50. Marnie Stern: Marnie Stern [Kill Rock Stars]
49. Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma [Warp]
48. Local Natives: Gorilla Manor [Frenchkiss]
47. Yeasayer: Odd Blood [Secretly Canadian]
46. The Black Keys: Brothers [Nonesuch]
45. Deerhunter: Halcyon Digest [4AD]
44. Swans: My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky [Young God]
43. Stornoway: Beachcomber’s Windowsill [4AD]
42. Wavves: King of the Beach [Fat Possum]
41. Anaïs Mitchell: Hadestown
40. Free Energy: Stuck on Nothing [Astralwerks]
39. Sarah Jaffe: Suburban Nature [Kirtland]
38. Josh Ritter: So Runs the World Away [Pytheas]
37. Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty [Def Jam]
36. Spoon: Transference [Merge]
35. Grinderman: Grinderman 2 [Mute Records/ANTI-]
34. Girl Talk: All Day [Illegal Art]
33. Blitzen Trapper: Destroyer of the Void [Sub Pop]
32. Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig [Nonesuch]
31. The Roots: How I Got Over
30. She & Him: Volume Two [Merge]
29. Freelance Whales: Weathervanes [Frenchkiss]
28. Laura Marling: I Speak Because I Can [Astralwerks]
27. Vampire Weekend: Contra [XL]
26. Lissie: Catching a Tiger [Fat Possum]
25. Various Artists: Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall [Megaforce]
24. Beach House: Teen Dream [Sub Pop]
23. Laura Veirs: July Flame [Raven Marching Band]
22. The Tallest Man on Earth: The Wild Hunt [Dead Oceans]
21. Jamey Johnson: The Guitar Song [Mercury Nashville]
20. Suckers: Wild Smile [Frenchkiss]
19. Elizabeth Cook: Welder [31 Tigers]
18. Cee Lo Green: The Lady Killer [Elektra]
17. Jónsi: Go [XL]
16. Mavis Staples: You Are Not Alone [Anti-]
15. Justin Townes Earle: Harlem River Blues [Bloodshot]
14. Band of Horses: Infinite Arms [Brown Records/Fat Possum/Columbia]
13. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: I Learned the Hard Way [Daptone]
12. Bruce Springsteen: The Promise: The Lost Sessions of Darkness on the Edge of Town [Columbia]
11. The National: High Violet [4AD]
10. Frightened Rabbit: The Winter of Mixed Drinks [Fat Cat]
9. Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz [Asthmatic Kitty]
8. Phosphorescent: Here’s to Taking It Easy [Dead Oceans]
7. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs [Merge]
6. Sleigh Bells: Treats [Mom + Pop]
5. Titus Andronicus: The Monitor [XL]
4. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy [Def Jam/Roc-a-Fella]
3. Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More [Glassnote]
2. Janelle Monáe: The ArchAndroid [The Wondaland Arts Society/Bad Boy]
1. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening [EMI/DFA]
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/12/the-50-best-albums-of-2010.html
Best list so far, by far, I think. Paste always makes great lists. I can forgive them putting Arcade Fire in the top 10 as Sufjan, Janelle and LCD Soundsystem are all in there too.
By best I assume you mean most full of boring, predictable and safe American Indie. So in many respects a perfect list for a publication like Paste.
Well, those 3 albums I highlighted as being happy about appearing in there top 10 are anything but safe. Arcade Fire is definitely safe, though.
I'll give you Janelle as not being a safe record but even though I really like the LCD record it's clearly a retread of earlier work. I also found Sufjan's records more interesting when he was exploring US states over slowly peering into his own rectum. A near tuneless mess of of an album warmed up with some left overs from Homogenic if you ask me.
Despite my personal thoughts on those records they are going to be on nearly every top US publication's top 10s and my only reaction to the hegemony that we are bound to see is a giant jaw cracking yawn.
Despite my personal thoughts on those records they are going to be on nearly every top US publication's top 10s and my only reaction to the hegemony that we are bound to see is a giant jaw cracking yawn.
But surely The Age of Adz is anything but safe, whether you like it as much as his earlier material or not. It's a huge departure from a wildly successful (critically anyway) formula.
I'm not going to give him kudos personally for bravely making what I found a terrible album and as a separate point I don't think that an American publication including him high up should be taken as anything other than following the herd.
DISAGREE WITH MITCHELL
YOU ARE A SHEEP
Mitch, i think i gave you enough time to label "AoA" as another poor man's Max Tundra rip off... but you let me down. you didn't.
again.
i hate it when regAMFellas get old... orly old..
ps: this list is anything but party head
So correct me if I'm wrong, Michael, but the reason you don't like Sufjan's placement in the top 10 is because you personally didn't like the album. Otherwise, I can't follow your argument about it being a "safe" choice. The fact is, the critical reaction to it was far more mixed than with his other records, and I was actually worried that it WOULDN'T make as many EOY lists as it deserved to. Placing what many people seem to consider Sufjan's weakest album in their top 10 doesn't seem very safe to me. Look at all the other EOY lists posted since this one. How many have had Age of Adz ranked so high?
Also, Phosphorescent, Titus Andronicus, and Mumford & Sons all in the top 10? This is far from a typical list, and it is a good one.
The US magazine UNDER THE RADAR placed it right at #1. I'm going to try to buy a copy and post the list later today, because no one else seems to have seen it yet.
The US magazine UNDER THE RADAR placed it right at #1. I'm going to try to buy a copy and post the list later today, because no one else seems to have seen it yet.
They're the only ones who have gotten it right, then! I can understand that The Age of Adz is a divisive album, but to categorically call it his worst is kind of ridiculous, I think.
Songs list: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/12/the-50-best-songs-of-2010.html
50. Local Natives – “Sun Hands”
49. The Tallest Man on Earth – “Burden of Tomorrow”
48. April Smith and the Great Picture Show – “Colors”
47. Beach House – “Norway”
46. Free Energy – “Free Energy”
45. Joanna Newsom – “Good Intentions Paving Company”
44. BLK JKS – “Zol!”
43. Sarah Jaffe – “Clementine”
42. Deerhunter – “Helicopter”
41. The Walkmen – “Stranded”
40. Sufjan Stevens – “I Walked”
39. Dr. Dog – “Stranger”
38. Belle & Sebastian – “I Want the World to Stop”
37. Jamey Johnson – “Poor Man Blues”
36. New Pornographers – “Crash Years”
35. The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
34. Avi Buffalo – “Truth Sets In”
33. Freelance Whales – “Hannah”
32. Magic Kids – “Hey Boy”
31. Surfer Blood – “Floating Vibes”
30. Gorillaz – “Stylo”
29. Suckers – “It Gets Your Body Movin’”
28. Vampire Weekend – “Horchata”
27. Yeasayer – “Ambling Alp”
26. Stornoway – “Zorbing”
25. Josh Ritter – “Change of Time”
24. Justin Townes Earle – “Harlem River Blues”
23. Lil Wayne – "6’7""
22. Mark Ronson & The Business International – “Bang Bang Bang”
21. Band of Horses – “Laredo”
20. Big Boi – “Shutterbug”
19. Florence & The Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
18. Jónsi – “Go Do”
17. Arcade Fire – “Sprawl II”
16. Broken Bells – “The High Road”
15. Lissie – “Little Lovin’”
14. Robyn – “Dancing on My Own”
13. Caribou – “Odessa”
12. Phosphorescent – “It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)”
11. The Middle East – “Blood”
10. Kanye West – “Runaway”
9. Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union”
8. Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Tom Waits – “Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing”
7. The National – “Bloodbuzz Ohio”
6. LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
5. Frightened Rabbit – “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
4. Sleigh Bells – “Tell ’Em”
3. Janelle Monae – “Tightrope”
2. Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
1. Cee Lo Green – “Fuck You”
Thanks Moonbeam