My Top 10 Music, Artists, and Albums from 2010

So it’s that time of year again. Time for me to look back at my music charts over the last year, thanks to the awesome last.fm, and see how my listening habits and music tastes have changed (or not). And that also means its time for me to dedicate an entire blog post that only a few will find interesting. But in the words of Ruby Rod, “WHO CARES!”

There were no real themes in 2010. In 2009 I spent a lot of time getting songs I remembered from when I was back in school (you can see my post on my Top 10 of 2009 here), so lots of Hip-Hop and Rap (with some Goa thrown in for good measure). In 2010, the biggest change, overall, was The Glitch Mob. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a long time, but it was somewhat hit and miss for me. I like songs such as Beyond Monday and some of the individual tracks from Boreta (Bubblin’ in the Cut), edIT (The Sirens, More Lazers, etc.), Ooah (Tubstomper, Hacksaw, etc.), and Kraddy (primarily Steppin’ Razor) (and yes, I know Kraddy isn’t in TGM now), not to mention the various solid remixes from both The Glitch Mob as a group and as individuals. But all that changed when they dropped the single Drive It Like You Stole It.

In an easy descriptor, Drive It Like You Stole It is a perfect electronica song. It’s sweeping, still has a hard beat, melodic and ambient at the same times, and just comes together amazingly well. There are times when I was writing code or doing other stuff and I would just have that song on a loop for virtually the entire day without ever getting tired of it (I have evidence of this).

Likewise, another song came up that is pretty damn close to Drive It Like You Stole it, for me at least. And that is Transmissions from Moon III by Random Rab. Its much more melodic and instrumental/ambient in a sense, and more varied (with a longer playtime as well), but it just sweeps through such a good sound. And its one of those sneaky songs that gets better the more one hears it.

So those two songs I felt were worth mentioning directly, as they were my best finds this past year and songs I’ve gotten friends addicted to as well. And with that, let’s get onto the charting madness you’ve come here to not read.

WAIT! Ok, one more “worth mentioning” song. Even though it didn’t break into the Top 10 anywhere for me this year (I only got it in November ’10 I think), you should still check out The Hop by Radio Citizen feat. Bajka. Really cool song.

Now. Charts. Go.

My Top 10 Songs of 2010

1. The Glitch Mob – Drive it like you stole it
   As I mentioned before, this song is amazing. I can make no higher recommendation at this point. Go get it. Or at least go listen to it and then decide. Its worth it. Or just go get it. Because you should go get it. Now do it.
2. Random Rab – Transmissions from Moon III (From the Soundtrack to Iris)
   Really cool song. Smooth, flowing, ambient, chill, but still with a beat. This was a completely random find, I can’t even remember for sure how I stumbled on it, but I’m glad I did.
3. Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra – Kiss the Sky
   Shazam for the win. I think this song was in a trailer or commercial, or something along those random lines, and I was able to identify it thanks to Shazam being a perfect app to always have in your pocket. Good sound, somewhat different, not my normal style but I like the layers in the song.
4. Kid Cudi – Day ‘N’ Nite (Crookers Remix)
   I’ve had this track for a few years (thanks to my friend Ben cluing me into Kid Cudi and this remix a while back), and its a great song. Didn’t realize I listened to it so much in 2010 though. Oh, by the way, don’t waste your time with the non-remix version. The Crookers Remix blows every other version of the song away, including the original.

   Soundtrack 2 My Life, also by Kid Cudi, is also worth checking out while you’re at it.

5. Vaishiyas – Who You Are
   More Goa. I found Vaishiyas in 2009 where it also ranked highly for me, so it was still going strong in 2010 too.
6. Secta Chameleon – Push Along (feat. MC Manic)[Groove Diggerz Remix]
   Secta Chameleon is pretty damn good on certain songs, though not as well known in the US it seems. Worth checking out, good breakbeat style.
7. Placebo – Running Up That Hill (2007 Digital Remaster)
   Another song found from a movie trailer (Daybreakers. It sucked. Don’t see it. Ever. If I could negative rate it on IMDB I would.) thanks to the incredibly useful Shazam app. Not an amazing song, but it goes with certain moods and carries along well. Frankly I’m surprised this ranked so high.
8. Eminem – Business
   Eminem sucks. Get over it. Move on with your life. But every once in a while he can stop being a caricature of himself long enough to squeeze out something worth listening to.
9. RZA – Fatal
   I’ve had this song for a while (it’s from the Blade: Trinity soundtrack) and I’ve always liked it, I guess I just liked it a lot more in 2010 than earlier.
10. The Glitch Mob – Between Two Points (feat. Swan)
    The other song from the single before the Drink The Sea album came out. Much more of a chill/downtempo song, and still good. Perhaps not the best song if you want something to get the crowd going, but enjoyable nonetheless.

My Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. The Glitch Mob – Drive It Like You Stole It – Single
   The single had both Drive It Like You Stole it and Between Two Points (feat. Swan). Both are worth it, and both are from the Drink The Sea album, though I didn’t think the album was as overall consistent.
2. Zen Mechanics – Holy Cities
   More goa/psy-trance. Zen Mechanics does some pretty good stuff, and if you’re into trance or electronica you should check them out.
3. The Crystal Method – Vegas
   Still one of the best electronica albums, and made the West Coast style of breakbeat a dominant sound. Virtually every song is amazing, almost 14 years (HOLY CRAP!) later.
4. Massive Attack – Heligoland (Deluxe Version)
   It was great to see Massive Attack get something new out after such a long dry spell, though this album wasn’t all that great to me. Then again, they have a wide ranging sound and style, and not all of it suits my preferences, but that’s just me. The various versions of Paradise Circus are worth checking out, as is the Tim Goldsworthy Remix version of Pray For Rain (which isn’t as easy to find).
5. UNKLE – Self Defence (Never Never Land Reconstructed and Bonus Beats)
   This album still keeps sneaking in with all the remixes. Just go listen to it and decide for yourself, although the version with the remixes and bonus beats was limited edition and MP3s aren’t as easy to find today (let’s just ignore the obvious elephant in the room that those assholes at RIAA want to kill and then perform necrophilia on).
6. Massive Attack – Mezzanine
   Still an album with some great songs, overall, from way back (it was released in 1998, not 2006 like Amazon claims). It grows on you the more you listen to it.
7. Various Artists – London (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
   Not quite sure how this album broke into the Top 10. The Crystal Method produced it and did most of the work and it featured some good artists, but it wasn’t that great overall. Oh, wait, I know why: it all has to do with 2 songs: Restless by Evil Nine (feat. Toastie Taylor and Hyper) and Vice by The Crystal Method.
8. Ice Cube – Lethal Injection
   Album from back in my freshman year of High School (I think, maybe Jr. High). How can you go wrong with classics like Down For Whatever, You Know How We Do It, Bop Gun and Ghetto Bird?
9. Frenessy – Lost Sound Digital
   Another album/artist I found in 2009 (this album was my #3 overall album last year) that is still holding on strong. Really good goa/psy-trance sound.
10. Mimosa – Flux For Life
    And yet another album/artist I found in 2009 that is still holding on strong. Even better goa sound.

My Top 10 Artists of 2010

1. The Crystal Method
   Never surprising to see TCM up high in my charts, so many good songs, but never quite able to match the original Vegas album that was also perfect. Although Drown in the Now is one of my favorites too, and its more recent.
2. Massive Attack
   Somewhat surprised to see Massive Attack up this high, I don’t have that many of their songs, though with the more recent release of their surprise new album Heligoland I can understand why it would go up the charts. Although nothing on Heligoland comes close to Angel.
3. The Glitch Mob
   I think I’ve talked about The Glitch Mob enough in this post, so if you aren’t checking them out by now, then there’s no hope for you and you make dingos eat babies.
4. 2Pac
   Pac is always awesome, and I have so many of his songs that 2Pac is a consistent presence at the top of most of my charts.
5. Ice Cube
   I’ve always liked a fair amount of Ice Cube’s stuff, but not nearly as consistently as 2pac.
6. Zen Mechanics
7. Mimosa
8. Eminem
9. Vaishiyas
10. UNKLE

P.S. The Glitch Mob should have done the Tron: Legacy soundtrack instead of Daft Punk. At least then it wouldn’t have sucked. Besides, the sound and style of Glitch Mob goes far more with the Tron atmosphere and visuals than those helmetted Lite-Brite freaks who made an underwhelming and weak soundtrack.