First of all, Merry Christmas.
After many difficulties getting time and mind together, there is finally a post that contains more than just a welcome. With any hope posts will become more regular.
To kick off Warchild, I've given a “2010 in Review” post-- including my favorite albums of the 2010. The year 2010 was represented by slim pickings. That is to say, this past year was generally a big year for only a handful artists. Kanye West released his most original album to-date, and M.I.A., the artist that brought us the oh-so sonically attractive “Paper Planes,” dropped another record. Not to mention 2010 showcased a Billboard Charts breakthrough for indie-rock artists Sufjan Stevens, The National, and Arcade Fire who all reached a place in the Top 10-- a mere representation of a shift in the tastes of the music-listening public. As my gift to you during this holiday season, I have presented my list of the year's best albums. Expect 2010's greatest tunes in the next post.
5. High Violet – The National
Here's an elaborate metaphor. Imagine the United States is a person. The U.S. is now laying on a couch comfortably. The National all of a sudden is one professionally-dressed, eloquently-spoken individual, sitting behind the country positioned properly in its own chair. The National is the U.S.' psychiatrist. It's in this position that the National appears to write most of their music.
High Violet is the best description of man and country-- it's successes and failures alike. Matt Berninger mentors the world in a speaking baritone that will resonate with a listener throughout the album. The Dessner brothers contribute to Berninger's wisdom with relaxed, jam-session-like playing that develops the keen singer-songwriter style that the National has always exhibited. This all builds up to “Bloodbuzz Ohio” where an incredibly depressed, loveless tone is swept into the thoughts of National fans everywhere who can't help but feel empathy.
4. Halcyon Digest – Deerhunter
Deerhunter surprised me this year. My experience with Deerhunter was limited to the few songs I would receive on various mixes friends of mine would give me. “Agoraphobia” was pretty cool, but truly, Deerhunter was never much of an interest of mine. I often mistook them for Deerhoof even.
Halcyon Digest is the party guest that does not need introduction; it already has the charisma necessary to interact with everyone, even those awkward ones who don't know where to go. The album's filled with tunes that will always alleviate one's nerves and headaches, and extends a hand to its listeners to simply chill out in an extremely minimalist, alt-rock fashion. This album radiates gratefulness, and Deerhunter stands as the adviser for the perhaps just slightly misguided.
3. The Monitor – Titus Andronicus
I fortunately was able to see this band on tour in promotion of this very same album. As I went up to purchase my t-shirt that declared “TITUS ANDRONICUS FOREVER” in big, old-school red letters across the chest, who am I to see selling the band's merchandise but the band's throat, Patrick Stickles? Talk about a great marketing technique. Going back to the story, I give him my money in exchange for the t-shirt and he tells my friend and I standing by, in reference to the president on the $20 bill I was handing him, that “Andrew Jackson was America's Hitler.” I should mention that I felt like I was in that scene of Wayne's World where Wayne and Garth are asked to hang out by Alice Cooper, and chanted “we're not worthy” as they bowed down religiously. So I chuckled; it was a joke right? Then I looked up at him. His grizzly face held nothing but a serious expression. I definitely didn't feel worthy anymore.
However, it was that stoic, liberal, passionate personality that backs up this album. Although realizing my awkward state by laughing while purchasing my merchandise, I could not help but find myself admiring Patrick and Titus Andronicus all the more. Clearly, I thought, this was a man who could document history musically for the loathing and cynical. And they did just that with their loosely Civil War-based album The Monitor. I never felt a stronger sense of rage and anxiety packed into an album.
Titus Andronicus twisted a Civil War concept into a punk rock explication of humanity, depression, hard-living, and temptation that kicked the asses and touched the hearts (and perhaps psyche) of every listener.
2. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – Kanye West
It seems almost too easy for Kanye West to do something genius. Ever since The College Dropout, Kanye has been at the forefront of the popular hip-hop scene. Sure, most of us were split with his previous record, 808s & Heartbreak. But many of those people that were on the fence with their feelings about that album were completely won over by Kanye when, just days before Thanksgiving, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy dropped. The tiredness I felt this year after the mass amounts of turkey eaten was dispelled with the sounds of “Dark Fantasy,” “Monster,” or possibly the album's most distinct track, “Runaway.”
Kanye's new album does not leave even the slightest feeling of hunger in its listeners. The album gives myself such a strong sense of fulfillment. The abrasive, throbbing, dark rhythm of “Monster” best reflects this by creating a song that will give you shivers. But why is it so fulfilling? Three reasons: 1. Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is all up on that intro melody. Pretty dope? I think so. 2. Who doesn't feel even in the slightest bit like a badass when rapping along to that chorus? 3. Nicki Minaj. Her verse. Her final shriek. Holy. Shit. “Monster” is just a mere sample of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. No one can get away from this album without recalling “Runaway;” a track that made a single note sound so enthralling, not to mention one of the last songs “Lost in the World,” which couldn't not make you feel Kanye any more.
The decision to get Bon Iver in on the project was a fantastic idea. He single-handedly made every hipster bust a nut, get this album, and have the time of their lives with one of hip-hop's new gems.
Could Kanye, as is sung on “Dark Fantasy,” get much higher? It may be a challenge after My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
1. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire
Deciding my favorite album of the year was tough. When Kanye West swooped into the hip-hop world with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy I could have sworn it was going to be the year's best album. But in retrospect, Kanye West's most recent album was definitely his most genius but it was this album, Arcade Fire's third release The Suburbs, that won the year for me.
It is clearly not unusual for Arcade Fire to incorporate concepts into their albums (see: Funeral), and I would argue Win Butler understands the child's psyche better than most with a doctorate in knowing such information. However, what separates this album from Arcade Fire's previous releases is that it spins its melody and message into a homogeneous, orchestrated masterpiece. Each song has its own character and feeling, but they all taste so good together: from the easy-going title track, to the dark yet demanding “Ready To Start,” to the saddening undertones of “Modern Man,” then to the syllable-piercing of “Rococo,” and so on. Even the tracks that appear to have two parts- “Half Light”/ “Sprawl”- complement each other perfectly and are equally important halves in the discourse listeners have with The Suburbs.
I am a sucker for epic records that contain an arena-filling sound that gives one goosebumps that is boosted by lyrics that are emotionally intensive and call upon the listener to be frank with him or herself. The Suburbs does exactly that. The Suburbs describes the essence of a child's time in the “sprawl;” that is, living in the suburbs. Given the Butler brothers' suburban background in Houston, Texas, it seems only fitting that Arcade Fire speaks for the people of these areas. What will they document next? I'm excited to find out.
