A Good Year

So I've written about this before, but it's true: 2010 was an astoundingly good year for music, one of the best in a long time. Here's a rundown of some of my favorite albums of the past year (in alphabetical order for now..if you're wondering, The Suburbs was my number one).

The ArchAndroid - Janelle Monáe
Before Today - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Black City - Matthew Dear
Brothers - The Black Keys
Congratulations - MGMT
Cosmogramma - Flying Lotus
Fang Island - Fang Island
Forgiveness Rock Record - Broken Social Scene
Hearbeats - Grum
Maya - M.I.A.
Melted - Ty Segall
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
Plastic Beach - Gorillaz
Rated R - Rihanna
Say It - Born Ruffians
Senior - Royskopp
Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty - Big Boi
Swim - Caribou
The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
Teen Dream - Beach House
This Is Happening - LCD Soundsystem
Together - The New Pornographers
Treats - Sleigh Bells
Under Great White Northern Lights - The White Stripes
Volume Two - She & Him
The Way Out - The Books
Write About Love - Belle and Sebastian

What a Great Video

Best Coast have released a video for their 2010 single "Crazy for You," directed by lolcats. Check it out at I Can Has Cheezburger.

We Might Be Wrong: The Top 25 Albums of 2000

Our review of the year 2000 in music concludes with our top 25 albums of the year (actually 28, since there was a 4-way tie for #25). The album list was compiled in the same way as our singles list, with IMBW contributors submitting point-weighted lists of their favorite albums of 2000 (you can take a look at our individual contributors' lists here). Only albums released within the calendar year of 2000 were counted; greatest hits albums and most other compilations were excluded. A total of 106 albums received at least one mention.

It was fun looking back at the music of 2000, remembering what music was important to us then, and comparing that with what we find interesting to listen to now from that time period. For me, it's really interesting to look at a year in music historically; to see how things have held up over time; to remember things that were sensations of the moment but quickly faded from consciousness; to think about things that were overlooked at the time but gained recognition as time went on; to see how the music of a given year has influenced the music of today.

So, here's our list. You'll find a link to listen to each album in full at grooveshark.com. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

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25. Tourist
St. Germain
Points: 22 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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25. Relationship of Command
At the Drive-In
Points: 22 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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25. Nia
Blackalicious
Points: 22 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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25. Back for the First Time
Ludacris
Points: 22 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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24. Ágætis byrjun
Sigur Rós
Points: 23 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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23. Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished
Animal Collective
Points: 24 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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22. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
PJ Harvey
Points: 24 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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21. Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars
Fatboy Slim
Points: 25 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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20. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Kid Koala
Points: 26 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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19. Like Water for Chocolate
Common
Points: 26 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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18. Let's Get Ready
Mystikal
Points: 27 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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17. The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
The Apples in Stereo
Points: 28 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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16. The Teaches of Peaches
Peaches
Points: 28 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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15. Veni Vidi Vicious
The Hives
Points: 29 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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14. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Points: 30 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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12. Train of Thought
Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal
Points: 30 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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12. Figure 8
Elliott Smith
Points: 30 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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11. Parachutes
Coldplay
Points: 32 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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10. The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
Points: 33 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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9. Quality Control
Jurassic 5
Points: 35 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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8. De Stijl
The White Stripes
Points: 36 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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7. The Moon & Antarctica
Modest Mouse
Points: 39 / Mentions: 4

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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6. Vocalcity
Luomo
Points: 41 / Mentions: 2

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

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5. Since I Left You
The Avalanches
Points: 58 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

Since I Left You is one of the premier records of sample-based music. In all, over 900 samples went into the making of this album, and the result is a mindblowing collage, a collection of sounds that together form a whole that is completely unique and something all its own. / David Mickelsen

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4. Voodoo
D'Angelo
Points: 60 / Mentions: 3

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

D'Angelo's first album, Brown Sugar, was an important moment in contemporary R&B and neo-soul. It took him five years to release a follow up, but it was worth the wait: Voodoo stands as D'Angelo's masterpiece, a masterwork of the neo-soul sound. / David Mickelsen

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3. Stankonia
OutKast
Points: 72 / Mentions: 6

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

Stankonia is a head-spinning listen, a kaleidoscopic array of sounds that ten years later still reveals something new upon each listen. On top of its sonic brilliance, Big Boi and Andre 3000 are two great rappers in top form, effortlessly delivering rapidfire raps on "B.O.B.," telling heartbreaking stories on "Ms. Jackson" and "Toilet Tisha," and keeping it gangsta on tracks like "We Luv Deez Hoez" and "Gangsta Shit." It's hard not to be disappointed that OutKast only made one great record as a group after this one..but of course, we always hold out hope that they hold something in store for us in the future.... / David Mickelsen

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2. Supreme Clientele
Ghostface Killah
Points: 73 / Mentions: 4

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

Ghostface Killah has been arguably the most consistently interesting Wu-Tang member as a solo artist, and his furious stream-of-consciousness rhyming was at a high point on Supreme Clientele. Numerous excellent guest appearances by much of the rest of Wu-Tang also boost the album, making one of the best of the Wu-Tang solo albums. / David Mickelsen

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1. Kid A
Radiohead
Points: 74 / Mentions: 4

[Listen at grooveshark.com]

It seems pointless to try to say anything new about Kid A, since so much has been written and said about it. What remains important is that ten years later, Kid A is still a compelling listen, as stunning and affecting as it was upon its release. Radiohead's adoption of electronics and heavy use of vocal filters, converting Thom Yorke's voice into things inhuman, was and still is sure to be polarizing, but if there were risks involved, they yielded fantastic rewards: an album as adventurous as it is beautiful, as challenging as it is ultimately rewarding. / David Mickelsen

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We Might Be Wrong: The Top 20 Singles of 2000

Happy New Year! We begin our look back at the year 2000 with our top 20 singles of the year. The list was compiled using a system modified from the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll: IMBW contributors were asked to submit lists of up to 100 of their favorite singles of 2000, assigning points to each to weight them. The maximum number of points any one single could receive was 30, and the minimum was 5; the number of points a contributor had to give out for each list was equal to the number of singles in the list times ten.

Any single released in 2000, as well as any single that appeared on an album that was released in 2000, was eligible for this list. Only officially released singles were considered..with a few exceptions that it seemed wrong not to include. In all, 130 singles received at least one mention.

So, with the math and technical stuff out of the way, it's on to the list. You'll find a widget or link provided to listen to each track. Here we go....

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19. "You Can Do It"
Ice Cube [ft. Mack 10 and Ms. Toi]
Points: 17 / Mentions: 2

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19. "Quality Control"
Jurassic 5
Points: 17 / Mentions: 2

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17. "Since I Left You"
The Avalanches
Points: 18 / Mentions: 2

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17. "Playground Love"
Air
Points: 18 / Mentions: 2

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16. "Hip Hop"
Dead Prez
Points: 19 / Mentions: 2

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14. "One More Time"
Daft Punk
Points: 20 / Mentions: 2

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14. "Hello Operator"
The White Stripes
Points: 20 / Mentions: 2

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11. "Stan"
Eminem [ft. Dido]
Points: 21 / Mentions: 2

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11. "I Wish"
R. Kelly
Points: 21 / Mentions: 2

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11. "Hate to Say I Told You So
The Hives
Points: 21 / Mentions: 2

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10. "Otherside"
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Points: 21 / Mentions: 3

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9. "One Armed Scissor"
At the Drive-In
Points: 22 / Mentions: 2

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8. "Good Fortune"
PJ Harvey
Points: 23 / Mentions: 2

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5. "Yellow"
Coldplay
Points: 25 / Mentions: 2



Coldplay would go on to be one of the most respected and commercially successful bands of the decade, but they were never better than on their second single, "Yellow." Elements of Britpop, shoegaze, melodic pop, and vocal harmonies came together in a beautiful moment of rock music. / David Mickelsen

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5. "Music: Response"
The Chemical Brothers
Points: 25 / Mentions: 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTif9a5l-7w

Man fucking "Music: Response". when i heard it back in 1999 i was like "this shit is such shit for gay euro clubs". then i fell in love with "Block Rockin Beats" a year later and then i was afraid of "Music: Response": "Music: Response" became the known-uknown for me; the geek i picked on in high school and was now going to be my boss. When I heard it that year, I don't think I really comprehended what I heard. When heard it a year a later, the universe made sense again. Music response was quietly yelling at me, "Do you fucking see? Do you fucking understand how beautiful a song can be using only one note and it's octave? Is your fucking brain melting yet?" / Jeff Kim

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5. "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)"
Jay-Z
Points: 25 / Mentions: 2



One of the Neptunes' first major hits, "I Just Wanna Love U" features Jay-Z in party mode, with rising star Pharrell threatening to steal the show, as he would with numerous other guest appearances throughout the following decade. This was one of the party songs of the early part of the decade; here, Jay-Z showed a party side to complement his street hustler side. / David Mickelsen

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4. "Big Pimpin'"
Jay-Z [ft. UGK]
Points: 30 / Mentions: 4



2000 was part of a very long period during which everything Timbaland touched turned to gold; his productions were endlessly creative, and resulted in massive commercial success. For "Big Pimpin'," he sampled the Egyptian composition "Khosara," giving the beat a Middle Eastern feel instantly recognizable as Timbaland's. Jay-Z was also in the midst of a long spell of brilliance during this time, and over Timbaland's beat he, Pimp C, and Bun B told us in typically convincing fashion that they were the shit, three great rappers at the top of their game. / David Mickelsen

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3. "Optimistic"
Radiohead
Points: 37 / Mentions: 3

Radiohead didn't release any official singles from Kid A, but some songs did get radioplay as promo singles. Of these, "Optimistic" was the one that received the most airtime. This stands to reason; it's probably the most accessible song on Kid A, and the one that would most accomodate fans looking for another OK Computer. These things aside, it's also a beautiful song, the centerpiece to what was one of the great albums of its era; even if Kid A did alienate some fans of their earlier work, it was a stroke of artistic brilliance that would gain them a legion of new followers. / David Mickelsen

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1. "B.O.B." / "Ms. Jackson"
OutKast
Points: 46 / Mentions: 3



It seems only fitting that these two singles, which would prove to be two of the best singles of the decade, by one of the great hip-hop groups of their era, would tie for number one on our list. OutKast were a dominating force in pop music in 2000 (as well as several years before and after), and "B.O.B." and "Ms. Jackson" were two landmark achievements: for the year in music, for the group themselves, and for the entire genre of rap music. / David Mickelsen

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's that time of year: the time of year when music blogs around the world publish their year-end best-of lists. Being a music blog, we are taking part: tomorrow, we will be publishing our list of the best singles of 2000, and on Sunday, the best albums of 2000. Thanks for reading..happy holidays!

Happy Birthday Dave

Today, Dave Brubeck turns 90. Why not take 5 and chill out with this song for a bit?



I was going to post a live performance of this from the 60's, but I really prefer the slower tempo of the album version.

La Bomba de Tiempo

Another entry in the series on music in Buenos Aires. La Bomba de Tiempo is a largely improvised drum circle/percussion fest that goes on every Monday night at Ciudad Cultural Konex. It's a pretty impressive experience. The microphone in my camera doesn't exactly capture the power of the band, but the video gives you a pretty good picture of what goes on.

Bieber x 800%

In response to Jay's post, here's another Bieber track: "U Smile." Only this version is slowed down by 800%. Nick Pittsinger is the genius (or at least the first guy to have the idea) who created it; I know I'm certainly not the first to post it, but it's worth reposting. There's not much to be said about it that hasn't been said, really; Buzznet may have said it best when they called it "the soundtrack to approaching the gates of heaven." Anyway, check it out.

 J. BIEBZ - U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis

This Is Embarrassing: Goot, Bieber, Glee

Okay, this is embarrassing. YouTube has a way of getting me to watch or listen to things I would never give the time of day. I say this like I have no control over what I search for (things like this), but that would be like believing that Obama was really a Christian born in America. Here are three videos that I've watched way too many times.

One of the best/worst categories of YouTube videos is the self-made pop song cover. There are different kinds, from webcam videos to slick productions like this nerd in the top video. He's singing an American Idol-ish version of "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, a catchy song that sounds better after four drinks, that I can't help but really like. Getting past the dance beat in the original, this Alex Goot character strips the song down to an acoustic guitar, piano and electric keyboard, and drums, that really emphasizes how good the melody is. He performs all the instruments himself, like a modern day Prince... or something like that. He also does a cover of "California Gurls," which nearly cancels out all the goodwill he accumulates with "Dynamite."

The next embarrassing song I love right now is *sigh* "Runaway Love" by Justin Bieber. I would be lying if I said I first heard this as part of Kanye's sample in his "Runaway Love" remix with Raekwon that splices the song with "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing To Fuck Wit," but I was well aware of "Runaway Love" long before. I hate to say it, but it's a really good song. The YouTube video of the song describes it as "Michael Jackson-ish," and I would have to agree, except Biebs can't really dance or sing and hasn't started molesting boys.

I was at a dive bar in Athens after the Arkansas game a few weeks ago, and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler came over the speakers. I knew the words way too well, and I have Glee to thank for this knowledge. Glee is at its best when it combines the perfect song and video that actually pushes the plot forward, which, you know, is what a musical does. Although the show is incredibly manic and devolves into one-liners and awkward song choices performed by adults (I'm looking at you, Will Schuester), it does hit it out of the park sometimes. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" has all that you need: a song that captures the emotions of the characters, a well executed video (but why are they randomly doing ballet?), and Jonathon Groff's incredible hair. (Take that, Schuester! I really don't like that character.)

No time like the present.

Before I start on my music related post ( which is short and unorganized), I just want to thank Dave for inviting me into this little blogosphere. I hope Argentina is treating you well, and I am indeed going to thrash you in fantasy hockey this year.

Onto the music.

A little background - I don't like to call myself a musician, but I do like to think that I take music (especially the electric bass guitar) more seriously than the average guy who says "Yeah, I slappa da bass". I reserve the word 'musician' for those that are not only technically skilled, but also knowledgeable in music theory. Along those lines, I don't believe too strongly in the idea of "talent", really. Skill is born primarily out of the amount of deliberate practice you put into your work. That is the sheer number of hours you are challenging yourself, and effectively learning. I like to think that I practice deliberately. But saying "I'm a musician" should have broad implications in practicing, reading sheet music, theory prowess, improvisation, exploration of genres, and becoming one with your instrument. Saying "I'm a bassist" also has broad implications in the different ways to commemorate, respect, and praise Jaco Pastorius.

I definitely can't read sheet music anymore. I used to be great at it. I know I've changed instruments from the xylophone in 1995, but its impossible now. I know more Latin. If anything has helped at all, (if there's any aspiring bassists out there wondering how to start learning to read sheet music, this may be helpful) it would be going over the most famous, first section of the Bach Cello Suites on the 4 string bass. Its incredibly tiring, but just about every note in the entire two minute piece is an eighth note. This is perfect to help you learn the notes if you look at the tab alongside. Its also great exposure to basic major and minor scales. Learning it in its entirety an incredibly tall order, but broken up and slowed down, its a helpful learning tool.

Thanks for taking the time out to read me. I have a lot of thoughts, especially about music, and its often difficult for me to really convey them. Like if you try to shove six people, or two fat dudes through a door at the same time, no one gets out.

That's my brain.