2010 Losing Your Cool: The Year Round-Up

Elsewhere, it's been written that 2010 was a year of musical disappointments. No instant classics (though some, including me, would argue Kanye's album is one for the ages) such as last year's Merriweather Post Pavilion (though that album's influence can be found throughout releases from new bands this year) and a lack of a uniting release like Funeral, In An Aeroplane Over The Sea or Sound of Silver. There were some interesting returns to form for some old favourites (Belle and Sebastian, Ninetynine), some fresh surprises (Best Coast, The Drums) and a few overhyped disappointments (M.I.A, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire).

Few would agree with my pick of Los Campesinos's release in the first week of 2010 as Album of 2010 but for me it held everything that a great album should. Ambition, risk-taking, a refusal to take easy options, honesty, unforced rebellion, breathtaking bravery, a total disregard for 'cool' and a wild, barely-controlled vital energy. You can map a journey from adolescent concerns on their debut through to intelligent self-reflection from their second release and an empowering facing up to adulthood and responsibility on this release. LC have no time for immature 30-somethings which Hollywood has recently fallen for. Though far from faultless, even when they stumble they do it with nobility and while striving for greatness.

Elsewhere it seemed there was no band in Melbourne without at least one floor tom more than comes with a drum kit. Rat Vs Possum, Love Connection, Pikelet, everyone who made a half-decent album seemed to feel the need to accentuate rhythm with a 14x16 inch drum. Whether this sticks around remains to be seen but there were an uncommonly fantastic amount of visually as well as aurally engaging gigs this year and it seems that 'tribal rhythms' along with hipster baiting were the defining flavours of music in Melbourne, as well as a gradual shift towards musicianship which is a welcome change from the style-driven flash-in-the-pans of recent years. Commercially though it was insubstantial style (Lady Gaga, Ke$ha etc.) over stylish substance (Janelle Monae, Aloe Blacc), though of course one man drove an ego-charged tractor over all trends and preconceptions and showed that fearless ingenuity still exists, and sells records.

Overall, the undermining of hipsters and increasing use of Twitter etc peels away layers of artifice and pretense while forcing facades to run deeper. As a result, the loss of superficial cool means that talent has to shine through if attention is going to remain which means that the hunt for the next big thing is harder than ever. 2011 looks like it's going to get exciting with releases from Bjork, Three Month Sunset (now Lowtide), Aphex Twin, Cut Copy and even maybe The Avalanches (a VERY close source tells me that mixing is finishing this summer!), I think I can start on my Top Ten Albums of 2011 list already.

TOP TEN ALBUMS

1. Romance Is Boring LOS CAMPESINOS!

2. I See The Sign SAM AMIDON

3. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy KANYE WEST

4. High Violet THE NATIONAL

5. Innerspeaker TAME IMPALA

6. Love Connection LOVE CONNECTION

7. Here’s The Tender Coming THE UNTHANKS

8. Teen Dream BEACH HOUSE

9. Bande Magnetique NINETYNINE

10. Crazy For You BEST COAST

TOP TEN SONGS

1. Tightrope JANELLE MONAE

2. No Horizon THREE MONTH SUNSET

3. Runaway KANYE WEST

4. Woods NINETYNINE

5. Lost Cities of Gold LOVE CONNECTION

6. Bloodbuzz Ohio THE NATIONAL

7. I Didn’t See it Coming BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

8. Bummer ALEKS AND THE RAMPS

9. You’d Better Mind SAM AMIDON

10. Not In Love CRYSTAL CASTLES WITH ROBERT SMITH

BEST NEW ARTISTS

1. Janelle Monae

2. Love Connection

3. Tame Impala

4. Best Coast

5. Kyü

TOP FIVE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST GIGS

1. Al Green PALAIS THEATRE

2. Jonsi SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS

3. Pavement PALACE

4. Svavar Knutur WESLEY ANNE

5. Jens Lekman MY BACKYARD

TOP FIVE AUSTRALIAN ARTIST GIGS

1. Richard In Your Mind, Rat Vs Possum, Silver White Magic NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB

2. Love Connection CAMP A LOW HUM

3. Pikelet, Love Connection, World’s End Press NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB

4. Paul Kelly SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS

5. Denim Owl CAMP A LOW HUM

TOP FIVE RADIO SHOWS/PODCASTS

1. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews BBC RADIO FIVE LIVE

2. Lime Champions RRR

3. Transference RRR

4. Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me NPR

5. Filmspotting CHICAGO PUBLIC RADIO

TOP FIVE TV SHOWS

1. Mad Men AMC

2. 30 Rock NBC

3. SBS World Cup coverage SBS

4. Bizzare Foods TRAVEL CHANNEL

5. At The Movies ABC

TOP FIVE MOVIES

1. Inception

2. Toy Story 3

3. The White Ribbon

4. The Red Chapel

5. Animal Kingdom

THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES AWARD

Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. From uniting millions of disaffected youth and finding hope in death on one of the albums of the millennium thus far (Funeral), to gloriously wallowing in American nihilism on the brilliant Neon Bible, to whinging about ‘the kids’ and making suburban boredom sound pompous and unengaging.

MOST OVERLOOKED ALBUM OF 2009

Always On THE NATIVE CATS

QUOTE OF THE YEAR

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (B-flat drone): From vuvuzelas, from iPhones, from people pretending to be vuvuzelas, from Youtube, from Google...2010 in a tone.

PREDICTION FOR 2011 

Harry Potter to provoke tears, world leaders to ignore climate science, The Social Network and The Kings Speech to win lots of Oscars, Animal Collective to disappoint while releasing a still-fantastic album, grime and dubstep to finally break through into the American mainstream via a white male artist, everyone to get the fuck over Lady Gaga while Bjork's next album is a glorious return to form.