#10-4:
Musi'Cooking 303 is the sequel to Tribal Beats 303 and follows the same Bemaniesque style of the songs. Back when TB303 was released, I would have said that L.E.N. Records was on par with the Bemani artists themselves, but given the decline of the quality, they have now released a cute homage that excels the current output of TAKA, L.E.D., kors-K, and others. Musi'Cooking 303 rolls back to the creative hayday of Konami's music games, with a more pop'n music feel than it TB. If Konami were to fire all of their staff and put these guys in charge, I might find a reason to give two shits about the music in Bemani again.
Should it be higher on the list because of providing many songs that would do justice to a best songs of the year list, or lower because of the less than stellar last fourth? I cannot really decide where to rank this because it gives me reasons to praise it and then scold it the next minute. With songs like Rhinestone Eyes, Empire Ants, On Melancholy Hill, and Glitter Breeze dazzling me one moment, there are songs like the groaningly cliché beats of Broken and Little Dragon refusing to swallow her saliva on To Binge. It's no Demon Days, but it generously gives us some of the best pop songs in 2010.
I'm going to get this out of the way right now: I don't care much for Cold War. I find it that being similar to Outkast's B.o.B. does more harm than good. It tries too hard and comes off as cheesy. Dance Or Die + Faster, Tightrope, Come Alive (The War Of The Roses), Mushrooms & Roses, Wondaland, and 57821 are vastly superior and are more creative. It's because of songs like those that make The ArchAndroid a triumph. Why should we pay attention to Cold War when there are 17 other unique tracks to dissect? Almost half of the album could be released as successful singles, so it's not like the casual listener would be adversed to the more daring songs, since they too are digestible even with those who listen to "simple" music.
This is the only arrange album on the list, and the only one that would deserve to be placed on here. fromadistance has put out two Touhou arrange albums, made guest spots on several others, and have released two original EPs on the web for free. Although the circle specialized in ambient music, it still hops all over the place with various styles, ranging from techno, celtic folk, drone, and experimental. historie is the best doujin release this year and is so good that everyone else should feel embarrassed. fromadistance panders to no audience. Some might be disappointed that it wasn't a zeroxed eureka, but if it was, that would be boring, and historie beats out their Comiket debut in every way, and I am confident that the circle will just get better and better.
It's sad to say that this might be the last we see of the sensational Japanese indie rock group Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Guitarist Chiemi Ishimoto has left due to her medical panic disorder after their last show on December 11, 2010. The future of MOTFD is uncertain. Will lead guitarist and vocalist Natsuko Miyamoto call it quits with drummer Yoshino Tsutomu and branch off into a new band or group, or will they pull through and find a new member to take the place of their friend? Whatever they do, Zero Comma, Irotoridori no Sekai is the end of this era of the band. It was not quite as daring as their s/t or World Is Yours, but you can still feel the sound of their two EPs. Skabetty can be found in Made, Kaku Iu Mono in Owari no Hajimari, Endroll in ONEDAY, World is Yours in Hikizuru Beat, and so forth. If they don't call it quits, will they use this as a fresh start for a new sound, or carry over what made them an underground sensation? Whichever, I wish them all luck, and maybe by the time they make their choice, people will finally stop arguing whether or not they are post-rock, shoegaze, punk, etc.
No names one day, overnight indie sensation the next. They say that the hardest thing to do in music is to write a good pop song, and people pay sacks full of $100 bills to producers and writers to come up with a tune that would get them to the top. I want to hand Fantasy Memorial to the hacks who need to throw large sums of money at people to write songs that are assessable to show them that a small group with no mainstream recognition have written 10 songs on their own that are more suited for radio and better composed with very little cash to their name. Dinosaur Feathers have crafted a pop record that wouldn't compromise the hipster credit of even the most stuck-up circles. It's like snack foods while on a diet and insisting you aren't cheating because it's low fat, minus the health consequences (assuming your hipster colleagues aren't the type to impulsively beat down on you with brass knuckles for humming Family Waves or quietly singing Know Your Own Strength).
I'm not sure what would be the best description of Tame Impala without getting various objected chucked at my head. It kind of reminds me of what The Beatles would sound like if they were more psychedelic and were around in the 70s or 80s and had a good drummer. It's not a good description, but it's how I hear it as, but other people might have different opinions, so I'm going to post a youtube link instead. This is Alter Ego:
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