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.
Tokyo Jihen, Sports
Cocco, Emerald
Renée Fleming, Dark Hope
LOVE PSYCHEDELICO, ABBOT KINNEY
Res, Black.Girls.Rock!
Royal Wood, The Waiting
KIMONOS, Kimonos
ACO, devil’s hands
The Drums, The Drums
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.
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.
What I find most remarkable about the 2012 list is the number of albums listed under honorable mentions. The revised list has culled a lot of those titles. I probably listed so many because I didn’t feel passionate enough about any of them.
Solange, True
Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
Jeremy Denk, Ligeti/Beethoven
… And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Lost Songs
Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE
Cody Chesnutt, Landing on a Hundred
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Landmark
ZAZEN BOYS, Stories
Tokyo Jihen, Shinyawaku
Duran Duran, A Diamond in the Mind
Other favorites from the year:
Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour
Roomful of Teeth, Roomful of Teeth
Gossip, A Joyful Noise
Tokyo Jihen, Tokyo Collection
TOUMING MAGAZINE, TOUMING MAGAZINE FOREVER
OBLIVION DUST, 9 Gates of Bipolar
Gaytheist, Stealth Beats
Cody ChesnuTT dislodges Scissor Sisters from the original list, and Frank Ocean jumps up a few spots. Otherwise, there are no remarkable changes.
If anything, 2012 has turned out to be something of a dud year. When I review my purchases in subsequent years, 2012 releases are scant, and most of the albums I bought that year only garner no more than a 3-star rating.
![[Nas - God's Son]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NasGodsSon2002263398_f.jpg)
![[Nakamori Akina - AKINA BOX]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AKINABOX2006233737RYSI_f-300x296.jpg)
![[TOUMING MAGAZINE - Our Soul Music]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TOUMINGMAGAZINEBokutachin57098_f-300x262.jpg)
![[Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CodyChesnuTTLandingOnAH58620_f-300x300.jpg)