In the action-comedy 30 Minutes or Less, Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

(Release Date: August 12, 2011)

Remember when Liz Phair was still relevant and smokin? Yeah, that was a while ago...but I came across an article that refreshed my memory of the angsty man-hater turned sell out hottie. She recently reviewed the new Keith Richards autobiography, Keith, for the New York Times. Read it here, cuz, well, the Stones fuckin' rock. 

10) Sleigh Bells Rill Rill

9) Kanye West  Lost in the World (feat. Bon Iver

8) Gold Motel Don't Send the Searchlights

7) Beach House 10 Mile Stereo

6) Basia Bulat Heart of My Own

4) Avi Buffalo The Truth Sets In

3) Florence + the Machine Heavy in Your Arms

2) Josh Ritter Rattling Locks

1) Horse Feathers Thistled Spring 

Midlake
Courage of Others

In utter and complete honesty, I can't put my finger on why I keep coming back to this album. There's nothing too memorable or epic or noteworthy. But maybe that's it. It's just a solid piece of work without the glitz and glamour that's attached to oh so many releases this year. 

Midlake's latest efforts, Courage of Others, is predictable yet understated. The opener doesn't start off with a bang. No, the bang starts in "Winter Dies," with it's 70's metal goes woodsy thing going, and at first listen, that "thing" doesn't work...but after a few more rotations, it starts to make sense; the same goes for the rest of the album. Courage is a mellow record, a 'Sufjan Stevens without the pop-sensibility'. It's not quite kitschy enough to be baroque, but not ballsy or intricate enough to be Zeppelin's III.  It's unplugged Sunny Day Real Estate covering Alice Cooper, is what it is. I don't think that's anything to frown upon.

Avi Buffalo
Avi Buffalo

To be quite frank, I was far from instantly hooked when I first came across Avi Buffalo's self titled album this year. I skipped through the tracks with a skeptical ear and mind, hearing jangly guitars and average boy/girl vocals and I wrote them off as a band that'll dissappear within a few months, if not a few weeks. I tucked this album away, forgot about it, and never regretted it.

That was until "Truth Sets In" came up on a iTunes genius mix (yes, I use those, get over it). I instantly fell in love with the near-disco qualities, hand-claps, and almost Macy Gray-like vocal delivery. From then on, it was one of my favorite tracks of the year. It opened me up to the possibility of listening to the rest of the album. I did. And I never regretted it.

Sleigh Bells
Treats

What do you get when you cross a school teacher and the guitarist from Poison the Well? No this isn't some elitist just with a New Yorker punchline. It's the formula behind the duo Sleigh Bells. Besides a conversation about mutual interests in music, I'm not even going to question how the two ended up together. What amazes me  even more than this holy union of American Apparel sweatshirts and Zooey-bangs, is the music they make. 

Of everything put out this year, this is arguably the freshest. There is nothing that sounds like them, at least even remotely on the radar. Cute, sugary vocals over double bass drum stomps and bone shattering, hardcore riffs is what this band is made of. Did I mention "Trill Trill" has definitely filled that indie-pop crossover / "Paper Planes"-shaped hole in my music-listening heart? Ironic or not (I haven't decided), M.I.A. herself signed this pair to her label. She even sampled them on her 2010 release, MAYA, though Treats ultimately out shined nearly everything the lovely Miss Arulpragasam released.

They've got another album or two before they can prove they're not just a buzz band, but for now, hip or not, Sleigh Bells has taken the reigns as the most innovative band of 2010.

Hot Chip
One Life Stand

For starters, this band gets the award for more darlingest pun of 2010: "I only wanna be your one life stand." If I had to commit my life to an album, or at least the idea of an album, I guess this wouldn't be a bad start. An absolutely refreshing blend of twisted yet somehow gorgeous harmonies, bass thumbs, and layered guitar workings make up the strongest Hot Chip LP to date; "One Life Stand" is fully capable of going head to head with "And I was a Boy From School" or "Ready For the Floor."

The magic of this album, is that no one track outshines the other to the point you need to switch tracks throughout the album. Hell, you don't even need to put it on 'random' unless the order of the tracks is permanently ingrained in your mind from excessive exposure. Hot Chip has the pop-sensibilities to get repeatedly stuck in your brain but enough quirk and obscurity in influence to stay underground. Basically the blueprint to a perfect band in my book.

Spoon
Transference

Britt Daniel is unstoppable. And his ability to put out such all-encompassing, inclusive music while still staying under the radar is either admirable or just plain shocking. In terms of songs that get stuck on every playlist I made on that particular year, Spoon has continued to stay one of those bands. From "Believing is Art" and "I Turn My Camera On" to "Don't You Evah" and "Who Makes Your Money" I have continued time and time again to fall in love with Mr. Daniel's songwriting abilities. Though Transference may not be as accessible as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, it isn't far off. 

The album gets off to a slow, discouraging start (you learn to love...er...tolerate with love "Before Destruction") but picks up the pace immediately after with "It's This Love Forever," a cocktail of repetitive lyrics, staccato Clash-like chords, and reverb and echo for days. The "Mystery Zone" and it's absolutely brilliant, out of left field bridge is when you start to see that Spoon has not missed a step forward since day one.

Best Coast
Crazy For You


Best Coast's quirky, energetic ballads and fast-paced, open-hearted tunes, then I'm giving you one last chance. The lo-fi Los Angeles trio, fronted by Bethany Cosentino, hammers out thirteen fuzzed-out surf rock tracks on their latest efforts, Crazy For You. Sounding like the Jesus & Mary Chain covering Hole, Best Coast really makes you wish it wasn't the middle of winter, with their sun-worshipping, weed-inhaling, happy-go-lucky vibe. This year alone Best Coast has seen collaborations with Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend), Kid Cudi and Rivers Cuomo and a rise to indie stardom with their "Boyfriend" single. 

The school-girl ballads of being in love -- and the college-girl drama of being high and sad and used, for that matter -- make up one hell of an explosion of sound, emotion, and underplayed pop. Crazy For You might not the deepest release, but then again, It's not supposed to be. Beaches, sunsets, sex, cats, and marijuana seem to be the major focuses here....and when it boils down to it, what else do you need?

Vampire Weekend
Contra

Okay. So maybe I'm trying to make a point with this one. I know I can fall victim to indie elitism occasionally, but I hate when great things are looked over just because of the audience it's picked up. Sure, the prep school quartet gives frat boys a hard-on, but that doesn't mean you can't be turned on a little, too. It would be an understatement to say Contra is a big, mature step forward. The band's sound is much fuller, much more thoughtful. Great, crisp beats mixed with digital thumps, strings (both synth and organic); an overall faux-world music that comes off a lot more ironically authentic than it's half-baked, self-titled starter. 

The band channels the Clash at their more "creative" stages (Combat Rock,Sandista!) and of course, Paul Simon's masterpiece Graceland. They also continue on their path of prep-school scenarios, high profile families, Hamptons-esque lifestyles, and most favoritely, a diplomat's son, whom the narrator seems to have a sexuality-bending, drug feuled one night stand with. 

Contra will often times be overlooked, greatly due in part to their insanely overhyped presence in the indie/blog world a few years back. That said, Contra is the album they should've won the hearts of critics and music enthusiasts over.

Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

From the moment a radio-rip of "Power" leaked, I was obsessed with the concept of a new Kanye West album. Being unemployed I literally looked forward to each GOOD Friday to get an idea of how the album was shaping up to sound like. As the months trickled along, more and more tracks leaked, "Monster" being perhaps the most genre-changing. On it, the rap rookie Nicki Minaj outshines Jay-Z and Yeezy, helping her pick up the momentum she needed for her Pink Friday release.

Seriously though, I'm not even sure where to begin. The genre-shattering LP is a serious feat. Mainstream rap is terrible, and subject to kitschy hooks and melodies, about hooking up or getting drunk...all with the same beat, vocoder bits, and the occasional synth. In opposition, Kanye samples Bon Iver and King Crimson, employs the overlooked talents of Pusha-T and Rick Ross, and goes head to head with Jay-Z on multiple occasions. The production of this album is downright that of a mad studio scientist, tweaking every ingredient and element until his experiment was ready for the masses. Before this album, people were bitter about the emo-rap release of yesteryear he handed over, still offended over the Beyonce' comments everyone else was thinking, and just sick of his ego. Now it's time for year-end lists and everyone is kissin' his fuckin' ass. Hated or not, dude's always five steps ahead of everyone else. 

Amy Adams is such an underrated hottie it's ridiculous. Seriously, this girl needs to steal some of the limelight. Mainstream that fierce red hair and those bomb ass boobies. A cutie with a booty and a naughty body. See what I did there. That's like alliteration or something. Or maybe just rhyming. Whatevs. I don't have a degree in journalism. Oh wait. I do. Check these fly ass pics that solidify the fact that when a redhead is hot, she is unstoppable.