Year in Review: Top 10 Albums of 2010

Welp, that’s it. The year 2010 is over, and what a rollercoaster it was. We lost many great musicians (R.I.P. Guru, Teddy Pendegras, Jay Reatard, Gregory Isaacs), but just as many stood up to take their place as the leaders of the next generation (Justin Bieber, Jackie Evancho, Odd Future).  T.I. got out of jail, made a terrible album, and then went back to jail. Lil’ Wayne and Gucci Mane got out of jail, while Lil Boosie got invited to stay a little longer. Erykah Badu & Ke$ha got naked, and Miley Cyrus acted like a bitch. Justin Timberlake did some acting, and Joaquin Phoenix did some rapping. Don’t ask or tell about Lady GaGa’s dress. M.I.A. got in trouble for eating truffle fries, and Willow Smith suffered a neck injury. Kanye West had a busy year: he apologized to George Bush and Taylor Swift, then un-apologized to Taylor, never apologized to Matt Lauer at all, made a movie, showed his dick, and joined Twitter. Susan Boyle emerged from the depths of… somewhere dark… and Bruno Mars failed. Cee Lo said “fuck” a lot, and Jay Electronica drank Mountain Dew. Pomplamoose made commercials, and Earl was kidnapped/died/incarerated/no one is really sure. Taylor Swift sold 1 million (bad) albums in a week, Eminem sold 3 million in 52 weeks, and no fucks were given. Oh, by the way, Lil B looks like Jesus. Phew. Glad that’s over.

Music Monday: Video Vanguards

There was a long period of time when I refused to watch a single music video. It was becoming an art form devoid of originality, and filled with copycats. But it seems there has been a recent resurgence of quality music videos of late. Check out these new videos, and let’s hope that that revolution continues…

Kanye West – Power

This “moving painting” from Mr. West is his Sistine Chapel, and may turn out to be the game-changing video of our generation. I certainly hope so, because the status-quo should no longer be acceptable. About one hundred seconds long, it is somewhat reminiscent of the slow motion video “Flashing Lights” he did back in 2007, but still not quite the same as anything we have seen before. Also, check out the installation from Marco Brambilla that inspired this work.

***

Janelle Monae – Cold War

The talented Janelle Monae went a completely different route with her video, and put together an equally amazing piece of art. With a budget that was probably lower than a Happy Meal, one take, and no special effects, she was still able to create one of the most emotionally moving music videos I have ever seen. Watch, rewind, repeat.

***

Earl Sweatshirt – Earl

Many of you will recognize this song by Earl Sweatshirt off of his album Earl that I recently reviewed (it was crack). Just some more background information; he is from the group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All out of Las Angeles, is sixteen years old, and loves rape, coke & couches. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it is an entertaining video.

***

Dancing Pigeons – Ritalin

Directed by Tomas Mankovsky, this video is the perfect accompaniment to a wildly emotional song by the Dancing Pigeons. The actors fit their parts perfectly, and tell an ugly story in a beautiful way. For you videographers, the front end was shot on a Canon 7D at 60fps, and the rest was shot on on Phantom (flame thrower at 1000fps & 400fps). This one is a great example of presenting a solid idea through art, but keeping it vague enough to excite the observer’s imagination.


-Tycho

Songs of the Week (18 Jul – 25 Jul)

Check out our recommendations to get you through your Music Monday… Enjoy!

Smooth Summer Joint

Off her debut studio album, The ArchAndroid, Miss Monáe shows off her diverse talents on this fast-paced track. It’s the perfect song to take your mind off the scorching heat while you’re cruising this summer.

[listen] Janelle Monáe – Faster

***

Speaking of Heat

Here’s a joint off of Curren$y’s latest album Pilot Talk. Mos Def does… whatever it is he does… and Mr. Elect adds a nice finishing touch over the smooth production. He may have one of the dumbest names in hip-hop, but Spitta is on top of his game right now!

[download] Curren$y – The Day feat. Mos Def & Jay Electronica

***

From the Vault

Nickelus F is constantly underrated, Drake bars are rare these days, and we need more accordions in rap, so when you get all of those together on a track it makes for something special. There’s been a tagged up version of this floating around, so here’s the no-nonsense version.

[download] Nickelus F – The Grind feat. Drake

***

 

 

Caught You Sleeping

While singles off his album like “Shutterbug” and “General Patton” have been getting a lot of praise, this is one song that seems to have been overlooked. André 3000 provides his partner with a thumping beat and Yelawolf continues to impress, utilizing an unorthodox flow to turn this one into some real trunk muzik.

[listen] Big Boi- You Ain’t No DJ feat. Yelawolf

***

Throwback Track

It’s simple. You can never go wrong with The Temptations.

[listen] The Temptations - Get Ready

-Tycho