My Favorite Albums Of 2010

Here it is, the collection of music that stands out above the mediocre music that was created this year. The Onion's A.V. Club makes a list of the top non-2010 albums that they discovered this year, which would be a much more impressive list, but I have no idea how to figure out which music I bought this year, so it'll have to wait until next year.

Before I get started, I want to congratulate the amazing dancers who won the dance finals on Tuesday. My 4th graders kicked tail again and stole the crowd, and I got to see a few of my students who I'd missed before dance as well. It was really a moving moment for me to see these kids trying so hard and looking so happy as their parents, teachers, and friends patted their backs and gave them hugs and kisses at the end.

Okay, here goes:

Top 10 Albums Of 2010

1) The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt
This album, almost entirely solo voice and guitar with the one exception of a song with piano, is some wonderful country-style music sung by a gritty down-to-earth voice and charismatic guitar playing. Sweet and witty lyrics that make you feel like you can take on the world with happiness appear in "King Of Spain," though not the lyrics aren't always on the ball ("I said, 'Driver, please don't go that fucking way!'"). On the whole, though, this CD is very fun to listen to and is definitely worth owning.

2) Owen Pallet - Heartland
Formerly recording under the stage name "Final Fantasy," this talented composer's newest record is a very unique listen, what with the combination of heavy strings, a pristine voice, a Czech woodwinds section, and a collection of electronic instruments right down to the drumset. The string arrangements and his perfectly tuned voice singing the quirky yet repetitive chordal harmonies make this CD a worthwhile listen in an example of creative composition.

3) Dave Holland - Pathways
This was a dark year for new jazz records (with the possible exception of Jason Moran's Ten which was a little too avant-garde for me), but Dave Holland was one of the few who put out a new record that's actually an improvement over his last few releases. Recorded live at Birdland (an awful New York venue), the record showcases Holland's new octet replacing the stale quintet that had been so influential in the last decade of modern jazz. The new additions, Antonio Hart on alto sax, Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, and Alex Sipiagin on trumpet make the old tricks sound fresh. While tenor and soprano saxophonist Chris Potter and drummer Nate Smith don't bring any real growth to the table, trombonist Robyn Eubanks and vibraphonist Steve Nelson sound invigorated, and Holland's bass playing is bouncy and joyful. For me this record is kept together by Smulyan's baritone playing that gives the octet a "little big band" feel, reminding me of Holland's big band records that have been my favorites for some time.

4) How To Dress Well - Love Remains
After Pathways the list drops off considerably, starting with this bizarre basement-pop collection of sounds. If it weren't for the cheap production of this music, this would probably be my #1 album of the year. The music is brilliant, innovative; challenging yet easy to identify with - witty yet down to earth - dense yet catchy. The big pitfall of this record is its dismal recording quality. It's riddled with peaking and the mix is so muddy you can barely tell which sounds are which. I can tell this is the intention of the artist - it peaks at consistent moments in the songs to add emphasis - but it's an artistic choice that makes this record nearly unlistenable for me. If it weren't for how special the music is, I'd want my money back. If it weren't for the production value, I'd be head over heals.

5) Brad Mehldau - Highway Rider
This two disc set is much better than most of the monotonous piano trio work that pianist Mehldau has produced as of late - mostly because this isn't a trio. In addition to enlisting the saxophone expertise of Berkeley native Joshua Redman, a string orchestra accompanies the jazz combo. This has a double effect. Sometimes it can be overly dramatic and a little cheesy, while sometimes - as in the beautiful song "Don't Be Sad" - it can make your skin crawl and your eyes water. I think Mehldau composed the music like this on purpose; he's trying to make a commentary on the West. For example, most of the songs are extra long and have multiple endings that would make the listener think we've moved on to a new track (the ones that break this rule have no ending at all). In fact, the record itself goes on and on, and, while developing somewhat, listening to the whole thing through isn't as gratifying an experience as listening to the best song, "Don't Be Sad." I believe this to be intentional and artistic, but not overly enjoyable.

6) Sage Francis - Li(f)e
Granted I haven't heard Kanye West's newest creation, I still this Sage Francis in the songs "Little Houdini" and "Best Of Times" is really onto something in the world of hip-hop/rap. This mixture of spoken word with rap and country and longer song forms are like nothing else I've yet heard. And "Little Houdini" is such a well-formed and well-performed song that it alone would make it on my top ten. Unfortunately, Sage Francis isn't nearly as charismatic when he does an old-fashioned inside-the-beat rap; he's mostly special when he floats in and out of the beat in a way that makes you wonder how he gets the rhymes to line up at all, an amazing feat. However this is something that only occurs on a couple tracks, and half the record is just filler. Sage Francis is also quite the funny lyricist ("I dance so slow it looks like a photo!").

7) Robert Randolf - We Walk This Road
This collection of traditional blues songs is made special mostly by its expert performance. Randolf himself is an amazing slide guitarist, and the record shows off his talents as well as the three voices (Randolf's included) of the lead singers. The presentation of the music makes the impression that Randolf, like any blues guitarist, holds immense respect for the traditions of his art, but unlike most blues guitarists Randolf shows that devotion by infusing traditional musics with modern style. This has mixed results. In "Traveling Shoes" it works perfectly; when he tries to play Prince it fails spectacularly.

8) The Absolute Ensemble - Absolute Zawinul
This album took a couple of listens to sound special. At first it sounded like a collection of melody-less, formless, single-chord grooves. While that's essentially true, there are all sorts of layers that come out, especially when I realized the role of keyboardist Joe Zawinul. This record is touted as Zawinul's last studio recording before he passed away in 2007 and it features arrangements of his pieces for a strange 14-piece orchestra, including strings, woodwinds, and two African singers. But it's Zawinul's keyboard playing that makes this recording special. Every note he hits is beautiful, every improvised moment he has is right on the mark. And perhaps the reason it's so hard to hear it the first time is that his keyboard sounds are made to blend in so well with the rest of the orchestra.

9) Hot Chip - One Life Stand

10) Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma

These last two aren't really worth reviewing. I could've just as easily put Massive Attack's Heligoland or LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening or Sufjan Stevens's Age of Adz in the 9 and 10 spots. They're all just a mush of artists creating unexciting music with one or two tracks that are worth keeping around. You'll see when I get my list of top tracks of 2010 - that's going to be a much more gratifying list to read.

As a gift for making it this far in the post: check out this weird opera/bounty hunter story in the New York Times.