Best Music of 2010

Alright folks, the first entry in the list nobody asked for: my picks for the best 25 records* released in 2010, unveiled 1 (or 2...or 5) at a time.  Tonight, I'm going to start with my #1 of 2010: Titus Andronicus's The Monitor.  But before I get started, a quick note on how this list was compiled: although I listen to as much music each year as I can, I am by no means a music expert.  When it comes to evaluating art, I'm much more comfortable talking about movies than I am records.  But, like I said, I listen to a lot of music each year--somewhere between 70 and 100 albums--and while I'm doing that, I oftentimes stumble on records that worth sharing.  This list, in part, is the end result of that effort: this is me, trying to share stuff I like with you.

I hope you find something to spin and dig it.

[re-loops pony tail; slips bare feet out of home-made sandals]


1. (BEST RECORD OF THE  YEAR)

TITUS ANDRONICUS -- THE MONITOR
Okay, I'm not going to write-up every one of these entries, but this record deserves the extra praise: The Monitor is a brilliant piece of music.  The album's conceit embodies most everything I like about it: it purports to be a "punk record about the American Civil War," and in order to do this, Titus Andronicus thematically arrange songs to mirror the progression of the conflict, use multiple re-recordings of period speeches by Lincoln and others to ground lyrical abstractions in specific historical moments, and, of course, cribbing that sweet cover photo of the deck gun of the U.S.S. Monitor, one of the first American ironclads (suck it, Merrimack!).  But a close listen to The Monitor reveals its not, exactly, historical audio-fiction: it's a punk record, with all the requisite hook-ups, break-ups, and angsty teenage ravings you might expect to go along with such a record.  Which, of course, is what makes this thing so downright awesome: Titus Andronicus set you up for the concept record with such gusto that its function as a metaphor seems so hyperbolic that it never can quite settle into cliche--obviously, a break-up isn't as dramatic as the single most devastating conflict in American history...but to a 16-year old boy, it is.  It's obviously worth noting that the music itself is spectacular--vocals are just the right kind of punk-raw; guitars are overdriven and sloppy-great; songs are propulsive, but organized in movements rather than in chopped-up 2:00 minute screams; and even the lyrics are wonderful (see above)--it's a fantastic listen, and standout tracks like "Richard II," "A More Perfect Union," and "Titus Andronicus Forever" get the energy and the sound of 2010 alt/folk/bar/punk as right as...well, I guess as right as that kind of mix-up can get.

So, why The Monitor?  I'm not sure...but I like that the historical Monitor is best known for two pretty darn punky things: first, it was armored to the teeth.  Second?  It sank.