2010 favorite albums (and live shows)
Tip of the iceberg here, folks. I reversed the recent micro-trend of declining music consumption in the past year, hoorah for me, and I won’t bore you with the details. That’s said, I can’t say it was the most compelling musical year I can remember of late, but there were certainly some records (see below) that moved me to stop, look, and listen (again and again) anew. Live, The Gibson Brothers reunion this past summer in Columbus was the purest musical thrill and best musical half hour or so I’ve had in many years, but I hope it’s eclipsed in the upcoming year by something completely unexpected. To wit:
Royal Baths - Litanies (Woodsist)
Tony Joe White - That On The Road Look (Rhino Handmade)
Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime (In The Red)
Woods - At Echo Lake (Woodsist)
Sun Araw - On Patrol (NotNotFun)
The Walkmen - Lisbon (Fat Possum)
Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (4AD)
Ty Segall - Melted (Goner)
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti - Before Today (4AD)
Jim Sullivan - UFO (Light in the Attic - reissue)
Mount Carmel - S/T (Siltbreeze)
Best live sets:
Freddie Gibbs (Chicago, Pitchfork Festival, July)
Ariel Pink / Os Mutantes (Webster Hall, NYC, November)
Bill Fox (Lost Weekend, Columbus in-store, June)
Lightning Bolt (Chicago, Pitchfork Festival, July)
Gibson Brothers (CMC Parking Lot Blow-Out, Columbus, July)
Hallogallo (Michael Rother/Neu!) (Wexner Center, Columbus, September)
Van Dyke Parks (Wexner Center, Columbus, September)
Fruitbats (Black Cat, DC, March)
