The Best of 2010 so far (part 1): Top 50 Singles

Yes, it's that time of the year again! Amidst World Cup matches and summer holiday plans, we have managed to find the time to compile our traditional middle-of-the-year “Best of” lists with our favorite singles and albums so far. We are starting today with the unveiling of our Top 50 Singles released in the first half of 2010 and in the second part of the presentation we’ll deal with the best albums.

The majority of the tracks in our Top 50 were released as proper singles, but we have also included a few outstanding album tracks which were also available as free mp3s, a fact that qualifies them as singles for our purposes. Also, as it’s usually the case with our "Best Singles" lists, we only allow one track per band in order to maximize the variety of our selection. With these rules in mind, here’s the list of Cool Music Central's Top 50 Singles of 2010 so far:

Top 50 Singles (Jan.-June 2010)

1. Jail La La - DUM DUM GIRLS
2. Bloodbuzz Ohio - THE NATIONAL
3. Written In Reverse - SPOON
4. Bury Pts 2+4 - THE FALL
5. Tell’em - SLEIGH BELLS
6. The Overachievers - LIARS
7. Forced To Love/All To All - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
8. Norway - BEACH HOUSE
9. Giving Up The Gun - VAMPIRE WEEKEND
10. Attack Music - THESE NEW PURITANS
11. Intuition - LONELADY
12. Water - PIT ER PAT
13. Celestica - CRYSTAL CASTLES
14. Art Czars - JAPANDROIDS
15. Ego Death EP - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
16. The Ghosts That Wake You - FOLLOW THAT BIRD!
17. Can’t Feel Born EP - HIGH PLACES
18. Don't Ask - BLOOD RED SHOES
19. Skinny Little Bitch - HOLE
20. C'mon - THE SOFT PACK
21. The Crash Years - THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
22. Hide It Away - RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR
23. Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums - MOONFACE
24. Latin America - HOLY FUCK
25. Odessa - CARIBOU
26. Chaos - NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB
27. This Orient - FOALS
28. Lights - INTERPOL
29. The Suburbs/Month Of May - ARCADE FIRE
30. Die By The Drop - THE DEAD WEATHER
31. Compliments - BAND OF HORSES
32. Shark's Tooth - ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
33. Ayisha Abyss - SERENA MANEESH
34. Sing - FOUR TET
35. Born Free - M.I.A.
36. This Desert EP - THE HUNDRED IN THE HANDS
37. Fool's Day - BLUR
38. Forever & Ever Amen - THE DRUMS
39. Fixed - STARS
40. Romance Is Boring - LOS CAMPESINOS!
41. Swim - SURFER BLOOD
42. Found Love In A Graveyard - VERONICA FALLS
43. Lemonade - COCOROSIE
44. High Road - BROKEN BELLS
45. Siberian Breaks - MGMT
46. Natural Selection - UNKLE
47. O.N.E. - YEASAYER
48. Stylo - GORILLAZ
49. I Feel Better - HOT CHIP
50. Drunk Girls - LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

Go on, make your day - press play and listen to the Top 25 below:

Listening Habits 05-06.2010

We had plenty of excellent releases in the last couple of months and before we proceed to our customary assessment of the best music that the first half of the year had to offer, let’s take a look at the albums and tracks that got the most spins at Cool Music Central’s busy cd/mp3 players.

Out of the 15 most played albums of May - June 2010, there are at least 6 that fight it out for our "Album of the Month" title and up to this point I cannot declare an undisputed winner. Jack White’s super-prolific super-group, The Dead Weather, have returned with another blazing rock record, their second in less than a year, that makes it look completely effortless for them to spit out cool music. It certainly took considerably more effort for Foals to come up with their sophomore LP “Total Life Forever”, a record that sees Yannis Philippakis’ ambitious group breaking new ground and expanding its musical horizons towards funkier and more melodic pop forms. Flying Lotus (i.e. laptop wizard Steven Ellison) gave us “Cosmogramma”, a record that certainly makes an early bid for "Electronic Album of the Year" with its heady, mesmerizing mix of hip-hop influenced dance beats, tropical melodies and jazzy forms.

Sleigh Bells were one of the sensations of the recent Primavera Sound festival and the more I listen to the thrilling 30-minute ride of their amazing debut “Treats”, the more I am convinced that it is one of the revelations of the year. Imagine a record where Kathleen Hanna plays Bikini Kill and Le Tigre tracks simultaneously, M.I.A. drops by to drop a few rhymes while Public Enemy provide the beats and you’ll start to get an idea of the volatile electro-punk concoction cooked up by Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss. The ingredients of their “Treats” may be old and frequently recycled in recent years, but the end result is a fresh and totally invigorating aural delight.

As for the latest albums by The National and Broken Social Scene, there are not too many surprises to be found here. Just two of the best bands of the last decade delivering their latest collections of excellent new songs, many of which will have no trouble standing next to their old classics. Business as usual then…Some examples of brand new career highlights for The National to be found in “High Violet” are “Bloodbuzz Ohio” (one of the singles of the year so far - check out this post as well), “Anyone's Ghost” and “Conversation 16”, while “Forgiveness Rock Record” adds to Broken Social Scene’s arsenal of hits “Forced To Love”, “All To All” and “Chase Scene” among others.

Top 15 Albums

1.  Forgiveness Rock Record - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
2.  High Violet - THE NATIONAL
3.  Treats - SLEIGH BELLS
4.  Cosmogramma - FLYING LOTUS
5.  Total Life Forever - FOALS
6.  Sea Of Cowards - THE DEAD WEATHER
7.  Coconut - ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
8.  No 2: Abyss In B Minor - SERENA MANEESH
9.  Amsterdam Throwdown King Street Showdown! - SOLEX VS. CRISTINA MARTINEZ + JON SPENCER
10. Together - THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
11. Heaven Is Whenever - THE HOLD STEADY
12. Grey Oceans - COCOROSIE
13. Have One On Me - JOANNA NEWSOM
14. Infinite Arms - BAND OF HORSES
15. Nobody's Daughter - HOLE

Top 20 Tracks

1.  Tell’em - SLEIGH BELLS
2.  All To All - BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
3.  Mexico Wax Solvent - THE FALL
4.  Magnetic Warrior - ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT
5.  Miami - FOALS
6.  Anyone's Ghost - THE NATIONAL
7.  Blue Blood Blues - THE DEAD WEATHER
8.  Samantha - HOLE
9.  Month Of May - ARCADE FIRE
10. Bhang, Bhang, I’m A Burnout - DUM DUM GIRLS
11. Babelonia - SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
12. Nose Art - FLYING LOTUS
13. The Uppercut - SOLEX VS. CRISTINA MARTINEZ + JON SPENCER
14. I Just Want To See Your Face - SERENA MANEESH
15. Crash Years - THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
16. Barely Breathing - THE HOLD STEADY
17. Compliments - BAND OF HORSES
18. Natural Selection - UNKLE
19. It's A Fast Driving Raveup With A Place To Bury Strangers - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
20. The Moon Asked The Crow - COCOROSIE

Sleigh Bells - Tell'em (live @ SXSW)