Two Years

Two years ago today, I wrote my first post for my regrettably-titled music blog The War On Pop. The entry consisted of two somewhat nondescript sentences introducing Booker T. & The DBT’s cover of “Hey Ya.” The post had grammatical errors left and right and was neither meaningless nor meaningful in and of itself. But it was the simple act of expressing my musical opinion that made all the difference. The shortest of articles sparked a frenetic two-year whirlwind that changed my existence and purpose on this earth.

Fast forward 24 months, countless articles, photo galleries, interviews and videos later, I've since achieved my goal in becoming a full-time music journalist. Saying that my life has been a whirlwind during this time period would be a vast understatement to say the least. Anyone who's watched me during this time period knows how hard and at (many) times chaotic my pace has been to reach this point. While it first started with this blog, it slowly morphed to unpaid contributions, before turning into paid freelancing, before finally becoming a career doing something I absolutely love.

Getting hired at Paste still hasn't fully hit me yet, but it will soon enough. I'm beyond blessed to not only have been offered this incredible opportunity, but have also been humbled by all the support I've received along the way--it completely astounds me how much encouragement, love and kindness has been shown to me leading up to now. It's the kind of thing that both affirms the fact that I'm absolutely on the right path in my life, as well as restored my faith in people and the world around me. More than anything, I can't thank you all enough for the latter.

Not that I've been posting on here for a while, but this will be my last War on Pop post for some time as I continue to bring my talents to the pages of Paste's website. For more regular updates, please visit my portfolio.

Songs I fell in love with in 2010 (that weren’t released in 2010).

As long as I can remember, music in December has been synonymous with year-end lists that recap the best (and worst) of the past calendar year. For many, it provides a chance to catch up with all that potentially awesome music we missed the first time around in past the calendar year. It can serve as an enjoyable exercise that makes us stop and think about our musical tastes and preferences as opposed to the continuous search for our next dose of musical cocaine.

But what I find gets overlooked year after year is all the music that each of us discover that’s not from 2010. Sure, much of this has been digested time and time again in years past. But I find that a new found discovery of a new artist, album or song from previous years, no matter how popular or obscure it may be, remains much more gratifying in the short and long run.

Over the course of 2010, people undoubtedly fell in love with previously released music--whether it was quietly taking in Nebraska for the first time, finally understanding the dissonant complexities of Sonic Youth, having their hearts shattered by Bon Iver or being taught the duality of the Southern thing through Southern Rock Opera. These moments are the discoveries that define personal obsessions with music.

Best-of 2010 lists may act as a useful guide to us, but music-we-fell-in-love-with-in-2010 lists seem much more interesting to look at. So here’s my attempt to retrace the songs I fell in love with in 2010 (that weren’t released in 2010).

The Antlers – “Wake”
Beirut – “Postcards From Italy”
Big Star – “Feel”
The Books –"Be Good To Them Always"
Bruce Springsteen – “No Surrender”
Califone – “Polish Girls”
Centro-matic – “Glacial Slurs”
The Cure – “Just Like Heaven”
Dinosaur Jr. – “Start Choppin’”
Doveman – “Breathing Out”
Elvis Costello – “Miracle Man”
Fela Kuti – “Gentleman”
Fleetwood Mac – “Gold Dust Woman”
Fresh & Onlys – “Peacock and Wing”
Heartless Bastards – “Into The Open”
J. Tillman – “James Blues”
King Khan & The Shrines – “Welfare Bread”
The Low Anthem – “Don’t Tremble”
Magnetic Fields – “Papa Was A Rodeo”
Mayer Hawthorne – “The Ills”
Molina & Johnson – “Almost Let You In”
My Morning Jacket – “Death Is The Easy Way”
Okkervil River – “So Come Back, I am Waiting”
Patterson Hood – “Screwtopia”
Pavement – “Gold Soundz”
Real Estate – “Beach Comber”
Spritualized – “All of My Thoughts”
Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”
Television – “Guiding Light”
Venice Is Sinking – “Ryan’s Song”
Wye Oak – “For Prayer”

I came up with 31 songs that left me speechless. What were some songs that rocked your world?

Photo Book: Oryx and Crake, Venice Is Sinking (December 10, 2010)

Pictures of the Oryx and Crake's show at Atlanta's 529 on December 10, 2010.

Photo Book: Usher at the Philips Arena (December 5, 2010)

Pictures of the Usher's show at Atlanta's Philips Arena on December 5, 2010.

Photo Book: Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Low Anthem at the Variety Playhouse (December 4, 2010)

Pictures of Carolina Chocolate Drops' show at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on December 4, 2010.

Best Albums and Songs of 2010

Best Albums of 2010:
1. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
2. Sharon Van Etten - Epic
3. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
4. The National - High Violet
5. The Walkmen - Lisbon
6. Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
7. Grandchildren - Everlasting
8. Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz
9. Beach House - Teen Dream
10. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
11. Oryx and Crake - Oryx and Crake
12. Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid
13. The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
14. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
15. Free Energy - Stuck on Nothing
16. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
17. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - I Learned The Hard Way
18. Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
19. Broken Social Scene - Forgiveness Rock Record
20. Black Keys - Brothers

Best Songs of 2010:
1. Titus Andronicus - "A More Perfect Union"
2. Janelle Monae - "Tightrope"
3. The National - "England"
4. The Walkmen - "Angela Surf City"
5. Besnard Lakes - "Albatross"
6. Sufjan Stevens - "Too Much"
7. Oryx and Crake - "Fun Funeral"
8. LCD Soundsystem - "I Can Change"
9. Spoon - "Trouble Comes Running"
10. Girls - "Heartbreaker"
11. Broken Social Scene - "Texico Bitches"
12. Grandchildren - "Toss and Turn"
13. Beach House - "Ten Mile Stereo"
14. Mumford & Sons - "White Blank Page"
15. Yeasayer - "Grizelda"
16. Grinderman - "When My Baby Comes"
17. Big Boi - "Shutterbugg"
18. Sharon Van Etten - "One Day"
19. The Love Language - "Brittany's Back"
20. Jonsi - "Go Do"

Check out all 20 songs here:

Photo Book: Punch Brothers, The Dappled Grays at the Variety Playhouse (November 19, 2010)

Pictures of the Punch Brothers' show at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on November 19, 2010.

Photo Book: Wolf Parade, Oya at the Variety Playhouse (11/12/10)

Pictures of Wolf Parade's show at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse on November 12, 2010.