Best of '09

First off, on an unrelated-to-anything-musical note, there comes a time when the phrase "cold and flu season" goes from being a distant concept to an upper respiratory/dripping nose/scrambled head reality. Now is that time. So in a cold medicine haze, I'm going to plunge right into the humble task at hand: telling you the 10 best albums, 10 best songs, a few good movies, and 5 important music news stories of 2009. Oh and it'll be good, maybe because of the meds (or in spite of them...this fact remains to be seen!)!

2009's 10 Best Albums

Before I give you this list, I'll say this about the "album". Supposedly it's dying and/or dead, depending who you talk to. One of the top music news stories of '09, might just be Radiohead's Thom Yorke announcing that the band would no longer be focusing on making albums, but rather stick to singles. But now, so I hear, Radiohead IS working on an album, so what are you gonna do? Frankly I'm happy to hear this because a Radiohead album release creates as much buzz and usually delivers with more consistency than any big budget Hollywood blockbuster (although I hear Avatar is actually good, even though some of the previews make it look like it could have gone the way of Costner's epic failure, "Waterworld"). Albums are still relevant, maybe less so, but until I'm told otherwise, they're still around and still a huge marker of just how good a band is. There were lots of good ones this year, definitely.

My process isn't scientific. Basically, with the help of a scan through of my iTunes collection, I came up with a list of 17 albums that I consistently listened to this past year. I narrowed the list to 10 (with a couple of honorable mentions) and arranged them in a way that I felt makes sense. That is, sense in my mind. Lists as we all know, no matter how hard someone might try to convince you otherwise, are doomed to subjectivity. And, this will be a limited list as well. I haven't heard all of the albums of '09, so I may very well be missing one that I WOULD have made #1. I'll start with the following sub-heading under "Best albums of '09":

Bands/artists who released albums this year that I've heard great things ABOUT, but haven't actually heard:

Silversun Pickups
Passion Pit
Kid Sister
Ida Maria
Neko Case

Maybe the albums from the aforementioned artists would have made the list, maybe they wouldn't have--who the hell knows? I'd thought I'd at least give them a mention because I'd still like to hear them before long. I also haven't heard many that will undoubtedly make the pop charts top 10: Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, etc (although you tend to hear the songs off of these albums EVERYWHERE anyway, so you kind of get the idea what they're like). Not to be dismissive of pop music, I'm just probably not the best judge of it.

Top 10 Albums of 2009

10. David Bazan, "Curse Your Branches"

Previous to this outstanding collection of songs of a man in the midst of transition, David Bazan was known for being: A.) the main dude in the band Pedro the Lion and B.) a devout Christian. "Curse Your Branches" deals with the pain, struggle, and anger Bazan faced and continues to face as realized, "Hey, this whole religion thing just isn't workin' out for me." As a friend of mine describes it, it's the perfect companion music to the Bill Maher documentary, "Religilous". His former brothers and sisters in Christ aren't so happy with him, let's just say. The album is quite a statement and the songs are both lyrically thoughtful and enjoyable from a musical sense as well.

9. Vizqueen, "Message to Garcia"

There isn't much mystery behind the sound of Seattle's Vizqueen. It's punk influenced, straight plain ol' rock and roll influenced, up tempo, good music. I posted a link to an article on front woman Rachel Flotard on The Hidden Chord's Facebook page. I strongly recommend reading this. It's a touching story, which makes you appreciate the spirit behind the music.

8. Mos Def, "The Ecstatic"

For awhile there, Mos Def was turning into purely an actor. Not an uncommon transition for hip-hop/rap stars, but still, this is one talented guy musically as well, and he proves it with "The Ecstatic". I said earlier I'm probably not the best judge of pop music. The same probably goes for rap/hip-hop. Why do I like this album? I just kinda do. Mos Def is a great MC and the beats are...see I don't know how to describe them. I just like it, ok!!!!

7. Dirty Projectors, "Bitte Orca"

Hypnotic, at times ambient, a bit experimental--not quite to Animal Collective lengths, but enough to use the label. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here, but one of the best songs of the year is on this album. Will it be #1? Possibly. What else can I say about this album? It's got that many layered thing that a lot of good indie rock goes for these days. It can be quiet and calming, but then they pull out something that sounds Led Zeppelin-esque. Comfort food for the ears.

6. The Xx, "Xx"

Uh oh, another contender for #1 song of the year is on this album...who will it be??? These kids...well they're just kids for one!!!...are pretty damned amazing with a fairly basic sound. Not a whole lot of layers going on here. Interesting vocals...which is kind of strangse to say because the delivery of the vocals are almost done in a disinterested sort of way. I'll use the term I used above with Dirty Projectors--hypnotic. You can't help but get pulled in. Lots of good beats, simple effects, guitar, drums...and there you have it.

5. Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"

This album is beyond catchy. So catchy in fact, Cadillac had to swipe the song 1901 for itself and kill it for the rest of us! Reminded me of what happened with Santogold (or is it Santigold?) last year. Well, at the very least, I hope they got a nice paycheck for it. This is a fun, dance-able, almost disco-ish album at times, that goes by quickly--too quickly in fact.

4. Bob Dylan, "Together Through Life"

This was one weird, yet productive year for the nearly 70 year old Dylan. Early in the year, he releases "Together Through Life", which was co-written with Robert Hunter, who co-wrote much of The Grateful Dead's material. And it's a gem, that is for those who appreciate Dylan's vocal "style", filled with Mexican border-town sounding songs helped along by his amazing backing band. During the summer, he was questioned by police in New Jersey for hanging out in the rain in somebody's front yard (apparently he was looking for Springsteen's childhood home). And most recently, he released a Christmas album. He's a tad creepy and weird, but he's not slowing down, and I hope he can keep going for years to come.

3. Animal Collective, "Merriweather Post Pavillion"

Where do you even start with Animal Collective? Nobody, but NOBODY is doing what these guys are doing. I recently read someone say it would have been the type of thing Brian Wilson would have been doing if he would have been in his "Pet Sounds" prime in 2009. It's experimental, to be gentle, so much so in fact, I understand that they have a hard time recreating their sound live. But, here I go again, it's hypnotic (cold meds are apparently limiting my ability to come up with other adjectives!). Time after time, here has been my experience with Animal Collective, "What the hell is this?! I don't know if I can get into it...I'll stay with it for maybe one more song...", yet suddenly I'm six or seven songs in and I can't tear myself away! Animal Collective is as unique as it gets these days!

2. Grizzly Bear, "Veckatimest"

I'm going to do my best not to use the term "hypnotic" here (even though it is!). I feel like this album comes closest in feel to my favorite from last year, "Ragged Wood" by Fleet Foxes, although that's not a completely accurate comparison. It's rich, airy sounding music, filled with great harmonies that I'm sure would sound even better on vinyl, much like with Fleet Foxes. It's epic-sounding indie rock that pulls you into a different state of mind (a very pleasant one, I must say). I think some commercial has gotten a hold of some Grizzly Bear too, but please corporate America, PLEASE, leave them alone!!! It's too good for you!!!

1. The Avett Brothers, "I and Love and You"

If my friend Phillip Groves is reading this, I'm sure he's chalking this selection up to my "folksy" taste in music. Call it what you will, this album is sooo good, though. These guys started out as kind of a bluegrass fusion sort of band (fused with punk, grunge, country, folk, indie rock), but though they've strayed away from their original sound a bit, they're amazing instrumentalists with tons and tons of energy and quite a few thoughts on love and pain and longing. There are quite a few ballads on here, which normally, I'm not a complete fan of, but the vocals are so strong, harmonies so astounding, and songwriting so complete, that I can't help but forgive their sappy side. There's plenty of banjo still around to satisfy early fans, too, I'm sure. And even though it's ballad-heavy, there are a couple of rockers on here that prove that this band can do a little bit of everything.

Honorable Mention:
Girls, "Album"
Dignan, "Cheaters and Thieves"

Top 10 songs of '09

You'll notice a bit of overlap here with artist's albums and their songs, but I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise. Great songs tend to make the best albums what they are. Without much explanation (sometimes music just needs to speak for itself), here they are:


10. Poker Face, Lady Gaga (It's fun...so sue me!)
9. I Feel A Change Comin' On, Bob Dylan
8. Supermagic, Mos Def
7. Lisztomania, Phoenix
6. While You Wait For The Others, Grizzly Bear (the version with Michael McDonald is surprisingly good too)
5. Basic Space, The Xx
4. My Girls, Animal Collective
3. Wilco (The Song), Wilco
2. Stillness is the Move, Dirty Projectors
1. I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers

Honorable Mention:
Must Be Santa, Bob Dylan
Lovesick Teenagers, Bear in Heaven

Movies of '09

I haven't really seen a lot of movies this year, to be honest with you. Ye Olde recession has made this blogger cut out certain things. I definitely saw a lot more last year and felt I could therefore rank them better. I have seen a few really good ones, which I'll list in no particular order. I still want to see Invictus and Up in the Air, as well (maybe Avatar too). And Inglorious Basterds when it comes out on DVD. Then maybe I'll change this list:

The Hangover (probably my #1...I know I said I wouldn't rank, but I can't think of a better one this year!)
Star Trek
This Is It
(500) Days of Summer
Funny People

Five (plus one honorable mention...so I guess 6 if my basic addition is correct) music stories that impacted 2009 (not top stories because I'm sure there are probably others, but these are up there for me)

Honorable Mention (or #6 as some would choose to say)--Amy Winehouse is Still Alive

I mean, who would have thought...that's all

5. Kanye Goes Crazy At The VMAs

How do you effectively kill your career? Jump on stage during America's sweetheart's acceptance speech and say Beyonce's video was better. Maybe someone should have watched how many bottles Kanye was downing? Maybe? Who knew alcohol could cause such problems? Dramatic career reinvention is pretty trendy these days, though, so maybe it's a good thing in the long run, Kanye.

4. CD Sales Continue to Drop--Digital Has Yet To Make Up the Difference

No surprise here. Call it a the continuing saga of the record industry. I'm sure the business will eventually settle into some sort of groove (kind of a pun?), but right now companies are still making moves and coming up with strategies on how to make money in the industry. Google, Apple, MySpace, Rhapsody...everyone's been jockeying to get in on the latest attempts to redefine the 21st Century face of music. Will they work? Check back with me at this time, not just next year, but the next several years to come.

3. UK Piracy Wars

They're still a little behind the times in the UK when it comes to piracy. Lily Allen was in the middle of a war of words between those who basically said piracy was bad, but it's a necessary evil, and those who said, "Let's crack down on pirates"...followed by an "Arrr!" I'm sure. No one's too thrilled with music piracy, but unfortunately it's here. US companies are looking at ways to give away and/or make music cheap, but still make it somewhat financially viable for all involved...The UK, I'm sure will take that approach soon as well...whether that makes Lily "Smile" or not (Lily Allen had this song called "Smile" and,... oh forget it!).

2. Live Nation and TicketMaster Merge

Pending government approval that is...because, well, to me, and the folks who check on this sort of thing, this seems like a potential monopoly. I think the government has rules against that. It'll probably get worked out eventually, though, which would ultimately unite the largest concert vendor with the largest ticket agency. They say that, together they're going to be able to better serve the concert going public, but something about this relationship makes me a bit squeemish. We'll see.

1. Michael Jackson Dies

Well...yeah. What else was it going to be? The story isn't complete, of course. I wonder if it ever really will be. If Michael Jackson's life wasn't the epitome of tragedy, it certainly was the epitome of the word "bizarre". And now that he's gone, people are once again appreciating his music. I think we all forgot or took for granted just how much amazing work the man put out. Just another strange, sad twist in the man's career, which is now bigger than ever. I'm sure the saga is going to continue to unfold for a long time, with Joe Jackson never too far from it all, trying to cash in.

That's an extremely condensed version of 2009 according to The Hidden Chord. I'm sure 2010 will be filled with more great music, big names and otherwise. Happy Holidays to one and all.

3 songs on shuffle (Ezra Furman Video by clicking Here!)

Starting off today listening to Grizzly Bear. Veckatimist has got to be one of the best albums of '09 so far. Possibly the best. Harmonies that are crazy good, musicianship and arrangements that are stunning. Hell, they can even make Michael McDonald sound good (find the Grizzly Bear song, "While You Wait For the Others" feat. Michael McDonald...weird that it's so good). After this track ends, we'll go straight into the second edition of, "3 songs on shuffle" courtesy of the official iTunes library of The Hidden Chord!

Private Affair--The Virgins
A Daytrotter discovery. I've heard this one a few times actually. Really like it. Kind of has a Killers/Franz Ferdinand/Modest Mouse kind of feel to it. The guy's voice kind of sounds like Elvis Costello at times. Great little shuffle beat to it too. Dance-rock is always fine by me. It's a tricky thing to pull off, but I dig this one a lot. Sounds a little like "Shakedown Street" by The Grateful Dead at times too. "In the summertime, I'm gonna lose my mind". Line sticks out because I can understand it (the guy kind of mumble-sings) and because summer's ending (or ended I guess), but also because, what a better season than summer to lose your mind?

Moon Light Drive--The Doors
I believe this is a demo version of the song off The Doors box set that came out around '97 or '98. Moon Light Drive is apparantly the first song that Jim Morrison shared with his UCLA film school buddy Ray Manzarek on Venice Beach. The Oliver Stone biopic documents the fabled meeting. It's kind of weird Beach Boys sounding. It's a very simple song that ends up on their famous self-titled debut. "Let's swim to the moon, let's climb through the tide. Penetrate the evening that the city sleeps too high." Not sure exactly what it means, but The Doors had a way of combining the mystical, surreal, and dark with the magic of rock and roll. Didn't always matter if you understood it or not. "You reach your hand to hold me, but I can't be your guide." Like Jim and The Doors themselves, the song's rather allusive.

The Dishwasher--Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
Song starts off with familiar (too familiar) restaurant sounds. First person account of being a lowly dishwasher. "You won't catch me walkin' home from work cryin'". Maybe you want to cry when you're walking home from your thankless service job. Oh, I've felt it, but you don't cry. You make sure you don't let the people who are getting ready to party on a Friday night, while you're going home, notice your anguish. They most definitely have more money and better jobs, but you carry your head high and keep telling yourself that it'll get better one day and that at least you try to be a decent person. Your work is honest, someone's gotta do it, as the song says. Who wants to eat off dirty dishes. Ezra's voice is filled with anguish. He's really got a very expresive, high-pitched, un-traditional voice that is perfect for a song like this.

There you have it. First two are good end of summer songs, while the third is just a good song in general. I first learned of Ezra Furman back in Austin in 2008, when he played The Velvet Underground's "Heroin" at a Lou Reed tribute concert. Had to have been one of the single most amazing performances of any single song that I've seen. Found a video of it on You Tube, and it still seems pretty cool, but for many performances, you really have to be there to fully appreciate it. Click the title of this blog entry to take you there...I think you'll like it.

Actually that whole day was filled with a lot of "Wow!" moments. The great part about it too was it was all free. You didn't need a wrist band, badge, or cash. It irks me when big time acts charge so much. But the funny thing turns out to be, that the best moments usually don't happen at gigantic stadium shows that people have paid hundreds of dollars to see. They often times happen in little dive bars, free venues, and places you least suspect them to happen. That's the magic of music for you!