Top Albums

And now for the completion of the trifecta!

Top Albums of the Year:
In no real order...

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver: I love LCD Soundsystem. They are like a new Talking Heads/David Bowie to me. I probably like this record too much.
   
2. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: Personally I think this album was every bit as good as Funeral but I know a lot of people don't feel that way. I loved a bunch of tracks on this record (see best songs). In think this is the only way to follow up being made into Indie Kings.
   
3. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga: Uneven and inconsistent. Probably the biggest problem with Spoon. But when they are firing on all levels they are amazing. This album has more hits than misses and I recommend it. There are some skipable tracks but "Got Yr Cherry Bomb" makes up for everything.
   
4. EL-P - I'll Sleep When Your Dead: This is one that you love or hate. Either the beats are too loud and too intense for you or you share his paranoia. Kinda like Black Flag doing a Rap record, only better.
   
5. Against Me! - New Wave: A lot of people did not like this record. I can appreciate that. The album is way way too glossy but there is a lot of good music underneath it. See the band in concert and you will see how great the record can be.
   
6. Panda Bear - Person Pitch: This is an epic album. It is a beautiful and overwhelming. The sounds that come out are amazing. White Noise meet Melody, and great tracks that are both soothing and energizing. It is a maximal minimal record.
   
7. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin: I originally trashed this record, and now I like it a lot. The melodies are sweet and the band is trying new things. It grew on me and there a couple killer songs. I say go for it.
   
8. Ted Leo - Living with the Living: People love Ted Leo. And it is impossible not too love him. He sings great songs with out forcing greatness, he cares about people genuinely, and the man is a punk/rock god. So this record was not as great as Shake the Sheets, it was still great. The world is just waiting for that one perfect album from Leo because we know he can do it.
   
9. The Long Blondes - Someone to Drive Your Home: I wanted a British album and I got one. Along the way they update "Every Picture Tells Story Don't It" but from a girls point of view. Anyway this is solid and I think everyone should get it.
   
10. Burial - Untrue: Other than the first two and this album the rest of the albums are not in order. Untrue is a good record but I am not sure if it is a great record. It is dark and twisting, able to interest the listener but not overwhelm. Yet I don't know in six months from now if I will still be listening.
    

Other Notable Releases:

• Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
  
• Black Dice - Blown Load
• Los Campesinos! - Sticking Fingers into Sockets E.P.
• Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
• Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
  
• Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond
• Okkervil River - Stage Names
• Justice - Cross
• Caribou - Andorra
  
• !!! - Myth Takes
• Bonde Do Role - With Lasers
• Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrophya
• Feist - The Reminder
• Menonmena - Friend or Foe
• Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future

Great but shouldn't go in a new music since they are collections:

• Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
• Elliott Smith - New Moon

Biggest Disappointments:

• Bright Eyes - Casadega: Too much. Too many words, too many sounds, too many ideas. Maybe someday he could pull this off but not now. Also it sounded as if Oberst took himself even more seriously this time around.
  
• Kanye West - Graduation: He had to fail. there was too much pressure too high expectations. Was it terrible? No. Just wasn't good as Dropout or Late Registration. It had some good songs but it had some really bad ones. For every "Stronger" there was "Drunk and Hot Girls".
  
• Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City: Loved the first album and hated this one. What happened to the dancing? the pointyness? the chorus? Bloc Party went from a Gang of Four inspired band, to a bad Smith ripoff bad.
  
• The Stooges - The Weirdness
• Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah - Some Thunder
• James Murphy - Fabric Live Series Comp
• Interpol - Our Love to Admire: This was not so much bad as it was the same. They have a sound and for two or three songs it is good, but they need to change it up. If I want to hear an entire Joy Division album I will put on Closer.
  
• Prodigy - Return of the Mac
  

Fire Alarms and Incompletes

Someone in my building has been pulling the fire alarm. This morning at 4:30 AM and then again around 4 PM. I am organizing a lynching party and we will start to randomly execute people if this does not stop.

In other news it is the end of the year and I am thinking about doing what everyone does at this point in the year and making best of lists. It will probably be best albums, best old albums, best movies, best singles, and lastly best stuff I never heard. So lets get it on:

Best Stuff I Never Heard - to be eligible they are songs and albums that I never bought all of:

MIA - Kala

• I never got into MIA. Seemed too gimicky. She has so really good songs, but it seemed to be too fake. Then I heard "Paper Planes". I still have doubts but man oh man is that a good song. The other songs I have heard from Kala have been solid as well. So maybe I will buy this album and it will leap to the top of the heap.
  

The National - Boxer

• In an interview I read the lead singer said that people constantly say their songs grow on people which he took to the mean he could write a hook. This is partially true, the songs do not quite bet you over the head with greatness but they are good. "Fake Empire" is my favorite and in my top songs of the year.
  

Radiohead - In Rainbows

• I am not a huge Radiohead fan. I think what they have done with digital downloads is revolutionary. Personally I still like to be own the album, the physical case and the artwork. I haven't heard this album but have heard a lot of good things. I will buy it when I can get a hard copy.
  

Les Savy Fav - Lets Stay Friends

• I got into Les Savy Fav at the beginning of school. They are kind of a hard band to listen to but they are pretty awesome. Loud and Absurd and I have heard the live show is amazing. "Best Before Year 2000" is my favorite song from the album that I have heard.
  

Battles - Mirrored

• Meshing human and computer in ways that Kraftwerk nor T-Pain could imagine. I am not sure that an entire album of this would be enjoyable, but a couple songs are good to break up the playlists. My favorite is "Leyendecker".
  

A Place to Bury Strangers - S/T

• This year I got really into Jesus and Mary Chain. These guys are a lot like Jesus and Mary Chain but with My Bloody Valentine technology. The songs are loud and overwhelming like swimming in a sea of guitar. Ultra hard to find, I guess, but they are on itunes. "Ocean" or "I Know I'll See" are the songs.

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

• This and Modest Mouse's new album are the two albums I can not figure out why I did not buy. I really like Of Montreal and have no idea why I don't own this album. All the tracks I have heard are solid. And the EP they released right after this is also very good.
  

Deerhunter - Cryptograms

• I alternate between hating and liking this group. Pitchfork is way too in love with them and the lead singer annoys me, but the music is pretty damn good. Maybe a little to homo-erotic for my taste but it is interesting and invigorating. "Crytograms" which is track one is my favorite song, sounds a lot like Joy Division.
  

Liars - Liars

• Seriously weird guys but seriously good tunes. They seem to go all over the place with their records but not in a kitsch way. I am interested to hear all of this one. "Sailing to Byzantium" is my personal favorite track.
  

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam

• Another wild album. Panda Bear, who is a member of Animal Collective, put out an album that I loved. Thus I checked this out. Sometimes the songs are a little too long and wild but other times they are great. "Peacebone" is the track I would check out and if you like it then try the rest of the album.

Ok so there are the top ten albums I haven't heard all of. There are plenty more and honorable mentions goes to:

Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
Black Lips - Good Bad Not Evil
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
Akron/Family - Love is Simple
Jose Gonzales - In Our Nature
High On Fire - Death is Communion
Black Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche
Shocking Pinks - S/T
Simian Mobile Disco - Attack Decay Sustain Release
Wiley - Play Time is Over
Dizziee Rascal - Maths + English
Two Gallants - S/T

Hint - All of these Albums would make excellent gifts - Hint