December is the best month to read music blogs because all the internet obsessed hipsters start maniacally pumping out ‘best of 2010′ lists. I find it’s a great time to go and catch up on any artists or singles that I might have missed out on in those unfortunate moments when I had to leave the house or do something slightly more productive than download music. Today I thought I’d get in on the fun and list some of the singles that kept me sane over the course of 2010. With so much music to pour over I’m sure there this will become a multi-part series between now and the end of the month. Swipelife readers, feel free to email me your picks for 2010 (jreifler@swipelife.com) and I’ll post them up in a few days.
1) The Arcade Fire – We Used To Wait
There’s no way I could start a list talking about the best songs of 2010 without starting off with this single. ’We Used To Wait’ hit the web with a viral splash when the band released a browser based video in conjunction with Google Chrome to show off some of the flashier aspects of the new browser. Interestingly the video combined Google maps and satellite images to personalize each user’s experience by including images of your childhood home. All that aside, a haunting simple piano riff repeats through the entirety of the song while Win Butler croons about loss and being unable to go home again. Try out the link above and see for yourself what had everyone talking this year.
(Read the rest after the jump!)
2) Samuel – I Heart NY
Samuel hit the scene this year with an incredible love song to the city that was full of honesty and a certain swagger that made it irresistible. An incredibly catchy song about growing up with dreams of making it while waiting for something to happen. Listening to the lyrics you can feel Samuel composing as he walks the sidewalks of the city. This made it onto most of my summer mix tapes for friends and each one called me up later to comment how it was the stand out track. I have a feeling this kid will become even bigger on the blog radar when his album finally drops next year. Do yourself a favor and check out Samuel’s video so you can say you were into him before he got famous.
3) yU – We’ll be fine
Rapper yU is one third of the excellent underground D.C. trio Diamond District. After the group dropped “In the Ruff” in October 2009, yU followed up with some solid solo work in 2010 with ‘Before Taxes’ Overall the album features solid rapping but tends to drift back and forth in style and intensity and at times ends up sounding like a B-side collection. However the album has quite a few gems especially the breakout jam ‘Fine’. Such a cool single demonstrates yU’s solid skills as both a songwriter and a lyricist. With some slick 60′s soul grooves laid over samples, ‘Fine’ was played over and over on my stereo ad nauseam this year.
4) The Naked and the Famous – Young Blood
New Zealand rockers The Naked and the Famous set the world on fire in May 2010 with the release of their first single ‘Young Blood’. Alisa Xayalith made me fall in love with her beautiful vocals layered over top of intensely delayed guitar riffs. The full album ‘Passive Me, Aggressive You’ is a solid first release by a band that exudes optimism with tightly written pop hits. The video is fun and helped start the summer off on a good note for yours truly.
5) Stornoway – Zorbing
British indie folk rocker’s Stornoway were one of those bands destined to be famous before the album even dropped. Following in the footsteps of Local Natives, Stornoway released a series of catchy singles and slowly built buzz leading up to the release of Beachcomber’s Windowsill on 4AD. Singer Brian Briggs has that casual indie flair that UK bands seem to perform flawlessly. His deep booming vocals turn an otherwise standard song into something that stands out against the endless barrage of invading British artists. Zorbing hit the charts at #4 in the UK and I fully expect the band to make bigger waves in America sooner than later.
That’s all for today! Stay tuned for Part 2 of our obsessively detailed 2010 retrospective.
