Dear CD Recipients,

Welcome to this catastrophe that I like to call the New Year’s Eve CD! For all the newbies (there are several), the New Year’s Eve CD is my flagship production, and perhaps the only holiday tradition that I actually have. I normally insert a spiel about why I love New Year’s Eve here, but for the sake of the veterans, who hear it year after year, I will spare you all.

Essentially, this whole shindig comes in four parts that are as follows:

1. THE ACTUAL MIX TAPE

2. THIS LETTER

3. LINER NOTES

4. MY TOP SONGS/ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

Normally, I include a song for the incoming year, but I am discontinuing that practice, primarily because I agonize over it for hours and it amounts to absolutely nothing. I actually had to look up what the “song of 2010” was.

Now, this CD is rather different from ones in the past. In fact, I’m a tad nervous that no one will like it. The overarching theme is that of popular music. Recently, as most of you are aware, I have been debating what is technically “pop” and what is “indie,” and if they are in fact merely based on popular labels and independent labels, or if they have developed distinct sounds. I believe that “indie” truly can have a “pop” sound, and that “pop” sound is by no means the devil unless it comes in a Ke$ha suit.

Thus, I have assembled a collection of tracks that I believe could and should be mainstream. For the most part, I’m realistic. There is nothing particularly avant garde, and I at the very least attempt to follow the new pop trends. Some songs were popular in the past, others are popular now, and some I think should be popular now, but probably will never make it. Some are hip hop, some are cute, most are dance. I have a soft spot for dance music.

This has been a fairly interesting year. Brad Pitt ceased to be my number one. I had my articles read by roughly 900 people. I touched Win Butler’s guitar. I got a Facebook. I developed an addiction to the Huffington Post. I met my future husband. I lost a best friend. I gained several new best friends. I got a 5 on an AP Test --->HELL YEAH JUAN DE PAREJA! I thought about reading War and Peace- I didn't, but even thinking it is impressive. I stalked a certain someone with my girlies in the beamer. I yelled at shirtless men out of the beamer in the Downs. I saw Jake Gyllenhaal’s butt. I saw ASkars’s butt. I lived in New York. I got an enormous sunburn that random people on the subway felt the need to poke and comment on. I killed a cockroach. You know, the usual.

But, sadly, I didn’t grow. Not even a little.

Happy New Years!

Tamar

Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. The ArchAndroid- Janelle Monae

2. This Is Happening- LCD Soundsystem
3. Have One on Me- Joanna Newsom
4. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy- Kanye West
5. Teen Dream- Beach House
6. Dark Night of the Soul- Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
7. The Suburbs- Arcade Fire
8. Halcyon Digest- Deerhunter
9. How I Got Over- The Roots
10. IRM- Charlotte Gainsbourg

Top 10 Songs of 2010

1. Good Intentions Paving Company- Joanna Newsom

2. I Can Change- LCD Soundsystem
3. Tightrope- Janelle Monae feat. Big Boi
4. Excuses- The Morning Benders
5. Power- Kanye West
6. Sprawl II- Arcade Fire
7. Spanish Sahara- Foals
8. Odessa- Caribou
9. Dancing on My Own- Robyn
10. Silver Soul- Beach House

New Year's Eve 2010 Liner Notes

1. Power: Go look up the lyrics, and try to tell me that this isn’t a brilliant single. Kanye has truly outdone himself. The song actually sounds powerful. You can literally hear him digging himself out of the hole he dug. But he doesn’t apologize for who he is and what he’s done, which only makes it even sweeter. He might be a rapper, but in this song he’s a rock star.

2. I Can Change: It’s no secret that I think James Murphy is a genius. Behold his brilliance: “Love is a curse, shoved in a hearse. Love is an open book to a verse of your bad poetry.” But I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is his best yet. Yes, better than All My Friends or Someone Great. Inspired by his divorce, he starts out pledging to never change, but quickly promises to change if “it helps [her] fall in love.” So real. So well done. So so so well done.

3. Dancing On My Own: I love everything about this song. Literally everything. The crazy amazing dirty synth beat. Her adorable Euro pop pixie voice. The lyrics. The feeling I get when I sing: “But I’m not the girrrrrrl you’re taking home. oooooh. I KEEP DANCING ON MY OWN!” into my hairbrush. Such a perfect pop song.

4. Zero: This might be old, but that Karen O is a superstar.

5. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains): When people say that this sounds like Blondie, I say FUCK YEAH, IT SOUNDS LIKE BLONDIE BECAUSE BLONDIE IS FUCKING AWESOME.

6. Into the Groove: Classic. Beyond classic. Legendary, in fact.

7. Locked Inside: Oh sweet Jesus, it sounds like Motown. And I do love Motown. And not just because I love Detroit. You can just see the women in matching outfits and gloves waving their synchronized fingers in the air.

8. Bills, Bills, Bills: Don’t get me wrong. Say My Name was gold, but I always loved this one. It’s just so sassy. “Your triflin’ with another kind of brother.” Dayum.

9. Right On: The best use of sampling since, like, ever. My lord, The Roots are just too talented for their own good. This is what rap really is. This is what it should be. Not all the Lil’ Blanks and Young Blanks and all that crap. This is talent.

10. Back to Black: Oh Amy, this is such an amazing track. Please come back. Pop music needs you.

11. Go Outside: Okay, Hillary can testify on my behalf for this one. Cults sucked live. Like seriously sucked. But they are excellent recorded. This is really freaking catchy, and now that they are signed to a major label, I wouldn’t be surprised if this became a minor hit.

12. Dancing Queen: My favorite. The best pop song of all time. No contest.

2.