Best Music of 2010 (1-5)

1. Frightened Rabbit-The Winter of Mixed Drinks, 96

#1, just as "The Midnight Organ"was a year ago. Frightened Rabbit is my favorite band to see live. The energy runs off the stage and courses through your veins. Their music is unbelievably joyous, but fraught with despair and darkness. "Things" tells us we don't need the things of this life. "The Loneliness and the Scream" bellows again and again: 'Fell down, found love, but I can lose it again. I'll never calm your old heart, it beats miles from here.' Frightened Rabbit simply has a sound that you can listen to whenever. It doesn't matter if you want to run to the top of a mountain or just off that mountain, the music always fits. As someone who listens to music that fits my mood, there is no better artist than Frightened Rabbit.

2. Mumford & Sons-Sigh No More, 94

Mumford & Sons was the surprise of the year, making iTunes top 5 most bought albums of the year, going up against behemoths like Katy Perry, Drake, and Sugarland. Sigh No More is a collection of heartfelt songs, tied together with an accordion and a banjo. "Sigh No More" sings of: 'man is a giddy thing' and a 'love that will not betray you , dismay or enslave you, it will set you free.' "The Cave" sings: 'I need freedom now, and I need to to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be.' "Winter Winds" gets a bit sappy but reminds you that: 'spring swaps snow for leaves.' I could go on and on as every track hits home. The one gripe is that it's a bit hard to differentiate between the songs.

3. The National-High Violet, 91

When High Violet was streamed early on the New York Times website, I listened to it close to 10 times a day. As the year dragged on, it fell back a bit, but came back with a vengeance when I listened to it again. Matt Berninger weaves woeful stories through every melody. "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is one of my favorite songs of the year. "Terrible Love", "Afraid Of Everyone", "England" and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" are top-notch as well.

4. The Tallest Man On Earth-The Wild Hunt, 89

Kristian Matsson, monikored The Tallest Man On Earth, can hold people captive with his incredible voice. He commands the stage unlike any other. "The Wild Hunt" is the perfect strong opening track. "Burden of Tomorrow" is a beautiful song, spinning tales of 'I'm just a blind man on the plains, I drink my water when it rains, and live by chance among the lightning strikes.' "A Lion's Heart" and "Love Is All" are also wondrous tales.

5. Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 83

I've always been lukewarm when it comes to Kanye West. However, the first seconds of this album rang true. I think Kanye raised the bar for the entire genre of rap music. He crafted something original and talented. From the beauty of the "All of the Lights" interlude, to the cocky beats of "Power", and even to the haunting, driving "Runaway" Kanye amazes at every turn.

Twice Is A Charm

On Thursday night I experienced the magic that is Frightened Rabbit with my roommate, who turned into a mostly dysfunctional zombie by the time the concert ended. An unexpected added opener prolonged the wait for the headliner, as Frightened Rabbit didn’t take the stage until 10:45, a mere 3 odd hours after the advertised 7:30 start time. Openers The Phantom Band, hailing from Scotland, and Plants and Animals, a pet-favorite of mind, did provide great opening music. As Frightened Rabbit is a relatively unknown band with a cult following, the hipster crowd was out in full force, parading the horror that is skinny jeans and those winter hats that hang limp in the back. Even though it was a 17 and older show, I felt like an elder statesmen, surrounded by mere fetuses.

I saw Frightened Rabbit in Chicago this past summer and was truly excited to listen to their music live again. They did not disappoint. Their passion, energy, sincerity, and musical prowess meshed to form a rare musical spectacle.

I had never visited the House of Blues before, and absolutely loved the setting. The space was quite intimate, with three levels providing the capacity instead of a sprawling floor. It has an older feel to it, and gives you the impression that the walls have seen many great shows.

“Things” aptly led off the festivities with its mellow beginnings growing into vibrant sound. They bring such life to their songs, no matter how morose and desolate the lyrics may be. “Old Old Fashioned” and “The Twist” spawned Cheshire cat smiles throughout the crowd. The stripped down, acoustic-only “Poke” hushed the entire audience. “My Backwards Walk” began with a driving beat, and grew into a heart-ripping crescendo, rending aorta from ventricle.

As the audience screamed their praise and waited impatiently for an encore, Frightened Rabbit obliged with three songs, culminating with the one favorite song I had yet to hear, “The Loneliness and the Scream.”

It was the last show of their U.S. tour, and all three bands joined on stage as the song looped on and on. Some sat on others’ shoulders, some threw paper planes into the crowd, and all beamed as the thankful masses voiced their appreciation. The gratitude of a band unchanged by fame was evident and made even bigger fans out of all.

Josh Ritter

On Saturday night, I again had the pleasure of witnessing a fantastic musical performance; this time by Josh Ritter. Ritter is an incredibly talented lyricist in the mode of Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne, but of course original in his craft. Here's an interview I found with Ritter.

Chicago native Joe Pug opened for Ritter. Joe played at Hope College while I was there, but alas, I did not go see him. Joe is also a great lyricist and won me over quickly. His closing number, Hymn #101, is a deeply moving song, full of poetry, conjuring up vivid images.

Right of the bat, Ritter and his band brought tons of energy to the stage. Josh truly enjoys performing and shows it on his face, grinning like the Cheshire cat, jumping up and down, and profusely thanking the audience for their support, adoration, applause, and participation. He feeds off the crowd, using them to energize himself, which in turn frenzies the crowd even further. It makes for a fun show.

If I tried to highlight Ritter's lyrics that mean the most to me, this post would march on for eternity. Instead, I'll choose a choice few:

"every heart is a package tangled up in knots someone else tied"

"the crickets all leapt up and met the moon in a standing ovation"

"i was singing without knowing the words"

"he plays piano with fistfuls, of broken Belvedere crystal, and he's trying to forget you, but the music's never loud enough"

Gotta restrain myself.

I didn't love, love So Runs The World Away at first listen the way I did with Ritter's other albums, or my favorite albums of the year, High Violet by The National and The WInter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit, but it's already growing on me. Often albums I love at first listen recede in my mind over time (last year it was Muse, Dave Matthews Band, and Airborne Toxic Event), only the truly great ones get better. So Runs The World Away is already doing that.

During the encore, Ritter brought Joe Pug back on stage and let him play a song with the band. Rather than join him Ritter stood in the background and let Pug shine in the spotlight. Since the crowd mostly buzzed with their own conversation during Pug's opening set, it was a treat to hear everyone listen to him. The mutual respect between Pug and Ritter was evident; it's nice to see a star like Ritter not act above a lesser know musician. I never expected anything less.

Start with a talented musician who writes deeply meaningful songs, is a consummate showman, and loves what he does with all that he is, toss in a ridiculously talented band, a cool venue, an adoring audience, and you have a memorable experience. Go see Josh Ritter; as someone from the crowd shouted during an interim "You make me want to be a better man!", to which Ritter replied "You complete me."

Frightened Rabbit

Last night I had the pleasure of experiencing Frightened Rabbit in concert. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, frontman Scott Hutchinson acknowledged that "this is still kind of big for us" to the 1100 devoted fans in the Metro. They have somewhat of a cult following, with almost all of the crowd knowing the lyrics to every song. Their sound is unique, their talent undeniable, their music infectious, and their emotion sincere. "Skip The Youth" set the tone for the night, raising pulses and filling ears with joy. "Living In Colour", "Old Fashioned", and "The Twist" stirred the crowd into a toe-tapping, booty-shaking frenzy, joining with the audience in a glorious union of happy voices. The stripped-down, acoustically driven "Poke" hushed the masses with its simplistic, biting lyrics, and "My Backwards Walk" bit to the core with its dark, cynical, and hopelessly realistic lyrics. A few years ago, I road-tripped to Cleveland (yikes) to witness Damien Rice in concert. I did not expect that concert to be eclipsed so soon or so completely. So Seattle, go on May 16, Portland on May 17, or come to Chicago in August so you can too share in my delight and fervor.

Music Rankings Ongoing

Since compiling my best albums of 2009 list, I've begun two new, almost exactly similar projects. One is my best albums of 2010 list. Since I'm starting early, I'll end up ranking more albums than in 2009, and will take decidedly less time to finalize them. I'm also attempting to rank every album in my iTunes library. So far I've made it through 368, but alas my pace will slow down as I slog through my less listened to albums. A few notes:

• 2010 current #1-The Winter of Mixed Drinks by Frightened Rabbit
• 2010 current #2-Let The Hard Times Roll by David Ford
• 2010 current #3-Gorilla Manor by Local Natives
• 2010 current #4-One Life Stand by Hot Chip
• 2010 current #5-Plastic Beach by Gorillaz
• 2010 current last place #33-Feast of the Hunters' Moon by Black Prairie
• 9 by Damien Rice and The Midnight Organ by Frightened Rabbit are tied for my favorite album of all time
• I have a hard time seeing how any album can overtake Lady Antebellum's Self Titled 2009 release for my least favorite album of all time, especially since I don't seek out music I know I won't like. In Lady Antebellum's case, I simply saw iTunes charts littered with her songs, and gave it a listen without knowing the genre or anything else.