Top 25 Tracks of 10 (imho)

As I stated last year in my similarly humble and non-music-nerd but yet pretty music-nerd list, fuck significance, go read Pitchfork. And ky. And die.

WTF is there to say about 2010. Tons more dubstep. More organic, less obsession with THE DROP. Tons of AWFUL hiphop. People like the new Big Boi album? Drake? New Eminem? Seriously WTF. Lots of chillwave 80s throwback turbovirgin nonsense. Not a ton of sweet grime. IS GRIME DEAD? WAS IT EVER ALIVE?

Man that sounded pretty full of angst -- actually, the big thing to me, the big thing, to me, the big thing, is well, AWESOME SHIT COMES FROM TOTAL RANDOMS NOW. Just randomly surfing around what's popular on soundcloud this year has been soooo effective in finding cool new shit. Combine that with the fact that a lot of the first generation dubstep "innovators" have had pretty weak followup tracks this year and it's beautiful wonderful musical communism.

Anyways, fuck all the previous ado and here we gooo:

25: Crystal Castles ft Robert Smith - Not In Love


Yeah, this is going to be on a lot of lists because Crystal Castles are Pitchfork-cool plus it's an 80s cover which in 2010 means COOLEST THING EVER. I feel pretty awful putting this on my list but I live to disappoint both myself and others.

24: Massive Attack (Breakage Version) - Paradise Circus


Oh my god, like oh my god, like at 2:22 when the beat drops out like OMG. Hope Sandoval has a pretty hawt voice. I'd kill you for a shot with her. The piano interluuuuude into the second "drop" is also severely awesome. I'm sure a few people will opt to put Splitting the Atom on their year end lists to token head nod to Massive Attack but that's so school and me and this track are too cool for it.


23: The Roots - How I Got Over


Shocking turn of events -- a white boy is repping a "conscious" hip hop track. New wave soul hop ftw?

22: DJ Shadow - I've Been Trying


It's been a long time. Everything post Private Press doesn't count. I doubt many care about this track unless you're a longtime Shadow fan -- it's somewhat less innovative/fun than the house/dubstep offerings and could really just be a lost track from the early 00s but despite it not being HYPEWORTHY, I guarantee the syncopated straw sounds + guitar will eventually break your heart of downtempo hate. (You should have a heart of downtempo hate though)

21: Kink - Existence


Boom cha boom cha boom cha. And now the melody. Speed it up. Yes. Boom cha boom cha boom cha. Louder. Louder. Fade the boom cha boom cha. Base snare. Base snare. Melody. Faster faster. Okay this is kind of awesome classic house. Plus it lacks effeminate vocals and is light on the loud and proud.

20: Drake (Deadboy Version) - Fireworks


Woah, two house tracks in a row. How amateur of me. I doubt this track will get any love because chipmunking Alicia Keys is apparently some sort of sacrilege. I, however, think the vocal treatment is one of the best I've heard on anything all year. The melody is fully rinsed out of the sample without ever it getting squeaky or cheesily repetitive. Also there's no Drake which IMO is a huge win.

19: Katy B - Katy On a Mission


This right here I swear will end too soon. This right here I swear will...

18: Emancipator - Nevergreen


Old school instru hip hop. Could be a missing cut off Endtroducing. I was actually linked to this track by a retarded friend who messaged me describing it as a "sick new slow dubstep" track. Apparently anything that isn't indie rock or hip hop is dubstep now. Actually, that's not a bad assumption nevermind. How about them violins?

17: Janelle Monae - Tightrope


Wasn't I just bashing on Big Boi a few paragraphs ago? I don't really love his verse on this track either, but Janelle on this track is everything I loved about Lauren Hill that I was too ashamed to ever tell anyone about. Boy you better watch out, some girls, some girls are only about, that thing, that thing, that thing~~ Well, this one is actually officially cool according to the interweb boys and "girls" and I'm guessing nerdfork will top 10 this shit as it satisfies the need for pop/soul vintage that every Sea and the Cake fan needs. jk jk. (not really)

16: Hadouken! - Oxygen


Alright, I thought the first track off this new album sucked. Mechadeath? Err, Mecha Love. Yeah don't listen to that. Also, avoid the Gemini dubstep remix of this track. This track already has enough rave cheese + a faux dubstep drop with huge reverb. WHY ADD MORE? This shit will be shunned by the music snobs because the rock crossover groups are too low brow. Seriously how can you not love this band? Or Pendulum?

15: DJ Zinc ft Ms Dynamite - Wile Out


I've been pretty gay for Zinc ever since that's Ready to Die remix. Doesn't it seem like Dynamite has had some pretty amazing tracks the past two years?

14: Surfer Blood - Swim


Did everyone forget about this album? It was awesome. I'm sure Titus Andronicus, Deerhunter, Caribou, and Delorean will all get more love as people look back over 2010, but this track and Floating Vibes were on near constant repeat for me all summer.

13: Wiley - What They Want


Was there any chance I'd not include a Wiley track? Child please.

12: Mount Kimbie - Mayor


This is where I insert something clever like "eargasm." Well when I put it like that, it just sounds dirty. Speaking of dirty, omg @ 3:20 on. That's some Miles Davis improv space age style.

11: Raekwon & Twista - The Heat


Twista? You gay? No. Well, maybe. But only in the morning or days of the week with an 'A' in them. Extra points for anyone who can identify the guitar sample. I really love how the mixing on the track seems a little off -- the vocals are like 20% too quiet which just makes the blare kick that much harder.

10: Kayne West - Runaway


Hmnn, I also really loved Power and, like the rest of the internet, Nicki's verse on Power. (Though I hate the rest of the track and Jay is awful on it) The opening to this track is just evil -- you know what I'm talking about. Twenty-ish seconds in. Until Kayne comes in about 30 seconds later, this could have been a Massive Attack or maybe even a Nails track. Kayne's "soulful" vocals are so out of place on the sparse dystopic evil madness that is the beat and the piano melody but fuck, it owns.

9: JJ - You Know


The catchiest hook all year.

8: Traffic - This Sweet Love


Rumor has it another Traffic track is supposed to drop in the coming days, and I'll feel like a tool if it's somehow more awesome. But I'm prepared to take that chance.

7: Cassie - Skydiver


I love Cassie. Me and You is probably one of my 20 favorite tracks of all time. I think her vocals are consistently awesome and consistently nail the sing-songy melodies of her productions. This is much less sparse than a lot of the other tracks off the album, but to me doesn't sound very goooeey at all. Actually it just sounds awesome. Not Me and You awesome. But still pretty awesome.

6: Hyetal - Phoenix


I'm not sure how Scar Jo is related to this track.

5: James Blake - CMYK


Probably my most listened to track of the year. This or #4. I'll let the music blogs rep this one, as I'm sure it'll be top 10 in a lot of places. Unless, for some reason beyond my comprehension, Limit to Your Love becomes the preferred Blake anthem.

4: Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em


Fucking killer like a cereal. This track kills people sometimes. It's true. (How I wish I liked any of the other tracks on the album nearly as much -- but that's completely irrelevant to how incredibly unbelievable kickass Tell 'Em is)

3: Resolved Dissonance - Hero


WTF IS THIS VIDEO GAME SOUNDING NERD MUSIC? OH WAIT ITS AWESOME NVM. How this has gotten no play or hype is beyond me. It's unfair like when a Pro Life girl shoot you down. (She's killing a baby)

2: Magnetic Man ft Katy B - Perfect Stranger


First track on most recent playlist? Shocking that it's near the top of my end of year list. No other dubstep track is close for me this year.

1: Dynasty (Wileywebb Remix) - Kaskade
Dynasty (wiley Remix) - Kaskade by wileywebb

I'm not going to lie. Well, about this I'm not going to lie. I found this track while looking for an old Wiley instrumental. (As in eskiboy) It's incredible. The vox, the opening build, the distortion on the first drop, the stuttering to beat match the second minidrop, the slowed down whiney rev transitions, the echo harmonic vox as the track proceeds, ALL OF IT. But it's the rev crash drop at 3:50 that truly kills it.


GGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Ten Other Tracks (Nearly as Awesome)

Joy Orbison - The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow


These New Puritans - Three Thousand


James Blake - Limit To Your Love


Starkey - Gasping For Air in the Vortex


Sully - The Loot/In Some Pattern


The XX - You've Got the Love


Ratatat - We Can't Be Stopped


XxXy - Know You