Unlike 2 years ago in 2008 when I posted my “year in music” 4 months too late, this year I’m actually getting this up on time. I have yet to do a 2010 DJ mix but I didn’t want to let that stop me from posting my favorite songs and albums from the year.

The fact I’ve been consistently doing DJ charts throughout the year made this considerably easier. Though at the same time I also run the risk of overlooking good music that I didn’t include on a chart for whatever reason.

Overall I would say 2010 was a great year for music. A lot of artists that I’ve liked over the years released new albums that mostly lived up to the hype/high expectations I set.

Although my lists aren’t really in any particular order, I will say that Kelis and her album Flesh Tone really wowed me more than anything this year. Perhaps it was all a matter of timing, but I found the album super refreshing and energizing. She worked with some top-notch producers (Burns, David Guetta, Boys Noize, Benny Benassi, etc.) and made an album that took the weirdness she’s been cultivating for a while and really exploded it.

As far as songs, I ranked the top 5. Picking Scissor Sisters’ “Invisible Light” over Kelis’ “4th of July (Fireworks)” was a really tough choice. In the end, I went with “Invisible Light” because I felt like it was one of those songs that really pushed the band into a new and interesting (and darker) direction. Like Ladytron’s “Destory Everything You Touch” and Cut Copy’s “Hearts on Fire” before it, “Invisible Light” was a huge departure from the bands’ previous work and the risk paid off big.

One other thing I’ll note is that in years past I’ve been pretty good at predicting Pitchfork‘s top tracks/albums but this year I felt very disconnected from their reviews/ranking. Of Pitchfork’s top 10 tracks of 2010 the only one we agreed on was “Power” by Kanye West.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts or point out what you think I missed. This year I’m getting this posted before most of the music blogs I follow do their year-end rankings so I’m pretty sure I forgot a track or two or didn’t post some super exclusive secret track that is gonna be huge next year that I should’ve noticed this year.

Albums

• Kelis – Flesh Tone
• Caribou – Swim
• Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
• Chillly Gonzales – Ivory Tower
• Robyn – Body Talk series (the two EPs and the final album)
• Hot Chip – One Life Stand
• LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
• Groove Armada – Black Light

Honorable mention: Acid Washed – Acid Washed, Ali Love – Love Harder, Arcade Fire – The Suburbs, Chromeo – Business Casual, Cee-Lo Green – The Lady Killer, Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles, Felix Cartal – Popular Music, Housse de Racket – Forty Love, Massive Attack – Heligoland, Rihanna – Loud, Rusko – O.M.G.!, Shit Robot – From Cradle to the Grave, Sia – We Are Born, Tame Impala – Innerspeaker, Uffie – Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Disappointments (don’t hate me!! I had high expectations mostly): The Chemical Brothers – Further, Christina Aguilera – Bionic, Goldfrapp – Head First, Gorillaz – Plastic Beach, Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager, M.I.A. – Maya, MGMT – Congratulations, N*E*R*D – Nothing

Songs

1. Scissor Sisters – “Invisible Light” [YouTube video]
2. Kelis – “4th of July (Fireworks)” [YouTube video]
3. Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand” [YouTube video]
4. Caribou – “Sun” [YouTube video]
5. Kanye West – “Power” [YouTube video]

• Hot Chip, Bernard Sumner & Hot City – “Didn’t Know What Love Was” [YouTube video]
• Hot Chip – “Hand Me Down Your Love” [YouTube music]
• Crystal Castles – “Celestica” [YouTube video]
• Visti & Meyland – “Stars” [YouTube music]
• SBTRKT – “We’ll Be Fine”
• David Lynch – “Good Day Today” [YouTube music]
• Sia – “You’ve Changed” [YouTube video]
• Housse de Racket – “Oh Yeah!” [YouTube video
• The Chemical Brothers – “Swoon” [YouTube video]
• Cee-Lo Green – “No One’s Gonna Love You” [YouTube video]

DJs/Remixers/Producers

• Villa — tons of great remixes and really captured the spacey discoy sound I loved this year
• David Guetta — great work on Kelis’s album
• Stuart Price — while not as perfect as Madonna’s Confessions on a Dancefloor, you can feel his touch on both Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite and Scissor Sisters’ Night Work
• Monarchy — formerly known as Milke they regrouped and starting putting out nice shiny intereresting remixes (Kelis, Lady Gaga, Kylie)
• Boys Noize — continues to be a force to be reckoned with; the remix of Scissor Sisters’ “Invisible Light” alone gets them here

Other

• Best Music Video: Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand”
• Best Remix: Scissor Sisters – “Invisible Light” (Boys Noize remix) [YouTube music]
• Best Concert: Hercules and Love Affair at Neumos (August 11, 2010)
• Best Music Blog: Too Many Sebastians
• Best Online Music Store: eMusic
• Best Record Label: (tie) Fools Gold and Permanent Vacation

Favorite Tracks From Monthly Charts

• January: Depeche Mode – “Hole To Feed” (Popof Vocal Mix)
• February: Music Go Music – “Warm In The Shadows” (Villa Remix)
• March: Appaloosa – “The Day We Fell in Love” (Todd Edwards’ Liturgical mix)
• April: Lauren Flax – “You’ve Changed (Feat. Sia)”
• May: Visti & Meyland – “Stars”
• June: Scissor Sisters – “Invisible Light” (Stuart Price Remix)
• July: SBTRKT – “We’ll Be Fine”
• August: Cee-Lo Green – “No One’s Gonna Love You” (Paul Epworth mix)
• September: Duck Sauce – “Barbra Streisand” (Video mix)
• October: Hot Chip, Bernard Sumner & Hot City – “Didn’t Know What Love Was”
• November: Shit Robot – “Take ‘Em Up”
• December: TBD

Because I go to a lot of concerts I feel like I’m in a position to have some thoughts and opinions on how people should act at shows. Last night I went to see Scissor Sisters at Showbox Sodo (still my least favorite venue ever) and a lot of people in the crowd frustrated me and my friends. That is when I decided I needed to write down some rules.

In no particular order:

1. If you are one of those really tall people, stand in the back or at the very least, be aware when you are blocking other people’s view. Last night during the DJ opening set we had a great view of the stage. Then the lights dimmed and suddenly this group of 3 tall guys (accompanied with their girlfriends — so that was another issue since this was Scissor Sisters and most of the crowd was gay) came and stood a few rows of people in front of us. I know from listening to the reactions to people around us that we weren’t the only ones pissed off by this.
2. Don’t just stand there. Remember — you are at a concert. You are supposed to be having fun! I can’t imagine any bands that would love it if the entire audience just stood there. They want people to be into the music and having fun.
3. … And if you do just stand there: Consider moving to the back. I mean I guess some people don’t like moving/dancing and “just want to hear the music,” but if that’s the case then why are you up in front or in the middle where others want to dance? You are just taking up valuable floor space. If you just want to listen to the music, go to the back where you can be a wallflower.
4. … And if you do just stand there: Don’t hate on the dancing people!! This is probably my #1 pet peeve. I hate it when people stand there without moving then give people like me (who really get into dancing/moving) dirty looks like we’re out of control. (Granted, people who get too crazy [which I admit I’ve done before] are not good, but there are usually only a few of them at a given show.) Here’s the thing: Us dancing/moving people make the show fun! If everyone stood around giving dirty looks like those people who stand there, the concert would undoubtedly suck. We are the ones keeping it alive, sharing our energy, feeding off the band’s energy, etc.
5. If people are moving through the crowd, let them through even if there isn’t room around you. Last night there was this woman in front of us who stood her ground and wouldn’t budge any time someone tried to get through. I admit that it’s annoying when you have a good spot and people try to weasel their way in front of you. But think of the crowd like a living organism or something. Or water. It ebbs and flows. Also: I tend to notice that people who don’t let others through are the aforementioned boring people who just stand there.
6. Show the opening band some love. Even if you don’t know them or don’t like them, don’t talk really loud during their set or boo or shit like that. Usually the headlining band has a say in or chooses the opener, so there is probably something good about them. I’ve seen some awesome opening bands in my day and learned about a bunch of new artists (Presets, Walter Meego… now I’m blanking on others) so give ’em a try. (Unless they are Champagne Champagne and opening before MEN and Gossip — they did really suck).

So there is my basic list. What am I missing? Let me know. I think if you follow or are aware of the above rules, you will have an awesome time and so will those around you.