One Blink for Yes, Two Blinks For No or Jullian Schnabel is a Talentless Hack

I was going to write something about the Grammy's before the big event, but laziness continues to rear its ugly head. Apathy probably describes it better than laziness. The only category I had strong opinions about was Long Form Music Video. Peter Bogdanovich's 4 hour Tom Petty documentary,Runnin' Down A Dream won, so I'm happy. Its both the 2nd Best Rock N Roll Film and the 2nd Best Documentary I have ever seen.

Instead, here are my top 10 albums of the year:

1) Los Campesinos!- Hold On Now, Youngster. They might be too young to have been part of the International Pop Underground, but they didn't get the memo. This album had an immediacy that I loved from the first listen. Usually, when one thinks of Glockenspiels, you expect some navel-gazing instrumental heavy band or twee pop that hipsters can stand around with their folded arms and bob their heads up and down to without breaking a sweat (although you can still do that if you want.) Their songs present a youthful exuberance missing from most indie pop that at times can sound like controlled chaos although with an endless supply of catchy melodies. Their witty lyrics have come in question by some as pretentious. Fuck the haters.



2. Kanye West- 808's & Heartbreaks

Rumours. Foolish. Dear You. Domestica. I have always been drawn to breakup records. When this came out, everybody was scratching their heads, they wanted to know is it a dance record? a hip hop record? a pop record? Of course the answers are who cares what you call it and yes and no to all of the above. Pushing the boundaries of what is expected from a pop or hip hop record. The main complaint back in November was catchiness. The funny thing is, as time passes and the more people listen to this album, the catchiness issue has mostly disappeared. Now if he could just figure our a way to perform these songs live on television and not sound awful and he needs to lose the mullet.




3. Noah and the Whale- Peaceful, The World Weighs Me Down

They were well on their way to being an "it band" until a car commercial came out using the song "Five Years Time" and ruined the whole thing. Then I was able to hear intelligent ramblings like "it sounds like it should be in a car commercial." No it sounds like it should be in a Wes Anderson film. They made the right choice. Always take money over coolness.




4. Cut Copy- In Ghost Colours

Mgmt may have put out the 2 best dance singles of the year, but Cut Copy put out the best dance/electronic/New Order influenced album of the year.





5. Los Campesinos!- We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed

Even if some of it plays as leftovers from the first album, it's still more Los Campesinos!




6. Tall Tale- Pirate Ship

Throwback to the indie/emo crossover bands I was a sucker for in the late 90's, but also plays to my having the taste of a fifteen year old girl. I once played this band for someone and they told me they sound like Vanessa Carlton. I tried to argue a more rocking Vanessa Carlton. I don't know if I won the argument. They are what I wanted/expected Eisley to sound like.




7. Kate Nash- Made of Bricks

Takes the Lily Allen mold and fuses in more intelligence, and much more than just another girl and her piano. She would be huge if she were a train-wreck who found herself in the papers every day.




8. +/-- X's on Your Eyes

Started out as a side project of Versus. +/- finally lived up to the potential I always knew was there.




9. Thursday/envy split LP (mostly the Thursday side).

This is what every screamo band should turn into when they decide to branch out.




10. Black Mountain- In the Future

The only band I know of that is probably equally influenced by Black Sabbath and Fairport Convention. I'm sure if I did drugs this would be my #1.



runners up include Counting Crows (a band no one outside the band and WTTS listeners care about anymore), M83 (sounding like a soundtrack to a lost John Hughes film was expected in Anthony Gonzales making an 80's homage. it's the songs that sound like prince and kate bush that i wasn't expecting.), Mgmt, Mates of State (reproducing twice seems to have taken away some of the rough around the edges aesthetic that surrounded their infectious melodies, which has slightly hurt the last couple of albums, but still fairly solid) and The Teenagers (Eurotrash as a compliment).

Of course, this could all change a month from now.