2010 Top 10

Per tradition, my favourite albums (or songs) of the year. Interestingly, many of my selections are closely tied to personal memories/connections I've made which conveniently makes this list a good recap of my year overall. In no particular order:

Surfer Blood - "Twin Peaks" - This summer I listened to nothing but Surfer Blood and The Drums. One of my most memorable SXSW concerts was seeing Jonathan Pierce of The Drums 'dance' around on stage, flailing a tambourine. The show was also very special because my good friend John Wise got kicked out but managed to sneak his way BACK in for epic reunion. There's nothing better than being surrounded by people you love and watching awesome music.

Janelle Monae - "Tightrope" - Hot damn. I fell in love with this girl when I saw her perform with Of Montreal at Lolla in 2009 with my good friends Jon Kent and Jess Lee. She was so pretty and so spunky. Granted, there was a lot going on so I didn't hear her all THAT well (it was an Of Montreal show), but when The ArchAndroid dropped and it was LONG and had a definite concept she wasn't afraid to tackle, it was clear she was more than just a pretty face. Best voice of any singer on this list.

Kanye West - "Runaway" - Put this one in the history books: Caroline likes hip hop. Or at least this song. I have to admit I heard/saw it in the context of the music video (short, then extended) and the beauty of the choreography, ballerinas, and stunning blue background mixed with Kanye's dapper style just took my breath away. Were it not for Matt Medved sending me the short video, I would never have given the song/Kanye the time of day. I'm glad I was proven wrong!

Arcade Fire - "Rococo" - I didn't like Arcade Fire much until I heard Rococo. Mouth dropped, listened to it on repeat, and then went back and listened to their other albums as a result. Also, my talented friend Dan Black designed the tour posters for them and that's awesome.

Tennis - "Marathon" - When I saw they had a song titled "South Carolina," it was over. I love the story of husband/wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore and love their lo-fi pop/twee sound. I'll be seeing them February 2011!!!

Deerhunter - "Desire Lines" - This album is great and I'm STILL listening to it on repeat. I never thought anything could top Cryptograms; I say that because I saw Deerhunter when they were still small enough to play the Empty Bottle and they had just released Cryptograms, so obviously played all those songs. It was the most transcendent concert experience I've ever had and I saw them with Travis Baer. NOTHING has topped that show for me yet. But gawd, this album. So good.

Wavves - "Post Acid" - King of the Beach is SO MUCH better than his first album. Even so, I saw him when he played a sold out show at the Empty Bottle and it was a fun time. He was 'cute' in that he seemed young and to be having fun. Then I heard about his little hissy fit in Spain and thought less of him.

Best Coast - "When I'm With You" - My introduction to this band was their massive advertising presence, or at least, what seemed like a massive presence since everywhere I looked for a good six months I saw their hideous album cover art. It was because of this I decided not to like them/drag my feet in downloading their album. Logical, right? But when I finally did... *sheepish face* I liked them. Fun, cute, upbeat. I'm always a sucker for 60s garage pop.

jj - "Ecstasy" - Okay, okay. So jj n 2 was released in 2009. However, I honestly discovered them in 2010 and this was one of my favourite songs so if I'm going to list my Top 10 for 2010, this should make it.

Phantogram - "As Far as I Can See" - Despite being last on this list, this band was arguably my favourite for 2010. I love Sarah Barthel's voice and the type of songs they sing (trip hop? psych pop? electronic rock? whatevs. I like all that stuff these days. But NOT chillwave). These guys were my favourite show at SXSW too, especially because I decided to see them on a whim. I'd just learned about them a couple of weeks before the fest and liked them well enough. After seeing them in such an intimate space, surrounded by other people who loved them, too... Well, that's why I go to shows and love music.

Caroline