11 More Best Albums of 2010 (so far)

Last week I made my best albums of 2010 list halfway list.  I had a lot of albums I had been listening to, and was unimpressed by most of them.  But since then...I took some good recommends from you readers and did some exlporing on my own and found some great albums I had neglected to pick up and some albums I had no idea had even been released.  This list does not replace the previous list...nor is it the next best...it's an addendum...for further exploration.

Here are 11 More Best Albums of 2010 (so far):

1.  Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (epic release from one our generations's best) - only $3.99 for this week!!
2.  Anais Mitchell with Justin Vernon - Hadestown (a folk-rock opera...too good to ignore) - only $5.00
3.  Menomena - Mines (amazing step forward for this indie rock outfit)
4.  O. Childen - O. Children (If Nick Cave sang for Interpol)
5.  Gayngs - Relayted (Another Justin Vernon side-project...everything he touches is gold)
6.  Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (stunning DJ mix-mash-jumble-up) - only $5.00!!
7.  Jay Bennett - Kicking At The Perfumed Air (...and it's free)
8.  Tame Impala - InnerSpeaker (grand indie melodies - a little freaky...but not folky)
9.  Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (there's something to be said for consistency)
10.  Delphic - Acolyte (great electronica that borders on trance...but never goes overboard)
11.  22-20s - Shake/Shiver/Moan (straight-up Euro alternative rock) -only $4.89 right now!!

Buy these albums and many more now!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Jay Bennett + FREE NEW ALBUM!!

I was very excited to hear that there was a practically completed Jay Bennett album left behind by Jay.  Not that that's good news when I'd much rather have Jay still around turning out some extremely heartfelt tunes.  As much as Jeff Tweedy was the soul of Wilco, Bennett was the heart.  Usually when a winning combo like this break apart...the amount of good material dwindles.  That's not true in this case.  Wilco's last album is amazing...and Jay's music was getting progressively better with every release.  It's too bad he never got the respect he deserved.  Hopefully in death he has a new life.

For now...get his new album...Kicking the Perfumed Air...for FREE!!  That's right...FREE.

Click on the link.  Get the album.  Leave a donation behind.  Then spread the word to your friends.  Everyone loves free music.  And it's all legal.

Here are the 11 Best Songs by Jay Bennett:

1. The Engines Are Idle (Whatever Happened I Apologize)


2. Replace You (Magnificent Defeat)

3. Talk To Me (The Palace at 4AM)

4. Thank You (Magnificent Defeat)

5. C.T.M. (The Palace at 4AM)

6. Hank (Whatever Happened I Apologize)

7. God's Coffee (Bigger Than Blue)

8. 5th Grade (Magnificent Defeat)

9. My Wicked Little One (Bigger Than Blue)

10. Puzzle Heart (The Palace at 4AM)

11. Pretty Good Year (The Beloved Enemy)

Get Jay Bennett's new album Kicking The Perfumed Air...FOR FREE!!!

The 11 Best Songs By Jay Bennett

I think what surprises me most about the life of Jay Bennnett isn't how much he was liked...but how much he was disliked. Here are some excerpts from the comments on itunes about his album, The Magnificent Defeat:

"it's like listening to nails on a chalkboard," "quite painful," "inadequate song writing"

These are comments I would expect of someone reviewing a teenager's 4-track garage demo. Not of someone who has an immensely beautiful voice. It is unfortunate that Jay will never be truly recognized for his musical offerings during his lifetime. Even his wikipedia page is barely filled to half-mast. It's a shame that a guy with 5 solo discs to his name that used to be a major songwriting force in one of the most respected bands of the 00s, cant even get a discography page in his wikipedia profile.

I know much of the animosity toward Jay stems from the Tweedy blow-out...but that shouldn't tarnish his music. What's most surprising about the split, is that though Bennett and Tweedy thought they were heading in two opposite musical directions, their post-break-up releases have surprising simularities. After Jay left Wilco, Tweedy released the experimental A Ghost Is Born...while Jay released the experimental Magnificent Defeat. Wilco followed it up with the mellow and basic Sky Blue Sky while Jay released the mellow and basic Whatever Happened I Apologize. I think they had more in common than they thought.

Jay's most recent album, Whatever Happened I Apologize, is available for free download from his record label, rockproper.com. There has been a push to get the album released on vinyl. A Kickstarter page has been started for donations. Best part about it, if you donate as little as a dollar...you get your name in the liner notes. How cool is that?

It seems that Jay struggled all his life to find his proper place. Musically, he tried everything from playing, to singing, to producing. At the time, it appeared he was searching to find his niche. Never happy with just doing one thing. But in retrospect, it was Jay's ambition to do it all that made him as superbly talented as he was. Hopefully, in death people may give Jay's music a second chance and find out what an amazing artist he was in his own right. He will be missed.

Here are the 11 Best Jay Bennett Songs:

1. The Engines Are Idle (Whatever Happened I Apologize)
2. Replace You (Magnificent Defeat)
3. Talk To Me (The Palace at 4AM)
4. Thank You (Magnificent Defeat)
5. C.T.M. (The Palace at 4AM)
6. Hank (Whatever Happened I Apologize)
7. God's Coffee (Bigger Than Blue)
8. 5th Grade (Magnificent Defeat)
9. My Wicked Little One (Bigger Than Blue)
10. Puzzle Heart (The Palace at 4AM)
11. Pretty Good Year (The Beloved Enemy)

Buy Jay's releases now. I recommend The Palace at 4AM or the new album, Whatever Happened I Apologize (which is free).