U2

By my count, U2 played seven songs from the 80's, seven songs from the 90's, and nine songs from the 00's. Relevant songs. There is not another band on the planet that can do such a thing. (Sorry R.E.M., I really like your new album, but your last decade was rough). Perhaps the most satisfying thing about the concert was being enveloped in this staying power. Experiencing the relevance. Four lads from Ireland still playing together thirty years later. They look great. And they sound great. Sure, Bono has a sleight Messiah-complex, but there is no one with his level of fame and access that has had his heart in the right place more often. The D Man enjoyed every minute of the spectacle.

• Even Better Than The Real Thing. The Edge's dance-fueled, buzzsaw guitars ripped forth. A great opener.
• I Will Follow. A nod to longtime fans from the band's first album, Boy.
• Get On Your Boots
• Magnificent
• Mysterious Ways
• Elevation. Some of the band's best work the last decade has clearly been inspired by playing in outsized stadiums all over the world. This song is no exception. A pan-global rock song that everyone just gets. Absolutely kicked.
• Until the End of the World. Love this song from the band's sonic masterpiece, Achtung Baby. Sounds as fresh, vital, and original as it did twenty years ago. Nothing quite like those shimmering, dance-addled tracks that helped U2 take over the world a second time.
• All I Want Is You
• Stay (Faraway, So Close!). The Edge pulled out the acoustic guitar and did just fine in slowing things down. Bono looks better than he has in years. He has lost weight and looks rejuvenated after his back surgery--even joked he has a new spine. His vocals were as good as they have ever been--he was born to front a band and bring God's message of rock to the masses.
• Beautiful Day. The D Man loves this song. Maybe his favorite soaring U2 lyric: Reach me, I know I'm not a hopeless case. Isn't that the message of messages? We are not cast off forever.
• Pride (In The Name of Love). The mere fact that The Edge can pierce the heavens--while strolling around so casually, so stoically--makes him one of the five best guitarists of all time. Not to mention one of the coolest dudes ever. His ringing, pedal-fied guitar tectonics altered the rock landscape forever, delivering post-punk riffs to the globe and leaving behind the (even in 1980) tired blues-based guitar tropes. His mighty axe is the sound of the cosmos moving.
• Miss Sarajevo. Bono even broke into some Italian on this one. He had a cheat sheet on the floor of the bridge to help him out. The D Man holds no grudges, as I can hardly speak proper English.
• Zooropa. The (incredible) visual round came down over the top of the band and formed a glittering hive. Showtime!
• City of Blinding Lights
• Vertigo
• Crazy Tonight
• Sunday Bloody Sunday. The most righteous march of all time? How long must we sing this song?
• Walk On. Bono helped free a Burmese lady from prison. The D Man is all about setting people free. And a big proponent of keeping only the bad ones in jail.
• One
• Where The Streets Have No Name. The screen flashed iconic images of the young band, circa 1987, walking through the California desert. The Joshua Tree. The song's matchless, epic exploration of Self and America is still inspiring.
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
• With or Without You
• Moment of Surrender

Five Things

The D Man's iPod has been on shuffle. Early morning workouts are one way to rediscover the deep tracks that you love. Enjoy some great tunes that had me excited all over again. These five random songs are worth a listen.

• "Tell Me Ten Words" by Idlewild. The Scottish band's 2002 album, The Remote Part, is an excellent record of slightly-downcast anthems and post-punk yearnings. When the bass line comes in at thirty seconds, "Tell Me Ten Words" releases a nervous energy underneath all those pretty acoustic strums, and the song takes off looking for answers. "American English" was the band's U2/Coldplay moment, and "In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction" a national symbol of sorts. But "Tell Me Ten Words" is the band carving out something of their own.
• "Streamside" by The Album Leaf. Jimmy LaValle makes radiant ambient music with a heft that is more than mere background pleasantries. His 2004 release, In A Safe Place, was recorded with the help of Jón Þór Birgisson and other members of Sigur Rós in their Iceland studio. While much of the record's sound is glacial beauty, "Streamside" is warmed by a northern sun and feels like the emerging possibility of verdant growth.
• "Love Don't Owe You Anything" by Strays Don't Sleep. A short-lived, one-album collaboration between Nashville's Matthew Ryan and Neilsen Hubbard, Strays Don't Sleep was a minimalist tour-de-force of pain, loss, and reconciliation. "Love Don't Owe You Anything" thrives by creating dark-hued spaces between the guitar strums and the singular, cascading piano line. And Ryan's plaintive vocals reaches for an epiphany: I thought I understood / Now I understand.
• "Your Arms Around Me" by Jens Lekman. Enter swirling harps. The song's premise is both mundane and ridiculous. But the payoff is a glorious vocal hook over a perfect marriage of R&B beats and high-minded violins. Two lovers are preparing for a picnic. The man cuts his finger while slicing avacados. He passes out and is rushed to the emergency room. All that matters? You put your arms around me. Thank you, Jens.
• "AAA" by Paul Westerberg. This scruffy tune takes me back to summers past. From a fine double-album of basement rock by the former Replacements frontman, the song is a desperate kiss-off, stranded in some parking lot. I aint got anything to say to anyone, anymore.

Song of the Week

Bon Iver's self-titled second album comes out in June--not exactly the depths of winter. But for music this cathartic, context readily dissolves. Check out "Calgary," a powerful (and seamless) transition from the Wisconsite's first full length, For Emma, Forever Ago. You may recall it was the best album of 2008. Bonus: check out the making of the beautiful Midwestern winter scene that doubles as the album cover art.

Stark the Vinyl Shark: Heady Nuggs (Vol. I)

Hi. My name is Joe and I never get up before 6 a.m.--unless it is Record Store Day. In four short years, RSD has become something of a national holiday if not a national phenomenon. Falling on the third Saturday in April, what started as a small effort to boost business for local independent record stores has turned into a nation-wide celebration of music and community, and, of course, a treasure trove of exclusive vinly releases.

I was first in line at Slowtrain Records on April 16th with good reason. I wanted to give myself a good chance to snatch up some pretty exciting exclusives including: The Flaming Lips: Heady Nuggs – The First Five Warner Bros. Albums (1992-2002), various My Morning Jacket picture discs, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Class Mythology EP on colored 7’’ singles, and a re-issue of the classic Fleetwood Mac album Rumours pressed at Pallas on two slabs of heavy weight 45 rpm vinyl, ensuring the highest fidelity playback possible.

While waiting in line for the 10 a.m. opening time, I was able to chat a bit with other vinyl fanatics in line with me. For the most part, we all had unique items we were looking for though there was one common thread that ran through all of our lists: The Flaming Lips Box Set.

So what makes a re-issued vinyl box of five Flaming Lips albums so desirable? Especially on a day with hundreds of other releases, most of which are available of the first time ever? To answer this, we first need to cover a little vinyl history. In the 90’s, when the vast majority of these Flaming Lips albums were released (Hit to Death in the Future Head - 1992, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart- 1993, Clouds Taste Metallic – 1995, and The Soft Bulletin - 1999 ) the CD was king, and vinyl barely had a pulse. These albums were pressed in small amounts, went out of print quickly, and with low demand for vinyl, stayed that way. The two exceptions to this are The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Given this drought of Flaming Lips LPs available over the years, many vinyl aficionados were clamoring to get their hands on a Heady Nuggs box set.

So how does it look?

For the casual and diehard fan alike, this box set is beautiful and sets the bar for releases of this nature. These five albums, spread over six LPs are housed in a heavy duty box with never before released alternate artwork. Weighing in at over 10 lbs., even the most demanding fans can rest assured every LP has been recreated with care and an eye for detail. This box set is limited to 6,000 units, mine being #5,023.

So how does it sound?

Much like The Flaming Lips release from Record Store Day 2010: The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing the Dark Side of the Moon, these albums sound great. I do not own originals of any albums in the box, with the exception of The Soft Bulletin, so I have compared the sound quality to my CDs only. It is an obvious improvement, with the first noticeable difference being a more established low end, and a warmer sound overall. Some of the 90’s Lips releases suffer from a bright CD master, leaving the listener with a diminished representation of what was created in the studio. This is the case with Hit to Death in the Future Head, which sounds amazing on vinyl. It is nice to know the producers gave us a mix that is not too loud or too soft. The instrumentation is brought out nicely, and not distorted at high volume.

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is the obvious sonic gem of the bunch. An album full of rich texture is brought to life beautifully on vinyl; all of the detail you are used to on the CD master is here, as well as content you aren’t used to hearing. Yoshimi could be one of the best modern day re-masters in my collection.

All five albums sound great here, and I’m excited to add these great albums to my growing collection. If you are a Lips fan and want to get your hands on one, check Ebay, as the entire run of these boxes is officially sold out.

Stark the Vinyl Shark

Joe Stark hails from Minnesota. He collects vinyl. He shaved his beard and didn't like it. So he is growing it back. That is what you need to know. Recently, The D Man and Stark had the following email exchange that led to the Vinyl Shark landing a guest spot on The D Man's Music.

• Stark: Have you even listened to Bat out of Hell? You have dished out some pretty heavy judgment on the 'Loaf today . . .
• The D Man: Everyone has heard Meatloaf, Joe. He is fun (or funny) for a short time. Like some Broadway plays. But Bat Out of Hell has sold a hell of a lot of copies. Feel free to burn me a copy if you are so incensed. (Taylor Swift writes her own songs).
• Stark: Not incensed at all! I will burn you a copy since it belongs in every collection.
• The D Man: I will listen to it for a lark and then immediately dispose of it--that is probably the best I can do.
• Stark: It's timeless Rock & Roll. I own three copies of the LP because I wore through the first one I bought in the summer of 2004.
• The D Man: Not sure if it's Rock & Roll, but it does use some of the same instruments. Can rock be born out of writing workshops and bad plays? But I get the attraction. It's like Wicked with guitars.
• Stark: Nothing wrong with Wicked.
• The D Man: But it ain't Rock & Roll.
• Stark: Rock & Roll is more than a sound, it's a lifestyle. That's the beauty of it.
• The D Man: Exactly my point. Is having someone pen your overwrought stage songs ala Little Mermaid that lifestyle?
• Stark: Frank Sinatra didn't write lyrics either, and he was Rock & Roll.
• The D Man: Meatloaf ain't Frank Sinatra. Good luck with that comparison.
• Stark: I just really enjoy Meatloaf.
• The D Man: Now that is about the only real defense you have. Run to the whims of your fancy.
• Stark: Feel free to handicap my music criticism accordingly.
• The D Man: I'm thinking I need a new feature on the blog with email strings like this.
• Stark: I'd be happy to contribute. but you can't just make me look bad with your fancy lawyer powers.

So it begins. Enjoy Stark the Vinyl Shark.

(Note: Meatloaf can currently be seen on Celebrity Apprentice. And The D Man knows every word to "Part of Your World.")

Five Things

The D Man has several things in the hopper. But that does not preclude me from dishing on some songs I have been enjoying or want to enjoy a little more.

• Hospice created emotional wreckage with shards of spinning hope. "I Don't Want Love," a track from The Antlers second album, Burst Apart, picks up the pieces in a most beautiful fashion. Peter Silberman now wants to break your heart with his falsetto.
• Nobody does smooth electro-soul like Junior Boys. The Canadian duo's next effort, It's All True, is ready to drop, and the steady pulse of first single "Banana Ripple" will make you believe in effortless R&B from north of the border.
• The D Man extolled the virtues of Cass McCombs' last album and looks forward to hearing more new tracks like "County Line." Enjoy a vocal performance that they cannot teach on American Idol. Wo, wo, wo, wo, wo.
• Panda Bear's "Afterburner" is really cool.
• The D Man got a kick out of the cameo-laced New York City yuckfest, Fight For Your Right (Revisited). Even better? Some of the Beasties' new joints. Check out "Make Some Noise," which feels like a side-two track from Ill Communication, and is a throw back to a sound, style, and era that defined just about everyone ages 30 to 45.

Song of the Week

Ben Gibbard is now a certified rock star. To emphasize the point, he even married a movie darling (and decent musician in her own right). While The D Man has it on good authority that Gibbard has recently big timed a few friends, at least he is returning to the ebbuliant indie-pop that got him here. Check out the bouncy guitar riffs from "You Are A Tourist," the first single from Death Cab for Cutie's forthcoming record, Codes and Keys. You will like them. Sounds like they belong in The Photo Album.

Song of the Week

Smart kids need dance music too. Chaz Bundick delivers more than that on his second full-length, Underneath the Pine. A warm, electro-pop affair that leans on the past for inspiration, the album is filtered through an analog lens with groovy beats and ambient immediacy. Combining some of the best elements of chillwave (think Neon Indian) with a deep immersion into sonic textures of yesteryear (think Deerhunter but for dance/pop music), Toro y Moi comes off as the coolest, smartest, grooviest disco-technician in the neighborhood. The new beat, indeed. Enjoy the music video for second single "Still Sound." (Yes, the album cover is a little creepy--Bundick took a self-photo in the mirror as he ate some delicious grapefruit).

Invitations

The D Man is all about largesse. A generosity of spirit and attitude has always been the aspirational calling card for this blog. The D Man seeks to share the best in popular music. He is sincerely excited about what he shares, and he sees little value in wasting his loyal cadre's precious time in pointing out everything that is wrong with contemporary music. (Plenty). The D Man seeks after music that is enjoyable, artistic, aesthetic, or arresting. Music that is, simply put, praiseworthy. (Enough).

Now it is time to share in the giving, to share in the gift of musical wordsmithing. For the first time ever, The D Man's Music will feature a few guests. To add some wrinkles. To provide some perspective. To bring some much needed copy. So enjoy. In the coming days, these guests will be properly introduced. Hopefully you will check in often and get to know them.

Arcade Fire

Epics. Anthems. Climaxes. Choruses. Swells. Crests. Builds. Drops. Handclaps. Righteous handclaps. Hey! Ohhhhhhhh. Ahhhhhhhh. Ohhhhhhhh. Hey! Arcade Fire's communal earnestness, via eight hard-playing musicians, was on full display during Monday's concert. The band was vibrant, energized, and connected. Their righteous fervor permeated song after song, and there was a sense of militancy in the music that penetrated the heart and made one an instant follower. Sign me up.

The D Man named The Suburbs the Best Album of 2010. So the Grammys followed suit. A towering musical achievement in the field of rock'n'roll deserves to be played out live. (Especially in the same gym where The D Man took home the 2001 three-point contest title). So The D Man went to the concert with Mrs. D Man in tow. Rizzo tagged along. Call it Family Night. After all, Win Butler is married to the chick who plays the accordian and drums, right?

Enjoy some random thoughts on a fantastic set. Eight songs from The Suburbs. Three songs from Neon Bible. Six songs from Funeral (one of the best albums this century). No complaints here. Mrs. D Man had a blast and that is always enough.

Set List

• Month of May. They came blistering right out of the gate. With their arms folded tight!
• Rebellion (Lies).
• Neighborhood #2 (Laika). Alexander. Older brother. If you want something, don't ask for nothing! Absolutely rocked.
• City With No Children
• Rococo. This song's second half was striking. Maybe my least favorite song on the new album, it came alive during the show. Love it when that happens.
• Intervention
• The Suburbs. The best moment of the night in a night with best moments? This song's nostalgic childhood potency--in my dreams we're still screaming and running through the yard--arrests your adult heart. The Spike Jonze images from the video played in slow motion throughout, and I was transported to the neighborhood of my youth. Win Butler played the piano and came to a drawn out, solo finish. Sometimes I can't believe it, I'm moving past the feeling again.
• Suburban War
• No Cars Go. How good was this song live? Very, very good. Hey!
• Haiti
• We Used to Wait. I used to write letters, I used to sign my name. Butler explained that the handwritten letters in the multimedia video were from his Grandpa Vino, who resided in Sandy, Utah.
• Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). Maybe the fiercest song in the band's catalog. The power is out in the heart of man. And everywhere else. Only the grooviest, heaviest guitar solo of the night could possibly save us all.
• Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels). Butler explained that he played ball that afternoon and was the direct answer to Jimmer fever. (Cough, cough). After all, he said, how many middle-aged white guys can hit shots from ten feet behind the arc? Besides The D Man, not many.
• Wake Up. The D Man named this one of the ten best songs of the last decade. For tonight, it was the best song you've ever heard.
• Encore
• Ready to Start. Yes, I'm ready. You know I would.
• Keep the Car Running. The keys are in the ignition. You will not be leaving without me.
• Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). Regine Chassagne looked lovely and funky most of the night. She brought things home with her lilting, key-board infused march through the mountains. A great closer.

Song of the Week

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's second album is no sophomore slump. Belong takes the band's propulsive shoegaze pop from their pleasurable debut and adds a lush layer of early 90's guitar crunch. The hooks are everywhere and the results are accessible, enjoyable, and downright dependable.

Check out the video for the delightful ditty "Heart in Your Heartbreak." The Brooklyn band fools around as guitar store archetypes and manages to bring a smile to your face despite stern opposition. The moral? Don't be the heart in someone's heartbreak. Or the miss in their mistake. Just plug it in, play, and make them happy.

Yuck

Yuck. A terrible band name. But the music? Tasty. With a melodic core dipped in alt-rock goodness (Dinosaur Jr, Pavement, and The Breeders to name a few), Yuck transcends pastiche with arty guitar noodling that is propulsive, catchy, and endearing. Whatever early 90's touchstones float your boat, you can bet they also float the London-based band right across the pond. Check out opening track "Get Away" from Yuck's self-titled debut or the perfect pick-me-up in "Georgia" below.

Song of the Week

This could be the sound of spring. Or, at least, the sound of a band playing so in the pocket that it leaves you in shambles of joy. Check out the video for Fleet Foxes' "Grown Ocean" from their forthcoming second album, Helplessness Blues. The D Man has been down and out for the past couple weeks. This song has revived my spirits on first listen. More please.

Song of the Week

Elbow may be the biggest underrated band in the world. Maybe that is why the last record was called The Seldom Seen Kid. With noteworthy influences like Peter Gabriel, Talk Talk, and Radiohead, the British band's musical trajection has been steep, and despite the artistic difficulties preventing them from doing so, they keep making better and better records. So take notice.

Guy Garvey's lyrics are understated and potent, with a strain of nostalgic whimsy befitting a modern English bard. The band's growing songcraft is rich in volume dynamics, as Garvey admittedly believes "it's incredibly boring and shortsighted if a band sticks with just one sound song for song. An album should take people on a journey." Check out a lovely live track from the band's fifth album, Build A Rocket Boys!

Five Things

The D Man has risen from the depths of winter, the sunshine restoring my faith in all things. The promise of better days has reinvigorated my commitment. My largesse. The D Man's Music will be energized as a result. Enjoy the fruits. And enjoy some great tracks from the past few weeks.

• The Pains of Being Heart drop their sophomore album in the next couple weeks. Produced by Flood and Alan Moulder (think Siamese Dream), the Brooklyn shoegazers take off with fuzzed-out mega pop on the instant anthem "Belong."
• Collapse Into Now is here. And it's good. Check out "Walk It Back" and "Mine Smell Like Honey."
• Radiohead always know how to finish off an album. See "Separator."
• If you're not feeling the "New Beat" from Toro Y Moi, well then, I feel sorry for you.
• The D Man has already told you how much I love this album, right?

Song of the Week

Athletes of the world, unite! Your call to arms? Cut Copy's infectious single, "Need You Now." The Australian electro-crooners' third album, Zonoscope, delivers wide-lens, cosmopolitan dance rock that will make you happy. Or ready to throw the javelin. (The D Man is also a big fan of the cover art by the late Japanese photomontage artist Tsunehisa Kimura, who provided classic covers for another great Australian band, Midnight Oil).

Song of the Week

Check out the video for "Lotus Flower" from Radiohead's The King of Limbs, downloadable tomorrow. One youtube comment said the video was Radiohead's version of "Single Ladies." (If they don't win an award, maybe Kanye can intervene). No doubt Thom Yorke channels some crushing R&B-style vocals over strange and groovy beats from the greatest session band in the world. Imagine if Sam Cooke got to sing with Greenwood and company? As for the dancing, Thom Yorke channels himself, and seems to give only the slightest of winks. Who says this band doesn't have a sense of humor?

(More than) Five Things

The D Man recently enjoyed another great road trip to sunny SoCal. The music was solid as always. We led things off with Iron & Wine's latest release (a natural extension for Sam Beam into a warmer realm of 70's-era folk-pop), hit the night stretch with The xx (easily one of the best late-night driving albums from the last several years), and enjoyed the starry-eyed splendor of Jonsi's Go (how did that album not squeeze into my Top Ten?).

The next morning, we cruised to Ryan Adams & The Cardinals III/IV, wound through the Virgin River Gorge to Band of Horses' Infinite Arms, and throttled through the open desert to the sounds of Ivy and Josh Rouse. The descent into California materialized with Beach House and Camera Obscura. The streets of San Diego called for Admiral Fell Promises and "Half Moon Bay" delivered acute atmosphere. A drive up the coast was assisted by The Drums. Ditto for the drive back down.

The way home was littered with long stretches of blessed silence, more Ryan Adams and Josh Rouse, R.E.M., an aborted album or two, and finally the soothing sounds of the kings.

• So Arcade Fire won Album of the Year. The Grammy's finally got it right after apparently reading The D Man's Music. Whatever happened, it was cool that more than 95% of the viewing audience had never heard a song from The Suburbs. Hopefully a few of them will be smart enough to pick up the album.
• Radiohead releases album number eight, The King of Limbs, by digital download this Saturday. The cover artwork is phenomenal. Fans can pick up the CD or vinyl in May. Check out a solid list of the band's greatest songs. Some of the The D Man's personal favorites are not even on the list, which tells you how impossibly dense the band's catalog is. The D Man agrees with the placement of "Idioteque," of course.
• Panda Bear's "Last Night at the Jetty" is pretty cool.
• The Strokes fourth album, Angles, could revive the band's short-lived reign as the it guitar band of the early 2000s. Check out first single "Under Cover of Darkness."
• Enjoy a solid fan video to accompany "Downtown," a track from Destroyer's ridiculously cool Kaputt.

Song of the Week

James Blake is being hailed as a godsend. After spending a few minutes with the mesmerizing video below, it is easy to see why. The young British composer is creating minimalist, R&B-influenced, electronic music that is both melodic and striking. On "The Wilhelm Scream," Blake's searing vocals sound like a wounded Rick Astley (in the coolest sense possible), and the repeating lyrical hook is impossible for listeners to shake loose. Blake's production skills may be the most intriguing aspect of his ascendancy--he is lightyears ahead of the game, showcasing a reverence for subtlety, texture, and space. You can also check out his fantastic video for his cover of Feist's "Limit to Your Love" here. After releasing several promising EP's last year, Blake drops his debut tomorrow. The D Man suggest you pick it up.

The White Stripes

The White Stripes are calling it quits. The D Man understands the decision (going out on top, completing the canon, moving on to other pursuits), and has always admired the way the duo handled their creative business. But I feel a twinge of sadness knowing that they are leaving behind their special brand of guitar theater with, notably, great music still waiting in the wings.

Jack White is a recent saviour of sorts for authentic, red-blooded rock-n'roll and is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarists of all time. His uncompromising vision and varied approach to rockmaking will long be a touchstone of artistic integrity. If you're wondering, The D Man's favorite Stripe record was probably the mammoth Elephant (my best of 2003). And while I loved the classics De Stijl and White Blood Cells, I fell hard for the band's final full length, Icky Thump. Enjoy a live version of one of my sneaky favorite Stripe songs, where Jack holds court and duels with a seventh son. Or something like that.

Song of the Week

Fleet Foxes' eponymous debut was a stunning delight, one of the best albums of the last ten years, and arguably one of the finest folk-pop records of all time. Check out "Helplessness Blues" from the band's second album of the same name. You will have to sit tight until May to hear the entire thing, but if this thrilling song is any indication, it will be well worth the wait. The D Man is already in love with the cover art, again.

By late January, we grow tired of long cold nights and long gray days. We begin to feel alienated from our work, certainly in the confines of an office or otherwise.The D Man can empathize with Robin Pecknold's longing refrain: If I had an orchard, I'd work 'til I'm sore. My grandparents had a cherry orchard. That sense of individual liberation through an honest days work is what many of us seek, and if we are transported there mid-winter, if only for a brief time, through the unique harmonies of a fantastic band, so be it.

Five Things

In January, The D Man tends to revisit his music library. A great time of year to reflect. Enjoy a few deep tracks that I've been enjoying of late. So January sounding.

• "New Hampshire" by Matt Pond P.A. A sincere, workman-like achievement in mood. I'm so determined to lay in lakes / And see my sisters / I will hit my brother / And hold my mother.
• "My Love Has Gone" by Josh Rouse. An underrated singer-songwriter. An excellent country-pop song.
• "Central Reservation" by Beth Orton. Today is whatever you want it to be.
• "Live in Dreams" by Wild Nothing. Can't stop listening to this 2010 release. Gets better and better. Plus, Jack Tatum is playing a show here in February.
• "Weightlifting" by The Trash Can Sinatras. Terrible band name. Sublime pop song. (Thanks to G-Reese for this tip from a couple years back).

Song of the Week

British Sea Power--the Queen's proper musical messenger--has been making underrated albums and resolutely British pop music for the past decade. The band's arcane lyrical subject matter can be strange at times, but their music cribs from every corner of the Britpop realm (60's pop, 70's glitter, 80's mope rock, 90's anthems) and results in accessible, albeit angular, rock music. The D Man still swoons over second album Open Season. Scott Wilkinson may have the perfect English rock voice, and he sounds fantastic live, as he demonstrated during a show The D Man caught at Jones Beach, Long Island, a few years back.

Valhalla Dancehall is the band's fifth album and represents the breadth of the band's sound, with soaring rockers, post-rock gloomers, and R&B-influenced ditties. Check out the tongue-in-cheek first single "Living is So Easy," a pop-infused departure from the band's oft-heavier material.

Song of the Week

Sam Beam, your favorite bearded folk-hero, releases his fourth full-length, Kiss Each Other Clean, at the end of the month. Check out "Walking Far From Home" and enjoy some quasi-biblical phrasing and plenty of ooohs and aaahs. A real grower. After the full-bodied approach of The Shepherd's Dog, it will be interesting to hear where this record goes. The D Man will definitely be picking it up. Like a bird stealing bread.

The D Man's Top Twenty Albums of 2010

The Grand Statement vs. The Overarching Vibe. Great albums may be grouped into one of these two categories. Take this year in music. Several albums merit Grand Statement distinctions (Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Kanye West), while others deserve honors for creating The Overarching Vibe (Beach House, LCD Soundsystem, Twin Shadow). These two musical camps, when rarefied aesthetics are involved, are worthy of our critical praise.

The Grand Statement primarily delivers a musical message. An album that earns this title--lyrically, sonically, thematically--tells a story, imparts a wisdom, or discloses a secret. The Grand Statement asserts a worldview, or at least offers a profound reference point, and forces listeners to weigh and consider. For example, Arcade Fire's The Suburbs is a sweeping narrative of the impending, and a remembrance of the spark of youth in the midst of an unavoidable unwinding. It is, in essence, an elegy. Listeners must grapple with the album's search for home amid the tumult of the modern world.

On the other hand, the Overarching Vibe delivers a musical feeling. The sound of the album is more significant than any lyric, topic, or theme. It is about the music, the moment, or the magic. It is experiential rather than topographical. For example, Beach House's Teen Dream, while chronicling the romance of youth, is primarily an iridescent escape into the feeling of youth, the dream of romance, indeed, the very sound of the fantasy.

On closer scrutiny, of course, these two distinctions begin to erode. The Grand Statement is often a function of the Overarching Vibe, the essential feel and sound of a record. The Suburbs is so seamless in its musical approach, it would be foolish not to recognize its holistic sonic current. Meanwhile, the Overarching Vibe is sometimes a product of the Grand Statement, as the stories, themes, and motifs that a given artist employs creates the (un)intended feeling, the personal musical experience, as it is with Teen Dream. Ultimately, these two distinctions are probably only servicable as a kind of shorthand to delineate between albums that contain a decipherable narrative arc, and albums that bury such narrative into the inscrutable nature of their musicmaking. Even then, such shorthand is underwhelming. After all, last decade's millenial masterpiece, Radiohead's Kid A, is arguably the penultimate Grand Statement (post-modern breakdown) and Overarching Vibe (post-modern breakdown).

One thing is certain: 2010 was a great year for music. The new decade failed to usher in a major movement or storyline. Unlike 1980, where disco and punk were giving way to post-punk and new wave, or 1990, where pop and hair-metal were dying a slow death as the underground presence of art-rock and grunge emerged, 2010 was a testament to the creative strength of the previous decade and its best artists. Indeed, the best albums of 2010 include releases from some of last decade's finest musicmakers: Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, The National, and Kanye West, to name a few. Three of those artists have produced albums that previously topped The D Man's year-end lists. That is some staying power. That is some relevance.

A final word of encouragement. Last year, The D Man discussed his concerns regarding the slow-death of the album. The past year in music confirms (again) that such worries are premature. The mainstream offered up few albums worthy of aesthetic consideration, however, thankfully, myriad independent artists created long-form musical statements that were striking, original, and worth writing about and listening to. So enjoy.

1. The Suburbs / Arcade Fire

The Suburbs is about bedrooms, backyards, driveways, and parking lots; the places where dreams materialize in the heart of youth. But then communities dissolve, relationships disintegrate, and dreams dissipate, leaving disenfranchised kids roaming empty streets and cities, seeking solace, looking for home.

Arcade Fire's third album is a thrilling triumph that embraces the possibility of light in the throes of darkness, of love in the final acts of modern man. Less heavyhanded than Neon Bible, the album still possesses an underlying sense of despair, but it never detracts from the invitation to escape, and never weighs down the propulsive guitar-rock that carries much of the album. Indeed, the music's white-noise nostalgia is continuously interrupted by lyrical hooks, anthemic choruses, and bursts of clarity, in what may be seen as the band's first rock album, with their vibrant instrumental flourishes still in tow.

This is the Canadian band's The Joshua Tree--epic, righteous, guitar-driven, fervent--complete with massive anthems and soul-wrenching examinations. Unlike that album's wide-lens view of America and our inner soul, however, The Suburbs plays out more like Darkness at the Edge of Town, shrouded in a relentless future, uncertain of whether an appeal to our collective greatness will be fruitful.

The Suburbs' seamless majesty--both sonic and thematic--is an impressive achievement made possible by the band's considerable talents and willingness to reach for greatness. Will Butler referred to Arcade Fire as "a Moby-Dick kind of band." This is an apt description, as the collective's ambition goes for epic and achieves that kind of feeling, no matter the flaws. Rather than capturing merely small or limited moments (which it does to great effect), The Suburbs is a soaring depiction of visions past and future: childhood dreams give way as the adult world emerges, and the album's end-of-days philosophical exploration sears into the pysche. Over the arc of sixteen tracks, the album moves through the beauty, strangeness, and bittersweetness of youth, and often views those moments through the lens of an adult grappling with current crisis. This is not a short story with an easy ending.

The Suburbs is also that rare artistic creature: an accessible and aesthetic achievement that entered into the mainstream. Like Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest from 2009, The Suburbs reached #1 on the Billboard charts, if but for a brief stay, which is an impressive feat for an album that is such a heavy, conceptual thing.

But maybe that should not come as a surprise since The Suburbs' grand statement, however conflicted, seems so universal. After all, we are, in the end, talking about kids. Seeking fulfillment of the promises of youth. Seeking for connection long since abandoned: brothers, sisters, friends, hopes, dreams. Seeking for innocence, purity, goodness. Kids just like you and me.

2. Teen Dream / Beach House

Beach House's glimmering pop is best exemplified by "Norway," the first single from the band's magnificent third album, Teen Dream. The Baltimore duo of Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally replace some of the dreamy and drawn-out atmosphere found on 2008's Devotion with a greater sense of light-filled urgency. Stunning stuff.

Teen Dream is a shimmering masterpiece of mood and melody. Gorgeous and beguiling, the hazy album is the sonic equivalent of waves breaking on a sun-dappled morning beach, of lovers holding hands on a lidless night. The ooohs and aaahs are shrouds of misty texture, and the deliberate beats beam from an intrusive moon. At times gentle, the music, for all of its organ-droned, ethereal loveliness, still has its moments of self-assured thrust, and it is ultimately carried by LeGrand's loveblown vocal delivery. The stories of youth and romance, taken aloft by the music's rich fantasy, are grounded in the real world by LeGrand's earthy, lived-in voice.

"Zebra" propels forward on the back of Scally's rippling guitars and crests in a spray of color and chorus: "Anyway you run, you run before us / black and white horse / arching before us." "Silver Soul" yearns for something other than heartbreak, while "Lover of Mine" and "10 Mile Stereo" move with magnetic beats and LeGrand's near-mystical incantations. Musically, the album appears suspended, mid-air, among gossamer threads of longing, heartache, and passion; a web of timeless beauty.

The D Man possesses a fierce attraction to this record, and the music's durability, listen after listen, has been nothing short of intoxicating. Like some powerful elixir, The D Man simply cannot get enough of the album's overarching vibe. Teen Dream is the album Beach House was destined to make. A classic.

3. Age of Adz / Sufjan Stevens

The most (re)inventive album of the year. To summarize: over the last decade, Sufjan has (1) recorded his eclectic debut (A Sun Came), (2) composed an electronic album devoted to the animals of the Chinese Zodiac (Year of the Rabbit), (3) regenerated the immaculate beauty of his home state (Michigan), (4) recorded a quiet folk album of dialogic devotion (Seven Swans), (5) orchestrated the greatest American album of the last ten years (Illinois), (6) released the magical detritus from the Illinois sessions (The Avalanche), (7) shared several years of private Christmas recordings (Songs for Christmas), (8) honored the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in a symphonic and cinematic tribute (The BQE), and (9) collaborated with countless artists and musical friends.

Despite his substantial output, Sufjan did not release a proper album for more than five years. We waited and worried. He surfaced last year and said he had lost faith in the album, even faith in the song. He was obviously wrestling with the weight of impressive achievements and enormous expectations. The D Man pleaded with him to remain, to reconsider, to recuperate and reinvent, if necessary. We needed the album, we needed the song. Especially from him.

Enter 2010. Sufjan released the lengthy All Delighted EP, and right on its heels, the fascinating album Age of Adz. While the All Delighted EP consisted of rococo pleasures consistent with Sufjan's previous efforts, Age of Adz was a departure in many ways, certainly from the soaring symphonic folk of the much-beloved Illinois. Age of Adz was an intergalactic exploration of the Self, an electronic and orchestral attempt to find a heartbeat again. And, gratefully, it did. The album succeeded on cosmic levels, and it instantly became another iteration of Sufjan's creative and cognitive abilities.

Age of Adz, in Sufjan's words, is "really obsessed with sensation and has a hysterical melodrama to it." This is readily apparent when listening to the record (easily the best headphone experience of the year), and especially after seeing the new songs performed live. The D Man previously shared his feelings from that indelible concert, and now offers up the Sufjan live experience as the ultimate expression of the album.

4. High Violet / The National

It takes an ocean not to break. The National's High Violet comes in supple waves. Of sophisticated post-rock. Of anthemic breakdowns. Of mega-chorus brilliance. The album's craftsmanship is mature and assured, while the lyrics bely any sense of confidence in the wake of relationships, families, and communities on the edge. And while the tone is somewhat ominous, High Violet's energy somehow feels brighter, more magnanimous than previous efforts.

In addition to the dark-hued grandeur, the songs also possesses subtle charms that, like earlier releases, continue to take shape and grow with each listen. As the songs coalesce and reveal deeply-felt, personal projections, one gets the distinct impression that The National may be the best band playing today. Indeed, the album lives as a dense collection of brilliant songs. And there may not be a better three-song run (this year) than the album's fifth, sixth, and seventh tracks, the brooding backbone of High Violet's world-weary vibe.

"Afraid of Everyone," with emblematic American metaphors, describes a family man's paralyzing fears, and as the song reaches a foreboding crescendo ("your voice is swallowing my soul, soul, soul"), one is left wondering whether it is a call to battle or a plea for retreat:

I'll defend my family with my orange umbrella
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone
With my shiny new star
Spangled tennis shoes on
I'm afraid of everyone, I'm afraid of everyone

With my kid on my shoulders I'll try
Not to hurt anybody I like
But I don't have the drugs to sort
I don't have the drugs to sort it out.

On "Bloodbuzz Ohio," Matt Berninger's narrow baritone takes flight with (a swarm of bees) and an exquisite rock'n'roll arrangement that lesser bands scarce can comprehend. An ode to home and distance (most of the band originally hails from Ohio), the song's centerpiece is a kind of physical, spoken-out-loud catharsis, a personal confession, an admission that resistance to love is (finally) impossible:

I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
I never thought about love when I thought about home
I still owe money to the money to the money I owe
The floors are falling out from everybody I know
I'm on a bloodbuzz
Yes I am
I'm on a bloodbuzz

And "Lemonworld" depicts a young man who gave his heart to the Army ("only sentimental thing I could think of") and is now drowning in the meaningless pursuits and material illusions of those around around him.

I'm too tired to drive anyway, anyway right now
Do you care if I stayed?
You can put on your bathing suits
And I'll try to find somethin' on this thing that means nothin' enough
Losin' my breath

You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
I want to sit in and die.

High Violet is not kids stuff. The album's textured production, lyrical heft, and instrumental sophistication offer little solace to those merely seeking a good time, an easy way out. The National provide few answers, other than a sense of relief at getting the right words out, and doing the songs justice. The music requires a willingness to descend into vivid realms of meaning and mood. The end result is heavy, thrilling.

5. Contra / Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend has more rhythm, funk, syncopation, and flow than nine out of every ten rappers. The Columbia-grads put on two great shows this year and sounded tight, inspired, and fresh. Contra is a natural extension of the band's phenomenal debut, and the album shines after getting waxed with additional eccentricities. These guys are keepers.

Thankfully, the band's sophomore album stays faithful to their sonic identity while also expanding into varied musical spaces. The ebullient production allows the band to redefine their intellectual indie-pop with genre-defying songs. Contra is mature, perhaps more subtle in parts than its predecessor, but it never sacrifices its sense of playfulness and, notably, its sense of joy.

Ezra Koenig's literate allusions to the obscure or arch-elite continue to impress. His observations are as sharp as the band's precise and inimitable musical direction. Best line on the album (or maybe any album this year): "The little stairway / A little piece of carpet / A pair of mirrors that are facing one another / Out in both directions / A thousand little Julias / That come together / In the middle of Manhattan."

Opening track "Horchata" is the perfect late-winter antidote, while "White Sky" breaks through the cloud cover with a series of chorus yelps as only Koenig can deliver. (The keyboards alone on these tracks are worth paying full admission). Other favorites: the escapist electro-violins of "Run," the ultra-fast drum fills and prickly guitars of "Cousins," the sing-along chorus and bridge of "Giving Up the Gun," and the reggae-fied nostalgia of "Diplomat's Son."

Some misguided listeners have questioned the band's authenticity. After all, didn't they get an Ivy-league education? (Yes.) Didn't they grow up in upper-class privilege? (Sort of.) Didn't they exploit globe-trotting musical references by bringing them to the masses? (And your point?) The D Man has little time for identity politics when listening to music, especially music this diverse and refreshing. When assessing artistic merit, socio-economics never held much sway for The D Man. So Van Gogh was poor. So Picasso was rich. Interesting, no doubt. But that does not necessarily mean that "Sunflowers" is greater than "Guernica."

Likewise, if Ezra Koenig can so convincingly break down Congolese soukous inside an Upper West Side narrative, it makes little difference what high school he went to--The D Man will be listening. Indeed, few complain when Lil' Wayne exploits his quasi-surroundings for serious monetary gain, and he doesn't even write compelling songs, something Koenig seems incapable of doing. But when your skin color is of the paler variety, heaven forbid you co-opt culture and music that moves you. You're called a cloy.

But I digress. Vampire Weekend seems to have few musical horizons, especially when considering how effective--and comfortable--the band is when playing with electro-pop, new wave, Afro-ryhthms, punk, and whatever else catches their fancy. The D Man's only advice: Go on, go on, go on.

6. Halcyon Digest / Deerhunter

Remember that cool but weird kid who sat at the back of the class? He drew pictures on the back of notebooks and didn't pay attention. He hung out in the halls, rarely came to Algebra, and skipped school dances. But he had great hair, and you heard he played in a band somewhere. Well, this is the album he finally made. And like you expected, it is pretty damn awesome.

Halcyon Digest is a musical journal of sorts, depictions of influential sonic memories that affected that strange kid--in this case, Bradford Cox, the musical force behind Deerhunter and Atlas Sound. The D Man's entry point into Cox's private world of inspiration was Atlas Sound's excellent 2009 album Logos, and Halcyon Digest is filled with similar entries of striking and blissful pysche-pop, observed, recorded, and obviously transformed by Cox and his bandmates.

The album is divergent, all washed-out bedroom pop or sixties rock, with a homespun quality that feels faithful and sincere. The intracacies are astounding yet sound so effortless. The songs are a testament to underthinking and overplaying, the instinctual foray into cherished and poignant moments of musicmaking. The best examples of Deerhunter's experimentation are drenched in watery psyche-drippings or off-the-cuff guitars that sound familiar and exciting all at once. The end result: a towering, yet private, indie-rock record.

7. This Is Happening / LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy has been building monuments of cool for the better part of a decade, and This Is Happening is his Parthenon. LCD Soundsystem's in-the-zeitgeist, post-dancerock, electronic metroplex is a masterpiece (and mashup) of club and indie music, a pulsing production parked in the middle of the urban universe. Witty, accessible, hip, and heady, This Is Happening reconstructs the notion of what it means to be a rock'n'roll god.

Murphy compresses post-punk, new wave, and club music into sprawling musical enterprises, and he rarely strays from stylish production and clever conceits, resulting in brainy climaxes throughout the entire record. For example, at the three-minute mark, opening track "Dance Yrself Clean" explodes into electro-funk euphoria, and other tracks contain similar moments of that-was-cool clarity.

"One Touch" is pulsating post-disco, "I Can Change" is groovy electro-pop, and "Home" is feel- good krautrock. "Pow Pow" is the album's cool epicenter, and, notably, there are few artists that could produce something so audacious, exciting, and catchy. On The D Man's favorite track, Murphy sings "You wanted a hit / but maybe we don't do hits." Ummmmm, right, have you been listening? If you heard this album for the first time while entering a record store, you would not make it out alive--like entering into the hippest wormhole in the time-space continuum, the vortex keeps spinning around until you succumb to the outer reaches of coolness. You wanted a hit? Baby, you just got something bigger.

8. Forget / Twin Shadow

Forget combines the rich, dark, and lovelorn elements of 1980's pop music into a record that transcends genre. George Lewis, Jr. (aka Twin Shadow) skillfully uses tropes of the era--dramatic synthesizers, down-cast drum machines, somber guitar-lines--to give a meaningful and mysterious undercurrent to the romance and heartbreak of his music. The results are dazzling.

The sound of the album exists somewhere in the hazy space between dance and pop music; the soft glow of Chris Taylor's (Grizzly Bear) production casts an intimate shadow over the entire record, giving a late-night and alone-together quality to the music. Lyrically, the record conjures up visual nostalgia tailor-made for individual listeners; the excitement of new relationships, the heat of sexual drama, and the dissolution of love are exquisitely enveloped in a veil of intimacy. Atmosphere is everything.

If David Bowie had anything left in his creative tank after 1983's Let's Dance, he might have made an album that sounded like Forget. (Rather than the forgettable Tonight). With allusive nods to Morrissey, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, and even the general idea of what the 1980's were supposed to sound like, Twin Shadow has transformed revivalism and created something telling and timely.