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December 2010

2010 Year End Lists: Wilson Fuller, Digital Assets Manager

Ten non-Merge 2010 releases that I liked a lot, in alphabetical order
Best Coast – Crazy for You
Gigi – Maintenant
Hurray for the Riff Raff – Young Blood Blues
Jónsi – Go
Lost in the Trees – All Alone in an Empty House (Anti- version)
Miles Kurosky – The Desert of Shallow Effects
Janelle Monáe – The ArchAndroid
Neverever – Angelic Swells
New Socks - Picture Story Friends Goodbye
Sharon Van Etten – Epic

2010 Year End Lists: Laura Ballance, Merge Records & Superchunk

my top 11 for 2010!
hanging out with my band again
Nishiki Market in Kyoto
Pickled Green tomatoes
Lard as a pie crust ingredient (no more than 1/3 of your fat)
Sour Cherries
Onigiri
Furikake
getting new glasses at Upchurch Optical
Scratch Bakery
pigs head tamales at the Pig in Chapel Hill
my homemade ham

2010 Year End Lists: Mac McCaughan, Merge Records & Superchunk

photo by Brian Vetter for Spin.com

2010 Was A Year

Many highlights in 2010: Superchunk completing a new album…Olympic hockey…recruiting our 6-yr old daughter & friends to sing on a Destroyer cover for a Portastatic EP….Felrath Hines at the Ackland…Specials at Coachella…the Primavera/Barcelona food/rock connection…seeing Arcade Fire & Spoon fill up MSG w/sound & people…Marina Abramovic at MOMA….Amy Sillman at Sikkema-Jenkins….Superchunk playing concerts, and more than a couple! i think they call it a tour? NYC, Philly, LA and Detroit, you were particularly out of hand, so thanks for that….my wife finished writing her awesome cookbook…The Record at the Nasher…celebrating Matador 21 w Matador nation in Vegas (incl Fucked Up covering Precision Auto w Scharpling!), i’m still tired….joined for onstage rock by illuminaries such as Todd Barry, John Darnielle, London May…GBV affirming life @ Cats Cradle….Rose Wylie paintings at Thomas Erben gallery…..see you in 2011!

Listing time!
Here’s my non-Merge heavy listening (etc) list for 2010

NEW ALBUMS
Parting Gifts – Strychnine Dandelion
Sharon Van Etten – Epic
Wild Nothing – Gemini
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Best Coast – Crazy for You
LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me
Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
New Pornographers – Together
Four Tet – There Is Love In You
Grinderman – Grinderman 2
Jenny and Johnny – I’m Having Fun Now
The National – High Violet
Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
Ted Leo Rx – Brutalist Bricks
Pantha Du Prince – Black Noise
Eddy Current Suppression Ring – Rush To Relax

REISSUES
Syl Johnson – Complete Mythology (!!!)
Bruce Springsteen – The Promise
V/A – Afro-Beat Airways
Orange Juice – Coals to Newcastle
Bowie – Station to Station
V/A – Nigeria Special Vol. 2
V/A – Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas
Dexys Midnight Runners – Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

(Robert Wyatt reissues should probably be on here but i am fine with the original versions….)

BOOKS
Lost City of Z by David Grann
Priceless by Robert K Wittman
Rat Girl by Kristin Hersh
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem

TV
Louie (!!!)
30 Rock
Bored to Death
Mad Men
Work of Art
Boardwalk Empire
Parks & Rec

2010 Year End Lists: BJ Burton, The Love Language

BJ & Stuart on halloween

Favorite Albums of 2010:

Birds of Avalon – “Birds of Avalon”
Not sure if this has been released yet, but this record slays in just about every angle.

War on Drugs – “Future Weather EP”
Probably played this guy a dozen times on the drive from Austin to LA this year. Can not wait for their next one.

Wye Oak – “My Neighbor/My Creator”
So glad to meet these guys this year and be introduced to their brilliance. A couple of shredders for sure. This record gives me chills at times.

Gayngs – “Relayted”
A super group of good friends who party harder than you do, and made one smooth ass record.

Tallest Man on Earth – “The Wild Hunt”
If you can get on board with Kristian’s beast of an incredible voice, he’ll take you to some pretty sweet places with his music.

Sharon Van Etten – “Epic”
Dark, beautiful and intimate. I’m a sucker for harmonium as well.

Here We Go Magic – “Pigeons”
Jen Turner is one hell of an engineer, and I love these songs.

Local Natives – “Gorilla Manor”
Justin and Jordan played Sun Hands waaayy too many times in the van this year. But I’m not complaining

2010 Year End Lists: Michael Benjamin Lerner, Telekinesis

SUPERCHUNK - MAJESTY SHREDDING
BELL PLAINES – STRANGE SEASON
THE LOVE LANGUAGE – LIBRARIES
FIELD MUSIC – MEASURE
TEENAGE FANCLUB – SHADOWS
GAYNGS - RELAYTED
RADIO DEPT. – CLINGING TO A SCHEME
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – THIS IS HAPPENING
SOMEONE STILL LOVES YOU BORIS YELTSIN - LET IT SWAY
THE NATIONAL – HIGH VIOLET

2010 Year End Lists: Charlotte Walton, CFO

Junip – “Fields” (Mute)
Phosphorescent – “Here’s To Taking It Easy” (Dead Oceans)
She & Him“Volume Two” (Merge)
Beach House – “Teen Dream” (Sub Pop)
Tired Pony – “The Places We Ran From” (Mom & Pop)
Ferraby Lionheart – “Jack of Hearts” (Thirty One Tigers)
Belle & Sebastian – “Write About Love” (Matador)
Broken Bells – “Broken Bells” (Sony)
Carolina Chocolate Drops – “Genuine Negro Jig” (Nonesuch)
Azure Ray – “Drawing Down the Moon” (Saddle Creek)

2010 Year End Lists: Lou Barlow

Here are my top ten music related events:
1.KXLU boosts their signal, now reaching my car and kitchen, free-form terrestrial radio!
2. Owen PallettLewis Takes His Shirt Off
3. Beach House – “Walk in the Park”
4. Tammy Wynette, Tragic Country Queen biography, Jimmy Mcdonough
5. Royal Headache live at the Golden Plains Festival, Australia
6. Eddy Current Suppression RingRush to Relax (LP)
7. Wye Oak
8. Touring with the Missingmen as my backing band (Tom Watson, Raul Morales)
9. Going to Brazil with Dinosaur Jr
10. “Baby” – Justin Bieber

2010 Year End Lists: James Cartwright, Production

Leslie and the Badgers “Roomful of Smoke”
Bob Dylan’s Witmark Demos
Tommy Santee Klaws’ “Rakes”
Samantha Crain “You (Understood)”
We Are Country Mice “Make Your Own Damn Fun” 7″
Conor Oberst with the Felice Brothers at Pappy and Harriet’s Roadhouse in the Joshua Tree Desert
The Nelsonville Arts and Music Festival featuring Loretta Lynn, Nelsonville, Ohio
Murder Ballads: Celebrating the Dark Side of Folk at The Echoplex, Los Angeles

2010 Year End List: Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, Let’s Wrestle

WPG eating a whole packet of M'n'Ms right round the corner from Mel Gibson's house

End of Year list from Mr. W P Gonzalez:

Albums (In No Particular Order):
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
Grass Widow – Past Time
Male Bonding – Nothing Hurts
Dolly Mixture – Demonstration Tapes (Reissue)
Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday
Superchunk – Majesty Shredding
Quasi - American Gong
Cinema Red and Blue

Singles (No Particular Order):
German Measles – Color Vibration 7″
Veronica Falls – Beachy Head 7″
Fucked Up – Year Of The Ox

Best record I have bought all year:
Margo Guryan – Take A Picture (1968)

2010 Year End List: John Darnielle & Franklin Bruno, The Extra Lens

John’s Top 12 because 12 is divisible by 3 which as we know is super important:

the Ultima Thule podcast was my #1 most listened thing of 2010. Best thing best thing.
Cocorosie, Grey Oceans
Bottomless Pit, Blood Under the Bridge
Prince Rama, Shadow Temple
Ares Kingdom, Incendiary
Therion, Sitra Ahra
Owen Pallett, Heartland
Caitlin Rose, Learning to Ride
Strong Arm Steady, In Search of Stoney Jackson
Umberto, Prophecy of the Black Widow
Steve Roach, Sigh of Ages
108, 18.61

Franklin’s top albums, shows & movies of 2010:

Albums:
Boston Spaceships, Our Cubehouse Still Rocks
Bob Dylan, The Witmark Demos
Kevin Dunn, No Great Lost
Cee-Lo Green, The Ladykiller
The Intelligence, Males
LCD Sound System, This is Happening
v/a, Nippon Girls
Cass McCombs, Catacombs
Janelle Monae, The Archandroid
Robyn, Body Talk Pt. 1

Live shows:
Laurie Anderson
Bennink/Moore/Holshouser
Peter Blegvad
Gina Leishman
Carol Lipnik and Spook-a-Rama
Rattle
Robyn
The Roulette Sisters
Superchunk
Wave Pictures

Movies (new and old):
Carlos (2010, Oliver Assayas)
Get Out of the Car (2010, Thom Anderson)
Every Man for Himself (1980, Jean-Luc Godard)
Ne Change Rein (2010, Pedro Costa)
On the Bowery (1957, Lionel Rogosin)
Salamander (1971, Alain Tanner)
The Sorrows of Dolores (1986, Charles Ludlam)
Sunnyside Up (1929, David Butler)
When Strangers Marry (1944, William Castle)
Woman in Hiding (1950, Michael Gordon

2010 Year End Lists: Ross Flournoy & Adam Vine, Apex Manor

Ross Flournoy’s Year End list(s):

Favorite Records Of 2010 (In No Particular Order)
Ted Leo & the Pharmacists The Brutalist Bricks
Kenseth Thibideau Repetition
Teenage Fanclub Shadows
Radar Brothers The Illustrated Garden
LCD Soundsystem  This Is Happening
The Parting Gifts Strychnine Dandelions
Le Switch The Rest Of Me Is Space
Scott Claassen Indio Sun & Other American Ballads
The Whigs In The Dark
Robert Plant Band Of Joy
Quasi American Gong
Superchunk Majesty Shredding

Old Records That Were New For Me (That I Fell In Love With)
Johnny Jenkins Ton-Ton Macoute!
Chuck Prophet Soap And Water
Wreckless Eric Greatest Stiffs
Los Lobos Colossal Head
Raphael Saadiq The Way I See It
Rocket From The Crypt Group Sounds
The Magnetic Fields Holiday

Adam Vine’s Year End list:
Saints vs. Colts/USA vs. Algeria Pure euphoria(s).
Health Care Don’t let FoxNews, MSNBC, or the judicial system make you forget how good this felt.  People had been trying to do this for years, and we did it.
Elena Kagan I like her style, her sense of humor.  Sotomayor’s too, but that was last year.
Wye Oak @ Rock n Roll Hotel So good I was too shy to say hi afterwards.
Fuck You – Cee Lo If this didn’t brighten your September, fuck you.
“Devil in a New Dress” – Kanye Love the sample, love the song, love the whole album.  I was tempted to list “See Me Now” for it’s overthetop brilliance but I think this is the one I’ll be coming back to over and over.
The video for “Break Free” by Marty This was shot on a shoestring and looks perfect.  As a wise, and stoned, friend of mine said, “The song heightens the video, and the video heightens the song.”  True.
Like a G6 – The Far East Movement feat. Dev and The Cataracs Don’t be too cool to get into this song.  The production is perfect.  And my cousin co-wrote it.
The Wilderness Downtown/”We Used to Wait” Google Earth video for Arcade Fire If you make music and/or videos, and I do both, this is what it’s all about – tapping into that feeling.
Shout Out Louds at 9:30 Club What a night out with friends should be.  Even when some of those friends keep you waiting on the curb for an hour.  That’s all part of it. The SOLs really held down the low end, BTW.

2010 Year End Lists: Zooey Deschanel, She & Him

favorite movies: kids are alright, catfish, and I have a good feeling about movies I have yet to see.
favorite records: teenage fanclub and superchunk of course!
favorite board game I played this year: scrabble and balderdash
favorite cookbook: baked explorations and rose’s heavenly cakes
favorite baby panda: all of them
favorite city to which I had never been until this year: Copenhagen
favorite spelling of the word favorite: favourite … just kidding the fewer the letters the better.  sorry brits.
favorite drink of the year: coffee!
favorite thing from oprah’s favorite things episode: ipad.

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