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“
David Bazan – “Curse Your Branches”
(on Barsuk)
[MP3]: “Bless This Mess“
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.
Neko Case – “Middle Cyclone”
(on Anti)
[MP3]: “People Got A Lotta Nerve“
Dinosaur Jr. – “Farm”
(on Jagjaguwar)
[MP3]: “I Want You To Know“
Fanfarlo – “Reservoir”
(on Canvasback Music/Atlantic)
[MP3]: “Luna“
Grand Archives – “Keep In Mind Frankenstein”
(on Sub Pop)
[MP3]: “Oslo Novelist“
Kings of Convenience – “Declaration of Dependence”
(on EMI)
[MP3]: “Boat Behind“
Loney Dear – “Dear John”
(on Polyvinyl)
[MP3]: “Airport Surroundings“
Rose Melberg – “Homemade Ship”
(on K Records)
[MP3]: “Old Days“
Now, Now Every Children – “Cars”
(on Afternoon Records)
[MP3]: “Have You Tried“
Ola Podrida – “Belly Of The Lion”
(on Western Vinyl)
[MP3]: “Your Father’s Basement“
Tara Jane O’Neil – “A Ways Away”
(on K Records)
[MP3]: “Drowning“
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
“The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart”
(on Slumberland)
[MP3]: “Young Adult Friction“
Phoenix – “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
(on Glass Note)
[MP3]: “1901“
Pomegranates – “Everybody, Come Outside!”
(on Lujo)
[MP3]: “Coriander“
Sky Larkin – “The Golden Spike”
(on Wichita Recordings)
[MP3]: “Fossil, I“
Systems Officer – “Underslept”
(on Temporary Residence)
[MP3]: “Shape Shifter“
Telekinesis – “Telekinesis!”
(on Merge)
[MP3]: “Coast of Carolina“
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
Wooden Birds – “Magnolia”
(on Barsuk)
[MP3]: “False Alarm“
Wye Oak – “The Knot”
(on Merge)
[MP3]: “Take It In“
The XX – “XX”
(on XL Recordings / Beggars Group)
[MP3]: “VCR“
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…
In the rare “Various Artists” category, which I’m not sure I’ve ever had show up a previous yearly faves list…
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“
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – “Higher Than The Stars” EP
(on Slumberland)
[MP3]: “Higher Than The Stars“
Superchunk – “Leaves In The Gutter” EP
(on Merge)
[Stream]: The whole EP at Merge
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…
Last Night’s Playlist (Tourfilter DJ Night @ River Gods)
Posted on January 22, 2010 at 12:41 pm | No Comments
With the emotional sh*tstorm that enveloped me late last year, a few things had to fall aside, and sadly one of them was my regularly-scheduled DJ night at River Gods in Cambridge. I haven’t been up in the booth since August, and while December’s Bazaar Bizarre set went a long way towards satisfying my DJ jones, the five-month break from RGs was too damn long.
Last night, that break ended as I once again joined my pal Chris Marstall (of peerless live concert scheduling site Tourfilter) to split a Thursday song-sharing slot at one of my favorite bars. I put together two hours worth of tracks by bands who are coming to town within the next couple months, and it went a little something like this…
Bradley’s Almanac
Tourfilter DJ Night playlist
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
@ River Gods, Cambridge, MA
01. Kings of Convenience – “Renegade“
playing @ the Paradise on Friday, February 12th
02. Jonathan Richman – “Because Her Beauty Is Raw And Wild“
playing @ the Middle East Upstairs on February 16th, 17th, & 18th
03. Taken By Trees – “Greyest Love Of All“
playing @ the Cambridge YMCA theatre on Friday, February 19th
04. The Clientele – “Bonfires On The Heath“
playing @ Great Scott on Sunday, March 21st
05. Midlake – “Rulers Ruling All Things“
playing @ the Paradise on Friday, April 9th
06. The Novel Ideas – “Julian Carax“
playing @ Church on Friday, January 29th
07. Ryan Lee Crosby – “Nicoline“
playing @ TT the Bears on Monday, February 5th with Elio Deluca
and then as a quartet on Feb. 22nd
08. Shearwater – “Black Eyes“
playing @ TT the Bears on Tuesday, March 30th
09. Field Music – “Measure“
playing @ Great Scott on Sunday, March 21st
10. Beach House – “Norway“
playing @ the Paradise on Sunday, March 28th
11. The XX – “Islands“
playing @ the Paradise on Friday, April 2nd
12. Asobi Seksu – “Familiar Light“
playing @ Cafe 939 on Saturday, January 30th
13. The Antlers – “Two“
playing @ House of Blues on Thursday, February 18th
14. Wye Oak – “Siamese“
playing @ TT the Bears on Tuesday, March 30th
15. One Happy Island – “Temporary Tattoo“
playing @ Great Scott on Monday, March 15th
16. Standard Fare – “A Night With A Friend“
playing @ Great Scott on Monday, March 15th
17. Deerhunter – “Never Stops“
playing @ the House of Blues on Saturday, March 27th with Spoon
18. Rogue Wave – “Good Morning“
playing @ the Paradise on Monday, March 1st
19. Editors – “Munich“
playing @ House of Blues on Thursday, February 18th
20. Love Is All – “Kungen“
playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Wednesday, March 31st
21. Obits – “Pine On“
playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 10th
22. Quasi – “Repulsion“
playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Tuesday, April 20th
23. Mean Creek – “The Patient“
playing @ TT the Bears on Wednesday, February 3rd
24. Dear Leader – “The Blue Print“
playing @ the House of Blues on Saturday, January 30th
25. Girlfriends – “I Was Here But I Disappear“
playing @ the Middle East Downstairs on Wednesday, March 31st
26. The Morning Benders – “Promises“
playing @ TT the Bears on Saturday, April 17th
27. The Crushing Low – “Dead Man’s Hands“
playing @ Great Scott on Tuesday, February 2nd
28. Nada Surf – “Treading Water“
playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 3rd
29. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – “Even Heroes Have To Die“
playing @ the Paradise on Saturday, April 10th
30. Adam Franklin & The Bolts of Melody – “Surge“
playing @ Great Scott on Tuesday, February 2nd
31. The Wedding Present – “What Have I Said Now“
play their entire 1989 sophomore LP ‘Bizarro’
@ the Middle East Downstairs on Monday, April 12th
32. Retribution Gospel Choir – “Poor Man’s Daughter“
playing @ Great Scott on Thursday, January 28th