Eight ain't enough

Whew, January (and half of February) flew by, huh? I have not had much time for blogging among wedding planning, getting rid of many CDs, new stuff to do at work, crippling blizzards, "Toy Story" trilogy marathons, incessant car troubles and keeping up with my stories on TV. It's tough to remain abreast when new episodes of "American Dad" (getting way long in the tooth), "The Simpsons" (it's a good season, a little of the old attitude's back), "Bob's Burgers" (Loren Bouchard's new joint, much better than the ads make it look), "Family Guy" (dependably ridiculous), "The Cleveland Show" ("Family Guy" with a different family, but less predictable than "American Dad"), "Big Love" (better and bleaker than last season, but I'm still glad it's ending), "Robot Chicken" (dependably ridiculous), "Mongo Wrestling Alliance" (growing on me, but I'm not blown away), "Eagleheart" (the epic return of Chris Elliott, not great but amusing), "Parks and Recreation" (my favorite sitcom on right now), "The Office" (getting a bit long in the tooth, but still makes me laugh) and "30 Rock" (dependably clever and ridiculous) are airing. Don't worry, a major piece of housecleaning will be appearing in this space in the forseeable future, during which we will look at the most badass music of the past two years.

(3/7 EDIT: It finally dawned on me that "Archer" has been back on for six damn weeks. I am now caught up, and am pleased to report that it's as filthy and clever as ever.)

In the interim, please note the new mini-playlist's hilarious and nearly contemporary "part 6.5" title. These are the last eight songs from 2010 releases I'll feature for annual record-keeping purposes, none of which I heard until January 2011. It's all metal, mostly of the black variety. There's some wild shit in here, so don't put it on at bedtime. And do yourself a favor, at least sample the newest Volbeat and Nachtmystium albums, both unique acts on which I'm exceptionally sorry to have slept during '10.

1. Deathspell Omega - "Phosphene" (Paracletus, Season of Mist)
2. Blood Revolt - "Indoctrine" (Indoctrine, Profound Lore)
3. Volbeat - "Heaven Nor Hell" (Beyond Hell/Above Heaven, Vertigo/Universal)
4. The Northern Ontario Black Metal Preservation Society - "Northern October" (Future Northern Prosperity, Practical Art)
5. Nachtmystium - "No Funeral" (Addicts: Black Meddle Part II, Century Media)
6. Hail of Bullets - "The Mukden Incident" (On Divine Winds, Metal Blade)
7. Deströyer 666 - "Through the Broken Pentagram" (See You in Hell, Invictus/Poison Tongue)
8. Altar of Plagues - "The Weight of All" (Tides, Burning World)

To conclude, here's a complete list of every musical performer I saw performing live during 2010. The number is surprisingly low, but, hey.

1. Mr. Blotto (x5)
2. Swashbuckle
3. Týr
4. Korpiklaani
5. The Great Influence Machine
6. The Dirt Daubers
7. Trey Anastasio and Classic TAB
8. We Were Promised Jetpacks
9. Suidakra
10. Orphaned Land (x2)
11. Via Vengeance
12. A Storm of Light
13. Tommy Tuesday and Scott Anderson
14. Swallow the Sun (x2)
15. Moonsorrow
16. Finntroll
17. Fang Island
18. Caspian
19. Red Sparowes
20. Jim Bianco
21. Concrete Blonde
22. Phish
23. Ween
24. Still Kick'n
25. Ryan Olson
26. Gogol Bordello
27. Testament
28. Megadeth
29. Slayer
30. Denny Diamond
31. Maggie D
32. Diva Band
33. Caught in Your Pockets
34. You, Me, and Everyone We Know
35. mc chris
36. Russian Circles
37. An Aesthetic Anaesthetic
38. P.O.S.
39. Frank Turner
40. Murder By Death
41. Clad in Darkness
42. Novembers Doom
43. Katatonia
44. Jesca Hoop
45. Eels
46. Benoît Pioulard
47. Seven Kingdoms
48. Holy Grail
49. Blind Guardian
50. Chicago Gay Men's Chorus