So Much Silence

Favorite song of 2010

Tuesday January 11th 2011, 9:00 am by Kevin

Better late than never … albums to follow soon.

I had a feeling about England in May, and in the seven months since, nothing changed my mind.

Before even trying to decipher the lyrics – which appears to many, including myself, to be mostly a futile task – the song’s triumphant swell of music had already won me over. England actually surfaced in early-ish 2009, a live version with different lyrics that are about as unintelligible as the final version. … Pffft. Words. Who needs ‘em anyway?

The lush instrumentation is the star here, from the opening piano line to the gorgeous layers that build into a climax that’s more subdued than, say, Mr. November, but no less satisfying.

I said in May: “England takes you to the edge, but never jumps, and just the suggestion of a frenetic culmination is sometimes sexier than actually realizing it.” As much as I enjoy the cathartic nature of Mr. November, it has about all the finesse of a hammer on concrete. But the slow simmer of England is breathless in a subtler less screaming way, inspiring a finish that leaves you wanting more.

I also really liked these songs (in no particular order):
Arcade Fire: City With No Children and Rococo
The Morning Benders: Cold War (Nice Clean Fight), Excuses and Stitches
5 O’Clock Shadowboxers: No Resolution 2 (feat. Has-Lo, Elucid and Nico the Beast) and Bottomfeeders (Small Pro Remix)
Band of Horses: NW Apt. and Laredo
The Walkmen: Victory
Beach House: Walk in the Park
Open Mike Eagle: Art Rap Party, Unapologetic (feat. Nocando) and Go Home (feat. Swim Team)
Miniature Tigers: Rock n’ Roll Mountain Troll
Frightened Rabbit: The Loneliness and the Scream and Living in Colour
Phantogram: Mouthful of Diamonds
Aloe Blacc: I Need a Dollar, Loving You is Killing Me and Hey Brother
The Soft Pack: C’mon, Answer to Yourself and Pull Out
Freddie Gibbs: Crushin’ Feelin’s
Isaiah Toothtaker: T.T.T. (prod. by Eric Steuer of Meanest Man Contest)
Big Boi: Tangerine (feat. T.I. and Khujo Goodie) and Shutterbugg (feat. Cutty)
The New Pornographers: Crash Years, Moves and Silver Jenny Dollar
Nocando: Hurry Up and Wait, I’m On (feat. VerBS) and Exploits and Glitches
Retribution Gospel Choir: Workin’ Hard
Kanye West: Monster (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver), So Appalled (feat. Jay-Z, Pusha T, CyHi the Prince, Swizz Beatz and The RZA), Blame Game (feat. John Legend) and Hell of a Life
The Roots: Radio Daze (feat. Blu, P.O.R.N. and Dice Raw), How I Got Over (feat. Dice Raw), The Day (feat. Blu, Phonte and Patty Crash) and Doin’ It Again
Spoon: The Mystery Zone and Trouble Comes Running
The Besnard Lakes: And This is What We Call Progress and Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 2: The Innocent
RJD2: A Spaceship for Now
LCD Soundsystem: I Can Change
Menomena: TAOS, Dirty Cartoons and Five Little Rooms

general, year end -

8 Comments so far
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by somuchsilence. somuchsilence said: Favorite song of 2010: Better late than never … albums to follow soon. I had a feeling about England in May, an… http://bit.ly/ff4xeq [...]

Pingback by Tweets that mention So Much Silence -- Topsy.com 01.11.11 @ 10:07 am

Nice! I will start following your blog more, and I’ll catch you on Twitter. For me, Sorrow was the winner on High Violet.

Comment by Evan 01.11.11 @ 10:58 am

“Sorrow” was also my pick on “High Violet” until the alternate version of “Terrible Love” was released. That was my pick for Song of the Year.

I was also partial to:
Band of Horses - “On My Way Back Home”
The Foals - “After Glow”
Jimmy Eat World - “Coffee and Cigarettes”
Jukebox the Ghost - “Schizophrenia”
Mother/Father - “Physical Heaven”
The National - “England”, “Conversation 16″
One eskimO - “Astronauts”
Snake! Snake! Snakes! - “The Mountain Fire”
Tokyo Police Club - “Favorite Food”
We Were Promised Jetpacks - “With the Benefit of Hindsight”

Comment by Frank Gallardo 01.11.11 @ 2:34 pm

i love the …suspension of the opening piano lines. it almost feels like you are dangling your feet over a deep blue precipice. it literally takes my breath away, every time I hear it.

Comment by browneheather 01.11.11 @ 9:00 pm

[...] do you take a great song – one of my favorites of 2010 – and make it even better? Add a little ?uestlove, of [...]

Pingback by So Much Silence 02.03.11 @ 4:02 pm

[...] Favorite song of 2010 The National: Wake Up Your Saints The National: Terrible Love (alt. version/video) The National [...]

Pingback by So Much Silence 03.10.11 @ 9:31 am

[...] you’ve listened to England, a slow-burning favorite from last year’s High Violet, and thought, “What this song really needs is some furious [...]

Pingback by So Much Silence 06.16.11 @ 12:01 pm

[...] official leak from the forthcoming album Trouble Will Find Me, due out May 21. Where 2010’s “England” – and so many National songs before it - slayed me with triumphant crescendoes, [...]

Pingback by So Much Silence 04.09.13 @ 10:00 am

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