Music Snobbery

Top 5 New Acts of 2011

Hazzah! It's time to recap the year was ... and it was ... alright. As I gather my thoughts on 2011, There wasn't an overall theme that comes to mind. I mostly think of the crap that was unleashed upon us, but it's holiday. Let's be positive, starting with the new music from debut artists.

All U.K.-based bands for this year's Top 5. The U.S. just wasn't churning out the quality bands and artists in 2011. As you'll see in my upcoming "Worst of2011" post, we got some explaining to do.

My definition of new acts is that the band released an EP or debut album this year. Acts like Dry the River and The Good Natured will have to wait until next year. In any event, here's a quality crop of new sounds that I hope will be making us rock for years to come.

5. Still Corners -- I first heard of the band back in 2008 when they release an song called "History of Love". It was straight-up early 60s nostaliga right from Twin Peaks. They did Cults before Cults were Cults. What struck me about the song was that wicked theramin sound underneath that would rear its ugly head between choruses. It would be very sweet, then in comes this harsh melody. It worked. Fast forward to 2011, and they've evolved into a beautiful, beat-driven outift that molds the drive of Stereolab and the shoe-gazing of Jesus & Mary Chain. Creatures Of An Hour, their debut album on Sub Pop, makes you feel like a cooler person for listening to it. They had to back out of their U.S. tour with The War on Drugs, but they should be back next Spring.

4. Veronica Falls -- From the ashes of Glasgow's The Royal We sprung Veronica Falls. With their boy/girl vocals, they swoon with their the surf rock via shoegaze music. Their debut album sneaks up on you, and it's a reason why in this digital age that you listen to an album from front to back in the order the artist chooses. It starts off sweet and melodic. Once you settle in, you get punched in the nuts with the full-blown rock out tune, "Sleepy Head". While Scotland is known as the land of Twee with Belle & Sebastian, Veronica Falls gives the scene a new kick in the ass.

3. The Vaccines -- As fast as you can say, "Hey, have you heard this new band?" The Vaccines had signed to a major before even releasing a proper single. It didn't even give the band a chance for tastemakers to declare them the best thing ever and over-hyped them to annoying levels. Leaving all that aside, Justin Young and Co. delivered a firecrack of an album, full of hitmaking songs that clock in at only two or three minutes. Catchy tunes + a sense of urgency = instant fun.

2. Yuck -- As with Veronica Falls, Yuck members came from another band, the teenage post-punk London outfit, Cajun Dance Party. They were a great discovery this year with their throwback sound to early 90s alt-rock made popular by Dinosaur Jr., Yo La Tengo, Pavement and Teenage Fanclub. They might have broken into a musical vault, because they've discovered the secret formula for creating that sound. You listen to The Wall and you think it was a lost relic of that time.

1. Anna Calvi -- A new brainer for the year's best new artist. After seeing her debut U.S. show at Johnny Brenda's, she was the clear-cut most talented singer-songwriter I've seen in recent memory. Underneath her small stature and striking face lies a lioness. Her guitar skills are impressive to say the least. She reminds me of Annie Clark, both unassuming personalities who can shred and unleash some serious guitar licks. Her debut album played like the sountrack to a modern Spaghetti Western. Leave it to a Brit to do American rock better than the Americans can.

And now for the rest ...

The runner-up goes to another foreign band, Wu Lyf. The Manchester band started out as a mystery, no press photos or website. You could say that it was a reaction to the over-hyped nature of modern music, or maybe a bit of showmanship. Eventually, the band revealed themselves with a series of underground shows. Today, they do the radio sessions, photo shoots and interviews. More importantly, Go Tell Fire To the Mountain was a gut-wrenching, stick a knife in your heart album filled with bombastic and emotional rock tunes. Their live shows were just as dramatic as their music, with Evans Kati belting out the tunes as if his life depended on it.

The best of the rest (in alphabetical order)

Cults -- The local duo made darkly sweet retro 60s girl group pop that made you want to join their ... urrrr ... cult.

Dirty Beaches -- Just a man (Alex Zhang Hungtai) with a guitar, microphone, loop pedals and an attitude.

Frankie and the Heartstrings -- My boys never came back to the U.S. this year, but they create insanely fun indie pop for the extrovert in all of us.

The Head and The Heart -- If I had to pin a best new American band of the year on somebody, It would be on this Seattle six-piece who make chilling folk music with a lot of richness.

Lanterns on the Lake -- LIke The Head and The Heart, UK's Lanterns on the Lake rely on strength in numbers. While you can pinpoint all the inspiration of H&H, Lanterns take notes from all genres (avant-garde and traditional) to create their take on Americana.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra -- The headiest new band of the year has many tricks up their sleeves. If it was weird and sounded like a drug-trip, they put on their debut album.

 

Top 5 Guido Fist Pump Anthems

I respect my readership, and trust that you are up on the latest pop cultural phenomenon called Jersey Shore. A new season of the show debuts tonight. As the Book of Revelation states, after Pestilence, War, Famine, Death, vision of martyrs and Cosmic disturbances comes Jersey Shore.

Unfortunately, I will not be watching tonight, but as a service, here's a little Top 5 list of guido fist pump anthems to get you, ummm, pumped. If you never heard of the term "guido fist pump", it's when a group of Rhodes Scholars from Oxford stand in a group and rise their clinched fists in the air in unison.

As somebody who resides in the Garden State and is of Italian origin, I am well familiar with the practice. All joking aside, the guido scene hasn't changed since the late 80s and early 90s. Even Springsteen sang in 4th of July, Asbury Park -- "And the boys from the casino dance with their shirts open like Latin lovers along the shore. Chasin' all them silly New York girls"

Likewise, their music of choice hasn't changed. Grab your FourLokos, bros:

5. Technotronic, Pump Up the Jam

4. 20 Fingers & Roula, Lick It

3. Outhere Brothers, Boom Boom Boom

2. La Bouche, Be My Lover

1. Reel 2 Reel, I Like To Move It

Top 5 British Acts to Look Forward To In 2011

I should subtitle this post, Top 5 British Acts to Look Forward To In 2011 (Not Named Anna Calvi, Summer Camp or Vaccines). Thus, it's time get jazzed for some new blood into the scene for the new year. You can consider this your Bands to Watch or Bands I've About Written About Before So When They Do Become Known I Can Say I Wrote About It First.

Looking at last year's list, No. 1's Paloma Faith did make it to the U.S., only to record her second album in Los Angeles and not perform. Drats. VV Brown did play a slew of dates stateside. Leisure Society haven't made the journey, but are working on Album No. 2. Bombay Bicycle Club finally will make their debut in March. Banjo or Freakout did play in New York last March.

So here's who I like for 2011 coming from overseas.

5. Brother -- Far be it from me to not pay attention to producer extraordinaire Stephen Street. The man behind Blur's best records has taken the Slough, UK band Brother under his tutelage. I'm sure they are tired of being asked about being from the town that the original Office was set. These brash lads are bringing that old BritPop Oasis attitude back into our consciousness. They're first single, "Darling Buds Of May", has plenty of gritty guitars and pop vocal hooks to make you grab your best trainers and Ben Sherman polos. They'll be opening for The Streets on his 2011 UK tour.

4. Betty and the Werewolves -- They caught my eye during the Camden Crawl coverage for their super-hyper twee pop. Now that Allo Darlin have made their mark during CMJ, you are now set for some Betty action. The three girls and boy from London can make you dance in place with their infectious energy or spin in a circle with their dreamy vocals. Their debut album, Tea Time Favourites, is available for download on your favorite download vessel of choice. Take a listen to "Should I Go To Glasgow"

 

3. Gaggle -- It's time to mention them on this space again after following their exploits in 2010. If anything, the massive all-girl choir begs for your attention no matter what your tastes. In the past few months, the collective have been performing a 1969 opera piece called The Dark and The Brilliant. Just when you think it will be a straight-forwarda  vocal piece, in pops in the dance beats. Here's a sample of the end results:

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2. Hannah Peel -- Here's a new name that I've stewing over a few months, waiting for the right time to introduce you to the magic. H.P. is a touring member of The Unthanks and frequently collaborates with Duke Special. Her solo work is a little similar in vein to those artists, where she plays all the instruments and adds some electronics to proceeding. She also has a knack for reworking Cocteau Twins and New Order songs. The end result is like the world's hippest music box.

Rough Trade says "Hannah Peel's debut album, Broken Wave, kicks 2011 off with style. a lovelorn spun tale of falling in love, rejection and life's trivia, It's a breathtaking release in which peel channels her melancholy and aspirations into cantering ditties destined for much greater things than the intimate atmosphere they evoke." That album is produced by Mike Lindsay of Tunng.

Check out Sugar Hiccup:

1. Alice Gold -- Another rock chick I've mentioned before, Madam Gold turned up on Q Magazines list for 2011. NME said that's she's part Joan Jett, part Tina Turner, She calls herself the child of Janis Joplin who has a crush on Alicia Keys. I'm thinking she's here to stick a dagger into your soul and maybe rock your damn ass off with those killer guitar licks.

Her debut album should be out this year. Seven Rainbows, produced by Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, La Roux) will be released by Fiction Records.

Top 5 Gigs of 2010

Final post of the year. Hope you had a great year at the clubs, venues, bars, halls and basements and that you were thoroughly entertained.

5. Mumford & Sons / The Middle East @ The Theatre of Living Arts (May 16)

(what I said then) It's blatantly apparent that Mumford & Sons have forged their way into the hearts of America with this sold out tour and their debut album, Sigh No More. When you have fans lined up around the block an hour before doors, you know you're doing something correct. During my interview, I asked Marcus if he grasped why he was so popular, which he hasn't figured out. Well, if I may, my observation is that the band produces an energetic, foot-stomping hoedown good time. People respond to those freakout moments in Little Lion Man and Roll Away Your Stone. You see the majority of the crowd jumping to the beat.

4. Pavement @ Central Park SummerStage (September 24)

(what I said then) At many points during the show, I had to gather my thoughts about the importance of these shows in just to solidify Pavements legacy. The band did the right thing in coming together one more time. Yes, in the end, they get a nice payout, but all us need to soak all those great tunes in live form. Although Malkmus is the big name in the band, he blends in seamlessly with the others on stage. He or anybody doesn't take over the whole show. Except when Nastanovich doesn't his screaming thing, the band thrives on being a complete entity on stage.

3. MGMT / Dum Dum Girls @ Ancienne Belgique (Rocktober 3)

(what I said then) As I mentioned before when I said I was going to the show while on holiday, I hadn't seen MGMT since they've become stars. I was at the famous rained out Pool Party but left early. Then I didn't seen their set at the last All-Points West. If they are one of the biggest breakout New York bands in the past few years, you would only know it by the size of the crowds. They still play a straight-forward and focused set. Their antics are held back until they do Kids, and Andrew and Ben leave their mic stands and dance and jump around. It's funny to see the reserved and unassuming Ben try to be a crazy rock star. During the song, he took some fruit from backstage and started handing it out. Meanwhile, Andrew jumped into the crowd to feel the love.

2. Spiritualized @ Radio City Music Hall (July 30)

(what I said then) It was moving, beautiful, enthralling, invigorating, transcendent, magical, intense, enveloping, surreal and out of this world. Yes, we, as an audience, floated into space. This is the show we'll be talking about for years to come. Sure, Jason Pierce performed the album in its entirety before, but not in the most famous venue in the world. It was a once-in-a-lifetime paring that I doubt can be recreated anywhere else.

1. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings / Budos Band @ Prospect Park (August 7)

(what I said then) Twenty thousand people can't be wrong, Sharon Jones is the best. Last Saturday, the peoples came out in force to give major love to Miss Jones and her Dap-Kings, in what can only be described as the largest and best performance of her career. The free show, in the final weekend of Celebrate Brooklyn, was three and a half hours of fun and funk. Her set alone pushed the two and a half hour mark, going right up against curfew. You can't stop her! You can only hope to contain her.

Top 5 Worst New Acts of 2010

Your calendar might not tell you, but today is Festivus. It's the pre-Christmas celebration that is for the rest of us. Besides the Feats of Strength, the most important part is the Airing of Grievances. I take complaining and bitching to an art form. This year for my post about the sucky parts of 2010, I want to spotlight the new acts that have intruded onto the music scene.

There was no shortage of bad music flung upon the general public. A majority of this music will be honored with a Grammy, a platinum record or played on a Thanksgiving Day float.

Alas, I am one man. I can only do so much. Here are five acts that I think need to go far away. They range from hip hop, pop, indie, punk and just WTF awful.

5. Waka Focka Flame -- Besides having the worst rapper name of all time, this Atlanta-based rapper is just one of many reason why I can't listen to rap music any more. I wish one day there is a voice of dissension among the rappers that stands-up and says that the genre is horrible. Remember well De La Soul use to call out crap like this. I'll just stick to listening to my Old School albums. As for Wacka, try giving him a listen and see how far you get. I know, I know. I'm not the target audience. But come on, Wacka, how about forming a beat on a song?

4. Ke$ha -- I get it, it's Top 40 music. It's produced by committee, marketed towards a demographic and has no sense of any true artisty. It's fast food -- disposable, mass-produced and not good for you. It keeps people in the music industry employed. It's a factory, and it's not going to change. Can the industry create pop stars that are at least good-looking and sexy? She looks like a horse in drag. It's a crass comment, but if the music isn't suppose to be taken seriously, then I'm not. She reminds me of those annoying chicks in high school who pretended to own the school by being a bad ass. You see them 10 years later, and they look sad and dejected because high school was the peak of their life. That's Ke$ha, except she's still in high school mode. When she's playing state fairs and playing Club DoucheBag, then we can all laugh at her.

3. Das Racist -- The most annoying local act we have here in the tri-state area. If you can't stand the whole Brooklyn thing, you can look at Das Racist and vent your disgust at them. Basically, you have a few stoners who try to rap around the most mundane aspects of their lives and then think they are the shit for doing so. "Hey everybody, we rap about cheese. That makes us different, yo." If you can understand anything that they are saying with their lazy delivery over simplistic beats, then you're a better man then me. They were denied entry into London and sent back. They said it was for their political views. Yeah, like the British government cares what a bunch scenesters have to say. Their stance on Taco Bell is truly controversial.

2. New Politics -- Let me give you a little insight into my inbox. I get maybe 100 e-mails a day that are press releases about bands I've never heard of and probably won't ever care about. They are the standard mail merge templates so as to fool me into thinking it's a personal message for me. Once a while, I get a persistent request that will just build and build. This year, it was on this Copenhagen band that relocated to Brooklyn. Just to get their people off my back, I watch the "Yeah Yeah Yeah" video. I think around the 30-second mark I wanted throw my laptop out the window. I showed it to my music people who I trust just to make sure I wasn't the only one. The reaction was "WTF is this bullshit." And bullshit it is. It's basically some band trying to assimilate into the New York scene and ending up looking like assholes. The e-mails were like, "This band is redefining punk rock." Effffffff you. If ineptitude, trying too hard, idiotic lyrics, poor singing, blatant attempts to look like bad-ass hipsters and unfocused songs is the new rock, then I'm going to quitting music blogging to focus on writing Mad Men fan fiction.

1. Mike Posner -- Remember this guy? He was introduced, hyped and forgotten out before you can say "No Hit Wonder." Asher Roth held this spot last year, and it's the same scenario. Some young A&R guy thinks he has the next Justin Timberlake or Lady Gaga or Britney Spears or Eminem or Gwen Stefani or Usher or any successful singer. He finds the guy and puts the singer through all the typical motions. In this case, Posner is a frat boy from Duke who knew a guy who knew a guy who knew a guy and next thing you know, MTV is hyping his Cooler Then Me song -- a cookie cutter, soulless pop song that showcases his lack of talent and thin voice. Sure, it might gotten him laid and VIP treatment, but when you try to be the next JT, you end up looking like a JT-wannabe. It makes you yearn for the days Color Me Badd were blazing the charts. The good news is that he faded away, and now he can concentrate on his douche-tastic style.

I like that photo. He looks like the guy from Digital Underground.

 

Top 5 New Free Christmas Songs To Download

I got your Christmas presents, right here (say in thick Brooklyn accent).

There's been a wealth of new Christmas songs to add to your repeptiore, because I'm sure you're sick of Vampire Weekend's Holiday and Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime"

5. Blackalicious, "Toy Jackpot" -- The Target corporation came up with top notch Christmas compilation that's free to the masses. Two songs make my list. Blackalicious get groovy with their installment.

4. Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, "Time of the Season" -- It's the time of the season for loving, but its not a cover version of that song. You can find this one off this year's release, Howl. Free download for the month over at Amazon.

3. Banjo or Freakout, "Frosty the Snowman" -- We're still choosing Freakout. Alessio Natalizia gives his spin on the standard.

2. The Mynabirds -- "All I Want is Truth (for Christmas)" -- Laura Burhenn offers up this perky tune. You download over at Saddle Creek.

1. Bishop Allen -- "You'll Never Find My Christmas" -- Possibly the best new Christmas song in years. I didn't recognize them when I first saw the commerical.

Top 5 New Acts of 2010

You know it, you love it, you look forward to it -- a random list of year-end lists. Why have a ten best when you can have 50? Let's do 100, because as we know, there's a huge difference between No. 36 and No. 37 or No. 88 or No. 99. Five is all you need.

This being a music blog, I think it serves a purpose in introducing new bands that catch my eye. This year like previous years, there no shortage of new blood into the music scene. For the first time since I've been writing this space and compiling year-end lists, an American band tops the list. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

My definition of new acts is that the band released an EP or debut album this year. Acts like Frankie & The Heartstrings and The Vaccines will have to wait until next year. It's vague gray area there. Mumford & Sons was on last year's list, but their album was release this year in the U.S. It's all confusing to me, but this a quality crop of new sounds that I hope will be making us rock for years to come.

5. Summer Camp -- This is band that seems tailor made for my tastes and ideals. they make super-catchy, direct pop music with a wink. Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey bring a sense of nostalgia and remembrance to their infectious electro-pop music. It's soft and comforting when you hear Liz repeat "you you you, ah ah ah" at the beginning of "Ghost Train". Then the fun continues when Jeremy takes the lead on "Round the Moon," their most uptempo tune on their Young EP. Added to the mix is their stage show with the back projections of old family photos from the 60s, 70s and 80s and, indeed, pictures from summer camps.

4. Warpaint -- It seems that Brooklyn would be undistributed king of new music. This year, it's Los Angeles. Goodbye Williamsburg. Hello, Silver Lake. All three American bands on this list hail from California. With Warpaint, their 2009 EP showed some promise, but some of the tracks were just too long. Their debut album, The Fool shows off their style and presence. The songs are tighter and better defined. What I remember best about their show at Mercury Lounge was how their slow, mellow songs kept me engaged. They are the tiny band that makes big music.

3. Local Natives -- Another L.A. band that started turning some heads in 2009. When their debut album got released in the U.S. year, you knew they were going to make some noise. There's not a boring moment on Gorilla Manor or in the live show. You moments of tremendous power with deep guitar parts and lot of active percussion. Layered on top are Taylor Rice's echoing vocals to rival that of Robin Pecknold. Every time I hear them, I find something to new discover like the delicate piano of Airplanes or the open country road driving feeling of Cubism Dream

2. The Joy Formidable -- Although they haven't released their official debut album yet, their self-released material warranted their ranking this year. I couldn't wait another year to put them in their right spot. When I saw them in the U.K. in 2009, I knew this would be a band that I would follow their every move. Like Warpaint, they are the small band that makes big music. In this case, they literally are small -- Ritzy Bryan is tiny bundle of energy who kills on guitar and belt out the biggest of rock voices. Their live shows blow your mind with their sonic output. It's like standing next to 45-minute rocket launch. As mentioned before, their debut album comes out next year.

1. Dum Dum Girls -- As a lifelong anglophile, it surprises even me that the band that I couldn't get enough of this year are ladies from L.A. Yes, this is the year were every week, there seemed to be a band that takes their influence from the Shangri-Las, 60s garage rock and girl group sounds. Best Coast is another new act this year that could have been on this list. As much as I think Bethany Costello has chops, she's no powerhouse like Kristin Gundred and new band's debut album, I Will Be. What makes Dum Dum Girls is their no-nonsense sound -- full of attitude and tenderness. The best bands make their soft songs just as relevant as their loud, crowd pleasures. The profound sadness of "Baby Don't Go" has just as much emotion as the rave-up "Bhang, Bhang, I'm A Burnout". They are not reinventing the wheel, but they make that 60s sound seem new again.

As with previous Best New Acts (Florence, Ting Tings, Kate Nash, M.I.A., Guillemots), I hope or great music for years to come.

Honorable Mention: The almost made the Top 5, Position No. 6, Runner-Up goes to Ireland's Two Door Cinema Club. Just when you think post-punk, new wave is dead, here comes another band that enter the lexicon that makes danceable rock music. It's usually from a group of people who don't look like they make dance music. These lads law down some beats with peppy, ready-for-the-floor songs.

Best of the rest:

• Marina & The Diamonds -- Sexy, intelligent pop music with a sense of the theatrical. Be there.
• Caitlin Rose -- The best new songwriter of the year
• Best Coast -- Teenage gril rock for grown ups.
• Phantogram -- Sure Sleigh Bells got all the attention, but Phantogram gets my vote for duos making thunderous beats
• Tame Impala -- Australian band making weird, fuzzed out psych rock
• Fitz and the Tantrums -- Fantastic live show over-shadows their well-constructed retro soul music
• Stornoway -- Making rural England cool again
• Villagers -- The best new songwriter of the year not named Caitlin rose

Previously:

• Local Natives / Suckers @ Bowery Ballroom
• Frankie and the Heartstrings / Summer Camp / The Neat @ The Lexington
• Warpaint / Sherlock's Daughter @ Mercury Lounge
• The Joy Formidable: The MusicSnobbery.com Interview
• MGMT / Dum Dum Girls @ Ancienne Belgique

Top 5 Things That Happen At Shows That Make Me Think It's Groundhog Day

5. The guy at the door checks my I.D. even though I'm there every week and sometimes I wear pants. People under 21 don't wear pants. Pants are so mayo.

4. The lights get lowered and people start cheering, even though the house music is still playing. (*hint* -- look for the guy waving a flashlight, then you can scream).

3. Somebody yells "Freebird" or some obscure B-side.

2. Some near-do-well will take flash photographs with their point and shoot, thus blinding the performers.

1. The opening act says, "Hi, we're such and such. We come from Brooklyn. We have two more songs for you. We have merch in the back."

Top 5 Gigs of 2009

Final post of the year and the decade. Another list that was easy to put together. A big "Well, duh!" for the top spot. See you all in 2010.

5. Bat For Lashes / Lewis & Clarke @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (May 3):

(what I said then) -- While her music comes from the land of forests, fairies and woodland creatures, her stage show isn't some arty concoction. It's a loose affair, with Khan joking and responding to crowd shouts. It's not super serious, but meant to be a fun time. I certainly enjoyed every moment and what I came away with is how engaging a person she is. Obviously, she's is quite the looker. Besides her physical beauty, she seems to be a generally pleasant person. She smiled often and slinked around on stage -- getting into the music. Some of the best live acts are the ones that take their music and give them a grander feeling. While her albums are not full out rave-ups, she managed to take songs like Two Planets and Horse and I and make them danceable.

4. Florence and the Machine @ Hop Farm Festival (July 4)

(what I said then) When I saw her opening set for Blur, I took to the music that is steeped in classical fantasy. She can paint pictures where she blends and bends musical styles that would make Kate Bush and Bat for Lashes jealous. Each song has a full, lush feeling that has a steady beat flowing through. Even though I was hearing songs like "Drumming" and "My Boy Builds Coffins" for the first time,  I instantly knew that Florence has something to say, and she's going to do it by enchanting you.

Then when I saw her on Saturday at Hop Farm, where she's standing five feet from me, I noticed how she moves around the stage, as if the music is commanding her. It's not necessarily performance art, because between songs she cracks jokes and makes observations. She climbs on speakers, dances barefoot around in her flowing dress and strikes poses as if she's a work of art.

3. Phoenix / Lightspeed Champion @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (June 18)

(what I said then) -- I am amazed how they bring the party every time they play. Tonight was no exception. They haven't changed much, but our reaction to them has changed. The crowd is more into them. The band comes out to some intro music, then delve into Listzomania covered in minimal stage lighting. When the big chorus breaks out, the lights blind everybody. That when you knew it was on like Wraith of Khan. Seventy-minutes later, my hair is messed up and my sweaty t-shirt is sticking to my back. Now, that's a show.

2. Jay-Z @ All Points West (July 31):

(what I said then) -- For a man who is the greatest deserves a stage show that's equal to his talent. The visual and audio backing for his headlining gig on Friday's APW is nothing short of the best. As I said in my recap of Friday's line-up, it's Daft Punk meets Jay-Z. With Jay-Z's image hovering over himself, it made him look like the hip hop version of Charles Foster Kane.

1. Blur @ London Hyde Park (July 3)

(what I said then) -- It was the most energetic, crazy, berserk show I ever attended. It was sensory overload. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect sight -- seeing the four members do their thing in their native country. For the self-anointed biggest Blur fan in the U.S. (or maybe just New Jersey), this was the last piece of the puzzle for me.

In all, Blur's performance solidifies them as one of the icons of British music. It's not the scene they created, it's the music they've crafted that puts them in the class with The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Smiths and Joy Division/New Order. It's music that defined their time and a certain anti-establishment ideology. The debate will rage on with Blur's legacy. For me, it's just music that speaks to me. Seeing them again with all the pomp and circumstance in London is something that won't be equaled with any other band.

Top 10 Albums of 2009

Here it is. Seldom replicated and never comprised -- The Top 10 Albums of the 2009.  As someone whose consuming music at an alarming rate, I take this list seriously. Although, I didn't have to sweat leaving out albums, I did go went back and forth with No. 1 and 2.

Let's light this candle:

10. Thee Oh Sees, Help -- Fronted by wildman John Dwyer, this San Francisco band have been around in various forms this decade. This was the year they finally gained some recognition for their intense live shows, which spawns from this killer album. With tracks that bristle with kinetic garage rock goodness, the album has the rawness and immediacy that you see in their live shows. While it may not be high-art, but it is high-fun, and sometimes that's what you need -- old fashion driving rock 'n' roll.

9. The Mummers, Tale to Tell -- It was love at first sight when I first heard of The Mummers. Their debut album takes its inspiration from film soundtracks, orchestral pop and vaudeville. When you think of about, calling themselves the Mummers was an appropriate choice, you get a sense with each track of colorful characters marching through magical landscapes. Like with No. 1 album on this list, with every listen I find little nuances that poke presents itself. Take a listen to Wonderland, where you hear a little warped electronic flourish in-between the horns and strings.

8. Headless Heroes, The Silence Of Love -- Released in the U.K. in 2008 and in the U.S. this year, the project spearheaded by Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicholson and sung by Alela Diane is a tribute to making music just for the heck of doing it without commercial aspirations. The end result is 10 cover songs that don't come up as cover songs. The aim was to make something new and unexpected. Take the Daniel Johnson's "True Love Will Find You In The End." The original is stripped down, lo-fi recording. Headless Heroes makes it sweeping, epic and more emotional. "Just Like Honey" is reinvented as if Lee Hazelwood wrote it.

7. Heartless Bastards, The Mountain -- From Headless to Heartless, I'm surprised that I didn't see this album on any Top 10 lists. Where critics and taste makers just have short-term memories or are they blinded by the trendy likes of Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and Dirty Projector?. What you hear in the Heartless Bastards third album is called rock. It's guitars, passion and personality. Similar to the best of Lucinda Williams, Erika Wennerstrom's pain and perseverance comes through in the title track and "Hold Your Head High."

6. Passion Pit, Manners -- On the surface, Passion Pit's debut album can be looked as a bunch of dudes looking for the next party in the cool, underground warehouse district. In actuality, the guys from New England are out to make music that doesn't belong in the velvet rope clubs. It's the same term I use for LCD Soundsystem -- it's dance music for people who don't like dance music. A lot of the electric artists that go in and out of the music scene rely heavily on computer output, but Passion Pit use the electronics to bring out their personality. When you listen to Manners, you hear musicians, not computers.

5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz -- Looking back at the music movements this decade, my first thoughts come from the beginning of the decade with three indie to mainstream superstars of the New York scene -- YYYs, The Strokes and Interpol. All three bands did their time playing the small clubs in Manhattan and eventually to the big tims national exposure during the chaos of 2001. The Yeahs were the band that didn't want to repeat themselves with their next album, while the other two essentially made the same album with their second effort. Not many people grabbed onto Show Your Bones because it was more melodic and not a "party" album like Fever to Tell. I think it was an album they had to make in order to have a lasting career and be well-rounded artists. Well, gang, It's Blitz is their party album, but done on a global scale. This would have been a masterpiece if it was released in 1999, with the dawn on a new millennium. It's Blitz is glittery and glammy without being gaudy. Karen O stretches her sweet vocals while Nick Zinner can still get wicked with some crazy guitar parts.

4. Neko Case, Middle Cyclone -- Speaking of survivors, Neko Case has been breaking hearts and trying to figure out our world for two decades. In a wild fluctuating music scene where bands have come and gone, Neko Case is making her best music on her own terms. As I've said many times, sometimes great songwriting in lyricism is hard to find. She's made her best album with songs about the weather and her love of the animal kingdom. Even if you're not into looking at linear notes and reading lyrics along with the songs, the music on Middle Cyclone will make you think of the open road, if you have to jump of Mercury Cougar with a sword to get yourself in the mood.

3. Florence & The Machine, Lungs -- My No. 1 New Artist of 2009 had an album that could have easily been at the top. It takes a special kind of performer to make a debut that pulls no punches. Florence Welch has no fear. She's going to win you over with a powerful voice and a production that takes her spirit to the high level. Each song is a epic piece of wonderment and shout from the mountaintop vocals. It's one of the albums where you feel like you can take on the world after listening to it. Out of all the acts on this list, Florence is the one I'm most looking for it what she has up her sleeve next.

2. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix -- Phoenix is a band I've followed from the start. "Too Young" from United is one of my favorite songs of all time. I was at their NYC debut show and I've followed their every move. So I wanted to see how their other albums compared to this one and to see if this is their best work. Indeed, it is. While United has great tracks like "Too Young," "Funky Squaredance" and "If I Ever Feel Better," it's uneven with tracks I forgot about. I had that same feeling with Alphabetical and It's Never Been Like That, great songs with some okay tracks in-between. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is their most complete album. You can listen to beginning to end and not feel the need to skip a track. With that said, Phoenix made an album that taps into their youth exuberance while making an album that's also a sonic journey. Check Love Like A Sunset, the 7 minutes futuristic soundscape. Both Daft Punk and Animal Collective should take notes.

1. Bat for Lashes, Two Suns -- Listening to this album for the first time was like reading a great book that you didn't know where you were going or how it will end, but you're sticking with because the journey is feels new. I don't think Two Suns has another contemporary equivalent. Like last year's No. 1 album, Portishead's Third, Bat for Lashes might have invented or perfected a new style of music. Every time I listen to, it feels like I'm listening to it for the first time. As I type this, I'm listening to "Moon and Moon" and it's like a ballet between Natasha Khan and her piano. Then you have one the best singles of the year, Daniel, inspired by The Karate Kid. It's a loving nod to 80s pop culture, but it's also dense piece of music mastery with pop beats and haunting vocals. No other album this year made me more excited after every listen.

There you have it, Two Suns goes with Portishead's Third, M.I.A's Kala, The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America and Bloc Party's Silent Alarm as album of the years.