WFOETYLs #2: Ten live sets from ’10

Entertainment Column
Written by Nathan Mattise

If you thought the top albums of 2010 were solid, the top shows really gave you reason to find a downloading means and put your funds towards tickets. Tons of big names came through CNY’s preverbial back yard (give it a 2.5hr driving radius) and I’m not even including Justin Bieber at the State Fair.

A few guidelines to start:

WFOETYLs #2: Top Nine Songs of ’09

Entertainment Column
Written by Nathan Mattise

I know, I know. This list is stale. It’s a week after ’09 and everyone has a top songs list – from other aspiring music writer friends to major sports writers.  By this point I could’ve done a “Top Songs List of ’09 List.”

Every year though you need to do either best albums or best songs though. They are the Ace and King of the music deck and anyone hoping to jump in on the game someday needs to know how to play them. With 2009 marking the end of the decade where a lot of influential voices are proclaiming this decade as the end of the album (due to things like iPods, iTunes, digital file sharing, etc.), songs seemed a fitting way to close things out.

As always, a few guidelines to start:

WFOEOTYL #1: Nine Music Sets of ’09

Entertainment Column
Written by Nathan Mattise

It’s tough to come up with a fresh take on year-end music lists. Top Albums gets done by everyone under the sun and the same can be said for Top Songs (we’ve done it before, we’ll likely do it again). I’m in the fortunate position of limited real responsibilities and enough discretionary income to make at least 1-2 shows per month. Central New York might not be a hotbed, but if you expand your territory by a few hours in each direction it’s possible to make a concert calendar that includes many of the must-see acts in a given year. Hence…why not a top individual sets of ’09 recap?

Maybe this list won’t be showing up on hip blogs (i.e. largehearted boy or Fimoculous) but it’s mandatory for any aspiring music/culture writer to offer their take on things. As a quick reminder, I’ve reviewed music in Albuquerque, Stroudsburg and Syracuse and throughout college. While it’s not quite SPIN Magazine, I do listen to/see a lot of music.