The Sounds of 2010

[SiHart]

What have been the highlights of 2010's music for you?

What are your favourite albums and singles?

Is there anyone you've discovered for the first time, or that you've rediscovered for the first time in ages?

What's been the soundtrack of 2010 for you?

Si xx

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I notice Lady Gaga has crept onto my MP3 player - I quite like her stuff, which is odd as I hate most mainstream pop.

[SiHart]

As is usual, the album I've enjoyed most this year is Crowded House's Intriguer- a great little album, up there with their better work I think, despite the fact it could ahev done with a few more uptempo songs perhaps. Nothing is perfect, but it is good to hear them gelling properly as a band now with the new line up.

other stuff I've enjoyed includes the new albums by The Hoosiers and Klaxons, both of whom did respectable work, depsite possibly not moving too much from the safe ground of their first albums. Royksopp's follow up to the lovely Junior was the rather dark Senior, which has been a bit of a grower over the last few months. Great dark, dirty synth work- very enjoyable indeed.
Speaking of Synths, a favourite from the start of the year was One Life Stand by Hot Chip- full of lovely, touching songs.

Scissor Sisters and Goldfrapp both did good albums, but both lacked that certain somthing that had made their previous albums fly- one killer song. Shame really because there's nothing worng with what they've done, they just don't stand out and scream listen to me.

I did enjoy Murray Gold's Season 5 soundtrack CD a great deal too.

Here are my Last FM charts of the last 12 Months. They're not very surprising...

Si xx

[MacNimon]

[QUOTE=SiHart;249955]What have been the highlights of 2010's music for you?

What are your favourite albums and singles?

What have been the highlights of 2010's music for you?

What are your favourite albums and singles?

Is there anyone you've discovered for the first time, or that you've rediscovered for the first time in ages?

What's been the soundtrack of 2010 for you?

Si xx

I've only bought two new 2010 releases this year, Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes 'Rage And Ruin' which is his best cd for years, and Bruce Springsteen's 'The Promise' which was basically unreleased tracks from my favourite Springsteen era (late 70s).

Two brilliant cds, imo! Love them both!

I've also been relistening to a few old soundtrack tapes/lps I had from back in the 70s which I recently converted to mp3 for my i-pod. As far as I can tell these aren't available on cd so it's been a joy relistening to them in recent months. BBC Space Themes was (as the title suggest) an excellent collection of futuristic/space themed BBC tv and radio series; I've also rediscovered the joys of those cheap funky old Geoff Love Orchestra lps which, although they might be best described as cheap tat, were a major part of my childhood/teenage years; they were the foundation of my love of film and tv themes/soundtracks and were what inspired me to seek out 'proper' versions years later.
Not to mention the great covers which enticed me to buy them in the first place...

[Rob McCow]

Oh wow! Geoff Love is BIG AWESOME! I love those covers.

Albums I can remember this year include:

Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back
A little disappointing at first listen, but the warm orchestral themes make this a very distinctive and unusual album. Shame that the best song (Waterloo Sunset) was saved for the bonus album. And where's 'Return Serve' where bands like Radiohead and Elbow cover Peter Gabriel songs?

Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Bolstered by an outstanding lead single, this is Hot Chip's best album to date and frankly brilliant.

Neil Young - Le Noise
Ah well. I marched into HMV, determined to buy a new album the old fashioned way and... well... it wasn't that great.

The Hoosiers & the Illusion of Safety
Good but disposable pop fun. A few great tracks, but overall a fairly weak album.

Crowded House - Intriguer
I'm with Si on this (naturally!) Intriguer is a good album that gets better with each listen. It now ranks as a brilliant, brilliant album five stars!!!!

Doctor Who The Specials / Series 5
The Series 5 collection is by far the better of the two, but do they have to both be double albums? I think they both suffer from being too long.

Plan B - Blah blah Strickland Banks
I'm undecided on this. There's some great soulful stuff on this album but a lot of mess too.

Klaxons - Surfing The Void
Potentially a good album, but over-produced. It's not as raw and exciting as the first album.

Scissor Sisters - Night Work
An album of good to middling songs that, as Si says, lack the killer punch. Or as I call it 'A thumping good bit of piano'. All of 'Don't Feel Like Dancing', 'Mary' and 'Take Your Mama' were made great by the presence of the piano - where has it gone?

Goldfrapp - something
Rocket was a nice single, but again this album is a bit lacking. Like another go at Supernature but not as good. Certainly no way near as good as Seventh Tree!

So where does that leave us? Hoping that 2011 will be better!

[Si Hunt]

First great song of this year for me was If We Ever Meet Again, Timbaland's usual sound augmented by some great hollaring vocals from Katy Perry - a sign that she would stage a massive rennaisance this year and transform herself from novelty brat to pop siren. Sure enough she did, and would have a staggering three number ones later in the year. I absolutely loved California Gurrls and Firework particuarly, and her Teenage Dream CD is my album of the year - full of great, fun pop songs just good enough to prop her often questionable vocals.

Also arriving in February was Justin Bieber, someone who it's still a little uncomfortable to like, but boy did he put his name to some great tracks this year - I don't mind admitting that One Time, Somebody to Love and Eenie Meenie were huge favourites of mine. I've got that Bieber fever!

I loved Parachute when it became Cheryl Cole's third single in March - a really dark, sombre song even if its parent album had been a bit hit and miss. To a lesser extent I also liked Boyzone's comeback and tribute to the tragically taken-too-soon Stephen Gately, Gave It All Away, his death turning a somewhat limp tune into a heartbreakingly poignant one when poor Stephen's voice comes in in the opening bars.

It wasn't a great year for the Sugababes, though they managed to come up with a cracking tune in About A Girl, one of their best. A word too for Licky Licky by Shontelle, the sluttiest song of the year by far, lyrics about "creamiest taste of love" and all. It was truly the year of Lady Gaga and finally Alejandro was a single, if overshadowed by the magnificent Telephone. I remember at a party in the summer I stuck this song on, and the whole room just went mad with everyone leaping up to dance - I realised then just how popular this track was - and rightly so. Rodney Jerkins' production is among his best and the whole thing is just electrifying.

Against all odds, Diana Vickers, who irritated on "The X-Factor", came up with a cracking debut single - the Eg White penned Once. Another group I shouldn't really like are N-Dubz, but I thought their track Say It's Over was brilliant. The power of the lyric "I think I like somebody else" is just amazing - it says so much; the child-like use of the word "like", the honesty of it; the production of the song is also fantastic, with the male and female leads taking it in turns to banter while a very sad minor key piano line and strings glide away in the background. "How do you find the words to say that it's over?"

May was a bit of a crap time for new songs, though I did find one I really loved - a song called Hey, Soul Sister by a group called Train. I know nothing about them, but it's just a brilliant tune. I also fell in love with a track by Toni Braxton and Trey Longz, a fabulous duet called Yesterday. I love the way they warble along to each other and he bellows "Toni Toni Toni!" all over it. This song hooked me in and I listened to it for weeks.

In June I got the first (early) listen of what would become one of my favourite songs of the year - the mammoth Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna - a worthy successor to Stan from a decade ago. Then there was Missing You by The Saturdays - but not the version that came out as a single. Anyone who has heard both will tell you that the Cahill Remix was the one to have on repeat play; the Sat's continue to never quite hit the mark, but this and their bizarrely b-side relegated Ready to Rise were among my favourite songs of the year - tremendous, dark pop.

With only an honary mention for Sabrina and Sam Fox's Call Me - a team-up of dreams - I have to note the equally trashy Free To Love Again, which was deplorable tabloid wretch Katie Price's failed attempt at a hit single. And yet (AND YET!) it was oddly really good, if produced on a budget of six pence and entirely for people who love bottoms.

James Blunt - you either love him or you hate him and, really, you do. I fall into the former category, shamelessly unfashionable though I am, but by anyone's standards this comback single Stay The Night was outstanding - jolly, fresh and catchy as hell. Oh the morning's when this stuck in my head! Sadly it wasn't a huge hit, but if you like breezy pop music you should look this one up. The Take That return was decidedly predictable - I preferred Robbie and Gary's Shame which snuck out just before. Also of note was Neighbours Sam Clark, mauling Angry Anderson's Suddenly but nevertheless bringing it to a new generation. And it's still a great song.

'Unlikely' is the word for the fact that the comeback single from Nelly would turn out to be one of the best songs of the year. Just A Dream was brilliant. And so I'll finish with a couple of recent favourites - Poison by Nicole Scherzinger and Logical World by the forgotten Charlotte Church. I loved both of these, the former for its energetic Red One production and the latter for its acousticey pop. Meanwhile Hold My Hand was a fine tribute to the late, great King of Pop Michael Jackson. Come on people, buy it into the Top 10!

I bought most of my albums this year in the past few months - it's been noted how the industry is suffocating itself by releasing all its material in the last sales quarter of the year - and enjoyed parts of Take That's Progress, James Blunt's Some Kind Of Trouble and all of Joe McElderry's much underated Wake Up. Less so the new McFly album, but maybe I need to give it another chance! Too much to listen to all at once.

It's hard to say whether it's been "a good year for music"; a bit like deciding if it's been a good year for weather or bargains, music is always there, you can always dig around and find something great amongst a bit of a bad and a whole lot of average.

--

Songs of the Year - California Gurrls by Katy Perry, Somebody to Love by Justin Bieber, About A Girl by the Sugababes, Telephone by Lady Gaga, Say It's Over by N-Dubz, Hey Soul Sister by Train, Yesterday by Toni Braxton & Trey Longz, Missing You (Cahill Remix) by the Saturdays, Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and Rihanna, Stay the Night by James Blunt, Just A Dream by Nelly.


Albums of the Year - Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga, Wake Up by Joe McElderry

Si.

[Simon R]

I feel duty bound to point out that "About A Girl" was released November 2009. "Wear My Kiss" was this years only Sugababes single.

[Matthew T]

I feel duty bound to point out that Katy Perry only had the one chart topper, Teenage Dream made #2 and Firework made #3. Other than that a great write up of the years pop! You're so right about the Cahill remix beefing up the weedy original "Missing You". Hey Soul Sister is great - Train had a UK top 5 hit in 2001 which you should check out if you don't remember it - "Drops Of Jupiter". It's beautiful.

My own picks of the poops top 20:

20 Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg - California Gurls
Definitely the summer anthem of 2010.
19 Lady Antebellum - Need You Now
Huge US country hit which underperformed here.
18 Hurts - Wonderful Life
Beloved of internet gays and Germans, this is an excellent dark 80s throwback.
17 Aggro Santos - Candy
My beloved dance music has all but disappeared from the charts these days but has been brought back in fine style by urban artists. Visit me at Aggro Santos dot com is one of the year's most memorable lines.
16 Pixie Lott & Jason Derulo - Coming Home
From the "deluxe" edition of her first album, this isn't due as a single til next year but I couldn't help but love it already - the catchiest pop chorus in years.
15 Alexandra Burke - Start Without You
Pure cheese, with ridiculous lyrics, but amazing with it. All 4 of her singles this year are in my top 30. Hope the second album doesn't disappoint like Leona's did.
14 Matt Cardle - When We Collide
The original by Biffy Clyro was a minor fave, but showing my pop sensibilities, this version goes all out cheese, and thus becomes an instant favourite and improves on the original. Sacrilige? I don't give a monkeys.
13 Diana Vickers - My Wicked Heart
She was my least favourite on X Factor, and I was underwhelmed by her first 2 singles. But this blew me away, despite sounding a bit like the abysmal Girls by Sugababes.
12 Kylie Minogue - All The Lovers
It all started so well when this was such a big hit. An instant love and one of those songs I had to listen to on repeat when I first got hold of it. Fear Of Tigers remix is possibly better than the single version too.
11 The Wanted - All Time Low
New boyband on the block come up with a surprisingly different debut, which builds from a gentle opening to an all out dance track. Not an instant fave but a big grower.

10 Tinie Tempah - Pass Out
I hated this when I first heard it but grew to love it. The drum 'n' bass spazz out at the end is wot got me.
9 Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind Part II
There's an old tradition of ballad versions of dance track, but this was the first time I'd heard it done to a rap tune. Rihanna has followed suit with her own version of Love The Way You Lie, to diminshed effect. This is stunning.
8 Far East Movement - Like A G6
A current fave, catchy as crabs and chavvy as hell. Win.
7 Jason Derulo - What If
Wonderful ballad from probably the best R&B star around at the moment.
6 David Guetta - Memories
The strings are the best bit about this. The enormous success of David Guetta is baffling but pleasing.
5 Lady Gaga - Alejandro
The best single Ace Of Base never did. She's yet to put a foot wrong. Just don't mention "Love Game"
4 Tinie Tempah - Frisky
Repeating the exact same formula as Pass Out, only to even greater effect, the drum & bass bit at the end is one of the best bits of any song ever.
3 Tim Berg - Seek Bromance
Good to have a proper old fashioned dance tune to love - the piano breakdown in this is sublime. And my best mate is in the video.
2 Flo Rida & David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me
Never in a million years did I imagine I'd have a track by someone such as Flo Rida so high, but these are strange times and this is a superb song.
1 Lady Gaga & Beyonce - Telephone
Around since the end of 2009, this behemoth of a pop hit was never likely to be beaten as the years' best. A superb video and a catchy song that still doesn't sound tired.

[Si Hunt]

I feel duty bound to point out that Katy Perry only had the one chart topper, Teenage Dream made #2 and Firework made #3

Sorry, I meant in America! "Firework" has just gone to No 1 there (their chart seems to operate almost at random sometimes!) making a hat trick of chart toppers there, which I think is an amazing achievement!

Si.

[Anthony Williams]

I haven't actually enjoyed all that much new music this year. So, my albums of the year list is quite short, and includes two re-issues...

Black Country Communion - Black Country
Legends of rock Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian came together to craft this marvellous album of blues-orientated RAWK. Really good fun stuff, with the highlight being the marvellous Song of Yesterday

Black Sabbath - Seventh Star (deluxe edition)
Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol (deluxe edition)
These were never the best Black Sabbath albums. They're from the mid-part of their career where they weren't doing much. But, what was wonderful about these re-issues were the second disks, which comprise the only recordings with short-lived vocalist Ray Gillen (both in terms of his career with Sabbath and in life... he sadly passed away from AIDS in 1993). The bonus disk on Seventh Star is of a live recording from the tour for that album, where Ray Gillen took over from Glenn Hughes at short notice, and the bonus disk for The Eternal Idol is the original version of that album, with Gillen on vocals. It's wonderful to hear it!

Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987
Earlier this year, the legend that was Ronnie James Dio passed away. It's nice to have archive concerts be released. My god, he was good.

Heaven & Hell - Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell
Heaven & Hell were essentially the Mk II line-up of Black Sabbath, with Dio on vocals. This was one of the very last concerts that Dio got to play before he died. Again, it's wonderful to have this material coming out, and it makes a fine epitaph for the life of an absolute legend.

Marina and the Diamonds - The Family Jewels
This is the album that's been playing on my iPod for most of the year. It's quirky, fun and very, very catchy. Marina has a very unusual voice, and a talent for writing fantastic pop songs. Love it!

An honourable mention needs to go to Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More. Although it was released last year, I didn't really hear it until this year, and it's had heavy play since.

Ant x

[Si Hunt]

Nice write up Matt, "Start Without You" and "My Wicked Heart" just didn't hit the spot with me, I've never liked "Iko Iko" so that felled the former! "Love Game" is a definate grower though - I love the line "I can see you staring there from across the block, with a smile on your mouth and your hand on your HURGH!"

I feel duty bound to point out that "About A Girl" was released November 2009. "Wear My Kiss" was this years only Sugababes single.

We have the debate about me picking something from November/December of the year before this time every year! But some songs take time to grow, and if it's still in the charts in the New Year, or even on my Playlist, then it's fair game I say! It's about what's rocking you at any time, after all!

Si.