earlier in the year, i began a new blog series, of sorts, in which i compiled a mix of the best music i had discovered in the preceding two months. the series and mixes are called, two in review. here’s what i wrote in the original blog post:

i consume a lot of music. it’s probably some kind of music ADD thing. i should probably seek out some kind of music junkies anonymous meeting or engage in some kind of full-out intervention. ultimately, i just love music and thus, consume quite a bit on any given week or month.

i love elbow.

and i’m not talking about the body part.

i am, of course, talking about the british rock band that, for a little over a decade, have been putting out albums that get better and better with each release. their last two albums, leaders of the free world and the seldom seen kid, are, hands down, two of my favorite albums over the last 10 years.

several days ago, they announced that their highly anticipated follow-up to 2008′s the seldom seen kid will be titled build a rocket boys! and will be released on march 7th (in the uk, with a US date to follow). today, the band released a special boxing day gift by showcasing the first single (and album’s opening track), lippy kids.

as we get closer and closer to christmas, stress levels grow closer and closer to a breaking point. between numerous family gatherings, wrapping presents, cooking dinner and making sure that every single i has been dotted and t crossed, this time of the year, for many, is a chaotic race to the christmas finish line.

so i’d like to offer you one more thing thing to do.

but a good one more thing.

in fact, a great and important one more thing.

earlier this week, i began my look back at 2010 with my list of best tv shows and continued the last couple days with my lists of new music discoveries, cover songs and songs. today concludes this week’s series, in which i’ve posted a list that presents my 25 favorite of the given category. here’s the lineup for the week (each day i’ll come back and update this list with links):

monday: tv shows
tuesday: new music discoveries
wednesday: cover songs
thursday: songs
friday: albums

to me, this is the granddaddy of all year-end lists. i’m still an albums kind of guy, as opposed to a single here and there. i like to sit down and listen to a collection of songs that were intended to go together. i think i’ve been able to narrow in on some of the truly great collections of music from 2010. from “emo rap” to throwback pop to a dark, twisted super-ego, there’s a little bit of everything (even, somewhat surprisingly, something that verges on country…). so, be sure to go check these albums out and see if my you agree with my conclusions.

a few days ago, i began my look back at 2010 with my list of best tv shows and continued the last couple days with my lists of new music discoveries & cover songs. each day this week, i’ll post a list that presents my 25 favorite of the given category. here’s the lineup for the week (each day i’ll come back and update this list with links):

monday: tv shows
tuesday: new music discoveries
wednesday: cover songs
thursday (today): songs
friday: albums

quite frankly, creating these lists is definitional comparing apples to oranges. none is more like that than best songs of the year. i mean, ultimately, how do you really compare a kanye west song to an adele song or a she & him song? so, more than the other lists, this one is likely much more open to debate and general disagreement. ultimately, i tried to strike a balance between which songs have an enduring greatness and which made an big impact on me upon first listen. there are certainly songs that blew me away upon first listen, but i now find myself skipping over them (due to over-exposure or being surpassed by other great songs). so, for now, this is the list i settled on.

a couple days ago, i began my look back at 2010 with my list of best tv shows and continued yesterday with my new music discoveries. each day this week, i’ll post a list that presents my 25 favorite of the given category. here’s the lineup for the week (each day i’ll come back and update this list with links):

monday: tv shows
tuesday: new music discoveries
wednesday (today): cover songs
thursday: songs
friday: albums

with such a high saturation of artists vying for our musical interest, they have to do something to spark interest and catch listeners’ ears. what better way to do that than by crafting a perfectly executed cover? yes, a cover can certainly come off as just another bar band playing freebird, but if done right, it can launch an artist into prominence. this list documents the latter. while there are certainly are some well established artists, there’s also a great mix of up-and-comers who are just getting started.

yesterday, i began my look back at 2010. for the last several years, i’ve spent about a week looking back on the various media that were my favorites of that particular year, and 2010 will be no different for me.

so, each day this week, i’ll post a list that presents my 25 favorite of the given category. here’s the lineup for the week (each day i’ll come back and update this list with links):

monday: tv shows
tuesday (today): new music discoveries
wednesday: cover songs
thursday: songs
friday: albums

as i’ve stated before, i consume a lot of music. i find a lot of really great music as well as my fair share of not so great music. most of it falls somewhere in between those 2 extremes. there’s so many new artists i discover that don’t necessarily fit into my best albums list, but i’d like to share about (and actually, a few of these artists do appear on my best albums list). this list—which i’ve never done before—does just that. there’s a lot of great artists that, prior to 2010, i had never even heard about that found their way into regular rotation in itunes. so, i hope you can discover some new music too.