Top Albums/Songs of 2009

** I put this up on Facebook at the beginning of the new year. I figured I'd repost it here because it's about music and stuff. Let me know what you think.

The New Year has finally arrived and for the last couple of months I have been concocting, stirring, mulling over, pondering, meditating, and excavating a top ten list of albums and songs that I’ve been digging from this past year. I tried to keep it real and maintain an unbiased opinion towards the criticism and hype of the moment. So sit back and enjoy ........................

Greg’s Albums 2009

1) Real Estate – Real Estate
This album took me by surprise. I began listening expecting some type of lo-fi shit storm and instead was pleasantly suprised. What I really dug was their ability to break down at any moment and completely jam out.
Listen to: Beach Comber, Suburban Dogs, Snow Days
http://www.myspace.com/realestate

2 ) Washed Out – High Times/Life of Leisure
I’m putting these two groups of songs together because they are both worth listening to. So chill you might never need to chill again.
Listen to: Belong, It’s Kate’s Birthday, Luck, New Theory, Feel It All Around
http://www.myspace.com/thebabeinthewoods
Music Video: http://vimeo.com/6692499

3) Freelance Whales – Weathervanes
On first listen of Weathervanes I had a pretty clear idea of where I would be putting them on here. The lead singer has this high school era appeal in his voice that could be likened to a mix between The Early November and Mae. When that voice is matched with a more new age and full sound good things occur and they happen on this CD.
Listen to: Hannah, Location, Starring
http://www.myspace.com/freelancewhales

4) Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
This is by far their best album and the hype they’ve received is well deserved. Each song is meticulously structured and it shows.
Listen to: Two Weeks, Ready, Able, Cheerleader
http://www.myspace.com/grizzlybear

5) Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
What really pulled me in was this girls voice. Real quiet, kind of sad, and a sort of timeless quality that very few singers possess.
Listen to: The Sweetest Thing, My Maudlin Career, James
http://www.myspace.com/cameraobscuraband

6) St. Vincent – Actor
I saw St. Vincent with Andrew Bird live a few months ago and that performance cemented in my mind Actor as a one of the best albums of the year. It’s a pretty scary album and there is this haunting melody in her voice. She’s played in a few other bands and her full range of musical talent is on display here.
Listen to: The Strangers, Black Rainbow, The Neighbors
http://www.myspace.com/stvincent

7) Brand New – Daisy
Over the years Brand New has always been a band worth listening to. Their fourth release is no different.
Listen to: You Stole, At the Bottom, Daisy
http://www.myspace.com/brandnew

8) Dan Deacon - Bromst
Dan Deacon has found a new way to make catchy, electronic, dance songs.
Listen to: Padding Ghost, Snookered, Get Older
http://www.myspace.com/dandeacon

9) The XX - XX
I sat on this CD for awhile before putting it here. I wasn’t sure if it merited the hype it was receiving. A final listen proved to me that this band has something that others have yet to do.
Listen to: Vcr, Crystalised, Islands
http://www.myspace.com/thexx

10) Brazos - Phosphorescent Blues
I’ve probably flipped what the 10th album on this list would be about 20 times. This was something I recently discovered.
http://www.myspace.com/brazosbrazos
Listen to: My Buddy, Day Glo

Other CD’s that are worth your time:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Devendra Banhart - What Will We Be
Sufjan Stevens - The BQE
Wilco - Wilco (the album)
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Self-titled

. .

Greg’s Song’s 2009

1) You Are the Blood –Sufjan Stevens – Dark Was the Night
I enjoy Sufjan's music and according to this chart I am smarter because of it:
http://thegrip.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/sat-scores-vs-music-you-listen-to/.
Although the album didn’t strike any major chord with me when it entered my brain via ears this song grabbed me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma-l-2izB_s

2) Slow Life (ft. Victoria Lagrand) – Grizzly Bear – Twilight Soundtrack
Lagrand’s haunting voice (singer for Beach House – new cd Teen Dreams comes out in 2010) connects Grizzly Bear’s full out bursts of whatever it is that they do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkeX5wCvqEI

3) Dj Earworm - Blame it on the pop
One of the best mix-ups I’ve heard in awhile.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNzrwh2Z2hQ

4) Teengirl Fantasy – Portofino
Listen to this song all the way through. Also, check out the rest of this duo’s stuff. Don’t be perturbed by the name.
http://www.myspace.com/teengirlfantasy

5) CANT – Ghost
There’s a really eerie, almost panicked feeling in this song that I haven’t heard in a long time.
http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new_cant_grizzly_bears_chris_taylor__ghosts_1_095311.html

6) Vampire Weekend - The Kid’s Don’t Stand a Chance (Miike Snow Remix)
Great Remix of a great song. Not just bullshit put over the old song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVVf6t5fmp0

7) Walkabout (ft. Noah Lennox) – Atlas Sound – Logos
Some type of crazy pop jingle on an album thats mostly drone. Took me by surprise but it shouldn’t have considering Noah Lennox contributed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcMGACqsg5A

8) Keep the Lights On - Wave Machines - Wave If You’re Really There
This song makes me wish disco never died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK3TcNGC55I

9) Rome - Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
All of the songs on this album are worth listening to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fty_DxJmUZw

10) Lil’ Wayne – I Feel Like Dying (FlyLo Remix)
The disk jockey flying lotus does an even more scary version of this song.
http://www.myspace.com/flyinglotus (6th one down)

Blast from the relatively recent past

http://www.myspace.com/themagneticfields

Here it is. I found this album two years ago and have always wanted to share it with others. 69 Love Songs is one of my favorite albums of all time. Definitely top 10 no questions asked. It was released in 1999 closing off the 90's right. There are a very literal 69 songs and all of them are about love. So you definitely get what you paid for (or didn't pay for). What really brought me to love this record is that each song is worth listening too. There is not one song that really makes me cringe or want to skip. Stephin Merritt's voice is so low and powerful combined with the overall talent of the band members it is a really well balanced album. Songs range from poppy chorus driven melodies to electro-dance beats. Every song carries a completely different tune that will leave you snapping your fingers until they fall off. Believe me. You'll end up holding onto a lot of songs from this collection.

Songs to get you started: Absolutely Cuckoo, A Chicken With it's head cut off, Fido, Your leash is too long, Grand Canyon, Papa was a rodeo, Epitaph for my Heart, I shatter, Yeah! oh Yeah, Book of love.

Also, The Magnetic Fields have just recently released another album titled, Realism. Personally, I think that anything this band touches is amazing and although probably not all around as good as 69 Love Songs is it's most definitely worth your time. When listening to Realism you want to keep in mind Merritt's ironic twist when playing with words and melodies. Otherwise it sounds a little too happy and upbeat. Two songs I keep playing from this album are The Dada Polka and From A Sinking Boat. The last two songs of the album.

Telekinetic Walrus & the Pride of the Ions

http://www.myspace.com/telekineticwalrus

This is a band I like to see. Recommended from a friend, Telekinetic Walrus and the Pride of the Ions is an absurd band with an electronic backbone and quick lyrics. They have an EP available here: http://www.zshare.net/download/66206850b662e8d6/ . It's the same three songs you can find on their myspace.

The first song, Monocle, is a wild repetition of electronic thumps that grow continually louder and more frantic. It's like a strange dream. The dream like quality could be described as transe-esque in a way. It all builds around the lead singers just as frantic lyrics. It's electronic, fairly experimental, and all good. Plus a name you cannot beat.

The other two songs are both worth listening too. There's a pop hint in all three of them but it's all covered over with the same lyrical delivery and varying electronic beep-boops.

I'm going to get consistent

http://www.myspace.com/therubysuns

I want to post more on this site. At times I feel like its a waste of my time but I've been finding some pretty great music lately and I feel the need to report. Right now no one is reading it other than me. I think I'm going to get some quality posts down and then try to release it into the wild of the internet through facebook, aim, away messages, twitter, and whatever other social networking site I stumble upon. Ok so here we goo....

Ok. So The Ruby Suns are not a new band. They are for me, but they've been brewing music over in New Zealand for awhile now. I've been listening to their newest release, Fight Softly, for about a week and it's safe to say I am very impressed with what it has to offer. It's very spacey. There is a lot of texture in the sound. Tropical is a word that has been popping up a good amount lately to describe sound. I'd say if anything sounds tropical it's this.

There are some songs that are above and beyond and there are songs that are just real fun to listen to. Songs that are must haves are: Sun Lake Rinsed, Cinco, Closet Astrologer, Dusty Fruit and Olympics on Pot. The others fill in in a way that doesn't suck. I guess if I were to compare these to another band its like if The Dirty Projectors threw up all over Yeasayer and were then put into space. It's exciting music.

Desolation Wilderness - New Universe

Just came across this band yesterday. Slow, with lots of melody - very beachy at times. Worth many listens of your time and a few more. It's hard to understand what the singer is saying but it just flows. I would definitely put this in the category of chillwave. Just when the album starts to get boring it picks back up. I believe it came out sometime in 2009. I've been pretty stoked lately becuz I'm finally getting to all of the past year's stuff I missed.

http://www.myspace.com/desolationwilderness

I think I'm getting tired of the established independent rock scene. I started thinking about this when I downloaded the new Broken Bells album. For those of you who don't know Broken Bells is a collaboration between James Mercer of The Shins and Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley. I heard their single on a local radio station back home and was mildly intrigued. Now that I've downloaded the album I feel like its almost a chore to listen to it. I want to... kind of. The thing is I feel like the Mercer + Danger Mouse thing is more of a marketing gimmick than any type of legitimate musical effort. Now I'm sure that it wasn't some blow off thing on their part by any means. But lets face it Mercer hasn't come out with anything Great in a few years now and Gnarls Barkley is well.... Gnarls Barkley. G.B. is kind of like a grammy situated act thats was supposed to ignite some type of alternative appeal that I found uninteresting. Does that make me craazzyy? Maybe. At the same time I feel like I would have a much better time listening to something that I recommended in the first paragraph. It's fun to pull the good bands out of the relative reality of everyday life and into a buzzworthy sort.