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Ah yes, so I have been into shoegaze ever since June 2010 when I heard a Cocteau Twins track, "Summerhead", on a prog radio show that I listened to every Thursday before its end just recently in August 2011, called The Interdimensional Vortex. I started getting into Cocteau Twins, and then I heard "Catch The Breeze" by Slowdive on the show a couple weeks later. The rest is history. I have really been a fan of 90s shoegazers like Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, Chapterhouse, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Cranes and the like. I didn't really go for a lot of the "newgaze" stuff that was out (basically 2000 and on).

But then, along should come Air Formation.

Wow.

I really liked their sound. It was very melodic, which I adored, but also had that edge to it that kept it really... shoegaze-y. Their sense of composition was something that really struck me, too, as well as the bass playing by Ben Pierce. I don't normally notice the bass…

Not all artists are strictly limited to shoegaze, some merge with other genres.

In no particular order:

Adorable - Fake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Fpse8xAqU

Airiel - Winks & Kisses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMJk28UcC_o

Alcian Blue - Alcian Blue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOe7r1pRcyQ

Alison's Halo - Eyedazzler 1992-1996
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzK1rOlmNOI

All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors - Turning Into Small
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-p8-tcJh5I

Amusement Parks on Fire - Amusement Parks on Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKuK-wDqjFs

An April March - It Goes Without Saying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saLtqM0RvI8

The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p52KnFg1pnU

Anilore - Still Awake
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcUQoX_ppes

Apollo Heights - White Music for Black People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Vk6CPUj9s

Asobi Seksu - Citrus
…

First, make a list of your top-20 artists overall. Then, for each of these artists, add the 8 most similar artists to your list. Delete any duplicates, count up the number of entries on your list and this will give you some idea of how eclectic your listening habits are. A score of 9 represents an extremely unvaried musical taste while a 160 represents an extremely varied one.

1. Algernon Cadwallader
1) Snowing
2) 1994!
3) Street Smart Cyclist
4) Grown Ups
5) Hightide Hotel
6) The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die
7) By Surprise
8) American Football

2. Lone
9) Kona Triangle
10) Keaver & Brause
11) Bibio
12) Letherette
13) Lukid
14) Mike Slott
15) Machine Drum
16) Dimlite

3. Times New Viking
17) Psychedelic Horseshit
18) Eat Skull
19) No Age
20) Sic Alps
21) Nodzzz
22) Male Bonding
23) The Babies
24) Vivian Girls

4. Daft Punk
25) Thomas Bangalter
26) Le Knight Club
27) Justice
28) Stardust
29) deadmau5
30) The Chemical Brothers
…

I have a bad habit of listening to one song by an artist and not being able to find anything else by them as decent. My latest example of this is Christobel by Joan As Police Woman. I mean, I've taken the time to listen to the album Real Life and the other odd song with a just in case mentality but nothing speaks to me as much as the track I initially heard.

Coming to think about it on a larger scale, it's happened more than once. If I look at my starred tracks on Spotify it's pretty horrendous. Annuals, Chapterhouse, Jamie T,Eels and Ride all succumbing to the same fate.

It might be a case of the music actually being really terrible yet the artists got lucky and made a decent track which happens to be the one I like. That's a little pessimistic, and slightly smug since it implies that I have an impeccable ear for music when in fact it's probably only around 90% accurate.

The exception to the rule is The National. Only lately though, may I add. …

After much pestering, I've relented. Hope you folks are happy. Here is my Best In Indie / Misc. 2010 list.

Those who are actually interested, feel free to comment, criticize, and suggest any albums that you may have heard that I might have missed in any genre. Also, feel free to post your fave albums of 2010. There are so many great albums out there that it's impossible to hear them all.

I'm open to any listening suggestions!

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d61/Coffinwood_Mill/bullet-black.jpgAlso, if you are interested in other genres of music aside from those covered in this journal, feel free to visit my other journal entries covering the Best of Heavy Metal (link) and Neofolk / Martial / Neoclassical / Etc.(link) in 2010.

Enjoy! :-]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d61/Coffinwood_Mill/Best%20In%20Indie%202010/2010-Best-Indie.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d61/Coffinwood_Mill/Best%20In%20Indie%202010/Anathema-logo1.jpg
…

From http://lastfm.kevmo314.com/

Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Agoraphobia -Deerhunter
Never Stops - Deerhunter
Come Saturday - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Thursday - Asobi Seksu
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - Spiritualized
Stay Alive - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Keen On Boys - The Radio Dept.
New Years - Asobi Seksu
Pet Grief - The Radio Dept.
Cut Dead - The Jesus and Mary Chain
Deeper Into Movies - Yo La Tengo
Blue Thunder - Galaxie 500
Strange - Galaxie 500
Stay With Me - Spiritualized
Ocean - A Place To Bury Strangers
Plantlife - Autolux
Capital Kind of StrainAutolux
Black Metallic - Catherine Wheel
Venus In Cancer - Amusement Parks on Fire
Smile When You Smile - A Place To Bury Strangers
Breather - Chapterhouse
Throw Aggi Off The Bridge - Black Tambourine
5:15 Train - A Sunny Day In Glasgow
Ode to Street Hassle - Spacemen 3
Black Car - Black Tambourine
Duel - Swervedriver
…

Get yours here

Use Somebody:Kings of Leon( Score =7041704)
The Kill:30 Seconds to Mars( Score =5917216)
From Yesterday:30 Seconds to Mars( Score =4199692)
Your Guardian Angel:The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus( Score =3815740)
Breathe Me:Sia( Score =3716959)
I Hate Everything About You:Three Days Grace( Score =3620517)
The Diary Of Jane:Breaking Benjamin( Score =2849807)
Love Hurts:Incubus( Score =2743731)
Munich:Editors( Score =2297305)
Kings and Queens:30 Seconds to Mars( Score =2188017)
Goodnight and Go:Imogen Heap( Score =2153337)
Apologize:OneRepublic( Score =2087081)
White Flag:Dido( Score =1994801)
The Con:Tegan and Sara( Score =1950359)
Make This Go On Forever:Snow Patrol( Score =1880994)
Almost Lover:A Fine Frenzy( Score =1865548)
Hometown Glory:Adele( Score =1813720)
…

Lots of new stuff, the biggest of which must be PJ Harvey's Let England Shake. It kicks off with the title track which, while fine in itself, is rather peculiar in that when trying to hum it it manages to sound like both Puttin' On The Ritz and They Might Be Giants' Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (don't ask). Best track for me is the slightly shoegazey The Glorious Land, which, as any visitor to its Last FM page will know, manages the impressive feat of sounding like there's a YouTube clip of the American Civil War (with bugle!) playing underneath.
I took to this album straight away, which is a bit unusual for a Peej album for me. Her most rewarding works (Is This Desire? and White Chalk) took time to unwind and reveal their greatness. While This Is England is far from being a bad album, it feels a bit lacking in depth. This is surprising considering it was in development for such a long time, but despite it only being out for a few weeks I feel like I know it already. …