Very quickly before I move on to 2011, here are my top 5 favorite albums of 2010.
1. Mumford & Sons - “Sigh No More”
2. The Black Keys - “Brothers”
3. Janelle Monae - “The ArchAndroid”
4. The Bird and the Bee - “Interpreting The Masters”
5. The Arcade Fire - “The Suburbs”
Some of my favorite songs were Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You”, Florence and the Machines “Dog Days are Over” and Big Boi’s “Shutterbug”
2011 seems to be as promising as 2010 turned out to be. 2010 was pretty dominated by mainstream-ish pop and pop rock, but really good pop. Lots of new guys hit it big (B.O.B., Taio Cruz, Keisha) and some oldies churned out some really solid hits (Usher, Train, Eminem)
Oh, and Bruno Mars really reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson.
On to 2011!
1. Iron & Wine - “Kiss Each Other Clean” : Out 1/25
Sam Beam/Iron & Wine is one of those artists that I always, always come back to and sometimes listenting to his songs, it’s like I’m hearing them for the 1st time again.
Based on one of the singles I heard it seems it bit more ‘whimsical’ than his other albums, but he also sounds like he is channeling James Taylor, which is pretty cool
2. Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee, Vol. 2” : TBA
This was originally supposed to come out already, but then MCA got cancer (serious bummer) but then he kicked that cancer’s ass! I don’t think any album will ever be better than “License to ILL”, but no matter what, I love me some Beasties. They always seem to put out something solid. And they have a song called “Lee Majors Come Again” ,so y’know.
3. The Decemberists - “The King is Dead” : 1/18
The Decemberists have kind of fallen into that category of being able to “do no wrong”. From the songs I’ve already listened to it doesn’t sound like anything they’ve ever done, which is interesting for a band that has a very distinct style and sound. This album has much less “epicness” to it and, apparently, they’ve taken a lot of inspiration from R.E.M (which you can REALLY hear). But R.E.M.? Really? Well, hey, it works.
4. Paul Simon - “So Beautiful or So What” : TBA
This is supposedly his best album since Graceland. Considering that album is in my top 5 best albums of all time, I think this bodes well. Paul Simon’s voice, to me, is like your favorite memory: it always makes you smile.
5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - “TBA” : TBA
I just fucking love Nick Cave and everything he does/is involved in.
Honorable mention: Radiohead….because I don’t know if that has been confirmed yet?
