klaxons

The Rob Scrawl: The 10 Best Tracks of 2010

in: heavy rotation, in: tens

Hoorah! What a marvelous day – a dual (a double, not a challenge) post. It’s a Dunce Cap top ten, the best tracks of the year (in my personal opinion). It’s a Rob Scrawl with a twist: An in tens (too cheesy?) playlist capturing the best songs of the year (as determined July 19, 2010). And, of course, WordPress still isn’t permitting users to embed 8tracks into a new post, so hosting on the other site’ll have to suffice.

Click the photo or link below to listen.

The best font ever!, courtesy of Core77

The Dunce Cap Special Edition: 10 Best of ’10: It’s a Hollywood summer. You never believe the shitty thoughts I think. We belong in a movie. (listen to mix via 8tracks)

My 10 favorite tracks of the year:

1. “O.N.E.” – Yeasayer
2. “Factory” – Band of Horses
3. “Good to Be” – Magic Kids
4. “Conversation 16” – The National
5. “Someday Soon” – Harlem
6. “Don’t Look Back” – She & Him
7. “Excuses” – The Morning Benders
8. “Crazy for You” – Best Coast
9. “Gold Skull” – Miniature Tigers
10. “Pretty Melody” – Butch Walker

This isn’t a playlist in need of too much explanation, so give the pretty list a whirl. 2010’s been a fair year for music, and a lot of my favorite artists were back in full force. The rest of the year is sure to be kind to my ears, with upcoming releases from Arcade Fire, Wavves, Klaxons, Of Montreal, Belle & Sebastian and many, many more (Pitbull!). And that Miniature Tigers album is going to be bomb. I fell in love with Tell it to the Volcano after seeing the band open for Bishop Allen, and the early sounds of Fortress, which hits stores Tuesday, seem even more mature and catchier than their first full-length.

And speaking of albums, I do, as a matter of fact, have a list of my favorite albums of the year thus far!

Critical darlings The Hold Steady, whose sonorous Heaven is Whenever made my Top 10 list.

My 10 favorite albums of the year:

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
The National – High Violet
The Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
Beach House – Teen Dream
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
The Morning Benders – Big Echo
Jonsi – Go
Marina & the Diamonds – The Family Jewels
Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

And a hilarious piece from Saturday’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! featuring The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn: Craig Finn of The Hold Steady Plays Not My Job

What do you think?
What are your favorite tracks/albums of the year thus far?

The Dunce Cap: June 7, 2010

in: heavy rotation

The geeks of Wet Hot American Summer

I hope it’s not jumbo shrimp, because I’m allergic to oxymorons!

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 11: So many foreign worlds, so ready for us. (mix via 8tracks)

1. “Close to Home” – The Get Up Kids
2. “Laid” – James
3. “No Diggity” – Klaxons
4. “Silvia” – Miike Snow
5. “Be My Baby” – The Ronettes
6. “Britney” – I’m From Barcelona
7. “Creature Fear” – Bon Iver
8. “Happiness” – Jonsi and Alex
9. “For Real” – Okkervil River
10. “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks” – The National

*BONUS TRACK: “The Geeks Get the Girls” – American Hi-Fi

The 2000s were, undeniably, the decade of the nerd. Sure, Duckie, Long Duk Dong and any character played by Anthony Michael Hall in a John Hughes flick had their fifteen minutes of fame, fortune and genuine female attention, but the aughts saw an unprecedented rise in the triumph of wallflowers in popular culture. There was the gang from Freaks and Geeks, led by John Francis Daley of Bones, who closed out the ’90s; Ugly Betty, Napoleon Dynamite, Seth Cohen and Ted Mosby (yes, the real Ted Mosby) all had their spots in the space-time continuum of geek lead triumph, but no ragtag troupe of amateur nerdlings captured my heart like the geeks of Wet Hot American Summer.

This is a mix inspired by these gems, by the caped kid cradling his 20-sided die, by The Cure Girl (called so in the credits of the film), by David Hyde Pierce‘s caustic Henry and all of the other kids who “like science.” They “save” their summer camp by diverting a rogue piece of Skylab, but the most earnest and touching part is that they discover friendship (this would warrant a trite vomit if it weren’t so hilariously choreographed by David Wain and Michaels Ian Black and Showalter). They form li’l bond to beat the summer camp blues, stargazing, plotting, commiserating and running from dodgeball. Together.

These are songs about unrequited love, homesickness, fear, Britney Spears and, of course, geeks. It’s dedicated to those freaks, geeks and Otis Redding-belting nerds who stole my heart and let me be their friend.

For now – I am jetsetting to the exotic town of Snellville, Ga., on Monday, but fret not – The Dunce Cap will prevail! I know I haven’t done June Book Club yet, so look out for that soon.

Now finish up them taters; I’m gonna go fondle my sweaters.

Happy listening.