Best of 2009 Thread

[Moss]

 

4. Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant

 

 

Good to see this one on another list! I love this album.

[Head in a Guillotine]

Solace had it in his Top 50, but I wanted to comment that Leave Ruin by Strand of Oaks was the biggest surprise of the year for me.

 

It's such a beautiful and insightful record.

 

Anyone else enjoy this one?

 

I also enjoyed the 2009 output by following groups:

 

Animal Collective

The Antlers

Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar

Bob Dylan

The Decemberists (I gave it time)

Great Lake Swimmers

Justin Townes Earle

Wilco

 

I thought the following had their moments, but were inconsistent:

 

Conor Oberst

Mike Doughty

Son Volt

Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

 

I was disappointed with the following:

 

Monsters of Folk

The Swell Season

U2 (Terrible, just awful)

[Synthesizer Patel]

3. Girls - Album

 

i really like the music and even the singing on the album, but the subject matter/lyrics are just a little too flimsy and annoying for my liking. maybe i'lll get over that. i don't know. anyone else feel this?

[brianjeremy]

i really like the music and even the singing on the album, but the subject matter/lyrics are just a little too flimsy and annoying for my liking. maybe i'll get over that. i don't know. anyone else feel this?

 

I agree. I think it's the weakest point on the album. I think the amount of vulgarity and and such shows an extreme lyrical laziness. Don't get me wrong, I like the album a lot, but the album gives the impression that these guys have a lot of lyrical maturation to do.

[lamradio]

 

4. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

 

 

 

For me at least, Embryonic just might be the best Flaming Lips record.

[solace]

I agree. I think it's the weakest point on the album. I think the amount of vulgarity and and such shows an extreme lyrical laziness. Don't get me wrong, I like the album a lot, but the album gives the impression that these guys have a lot of lyrical maturation to do.

the way their lead singer reacted to and commented on my friends review (and my comment) of their lackluster Mpls show last month leads me to believe that he's got a lot of maturing to do in general:

 

http://www.culturebully.com/girls-7th-st-entry-live-review-11-14-2009

 

he = chrissybaby4ever (it's him too, that's his YouTube handle and on a few other sites)

 

neither my friends review, nor my comment were all that negative either... dude obviously needs to get thicker skin and/or not read shit about his band on the internet, it never ends well.

[tangara]

I don't know if I can rank them all past the first five, but I really liked:

 

1. Phosphorescent - To Willie

2. Flaming Lips - Embryonic

3. AA Bondy - When the Devil's Loose

4. Avett Brothers - I & Love & You

5. Alberta Cross - Broken Side of Time

 

Honorable Mentions to:

Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid (kind of got burned out on this one)

A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

Dinosaur Jr - Farm

Built to Spill - There Is No Enemy

The Duke and the King - Nothing Gold Can Stay

Elvis Perkins - In Dearland

Grand Archives - Keep In Mind Frankenstein

J Tillman - Vacilando Territory Blues

Lou Barlow - Goodnight Unknown

Robyn Hitchcock - Goodnight Oslo

Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers - Songs in the Night

 

EPs:

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Beirut - March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland

Black Whales - Origins

Netherfriends - Calling You Out

[howfast]

if you are a johnny marr fan you have to check out the new cribs

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Monsters Of Folk, s/t. ...Yames doing what was needful by laying low and not overtly dominating the proceedings.

 

 

Ok...just when did Jim James become 'Yim Yames' and just what does this represent? A heavy handed attempt at speech impediment humor? (I've seen the George Harrison tribute album...so I know it isn't anything new.)

[DAngerer09]

alright, for whatever it's worth, here's my list of favorites in no particular order:

 

 

 

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

 

Wilco - The Album

 

The Dodos - Time To Die

 

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

 

St. Vincent - Actor

 

fun. - Aim and Ignite

[Gobias Industries]

i really like the music and even the singing on the album, but the subject matter/lyrics are just a little too flimsy and annoying for my liking. maybe i'lll get over that. i don't know. anyone else feel this?

 

I can see that. And with the cursing too. I don't really mind the cursing all that much (of course, I do pull out the cursing sometimes so it doesn't bother me). Perhaps its an indicator of laziness, and the guy totally seems immature about everything, but I suppose that innocence and naivety of it all (this applies to the cursing too) is sort of what grabs me.

 

I'd rather have coarse and vulgar speech than what the Decemberists are putting out (pompous and verbose), for what it's worth.

[solace]

alright, for whatever it's worth, here's my list of favorites in no particular order:

 

 

 

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No Moree

 

Fanfarlo - Reservoir

yay!!!

[augurus]

Top 50 Tracks Of 2009

50) Rye Rye featuring M.I.A. - Bang

49) Phoenix - 1901

48) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Skeletons

47) Super Furry Animals - Inaugural Trams

46) UUVVWWZ - Castle

45) Nodzzz - Is She There?

44) Sonic Youth - Antenna

43) Major Lazer featuring Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze - Keep It Goin' Louder

42) jj - Ecstasy

41) Rain Machine - Give Blood

40) Dinosaur Jr. - I Don't Wanna Go There

39) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

38) Wilco - Bull Black Nova

37) Fiery Furnaces, The - Lost At Sea

36) Big Pink, The - A Brief History Of Love

35) Delorean - Seasun

34) Free Energy - Dream City

33) Washed Out - You'll See It

32) Phoenix - Lisztomania

31) Flaming Lips, The - Silver Trembling Hands

30) Doves - Jetstream

29) Dan Deacon - Get Older

28) Dan Deacon - Slow With Horns / Run For Your Life

27) Cymbals Eat Guitars - Wind Phoenix

26) Wild Beasts - Hooting & Howling

25) Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire

24) Woods - Rain On

23) Girls - Lust For Life

22) Big Pink, The - Velvet

21) Bat For Lashes - Glass

20) Destroyer - Bay Of Pigs

19) Health - Die Slow

18) Antony And The Johnsons - Aeon

17) Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others

16) Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You

15) Yo La Tengo - Here To Fall

14) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

13) Animal Collective - My Girls

12) Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer

11) XX, The - Basic Space

10) Juan Maclean, The - One Day

09) Flaming Lips, The - See The Leaves

08) Bat For Lashes - Daniel

07) jj - My Life, My Swag

06) Lonely Island, The featuring T. Pain - I'm On A Boat

05) Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers

04) Dirty Projectors, The - Stillness Is The Move

03) Animal Collective - What Would I Want? Sky

02) Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

01) Animal Collective - Brother Sport

 

Top 50 LPs & EPs Of 2009

50) Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

49) Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do!

48) UUVVWWZ - UUVVWWZ

47) Bob Mould - Life And Times

46) A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

45) A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Ashes Grammar

44) Girls - Album

43) Sonic Youth - The Eternal

42) Passion Pit - Manners

41) YACHT - See Mystery Lights

40) Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

39) Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band

38) Condo Fucks - Fuckbook

37) Taken By Trees - East Of Eden

36) Clientele, The - Bonfires On The Heath

35) Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

34) Destroyer - Bay Of Pigs

33) No Age - Losing Feeling

32) Doves - Kingdom Of Rust

31) Field, The - Yesterday And Today

30) Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care

29) Lonely Island, The - Incredibad

28) Polvo - In Prism

27) Rural Alberta Advantage, The - Hometowns

26) Fiery Furnaces, The - I'm Going Away

25) White Rabbits - It's Frightening

24) Mastodon - Crack The Skye

23) Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light

22) St. Vincent - Actor

21) Mountain Goats, The - The Life Of The World To Come

20) Juan Maclean, The - The Future Will Come

19) Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

18) Mos Def - The Ecstatic

17) Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse - Dark Night Of The Soul

16) Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

15) Big Pink, The - A Brief History Of Love

14) Bat For Lashes - Two Suns

13) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

12) Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem

11) Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

10) Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years

09) Japandroids - Post-Nothing

08) Dan Deacon - Bromst

07) Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind

06) XX, The - XX

05) Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

04) Flaming Lips, The - Embryonic

03) Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

02) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

01) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

 

biggest surprise album: XX, The - XX

most annoying band this year: a tie between Wavves and The Decemberists

 

Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has slowly gained more respect, but at the same time it sounds so meaningless and shallow: I guess this is what people call dance music. Juan MacLean's One Day was actually released in 2008 but it appeared on The Future Will Come which came out in 2009. I sure do wish I got the chance to listen to Bear In Heaven's Beast Rest Forth Mouth, Atlas Sound's Logos, jj's jj n° 2, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz.

 

EDIT: Sorry Beach House's Norway and Hot Chip's Take It In, but you'll have to wait until next year even though you both sound so awesome!

[m_thomp]

Top 50 LPs & EPs Of 2009

50) Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

46) A.C. Newman - Get Guilty

45) A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Ashes Grammar

44) Girls - Album

41) YACHT - See Mystery Lights

34) Destroyer - Bay Of Pigs

31) Field, The - Yesterday And Today

30) Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care

21) Mountain Goats, The - The Life Of The World To Come

20) Juan Maclean, The - The Future Will Come

18) Mos Def - The Ecstatic

13) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

11) Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

08) Dan Deacon - Bromst

07) Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind

02) Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

01) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

 

EDIT: Sorry Beach House's Norway and Hot Chip's Take It In, but you'll have to wait until next year even though you both sound so awesome!

 

Completely forgot about Juan Maclean - Happy House would be one of my tracks of the year if it wasn't originally released in 08.

 

Oh, and in a future age, when heterosexual same-sex platonic pregnancies were the norm, Augurus and myself, based on the above, would have perfect children. I'd be daddy, of course.

[cryptique]

I'm really astounded that no one else has mentioned the albums by Joe Henry and Superdrag.

[Sir Stewart]

the way their lead singer reacted to and commented on my friends review (and my comment) of their lackluster Mpls show last month leads me to believe that he's got a lot of maturing to do in general:

 

http://www.culturebully.com/girls-7th-st-entry-live-review-11-14-2009

 

he = chrissybaby4ever (it's him too, that's his YouTube handle and on a few other sites)

 

neither my friends review, nor my comment were all that negative either... dude obviously needs to get thicker skin and/or not read shit about his band on the internet, it never ends well.

"I...was let down a bit (even going in with no expectations)."

Ouch!

[augurus]

Completely forgot about Juan Maclean - Happy House would be one of my tracks of the year if it wasn't originally released in 08.

 

Oh, and in a future age, when heterosexual same-sex platonic pregnancies were the norm, Augurus and myself, based on the above, would have perfect children. I'd be daddy, of course.

We would?

Thank you.

 

But does that automatically mean I'm the mommy?

[tongue-tied]

Here are some of my favorite albums of 2009, that I can remember:

 

Cryptacize : "Mythomania" (3 songs on Muxtape)

Jim O'Rourke : "The Visitor"

Jason Lytle : "Yours Truly, The Commuter" (strange version of 'It's the Weekend')

The Fiery Furnaces : "I'm Going Away" (

Experimental Dental School : "Forest Field" (completely free on their site)

Wilco : "The Album"

OOIOO : "Armonico Hewa" (

)

The Flaming Lips : "Embryonic"

[Killer Whales]

Am I the only one that thinks the XX is dreadfully overrated? A couple nice singles, but the whole album is very same-y and their live show was sooooo boring

[PopTodd]

I bought this, after hearing good things about it:

 

Has this even come close to any of your lists?

[solace]

Am I the only one that thinks the XX is dreadfully overrated? A couple nice singles, but the whole album is very same-y and their live show was sooooo boring

i really dug them live.

 

if you go to a show and need a band to jump around or have witty banter to be entertained, i can see not liking their live show, but it was so moody and ethereal, loved it.

 

the album is a bit overrated in some circles (was shocked it was Pfork's #3), but it's def one of the best debuts of the year

[Killer Whales]

i really dug them live.

 

if you go to a show and need a band to jump around or have witty banter to be entertained, i can see not liking their live show, but it was so moody and ethereal, loved it.

 

the album is a bit overrated in some circles (was shocked it was Pfork's #3), but it's def one of the best debuts of the year

 

I saw them at an in-store so I can imagine any good atmosphere being lost, but i think the drum machine, which is a good texture on record, just loses any energy live. It's no fun watching a bored-looking guy push buttons

[cooperissup3r]

Megafaun should've gotten way more press. Gather, Form & Fly is fucking great. Impressions of the Past = song of the year.

[tinnitus photography]

my top 40ish

 

1 polvo - in prism

2 bill callahan - sometimes i wish we were an eagle

3 kurt vile - god is saying this to you.../childish prodigy

4 sir richard bishop - freak of araby

5 boston spaceships - zero to 99

6 death - for the whole world to see...

7 jack rose - the black dirt sessions

8 reigning sound - love and curses

9 om - god is good

10 sylvester anfang II - sylvester anfang II

11 neko case - middle cyclone

12 natural snow buildings - shadow kingdom

13 oneida - rated O

14 dinosaur jr - farm

15 baroness - blue record

16 espers - III

17 papercuts - you can have what you want

18 teeth of the sea - orphaned by the ocean

19 james blackshaw - glass bead game

20 black math horseman - wyllt

21 omar souleyman - dabke 2020: folk and pop sounds of syria

22 kylesa - static tensions

23 the fresh and onlys - grey-eyed girl

24 sonic youth - the eternal

25 wolves in the throne room - black cascade

26 wilco - wilco (the album)

27 magnolia electric co - josephine

28 harvestman - in a dark tongue

29 lord cut-glass - lord cut-glass

30 pissed jeans - king of jeans

31 thee oh sees - dog poison

32 various artists - transmissions from sinai

33 flaming lips - embryonic

34 patterson hood - murdering oscar (and other love songs)

35 the bats - the guilty office

36 black pyramid - black pyramid

37 phantom band - checkmate savage

38 shrinebuilder - shrinebuilder

39 holy sons - criminal's return

40 the soundtrack of our lives - communion

41 josef van wissem - ex-patris

42 wooden shjips - contact 12"

43 lymbic systym - shutter release

[chanman1128]

Not only do I think Life's a Dream - Built to Spill is the best song of 2009, I think it is one of the best songs ever.