Best of 2010 – Part Two

Time to wake this blog, once again... Well, what can you do when you also have lots of other things to do all the time? Here is the second part for my very modest 2010 ”year end list”. I must remind you that I am a real slow listener. I have a tendency to start buying albums a long after they have been released (and listening to them may take years..). If I happen to be really active for some reason (it is an album by my favorite band, for example), I might even buy a CD on the day of its release but usually I wait for other people's year end lists and then buy the best music... It actually sounds like quite a good method of skipping disappointing albums.

So, here are a few other 2010 albums I like. I still didn't mention everything but I had to finish this to move on to other topics.

Ben's Diapers: Up in the Mountain, Deep in the Sea

The great band from Turku made probably the best album of their career. I loved listening to it during sunny summer days. Every song is catchy and the style varies from country rock to 70s hard rock feel – not forgetting the catchy power pop. I also like to look back to the two Ben's Diapers gigs I witnessed in 2010. This band is always cool to see.

Farrah: s/t

As usual, a new album by Farrah needed some time to grow. But when you let it grow, the results are amazing... The album practically becomes something quite different in the process. Farrah is still great in many different ways, not least because of Jez Ashurst's lovely voice. The music is still cheerful yet bittersweet – as we all probably know, it is a match made in heaven. In a way, this album is Farrah's most peaceful album by far. On the other hand, Farrah has never been much about wild rock & roll. Sweet and catchy songs always make my day!

Seth Swirsky: Watercolor Day

A real grower this one! Everyone who reads this blog knows that I am a sucker for loud, distorted, overly happy and bubblegummy music but I do enjoy quieter music too. Watercolor Day is an album that is quite easy to judge too quickly. Underneath the peaceful soft pop surface there are many songs that you will remember for a long time. There is definitely something very special about this release. Some material from the album has come back to my mind at some completely random moment like a warm summer wind. This album also made me listen to the Red Button album She's about to Cross My Mind again – and it was still lovely! I think I really should get myself Swirsky's previous solo album as well.

Taylor Locke & the Roughs: Grain & Grape

A side project album from a member of Rooney? Yeah, why not. Before I knew it, I actually ended up finding this more interesting than Rooney's two previous albums. There are really catchy songs on this album, the sounds are spectacular, and Locke's voice is just great – everything is great. The music feels like sincere and has a lot of emotion. There is always room for great albums like this!

The Coral: Butterfly House

Well, if the media thinks it is one of the highlights of 2010, I have to agree... Seriously, Butterfly House is an impressive album from the always lovely British Coral. It is partly very much like the previous album but there is something that makes it atmospheric in a whole different way. Great album, great band.

Old News and New News

My goodness… The same thing happened again. I remained silent for more than a month. And I promised I was going to write something during that time (didn't I..)! Oh no. You should never promise anything – especially if you’re not going to keep the promise. Well… There are reasons to my being silent. For starters, my life has undergone a major change during the last month or so. That is big enough a reason alone? Thanks, everyone, for your understanding…

Now comes the news section. It is going to contain some very old news and some very new news. Because I enjoy lists, this news section is going to be a list. How long a list? My guess is about 10 news items. (Edit: Ended up being only three..)

1. Gigs, gigs – powerpop from Finland LIVE!

Just a couple of hours ago, I witnessed two gigs by two Finnish bands. The first one was Ben’s Diapers, a very powerpop-oriented rock/country band from Turku. This was the third time I saw them, and I loved every second. In fact, I was utterly happy during the entire set. Everything the band played was awesome, not to mention the harmonies – and melodies! You don’t really hear stuff that melodic too often where I come from… I think I will get my hands on the latest album by Ben’s Diapers: Up in the Mountains, Deep in the Sea.

Hi-Lo & In Between also performed stuff from their new album, The Lonely Bird. I believe it was also the third time I saw then play live. The band’s organic Americana/folk/bluegrass was again a hit. The audience liked what they heard and so did I. Acoustic guitar, double bass, drums, violin/mandolin and good songwriting made a winning combination.

Ben’s Diapers at MySpace
Hi-Lo & In Between at MySpace

2. Three-week Beatlemania

This is very, very old news but I still find it very important. It all began sometime in early February, or maybe late January. A Hard Day’s Night was shown on TV, and the next day they showed a Beatles documentary – one that has John, Paul, George, and Ringo as narrators. The next day I felt like I had to start listening to the Beatles again. That is exactly what I did. By the end of the week I noticed I was in the middle of the most intense Beatlemania I had ever experienced in my life. This was something special. Believe me, my relationship with the Beatles has been anything but free of prejudice and doubt. It seems like this has changed now. After all, it is not such an unexpected thing for me to fall in love with the Beatles having filled my life with extremely Beatles-influenced music during many, many years…

Accidentally, there was also a two-day Tampere Beatles Happening in town in the end of that same week this B-mania started. I attended one concert that had Jan Britten Owen, the Urban Crow and the Overtures as performers. They all played Beatles songs, although especially the Overtures also focused on other 60s music, a lot of stuff from the British Invasion, of course. The Urban Crow was a Finnish band that featured Jiri Nikkinen, the most famous Beatles fan in Finland, as guest vocalist. The guy sings really, really well. Check him out if you like… He has been in a band called Clifters, making Beatles covers as well as other oldies covers and writing original material. The band may still be around – I remember seeing them live many years ago at a Finnish country music festival (there has been one, really!).

Tampere Beatles Happening blog (in Finnish)
Jan Britten Owen at MySpace
--> The Overtures website
The Urban Crow website This evening was probably one of the best of the whole new decade. The music was so good. I was out of my mind due to all the fabulous 60s and Beatles songs and danced like a maniac. The best party, with the average age of participants being about 60 years, I have ever attended!







During this Beatlemania I listened mostly to Abbey Road, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (which turned out to be a lot better that I had thought!), Beatles for Sale, and Please Please Me - and of course also Rubber Soul, Revolver, and my favorite: Magical Mystery Tour (though its position as my favorite Beatles album has been challenged by both Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper!). I am now officially in love with Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper. Such awesome albums… Larger than life, period.

3. Swinging and Searching

Largely related to my new Beatles enthusiasm I also felt the urge to check out other Merseybeat/beat bands. That is how I became musically acquainted with the Searchers and the Swinging Blue Jeans. Now, they are both among my favourite bands. I really enjoy having these bands in my life... There are so many great songs to listen to! Also, while listening to a two-disc Searchers anthology, a fairly recent purchase of mine, I finally also noticed that this is actually the same band that later appeared in powerpop context. I remember hearing Hearts in Her Eyes before on some powerpop collection.

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The Searchers website

The Swinging Blue Jeans website