The Top Ten Music Moments of 2010
By Joseph Oliveto
BeatCrave has been covering music news all year long, and now it’s time for us to share with you some of our favorite moments in the world of music from the year 2010. Featuring old artists, new artists, and even a late-night talk show host, our list looks back at all the memorable musical happenings this year had to offer.
10.) Rolling Stone Prints Final Lennon Interview
To commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of his passing, Rolling Stone printed the final interview withJohn Lennon that was conducted a mere three days before his death. It may not be new music, but it’s Lennon, and we’ll take all that we can get.
9.) Simon Steps Down
At the end of one of the best seasons of “American Idol” yet, iconic judge and all-around scary dudeSimon Cowell called it a day. While he shocked us in early seasons with his “I have no soul” brand of criticism, after a while we came to realize that he does make insightful comments and has a good ear for talent. It’s a shame to see him leave but we’re sure he’ll find work. Can the show be as good with Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler filling in as judges?
No. It can’t.
8.) The Boss Looks Back
Few classic rock artist have maintained their relevance as skillfully as Bruce Springsteen, and this year he looked back on his legacy for the HBO documentary The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story. It was a thoughtful look at how one of the hardest working artists in the history of pop music made one of the best albums of his career.
Current bands, take note if you make it that far.
7.) Taylor Forgives Kanye?
After having her 2009 VMA acceptance speech interrupted by the outspoken rapper, Taylor Swiftappeared to forgive Kanye West at this year’s VMAs via a performance of her song “You’re Still an Innocent.” Sure, seems like an over-the-top gesture given the nature of Kanye’s crime–he embarrassed himself, he didn’t kill anybody–but hey, who can’t get behind a “let’s all be friends” attitude?
Then he wrote her a song, but doesn’t really let up, and then takes his humorous frustration out on Bush. Good scapegoat! But will the saga ever really end?
6.) Queen Movie Gets a Greenlight
In 2010, news broke that a movie about the band Queen had been given the green light and was moving into production. With the inspired casting of Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury, this story gave classic rock fans great reason to be excited.
Who is expecting a real film about Queen and who is expecting something more like Spinal Tap???
5.) Hope for Haiti Now
Pop stars love their humanitarian causes, and when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, some of the biggest names in music came together for a benefit concert (and eventual CD release) to bring in charitable donations. Featuring such diverse arists as Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, not to mention a collaboration between Jay-Z, Bono and Rihanna, this served as a reminder that every now and then, popular music can actually do some good.
4.) Conan Goes on Tour
After being ousted from his home on NBC, Conan O’Brien picked up his crew and hit the road for a variety show tour, and plenty of noteworthy names from the popular music industry lent their support.Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, Spoon, The Fray, and Vampire Weekend made appearances, and he even had a dance-off with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert.
3.) Kanye Reinvents “SNL”
Musical performances on “Saturday Night Live” are rarely memorable unless Ashlee Simpson is screwing up a song and making a complete fool out of herself. They usually exist so a band can promote their music quickly and easily. Well, Kanye West isn’t known to take the quick and easy path. His performance in front of a blinding white stage surrounded by beautiful dancers made our eyeballs explode (almost). And it’s Kanye, so the music was good, too.
2.) “Glee” Won’t Stop Believin’
“Glee” is not the accurate representation of high school life for social misfits and outcasts that it was trying to be, but if you can ignore that fact, you’ve got to accept that it’s stars are a talented group of performers.
Their take on classic drunk karaoke tune “Don’t Stop Believin’” was strong enough to earn the cast a Grammy nomination for vocal performance. Just being able to make that song sound tolerable is a feat in and of itself.
1.) The Beatles! On iTunes! Finally!
It took long enough, but for once, bored journalists can stop asking the two remaining Beatles when their music will be made available on iTunes. Now if we’re being entirely honest here, there could be some drawbacks to this for the younger generation. The Beatles didn’t just write great songs, they wrote great albums, and we’ll be damned if some kid is gonna download “Come Together” without listening to all ofAbbey Road.
But in the end (see what we did there?), more of The Beatles is always a good thing and we’re thrilled to finally have their entire catalog available at our fingertips.
- Trước cuộc hội đàm với người đồng cấp Việt Nam chiều nay, Bộ trưởng Ngoại giao Úc dành thời gian thăm quan Văn Miếu - Hà Nội. 
