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The best tracks of 2009: your favourite picks


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There's a dual purpose to this thread. Firstly, I'm on the prowl for good songs I may have missed during 2009. As I don't claim to have a finely attuned ear for current gems I often overlook huge amounts of musical goodness. Secondly, I'm currently in the process of making a compilation for a friend and I'm on the lookout for source material. The compilation is based on music released this year but I've come up against a big problem: we have very different tastes in music - I'm drawn to electronic sounds, and my pal, who the comp is for, is less so. So far I've selfishly gone down the path of doing stuff I like without bearing this in mind, and now I'm having to rein that side of things in.

 

Here are some of my favourites, and these are ones outside of albums that I like (Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Wilco, etc):

 

Girls - Hellhole Ratrace / Morning Light / Curls / Darling

Atlas Sound - Shelia / Walkabout

Destroyer - Bay of Pigs

Blue Roses - I Am Leaving

Cymbals Eat Guitars - Tunguska

Bat For Lashes - Daniel

Junior Boys - Hazel / Parallel Lines

Arbouretum - Down on the Fall Line / Infinite Corridors

Burial / Four Tet - Moth

Magnolia Electric Co. - The Handing Down

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Afraid Ain't Me

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

Yo La Tengo - More Stars Than There Are In Heaven

 

So what tracks have lit your candle in 09?

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You make a Phoenix pun in the thread description and don't include them?!? :stunned

 

In no real order, tried to limit one per artist:

 

Animal Collective - My Girls

Phoenix - 1901

Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move

Girls - Lust For Life

Passion Pit - Sleepyhead

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Wilco - One Wing

The Flaming Lips - Watching the Planets

Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse - Just War (feat. Gruff Rhys), Daddy's Gone (feat. Nina Persson and Mark Linkous)

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Don't Haunt This Place

 

I'll add more later, I haven't thought about it a lot, actually.

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Likewise, I immediately thought 'Phoenix'...you could take anything of that album but Love Like a Sunset has something for everyone I think. Like my earlier reply to best albums, I'll have to consider more overnight / time.

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You make a Phoenix pun in the thread description and don't include them?!? :stunned

 

I've only heard the album once during a car journey. Immediate reaction was that it was fine, but nothing sparkling. Will revisit before deciding whether to dismiss though.

 

Pun was used because that particluar track (along with 1901) has been popping up a lot on other '2009 best track' threads that I've read. You people really like it, hats off!

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Sparklehorse, Dangermouse and Flaming Lips: Revenge

Archive: Bullets

Wilco: One Wing

The Black Crowes: Apolosa

Duke & The King: Lose Myself

Jason Lytle: Rollin Home Alone

Grant-Lee Phillips: Buried Tresure

Yim Yames: My Sweet Lord

M. Ward: Episapology

Felice Brothers: Rise & Shine

Monsters Of Folk: Sandman, Brakeman & Me

Bob Dylan: I Feel A Change Comin On

Decemberists: Hazards Of Love IV: The Drowning

 

I have ordered them in a ready-made compilation order.

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"Pollyanna" Patterson Hood

"Play It All Night Long" Drive-By Truckers

"Buñuel" Califone

"The Handing Down" Magnolia Electric Co

"No Turning Back" Son Volt

"One Wing" Wilco

"Can You Whoop It" The Dexateens

"A Slow Parade" A.A. Bondy

"Far and Wide" The Roadside Graves

"Maybe I Can Paint Over That" Guy Clark

"Sugarfoot" Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

"The Field" Mason Jennings

"Dylan's Hard Rain" Ryan Bingham

"Streetlights" Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

"Smooth" Buddy & Julie Miller

"People Got a Lotta Nerve" Neko Case

"I Don't Wanna Go There" Dinosaur Jr.

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reigning sound - love and curses (polly ane)

son volt - american central dust (dust of daylight)

el goodo - coyote (don't worry marie)

robert pollard - elephant jokes (stiff me)

richmond fontaine - we used to think the river sounded like a freeway (you can move back here)

lucero - 1372 overton park (what are you willing to lose)

tim easton - porcupine (broke my heart)

outrageous cherry - universal malcontents (anymore)

neko case - middle cyclone (middle cyclone)

vetiver - tight knit (rolling sea)

boston spaceships - planets are blasted (heavy crown)

cheap star - speaking like an elephant (for saving grace)

dexateens - singlewide (hang on)

telekinesis - telekinesis (all of a sudden)

the heartless bastards - the mountain (the mountain)

justin townes earle - midnight at the movies (what I mean to you)

wilco - the album (solitaire)

m. ward - hold time (for beginners)

eels - hombre lobo (that look you give that guy)

robert pollard - the crawling distance (no island)

hayden - the place where we lived (let's break up)

roman candle - oh tall tree in the ear (modern radio is a-ok)

boston spaceships - zero to 99 (how wrong you are)

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I haven't recorded any tracks in 2009, so I can't list my best ones.

 

Or did you mean my favorite tracks?

 

Touché! Title adjusted.

 

When your album's finished hook me up with the myspace/spotify link and I'll tell you what I think. :cheers

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When your album's finished hook me up with the myspace/spotify link and I'll tell you what I think. :cheers

 

Cynical plug alert!

 

Wanna lettuce know what you think of this?

 

www.billyvincent.co.uk/thesongbook

 

I'll even chcuk a hard copy in the post for your efforts if you PM your address :)

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"Young Hearts Spark Fire" by Japandroids is undoubtedly my favorite song of the year.

 

Some HM's:

Volcano Choir - Island, Is

Phoenix - Lisztomania

Jim O'Rourke - The Visitor (Is that allowed to count?)

Passion Pit - Little Secrets

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

The Antlers - Two

Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

Animal Collective - Brothersport

Dirty Projectors - Useful Chamber

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Several off W(TA) would be on my list of course (OW, CD, EE), as well as at least one or two from Backspacer (for sure Just Breathe and Gonna See My Friend). I&W's disc is FULL of classics, but it's a compilation of earlier recordings and demos. I will also take a minority opinion and put forward Muse's "Uprising", I think it's a pretty great tune.

 

Seeing David Gray tonite and maybe something from his new disc will resonate, I haven't really heard it yet.

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Oops....almost forgot the band that time almost forgot to remember.

 

Blue Rodeo's almost-out double album is really good. Offhand "Don't Let The Darkness In Your Head" and "One Night Left In Heaven" really blew us away at the August show in Toronto. Looking forward to getting this on vinyl soon.

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random and trying not to repeat. Not a lot (meaning almost none) of the tracks have electronica, except perhaps the voice samples of Charles Spearin.

 

Frank Turner - The Road

(song o' year)

 

Bahamas - Hockey Teeth

Rock Plaza Central - We are Full of Light that binds us at the moment of our most needing

Reigning Sound - A Banker and a liar

Visqueen - Jimmy Vs James

Brakesbrakesbrakes - Eternal Return

Japandroids - Wet Hair

Jon Rae Fletcher - Oh Maria

Charles Spearin - Vittoria

Joel Plaskett - Deny Deny Deny

Royal City - Bad Luck alt version

Deep Dark Woods - All the Money I had is gone

Woodpigeon - Knock Knock

AC Newman - All of My Days and All of My Days off

Ox - Unknown Legend

Dan Mangan - Robots

Doug Paisley - Digging in the Dirt

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Pardon Mr Grumpy here, but I liked Daniel for about a week until I bothered listening to A Forest again (BFL cover and the original). It's so copycat, and the lyrics are cheesy, which finally got to me.

 

And that Dirty Projectors song is fingernails on a chalkboard. Gitmo material. No one should have to be subjected to it.

 

And it probably was released in late '08, but In Ear Park is on my list, along with predictable tracks from Girls and Phoenix.

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A few off the top of my head (in no particular order):

 

Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move

Wilco - Bull Black Nova

Wilco - Solitaire

Yim Yames - My Sweet Lord

Neko Case - People Got a Lotta Nerve

White Rabbits - Percussion Gun

Heartless Bastards - the Mountain

Iron & Wine - Belated Promise Ring

Iron & Wine - Love Vigilantes

Avett Brothers - Laundry Room

Andrew Bird - Anonanimal

St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work

The Thermals - Now We Can See

Matt and Kim - Daylight

Silversun Pickips - Panic Switch

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