Best of 2010 - kind of, or not

Once again it's that time of the year when every music mag and blog out there seems to be listing their favourite albums, singles, videos and what-nots of the year. I fell for it recently myself too, a couple of posts ago when I called Alain Johannes' "Spark" one of the best albums in 2010. But it is kinda silly to compare records to one another only because they were released in the same year, isn't it? Besides those lists always ignore the fact people discover old music all the time, too, and it's just as important as finding new artists.

So, instead of making a traditional top 10, I decided to make a different list. It consists of artists who've been around but which I discovered or fell in love with in 2010. To spice it up I decided to add another criteria: they all had to have strange video material available online. So here's my top 5 of the wackiest videos by artists/bands I've discovered in 2010.

Alex Harvey
I kept bumping into his name constantly this year (his songs have been covered by Nick Cave, Gemma Ray and Recoil, for instance), finally decided to check out his albums and haven't stopped smirking since. Here the crazy Scotsman doing his thing on stage back in the 70's. In this footage Alex uses beer as hair gel, stuffs stockings into his cheeks and enjoyes the goofed-up faces of the Norwegian audience.



Captain Beefheart
Another case of finally checking out someone I'd constantly heard being referenced to. After listening to Beefheart fairly intensely for about 9 months now I'm convinced he was a mad genius and it truly was heart-breaking and slightly eerie as well to hear about Don Van Vliet's passing - only a few weeks after I'd written a blog text about him and his legacy. Here's one of Captain Beefheart's last musical efforts, a video that was apparently banned from MTV for "being too weird".



Charlotte Gainsbourg
It's hardly surprising that the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg is kinda eccentric, yet very chic. I can't remember why I started listening to her albums but once I did, I got stuck. Charlotte rocks, here with Beck and a group of people engaged in the weirdest activities.



Creature With The Atom Brain
Top quality psychedelia band, hailing from Belgium. This video always makes me slightly nauseous but I love the track. It's trippy and hypnotic.



Archie Bronson Outfit
I have no idea how to decribe this band because their sound is such an eclectic mix of various styles and influences. Not sure what this video is about either. To be a disco dancer or a deep sea diver, that is the question, apparently.

They all heart Beefheart

It's a widely known fact that Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, has influenced many of the most respected artists of today. Like Tom Waits, The Clash, Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey, to name a few. It seems that nowadays Beefheart is starting to gain the respect he duly deserves but somehow it feels unfair he never became hugely popular in terms of record sales - although it's quite understandable, too. His music is way too eccentric to appeal to big audiences. Apparently old Captain's quite a character as well, with a persona as erratic as his music.

Beefheart retired from music in the early 80's to concentrate on painting and what do you know - he turned out to be talented in that as well, says the almighty Interweb. Not too much is known about Beefheart or what he's up to nowadays but it's been rumored that he's suffering from MS. If it is true, and considering his high age (70 next January, apparently), it's quite possible that the world will truly pay attention to one of it's most original musicians after he's gone. Which is still too little too late, if you ask me. So here's a novel idea: how about giving the man some credit now? Maybe all those musicians who've praised him could at least throw him a proper 70th birthday party or something.

So next time you're listening to recent Tom Waits albums it might be fitting to spare a thought for Captain Beefheart as well. Or compare this "Dropout Boogie" to PJ Harvey's song "I Think I'm A Mother". Once you begin to hear the echo of Beefheart's music it's never gonna stop.