Music usually makes up a decent chunk of my Christmas gifts, and that was once again the case this year. Even though 2010 wasn't exactly a banner year for music, I still managed to get a couple good albums with some really great songs on them. Here are the five best:
5. "On The Ocean" by Guster
Guster was one of my favorites back when the band was just two acoustic guitarists and a bongo player. Then, with the 2003 album Keep It Together, they went electric, added a full drum set and turned into every other pop-rock group of the last two decades. (There were some exceptions, such as that album's "Red Oyster Cult" and the Ganging Up On The Sun track "The New Underground.") This year's album, Easy Wonderful, still has the pop-rock sound, but there's a darker tone on some songs that recalls the good old days -- and "On The Ocean" best exemplifies this sound.
4. "Janglin" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
On my first listen of this album, I thought, "Wow, I really like this Edward Sharpe guy!" Then I learned that Edward Sharpe is a fictional messianic figure created by the band's real lead singer, Alex Ebert, who, it turns out, is quite a weirdo. Anyway, you may recognize "Janglin" from this Ford Fiesta commercial:
Catchy little ditty, no? But when you add sing-song lyrics, "Janglin" becomes a serious contender for most happy, sunshiney song ever:
3. "Promenade (Guitar Fury Remix)" by Street Sweeper Social Club
"Promenade" was my favorite song on Street Sweeper Social Club's self-titled debut, but the album track paled in comparison to the live version I saw at the 2009 Outside Lands Festival. The studio version had just a short Tom Morello solo in the middle of the song, but in concert, Morello added a much longer solo at the end. And, oh, by the way, he played it with his teeth.
The "Guitar Fury Remix," from The Ghetto Blaster EP, added a second solo to the end of the song, but I can't tell if Morello used his teeth or not. Either way, it's still good.
2. "Louder Than Ever" by Cold War Kids
My first encounter with Cold War Kids was at Bonnaroo 2007, where their mid-afternoon set was one of the festival's highlights. In fact, their performance of "Saint John" was probably one of the top three songs I saw at Bonnaroo that year. (The others: The Roots' amazing old-school rap medley and "Alphabet Aerobics" by Galactic and Gift of Gab.)
Cold War Kids' music is really hard to describe; there's a piano, very heavy bass, and The Edge-influenced guitar work, and vocalist Nathan Willett sounds like a Southern soul singer, even though he's from California. I got "Louder Than Ever" with an iTunes gift card when I pre-ordered the band's upcoming Mine Is Yours album.
1. "Come In Please" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
This song starts off innocently enough but catches fire when the chorus comes in, and the horns lead a great jam at the end. By far the best song I got for Christmas.
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