If anyone is interested, here are my top five albums of 2010. I listened to all of the below non-stop throughout the year. Thinking about it now, these albums accompanied me through some big changes last year, so I have an emotional attachment to each one of them.
Sufjan Stevens – The Age of Adz
Sufjan Stevens, you – out of everyone – impressed me the most this year. Why? Because The Age of Adz is probably the most innovative and creative album I’ve heard in a long time. It was released in October and I’ve been listening to it ever since. Two tracks I really can’t stop listening to are: “I Want To Be Well” and “Get Real Get Right”. Click through below to find them and hear the rest of the album. I know, it’s a Bandcamp player. One of my wishes for 2011 is for Sufjan Stevens to get a SoundCloud account!
asthmatickitty.com/sufjan-stevens
Röyksopp – Senior
Senior came out soon after I relocated to Berlin and it moved me to a point I can’t explain. As many know, Senior is the instrumental response to Röyksopp’s 2009 album, Junior (which was on my best of 2009 list — as you can see, I’m a Röyksopp fan). Röyksopp’s instrumental music will always captivate me though, especially tracks like “The Alcoholic” and “The Fear”.
soundcloud.com/royksopp
Caribou – Swim
This album came out when I had finished university and wasn’t sure of what to do with myself. Swim actually kind of inspired me to do something (if that makes any sense). “Jamelia” was a track that joined me on many runs through the rainy trails near my old place. I also saw Caribou perform at Sasquatch, which was awesome. When they played “Sun”, the outdoor atmosphere of the windy gorge really added to the overall experience of the concert.
soundcloud.com/caribouband
CocoRosie – Grey Oceans
Here’s another album that came out just in time for graduation. I hadn’t listened to much CocoRosie before this, so I was in disbelief at how these unique voices and sounds worked so well together. These girls are eccentric and extremely talented. “Lemonade” and “R.I.P. Burn Face” are embedded below (both tracks from Grey Oceans).
cocorosieland.com
Lemonade
R.I.P. Burn Face
Robyn – Body Talk Pt. 1
In my eyes, Robyn has perfected dance-pop. Her music always makes me want to move…a lot! My favourites from this album are “None of Dem” (surprise — it was produced by Röyksopp!) and “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do”. Body Talk Pt. 2 was also released this year but wasn’t quite as good as the first, in my opinion.
soundcloud.com/robyn
And, here’s a rainbow playlist of my favourite 10 tracks of 2010 (not on the previously mentioned albums):
2010 was full of a lot of great music, can’t wait to hear what 2011 has in store for us!