Happy Christmas from Arlo

Arlo's got his new Christmas bone. Wishing everyone a Merry Little Christmas and the best in the New Year!

End of 2010

Who the hell am I to critique music? I've never recorded a song. I don't even play any instruments. I've been appreciating music for as long as I can remember and I generally tend toward stuff most people haven't heard. Here is a list of the albums and EP's that have stuck with me this year. The two trends I've apparently enjoyed most about music this year is good harmonies and 80's style hazy, reverb-echo.

Top Albums / EP's of 2010

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
the Morning Benders - Big Echo
Wild Nothing - Gemini
Tame Impala - Innerspeaker
Twin Shadow - Forget
Librarians - Present Passed
Casa Castile - Vake EP
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Horse Power EP
Gigi - Maintenent
Beach Fossils - Beach Fossils (this song is on a 7", not on this album, but they don't have any videos...)
Wolf Parade - Expo 86
Parenthetical Girls - Privilege Pt. 1 & 2 (Parenthetical Girls are releasing their next album over the course of... a year(?) one 4 song EP at a time)

Favorite 15 Songs of 2010 (songs not found on the favorite albums/EP's list above)
LCD Soundsystem - dance yrself clean
Rafter - no fucking around
Warpaint - billie holiday
Born Ruffians - what to say
Woods - death rattles
Black Keys - tighten up
Tame Impala - remember me (it's not on innerspeaker)
Books - I didn't know that
Cee Lo Green - fuck you (that's a catchy tune)
Suckers - before your birthday ends
Dumbo Gets Mad - eclectic prawn
Forgetters - vampire lessons (blake schwarzenbach's return!)
Gayngs - cry
Inlets - bright orange air
Reggie Watts - fuck shit stack

Biggest DISAPPOINTMENTS of 2010:
Maximum Balloon (Come on David Sitek, was this just a bunch of crap you had laying around the studio and thought you should release as something outside of TVOTR?)
Interpol It's no wonder why Carlos D left. Nothing has been that good since your debut a decade ago. boo.
Menomena (What a boring album. Sometimes Less is LESS...and dull)
the National (Every song on this new album has the same pace and tempo. They are better than this.)
Miles Kurosky (Remember being awesome in Beulah? What happened?)
Best Coast (I guess I was expecting more, what with all the hype around this band. It's nothing new or different. "Boyfriend" is a decent song, but it does not live up to the hype)

New Discoveries in 2010:
Yo La Tengo
I know, what kind of indie music nerd am I? I never really gave them a chance, but one day I purchased I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass simply because I love the title. It's a great album and I'm stupid for not getting into them before.
A continued fascination with Raymond Scott. I'll bet this guy was a lunatic with a brilliant, one-channel mind.
Nino Rota. Specifically the soundtrack to Giulietta Degli Spiriti. It is one of the coolest sounding albums I've heard in a long time.
Jonathan Fire*Eater. Where was I when these guys were all the rage in NYC? I fell hard for these guys and collected everything I could find in about two weeks. They are so much better than the Walkmen. Crazy. Get their EP Tremble Under Boom Lights and see how awesome they are.
I got into finding weird, obscure oldies in 2010. Some easy to find, some just strange.
Highlights:
the Treniers - poontang
Thurl Ravenscroft/Roberta Lee 45 - wing ding ding / I wanna talk about texas
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - beggin'
Byrds - you showed me (turtles song / cover)

Also - I don't understand how the Arcade Fire album that came out this year is topping everyone's lists. It sounds like they are doing their best Bruce Springsteen impression all over that thing.

Holiday Coffee

I work for a wonderful family owned coffee shop in Portland, Kobos Coffee. This is the holiday coffee we're packaging and selling this season. I love that the decaf snowman has been decafitated.