Rachel's Highlights of 2010

I am suffering end of year blues. No, I think I am suffering severe post-holiday blues. Going back to work this week after three weeks in Thailand has not helped this. Making a list of my favourite songs of the year has helped this marginally - trawling my ipod and listening to so much amazing music - but somehow made it worse too. How the fuck am I supposed to narrow this year down to ten songs, so overwhelming, what happened to the year, who am i, where am i, why am i sitting at a desk at work, what day is it, what am i supposed to do when a new year starts, oh god.


1. It seems that Steve and I concur that Twin Shadow was one of the best artists to come out of 2010. Have you googled a picture of him? He is also the best things to come out of 2010 aesthetically.

Twin Shadow - At My Heels


2. Kisses were also another 2010 love affair for me. I thought the dreampop shoegazey year of 2009 would blissfully float away to another glo-fi time and space continuum in 2010 but I was wrong and it was very much here to stay. The Hot Chip remix of this track is amazeballs as well.

Kisses - Kisses

Kisses - Kisses (Hot Chip Remix)


3. I do not care for indie street cred and love this next song to bits. The number of strange corners of the world in which I heard this song this year only made me love it more. The fact that Dcup is a blouse man only makes it better even though it needed no extra levels of betterness. This song is going to do down in dance music history like Drop the Pressure.

DCup and Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano


4. Tame Impala's album Innerspeaker was Australia's 2010 obsession apparently. There is something annoyingly good about their music. It's like, I don't like the fact that I like it. Is that weird? I think it's because every time I've seen them live they've been poo. And they're young and blaze and seem to not give a shit. But then their music is the shit. So confused. Lucidity was a fave but I am a sucker for a sick instrumental and this is the instrumental of the year.

Tame Impala - Jeremy's Storm


5. Delorean was my live music experience of the year and therefore deserves a spot. I saw them play at a club in Shibuya in Tokyo which was surreal in itself but complete with dancing Japanese hipsters and that guy who goes nuts on the keyboard and Ibiza-stylez electronic music in the middle of downtown Nippon, it was too good. This is the standout from their 2010 album Subiza I think.

Delorean - Stay Close


6. 7. 8. and 9. Sydney pumped out so much good music this year! Not that it ever doesn't but Jinja Safari, Bag Raiders, Flight Facilities and Boy and Bear stole my attention this year. These four tracks were on high rotation on the local dial. Have you heard tropical house done as good as Snake Chalmers? Or carefree summertime disco-pop as good as Crave You? And Jinja Safari even had their own genre made up for them - "forest rock" or some shit like that. As for Boy and Bear, you make my heart melt.

Bag Raiders - Snake Chalmers

Jinja Safari - Peter Pan

Boy and Bear - Mexican Mavis

Flight Facilities - Crave You

Flight Facilities - Crave You (C90 Remix)


10. And if you want to know who will be at the top of the Australian music scene in a couple of years time it is this dude. This is the first taste we have had of Joyride & The Accidents and it made my year. Feeling a little excitable for what is to come.

Joyride & The Accidents - This Is It


11. Kanye (another one you hate to love) really sucked me in this year and it seems the rest of the world too. This song is bananas. So beautiful, so effortlessly cool and something that just makes you shake your head and think how does he keep on doing it?

Kanye West - Lost in the World


12. I know I'm now up to number 12 in my top 10 and being self indulgent with what the above average music lover will deem a below average list of favourites but whatevs. Yeasayer are my all timers. It'd be easy to choose One as the standout from Odd Blood but Madder Red is so sick, it gives me chills down my spine. My sister has declared that she wants this song played at her funeral procession as her body is slowly paraded through the crowds on the shoulders of red indians.

Yeasayer - Madder Red

And here are all the tracks in a zip file via mediafire


Love you 2010 and love you blouse readers. Sending much love over the seas and cities and the radio waves xxxxxx