Month: December 2010

1. Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
2. Hidden – These New Puritans
3. Seasons Of My Soul – Rumer
4. Ali & Toumani – Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate
5. Holkham Drones – Luke Abbott
6. Sky At Night – I Am Kloot
7. Ring – Glasser
8. Gothic Road – Jackie Leven
9. Genuine Negro Jig – Carolina Chocolate Drops
10. Timbuktu Tarab – Khaira Arby
11. We Love – We Love
12. One Life Stand – Hot Chip
13. Gift – Eliza Carthy & Norma Waterson
14. I Speak Because I Can – Laura Marling
15. Chamber Music Society – Esperanza Spalding
16. Dust – Ellen Allien
17. Head First – Goldfrapp
18. Through Light And Trees – Smoke Fairies
19. San Patricio – The Chieftains / Ry Cooder
20. There Is Love In You – Four Tet
21. Quadron – Quadron
22. Deep And Meaningless – Ron Basejam
23. Heartland – Owen Pallett
24. Handmade Life – Chris Wood
25. The ArchAndroid – Janelle Monae
26. Niwa – Ripperton
27. The Sea – Corinne Bailey Rae
28. Black Noise – Pantha Du Prince
29. I’m New Here – Gil Scott-Heron
30. Grey Oceans – CocoRosie
31. Relayted – Gayngs
32. Contra – Vampire Weekend
33. Afrocubism – Afrocubism
34. Swim – Caribou
35. Contact, Love, Want, Have – Ikonika
36. Measure – Field Music
37. En Fin Tid – Diskjokke
38. Wake Up The Nation – Paul Weller
39. Night Work – Scissor Sisters
40. Rising Sun – The Souljazz Orchestra
41. Acolyte – Delphic
42. Tradi-Mods vs Rockers (Alternative Takes On Congotronics) – Various
43. Transference – Spoon
44. She Was Coloured In – Solar Bears
45. Before Today – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
46. Soldier Of Love – Sade
47. I And Love And You – Avett Brothers
48. Praise & Blame – Tom Jones
49. Earthology – The Whitefield Brothers
50. LP4 – Ratatat
51. Your Future Our Clutter – The Fall
52. Womb Of Dreams – Fan Death
53. Sun Comes Up Again – I Am Arrows
54. July Flame – Laura Veirs
55. Hedonism – Bellowhead
56. Here Lies Love – David Byrne & Fatboy Slim
57. Blackmagic – Jose James
58. This Is Happening – LCD Soundsystem
59. Heligoland – Massive Attack
60. Lost Where I Belong – Andreya Triana

As usual, I’ve restricted inclusion to tracks which I enjoyed as stand-alone pieces, rather than getting bogged down in endless favourite album tracks. Consequently, the vast majority of entries on this list were released as singles (whatever “single” means in this day and age), and the list as a whole is more slanted towards the more “pop” end of my taste spectrum.

UPDATE: Click here to listen to all 70 tracks on Spotify.

1. Invisible Light – Scissor Sisters
2. We Want War – These New Puritans
3. Fire With Fire – Scissor Sisters
4. Slow – Rumer
5. Tightrope – Janelle Monae ft Big Boi
6. Round And Round – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
7. Wut – Girl Unit
8. Celestica – Crystal Castles
9. Perfect Stranger – Magnetic Man ft Katy B
10. Coma Cat – Tensnake
11. Need You Now – Lady Antebellum
12. Somebody To Love Me – Mark Ronson & the Business Intl ft Boy George
13. Soldier Of Love – Sade
14. She Said – Plan B
15. Night Air – Jamie Woon
16. Mirrorage – Glasser
17. Acapella – Kelis
18. The Gaudy Side Of Town – Gayngs
19. 4th Of July (Fireworks) – Kelis
20. Gettin’ Over You – David Guetta & Chris Willis ft Fergie & LMFAO
21. Them That Do Nothing – Field Music
22. Who Makes Your Money – Spoon
23. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt – Owen Pallett
24. Limit To Your Love – James Blake
25. California Gurls – Katy Perry ft Snoop Dogg
26. Mind Reader – Kingdom ft Shyvonne
27. Gawad Teriamou – The Sway Machinery & Khaira Arby
28. In The Sun – She & Him
29. Oh! The Divorces – Tracey Thorn
30. No Tears To Cry – Paul Weller
31. Rocket – Goldfrapp
32. One Life Stand – Hot Chip
33. Tremel (Astronomer Remix) – Glasser
34. CMYK – James Blake
35. Alejandro – Lady Gaga
36. Fuck You – Cee-Lo Green
37. Dancing On My Own – Robyn
38. Odessa – Caribou
39. Firework – Katy Perry
40. Window Seat – Erykah Badu
41. Aretha – Rumer
42. OMG – Usher
43. Alive – Goldfrapp
44. Stylo – Gorillaz ft Mos Def & Bobby Womack
45. Not In Love – Crystal Castles ft Robert Smith
46. Kupanda – Mice Parade
47. Drop The Other – Emika
48. Nothin’ On You – B.o.B ft Bruno Mars
49. Bloodbuzz Ohio – The National
50. I Need A Dollar – Aloe Blacc
51. Jeans – Quadron
52. Measure – Field Music
53. Club Can’t Handle Me – Flo Rida ft David Guetta
54. Promise This (Almighty Club Mix) – Cheryl Cole
55. Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart – Alicia Keys
56. Shutterbugg – Big Boi ft Cutty
57. Dynamite – Taio Cruz
58. Alors On Danse – Stromae
59. Like A G6 – Far East Movement
60. Find Me Out – Rose Elinor Dougall
61. Baptism – Crystal Castles
62. Back To The Fuck Yeah – Pulled Apart By Horses
63. Undertow – Warpaint
64. Follow – Crystal Fighters
65. (It’s Not War) Just The End Of Love – Manic Street Preachers
66. Stereo Love – Edward Maya ft Vika Jigulina
67. I Am Europe – Gonzales
68. Tenderoni – Kele
69. Pass Out – Tinie Tempah
70. Happiness – Alexis Jordan

I attended a mere 34 gigs this year, which is down on the past few years. Links are to reviews on my journo-blog.

1. Oumou Sangare, T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou
2. Candi Staton
3. Crystal Castles, HEALTH
4. These New Puritans
5. Noisettes
6. Scissor Sisters, Hurts
7. The Stranglers
8. Hot Chip, Casiokids
9. Whitney Houston (no, really, I mean it – sounds like we caught her on her one good night?)
10. Rod Stewart
11. I Am Kloot
12. The Gentle Isolation, The Camerawalls, Your Imaginary Friends, Kate Torralba (two gigs, same line-up)
13. Tom Robinson (60th birthday), Chew Lips, Toumani Diabate, TV Smith, Nitin Sawhney, Eugene McGuinness etc
14. Avi Buffalo
15. Hadouken!, Unicorn Kid
16. Jackie Leven
17. The Invisible
18. Plan B
19. Rihanna, Pixie Lott, Tinie Tempah
20. Bella Hardy Trio
21. Sugarhill Gang
22. Chris Wood
23. Belleruche
24. Squeeze, Lightning Seeds
25. Miike Snow
26. Owl City, Lights
27. Beverley Knight
28. The Low Anthem
29. Ellie Goulding
30. Bridget St. John, Michael Chapman
31. JLS
32. Rufus Wainwright
33. Kele
34. Joy Formidable, Chapel Club

Note (1) – Any one of the top four deserves to be my gig of the year.
Note (2) – There were no out and out stinkers this year, just a few comparatively lacklustre evenings.