Albums of the Year 2009

If you're not quite sure of how good 2009 was, take a look at 2010's most anticipated releases--yeah, 2010 can wait. To sum it up: Two bands (whose albums are among my favorites) released decidedly more popular music (Animal Collective, Yeah Yeah Yeahs). A couple of bands who have been around for a while, blew up with their 3rd and 4th albums respectively (Grizzly Bear, Phoenix). And after year-long delays, two highly anticipated female rappers released disappointing debuts. So here's how it looked for me, and remember you can play all by clicking the bar on the bottom.

10. BITTE ORCA dirty projectors

Everyone blew their load when "Stillness Is the Move" made it's way into their ears, but while that song was fun and accessible, the album was not. It may be intelligently constructed art-rock, but it was not the good time that its single appeared to be. That may not sound like an endorsement so here: it's still pretty good. "Two Doves"

9. FACE CONTROL the handsome furs

This was one of the more underrated releases of the year for me. It had some great hooks and excellent beats. Sufficiently rough sounding to still be considered a rock album, it's just an awesome time every time it spins. "All We Want Baby Is Everything"

8. TWO SUNS bat for lashes

"Pearl's Dream"

7. XX the xx

Debut of the year for certain. The hype factor behind this band became astronomical this fall, peaking at CMJ where they played nearly 10 shows, causing one band member to quit thereafter due to "exhaustion." The combination of an unconventional array of influences from dub-step to R&B was surprisingly good. The precocious teenagers' use of negative space in production showed maturity and delivery that was intimate and minimal. They created duets that emphasized the qualities of each singer, without being one of those bands that has its singers take turns, and they did it well (unlike, sorry, Chairlift). The pop-appeal of the album is similar to that of last year's indie-to-pop darlings, The Ting Tings who were claimed by the Top 40 charts and Victoria's Secret; can The xx avoid such a fate? "Heart Skipped A Beat"

6. VECKATIMEST grizzly bear

"While You Wait For The Others"

5. MY MAUDLIN CAREER camera obscura

Camera Obscura's brand of sixties pop was the happiest, most summertime album of the year. It was the first thing I reached for in the park, and it evoked images of friends jumping on sofas dancing. This is the sound of carefree. "Honey in the Sun"

4. MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION animal collective

Honestly I didn't like this until last week. I heard it when it came out, and I just didn't really like it, but I thought that was because I never really cared much about Animal Collective. Maybe it was the slow evaporation of the hype that allowed me to actually hear it, or maybe you just need to listen to it a lot, but now I dig it. It's more accessible than previous AC releases in that it doesn't sound like misplaced and accidental sounds. Now that I see (only) some of the order of the compositions, I think I'm seeing some of its greatness. "Brother Sport"

3. ACTOR st. vincent

At first it was only appealing because of the timbre of Annie Clark's voice. It was hard to hang on to some of the songs because their distinct sections and lack of hooks. It felt like the distortion and the piano licks were disagreeing like your girlfriend's parents at dinner. The difference is that now I like that. I like that Actor asks you not to ignore it, but to listen closely; every time you start to wander, the cacophonous crashing cymbals and screeching guitar chords wake you up and pull you back into it. "The Strangers"

2. WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX phoenix

Although not stylistically different from previous releases, this was the Phoenix album that simply blew up. When I heard "1901" for the first time last winter I was floored. I thought that it was the best pop song in years. And then I heard Lisztomania, saw the Brat Pack mash-up video, heard the album, and saw them live. I couldn't believe that I hadn't been listening to this band since United. The stuttered vocal delivery and ecstatic pop hooks made this album totally irresistible. I wanted to host dance parties to it; that would of course end with "Love Like A Sunset," the song that to me, knows more about the world than I do. "Lasso"

1. IT'S BLITZ! yeah yeah yeahs

I always had Fever To Tell and Show Your Bones, but I never loved them until It's Blitz!. With all the negative reaction to this album--that it was a discobeat sell-out--people overlook how massively it increased the band's fan base. That's usually an unpopular thing, and I understand why; I hate it too when "Heads Will Roll" is playing at TopShop and every other retailer on Broadway. Try to ignore it though, because It's Blitz! has the rough-enough production and the raw-enough screams to make you dance/jump/mosh/sing/fight. These songs may feel more like pop than any previous YYY's tracks, but their sound is perfectly current. The vulnerability of tracks like "Skeletons" are balanced against the shouts of "Dull Life." Master EP fans should not be disappointed, Karen O is still the same endearing rock star. The second time I saw the band this year, they played "Art Star" and "Our Time." This was the right album for one of the best still-living live bands, and it's best appreciated in a sweaty mob of jumping friends.

Albums of the Decade

I initially shied away from making this list because too many people were making them, and a list like this is really too big for most blogs. It's more appropriate for the big magazines, with the scope and the resources (see: P4k, NME, Paste, Rolling Stone). Stereogum has some relevant, and insightful thoughts on the importance (or lack thereof) of music's oldest institutions like RS and MTV. At this point though I can't resist.

1.  Figure 8 Elliott Smith

2.   Funeral Arcade Fire

3.  Kid A Radiohead

4.  You Are Free Cat Power

In a decade that saw Cat Power release more covers than original songs, it's frustrating to see her best work come on her own work. You Are Free is an example of efficient songwriting, using chord progressions of only four chords throughout several songs, allowing the vocal melodies alone to determine the song's sections (see: "Names," "Keep On Runnin," "Evolution"). "He War" is four-chord guitar riff placed over Cat Power's most riveting rhythms ever, and the repetition of the instrumentals in many songs allow for her to develop some really amazing harmonies (see: "Maybe Not"). What makes this album so breathtaking is not just the beautiful sheet music, but Chan Marshall's emotional delivery. The power of her voice ironically is the greatest when her voice sounds its weakest. It's vulnerable and heartfelt, qualities not easily found or portrayed.

5.  Fever To Tell Yeah Yeah Yeahs

6.  Let It Die Feist

See the rest of the top 25 after the jump.

Chasing Pirates, Remixed by Santigold and Snotty

Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates (Santigold and Snotty Remix)

I normally associate Norah Jones with middle-aged people with marginally better taste than their Coldplay-digging counterparts. These are the middle-aged people (the former) that I would like to be friends with. Norah's mass appeal is just about as detracting as Neko Case's, so it's with trepidation that I consider her new music. That said, new single "Chasing Pirates" is kind of fun. It doesn't take any risks, but it is an update to the sleepy-style-piano jazz of Come Away with Me. And Santigold and Snotty's remix takes it into even more interesting territory; by slowing it down and adding vibrating synths, it turns into a foreboding dark car ride through Bon Temps. It doesn't feel so family-friendly anymore, and the lyrics seem to describe something totally different.

Ohhh Regina!

White Denim - Regina Holding Hands
  Austin-based White Denim is more characteristically blues than Regina may make you think. At first it felt too acoustic, too Dashboard Confessional, but the deep soul-style vocal inflection feels fresh. I love a good song about a girl with a funny name.

The Middle East - Blood
  In same way as Regina, Blood begins quietly folkish. The first two minutes feel exclusively like guitar arpeggios and drum brushes. This one ends in folk too, but its five-minute crescendo is surprisingly satisfying.

Dr. Dog - Heart it Races
  This is a couple of years old but it fits with the mood today.

(play me in the bottom)

Weekend Mixtape (Birthday Edition)

"Qui Est Cette Fille"


Your weekly mixtape, for celebrating things like birthdays. More words next time. Tracklisting after the jump.

Nico's "These Days" Covers

St Vincent - These Days

Elliott Smith - These Days (Recorded Live in Portland 10/14/99)

This is not dance music. Something for the middle of the week to mix it up. Two excellent covers of the closest thing to a classic I can think of.