I realize I am about a month late to the party with this and all of you are 2010 listed out, but given that I have been sweeping sand out of my sleeping bag the past year (minus two weeks I was home this summer) and look forward to year end lists every year (don't care if I am supposed to not care, I love making lists and reading lists, ranking and ordering music is great fun for me) I am posting mine now that I have access to the world once again.

2010 was a weird year for me musically. One: I had virtually no access to vinyl or cassettes which the past 8 years or so have made up the majority of releases I have purchased. The only vinyl or cassette releases I had this year were the ones my amazing wife ripped for me, burned, and then mailed. Two: given that sometimes when laying in your rack in the desert you need to be able to hear well, so I couldn't always listen with headphones--this meant anything I played needed at least be stomachable for the five other guys in my tent. As a result I listened to more electronic music this year than I have in probably ten years and in some way rediscovered my love for a no-shit beat. Also, spent a good amount of time with albums I wouldn't have acknowledged the existence of were it not for the living situation (that Women record being the one that immediately comes to mind) that ended up absolutely blowing me away. It turns out being a pretentious asshole when it comes to music has probably caused me to miss out on some great stuff over the years, oh well.

Top 50:

50. Pale Sketcher-Pale Sketches Demixed
49. Failing Lights-s/t
48. Matthew Dear-Black City
47. Celer-Panoramic Dreams Bathed In Seldomness
46. Arp-The Soft Wave
45. Avey Tare-Down There
44. Pumice-10”
43. Deerhunter-Halcyon Digest
42. Nico Muhly-A Good Understanding
41. James Blake-All those EPs he put out
40. The Books-Wayout
39. Phantom Payn Days-Phantom Payn Daze
38. Wild Nothing-Gemini
37. Expo 70-The Vanishing World Within
36. Mice Parade-What It Means To Be Left Handed
35. Vegas Martyrs-Vancouver Missing Women
34. Oneohtrix Point Never-Returnal
33. Pete Swanson-Where I Was
32. Max Richter-Infra
31. Twinsistermoon-And Then Fell The Ashes
30. Zs-New Slaves
29. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti-Before Today
28. Perfume Genius-Learning
27. Autechre-Oversteps
26. Ben Frost-By the Throat
25. Sun City Girls-Funeral Mariachi
24. Lee Noble-Creeping Death Fever/Loaded Image
23. Keith Fullerton Whitman-Disingenuity/Disingeneousness
22. Sparkling Wide Pressure-Facing the Nothing World
21. Demdike Stare-Liberation Through Hearing
20. Beach House-Teen Dream
19. Jack Rose-Luck In the Valley
18. Yellow Swans-Going Places
17. Caribou-Swim
16. Swans-My Father Will Guide Me Up to the Sky
15. Four Tet-There Is Love In You
14. Evan Caminiti-West Winds
13. V/A-Bangs and Works Vol. 1: A Chicago Footwork Compilation
12. Panther Du Prince-Black Noise
11. Loscil-Endless Falls
10. Flying Lotus-Cosmogramma
9. Sean McCann-Fountains
8. Emeralds-Does It Look Like I’m Here
7. Date Palms-Of Psalms
6. Barn Owl-Ancestral Star
5. Eluvium-Static Nocturne
4. Flower-Corsano Duo-You’ll Never Work In This Town Again
3. Women-Public Strain
2. The Fun Years-God Was Like, No
1. Jefre Cantu Ledesma-Love Is A Stream

It's never a bad time for a list, IMHO.

If you meet St. Peter at the pearly gates, that seems like a bad time for a list.

Damn, that is a whole lot of music I'll never listen to.

interesting backstory... where were you?

i had a similar reaction to music this year. i felt myself gravitating to more palatable music that i normally would've ignored. and i'm not getting old, so it makes no sense.

there's gotta be a number of things on here i should hear or relisten to.

Congratulations on being the only human ever to accomplish that.

Afghanistan...Kabul, then Kandahar for a few months, finished up in Tarin Kowt.

k = Mike in AZ?

Nope. Was in Kandahar the same time he was there though. Unfortunately never got a chance to meet up with him. I believe he is back now too up in Phoenix.

K = kochalka

Nice list, especially you #3. We actually more in common than I expected.

Always intrigued by your list. Lotta shit I'd never even give a chance but I have to thank you for Tim Hecker, William Fowler Collins, and Barn Owl.

So, yeah, thanks for your service first and foremost man. Some shitty fucking country I'm sure.

Glad you stayed safe. I'd be even more intrigued by what the guys in your tent actually LIKED that you played.

Are you back in the States now?

Regardless, thanks for posting. Am intrigued by several on your list.

Yes.
Thanks for your service. And glad to hear that you're safe.
And, I too would be curious to know what the guys in your tent liked of what you played.

I'm sure a lot of the electronic stuff would go over pretty well. Maybe not so much Autechre, but Four Tet, Caribou, and Flying Lotus.

Surprised to see stuff like Deerhunter and Wild Nothing, but given your current listening context, it makes sense.

I'm curious about several near the top that I've never heard (of) like Jefre Cantu Ledesma, The Fun Years, Flower, and Date Palms. I still need to get around to hearing those Barn Owl and Eluvium albums although neither artist has done a whole lot for me in the past.

That Keith Fullerton Whitman record is really cool, especially the "Disingenuous" half. I've only listened to it a few times and wish I had gotten around to it sooner. Instead I opted to spend time with Generator which is maybe my least favorite thing I've heard from him.

I need to get around to hearing that Sun City Girls album, too.

It's good to have you back, man, both in the States and on the board. Hope you can stick around.

I love that record beyond belief and on any given day it could be my number one for the year. It's the first record since Unwound-Leaves Turn Inside You that has made me never want to make music again. The first listen to this I heard everything that every failed band I have ever been a part of has attempted to do, except done well. This record is dense, smart, and complicated to no end, but it's still accessible and has some great hooks underneath it all.

Much like how everything I have heard on XMU this past week sounds like everything Ariel Pink was doing 8 years ago, I think this record is going to have a huge impact on a reasonably sized audience who will take inspiration from here and make some pretty good records 5-6 years from now citing this album as a turning point. Or everyone will be like me and just give up after hearing it.

I had no idea anyone else on this board listened to Sean McCann.

Well I hope you're right about that. It was my #2 of the year (and like you, could be my #1 on any given day, really), and as I said somewhere, it was like someone got deep inside my subconscious and made exactly the album I wanted to hear. I could namecheck all of my favorite bands from the past 40 or so years and nearly all of them are represented on that record in some way. In a way that works and is perfectly coherent.

I have to thank this board for getting me in touch with WFC. He emailed me a few times just to check in and sent me that killer Mesa Ritual EP he did with Raven Chicone. It's pretty cool to think that the same guy who made one of the darkest/most desolate records I've ever heard is so appreciative of his fans. Let alone the general stereotype of people who make noise/avant music being so completely against the war, yet seeing that regardless of personal opinion on the issue the guy clearly still supports the PEOPLE involved with the effort. Made me feel really good in some way.



Craziest places I have ever seen man. On one hand you can't even classify some of the villages as third-world, they are truly prehistoric, like something out of the Flintstones. But you look around, above street level or away from any populated area and it is the prettiest country in the world. Beautiful mountains, amazing valleys just green year round that spread out forever, it's unbelievable. Attempting to teach the pride that the Afghan people should have in that country was hard though. Getting them to understand the importance of running sanitary water (and sewage) and recultivation of land (after massive amounts of poppy burning) and the impact that can have on the landscape of their country was extremely difficult. In general all that matters to most village/tribal leaders is their immediate area, their tribe, their family. The idea of "nation" or "country" is largely unheard of. As a result installing any certain government in Kabul is nearly a waste of effort unless we also empower the local governments in a simlar manner. The lack of information flow is staggering, without the ability to plug into a national consciousness of sorts there are so many areas that will remain isolated (went into villages were people thought we were still there helping them fight the soviets) and as a result eventually give in to the group that offers money and protection (AQ) allowing for the reestaqblishment of strongholds like Marjeh or the Arghandab Valley. Bottom line--there is an insane amount of work to do over there and without any reasonable measures of effectiveness in place (an increase from 5% of population in province having electricity for 6 hours a day to 20% of the population having electricity for 14 hours per day for example) this effort runs the risk of seeming like a failed operation very soon. Hope that's not the case though.




Flying Lotus was a big hit. That Jack Rose album (as well as some Fahey, Glenn Jones, a lot of Tompkins Square stuff) was liked by a couple of the guys who were really into country. Stuff that didn't make the list that went over well was LCD Soundsystem, Male Bonding, Cloud Nothings, The Intelligence. I lived with a good bunch of guys for sure.




Yeah, back in Tucson for a little while. I accepted a position in McLean, VA so am prepping for a move to DC soon. Considering I've never lived further East than Texas it's a bit crazy to think about being out there, but in order to someday have the positions I would like I have to get to the Beltway sooner or later and for a 30 year old prior ground-pounder this job in McLean is more than decent.




More than happy to up anything you are interested in. Just let me know.

Flying Lotus was definitely the favorite. Somewhere I have a video of my team dancing with some kids in TK to "Do the Astral Plane." Good stuff.




This sounds horrible but it truly is a compliment, that Deerhunter record is absolutely perfect to listen to when I don't want to listen to anything. I can completely ignore it when needed and then come back to it and not feel like I missed too much. As for that Wild Nothing, it is all about that "Summer Holiday" track. I don't know what it is about that song, but it is one of my favorites from the past few years.




Ledesma (previously responsible for the ear splitting Shining Skull Breath) really surprised me on this. The album as a whole is soaked with distortion but there are some absolutely brilliant melodies underneath it all. The few times the distortion breaks down and opens up to the crystal clear guitar are well placed and add something more than a dynamic shift to the album as a whole. Don't get me wrong, this is not an easy album to listen to if overdrive isn't your thing, but for subtlety and precise layering of sounds it doesn't get much better.

The Fun Years record reminds me a lot of what Boris tried to accomplish on a few of their records in blending nosie/drone/shoegaze. There are moments here that sound like Hecker, some that sound like Phillip Jeck resampling, some that sound like Kevin Shields, but nothing is overpowering. For some serious fuzz on a couple of the tracks it remains just pretty. "...Dequa" is my favorite track on here with some great percussion accompaniment to white/brown noise, the transition from cymbal to some Eastern metal is extremely well done, reminds me of some of Corsano's stuff, which is always a plus in my book.

Speaking of that Flower-Corsano Duo is another great improv record from Mick Flower and Chris Corsano. I am unashamed to admit I am a complete Corsano whore and think this record represents his best "jazz" drumming to date. The two work together perfectly with neither one driving the set but seeming as if both are just effortlessly riding with each other. This album avoids all of the bore usually associated with free/improv jazz and provides enough evolving and paired sounds to keep your interest for the whole record.

Date Palms is a Gregg Kowalsky project. Root Strata (label) pitched it as a "channels heroin and ganja fueled Spaceman 3 haze'" shitty description, but it's actually kind of spot on. This sounds A LOT like J. Spaceman with buffers of acoustic drone and some nice raga work to break up the monotony. Pretty blissed out album as a whole.

The Eluvium floats back more into his post-rock territory. I like his sound a lot, but if you haven't liked his previous stuff you likely won't like this one. Same with Barn Owl, still dense and dusty and super slow. However, definitely recommend that Evan Caminiti (1/2 of Barn Owl). Much like those Mark McGuire resissues this year, that album really highlights his guitar to perfection, and often my favorite parts of Barn Owl albums is when his guitar is very forward in the sound. If you like McGuire or the more experimental side of Chasney you would definitely dig that I think.




Generator is the first I have heard from him, that I actually don't like. Other than that I have just about decided that he, Max, Richter, and Tim Hecker (though occupying vastly different places in my collection) are all generally the same with me in that every album will be solid. I won't be blown away by them really anymore, have great memories associated with the first time I heard of each of them, and will all probably continue making music for the foreseeable future as their work is not exhausting in any way. It's very appreciated the things those three do. Something to be said for consistency.




Yes you do. So pretty, so sad, but still it's SCG a few tracks of the most fun you can ever have with an album. They will be missed for sure.




Thanks it's good to be back man.

As always your list is one of the most interesting to me. The stuff I don't know I immediately track down if you've recommended it.

Stay safe.

I wish I could find the link to this photo gallery of Afghanistan from the 1960's...uncovered women on the streets, westerners in schools and as you mentioned, some incredibly breathtaking scenery.

Edit: a google search and there's lots of similar stuff out there...just not the one I saw before