Terrible Chris' Fave Albums of 2010, Part the Last

That's right, kids, suck up my wisdom. It'll make you feel good, feel good, feel good...

Next week, back into the swing of 2011.

16. Bonobo, Black Sands--Whether this is the future of trip hop, it's last dying breath or something else entirely, me likey a lot.

17. Tobacco, Manic Meat--This is another one i'm surprised didn't place more prominently on more lists. If you're not into spastic beat music, well, sir, we should part ways here and now.
18. Mount Kimbie, Crooks & Lovers--As if the chilled beats weren't stellar enough, did you catch the ass on that cover? If that didn't make you want to listen to this thing, well, we certainly shouldn't be having this discussion in the first place. Damn Philistine.

19. DREAMEND, So I Ate Myself, Bite by Bite--A stylistic smorgasbord, these cats were only better live.

20. Dirty Projectors & Bjork, MOUNT WITTENBERG ORCA--Who doesn't love oddly beautiful vocal arrangements? Nobody. Not even your grandfather.

(No mp3 for this one, as it's a charity affair, but you can pick it up for yourself here)

ALL MP3 LINKS ONCE AGAIN REMOVED BY ORDER OF THE MAN.

A Couple of Quickies

As sometimes happens, the day got away from me, so no glowing prose today. Fortunately, i do have a couple of tracks i think we'll all agree are pretty damn tasty.

i'm still not 100 percent down for Aloe Blacc, but i will say this--when he gets a hold of a track, he really does knock it out of the park. i already dug "I Need a Dollar," and this live version, apparently recorded at some dinner table whilst AB was shooting a short film in France, makes me dig it that much more.

mp3: I Need a Dollar (Live at a Dinner Table) (Aloe Blacc from Some Dinner Table in France)

Let the record show, i tried using the embed link sent to me by the PR flaks for Mount Kimbie, which, of course, didn't work. Since it's up at RCRD LBL now, i'm considering it open to the world and am using their link instead. This track, recorded live at Berghain, Berlin, is being given away in anticipation of their upcoming EP, Blind Night Errand, due Nov. 29. If that's half as good as Crooks & Lovers, well, i expect it to be one of the better CDs of the year. Some of the best chilled dubstep out there today, if you ask me.

mp3: Ruby (Live at Berghain) (Mount Kimbie from Ruby (Live at Berghain))

Beat Meet: The Galloping, 24-Hour, Throttled Edition

With the weather in D.C. today being of the stay-indoor variety, today's beat tracks seem particularly apropos. Drop the following onto your mp3 player of choice, take two, and funk me in the morning.

First off, can i once again declare my love for XLR8R? This recurring post would have a lot less material if those cats weren't surfacing some of the best stuff out there for nerdish collectors such as myself to devour, and this week is no different.

i meant to post this earlier, but Mt. Kimbie dropped a full podcast for XLR8R, and, as you'd expect, it's a laid back chill trip of the finest degree. Of course, there's ample booty shaking grooves on this roughly 45 minute mix, with tracks from Zomby, Dam-Funk and Kode 9, amongst others, so there's something for head nodders of all shades here.

mp3: XLR8R Mix (Mt. Kimbie on XLR8R Podcast)

i figured Baths would take the crown as the Brainfeeder champion for 2010, but Teebs continues to make his push to snatch the royal dome for himself. While i anxiously await the October 9 release of his Ardour, he continues to be the gift that keeps on giving with tracks like this for the latest in the on-going LA Series by All-City (the other side of this release shared with none other than Daedelus).

mp3: Anchor Steam (Teebs from LA Series 6)

My aural equivalent of Ju-On, Shigeto is back in the mix. In anticipation of his Full Circle hitting shelves November 9 by way of Ghostly, he's dropped the single, "Relentless Drag." It starts off with droning Asian strings before settling into a groove before kicking up the freak factor in the closing minute. This kid continues to grow on me.

mp3: Relentless Drag (Shigeto from Full Circle)

To close things out and simultaneously show that i do read more than just XLR8R, Caribou recently posted a Daytrotter set. i've had tickets to see the former Manitoba twice now, but keep getting called out of town for work when he does show. Here's a taste of what i keep missing.

mp3: Bowls (Caribou from Daytrotter Session, 9-16-10)

Free Music Friday: The Fat Assed, Not Hard, Pot Surviving, Explosive, Prestidigitatious, Hearing Impaired Version

Seriously, you unwashed masses better appreciate the fact that this is the umpteenth Friday in a row i've opted to stay indoors at HQ to bring you a bunch of new music freebies as opposed to hanging out at the comic book store or other nerdly pursuits. i really an a hell of a guy. You'd try to marry me if you could. You ain't gots to lie, Craig.

To kick things off, i finally got my hands on a copy of Mt. Kimbie's Crooks and Lovers. Hot damn, this thing is good. For fans of smoothly glitchy, softstep (that's right, i'm coming up with a new genre classification, bitches!!!), you are going to love this one. Plus, it's got one of my two favorite CD covers so far this year.

mp3: Field (Mt. Kimbie from Crooks and Lovers)

Proving that the 80s synth sound has not been fully exhausted, Soft Metals has this bedroom pop track that seemingly would appeal to anyone sporting a Flock of Seagulls, Wigwam slouch socks and/or fluorescent, tiger-striped bandannas. Not that i would know anything about that. Also, thank god for there not being cell phone cameras back in the 80s.

mp3: Love or Music (Soft Metals from The Cold World Melts)

Sure, this whole surf sound revivalism has been fun. Same for the girl group thing. But i can't be the only one who has been waiting for the sound to grunge itself up a tad. Enter Grass Widow. Kind of like the Raveonettes, only different. Regardless, i'm digging this track on a Friday.

mp3: Shadow (Grass Widow from Past Time)

One of my favorite folk-girl bands, The Be Good Tanyas, has their frontwoman step to the fore on her latest solo affair, Firecracker. Frazey Ford (how cool a name is that?) brings the heat banjos and ooh ooh ooh backing vocals, then turns the heat to simmer with some burbling keys, on lead single, "Firecracker."

mp3: Firecracker (Frazey Ford from Firecracker)

Well, it wouldn't be a Free Music Friday without some hip hop thrown in for good measure. Fortunately, we've got a new banger from Orland's own Prolific. i'd actually heard this one making the rounds before they reached out to us, but i like it then and am happy to share it now. Sampling one of Nina Simone's finest, "Spell on You," displays some adroit lyricism and oh so smooth flow. It's the juxtaposition of the faster drum beat and the slower strings that keeps throwing me for a loop, though.

mp3: Spell on You (Prolific from For the Ladies February Series)

And to conclude on a similar note of hip-hop-itude while throwing in a charitable component, there's a new CD out raising money to help protect and empower Congolese women called Raise Hope for Congo. Compiled by former KCRW Music Director, Nic Harcourt, the album includes the likes of Bat For Lashes, Imaad Wasif, Konono No 1, Damien Rice, Amadou & Mariam, Norah Jones and Mos Def. You can stream the whole thing here, though we've got Mos Def's track for your downloading pleasure. Or you can just go straight to the source and donate here.

mp3: Priority (A Capella) (Mos Def from Raise Hope for Congo)