PASTEPUNK.com » James and Alex Best of 2010 Lists

James and Alex Best of 2010 Lists

January 3 2011 // Posted by Jordan

James Hepplewhite, Longtime Occasional Staff Writer

A couple things out of the way:

1) As usual, these are my favorite records from this year. I’m certain I’ve missed a couple. Like the 2009, list, it’s in no order and unlike the 2009 list, there’s no single record above the rest. Find songs and play them loud as you can. I also listened to fun.’s record a lot, but it came out in 2009 so it’s ineligible.

2) This list is divided two ways: full length records and not full length records. Pretty clear, I hope.

3) Doing this remains a pleasure. In an electronic landscape with everything to see and do, not to mention Facebook, that you keep coming back is humbling. Thanks.

Full-Lengths…

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE – Danger Days (Reprise)

My Chemical Romance sound strangely rejuvenated listening to the record, like they all drank a rejected Four Loko prototype. Danger Days is the mark of a band that’s back but whether they really went anywhere is up to you.

THE FLATLINERS – Cavalcade (Fat)

Listening to this record makes me feel sixteen and invincible again, as if I just discovered fast guitars over four on the floor drums. The recording quality is something I marvel over and the lyrics are about topics that I easily relate to. Yes: This is what I think of when I think of punk rock.

THE MENZINGERS – Chamberlain Waits (Red Scare)

For a long time, I looked at Chamberlain Waits as “Time Tables” and 11 other songs that are not “Time Tables”. It’s a way to go about it, but loses something kind of big in the translation, that is to say, most of the disc. Like THE FLATLINERS, it goes over the same space in terms of topics but does so in a way that’s almost impossible to counterfeit.

END OF A YEAR – You Are Beneath Me (Deathwish)

Feeling inadequate is something everybody feels eventually, right? END OF A YEAR names a song about not being able to provide anything for their sexual partner after a man best known for his pyramid scheme. Most bands tell, You Are Beneath Me shows on every single song.

ENVY – Recitation (Temporary Residence)

Like the other torrential, intimidating work I choked down this year (Roberto Bolano’s 2666) Recitation requires your full attention and nothing less. It rewards patience, like their previous records, but, at least this time, infinitesimally quicker.

108 – 18.61 (Deathwish)

Religious men craving power. Killer Black Friday doorbusters. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Bridezilla. We’re still at war. Doesn’t matter. 108′s back. Put 18.61 on. Thrashing. Spasming. Screaming. 108 broke up. An ceaseless march of sycophants in 5 digit suits. “Where in the Constitution Is the separation of church and state?” Dante’s Inferno as a videogame. The phones are giving you cancer. “Reclaiming” the civil rights movement. 108′s back. So put on 18.61 again, because I hear the TSA is going to start checking our genitalia for incendiaries.

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM – American Slang (Side One Dummy)

The opposite number of the last two choices, it’s feverishly straightforward and ardently apolitical. American Slang plays on the hallmarks of traditional American rock, with little room for emotional nuance. Then again, how much emotional nuance do you want in a song about dancing in a romantic, wintry New York City with your boyfriend or girlfriend?

CRIME IN STEREO – I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone (Bridge Nine)

There’s highs and lows but the highs win out. I’ve rewrote this 5 times, so I’ll just say I hate that this is their last record, but they went out on a doozy, for “Republica”, “Not Dead” and “I Am Everything I Am Not alone”.

DESSA – A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree)

I don’t listen to much hip-hop, but I enjoyed this record. I’m not saying this to say that my taste in hip-hop is refined, but quite the opposite. The beats were servicable but the rhymes are the real treat here: DESSA’s so good it hurts. Point is, DESSA knows how to set a scene like an Oscar winning director and moves through it with frightening precision. Call it music for aspiring femme fatales.

IRON CHIC – Not Like This (Dead Broke)

No, Guys, More Records Like This!

THE FELIX CULPA – Sever Your Roots (Self-Released)

Sever Your Roots feels criminally ambitious, as if the band is far too young to this good of a grasp to reach ratio this early. They are, of course. It’s not flawless and occasionally overly melodramatic, but as an absolute value, the musical sprawl is worth the initial investment. Aided and abetted by Alternative Press underboss, Scott Heisel, THE FELIX CULPA aren’t on the cusp of good things, they’re already there.

THE WONDER YEARS – The Upsides (Hopeless/No Sleep)

Detail is what counts to me and that’s what The Upsides has in spades. From the gang vocal change from “they” to “we” in Melrose Diner to the blow by blow accounting of the band’s last night in Leeds, The Upsides feels like THE WONDER YEARS took all their energy and spent time making sure the little things in the songs reflected that, too. In short: It’s New Found Glory for the ADD generation.

Not Full-Lengths…

COMADRE – Mixtape #4

Aside from their “I Think We’re Alone Now” cover, this represents my first sustained taste of COMADRE. It makes me want more.

FRODUS – Soundlab 1 (Lovitt)

Soundlab 1 is a new FDIC-insured offering from the D.C. branch of reputable global firm, Frodus Conglomerate International. It’s a low-risk, high-yield opportunity that minimizes exposure while maximizing profit and includes electronic accreditation, built into the cost. With additional community partners soliciting future SKUs, there’s no ceiling on the upside. How can anyone pass it up?

NO TRIGGER – Be Honest (Mightier Than Sword)

Those two songs are both as energized and fast as a synapse flareup. Be Honest leaves me craving for the 2011 full length, via No Sleep.

HOT WATER MUSIC – Live In Chicago 7″ Series (No Idea)

A series of four song seven-inches from HOT WATER MUSIC, recorded live in Chicago . The cumulative effect so far is powerful, with the usual suspects (“Trusty Chords”, “Paper Thin”, “Rooftops” and “Giver”) already released, the question what does No Idea HQ have waiting in the wings for parts five and six? It’s a trick question, of course: It’s a live HOT WATER MUSIC record. More is always enough.

BLACKLISTED – Eccentrichine (Deathwish)

Who knew George Hirsh could smile? Don’t anyone tell Deathwish.

BOMB THE MUSIC INDUSTRY! – Adults!!!… Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!!!!

Exuberance in no small measure, hope in no large quantity and enough cheap beer to drown a full grown elephant, trunk included. Yes!

Alex Harisiadis, Metal Editor Emeritus

Sadly, my net post count is likely now in the red after this year. However, that does not mean that I stopped listening to music; I just stopped writing about it with any frequency. Notwithstanding that fact, I was still able to put together a list of my favorite records that I heard this year. While I don’t think anyone who knows me will be surprised by my top selection, I did not expect that album to be as good as it was and as much of an improvement from the band’s sophomore outing. Nevertheless, please enjoy this collection of live videos from some of my favorite bands in 2010.

10. COLISEUM – House With A Curse (Temporary Residence)

“Blind In One Eye” (Official Music Video)