The Year in Music
Biggest Surprises
- Katy Perry - “Teenage Dream” : A pop song that I actually like. Surprising indeed.
- The Bitters - East General : While East General was dismissed by Pitchfork as mere noise, it remained one of my favorite albums throughout the year. It’s reminiscent of Siouxsie & the Banshees first release.
- Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy : I usually reserve disdain for less indie rap albums, but Kanye’s latest just may be the definitive hip-hop/rap album of the decade.
Biggest Letdowns
- Best Coast - Crazy For You : Best Coast’s EPs and 7”s showcase their talent much better than this album does.
- No new album from the Fleet Foxes.
- Arcade Fire - The Suburbs : They’ve sold out. ‘Nuff said.
Biggest Sleepers
- Lower Dens - Twin-Hand Movement : Simultaneously excellent and underrated, similar to band member Jana Hunter’s other output.
- John Grant - Queen of Denmark : With help from members of Midlake, Grant crafts a compelling album with a cult following.
- Magic Kids - Memphis : Best debut album since Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007. Deserved more press than it received.
Predictions for 2011
- Another good year for music.
- Gorilla vs. Bear becomes universally recognized as the most reliable, authoritative source on new bands.
- Fleet Foxes release a new album; Pitchfork will give them an 8.5, but the rest of the music world will hold it in much higher or much lower regard.
- Another band will pull a Pavement and reunite. My money is on Luna.
- Best Coast will sell out more than they have already, if they continue to follow their current trends. Wavves, however, will not.
- Bradford Cox will release even more phenomenal material, and possibly create another side project.
BONNE ANNEE!
