JW's Top 20 Tracks of 2010

We played the top 13 on our 11th episode of Johnny Whopper - here are the top 20, a composite of mine & Knox's lists.

20. Neil Young - Sign of Love
19. Dirty Gold - California Sunrise
18. No Age - Chem Trails
17. The Drums - Let's Go Surfing
16. Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (Voice by Antony)
15. Sufjan Stevens - Too Much

14. Cee-Lo Green - Fuck You
13. Sam Amidon - Relief
12. unouomedude - Buildings
11. Beach House - Take Care
10. Fyfe Dangerfield - When You Walk in The Room

09. Kurt Vile - In My Time

08. Emeralds - Candy Shoppe

07. Robyn - Dancing on My Own

06 Chrome Sparks - I'll Be Wait for Sadness Comes Along

05. The War on Drugs - Comin' Through

04. Dead Gaze - Take Me Home or I Die Alone

03. Kanye West - Runaway (feat. Pusha T)

02. Surfer Blood - Swim

01. Deerhunter - Helicopter

sadness comes along

Photo by SPiDeR.

My laptop is getting old. It's a fossilized, four-year-old hand-me-down from my younger brother (sigh). I'm getting used to its propensity for underperformance. So when I reached the one-minute mark in "I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along," the new track by Ann Arbor, Michigan resident Jeremy Malvin's solo project Chrome Sparks, I figured my browser had just hiccuped again. I've never been so happy to have been proven wrong.

"I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along" is certainly among the best tracks I've heard this year. Beginning with a few chimes and a faded guitar riff, sort of like a forgotten version of Sigur Rós' "Hoppipola," it takes a minute before it hits you with that beat. The pulse keeps the warm, immersive track surging forward, like something out of Baths' Cerulean. It's no surprise he's been getting plenty of love from some of our favorite blogs.

Other blogs have been taking down his mp3s, so I won't post it, but I will link to his brand-new Bandcamp where you can grab "I'll Be Wait" along with another superb six-minute jam, "Our Love Is Heartbeats; Our Love Is Hot Beats" for just $1. This guy is worth your support - I can't wait to hear more from him.

Stream: Chrome Sparks - I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along

Chrome Sparks:

Bandcamp | Soundcloud | Myspace

Johnny Whopper episode 8

Broadcast on 11/15/10:

01. Beach Fossils - Distance

02. Korallreven - The Truest Faith

03. Games - Shadows in Bloom

04. Chrome Sparks - I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along

05. Cocteau Twins - Elizabeth Fraser (Star Slinger remix)

06. Ducktails - Dorm Room

07. Tennis - Take Me Somewhere

08. Frankie Rose and the Outs - Little Brown Haired Girls

09. Memoryhouse - Heirloom

10. Millionyoung - Calrissian

11. Purling Hiss - Don't Even Try It

12. Kurt Vile - In My Time

13. Weekend - Monogah, WV

14. Brian Eno - 2 Forms of Anger

15. The Fresh & Onlys - Summer of Love

16. Chuck Person - Lightning Strikes

Gorgeous Korallreven track "The Truest Faith" was the highlight for me this week - grab it over at GvB. Chrome Sparks' grammatically-challenged "I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along" was also a beautiful surprise. And Kurt Vile's new track "In My Time" is only increasing my anticipation for this Saturday's show.

November Mix

Photo by Denise Nouvion

1) Comin' Through - The War on Drugs

2) I'm Gonna Try - Shimmering Stars

3) Youth Cult - Weird Korea

4) California Sunrise - Dirty Gold

5) Young Dreams - Young Dreams

6) I'll Be Wait For Sadness Comes Along - Chrome Sparks

7) Coma Summer - Weekend

8) Concord - M. Pyres

9) To Catch a Thief - SPORTS

10) Killing Time - Magic Fingers

11) Venus is Cruel - Triptides

12) Carry On - Courtship

13) Face It - Beach Fossils

14) Caregiver - Memoryhouse

15) Ancestral Lands - The Townhouses

16) Vino - BAnanas Symphony

17) Oceans - Sam Quinn

Download here!