With one of the strongest years in recent memory for quality releases and great bands getting the recognition they deserve, 2010 turned out to be a very good year for music. Yet, there were also several trends that ranged from downright puzzling to proof that popular music needs a shot in the foot.

The Opposite of Braggadocio

The self has always been a topic of choice for rappers and hip-hop artists. Usually, their music is used as a means to stroke their egos to astronomical proportions, and audiences are quick to eat it up. However, over the last year, artists such as Kid Cudi, B.O.B, and a certain former “Degrassi” star have turned their gaze inwards. While still rapping about themselves, they tend to focus on their lifestyles or how gosh darned hard it is to be famous. Somehow this resonated with audiences enough to guarantee that you will hear “Airplanes” at least once an hour and ensured that these (somewhat) self-loathing MCs have a firm place in the popular conscience.

Auto-Tune Takes Over

While auto-tune is nothing new, it seemed to be everywhere this year. From Jason Derulo’s “Flying Solo” to the ubiquity of Internet sensation Antoine Dodson, there was no escaping machine-refined “singing.” While there were a few rare instances of its proper use – see Hot Chip’s “I Feel Better” – the worst auto-tuned crime came in the form of Usher’s smash hit “OMG.” This was an example of pitch correction taking a once respectable artist to new lows. The one thing that Usher is renowned for, his voice, was forced to take a backseat to Will.I.Am’s god-awfully embarrassing lyrics and his insistence that Usher sound like a detached robot. Oddly enough, the song hit number one, proving positive that Jock Jams chants and lines like “Honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow” are enough to move units nowadays.

Forget the

Economy–Let’s Party!

There’s no denying that 2010 will be seen as one of the toughest years our country has faced financially in quite some time. The economy is still in the tank, St. Edward’s University graduates are finding it tough to find a job and big oil companies still expect us to fork over $2.60 a gallon for gas. However, you would never be able to guess it judging by some of pop music’s newest party brats, namely Ke$ha, Katy Perry and the increasingly club friendly Miley Cyrus. With songs that encourage partying, getting black-out drunk and dancing as if nothing’s wrong, someone unfamiliar with the country’s economic woes would be right in assuming that everything is fine and dandy, and that we just can’t stop partying.

Commercial Appeal

Five years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would believe that an album by The Arcade Fire would debut at #1 on the US Billboard charts.

However, in what can also represent the single overtaking the album as music buyers primary mode of consumption, several great independent bands cracked the Top 10 album charts this year with Vampire Weekend and The Arcade Fire managing to debut on top.

Another phenomenon that finally came full circle this year was the increasing use of indie bands to add cool points to various large corporations. Whether it was a Los Campesinos! song featured in a Budweiser ad or The Morning Benders pulling for Reese’s, the trend is both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, these bands are finally getting exposure and making some well-deserved dollars for their work. On the other hand, it hurts the music enthusiast’s soul when the average person is only able to recognize Sleigh Bells as that group on the Honda commercial.