Albums of the Decade - 30. Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019)

 30. LANA DEL REY - NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL (2019) 

When this came out last year, a girl that I was in love with met me and motioned with her hand like a conductor to the "I'm waaaaasted" in "The Greatest"  - it was heart-achingly nostalgic - which I feel is what this LP is all about. What it boils down to. Hey Kevin, turn the water off ya ratbag.

That whole remembering of the times once had, when you bought a truck in the middle of the night, or threw off your nightgown, just like Sylvia Plath, or wanted to go to a party in California just hit me up. Kevin, make me a cuppa, would ya kid?

The hype surrounding this last year was just staggering, and I was initally skeptical of the Pitchfork hype and such, but wy be so, when you can just let the sheer quality wash over you? Kevin. Milk no sugar.

When c-wolves are giving flak to artists like Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande because of their gender - the best way is to shove them a Lana Del Rey or Fiona Apple record and ask them to gobble it up.  My brew's ready. Thanks Kev.

Records of 2014 - 38. TOPS - Picture You Staring

38. - TOPS - PICTURE YOU STARING

Twee indie pop from Montreal. Considering that it comes straight after the murky work of The Bug on this list, it's a welcome invitation for tonight's listening. I've said before that many of the records on these lists flow on the ranking scale depending on my nights listening at the time. The top 20 or so are pretty much set but there's a lot of movement and I'm frequently caught pressing stop, play  and rewind - but never fast forward. This shit takes time. Let it flow.

Letting things flow or forcing the situation has been a big binary opposition that's been floating around my noggin lately. This is one for the former whereas The Bug rams open the safe. Comparison and contrast is what makes like beautiful and if anyone ever tells you to stop thinking too much, tell them to get born.

Records of 2010 - 26. Jónsi - Go

Records of 2010 - 26. Jónsi - Go

This is a true heavyweight of an album. When it came out in Spring, it was like waking up to true techni-colour. Like all his music with Sigur Rós, "Go" is just adorable. You've pretty much got 2 virtuosos working together on this one. Nico Muhly copies and pastes the production like a student with quotes on a shit essay; the main difference being that this isn't shit. It's brilliant. The voice of the creator is better than ever, his range just utterly incredible, combining with Muhly's scuttling production on "Animal Arithmetic" with fizzy effect. However, it's "Boy Lilikoi" that provides that devastatingly beautiful moment that makes you think"You know what? This is the 26th best album to be released in 2010."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBgPmw3JCN4

Records of 2010 - 27. Girl Talk - All Day

Records of 2010 - 27. Girl Talk - All Day

The great thing here is that you can legally download this album for free. There are no fucking excuses. For you folk that dunno, this Australian DJ meshes hippity-hop with cheesy pop and guitar-licks of old. So you get something like Rihanna over Fugazi. Or Gaga over, er, I forget - the Teletubbies or whatever. I joke around. It's over Aphex Twin! More seriously, even if you hate most mainstream hip-hop and pop like me, this should still put a shit-eating grin on your face. He's done 3 of these now and even if it's a case of more of the same, I don't care because this party sounds like magic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugf6Dl5danQ

Records of 2010 - 36. High Places - High Places Vs. Mankind

Records of 2010 - 36. High Places - High Places Vs. Mankind

Here are the facts (wikipedia!):

"Since its inception, High Places has created a signature sound out of using bass-heavy, yet crisp beats, lilting vocal melodies, syncopated rhythmic lines performed on folk percussion instruments, guitar duets turned into treated samples, and percussive lines created from the manipulation of household objects. The duo has an “exquisite corpse” style of songwriting where they exchange ideas back and forth, challenging one another’s expectations. The songwriting is expansive and fluid, all the while managing to be concise. Overall, the compositions are settled and assured. High Places gravitates toward the organic over the electronic, and that natural aesthetic adds warmth and intimacy to the recordings."

My opinion:

Eerie, experimental and excellent dream-pop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyeQeEq2sp8

Records of 2010 - 37. Michael Jackson - Michael

Records of 2010 - 37. Michael Jackson - Michael

Many people are still reeling from the passing of the joint greatest pop star of all time (Madonna is amazing too) and a year and a half later we have some posthumous stuff.

This is better than most of the pop out there. The production is killer. The album is leaner than 2001's messy "Invincible"and if anything the structure of say the Tricky produced (!) "Keep Your Head Up" is reminiscent of R-Kelly.

It's the sound of an artist having good things to come, which sadly isn't the case. It's the sounds of optimism from a man who led a wounded life. It's the sound of warm, colourful, crackerjack pop from the one that started it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxEISCUN3k