'tis the season for "best of" lists

It's that time of the year. "Best of" 2010 lists started showing up around Thanksgiving and they'll only start to smother us from now on. 

Janelle Monae's debut is an invigorating mix of R&B, hip-hop, pop, rock, and moreHere's just a few worthy rundowns that I've stumbled across so far:

Paste Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2010: Very eclectic mix topped by LCD Soundsystem. I was pleased to see Janelle Monae's stupendous debut, "The ArchAndroid" at No. 2. 

Pitchfork Media's Top Music Videos of 2010: As with all things Pitchfork, you probably haven't heard of half the bands in question. Not saying that's a bad thing ... just saying.

NPR's "All Songs Considered" "The Albums We Missed in 2010": Although "All Songs" tends to be a bit too acoustic for me, I like lists like this that help you uncover stuff that's flown under the radar. 

The New York Times "100 Notable Books of 2010": These folks can be way too snooty, but this year's list has some worthy mainstream picks, including "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." 

I'll add more sources as I find them. 

Update on Friday, December 24, 2010 at 9:32 PM by Logan Molen

And a few more: 

• NPR's "All Songs Considered" listeners picks for Top 25 albums. This is a fantastic 2-hour podcast of great music. Great for a road trip. 
• Pitchfork's "Top 50 Albums"
• Amazon.com's picks for 100 Best albums of 2010 (separate links for CDs and MP3s, which is cool) and the 100 Best-SELLING Albums of 2010
• NPR's "Best Music of 2010: The Complete List," picks from key staff
• And, more from NPR's "All Songs": The quartet of critics deliver their fun "Year in Music" show. Not as invigorating as last year's show but still worth a listen. 
• And All Songs' "Five Best Cover Songs of 2010"

There are many more, but really, this is enough. 

Update on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 8:28 PM by Logan Molen

Here's the list of all lists for 2010 froma  site called Fimoculous. It's an index of all kinds of crazy lists for pretty much everything you can imagine.

Great stuff.

Best music of 2010, so far

Listeners of NPR's "All Songs Considered" think The Gorillaz's latest is the best so far this yearLotsa lists are starting to pop up highlighting the best music from the first half of 2010. Here's a roundup of the podcasts and sites I frequent:

• The listeners get the spotlight at NPR's All Songs Considered, with a people-powered Top 50 led by The Gorillaz and The National. 
• Greg and Jim at Sound Opinions narrowed their lists to four apiece, with Greg really digging Janelle Monae and Jim slobbering all over Yeasayer.
• Crawdaddy's eclectic Top 40 includes Surfer Blood, The Besnard Lakes and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
• Paste Magazine delivered six lists from top editors. Lots of names popping up on multiple lists, including Sleigh Bells, Phosphorescent, LCD Soundsystem, Janelle Monae, Titus Andronicus, Mumford and Sons, and Frightened Rabbit. 

As for me? I've been spending lots of my time listening to older CDs I've been buying from Not Lame Records, which is going out of business and is in the process of an extended fire sale. But as for new stuff, I'm really liking the Janelle Monae tour de force, which is one of the best debuts I've heard in a long time; The Chop Tops; The Besnard Lakes; Alejandro Escovedo; and The New Pornographers.

What about you?

Rilo Kiley concert worth a download

I've been listening to some "old" podcasts this weekend while doing some prep work for my tax returns.

On Saturday, it was catching up on the nutty "All Songs Considered" Holiday Music Mix 2009" podcast, which restored a bit of Christmas spirit to an otherwise dreary exercise. Yeah, I know Christmas music in February is odd, but I was just in the mood.

Jenny Lewis and Rilo KileyBut it was today's podcast to which I'll be giving multiple listens: a 2007 Rilo Kiley concert from the 9:30 Club in D.C.

Lead singer Jenny Lewis has since delivered some great solo work but this concert fronting the L.A. band Rilo Kiley captures Lewis at her best: confident, spirited and sultry in tackling a diverse mix of eclectic pop. The band is tight and the 18-song, 90-minute set never hits a bump. In fact, it's nice to hear a band get its more popular songs out of the way early in the set, freeing the second half to stretch and breathe before closing with an amped-up version of "Does He Love You," with its surprise plot twist.

Highly recommended download. Here's to a return of Rilo Kiley.

For music geeks: 4 worthy podcasts

I had some time off work the last few days and had time to catch up on some interesting music podcasts:

1. All Songs Considered has a wonderful interview with Beatles historian Kevin Howlett on the new Beatles remasters. If you’re a Beatles fan, there’s all kinds of wonderful insight into the new things listeners can hear for the first time. But the podcast also serves as a primer on the opportunities and challenges of recording and preserving music in the digital age. I’ve blogged and Tweeted about things like the Loudness War and the “warmth” of analog recordings but save your time and spend 22 minutes on this podcast.
2. The wonderful WNYC show Souncheck examines the songs people choose to have played at a funeral. I’ve given some thought to this one and really haven’t settled on any one song that captures my thoughts on life, death and everything in between. I’ve told my friends and family to simply make sure there’s a kegger backed by a variety of my favorite songs, with a good mix of punk, power pop and soul. What would your funeral song be?
3. On the heels of the Chris Brown sentencing, Soundcheck examines the topic of when bad people make great art. Brown, Phil Spector, Spade Cooley are among the bad folk who come to mind when this issue is raised. But an interesting side discussion comes from Randy Cohen, the NYT Ethicist columnist, who talks about how Richard Wagner’s horrible rep is softening in some Jewish circles.
4. The power of the pause: Weakened by the Loudness Wars that have ruined to 40 radio and inspired by this Slate.com article, Soundcheck offers a broader look at how the pause can be the most striking element in a song.