The worst of 2010 thread

[Jim Clark]

I had the chance to spend some time with a lot of music, most of it OK, some of it great, and then there's the massive disappointments. It's the let downs that this thread is dedicated to!

1. Devo - Something For Everyone. Uh, not really. I've already posted about this bummer and I've wasted enough time on it already.

2. Josh Ritter - So Runs The World. Read a great review, figured I'd try to expand my horizons. I should have left the horizons where they were.

3. Jon Grant - Queen Of Denmark. Again, read a review that listed this record as the best unknown album of the year. Not wanting to get burned again I listened to the title track via utube video. It was a pretty decent track. What I didn't know was that this was the only decent track on the record.

4. Paul Weller - Wake Up The Nation. This dude was basically The Jam, right? Wake Up The Nation implies a certain energy, correct? Wrong. This is a boring, introspecitve, 'cerebral' effort. I had such high hopes which only means I had that much more to be let down.

5. Interpol - Interpol. I love Interpol. I love post punk revival. I could bring myself to listen to this record more than 2 or 3 times. I'm not sure exactly what was missing but it was missing something and a lot of it.

What were your biggest let downs.

Happy New Year.
jc

[nobody]

I thought the new Hold Steady was pretty crappy. I was kind of excited about it because I heard they were working with the same producer from Separation Sunday, by far my favorite of their albums. But this one did next to nothign for me.

I stopped being disappointed by boring Paul Weller solo albums a long time ago.

I didn't even listen to the latest Interpol because the second album already turned me off. The propulsive energy they had in the first one was really already used up by then for me.

Oh...and The National disappoint me over and over. I am still trying to see, or hear I guess, what it is that makes people think they are not a complete snoozefest.

[3LB]

I agree that that Hold Steady album is a snoozefest, same with Interpol, but I love the latest from The National. Land Of Talk - Cloak And Cipher was also a bit of a letdown from the debut.

on the [i]"where have heard this before"[/] front:

The Bluetones - A New Athens may as well been An Old Teenage Fanclub. The original is better.

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang; these guys are just a sax player away from being a Bruce Springsteen tribute band. Good for MP3 player rotation, but a somewhat taxing listen as an album. Eddie & The Cruiser's Revenge!

All in all, nothing I truly hated, except maybe the Hold Steady.

[Mr MidFi]

Hey, I actually kinda liked the Hold Steady disc. Not great, but listenable.

My biggest disappointments, by far, were...

1. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- Mojo. Hailed as a "return to form" by damn near everyone, I actually had high hopes for this turd after I downloaded 2 free tracks. And hey, both songs were pretty good! Well, turns out that 11 of the other 12 tracks weren't much.

2. Gaslight Anthem -- American Slang. Actually, if this was an ersatz 1978-era Springsteen homage, I could live with that. But far too many tracks sound more like the Gin Blossoms to me than, say, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes.

And finally, I'll mention the New Pornographers -- Together. It's a good album, and I'm glad I own it. But like I said in my Top 10 post, being merely "good" makes this their worst release ever.

[Jim Clark]

I thought the new Hold Steady was pretty crappy. I was kind of excited about it because I heard they were working with the same producer from Separation Sunday, by far my favorite of their albums. But this one did next to nothign for me.

I stopped being disappointed by boring Paul Weller solo albums a long time ago.

I didn't even listen to the latest Interpol because the second album already turned me off. The propulsive energy they had in the first one was really already used up by then for me.

Oh...and The National disappoint me over and over. I am still trying to see, or hear I guess, what it is that makes people think they are not a complete snoozefest.

I just returned some Hold Steady album to the library. I don't recall which one but it was a double album (or CD if you wish). I was so bored I didn't even run it through EAC. Guess I'm not much for the HOld Steady either.

jc

[Rae]

Ah, we dwell on negativity too often (especially online). I was lucky enough to adore every album that I purchased this year. I guess I'll slightly twist the intent of this thread to post my biggest disappointments of 2010:

ϡ Not buying a lot of records until late in the year. I feel like I stopped paying attention to contemporary music for a long time over the summer. That's too bad because the stuff that I did get into is some of the best since the first half of the decade. Who knows what treasures could've been unearthed with a full year's dedication.

ϡ Consistently missing some local bands that I've been told that I would love. If I had a beer for every time I showed up at a show right after Tips 4 Twat or Voyager played I'd be three sheets to the wind.

ϡ Sleeping on the Hammerhead reunion. I blew off the Turf show because I knew I'd see them at the AmRep fest at Grumpy's NE, then skipped that show to help a buddy move. What was I thinking?!

ϡ Passing on Leonard Cohen tickets. At the time I thought that they were too expensive... now I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to see him again.

ϡ Same deal, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson edition. I waited and now the show (happening in January) is sold out. 2011's preemptive biggest disappointment.

~Rae

[ForeverAutumn]

My biggest disappointments, by far, were...

1. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers -- Mojo. Hailed as a "return to form" by damn near everyone, I actually had high hopes for this turd after I downloaded 2 free tracks. And hey, both songs were pretty good! Well, turns out that 11 of the other 12 tracks weren't much.

I'm still in contact with ChipB and he loves this album. He encouraged me to buy it. I haven't yet, but it's on THE LIST.

To be honest, 2010 was a slow music year for me. There's lots out there that I'd like to hear, but it's been such a busy year, I haven't really had much time for musical exploration. I will say that the Josh Ritter disk was a bit of a dissapointment for me. There are some great tunes there, but also some duds.

[atomicAdam]

I listened to enough new stuff this year.

The only thing I can say I was disappointed with was Broken Bells. I've said my peace about it before in a different thread. But yeah, there you go.

Oh, that and the latest from Autechre - Move of Ten - I got that on vinyl - a crap shot I know so I wasn't really disappointed, just that I spent the money.

Also hear the new Massive Attack - Heligoland - meh... not as bad as some other MA stuff - but no where near as awesome as Mezzanine.

I also thought LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening wasn't happening.

I guess that is it for my let downs.

[poppachubby]

Also hear the new Massive Attack - Heligoland - meh... not as bad as some other MA stuff - but no where near as awesome as Mezzanine.



I can understand why you felt this way. My first listen was neither hot nor cold. One thing I knew for sure, I needed to hear it again and for me, that's the hallmark of a good album. After 3 or 4 listens I was completely drawn in.

Mezzanine was indeed a great album and arguably their creative peak. The problem is that stylistically Mezzanine was probably their most conventional. In terms of song dynamics, things were more to the point and had a more linear feel.

Heligoland explores the music alot more, yet still retains the hooks which make Massive so appealing. Things are just alot more subtle on this one. A great album I thought.

[Jim Clark]

I listened to enough new stuff this year.


Also hear the new Massive Attack - Heligoland - meh... not as bad as some other MA stuff - but no where near as awesome as Mezzanine.

I also thought LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening wasn't happening.

I guess that is it for my let downs.

Well, I'm on the outs with everyone on Massive Attack seeing how I think 100'th Window is a freaking killer album, so what do I know? with that said, my biggest problem with Heligoland is that Martina Topley-Bird is no Sinead O'Connor. That is only partially offset by the inclusion of the dude from TV on the Radio, Tunde whatever his last name is. Still this album was one of my last grabs of the year and I haven't spent much time with it, but I will. I need to get tired of the disc from Junip first, and I have a feeling that it might take a while : )

Oh, and LCD Soundsystem is in my top 5. Just shows there's something for everyone out there.

[Stone]

The biggest disappointment for me is hearing very little new music. I've stopped trying to keep up at all and got a few new things, but not much. Most of my music purchases are of older music these days, and I just don't have much time to listen, except in the car.

[Jim Clark]

The biggest disappointment for me is hearing very little new music. I've stopped trying to keep up at all and got a few new things, but not much. Most of my music purchases are of older music these days, and I just don't have much time to listen, except in the car.

I don't know if I grabbed anything that you'd automatically really like. Maybe the Crystal Castles? I know I pissed away some money for sure. At this point I could easily add the Clinic album to my list of disappointments : (

[Stone]

I've heard of Crystal Castles. IIRC, they have a Cure-like sound?

I didn't even know Clinic had a new one out. I heard that new Devo too, and thought it was a big turd after being lied to that it was a "return to form."

A few I liked this year were Mumford & Sons, Harlem, and Titus Andronicus.

[3LB]

I heard that new Devo as well... did they actually use "don't taze me bro" in a song (actually, the line went "don't mean to taze you, bro")... I died a little when I heard that. They should just stick to their very corporate jobs and Disney 2.0 stuff. Oh the irony.

[Jim Clark]

I've heard of Crystal Castles. IIRC, they have a Cure-like sound?

I didn't even know Clinic had a new one out. I heard that new Devo too, and thought it was a big turd after being lied to that it was a "return to form."

A few I liked this year were Mumford & Sons, Harlem, and Titus Andronicus.

I don't think the Cure is the best comparison. Maybe their first, I dunno, never heard it. The album is kinda varied but pretty electro throughout. Davey was always so good at describing things like this, I suck. Anyway...it's almost like a really harsh, distorted dream pop sound. Dark, Rockin' dream pop, that's my story.