Noddin's Best of 2010: Attempt no landings there
Season’s Greetings, ARers,
Time for me to call it and to put up my year ender. In 2010, I found a lot of tracks I liked but there weren’t too many albums I really dug. Maybe I just didn’t hear the right ones or maybe they just need time. Of the albums in my list, the winners would be
#1 Brothers: The Black Keys.
This was the clear winner of the year for me.
#2 The Way Out: The Books.
A bit corny, but I found myself listening to it many times and enjoying it.
#3 Primitive: Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3.
Although I’m a fan, this album took a while to grow on me.
#4 Your Future Our Clutter: The Fall.
Good noise. Track 2 bothers me though; the first half of the track is so lo-fi it takes me out of the album. Other than that, good stuff.
#5 God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise: Ray LaMontagne
#6 Transference: Spoon.
The rest get some form of honorable mention. Fleece on Brain was a track from a recent compilation release (We’ll Never Stop Living This Way), so not really an album. Admiral Radley I didn’t care for much but I really liked the track.
Tobacco’s album is actually pretty fun--a total sonic assault that sounds like the audio from Nintendo’s classic Pole Position warped into…well…I dunno… “fuzzy grimey techno sleaze” to quote nobody.
I had some tracks from The National, Arcade Fire and The Bells in earlier drafts. But, they just seemed like filler really. As is, this weighs in at a respectable 69 minutes. I tried to select in favor of a cohesive sound overall. It works for me. I recommend adding a 1-2 second gap between tracks if you burn it. I think it sounds better with some space.
Noddin’s Best of 2010: Attempt no landings there
01. It Don't Come Easy ~ Bettye LaVette
02. Dark Water ~ Galactic (feat. John Boutte)
03. Last Time ~ Black Dub
04. Tighten Up ~ The Black Keys
05. Mexico Wax Solvent~ The Fall
06. Fresh Hex ~ Tobacco (feat. Beck)
07. Cineramascope ~ Galactic (feat. Trombone Shorty & Corey Henry)
08. High Chair ~ Autolux
09. Sometimes in This Country ~ Crooked Still
10. Whispering Light ~ Jesca Hoop (*note the files are still tagged wrong)
11. Blue Blocks ~ Jason Moran
12. Beg Steal or Borrow ~ Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
13. Before Destruction ~ Spoon
14. Fleece On Brain ~ Matthew Dear
15. Primitive ~ Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3
16. The Thread ~ Admiral Radley
17. All You Need Is a Wall ~ The Books
18. Thirty Incoming ~ The Books
Pick your format.
iTune’s Apple Lossless
FLAC
MP3 (256 VBR)
And for kicks, if you enjoy the inflexibility of vinyl but want something digital, I offer my special long-playing, single file,tag-free MP3 format.
LP-MP3
or the mono version. ;-)
Mono LP-MP3
And, finally, the jewel case art
The lossless formats are on dropbox. They won't be up forever. The others are on mediafire. If you want hard copy or special request, PM me.
Give it a listen and come back and report. I made the poll to lower the energy barrier, but written comments are always enjoyed.