The Best in Music of 2010

In many ways, Facebook has killed this blog, or at least seriously maimed it. Nevertheless, I will not fail in posting my annual music list. Some of the songs came out this year, some are rediscovered favorites. Hopefully you will find something that you will end up liking.

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1. Vita Nostra – Ennio Morricone
The soundtrack to The Mission was also the soundtrack to my mission in Southern Chile. This song elicits so many memories of Puerto Aysen and Coyhaique. One of my companions, Jerem Eyre, introduced me to this wonderful music.

2. At My Most Beautiful – R.E.M.
I have wanted to include this song for several years now. I vividly recall listening to Up in Ben Wilson’s kitchen shortly after our missions. The Beach Boys musical references were not lost on my ears.

3. Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa – Vampire Weekend
I resisted Vampire Weekend for awhile. They just seemed too preppy and too self-absorbed for their own good. But Doug told me to give this album a solid listen and I’m glad he did. What I like so much about this particular song is the overt West African musical influence juxtaposed with the New England upper-class snootiness.

4. Sun Hands – Local Natives
Again, I have to thank Doug for insisting I give this album a good listen. In fact, we had to decide who was going to get to put “World News” on his compilation playlist for this year. I love the harmonies on this song, and the whole album, frankly. I almost went for “Camera Talk.” I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Gorilla Manor by Local Natives.

5. We Used to Wait – Arcade Fire
I’ve known about this band for several years. U2 played “Wake Up” from Funeral before their shows on the Vertigo Tour in 2005–2006. But, it was only this year that I really gave them a good listen. Like Vampire Weekend, I resisted getting on the Arcade Fire train. Suburban is a much more mature album than their first two, which are good, great even. I picked this song for the really cool interactive video experience. Bravo. (Make sure to download Chrome.)

6. Explode – Nelly Furtado
Aimee and I love Folklore. I finally loaded it into iTunes several months ago and I was reminded of how amazing these songs are. I don’t care too much for Loose, and I haven’t heard her new Spanish-language album (I know, I’m surprised, too), but I love her first two albums.

7. Angel Dance – Band of Joy
Rumor has it that Alison Krauss and Robert Plant attempted to recreate the magic of Raising Sand but the sessions for a follow-up album did not go well. This may be the next best thing. Plant covers Los Lobos. The mandolin rocks.

8. Sleeps with Angels – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Many consider Neil Young to be the godfather of grunge and this song shows that he could be just as dark and as brooding as the Seattle bands he inspired. Young wrote this song about Kurt Cobain’s passing, and it is just as relevant today as it was in 1994.

9. She Talks to Angels - The Black Crowes
When I was sixteen or seventeen, I had a fantasy of growing my hair out, going down to the UTA bus stop by Crossroads Plaza, sitting down with all the dirty hippy kids, pulling out a beat-up acoustic, and playing this song for loose change. Although that never happened, I did learn how to play this song. This amazing version is from their recent album, Croweology.

10. Number of the Beast – Zwan
This Iron Maiden cover appeared as a B-side for “Honestly.” That’s Matt Sweeney singing and playing, with Billy Corgan soloing. I love how Sweeney has turned a heavy metal song into a dark and swampy blues tune. After three songs about angels, I felt I needed this one about devils to bring balance to the universe.

11. All We Ask – Grizzly Bear
I admit it, I’m a music snob. Few indie bands truly impress me. Grizzly Bear, however, immediately caught my attention when I listened to Yellow House. Their next album, Veckatimest is better. Tighter. On this song, I’m pulled in by the plaintive vocals, the double-tracked harmonies, and the evocation of carnival music, without getting all Tom Waits.

12. The Owl and the Tanager – Sufjan Stevens
I like Sufjan’s new album, The Age of Adz, but I needed to see him live, with the light show, images, and bad dancing, to finally get it. While the electronica songs were fun, the song that really stood out to me at that show was this one from his ep, All Delighted People, also released in 2010.

13. You Are Not Alone – Mavis Staples
Ever wonder what an album produced by Jeff Tweedy would sound like? Wonder no more. This is probably the coolest pairing I’ve heard in a long time. I’m not too familiar with Mavis Staples but this is an awesome album.

14. Human Wings (acoustic) – Fictionist
I’m not sure who first told me about Fictionist, but I’m pretty sure I heard about them shortly after we moved back to Utah. I’m just getting into them. I haven’t seen them live yet and I don’t even own their albums, but I would dare say that Stuart Maxfield may be one of the most talented indie musicians in Utah. I knew he was a solid guitar player, a decent singer, and a good lyricist, but it wasn’t until I saw him playing at Debra Fotheringham’s ep release party that I realized how good a guitar player he was. And then, a few weeks later, he was playing a rooftop gig with The Lower Lights in Provo and whipped out the fiddle!

15. Ye Elders of Israel – The Lower Lights
On July 4th, I came home from a neighborhood fireworks display (illegal fireworks, I might add, the fire department showed up, none too pleased) and when I walked into our backyard I heard the voice of a friend. Sometimes I pretend I still have a tenuous connection to the local music scene in Provo. The truth, however, is that only a handful of my music friends are still making music. One of them is the amazingly talented Debra Fotheringham. It was her voice I heard. While the rest of the neighborhood was eating cupcakes and watching fireworks purchased in Evanston, the Clark family had their annual sibling’s party and witnessed maybe the first public performance of The Lower Lights. At the time, I didn’t know Chris and Lisa that well, but I walked over and invited myself in their backyard, just in time for the last two songs. Long story short (too late!) Debra is part of this project and sings leads on this song. I’ll let you learn more about them on your own, but please also check out Debra’s new ep, Time. (It looks like her website needs to be updated but I know you can buy it on iTunes.)

16. Save It for a Rainy Day – The Jayhawks
You know those songs you hear when you are out and about but you never catch the name of the song or the band? For years, I kept hearing snatches of this song and I liked it, especially the “so sad” part. One day, I was out with the kids and I finally caught the hook in the chorus and decided, right then and there, to look up the lyrics on my phone (oh blessed technology!).

17. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley
I first heard about Jeff Buckley many years ago but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really delved into Grace. It is a beautiful, transcendent album. Buckley shows off his astonishing vocal range on this particular track, which really resonated with me earlier this year.

18. Cars Can’t Escape – Wilco
This is a rare track only available on a collection of early mixes for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. (There is also a slightly different version available on another set of demos. [Yeah, that’s right. YHF is so awesome it has two bootleg albums of demos]). It sounds like they recorded this song at three in the morning and I love it.

Now, there are hardcore Wilco fans out there, and I would probably include myself in the top 10–15% of fandom. I’m not obsessed, just dedicated. I have 29 albums—and keep in mind—they only have eight officially released albums. The rest are demos, side-projects, and collections of b-sides and outtakes. But that’s not all. I have 17 Jeff Tweedy live recordings (40+ hours) and 51 Wilco shows (94+ hours). It would take me roughly a week to listen to all the Wilco I have, and I’ve listened to every album and show at least once and many of them multiple times. I only collect high quality soundboard recordings or radio, television, and web broadcasts. I’m sure I have another 15 shows waiting to be loaded into iTunes. But that’s still not all. I have 25, or so, DVDs of various Wilco performances that have been filmed over the years. I’ve seen Wilco three times (Louisville, Nashville, Aspen) and I’ve only been a fan for maybe four years, at most. Not obsessed, just dedicated.

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Compilations from Previous years:

2006 - Feliz Navidad de Papa Nicolau (I need to load this up. Come back later.)
2007 - Oh Holy Dwight!
2008 - Merry Christmas from the Black Lodge
2009 - Satan vs. Santa