• Combining a reading of Carl Sagan with Planet Earth-style footage, Reid Gower made his own NASA promotional video. His reasoning: “I got frustrated with NASA and made this video. NASA is the most fascinating, adventurous, epic institution ever devised by human beings, and their media sucks.” It’s good.
• Pixar built a Toy Story-inspired zoetrope. What’s that? It’s a large, spinning illusion of sculptural animation. Don’t worry, they explain.
• Watch Taylor Hales play Bach on the banjo.

I ought to hold this list until July, when I’ve had time to hear everything that I want to from 2010. But that’s not what an end of the year list is. Same as last year, the following albums are unranked, but the ones that I returned to consistently in 2010.

How to Dress Well – Love Remains
I guess it’s been decided that the ‘now’ sound in indie rock of heavy reverb and upper-register vocals is being called chillwave. Weird. How to Dress Well follows a similar template but makes pop R&B from a K-hole. Some of the songs could be Kevin Shields remixes of Prince songs, which is a good thing indeed.

Check out the How to Dress Well song Ready For The World on youtube.

Jack Rose – Luck in the Valley
Jack Rose died in December of 2009, and this album was released posthumously in February. Rose was the best modern translator of the Takoma (American primitive) style of guitar, which takes a raga-like approach to folk music. This album may be his best, and, with the benefit of modern recording technique, it stands tall against the work of his greatest influences—Robbie Basho and John Fahey.

Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Only a month or so old but assuredly one of the biggest albums of the year, and also one of the best. All of Kanye’s egomaniacal nonsense becomes more appealing when filtered through studio perfection.

Watch Kanye perform Power on SNL.

Pantha Du Prince – Black Noise
I’ve failed to explain to multiple friends how I think this album has a unique warmth. Maybe it’s just the vague marimba-like resonance of the electronics. Suffice to say, it’s a great album with perfect pacing that never wears out its welcome.

My Bubba & Mi – How It’s Done in Italy
This album is so airy it drifts away of its own volition. After many plays, I can nail down songs, but it’s still easier to think of it as the 35-minute whole. With female harmonies and minimal folk instrumentation, anyone with a soft spot for the Be-Good Tanyas will find a lot to love. You can listen to the whole thing on the band’s website.

Gonjasufi – A Sufi and a Killer
I reviewed this album when it came out in February and praised it for its smoky feel and diverse sound. Check there for some track samples. It’s in the top ten list because there’s nothing else quite like it.

Emeralds – Does It Look Like I’m Here
Emeralds take a serious but not severe approach to post-rock. They strike a pleasing balance between guitars and electronic texture that becomes downright studious with the extended song lengths. The droning, shifting music is always interesting, but can also fade effortlessly into the background.

Sleigh Bells – Treats
The album crackles with energy even as the songs maintain pop hooks. It lands the music in a ragged territory somewhere between Karen O and M.I.A. No surprise, as M.I.A. had direct involvement with the record, and the band is signed to her label. I had some trouble deciding on a thesis song, but “Run the Heart” comes close.

Check out the Sleigh Bells song Run the Heart on youtube.

Chicago Underground Duo – Boca Negra
An album that seems to draw as much from Pierre Bastien as Ornette Coleman. It’s jazz, it’s electronic, it’s dynamic; and the improvised elements give it a mastery and an openness that can’t be faked.

Traffique – Traffique’s Endless Weekend Mixtape
As Peter and the Wolf, Red Hunter has made a number of fantastic albums over the past few years. Here, he takes a hard left turn into Kevin Barnes’ androgynous electro-funk. But he commits, and it works because the songwriting remains intact.

Some runners-up who also got a lot of play: Deerhunter, Beach House, Curren$y, Gorillaz, Sun Kil Moon, Arcade Fire, and The Tallest Man On Earth.