I let on.
Dear Hot Bodies In Motion, I have cried each of the two times that I’ve seen you play “Winding Roads” live because I want nothing more than to be a girl who’s not afraid to stretch her legs. When you finally record this song, I can almost guarantee that it will be the most played song in my iTunes in a matter of days.
Dear Seattle Summer, you have not been wholly disappointing so far. Thanks for your efforts.
Dear Rapidly Declining Mental Health, I’m looking really hard for a way out of this miserable mess. Please hang in there for a little while longer… it will get better.
Dear Catie and Keegan, Portland is great and all, but Seattle needs the both of you. Please come back.
Dear Mark, I’m going to see Best Coast with Michael tonight, and I have a feeling that when they play “Boyfriend,” I’ll be imagining you singing along as you fold your laundry on a Sunday afternoon and probably giggling quietly to myself. I wish you were going with us.
The Seattle sun is finally starting to peek its shy little head out (knock on wood) and the pseudo-warm weather is making me yearn for the summer months. In the same way that I have go-to winter albums, I have a handful of albums that, if I close my eyes, I can feel and hear and smell summer when I listen to them. They’re albums that instantly conjure images of road trips with my compadres, sun bathing at Greenlake, and sipping iced drinks on the deck with my sunglasses on. Hurry up and get here, summer!
Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Song: King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1
Thao & The Get-Down Stay-Down, We Brave Bee Stings And All Song: Bag of Hammers
jj, no 2 Song: From Africa to Malaga
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds Song: I’m Waiting For The Day
Best Coast, Crazy For You Song: When The Sun Don’t Shine
Passion Pit, Manners Song: Little Secrets
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours Song: Never Going Back Again
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart Song: Young Adult Friction
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky Song: You Are My Face
Paul McCartney & Wings, Wingspan: Hits Song: Hi Hi Hi
Disclaimer: My list of top albums from 2010 is completely subjective. Like, not even remotely objective. I like what I like, and that’s that. We’re all entitled to our opinions, so don’t send me death threats for not including Kanye West’s album… I haven’t even listened to it yet. Capiche?
CHAMPIONS OF MEDIOCRITY:
HONORABLE, HONORABLE MENTIONS:
M.I.A., /\/\ /\ Y /\
I wasn’t able to listen to this album as much as the others, but upon the first listen, I knew that it packed a punch and was worth a mention. M.I.A.’s sound continues to expand in really unpredictable and unique ways, and it’s exciting to try to anticipate what she’ll do next. Excellent song: Born Free
Warpaint, The Fool
Again, didn’t get to listen to this one extensively, but I heard “Undertow” on the radio and immediately fell in love with its quiet tenderness, so this is an album that I look forward to listening to on repeat in the coming year and growing to love wholly. Excellent song: Undertow
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Tame Impala, Innerspeaker Hail from: Perth, Australia Generic label: Stoner Rock Sonic descriptors: psychedelic, riffy, traditional Stand-out element: The singer sounds so much like John Lennon, it’s uncanny. Lyrical gem:
Space around me where my soul can breath
I’ve got body that my mind can leave
Nothing else matters, I don’t care what I miss
Company’s okay, solitude is bliss
(“Solitude Is Bliss”) Favorite Song: Runaway, Houses, City, Clouds
MGMT, Congratulations Hail from: Brooklyn, New York Generic label: Psychedelic Rock Sonic descriptors: avant-garde, fantastical, relaxed Stand-out element: The audacity and bravery of MGMT for following Oracular Spectacular with this. Gutsy, and commendable. Lyrical gem:
Out with the whimper
It’s not a blaze of glory
You look down from your temple
As people endeavor to make it a story
And chisel a marble word
but all is lost if it’s never heard
But I’ve got someone to make reports
And tell me how my money’s spent
To book my stays and draw my blinds
So I can’t tell what’s really there
And all I need’s a great big congratulations
(“Congratulations”) Favorite Song: Brian Eno
Sleigh Bells, Treats Hail from: Brooklyn, New York Generic label: Noise Rock Sonic descriptors: boisterous, hedonistic, sexual Stand-out element: Alexis Krauss’s sing-chanting. It’s hypnotic. Lyrical gem:
There aren’t any, really. Favorite Song: Tell ‘Em
The National, High Violet Hail from: Brooklyn, New York Generic label: Indie Rock Sonic descriptors: melancholy, jaded, adult Stand-out element: Impeccable drumming, as always. Lyrical gem:
Sorrow found me when I was young
Sorrow waited, sorrow won
Sorrow that put me on the pills
It’s in my honey, it’s in my milk
(“Sorrow”) Favorite Song: Lemonworld
Jonsi, Go Hails from: Iceland Generic label: Indie Pop Sonic descriptors;: uplifting, expansive, immaculate Stand-out element: It’s pure magnificence. Every song is an opus. Lyrical gem:
Go sing, too loud
Make your voice break, sing it out
Go scream, do shout
Make an earthquake
You wish fire would die and turn colder
You wish your young could see you grow older
We should always know that we can do anything
(“Go Do”) Favorite Songs: Animal Arithmatic
TOP 20 ALBUMS OF 2010
20. Damien Jurado, Saint Bartlett Hails from: Seattle, Washington Generic label: Indie Folk Sonic descriptors: hushed, spare, tender Stand-out element: The slightly boozy tinge in every song; a je ne sais quoi in Jurado’s voice that creates intimacy, like he’s confiding in you and only you. Themes: loneliness, places, social anxiety Lyrical gem:
Kansas City, I hold back the tears
I know that I should have been thrilled
I can’t smile knowing all the while
Everything you did, you did for you
Kansas City, you asked me how I’ve been
I lie, and then say that I’ve been fine
Words that trailed off, that’s as far as we got
I know that I should have been thrilled
(“Kansas City”) Favorite Songs: The Falling Snow, Rachel & Cali
19. Josh Ritter, So Runs The World Away Hails from: Oberlin, Ohio Generic label: Alt Country Sonic descriptors: rustic, antiquated, timeless Stand-out element: The man knows how to weave stunning tales of love and loss. Themes: time, obsolete transportation, myth Lyrical gem:
We talked of the other worlds we’d discover
as she gave up her body to me
And as I chopped up her mainsail for timber
I told her of all that we still had to see
As the frost turned her moorings to nine-tail
and the wind lashed her sides in the cold
I burned her to keep me alive every night
in the lover’s embrace of her hold
(“Another New World”) Favorite Songs: Change Of Time, Rattling Locks
18. Bloodgroup, Dry Land Hail from: Iceland Generic label: Electronic Sonic descriptors: blippy, throbbing, measured Stand-out element: Incredible beats; The way the male and female voice work together and blend. Themes: solitude, fear, uncertainty Lyrical gem:
They say that I need the poison just to loosen up my arms
But my lovers all agree its just a matter of the heart
Won’t you stay a while with me just to loosen up my arms?
Baby it’s the only way to make a flame come from the spark
(“My Arms”) Favorite Songs: How Do We Know, My Arms
17. Wild Nothing, Gemini Hail from: Blacksburg, Virginia Generic label: Indie Pop Sonic descriptors: swoony, anachronistic, impressionistic Stand-out element: The obvious influence/love of music from the ’80s. Themes: nostalgia, youthful angst, running away Lyrical gem:
Pretty face, could you make the jump with me?
I’m dying just to let things go
Do you remember the lightning storm?
It was the first time I really felt you
Because our lips won’t last forever, and that’s exactly why
I’d rather live in dreams and I’d rather die
(“Live In Dreams”) Favorite Songs: The Witching Hour, Summer Holiday
16. Janelle Monae, The ArchAndroid Hails from: Atlanta, Georgia Generic label: R&B Sonic descriptors: eclectic, modern, thematic Stand-out element: The diversity of Monae’s voice and the way she tailors it to the needs of the song, and not the other way around. Each track sounds like a different artist. Themes: love, identity, androids Lyrical gem:
Mushrooms and roses is the place to be
Where all the lonely droids and lovers have their wildest dreams
The golden door of our emotions opens here
We’re all virgins to the joys of loving without fear
(“Mushrooms & Roses”) Favorite Songs: Wondaland, Cold War
15. Charlotte Gainsbourg, IRM Hail from: Paris, France Generic label: French Pop Sonic descriptors: nonchalant, intrepid, distinct Stand-out element: How inherently cool Gainsbourg’s music is, without even trying. Themes: control, journeying, death Lyrical gem:
If I had my way
I’d cross the desert to the sea
Learn to speak in tongues something
That makes sense to you and me
I’d like to unplug the phone
Sending messages with a mirror
Stand on the old plateau
With a satellite dish and Geronimo’s ghost
(“Me And Jane Doe”) Favorite Song: Trick Pony, Me And Jane Doe
14. The Black Keys, Brothers Hail from: Akron, Ohio Generic label: Blues Rock Sonic descriptors: full-bodied, unpolished, masculine Stand-out element: Tasty guitar licks. Themes: being bad despite trying to be good, female heartbreakers, commitment Lyrical gem:
A sinister kid is a kid who runs to meet his maker
A drop-dead sprint from the day he’s born
Straight into his maker’s arms
And that’s me, that’s me
The boy with the broken halo
That’s me, that’s me
The devil won’t let me be
(“Sinister Kid”) Favorite Songs: Sinister Kid, Ten Cent Pistol
13. Local Natives, Gorilla Manor Hail from: Los Angeles, California Generic label: Indie Rock Sonic descriptors: layered, vivid, conversational Stand-out element: Harmonies! Themes: discovery, youthfulness, wanderlust Lyrical gem:
I climbed to the top of a hill, but I had just missed the sun
And although the descending arc was gone
Left behind were the traces that always follow along
The most beautiful colors chase the sun
They wrap her trail in a taunting gesture
That seem to sing out loud, “This is what you’re missing”
(“Sun Hands”) Favorite Songs: Camera Talk, Wide Eyes
12. Best Coast, Crazy For You Hail from: Los Angeles, California Generic label: Surf Pop Sonic descriptors: beachy, adolescent, simplistic Stand-out element: The youthful simplicity is irresistibly catchy. Themes: pining after boys, smoking weed, an affinity for cats Lyrical gem:
There’s nothing worse than sitting all alone at home
And waiting waiting waiting waiting by the phone
I hope that he’s at home
Waiting by his phone
I wonder if he knows
That I want him
(“Boyfriend”) Favorite Songs: Boyfriend, When The Sun Don’t Shine
11. Maximum Balloon, Maximum Balloon Hails from: Brooklyn, New York Generic label: Alternative Sonic descriptors: dense, maximalist, loose Stand-out element: A plethora of blips and beats, like a 100-layer cake made out of sound. Themes: Loss of control, desire, relationships Lyrical gem:
I’ll be your messenger, your minister, your morbid curiosity
In the hands of the night you’re a plaything
I’ll be your passenger, your pleasurer, your terminal velocity
In the absence of light we’re the same thing
(“Absence of Light”) Favorite Songs: Communion (feat. Karen O), Absence of Light (feat Tunde Adebimpe)
10. Belle & Sebastian, Write About Love Hail from: Glasgow, Scotland Generic label: Indie Pop Sonic descriptors: spiritual, tongue-in-cheek, questioning Stand-out element: The candidness with which Stuart Murdoch speaks about God and religion; guest vocalists (who knew Carey Mulligan could sing? who knew Norah Jones was so hip?) Themes: God, youth, unreality Lyrical gems:
Make me dance, I want to surrender
Your familiar arms I remember
Everybody’s talking about you, every word’s a whisper without you
But we don’t have the money
Money makes the wheels of the world go round
Forget about it honey, trouble’s never far away when you’re around
(“I Didn’t See It Coming”)
I’ve seen God in the sun, I’ve seen God in the street
God before bed in the promise of sleep
God in my dreams and the free ride of grace
But it all disappears and then I wake up
(“Ghost of Rock School”) Favorite Songs: I Want The World To Stop, Write About Love (Feat. Carey Mulligan), I Can See Your Future
9. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, I Learned The Hard Way Hail from: Brooklyn, New York Generic label: Funk/R&B Sonic descriptors: soulful, sassy, revivalist Stand-out element: Sharon Jones’s voice. Whoa. Themes: cheating ne’er-do-well men, strong-willed women, nursing a broken heart Lyrical gem:
I’m through with your window shopping, baby
I’m through waiting when you’re gonna come around
I know the question isn’t if you love me
But I know the answer is you’ll never settle down
Oh boy, you keep window shopping
You browse with no intent to buy
(“Window Shopping”)
Don’t like the way he dresses or the cigarettes he smokes
Don’t like the company he keeps or the color of his jokes
You say he ain’t no good, you say he’s rough and he’s lazy
But how can I explain the way he drives me crazy?
Loving him could be so easy, loving him could be so easy
But Mama don’t like my man
(“Mama Don’t Like My Man”) Favorite Songs: Mama Don’t Like My Man, I Learned The Hard Way, Window Shopping
8. Owen Pallett, Heartland Hails from: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Generic label: Indie Pop Sonic descriptors: cinematic, high-brow, defiant Stand-out element: Ornate arrangements that manage to be traditional and modern simultaneously; Pallett’s pristine tenor. Themes: rebellion, rural life, control Lyrical gem:
I saw my son at seventeen
The shutters made projections on his naked frame
But now at twenty-five, he simply cannot stay away
From the ketamine
With make-up on his sores
He spends an hour a day composing his own eulogy
Sometimes he sends me letters
But they’re mostly garbled phrases and apologies
(“E Is For Estranged”)
Damn, I wrote it down, but I left it in the pocket of my other jeans
Scrawled across the foolscap: “I don’t know what your devotion means,
I don’t know what your devotion means.”
And up, upon the summit I can see
The one I worshiped as a boy
The Creator, The Great White Noise
The Great White Noise
(“Tryst with Mephistopheles”) Favorite Songs: Keep The Dog Quiet, Lewis Takes Off His Shirt, Oh Heartland, Up Yours!
7. Laura Veirs, July Flame Hails from: Portland, OR Generic label: Indie Folk Sonic descriptors: summery, dulcet, understated Stand-out element: The beautiful poetic lyrics rife with natural imagery. I can listen, close my eyes, and see fireflies from my seat on a porch swing on a warm summer night. Themes: weather, animals, wonder Lyrical gems:
Even the most shimmering rain
Empties out the sky and comes to end
We all know that the sun is king
There’s no messing with our orbiting
So why is he standing in his own backyard
Crying at his fallen down house of cards?
(“Sun Is King”)
Since you turned your light upon my darkened dale
The pollinators flex their wings
And take into the air
Spin their emeraldine webs across the swales and prairies
And my stampeding buffalo stops in her tracks and watches the snow
Falling through the old oak tree when you give your heart to me
(“When You Give Your Heart”) Favorite Songs: Make Something Good, Summer Is the Champion, When You Give Your Heart
6. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs Hail from: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Generic label: Indie Rock Sonic descriptors: anthemic, idealistic, heavy Stand-out element: Repetition of key lyrics in multiple songs to give them a broader and more powerful meaning. Themes: youth, war, suburbia Lyrical gem:
So can you understand that I want a daughter while I’m still young
I want to hold her hand, show her some beauty
Before all this damage is done
But if it’s too much to ask, if it’s too much to ask
Send me a son
(“The Suburbs”)
Strange how the half light can make a place new
You can’t recognize me, I can’t recognize you
We run through these streets that we know so well
And the houses hide so much
We’re in the half light, none of us can tell
They hide the ocean in a shell
(“Half Light I”) Favorite Songs: Suburban War, Rococo, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
5. Joanna Newsom, Have One On Me Hails from: Nevada City, California Generic label: Indie Folk Sonic descriptors: folkloric, lilting, epic Stand-out element: Intensely imaginative lyrical narratives; Newsom’s made-up words (see the lyrics to “Soft As Chalk”) Themes: geography, mythologized women, thing coming to an end Lyrical gems:
I bought a little plot of land in the garden of Eden
It was dirt and dirt is all the same
(“’81”)
I feel you, leaning
Out back with the crickets
Loyal heart marking the soon-ness darkness
Tonight, still the mourning doves
Will summon us their song
Of love’s neverdoneing lawlessness, lawlessness
While, over and over
Rear up, stand down, lay round
Trying to sound-out or guess the reasons
To sleep like a soldier, without rest
But there is no treason
Where there is only lawlessness, lawlessness
(“Soft As Chalk”) Favorite Songs: In California, ’81, Occident
4. Robyn, Body Talk Pt. 1 Hails from: Stockholm, Sweden Generic label: Electro Pop Sonic descriptors: confident, sincere, futuristic Stand-out element: Robyn’s vocal genuineness. She doesn’t sound like she’s singing anything she doesn’t mean wholeheartedly. Themes: longing, assertions of preeminence, robots Lyrical gem:
My system’s in mint condition
The power’s up on my transistors
Working fine, no glitches
Plug me in and flip some switches
Pull up in docking position
Pop the hatch and hit ignition
B-b-burn out, baby
Ready for demolition
(“Fembots”)
I’m just gonna dance all night
I’m so messed up, I’m so out of line
Stilettos and broken bottles, I’m spinning around in circles
I’m in the corner, watching you kiss her
I’m right over here, why can’t you see me?
I’m giving it my all but I’m not the girl you’re taking home
I keep dancing on my own
(“Dancing On My Own”) Favorite Songs: Dance Hall Queen, The Girl And The Robot, Dancing On My Own
3. Tallest Man On Earth, The Wild Hunt Hails from: Sweden Generic label: Indie Folk Sonic descriptors: earnest, unbridled, raw Stand-out element: the pairing of spare arrangements and intricate lyrics; uncanny vocal resemblance to Bob Dylan Themes: nature, going and returning, forgetting worries Lyrical gems:
Well I walk upon the river like it’s easier than land
Evil’s in my pocket and your strength is in my hand
Your strength is in my hand
And I’ll throw you in the current that I stand upon so still
Love is all, from what I’ve heard, but my heart’s learned to kill
Oh, mine has learned to kill
(“Love is All”)
Oh I was sent to find the lonesome place
Where I was lost but left to trace by carving riddles on the lonesome pine
Oh but rumor has it that I wasn’t born, I just walked in one frosty morn
Into the vision of some vacant mind
(“Burden of Tomorrow”) Favorite Songs: You’re Going Back, A Lion’s Heart, Love Is All
2. Sufjan Stevens, Age of Adz Hails from: Detroit, Michigan Generic label: Experimental Folk Sonic descriptors: apocalyptic, pseudo-schizophrenic, vulnerable Stand-out element: The level of lyrical depth and candidness, incomparable to anything else in Sufjan’s catalog. Themes: heart-sickness, madness, end times Lyrical gems:
Vesuvius, are you ghost?
Or the symbol of light? Or a fantasy host?
In your breast I carry the form
The heart of the earth and the weapons of warmth
Vesuvius, the tragic oath
For you have destroyed with the elegant smoke
Oracle, I fathomed at last
For they were the feast of a permanent blast
(“Vesuvius”)
And when you crochet I feel mesmerized and proud
And I would say I love you, but saying it out loud is hard
So I won’t say it at all
(“Futile Devices”) Favorite Songs: Vesuvius, I Want To Be Well, I Walked
1. Beach House, Teen Dream Hail from: Baltimore, Maryland Generic label: Dream Pop Sonic descriptors: fuzzy, nuanced, vast Stand-out element: Victoria LeGrand’s voice, at once delicate and powerful. Themes: dissolution of relationships, memory, escapism Lyrical gems:
There’s something wrong with our hearts
When they beat pure, they stand apart
In the black room, the light
Watch the seabird fall
Real love, it finds you somewhere with your back to it
(“Real Love”)
The face that you saw in the door isn’t looking at you anymore
The name that you called in its place isn’t waiting for your embrace
The world that you love to behold cannot hold you anymore
In a matter of time it would slip from my mind
In and out of my life, you would slip from my mind
In a matter of time
(“Walk In The Park”) Favorite Songs: Walk In The Park, Take Care, 10 Mile Stereo
BEST EPs:
Sufjan Stevens, All Delighted People EP
Tallest Man On Earth, Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird
LIVE PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR:
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
and
Sufjan Stevens
VOICE OF THE YEAR:
Victoria LeGrand of Beach House
SONG OF THE YEAR:
Soft As Chalk by Joanna Newsom
VIDEOS OF THE YEAR: The XX’s “Islands”
The XX’s album was released in 2009, but this video was released in early 2010. The concept is incredible, I couldn’t not include it. Janelle Monae’s “Tightrope”
So fun and fresh. I love the tailored suits and Monae’s pompadour. MGMT’s “Flash Delerium”
So strange, but in a good way. Like a David Lynch movie. Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs”
So intense. Spike Jonze captures the emotions of youth and the essence of the song so well. Broken Bells’ “The Ghost Inside”
So unexpected. Christina Hendricks as a robot in dire straits… what’s not to like? An excellent video and song from an otherwise meh album.
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1. Take the GRE
2. Read every Harry Potter book
3. Rendezvous with my parents in Scotland
4. Write a good short story
5. Go to the ballet
6. Blog re-design
7.Go to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin
8. Start running again
9. Get published on Thought Catalog
10. Learn Italian
11. Take a train journey
12. Swim in the Blue Lagoon in Reykjavik
13. Get a tattoo
14. Hike Mt. Si
15. Buy a piece of clothing in Italy
16. Classic movie marathon
17. See a concert somewhere in Europe
18. Croatian vacation
19. Write one poem a day for one month
20. Sew a dress
21. Drive a car in the U.K.
22. Visit Stockholm while it’s snowing
23. Learn how to French braid
24. Make music
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
Best Coast, Crazy For You
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
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