My Best Of 2010

Alright, the year's closing down, time to sum it all up...

Best concerts 

Oran Mor

• The Unwinding Hours / The Twilight Sad (Glasgow - Oran Mor)

A perfect evening in an amazing venue. The Twilight Sad definitely were the support band of the year with a breathtaking acoustic set but were still topped by The Unwinding Hours whose music just seemed to be made for that old church building.

• A Place To Bury Strangers (Münster - Gleis 22)

White light, white heat with 45 minutes of white noise. This was what The Jesus & Mary Chain always promised but the what band could never live up to live. A Place To Bury Strangers just blew everyone away, going deaf never sounded that good before.

• Mission Of Burma (London - Dingwalls)

Old men on stage enjoing that old men in front of the stage enjoyed them rocking with an energy that most bands would die for to still have it.

• Leatherface (Düsseldorf - Stone)

Again, old men proving that punk's not dead. It was so good to see Frankie Stubbs so moved that the crowd went wild to his songs.

• Pavement (London - o2 Brixton Academy)

Cashing in on being indie music's darlings more than fifteen years ago. Why not, if you can play such a wonderful greatest hits set and be so relaxed as if it were still 1992.

• Grant Hart (Münster - Gleis 22)

Another revival of an old man, 15 years after his last tour of Germany. He wrote so many songs for eternity over the past 30 years and he played them all.

• Off With Their Heads (Bonn - Bla)

That was the archetype of a brilliant punk rock show: a small club filled with people who wanted to sing along and fill the air with sweat and beer and a band rocking hard to give them what they wanted.

• RVIVR (Köln - Aetherblissement)

Feeling the energy and enthusiasm of a band playing a sold out show on their first European tour: priceless.

• The Unwinding Hours (Glasgow - Stereo)

The first headlining show of The Unwinding Hours and as Olympic Swimmers opened, a package not to forget.

• The Unwinding Hours (Stuttgart - Schocken)

Many of the continental shows had their own memorable moments and there were really good ones like the shows in Köln, Wien and Hamburg but this one stood out as Instrument also were at their best.

Best albums

Superchunk - Digging For Something from Merge Records

• Superchunk - Majesty Shredding

The comeback of the year, 'nuff said.

• The Unwinding Hours - The Unwinding Hours

The other comeback of the year, no need to say more, too.

• RVIVR - RVIVR

You just can't listen to them and not become hyperactive singing along and wanting to jump around like a teenager.

• Stephen Egerton - The Seven Degrees Of Stephen Egerton

Smells like ALL, looks like Descendents, sounds great.

• Dead Mechanical - Addict Rhythms

Pixies going punk, Superchunk with a rougher edge, just my kind of music this year.

• Off With Their Heads - In Desolation

The best Dillinger 4 album you could possibly get.

• The Great St. Louis - In Your Own time

Better than Leatherface, at least on record.

• Gifts From Enola - Gifts From Enola

I like post-rock whent it puts the stress on rock.

• Iron Chic - Not Like This

Latterman split up three years ago and now you have RVIVR and Iron Chic.

• Therapy? - We're Here To The End

It's only a live album but it's 36 songs that accompanied me over the last 19 years.

Best songs

• RVIVR - Seethin'

"Like a cast iron left on a hot stove - it's burning..."

• The Unwinding Hours - Peaceful Liquid Shell

I could have chosen Knut for its stoic mantra, The Final Hour for its detonation into a wall of sound or Solstice for its heart warming lyrics, but in the end the bass line wins it for me.

• Superchunk - My Gap Feels Weird

Skip Steps 1 & 3 and you'll end up at this one.

• ANR - Endless Fields Of Mercury

Thanks to the radio station eldoradio of the Dortmund university,  I discovered this one making Interpol sound so lame.

• The Bewitched Hands - Work

 Another treasure of the eldoradio internet stream, beautiful indie music from France.

• Lovers - Peppermint

 And a third eldoradio gem.

• M.I.A. - XXXO

Fuck Lady Gaga...

• The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die - Victim Kin Seek Suit

Get a shorter name but keep on making such beautiful songs in the vein of Aereogramme.

• Off With Their Heads - Clear The Air

"Goddammit, I'm falling apart..."

• The PUMA Hardchorus - Truly, Madly, Deeply

It's for a commercial, it's a Savage Garden song and it's a bunch of f***ing Spurs hooligans, but it's great.

And 2011?
Got my tickets to see Elbow in Glasgow and Descendents in London, Iron Chic will tour Germany in May and I still hope for Superchunk to come to Europe as well...