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My Musical Highlights

• 21st Dec 2010

Whilst I'm sat here looking out the window at the snow covered… everything! I thought I'd take a few minutes to jot down my musical highlights of 2010.

SUN!! at GLASTONBURY!!!!
It seemed a fabled thing that was only talked about in hushed voices, the mythical story of the time that Glastonbury stayed dry… and lo and behold, we got amazing and unprecedented sunshine for the whole festival.

It completely changed the dynamic of everything, from atmosphere to attitudes and with headlines proclaiming that Glastonbury was hotter than Rio and Mexico, all those years of rain and sodden clothes were distant memories.

Gorillaz @ The O2, London
Their headline performance at Glastonbury stunk, it was dismal and shambolic and full of gaps, and after enduring it for as long as we could in the hope it would get better we instead ran in the other direction in order to catch The Flaming Lips, gutted that we hadn't just plumped for them in the first place.

But, my tickets were already booked for their arena show, thankfully postponing it in order to accomodate a lengthier world tour did wonders for the onstage dynamics, and by the time the rescheduled dates rolled around in November, the Gorillaz live show had a well worn flow to it and a jubilant intensity that had been missing on Worthy Farm.

Favourite Albums
I think this is the first year where the amount of albums I've bought has dropped to virtually non-existent, instead surviving on blog fodder and free mixtapes.

However, worth a shout are:

Gorillaz – Plastic Beach : More subtle in terms of content and not so heavy on huge radio smashes compared to previous efforts, but an absolute grower that brings back memories of chilled summer days.

M.I.A – ///Y/ : Wobbly basslines and chainsaw percussion may have scared away fairweather fans of Paper Planes and Slumdog Millionaire, while devotees already knew that this album could have gone absolutely anywhere. The 2 songs centred around a rock riff sound a little out of place in the context of the album and the bonus tracks tacked on the end sound like throwbacks to Kala, yet it remains a solid and sonically challenging listen that isn't afraid to tread new ground.

Akira The Don – The Streetfighter Mixtape : A free download that carries with it the production values and scope that elevates it above many 'proper' albums. The retro niche concept may put off those that don't hold fond memories of trying to perfect their 'Yoga Flame' on a SNES in the nineties but even non-gaming fans and children of the noughties should find the inventive sampling channelled in a way that genuinely breeds musical genius rather than strictly pandering to nostalgic button mashing geeks.