The Year's Top 10s

I know, I've slacked significantly in blogging during the last month. But I have been thinking about it! And I've been enjoying some really remarkable releases that have come out in the past 12 months. With some trepidation, I bring to you my (surprising) top 10 favorites of quite an interesting year, musicwise.

ALBUMS of the Year (I only really liked 7):
1. TIE: Out of the Woods by Tracey Thorn/Shine, Joni Mitchell
2. Beauty and Crime--Suzanne Vega
3. The Turn--Alison Moyet
4. River: The Joni Letters--Herbie Hancock
5. Raising Sand--Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
6. An End Has a Start--Editors
7. Betcha Bottom Dollar--The Puppini Sisters

SONGS of the Year:
1. TIE: "It's All True" and "Grand Canyon" by Tracey Thorn
2. TIE: "If"--Joni Mitchell (from Shine) and "The Tea Leaf Prophecy (Lay Down Your Arms)"--Herbie Hancock with Joni Mitchell, voc. (From River: The Joni Letters)
3. "Gone Gone Gone"--Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
4. "Pornographer's Dream"--Suzanne Vega
5. "If I Had a Heart"--Joni Mitchell
6. "One More Time"--Alison Moyet
7. "You Can't Fail Me Now"--Loudon Wainwright III
8. "Fucking Boyfriend"--the Bird and the Bee
9. "We're From Barcelona"--I'm From Barcelona
10. "On With the Song"--Mary Chapin Carpenter

HONOURABLE MENSCHS:
"The Opposite of Hallelujah"--Jens Lekman
"Edith and the Kingpin"--Herbie Hancock with Tina Turner, voc.
"The Man in the Wings"--Alison Moyet
"The Boho Dance"--Bjork
"Smokers Outside the Hospital Door"--Editors
"Dark Road"--Annie Lennox
"Immigrant Song"--Ann Wilson
"Spider Pig"--from The Simspons Movie

COMPLETE IRRITANTS:

• Annie Lennox's Return--Could have been soooo much better
• Snuff-Jann Stevens' complete butchery of "Free Man in Paris" on the Joni tribute
• Elvis Costello's too scientific breakdown of "Edith and the Kingpin" on the same album
• The Joni Tribute itself--some of the tracks are over 12 years old!
• The Polyphonic Spree--why did I like them again?
• Why more people didn't absolutely fucking love Out of the Woods