Hopefully you've enjoyed albums 30-21 and albums 20-11 of our year-end list. Look for the complete rundown of all 30 picks at the end of this post.
Now it's time for what we've all been waiting for... the unveiling of the top ten. Please forgive me if you're a huge fan of Kanye, Sufjan, Robyn, The National or Vampire Weekend. I wish them all the success in the world, I just don't wish them to be on my list.
That said, here's part three of Old Waver's Top 30 Albums of 2010:
Sigor Ros on Mountain Dew and Mini Thins
"Go Do"
If Phoenix were from Ireland and had a more juvenile sense of humor
"I Can Talk"
This Canadian duo are just scratching the surface of their potential
"Celestia"
Swedish dream pop that's sweetly defiant and casually awesome
"Heaven's On Fire"
From bedroom tapes to full-on band, Wild Nothing is a marvel of 80's nostalgia
Dan Snaith's synths gurgle and squeak in new and imaginative ways
"Odessa"
Completely over-the-top, but in a good way
"Ready To Start"
Bradford Cox is establishing himself as a postmodern auteur
"Helicopter"
This Baltimore twosome create some of the most enthralling, exhilarating dream pop
"Zebra"
If James Murphy really is putting LCD on hiatus, he's going out with one of the most memorable albums of the last ten years
And as promised, here's the entire list for quick reference:
1. LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
2. Beach House – Teen Dream
3. Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
4. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
5. Caribou – Swim
6. Wild Nothing – Gemini
7. The Radio Dept. – Clinging To A Scheme
8. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles II
9. Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History
10. Jonsi – Go
11. Twin Shadow – Forget
12. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
13. Foals – Total Life Forever
14. Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
15. Yeasayer – Odd Blood
16. Wolf Parade – Expo 86
17. Girl Talk – All Day
18. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor
19. Crocodiles – Sleep Forever
20. School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire
21. Frank (Just Frank) – The Brutal Wave
22. Adam Franklin & Bolts Of Melody – I Could Sleep For A Thousand Years
23. Small Black – New Chain
24. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
25. Errors – Come Down With Me
26. Future Islands – In Evening Air
27. Wavves – King of the Beach
28. Violens – Amoral
29. Tamryn – The Waves
30. Thieves Like Us – Again and Again
Part one: albums 30-21
Part two: albums 20-11
11 comments:
Future Islands should be much higher
Caribou and Arcade Fire should be much lower (two of my favorite bands of all time though)
Good music though. Love you
No Black Keys? Too mainstream for the "Old Waver"?
Way too hip for this old waver. I believe I've heard of 4 of these bands, and actually heard music by 2 of them. And I listen primarily to Alt Nation.
The LCD Soundsystem video would have been better if the robot had choked the young tagger to death.
Cool list Dave.
I assumed this was primarily a "you haven't heard it deep cuts list", so no BK is assumed (too many commercial cuts), but once I saw LCD I was surprised you omitted the Gorillaz.
Black Keys isn't in Old Waver's wheelhouse, but due respect.
And maybe next year will see some more traditional contenders make the list... the old standbys weren't too productive in 2010.
Yeah, Gorillaz was an omission. Probably didn't spend enough time with it to be quite honest.
Great list! I missed several of these.
Gorillaz's Plastic Beach will grow on you. I wasn't a big fan until my son forced me to play it in the car everyday for a month. Now I think it's brilliant.
This list could really use:
ceo - White Magic
Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Kisses - The Heart of the Nightlife
Belle and Sebastian - Write About Love
All of them are RUBBISH! thank god Beady Eye are here to save music...
FOOKIN MAD FER IT ONCE MORE!!!
There seems to be a blatant disregard for hip-hop, and R&B. Where's Big Boi, Janelle Monae, Sade, Das Racist, Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, or Gonjasufi?
Responding to the hip-hop question above... as the name "old waver" is meant to suggest, this is a narrow music blog based on the new wave era and its subsequent sub-genres.
No disrespect to the artists you mentioned, they are simply outside the scope of this blog and the author's particular expertise.
Thanks for bothering to read and post. I promise to listen to some Flying Lotus today.
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