"Best"

Year end "best of" lists are always an interesting way to chronicle the musical happenings in a given year. They can be a quick and easy way to get a handle on the musical zeitgeist. They can be a self serving device for the author to show how the world how interesting and frankly superior their tastes are to the tastes of others (according to them). They can also be the ultimate form of musical generosity, a gift of the music that has made one feel certain positive feelings in order for you to experience these feelings also.

I think however, these lists generally are a combination of the first two points: they reflect someones objective view on whether a song or an album is "best of" worthy. By objectively I mean an album that "ticks the boxes"; is deemed to be "good" based on a set of objective measures generally set by critics, other artists and music aficionados (whoever they are).

What is challenging though, is defining what these boxes are. They vary from genre to genre, year to year, era to era, and are principle driven signals of how a piece of music can be deemed "good" or the "best". This objective view is still undoubtedly clouded by ones musical preference (which assists in determining which objective test to apply to the music in question). But this line can be crossed into a region where someones raw musical loves are revealed, showing someones "best" that is free of the constraints of objective standards of what is considered to be the "best".

This subjective preference is generally not measured against any framework (however intangible and ultimately questionable this objective framework). It is based on the love you have for an album that defies any objective test of quality, merit, or significance. It is generally something you can't put your finger on. You love it, it is on your best of list, just because. Because you like it. It makes you feel good. Too bad if the lyrics hackneyed, the music unadventurous, the overall feel of the music dated. You play it over and over again. It makes you sing along. It makes you happy. Why it makes you feel this way is not important. If this is the way it makes you feel, how can it not be "good", or be considered your personal "best of"?

On that note, below are my two favourite albums of 2010 (difficult, given how amazing 2010 was musically in my opinion). One my "objective" favourite, the other my "subjective" favourite.




Unsurprisingly, Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is my "objective" favourite of the year, and the following paragraph is my best attempt at telling you why it is so. Musically it is interesting, lyrically it is confronting, and thematically it is bold and cohesive . It steps outside conventional norms of hip-hop and pop music whilst simultaneously embracing its badges to be an album that challenges and ultimately destroys the accepted confines of each genre. It is the sound of a man of supreme talent, executing this talent with such ease and breathtaking (yet totally justifiable) arrogance. Listening to this album, it's not hard to appreciate the incredible skill of the man behind the mic, the pen and the desk. For more Kanye love, read Pix's recent review. I agree with all of it.


The New Pornographers' latest album Together, on the other hand, is my "subjective" favourite of the year. It is my subjective favourite just because I really enjoy listening to it. I feel good when I hear this album. I enjoy the hooks. I enjoy how big and theatrical everything sounds. This album makes me want to sing along to each track. I love the way the album ebbs and flows from each Carl Newman track to the next Dan Bejar track, keeping me on my toes with each of the band's 4 songwriters showing a different interpretation on what this band should sound like. Critically, this was only warmly received but that doesn't bother me at all. Personally, this album made me (finally) fall in love with this band.

I hope based on my above mini-reviews you understand what I am on about. And I hope if you do put together your own best of 2010 list, make it a mix of what you subjectively enjoy and objectively appreciate. Together I believe these factors are what makes a "best of" list truly a "best of". Music that is still viewed under a harsh, critical microscope, yet is not void of those all important feelings that you feel when you listen to music you love.

Happy new year.