Best Songs of 2010 – Honorable Mentions
Last year, Rihanna’s ‘Fire Bomb’ came in at #2 on my list of the year’s best songs. That track almost landed in the top spot before a late surge by Brad Paisley.
This year Rihanna didn’t release anything as powerful as that track and warrants just an honorable mention. Her new album, Loud, has none of the ambition or pathos of Rated R. It’s a naughty, mischievous party album — diverting but not very memorable.
Rihanna’s new album, Loud, has received a lot of positive reviews, and invariably each of them mentions that it’s a “return to form” or “welcome homecoming” as compared to last year’s very dark Rated R. This is a common pattern in music reviews that has always bugged me… the need to diminish an artist’s previous album in order to celebrate a new one.
Those same reviewers fell all over themselves last year praising Rated R as a gritty, emotional powerhouse of a pop album (Entertainment Weekly even named it the best album of 2009). But it’s always tempting to paint every success as rebound or redemption.
Meet Me In Montauk 