Yes, I know. This blog is supposed to focus on specific practical uses for music. However, this year was, in my opinion, one of the better years for music in quite a while. That moment when you get a new record and it’s so good you can only to feel happy to be alive. I had that feeling a lot this year. I felt that a look back at some of my favorite tracks would be a solid enough use to warrant a post. Keep in mind this is not a music review. I’m not try to say: “given the state of music today I feel that these tracks are the most relev-“. No. No, I am not. Honestly, I kind of hate that sort of thing. These are just some of the songs that made me happy, in a year when new music made me happier than most year in recent memory. We are all at strange whims to music, and when people go against those natural urges to be “thorough” or “hip”, it’s just silly. I know I probably missed several great releases and they will be conspicuously absent to some, but…I don’t get paid to do that. Feel free to alert me of some great tracks on your own list. I hope you enjoy the great songs I was lucky enough to catch this year. There are way too many, and they are in no particular ranking. I’ve left the album info on the files so you can find the albums easier in case there is something unknown that you really like. Go and buy it.
PFU #014: The Best of 2010 [Pt. 1]
USE: Reflecting on a great year of music.
- Anti-Pop Consortium – Volcano [Four Tet Remix]
- Boyz IV Men – Garbaggio
- The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
- Sunol – Save Me A Place [Fleetwood Mac Cover]
- Freddie Gibbs – National Anthem (Fuck The World)
- Sleigh Bells – Rill Rill
- The Strange Boys – Be Brave
- Angelina Lucero – I’m On Fire [Springsteen Cover]
- Glass Candy – Feeling Without Touching
- Deerhunter – Desire Lines
- David Cross – I Can’t Get Beer In Me
- Tobacco – Fresh Hex [ft. Beck]
- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Revolution’s A Lie
- Daft Punk – End of Line
- Tame Impala – I Don’t Really Mind
- Class Actress – Terminally Chill [Neon Indian Cover]
- Sonny & the Sunsets – Too Young to Burn
- The Roots – How I Got Over [ft. Dice Raw]
- Cults – Go Outside
- Caribou – Sun
- Thee Oh Sees – I Was Denied
- Yeasayer – O.N.E. [Glasnost Remix]
- She & Him – Gonna Get Along Without You Now [Skeeter Davis Cover]
- The Magnetic Fields – You Must Be Out of Your Mind
- New Young Pony Club – The Optimist
- Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – River Styx
- Röyksopp – Forsaken Cowboy
- Antoine Dodson & The Gregory Brothers – Bed Intruder Song
PFU #015: The Best of 2010 [Pt. 2]
- Arcade Fire – Ready To Start
- Kid CuDi [ft. LCD Soundsystem, Chip Tha Ripper, & Christian Bale] – All Talk
- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Round and Round
- Proxy [Todd Buker] – In Just [Demo] [ft. Jason Williamson]
- Kanye West – Power [ft. Dwele]
- Thee Oh Sees – Mega-Feast
- Vandertramp – Step Into My Arms [Demo Mixdown #1]
- Wild Nothing – Gemini
- Of Montreal – Famine Affair
- White Fence – The Love Between
- Girl Talk – Let It Out
- Destroyer – Chinatown
- Amon Tobin – Hey Mr. Tree
- Bonobo – Kong
- Boyz IV Men – Trance Armstrong
- Das Racist – Rapping 2 U [ft. Lakutis]
- The Hood Internet – Nuthin’ But A Journal Thang [Dr. Dre vs Class Actress]
- Lykke Li – Get Some
- LCD Soundsystem – You Wanted A Hit [Soulwax Remix]
- PJ Harvey – Written On The Forehead
- The Drums – The Future
- Dan Auerbach – The Prowl
- El Guincho – Bombay
- Chromeo – Hot Mess
- Midnight Juggernauts – Lara Versus The Savage Pack
- Miike Snow – Animal [Mark Ronson Extended Dub Remix]
- Twista – The Heat [ft. Raekwon]
- Louis C.K. – Cell Phones and Flying
PFU #016 – The Best of 2010 [Pt. 3]
- Jose Gonzales [Junip] – Rope and Summit
- The Chemical Brothers – K+D+B
- Hot Chip – Hand Me Down Your Love
- Girl Talk – Jump on Stage
- Daft Punk – Derezzed
- Cut Copy – Where I’m Going
- Janelle Monбe – 57821 [ft. Deep Cotton]
- Caribou – Odessa
- LCD Soundsystem – I Can Change
- MGMT – Congratulations
- New Young Pony Club – Lost A Girl
- Crystal Castles – Not In Love [ft. Robert Smith]
- Ratatat – Neckbrace
- Vampire Weekend – Taxi Cab
- DJ Cuba Gooding Jr. – Romerex [Dance Theme]
- The Black Keys – Sinister Kid
- Best Coast – Crazy For You
- Baths – Aminals
- New Pornographers – Your Hands (Together)
- Ty Segall – Girlfriend
- Surfer Blood – Harmonix
- The Fresh and Onlys – Waterfall
- Deerhunter – Helicopter
- Flying Lotus – Do The Astral Plane
- The Gaslamp Killer – Monsterfromtheunderground
- DJ Shadow – Def Surrounds Us
PFU #017 – The Best of 2010 [Pt. 4]
- Brian Eno – 2 Forms of Anger
- Beck’s Record Club – Devil Inside
- Gonja Sufi – DedNd
- Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil
- Girls – Thee Oh So Protective One
- Scissor Sisters – Running Out
- Twin Sister – Lady Daydream
- Sunol – Headlands
- The Walkmen – While I Shovel The Snow
- Band of Horses – Factory
- Uffie – Sex Dreams And Denim Jeans
- The Art Museums – Oh Modern Girls
- Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Beverly Kills
- Crocodiles – Flash Of Light
- Nice Face – Nobody’s Dead Here
- Japanther – Surfin’ Coffin
- La Roux – Bulletproof [Glasnost Remix]
- Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
- The Strange Boys – Night Might
- David Cross – The One Show About Drugs and Stuff
- Lemonade – Lifted
- The Clientele – As The World Rises And Falls
- Marnie Stern – Nothing Left
- Javelin – Vibrationz [Album Version]
- Ceo – Come With Me
- Toro Y Moi – Blessa
- Jacuzzi Boys – Bricks or Coconuts
- Beach House – Silver Soul
PFU #018 – Best of 2010 [Pt. 5]
- Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Lovesick
- Spoon – Got Nuffin’
- Miike Snow – Billie Holiday
- Das Racist – You Outta Know
- M.I.A. – Born Free
- The Vaselines – Sex With An X
- Ducktails – Don’t Make Plans
- Deerhunter – Revival
- Wolf Parade – Little Golden Age
- The Morning Benders – Promises
- Dr. Dre – Forgot About Dre [ft. Eminem] [Tape Bros. Remix]
- PS I Love You – Facelove
- Wavves – Idiot
- Crooked Fingers – Black Rose
- Atlas Sound – Mona Lisa
- Foals – Total Life Forever
- Charlotte Gainsbourg – Trick Pony
- Villagers – Becoming A Jackal
- Arcade Fire – Month of May
- Holy Fuck – SHT MTN
- Smith Westerns – Weekend
- DOM – Jesus
- Kanye West – Good Friday [ft. Common, Pusha T, & KiD CuDi]
- Caribou – Bowls
- Daft Punk – Fragile
- Abe Vigoda – Beverly Slope
- Curren$y – Breakfast
- Forest Swords – Rattling Cage
- Gayngs – The Gaudy Side of Town
- Blackbird Blackbird – Heartbeat
- Lætitia Sadier – Summertime
- LCD Soundsystem – Home