J. Lichtman's Top 5 Albums

Guest Post : The following list, which is in no particular order, contains the top albums as chosen by Jeremy Lichtman. A music enthusiast and close friend, Jer keeps his taste in sounds as diverse and proficient as any critic or snob. Enjoy his picks.

Wale- More About Nothing




    In a year where names like Ye’, Big Boi, and Drake dominated the airwaves of 2010’s best hip-hop album, another name was mentioned only slightly and fell way under the radar compared to those mentioned above. That man is Wale. More About Nothing is a LONG mixtape which brings together everything one would want to hear on a rap album, plus Jerry Seinfeld. I do not want to go into major detail, but this is my favorite rap album of the year because I feel Wale brings the emotion that Kanye doesn’t, brings lyricism that’s second to none and samples the soup Nazi for an entire song.

Beach House- Teen Dream



    I was introduced to this album by Mr. Quiroga in the early part of 2010 and was hooked on it immediately. At that time I was loosely into indie rock and knew little about the genre, but I can say that this album was a gateway for me. The mellowness of Alex Scally’s voice in conjunction with the slow easy rhythm in songs such as "Norway" and 'Walk in the Park" put me in the best of moods. This is my favorite indie album of the year, and if you haven’t heard it yet, I would recommend it dearly.

Arcade Fire- The Suburbs


(Not the official video but still very good, Spike Jonze I believe)

    There was a lot of hype in the months preceding Arcade Fire’s 2010 release of The Suburbs. I am lucky to own satellite radio and I can remember SirusXM U playing the shit out of "Sprawl II," "Roccoco," and "Modern Man" as the release date grew nearer and nearer. In most cases I would have been annoyed, but this wasn’t one of those cases. Arcade Fire is so great because they bring a different sound to most of their songs; sometimes Chassagne dominates on vocals, sometimes their songs are backed by a driving drum beat, and sometimes their songs follow the basic indie-mellow-song-scheme. No matter how the song is delivered on The Suburbs, the nostalgic feeling of young life emanates and makes for a great listen, as always.

Pantha Du Prince- Black Noise



    Black Noise is a much different album from the rest on this list. Ambient and minimalistic music are looked at differently because people are not sure how to react when listening to it. Should I dance? Should I sway? Where are the vocals? Pantha Du Prince’s Black Noise is both soothing and up-beat, and leaves the listener to do as one would please. I can listen to this album while studying and have a private dance sesh later that night with the same track. I don’t know why, it’s just how the music affects me, and that’s why it made my list.

Rolo Tomassi- Cosmology



   I will always be a lover of hardcore/post-hardcore/whatever-core. Rolo Tomassi is a band that may or may not fit all three of these categories. The screaming vocals of Eva Spence leave goosebumps on my neck every time I hear "Party Wounds," while the technical drumming by Edward Dutton is enough to leave anyone who’s been drumming since the first grade in awe. This album made my top albums of 2010 list because it’s so different from any cookie-cutter hardcore album made in the past year. It’s hard to describe the sound because of its individuality, but I can tell you it’s loud, fun, and will definitely get you jacked up. A fun fact; World renown DJ, Diplo produced Cosmology. It was Diplo's first take on a genre such as this, but most definitely a great one.