Best Albums of 2010

Hey folks,

It seems I put out my favorite movie list a bit too early.  I saw True Grit last night, and along with Black Swan, definitely would have made my list.  I may have even had enough movies to fill out a top 10 instead of just a top 5.  Oh well, too late for that.

Today I'll continue my year in review with my favorite albums of 2010.  And it's in list form!  Everyone's doing it these days.  

Best Albums of 2010

10. Brothers - The Black Keys
I'm always a tad skeptical whenever the Black Keys release a new album.  Six albums in, is there really anything new they can do in the world of blues rock?  However, they never fail to put out a good album.  The Black Key's are great at incorporating new sounds and textures while still keeping the spirit and grit of blues rock.  This album is full of great songs, including "Everlasting Light," "Tighten Up," and "Never Gonna Give You Up."  No matter how skeptical I may get, The Black Key's just get better with every album.

9. Crazy for You - Best Coast
One important aspect of music for me is the way it sounds.  This may seem obvious, but music with smooth tones and such is more pleasant to listen too.  Even with their minimalistic approach to music, Best Coast manages to create one of the best sounding records I have heard in a while.  Bethany Cosentino has a gorgeous voice that lends itself well to the album's reverby production.  And as a guitarist, I thought the guitar tones on Crazy for You were to die for.  All that combined with simple, yet effective songwriting that anyone can get into.

8. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Every song on this album might as well be a hit single.  James Mercer definitely has an ear for great pop melodies and Danger Mouse's production always brings something new and interesting to the table.  I've yet to find anything done by Danger Mouse that I don't like.  I was genuinely impressed by this collaboration and songs like "The High Road" and "The Ghost Inside" make for an extremely fun album.

7. Love - Angels & Airwaves

I really am a sucker for guitar effects and soundscapes.  There's one between nearly every track on this album and, frankly, I thinks its awesome.  Angels & Airwaves' Love is one of the few guitar albums that caught my attention this year (metal doesn't count) and this album is filled with huge stadium rock songs with great guitar riffs and noises.  I think Tom DeLonge's lyrics are a tad too broad in scope as evidenced by the album's very title (Love? *gag*), but nonetheless he creates an exciting album.

6. Congratulations - MGMT

I'm not going to lie, it took me half a dozen listens to this album before I could get a good grasp it.  But that's kind of the whole point of Congratulations.  To me, there aren't any obvious hit singles such as "Time to Pretend" or "Kids" from MGMT's last album.  Instead, the album is filled with sprawling songs with subtle melodies and complex structures.  This album shows off how much the band's song writing has evolved.  Comparing Congratulations with Oracular Spectacular, I felt a huge difference in overall sound and texture, yet both albums are written in the same spirit.  It almost makes Congratulations seem like an acoustic album, as the songs are sonically focused on the band as a whole, as opposed to big synth melodies.  It's not that the synth isn't there, it's just not as in your face.  Rather, it blends with the band's overall sound.  On Congratulations, MGMT manages to build epic and advanced songs without sacrificing their great hooks (I still can't get "Brian Eno" out of my head).

5. Taste the Sin - Black Tusk
Black Tusk is another great sludge metal band thats currently making music.  While probably not as well known as Kylesa or Baroness, these guys can be every bit as brutal.  The vocals are reminiscent of Black Cobra and the riffs are heavy and intricate, not unlike Mastodon.  At the same time, Black Tusk brings a certain amount of hardcore energy that isn't always seen in sludge metal.  Taste the Sin has some awesome tracks on it including "Embrace the Madness" and "Red Eye" that prove that Black Tusk deserves as much attention as their fellow sludge metal bands.

4. Hurley - Weezer
I can feel your eyebrows raising for putting this album this high on my list.  Pretty much every review I've read for Weezer's latest album has been negative.  But in my opinion, Hurley is one of the most fun albums I've listened to.  Every song on here has a great melody and is easy to get into.  Even though Weezer's songwriting can be pretty wacky at times, their songs are still fantastic.  I've essentially grown up with Weezer, so listening to Hurley is like listening to a bunch of friends having a great time.  I love the production on "Time Flies," with distorted drums and acoustic guitars, and "Ruling Me" (as I've previously noted) is one of the best feel-good songs of the year.  Weezer has definitely been throwing some curve balls lately, but Hurley shows they've still got it where it counts.

3. Snakes for the Divine - High on Fire
I told you I wasn't going soft.  High on Fire reclaims their title as the heaviest band in the world with Snakes for the Divine.  This album is every bit as good as Death is this Communion or Blessed Black Wings.  Th album's eponymous opening is an 8-minute epic that just keeps building, and the album never lets down from there.  Every song has thundering riffs and crushing drums that create one of the most brutal albums of the year.

2. Plastic Beach - Gorillaz
From the moment Snoop Dogg starts rapping on the Plastic Beach's first song, I knew this was going to be a great album.  Plastic Beach is full of funky and electronic beats that create one of the most diverse and unique records of the year.  This certainly album widened my perspective on how electronics and synthesizers can be used to make great music.  This record is not as focused on rapping as the Gorillaz' previous albums, but when the rapping is there, it's still fantastic.  Instead Damon Albarn, focuses on creating a world that sounds completely organic, even though the majority of the sounds are electronic.  Songs like "Empire Ants," "On Melancholy Hill," and "Pirate Jet" have made me come to the conclusion that Albarn is one of the most versatile songwriters of my generation.  A bold statement, but there, I said it.

1. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
For me, the number one album of the year was always an obvious choice.  Everything Arcade Fire releases is no less amazing and I'm always impressed that they continue to live up to the high expectations set by their previous albums.  The Suburbs is an album that manages to address growing old without being cliche or overstated ("I hate you dad!" was always so childish).  Arcade Fire paints a picture of the way things used to be and how they have come to change.  Every song builds off one another to create a mood that's depressing but somehow hopeful and the same time.  And as usual, Arcade Fire continues to write some of the most beautiful music around (geez, I'm overdramatic).


Well, there you have it.  It took me a while  to decide on the order but I did my best.  But while we're at it...
Extra awards! (that don't quite merit a whole countdown)

Favorite Video Game:
Halo: Reach

Most Anticipated Album of 2011:
Radiohead's new album (seriously, just release it already)

Favorite TV Show (New):
The Walking Dead

Favorite TV Show (Returning):
Tie between Metalocalypse and The Office

Most Fun Song to Play on Guitar:
Circle of Cysquatch - Mastodon


That's all for now.  I can't wait to see what 2011 brings.
Happy new year!

Best Songs of 2010

Welcome back, 

Today's year in review continues with my favorite songs of 2010.  Here we go!

10. Radioactive - Kings of Leon
Even though Only by the Night had some of Kings of Leon's best songs on it (Closer, Sex on Fire), overall it left me disappointed because of its general mediocracy and because it abandoned the unique sounds of their previous album.  So when KOL's next single, Radioactive, came out, I was a bit skeptical.  But to my surprise, it was more than just a radio friendly sing-a-long hit.  While not as raw as their first few albums, Radioactive had the energy and warmth that had been missing from their past few singles.  Come Around Sundown might not be their best effort yet, but i think Radioactive shows that they're at least headed in the right direction.

9. Tighten Up - The Black Keys
I almost went with TBK's "Everlasting Light" for this spot.  Both songs have excellent feels with undeniable grooves (whatever the hell that means).  But what made my final choice was Tighten Up's downtempo coda.  The Keys took a song with a great sing-a-long guitar lick and then turned it into a super-heavy jam for the last minute.  It was kinda like when metal bands go into half-time for breakdown sections, only it's there for different reasons.  Tighten Up proves even further that the Black Keys are the kings of modern blues rock.

8. The High Road - Broken Bells

It seems like everything Danger Mouse touches is pure gold and his collaboration with the Shin's James Mercer is no exception.  The group's lead single, The High Road, immediately caught my attention.  The melody is so catchy you feel like you've know the song for years.  Danger Mouse's production is impeccable as usual and I quite enjoyed his use of computer noises that sound like they're straight from an old-school Nintendo game.  And as a side note, nearly all of the tracks off the Broken Bells album were good enough to put on this list, so choosing just one was a close call.

7. When I'm With You - Best Coast
Best Coast's lyrics may seem numbingly simple at first, but that's kind of the point.  Through very few and simple words, Best Coast provokes exactly the feeling they intend to, and do it so well that anyone who listens to the song can relate and feel the exact same way.  This song shines in it's simplicity.  Catchy as hell, too.

6. F*** You! - Cee Lo Green

What a brilliant perfect hook.  It attracts attention to itself with obscenity that would normally make the song seem like a gimmick.  Yet the song holds it itself up with a chorus so catchy and infectious that you're left singing it for hours.  I could listen to Cee Lo say absolutely anything and I'd hang onto every word.  His voice is so soulful and soothing that he's essentially the Morgan Freeman of singing.  What's so great about this song is that Cee Lo doesn't beat around the bush.  He tells you exactly what he means.  He's not f***ing around.

5. Ruling Me - Weezer
A friend of mine once said, "Weezer is not incapable of writing a great song, but they are incapable of knowing which of their songs are great ones."  In my opinion, "Ruling Me" proves at least the first half of that.  A truly great pop song, I can't help but feel good when it's infectious chorus kicks in.  I can't for the life of me figure out why Weezer hasn't released this as a single yet.  Hell, it should have been Hurley's lead single, rather than "Memories."  Nevertheless, this is one of the most well-written songs to come out this year, in my opinion.  Even though Weezer has been doing whatever the hell they want lately, the definitely still know how to write a good pop song.

4. Frost Hammer - High on Fire

High on Fire never fails to melt my face with their brutality.  I have been getting into High on Fire a lot this year, so much so that I tried sneaking into a bar to see them (see my last post).  They are definitely one of the heaviest bands around.  Matt Pike's Lemmy vocals roar over thundering drums and lumbering guitar.  Throw in one of Pike's best guitar solos in High on Fire's catalogue and you have one the best metal songs in 2010.

3. Pursuit of Happiness - Kid Cudi
Who knew hip-hop could be so sensitive?  I actually studied the symbolism of the two music videos for this song in my Design & Production class for Telecomm.  This is a rare hip-hop song that catches my attention for a few reasons.  First, the lyrics are much more mature than the majority of rap songs out there, showing concern for consequences of living the high life.  But that's lame, the main reason I can't get it out of my head is the insane beat and music featuring none other than MGMT.  I've always thought that rap was better with actual music behind it (which is why I like Jaydiohead so much), and Pursuit of Happiness' combination of a trippy synth-line and backwards guitar solo make for a truly unique track and surprisingly one of my favorite songs of 2010.

2. Suburban War - Arcade Fire
Every song off The Suburbs was flawless.  "Suburban War" just seemed to sum up the whole album in so many ways.  It's a bit of a retrospective song, and is a bit of a turning point for the album.  The beginning has the soft, tender lyrics describing what used to be matching the lyrical nature of the first half of the album.  As the song picks up, everything falls apart and nothing is as it was.  "All my old friends, they don't know me now," describes how now everything is different.  This song manages to wrap up all of the emotions from one of the best albums of 2010.

1. Rhinestone Eyes - Gorillaz
I chose this song as the best of 2010 because it was probably the most crucial in my changing perspective on electronic-influenced music.  Even though Kid A introduced me to electronic-tinged music first, this song made me appreciate how synth-lines and electronic beats can make songs that aren't limited to dance club music.  The synth in this song functions as a guitar by providing riffs, atmosphere and chord changes.  It may sound obvious, but the presence of a synth in music used to mean that it was just techno to me.  But because of this shift in thinking, I have become a fan of artists such as The Knife, The Postal Service and Kraftwerk.  I certainly would have thought the Gorillaz's newly released The Fall was rubbish if i hadn't heard and love a song such as "Rhinestone Eyes."  And after all, that's what good music should do: introduce you to new sounds and show you how they can be used to create music.


Wow, only one metal song on this list?  I must be getting soft...Ha!  I actually was introduced to dozens of awesome metal bands this year, but only a couple had albums come out this year (and unfortunately, I never got around to getting Kylesa's Spiral Shadow).  However,  I am pleased with the outcome of this list.  It may be a bit mainstream for some, but I feel like its a pretty diverse list nonetheless.  If you have any objections, I would love to hear them.

Next up are the best albums of 2010, and I promise to get it out before 2011 rolls around, cus that'd be lame.  I'm just about done narrowing down my choices, so I'll just need to get off my lazy rear and write it.  (I should probably start writing before 2:00 AM, but hey, old habits die hard.)

Stay tuned!

Best Concerts of 2010

Welcome back everyone,

Today I'm going to continue my 'Best of 2010' stuff by listing the best concerts I went to this year.  While I didn't get to go see everyone I wanted to (i.e. Mastodon and Baroness), I still managed to catch some sweet shows.

Before I begin, I'll go ahead and confirm my suspicions from yesterday.  I did indeed see Black Swan last night and it was phenomenal to say the least.  The story was incredibly written and Natalie Portman's performance was fantastic.  I bought every second of it.  I was surprised about how downright creepy the movie was.  Horror movies generally don't phase me, but this one had me jumping out of my seat numerous times.  I think it's cus you can run away from Jason or Mike Myers (debatably) but you can't run away from your own mind.  Freaky, right?  Anyway, I'm not sure if it clenched my number one spot away from Toy Story 3, but it's damn close to say the least.

Now back to our feature presentation.

Runner Up: Punch Brothers at the IU Auditorium

5. Dave Matthews Band - Verizon Music Center
Ok, so technically I am not a Dave Matthews band fan.  I only attended this concert because a group of my friends were going and I was essentially pressured into going.  That being said, I had a great time at this concert for two reasons.  First was because there was a massive thunder storm before/during the show that absolutely drenched everyone not under the pavilion.  Which included me.  My leather belt from that concert is still warped beyond repair.  Second reason was because everyone in the band is an extremely talented musician.  I spent the majority of the show marveling at the band's drummer.  DMB definitely knows how to put on a show.  Still not a fan of their music though.

4. Best Coast - Culture Shock
This concert served as my introduction to Best Coast.  I had heard the name before but always figured they were too hipster for me.  (Don't get me started on hipsters.)  But I heard they were coming to Culture Shock this year so I thought I'd check them out since the festival is free.  I was delightfully surprised by the band, who instantly made me a fan.

3. Chiche Libre, Khaira Arby, Funkadesi - Lotus Festival
Lotus is always a blast.  There's always a great diversity of artists that bring all sorts of sounds and styles that I have never before.  Kinda makes me feel like I'm listening to the Mars Volta.  Failed attempts at humor aside, 2010's lineup was no different.  Chiche Libre kicked off the show with a huge band.  Khaira Arby's desert rock blew me away.  They had a phenomenal guitarist that played it unlike anything I have heard before.  Funkadesi was just one big party.  Needless to say, I can't wait for next year's Lotus.

2. High on Fire, Kylesa, Torche - The Bluebird
Ok, I'm kinda cheating with this entry as I didn't technically attend the show.  Or rather, I wasn't allowed in.  But me and my friends did everything we could to experience these bands as much as possible.  We have been getting really into sludge metal this year, so we had to at least give it a shot.  Since we aren't allowed into bars yet, we had to improvise.  We were able to partially see the Torche and Kylesa from the front window and door and at one point we went around back where we could hear the bands very well.  When High on Fire was taking the stage, me and one of my buddies decided to go for it and try to sneak in.  High on Fire has become one of my favorite bands over this year and we had to take the chance.  We entered the Bluebird's side door while Kylesa was taking their gear out and walked into the crowd casually. We had officially snuck into the Bluebird.  ...for about 10 seconds.  To our dismay, a bouncer asked us where our tickets were, and we promptly replied "Outside" and left.  Hey, at least we tried.  Nevertheless, we could still hear High on Fire's performance and it was brutal as always.  Despite our defeat, we met Matt Pike, HoF's frontman and guitarist.  He was hanging outside during the other bands and had a chance to listen to him for a bit.  Awesome.

1. Them Crooked Vultures - Murat Theatre
What is there to say about this band that hasn't been said already.  Them Crooked Vultures brings together the absolute best of all the members' original bands.  What blew me away is how well these guys mesh together.  On their album, there's some pretty complex stuff, and I wasn't sure if they would pull it off live or just play something simpler instead.  But they played the hell out of it.  Dave Grohl earned some cred in my book for how awesome his performance was (I knew he was a good drummer, but not that good, yeesh) and also for not being as much of a pompous showman as he is when I saw him with the Foo Fighters (I love you Dave, but stay behind the drumkit).  John Paul Jones can still rock it even though Led Zeppelin hasn't been around for 40ish years.  Last but not least, Josh Homme continues to blow me away with his guitar work and just being a badass frontman.


Well, there you have it.  Stay tuned for my next year-in-review installment.  It'll most likely be my favorite songs of the year, cus I still can decide on the order for my top albums of the year.

Until then, stay fresh.

Favorite Movies of 2010

Welcome back,

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas.  I was glad to see some relatives that I don't normally get to see.  Its a great excuse to eat way to much...  Anyhow, my favorite gift this year was a pair of Senheiser over-the-ear headphones.  They sound ridiculously amazing.  I'm looking forward to listening to every album I own on them, just to see what it sounds like.  Blur's Parklife was added to my CD collection.  I've been getting into this band's singles lately (ten years late) and we'll see if their albums hold up.  I've heard good things so far.  I also received Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii DVD.  From what I've seen so far, this is some super dope footage of the band back in their prime (to me, this means before Waters' pretentious crap took over).  Oh well, enough rambling, on with the show...

I was considering calling this a "Best-of" list, but that wouldn't be useful or productive in the slightest.  I don't watch nearly enough movies to have any sort of authority on deciding what movies are actually "good."  Half the time, I just watch crappy movies with my friends.  Don't get me wrong, this is awesome, but very few are actually from 2010, so this doesn't help me here.  As a poor college student, I'm not going to spend my money on a movie thats going to suck while its still in theaters.  So for this list, I am just going to choose the best movies out of the ones I actually saw this year.  This will make this list essentially incomplete, as there were many films I didn't get around to seeing this year that got good reviews, such as The Social network and Black Swan (which I thankfully still have time to catch).

Before we get started, I'll hand out a bonus award to the worst movie I saw this year:

Clash of the Titans - Louis Leterrier

Now I could have easily given this award to Twilight: New Moon or Letters to Juliet, but this one disappointed me in so many ways.  It's not like I had super high expectations for this one, cus its an action movie.  It's hard to screw it up too much.  But alas, I was wrong.  The storyline itself seemed like it was pulled straight out of a 7-year-old's playtime imagination.  "Let's go here and fight the giant scorpions.  Oh no, now we have to fight the Medusa, etc."  On top of that, the dialogue was worse than I thought was possible to be allowed in a Hollywood movie.  Several attempts at meaningful dialogue turned out beyond cheesy.  I unfortunately saw this one in 3D.  Not the real 3D, but the tacked on 3D that makes your eyes bleed.  Everytime there was a new shot, I had to re-adjust my eyes, which is unpleasant after an hour and a half.  Even Liam Neeson's badass "Release the Kracken!" was not enough to save this movie for me.

Now that I got that out of my system, here are the Top 5 movies I saw this year:

5. The Ghost Writer - Roman Polanski
This was an unexpected hit for me.  I basically stumbled into the room just after it had started and watched it out of boredom.  I was drawn into the story very quickly and it just kept getting better from there.  I think the main reason I enjoyed this movie so much was because it was an exciting and thrilling movie, but it didn't resort to Hollywood's usual thriller tactics.  No jostling camera quickly cutting between face-paced shots, instead it relied on plain good storytelling.  One way to think of it is if you compared 1964's Goldfinger to 2008's Quantum of Solace, this movie would definitely be closer to Goldfinger.  Shot in a classic way I would say.  The ending of this movie was fantastic and since it didn't seem to generate much buzz when it was released, I would suggest it to anyone who has not seen this one yet.

4. Shutter Island - Martin Scorsese
Little Leo sure has grown up hasn't he?  And he's sporting that East Coast accent like a pro.  Scorsese always aims to please in my book, and this movie was no exception.  This one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.  This movie did a good job at being really friggin creepy while at the same time making you want to explore said creepyness.  The ending was great, as I always enjoy a good mind-f*** (not literally, mind you).  The ongoing Scorsese/DiCaprio lovefest has been successful, but I'm interested to see how much longer it will continue.  Not that I'm complaining.

3. Machete - Robert Rodriguez
This was the closest thing to a Tarantino movie, but it was of no less quality.  Over-the-top the whole way through, Machete was everything I expected it to be.  Obviously the plot isn't going to be spectacular; I think I forgot the plot halfway through.  But it had everything I was looking for: action, gore, ladies, and one-liners (Machete don't text!).

2. Inception - Christopher Nolan
Honestly, who's list isn't this on?  I feel like this movie might become the Fight Club for my generation (even though my generation and the Fight Club generation are almost the same thing).  It's one of those movies that people can't stop talking and speculating about and then you go watch it again to pick up on little details that you didn't notice the first time.  No matter how many different interpretations I read about its meaning, the ending continues to baffle me (again with those mind-f***s), which to me, is a hallmark of a great movie.

1. Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich
You know, I just noticed that every other movie on this list has the movie title in red text.  Go ahead, check.  They all do.  Well, except this one.  Whether that has anything to do with why this is number one is anyone's guess.  Regardless, this movie was incredible in every way.
I'll go ahead and say it: this is the only movie to ever make me cry.  Some have come close, but I was balling by the end of this one.  It hit me like a one-two punch.  First there was the scene where all the toys realize they are about to be melted and they just look into each other's eyes and silently hold one another.  Goodness, I'm getting worked up just thinking about it.  But the real kicker was when Andy was giving away all his prized toys to his neighbor's little girl.  When he started to hand her Woody and said "This one was my favorite..." I was long gone.  At the time I saw this movie, I was preparing to go to college and leave all my fun high school activities behind, so this scene hit me extra hard.
Now that we're done talking about how much of a crybaby I am, I'll just go ahead and reiterate how great of a movie this is.  It's probably one of the most complete movies I have ever seen.  Its phenomenal in every way.


Sorry, Iron Man 2, you didn't make the list this year.  Maybe you'll do better with IM3.  Hope you enjoyed my list.  As a side note, I am going to see Black Swan this afternoon, which if it's as good as everyone says, could very well over take TS3 as my number 1 for the year.  True, I could have waited a little longer to make this list and include it, but I figured I'd get this one out of the way so I can have time to list my favorite music before the year is up.

Happy Boxing Day!
The Wolf

Welcoming War

Hello world,

First of all, Merry Christmas!  Hope everyone has a good one.

This is my first venture into the world of blogging, and it is a bit of an experiment for me.  While I've never done anything quite like blogging before, that's not the point.  What I'm going to try to do is see how many people I can get to read my blog without actually telling anyone about it.  Why would I do this, you ask?  It seems a bit counter-productive.  After all, what's the point of writing something no one but myself will likely see?  I guess I'm just bored and curious.  I wonder if it is possible at all for anyone to find this if no one knows it exists.  In a way, I feel like I'm testing the power of the Internet.  Nobody's can become world famous overnight because of the internet.  So who knows, only time will tell.  I'm creating something out of nothing.

On the off-chance someone is reading this, I will tell you what I plan to blog about, at least for the next week or so.  I will be posting a few "best-of-the year" lists for movies, music, etc.  Especially music.  I love music.  Like a lot.  So yeah, be expecting some of that soon.  FYI, my best-music-of-the-year list will be delayed slightly due to the release of the new Gorillaz album (it came out like 3 hours ago).  I'm excited but I'll give it a few days so I don't place it at #1 just cus I get too excited.

That's all for now, everyone enjoy their holidays,
-The Wolf