Who I buried in 2010

• Willie Mitchell
• Jay Reatard
• Kate McGarrigle
• Doug Fieger of the Knack
• Mark Linkous, a.k.a. Sparklehorse
• Jim Marshall
• Pete Quaife of the Kinks
• Tuli Kupferberg
• Solomon Burke
• Teena Marie

It will also always be sad to me that on Christmas day last year I excused myself from my family dinner to write Vic Chesnutt’s obituary.

Best of 2010

My top 20:

1. Sufjan Stevens, The Age of Adz
2. Laura Marling, I Speak Because I Can
3. Sleigh Bells, Treats
4. Sharon Van Etten, Epic
5. Teenage Fanclub, Shadows
6. Best Coast, Crazy for You
7. Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
8. Sade, Soldier of Love
9. Beach House, Teen Dream
10. Man Forever, s/t
11. Marc Ribot, Silent Movies
12. Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More
13. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs
14. Janelle Monáe, The ArchAndroid
15. The Roots, How I Got Over
16. She & Him, Volume Two
17. Los Lobos, Tin Can Trust
18. Jenny Wilson, Hardships!
19. Mountain Man, Made the Harbor
20. AfroCubism, s/t

Four-word reviews from CMJ 2010

• Marnie Stern: Mix buries guitar. Crime!
• Dent May: Despite shtick, lyrical songcraft.
• DOM: Garage-rock as vidgame.
• Baths: Falsetto humanizes wobbly chilltronica.
• The Loom: Appalachian garment, angst-y stitching.
• Lucius: Luscious, luminous, lilting lullabies.
• Wild Nothing: Name is half untrue.
• Yo La Tengo: Indie endpoint? Irrelevant: wonderful.
• The swag (not a band): Improved bag, dwindling stuffing.
• Woven Bones: Fun/evil feedback vortex.
• Times New Viking: Faster, chantier, unison-er, better.
• Braids: Patterns enthrall, tinkering offputs.
• David Vandervelde: Leon-ine, hirsute space blooze.
• Phantom Band: Perfect indie choogle + melodica(s).
• Robert Lester Folsom: Belated debut; kinda “Margaritaville.”
• Homeboy Sandman: “Ohhh, freestyle o’ mine.”
• Atomic Tom: Equipped, competent; heard before.
• Shilpa Ray: Sounded fearsome, looked weary.
• Prince Rama: Postpunk tribalism; Ari echoes.
• Shrag: More Ari. (Or Headcoatees?)
• Martina Topley-Bird: Right rasp, soul, sex.
• The Body: Cranial drill volume. Whaaat?
• Oberhofer: Designated marathonners, surfin’ Blood.
• No Joy: Haze — feedback or hair?
• La Sera: Simplicity, but not grace.
• Cloud Nothings: Basement melody liberated, bashingly.
• Viva l’American Death Ray Music: Greasepaint roar, Fall scrape.
• Lower Dens: Slow cloud, affectless cry.
• Cough: “Play slow, die ignorant”?!
• Lia Ices: (Kate + Joanna) / (Arwen − Stevie)
• Kanye West: Can he say no?