So a little late on my top ten songs of 2010, but here they are.
Suburban War- Arcade Fire
this song instantly became one of my favorite songs of all time. Throughout the album, reiterations of lyrics from previous songs show up, often having to do with living in the suburbs, but also trying to escape standing in the shadows of another’s song. This track is able to hold it’s own and proves Arcade Fire’s truly exceptional talent. Listen.
Animal- Neon Trees
The opening lyrics: “here we go again, i kind of want to be more than friends.. so take it easy on me I’m afraid you’re never satisfied..” is an excellent way to get listeners drawn in. But it gets even better, with a catchy and distinct chorus consisting of “oh oh I want some more.” While I definitely would agree that there is better out there, this song has been a relevant and fun song for the year of 2010 and I loved it. What are you waiting for?
Witchcraft- Matt Costa
Seeing Matt Costa live in 2010 made for a much better chance of making it on my top 10 list, and with his album “Mobile Chateau,” he succeeded. The track- Witchcraft is a dark and captivating story of the mysteries of a woman. And I, as a mysterious woman, loved it. :)
The High Road- Broken Bells
Broken Bells is a great band consisting of, James Mercer, the lead singer of The Shins and Brian Burton, of Danger Mouse. So of course, I was in love with their album this year. Their song “The High Road,”shows of the very talented voice of James Mercer and the excellent artistry displayed by Brian Burton. So good.
EveryDay- Girltalk
Girltalk is this cool guy who mashes songs like Jay Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulders”, and “I Melt With You- Modern English. Except each song consists of like thirty clips of classic rock songs mashed with contemporary and old school hip hop songs. The real reason this particular song is my favorite is because it contains quite a big part of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” and it’s amazing.
Blue Beard- Band of Horses
Band of Horses is always good, anywhere, anytime of the day. This track accurately binds great guitar playing with the sweet voice of Ben Bridwell, generating a raw sound. The Album “Infinite Arms,” has a little bit of a country sound, but has concise and relevant lyrics. Enjoy.
Congratulations- MGMT
Okay, so I know MGMT’s album “Congratulations” wasn’t nearly as impressive and loveable as their previous album ” Oracular Spectacular,” but this song is excellent. It’s slow, which is unusual for MGMT, but I think it’s appropriate for this band. I’ve heard that their band started off as a joke, and exploded into something neither man was ever dreaming of. So this song is congruent with their career, and I’m sure with many young bands and singers of our day. Plus the video is cool, seeing them preform live was cool, and I just want to be friends with these two..they seem fun.
Into the Mirror- Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is a great band with a great sound. Their former albums have been amazing and their latest from 2010 was equally as entertaining. I saw them live in 2010 preforming this song and it was probably one of the better shows I’ve been to, they really know how to put on a great show.
On the Ocean- Guster
I fell in love with Guster all over again with their album this year. There are some really catchy tunes, including “On the Ocean.” The keyboard in this song is a perfect correlation with the voices of Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller. The last verse of this song is amazing.. ending with “This isn’t what I thought, so can i just go home,” followed again by the mesmerizing piano keys.
Erase Me- Kid Cudi
This song was definitely one of my most played. I wouldn’t consider myself a very big hip hop fan, but Kid Cudi captivates me with his two biggest hits, “Pursuit of Happiness”, and now “Erase Me.” The chorus abides a very expressive message that most people can relate to. Being “I keep on running keep on running and nothing works, i can’t get away from you, now i keep on ducking keep on ducking you nothing helps, i can’t stop missing you.”
These are two bands that I haven’t stopped listening to since their albums were released this year. For some reason I associate these these two bands with one another, much like Augustana and The Fray. Enjoy.
Arcade Fire: “The Suburbs”
You may have heard Arcade Fire and might not have known it…Their song “Wake Up” was the song that went along with the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are. Their album “The Suburbs” is equally as good as their past albums. The band is from Canada and fronted by a husband and wife duo, which is incredibly cute. Win Butler’s voice is great. The sound produced from their various instruments is great. The lyrics are great. While I enjoy every song on the album, I have a great appreciation for the two songs that Win’s wife Regine fronts. Her hauntingly beautiful voice makes me wonder why I can’t hear more of her in the other songs on the album. Listen to: “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” This album is an ode to the upper middle class life of our generation. The message of honesty and complexity with a hint of rebellion is what I love about this album.
My favorite:”Suburban War”
Band of Horses “Infinite Arms”
Every song on this album is spot on for me. The band is from Seattle, and their frontman Ben Bridwell is charmingly rugged with a full dark beard and flannel shirts. He has a slight country twang to his voice, and this is the first album from my perspective that he really shows us the full power that his voice has to offer. As always, they possess fantastic musicianship, but it’s nice to hear more of Ben’s outstanding voice.
My favorite: Dilly
and if it doesn’t work, it’s definitely worth going to look at on youtube. the video is amazing.
..listen to Cee Lo Green’s “Georgia,” covered by Band of Horses. It’s pretty sweet.
So Thursday night I saw Matt Costa perform at Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo. He was great, of course, but I want to begin with the opening band. I don’t usually pay much attention to opener bands because normally I am wishing their stage time away waiting impatiently for the band I paid to see. But Thursday’s band was really cool.
They’re a local band from San Luis Obispo with a sweet sound. I enjoy the lead singer’s slightly raspy voice. They all looked happy to be performing their music for us and I really like that.
Onto the main event. Matt Costa was lovely. He made his entrance through the front door (which was behind the crowd) instead of from backstage. Walking in his harmonica in mouth and acoustic in hand he began singing “Miss Magnolia.” He sang many of my favorites including “Sunshine,” “Mr. Pitiful,” Sweet Rose,” and “Ballad of Miss Kate.” Matt performed many songs off of his latest album, entitled Mobile Chateau. I would recommend the album, although it’s not as good as Matt’s first two albums. After he was done singing, the anxious crowd awaited his encore performance and was beginning to think it wasn’t going to happen until Matt came out and whispered to a few people that he would be playing outside. It was close to pandemonium trying to exit the venue. Once we got outside, Matt came right out with his acoustic guitar and I got a front row show.
He preformed “Astair” which was perfect. The video is okay quality, taken from my phone. It doesn’t start right away because Matt started playing in the wrong chord.
Check it..
It was another great concert added to my list. I definitely suggest seeing Matt Costa perform if ever given the chance. You’re in for a great show.
