Freak Scene Favorites of 2010 – compiled by Randy B. I talk about weed and my cat and being lazy a lot. I don't think lyrics need to be deep­­ just write whatever comes out of you. You don't need to find intense meaning in everything.­ Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast to Pitchfork Top 10 Burn on a solid foundation of sinewy Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – 1) Surfer Blood – Swim – Astro hooks and mile­a­minute bon mots Mama Taught Me Better – Beat The Coast: …there are no chamber sections, tumbling from Vinnie Kircher’s jittery Devil’s Tatoo no pocket harmonies, no integration of vocals. – The Onion AV Club Titus Andronicus – No Future Part 3: West African rhythms (ok, there's some Escape From No Future – The Monitor of that), just a desire to create a The Get Up Kids – Keith Case – 7) The Hold Steady – Rock relentlessly catchy, "classic indie" Simple Science Problems – Heaven Is Whenever: album in your own dorm room, and if Los Campesinos! – Romance Is One might suspect that The Hold that's what Surfer Blood set out to do, Boring – Romance Is Boring Steady’s rock repurposing would Astro Coast succeeds wildly. – Pitchfork Bettie Serveert – Deny All – eventually chafe, but they’re achieving Pharmacy of Love the opposite effect, again pulling off The Joy Formidable – The Last Drop 2) Arcade Fire – Month of May ­ The with heroic sincerity the idea that – A Balloon Called Moaning Suburbs: The faster tunes, like "Ready heaven is lying on the floor listening to Jenny & Johnny – Straight Edge Of to Start" and "Month of May," are records—even if you’re well past 16.­ The Blade – I’m Having Fun Now leaner and meaner than you'd expect. Paste Phantogram – Mouthful of Diamonds In "Month of May," the band sings – Eyelid Movies about (a) rock scene where "the kids 8) Frightened Rabbit– Living In Wavves – Take On The World – King are all standing with their arms folded Color – The Winter of Mixed Drinks: Of The Beach tight." It could have been a tiresome Hutchinson's strong Scottish vocals Happy Birthday – Girls FM – Happy get­off­my­lawn screed. But it ends up raise goosepimples…this is the sound of Birthday sounding tender and empathetic, a band upping their game, almost a Dum Dum Girls – Bhang Bhang, I’m A because Arcade Fire aren't so far from shoegazing Big Country. The Rabbit are Burnout – I Will Be any of the kids — or parents — on The a band overdue a breakthrough, and Film School – Sunny Day – Fission Suburbs. – Rolling Stone fans of everyone from Arcade Fire to The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire – the similarly revamped Maccabees will Clinging To A Scheme 3) Ceremony – Never Make You Cry find much to love here. – Guardian MGMT‐ Brian Eno – Congratulations – Rocket Fire: Rocket Fire is a loud Vampire Weekend – Cousins – record. A very loud record. It buzzes Contra 9) Icarus Himself – Digging Holes – and screeches and squeals and shreds. The Fall – Hot Cake – Your Future Our Mexico: Digging Holes is a pretty good Yet, for something so seemingly Clutter metaphor for how Nick Whetro works menacing, there are plenty of hooks to Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – Where musically. He's a burrower, not an keep the listener's interest…like The Was My Brain – The Brutalist Bricks excavator, not a builder of castles in the Pains of Being Pure At Heart but with a Quasi – Little White Horse – American sky. Show him a picture of a happy much bigger arsenal. – Trebelzine Gong family, he'll eyeball the faded scar on The Hives – Nasty Secretary – Tarred the little girl's knee and scratch at it 4) The Soft Pack – Pull Out – The And Feathered until a subcutaneous 2­minute dirge Soft Pack: …stripped­down indie rock, The Apples In Stereo – Dignified wafts out.­Rocksposure inspired by the Stooges and Jonathan Dignitary – Travellers in Space & Time

Richman."I felt like no one was really Superchunk – My Gap Feels Weird – 10) Broken Bells – Mongrel Heart – making very simple rock 'n' roll at the Majesty Shredding Broken Bells: Shins frontman James time," says Lamkin, who performs with Band of Horses – NW Apartment – Mercer, with his delicately expressive the deadpan demeanor of a David Infinite Arms voice, and Danger Mouse, the Byrne or Charles Grodin. "I always The Thermals – I Don’t Believe You – underground rap beatmaker turned wanted to make music that was Personal Life mash­up phenom,, seem a natural fit. timeless." – LA Times Interpol – Lights – Interpol "Mongrel Heart" is a fascinating The Magnetic Fields – You Must Be refraction of DM's obsession with film 5) Best Coast – Goodbye – Crazy For Out Of Your Mind – Realism scores, melding an intrepid spy theme You: The reason Best Coast’s hot­and­ Clem Snide – BFF – The Meat of Life with the dramatic grandeur of a bothered boy­crazy pop songs might be Spoon – Trouble Comes Running – spaghetti western .­ Spin built to last is that Cosentino’s Transference

fragmented stories and character The Capstan Shafts – Quiet Wars – Best of the Rest sketches are so shrewd and evocative. Revelation Skirts Belle & Sebastian – I Want The The best reference point is Liz Phair’s Bobby Bare Jr. – Rock and Roll World To Stop – Write About Love Exile in Guyville, another album that Halloween – A Storm, A Tree, My Gorillaz – On Melancholy Hill – Plastic was made for its times while possessing Mother’s Head Beach something that’s enduring.­PopMatters The Tallest Man On Earth – King of Versus – Cicada – On The Ones And Spain – The Wild Hunt Threes Owen Pallett – Keep The Dog Quiet – The Futureheads – Struck Dumb – 6) Jaill – How’s The Grave – That’s Heartland The Chaos How We Burn: On Jaill’s Sub Pop The New Pornographers – Your Hot Hot Heat – Implosionatic – debut That’s How We Burn, Hands (Together) – Together Future Breeds Milwaukee’s preeminent slacker­rock Devo – March On – Something for The Black Angels ‐ Sunday band combs its hair, puts on a clean Everybody Afternoon – Phosphene Dream shirt, and remakes itself as a sleek, Alejandro Escovedo – Tender Heart – Darker My Love – Dear Author – savvy engineer of guitar­pop should­be Street Songs of Love Alive As You Are hits. Tightening up the casual, stoner­ guy approach taken on previous releases, Jaill has built That’s How We

Randy B. hosted Freak Scene on and off from 1990 to 2010. He’s retired from radio but not from music.