ADRIAN DOES STUFF

Yeah, yeah, I know ... albums are soooo "last century." Let's face it – with the rising popularity of digital downloading and iPod culture, I'm well aware that it's all about the single these days. And while there were certainly quite a few singles that I loved this year, most of them happened to be on albums that made this list anyway. So call me "old school." For now, I'm sticking with the time-honored Top 10 Albums list ... at least for this year.

Of course, this is a highly-opinionated, highly-biased list. I'm not necessarily saying these were the ten best albums of the year. These just happen to be my ten favorites, listed pretty much in order of preference. Enjoy!

1. The Lovemakers – Times of Romance
My favorite album of the year, from my favorite Bay Area band ... who I desperately hope will break nationally. This, their major-label debut, doesn't seem like it's getting a big push from Interscope, which is unfortunate. It's a catchy-as-fuck new wave-influenced electro-pop record with an emo-indie heart, replete with sugar-coated boy/girl harmonies, and bittersweet break-up lyrics. If these kids don't make it big, it's going to be such a shame.

2. Dean Gray – American Edit
Far and away the best bootleg album ... well, ever. Dean Gray, a.k.a. mash-up artists Party Ben and Team9, have meticulously crafted an amazing remix/interpretation of Green Day's American Edit. This is the new gold standard of high-concept mash-up albums, and is imminently more listenable than Danger Mouse's over-rated, over-hyped Grey Album, which just sounds like Jay-Z rapping over a bunch of mangled cut-up Beatles loops. This, on the other hand, is a true bastard pop masterpiece, showcasing the potential of the mash-up genre by cleverly mixing the Berkeley pop/punk trio with everything from Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash, the Eagles, Queen, U2, and Oasis, to name just a few. This free, internet-only bootleg album got plenty of attention when Warner slapped it with a cease-and-desist order a mere ten days after its release – which is pretty much a badge of honor in the mash-up world!

3. Various Bootleggers – The Best Mashups In The World Ever Are From San Francisco
I don't know how this bootleg compilation of mash-ups made it on to this list. It certainly wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that it says "produced by A+D" on it, or that our "Decepta-Freak-On" mash-up is the first track. ;-) It might, however, have something to do with the fact that, even though I had to listen to this damn thing a zillion times, I never once got bored with it. And that definitely counts for something. Nothing makes me more proud of our local Bay Area mash-up scene.

4. Fischerspooner – Odyssey
Fuck the haters. I still love electro. So of course, now that electroclash is official dead, many of the buzz bands from 2003 are now producing their best work ever ... two years too late. Such is the case with New York City's performance art/electro duo Fischerspooner. If their first album was all about one song ("Emerge") surrounded by a bunch of filler, this is a much more developed piece of work. While there are certainly standout tracks ("Never Win" in particular), this is more consistant from start-to-finish than their debut. There's also a bit of a '70s prog-rock undercurrent mixed in with the modern electronics, giving it a quasi-Pink Floyd-like warmth, which I love. I so hope they didn't get dropped from Capitol.

5. Dresden Dolls – Dresden Dolls
On my annual Top 10 list, there always seems to be one album that actually came out the year before – but I didn't discover it until recently. The Dresden Dolls are this year's token entry in that category. This Boston-based boy/girl duo create all their songs using simply piano, drums, and vocals – and it's intensely beautiful. "Punk cabaret" is the best way to describe them ... either that, or "Tori Amos with balls."

6. Morningwood – Morningwood
To make up for the fact that the Dresden Dolls are on this list, I'm including an album that hasn't even been released yet. (It comes out on January 10th.) But I've had an advance copy of this New York band's debut for a few months now, and I can't stop listening to it. Sexy and sassy female vocals, buzzy rock guitars, and just the right amount of electronics to keep it all dancey and shit. And what's not to love about a band that spells out their name ... on their first single! That takes a certain kind of bravado that Morningwood peddles in spades.

7. LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
I wasn't a big fan of the singles that preceded LCD Soundsystem's full-length debut, chalking up the buzz surrounding James Murphy's vanity project as simply hipster hype. Boy, did this record prove me wrong! Forget the second disc of this double CD – it's all about the new material on the first disc that puts this on my list. Throbbing, dirty, electro-indie dance-rock goodness. This sounds so right now, it's bound to be dated by this time next year. But for now, believe the hype.

8. Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
A guilty pleasure, to be sure ... but one that I mysteriously keep coming back to over and over again. Sure, it's pop music, pure and simple. But it's all so damn catchy! And there's just something about Clarkson's delivery, the conviction in her voice, as if she's trying to prove that she's not just a vapid, disposable American Idol has-been. And two of the best pop/rock singles of the year are from this record ("Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes").

9. M.I.A. – Arular
Until the Lady Sovereign album drops next year, this is my favorite record by a pint-sized female rapper from the U.K. Ah, fuck that – I mean my favorite rapper, period! This Sri Lankan by way of London produced the freshest-sounding hip-hop record of the year, thanks in part to Diplo's production – it's so nice to hear beats that don't all sound like they were produced by the fuckin' Neptunes or P. Diddy. Bangin' all around.

10. Mindless Self Indulgence – You'll Rebel To Anything
M.S.I. have always been a great live band, but their albums were mostly frantic jumbles of half-written songs and half-realized ideas. Bluntly put, they could put on a helluva show, but you didn't really go to hear the songs. Well, that's changed a bit with this, the first M.S.I. record I can actually sit down and listen to. Leader Jimmy Urine has figured out a few things about songwriting. But don't get me wrong: the fast-tempo electronic-punk arrangements are still crazy, and there are still time-changes all over the place. It's just a bit more focused now. Besides, what's not to love about an album that contains the lyric: "Two hookers and and an eightball! Can you believe I write this shit? Two hookers and and an eightball! Stupid people thinkin' I am cool!" Brilliant!