The Best Albums of 2010

Here be my second annual favourite albums of the year list.

Last year's list was dominated by concept albums and the heavier side of the musical spectrum.

By January I had devoured NPR's best of the year/decade lists and had been turned (innoncently enough by my friend Blythe) to Pitchfork's lists. I had said that I thought Arcade Fire's Funeral may have been my favourite album of the decade (though in hindsight...probablyYs by Joanna Newsom) and Blythe had pointed out that Funeral was Pitchfork's #2. Anyway, long story short. I have read Pitchfork pretty much everyday since January and this year's list reflects that...almost painfully. Everyone of my picks for this year are of those that Pitchfork has labeled "Best New Music."

This list, like last year's, is in alphabetical order.

The Best Albums of 2010:

Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty

This may shock some people who know me. A Hip-Hop album? In your top 5? Yes. It's true (There'll be two). Hip-Hop has always had a soft place in my heart; I love the energy, the beats, the syncopation, the SWAGGER. It's electrifying. Unfortunately, like any genre, there is a lot of crap to sort through. And, unlike some genres, I don't want to spend the money/effort to sort through the rap game. There are a few rap artists that I trust though, and Outkast is definitely one of them, so when I heard about Big Boi's solo album, I was excited. Then "Shutterbug" came out as the first single and I was sold. So much originality packed into one song: the thundering acapella bass line alone could make a song worth listening to! Still, I don't just go out and buy hip-hop. But after hearing a couple more tracks and reading Pitchfork's review I went and got it and was not disappointed. There are a few lulls, yes, but none are long or painful enough to disrupt the record (perhaps Hustle Blood...). There are plenty of guest appearances (like any self-respecting rap album) but my favourite is definitely Yelawolf's redneck spiel in "You Ain't No DJ". Every track is brimming with creative ideas, beats and samples - and the skits are actually funny to boot! A fun, and energertic album.

Favourite Track: "General Patton" - so. hardcore. and over a classical loop for the hook!

James Blake - his three 2010 EPs: The Bells Sketch; CMYK; Klavierwerke

I'm lumping 21 year old James Blake's EP together because I just can't pick, and together they'd about make up a full length. This kid. This freaking guy is a classically trained pianist who makes some of the most unique electronic music I've heard. It's dark, it's subdued, its glitchy, it's organic, it's melodic, but most of all, it's beautiful. Like other artists influenced by Burial and the Dubstep scene, he takes vocal tracks - sometimes his own- and screws with them until they speak their own language. Each EP showcases another side of this diverse young artist:The Bells Sketch is glitchy; CMYK is more of a dance oriented EP; and Klavierwerke is (as it's name implies) an album of mostly (haunting) piano tracks. Steeped in classical music, current electronic trends, jazz, and 90s R&B(?!) Blake has created a whole new, and exquisite world. Look for his first LP (out in Feb)to almost definitely show up on my best of 2011 list.

Favourite Track: "I Only Know (What I Know)"

Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me*

Joanna Newsom is easily one of the most creative artists of the new millennium so far. Her pixie like voice, incredibly complex and beautiful harp playing, and her poetic long-form story telling combine to create sometimes whimsical, but always beautiful, worlds. Her first album was light-hearted and filled with short, fun little tunes. Her second (and still her best) albumYs, is, as I said, one of my favourite albums of the last decade and was full of complex arrangements and emotional allegories. Joanna's voice has matured considerably since Ys, and it shows. She has more control and more emotional range than before and she uses it... A lot.Have One On Me is 2 hours worth of music over 18 tracks and 3 LPs. This is intimidating and for the first few listens I had to take an LP at a time. The arrangements are more sparse, but they fit the tunes which are more personal than before. Lyrically Joanna Newsom is as sharp and elusive as ever. You could spend many many hours just pouring over her lyrics quite aside from her music. Have One On Me has her sitting at the piano quite a bit, but my favourite tracks are still harp-centered. Now, almost a year later, when I listen to the album I hear how much the 3 LPs tie together; it is definitely a single unified whole, but like a tapestry you have to stand back to truly see the remarkable achievement that this album is.

Joanna also put on the best show of the year. Live she is charming and funny and plays impeccably. She's also really pretty. A true joy to behold.

Favourite Track: "Baby Birch"

*Best Album of the Year

Robyn - Body Talk Pt. 1

Robyn is my new favourite pop star. If she doesn't quite warrant stardom yet, she should. She has a much better ear for melody than most of the crap on the radio these days and works with interesting producers (Royksopp among others) who help make her dance floor beats stand out from the pack. Robyn released 3 EPs this year in the Body Talk line and each of them was great, but Pt. 1 stands out as the best. It's the most diverse; despite it's dance floor grounding it encompasses elements of reggae and ends with a beautiful traditional tune from her homeland of Sweden. Lyrically, Robyn walks a fine line between being really sweet and really hard. (Swagger is kind of a theme this year...) From being heart broken on "Dancing On My Own" to telling everyone how much they're "killing" her on "Don't F***ing Tell Me What To Do" to warning young girls that "love hurts when you do it right" on "You'll Cry When You Get Older" Robyn covers a large range of emotion in a short EP.

Favourite Track: "Dancing On My Own"

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

The Lords of the Fork have been obsessed with Yeezy all year; Kanye garnered Best Track, Best Album, even best Twitter Feed. All the hype has not been for nothing either. Kanye has always put out great tracks - "Gold Digger"; "Stronger"; "Jesus Walks" - but after the nearly fatal blow of the Taylor Swift debacle he really needed something huge to stop the blood. And he delivered. Free tracks every week for 3 months - some from the album, some not; some great, most good - that's what got my attention: I love free music! But what really woke me up was my favourite track of the year: "Monster." Featuring Jay Z, Nicki Minaj and others, the song blows the doors off. "Best living or dead hands down huh?" Ye raps, then Jay Z claims that his achilles heel is love and then Nicki destroys every other great verse before it with the weirdest rap verse I've ever heard: "First things first I'll eat your brains!" My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is aptly named. It walks the fine line between between delusions of grandeur and self destruction. And it's more musical than any rap album I've heard (lots of Bon Iver contributions help). Great guitar tones, sick beats, creative writing, impeccable rhythmns and interesting structural modulation are on the plate with nearly every track - each could almost be an EP unto itself. Plenty of great moments but some of the more interesting ones include Kanye toasting himself as a "douchebag" and a "jerk off that'll never take work off" on "Runaway" as well as a confession that he was "never much of a romantic" because of intimacy issues. The album is obsessed with rebirth and the final suite of "Lost in the World/Who Will Survive in America?" almost feels like a rite of spring, a crazy dance of rhythmic ecstasy giving way to a sobering end to Ye's fantasy with a long excerpt from Gil Scott-Heron about false freedom in America. Kanye knows it's a fantasy, but can't help indulging. "I gotta have it." But luckily, we get to too.

Favourite Track: "Monster"*

*Favourite of the Year

Honourable Mention:

LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening

Favourite Tracks: "I Can Change"

Best Tracks (that aren't on my Best Albums):

Arcade Fire - "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)"

A disco giant filled with Regine's haunting voice.

Girls - "Carolina"

A slow melancholy build that ends with a great jam session.

Janelle Monae - "Tight Rope (feat Big Boi.)"

Swagger and amazing vocals with a dash of James Brown.

Titus Andronicus - "A More Perfect Union"

If a band has ever channeled Springsteen better, I haven't heard it yet.

Wavves - "Post Acid"

Drugs and summer equals a great pop-punk track.

Best Non-2010 purchases:

Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come 1959

Neu! - Neu! 1972

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady 1963

Van Morrison - Astral Weeks 1968

Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom 1974

Biggest Disappointment:

The Ocean - Heliocentric/Anthropocentric

True Grit (2010) ****

Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen

The Coen Brothers are not to be pigeon-holed. Their last 4 movies were a ridiculous re-make of a classic comedy, a 4 Oscar-winning tense and thoughtful modern western, an exercise in paranoid chaos incarnate, and modern allegory for the book of Job. Now they're doing a classic John Wayne flick and making it, well, Grittier.

The brothers are always character driven which is what makes even my least favourite of their films better than almost any other films. This is probably that least favourite (of the ones I've seen), however the characters are delightful. Haillee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, a tough as nails young girl who won't take no for an answer. She knows what she wants and she gets it. Jeff Bridges plays Rooster Cogburn, an alcoholic bounty hunter who's rival/counterpart in this film is Matt Damon's LaBeouf, a chatty and cocky Texas Ranger who, despite a knack for getting himself in trouble, is an honourable sort of fellow. All of them are after Josh Brolin (quickly riding up my favourite actors list) who plays the villainous (and terribly stupid) Tom Chaney.

A few people I know - including some I saw it with - found themselves bored and frustrated at it not being more of an action movie, but the action is in the right places: It's called pacing, something people rarely have patience for anymore. Thank you Coen Brothers for caring.

The movie is up for a lot of Oscars and it might win some of them too. It's the chemistry that makes this movie magic. The banter, the hate, the rivalry, the love. And best of all, every major character - even the outlaw Lucky Ned Penner, and, stranger still, Mattie's horse) display true grit, fighting hard and admirably for whatever goal they set out to achieve, even to the point of danger, or even death. And there's something might admirable about that.

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise (2010) CD [6/10]

I have a weird relationship with Bruce Springsteen. Everytime I see a video of him performing my jaw drops and I can't stop watching, but the music doesn't have the same spell over me. But I can't even say that. More than a few of his songs get lodged in my soul the instant I hear them, but rarely is there an album that doesn't bore me by the end (Nebraska being the exception along with most of The River) Part of what makes him great is that he can make romance out of depression, but it can be cheesy. The Promise has those great moments and those cheesy moments. It's a collection of songs written and partially recorded in the years between the blow-up success of Born to Run and the hard depression of Darkness on the Edge of Town. In those three years there were legal battles with record labels and a lot of pressure, and Springsteen was struggling to stay true to himself. Thus, although he wrote a lot (a LOT) of material in that time, he was ruthless with what he selected for the next album. These are the songs he skipped, and they definitely show the transitional years well. Darkness has never been an album I've been crazy about (except for "Badlands"), and a lot of this material hits home better, but there are only a few really A-grade tracks. "Because the Night"'s strong battle cry of love could fit right in with Born to Run. That's really the only track I love on disc one, which is mostly inundated with a bawling yell which I never felt was a strong suit for Bruce's voice.

Disc two opens up more. It's fun. It's rock and roll. The softer tracks thankfully croon rather than wail. And it's stronger for it. It's the kind of album I could listen to. Unfortunately disc one often makes me skip the whole album. The gem, the power, that keeps me coming back however is "Fire." It's Springsteen's Elvis tribute and it's everything an Elvis tribute should be: Sexy and Swaggering. I just can't stop listening to it. The bass riff alone is a piece of gold...and it's the same thing the whole song. And Big C's sax solo is gritty, not fluffy lameness. It's one of Bruce's best. The Pointer Sister's did a great version of this song, which I love, but this is a torn out and refit paired-down version which adds a mystery to it.

Disc one bores me and I'd give a 4 or 5, while disc two has sits comfortably up in the 6 range and carries the the rest. Who knows maybe with time the other songs will find they're place in my heart, but so far, disc two has all the Fire.

[6/10]

Tron: Legacy (2010) **

Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Ok. So Tron: Legacy is definitely 3 things: Shiny, Daft Punked and 3D. Let's deal with them in order.

Shiny: The visual esthetic on the grid is really cool. All blue orange and black. And as I said, shiny. You can tell that Kosinski made his name doing car commercials. Everything is sleek and beautiful and well shot. Visually I was very impressed. Kosinski also manages something that few directors (*cough* Nolan *cough*) do well any more: linear action sequences. Because (I think) of his car background, he knows how to follow the action and keep it in focus. Each moment can actually be processed instead of using the tactic of overwhelming the audience with fast-pan fast-cut tactics. I love that about this movie. Laser disc battles and lightcycle battles (and whatever fancy name they had for the planes) they're all cool and multidimesional and followable. There is lacking however a real sense of peril that accompanied the 1982 original. The consequences don't seem as real.

Daft Punked: Daft Punk is obviously one of the great musical groups of the 21st Century, and their driving strings and electronic beats definitely add a great atmosphere to the world of The Grid. The best musical moments are reserved for the club scene (where our french friends are cameoing as DJs) where it actually feels like it's Daft Punk, not just strings and beats. My other favourite musical moment was a faded, through the walls version of Eurythmix' "Sweet Dreams." Nothing was altered except it feels really far off which adds a level of menace and suspense to the nostalgia.

3D: I despise 3D movies. They're more expensive, they're less clear, and they're just annoying. This film was blessedly shot in 2D for the real world shots so I could take my glasses off for part of it. But it's a lame gimmick.

So, visually and musically impressive...how about plot and characters? Ya, not much really. Jeff Bridges is hard to screw up, and he didn't really, but it wasn't amazing. The best moments were his more "Dude"like moments of "Radical" - Best line: You're really screwing with my whole Zen thing, man! The pretty boy, Garrett Hedlund, wasn't terrible, but didn't have much character. The whole time I kept thinking...Chris Pine (a la Star Trek) was sooo much better (very similar roles.) The potential love interest (Olivia Wilde) was indeed cute, and her naivite/badassness made a charming dichotomy, but she was kind of shallow (she is after all computer DNA). It is nice to have a cute heroine who doesn't have to bend over a bike or a car to be enticing (Megan Fox?).

The best scene in the entire film is that with Zeus. Michael Sheen is a brilliant actor who I have admired in many films: The Queen and Frost Vs Nixon stand out. And he lights up an already fluorescent film with his great character - definitely channeling some Bowie.

One last disappointment: Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow in Batman Begins and Robert Fischer in Inception) is another great actor who will no doubt be a bigger deal in the impending sequel, however it was disapointing to have only about 4 lines from him in this film (though awesome to seem him sporting some Colin Meloy hair.)

The plot is fairly weak, and the characters weaker (which is crazy coz three of them are Jeff Bridges), but there are some great visual moments and Michael Sheen saves the day. Over all I kind of felt like I did back in elementary school when I'd go over to a friends house and he would play video games and I would watch. It's cool, but I'd rather play.

Inception (2010) ****

Directed by Christopher Nolan.

As the most hyped movie of 2010, it's hard to write a review of Inception - ask Armond White. I've seen the movie three times now and would like to share some thoughts.

Inception is a Movie's movie. It has a cool concept - dream thieves - which allows Christopher Nolan to do whatever he pleases without much need for any sort of continuity or reality. The results are impressive: confused gravity fight scenes; physics defying structures; and a whole lot of time and brain twisting. The result is a pretty tense and packed two and a half hours - it almost feels like you're playing a video game. If you go along with everything it's hugely enjoyable. Second and third time through though I started picking it apart more. Almost half of the movie is spent on explaining whats going on filled in with action sequences. The explanation is part of the joy first time round, but it means that the movie will not remain a movie that I want to go back to over and over.

Third time round I really noticed how much Nolan loves graphic novels. (Yes, the Batman movies should have been a bit of a give away.) Inception, I think, could have functioned better as a Alan-Moore-wannabe graphic novel than a movie. The pseudo-philosophical monologues (Characters often feel like they're talking to the audience rather than to the other characters) function on a slightly cheesy level which befits comics better than film. An unmoving medium would also really complement the cross timeframe action lending more forward momentum to the film and a better sense of proportion. But it's not a comic. Too bad.

I've always had beef with Nolan's action sequences. Batman Begins was essentially a bunch of figures dressed in black moving quickly while shaky camera effects panned this way and that. I only really knew who'd won a fight after it was over (you just assume it's Batman unless he's making groaning noises). Inception cleans it up a bit and I appreciate that I could follow the action more. More linear sequences. Good step in that direction.

Cillian Murphy is again the best actor in Nolan's cast, playing the target of this particular heist. I find it sad seeing Michael Caine reduced to minor, and uninteresting roles. (Go watch Sleuth again...either of them...to remember why he's great.) I've come to really like DiCaprio over the years, if not entirely for his acting then for his movie choices, but this year with two pretty decent reality-confused characters I wonder whether he will get past that confused and pained expression which he does so well and pull off another Aviator. I hope so.

Nolan had a dream and created one. Like a dream it's exciting and vivid while you're in it, but it fades as you enter reality once more. This dream isn't likely to fade as quickly as others, but reality is breaking in.

Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) Vinyl [9/10]

Another attempt at Jazz discussion.

The Shape of Jazz to Come is a fierce and daring album, which comes as quite a surprise after seeing the relaxed, sweatered and mustached Ornette Coleman looking terrifically nerdy on the cover. When it was released in 1959 the album shocked people; blew the doors off previous jazz conceptions. Coleman nearly single handedly created free jazz by removing the restriction of...CHORDS! Up until this point all Jazz, no matter how complicated or out there, used to chord structures and often hand a piano just in order to keep the chord structures moving. Coleman's quartet had no piano and followed no chord structures. Instead, each piece begins with a melody and then breaks into several minutes of free improvisation, held together -barely!- by the rhythm section which itself was improvising freely. This wasn't quite free jazz without key or any structure at all whatsoever, but it opened the doors!

Chord structure wasn't the only tradition Coleman discarded. Jazz etiquette at the time required a soloist to finish his solo before another player began; The Shape of Jazz has moments in it where multiple musicians solo at the same time. This became one of the building blocks of jazz-fusion (though this album is not a fusion album by any means).

Throwing out traditions is not enough to become the father of a new genre, it needs to be accompanied by artistic mastery, and Coleman is a brilliant saxophone player. Incredibly fast runs swirl and dance around each other as Coleman and Don Cherry (not the Hockey guy) exchange music explosions with each other; Cherry's cornet - a higher trumpet - the soprano to Coleman's alto-sax. And the rhythm section that holds it together is near rabid with frantic galloping drums and nonstop walking bass lines following no clear path, but never seeming to lose it's footing.

And yet. And yet! The album, unlike later free jazz, remains enjoyable to more than the avid jazz nerd. The melodies are catchy, and it is not a hard album to listen to.

A phenomenal undertaking and accomplishment.

Summary: Free Jazz is born.

Best Track: "Peace"

Rating: [9/10]

The Usual Suspects (1995) ***

Directed by Brian Singer

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." - Charles Baudelaire

The Usual Suspects is one of my favourite suspense films. It's one of those movies you wish you could watch for the first time over and over, not knowing until the end...what the end is. I won't divulge any details in order than anyone who has not seen it might still be caught up. I will however say that it does a wonderful job of combining flash backs with police interviews to keep you confused while always filling you in at the same time. And the character's are wonderful. Pre-Bio-Dome Stephen Baldwin, with his piercing blue eyes and totally mad smirk is delightfully dangerous. Benicio Del Toro as a swaggeringly tough, yet weirdly distant and feminine mexican. Gabriel Byrne as the bad cop gone-straight-gone-bad is cool and calculating and trying to regain control of his destiny. Kevin Spacey as the bright gimp. and that other guy.

All these guys end up in the same jail cell in a shake down and end up doing a job together which gets them way over their heads, and over the viewer's head as well. There's enough mystery to draw you in, enough action to keep you sharp - though not so much to be mind numbing , and enough tension between the characters and the situations they find themselves in to keep you hooked till the end.

Some gratuitous over-swearing aside, a totally solid film well worth watching.

One final little aside: Peter Greene is super awesome and totally underrated. He was the bad guy in The Mask and the twisted cop Zed in Pulp Fiction. He has a small role in this film but he just makes every scene he's in. Apparently he improvised the scene where he flicked his cigarette into Baldwin's face in The Usual Suspects. That's just awesome.