Musicwhore.org Music and memory

A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.

2010 was a solid year in music, led by strong showings from Shiina Ringo and Cocco. So this version of the Favorite Edition list doesn’t stray much from the original.

1. Tokyo Jihen, Sports
2. Cocco, Emerald
3. Renée Fleming, Dark Hope
4. LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, ABBOT KINNEY
5. Res, Black.Girls.Rock!
6. Royal Wood, The Waiting
7. KIMONOS, Kimonos
8. ACO, devil’s hands
9. The Drums, The Drums
10. Oriental Love Ring, In This World

Other favorites from the year:

• Jónsi, Go
• LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening
• Sade, Soldier of Love
• Friday Night Lights, Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 2
• TOUMING MAGAZINE, Our Soul Music

I was always a bit ambivalent about ranking LCD Soundsystem over Sade, so the late discovery of The Drums banished both from the Favorite 10.

I’ve been waiting for an album by Oriental Love Ring for more than 30 years, so learning it happened — albeit two years after it was released — meant something had to give. And it fell to Jónsi.

The final retroactive addition to the list is the debut album by TOUMING MAGAZINE. I try not to translate foreign language album titles, but since my traditional Chinese is non-existent, it’s safest to give a correct English title than a mangled transliterated one.

Google Translate says 我們的靈魂樂 is pronounced “Wǒmen de línghún lè”. The band says the title is Our Soul Music.

Tags: aco, cocco, favorite edition, jonsi, kimonos, lcd soundsystem, love psychedelico, oriental love ring, renee fleming, res, rewind, royal wood, sade, soundtrack, the drums, tokyo jihen, touming magazine