Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in!

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately. I've just been busy settling into a new place in the indie mecca that is Brooklyn. YES, I've finally moved to Brooklyn! And I'm having trouble hiding my elation, It's only been three days but I've fallen in love with my neighborhood (and I'm not even living in a trendy area, take that Williamsburg!), have a part-time job lined up and most excitedly am starting grad school (WOO shout to Library and Information sciences!).

(These are the pretty houses down the block.)

And given this crazy awesome transition, there is only one song that fits the mood. The Avett Brothers "I and Love and You" is a siren song to the city I now call home.

I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in
Are you aware the shape I'm in
My hands they shake my head it spins
Ah Brooklyn Brooklyn take me in

Cover of the year, I'm calling it now.

You're probably aware of the PANTS ON THE GROUND phenomenon. And if you're not get yourself acquainted ASAP:

But let's take it a step further and imagine Neil Young covering that catchy little ditty. That's what Jimmy Fallon did, and man is it downright poignant:

a lot of bands would benefit from only covering songs from the labrynth

Oh man, I'd laugh if this wasn't exactly how I explain music to people ALL THE TIME. (Also, I would totally buy that album)

The Rural Alberta Advantage @ TheMercury Lounge (early show) 1/9/10

In less than two days I am moving to Brooklyn, which is probably why the Rural Alberta Advantage's debut album Hometowns is so appealing to me right now. Like the title implies there is a great emphasis on place and that paradoxical loving/loathing relationship you cultivate over time with the space from which you come. It's about moving on and out but also knowing that no matter where you go for better or for worse, you can never quite escape where you've been.

I can't think of a band that covers this lofty territory with more verve, rhythm and sincerity than these guys. They simply ooze urgency from Nils Edenloff's earnest nasal bleats (it would be irresponsible to compare his voice to Jeff Mangum, since no one sounds that singular, however there are inflections that recall his trademark yelp) to the the raucous, pounding percussion. I wrote waaaay more about why I adore their album here on Crawdaddy if you care to read my fan girl gushing.

I took a break from packing to catch them live last Saturday, suffice it say the show did not disappoint. Also they covered the theme song to a children's show I never heard of called "The Littlest Hobo" (perhaps it's a Canadian thing?) It's apparently about a homeless German Shepard that solves problems and fights crime. If anyone has a recording of their performance, hit us up in the comments.

Oh and hey, I nabbed a setlist:
"Tornado" is a new song about, well a tornado. Along with that song about a mudslide, this band has a real knack for writing rock songs about Canadian natural disasters.

The Dethbridge in Lethbridge - The Rural Alberta Advantage
Don't Haunt This Place - The Rural Alberta Advantage

Best Anti-drug PSA ever.

Michael Cera freaks out on drugs with Islands, enjoy.



No You Don't - Islands

tldr; I owe the NYC taper a muffin basket or something...

So, and this is going to shock you guy seriously, but when it comes to writing about music I'm a gusher. If I love an album I am incapable of writing calmly or with any kind of reserve, it's all 'best album EVA!!!!' and 'oh my god I may as well stab my ears out right now because this it it guys this is the pinnacle of all music!!!! On the other hand, if something doesn't seem that great to me I don't say anything. It's not that I'm too nice, it's just that days have finite hours so why waste time writing about something I don't love more than anything ever right at that second. (Seriously, you know girls who meet a guy one day and start planning the wedding the next? I'm like that with music. I remember fellow VKer Jess made me a mix cd with a Herman Dune song on it and by the end of the weekend I had tracked down their entire discography...) And anyway, there are more than enough indie blogs out there willing to rip strips outta stuff, so I'll leave it up to them.

Anyway, this is why, despite making no secret of my crazy fan girl love, I never did a post about the latest Mountain Goats album, 'The Life of the World to Come.' I didn't actually like it. This was very hard for me guys, seriously. I've devoted quite a few years of my life now to loving the Mountain Goats, I seriously was unsure of how to proceed.

First, there was denial. I told myself I did like it. Sure, I'd listened to it barely twice, but I loved it, honest! I couldn't bring myself to put it on my best of 09 list, which is why the demo takes made it on instead.

Then there was fear. Maybe I just didn't get it? Maybe the problem was me? I remember when people would bag older tMG release Get Lonely and I would chuckle a self satisfied chuckle because clearly these noobs just didn't understand the album. Was I now a noob?

My response to this fear was to soldier myself in an armour made of indie snobbery. I only liked Darnielle's older stuff, that was all. He'd, like, totally sold out. I listened to '97s Full Force Galesburg (oh, guys, seriously this album is so perfect it makes my heart hurt a little every time I listen....) on repeat for days. I convinced myself that everything Darnielle had done post All Hail West Texas (the last of the boom box albums, Tallahassee was the next release and it was recorded in a real live studio as was every album following) wasn't actually that great.

But you know what? Mostly I was just sad. My life has taken some hugely unexpected twists over the last few years and my unconditional love for the mountain goats was one of the few constants. I loved every god damned song JD had ever written. Every. God. Damned. One. It was hard admitted to myself that this newest album just didn't work for me. It reminds me of something my friend said when her all time favourite band, the Smashing Pumpkins, was about to release a new alum. She said she was scared, because what if she didn't like it? It seems that it should be the other way around, the artist should be the one scared over whether or not we'll like it, but I knew exactly how she felt.

I could end this blog post here and it would be a bittersweet little essay of sorts dealing with the emotional ties we forge with music. But first I'd like to tell you about what happened this morning. I was working on some writing and had a tMG bootleg playing in the background. I reached a chapter break and paused while I considered what to write next when the song that was playing caught my attention. The quiet beauty of the song struck me, I mean really struck me. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was nearly moved to tears. It was 'Genesis 30:3,' track six on The Life Of The World To Come, and I don't know if the strong emotion I was feeling was on account of the song, or because maybe there was room in my heart for this new album yet.

Will I grow to love The Life of the World to come as much as I love Full Force Galesburg and The Sunset Tree? Right now I can't say, but I think there's a good chance I will, and it will be all the more sweeter for hard road I had to take to get there.

The bootleg that inspired this epiphany? The ever awesome NYC taper's recording of the January 09 Webster Hall show. Amazing sound quality, and JD's performance is full of passion, even for him. It can be downloaded here.

First Video that Will/Should Go Viral!

Check out this AWESOME Genesis cover!!



If for some reason you don't believe me that they're the new "Reynaldos," then please preapare to be proven wrong when you watch Viral Video Film School on InfoMania!Because Brett Erlich is a genius AND a cutie pie.
(Thursdays @ 10 pm on Current TV)

The first album to love or loathe of 2010

Upon exactly one listen, I can tell you the second half is a lot stronger and "Giving Up the Gun" is the best song on here.
Stream Vampire Weekend's Contra in its entirety at the band's MySpace HERE.

And download Cousins

Headed for the Future!

Happy 2010, VK readers! Here's your collection of songs to kick the year (and decade) off right:

Neil Diamond - Headed For the Future.mp3

Flight of the Conchords - Robots.mp3

Zager and Evans - In the Year 2525.mp3

Death Cab for Cutie - New Year.m4a

Jeff Buckley - New Year's Prayer (remix).mp3

Massive Attack - Future Proof.mp3

Future Bible Heroes - Doris Daytheearthstoodstill.mp3

Elvis Costello - Good Year For the Roses.mp3

Tori Amos - Pretty Good Year.mp3

Sage Francis - Hell of a Year.mp3

Ten Years After - I'd Love to Change the World.mp3

Jens Lekman - Firecracker (On Our Way to a New Year's Party).mp3

U2 - New Year's Day (live Under a Blood Red Sky).mp3

Matt & Kim - No More Long Years.mp3

Nine Inch Nails - The Beginning of the End.mp3

Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years.mp3

Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone.mp3

Tom Waits - So It Goes.mp3

the Mountain Goats - This Year (live @ Last Happy Night of Your Life).mp3

19 tracks
1:16:57 total time

So, let's talk about the Aughts

What follows is my excessively long list of the best albums and otherwise from the decade that began with 2-0-0. I will spare you the links and the pictures. Let's start with not quite ringing in the millenium in the Year Two Kay. (I danced naked around a bonfire. What did you do?)

IMHO, the best albums of 2000 were as follows:
05/02/00 clem snide - your favorite music
09/05/00 ryan adams - heartbreaker
12/05/00 the "o brother, where art thou?" soundtrack

Not too long thereafter, I went through the most painful break-up of my adult life. I remember waking up every morning in my slummy studio apartment on Collins Avenue in South Beach, from which I could just barely see the ocean, and turning on the television, probably to VH1, (this was right before I discovered Buffy on FX), and listening to the hit singles of that summer, e.g., Nelly Furtado's "Like a Bird," but the song that stuck with me the longest was Coldplay's "Yellow." Their first album, along with the others listed below, helped me make it through that year. Dashboard deserves a special shout-out. Nothing allows you laugh at your own pain so much as a caricature of it, and "The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most" is easily the most amusing album of the decade, in that regard.

anatomy of a breakup:
11/07/00 coldplay - parachutes
03/20/01 dashboard confessional - the places you have come to fear the most
06/19/01 gorillaz - s/t
09/11/01 ben folds - rockin' the suburbs

In rolls 2001, and with it, another Clem Snide gem and a brilliant little piece from Mark Linkous' Sparklehorse. Not to mention the breaking out of a something-something red-and-white-and-black-all-over team called the White Stripes. I could post pictures of my Meg White Halloween costume from that year, but they're really far too embarassing.

2001
06/19/01 clem snide - the ghost of fashion
07/03/01 sparklehorse - it's a wonderful life
07/03/01 the white stripes - white blood cells

And then there were my single-and-loving-it days. I bought myself a used 1995 Saab 900S convertible for $10,000 - best car ever, RIP Saab - and commenced to painting the town red.

music for driving around south beach in a convertible:
08/01/00 the glands - s/t
06/19/01 the shins - oh inverted world
03/05/02 ben kweller – sha sha
05/06/03 the long winters - when i pretend to fall
06/03/03 dean & britta – l’avventura
06/10/03 fountains of wayne - welcome interstate managers - The first three tracks on this album, strung together, are classics.

In rolls 2002. These albums are the ones I judge to be the best from it, but I hadn't quite discovered them yet. Miami being what it is, although I had immersed myself in the alternative night dance scene thanks to Poplife, I didn't get back to music until I discovered Spinner in 2003.

2002
01/22/02 okkervil river - don't fall in love with everyone you see
05/21/02 the decemberists - castaways and cutouts
09/24/02 iron & wine – the creek drank the cradle

And with the discovery of Spinner, came the Mountain Goats. What a revelation songs like "No Children" and "Source Decay" were to one such as me, so broken, and in so much pain (yes, still). Although I had rocked out on a Somerville balcony in 1998-1999 to a dear friend's acoustic rendition of "Cubs in Five," I didn't really discover the Mountain Goats until I heard them/him on Spinner in 2003-2004. And the rest is history.

on this blog, the mountain goats get their own category, part 1:
02/19/02 - all hail west texas
11/05/02 - tallahassee

So here I was, back into music, just in time to pick up Sun Kil Moon's "Ghosts of the Great Highway" and Clem Snide's "Soft Spot" at the Coral Gables Barnes & Noble.

2003
07/01/03 sufjan stevens - greetings from michigan: the great lakes state
11/04/03 sun kil moon - ghosts of the great highway

And then, luck being a lady and all, I met my husband (where else?) on the internets, back in the glory days, when the personals were free, and the people on them still interesting.

falling in love again:
02/18/03 the postal service - give up
06/17/03 clem snide - soft spot
10/07/03 death cab for cutie - transatlantacism - Don't think we don't all remember seeing that poster on your wall, Seth Cohen! And don't forget the group sing-a-long to "Transatlantacism" on Six Feet Under. Claire needs you so much closer.

Although meeting The Resident Photographer heralded an era of new mergers and births, there were of course deaths to follow. The best albums of 2004 kicked off that sadness beautifully.

2004
03/23/04 iron & wine – our endless numbered days
09/14/04 arcade fire – funeral

Not to mention a few more amazing entries from John Darnielle & Co.

on this blog, the mountain goats get their own category, part 2:
02/03/04 - we shall all be healed
04/26/05 - the sunset tree

The world and I got more raucous in 2005. I remember hearing the dulcet tones of the Hold Steady's Craig Finn for the first time, streaming out of Newbury Comics on Newbury Street in Boston. I knew then that I liked it, but I wasn't quite sure if I was *allowed,* but of course I was. And who could ignore the band-room beauty of Sufjan Stevens?

2005
05/03/05 the hold steady - separation sunday
07/05/05 sufjan stevens – illinoise

And then there was my dive into "social networking" on the internets. One thing that comes with the pod life, i.e., being married with children, is a limited social scene. Lucky(?) for us, we have the internets. And the internets are willing to share.

things i learned to love on the internets:
05/03/05 mike doughty - haughty melodic
09/27/05 ludo - broken bride

It was in the latter half of this decade that things started getting really big, so big that I couldn't hardly keep up or keep track anymore. F'r'instance, everytime a TV on the Radio tune happens onto my iPod, I think, "Who *is* this? This is really good!" And, every time, it's TV on the Radio.

2006
07/03/06 tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
10/03/06 the hold steady - boys & girls in america

In 2007, my best friend died. That same week, I was introduced to "Emotionalism."

Andrew Bird came later.

2007
03/15/07 the avett brothers - emotionalism
03/20/07 andrew bird - armchair apocrypha

2007 was also a fantastic year for soundtracks. I'm sure my love for musicals has not gone unnoticed here, but the soundtracks of 2007 are worthy contenders in their own regard.

notable soundtracks:
05/22/07 once
09/14/07 across the universe
12/25/07 juno

It was in 2008 that I was invited to join this venerable blog. Although my favorite albums from that year didn't really wear in until this year, I continue to believe that they are genius.

2008
03/03/08 nick cave - dig lazarus dig
05/20/08 islands - arm's way - This took on special meaning for me when I was diagnosed with a melanoma on my left forearm this year. The recision scar, it's HOT.

And these are my (non-musical) favorites from 2009. "Merriweather Post Pavilion" is Animal Collective's genius at its most distilled and palatable, and "My Maudlin Career" is just delicious.

2009
01/20/09 animal collective - merriweather post pavilion
04/21/09 camera obscura - my maudlin career

So what were your favorites of the Aughts, O readers?

Play '09 off, Keyboard Cat.

An apt farewell for the last year of the Naughts.



See you in 2010!

Top albums & songs of 2009 (June edition)

Here's a rundown on my year in music:

Best/favorite albums:

Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come
Philippians 3:20-21.mp3


A.C. Newman - Get Guilty
Falling Over.mp3


Andrew Bird - Noble Beast/Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)
You Woke Me Up!.mp3


Flaming Lips - Embryonic
The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine.mp3


Various Artists - Weezer: The 8-bit Album
OxygenStar - In the Garage.mp3


Islands - Vapours
Disarming the Car Bomb.mp3


Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
Teeth.mp3


Morrissey - Years of Refusal
Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris.mp3


Sufjan Stevens - The BQE
.mp3


The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than The Stars EP
.mp3

Perhaps no surprises here, but it's been such a busy year for me that I've barely had time for my ears to catch much more than this.

Contestants for the Annual "Sincey" Award:
Jeremih - Birthday Sex.m4a
Lily Allen - 22.mp3
Soulja Boy - Gucci Bandanna.mp3
Shakira - Loba.mp3
Spanish versions are ALWAYS better than the English versions.

"Party in the U.S.A." will instead be represented in the category of "best mash-ups of 2009":
Hathbanger - Party and Bullshit (In the USA) (Notorious B.I.G. vs. Miley Cyrus).mp3
Tor - I Like The Tallest Man (Grad Puba vs. Sufjan Stevens).mp3

Excited for upcoming:
Peter Peter Hughes' "Fangio, Juan Fangio" album
Sufjan's new album to be out "early next year." (Nope, not a state album!)
Whatever Jens Lekman can do with two turntables and a microphone

I love Wayne's hair!

This is a real jewel. Here's a 40 minute-long video interview with a 26 year old Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips from 1988. I was 3 years old then and as cool a toddler as I was, I was too busy with Big Bird to care about the Lips. Whodathunk that 21 years later this band is STILL chugging along just as vital as ever and releasing epic, highly relevant albums. Enjoy!

Wayne Coyne Interview 1988 from Chris Buly on Vimeo.

He not like other guys, he coming from the sky

Keyboard Cat was probably the most viral video of 2009, but before we let him play the year off, let me share one more music video for your consideration:



SUDANESE RAPPERS!
Now that my love of Kanye has fallen through, I only hope that Bangs will be in attendance for next year's Grammy's. Now if only there was a mash-up of this song and "Gucci Bandana" by Soulja Boy/Shawty-Lo and I will be in 2009 rap heaven.

Did your holiday party have a Neutral Milk Hotel cake??

So as you may or may not know, Julian Koster (of Neutral Milk Hotel(!!!!) and The Music Tapes fame) is gracious enough to perform Christmas carols in random strangers home across the country with his magical saw. And magical it is. Along with two of his bandmates and a set of plastic nutcrackers, illuminated sheep and strands of holiday lights, they play the classics (sing-along fave Jingles Bells, the majestic O Tannenbaum) along with a couple of originals. With an ethereal hum, the saws, all of which have names mind you, sung their little hearts out (Believe me these saws have hearts, just as much as they have teeth). As you might imagine, seeing an indie-pop legend in the comfy confines of your friend's living room is a pretty awesome intimate experience. Especially given the old-school decorations and endearing holiday stories. (Julian's imitation of his grandfather spinning a yarn about an old man eating his hat was downright adorable).

Get a sense of the magic with this video taken at a caroling event last year:

And honestly the Elephant 6 collective makes a much better party theme than ugly sweaters. I mean did your holiday bash have an In the Aeroplane Over the Sea cake?! Or King of Carrot cake cupcakes? I think not.
Special thanks to Tom Williams at Radio Exile for hosting. All photos by Sarah Mulligan. Check out even more at her flickr page.

A competition! Oh ho! (Win Death Cab swag plus a mix!)

Oh hi there readers! So here's the skinny: Way back in October for my birthday my awesome real life buddy Inez bought me, among other cool gifts, Death Cab For Cutie's 'open door' ep. But! Disaster! I already had a copy of that particular ep, which I loved very much. If two copies could double the loved I'd be set, but sadly it doesn't work that way. Which mean I appear to have an extra copy of this ep, just sitting there and not getting to fufill its destiny of being played.

So I though we'd hold a little competition, and the winner could get Death Cab's 'open door' and, even cooler, a custom made mix cd! (I haven't actually checked that Inez is cool with me giving away her gift, so, uh, if you're reading this nez and thinking, 'oh my god, megan is such a bitch I hate her,' then just remember who keeps you stocked up with might angus burgers and mcflurrys, alright? Also, Inez, you could totally enter and try to win your gift back, wouldn't that be delightfully postmodern? Or something?)

Anyway! To win all you have to do is download the 2:20min-ish clip I made and identify the songs you hear within. Long term listeners will remember we did something like this a while ago, and it seemed to work pretty well. There's 19 songs to be identified, whoever gets the most wins! You can either e-mail us (volume.knob@hotmail.com) your answers, or you can answer in the comments (I won't make them visable till the contest is over).

You have until, ummm, let's say saturday Australia time (which is friday for most of you living in the past dudes and dudettes) to get your answers in. Remember, if you win, you have to be cool with letting me know your address. I promise not to stalk you. Much.

Ok, go!

19 track totally awesome clip thing for competition winningness (remember, only sad pancake hating fart heads google for answers. although good luck googling la la la la).

I feel I should go and buy a natty vest in celebration

"Fangio, Juan Fangio" paper cut-out art by Trystan Nielsen

From the ever awesome Fayettenam Records website:

"Some exciting news: early in 2010 Fayettenam will be releasing FANGIO, a new album by Peter Peter Hughes. You may know Peter Peter (minus one "Peter") as bass player for the Mountain Goats and Nothing Painted Blue, or as the frontman of the late, great DiskothiQ. FANGIO is pretty different from anything by those bands. It's an LP-length electro-pop paean to deceased Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio. Yes it is. It's also smart, catchy, novelistic in its detail and really great.

FANGIO will be out on LP and digital download, and will be preceded by a 7" single. More details soon..."

I can remember playing the lo-fi masterpiece 'the one hundred thousand songs of peter peter hughes' (which, fyi you can download for free from PPH's website, so go do so now) on repeat as I took the bus back and forth from uni when I first moved out of home. To this day the sound of those songs brings instantly to mind the memory of traffic lights blurred by rain splattered bus windows, and the heavy weight of homesickness in my belly. I am so excited for this new album, its not even funny.

Working Up To It: Twofer Also-Ran's of the Aughts

I've compiled a largely personal, largely random, and mostly just large list of the albums that I consider to be the best of the aughts. And this isn't it! Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of solid candidates that didn't quite make the final cut, so, by way of practice, I offer them up to you here, my five also-ran's of the last ten years, in loose chronological order.

---

JACK JOHNSON



Jack Johnson's "Brushfire Fairytales" & "On & On," released on January 29, 2002, and May 6, 2003, respectively, are a pair of lovely, ramshackle albums crafted from Mr. Johnson's presumably low-key, pre-fame life in Hawaii. They are thematically surfer/hippie, anti-progress, anti-consumerist. "Symbol in my Driveway" rivals Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz" for best snap! on those who live and die by status symbols, and "Flake" is an unqualified classic.

Flake - Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales
Symbol in my Driveway - Jack Johnson - On & On

---

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT



Released a scant two weeks after "Brushfire Fairytales," Rufus Wainwright's "Poses" is very nearly its antithesis. Overproduced, metropolitan and glorious, "Poses" is a fantastic rumination on the many facets of an eminently talented man. "Want One," which followed a year and a half later, pushes the theatre envelope even further. With tracks like "Oh What a World" and "My Phone's On Vibrate For You," "Want One" is self-referential and fun to the extreme.

The Consort - Rufus Wainwright - Poses
Oh What a World - Rufus Wainwright - Want One

---

KATHLEEN EDWARDS



Kathleen Edwards owned a little piece of my heart in the mid-Aughts. With "Failer," released in January of 2003, and "Back to Me," which followed in March of 2005, this alt-country Canadienne explored the timeless territory of love & loneliness, breakups and other-womanhood, with just the right amounts of strength and sadness mixed in.

One More Song the Radio Won't Like - Kathleen Edwards - Failer
Somewhere Else - Kathleen Edwards - Back to Me

---

THE WEAKERTHANS



Although I didn't discover them until the September 2007 release of "Reunion Tour," The Weakerthans had of course been in action for years before then. John K. Samson pushes all my buttons, male singer/songwriter wise, and, though I usually prefer the earlier works of any given artist, 2003's "Reconstruction Site" and 2007's "Reunion Tour" both contain enough gems to keep me convinced I'll never have to look backwards for this band's best work. "Civil Twilight," in particular, has become something of a personal anthem for me, and would definitely make my top tracks of the decade list, should I ever decide to make one.

One Great City! - The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site
Civil Twilight - The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour

---

WHY?



I can't quite figure out how Why? got bumped off my Best of the Aughts list. "Elephant Eyelash" and "Alopecia" are two of the strongest, most unique records I've heard this decade, but here we are just the same. We've twice trekked to see the brothers Wolf, and have yet to be disappointed by same, although "Alopecia" and the "Eskimo Snow" produced two very different shows. Yoni Wolf in particular is starting to look a bit like a first term president, as though the pressures of success are wearing on him. I'm just happy they're still producing.

Gemini (Birthday Song) - Why? - Elephant Eyelash
These Few Presidents - Why? - Alopecia

Best Of Oh Nine: Megan Edition

Do you guys realise it's been ten years since every time you turned on the radio that 'we're gonna party like it's 1999' song was playing? I can not tell you how thankful I am that no 80s rockstar decided to write a song about '09. Could you just imagine the Bon Jovi ballad, 'it's already 09 and we still don't know what to call this crazy decade?'

In the absense of that smash hit, let me share with you now my favourite music of the year that I had to make do with:

5. The Love Language - The Love Language
I blogged about this one already, a few months back, and it's continued to grow on me ever since then. This has got to be one of the most underrated, or at least underexposed, albums of the year. Listening to this album is like catching a sonic glimpse of another time. Not the past, neccessarily, these melodic, fuzzy little tunes could just as easily be coming from a future where waltzing is back in vogue. (Oh, wouldn't that be lovely?)
Night Dogs


4. Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
Most pleasantly surprising album of 09, for me anyway. The obbssevive completionist who dwells in my soul insisted that I buy this album on account of Conor Oberst's presense in it, despite the fact that I wasn't hugely impressed with his past two non Bright Eyes releases. (Not that they were bad, they just left me all... eh). But this! Such a beautifully crafted meloncholy buy stubbornly hopeful little album! From the obvious single 'Say Please' to the classicly Oberstian 'Man Named Truth,' I loved every second of it. Having such big solo personalities (M. Ward and Jim James or Yim Yames or Y. Diddy or whoever he is now being the other two, well and Mike Mogis but outside of Bright Eyes I don't think he's so well known) could easily have ended in an ego-copalypse. It's a credit to all of them that this thing turned out so well.
His Masters Voice


3. The Killers - Live at Albert Hall
I have loved me some Killers this year. I'd have put Day & Age on the list, but that came out at the end of 08, even though I didn't come to really appriciate it this year. And in case it wasn't until I saw the Killers live at V Fest in April that I shifted from 'oh, yeah the Killers, they're pretty ok,' to 'wow, the Killers, yeah those guys are awesome.' See, I'm used to indie music, where the music is delicate and often restrained. All the bobbastic synth of Killers distracted me from the fact that, woah, Brandon Flowers can actually sing. He did this accoustic version of Sam's Town at the festival and I was just blown away. Plus, he has a southern accent and you know how I am with accents.
For Reasons Unknown (live at the Albert Hall)


2. The Mountain Goats - The Life of the World in Flux
No, I've not made an embarresing error and got the name of The Life of the World to Come wrong. The Life of the World in Flux is the bonus album that you got if you ordered the album from London's Rough Trade store. (See, when the new mountain goats album gets released two days before your birthday you can ask to have it expensively shipped across the glove to you!) With every album the goats get a little more polished, which isn't neccessarily a bad thing. But sometimes I miss the crackle and yowl of ye olde mountain goats, you know? Which it is why the demo and outtakes version of the new album has made my list in place of the album proper. Just Mr. JD and his voice and his guitar and his genius.
Psalms 40-2


1. The Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
I simply can not say enough good things about this album. I am baffled, BAFFLED, as to why not everyone is raving about it at every chance they get. I love every song, from the first note to the last. I'm not kidding, there is not one moment of this album that I don't wholeheartedly love. You know how many other albums I can say that about? Two: Aoeroplane Over the Sea and The Sunset Tree. Seriously. I LOVE this album. I love that each song seems to almost tell the part of a larger epic narrative that I can almost but not quite grasp. I love the imagary, the atmosphere, the sweeping epic moments and the quiter ones, the recurring images and themes, everything everything everything. Seriously people. You know what, you should go elsewhere for information about this album, because you not going to hear anything other than 'buy it! it's awesome! why haven't you bought it yet!'
You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)

Owning Up, 2009

I've spent a fair portion of my free time in the past few months working on my Best of 2009 list for publication on this 'ere blog. From a semi-finalists list of about thirty, few of which would probably come as a surprise to you, I've underlined, struck through, italicized, put in bold, categorized and recategorized those albums that I perceived to be this year's contenders. I've listened and relistened to them, both critically and distractedly. And I strongly suspect that I spent more money on music in 2009 than in all of the previous years combined.

But Jess's list, below, is either just as good or better than the list I would have come up with, anyway, and what struck me most about her list was that she based it, not on best, but on most played. And it occurred to me that "most played" is as good an indicator of best as any other metric. And the bottom line truth of the matter is, when it comes to most played albums, in 2009, by me, they are as follows:

JULIE'S UNDISPUTED CHAMPION of 2009: GLEE

What can I say about these albums that hasn't already been said? Who knows? I have very little idea what's been said about them. I don't really want to know. I can't imagine that it's very good. I recognize that I'm a bit of a diehard true believer when it come to this show and the associated albums, but I just can't help it. Glee seems to me like such a special phenomenon. It's like the pop music back catalog has finally gotten big enough, and is finally meaningful enough to a large enough percentage of the population, to make this show, and the associated albums, more than the sum of its parts. Which is not to say that its parts aren't pretty fantastic in their own right. Lea Michele's voice is as clear as a bell, and Jane Lynch, I mean, COME ON. Jane Lynch! That being said, I'm not going to try to persuade you if you're not already there. Glee is like Moulin Rouge. You either like it, or you don't. And, In 2009, I liked it waaaaay more than was strictly healthy.

JULIE'S 2009 RUNNER-UP: NEXT TO NORMAL



Something about this Tony-award winning musical must have struck a chord with me, because I spent most of the summer driving around with it on repeat. Again, I'm not going to prosthelytize it to the non-believers, but it touches on a lot of different issues that have really moved to the forefront in this generation, e.g., modern family, mental health, medication, and of course all the usual good stuff like love and loss. If you're in New York City, do me a favor and go see it, because I'm afraid I won't get there in time. And, if not, and you don't totally abhor all things Broadway, give it a listen sometime and enjoy.

Superboy and the Invisible Girl - Next to Normal OBCR