Best Of..... opinionated speculation.

Here's an informal idea I had a while back at making up a few lists of "Best Of the 2000-2010" music. By no means accurate, all-inclusive, or even that well researched, but here goes:

Best Beat Makers/Producers: [Hip hop and R&B]:

9th Wonder, Jay Dilla, Dr. Who Dat? [Jneiro Jarel], Moka Only, Flying Lotus, Shingo Suzuki.

Best of the "New-Wave" Electronica Scene:

Neon Neon, Chromeo, Calvin Harris, The Ones, A Touch Of Class Records, DFA Records.

Best of French Electronica Scene:

M83, Justice, Surkin, Para One, Strip Steve, Institubes Records, Ed Banger Records.

Best of French "New Wave" Electronica Scene:

Valerie, College, Anoraak, Tesla Boy [OK, I think they are Russian, but I'm lumping them in this category because their sound is so similar], Digikid84, FutureCop! [English, but same reasons for including them as above].

Best of Australian "New Wave" Electronica Scene:

Cut Copy, Grafton Primary, Theater of Disco, The Presets, Sam Sparro.

Best of Australian Tech-House Scene:

Shazam, Bang Gang Records, Cassian, Bag Raiders.

Hip Hop:

Erykah Badu, Ohmega Watts, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, J-Live, People Under The Stairs, Moka Only, Jay Dilla/Jaylib, Gangstarr, Hieroglyphics, K-OS, The Notorious B.I.G, Kanye West [Late Registration and College Dropout], Zion-I. Sure I'm forgetting lot's here!!

Scandinavian Indie Electronica [how's that for a category!]:

The Knife, Kleerup, Miike Snow, Royksopp, Skatebaard, Air France.

Dirty/Glitchy Beats/Breakbeat Producers:

Flying Lotus, Onra, Jay Dilla, Moka Only, Mike Slott, Alex Metric, Hudson Mohawke, Dam- Funk, All City Dublin Records, Warp Records.

Downtempo/World/Ambient Electronica:

Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, Amon Tobin, Kuba.

Tech-House/Electronica Remixers:

DJ Classixx, Treasure Fingers, Kill The Noise, Van She, The Twelves, Alex Metric, VHS or BETA.

I was reading an article on NPR today about Baltimore-based experimental electronica musician Dan Deacon and he had the following comment which I thought merited a little discussion:

""I just wanted to make a record that wasn't escapism," he says. "Like, I didn't want to write another record that was devoid of meaningful content. I feel like there's a lot of that going around, especially within dance music — a lot of it is just, you know, music that's written exclusively for abandoning reality in an altered state of mind. And I think an altered state of mind is very important, but in a responsible sense."

Exactly. I'm so tired of people over-analyzing dance music. It is meant to be a unique and open experience for the listener, and it's not so much about the meaning or lack of meaning in the lyrics, or some subtle, arcane aspect of the production as it is about how it makes you move/feel. So much great dance music is actually quite complex, which is what makes it great, and different from much of what I think the general public considers "dance", ie boring and repetitive computer-generated breakbeats and synth progressions that go nowhere. The cheesy, guido-inducing "big house" production of DJ's like Guetta or Armin Van Buren might fill shows at strove-lighted mega clubs, but they do little to pique the interest of the more experienced and discerning listener. Take Scottish producer Mylo, for example. His 04' record "Destroy Rock And Roll" is one of the better recent dance albums out there, along with Calvin Harris' debut album "I Created Disco." Are they experimental opus's of creative bliss? Certainly not. In fact, i'd say my only real criticism of them is that they can be a little too formulaic at times. However, this works perfectly for the sounds and quality they are looking to achieve, and if their music doesn't want to make you dance, you probably have some impaired motor skills or something.

Just like prodigal beat maker J Dilla catalyzed the underground hip hop scene with his beats, these artists have electrified the modern dance scene into something both light and deeply consequential. Most importantly, they manage to produce music that is catchy without being cheesy or over-produced, fluid without being boring, funky without being weird. This is sort of like the people who try and tell me Animal Collective is "accessible and danceable." With the exception of a few tracks like "My Girls", which differ significantly in beat structure and style from most of their work, their music is NOT what I would call danceable or accessible. This is not to say it is insignificant. Far from it, its like if the creative improvisation ability of Phish or Widespread discovered synth's and trippy vocal effects. What I m saying is that while successful modern dance like 'The Ones', Calvin Harris, or Mylo might be somewhat formulaic, their sound is undeniably catchy and fresh, which, in my opinion, are the only things that really matter in dance music.