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defrogYes, well, you saw this coming a mile away, didn’t you?
On a macro level, there probably wasn’t a lot good you can say about 2009, but one thing you can say is that – despite evidence to the contrary, and despite the death of one of the most important and influential singers of my generation – it wasn’t a bad year for music. At least if you compare it to the last few years.
As usual though, the main excitement came either from old hands or artists who crib from them. One interesting mini-trend was how some of the best stuff I heard this year came from unexpected places – like Mexico, Cambodia (by way of LA) and the Sahara Desert. That may be par for the course if yr a world music aficionado, and I don’t have anything against world music as a genre, but if you’d told me this time last year that a flamenco album would make my Top 3 albums, I’d have asked you to back that up with ten bucks.
And you’d be getting paid now.
There were some disappointments too, with acts like Cornershop, Bob Mould, Neil Young, Pet Shop Boys and Polysics turning in albums that were good but not awesome compared to previous LPs. Even Steve Earle’s tribute to Townes Van Zandt – a winner on paper – was good but somehow not as satisfying as two separate albums by either of them. And improbably, I ended up not buying the new U2 album – I’ll get it later, but it just didn’t seem that essential to have.
Overall, though, not a bad haul.
So here we go. And to build up the suspense (as well as save you the headache of reading all this at once), I’ll break this into three parts. Because I know you have better things to do.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought in 2009, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else. Also, I spent enough time on this without having to get all the links for these albums, so for more information, just Google whatever interests you, cos that's what I would have done.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2009 (#11-20)
11. Soulsavers, Broken (V2)
12. Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom (Anti-)
13. Eagles Of Death Metal, Heart On (Downtown Records/Rekords Records)
14. The Lovers, Pardon My French (Zoo Records)
15. Joe Gideon And The Shark, Harum Scarum (Bronzerat Records)
16. Super Furry Animals, Dark Days / Light Years (Pleasure Foxxx/Rough Trade)
17. The Bird And The Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future (Bluenote/EMI)
18. Mad Tea Party, Zombie Boogie EP (Whose That Records)
19. Girl In A Coma, Trio BC (Blackheart Records)
20. Franz Ferdinand, Tonight (Domino)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2009 (#11-20): EXTENDED PLAY
11. Soulsavers
Broken (V2) Third album from UK producers Rich Machin and Ian Glover. I’m not familiar with them, and might not have bothered to check them out if not for a tip from bedsitter23 that they had Mark Lanegan onboard for lead vocals. It’s pretty captivating and strikingly guitar-driven for “electronica”. And dark, yes. If spaghetti Westerns ever make a comeback, this could be the post-mod soundtrack.
12. Tom Waits
Glitter and Doom (Anti-) Waits’ third live album, this one documents his 2008 tour of the same name. It’s not as intimate as Nighthawks at the Diner, but Waits’ gift as a consummate showman is still in full force. That said, the real highlight is the bonus disc of the tall tales he spins between songs – brilliant stuff, though I confess I’d rather he mixed them in with the songs rather than separate them all on one disc, which is just one track that makes it sound like Tom talking for 35 minutes straight. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind.
13. Eagles Of Death Metal
Heart On (Downtown Records/Rekords Records) Third album from Josh Homme's 70s sleaze-rock side project with more songs about dancing, sex, selling yr soul to the Devil and (yes) masturbation. Willfully dumb (the title is a dead giveaway, really), so a sense of humor is required. But it’s as much fun to listen to as it probably was to make.
14. The Lovers
Pardon My French (Zoo Records) Easily the most peculiar album I bought this year – a French couple from Sheffield doing electronica-enhanced Europop burlesque tunes, complete with French accents and stereotypes. With contributions from Jarvis Cocker, even. Strange but charming second album – fans of Europop, Pizzicato 5 and Trio will not be disappointed.
15. Joe Gideon And The Shark
Harum Scarum (Bronzerat Records) Debut from Gideon and sister Viva, both formerly of Bikini Atoll, performing strange voodoo blues rock of some kind that’s mainly a vehicle for Gideon’s strange tales of mental illness, arson, road trips and murder. Not quite Nick Cave, PJ Harvey or Gun Club (and definitely not White Stripes), but then it doesn’t try to be.
16. Super Furry Animals
Dark Days / Light Years (Pleasure Foxxx/Rough Trade) I’m off and on with Super Furry Animals – the louder they get, the more I like them. Their last couple of albums didn’t really grab me, but this – their ninth – hooked me with the right blend of riffs, harmonies and experimental oddities that make a good SFA experience. At least for me.
17. The Bird And The Bee
Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future (Bluenote/EMI) Second album from Inara George and Greg Kurstin, who trade in alt-lounge-pop, a tricky genre in that you have to pay just enough tribute to the likes of Burt Bacharach without becoming them. The results are a little mixed, but George’s distant vocal style intrigues me, and the lyrics shine when they focus on specific ideas like David Lee Roth or dance songs that ask you nicely to participate.
18. Mad Tea Party
Zombie Boogie EP (Whose That Records) Ukuleles were all the rage on the Internet in 2009. This EP from rockabilly band Mad Tea Party stands out mainly for having a song about zombies, but the whole EP is good stomping fun – though I’m still undecided on their cover of Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra”. Also notable in that this is the first album I’ve ever paid money for as a digital download. (It was a name yr price thing with a minimum price of $3.95 – I gave them $5 for it. Take that, stupid record labels who think music fans want to rip off musicians.)
19. Girl In A Coma
Trio BC (Blackheart Records) Second album from San Antonio, TX trio who wear their Smiths influence on their sleeves without being a Smiths tribute band. The songs range from heavy to dream-like, and are occasionally hard to categorize. To be honest, I’m still not quite sure what to make of them, but they’ve kept my interest enough to make this list.
20. Franz Ferdinand
Tonight (Domino) Third album from Scottish band that had its work cut out for it after releasing a good debut and a brilliant second album. This one, which added keyboards to their post-punk sound, took awhile to grow on me – it didn’t seem to have the urgency or cleverness of the second, and felt more like the hangover after a great party. It still does, but after a few rotations on the iPod I found myself getting into it more than I did at first listen.
Up next:the Top 10! The technical awards!
Bring yr guitars,
This is dF
On a macro level, there probably wasn’t a lot good you can say about 2009, but one thing you can say is that – despite evidence to the contrary, and despite the death of one of the most important and influential singers of my generation – it wasn’t a bad year for music. At least if you compare it to the last few years.
As usual though, the main excitement came either from old hands or artists who crib from them. One interesting mini-trend was how some of the best stuff I heard this year came from unexpected places – like Mexico, Cambodia (by way of LA) and the Sahara Desert. That may be par for the course if yr a world music aficionado, and I don’t have anything against world music as a genre, but if you’d told me this time last year that a flamenco album would make my Top 3 albums, I’d have asked you to back that up with ten bucks.
And you’d be getting paid now.
There were some disappointments too, with acts like Cornershop, Bob Mould, Neil Young, Pet Shop Boys and Polysics turning in albums that were good but not awesome compared to previous LPs. Even Steve Earle’s tribute to Townes Van Zandt – a winner on paper – was good but somehow not as satisfying as two separate albums by either of them. And improbably, I ended up not buying the new U2 album – I’ll get it later, but it just didn’t seem that essential to have.
Overall, though, not a bad haul.
So here we go. And to build up the suspense (as well as save you the headache of reading all this at once), I’ll break this into three parts. Because I know you have better things to do.
DISCLAIMER: Based on music I actually bought in 2009, and therefore a useless metric for everyone else. Also, I spent enough time on this without having to get all the links for these albums, so for more information, just Google whatever interests you, cos that's what I would have done.
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2009 (#11-20)
11. Soulsavers, Broken (V2)
12. Tom Waits, Glitter and Doom (Anti-)
13. Eagles Of Death Metal, Heart On (Downtown Records/Rekords Records)
14. The Lovers, Pardon My French (Zoo Records)
15. Joe Gideon And The Shark, Harum Scarum (Bronzerat Records)
16. Super Furry Animals, Dark Days / Light Years (Pleasure Foxxx/Rough Trade)
17. The Bird And The Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future (Bluenote/EMI)
18. Mad Tea Party, Zombie Boogie EP (Whose That Records)
19. Girl In A Coma, Trio BC (Blackheart Records)
20. Franz Ferdinand, Tonight (Domino)
TOP 20 DEF LPs/EPs/DOWNLOADS OF 2009 (#11-20): EXTENDED PLAY
11. Soulsavers
Broken (V2) Third album from UK producers Rich Machin and Ian Glover. I’m not familiar with them, and might not have bothered to check them out if not for a tip from bedsitter23 that they had Mark Lanegan onboard for lead vocals. It’s pretty captivating and strikingly guitar-driven for “electronica”. And dark, yes. If spaghetti Westerns ever make a comeback, this could be the post-mod soundtrack.
12. Tom Waits
Glitter and Doom (Anti-) Waits’ third live album, this one documents his 2008 tour of the same name. It’s not as intimate as Nighthawks at the Diner, but Waits’ gift as a consummate showman is still in full force. That said, the real highlight is the bonus disc of the tall tales he spins between songs – brilliant stuff, though I confess I’d rather he mixed them in with the songs rather than separate them all on one disc, which is just one track that makes it sound like Tom talking for 35 minutes straight. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind.
13. Eagles Of Death Metal
Heart On (Downtown Records/Rekords Records) Third album from Josh Homme's 70s sleaze-rock side project with more songs about dancing, sex, selling yr soul to the Devil and (yes) masturbation. Willfully dumb (the title is a dead giveaway, really), so a sense of humor is required. But it’s as much fun to listen to as it probably was to make.
14. The Lovers
Pardon My French (Zoo Records) Easily the most peculiar album I bought this year – a French couple from Sheffield doing electronica-enhanced Europop burlesque tunes, complete with French accents and stereotypes. With contributions from Jarvis Cocker, even. Strange but charming second album – fans of Europop, Pizzicato 5 and Trio will not be disappointed.
15. Joe Gideon And The Shark
Harum Scarum (Bronzerat Records) Debut from Gideon and sister Viva, both formerly of Bikini Atoll, performing strange voodoo blues rock of some kind that’s mainly a vehicle for Gideon’s strange tales of mental illness, arson, road trips and murder. Not quite Nick Cave, PJ Harvey or Gun Club (and definitely not White Stripes), but then it doesn’t try to be.
16. Super Furry Animals
Dark Days / Light Years (Pleasure Foxxx/Rough Trade) I’m off and on with Super Furry Animals – the louder they get, the more I like them. Their last couple of albums didn’t really grab me, but this – their ninth – hooked me with the right blend of riffs, harmonies and experimental oddities that make a good SFA experience. At least for me.
17. The Bird And The Bee
Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future (Bluenote/EMI) Second album from Inara George and Greg Kurstin, who trade in alt-lounge-pop, a tricky genre in that you have to pay just enough tribute to the likes of Burt Bacharach without becoming them. The results are a little mixed, but George’s distant vocal style intrigues me, and the lyrics shine when they focus on specific ideas like David Lee Roth or dance songs that ask you nicely to participate.
18. Mad Tea Party
Zombie Boogie EP (Whose That Records) Ukuleles were all the rage on the Internet in 2009. This EP from rockabilly band Mad Tea Party stands out mainly for having a song about zombies, but the whole EP is good stomping fun – though I’m still undecided on their cover of Steve Miller’s “Abracadabra”. Also notable in that this is the first album I’ve ever paid money for as a digital download. (It was a name yr price thing with a minimum price of $3.95 – I gave them $5 for it. Take that, stupid record labels who think music fans want to rip off musicians.)
19. Girl In A Coma
Trio BC (Blackheart Records) Second album from San Antonio, TX trio who wear their Smiths influence on their sleeves without being a Smiths tribute band. The songs range from heavy to dream-like, and are occasionally hard to categorize. To be honest, I’m still not quite sure what to make of them, but they’ve kept my interest enough to make this list.
20. Franz Ferdinand
Tonight (Domino) Third album from Scottish band that had its work cut out for it after releasing a good debut and a brilliant second album. This one, which added keyboards to their post-punk sound, took awhile to grow on me – it didn’t seem to have the urgency or cleverness of the second, and felt more like the hangover after a great party. It still does, but after a few rotations on the iPod I found myself getting into it more than I did at first listen.
Up next:
Bring yr guitars,
This is dF
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2010-01-07 01:40 pm (UTC)I am the same on/off with Super Furry Animals, there're some good experiments in this one and would be on my year-end list too, if I had listened to enough new albums to make one.
no subject
on 2010-01-08 12:48 pm (UTC)