FEBRUARY 2010

MARCH 2010

APRIL 2010

MAY 2010

Elsewhen in twenty-ten…

Optimistically on the way…

And in my dreams…

[DOWNLOAD]: A 135MB .zip file of all the MP3s linked above.

Ok, so sound off in the comments with what I missed, what you care about, and what you’re hoping for in 2010…

2009: My Favorite Music

Posted on January 24, 2010 at 9:25 pm | No Comments

Well, here it is, now pulling into the station… the caboose at the very end of the too-long train of “best of 2009” music blogger posts, three weeks into the new year. And, as ever, it most certainly is not a “best of”, but simply a “my favorites” – the albums that soundtracked my own personal year. But you knew that.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it one last time for emphasis: My 2009, particularly the latter half, sucked. And blew. And whatever degrees of inhaling and exhaling of badness you can come up with. Yup, it was the very definition of “not good”. In fact, it would be tough to fathom a more difficult 6-month stretch (and no, that is not a challenge, oh make-believe chess player in the sky. Ease off!). But without the albums listed below, these artists, it would have been a whole lot worse.

It should be noted that, because there were so many, I’ve separated out my favorite albums by Boston-based bands and will post that list sometime soon, and hope to throw together a list of my favorite live shows of the year as well. At some point. Ideally before we hit 2011. Sigh.

For now, though, listed alphabetically (no silly numerical ranking for me), here are the full-lengthers (and a few EPs) that defined my Oh-Nine music-listening. I tried, and failed, to limit myself to twenty records, which goes to show what a strong musical year it was. There are even plenty of albums I didn’t get a chance to spend time with that I fully intended to. And still hope to.

I commented on many of these artists and albums in my favorite songs of the year post, so head there for some commentary, and a bit more at the bottom here. Not that I’m expecting you to make it all the way through, but hey, a couple of you might. I’ve shared an MP3 for each entry if one was made freely available by the artist, and if not, I’ve included a link to where you can take a listen. And if you click on the label names below each release, you’ll be taken to a page where you can buy the album directly. I’ve also, for the first time, made a big honkin’ zip file of all the songs shared here at the end, including a few bonus tracks not linked below. Off we go then…

Lou Barlow – “Goodnight Unknown”
(on Merge)

[MP3]: “Gravitate“

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David Bazan – “Curse Your Branches”
(on Barsuk)

[MP3]: “Bless This Mess“

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Built To Spill – “There Is No Enemy”
(on Warner Bros.)

[MP3]: Major label, so no sample song for you. Hit up MySpace, if you must.

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Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
(on Anti)

[MP3]: “People Got A Lotta Nerve“

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Dinosaur Jr. – “Farm”
(on Jagjaguwar)

[MP3]: “I Want You To Know“

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Fanfarlo – “Reservoir”
(on Canvasback Music/Atlantic)

[MP3]: “Luna“

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Grand Archives – “Keep In Mind Frankenstein”
(on Sub Pop)

[MP3]: “Oslo Novelist“

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Kings of Convenience – “Declaration of Dependence”
(on EMI)

[MP3]: “Boat Behind“

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Loney Dear – “Dear John”
(on Polyvinyl)

[MP3]: “Airport Surroundings“

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Rose Melberg – “Homemade Ship”
(on K Records)

[MP3]: “Old Days“

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Now, Now Every Children – “Cars”
(on Afternoon Records)

[MP3]: “Have You Tried“

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Ola Podrida – “Belly Of The Lion”
(on Western Vinyl)

[MP3]: “Your Father’s Basement“

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Tara Jane O’Neil – “A Ways Away”
(on K Records)

[MP3]: “Drowning“

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
“The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart”
(on Slumberland)

[MP3]: “Young Adult Friction“

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Phoenix – “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
(on Glass Note)

[MP3]: “1901“

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Pomegranates – “Everybody, Come Outside!”
(on Lujo)

[MP3]: “Coriander“

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Sky Larkin – “The Golden Spike”
(on Wichita Recordings)

[MP3]: “Fossil, I“

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Systems Officer – “Underslept”
(on Temporary Residence)

[MP3]: “Shape Shifter“

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Telekinesis – “Telekinesis!”
(on Merge)

[MP3]: “Coast of Carolina“

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Trashcan Sinatras – “In The Music”
(self-released/101 Distribution)

[MP3]: Sadly, nothing officially available from the band
There’s a streaming sample on their site

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Wooden Birds – “Magnolia”
(on Barsuk)

[MP3]: “False Alarm“

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Wye Oak – “The Knot”
(on Merge)

[MP3]: “Take It In“

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The XX – “XX”
(on XL Recordings / Beggars Group)

[MP3]: “VCR“

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Yo La Tengo – “Popular Songs”
(on Matador)

[MP3]: “Here To Fall“

In the “Released in 2009 overseas but here in the U.S. in 2010” category (meaning it will also fall on my ‘faves of 2010’ list), we have…

LoveLikeFire – “Tear Ourselves Away”
(released in the UK on Heist or Hit)

[MP3]: “Signs“

In the rare “Various Artists” category, which I’m not sure I’ve ever had show up a previous yearly faves list…

Various Artists – “Dark Was The Night”
(on 4AD / Beggars Group)

[MP3]: David Byrne + Dirty Projectors – “Knotty Pine“

And finally, a few 2009 EPs I adored…

City Breathing – “My Apple IIe Is Singing Sad Songs To Me” EP
(self-released, and for free)

[MP3]: “A Place To Bury Old Mistakes“

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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Higher Than The Stars” EP
(on Slumberland)

[MP3]: “Higher Than The Stars“

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Superchunk – “Leaves In The Gutter” EP
(on Merge)

[Stream]: The whole EP at Merge

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50 Foot Wave – “Power + Light” EP
(self-released on vinyl via CASH music)

[Stream]: The entire 26-minute epic at CASHmusic

Whenever I post one of these, I like to take a look at my “looking forward to in 2009” post to see which albums missed the mark, which ones surprised me, and which ones never showed. For a look back at my faves of years passed, here you go: 2008, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001. Yes, I missed a couple years in there thanks to overall internet-list-burnout. Won’t happen again, sir.

Next up: My favorite boston-area releases, live shows, and a look ahead at 2010…