I’m soooo glad 2010 was an enjoyable year for music. If there was any year that I needed distracting from everyday life, this was it. I probably didn’t listen to as much as I should have or might have in past years, though it seemed like there was an inordinate amount of great new music out there. It was difficult this year to come up with a Top 50 of 2010 that kept changing up until the last day or so. The complete Top 50 is available right here or using the link to the right under Pages from BILLCS IS TUNED-ON!
Simon Curtis’ independent free release 8-bit Heart set the pace for the year and the rest just couldn’t keep up! Four songs from 8-bit Heart appear in this list – and the last time four songs by one artist appeared in the list it was 2003, when four charted from Jason Mraz’s Waiting For My Rocket To Come, including the year end #1 “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”. The same thing happened in 2002 when four from Remy Shand’s only release to date The Way I Feel charted, including that year’s #1 “Take A Message”. So Simon is in great company as the rave up “Beat Drop” grabs #1, the heartfelt “8-bit Heart” is #4, the bitter but powerful “Delusional” ranks #6, and the fun but naughty “Joystick” is #26 for 2010. A slam dunk for the Robot Army in 2010, and more awaits in the front end of 2011!
I have great hopes for Rod Thomas, aka Bright Light Bright Light, in 2011. This extremely talented singer/songwriter/producer/instrumentalist/DJ – yes he’s busy! – has three songs in the list, including the PopJustice Hi-Fi UK release “Love Part II” at #2, and tremendous freebies “A New Word To Say” at #8 and “Cry At Films” at #45. North America next please!!
Penguin Prison, aka Chris Glover, will release his debut album via UK’s Wall of Sound label in February, which should contain several winners that I heard in concert in October. PP’s 70’s throwback “The Worse It Gets” ranks #3 for 2010, and the innovative “Something I’m Not” grabs #9. PLUS… his remixes of Australian band The Temper Trap’s “Resurrection” takes #5, and “White Knuckle Ride” by Jamiroquai is #24.
It ended up, unexpectedly, being one of my favourite albums of the year, and Brandon Flowers proved in 2010 that he had the goods to make it as a solo artist if he had to. Flamingo is a much less raucous effort than those of the Killers, which may have thrown off some fans, and his live showcase in August was similarly low key. But when song quality is as high as something like “Crossfire” then it’s difficult to complain. “Crossfire” is #7 for 2010.
Both Mika and Lady GaGa continued their success into 2010 on different levels. The third single from The Boy Who Knew Too Much – a sparkling pop/dance effort which got two songs into the Top 20 last year – is the best track from the album, “Rain”, which ranks #10. GaGa became her own music and multi-media experiential force in 2010, and she slams three songs into the Top 50: the King5cat remix of “Teeth” at #11, the ubiquitous “Bad Romance” at #15, and “Speechless” (played at the Grammys with no less than Sir Elton John) at #23.
If there’s one distinct voice to arrive on record in 2010 it’s that of UK chanteuse Elouise. From her debut The Stardust EP comes “Pretender” at #12. Next stop, The World.
And one distinct talent to welcome back in 2010 is New York resident Richard Barone, who put out a number of great solo albums in the early 90’s. Richard’s “Glow” got smiles all around and is #13 for the year.
A carryover from 2009? Dan Black toured the hell out of his debut record UN in 2010, and while he placed two songs in last year’s Top 10, one frantic dance number followed into 2010 – “Pump My Pumps” grabs #14. He opened with that song when I saw his show in February.
Ryan Star spent the last five years building an extremely loyal following online after appearing in Rock Star:Supernova on TV. That dedication pushed out his major label release 11:59, and I caught the CD release show in New York in August, which was an energetic and emotional blast. Ryan’s tremendous songs “Start A Fire” (#16) and “Breathe” (#30) brought that to record in 2010.
California band Lifehouse have never been away for long since their debut release in 2000 – yeah it’s been 10 years since Hanging By A Moment! Worldwide touring awaited them with the release of Smoke And Mirrors, which finds lead off single “Halfway Gone” at #17 for the year.
New York singer Javi had his first release ‘leaked’ in 2010. The Monsieur Adi remix of the unofficially released “Situation” sparkled with 80’s panache and style and ranks #18. New releases by his band Native Underground await us in 2011.
Until 2010, Kelis was someone that I never expected to see on one of my year end lists. It’s hard to erase those mediocre memories of 2004’s “Milkshake”. But the gal has lots of class and can sing up a storm, as she so aptly proved with one of my unofficial theme songs for the year, “Acapella” at #19.
As Penguin Prison has proved, great remixes work wonders. Blake Lewis’ “Heartbreak on Vinyl” was heart-wrenching enough yet the LA Riots edit is a dancefloor killer, and ranks #20 for 2010. “Friction” by LA’s Adam Tyler has enough energy bottled up to murder the dance floor as well, but the Ricardo Autobahn made it frenetic. “Friction” is #22 for the year. And like Penguin Prison, Russ Chimes is a DJ/producer/artist force unto himself. Three fantastic videos set to his music told a story of kidnapping and intrigue – not just yer run of the mill dance music. The best of those videos is for “Never Look Back”, and this splendid instrumental is #25 for 2010.
And while those songs to me are the Best of 2010, there were several other memorable songs that rank between 26 and 50, including those by new artists such as Florida-based Clayton Senne, UK duo Bim, LA’s Saint Motel and Christian TV, two more great pop tunes from Evan Taubenfeld’s debut Welcome To The Blacklist Club (following up two in the Top 20 of 2009), Australian pop/dance artist Nelson Clemente, Mike Posner, Miike Snow, UK’s Example, Vampire Weekend, and Canadians Justin Nozuka and Andrea Lewis.
I expect to broadcast these songs online (just the music, no talking!) in order in the afternoon of Sunday January 2 so watch for details! Happy 2011 to all 🙂
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