The Last Drop

Nostalghia, I am Robot, Hear Me Glitch – It seems like everybody is getting bit by the electronic bug these days. True, that’s the beauty of technology – increasing accessibility to the masses and inviting talent and ideas to come rushing forth. But technology also has the power to mask deficiencies or provide a crutch instead of a platform for development. Nostalghia seem to be falling into the latter category, not without hope towards redemption. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’m getting a bit better on posting my favs from the prior year. 2010 theme: size and depth. It was a good year for the grandiose and high minded concepts. Amidst the cacophony, it was also a notable year for thoughtful lyrics. Put it all together and it was a great way to end the first decade of the aughts.

Honorable Mentions

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – I told you. I respect it as a work of high art. There is a ton of talent on display. And it really can’t get any more (tastefully) bombastic. But there is too much lacking in lyrical quality to deign a top ten placement let alone the top spot.  Maybe next year.

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Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – I’m a hater. By nature. I had this same sentiment with Mrs. Jay Z until actually listened to B’day. I felt similarly annoyed with Animal Collective until they ended up here. And so I continue my base sense of negativity and dismissal with Mr. West. This time, it’s for keeps.

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Big Boi, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

Typical. How many times can we keep extoling the virtues of the best thing to come out of Atlanta since…Atlanta? Well, if either member of Outkast keeps on creating consistent heat, there’s nothing else to do but call it fire. Read the rest of this entry »

Bilal, Airtight’s Revenge - I like weird well enough. In all shapes and sizes. I especially like weird when it has been gestating for all too long. Bilal has rightly cultivated his weird over many years and Airtight’s Revenge is a fitting result of his labor.

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Sleigh Bells, Treats –  Now, I’m all up for noise. And pop. And occasionally Noise Pop. But I just don’t buy this formula. Sure, it’s fun for a while. But does it really add anything new? You can slap on many famous fans as a badge of viability, but at the end of the day do you stand on your own? IMHO, I don’t think so.

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Girl Talk, All Day – For an artist that I’ve extold numerous virtues, including a top spot for 2008, I was beginning to get worried after hearing the latest release. I thought I was witnessing the beginning of a demise in quality. In reality, it’s just a different beast than previous work.

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Janelle Monae, The ArchAndroid – “Take me back to Wondaland/I gotta get back to Wondaland”. Aptly stated by Miss Monae. Any output she creates seems to be some interpretation of fantasy. Although she states her desire to create concept album worthy pieces based on sci fi high mindedness, it usually turns out to be arthouse shenanigans that are daring and fun.  While her earlier efforts hinted at this vision for a futuristic funky world, The ArchAndroid fully realizes this cyborg/humanoid integrated reality. Now, this doesn’t necessarily make this a good album – just because you can complete a thought doesn’t make it a good one. What makes this album so successful is that the music supersedes the audaciousness of her lyrical content. Even if you don’t care for cyber love, you can’t help but feel connected to “Cold War”. “Tightrope” became a catalyst for the common man to take notice (and really anyone with an eardrum and a booty ready for shaking). The consistency and flow of the album kept everyone’s interest level.  From the frenetic spoken word opening to the trippy, dreamlike interludes to the film noir torch song ending. It surprisingly all makes sense in spite of its internal diversity. It helps that Janelle’s spritelike yet aggressive voice soars in any format. R&B divas take note – just because you can oversing every song doesn’t mean you should. Sometime restraint makes you want to hear more. And Janelle provides so many opportunities to let the listener want more. I hope this becomes inspiration for more futuristic black divas to come.

Menomena, Mines – Ah yes, my biases have come to fruition! In all fairness, this is a well thought out (and performed) bias. I’ve set it forth here and here and you know what? I still stick by it.

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Arcade Fire, The Suburbs - First, I would like to thank Amazon for 1) creating a terribly useful, intuitive and (most often) cheaper alternative to iTunes for promoting artists’ album releases 2) finding the perfect artist to work with. Well done all around! I guess part of this glory also goes to Wynn and co. for putting out a pretty awesome cut. It probably made the Amazon new release intern’s job a whole hell of a lot better (and hey, maybe they got a full time job out of it to. You can always count on a few Canadians to help save the American job market, eh?).

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