Getting to the festival was, I can not put it any other way, fucking miserable. It poured rain and my boots were soaked through, I ended up having to splurge on a pair of wellies. We camped in ‘South Park,’ also known as the middle of fucking nowhere on a hill. Our Tesco tent did surprisingly well in the torrential downpours that ensued but getting around proved difficult as the mud slowed everyone down.
Thursday we managed to get a little bit of sunshine and spent the day exploring the campsite, and by that I mean we sat in front of the Nelson Mandela bar and got drunk. We decided to hit an early night so we would be well rested the next day.
The rain returned on Friday, but this time I was more prepared with a poncho and a pair of wellies. We started the day at the famous Pyramid Stage where Metronomy where playing. Their new album ‘The English Riviera’ is pretty spectacular. While it may not be as danced fueled as the previous record, one only has to listen to the bass line on ‘The Bay’ to realize how instrumentally gifted this group is. My only complaint about the performance is that Metronomy should have either played in a tent or at night because their fancy light shows couldn’t be seen in the afternoon.
Next up was Indie rockers ‘Two Door Cinema Club’ who had a lot more energy than I thought. Lead singer Alex Trimble actually has a lot of charisma even with his ginger complexion working against him. At one point in the set he had everyone get on each other’s shoulders which finally gave me a view of the stage.
Wu-Tang Clan were up next and call me cynical but watching live hip hop is about as exciting as watching paint dry. First off, hip hop is not really my genre of music but I also find it difficult to enjoy watching 8 guys jump up and down and scream into a microphone. My friend Sam says its not about the talent, it is just about the feeling you get. I didn’t feel anything.
Legend B.B. King was up next, and I would have hated myself if I had missed this blues legend. After a quick trip to the Nelson Mandela bar, we relaxed and listened to King’s master craftsmanship on his famous guitar ‘Lucille.’
We climbed close to the stage to listen to Smith’s front man Morrissey and even though the performance was fabulous and his voice is still perfectly intact, Morrissey seemed like he didn’t want to be there. He insulted the crowd several times and of course did not forget to blast everyone on the planet who once had a burger. Apparently the Glastonbury site stopped serving meat during his set to honor him, it was more likely so he wouldn’t storm off the stage.
We climbed close to the stage to listen to Smith’s front man Morrissey and even though the performance was fabulous and his voice is still perfectly intact, Morrissey seemed like he didn’t want to be there. He insulted the crowd several times and of course did not forget to blast everyone on the planet who once had a burger. Apparently the Glastonbury site stopped serving meat during his set to honor him, it was more likely so he wouldn’t storm off the stage. We skipped U2 and went over to the ‘Silent Disco.’ Which is totally the best thing ever. You are given a pair of headphones and taken onto the dance floor. There are 2 channels on the head phones, so everyone is sort of listening to something different. The best part is when you see everyone react and you switch over to the other channel and it’s a tune! Then you can take your headphones off and all you hear is everyone singing along.
Saturday warmed up a little so we had a bit of a lie in and arrived at the Pyramid Stage to see Gaslight Anthem finishing up their set. We walked over to the Circus and finally got a good tour of the site. 
We went to the Park stage to see who the special guests were and it turned out to be Pulp, who were definitely one of the highlights on the festival. I didn’t know much about Pulp before seeing them live, but Jarvis Cocker is so talented and ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 3000’ definitely rubbed off on me. I just wish I had known more about them before I saw them so I could have enjoyed it more.
We went to the Park stage to see who the special guests were and it turned out to be Pulp, who were definitely one of the highlights on the festival. I didn’t know much about Pulp before seeing them live, but Jarvis Cocker is so talented and ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 3000’ definitely rubbed off on me. I just wish I had known more about them before I saw them so I could have enjoyed it more. Saturday night was Chemical Brothers! We sat towards the back so we could get a better view of the light show and it did not disappoint. Their set was pure ecstasy.
Sunday heated up fast, and it was actually hot, probably the hottest day of the year in the UK. I finally got to walk around in my bikini, proper festival style! We started the day out with Don McLean on the Pyramid stage and he is an amazing guitarist. Obviously ‘American Pie’ was a highlight and everyone sang along as he started the song back from the beginning.
We basked in the sun throughout Laura Marling’s set while we waited for another legend, Paul Simon, to approach the stage. Simon was amazing and his new album is fantastic, probably the best since ‘Graceland.’ The only disappointment was that he didn’t play any Simon and Garfunkel songs. 
The mud was finally drying up so we walked over to the West Holts stage to watch The Go Team!, another highlight of the festival. There weren’t many people so we got right up close. Any lethargy I had felt before was gone once the lead singer, Ninja came on stage. I have never seen anyone with so much energy who enjoyed performing so much. It wasn’t just her though, the entire band had charisma. As the sun set, we sat in the West Holts bar and watched The Smoke Feathers, an unsigned band from London and they were incredible as well. I think everyone in the bar bought their record.
The mud was finally drying up so we walked over to the West Holts stage to watch The Go Team!, another highlight of the festival. There weren’t many people so we got right up close. Any lethargy I had felt before was gone once the lead singer, Ninja came on stage. I have never seen anyone with so much energy who enjoyed performing so much. It wasn’t just her though, the entire band had charisma. As the sun set, we sat in the West Holts bar and watched The Smoke Feathers, an unsigned band from London and they were incredible as well. I think everyone in the bar bought their record.
We ended the festival with Queens of the Stone Age, definitely the right choice, especially over Beyonce. People raved about her performance but I hate her so I imagine I would not have enjoyed it very much. Along with the wicked light show, Josh Homme’s amazing guitar skills prove that Queens of the Stone Age could be one of the last great bands on Earth, to me the true headliners. So Glastonbury was over and it was quite surreal getting back in the car. Monday was almost 90 degrees in England and I had to leave the next day for America. I have one more festival this year in the UK with Bestival in the Isle of Wight and I am just praying to god that it doesn't rain.
3. The Breaks
Calling So Many Dynamos local these days is most definitely an understatement, but for a long time, the band did call Saint Louis their home. The release of Loud Wars put So Many Dynamos on the national and international map and this palindrome named rock band started the long climb to fame. The Loud Wars is a brilliantly combined album that is synth heavy, but with much more serious material than your typical dance-punk album. The band returned to Saint Louis this year to play at the first annual LouFest and debuted some new tunes for their hometown following. Their music is engrossing, engaging, and their songwriting ability makes them one of the best up and coming bands not only of Saint Louis, but of the nation.
Florida natives were the first indie stars to make their debut in the new year, and gained critical acclaim with ‘Astro Coast’. The band’s first single ‘Swim’ was an anthemic tune that sounds like it belongs at a sports game, “Swim until you reach the end!” It’s their second song, a combination of lead singer’s John Paul Pitt’s unique, throwback voice and the simple harmonic melody that sells Surfer Blood as one of the top debuts of the year. Surfer Blood is almost definitely going to become one of those bands where everyone knows the songs, but may not quite know who it is sung by.
I first heard of Marina & the Diamonds aka Marina Diamandis at Camden Crawl in 2009. When she released her debut album, ‘The Family Jewels,’ I was skeptical. How many more UK pop stars can we take? Marina & the Diamonds, doesn’t that sounds a little bit too much like Florence & the Machine? However, Marina’s voice 
Two Door Cinema’s club “I Can Talk” was an infectious alternative hit off their album ‘Tourist History,’ but it was after ‘Something Good Can Work’ that made the listener realize how much range in sound and style Two Door 
Freelance Whales seemingly came out of nowhere with their album ‘Weathervanes,’ but in fact, the band got their start busking around New York City. If Ben Gibbard’s Postal Service decided to blend a little more indie and a dash of folk, Freelance Whales would be the result. Hit single, ‘Hannah’ is sung fast and the lyrics are seemingly nonsensical, but really tells the story of a girl who doesn’t quite know where she is, impressive for a 
What do you get when you combine the ex-member of a 90’s teen pop girl band with an ex-member of a 
Probably the best debut album of the year, The Drums are another example of recent indie rock genius. Although I am not the first person to say this, The Drums sound like Joy Division trying to sing Beach Boy’s songs, and it works! ‘Let’s Go Surfing’ was the perfect summer tune to remind the all the kids stuck in the mid west how great 
California cutie Bethany Cosentino and the rest of Best Coast made their 2010 debut with ‘Crazy for You’ and easily marked the return of low-key west coast surf music. Cosentino and boyfriend Nathan Williams of the band Wavves were voted Rolling Stone’s hottest couple of 2010. The first track off the album ‘Boyfriend’ was a simple 
The BBC may have predicted their success in December of 2009, but on my radar they came out of nowhere. These UK natives sound like a throwback indie band mixed in with modern electropop. The album is full of possible hits including QWERTY finger, Suffragette Suffragette, MY KZ, UR BF, and their latest single Photoshop Handsome and combined make ‘Man Alive’ the most unique album of 2010. The album manages to be both experimental and poppy at the same time while also being a staple of good songwriting. The video for Photoshop 
Fenech-Soler definitely win the award for hardest band name to pronounce, but they are also probably one of this biggest buzz bands of the year. Echoing former UK new rave artists, Fenech-Soler are the latest addition to electropop groups such as Pendulum and Groove Armada. Singer Ben Duffy even lent his vocals on Groove 
The music community experienced a tragedy at Belgium music festival Pukkelpop with the loss of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool lead singer Charles Haddon. Upset after injuring a girl during a performance, Haddon ended his 
Sting’s daughter, Coco Sumner, makes another one of my end of the year lists. Whether her success is based on her famous dad, or her own individual skill is up in the air, but 2010 gave her the perfect opportunity to show off what she had to offer. A synth pop princess, Coco shared her vocals with Sub Focus and even released a few hits of her own with ‘Self Machine’ and ‘In Spirit Golden.’
December is a slow month for music, most artists wait until mid-January to release new material, so this space will go to mentioning the biggest trend in music to arise from 2010. Dubstep, a UK dance music genre that bases its roots in Croydon, made it mainstream in 2010. Magnetic Man, the first dubstep super group including genre founder Skream, Benga, and Artwork released their self-titled debut in October. Single ‘Perfect Stanger’ included vocals from Katy B, who had her own dubstep hit with ‘Katy on a Mission.’ However, it was Rusko’s release of ‘O.M.G.’ in May of this year that really put the genre on the map. Hit single ‘Woo Boost’ was very much the dance single of the year and his work with fellow artist Caspa is what put him on the map. Although Rusko is currently working on the production aspect of his career, even working on tracks for Britney Spear’s next album, let’s hope this dubstep DJ doesn’t leave us for too long.
Mystery Jets-Serotonin
Eliot Sumner, also known as Coco Sumner or even I Blame Coco is the daughter of famed musician Sting of the Police. Coco Sumner is now a musician in her own right with the release of The Constant in November. First single, ‘Selfmachine’ was a summer hit, but fans had to wait ages to hear the follow up. Coco’s unique voice and synth pop sound returned to us in November with an album release and ‘In Spirit Golden.’ The UK is bringing out a lot of talented pop stars, most of whom are not even drinking age in the United States, and Coco Sumner breathes the kind if electro pop that has become to popular in the last few years.
The Futurehead's signature Sunderland accents sing a punk rock song about Christmas past.
Nothing says Christmas like Chris Martin's melodic voice over the piano. Do you think Martin is a Vince Guaraldi fan? This song sounds like it could have been in a Charlie Brown Christmas special.
Paul Simon doesn't disappoint with his new Christmas single, indeed it could be the best seasonal song since John Lennon's 'Happy Christmas.' With a similar theme and style, the song is based on a 1941 sermon given by the Rev. J.M. Gates and is hopefully a sign of Simon material to come.