Possible Top 10 Albums of 2010

Its that time again, when people from all over the blogosphere go through there itunes and attempt to work out what actually came out this year and what they like the most while procrastinating things such as Christmas shopping, working, booking trips home or eating and sleeping.

I am an indecisive fuck, i cant work out dinner plans, or what id like to do on the weekend if there are more then one option, id rather stay home then make a decision, its better now that i don't smoke pot, but still i piss off people daily with this indecision. Some say it's a Libra thing, hippies!

In Respect to that I'm going to attempt to put up three different lists this week and then a final list at the end of the week in order to work out what my top 10 albums of the year actually is. Here we go.

List One:

Health - Get Color

Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx 2

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

The Horrors - Primary Color's

A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head

Dinosaur Jr - Farm

Atlas sound - Logos

Steel Panther - Feel the Steel

Duck Duck Chop - Blood/Final

Best New Music of Right Now (07.08.08)

Welcome to our new column! Expect a weekly update about the new music which is owning SIS's stereo.

The Subways - All or Nothing (Warners)

Is there anything more nerve-wracking than making an album in the midst of a long and difficult breakup between band members? Granted, there have been some classics to come from this sort of emotional turmoil, like Rumors (Fleetwood Mac), Foolish (Superchunk) and Look Now Look Again (Rainer Maria), but more often than not, it's a battle that tears a band apart. With All or Nothing, The Subways' second release, the split is the catharsis which drives the music, almost making me forget how much I loved their debut. Album opener "Girls & Boys" packs in all of their Ash-inspired guitar crunch, while tracks like "Move to Newlyn" and "Strawberry Blonde" show a band is growing by leaps and bounds with a new found melodic mastery. Buy the import now or wait until Sept. 9th for the US release. [Buy Here]
Download: "Girls & Boys" [mp3]

Health - Health/Disco (Lovepump United)

For the longest time, I thought all remix albums were self-indulgent and artistically lazy, and really, a lot of them still are, but Health is a smart band, one that is adroit enough to make a remix CD unlike any other. At times, it's not even listenable, but that's one of the charms of these guys. Unlike band of today's bands that are reaching backwards to go farther, Health just continues to reach ahead, so far in fact that it's sometimes tough to full wrap your head around what the fuck it is they are doing. But this isn't the sort of music that you should allow to go over your head, because for the most part, the band produces likable post-hardcore. What their music does require is time, and like any good novel, if you're willing to put in that time, then you'll be rewarded. [Buy Here]
Download: "Triceratops" (Acid Girls Remix) [mp3]

Bloc Party "Mercury" (Atlantic)

It's up in the air as to whether or not this song will end up on Bloc Party's third album. First off, this video is weird, and the song comes off like a distorted version of "She's Hearing Voices." There's been a lot of smack already talked about this, but since BP is the type of band that likes trying on a few different hats, this should be taken with a grain of salt. By no means the band's best song, it is a solid tune from a band that is almost obsessed with not being categorized. [Buy Here]

¡Forward, Russia! - Life Processes (Cooking Vinyl/Mute)

These guys are at the forefront of the two quasi-scenes in the UK: the glut of amazing music coming out of Leeds and the countrywide resurgence in post-hardcore. Putting scenes aside for a moment, these are quality in their own right, first release a record whose titles were simply numbers, and then leaving the label which they started for the release of this new record, which has quickly become an office favorite and contender for record of the year. "Breaking Standing," "A Prospector Can Dream" and "We Are Grey Matter" are already summer '08 hits. [Buy Here]
Download: "Breaking Standing" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsletter (05/19/08)

Jose Fritz would like to report that Hell has officially frozen over. Not only is Neil Diamond not dead, his new album, Home Before Dark, topped the charts this week with 145,840 copies sold. Even Rick Rubin was surprised.

Howard Stern pissed off Dolly Parton this week big time. With a little patience and a few minutes with Cool Edit Pro, the radio host edited together enough Dolly samples to render her into a racist bigoted hick. Previous victims of the Stern audiobook treatment are Oprah and William Shatner. Parton is quoted as saying she has "never been so shocked, hurt and humiliated. I love Jews and Negros.” Parton is now rumored to be suing Stern.

Fans of 1940s pop are celebrating today because even though postage rates have gone up again, Frank Sinatra will appear on new postage. Of the 50,000 suggestions per year only 20 are selected by the U.S. post office to grace our postage. Jose expects that probably cost the Giancana family a few grand. Just kidding Frank.

80-year-old Larry Levine died this week. You probably have never heard his name, but Larry was the recording engineer who created Phil Spector’s patented Wall of Sound. Larry won a Grammy in 1965 for his work with Herb Alpert. His family lived in disgrace for the next 40 years.

Paramount Styles has announced we will be hearing their debut album, Failure American Style, via Touch And Go records July 8th. The band features former GVSB vocalist Scott McCloud. I promise it’s better than Neil Diamond.

Noise rockers Health has released a remix album titled Health/Disco. A slew of names and no-names reinterpreted their abrasive anthems into oonce-oonce. Lovepump United will be releasing the abominable results this summer.

Camper Van Beethoven is finally releasing a greatest hits album. It’s titled Popular Songs, scheduled for a June 24 drop through Cooking Vinyl. Virgin was unwilling to part with their portion of the catalog and certain cuts had to be re-recorded. The cuts in question are from the albums Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart and Key Lime Pie. If you were counting you might have noticed this is all timed for their 25th anniversary. If this doesn’t work out, their Cracker reunion won’t be far behind.

Our New York readers should be reminded that this May 19th is the eighth-annual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza. Had Joey not died of Lymphoma he’d be 57 this year. Since his death, New York’s punk community has commemorated his passing with a big-ass rock concert.

Earache records will be re-releasing the Carcass album Heartwork on June 24th with a companion DVD. Back when death metal was cool for six months in 1988, this album was considered wildly progressive and influential. This coincides with the bands reunion tour which began earlier this year minus original drummer Ken Owen. Ken had a brain hemorrhage in 1999 and has been unwilling to wear face paint since.