Top Albums of 2010

I've finally compiled my list. I chose to rank 39 albums this time, mostly b/c I couldn't figure out where to put the rest of the albums I listened to this year and none of them were that good anyway. So here it is. I might write up a little something more about some of these later.

39. Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks
38. High Places - High Places vs. Mankind
37. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
36. Tokyo Police Club - Champ
35. Girl Talk - All Day
34. High on Fire - Snakes for the Divine
33. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
32. Avi Buffalo - Avi Buffalo
31. RJD2 - The Colossus
30. Wavves - King of the Beach

29. Interpol - Interpol

28. Charred Walls of the Damned - Charred Walls of the Damned

27. Matt & Kim - Sidewalks
26. The Black Keys - Brothers

**TOP 25**

25. Broken Bells - Broken Bells
24. Tobacco - Maniac Meat
23. Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning
22. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
21. Midlake - The Courage of Others
20. MGMT - Congratulations
19. Die Antwoord - $O$
18. Zola Jesus - Stridulum
17. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
16. Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart
15. Beach House - Teen Dream
14. Spoon - Transference
13. Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
12. The National - High Violet
11. The New Pornographers - Together

**TOP 10**

10. Caribou - Swim
9. Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
8. Titus Andronicus - Monitor
7. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
6. Vampire Weekend - Contra
5. The Walkmen - Lisbon
4. Harlem - Hippies
3. Sleigh Bells - Treats
2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
1. LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening

This Weekend In Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

Last show notification of 2010! Here's what you can go see through New Years. Happy holidays!

	Friday, December 17, 8:00pm		Elsinore @ Double Door
	Friday, December 17, 8:00pm		Andrew Bird @ Fourth Presbyterian Church
	Saturday, December 18, 8:00pm		Dashboard Confessional @ Lincoln Hall
	Saturday, December 18, 10:00pm		White Mystery @ Sub-T
	Sunday, December 19, 5:30pm		Dashboard Confessional @ Bottom Lounge
	Monday, December 27, 8:00pm		Paper Arrows @ Schubas
	Thursday, December 30, 7:00pm		Black Keys @ Aragon
	Thursday, December 30, 7:30pm		Pretty Lights/Major Lazer @ Congress Theatre
	Thursday, December 30, 8:00pm		Yeasayer/HEALTH @ Metro
	Thursday, December 30, 9:00pm		Hold Steady @ Lincoln Hall
	Friday, December 31, 7:30pm		Pretty Lights/Holy Fuck @ Congress Theatre
	Friday, December 31, 8:00pm		Pegboy/White Mystery @ Abbey Pub
	Friday, December 31, 8:00pm		Smoking Popes @ Reggie's
	Friday, December 31, 9:00pm		Local H @ Bottom Lounge
	Friday, December 31, 9:00pm		Cursive @ Sub-T
	Friday, December 31, 10:00pm		Flosstradamus @ Lincoln Hall
	Friday, December 31, 10:00pm		Japandroids @ Schubas
	Friday, December 31, 10:00pm		Yeasayer @ Metro

Record Releases - December 14, 2010

Here's what comes out today. Lots of reissues in time for Christmas?

Dec-14-10	Branku - BRANKU!	Kill Shaman
Dec-14-10	Grandaddy - Sumday (reissue)*	The Control Group
Dec-14-10	Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (reissue)*	The Control Group
Dec-14-10	Grandaddy - Under the Western Freeway (reissue)*	The Control Group
Dec-14-10	Lower Dens - Batman 7"	Gnomonsong
Dec-14-10	Panda Bear - Last Night at the Jetty*	FatCat
Dec-14-10	Saroos - See Me Not	Anticon
Dec-14-10	The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart in Your Heartbreak*	Slumberland
Dec-21-10	Curren$y - Muscle Car Cronicles	Def Jam
Dec-21-10	Ghostface Killah - Apollo Kids	Def Jam
Dec-21-10	Ride - Nowhere (reissue)*	Rhino/Warner Bros.

This Weekend in Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

Here's what you can see this week:

	Friday, December 10, 8:00pm		Cloud Cult @ Metro
	Friday, December 10, 9:00pm		Badly Drawn Boy @ Lincoln Hall
	Friday, December 10, 10:00pm		Tennis @ Schubas
	Friday, December 10, 10:00pm		Killing Joke @ Empty Bottle
	Saturday, December 11, 10:00pm		Killing Joke @ Empty Bottle
	Monday, December 13, 8:00pm		Paper Arrows @ Schubas
	Wednesday, December 15, 8:00pm		Andrew Bird @ Fourth Presbyterian Church
	Thursday, December 16, 6:30pm		Minus the Bear @ Vic
	Thursday, December 16, 8:00pm		Andrew Bird @ Fourth Presbyterian Church

Record Releases - December 7, 2010

Here's what comes out this week:

Dec-07-10	Air Waves - Dungeon Dots	Underwater Peoples
Dec-07-10	Banjo or Freakout - 105 7"	Rare Book Room
Dec-07-10	Daft Punk - Tron Legacy OST*	Walt Disney Records
Dec-07-10	DNTL - After Parties 1	Sub Pop
Dec-07-10	DNTL - After Parties 2	Sub Pop
Dec-07-10	Earth - A Beureaucratic Desire for Extra-Capsular Extraction (vinyl reissue)	Souther Lord
Dec-07-10	Eluvium - the Motion Makes Me Last EP	Temporary Residence Ltd.
Dec-07-10	Feist - Look at What the Light Did Now DVD	Interscope
Dec-07-10	Heavy Winged - Sunspotted	Type
Dec-07-10	Memoryhouse - Caregiver b/w Heirloom 7"	Suicide Squeeze
Dec-07-10	Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine: 2010 Remaster	The Null Corporation / The Bicycle Music Co.
Dec-07-10	Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP*	Asthmatic Ktty Records
Dec-07-10	The Coathangers & the Numerators - Chicken 30 b/w Strawvberry Dreams	Suicide Squeeze

This Weekend in Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

Here's what's going on this weekend and next week:

	Friday, December 3, 10:00pm		1900s @ Empty Bottle
	Saturday, December 4, 6:30pm		Roots @ HOB
	Saturday, December 4, 7:30pm		Edward Sharpe @ The Magnetic Zeros @ Congress Theatre
	Saturday, December 4, 8:00pm		Delta Spirit @ Metro
	Sunday, December 5, 7:30pm		Broken Bells @ Vic
	Monday, December 6, 8:00pm		Paper Arrows @ Schubas

Record Releases - November 30, 2010

Here's what comes out this week:

Nov-30-10	Dreams - TBD	Kill Shaman
Nov-30-10	Florence and the Machine - KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic 10"	Universal Republic
Nov-30-10	Kisses - The Heart of the Nightlife	This is Music
Nov-30-10	Ladytron - Ace of Hz	Nettwerk
Nov-30-10	Laurel Halo - King Felix	Hippos in Tanks
Nov-30-10	Simian Mobile Disco - Delicacies	Delicacies
Nov-30-10	Sonny Smith - 100 Records Volume Two	I Miss Turn Up
Nov-30-10	The 1900s - Return of the Century	Parasol Records

Record Releases - November 23, 2010

Here's what's out this week. It's pretty barren for new releases during the holidays. Stuff marked * might be good:

Nov-22-10	Girls - Broken Dreams Club*	True Panther
Nov-22-10	Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy	Roc-A-Fella / Def Jam
Nov-23-10	Barn Owl & The Infinite String Ensemble - The Headlands	Important
Nov-23-10	Eleh - Radiant Vibrations	Important
Nov-23-10	Eleh/Ellen Fullman - Split	Important
Nov-23-10	Gentleman Jesse & His Men - Got The Wrong Man b/w Stufforn Ghost 7"	HoZac
Nov-23-10	Girls Names | Brilliant - I Lose / You Win 7"	Slumberland
Nov-23-10	Group Doueh - Beatte Harab	Sublime Frequencies
Nov-23-10	MF Doom - Special Herbs Box - Vol. 0-9	Nature Sounds
Nov-23-10	Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday	Young Money
Nov-23-10	Reading Rainbow - Prism Eyes	HoZac
Nov-23-10	Royal Baths - 7" EP	HoZac
Nov-23-10	The Happy Thoughts - The Happy Thoughts	HoZac
Nov-23-10	Yuck - Georgia 7"	Fat Possum

This Weekend in Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

It's not even Thanksgiving, and we already have a show booked for May. Check out all the new additions over at the SHOWcal. Here's what you can see in the coming week:

	Friday, November 19, 7:00pm		Ezra Furman & the Harpoons @ Kingsbury Hall
	Friday, November 19, 8:00pm		Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti/Os Mutantes @ Metro
	Friday, November 19, 9:00pm		DJ Shadow @ Park West
	Saturday, November 20, 7:00pm		Josh Carter (Smoking Popes) @ Schubas
	Saturday, November 20, 8:00pm		Nitzer Ebb @ Double Door
	Sunday, November 21, 7:00pm		No Age @ Lincoln Hall
	Sunday, November 21, 7:30pm		KT Turnstall @ Vic
	Tuesday, November 23, 7:00pm		Wold Parade @ House of Blues
	Tuesday, November 23, 8:00pm		The Frames @ Vic

Record Releases - November 16, 2010

Here's what drops today. Stuff marked * should be good:

Nov-16-10	Brave Irene - Brave Irene 12"	Slumberland
Nov-16-10	Bruce Springsteen - The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story (Box Set)	Columbia
Nov-16-10	D'Eon - Palinopsia	Hippos in Tanks
Nov-16-10	Deerhoof/Physical Forms - Hoofdriver 7"*	Polyvinyl
Nov-16-10	Dum Dum Girls - Bhang Bhang, I'm A Burnout 7"*	Slumberland
Nov-16-10	Expo '70 - Sonic Messenger	Beta-Lactam Ring
Nov-16-10	Faun Fables - Lighe of a Vaster Darke	Drag City
Nov-16-10	Japandroids - Heavenward Grand Prix 7"*	Polyvinyl
Nov-16-10	Matthew Dear - You Put a Smell On Me	Ghostly International
Nov-16-10	Pan American - Fore Waiting, For Chasing	Kranky
Nov-16-10	Pigeons - Liasons	Soft Abuse
Nov-16-10	Rhianna - Loud	Def Jam
Nov-16-10	Sharon Van Etten - I'm Giving Up on You	Polyvinyl
Nov-16-10	Stereolab - Not Music	Drag City
Nov-16-10	The Russian Futurists - the Weight's on the Wheels	Upper Class
Nov-16-10	The Shipping News - One Less Heartless to Fear	Karate Body

This Weekend in Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

Wu Tang added to the SHOWcal, and not much else. So, suck on what you can see this week instead:

	Saturday, November 13, 6:00pm		Robyn @ Metro
	Saturday, November 13, 10:00pm		The Blow @ Empty Bottle
	Sunday, November 14, 7:00pm		Surfer Blood/The Drums @ Lincoln Hall
	Sunday, November 14, 9:00pm		Dan Deacon @ Hideout
	Monday, November 15, 8:00pm		Ezra Furman (solo acoustic) @ Schubas
	Monday, November 15, 9:30pm		Small Black @ Empty Bottle
	Tuesday, November 16, 9:00pm		Shearwter @ Lincoln Hall
	Wednesday, November 17, 6:00pm		Suicidal Tendencies @ Metro
	Wednesday, November 17, 8:00pm		Dresden Dolls @ Vic
	Wednesday, November 17, 9:00pm		Delorean @ Lincoln Hall
	Wednesday, November 17, 9:30pm		Maserati @ Empty Bottle

Record Releases - November 9, 2010

Here's what drops today. Stuff marked * should be good:

Nov-06-10	Bjorn Torske - Kokning	Smalltown Supersound
Nov-06-10	Expo '70 - Sonic Messenger	Beta-Lactam Ring
Nov-09-10	Botany - Feeling Today EP	Western Vinyl
Nov-09-10	Cee Lo Green - Lady Killer*	Atlantic
Nov-09-10	Fenn O'Berg - Live in Japan Part One and Live in Japan Part Two	Editions Mego
Nov-09-10	Fern Knight - Castings	VHF
Nov-09-10	Gregory and the Hawk - Leche	FatCat
Nov-09-10	Justine & The Victorian Punks - Beautiful Dreamer / Still You 12"	DFA
Nov-09-10	Le Sins - Lina 23"	Carpark
Nov-09-10	Maserati - Pyramid of the Sun*	Temporary Residence Ltd.
Nov-09-10	Meca Normal - Malachi 7"	K Records
Nov-09-10	Minks - TBD LP	Captured Tracks
Nov-09-10	Nadja - Bodycage	Broken Spine
Nov-09-10	Nightlands - Forget the Mantra	Secretly Canadian
Nov-09-10	Orange Juice - Coals to Newcastle	Domino
Nov-09-10	Parting Gifts - Strychnine Dandelions	In The Red
Nov-09-10	Phil Wilson - God Bless Jim Kennedy	Slumberland
Nov-09-10	Saroos - See Me Not	Anticon
Nov-09-10	Shigeto - Full Circle	Ghostly International
Nov-09-10	Soft Circle - Shore Obsessed	PPM
Nov-09-10	Soft Moon - TBD LP	Captured Tracks
Nov-09-10	Supersilent - Supersilent 10	Rune Grammofon
Nov-09-10	Supersilent - Supersilent 11	Rune Grammofon
Nov-09-10	The Big Pink - Tapes	!K7
Nov-09-10	The Concretes - WYWH	Friendly Fire
Nov-09-10	The Greenhornes - ****	Third Man
Nov-09-10	The Orb and Youth - Impossible Oddities	Year Zero
Nov-09-10	The Tallest Man on Earth - Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird*	Dead Oceans
Nov-09-10	Tobacco - LA UTI EP	Anticon
Nov-09-10	Tyvek - Nothing Fits	In The Red
Nov-09-10	Weekend - Sports	Slumberland
Nov-09-10	Woolfy - The Looking Glass 12"	DFA
Nov-09-10	Wyatt/Atzmon/Stephen - For the Ghosts	Domino

This Weekend In Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

More NYE shows added to the SHOWcal this week. If you're smart, though, you'll see many of the same bands the night before or after for 1/2 the cost. Spend the money you save on booze to make you pretend you're having fun on NYE, the dumbest holiday ever invented. Here's what you can see this weekend and next week:

         Friday, November 5, 8:00pm Ponys @ Bottom Lounge

Friday, November 5, 10:30pm Smith Westerns @ Lincoln Hall
Sunday, November 7, 7:00pm Danzig @ Congress Theatre
Monday, November 8, 8:00pm Ezra Furman (solo acoustic) @ Schubas
Tuesday, November 9, 7:30pm Kate Nash @ Vic
Tuesday, November 9, 8:00pm Joy Formidable @ Schubas

Record Releases - November 2, 2010

Here's what's available this week. Stuff marked * should be good:

Nov-02-10	Brian Eno - Small Craft on a Milk Sea*	Warp
Nov-02-10	Destroyer - Archer on the Beach b/w Grief Point 12"*	Merge
Nov-02-10	Diplo - Blow Your Head Volume 1: Diplo Presents Dubstep*	Mad Decent
Nov-02-10	Elliott Smith - An Introduction to Elliott Smith*	Kill Rock Stars
Nov-02-10	Feeling of Love - OK Judge Revivial (repress)	Kill Shaman
Nov-02-10	Games - That We Can Play	Hippos in Tanks
Nov-02-10	Horse Feathers - Drain You 7"	Kill Rock Stars
Nov-02-10	Koen Holtkamp - Gravity/Bees	Thrill Jockey
Nov-02-10	Matt and Kim - Sidewalks*	FADER
Nov-02-10	Movie Star Junkies - TBD	Kill Shaman
Nov-02-10	N.E.R.D. - Nothing*	Star Trak/Interscope
Nov-02-10	Sharon Kraus - The Woody Nightshade	Strange Attractors
Nov-02-10	Sharp Ends - Sharp Ends	Kill Shaman
Nov-02-10	The 1900s - Return of the Century*	Parasol
Nov-02-10	Weezer - Pinkerton (Deluxe Edition Reissue)*	Geffen/Ume

New Shows, This Weekend In Shows (TWIS)

Finally, the concert calendar is populated with excellent shows! Newly added this week includes Interpol, Tapes 'n Tapes, Besnard Lakes, Dan Deacon, and more. Check it all out over at the SHOWcal and here's what's on tap this coming week:

	Friday, October 29, 8:00pm		Chevelle @ Metro
	Friday, October 29, 10:00pm		Bear in Heaven @ Lincoln Hall
	Friday, October 29, 10:00pm		Born Ruffians @ Empty Bottle
	Saturday, October 30, 6:30pm		Chevelle @ Metro
	Saturday, October 30, 7:30pm		Bob Dylan @ Riviera
	Saturday, October 30, 10:30pm		Soft Pack/Kurt Vile @ Empty Bottle
	Sunday, October 31, 10:30pm		Soft Pack/Kurt Vile @ Empty Bottle

Thursday, November 4, 7:30pm

Frightened Rabbit @ House of Blues

Sleigh Bells @ Mad Planet (10.26.10)

I'm too lazy to write an actual concert review these days, but here's an adapted e-mail that sums it up pretty well:

I really enjoyed the Sleigh Bells album, but what an odd show. Mad Planet is an interesting venue. I had tickets to the Harlem show there a few months back, but ended up not making it. So this was my first show at the place. Now I know why everyone jokes about the Riverwest area being the hipster center of Milwaukee. I've never seen so many pretentious hipsters congregated in one venue in this city before (I must be hanging out at the wrong (right?) places). On top of that, there was a strong police presence at the place when I arrived (because nothing says "out of control crowd!" like a former-buzz-band-turning-mainstream act). Regardless, the bouncers took it as a chance to kick out a girl who looked like she drew whiskers on her face. Edgy!

Anyway, I couldn't really see the band because the stage wasn't really elevated at all. While that made for a decent dance atmosphere, I couldn't see anything from my spot in the back. Turns out I didn't miss much. It was all backing tracks and vocals, with occasional live singing from the girl. I have no idea what the guy was doing up there - probably just making sure the correct track on their album was playing. They sped through (note: if this was a positive review, I'd say "blistered through") their set in about 30 minutes. I was going to leave after 20 minutes, but then I remembered the album was short and there were probably only three songs left. In at least half the songs, the girl kept shouting "Scream with me, Milwaukee! Let me hear you guys scream!!!!" Thing is, the crowd was (inexplicably) pretty into them. (In fact, the guy next to me kept giving me weird looks for, I assume, looking unimpressed.) But that was the entirety of her stage banter. At the end of the show/set/encore?, she says something like "and let's keep it going for the house DJ!" But there was no house DJ, so it was just silence. So that made everyone think they were about to play another song. So after a minute she goes, "Uh, is there a DJ?" Then they started playing the house music, and everyone dispersed.

Sleigh Bells!

Album: Buzz-worthy
Live: Buzz-kill

Record Releases - October 26, 2010

Finally, a record-packed week! Here's what's out this week. Stuff marked * should be swell:

Oct-25-10	Andrew Bird - Useless Creatures*	Fat Possum
Oct-25-10	Apparat - DJ-Kicks	!K7
Oct-25-10	Avey Tare - Down There	Paw Tracks
Oct-25-10	Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect	Kranky
Oct-25-10	Chord - Progression	Important
Oct-25-10	Coliseum - Goddamage (Deluxe Vinyl reissue)	Temporary Residence Ltd.
Oct-25-10	Crystal Stilts - Shake the Shackles 7"	Slumberland
Oct-25-10	Darryl Jenifer - In Search of Black Judas	ROIR
Oct-25-10	Diamond Rings - Special Affections	Secret City
Oct-25-10	Excepter - Late	Woodsist
Oct-25-10	Fergus & Geronimo - Never Satisfied b/w Turning Blue	Hardly Art
Oct-25-10	Gregory & the Hawk - Leche	FatCat
Oct-25-10	K.C. Accidental - Anthems for and Empty Bathtub (reissue)	Arts & Crafts
Oct-25-10	K.C. Accidental - Anthems for the Could've Been Pills (reissue)	Arts & Crafts
Oct-25-10	Lesbian - Stratospheria Cubensis	Important
Oct-25-10	Metal Mountains - Golden Trees	Amish Records
Oct-25-10	Mugstar - Lime	Important
Oct-25-10	Octopus Project - Hexadecagon	Peek-a-boo
Oct-25-10	Pale Sketcher - Jesu: Don't Driam It (Mirage Mix)	Ghostly International
Oct-25-10	Phil Wilson - I Own It 7"	Slumberland
Oct-25-10	Pissed Jeans - Sam Kinison Woman b/w The L Word	Sub Pop
Oct-25-10	Pop. 1280 - The Grid	Sacred Bones
Oct-25-10	R.E.M. - Live From Austin, TX DVD	New West
Oct-25-10	Small Black - New Chain*	Jagjaguwar
Oct-25-10	Sun Airway - Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier	Dead Oceans
Oct-25-10	Sun City Girls - Funeral Mariachi	Abduction
Oct-25-10	Systems Officer - Underslept (Deluxe Vinyl reissue)	Temporary Residence Ltd.
Oct-25-10	The War on Drugs - Future Weather	Secretly Canadian
Oct-25-10	Timmy's Organism - Rise of the Green Gorilla	Sacred Bones
Oct-25-10	Warpaint - The Fool*	Rough Trade
Oct-25-10	Wolf & Cub - Science & Sorcery	Last Gang
Oct-25-10	Wooden Wand - Death Seat	Young God
Oct-27-10	Braids - Native Speaker	Kanine
Oct-27-10	Pepper Rabbit - Beauregard	Kanine
Oct-27-10	The Depreciation Guild - My Chariot 7"*	Kanine

This Weekend in Shows (TWIS) & New Shows

It's getting slim. Slim pickings, I say. Hardly anything new added to the SHOWcal this week. But, that doesn't mean there isn't shit to see. Here's what's up this weekend and next week:

	Friday, October 22, 8:00pm		Deerhunter/Real Estate @ Metro
	Friday, October 22, 8:00pm		Grinderman @ Riviera
	Friday, October 22, 8:30pm		Blonde Redhead @ Vic
	Monday, October 25, 7:00pm		LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip @ Aragon
	Monday, October 25, 8:00pm		Ezra Furman (solo acoustic) @ Schubas
	Tuesday, October 26, 7:30pm		LCD Soundsystem/Hot Chip @ Riviera
	Tuesday, October 26, 7:30pm		The Kathy Santonies @ Double Door
	Wednesday, October 27, 11:45pm		Sleigh Bells @ Metro
	Thursday, October 28, 7:30pm		The Cult @ Vic
	Thursday, October 28, 8:00pm		Black Mountain @ Metro
	Thursday, October 28, 9:00pm		Vaselines @ Lincoln Hall