2009 in music

Happy end of the year! Things will be a bit different in one aspect of the listaganza. I usually upload mp3 samples of each entry, but since I no longer have any webspace, youtube to the rescue! Other than that, business as usual. Here is the (subjective) best music to come out in 2009!

--------------------------------------------

First off - The 2009 mixtape!

It's not just the top ten albums regurgitated. Some of the best songs appeared on albums that weren't otherwise that amazing.

------------------------------------------------------------

Hold on a sec - What I missed last year.

All Girl Summer Fun Band

Looking Into it

A seemingly unprovoked fixation with The Thermals' Kathy Foster led me to this twee power-pop band she plays in. This album in particular gave me Mr. T Experience nostalgia.

Have a listen to - "Not The One For Me"

Squarepusher

Just A Souvenir

Oh hey, a new Squarepusher slipped right under my radar last year!

Have a listen to - "The Coathanger"

Stereolab

Chemical Chords

Whoops, never heard of this band before this year! They manage to combine a lot of my favorite things about bands like Electralane, Buffalo Daughter, and Broadcast. It's like French pop music from the 60's travelled to the year 2010.

Here is a music video for - "Neon Beanbag"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

One more look back - Best albums of 1999

What was I up to in 1999? Hmm, I remember seeing Blink 182 at Warped tour. That pretty much summed up what I was digging back then. Looking at this list compiled today - A few releases on this were a pretty big deal to me when I was 16, but I admit, most I had not heard of yet. Oh well, they were still fun times...

Number ten...

Sherbets

Siberia

It's hard to say what makes Siberia such a special album. Sure, it's garage rock and roll bliss, but so are all the Sherbets albums, and so are nearly all the other albums by all the other bands Kenichi Asai leads. Siberia has a lot of their biggest hits, if that works for ya.

Check out a live performance of - "Joan Jett's Dog"

Number nine...

The Rentals

Seven More Minutes

Haters gonna hate, but I love this album! It's a very eclectic release with great melodies. A couple experimental styles fail, but most hit their mark. I can't help but wonder where The Rentals would have gone if this album wasn't a total bomb...

Enjoy the music video for - "Getting By"

Number eight...

Polysics

A・D・S・R・M!

Ah, to be young and in love (with Devo). While this may be the weakest Polysics album, it is an amazing jumpstart. Pure energy.

Get nostalgic over this decade old performance of - "Modern"

Number seven...

Beck

Midnite Vultures

This isn't really his best album, but it may be my favorite. Beck proved himself to be our generation's Frank Zappa with this totally bonkers LSD + Spainish Fly clusterfunk.

Observe a very great thing through very poor compression: The music video for - "Sexx Laws"

Number six...

The Get Up Kids

Something To Write Home About

While The Get Up Kids were one of the guilty parties that unintentionally turned emo into romance-pop at the turn of the decade, I'm sure nobody blames them now when you look at what emo has become since then... Regardless, this is still a super catchy album today.

Wow, here is a nostalgia bomb. The music video for - "Action & Action"

Number five...

Cibo Matto

Stereo Type A

I've always preferred this album over their debut. It's much more accessible, and has more versatility. It's a piñata of fun songs!

Here is a live performance of - "Blue Train"

Number four...

The Mr. T Experience

Alcatraz

Another album that was left to die by most fans. MTX was one of the first to make made pop punk into what it was in the 90's, and Dr. Frank took it to the next pop level, with no other band with the balls to follow. Alcatraz is MTX's most lyrically clever and musically daring album. Possibly my favorite of theirs in general.

All youtube has for us is a live performance of - "Naomi"

Number three...

Pavement

Terror Twilight

With their finale album, Pavement managed to predate the brief indie alt-country wave of the mid-naughties. A few bands went on to do this kind of sound, but none had such great lyrics such as "Pardon my birth, I just slipped out."

Check out the dorktastic music video for - "Carrot Rope"

Number two...

Built To Spill

Keep it Like A Secret

This is the band's shining moment. A perfect combination of their clever fun songs, and their lengthy rocking out numbers.

Enjoy this live rendition of - "Time Trap"

Number one...

Number Girl

School Girl Distortional Addict

This is the greatest Fugazi, Pixies, At The Drive-In, and Jawbreaker mix tape you will ever hear. Every Number Girl album is unique and incredible. This one just happens to be my favorite kind of lo-fi indie punk sound.

Enjoy the music video for - "Touch"

-----------------------------------------

Moving on to this decade - The best music videos of 2009!

Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks"

Fake Problems - "Diamond Rings"

"Peter Bjorn & John - "It Don't Move Me"

Giant Drag - "Stuff To Live For"

Vampire Weekend - "Cousins"

-----------------------------------------------

Might as well mention - The Biggest disappointments of 2009.

Metric

Fantasies

A terribly boring monotone album with really bad lyrics. This whole album sounds like the band wrote and recorded it in their sleep.

Green Day

21st Century Breakdown

I've liked everything this band band has done up until now, even American Idiot. This is garbage from a garbage can. I can't even get halfway through it.

The Rentals

Songs About Time!

Matt Sharp sticks his head up his own ass and undoes all the excitement left by the 2007 reunion EP. Total pretentious snorefest.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

one more thing - The best cover art of 2009

------------------------------------

Ok Finally - The best albums of 2009!

Number ten...

Grizzly Bear

Veckatimest

Number 10 is always the hardest to pick. I'll make the case for this album simply by stating who it pushed out - Animal Collective (who will no doubt be on every other list on the internet), Polysics, and The Fiery Furnaces (two of my favorite bands of all time).

Listen to - "Cheerleader"

Number nine...

Sonic Youth

The Eternal

Nothing new here, but the songs are rock solid. I was particularly impressed by the band's ability to incorporate their Daydream Nation era style of crunch and distortion into the current jam rock sound without any friction.

Here is a live rendition of - "Anti Orgasm"

Number eight...

Do Make Say Think

Other Truths

Quality over quantity. Four instrumentals that explode with emotion and imagination. It's the soundtrack to adventure!

Here is the fantastic opener - "Do"

Number seven...

OOIOO

ARMONICO HEWA

OOIOO makes their catchiest album without sacrificing an ounce of crazy. You may start out feeling perplexed, but by the end you'll be left wanting more.

Check out the seizure inducing music video for - "SOL"

Number six...

Vola & The Oriental Machine

SA-KA-NA Electric Device

It was a big risk to drop such a strong post-punk influence for this new style of synth rock, but it paid off big time. Every song is a keeper, even the bloody secret track!

Check out the music video for - "Turning Turning"

Number five...

The Whitest Boy Alive

Rules

I never expected a second album to ever come from this romance-funk Erland Øye experiment. Its very existence is joyous enough; but it also manages to do everything the debut did even better.

Enjoy this live performance of - "1517"

Number four...

Rx Bandits

Mandala

...And The Battle Begun was my favorite album of 2006. While Matt Embree's songwriting has improved, the loss of their horn section has hurt the versatility of this otherwise rocking album.

Listen to - "It's Only Another Parsec"

Number three...

The Paper Chase

Someday This Could All Be Yours (Part One)

They haven't really changed their sound over the years, but have improved it with each album. Great Kill Rock Stars no-wave rock wrapped in macabre and despair. Standing out, are the nihilistic themes of tragedy, with clever metaphors to natural disasters.

Here is a live recording of - "The Lightning"

Number two...

Peter Bjorn & John

Living Thing

When interviewed about how different Living Thing is from every other PB&J album, Peter quickly interjected with "Yeah, it's better." He's right. This band turned the corner with a short instrumental album last year, and have hit a home run with this one. Suddenly this trio have become some of the most innovative pop songwriters around today.

Check out the freaky-deeky music video for - "Lay it Down"

Number one...

Fake Problems

It's Great To Be Alive

I love me some Swami Records style American rock and roll. The wacky Southern Baptist themes are quite fun; and I love how humble some of the lyrics can be, juxtaposed with Chris Farren's loud raspy voice and cocky swagger. From the loud triumphant introduction to the modest ballads that close it out - best album of 2009.

Here is a live performance of - "Diamond Rings"

PHEW!

Wow, that was a lot of work. Thank you for reading!

oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Polysics has announced their keyboard player since album number 1 is leaving the band in March. If they choose to continue at all, they are going to undergo some very big changes from here on out...

End of an era, folks. Make sure you go see them when they tour the US briefly in a few weeks.

album of the week: 12.4

Dave House

Intersections

Banquet Records (2009)

why you'll like it: good melodies. humble lyrics

why you'll hate it: nothing new, too much filler

I just picked this album up on a whim a few weeks ago. Dave House shared a top 10 albums of the year list with punknews.org. I thought he had pretty good taste, so I decided to check out latest solo LP. It says in many descriptions that he is very much inspired by the storytelling style of songwriting found in bands like The Weakerthans. I'm not seeing so much of that in Intersections, but there is plenty of classic 90's pop-punk balladry to be had.

House sounds more like The Ataris or Joey Cape, which isn't a terrible thing, but surprising in that it masks his English background quite well. He doesn't appear to have much of an accent when singing, and the melodies are clearly American influenced. I don't know why I'm so hung up on this. A Western obsessed style is what got me so interested in Asian Kung-Fu Generation at first, and I love them now; so maybe it's a good thing.

I've never taken a look at any of House's previous work with other bands, so I'm left only with what is in front of me. It's an ok record. If you're still very much in love with that dying ballad pop-punk genre, you'll be all over this album. I ODed on this kind of music back in high school, so the whole thing is deja-vu to me. The catchiest songs have the unfortunate fate of being too repetitive. Good on Dave for putting something out there, though. I love music, but can't even tune a guitar.

fuckshovel

Don't forget to stop by The Onion and check out their annual list of amusing band names. This list never fails to disappoint year after year.

album of the week: 12.3

Animal Collective

Fall Be Kind

Domino (2009)

why you'll love it - the dark side of Merriweather Post Pavilion

why you'll hate it - half of it drones on and on

The excitement over Merriweather Post Pavilion that most of the internet is still feeling has all but left me. Conceptually, Animal Collective putting out a well produced and accessible love song album has been a success; but I prefer when their music comes from stranger places. The recent Fall Be Kind EP doesn't seem to do that as much I hoped it would.

"Graze" kicks the album off the same way MPP started, slow as hell, with a burst of energy in the second half. The peppy pan flute melody has novelty value, but it isn't worth slogging through the first three minutes for. "What Would I Want? Sky" follows the same pattern, sounding like two songs combined into one. The intro is slightly more bearable on this one, and the rest of the song stands alongside the best pop moments of MPP.

The next two songs are a complete waste of time. "Bleed" is a real bummer of a song. It sounds like the most depressing acid trip ever. "On A Highway" has an awful vocal melody that seems to never end.

"I Think I Can" is the big hit of this EP. It's creepy and alien (the kind of atmosphere I love best from AC), and the percussion is so powerful it's impossible to ignore.

Essentially what you have here are a couple filler tracks, and some good ones that would have given Merriweather Post Pavilion some much needed versatility, if they had been included. I think that even die hard Animal Collective cult worshippers would agree that this is their weakest release in the last few years.

we've got movie sign!

Ten years since its cancellation, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is finally freely available yet again by legal means.

Hulu launched an MST3K site today and it looks great. It has a few episodes up I haven't seen in like 15 years. This is the TV show that got me through high school. Its innovation and originality not only still inspires me today, but practically raised and shaped my psyche, humor, and general outlook on life. It truly is the greatest television show ever made. Watch it.

album of the week: 12.2

El Nuevo Grupo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez

Cryptomnesia

Rodriguez Lopez Productions (2009)

why you'll love it - Frantic side of The Mars Volta driven into overdrive by Zach Hill

why you'll hate it - incomprehensible, too one-tone

It's almost as if The Mars Volta knew they were putting out a disappointing album this summer with Octahedron. From the endless vault of Omar Rodriguez Lopez's solo recordings comes yet another release, but one a bit more special than the rest. Cedirc joins Omar again, as his did for Omar's best solo album (Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo - 2007). Though I'm sure what gave this go-round round its own special name was the inclusion of motherfucking drum annihilator, Zach Hill. Everything this man man touches becomes a rock and roll beast.

Omar outright admits that this is basically a Mars Volta album. Cedric's lyrics are insane as ever. The songs are at a breakneck pace, only slowing down for very brief soundbytes which are quite entertaining themselves. This album doesn't have the labored grand compositions that the best TMV albums have. It feels more like this is just off the cuff rocking out fun.

The album grinds to an immediate halt at the end where vaudevillian music plays over Omar thanking the listener and saying "see you next time." Yes! Please come back for more in the future. This marriage of Zach Hill and TMV is too good to end here!

Disorientation makes me happy.

album of the week: 12.1

Hideki Kaji

Strawberries And Cream

Blues Interactions (2009)

why you'll love it: pop with zero commercialism or pandering

why you'll hate it: it's the whussiest music in the world

Here is a chaser for the straight shot of hardcore music last week. If you don't know who Hideki Kaji is, you should take this album title seriously to consider what's in store. Kaji is basically the Japanese Brian Wilson. With his roots planted firmly in the 60's bubblegum pop genre; he's carried the Shibuya-kei flag from its inception as a simple Flipper's Guitar pop sound, through it's most fashionable years in the 90's, through the techno-electronic era, and today without hardly changing his sound. He's not your typical watered down Disney cash in, nor is he an overproduced commercial j-pop poster boy. His honesty is what sets him apart from both classic Shibuya-kei artists who jumped ship for greener pastures, and pop music in general.

The album itself is nothing you haven't heard before; it's just presented with a lot of love and care. I particularly like the opening track being titled "Mini Skirt" (presumably after his 1997 album, and best IMO). Kaji has never been a ball of fire, but his melodies are still exciting today despite being well into his 40's. He sticks to his strengths here (which hasn't gotten old yet thanks to this being such an underrepresented genre), although the few experiments do pay off. The 80's ballad sounding "Heaven Only Knows" is handled perfectly, and "Brave Our Hearts" is the closest thing to a Pizzicato Five song you can get today.

The last I heard from Hideki Kaji before stumbling across this album was that he was in Sweden, shooting a music video for "Passion Fruits". While waiting between filming (still dressed as a pineapple for the shoot), he was beaten into unconsciousness and robbed by thugs. I hope the incident hasn't tarnished his love for Sweden, or brought down his spirits in general. As long as this man stays happy and inspired, great music seems to follow.

Source seal of quality

My copy of Left 4 Dead 2 arrived in the mail today. I've only played one campaign so far, and the game is great. This post isn't about that though, it's about glitches! Left 4 Dead is one of the most hilariously glitched out game I have ever played, and I'm happy to see the sequel carries the tradition.