2010 has just been a whirlwind of a year for yours truly. I literally cannot tell you about everything that has happened in my life over the last 12 months, because it has just been such a blur. Hell, this year has been such a blur that I have had little time to truly prepare for what is almost always my favorite aspect of ATRL: preparing for my year-end thread!
Now, there are a couple of things to note. Let's get the most important out of the way right off the bat: I'm not even close to being done with the planning and descriptions and just about everything for this year's YECA. School has taken over my life these last couple of months. As such, there may be points during the Best of where days go by without an update. If this does wind up happening, trust me, it's only because school is taking the fun out of my life yet again. Also, on a more visual note, there will not be any fancy-schmancy graphics like there were last year. Oh, you'll get photos and YouTube videos (where applicable), but you will not see the level of graphics that you witnessed last year. This is mostly because I did not contact Athens about doing another layout, but it is also because I just haven't had time to think about such a thing.
With that being said, the Year-End Crazy Ambition returns yet again to rock your face off with some of the best countdowns in the Best of forum. Here's a TENTATIVE look at what this year's YECA will look like, in order of when the countdowns will be posted:
1) Top Ten Music Videos of 2010
2) Top Five Video Games of 2010/Top Five Most Anticipated Video Games of 2011
3) Top Ten YouTube Videos of 2010
4) Top Five Favorite Films of 2010
5) Top Ten Songs That I Happened To Catch Onto In 2010 From The Last Four Years
6) Top Ten Albums of 2010 (# of albums is subject to change)
7) Top Fifty Singles of 2010 (# of singles is subject to change)
And it all starts with a look at my ten favorite music videos of the year. That top ten will HOPEFULLY be up tonight. Hopefully.
Don't worry about having bad graphics. I'm here for this:
1) Top Ten Music Videos of 2010
3) Top Ten YouTube Videos of 2010
4) Top Five Favorite Films of 2010
5) Top Ten Songs That I Happened To Catch Onto In 2010 From The Last Four Years
7) Top Fifty Singles of 2010 (# of singles is subject to change)
YECA Countdown #1: Top Ten (Eleven) Music Videos of 2010
An old standby that failed to show itself in any form last year returns this year to kickstart the YECA festivities. It's the return of my list of the top ten music videos of the year! Before we go on, note that, while there are eleven (ELEVEN!) honorable mentions, they do not get descriptions. Only the top ten videos do. And speaking of "top ten", that's a misnomer. It's really eleven videos, but the reason why it's a "top ten" is because there's a tie at some point in the top ten. Read on to find out where that tie is, as well as to find out what my favorite videos of the year are!
The 2010 Year-End Crazy Ambition Top Ten Music Videos of 2010
Honorable Mentions
Arcade Fire - Ready to Start/The Suburbs
The Birthday Massacre - In the Dark
Brandon Flowers - Only the Young
Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside
Cee-Lo Green - **** You
Chromeo - Hot Mess
Disturbed - Another Way to Die
OK Go - This Too Shall Pass
Serj Tankian - Left of Center
Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun
#10
Against Me! - I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Kicking off the top ten is a video that is strangely addictive, despite its simplicity. Indeed, it's a very simple video with an easy to understand moral: cops are brutalizing pigs who abuse their power, and only WE can rise up and stop the brutality and the tyranny. What makes this video so memorable is how it is shot. It is all done in one shot in slow motion from beginning by sometimes-music video genius Marc Klasfeld, and it is so transfixing to watch. A great start to the top ten.
#9
Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
Compared to the next couple of videos on this list, this video may seem...I don't know, mundane? But yet, something about the idea of Charlize Theron continuously saving Brandon Flowers from certain doom over and over again is really fun and well worth the four minutes of your time that you will spend on it. Or maybe it's just because Charlize Theron is gorgeous, even with bruises and scrapes on her face and body, I don't know.
#8
The Ting Tings - Hands
The year 2010 in music videos, to me, will stand out as a year where we saw a massive embrace of 80's culture and 80's sensibilities. "Hands", more than any other video this year, just screams EIGHTIES. Granted, the Ting Tings have always sounded and looked as if they had just traveled to today from the year 1985, but this video takes that look up to 11, complete with cheesy choreography and cinematography. If nothing else, I'm a sucker for anything 80's, so this video was guaranteed to make the list in some way.
#7
Linkin Park - Waiting for the End
Just an absolutely GORGEOUS little video that looks like very little that anyone has ever seen in music videos before. The computer animation used here is almost flawless, creating a distinct look that looks as if it came from the future. And this is 2010, remember, a time where NOTHING looks too futuristic, where NOTHING is beyond the realm of possibility. Now that's impressive.
#6
M.I.A. - XXXO/Rihanna - Rude Boy
Both of these videos are just an assault of the senses. Both videos are ******* crazy homages to a different, more carefree time. Both videos are impossible to take your eyes off of. And you're crazy if you think that I'm going to leave either of these fantastic videos off of this top ten, but you're also crazy if you think that I can possibly separate the two.
#5
Weezer - Memories
As a fan of Jackass for ten years, this video hits a very special, nostalgic note with yours truly. The antics of the boys have yet to get old, even in 2010, and the success of Jackass 3D proves that I'm not alone in that thought process. If you're not particularly a fan of Jackass, then this video may not hit you in quite the same way, but there's bound to be something in this clip that is chuckle-worthy, even without the added meanings and nostalgia that this video brings us.
#4
Gorillaz - Stylo
I think that I mentioned long ago that one very easy way to get me to love a video is through the means of animation. Of course, since Gorillaz are animated characters, that makes it so much easier to love. But when you insert those cartoon characters into real-life settings and having them interact with real people, THAT is when my love knows no bounds. That is the case here. I won't spoil the video here for anyone who, somehow, has not seen this video, but just know that there's a kickass chase sequence and a cameo that blew me away the first time that I watched this video.
#3
iwrestledabearonce - See You In Shell
Um, this video...this video...****. This video is beyond crazy. This video is beyond being simply insane. This video is LUDICROUS. There's many references to Saved by the Bell, including the casting of the actual MR. ****ING BELDING as the principal. If that was all, then it would still be relatively insane. But no, it doesn't end there. I won't spoil the actual plot and the ending, but, um, it's absolutely nasty and crude and I ****ing love it. Oh, and that's before you get into the song. If you've never experienced iwrestledabearonce, you're in for quite the shock at about the 90 second mark.
#2
Muse - MK Ultra
Now what is this video with an actual message doing on this top ten? As a matter of fact, as far as I can tell, this is the only video other than #10 that has an honest-to-god moral and purpose beyond being either ******* crazy or just plain fun. Speaking of the horrors of human trafficking, "MK Ultra" is probably the overall *best* music video of the year, a video that is utterly transfixing and thought-provoking in the best way. The scenes in this video are so realistically shot that it's almost as if we are watching real, fragile people fall apart before our very eyes. If it wasn't for just how much I enjoy the #1 video, this would be #1. Easily.
#1
Chromeo - Don't Turn the Lights On
Unlike #2, there is no moral here. There is no important message to take from this video. There is absolutely nothing here that would change the way that people view the world. But god damn, is it ever fun. The modern day Hall and Oates, Chromeo are an absolutely incredible band that has made it cool to enjoy 80's music all over again. But the music, as great as it is, is never the reason why a video is #1 on this list. This video is #1 for two reasons. The first is simply how easily Chromeo and Schofield are able to come up with new ideas designed to play with your brain. Rarely are two scenes alike, and it will almost certainly take multiple viewings to catch every difference in every scene. The second is the direction itself. It takes a truly capable hand to direct the craziness that surrounds this video, but Schofield takes it in stride and helps to create a true masterpiece of mind manipulation, and my choice for #1 video of the year.
Ah, it feels really good to do a year-end countdown again. That felt good. Anyway, that's the end of that top ten. Coming up next (and by next, I do not mean tonight, just so we're clear! ), a look at my five favorite video games of the year, as well as a look at the five games I'm looking forward to the most in 2011! Or, in other words, yankee04's favorite list. Stay tuned.
Also, on a more visual note, there will not be any fancy-schmancy graphics like there were last year. Oh, you'll get photos and YouTube videos (where applicable), but you will not see the level of graphics that you witnessed last year. This is mostly because I did not contact Athens about doing another layout, but it is also because I just haven't had time to think about such a thing.
Oh well, I tried. What's for supper? 
), a look at my five favorite video games of the year, as well as a look at the five games I'm looking forward to the most in 2011! Or, in other words, yankee04's favorite list. 
Stay tuned.
Don't Turn The Lights On #1 
