930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: brennser on December 02, 2009, 02:37:04 pm
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C'mon....someone had to start it. In the immortal words of Dupek.....POAST 'EM!
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Here's an alphabetical list I compiled for another board:
Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Drunkdriver and Mattin - List of Profound Insecurities
Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps
Emeralds - What Happened?
Espers - III
Evan Parker/John Wiese - C-Section
Evangelista - Prince of Truth
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
Girls - Album
Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Vol. 2
Hush Arbors - Yankee Reality
Ilyas Ahmed - Goner
Jack Rose - Black Dirt Sessions
Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers - S/T
Jackie-O Motherfucker - Ballads of the Revolution
James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game
Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
Keith Fullerton Whitman - Taking Away
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights
Locrian - Drenched Lands
Lula Cortes - Rosa De Sangue (reissue)
Magik Markers - Shame Mask
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
Mark McGuire - Tidings II
Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One
Metric - Fantasies
Mission of Burma - The Sound The Speed The Light
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Mouthus - Divisionals
Nels Cline - Coward
Noveller - Paint on the Shadows
Noveller - Red Rainbows
Oneida - Rated O
Phosphorescent - To Willy
Polvo - In Prism
Pyramids with Nadja - S/T
Raekwon - OB4CL2
Richard Youngs - Beyond the Valley of Ultra Hits
Shackleton - Three EPs
Shrinebuilder - S/T
Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak of Araby
Six Organs of Admittance - Luminous Night
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Spectrum - War Sucks EP
Stellar Om Source - Rise in Planes
Sunn 0))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The Khan Jamal Creative Arts Ensemble - Drum Dance to the Motherland (reissue)
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
United Bible Studies - The Jonah
William Elliott Whitmore - Animals in the Dark
Wooden Shjips - Dos
Woods - Songs of Shame
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
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1.) Pearl Jam - Backspacer
2.) Metric - Fantasies
3.) Sonic Youth - The Eternal
4.) Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
5.) St. Vincent - Actor
Haven't really thought through the rest yet. I'll update this later.
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That is a good call. Every album released this year was pretty awesome ;D
Here's an alphabetical list I compiled for another board:
Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
Circulatory System - Signal Morning
Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Drunkdriver and Mattin - List of Profound Insecurities
Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps
Emeralds - What Happened?
Espers - III
Evan Parker/John Wiese - C-Section
Evangelista - Prince of Truth
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
Girls - Album
Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Vol. 2
Hush Arbors - Yankee Reality
Ilyas Ahmed - Goner
Jack Rose - Black Dirt Sessions
Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers - S/T
Jackie-O Motherfucker - Ballads of the Revolution
James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game
Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
Keith Fullerton Whitman - Taking Away
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights
Locrian - Drenched Lands
Lula Cortes - Rosa De Sangue (reissue)
Magik Markers - Shame Mask
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
Mark McGuire - Tidings II
Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One
Metric - Fantasies
Mission of Burma - The Sound The Speed The Light
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Mouthus - Divisionals
Nels Cline - Coward
Noveller - Paint on the Shadows
Noveller - Red Rainbows
Oneida - Rated O
Phosphorescent - To Willy
Polvo - In Prism
Pyramids with Nadja - S/T
Raekwon - OB4CL2
Richard Youngs - Beyond the Valley of Ultra Hits
Shackleton - Three EPs
Shrinebuilder - S/T
Sir Richard Bishop - The Freak of Araby
Six Organs of Admittance - Luminous Night
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Spectrum - War Sucks EP
Stellar Om Source - Rise in Planes
Sunn 0))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The Khan Jamal Creative Arts Ensemble - Drum Dance to the Motherland (reissue)
Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
United Bible Studies - The Jonah
William Elliott Whitmore - Animals in the Dark
Wooden Shjips - Dos
Woods - Songs of Shame
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
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Dark Days/Light Years (SFA)
Further Complications (Jarvis)
Journal For Plague Lovers (MSP)
Them Crooked Vultures
Together Through Life (Dylan)
etc.
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yeah, come on azaghal! - give us a top 10 or something
That is a good call. Every album released this year was pretty awesome ;D
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TTTTT H H EEE SSS H H A ZZZZ A MM MM
T H H E S H H A A Z A A M M M
T HHHH EEE S HHHH AAA Z AAA M M
T H H E SS H H A A Z A A M M
T H H EEE SSS H H A A ZZZZ A A M M
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here's some albums
alva noto - xerrox vol 2
animal collective - merriweather/fallbekind
the xx - xx
evangelista - prince of truth
sunn o))) - monoliths and dimensions
the flaming lips - embryonic
emeralds - the overlook
tim hecker - an imaginary country
grizzly bear - veckatimest
kreng - l?autopsie phénoménale de dieu
there's plenty more and if i were to make a top 10, i'm sure a few of these wouldn't appear. this year has been pretty unexciting for the most part maybe because of all the awesome re-releases we've had come our way which overshadowed nearly everything.
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1. Fever Ray s/t
2. Place to Bury Strangers ?Exploding Head?
3. Bonnie Prince Billy ?Beware?
4. Real Estate s/t
5. Pains of Being Pure at Heart s/t
6. Thee Oh Sees ?Help?
7. Killer Mike ?Underground Atlanta?
8. Mastodon ?Crack the Skye?
9. Sunny Day in Glasgow ?Ashes Grammar?
10. Kylesa ?Static Tensions?
Made the shortlist: Dirty Projectors, Ghinzu, The XX, Harlem Shakes, Mos Def
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a tad early for this, i thought i had a few more weeks to mull this over...
while i do, i'd like to throw the following 3 albums into the fray:
sspu - swoon
royksopp - junior
yyy - it's blitz!
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in no particular order
Soulsavers 'Broken'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRomQF_eBuk
Mumford and Sons 'Sigh No More'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E
Brakes 'Touchdown'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sENDMAhS64
Metric 'Fantasies'
Silversun Pickups 'Swoon'
White Rabbits 'Its Frightening'
The Duckworth Lewis Method 'The Duckworth Lewis Method'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3JA-417V_M&feature=related
Girls 'Album'
So Cow 'So Cow'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25cEVTp892c&feature=related
The xx 'xx'
Future of the Left 'Travels With Myself and Another'
The first Pains of Being Pure at Heart EP was pretty great too
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I will add more later, but here are some:
Bowerbirds - Upper Air
Califone - All My Friends are Funeral Singers
William Elliott Whitmore - Animals in the Dark
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Evangelista - Prince of Truth
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
Brakes - Touchdown
Phosphorescent - To Willy
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These lists always stress me out because there is always so much to choose from and, it never fails, I always end up leaving out something that should be on my short list. Just a few, in no particular order, that have been my favorites so far.
Spc-Eco - "3-D"
93MillionMilesFromTheSun - "93MillionMilesFromTheSun"
Fleeting Joys - "Occult Radiance"
Mint Julep - "Songs About Snow"
Our Ceasing Voice - "Steadied Stars In The Morphium Sky" (EP)
A Place To Bury Strangers - "Exploding Head"
Sunlight Ascending - "All The Memories, All At Once"
Scarlet Youth - "Breaking The Patterns" (EP)
Screen Vinyl Image - "Interceptors"
The Fauns - "The Fauns"
Kyte - "Science For The Living"
Duelectrum - "Electrolandia"
There's also a load of honorable mentions by bands like:
The Insect Guide (deserves to be on above list but read below why here)
The Black Ryder
The Brothers Movement
Hot Zex
My Violaine Morning
Stellarium
Elemental Gaze
Kontakte
Disco Ditto
The Others
Lower Heaven
Ringo Deathstarr
The Vandelles
Foreign Cinema
Engineers
Data Unit
Maps
Pinkshinyultrablast
Wooden Shjips
Woven Bones
... and all kinds of other bands. A few may be from prior to 2009 (which I tried to keep on my lower list) but newer and part of my personal 2009 soundtrack, such as The Insect Guide (which would definitely make my upper bold list if it were a 2009 release) because it just took awhile (even though I knew of them long before) for me to get a copy. Not counting any reissues and various artists compilations only to make it easier.
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I'm in the middle of listening to my 2009 albums (down a good bit from 2008 in sheer numbers), but here are a few that stuck out:
Future of the Left - Travels With Myself and Another
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Wooden Shjips - Dos
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
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miike snow
the swell season ---strict joy
the phenomnal handclap band
the xx
peaches --i feel the cream
royksopp--junior
bat for lashes --two suns
florence + the machine --lungs
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I need to go through the music software later. I have feeling my list is going to be very similar to Jags...
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Phoenix -- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Yo La Tengo -- Popular Songs
Air -- Love 2
Dinosaur Jr. -- Farm
Them Crooked Vultures
Fischerspooner -- Entertainment
Manic Street Preachers -- Journal For Plague Lovers
Peaches -- I Feel Cream
Arctic Monkeys -- Humbug
Grand Duchy -- Petits Fours
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My list probably belongs on an NPR music thread, but I'll poast it here.
1. Apples in Stereo, #1 Hits Explosion
2. Sondre Lerche, Heartbeat Radio
3. Justin Townes Earle, Midnight at the Movies
4. M. Ward, Hold Time
5. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
6. Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
7. Super Furry Animals, Dark Days/Light Years
8. Andrew Bird, Noble Beast+Useless Creatures
9. Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle
10. Richard Hawley, Truelove's Gutter
11. Elvis Perkins in Dearland, self titled LP+Doomsday ep
12. Dave Rawlings Machine, A Friend of a Friend
13. St. Vincent, Actor
14. A.A. Bondy, When the Devil's Loose
15, Wilco, Wilco the Album
16. Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career
17. Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs
18. White Rabbits, It's Frightening
19. Alela Diane, To Be Still
20 The Clientele, Bonfires on the Heath
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some of my favorites, in no particular order:
william elliott whitmore: animals in the dark
rancid: let the dominoes fall
lucero: 1372 overton park
steel panther: feel the steel
king giant: southern darkness
chuck ragan: gold country
black joe lewis and the honeybears: tell 'em what your name is!
ben nichols: the last pale light in the west
austin lucas: somebody loves you
clutch: strange cousins from the west
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Neko Case-Middle Cyclone
Mika Miko-We Be Xuxa
Sonic Youth-The Eternal
Dinosaur Jr-Farm
Screaming Females-Power Move
PJ Harvey and John Parish-A Woman A Man Walked By
Slayer-World Painted Blood
Vivian Girls-Everything Goes Wrong
Flipper-Fight/Love
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine-The Audacity of Hype
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hey azaghdork, please condense your list to 10 or so...
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I didn't realize that Flipper had put out new material. And *really* didn't realize that Krist Novo..la..ma...chick...uh... y'know the tall dude from Nirvana was in the band. Going to have to check that out.
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I haven't gotten a chance to yet.
That's what I've narrowed it down to so far.
And if you look at the rest of this thread, you'll see that a sizable number of what I listed in that post made it on others' short lists.
hey azaghdork, please condense your list to 10 or so...
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Courtesy of insomnia, here's a top 10 for now (subject to change) in no particular order:
Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another
Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2
Circulatory System - Signal Morning
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Asobi Seksu - Hush
ultraklystron - the Fourth Estate
Placebo - Battle for the Sun
Dual Core - Next Level
Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backflip - Songs from the Pit
Screen Vinyl Image - Interceptors
School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
K Flay - Mashed Potatoes
Julian Plenti - Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper
Muse - the Resistance
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School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms
oh crap forgot about that one - it's definitely on my list. it's US release was in 2009, and i didn't hear it until this year, so it's a 2009 album for me too :)
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top 5
phoenix - wap
deer tick - born on flag day
dinosaur jr - farm
pains of being pure at heart
neko case - middle cyclone
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Add:
The Horrors - Primary Colours
The Hidden Cameras - Origin:Orphan
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
I will add more later, but here are some:
Bowerbirds - Upper Air
Califone - All My Friends are Funeral Singers
William Elliott Whitmore - Animals in the Dark
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Evangelista - Prince of Truth
Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
Brakes - Touchdown
Phosphorescent - To Willy
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Just listening to this now. Every time they put out a new album, I sigh and think "Ho hum...more distorted bass and frantic drummer." Then I listen to it and punch holes in the wall because it rules.
Not top album worthy, but still, it makes me want to break glass.
Here's an alphabetical list I compiled for another board:
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights
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Animal Collective - MPP
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Flaming Lips - Embryonic
Merzbow - 13 Japanese Birds Pt.5: Uzura
Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today?
Mountains - Choral
Phoenix - WAP
David Sylvian - Manafon
Wye Oak - The Knot
Best reissue: The nearly complete studio recordings of a four-man band from across the pond (dominated by two members) whose works have had enormous impact on popular music, issued in two distinct and long-awaited box sets by EMI. Kraftwerk.
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That Mountains/Tape show at Bossa (I think that's where it is) will be all kinds of great.
Merzbow solo is incredibly hit-or-miss for me and I was curious as to which of those 13 Japanese Birds discs to check out. Guess it'll be 5 for starters.
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Mos Def "The Ecstatic"
YYYs "It's Blitz!"
Arctic Monkeys "Humbug"
Late of The Pier "Fantasy Black Channel"
Them Crooked Vultures "Them Crooked Vultures"
Yuksek "So Far Away From The Sea"
Devendra Banhart "What Will We Be"
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Bon Jovi - The Circle
Michael Jackson - This Is It
Taylor Swift - Fearless
The Fray - The Fray
Glee - The Music Vol 2
David Archuleta - Christmas From the Heart
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
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Bon Jovi - The Circle
Michael Jackson - This Is It
Taylor Swift - Fearless
The Fray - The Fray
Glee - The Music Vol 2
David Archuleta - Christmas From the Heart
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Ahahahahahahaha. I have no idea how Fuck Buttons got in this list, but awesome.
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One of these is not like the others...
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What? No Built to Spill on anyone's list? Hard to believe....
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Spin's top 10:
1. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE - MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION
2. YEAH YEAH YEAHS - IT'S BLITZ!
3. PHOENIX - WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX
4. GRIZZLY BEAR - VECKATIMEST
5. GIRLS - ALBUM
6. BAT FOR LASHES - TWO SUNS
7. MOS DEF - THE ECSTATIC
8. FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE - LUNGS
9. DRAKE - SO FAR GONE
10. THE DEAD WEATHER - HOREHOUND
their full top 40: http://www.spin.com/gallery/40-best-albums-2009?page=1#main
10 Best Albums You Might Have Missed in 2009
http://spin.com/articles/10-best-albums-you-might-have-missed-2009?page=0%2C1
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Glee - The Music Vol 2
There is no doubt that Vol 2 completely blows away Vol 1 and I, for one, am glad they did a vol 2.
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wait, we are talking about best albums of 2009, not gay albums of the decade. :P
Glee - The Music Vol 2
There is no doubt that Vol 2 completely blows away Vol 1 and I, for one, am glad they did a vol 2.
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gay album of the decade. :P
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61C3G21EW9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
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that's one of them :)
here's 100 greatest, gayest albums of all time:
http://www.out.com/exclusives.asp?id=26275
gay album of the decade. :P
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61C3G21EW9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
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here's 100 greatest, gayest albums of all time:
http://www.out.com/exclusives.asp?id=26275
#2: The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
huh. it never occurred to me that the smiths might be big in the gay community, but kinda makes sense now that i consider it.
anyhoo, back to the topic at hand... any other 2009 albums we need to know about?
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here's 100 greatest, gayest albums of all time:
http://www.out.com/exclusives.asp?id=26275
#2: The Smiths - The Smiths (1984)
huh. it never occurred to me that the smiths might be big in the gay community, but kinda makes sense now that i consider it.
anyhoo, back to the topic at hand... any other 2009 albums we need to know about?
I read somewhere that blow jobs are also big in the gay community.
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Yeah..."read." We get ya ;)
I read somewhere that blow jobs are also big in the gay community.
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This a work in progress and something that would be cool to create and track in Google Wave...
Tops
Ash - A to F
Idlewild - Post Electric Blues
Phoenix - WAP
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound - Beat Of Our Own Drum
Worth checking out depending on one's tastes.
Deep Street Soul - Chilli Fried
Andrew Weatherall - A Pox On The Pioneers
Baaba Maal & The Brazilian Girls - Television
Ceu - Vagarosa
Ikebe Showdown - EP
Bubbling up
India Dupre & Nick Heyward - The Mermaid and the Lighthouse
Brendan Benson -
Other
Robbie Williams - Reality Killed The Video Star
Not So Hot
The Shazam - Meteor
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>>>Not So Hot
>>>The Shazam - Meteor
You're just out to piss me off. Be honest: did you get the album or just click through some samples?
PS everybody who liked Phoenix might wanna check out the new Tahiti 80; at least get the track "Brazil"
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>>>Not So Hot
>>>The Shazam - Meteor
You're just out to piss me off. Be honest: did you get the album or just click through some samples?
PS everybody who liked Phoenix might wanna check out the new Tahiti 80; at least get the track "Brazil"
Nope bought the CD and supersized it to boot... While I like they added some AC/DC riffage to their sound, it seems to me that in the seven years between albums, they could have saw down and wrote actual songs. To my ears it's a just a well produced collection of riffs and choruses masquerading as songs, that didn't pass the car test. There is just nothing akin to "Super Tuesday" on this outing, they almost turned into OK GO on this one.
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I think these are all from this year...
Say Hi - Oohs and Aahs
Emmy the Great - First Love
Marissa Nadler - Little Hells
Deastro - Moondagger
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Nope bought the CD and supersized it to boot... While I like they added some AC/DC riffage to their sound, it seems to me that in the seven years between albums, they could have saw down and wrote actual songs. To my ears it's a just a well produced collection of riffs and choruses masquerading as songs, that didn't pass the car test. There is just nothing akin to "Super Tuesday" on this outing, they almost turned into OK GO on this one.
Chute. Well couldn't you lie and say you like it, so the venue bookers who read the forum would snag them when they tour next year? I mean we don't want a repeat of the last time (2003?) when their only area gig was a totally unadvertised short opener slot at State Theater
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Nope bought the CD and supersized it to boot... While I like they added some AC/DC riffage to their sound, it seems to me that in the seven years between albums, they could have saw down and wrote actual songs. To my ears it's a just a well produced collection of riffs and choruses masquerading as songs, that didn't pass the car test. There is just nothing akin to "Super Tuesday" on this outing, they almost turned into OK GO on this one.
Chute. Well couldn't you lie and say you like it, so the venue bookers who read the forum would snag them when they tour next year? I mean we don't want a repeat of the last time (2003?) when their only area gig was a totally unadvertised short opener slot at State Theater
I was really looking forward to this one as well, but stacked up against their early records these are the tracks that would have ended up as b-sides on those...
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White Lies - To Lose My Life
Phoenix - WAP
Brookville - Broken Lights
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below
Super Furry Animals - Dark Days Light Years
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
The Rifles - Great Escape
Fanfarlo - Reservoir
Maximo Park - Quicken The Heart
Violens - v - EP
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The Wire's top 50 (http://www.last.fm/user/trailofgybe/journal/2009/12/14/38tcb2_the_wire_records_of_the_year)
Good for new discoveries.
I've been going through and listening to stuff I hadn't previously heard. The Ben Frost, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Atom TM and Mordant Music were all nice finds.
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Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King
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Winner:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Conditions.jpg)
Honorable mention:
Manics - Journal for Plague Lovers
Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Phoenix
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Here is my list of favorite EPs of the year:
Cloud Cult - No one Said it Would be Easy (Live EP)
Boss in Drama - Your Favorite EP
Surf City - Surf City EP
Nightmare Air - EP # 1
Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
Safeashome - Hateful Town 7"
I Fight Dragons - Cool is Just a Number
Scarlet Youth - Breaking the Patterns
Ringo Deathstarr - In Love
Previously on Lost - Season 5 EP
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Sliding in at the very last second!
(Actually, will also make my 2010 list because it's technically not released until January 12, 2010.)
Malory - Pearl Diver
Not only a last second contender but it's either in the 1st or 2nd place position with Spc-Eco - 3-D.
WOW!!!
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franz ferdinand's tonight
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What I have:
1. Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
2. Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
3. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
4. Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
5. Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One
6. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
7. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
8. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
9. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2
10. Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another
11. Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
12. Emeralds - What Happened?
13. Noveller - Red Rainbows
14. Woods - Songs of Shame
15. Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers - S/T
16. Metric - Fantasies
17. Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
18. Phosphorescent - To Willy
19. Shackleton - Three EPs
20. The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
21. Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
22. Atom Tm - Liedgut
23. Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Vol. 2
24. Evan Parker/John Wiese - C-Section
25. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
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^ needs to listen to Bill Callahan's album....maybe you can take off Metric afterwards.
That Current 93 album is phenomenal/epic/orgasmic....at least you got that right.
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The Current 93 is flawless and got maybe 1/10th the press it deserves.
I like it even more than Black Ships at this point.
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What I have:
1. Current 93 - Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain
2. Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
3. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
4. Magik Markers - Balf Quarry
5. Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem One
6. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
7. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
8. Circulatory System - Signal Morning
9. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2
10. Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another
11. Broadcast and the Focus Group - Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age
12. Emeralds - What Happened?
13. Noveller - Red Rainbows
14. Woods - Songs of Shame
15. Jack Rose and the Black Twig Pickers - S/T
16. Metric - Fantasies
17. Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor
18. Phosphorescent - To Willy
19. Shackleton - Three EPs
20. The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath
21. Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
22. Atom Tm - Liedgut
23. Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez Vol. 2
24. Evan Parker/John Wiese - C-Section
25. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind
Wow, you got #20 right.
1. Apples in Stereo, #1 Hits Explosion
2. Sondre Lerche, Heartbeat Radio
3. Justin Townes Earle, Midnight at the Movies
4. M. Ward, Hold Time
5. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
6. Avett Brothers, I and Love and You
7. Super Furry Animals, Dark Days/Light Years
8. Andrew Bird, Noble Beast+Useless Creatures
9. Bill Callahan, Sometimes I Wish I Were an Eagle
10. Richard Hawley, Truelove's Gutter
11. Elvis Perkins in Dearland, self titled LP+Doomsday ep
12. Dave Rawlings Machine, A Friend of a Friend
13. St. Vincent, Actor
14. A.A. Bondy, When the Devil's Loose
15, Wilco, Wilco the Album
16. Camera Obscura, My Maudlin Career
17. Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs
18. White Rabbits, It's Frightening
19. Alela Diane, To Be Still
20 The Clientele, Bonfires on the Heath
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I didn't even know the Apples in Stereo put anything out this year. Will have to grab that; New Magnetic Wonder was fun.
Edit:Ahh...greatest hits. Not a bad selection of songs.
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I made a list on my facebook (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=354966620276), but here's the cut and paste:
12. Zoot Woman, "Things Are What They Used to Be"
I hate the title for their 3rd album, but the content more than makes up for it. This is a darker, more mature spin on their past two records. It's a big-sounding, "maximal" record that lives in the gray area between early 90's house music and the more current trend of electronic pop that's been coming out in the past 2 or 3 years (Think of that updated version of "Erotica" that Madonna did on the Confessions Tour.) They really make the most of every second of music on each track with simple drums, layered harmonies, and a couple of distorted guitars. It's flawed in it's extremely clean, shimmering production, but the album holds together extremely well with it's continued themes of loneliness and depression. It's the happiest, shiniest 50 minutes about complete sadness that I've heard in a very long time, that also doubles as one of the best workout albums of the year. It also doesn't hurt that every song has potential to be a huge single in the right atmosphere.
Standouts: Lonely By Your Side , Saturation, Witness
11. A.C. Newman, "Get Guilty"
Personal things aside, I think A.C. Newman is one hell of a great songwriter, and this album is a great continuation on what he hinted at in his debut. Grown up, hook-filled pop music with brilliant musicianship accompanying it. He's grown a lot as a singer, and some of these songs would best some of the New Pornographers work on "Challengers". Swap out Neko Case for Nicole Atkins and Kori Gardner (from Mates of State), and you'll get an idea for how head-on these songs are. They work even BETTER live, when the instrumentation (the percussion in "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer", the violin in "Young Atlantis", the bombast of "Submarines of Stockholm", etc.) fills everything out and wrap around his voice. Not to mention, it's all insanely catchy and the lyrics will stick with you long after the record ends. The centerpiece is definitely "Submarines of Stockholm", but the heart of the record is in the song that immediately follows it, "Thunderbolts". The broken rhythm that pushes the song forward acts as a heartbeat for the protagonist, and god damn, it just clicks so perfectly. It's always exciting to see your favorite songwriters continue to hone their craft and make amazing, thrilling, moving music.
Standouts: Submarines of Stockholm , Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer, Thunderbolts
10. Matias Aguayo, "Ay Ay Ay"
Hands down, this was the most fun, (successfully) experimental dance record of the year, second only to YACHT's "See Mystery Lights". If Bjork had visioned Medulla to be a more danceable record, it would sound very similar to this. None of the "songs" hold conventional song structures, but it's never off-putting or insular, it's always fun and light-hearted. Figuring out where the keyboards buzz in and out, the vocal loops end and begin, deciphering what he's saying...it's a really exciting, great listen. It sounds like a Chilean block party on acid, and I LOVE it. It's got very little in common with his older stuff, except for the extremely catchy hooks that flow in and out of what he's got. Mucho Viento is so fucking fun, I can't even breathe, and is easily matched by the killer staccato disco of Rollerskate. It's really hard to want to be in the studio with him while listening to this!
Standouts: Mucho Viento, Rollerskate, Menta Latte
9. Me'Shell N'Degeocello, "Devil's Halo"
She's an amazing bassist, songwriter, and her voice is pretty much unmistakable. She's done records with everybody from John Mellencamp to Basement Jaxx, and she still retains her signature seductive identity throughout it all, no matter what hat she chooses to wear as the medium for these songs. Sometimes aggressive, soul-power funky, or a melancholy purr, most of the time on the same song. This new album is without a doubt, one of the most impressive records of the year, just because of that voice that she gives it. Giving a woman's voice to Ready for the World's "Love You Down" was maybe the boldest thing she's done this go around, and DAMN is it effective. This has been music for making the transition from Saturday night to Sunday morning and afternoon for me. "Blood On the Curb" is so thoroughly disturbing and gorgeously poppy, you've got to give her major points for making violence sound downright sunny. The whole album really balances a thin line between soul music, rock, and pop, and it rarely gets it down better than on the centerpiece "Mass Transit". The lyrics are so perfect throughout this entire record. Just buy it already.
Standouts: Blood On The Curb, Love You Down, Mass Transit, Bright Shiny Morning
8. The Juan Maclean, "The Future Will Come"
"I was walking home alone, so dejected by my own design"...is one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite dance records of the year. It plays like a maybe-concept album about two people that are destructive together, but ultimately destined to be together, and I think it's genius. It's insanely well put together, and a testament to the contrast of the human and synthetic vocals and instrumentation. Fuck it, it's great dance music, and Nancy and Juan's vocals together are like Rocky Road ice cream of electronic music. Jerry did an amazing thing drumming on these tracks, and live, there was no question how talented he was. Every ass will shake at the opening thump of the title track, and when it gets into more pop-based song structures like "The Station", it's got the capacity to be downright emotional. I'm considering this album Jerry's going-away present to the world, and wow, what a great present it is. "Happy House", "One Day"...soon to be classics on the dancefloor. DFA lives on through the form of straight-forward Human League-esque goodness.
Standouts: Happy House, One Day, Accusations
7. St. Vincent, "Actor"
Distorted guitars, clarinets, bassoons, well-placed orchestras, everything has it's place on St. Vincent's album, and DAMN does it sound phenomenal. Actually, this is a time when "epic" can be applied properly to describe the sound of an album. It all plays out like the soundtrack to the freakiest, most sinister Disney movie ever. There's nothing contrived or pretentious about how it all comes together. The hook to the first song, "The Strangers", hints at this vaguely ("Paint the black hole blacker..."), and it's actually spelled out in "Marrow" ("H-E-L-P, Help me, help me..") I mean, even the song titles in Actor alone let you know shit's not right ("Laughing With a Mouth of Blood", "Save Me From What I Want".) Regardless of any preconceived notions from the album cover and track-listing, everything sounds super gorgeous. Check out how "The Party" actually sounds like someone's heart breaking in just over 4 minutes. Really affecting, dramatic pop music. Sign me up!
Standouts: Laughing With a Mouth of Blood, Black Rainbow, The Party
6. Brandi Carlile, "Give Up the Ghost"
Okay, so most people think her last record was absolutely perfect. I would be one of those people...except maybe it lulled a bit in the play of the whole album. Even that's just a minor grip for me. I feel like this record is a great example of how to update a signature sound that works. It's her big, arena-filling voice that's center stage on this record, with a more modern-rock backdrop to it. Every song on this record is a keeper, in the sense that it's a collection of harmonies that connect instantly, and songs that break your heart and build you back up slowly over time. It's always refreshing to stumble upon a record that sounds good in almost any environment you want to play it in, which I'll admit most of the records in this list, are NOT for anytime, anywhere. Rick Rubin did his fucking thing on this, and Brandi matched his skills in the studio with her musicianship. Way to go. This is my answer to anyone who put "Middle Cyclone" on their list. Brandi doesn't fuck with locusts, frogs, or having 20 pianos play a Harry Nillson cover.
Standouts: Dreams, Dying Day, I Will
5. Local Natives, "Gorilla Manor"
This is my favorite indie rock album of the year. So many bands wish they made an album like this. If Grizzly Bear's last record had maybe two less sleep-inducing ballads, then maybe it'd rival this. Extremely percussive (like the White Rabbits, but without the sometimes annoying vocal-tics...*sorry*), cleverly written, overflowing with melodies and harmonies, and genuinely exciting to experience (ask anyone who's seen them live.) They remind me a lot of another band from the 80's that I can't really put my tongue on, but did this type of thing, but darker, maybe? I'll think of this after I post this, I know it. The music is really light-hearted and fun, but not in a cheesy, goofball kind of way. They are definitely a band to be experienced live. It's something about seeing 4 guys drumming their asses off. The highlight of the record is probably their spot-on, possibly career-defining cover of the Talking Heads' "Warning Sign". I can't wait to see how much better these guys get.
Standouts: Wide Eyes, Warning Sign, Camera Talk, Sun Hands
5.1 Selena Gomez and the Scene, "Kiss and Tell"
Heads up, this is serious for-realz POP album. This album is seriously a beacon of light in the pop world, a lot like Robyn's album was a couple of years ago. As a matter of fact, this album plays like Robyn's just-as-sassy little sister's album. Everything is so well-constructed to fit her attitude and her voice, and it plays really impressively. Nothing is contrived or embarrassing lyrically, and she works with a really smart collection of producers and assisting songwriters to make the set strong and consistently-energetic listen. I also love the fact that she chose Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails / A Perfect Circle) to do all the drums and drum programming on it, and The Go-Go's Gina Schock to assist with writing and vocals on some songs. The whole thing plays like music that Tiffany or Debbie Gibson would've made if they were still making straightforward pop music now. I think it's a better pop album, and maybe the best teen pop debut album than any other 17-year old has put out in the past 10 years, including Britney's "...Baby One More Time". That's right!
Standouts: I Don't Miss You At All, Kiss and Tell, Naturally, Stop and Erase
4. Metric, "Fantasies"
Hands down, the best straightforward pop record of 2009 for me. Yes, it's a little too clean-sounding and overproduced, but god damn, you won't find hooks like this anywhere else this side of a major label. The more I listen to it, the more parallels I draw between this album and another one of my favorites from a little over 10 years ago, Garbage's "Version 2.0". Short, packed to the punch, and overflowing with ridiculously catchy, perfect-sounding pop music. Every song on Version 2.0 was perfect, the ballads weren't even really ballads, and the production was super clean. Not to mention, just like V2.0, there are maybe 5 or 6 songs on here that could be great singles. Even when guitars are meant to be crunchy and jagged, and the synths are meant to stab at the listener, their edges are smoothed out to a smoother texture, which is something that the live performances of the material brings out. So fucking phenomenal. I had a hard time choosing standouts for this, but I chose to go with a bonus track for one of them, the stellar, summer-sounding, nostalgic "Waves". I mean, seriously, best pop record of the year.
Standouts: Satellite Mind, Blindness, Waves
3. Hanne Hukkelberg, "Blood From a Stone"
I had a hard time thinking of an album that had a bigger effect on me this year (but I did!), aside from this Hanne Hukkelberg record. I think this album is a complete inverse of Metric's in one major way: the production. The songs have compelling hooks, get embedded in your skull, and make for one of the most cohesive records of the year. However, instead of smoothing out the edges and mixing everything into a perfect blend, some elements of the songs poke out like broken bones, exposing the grit and the rawness of the songs beneath the many layers of guitars and vocals. This is obviously such a winter record, by the drops of color that the bass-lines and the melodies paint on even the iciest of tracks ("Salt of the Earth", "Midnight Sun Dream"), and how genius her arrangements are. The best way to experience this for the first time is to listen to it among the hustle and bustle of an urban environment on really good headphones. Not because of it's noisiness, (some songs are light as a feather, but pack a serious emotional wallop), but how each instrument sounds like everyday hustle and bustle (Try listening to "In Here / Out There" on the subway, and see if you don't think everyone else is in on it.) Never boring, this album pulls you deep into it's Norweigian fairytale and owns you completely. It's like reading a great book for 45 minutes.
Standouts: Bandy Riddles, In Here / Out There, Midnight Sun Dream
2. Amerie, "In Love and War"
When I think about amazing R&B albums that came out this year, more than a handful stick out...Keri Hilson, Muhsinah, J*Davey, Georgia Anne Muldrow...but Amerie's album sticks out like a sore thumb, mostly because it's supremely better than the rest, thanks to her amazing ear for great producers and a gruff, Lyn Collins-ish voice that opts for straight-forward singing over unnecessary diva-ish dramatics. That really gives her album a personality that makes it easier to love than Beyonce's tedious double-album mess, and Rihanna's cold, detached comeback record. It brings old-school hip-hop back into contemporary R&B songs and even harks back to early-Mary J. Blige in the first single, "Why R U", but the album excels because of how innovative her arrangements and interpretations are this go around. "Red Eye" fucking slays, point blank. Seriously, those synthesizers and her subtle, seductive delivery make this song (that equates falling in love with an overnight flight) sound fresh, moving, and atmospheric without succumbing to over-singing or corny lyrics. Not to mention, she serves a sass that I can relate to...so, check plus on this one. "Higher" should be a huge fucking hit in my eyes. Here's hoping.
Standouts: Higher, Why R U, Red Eye
1. Fever Ray, "Fever Ray"
There hasn't been a stranger, more compelling, intricately put together, catchy as hell record put out this year for me. I can't even really describe how perfect everything sounds on it. It takes a long while to get settled into loving it, but god.damn...who knew pop music could be so frightening and delicate at the same time. It's like music from another time and place that gets under your skin and becomes a part of you. Songs about the most domestic things, motherhood ("Triangle Walks"), goals and dreams ("When I Grow Up"), friendships and washing dishes ("Seven")...all of these topics get projected onto a bigger stage with the setting of her voice in the tracks. Eerie, whispering, distorted beyond belief, powerful...sometimes all within the same track. Music doesn't get much more exciting and original than this album. The live show was something to fuck with, too. Here's hoping she comes back...
Standouts: Triangle Walks, Now's the Only Time I Know, I'm Not Done
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i do not get the fascination with fever ray. i've tried. i've really, really tried... no dice. it's ok. but just ok.
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"4. Metric, "Fantasies"
Hands down, the best straightforward pop record of 2009 for me. Yes, it's a little too clean-sounding and overproduced, but god damn, you won't find hooks
like this anywhere else this side of a major label. The more I listen to it, the more parallels I draw between this album and another one of my favorites
from a little over 10 years ago, Garbage's "Version 2.0". Short, packed to the punch, and overflowing with ridiculously catchy, perfect-sounding pop music.
Every song on Version 2.0 was perfect, the ballads weren't even really ballads, and the production was super clean. Not to mention, just like V2.0, there
are maybe 5 or 6 songs on here that could be great singles. Even when guitars are meant to be crunchy and jagged, and the synths are meant to stab at the
listener, their edges are smoothed out to a smoother texture, which is something that the live performances of the material brings out. So fucking phenomenal.
I had a hard time choosing standouts for this, but I chose to go with a bonus track for one of them, the stellar, summer-sounding, nostalgic "Waves". I
mean, seriously, best pop record of the year.
Standouts: Satellite Mind, Blindness, Waves"
Word to this!
Agreed with Sweetcell re:Fever Ray, however.
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Fever Ray is also my record of the year. I can't really explain what I like so much about it, because it doesn't fit in with the other stuff I really liked. But I agree with most of FB's review. It evokes a mood and what sticks in my head are the basslines, sounds and tones rather than catchy riffs or hooks. I never would've thought a song like 'If I Had a Heart' could ever stuck in my head, but it has been for much of the year.
Its also made me go back and delve deeper into the Knife records, and that's been incredibly rewarding. Pitchfork hype aside, I'd have to put 'Silent Shout' in my top 3 albums of the decade, and it might even take the top slot.
Who is firebutt mcgee? And did Fever Ray play here recently and I missed it?
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Ixkpd-bk.
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Fever ray played NYC in 2009 (early autumn?). Given the hype, I checked out the record to see if I wanted go to the show (I was working in NJ at the time). But nope, didn't grab me.
Relaxer, I get what you're saying about moods. I guess those moods just don't resonate with me... Or maybe I have no soul.
I do like the singer's contributions to the latest royksopp album :)
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I put together a 'best of 09' mix. For anyone interested - you can d/l it here - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IJ33TRZA