Best Songs of 2010 - Part 3 of 3 - Rock/R&B/Hip-Hop

This part 3 of my best 60 songs of 2010. Split onto 3 CDs of 20 songs each. Please keep in mind that the listings below in no way represent a ranking and were placed in that order just because they sounded good that way.

This was the most fun CD to make and will likely be my favorite. There is a How I Met Your Mother episode where Barney makes a mix CD and explains that rather than making a CD that goes up and down in energy like most people his CDs just go up. This CD (with a few exceptions) is like that.

Best of 2010 - Volume 3

1. Bushwick Blues - Delta Spirit

In a just world, these guys would have all of the fame and fortune they deserve and this song would be a huge hit... but then if they got too popular I guess I would have to disavow any knowledge of them, so it's probably for the best. A song about nostalgia and lost love and regret that rocks as hard as its subject material.

2. Forced To Love - Broken Social Scene

3. Trouble Comes Running - Spoon

4. Coffee Spoon - Cold War Kids

5. She's Long Gone - The Black Keys

6. Solitude Is Bliss - Tame Impala

7. Vaporize - Broken Bells

8. Enough's Enough - Jamie Lidell

9. How I Got Over - The Roots feat. Dice Raw

10. POWER - Kanye West

11. Fuck You - Cee Lo Green

12. Tightrope - Janelle Monáe feat. Big Boi

13. Seven Nation Army - Ben L'Oncle Soul

An instantly recognisable bass-line starts this one up but from there quickly diverges into funk-soul bliss. An incredible intepretation of a modern classic.

14. Come And Get It - Eli (Paperboy) Reed

15. Repo Man - Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs

This one was a real surprise on an album of mostly low-key blue-grass and country numbers. A funkified jam punctuated by Ray's trademark howl. Add this one to that list of break-up tunes with Cee Lo & Sharon Jones.

16. Tighten Up - The Black Keys

17. Answer To Yourself - The Soft Pack

18. Promises - The Morning Benders

Excuses and Promises were both great tracks from The Morning Benders but this one with its rollicking bass-line and shouted chorus was the more hard-hitting and the better fit.

19. This Too Shall Pass - Ok Go

Ok Go's latest left me severely underwhelmed with this song being the only real high-point. This one is a real stadium anthem rocker, though, with an awesome video, to boot.

20. Ready To Start - Arcade Fire

I've always had a conflicted relationship with Arcade Fire and not just because it's too hard to find a picture where they're all lined up together (C'mon guys! Broken Social Scene can do it!). When they first arrived a few years ago they were embraced whole-heartedly by the indie community and were critical darlings from the get-go. Try as I might, however, I just could never get into it. Clearly they were accomplished musicians but something about the way the songs were mixed, the vocals too low, the instruments too high -- it just didn't do it for me. On their latest album, their most accessible yet, I finally got it. The trend unfortunately continues somewhat as Ready To Start and We Used to Wait were the standouts for me and Sprawl II, almost eveyone else's pick, was still unreachable for me. The irony has not escaped me of putting this song at the end of my mix.

Download all Songs and Artwork in one ZIP file.

CD: 

Artwork:

Best Songs of 2010 - Part 2 of 3 - The indies

Here we go with Part 2 of what amounts to the 60 best songs of 2010. 3 CDs with 20 songs each. Download links for each individual song and the whole shebang and artwork below. Enjoy.

Best of 2010 - Volume 2

1. Go Do - Jónsi

2. Ambling Alp - Yeasayer

3. Airplanes - Local Natives

4. Becoming A Jackal - Villagers

5. Heaven's On Fire - The Radio Dept.

A pet peeve of mine is when artists include spoken audio clips in their songs. I've chosen to overlook it here, as the rest of the song is just so damn catchy.

6. Too Much - Sufjan Stevens

7. Taxi Cab - Vampire Weekend

I remember listening to this song while walking around in the January snowdrifts through the streets of Philadelphia. It's a gentle, wistful song and it will always conjure up that memory for me.

8. Cameras - Matt & Kim

9. Somebody To Love Me - Mark Ronson & The Business Intl.

10. The Ring - Jamie Lidell

Jamie Lidell turns up the funk, hard, on this tune about what I can only assume is a guy lamenting the loss of the one that got away. If you haven't had a chance to see him live, do so.

11. The Ghost Inside - Broken Bells

12. No One's Gonna Love You - Cee Lo Green

I liked this song when Band Of Horses did it, so I suppose I was destined to enjoy this version which is a rather faithful reconstruction of the original with some R&B flair.

13. Go Outside - Cults

14. Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club

This was released in the UK in late 2009 but didn't see domestic release and (deservedly) wide acclaim until 2010. The whole album is full of catchy indie-pop but this one with it's shouts and hand-claps was my favorite.

15. Radar Detector - Darwin Deez

I find the term "hook-laden" is thrown around a lot these days. I think it certainly applies here. Darwin Deez writes incredibly catchy and surprising music. The falsetto vocal breaks and drawn out repetition of the songs lynch-pin are unexpected and make what would otherwise be just a really catchy song into something more.

16. Conversation 16 - The National

I was afraid I'd eat your brains. Most likely about domestic relationships and figurative cannibalism, I like to think it's really about fear of turning into a zombie. A real and significant danger of which we must all be ever vigilant.

17. Someday - Dr. Dog

Philly natives Dr. Dog managing to sound like Michael Buble doing Wilco with a musical nod to Disney's Robin Hood thrown in for good measure.

18. Sarah Smile - The Bird & The Bee

One of my favorite songs, done well.

19. Healing Hands - Citizen Cope

Citizen Cope is an artist that I always thought of as indie and outside the mainstream though he's apparently a big hit among the college set.

20. Vanderlye Crybaby Geeks - The National

I love The National's lyrics though the gestalt is nearly always impenetrable to me. I have no idea what this one is about but the line All the very best of us/String ourselves up for love is what sticks with me.

Download all songs and artwork in one ZIP file.

CD:

Cover:

Best Songs of 2010 - Part 1 of 3

In 2005 at the end of the year, I made a CD for the friends that I left behind when I moved across the country to Philadelphia. It was a CD of all the music from the past year that I thought deserved their attention. It was a way for me to keep in touch and it served in lieu of a Christmas card. The response was very positive and it thus became a year-end tradition for me to make a "Best of" CD for all of my friends and family. The CDs quickly expanded to 2 volumes. I attempted to separate the songs by musical genres and shaped them to different listener's tastes. The first CD was more mellow and mainstream, the second more indie and challenging. Some friends or family members got just one, others got both, depending on their listening habits or tastes.

I also designed labels with the songs and artists listed on them and printed them on printable CDs to make them look polished and nice.

This year the CDs have expanded to 3 volumes and I'm making them available here, including labels and, a first, artwork for itunes.

Please keep in mind that these are made to be burned on to a single 80 minute CD so I was somewhat limited by the medium. Some songs that I may have liked to include had I unlimited time did not make the cut. I have also attempted, whenever possible, to make the songs fit thematically and flow from one song to the next. They are meant to be heard in the order listed and do not represent a ranking, merely what I found to fit together well.

Best of 2010 - Volume 1

1. When We Fall In - Sean Hayes

Sean Hayes defies categorization, but I often describe this song as Folk-soul. He can bounce from blue-eyed soul to full-on folk to out and out rock & roll. A great opening track.

2. Like Rock & Roll & Radio - Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs

I've always wanted a voice like Ray LaMontagne. I read a story once that when he first started singing he thought he sounded terrible and he took many years to train his voice to what it is now. My girlfriend and I saw him live over the summer and it was interesting that his speaking voice was very different from his singing voice. I wonder if they will grow further and further apart. Like Rock & Roll & Radio.

3. Lark - Josh Ritter

This song was added to my itunes playlist with a 5 star rating somehow already attached. It sounds like Paul Simon circa Rhythm of The Saints. A lighthearted and bouncy tune.

4. Sounds Like Hallelujah - The Head & The Heart

From the acoustic strumming to the violins and "ooh-oohs", the tempo change-ups and sparing piano plinks this song runs quite the gamut. The Head & The Heart are newcomers to the list but have a great album this year. Many songs nearly made the cut but this one was the standout for me.

5. Better Things To Do - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

An empowering breakup song from the reigning queen of soul. Cut from the same cloth as Cee-Lo's "Fuck You" but much classier.

6. Swim Until You Can't See Land - Frightened Rabbit

An urging to let go of the past and move on. Are you a man, are you a bag of sand?

7. You Are Not Alone - Mavis Staples & Jeff Tweedy

A sublime paring of the R&B and Gospel singer and Wilco frontman on this traditional cover. I love the sentiment that no matter how alone you feel there are those that are there for you even though you may resist it. Open up, this is a raid. Truly inspirational and comforting.

8. The Ladder - Andrew Belle

Possibly the pop-iest offering on this year's CD. This song was stuck in my head for the good part of the summer. I have no idea what it's meant to be about but it fit rather well in my situation at the time. A long distance relationship can often feel like a right at the wrong time.

9. Never Give You Up - The Black Keys

The Black Keys border on stalker territory with this slow burn.

10. I Really Need Love - The Bees

Featured on Fretboard Review previously. A throwback to the 60's sound with a sentiment we can all agree with.

11. I Can See Your Tracks - Laura Veirs

Oh, I can see your tracks/But I won't follow them/I'll just hope it rains. Like the Frightened Rabbit song above, a song about moving on without regrets.

12. Green Lights - Aloe Blacc

Another Soul song from a newcomer to the list, Aloe Blacc. A Velvet Underground cover with backing from The Expressions. A great song to drive to.

13. The Sound Of Sunshine - Michael Franti

Michael Franti has progressed from Militant Reggae to what sounds like beach party music. Who would have thought?

14. I Was Made For Sunny Days - The Weepies

Another poppy tune that got stuck in my head for weeks.

15. The Curse - Josh Ritter

I placed this song on my list even before I paid attention to the lyrics. A beautiful waltz about the love between an archeologist and the mummy she excavates. A beautifully told story.

16. Compass (Red Dead On Arrival Version) - Jamie Lidell

This song is used to wonderful effect at the emotional zenith of the exceptional game, Red Dead Redemption.

17. The Sharpest Crown - Joe Pug

Arresting guitar work and lyrics. Who doesn't know a girl like this?

18. King Of Spain - The Tallest Man On Earth

A song about trying to be impressive.

19. Christ Jesus - Deer Tick

Hard to believe these are the same guys who brought us "Holy Shit, It's Christmas!". An emotionally cathartic song.

20. Long December - John Craigie

A Counting Crows song from his Free EP of 90's cover songs. Slowed down and acoustic, sounds like it should have been done this way from the beginning.
Download all Songs and Artwork in one ZIP File.
Cover:

Artwork: