2010 In Review

I don't wanna explain my shit.
Realistically, I spent *way* more time listening to old music than I did music released during 2010. Maybe it's because I'm old and bitter, but it's not like I'm just harping on the musics of my youth, but have rather been blown away by new (to me) material that's decades old. I don't feel like the bulk of contemporary artists are making the same caliber of music. Except Janelle Monae (and Joanna Newsom, even if I don't find myself listening to her too much).

Albums of the year:
1. Janelle Monae - The Archandroid
2. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
3. Wiz Khalifa - Kush and Orange Juice
4. Xiu Xiu - Dear God, I Hate Myself
5. Aziz Ansari - Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening
6. Ariel Pink - Before Today
7. Die Antwoord - $0$
8. Julian Lynch - Mare/James Black - CMYK
9. Sleigh Bells - Treats/Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (II)
10. Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?

Honorable Mentions: Tame Impala, Flying Lotus, Gonjasufi, Kanye.
Full Disclosure: I woulda been way more open to Kanye if he hadn't been the winner of 2010's unnecessary-hyperbolic-acclaim award. Flying Lotus and Gonjasufi are on Warp records, which could have been easily predicted simply by listening to 30 seconds of either, and since I've been listening to Warp records for the past decade, neither were really that new or surprising sounding (to me). They still get honorable mentions, however. I prefer the Gonjasufi, to be honest.
Tame Impala: nice heavy psych. I like it, but just didn't have enough room on the list.
Hey, speaking of that list, I just feel that the Sleigh Bells/Crystal Castles are too similar to give separate entries. They've both banging, they've both nasty, they're both one hard-working dude with a charismatic bitch for people to fawn over.
James Blake/Julian Lynch are both good, both really similar in my mind. Julian Lynch especially is making music that sounds like I could make it at home on my computer. So I am. (Watch for 2011's list to be full of my own projects, natch).

Naturally I didn't/couldn't listen to everything this year. This is what stands out among what I listened to. I'm gonna keep on being a crank, and submit that maybe some of these artists don't deserve "best of year XXXX" honours, save for the fact that their competition is so weak. Except for Janelle Monae. Unless someone gives me a reason to say otherwise, Imma keep up with my claim that it's the "best album" of the past 5 years or so.