Monday, December 06, 2010

Monorail Poll 2010

I don’t think it’s just me being lazy with my record buying. This year it seemed as though almost every once great band was great again. The Vaselines and the Television Personalities put out brilliant singles, Tender Trap were better than they’d ever been before, and Edwyn Collins was properly back. I’m still making my mind up about the guest vocals on Losing Sleep, it’ll be March before it hits, probably. I believe there were new bands too, but I didn’t really take to the Dum Dum Girls, and in general there seemed too many records with boring four four beats pushed to the fore, like a fringe and a pair of shades. This made Directorsound’s wonky Two Years Today all the more delightful, you could see the whites of their eyes and their flecked irises. Three four lurching is where it’s at in their world, and they have refined it beautifully in the years since Redemptive Strikes, there is no one quite like them. Crooked feels like the record Kristin Hersh has been building up to for a decade, and Grinderman 2 is everything Grinderman and Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! strove (too hard) to be but (therefore) weren’t. She & Him made a record Nancy & Lee would have been proud of, but they were never going to steal The Sexual Objects’ crown. ‘There’s ice cream on the tissues / Get your ponchos out’. Filth.

Thanks to Monorail for a) being Monorail and b) asking for our votes again. Here is my list:
  1. The Sexual Objects – Cucumber
  2. She & Him – Volume 2
  3. Vic Godard & Subway Sect – We Come As Aliens
  4. Directorsound – Two Years Today
  5. Spare Snare – Victor
  6. Grinderman – Grinderman 2
  7. Teenage Fanclub – Shadows
  8. Kristin Hersh – Crooked
  9. Bill Wells / Annie Whitehead / Stefan Schneider / Barbara Morgenstern – Paper of Pins
  10. Allo Darlin’ – Allo Darlin’
Single:

Jo Mango – The Moth and The Moon / The Black Sun

Reissue:

Charles Douglas – The Lives of Charles Douglas

____________________

And here is Chris S.’s list:
  1. The Sexual Objects – Cucumber
  2. Oneone – Aoooo *
  3. Real Estate – Reality
  4. Beach Fossils – Beach Fossils
  5. Teenage Fanclub – Shadows
  6. Nikasaya – One Summerheim *
  7. The Liminanes – The Liminanes
  8. Pantha du Prince – Black Noise
  9. Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be
  10. Directorsound – Two Years Today
* Two of these records were, strictly speaking, 2009 records, but I didn't get them until 2010... I'm not sure what the rules are or how tightly you're applying them... if Oneone / Nikasaya have to go, then please add in:

To Rococo Rot – Speculation
Moon Duo – Escape

Single:

Deerhoof / Oneone – Sealed With A Kiss / Oneone Theme

Reissue:

Spare Snare – Live at McGonagalls, Dundee, 28.10.95

4 comments:

Anne said...

It's always good to read your lists. I didn't even know the Bill Wells and co album existed!
I will try making my list too.

Chris said...

I told you about that Bill record! It's really lovely.

Many thanks for your recommendations of She & Him and Charles Douglas, they brightened the year up no end. Chris S. has yet to recover from the video of 'In The Sun' you posted :)

Anonymous said...

I doubt I ever will. *sighs*

SP said...

Thanks as ever for your great contributions. This year we reverted to former methodology (double weighted sales + customer votes) and this is how the chart came out...

Monorail Music 2010

01 Teenage Fanclub - Shadows (Pema)
02 Moon Duo - Escape (Woodsist)
03 Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love (Rough Trade)
04 The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
05 Alasdair Roberts - Too Long In This Condition (Drag City)
06 Washed Out - Life Of Leisure (Mexican Summer)
07 LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening (DFA / EMI)
08 Best Coast - Crazy For You (Wichita)
09 The Vaselines - Sex With An X (Sub Pop)
10 The Sexual Objects - Cucumber (Aktion & Spass)
11 Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
12 Bonnie Prince Billy - Wonder Show Of The World (Domino)
13 Four Tet - There Is Love In You (Domino)
14 Grinderman - II (Mute)
15 One One - Aoooo (P-Vine)
16 Various - Deutsche Elektronische Musik (Soul Jazz)
17 Errors - Come Down With Me (Rock Action)
18 The Liminanas - s/t (Trouble In Mind)
19 To Rococo Rot - Speculation (Domino)
20 Unwinding Hours - s/t (Chemikal Underground)
21 Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks (Fat Cat)
22 Lali Puna - Our Inventions (Morr Music)
23 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (Merge / Mercury)
24 Phantom Band - The Wants (Chemikal Underground)
25 Pavement - Quarantine The Past (Domino)
26 She and Him - Volume Two (Double Six / Domino)
27 Moon Unit - Hell Horse & Heady Stratus (Blackest Rainbow)
28 Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be (Sub Pop)
29 Silver Mount Zion - Kollaps Tradixionales (Constellation)
30 Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep (Heavenly)
31 Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest (4AD)
32 RM Hubbert - First & Last (Ubisano)
33 Mogwai - Special Moves (Rock Action)
34 Umberto - From the Grave (Not Not Fun)
35 Grass Widow - Past Time (Kill Rock Stars)
36 Sun Araw - On Patrol (Not Not Fun)
37 Directorsound - Two Years Today (Tona Serenad)
38 The National - High Violet (4AD)
39 Mark McGuire - Living With Yourself (Editions Mego)
40 Trembling Bells - Abandoned True Love (Honest Jons)

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