I’ve been working on my lists of favorite albums, singles/tracks, and videos of 2010 for the past week or so. This year I’ve been particularly interested in thinking about what these favorites say about me and what I like in music or videos. I’ve enjoyed thinking about it. So, I’ll start by listing my favorite albums of last year; then I’ll write a little about my overall thoughts about this list.

Perfume Genius

My favorite album of 2010 was Perfume Genius’s Learning. Perfume Genius is the musical nom de plume of Mike Hadreas, an early 20-something who has produced an amazingly intimate and unique album.

I came cross this album while reading omg blog’s list of the top gayest songs of 2010. After listening to “Learning,” the title track from Perfume Genius’s album (obviously), I wanted to hear more. So, I googled the album and starting listening to it and reading reviews.

This album, which is really short at only about a half-hour long, reminds me of Sadie Benning’s early short videos, which I sometimes show my gay lit students. These videos were made with a children’s camera and are therefore very stylized and amateurish (in a good way). These qualities also make them experimental and fascinating.

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