#Festive Top Twenty Decade 2010-2019

[kraftwerk113]

2014 „Light years from home and I feel so small“ (Black Rivers / Voyager 1)

2014 – ein Jahrgang mit Quantität (allein 130 Kandidaten für die TT) aber weniger an Qualität. Dies gilt allerdings nicht für die 20 Stücke, die es in die TT geschafft haben. Erstaunlich ist, dass die ersten vier Plätze von Bands eingenommen werden, die vorher kaum oder in anderen Kontexten in Erscheinung getreten sind. Zugleich zählen die Stücke sicherlich auch nicht zu den „Everybodys Darlings der in Sachen Popmusik schreibenden Zunft. Der Top Titel stammt vom australischen Duo Wunder Wunder, die in 2014 mit dem Album Everything infinite und der herausragenden Single „Coastline“ in Erscheinung getreten sind – und seit her nie wieder. Auch Platz 3 stammt von einem Spin-off Projekt der Formation Doves – Black Rivers von den Brüdern Jez und Andy Williams und seither bis auf ein Untitled Album in 2015 quasi als One off Projekt angelegt. In 2014 wurde allerdings der Song „Voyager 1“ vorab veröffentlicht und dürfte der hedonistische Ansatz eines Popsongs in den 10er Jahren darstellen. Erfreulich war in 2014 das Comeback der Manic Street Preacher mit dem gelungenen „Futurology“ Album und der durch und durch pro-Europäischen Single „Europa geht durch mich“. Zu den Abräumern zählten in 2014 Bombay Bicycle Club, was sich zwar nur bescheiden in den TT (Platz 8 für „Come to“) aber in satten fünf Nomminierungen für die Kandidaten 2014 niederschlägt. Auch dürfte das flankierende Album mit dem nahezu prophetischen Titel „So long see you tomorrow“ zu den Besten des Jahres 2014 zählen. Ob die Band in 2014 schon wusste, dass es fünf Jahre dauern sollte, ehe mit „Eat, sleep, dream (nothing but you“ neues Material vom Bombay Bicycle Club erscheinen sollte?

Erfreulich warauch das 2014er Album Debüt von Kate Tempest die mit ihrem Poetry-Pop die Musikszene nachhaltig bereicherte. Das Album „Everybody down“ enthält mit „Circles“ und „The Beigeness“ auch zwei der besten Arbeiten von Kate Tempest, die immer dann rasant Qualität gewinnt, wenn sie ihre wuchtige Poetry von feingesonnener Electronic umgarnen lässt.

Was blieb noch hängen in 2014? Das erfreuliche Comeback der Madchester Rave Legene The Charlatanes mit dem bezaubernden So oh“ als Vorgriff auf das in 2015 erscheinende Album „Modern nature“. Und die leider bis dato letzte Veröffentlichung der grandiosen Delphic in Form der „Get familiar EP“. Ein eher lasches Belle and Sebastien Album („Girls in Peacetime want to dance“) welches mit „The Party line“ aber einen veritablen – überraschend tanzbaren Gassenhauer enthält. Und – Sie werden sich vielleicht wundern – einer der größten kommerziellen Erfolge der Dekade: „Happy“ von Pharell Williams. Ein Stück von derartig genialer Simplizität, dass es erfolgreich seien musste und obgleich wirklich todgedudelt zu keinem Zeitpunkt langweilig wurde. Ansonsten fällte 2014 in Ansammlung des musikalischen Jahrzehnts eher kaum aus dem Rahmen.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2014

1. Wunder Wunder / Coastline

2. Zero 7 / Simple Science

3. Black Rivers / Voyagers 1

4. The Two Bears / Get out

5. Delphic / Future groove (Get Familiar EP)

6. Metronomy / Love letters

7. John Steele Singers / Common Thread

8. Bombay Bicycle Club / Come to

9. The Charlatans / So oh

10. Caribou / Can´t do without you

11. Foster the people / Best friend

12. Interpol / All the rage back home

13. Manic Street Preachers / Europa geht durch mich

14. Childhood / As I am

15. Future Islands / Seasons (Waiting for you)

16. Kate Tempest / Circles

17. Belle and Sebastian / The Party line

18. Pharell / Happy

19. Zoot woman / Don´t tear yourself apart

20. Damon Albarn / Heavy seas

[tweetcando]

twitter likes should we know?

Twitter's origins lie in a "daylong brainstorming session" held by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. Jack Dorsey, then an undergraduate student at New York University, introduced the idea of an individual using an SMS service to communicate with a small group.[25][26] The original project code name for the service was twttr, an idea that Williams later ascribed to Noah Glass,[27] inspired by Flickr and the five-character length of American SMS short codes. The decision was also partly due to the fact that the domain twitter.com was already in use, and it was six months after the launch of twttr that the crew purchased the domain and changed the name of the service to Twitter.[28] The developers initially considered "10958" as a short code, but later changed it to "40404" for "ease of use and memorability".[29] Work on the project started on March 21, 2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9:50 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST): "just setting up my twttr".[4] Dorsey has explained the origin of the "Twitter" title:

s Angeles Lakers' victory in the 2010 NBA Finals on June 17,[48] and then again at the close of Japan's victory over Denmark in the World Cup when users published 3,283 tweets per second.[49] The record was set again during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final between Japan and the United States, when 7,196 tweets per second were published.[50] When American singer Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, Twitter servers crashed after users were updating their status to include the words "Michael Jackson" at a rate of 100,000 tweets per hour.[51] The current record as of August 3, 2013 was set in Japan, with 143,199 tweets per second during a television screening of the movie Castle in the Sky[52] (beating the previous record of 33,388, also set by Japan for the television screening of the same movie).[53]

Twitter acquired application developer Atebits on April 11, 2010. Atebits had developed the Apple Design Award-winning Twitter client Tweetie for the Mac and iPhone. The application, now called "Twitter" and distributed free of charge, is the official Twitter client for the iPhone, iPad and Mac.[54]

From September through October 2010, the company began rolling out "New Twitter", an entirely revamped edition of twitter.com. Changes included the ability to see pictures and videos without leaving Twitter itself by clicking on individual tweets which contain links to images and clips from a variety of supported websites including YouTube and Flickr, and a complete overhaul of the interface, which shifted links such as '@mentions' and 'Retweets' above the Twitter stream, while 'Messages' and 'Log Out' became accessible via a black bar at the very top of twitter.com. As of November 1, 2010, the company confirmed that the "New Twitter experience" had been rolled out to all users. In 2019, Twitter was announced to be the 10th most downloaded mobile app of the decade, from 2010 to 2019.[55]

2011–2014 On April 5, 2011, Twitter tested a new homepage and phased out the "Old Twitter".[56] However, a glitch came about after the page was launched, so the previous "retro" homepage was still in use until the issues were resolved; the new homepage was reintroduced on April 20.[57][58] On December 8, 2011, Twitter overhauled its website once more to feature the "Fly" design, which the service says is easier for new users to follow and promotes advertising. In addition to the Home tab, the Connect and Discover tabs were introduced along with a redesigned profile and timeline of Tweets. The site's layout has been compared to that of Facebook.[59][60] On February 21, 2012, it was announced that Twitter and Yandex agreed to a partnership. Yandex, a Russian search engine, finds value within the partnership due to Twitter's real time news feeds. Twitter's director of business development explained that it is important to have Twitter content where Twitter users go.[61] On March 21, 2012, Twitter celebrated its sixth birthday while also announcing that it had 140 million users and 340 million tweets per day. The number of users was up 40% from their September 2011 number, which was said to have been at 100 million at the time.[62]

In April 2012, Twitter announced that it was opening an office in Detroit, with the aim of working with automotive brands and advertising agencies.[63] Twitter also expanded its office in Dublin.[64] On June 5, 2012, a modified logo was unveiled through the company blog, removing the text to showcase the slightly redesigned bird as the sole symbol of Twitter.[65][66] On October 5, 2012, Twitter acquired a video clip company called Vine that launched in January 2013.[67][68] Twitter released Vine as a standalone app that allows users to create and share six-second looping video clips on January 24, 2013. Vine videos shared on Twitter are visible directly in users' Twitter feeds.[69] Due to an influx of inappropriate content, it is now rated 17+ in Apple's[needs update][70] app store.[71] On December 18, 2012, Twitter announced it had surpassed 200 million monthly active users. Twitter hit 100 million monthly active users in September 2011.[72]

On January 28, 2013, Twitter acquired Crashlytics in order to build out its mobile developer products.[73]

On April 18, 2013, Twitter launched a music app called Twitter Music for the iPhone.[74] On August 28, 2013, Twitter acquired Trendrr,[75] followed by the acquisition of MoPub on September 9, 2013.[76] As of September 2013, the company's data showed that 200 million users sent over 400 million tweets daily, with nearly 60% of tweets sent from mobile devices.[77] On June 4, 2014, Twitter announced that it would acquire Namo Media, a technology firm specializing in "native advertising" for mobile devices.[78] On June 19, 2014, Twitter announced that it had reached an undisclosed deal to buy SnappyTV, a service that helps edit and share video from television broadcasts.[79][80] The company was helping broadcasters and rights holders to share video content bo

...we came across the word 'twitter', and it was just perfect. The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information,' and 'chirps from birds'. And that's exactly what the product was.[30]

The first Twitter prototype, developed by Dorsey and contractor Florian Weber, was used as an internal service for Odeo employees.[31] The full version was introduced publicly on July 15, 2006.[13] In October 2006, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Dorsey, and other members of Odeo formed Obvious Corporation and acquired Odeo, together with its assets — including Odeo.com and Twitter.com — from the investors and shareholders.[32] Williams fired Glass, who was silent about his part in Twitter's startup until 2011.[33] Twitter spun off into its own company in April 2007.[34] Williams provided insight into the ambiguity that defined this early period in a 2013 interview:

With Twitter, it wasn't clear what it was. They called it a social network, they called it microblogging, but it was hard to define, because it didn't replace anything. There was this path of discovery with something like that, where over time you figure out what it is. Twitter actually changed from what we thought it was in the beginning, which we described as status updates and a social utility. It is that, in part, but the insight we eventually came to was Twitter was really more of an information network than it is a social network.[35]

The tipping point for Twitter's popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000.[36][37] "The Twitter people cleverly placed two 60-inch plasma screens in the conference hallways, exclusively streaming Twitter messages," remarked Newsweek's Steven Levy. "Hundreds of conference-goers kept tabs on each other via constant twitters. Panelists and speakers mentioned the service, and the bloggers in attendance touted it."[38] Reaction at the conference was highly positive. Blogger Scott Beale said that Twitter was "absolutely ruling" SXSWi. Social software researcher danah boyd said Twitter was "owning" the conference.[39] Twitter staff received the festival's Web Award prize with the remark "we'd like to thank you in 140 characters or less. And we just did!"[40]

The first unassisted off-Earth Twitter message was posted from the International Space Station by NASA astronaut T. J. Creamer on January 22, 2010.[41] By late November 2010, an average of a dozen updates per day were posted on the astronauts' communal account, @NASA_Astronauts. NASA has also hosted over 25 "tweetups", events that provide guests with VIP access to NASA facilities and speakers with the goal of leveraging participants' social networks to further the outreach goals of NASA. In August 2010, the company appointed Adam Bain from News Corp.'s Fox Audience Network as president of revenue.[42]

twitter followers buy

2007–2010 The company experienced rapid initial growth. It had 400,000 tweets posted per quarter in 2007. This grew to 100 million tweets posted per quarter in 2008. In February 2010, Twitter users were sending 50 million tweets per day.[43] By March 2010, the company recorded over 70,000 registered applications.[44] As of June 2010, about 65 million tweets were posted each day, equaling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter.[45] As of March 2011, that was about 140 million tweets posted daily.[46] As noted on Compete.com, Twitter moved up to the third-highest-ranking social networking site in January 2009 from its previous rank of twenty-second.[47]

Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, in 2009 Twitter's usage spikes during prominent events. For example, a record was set during the 2010 FIFA World Cup when fans wrote 2,940 tweets per second in the thirty-second period after Japan scored against Cameroon on June 14. The record was broken again when 3,085 tweets per second were posted after the Lo

[olliefilm]

Films of the Decade (1 - 10)

10. Bait

Bait slips onto the list in the nick of time It is a 90 minute, black-and-white film, shot on 16mm with a fully post-dubbed soundtrack, set in a Cornish fishing village. As a technical exercise, Bait is enrapturing. The village is trapped in a filmic past, with a Pathé-like atmosphere tied with a bygone era of thick fog and a thriving industrial landscape. This stylistic choice pares back the clutter of modern soundtracks and brings to the fore an elegiac and foreboding mood. Bait is a wonderfully strange film, and let’s hope the enthusiastic reception in Britain spreads internationally.

9. Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road has become the model/rebuttal for how high octane action should work. I don’t think it’s an original model. I still think a lot of the giddy nut-and-bolts foundations of Ozysploitation is carried on into Fury Road. Of course, this time the budget is larger and the audience is wider. Fury Road will be on many people’s list due to many technical elements coming together - believe or not - carefully and with precision. No big wonder that it was the most awarded film of the 2015. George Miller brings out the eccentricity of the characters and the cars with the same glory as we’d expect from a Tex Avery cartoon. So often we are used to action fatigue that when something like Mad Max: Fury Road crashes in, it’s like fresh oxygen. Too right, good action is the hardest feat to pull off.

8. Araby

Araby is a 2017 Brazilian film I just saw this year. A few critics have mused whether what they saw is the Film of the Decade (this claim was initiated by The Hollywood Reporter’s Neil Young, and followed up by Guy Lodge of The Guardian). It would probably be a stretch for me to include it as one of my Films of 2019, but no matter how many cinemas it missed, I still think Araby is indicative of the one-man’s odyssey through worn-down labour. What astounded me is how the film itself stumbles into a story: the first twenty minutes is a kitchen sink drama until a young boy finds a journal of a recently deceased factory worker. From there, it is a film about somebody else; the factory with a more lyrical story than expected. It’s a simple turn which makes sense. Araby is that journal; a precious story stumbled upon.

7. The Master

There Will Be Blood was the film of the Noughties. Over this decade, there were two end-of-year lists which had a Paul Thomas Anderson film at the top. Last year it was Phantom Thread, and back in 2012 it was The Master. The coolness of The Master is that most of the cinematic elements displayed have a drift to them - the hypnotic Jonny Greenwood score, the near-floating camera movements, and the frames which show Joaquin Phoenix as a character who could fly into an explosive rage or lie aimlessly hanging off a ship. It is, indeed, a demonstration of a filmatic masterclass. Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman are the compelling acting duo ever put to film this decade.  

6. Burning

South Korea has built a reputation of making some of the most warped psychological thrillers of the 21st Century. This year, Bong Joon-Ho’s simmering social treatise Parasite became the first Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The year before, Burning was touted as the being the frontrunner at the same festival. It is a film which is beautifully mysterious and an outstanding example of side-swiping the audience. What starts off as a love story turns into social critique, but then becomes a film about a possible murder mystery. It might be asking more questions than answering them, but all the questions are tactfully scintillating. Burning is two-and-a-half hours long, I was gripped enough to yearn for an extra hour.

5. The Act of Killing / The Look of SIlence

Joshua Oppenheimer’s double bill The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence make up for the most revealing documentaries of the decade. Both are gut-wrenching, devastating, and mentally exhausting. Especially in The Act of Killing. In what could’ve been a chargeless stunt, the participants of the Indeonesian Communist Massacre are given the resources to produce a film depicting their crimes. The end result is something disorientating, gleeful, and utterly grotesque. Something that lets us, the audience, into their callous ego. By the end, something manages to penetrate. One of the massacre orchestrators find introspection. It is an extraordinary moment. Unforgettable.

4. La Quattro Volte

La Quattro Volte is a made up of four segments, each encompassing the Pythagorean “Four Turns” of life: the human realm, the animal realm, the plant realm, and finally the mineral. As the synopsis indicates, it is a film with a lot to project. Deep thought, awe, and contemplation; the wonderful thing about La Quattro Volte is that it is dialogue free, only an hour-and-a-half long, and spatially aware without coming across as sparse. It’s a methodical film with room for humour. In fact, one long static shot of an uphill street gave one of the biggest laughs of 2010. It will be known as That Goat Film, but La Quattro Volte has more to say than most films twice its length.

3. The Social Network

For half the decade it seemed that The Social Network was set to be the defining film of the decade on the basis of social relevance and evocation. Yet Facebook grew exponentially and so are its issues and, arguably, its dangers in modern society, to the point that the Facebook of 2019 is not the Facebook of 2004. Yet David Fincher has a grapple on the foreboding; of what is lingering in the air. With Aaron Sorkin’s script, the characters are intimidating in their quick-fire smartassery. In the end, there is an inclination that they are stepping down into a rabbit hole. The Social Network is expertly crafted and understands that it need not be a film about Facebook. It’s a film about reputation, legacy and control.

2. Boyhood

For the last three years of the decade, I knew that the toss-up for the top spot was between Moonlight and Boyhood. It was pretty close to being a tie, and part of me wishes it would be. However, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is an epic which lives up to its broad title. Better yet, it doesn’t follow through just one person’s navigation through life and phases: it follows the mother, the father and the sister. Linklater does it on a level which is without any hint of labour. Even with music and technological cues, it is still hard to pinpoint any jarring moments where the boy has gotten a year or two older. So take this as being indicative to Boyhood’s effortless brilliance: only now am I mentioning how the director filmed it over the span of twelve years.

1. Moonlight

Frustratingly, the envelope mix-up at the ceremony overshadowed any right Moonlight had to bask in prestige. It should’ve been a moment of pure celebration, because Barry Jenkins’ film is tremendous: a semi-tragic parable of a boy in three stages of inner turmoil. It is about sexual awakening, parental guidance and, yes, racial preconceptions of manlihood. On a stylistic level, Moonlight has a wealth of cinematic hues; Nicholas Britell’s poignant score feels like a boy trying to float on the surface of the ocean, the lighting is beautiful and it heightens those interludes in between the fights and shouting. Far from me to fawn over what has already been trumpeted, but Moonlight is extraordinary. The Academy may never be this right again. 

Top 20 Films of the Decade

1. Moonlight

2. Boyhood

3. The Social Network

4. La Quattro Volte

5. The Act of Killing/The Look of Silence

6. Burning

7. The Master

8. Araby

9. Mad Max: Fury Road

10. Bait

11. O.J. Made In America

12. A Separation

13. You Were Never Really Here

14. Force Majeure

15. Paddington 2

16. Girlhood

17. Under The Skin

18. Dreams Of A Life

19. Song Of The Sea

20. Locke

[themelbournetone]

Top 10 Albums of the 2010s [Countdown]

Written by: Ziggy Cross

The world has changed a lot in the last ten years, but luckily for us, music still exists. Without further ado, here’s the 10 best albums that were the soundtrack to our decade:

2010 - THIS IS HAPPENING, LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

This Is Happening is the third and “final” album by New York dance band LCD Soundsystem, released before their 2011 split (ending with the legendary 4-hour Madison Square Garden farewell show).

Following up their sophomore LP, Sound Of Silver, was always going to be a huge task, and This Is Happening holds up well, while also having an insanely ink-able title. It isn’t the group’s best album, it’s sure as hell a good way to start off the decade.

Highlights include the albums opener Dance Yrself Clean, I Can Change, and All I Want (which might sound strangely familiar to fans of David Bowie, who was a friend of LCD’s frontman James Murphy).

Notable mentions: Tourist History - Two Door Cinema Club, The Suburbs - Arcade Fire

2011 - THE ENGLISH RIVIERA, METRONOMY

The English Riviera is the third album from English indie pop band Metronomy. This is their most commercially successful album to date, including notable singles The Bay, and The Look. Most of this album was made solo by founder and producer Joseph Mount, with occasional assistance from the band members who have joined him along the way.

The album strongly rewards repeat listens, with tracks that might seem bizarre at first becoming certified bops after enough plays. The whole album is filled with some outrageous sounds from an extensive library of hardware synths. On the track Some Written, Mount brings out profound kazoo talent, as well as some impressive clarinet use in the following track, Love Underlined.

2011 was a huge year of development for the indie pop genre, with more bands embracing an electronic sound. It would seem that all the stars aligned for this release, and put them on the map. Metronomy is a band who have built a reputation for pushing limits, while managing to stay approachable enough for a wide appeal. They’ve got some pretty weird tracks if you’re willing to test the waters, but The English Riviera is without a doubt the best place to start.

Notable mentions: Torches - Foster The People, This Modern Glitch - The Wombats

2012 - BLOOM, BEACH HOUSE

Bloom is the fourth album from Baltimore dream pop band Beach House, and is their highest charting album to date. The album is packed with luscious synth and melancholy soaked guitar, reverberating in every direction far and wide. 

The track list is impressively solid, and while a lot of tracks may appear quite “same-y” at first listen, they are nuanced enough to allow for some great repeat listening. You always know what to expect when you’re listening to Beach House, and they never fail to please.

Bloom is filled with some incredibly memorable tracks, and some highlights include: lead single Myth, with its incredibly powerful guitar build and grounding synth line, Lazuli, with its catchy vocal stacking and driving synth arpeggio, and New Years, with it’s ear worm of vocal melody that will stay in your mind for all of eternity.

Beach House have established their own brand of melancholy, and Bloom is probably their best showcase of that. Along with many of the other great releases from 2012, this one is for those whose hearts play in a minor key.

Notable mentions: Dark Eyes - Half Moon Run, Bored Nothing - Bored Nothing

2013 - TROUBLE WILL FIND ME, THE NATIONAL

After the wild success of The National’s 2010 album High Violet, I’m sure many fans wondered what the band would do next. Trouble Will Find Me features wall-to-wall lyrical and instrumentational masterpieces. This is a *seriously* solid album.

The album has a great mix of ‘great-the-first-time’rs, and plenty of ‘this-will-hit-hard-on-listen-twenty’s too. Believe me when I say, every listen of this album will  leave you with a different ‘favourite song’.

Standout tracks include: I Need My Girl, a love song written by Berninger about missing his wife and daughter who stayed at home while he was on the road, and Don’t Swallow The Cap, a medium tempo alt-rock doomer anthem with the same understated power of LCD’s All My Friends.

Trouble Will Find Me also serves as a perfect warm up for the bands latest (2019) release I Am Easy To Find, if you’re that kind of fan. But I mean come on... even the titles match!

Notable mentions: The Bones Of What You Believe - CHVRCHES, Overgrown - James Blake

2014 - ABOUT FACE, #1 DADS

About Face is a special kind of album. Melbournite and all round musical genius Tom Iansek (also of Big Scary and No Mono) never fails to release pure magic into this world. His work truly is the hidden gem of Melbourne’s music scene - and those who have found it could not cherish it more.

Behind it’s quiet front, About Face holds the emotional force of a B-52 fighter jet. The production and gentle instrumentation will move you with force, there isn’t a single unremarkable track.

It should also be noted how impressive the lineup of collaborators on this album is; Tom Snowden, Ainslie Wills, Airling, AND that incredible saxophonist on Camberwell (you know what I’m talking about 😉).

It’s should come as no surprise that this album was nominated for an Australian Music Prize. While it did lose to REMI’s Raw X Infinity, at least we can have some comfort in knowing that Tom did win the prize the year before, for the wonderful Big Scary album, Not Art.

Notable mentions: There There - Washington, The Dew Lasts An Hour - Ballet School

2015 - CARRIE & LOWELL, SUFJAN STEVENS

“I don’t know where to begin...” where do you even start with an album like Carrie & Lowell!? How do you follow up an album that ended with one of the most powerful 25+ minute epics ever made? (I’m talking about Impossible Soul, if you haven’t heard it in full, drop everything and listen now - and if you have heard it, enjoy this shorter Car Seat Headrest cover)

Upon it’s release, Carrie & Lowell was hugely successful with critics, and was often cited as Sufjan’s best work yet. This album is quiet, I can’t count the number of times I've fallen asleep to this album on the train home from the city.

Despite it’s soft production, this album hits hard with it’s lyrics, something Sufjan now has now had over 20 years experience perfecting. Standouts include Should Have Known Better, Blue Bucket of Gold, and Fourth of July (see Sufjan leading a festival chant of ‘we’re all gonna die’ with the power of 10,000 suns here).

This album holds a warm place in many listeners hearts, and is well deserving of 2015���s top spot.

Notable mentions: Pretend You’re Mine - Pearls, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us - Beach Slang

2016 - 22, A MILLION, BON IVER

Notable mentions: Not To Disappear - Daughter, Light Upon The Lake - Whitney

2017 - GO FARTHER IN LIGTHNESS, GANG OF YOUTHS

Standouts include slow burner Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane, anthemic Atlas Drowned, past punching What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out?, and once in a lifetime worship anthem to Nietzschean affirmation Say Yes to Life. 

Read our review of the album here.

Notable mentions: Zone - Cloud Control, Visions Of A Life - Wolf Alice

2018 - FUTURE ME HATES ME, THE BETHS

Notable mentions: Lush - Snail Mail, Evening Machines - Gregory Alan Isakov

2019 - LOW GRADE BUZZ, HUNTLY

Notable mentions: You Deserve Love - White Reaper, First Body - Two People

[theteenagetrickster]

The twenty Absolute Best Dubstep Songs of the EDM Years

The EDM.com team put our heads together and organized a listing of the 20 absolute best dubstep tracks released coming from 2010-2019.

UPDATE (12/23/2019): Respectable states were actually included and also "Bangarang" through Skrillex was cleared away and substituted as it was actually erroneously noted as dubstep.It's secure to

mention that this many years has actually been actually the greatest in the past history of dubstep. While thrusting to the best of the digital globe early in the decade and coming to be one of one of the most well-known EDM subgenres for years later on, dubstep surpassed the initial hype as well as came to be a steering interject the electronic popular music arena.

In honor of the fantastic years of dubstep our team've obtained to appreciate, here are the style's 20 finest paths of the years.20.

" Rail Buster" - Trouble 10 ft. Rico Act

An anthem devoted to those who like to make place surveillance fear, "Rail Buster" embodies the sense of the headbangers in the frontal row. Along with a minimalistic overview putting total importance on Rico Action's now-iconic vocals, hardcore supporters of dubstep have discovered on their own embracing the tip of headbanging therefore hard their backs ache.

19. "Experts" - SKisM

In 2012, the Never Claim Perish manager SKisM discharged "Pros," his phone call to upper arms for his fellow dubstep super star allies. His skillful manufacturing skill-sets are actually on total screen as he rips via the monitor offering listeners little bit of opportunity to breathe. Illustrating Zomboy, Skrillex, Excisionas well as himself combating an enabled internet giant, the video following the tune remains one of the finest in the past of the category.18.

" Gold (Foolish Love)" - Excision and Illenium ft. Lagoon

Some of the more unexpected partnerships in bass music, Excision sponsored the help of the superstar future bass manufacturer Illenium for their emotional monitor "Gold (Stupid Passion)" including Lagoon. While the first portion of the tune is much more evocative Illenium's trademark sound, midway with it loses as well as threatening grumbling begins as raw electrical power similar to Excision's precursors erupts. The outcome is actually a smooth blend of the duo's talents, making it look like they have actually been teaming up for decades.

17. "Dead Presidents" - Zomboy and also 12th Planet ft. Jay Fresh

A massive cooperation that found Zomboy join pressures with among the absolute most essential personalities behind the United States dubstep action,, "Dead Presidents" observes the two bass heavyweights at their outright best. With Jay Fresh's vocals as well as a smart take on Zomboy's trademark catch phrase throughout, the duo produced a striking dubstep tune dripping along with style like couple of others.16.

" Behemoth" - SVDDEN DEATH

Launched in 2018 as a portion of the very first access in his atmospherical VOYD-branded EPs, "Behemoth" through SVDDEN FATALITY ended up being an on-the-spot staple in virtually every bass musician's set. Unquestionably heavy in every feeling of the definition, the grinding, pummeling bass coming from the escapement bass manufacturer aided "Mammoth" reside up to its own title.

15. "Like a Bitch" - Zomboy

Zomboy delivered shockwaves via the event circuit with the release of his eruptive tune "Like a Bitch." With one of the best momentous break downs in dubstep history, from the extremely second this path hit the airwaves, enthusiasts and DJs identical recognized it will be a major bargain. Inciting uproars almost each time it is actually in the mix, "Like a Bitch" helped move the already gigantic Zomboy to brand new heights.14.

" Haven Festival" - Enormous Attack (Zeds Dead Remix)

Through 2010, it was actually obvious Zeds Dead will turn into one of bass songs's most appreciated actions. On the heels of their big remix of "Eyes aflame" by Blue Structure, the Toronto duo would certainly release an amazing rework of Gigantic Strike's "Haven Circus." It interests look back at the growling bass and sawing synths to view how the duo had the capacity to develop such appealing sounds with modern technology effectively behind what our team possess today.

Thirteen. "I Needed to have Air" - Magnetic Male ft. Angela Hunte

When legends Skream, Benga, and Artwork unveiled their supergroup, Magnetic Male, the dubstep community understood one thing enormous was actually coming. Helping movie critics definitely discover the mainstream allure dubstep has, "I Needed to have Air" incorporated stand out vocals along with the audios of the underground in a means that had not very been actually done a lot back then. It laid the foundation for artists for the rest of the years and beyond.12.

" Gold Dirt" - DJ Fresh (Change Structure Remix)

Launched in the Spring season of 2010, Motion Structure's flip of "Gold Dust" by DJ Fresh came to be one of the most prominent monitors online in the times where our experts discovered our favorite tracks via YouTube. Featuring his hallmark shrill bass, the way he winds the vocals along with his empowering sound created the tune one that instantly transforms the crowd right into a jumping, disorderly singalong.

11. "Bass Head" - Bassnectar

Launched at the start of the many years, "Bass Head" neighbors and also dear in the hearts of Bassnectar enthusiasts worldwide. Along with being just one of best in the super star bass performer's arsenal, the tune will motivate the title that supporters used when describing on their own. Throughout this monitor and also many more, Bassnectar will take place to amass among the biggest followings in every of digital songs and offer out series nearly everywhere.10.

" Go Yourself In The Shoe Again" - Skream & & Example It is actually secure to claim that without Skream's additions to the style this checklist would certainly not be actually possible. While he released countless dubstep classics in the mid to late '00s, he didn't decrease down in the abiding by many years, launching some of his all-time greats. An ideal illustration of the is his collaboration with vocalist Instance on their keep track of "Try Yourself In The Foot Again." Listening to it years later on works as a history session on the roots of the category we understand and love.

9. "Vermin" - Blade Event

While Timepiece's Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen were no strangers to electronic music, their jump to dubstep became heads. Equal components attribute docudrama as well as dancing floor igniter, "Vermin" off Knife Person's 2nd EP showcased the duo's development chops. It included a number of the best fascinating sound layout as well as gloss around as they headlined celebrations all over the world.

8. "Bass Cannon" - Change Canopy

Coming from the moment the seemingly innocent alarms from "Bass Cannon" are heard, something clicks in listeners' scalps and also they get ready for madness. Flux Canopy carried out not conduct back as he let loose the carte blanche of his toolbox with audio that experiences like it's actually shot coming from a cannon. Even as the track approaches its own tenth special day, it still carries on to electrify dance floorings as if it were a brand new release.7.

" Crave You" - Tour Facilities (Experience Club Remix)

Before melodic dubstep took control of primary stages at primary festivals around the globe, Adventure Nightclub discharged their remix of Air travel Facilities' "Crave You" years in advance of the curve. Completely catching the essence of the authentic, the Montreal duo produced a moody soundscape of impressive, ariose dubstep highlighting the most ideal of Air travel Facilities' emphatic vocals for some of the very best remixes in the past history of bass popular music.

6. "Assures" - NERO

The 4th single off their awesome debut album Invite Reality, "Promises," has a few of the very most popular vocals the style has ever viewed. Also the absolute most informal of EDM fans can easily recite to you the verses coming from the U.K. chart-topping keep track of. In addition to NERO's outstanding authentic mix, the track would certainly later on be actually remixed by Calvin Harris. Afterwards, in collaboration along with Skrillex, the triad will develop a remix that would certainly happen to win a Grammy in 2013 for Ideal Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

5. "Throwin' Elbows" - Excision and Space Shoelaces

Perhaps the absolute most crucial have a place in modern bass music, Excision would certainly happen to turn into one of the absolute most massive actions in dubstep and also develop Lost Lands, the world's largest celebration of bass songs. Heretofore accomplishment, he participated in manufacturing star Space Entwinesfor "Throwin' Elbows" off of his 3rd studio cd Infection. Recognized to trigger mosh pits to unplanned erupt, the duo's bone-breaking tune is still a staple in dubstep artists' ready to this time.4.

" Terrifying Beasts and also Pleasant Sprites" - Skrillex

At the beginning of the many years, Skrillex released some of the files that transformed digital music as we understand it, "Frightening Monsters and Great Sprites." As the headline path off his sophomore EP, it will win the Grammy for Finest Dance Recording, while the EP will succeed the award for Greatest Dance/Electronica Cd in 2012. Its viral video recording example would happen to end up being engrained in the minds of the entire electronic globe and past, as it was the preface to a lot of audiences' introduction of Skrillex's famous growling basslines.3.

" Woo Improve" - Rusko

A pioneering act that supported dramatically to dubstep's evolution, Rusko genuinely lives up to his nickname, "The Don." While "Woo Improvement" was actually certainly not his 1st attacked whatsoever, it was among his first in the present many years and also still to present an outright supporter fave. Wavy like handful of others, "Woo Improvement" showcases a contemporary take on the audio that pushed artists like himself and also Caspa to the limelight while likewise preparing the bar for the developers of tomorrow.

2. "I Can't Quit" - Motion Pavilion

For his 3rd introduction on this list, Flux Structure's very most widely known song is actually showcased. "I Can't Quit" would almost quickly turn into one of the best recognizable tracks in electronic music past history. Played at primary sporting events worldwide, stated the trendiest history on the planet by Zane Lowe, as well as sampled by Kanye West and also Jay-Z, "I Can not Cease" came to be a lot more than simply a terrific dubstep tune, yet a social phenomenon.1.

" Movie theater" - Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go (Skrillex Remix)

Although the world identified the past emo frontman Skrillex's great skill on 2009's Frightening Monsters and Wonderful Sprites, numerous consider his remix of Benny Benassi's "Cinema" to become the vital Skrillex monitor as well as one deserving of the best respects of the years. Played in spots that bass songs didn't also exist in, for lots of, "Movie theater" was their 1st taste of dubstep. Promptly turning the EDM globe on its head, Skrillex escalated to the top of both the dubstep and also digital globe and is often credited as being one of the best necessary bodies in the American EDM boom of the 2010s. Along with business excellence, the keep track of would win him the Grammy for Greatest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical and also assist further cement his heritage being one of dubstep's ultimate acts.

Honorable Acknowledgments

"Sugary food Store" - Medical Professional P

At the starting point of the many years, Medical professional P discharged one of his most well-known tracks to time, "Sweet Outlet." Beginning off along with uplifting piano to accustom attenders to the track, Doctor P sends out some screeching bass with rich growls throughout generating a melody that right away creates emotions of nostalgia with experienced dubstep followers.

"Yasuo" - Bommer & & Crowell

Seen as a cornerstone for a climbing activity in the bass world, Bommer and Crowell's Organization of Legends-motivated "Yasuo" came to be nothing less than an anthem. Named after a status coming from the enormously preferred video clip game, vocal lines from the assassin are linked with the cutting bass declines as well as haunting tricks throughout. Discharged in 2014, the monitor is going to try to proceed its reign of horror on the bass circuit long right into the next many years.

This content was originally published here.

[buttonholedlife]

The twenty Best Dubstep Tracks of the EDM Many years

The EDM.com personnel placed our heads all together as well as compiled a checklist of the 20 finest dubstep tunes launched coming from 2010-2019.

UPDATE (12/23/2019): Honorable discusses were actually incorporated and "Bangarang" by Skrillex was cleared away and replaced as it was wrongly listed as dubstep.It's secure to

claim that this many years has actually been actually the largest in the past of dubstep. While thrusting to the leading of the electronic globe early in the decade and turning into one of the best prominent EDM subgenres for years afterwards, dubstep surpassed the first buzz and ended up being a driving force in the electronic music world.

In honor of the outstanding decade of dubstep our team've obtained to take pleasure in, below are the genre's 20 ideal monitors of the years.20.

" Rail Breaker" - Confusion Ten ft. Rico Show

An anthem committed to those who just like to produce site surveillance concern, "Rail Buster" expresses the spirit of the headbangers in the front row. With a minimalistic overview placing total emphasis on Rico Act's now-iconic vocals, hardcore supporters of dubstep have actually discovered themselves accepting the suggestion of headbanging therefore hard their backs are actually painful.

19. "Experts" - SKisM

In 2012, the Never Point Out Die manager SKisM discharged "Specialists," his contact us to upper arms for his fellow dubstep superstar allies. His masterful production abilities perform complete display screen as he rips through the track offering listeners little bit of time to inhale. Portraying Zomboy, Skrillex, Removalas well as himself combating an equipped net monster, the music video recording going along with the song remains among best in the background of the genre.18.

" Gold (Silly Passion)" - Excision as well as Illenium ft. Shallows

Some of the even more unexpected collaborations in bass popular music, Removal recruited the support of the superstar future bass producer Illenium for their emotional keep track of "Gold (Dumb Love)" including Shallows. While the first section of the track is much more similar to Illenium's signature noise, midway via it falls and also haunting grumbling begins as uncooked electrical power similar to Excision's originals emerges. The outcome is a smooth combination of the duo's talents, creating it feel like they've been working together for decades.

17. "Dead Presidents" - Zomboy as well as 12th Planet ft. Jay Fresh

A massive collaboration that observed Zomboy join pressures with one of one of the most necessary characters behind the American dubstep activity,, "Dead Presidents" finds the 2 bass heavyweights at their downright best. Along with Jay Fresh's vocals as well as a clever take on Zomboy's trademark catch phrase throughout, the duo developed a pounding dubstep tune trickling along with type like handful of others.16.

" Behemoth" - SVDDEN FATALITY

Launched in 2018 as an aspect of the 1st admittance in his climatic VOYD-branded EPs, "Mammoth" by SVDDEN DEATH came to be an instant staple in virtually every bass musician's set. Undoubtedly hefty in every sense of the meaning, the grinding, striking bass coming from the breakout bass producer aided "Mammoth" measure up to its title.

15. "Like a Bitch" - Zomboy

Zomboy sent out shockwaves through the event circuit along with the launch of his explosive song "Like a Bitch." With among the very most momentous failures in dubstep past, from the extremely 2nd this keep track of struck the airwaves, supporters as well as DJs as well knew it would be actually a big package. Prompting uproars almost every time it's in the mix, "Like a Bitch" aided thrust the actually massive Zomboy to new heights.14.

" Paradise Festival" - Gigantic Assault (Zeds Dead Remix)

Through 2010, it was clear Zeds Dead would certainly become one of bass music's most enjoyed actions. On the heels of their huge remix of "Eyes aflame" by Blue Base, the Toronto duo would launch a fabulous rework of Gigantic Assault's "Paradise Festival." It interests recall at the growling bass and also sawing synths to view just how the duo had the capacity to produce such intriguing audios along with modern technology well responsible for what our experts have today.

Thirteen. "I Needed to have Air" - Magnetic Guy ft. Angela Hunte

When legends Skream, Benga, and also Artwork revealed their supergroup, Magnetic Male, the dubstep area recognized one thing gigantic was arriving. Assisting critics genuinely realize the conventional beauty dubstep possesses, "I Need Sky" integrated stand out vocals along with the audios of the underground in a method that had not fairly been actually done much at that time. It placed the foundation for musicians for the remainder of the many years and also beyond.12.

" Gold Dirt" - DJ Fresh (Motion Structure Remix)

Discharged in the Spring of 2010, Motion Pavilion's flip of "Gold Dust" by DJ Fresh turned into one of the absolute most popular paths online in the times where our company discovered our favored paths using YouTube. Including his hallmark shrill bass, the way he braids the vocals along with his equipping audio created the tune one that immediately switches the crowd right into a diving, chaotic singalong.

11. "Bass Head" - Bassnectar

Released at the start of the many years, "Bass Head" is actually close and dear in the souls of Bassnectar followers worldwide. Besides being one of the finest in the superstar bass musician's repertoire, the track would motivate the name that followers taken on when pertaining to themselves. Throughout this monitor and also much more, Bassnectar would certainly happen to collect among the largest followings in all of electronic songs as well as offer out series almost everywhere.10.

" Go Yourself In The Shoe Again" - Skream & & Instance It is actually risk-free to state that without Skream's payments to the category this checklist would not be actually possible. While he released many dubstep standards in the mid to overdue '00s, he didn't reduce in the abiding by many years, releasing some of his everlasting greats. A perfect illustration of this particular is his cooperation with vocalist Example on their keep track of "Try Yourself In The Foot Again." Listening closely to it years later on provides as a history session on the roots of the genre we understand as well as love.

9. "Vermin" - Blade Gathering

While Pendulum's Rob Swire and also Gareth McGrillen were actually familiar with electronic popular music, their jump to dubstep became heads. Equal parts attributes documentary and also dance flooring igniter, "Vermin" off Knife Party's 2nd EP showcased the duo's production chops. It included a number of the absolute most interesting audio concept and gloss around as they headlined festivals worldwide.

8. "Bass Cannon" - Change Structure

From the moment the apparently upright bells from "Bass Cannon" are actually listened to, one thing clicks on in listeners' scalps as well as they get ready for insanity. Change Canopy did not hold off as he unleashed the carte blanche of his arsenal along with sound that seems like it's actually shot coming from a cannon. Even as the tune approaches its tenth birthday celebration, it still remains to energize dancing floors as if it were actually a brand new release.7.

" Crave You" - Trip Facilities (Adventure Club Remix)

Just before melodious dubstep consumed main stages at primary events around the planet, Adventure Club released their remix of Tour Facilities' "Crave You" years ahead of the arc. Perfectly catching the essence of the original, the Montreal duo produced a somber soundscape of dramatic, ariose dubstep drawing out the best of Air travel Facilities' emphatic vocals for some of the most effective remixes in the past history of bass music.

6. "Vows" - NERO

The fourth singular off their superb launching album Accept Reality, "Guarantees," contains a number of the very most popular vocals the genre has actually ever before seen. Even the very most casual of EDM supporters may state to you the verses from the U.K. chart-topping track. Along with NERO's excellent original mix, the monitor would later be actually remixed through Calvin Harris. Afterwards, in partnership with Skrillex, the trio will produce a remix that would certainly go on to gain a Grammy in 2013 for Finest Remixed Audio, Non-Classical.

5. "Throwin' Elbows" - Excision as well as Space Shoelaces

Arguably the most necessary body in modern-day bass songs, Removal would certainly take place to turn into one of the most massive acts in dubstep and generate Lost Lands, the world's most extensive occasion of bass music. Just before this accomplishment, he participated in manufacturing whiz Space Entwinesfor "Throwin' Elbows" off of his 3rd center cd Infection. Understood to create mosh pits to spontaneous erupt, the duo's bone-breaking tune is actually still a staple in dubstep musicians' ready to present.4.

" Terrifying Creatures as well as Nice Sprites" - Skrillex

At the start of the years, Skrillex released some of the records that changed digital songs as our company know it, "Scary Monsters and also Pleasant Sprites." As the headline path off his student EP, it will win the Grammy for Best Dancing Recording, while the EP will win the award for Greatest Dance/Electronica Album in 2012. Its virus-like video example will take place to come to be engrained in the minds of the entire digital planet and beyond, as it was actually the preface to several audiences' very first preference of Skrillex's fabulous growling basslines.3.

" Woo Improve" - Rusko

A pioneering act who contributed substantially to dubstep's evolution, Rusko genuinely measures up to his label, "The Don." While "Woo Boost" was actually not his 1st hit by any type of methods, it was among his initial in the existing decade as well as still to today a complete enthusiast preference. Unsteady like couple of others, "Woo Improvement" showcases a present day take on the noise that thrust performers like himself and Caspa to the limelight while additionally specifying bench for the developers of tomorrow.

2. "I Can't Quit" - Flux Canopy

For his 3rd inclusion on this list, Change Canopy's very most famous tune is showcased. "I Can't Quit" will almost instantly turn into one of one of the most recognizable keep tracks of in digital songs history. Dipped into major sporting events worldwide, declared the hottest history around the world by Zane Lowe, and sampled through Kanye West and Jay-Z, "I Can't Quit" ended up being much more than simply a great dubstep tune, however a social phenomenon.1.

" Movie house" - Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go (Skrillex Remix)

Although the globe recognized the past emo frontman Skrillex's huge skill on 2009's Distressing Monsters and Pleasant Sprites, several consider his remix of Benny Benassi's "Movie theater" to become the necessary Skrillex monitor as well as one deserving of the leading tributes of the years. Played in position that bass music didn't even exist in, for lots of, "Movie theater" was their 1st taste of dubstep. Rapidly transforming the EDM globe on its own head, Skrillex went through the roof to the top of both the dubstep and also electronic world and is commonly accepted being one of one of the most significant amounts in the United States EDM boom of the 2010s. Besides commercial effectiveness, the track would certainly succeed him the Grammy for Absolute Best Remixed Audio, Non-Classical as well as assist better glue his heritage being one of dubstep's best acts.

Citations

"Sweet Shop" - Medical Professional P

At the starting point of the decade, Medical professional P launched one of his very most iconic tracks to time, "Sweet Shop." Beginning with uplifting piano to accommodate listeners to the song, Physician P sends out some screeching bass along with strong growls throughout generating a melody that instantly makes sensations of nostalgia with professional dubstep supporters.

"Yasuo" - Bommer & & Crowell

Considered a cornerstone for a climbing movement in the bass world, Bommer and also Crowell's Game of Legends-inspired "Yasuo" ended up being absolutely nothing lower than an anthem. Called after a status from the massively popular computer game, vocal lines coming from the assassin are actually interwoven along with the cutting bass declines and also threatening tricks throughout. Released in 2014, the keep track of will definitely aim to continue its power of fear on the bass circuit long into the following years.

This content was originally published here.

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Kevin Wozniak on Kevflix: The Top 25 Movies of the 2010s

We’re finally here.  The 2010s are officially over (and have been for almost two weeks now) and what a decade it was.  When the decade began, I was in my final semester of film school at DePaul University in Chicago.  Now, ten years later, I run my own website as a movie critic.  Did I see myself in this position when the decade started?  Absolutely not.  I still can’t believe this is something I get to do and something I will continue to do for the unforeseeable future.

When it came to making this list and what movies made the list, I looked at a number of factors.  I looked at the movies I’ve revisited the most over the years.  I looked at the movies that had the biggest emotional impact on me.  I looked at the movies that I felt were important to cinema and movies that were important to me.  I looked at movies that made me go, “wow”, and movies that I simply love.  Like all of the “Best of the Decade” lists, this was incredibly hard to make and this is a list that if you asked me rank these movies again in a month, it would probably change.  But for now, here are my picks for the best movies of 2010s.

        25. AVENGERS: ENDGAME (Anthony and Joe Russo, 2019)

After eleven years and over twenty movies, the Russo Brothers gave us a fitting conclusion that is as big and epic as movies get.

    24. WARRIOR (Gavin O’Connor, 2011)

A deeply emotional spots drama about family and forgiveness coupled with realistic, crushing MMA scenes.

    23. TOY STORY 3 (Lee Unkrich)

Even with a fourth installment, Toy Story 3 still manages to be a sweet and touching end to Andy’s journey with Woody, Buzz, and the gang.

    22. POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING (Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone, 2016)

The funniest movie of the decade also features base-shattering, smartly written rap songs.

    21. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT (Christopher McQuarrie, 2018)

The best action movie of the decade and the peak of Tom Cruise’s insanity.

    20. BLACK SWAN (Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

Darren Aronofsky’s psychological horror film features career-best work from Natalie Portman.

    19. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)

Another Coen classic, this time about a struggling folk singer who just can’t catch a break.

    18. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (Wes Anderson, 2014)

Wes Anderson’s masterpiece is one of the most gorgeous movies of the decade.

    17. A STAR IS BORN (Bradley Cooper, 2018)

Bradley Cooper was a one man wrecking crew as he produced, co-wrote, starred, and directed this remake of a Hollywood classic that he made his own.

    16. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (George Miller, 2015)

An insane, non-stop thrill ride from the great visionary George Miller.

    15. SPOTLIGHT (Tom McCarthy, 2015)

A riveting, disturbing procedural.

    14. LA LA LAND (Damien Chazelle, 2016)

Chazelle won a well-deserved Oscar for his lovely L.A. musical.

    13. SPRING BREAKERS (Harmony Korine, 2013)

Harmony Korine’s spring break nightmare featuring a legendary performance by James Franco.

    12. THE IRISHMAN (Martin Scorsese, 2019)

Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour crime epic is a somber look at loyalty and regret as we get old.

    11. INCEPTION (Christopher Nolan, 2010)

A mind-blowing crime thriller with the best final shot of the decade.

    And now, the top ten movies of the 2010s.

      10. THE AVENGERS (Joss Whedon, 2012)

The 2010s will forever be remembered for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and though Endgame ended it with a bang, it was 2012’s The Avengers that made this universe what it ended up being.  Five movies came together into one in a seamless fashion thanks to writer/director Joss Whedon, who effortlessly blends humor and action within the stellar cast.  The Avengers changed the game forever.

  9. HEREDITARY (Ari Aster, 2018)

No movie this decade haunted me more than Ari Aster’s debut, Hereditary.  The best horror film of the decade is more than just scares and is really a look at a grief-stricken family drama about dealing with a horrific tragedy.  Toni Collette is masterful as the mother of the family who slowly begins to crumble as she dives further into the life of her recently deceased mother, giving one of the best performances of her career and the decade.  Aster made a movie that will crush your heart and scare the hell out of you.

  8. LINCOLN (Steven Spielberg, 2012)

The 2010s were a great decade for Steve Spielberg.  This was a decade where Spielberg focused a lot on political stories, making a series of films I like to call his Amendment Trilogy.  This trilogy kicked off with 2012’s Lincoln and what a way to start it off.  This is stately look at Abraham Lincoln trying to emancipate slaves and end the Civil War is a gorgeous and captivating film.  Led by an Oscar-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, who embodies the sixteenth president in a way no one else could, Lincoln is stunning work for Spielberg and ushered in a new stage in his career.

  7. GET OUT (Jordan Peele, 2017)

The best original screenplay of the decade belongs to Jordan Peele’s Get Out.  This darkly funny horror satire about black life in white America is a startling eye opener, as Peele looks at a black man (Daniel Kaluuya, giving an acting class in nuance) spends the weekend at his white girlfriend’s house until things go awry.  There are scenes that will have you laughing and scenes that will shock you and Peele balances the tones like a true pro.  This is the best debut film of the decade and film that only gets better the more I watch it.

  6. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (Martin Scorsese, 2013)

The Wolf of Wall Street is balls-to-the-walls chaos.  A film of non-stop drugs, sex, money, and debauchery, and it all came from a 72-year-old Martin Scorsese.  Leonardo DiCaprio gives a career-best performance as Jordan Belfort, a stock-broker who rose to the top of the game, only to lose everything in a heap of drugs and crime.  Much like another Scorsese masterpiece, Goodfellas, Scorsese paints a portrait of the worst kind of people.  Mean people who are only in love with money, greed, and doing whatever the hell they want.  Yet we love every single one of them and want to join Belfort’s firm.  Scorsese had one hell of a decade, but The Wolf of Wall Street was his best.

  5. CREED (Ryan Coogler, 2015)

How do you reinvent a historic franchise?  That’s what Ryan Coogler did with Creed, a continuation of the Rocky franchise that also launched a new film series and made Michael B. Jordan a star.  What Coogler does best with Creed is find heart of the story and the heart of the Rocky franchise.  This has always been a franchise about friendship, family, never giving up, and finding yourself and that’s what he made here, as we watch Adonis Creed (Jordan) try to make a name for himself in the shadow of his father and Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, who hasn’t been this good since the original Rocky).  Coogler added a great visual style, a killer soundtrack, and tons of emotion to make Creed endlessly rewatchable and the biggest surprise of the decade.

  4. MONEYBALL (Bennett Miller, 2011)

Brad Pitt gives the best performance of his illustrious career in Bennett Miller’s Moneyball.  He plays Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane, a man who builds his team around the idea of buying runs not players, something completely different from every other baseball team.  But more than that, Moneyball is a movie about man who loves baseball with all his heart, yet anytime he gets close to a field, things go wrong for him.  This is a movie about taking chances and accepting your failures.  This is one of the best baseball movies ever made and there is barely any baseball action.  This is all about what happens inside the dugout and what goes on in the back office and thanks for stellar directing and a smart screenplay, it’s more exciting than any baseball action would be.

  3. DUNKIRK (Christopher Nolan, 2017)

If there was a director who owned the 2010s, that man was probably Christopher Nolan, who kept pushing the boundaries of cinema with every movie he made, whether it was how it was written or the scale of the film.  In under two hours, Nolan showed us how masterful he is at understanding space and scale while also making a film that transcends convention to make Dunkirk, one of the greatest war movies ever made.  This is a relentless movie about a group of soldiers trying to survive the attacks at Dunkirk during World War II.  Nolan does this by showing us happenings on land, the sea, and the air, all being shown in different time frames, while never showing us the enemy once.  My heart was racing the entire film and I was in complete awe of Nolan’s technical brilliance here, while also making us care for these soldiers and their survival.  Dunkirk is Nolan’s crowning achievement as a director.

  2. WHIPLASH (Damien Chazelle, 2014)

I remember the first time I saw Whiplash.  It was an early morning screening on the second day of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.  From the opening shot of Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller, in a breakout performance) practicing on his drum-kit to the epic, earth-shattering finale, I knew Whiplash was a truly special movie.  Damien Chazelle’s sophomore effort is a war film is a music room.  A blistering, brutal look at what it takes to be perfect and asking the question of how far is too far?  JK Simmons gives the best supporting actor performance of the decade as Fletcher, the tyrant music teacher to Andrew who pushes him to his limit.  In an era of participation trophies and effort medals, Whiplash comes along and tells you to shove it.  To be the best, you myst be willing to push yourself to beyond what you can think.  You must give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears to get what you want and failure is not an option.  This is a movie that will kick your ass and have your heart racing and palms sweating from minute one.  Chazelle made an exhilarating masterpiece on his second try.

  1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher, 2010)

The Social Network is not only the best movie of the decade, but it is the most important one as well.  David Fincher’s account of the invention of Facebook and the controversy that followed is a movie that has not only held up, but improved over the years, as our dependency on technology has increased throughout the decade  This is a movie that captures everything about today’s society. Aaron Sorkin’s rapid-fire, impeccable screenplay about one man’s rise to the top by losing everything around him, including his closest friends, is an all-timer. Sorkin’s words are a spark off the page and are more exciting than most action movies.  Fincher’s work behind the camera has never been better. This is the best work of Fincher’s career.  A culmination of everything he has done in his career, both visually and narratively, giving us striking images while utilizing the quick editing and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score (the best of the decade) perfectly in the film.  The cast, led by Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Justin Timberlake, is perfect, giving life to Sorkin’s words in their own creative, genius way. There is no film that represents our current time in history like The Social Network. It is a film that years from now, even decades, people will look back and see what America was at this time.  It is the best film of the decade.

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2019 „Is there one that I trust?“ (Tame Impala / Borderline)

Erfreulich an 2019 ist, dass sich die positive Entwicklung der letzten Jahre – abgesehen von der kurzen Delle in 2018 fortzusetzen scheint. 2019 hat eine Vielzahl an guten Songs zu bieten, lediglich bei den Alben – abgesehen von einigen außergewöhnlichen – fehlt es ein bisschen an der Breite – schwer hier 10 Longplayer zusammenzutragen, die das Prädikat „outstanding“ verdienen. Und dennoch scheint sich mal wieder meine These zu bestätigen, dass Popmusik regelmäßig um den Jahrzehntwechsel die spannendste Musik herausbringt und oftmals die kreativsten Phasen durchlebt. Beispielsweise sei hier auf die Jahreszehntewechsel 1979-1982, 1989-1993 und 2008-2010 erinnert.

Doch nun zum Abschluss der musikalischen Debatte über das Jahrzehnt 2010-2019 bei Life´s too short for weird music ein kurzer Blick auf einige Highlights des Jahres. Da dieses noch nicht ganz abgeschlossen ist, folgt eine ausführlichere Betrachtung (einschließlich der finalen Festive Top 100 – ja in 2019 lohnt es sich mal wieder auf 100 Songs zu gehen – und der besten Alben) dann mit der Eintragung zum 31.12.2019.

Tame Impala hat mit „Borderline“ und „Patience“ die Erwartungshaltungen an das 4. Album (to be released Anfang 2020) ins Unendliche befördert. Metronomy belege mit dem guten Album „Metronomy forever“, dass die Band um Joseph Mount zu den besten Acts der Decade (mit 4 überdurchschnittlichen Alben in dieser Phase) zählt. „Offline“ von Friendly Fires läuft unter der Rubrik „Comeback gelungen“. Außergewöhnliche Longplayer von Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds („Ghosteen“) und Bon Iver („I, I“) runden das musikalische 2019 ab. Ach und zu meiner Überraschung habe ich – wohl auch einem Aufenthalt in Nashville / USA geschuldet – eine kleine Affinität für gute Country Music entwickelt, die 2019 im besten Country Album, welches ich bisher entdecken konnte, gipfelte: Ohtis und „Curves of earth“. Der beste Song stammt 2019 sehr überraschend von Flume – was aber nahezu ausschließlich der Zusammenarbeit mit London Grammar und der Voice der Dekade – Hannah Reid – geschuldet ist.

Abseits der eigentlichen Musik ist zu beobachten, dass sich seit 2018 beginnend eine durchaus spannende Rückbesinnung auf analoge Formate manifestiert. Wie anders ist die Renaissance der Vinyl-Schallplatte und das seit einigen Monaten gehypte Interesse an der Musikkassette zu erklären? Liegt hier eine bewusste Abkehr von der digital immer und überall verfügbaren Popmusik und deren Flüchtig – bzw. Beliebigkeit vor? Interessant ist in diesem Zusammenhang, dass sich die meisten Neu-Interessierten dieser physischen Formate von Populärmusik erstmals vor die Schwierigkeit gestellt sahen, Abspielgeräte für die wiederentdeckten Formate beschaffen zu müssen. Eine der größten Stilblüten, die dieser Trend treibt, ist die Neuauflage des Technics 1210 Schalplattenspielers, der zu Hochzeiten des Vinyl das Arbeitsgerät aller DJs war. Was aber absolut ärgerlich – eigentlich sogar unverschämt – ist, sind hingegen die Preise, die der interessierten Käuferschaft für Neuauflagen alter Vinyl-Veröffentlichungen abverlangt wird. Da kann nur gelten: unterstützen Sie ihren örtlichen Music Second-hand Laden und kaufen sie gebrauchtes Vinyl. Die wenigen Kratzer im gebrauchten Vinyl machen die Musik doch eher interessant.

Und so stehen wir am Ende einer Dekade, die neben viel interessanter Musik vor allem eines gebracht hat – den massiven Einzug des digitalen Zeitalters in Popmusik und damit verbunden ein radikaler Umbruch in Angebot, Verfügbarkeit, Konsum – und Hörverhalten. Kurzum: der Umgang mit Popmusik hat sich seit den 50er Jahren des letzten Jahrzehnts wohl nie so dramatisch verändert, wie in den letzten 10 Jahren.

Wie das musikalische Jahrzehnt im Vergleich zu den Vorgänger-Jahrzehnten abschneidet wird sich vermutlich erst in den nächsten Jahren mit dem gebotenen Abstand sagen lassen. Einer ersten Einschätzung zu Folge, würde ich das Jahrzehnt aber vor den Nuller-Jahren sehen und als mindestens ebenbürtig mit den 90ern des letzten Jahrzehnts erachten. Was ich mir allerdings dann vom Folgejahrzehnt erwünschen würde, wäre wieder etwas mehr an „Teenage Rebellion“ in der Pop-Musik.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2019

1. Flume / Let you know (feat London Grammar)

2. Tame Impala / Borderline

3. Metronomy / Wedding bells

4. Friendly Fires / Run into the wild flowers

5. Bombay Bicycle Club / Eat, sleep, wake (Nothing but you)

6. Hot Chip / Hungry child

7. The Chemical Brothers / Got to keep on

8. Bon Iver / Hey Ma

9. Two door cinema club / Satellite

10. Stealing Sheep / Jokin´me

11. Tame Impala / Patience

12. Metronomy / Lately

13. The Soft Cavalary / Bullet Proof

14. Saint Etienne / You don´t own me

15. Ohtis / Runin

16. Crane like the bird /Wishing cap (feat. James Mercer)

17. Two door cinema club / Talk

18. Hot Chip / Positive

19. Sunbeam Soundmachine / Anyway anyway

20. Die Goldene Zitronen / Das war unsere BRD

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2018 „I´m caught beyond the feeling I won´t live far beyond this“ (Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Everyone acts crazy now)

Eine gewisse Hoffnungslosigkeit macht sich breit in 2018 – ob der politischen oder der gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen die das ausgehende Jahrzehnt nimmt. Ein rassistischer, korupter US Präsident außer Rand und Band, Großbritannien – Mutterland von Popmusik – tief gespalten und quasi führungslos, der Aufmarsch der Rechten in ganz Europa und Popmusik scheint sich in einer Art Schockstarre zu befinden. Wo ist der große Gegenentwurf – Popmusik als Abgrenzungs- und Identifikationsmerkmal der Jugend und aller die es nicht so ganz mit den Etablisement halten?

Unknowen Mortal Orchestra bringen die Schockstarre – die Angst vor der Zukunft – im Song „Everyone acts crazy nowadays“ treffend auf den Punkt.

2018 fällt auch gegenüber dem Premiumjahrgang 2017 ab – nicht weil es an guten Einzelstücken mangelt, sondern weil es an einer Vielzahl guter Alben mangelt und auch ein neuer Trend – ein Aufbegehren musikalischer Subkulturen kaum wahrnehmbar scheint. Gute Alben kommen wenn überhaupt von Death Cab for Cutie – obgleich deren vorsichtige kommerzielle Öffnung im Album „Thank you for today“ nicht unbedingt bei allen alten Fans auf Gegenliebe stößt. Zu erwähnen ist an dieser Stelle auch das interessante Debütalbum von The Vryll Society, eine Mischung aus Pop Neopsychadelica und Alternative Pop. Nur dass leider viel zu wenige Menschen „Course of the Satelitte“ wahrzunehmen scheinen. Das mit Abstand interessantes Album des Jahres aber kommt zur Überraschung aus Deutschland: mit „Knock Knock“ hat Stefan Kozalla ake DJ Koze ein wahres Schelmenstück an Album produziert und veröffentlicht. Geradezu elegant meistert er die unterschiedlichsten Stil- Spagate und fusioniert Soul, Electro-Pop, Hip Hop und Blues um nur einige zu nennen zu einem großen Ganzen. Was in 2018 noch gut funktioniert ist die Electro Szene, die sich in guten Alben von George Fitzgerald („All that must be“) und Jon Hopkins („Singularity“) hörbar belegen lässt.

Zu erwähnen sind vielleicht noch die liebenswert durchgeknallten Soundforscher Superorganism, die mit ihrem „Untitled“ Debutalbum zwar ein noch nicht durchgängig gelunges Konzept vorlegen, aber in Stücken wie „Something for your M.I.N.D.“ und allen voran „Night time“ aufzeigen, in welche Richtung sich Popmusik in den 20er Jahren entwickeln könnte. Und ich möche in diesem Zusammenhang nicht unerwähnt lassen, dass ein gewisser Andreas Dorau seit vielen Jahren – eigentlich Jahrzehnten - unschätzbare Pionierarbeit in Sachen Feldforschung bei diletantisch archaisch einfacher Popmusik betreibt. In 2018 mündet dies im unglaublich guten „Schaust Du“ welches Andreas Dorau gemeinsam mit dem Beeinträchtigen Musiker/innenkollektiv Station 17 einspielt.

Was bleibt noch hängen in 2018? Saint Etienne veröffentlichen mit „Camel Coat“ ihre vermutliche beste Arbeit des Jahrzehnts nur als „Fanclub only Release“, Disclosure bereiten ihr Comeback mit einigen interessanten Singles auf, die World-Music Motive aufgreifen und auch Friendly Fires greifen mit zwei guten Singles dem langersehnten 2019er Comebackalbum „Offline“ vor.

Wie Friendly Fires nutzen viele Bands die neuen Veröffentlichungsmodelle um fertiges Material zeitnah zu veröffentlichen und nicht erst abzuwarten, bis genügend Songs fertiggestellt sind, um ein ganzes Album zu veröffentlichen. Dies ist einerseits schade, weil bisherige über Jahrzehnte bewährte Veröffentlichungsformate wie die Single (regelmäßig mit einer B-Seite, die nicht auf dem Album zu finden ist) und Album zunehmend an Bedeutung verlieren. Andererseits dient ein zeitnahes freigeben neueren Materials in Form einzelner Stücke auch der direkten Interaktion: Fans müssen nicht mehr so lange warten, bis neues Material des Lieblingsacts vorliegt und Bands bekommen schneller Feedback auf Ihre Neuveröffentlichungen. Und über virtuelle Playlisten sind auch einzelne neue Stücke eines Acts schneller zu einer Art Album zusammengefügt. Überhaupt, lässt sich die feste Einbindung von Songs in einen Albumkontext in einer Welt flüchtiger – virtueller Musik völlig einfach aushebeln. Auch an mir selbst konnte ich bereits beobachten, dass ich eine Album in der jüngeren Vergangenheit „aufpoliert habe und Songs, die mir nicht gefallen durch Bonus Material oder durch interessante / bessere Remixe ersetzt habe.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2018

1. Unknown Mortal Orchestra / Everyone Acts Crazy nowadays

2. Wild Nothing / Letting go

3. Friendly Fires / Love like waves

4. Superorganism / Night time

5. George Fitzgerald / Nobody but you (feat Hudson Scott)

6. Saint Etienne / Camel Coat

7. DJ Koze / Illumination (feat Rosin Murphy)

8. The Vryll Society / Light at the end of the world

9. Eels / Deconstruction

10. Death Cab for Cutie / I dreamt we spoke again

11. Teleman / Submarine life

12. The Wombats / Oceans

13. Thom Yorke / Unmade

14. Station 17 / Schaust Du (feat Andreas Dorau)

15. George Fitzgerald / Half light (feat Tracey Thorn)

16. Death Cab for Cutie / Northern Light

17. Disclosure / Ultimatum (feat Fatoumata Diawara)

18. First Aid Kit / Fireworks

19. Jon Hopkins / Everything connected

20. tUnE yArds / Heart Attack

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2017 „Music is the answer to your problems“ (Joe Goddard / Music is the answer)

2017 ist der Prädikatsjahrgang des musikalischen Jahrzehntes zwischen 2010 und 2019. In keinem der anderen Jahre gab es ein derart üppiges Angebot sowohl an Longplayern als auch an Einzelstücken. Womit anfangen? Am besten mit der Überraschung des Jahres: Zoot Woman. Zwischenzeitlich ohne Stuart Price unterwegs liefern Johnny und Adam Blake mit dem Album „Abscence“ die musikalische Blaupause des Jahres 2017. Wie einst New Order fusionieren Zoot Woman Pop, Electronic und Alternative zu einem großen Ganzen. Und das 16 Jahre nach dem großartigen Debütalbum „Living in a magazine“. Neben dem Album stellen Zoot Woman mit „Ordinary face auch die Life´s too short for weird music Single des Jahres. Und auch live wissen die Blake Brüder zu überzeugen – ein rauschendes Konzert im Berliner Bi Nuu blieb lange im Kopf des Verfassers dieser Zeilen haften.

The XX veröffentlichen ihr drittes und bestes Album „I see you“. Mit dem Stück „ A violent noise“ tritt das Trio den überzeugenden Nachweis an, dass auf Beat-freie Musik getanzt werden kann. Beim Thema Tanzmusik hat Hot Chip Frontman Joe Goddard in 2017 die Nase vorn. „Electric Lines“ belegt, dass Goddard bei Hot Chip für den Beat verantwortlich ist. Und der Song „Music is the answer“ kann, wenn Sie so möchten, als philosophische Betrachtung aller sich Ende der Zehner-Jahre anhäufenden (politischen wie gesellschaftlichen) Probleme herhalten. Zumindest kommt ein wichtiger Aspekt der Popmusik zum tragen – Popmusik als Privileg der Jugend zur Abgrenzung gegenüber dem Establishment.

Slowdive – in den frühen 90er Jahren die vermutlich beste Shoegazer Band – feiert in 2017 satte 22 Jahre nach ihrem letzten Album „Pygmalion“ mit „Untitled“ ein ganz außergewöhnliches Comeback. Selten klang eine Formation nach einer so langen Abstinenz so relevant – so fest in der Jetztzeit geerdet - wie dies Slowdive in 2017 gelang.

Nicht zu vergessen sind hochklassige Alben von Everything Everything („A fever dream“) und Saint Etienne („Home countries“) und Beck, der sich von seinem 2015er Ausflug mit den Chemical Brothers im Song „Wide open“ zu mehr Tanzmusik inspirieren lies. „Colours“ zeigt den beeindruckenden Werdegang eines musikalischen Chamäleons, der sich in nahezu jedem musikalischen Genre wohlzufühlen scheint.

Was hat 2017 noch so zu bieten? Die aufregende kleine und doch ungemein inspirierenden Brixton-Musikszene um Bands wie Goat Girl, die sich aber vor allem in King Krules Hymne „Dum Surfer“ kulminiert. London Grammar, deren zweites Album „Truth is a beautiful thing“ zwar nicht ganz das Niveau des Debütalbums „If you wait“ halten kann, aber immer noch eine Hannah Reid als Stimme des Jahrzehnts zeigt. Und eine Electronic-Dance Szene, die fest verwurzelt in mitten der Populär Music steht und vor allem an der Schnittstelle zum Alternative Pop mit Veröffentlichungen von Bicep, Booka Shade und Orbital eine beachtliche Renaissance erfährt. Und auch wenn es sich Titel- mäßig nicht auf die TT des Jahres 2017 niedergeschlagen hat, möchte ich abschließend das großartige Comebackalbum der mittlerweile 50 Dienstjahre alten The Sparks „Hippopothamus“ hinzuweisen. Auch Alter schützt nicht vor guten musikalischen Ideen und vor allem deren Umsetzung. Eine Top Ten Notierung in den UK Album-Sales Charts ist gerechter Lohn hierfür.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2017

1. Zoot woman / Ordinary face

2. Joe Goddard / Music is the answer

3. The XX / A violent noise

4. Slowdive / Star Roving

5. King Krule / Dum Surfer

6. Everything Everything / Night of the long knives

7. Beck / Colours

8. Depeche Mode / Cover me

9. Saint Etienne / Whyteleafe

10. Day wave / Something here

11. Belle and Sebastian / We were beautiful

12. Bicep / Glue

13. The Charlatans / Different days

14. Public Service Broadcasting / Turn no more (feat. James Dean Bradfield)

15. Booka Shade / Numb the Pain (with Craig Walker)

16. Everything Everything / Can´t do

17. London Grammar / Rooting for you

18. Wolf Alice / Don´t delete the kisses

19. Orbital / Copenhagen

20. Zoot woman / Solid gold

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2016: „Seeing more and feeling less, saying no but feeling yes“ (David Bowie / I can´t give everything away)

Das Jahr 2016 ist überschattet von den traurigen Ereignissen der ersten Januartage: David Bowie verstirbt nur kurz nachdem sein letztes Album „Blackstar“ veröffentlicht wird. Damit das Album nicht posthum herauskommt, nimmt Bowie in Kauf, nur 7 Stücke auf Blackstar zusammenzutragen, von denen einigen zudem auch noch das Flair eines Session- bzw. Demotracks anhaftet. Und doch bildet „Blackstar“ einen außergewöhnlicher Schlusspunkt in der Karriere eines außergewöhnlichen Musikers. „I can´t give you everything“ fasst Bowies letzten Wunsch zusammen – ich habe Euch meine letzte Musik gegeben, nun lasst mich still abtreten....

2016 ist – ohne geringschätzig klingen zu wollen – ein Pausenfüller. Ein Pausenfüller zwischen dem guten musikalischen Jahrgang 2015 und den besten 12 Monaten Musikgeschichte des Jahrzehnts – 2017.

Und so bestechen Songs der Rubriken „Resteverwertung“ und „Vorankündigung auf nächstes Jahr“. So verwerten New Order mit dem superben Richard X Mix von People on the High Line nochmals Auszüge aus dem 2015er Album „Music complete“. Und The XX geben mit „On hold“ einen ersten Ausblick auf ihr drittes und vermutlich auch bestes Album „I see you“, welches in 2017 erscheinen wird. Neue Musik von HOST, Unknown mortal Orchestra, Planet und Whitney zeigt, dass die Popmusikszene gerade einen massiven Umbruch durchschreitet. Den Vogel schießt für mich aber eine bis dato völlig unbekannte Band mit einem neopsychedelisch angehauchten Indie-Dance Song ab: The Vryll Society und „La Jetee“. Ein Song, den Sie sicherlich nicht auf Ihrer Rechnung von 2016 und schon gar nicht an oberster Stelle stehen haben.

Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver veröffentlicht mit „22 a million“ Teil drei seinen 4 Jahreszeiten Epos. Doch er scheint auf dem ziemlich kopflastigen Album ein bisschen die Orientierung verloren zu haben, gut möglich dass ihm die Temperaturen für das „Sommeralbum“ den Kopf vernebelt hatten.

Erfreulich ist, dass soch zwei Acts aus Deutschland nachhaltig im Kreise der Jahresbesten festsetzen können: Roosevelt aus dem Kölner Electroumfeld legt mit seinem „Untitled“-Debütalbum eines der besten deutschen EDM Alben der Dekade vor. „Untitled“ beinhaltet mit „Colours“ und „Night moves“ auch zwei Standards, die bis heute von hoher Gültigkeit sind. Und natürlich Moderat – das Konglomerat aus Modeselektor und Apparat – bringen mit „III“ das wohl beste Dokument ihres gemeinsamen Schaffens heraus. Leider auch ihr bislang letztes.

Erwähnenswert ist abschließend, dass es Anthony Gonzales aka M83 als einzigem Künstler gelingt mit gleich zwei Stücken in der Life´s too short for weird music TT für 2016 zu landen. Aus dem bewußten Kitsch – ja fast schon Trash-Album „Junk“ stechen die Songs „Go“ und „Don´t try it heraus, greifen beide doch letztmals den euphorischen, hedonistischen Ansatz früherer M83 Veröffentlichungen auf. Und da sind dann noch die ewigen Pet Shop Boys. Neil Tennant und Chris Lowe, bringen mit „The Pop Kids“ endlich einen ziemlich großartigen Nachfolger zu ihrer besten Veröffentlichung „Being boring“ heraus. Und Sie sollten unbedingt zu „The Pop Kids (The Full Story) greifen. Die rund 1:30 Minuten längere Version ist keine 12 inch Version im herkömmlichen Sinn, sondern bringt u.a. eine komplett neue Strophe mit sich.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2016

1. The Vryll Society / La Jetee

2. Unknown mortal Orchestra / First world problem

3. Pet Shop Boys / The Pop Kids

4. The XX / On Hold

5. M83 / Go

6. Agnes Obel / Familiar

7. Metronomy / Night Owl

8. Mono Club / Sky High and Submarine

9. Whitney / Light upon the lake

10. Moderat / Running (Shed Remix)

11. Bowie_David / I can´t give everything away

12. Roosevelt / Colours

13. Planet / Undermine

14. M83 / Do it try it

15. Bon Iver / 33"God"

16. HOST / State of your soul

17. New Order / People on the High line (Richard X Mix)

18. Two door cinema club / Bad decisions

19. Underworld / Nylon strung

20. Minor victories / Scattered Ashes (Song for Richard)

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2015 „Take me to the distant past I want to go back“ (Everything Everything / Distant past)

2015 zählt für mich zu den besseren Jahrgängen des musikalischen Jahrzehnts. Zum einen weil das Verhältnis guter Songs und guter Alben ziemlich ausgewogen erscheint, zum anderen weil sich erfreulich viele frische Impulse in der Electro und auch in der Indie-Alternative Szene ergaben. Allen voran Everything Everything – die mit „Get to heaven“ eines der Alben der Dekade vorlegen. Drei Notierungen in den TT 2015 tragen hiervon Zeugnis. Auch Hot Chip – die Band der Dekade sind mit dem guten Album „Why make sense“ gleich dreifach in den TT vertreten.

Die Chemical Brothers liefern mit dem Song „Wide open“ den schlüssigen Beweis, dass Electro und Alternative blendend einhergehen kann – oder haben Sie Beck als Gastsänger vor 2015 in einem elektronischeren Kontext gehört.

2015 wird als das Jahr in die Popmusikgeschichte eingehen, welches das Hörverhalten ganzer zukünftiger Generationen entscheidend verändern dürfte. Dank der Streaming Dienste Spotify und neu Apple Music ist Popmusik fortan flüchtig aber überall (vorausgesetzt Internetzugang) erhältlich und hörbar. Ob Segen oder Fluch werden wohl die nächsten Jahrzehnte zeigen.

Ein sehr erfreuliches Comeback feiern New Order in 2015 dank der Singles „Restless“ und „Tutti Frutti“. So geht Altern in Würde. Auch Paul Weller (allerdings knapp außerhalb der TT angesiedelt) weiß mit „Saturns pattern“ zu überzeugen. Ebenfalls in die “Comeback gelungen”- Schublade gehören Blur, die mit „The Magic whip“ und allem Voran der Indie Hymne „Lonesome street“ endlich mal wieder ein Lebenszeichen abseits der Solokarrieren von Damon Albarn und Graham Coxon setzten.

Und fast zuguter Letzt noch ein überraschendes Electroalbum vom The XX Soundfrickler Jamie XX. Natürlich kann auch Jamie XX in 2015 nicht ganz ohne Unterstützung seiner XX - Bandmates. Und so entstehen auf dem Album „In Colour“ mit „See saw“, „Loud places“ und „Stranger in a room“ drei eigentlich klassische The XX Tracks, die die Wartezeit bis zum nächsten The XX Album verkürzen.

Nicht unerwähnt möchte ich die eigentlich unmöglichste Zusammenarbeit des Jahrzehntes lassen: FFS – steht führ Franz Ferdinand und die Sparks. Ein ganzes Album entsteht in 2015 und befeuert insbesondere die Karriere der Mael Brüder in der Folge. Aber „Call Girl“ ist aber auch ein außerordentlich hinreißender Titel.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2015

1. Everything Everything / Distant past

2. Hot Chip / Need you now

3. Chemical Brothers / Wide open (feat Beck)

4. Outfit / Framed

5. New Order / Restless

6. Sarah Cracknell / Nothing left to talk about (feat Nicky Wire)

7. Everything Everything / Regret

8. The Wombats / Give me a try

9. Everything Everything / Get to heaven

10. Blossoms / Blown Rose

11. Beck / Dreams

12. Hot Chip / Love is the future

13. Django Django / Reflections

14. Jamie XX / See saw (feat Romy)

15. Blur / Lonesome street

16. Real Lies / North Circular

17. Death Cab for Cutie / No room in frame

18. Hot Chip / Huarache Lights

19. FFS / Call Girl

20. Adam Lambert / Ghosttown

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2013 „We argue we don´t fight“ (London Grammer / Metal and Dust)

Ein erster Eindruck von 2013 zeigt eine erstaunliche Vielzahl an guten Alben. Darunter das letzte vermutlich nahezu durchgängig als gelungen zu bezeichnendes Album von Depeche Mode „Delta Machine“. In den drei Jahrzehnten zuvor eigentlich Garant für Top Twenty Platzierungen reicht es dem Trio aus Basildon/UK gerade zweifach, Top Twenty Platzierungen im Jahrzehnt 2010 – 2019 einzulösen. In 2013 war dies sogar ein Remix vom eigentlich schwächsten Album- Stück „Heaven“. Der Owlle Remix zeigt aber, was aus einem Song durch einen Remix noch alles herauszuholen ist. Und überhaupt – wenn das Jahrzehnt eines hervorgebracht hat, dann eine ganze Menge an hervorzüglichen Remixarbeiten. An dieser Stelle sei nur an den St. Etienne Remix „St. Etienne visits Lord Spanks“ vom The Pains of being pure at heart Song „Higher than the stars“ (2010) oder den Superorganism Remix von Hot Chips „Spells“ (2019) erinnert.

In 2013 debütiert eine Band mit dem Album „If you wait“, die beginnend in 2011 die Welt mit über Soundcloud und Co freigegebene mp3-files in Atem gehalten hatte: London Grammar. Nur zur Erinnerung: in 2013 war die mp3 noch die am weitesten verbreitete Veröffentlichungsform von Popmusik. Herausragend ist der London Grammar Song „Metal and Dust“, der vor allem eines belegt: Hannah Reid ist die Gesangsstimme des Jahrzehnts.

Auch Bombay Bicycle Club schieben nur knapp zwei Jahre nach dem großartigen „A different kind of fix“ Album ihre wahrscheinlich beste Single nach: “Carry me“ - mit äußerst spärlichen Text - überzeugt vor allem durch seine Wucht und Dynamik und ist ein geeignetes Beispiel dafür, dass musikalische Weiterentwicklung nicht immer, aber oft auch positive Resultate erzielen zu vermag.

2013 bringt auch das überraschende Comeback der 80ies Ikone Prefab Sprout. Der extrem medienscheue Paddy MacAloon, der Prefab Sprout seit nahezu 20 Jahren als Soloprojekt betreibt, produziert - eigenen Angaben zu Folge – täglich neue Musik, hält dieser aber vor der Öffentlichkeit zurück. Ausnahme in diesem Jahrzehnt ist das Album „“Crimson/Red“, ein für Prefab Sprout relativ durchschnittliches Album, welches aber das fantastische „The best Juwel thief in the world“ enthält.

Neben guten Alben von Midnight Juggernauts („Uncanny valley“) und Everything Everything („Arc“) möchte ich aber explizit auf das vermutlich auch kommerziell erfolgreichste Album 2013 hinweisen. Denn Daft Punks „Random Access Memories“ ist ein seltener Glücksfall bei welchem Qualität und kommerzieller Erfolg in der Popmusik einhergeht. Eigentlich überflüssig festzustellen, dass „Get lucky“ (feat. Pharell Williams) zu den Dance-Pop Klassikern des Jahrzehnts zählt.

Abschließend bleibt noch der Hinweis auf Kate Tempest, die mit spärlich vertonter Poetry dem musikalischem Spektrum in diesem Jahrzehnt eine neue – endlich wahrgenommene Facette hinzufügt. In 2013 zeigt allerdings ihre Zusammenarbeit mit Letthemusicplay im Song „Our town“, wieviel mehr noch aus Kate Tempests Vocal- Poetry herauszuholen ist.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2013

1. Bombay Bicycle Club / Carry me

2. London Grammar / Metal and Dust

3. Letthemusicplay / Our town (feat Kate Tempest)

4. Metronomy / I´m Aquarius

5. Midnight Juggernauts / Memorium

6. Prefab Sprout / The best jewel thief in the world

7. CocoRosie / Gravedigress

8. Obel_Agnes / Fuel to fire

9. Depeche Mode / Heaven (Owlle Remix)

10. Electric Soft Parade /One of these days

11. Capital Cities / Safe and Sound

12. Abbey / Streets

13. Everything Everything / Don´t try (to hide it)

14. Two door cinema club / Changing of the season

15. Daft Punk / Get lucky

16. Disclosure / White noise (feat. AlunaGeorge)

17. David Bowie / Where are we now

18. Moderat / Bad Kingdom

19. DJ Koze / Homesick (feat. Ada)

20. Ghostpoet / Cold win

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2012 „Everywhere I go I got your music“ (Saint Etienne / I´ve got your music)

In 2012 veröffentlichen Hot Chip das vermutlich beste der vier Hot Chip Alben in den 2010er Jahren. „In our heads“ überzeugt nicht nur durch die Singles – ein Begriff der übrigens im Laufe des Jahrzehnts zunehmen an Ambivalenz gewinnen sollte - es sind gerade die klassischen Albumtracks – die zwei Langläufer von über sieben Minuten Lauflänge, die zu glänzen vermögen: „Flutes“ und Let me be him“.

In 2012 legen die Pet Shop Boys mit „Leaving“ aus dem überaschend gelungenen Album „Elyzium“ ihren vermutlich besten Song des Jahrzehnts vor. Und das muss Mensch sich vor Augen führen: die Pet Shop Boys hatten ihre erfolgreichsten Zeiten in den mittleren 80ies, zu einer Zeit, als gerade mal die CD aufkam und Vinyl Konkurrenz machte. In 2012 spricht kein Mensch von Vinyl und auch die CD hat völlig an Bedeutung verloren. Noch schwingen die letzten Jahre der erfolgreichen mp3 doch die nächste Revolution im Musikgeschäft, die sämtliche bisherigen Hörgewohnheiten aufbrechen und in sich pulverisieren sollte, steht unmittelbar vor der Tür: Streaming. Was Napster – in den Nullern längst in den Legalitätsbereich gewechselt – anschiebt wird von Spotify in großem Umfang unter die Menschen gebracht. Music on demand – virtuell zur Verfügung gestellt und so lange zugreifbar – wie in der Regel ein Abo besteht. Doch der letzte Durchbruch gelingt in 2015 als Apple seinem mp3 Download Portal I-Tunes mit einem eigenen Streaming Portal „Apple Music“ Konkurrenz macht und den virtuellen I Pod – der zwischenzeitlich jedes I Phone ziert – für Streaming ertüchtigt.

Saint Etienne veröffentlichen mit „Words and music“ in 2012 nach sieben Album-freien Jahren einen guten neuen Longplayer. Und liefern gewissermaßen den Soundtrack für das digitale, immer alles verfügbar und dabei – Zeitalter „(Everywhere I go) I got your music“.

Ansonsten ist das Jahr gekennzeichnet von vielen guten Einzelsongs, die ohne ein zugehörendes Album hängen bleiben. So etwa Ben Howards „Keep your head up“, welcher sich – Fun Fact an dieser Stelle – sich über viele Jahre zum Sommer-Evergreen beim Schreiber dieser Zeilen entwickelt hat. Und da gibt es noch diese eine deutschsprachige Electropop-Nummer, die aber leider außerhalb dieses Blogs kaum Gehör fand – oder können Sie sich noch an Brockdorf Klanglabor und „Sadeyed Punk“ erinnern?

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2012

1. Hot Chip / Let me be him

2. Ben Howard / Keep your head up

3. Grouplove / Tongue tied

4. Saint Etienne / I´ve got your music

5. Pet Shop Boys / Leaving

6. Citizens! / True Romance

7. Bear in Heaven / Idle heart

8. Young Empires / Enter through the sun

9. Hot Chip / Night and day

10. Alt J / Breezeblocks

11. Saint Etienne / Tonight

12. Two door cinema club / Next year

13. Friendly Fires / Why don´t you answer

14. Half moon run / Full circle

15. CocoRosie / We are on fire

16. Fujiya and Myagi / Your silent face

17. Mazy Star / Common burn

18. The XX / Tides

19. Brockdorf Klanglabor / Sadeyed Punk

20. Everything Everything / Kemasobee

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2011: “Waiting for a ride in the dark“ (M83 / Midnight City)

In 2011 erblicken einige bemerkenswerte Alben das Licht der Welt. Alben, die für das nachfolgende Jahrzehnt Maßstäbe setzen sollten. Allem voran das zweite „Untitled“ Album von Justin Vernon aka Bon Iver. Welch ein Fortschritt zum Debütalbum aus 2008, „For Emma, forever ago”, welches für sich betrachtet schon einen musikalischen Meilenstein des Indie-Folk markiert. „Untitled“ kommt vollorchestriert, opulent, mit Anleihen im Hip Hop und Elektro daher. Und bildet den Höhepunkt der Quadrologie an Jahreszeiten-bezogenen Alben Bon Ivers, welche in 2019 mit „I, I“ in 2019 ihren Abschluss findet. Believe it or not - „Untitled ist das einzige Album, welches ich mir beim ersten Antesten gleich zweifach nacheinander ohne Unterbrechung angehört habe.

Bemerkenswert ebenfalls das ironische „The English Riviera“ von Metronomy, mit welchem Joseph Mount und sein wechselndes Musiker/Innenkollektiv Tanzbaren Indiepop made in the UK auf ein ganz neues Niveau hievt. Allein vier Stücke aus „ The English Riviera“ schaffen es in die Vorauswahl zu den Besten Popmusikstücken des Jahres 2011 – allen voran das superbe „The Look“ welches mit Platz 7 der Life´s too short for weird music TT 2011 abschließt.

Und dann waren da noch Bombay Bicycle Club, die der Indie-Folk-Pop Szene neues Leben einhauchten und mit „A different kind of fix“ ihr bisher bestes Album vorlegten. Songs wie „What you want“, „Bad timing“ und „Shuffle“ zählen auch heute noch zu den besten ihres Genres – nicht nur in den 2010er Jahren.

Das außergewöhnlichste Album – vielleicht sogar des Jahrzehnts – kommt aber von Kate Bush. „50 words for snow“ ist die vermutlich genialste musikalische Aufarbeitung der Jahreszeit Winter – aber daher auch leider nur zum Konsum in den Monaten zwischen November und Februar geeignet. „50 words for snow“ ist ein Album für die geduldige Hörerin, denn bereits der kürzeste Song „Among Angels“ mit Lauflänge von 6:48 ist nicht gerade so nebenbei zu hören. Überhaupt – nutzen Sie die Jahreszeit, hören Sie “50 Words for snow“ in kompletter Länge und Sie werden vielfach belohnt werden. Nicht zu verschweigen auch der lyrisch außergewöhnliche Titelsong der tatsächlich eine musikalisch untermalte Rezitation von 50 Synonymen für das Wort Schnee – darunter auch in klingonisch - darstellt, die vom großartigen Stephen Fry vorgetragen werden. Da „50 words for snow“ ein Album / ein Song ist, das/der wirklich nur in der kalten Jahreszeit funktioniert, ist auch der Grund dafür, dass der Song „nur“ auf Platz 16 meiner TT 2011registriert ist – losgelöst aber sicherlich einer der most „outstanding“ Songs des Jahrzehntes seien dürfte.

Die besten Songs 2011 müssen aber losgelöst aus einem Albumkontext betrachtet werden. Insbesondere „Heaven“ von Emilie Sande ist von einer derartigen Strahlkraft, wie diese von der Künstlerin vermutlich nie wieder erreicht werden dürfte. Und „Pumped up kids“ war Segen und Fluch zugleich für Foster the People. Einerseits einen genialen Indie-Popsong im eigenen Oeuvre vorweisen zu können, andererseits beim Versuch zu scheitern, diesen Song wieder und wieder zu verbessern zeigt die ganze Tragik, die ein so derart breit beachteter Song für eine Band mit sich bringen kann. Und dann ist da noch „Midnight City“ von M83 – mein Song des Jahres 2011. Ein absolutes Juwel hedonistischen Indie Pops. Was Anthony Gonzales in den Nuller Jahren mit Songs wie „Teen Angst“ und „Graveyard Girl“ entwickelte kulminiert sich in „Midnight City“ einer der großen Hymnen des Jahrzehnts.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2011

1. M83 / Midnight City

2. Emilie Sande / Heaven

3. Foster the people / Pumped up kicks

4. Bon Iver / Holocene

5. Friendly Fires / Blue cassette

6. Bombay Bicycle Club / What you want

7. Metronomy / The Look

8. The Raveonettes / Recharge and revolt

9. Lykke Li / I follow rivers (The Magician Remix)

10. Ada / Faith

11. The Wombats / Tokyo (Vampires and wolves)

12. Death Cab for Cutie / You are a tourist

13. Fotoshop / Too little too late

14. Bon Iver / Calgary

15. Paul Weller / Starlite

16. Kate Bush / 50 words for snow

17. The Wombats / Jump into the fog

18. Memory tapes / Wait in the dark

19. Housse de Racket / Roman (Oliver Remix)

20. Bombay Bicycle Club / Bad timing

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Life´s too short for weird music 2010 – 2019 debate the decade

Der Auftrag eine Dekade zu würdigen hat etwas reizvolles Wo aber nur anfangen, die besten Musikstücke der Jahre 2010 – 2019 und die besten Alben zu identifizieren? Wie vorgehen, bewerten und einordnen? Einfach 100 Songs egal welchen Jahrgangs zusammentragen und in Reihenfolge bringen? Auf die Gefahr hin, einige Jahre quasi unter den Tisch fallen zu lassen?

Um einem Jahrzehnt gerecht zu werden, ist es erforderlich, sich gleichermaßen mit allen musikalischen Jahrgängen zu befassen. Also mit den starken Jahren in selbem Umfang, wie mit schwächeren. Ein vielversprechender Ansatz ist in allen 10 Jahrgängen eine Top Twenty zusammen zustellen, wohlwissend dass bei stärkeren Jahrgängen viele hochwertige Veröffentlichungen jenseits der magischen Top 20 versauern. Umgekehrt schaffen es in schwächeren Jahren vielleicht auch Songs, einen Platz an der Sonne zu ergattern, welche in stärkeren Jahren unter ferner liefen. Einen ganz ähnlichen Ansatz hat die Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2005 mit der auf 50 Bände ausgelegten Reihe „Diskothek – Ein Jahr und seine 20 Songs – 1955 – 2005“ verfolgt. Allerdings lag der Fokus der Süddeutsche Zeitung darauf, in jedem Jahr einen Querschnitt aufzuzeigen, mithin Songs verschiedentlicher Genres zusammenzutragen um so den einzelnen Jahren objektiv gerecht zu werden. Der Ansatz den ich verfolge ist eher subjektiv gefärbt: für jedes Jahr der Dekade 2010 – 2019 die stärksten Songs aus einer persönlichen Warte zu identifizieren und in Reihenfolge bringen. Und so entsteht eine Top 200 der Dekade die zwar von singulären geschmäcklerischen Einflüssen geprägt ist und Widerspruch erzeugen kann. Aber andererseits zeigt sie auch die ungeschminkte subjektive Wahrnehmung eines Popmusik- Junkies auf eine Musikszene, die schon auf Grund der rasanten technischen Fortentwicklung in 10 Jahren kaum einen Stein auf dem anderen gelassen hat.

2010: „It took a little time to make it a little better“ (Two door cinema club / Someting good can work)

Klein aber doch irgendwie fein – in Rückbetrachtung des Jahres 2010 konnte ich mit 43 werthaltigen Songs die geringste Anzahl an Songs für eine Top-Twenty (TT) zusammentragen.

Ins neue Jahrzehnt konnte sich die Indietronic Szene retten, deren Epizentrum irgendwie um das französische Kitsuné Label kreiste. Und so ist auch die geradezu zwangsläufige Nr. 1 von Two door cinema club - „Something good can work“. Der Song Das unbestrittene Highlight des Indietronic, welches zunächst auf Kitsuné erschien, um dann im Laufe des Jahres 2010 in diversen Mixen veredelt zu werden. 2010 sah auch das phänomenale Debütalbum von Delphic - „Alcolyte“ - ein Monolit des Indietronic, der Delphic eine goldene Zukunft verhieß – nur eingelöst hat das Trio sein Versprechen weder mit dem Folgealbum „Collections“ (2013) noch der „Get familiar EP“. Und so bleibt „Alcolyte nicht nur eines der großartigsten Albem des Jahrzehnts, sondern Delphic reiht sich ein in die gediegene Galerie der Bands, die mit ihrem besten Album zugleich debütierten (ABC und Heaven 17 lassen grüßen!).

In 2010 befinden wir uns noch in einer Zeit, in welcher das CD – Format neben MP3 Downloads die hauptsächlichen Träger musikalischer Informationen darstellten. Der Siegeszug des I Pod und von I Tunes schien nie zu enden. Popmusik war zu dieser Zeit noch weitgehend physischer Natur und damit auch an den Einsatz passender Abspielgerätschaften gebunden. Dass ich das Clickwheel meines I Pods zum Abschluss dieses Jahrzehntes nur noch als weit entfernte anachronistische Zeiterscheinung wahrnehme ist eine der bemerkenswertesten Entwicklungen, die Popmusik in den letzten 50 Jahren genommen haben dürfte. Ob die Allzeit- Verfügbarkeit – das Lösen von Popmusik aus jeglichen körperlichen Kontexten nun eine Entwicklung zum Guten oder doch zum Schlechten war, wird uns die Geschichte vermutlich erst in weiteren 50 Jahren sagen können. Fakt ist aber, dass kein Jahrzehnt die musikalische Verfügbarkeit und damit einhergehend die musikalischen Hörgewohnheiten dermaßen verändert hat, wie die 10er Jahre des neues Jahrhunderts.

Und was bleibt noch hängen aus 2010? Vielleicht der sich fortsetzende Siegeszug einer der Bands des Jahrzehnts – Hot Chip, der sich allein mit drei Top 20 Notierungen in der Life´s too short TT 2010 und dem fantastischen 4. Album „One life stand“ manifestiert. Und ach ja – Belle and Sebastien veröffentlichen mit „Whrite about love“ ihr vielleicht letztes durchgängig gutes Album. Und ziemlich beeindruckend war auch die selbstzerstörerische Kraft die Crystal Castle Sängerin Alice Glass auf dem Album „II“ entfesselte. Das Songfragment „Doe Deer“ gehört zu den verstöhrensten musikalischen Momenten der Dekade und steht in fast bizarrem Widerspruch zum Leadtrack des Albums „Celestica“, zumal beide Songs auf dem Album direkt aufeinanderfolgen. Mehr Kontrapunkt geht nicht.

Life´s too short for weird music Top Twenty of 2010

1. Two door cinema club / Something good can work

2. Delphic / Doubt

3. Hot Chip / Take it in

4. Tiny Fireflies / Holding pattern

5. The Pains of being pure at heart / Higher than the stars (St. Etienne visits Lord Spanks Remix)

6. Belle and Sebastien / I want the world to stop

7. Crystal Castles / Celestica

8. Get cape wear cape fly / Collapsing cities

9. Delphic / Halcyon

10. Hot Chip / One life stand

11 . Kurt Wagner / Gangs of Rome

12. Caribou / Odessa

13. Best coast / Boyfriend

14. Apples in stereo / Nobody but you

15. School of 7 Bells / I L U

16. Everything Everything / Schoolin

17. Hot Chip / I feel better

18. Magic Numbers / Why did you call

19. Letting up despite great faults / In steps

20. Marc Ronson / Record Collection (Duran Duran Version)