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2010 in Music

As is my tradition (hey, twice makes custom, they say), I wanted to comment on the music I listened to this year. Now 2009 was, to me, one of the most serendipitous twelvemonths ever, audio-wise. There was some great music this year, too, some great surprises, and in some cases, disappointments. They’re ordered based on discovery, not preference.

1. Sounds of Vancouver: 2010 Closing Ceremonies.

If you go out an buy this thing, you’ll be disappointyed because most of the songs on here are just album tracks by Neil Young, Hedley, Alanis Morrisette, Nickelback, rather than the performances—makes sense as some were lip-sunk. However, what is on there is a great snapshot at the fun that was had playing up our own Canadaian stereotypes.

Choice track: “The Maple Leaf Forever/Made in Canada” by Michael Bublé.

2. Timbaland, Shock Value

One of a few albums technically released in ’09, but this list is all about when I heard them—the tunes that defined the year for me. Timbaland is one of my favourite performers in a genre I’m hardly attached to as a die hard, air guitaring white boy from Saskatchewan. Rather than shake his ego in the camera, surrounded by jiggling girls in shiny bikinis, rapping about his “cash and hos”, he smiles at himself ironically, looking for all his style and talent like a goof not quite sure what to do in front of a camera. Best of all, he surrounds himself with (usually) fully-dressed female talent of the vocal variety. He makes good music.

Choice track: “Morning After Dark.”

3. Young Artists for Haiti, “Wavin’ Flag”

It’s just one song, but in my head it’s the best of the year. Yeah, the cynics will bash it, but this anthem of Haitian relief (part 1) and FIFA South Africa comprises two things the cynics don’t have: youth and hope. This is the power of the young, these are the future greats of this country getting together to do some good. If you can remember the days of “Feed the World”, “Tears are Not Enough”, and “We Are the World”, you can appreciate the value of this despite the inclusion of Justin Bieber.

4. Billy Talent, III.

Also an 09-er, but I got it in February. This thing is raw, pure rock energy. Always just short of the line of annoying screamo, these guys dish out some of the best electric guitar work I have heard in consistency in years. Wondrous licks, wild rhythm shifts and catchy, catchy hooks. The best of this year’s punk rock.

Choice track: “Devil on My Shoulder” took me a week to learn on bass.

5. Andy Trithardt, Secret Fun.

Listen to this one on some very good head-phones. Andy has always worked on cool sound layering, with simple yet perfect guitar hooks, but on Fun, he really shows how far he’s come as a lyricist, and in translating those lyrics into his melodies. He always seems to be desperate to avoid pop-catchy hooks, but he’s managed to showcase his already-considerable song writing skills without compromising the cleverness of his verse. Rather, he enhances it. I say that, but once again his music is the power of this thing.

Choice track: “Call in the Priest!”

6. Peter Gabriel, Scratch My Back.

It seemed like a great idea when I first heard about it. One of the best progressivists of the past quarter century covering songs by Radiohead, David Bowie, Neil Young, with the plan being that these artists would scratch back by covering “Sledgehammer” or “Steam”. Pretty desperate way to get a tribute album, but whatever. Issues that cropped up: nobody seemed interested in doing it back, and most of the covers, despite the varied sources, all sound the same—and are far inferior to the originals.

Choice track: I guess you could check out David Bowie’s “Heroes” just to be glad it’s a slightly better job than the Wallflowers did. That’s how hard this is to compliment, though.

7. Crash Karma, Crash Karma.

What? It’s 1997 again? You take the supporting casts from four (uh, three—what the hell was Zeitgeist?) of the greatest rock groups of the 90s, slap them together, and it’s passable, but you’ll also realize a couple things:

1.      Our Lady Peace, I Mother Earth and The Tea Party sounded nothing alike and melding their disparate noises is a fool’s quest.

2.      You can’t go back again. This sounds like it’s thirteen years off.

Still, with the pop stain Our Lady Peace has become, the flaming wreck I Mother Earth came to—they found the one dude who was a worse singer than Edwin—it’s a decent enough nostalgic alternative. But of the survivors of these four (three) groups, I think it’s second only to Jeff Martin’s solo material.

Choice track: “Next Life”. Good rock, some cool lyrics.

8. Angels & Airwaves, LOVE.

Hmm. I listen to a lot of bands that are made up of members of old bands. Hey, I miss Audioslave. Anyway, I like this band a lot, but this third album and soundtrack to the film of the same name stumbles in a few places. Their first two albums were track after track of genius melding of Radiohead and U2, but this one gets off the rail at times. Still, good band.

Choice track: “Flight of Apollo”.

9. Smashing Pumpkins, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope Volumes I and II.

  

After Pearl Jam, this is the only “grunge” band still kicking out anything worth listening to. Even with the roatating membership—ZWAN?!—over the past ten years, the Billy Corgan experiment still pumps out great music. This newest venture—forty-four songs released online for free one at a time—was cool, but is quickly looking like an undeliverable promise. Eight songs so far. I love it, it’s some of his best work, but I don’t know that I’ll stick around for six years for him to finish it.

Choice track: “Song For A Son”.

10. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

The best album on this list that was actually released in 2010. These folks have done it. Three albums in and they keep improving and changing with each one. They could quit now and would remain a band for the ages, but luckily, they’ll keep going. They are the true definition of alternative if you’re whacky enough to keep trying to apply that to music. This is a perfect album, one of only three on this list (Neil and Biffy), and it was the soundtrack to my summer.

Choice track: “City With No Children”.

11. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Mojo.

It’s good blues rock, and I dig Tom Petty, but I’ve decided that since about 1994, his best work has been sans-Heartbreakers: more variety, less basic blues format. I mean, this is a cool album, but it’s got no surprises.

Choice track: “First Flash of Freedom”.

12. Neil Young, Le Noise

The man is sixty-five and released a better album than almost all the kids on this list. Man? Young’s a god. This album’s only problem is it’s only got eight songs. It’s simply Neil grinding away on an electric guitar—no accompaniment—and then another icon gets his hands on it: Daniel Lanois. You end up with one of the most unique releases from an artist who has churned one out almost annually since the 60s. Its autobiographical lyrics are a little too close to a swan song for my taste, though.

Choice track: “Angry World”.

13. The Black Keys, Brothers.

My buddy Ed got me into these guys, their whole catalogue. Feel like I’ve missed the boat since about 2002. At first I thought they were the thinking man’s alternative to the White Stripes, but they’re so much richer than that. 21^st century folk rock. Touches of Beck, but no lack of originality. Every track works.

Choice track: “Everlasting Light” played very loud on old speakers.

14. Biffy Clyro, Only Revolutions.

Though released in late 2009, this is the best album of 2010. My favourite Scottish trio has managed one of these very, very rare “all killer, no filler” albums. Their past two albums were their genre-bending triumphs or punk and power-pop, with some odd timing and chugging rhythms. Oh, and then there are those melodies.

Choice track: “The Captain”.

15. Slash, Slash.

Dear Slash, you are one of the greatest guitarists of all time. You could probably pull a Joe Satriani and leave at least half of these songs instrumental. Most of these vocalists mean nothing to us and don’t help the song at all. I mean, I’m a Chris Cornell fan, but his track sucks.

Choice track: “Paradise City” with Cypress Hill and Fergie doing Axil better than Axil can.

16. Loreena McKennit, The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

What? This is good stuff. You saying it can’t follow Slash? Shaddap, s’my list. One of Canada’s greatest talents is also a fine Celtic storyteller, and she has this way of classing up the season with her near-Yuletime releases.

Choice track: “The Star of County Down”.

17. Robert Plant, Band of Joy.

Y’know, I didn’t really buy into the whole Alison Krauss, Grammy hype, but I like what the former Zeppelin golden god is up to these days. Lots of covers, too, but unlike Peter Gabriel, Plant explores all kinds of rock and blues—even country—avenues like he owns them, and was never the guy to screech “Stairway to Heaven”.

Choice Track: “Angel Dance”.




18. How to Desroy Angels, How to Destroy Angels.

I enjoyed it, but when Trent Reznor releases an album with his wife, what do you get? Nine Inch Nails with a woman singing. Nothing new, sounds a lot like Ghosts I-IV.

Choice track: "The Space Between".

The Reading List, 2010

A friend got me onto this idea of keeping a list of the books I read by year. This is the second year I've done it but I'm not sure I'm going to do it again: too stressful. I actually found myself occasionally reaching for something thinner near the end of the month so I met my quota (three per month was the aim). Screw that; I have two kids and a busy job. Anyway, FYI. A few I've read before (Pi, etc), but needed to re-read for work. Comments and questions welcome.

January

1.      Shakey: Neil Young’s Biography by Jimmy McDonough

2.      The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell

3.      A Writer’s Notebook by Caroline Sharp

February

4.      Notes for Monday by Barb Gordon

5.      Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

March

6.      Grendel by John Gardner

7.      The Book of Lists

8.      Write to Learn by Donald M. Murray

9.      For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

April

10.  Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

11.  The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

12.  Life of Pi by Yann Martel

13.  Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

May

14.  Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk

15.  501 Must-See Movies

16.  10 Simple Solutions by Glenn R. Schiraldi

June

17.  The Power of One by Bryce Courteney

18.  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

19.  All My Creative Writing 25 Manuscripts

July

20.  Friday by Robert Heinlein

21.  How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb

August

22.  Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd

23.  Riotous Assembly by Tom Sharpe

September

24.  The Whale Road by Robert Low

25.  The Bathroom Book of Saskatchewan Trivia by Glenda MacFarlane

26.  Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

October

27.  The Shining by Stephen King

28.  Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers

29.  Quintspinner by Dianne Greenlay

November

30.  1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James Shapiro

31.  Blue Ink and Epiphany by Anna Kristina Schultz

32.  The Wolf Sea by Robert Low

December

33.  The Forest Laird by Jack Whyte