Top 25 Songs of 2010

Following lists the best rock songs to come out this year. These songs didn’t chart high but that’s been the story of 2010 and none of the top 3 songs have even been considered for a single!!! So, Read on, Download and Listen to the tracks and leave your top songs of this year in the comments section.

Top Tracks of 2010:

#1. Runaway by The National.

#2. Pick Up Truck by Kings of Leon.

#3. My Shadow by Keane.

#4. Ready To Start by Arcade Fire.

#5. Heartbreak Warfare by John Mayer.

#6. Everlasting Light by The Black Keys.

#7. I Think Ur A Contra by Vampire Weekend.

#8. Hustle and Cuss by The Dead Weathers.

#9. Between The Lines by Stone Temple Pilots.

#10. On the floor by Brandon Flowers.

#11. Hey, Soul Sister by Train.

#12. Angel Dance by Robert Plant.

#13. The High Road by Broken Bells.

#14. Falling From The Sun by The Album Leaf .

#15. In My Veins by Andrew Belle.

#16. Flash Delirium by MGMT.

#17. Better Days by Eddie Vedder.

#18. Nothing by The Script.

#19. Heartbeat Song by The Futureheads.

#20. Stylo by Gorillaz.

#21. Uprising by Muse.

#22. Laredo by Band of Horses.

#23. Who Says by John Mayer.

#24. Giving Up The Gun by Vampire Weekend.

#25. You and Your Heart by Jack Johnson.

Top 10 Albums of 2010

We have almost come to the end of an eventful year and as we embark upon the new decade, let’s see which Rock Records stood out and left a lasting impression on the listeners.  2010 just featured one Rock Artist “Train” with “Hey Soul Sister” in Billboard Top 10 so commercially it’s been one of the worst year for Rock Music but there were lot of good records making it difficult to select the Top 10. 

Listed are the best rock albums to be released this year. (The period taken into consideration is 1 January 2010 to 12 December 2010).

#1 “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire.

Must Have Tracks: Ready To Start, Suburban War, City With No Children.

#2 “High Violet” by The National

Must Have Tracks: Bloodbuzz Ohio, Runaway, England. 

#3 “Brothers” by The Black Keys

Must Have Tracks: Everlasting Light, Tighten Up, These Days. 

#4 “Contra” by Vampire Weekend

 

 

Must Have Tracks: I Think Ur A Contra, Giving Up The Gun, White Sky.

#5 “Sea of Cowards” by The Dead Weathers

Must Have Tracks: Hustle and Cuss, I’m Mad, I Can’t Hear You.

#6 “Go” by Jónsi

Must Have Tracks: Boy Lilikoi, Kolnidur, Sinking Friendships.

#7 “Plastic Beach” by Gorillaz

Must Have Tracks: Stylo, Sweepstakes, Some Kind of Nature. 

#8 “Congratulations” by MGMT

Must Have Tracks: It’s Working, Brian Eno, Congratulations.

#9 “Infinite Arms” by Band of Horses

 

Must Have Tracks: Laredo, Infinite Arms, On My Way Back Home.

 

#10 “Band of Joy” by Robert Plant

 

Must Have Tracks: Angel  Dance, I’m Falling in Love Again, Silver Rider.

Post in your top albums in the 'Comments' section.

Poll Results.

Here are the results for the poll conducted for the previously reviewed albums.

Humbug by Arctic Moneys:

Votes: 23

Average Reader Score: 8.04


A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park:

Votes: 21



Average Reader Score: 3.16

Thanks everyone for voting.

Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon

The Old 'King' is Dead. Long Live 'The Kings'.

Album Rating: *** (3/5)

Fame is a funny thing. People complained after the release of “Youth and Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak” that band like Kings of Leon should get their due credit. And when “Only By The Night” was a huge commercial success, these very people termed the band as sell outs. Two camps emerged, one slamming Kings for excessive commercialization and lower artistic value while the other still giving them same respect when they first emerged in NME and Spin pages.


 Kings of Leon have released their best work previously in albums 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' and 'Because Of The Times' but they got their due recognition only after 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody' started topping the charts. Long time waiting. Anyone who has followed this band knows that sound dynamics has changed a lot after the initial albums. The grunge, garage-rock raw feel has paved way for a more conventional rock riffs and drums. Caleb's freaky "woo-hoos" have been replaced by proper words though at some point even they fail to make any sense with the context of the song.

Tennessee-bred champions of whiskey, women, and whomp-whomp guitars have churned out a very laid back record in 'Come Around Sundown'. The album begins with 'The End' (talk about irony, eh?) which like previous records builds up slowly but is a disappointment in relative context. "This could be the End...", well Caleb It just might be. Following it is 'Radioactive' with a catchy guitar riff and 'back-to-the-roots' theme songwriting. Chosen as the first single, the uncharacteristic music video camouflages some credibility of the song. 'Pyro', billed as the next single is just another instance of 'Notion' (song from Only By The Night) styled guitar playing but elevates to great heights at the end.


'Mary' is filled with cryptic, disturbing guitar distortions in the beginning and an atrocious cliché guitar solo in the latter half. The next track 'The Face' could easily be skipped and 'The Immortals' is filled with slowly reverberating guitar riffs and cymbal-heavy drum lines which ultimately succumbs to 'Use Somebody' type chorus. What follows next are two country tracks (Yes, KOL with country tracks !!!)... Does it work? In "Back Down South" it works perfectly fine and the boys nailed to it to the core whereas "Beach Side" is perhaps the most soulless song from them.

"No Money" gives us a reminiscent of old Kings of Leon with high tempo and lyrics like "I got no money but I want your souls"... Aah, Those were the days. They follow it up with a disaster. Sharp drums, twangy guitar and pleading vocals add up to a musically perplexing track that sounds like pop slash rockabilly slash blues a.k.a 'Pony Up'. "Birthday" (song about bloody revenge with gathering analogous to a Birthday) has it's moment but has an instant hate-it-or-like-it guitar riff. Well so does "Mi Amigo", skip it.

The end of this record features "Pick Up Truck", a MUST-HAVE track and definitely the highlight of this album. The tempo goes through different stages just like "With or Without You" by U2. (Yes, It’s that good). So If you don't want to purchase the record it is highly recommended that you download this track from iTunes or elsewhere. 'Come Around Sundown" by no means is their best album which even Caleb knows. "Everything I cherish is slowly dying or is gone", he declares in Pyro.

Kings of Leon have gone from 'Lynrd Syndrd' to a 'U2 aspirant'. The influences are clear as they opened for U2 for their American leg. While it pays off in some tracks it fails miserably in others. The record thus proves a mix bag for these talented and ambitious musicians who are trying to expand their horizons in every possible way.

Key Tracks: Pick Up Truck, Back Down South, No Money.

Track Listing:

1. The End (4:24)
2. Radioactive (3:26)
3. Pyro (4:10)
4. Mary (3:25)
5. The Face (3:28)
6. The Immortals (3:28)
7. Back Down South (4:01)
8. Beach Side (2:50)
9. No Money (3:05)
10. Pony (3:04)
11. Birthday (3:15)
12. Mi Amigo (4:06)
13. Pick Up Truck (4:44)

(P.S. It is highly recommended for everyone who just know Kings of Leon from ‘Sex on Fire’ or ‘Use Somebody’ to check their previous work in “Aha Shake Heartbreak” and “Because of The Times”.)