The search for a distinctive trend to define 2010 can be a bit depressing in a year in which most top 40 hits were concerned only with getting down on the floor and extolling the virtues of alcohol and sex,but who are we kidding? That describes just about every year this millennium. 2010 wasn't quite as enamored with autotune as its most recent predecessors. In 2009, Lady Gaga raised the bar for shocking pop music with her gory live performances, but in this year, Gaga took a much-needed break from the spotlight (meat dress notwithstanding). Since other pop stars couldn't rely on gallons of fake blood to attract audience's attention (though we give M.I.A. props for trying), they had to turn to a more conventional outlet for musical showmanship: lyrics.
This year, two fresh faces stood out in two markedly different crowds: while Ke$ha dominated the charts with incredibly catchy songs about hard partying and a notorious line about brushing her teeth, Best Coast won the hearts of hipsters with incredibly catchy songs about getting high and a notorious line about talking cats. The success of these two young ladies, who sound totally different yet both rely on ear-worms and polarizing lyrics, can define 2010 as the Year of the Shockingly Honest Drunkard/Druggie Chicks.
Chances are that if you've been at all exposed to radio signals or teenage girls, you've developed both a burning hatred and a strange affection for Ke$ha's party anthem "Tik Tok." After all, it was the year's most-played song on top 40 stations according to Mediabase (I'm still looking for the chart online, but I read it in USA Today). Sure, its success can be partially attributed to its chorus that won't leave your head until a Justin Bieber song comes in to replace it and its perfectly adequate dance beat. But I like to think that in a year when Katy Perry took a break from humorously honest ruminations on kissing girls and waking up in Vegas to focus on unoriginal tunes about how hot California girls are and how everyone is a firework, Ke$ha took over as the queen of candid pop songs. Of all the pop stars extolling the virtues of hard liquor and casual sex, Ke$ha is the most blunt and gleefully non-apologetic (not to mention the only one who even touches on the subject of strippers in drag). Although she took some flack because "We R Who We R" is practically a sonic clone of "Tik Tok" and her new "mini-album" Cannibal pales in comparison last year's solid pop album Animal, there's no denying that Ke$ha was one of the brightest new stars this year - even if there's not much substance under the glitter.
Of course, Ke$ha's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and although she boasts in "We R Who We R" that she and her friend make the hipsters fall in love, she'll have her work cut out for her tearing them away from Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino. Cosentino and her band have already won the hearts of critics everywhere, not to mention famous folks ranging from Jerry Seinfeld to Bruce Springsteen. Cosentino may be best known as the girl who wishes her cat could talk (but really, is that such a strange desire?) Though critics like to focus on her candid, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, they often neglect to mention that half her charm lies in her voice and simple yet catchy chord progressions. With a voice that's a dead ringer for Jenny Lewis and arrangements that resemble Rilo Kiley's janglier tunes mixed with a dash of She & Him's retro California crooning, it's no wonder Cosentino is the latest indie darling.
The one problem I have with Best Coast's delightful under-three-minute gems is that they tend to blend together into one half-hour-long track, which gets a bit tedious after a while. Though Ke$ha and Best Coast make up one of the defining trends of 2010, they didn't make two of the best albums of the year. In my opinion, a great album has an overarching theme or mood, but experiments with different genres within that mood. The best album this year was The Suburbs by the Arcade Fire.
The one problem I have with Best Coast's delightful under-three-minute gems is that they tend to blend together into one half-hour-long track, which gets a bit tedious after a while. A great album needs more experimentation with different genres, like how No Age's album Everything in Between contains one of the most exhilarating rock tracks I heard this year, "Fever Dreaming," and and two of the most moving ambient tracks, "Dusted" and "Positive Amputation."
But the most stark contrast of genres within an album this year was two of the last tracks in Arcade Fire's superb album The Suburbs. The sparse guitar and subtle strings of "Spraw I (Flatland)" and the electrifying synth-rock of "Spraw II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" are equally beautiful yet as different as night and day. On the album, the band brilliantly toggles between virtually every variant of rock music, from the upbeat piano rock of "The Suburbs" to the dark, twisting rock of "Ready to Start" to the frenetic strings of "Empty Room." The album explores the suppressed anger, dissatisfaction, and vague fear of an art school graduate making his way in the world of suburbia. But although the band uses many styles of music, these feelings give it an overarching, unifying mood. The lyrics aren't necessary to understand the story; the music's atmosphere alone is sufficient.
This is in stark contrast with the second-best concept album of the year, Janelle Monae's giddy, genre-hopping story of The ArchAndroid. Monae dabbles in everything from orchestral pieces to old-school hip-hop (Wikipedia has a great list of all the genres included). Although she's better at some parts of the musical spectrum than others (the area around dreary ballads is a particular weak point), Monae creates the most comprehensive yet fun pop album of the year. The ArchAndroid tells the story of Cindy Mayweather, a messianic android sent from the future to save... other androids? Humanity? Freedom and love? Not that the casual listener would ever be able to figure out what's going on just by listening to the album. To tell the full story, Monae may need to release a series of comic books like prog-rock band Coheed & Cambria. But even though it's not always clear what exactly Cindy Mayweather is up to, it's always a joy to listen to Monae's statements about individuality, discrimination, and oppression, buried in cocoons of breath-taking pop and neo-soul.
Part of what makes The ArchAndroid great is the eclectic group of collaborators Janelle Monae enlists, ranging from hip-hop heavyweight Big Boi to eccentric indie stalwart Of Montreal. But Monae doesn't just ask for help with her albums; this year, she appeared on both Big Boi and Of Montreal's new albums. But my favorite Monae appearance was on B.o.B's terrific debut The Adventures of Bobby Ray. He may not be as much of a sci-fi fan as Monae, but B.o.B is almost as eclectic when it comes to incorporating different styles of music into his album. B.o.B enlists hip-hop legends like T.I. and Eminem, but he also reaches out to unconventional collaborators like Paramore's Hayley Williams and Weezer's Rivers Cuomo. B.o.B distinguishes himself from other rappers with his incredibly catchy choruses (getting "Airplanes" out of your head is as herculean a task as getting "Tik Tok" out) but more importantly, his ability to incorporate different genres and play to the strengths of each of his collaborators. Though he can still create a great rap song like "Bet I" (featuring T.I. and Playboy Tre), he can create an equally stunning remake of Vampire Weekend's "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" (re-titled "The Kids," and featuring a Matrix-referencing message perfectly suited to collaborator Janelle Monae).
Of course, B.o.B's most famous collaborator I haven't mentioned yet is Bruno Mars, the angelic voice behind the hook of "Nothin' On You," one of many hits he helped craft this year. Mars proved his hit-making ability by co-writing Travie McCoy's lazy, reggae-tinged hit "Billionaire" and Cee-Lo Green's funky, jubilant "Fuck You." On his breezy debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Mars creates potential hits while appearing about as stressed as a man lounging in a hammock. From the lovesick pain of "Grenade" to the blissful lethargy of "The Lazy Song," Mars covers a variety of emotions while maintaining a carefree aura. His enduring optimism reveals itself best in "Liquor Store Blues," where he croons "get messed up today; I'll be okay tomorrow." Though his "blues" sound about as sad as a puppy that lost its chew toy, Mars excels at happy songs like the delightful "Marry You" and the Chuck Berry-esque "Runaway Baby."
"Runaway Baby" sounds like it could be a companion to a number of songs in V.V. Brown's album Travelling Like the Light. Although Brown is best known for the breezy summer hit "Shark in the Water," the album is filled with higher-energy songs resembling fifties rock & roll. It's a shame the UK native's "indie doo-wop schtick" (I just couldn't phrase that better than PopJustice did) hasn't really caught on in Europe and has made even less of an impression in the States. It's just as easy to dance to as the electropop and hip-hop that dominated American airwaves this year, but infinitely more enjoyable.
While we're on the subject of ladies that are more popular on the other side of the pond, I would be remiss not to mention Sweden's long-reigning dance-pop princess Robyn. This year, Robyn released the most recent album in her decade-and-a-half-long career, Body Talk, in three installments. In Body Talk, Robyn both embraces and pokes fun at the recent trend of pop stars pretending to be robots. (In the album's most fun track, "Fembot," she boasts that she is a robot with "automatic booty applications.") But despite her Back to the Future references and unusual beats, Robyn's tunes are rooted in conventional pop melodies and structures (excluding the oddly experimental "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do," in which she sounds like a pop star robot that's malfunctioning). Despite what some adoring critics say, Robyn isn't a superior model of pop star; she's just programmed a bit better than the rest of them.
Many of Robyn's songs have beats that are a bit too slow and experimental to make for good dancing, but if you'd like to get people moving, I'd suggest Chromeo's Business Casual. Chromeo's latest songs are reliably danceable, but with the exception of the surprisingly breezy "J'ai claque la porte," they rarely stray far from the grooves of their previous releases.
In contrast, Hot Chip released a less party-friendly but more ambitious electronic album. On One Life Stand, the band deftly weaves Alexis Taylor's gentle vocals among delicate layers of instrumentals. This intricately designed album is, as Taylor described it, their most cohesive, warm, and soulful album yet.
It's always seemed inappropriate to compare Hellogoodbye's pounding, pop-punk-esque synthpop with the refined electropop of bands like Hot Chip, but now, such distinctions within the genre will no longer be necessary. On their sophomore album, Would It Kill You?, Hellogoodbye trade in their synthesizers and vocoders (not to mention most of the members that were around for their debut album, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!) to focus on string instruments (plus drums). The resulting jangly indie power-pop sound is often heart-pounding, especially as they giddily speed through tracks like "Finding Something to Do" and "When We First Met."
But even Hellogoodbye can't top the rush of one of the most exhilarating indie pop albums of the year, Two Door Cinema Club's intoxicating debut album Tourist History. The album's unrelenting pace and unfailingly catchy choruses caught hipsters' attention this year, and while the band still isn't very widely known, it seems they've got a blindingly bright future ahead of them.
Hopefully Two Door Cinema Club will gain some fans this winter, as they head out of tour with their sonic older brothers Tokyo Police Club. Tokyo Police Club are famous for giving fans similar adrenaline rushes through songs like "Your English Is Good," but on their latest album, Champ, the band slowed down and matured a bit. Though they still have high-energy songs like "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" and "Bambi," they also take it down a notch on the mellow "Hands Reversed" and melancholic "End of a Spark," all without losing their boyish charm.
This summer, Tokyo Police Club toured with my favorite new band of the year, Freelance Whales. On their enchanting debut album Weathervanes, the band tells the story of a young boy who falls in love with the ghost that haunts his house. But most importantly, despite their often nonsensical lyrics, Freelance Whales create an atmosphere in which the listener feels engulfed in the story. With their eclectic array of instruments, the band doesn't so much tell a story as create a world that can be bright or dark but always hearkens back to a simpler era viewed through rose-colored glasses.
And now for the moment you've all been waiting for... You've read about 15 of my favorite artists of 2010, now here are my 25 favorite albums of the year:
Honorable Mentions
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans
Bt - These Hopeful Machines
Jenny & Johnny - I'm Having Fun Now
NeverShoutNever - Harmony and What is Love?
No Age - Everything in Between
Passion Pit - The Reeling
Robyn - Body Talk
Sky Sailing - An Airplane Carried Me to Bed
You Me and Everyone We Know - Some Things Don't Wash Out
My Top 15 Albums of 2010
15. Girl Talk - All Day
14. V.V. Brown - Travelling Like the Light
13. Hellogoodbye - Would It Kill You?
12. Chromeo - Business Casual
11. Tokyo Police Club - Champ
10. Vampire Weekend - Contra
9. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
8. Taylor Swift - Speak Now
7. Best Coast - Crazy For You
6. B.o.B - The Adventures of Bobby Ray
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
4. Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
3. Freelance Whales - Weathervanes
2. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
1. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Oh, and before you rip this list to shreds in the comments section, I would like to note that this is a pop music blog, and I reserve the right to define Arcade Fire as "pop" because, you know, indie rock is similar to indie pop, which is a form of pop music. I also reserve the right to say that even though critics agree that Kanye's new album is perfection incarnate, I define it as rap, not pop. But B.o.B is pop. And I am totally not just saying that because I don't "get" Kanye's album and thought the three songs I listened to were lengthy and overproduced... Anyways... Yeah, go at it.
