Best of 2010

Albums:

1. MGMT – Congratulations
2. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
3. Tame Impala – InnerSpeaker
4. Jónsi - Go
5. Marina and the Diamonds – The Family Jewels
6. Kanye West – My Deep Dark Twisted Fantasy
7. Chromeo – Business Casual
8. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
9. Drake – Thank Me Later
10. Robyn – Body Talk
11. Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
12. Neil Young – Le Noise
13. Eminem – Recovery
14. Goldfrapp – Head First
15. David Byrne & Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love
16. Scissor Sisters – Night Work
17. Robert Plant – Band of Joy
18. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
19. Ra Ra Riot – The Orchard
20. Sword – Warp Riders
21. Strand of Oaks – Pope Killdragon
22. Prince – 20ten
23. Massive Attack – Heligoland
24. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
25. Crowded House – Intriguer


Songs:

1.  Somebody to Love Me – Mark Ronson & The Business Intl. (featuring Andrew Wyatt and Boy George)
2.  Flash Delirium – MGMT
3. Shampain – Marina & The Diamonds
4. Rocket – Goldfrapp
5. Solitude is Bliss – Tame Impala
6. Up All Night – Drake & Nicki Minaj
7. Sex and Violence – Scissor Sisters
8. I Can Change – LCD Soundsystem
9. Animal Arithmetic – Jónsi
10. Sigh No More – Mumford and Sons
11. On Melancholy Hill – Gorillaz
12. Ambling Alp – Yeasayer
13. Soldier of Love – Sade
14. Love The Way You Lie – Eminem & Rihanna
15. Caravan – Rush
16. Archer’s Arrows – Crowded House
17. Night By Night – Chromeo
18. Ready To Start – Arcade Fire
19. Come Talk To Me – Bon Iver
20. Church of No Religion – Ed Harcourt
21. Tres Brujas – Sword
22. You’ll Be Taken Care Of – David Byrne & Fatboy Slim with Tori Amos
23. Astral Planes – Smashing Pumpkins
24. Not In Love – Crystal Castles with Robert Smith
25. Dancing on My Own – Robyn
26. Cold War – Janelle Monáe
27. Seven Sisters – Casey Stratton
28. One Life Stand – Hot Chip
29. Beginning Endlessly – Prince
30. All You Need is Now – Duran Duran

Patti Smith: Because The Night

The one and only Patti Smith, doing a Bruce Springsteen song far better than he could. I love Bruce, but this is Patti's song. She's always been gifted performing covers. Her cover of the Stones' "Gimme Shelter" a few years back was absolutely killer.

Darkstar: "Gold"

How cool is this?   Darkstar covers the the old Human League b-side "You Remind Me of Gold," a terrific song that was sadly rarely heard.  Great to see someone unearthing it and introducing it to a new generation of fans. 

Sufjan Stevens: "John Wayne Gacy, Jr."

Beautiful and chilling song. 

Paul McCartney: "Ram"

I realize that Paul McCartney's 2nd post-Beatles album, "Ram," doesn't have the best reputation in the world.  John Lennon of course was famously derisive of it.  But I'm listening to it today for the first time in ages, and am really enjoying it.  It's not a major statement, nor is it trying to be.  Yeah many of the songs sound like throwaways, but so were many of the tracks like "Honey Pie" and "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" that populated many of the Beatles' later albums.  "Ram" has a fresh vibe to it, and is pleasingly lacking in pretension.   It's a collection of melodic, well-produced pop songs by one of the great pop songwriters in rock.   Nothing on here ranks among his best work, true.  But does it have to in order to be enjoyable?

I actually made my own custom version, adding the "Another Day" single and its bside, "Oh Woman Oh Why."    Fills out the album and makes it seem a bit more complete.

Leonard Cohen: "Songs from the Road"

Gotta give Leonard Cohen credit. One of the great songwriters of the last 40 years, and he's still out there touring at age 76. His voice is different as he's gotten older it's weakened/softened a little with a touch of raspiness, but he still sounds great and the voice suits the songs perfectly.

He just put out a new live album, "Songs from the Road" - terrific versions of "Famous Blue Raincoat," "Suzanne" and other classic tunes. Well worth picking up. It's a worthy representation of a master near the end of his career.

Rush Live: Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA, 9/18/10

Amazing performance by Rush last night. They sounded terrific, incredible light show and camera work, and very funny video clips shown. Any rock fan who has the chance to see Rush live should do so. A fantastic show, one of the best I've seen in recent years. It's a privilege to see such a legendary band performing so well - will always remember it. "Presto" in particular was great to hear, and the "Moving Pictures" performance was fantastic.

Set list:

*
1. The Spirit Of Radio
2. Time Stand Still
3. Presto
4. Stick It Out
5. Workin' Them Angels
6. Leave That Thing Alone
7. Faithless
8. BU2B
9. Free Will
10. Marathon
11. Subdivisions

12. Tom Sawyer
13. Red Barchetta
14. YYZ
15. Limelight
16. The Camera Eye
17. Witch Hunt
18. Vital Signs
19. Caravan
20. Drum Solo
21. Closer To The Heart
22. 2112 Part I: Overture
23. 2112 Part II: The Temples Of Syrinx
24. Far Cry

Encore:
25. La Villa Strangiato
26. Working Man

Here's their performance of "Presto" from Jiffy Lube Live: